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Manchester United have certainly splashed the cash over the last few years, although it hasn’t brought them anywhere near the success they experienced under Sir Alex Ferguson.

They have spent around £2bn since their greatest manager of all time retired in 2013, and whilst not every signing has been a success, some have.

The most expensive purchase in that time was Paul Pogba, their club record signing. He cost £89m from Juventus, which was also a world record fee at the time, in 2016. He helped the club lift the Europa League and Carabao Cup, showcasing some spellbinding technical ability.

Now, United might be ready to make another Pogba-esque signing and smash their transfer record again.

Man United target their new Pogba

There have been several reports which suggest United are going to break their transfer record in 2026.

England duo Elliot Anderson and Adam Wharton are two of the strongest links, both of whom could cost £100m.

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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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However, according to reports in Spain, the Red Devils are ‘prepared to offer’ a club record fee to sign another England international, Jude Bellingham.

It would not be easy to tempt the Real Madrid star away from the Spanish capital, but United are said to be ‘determined to make a statement in the market.’

Indeed, it would be a huge statement from Ruben Amorim’s side if they were to sign Bellingham. It would obviously not be a cheap deal to do, with United reportedly set to lay an astronomical £130m on the table in a bid to bring the Birmingham-born superstar to Old Trafford.

Why signing Bellingham would be such a statement

Few midfielders across the globe are better than Madrid number 5, Bellingham. According to Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes, he is the “best midfielder in the world,” which is high praise indeed but it’s certainly accurate judging by his numbers in recent years.

The 2025/26 campaign has been slower for the Englishman. He missed the beginning with a shoulder injury, and since returning to full fitness, has contributed nine goals and assists in 20 appearances.

It is important to discuss his contributions for Los Blancos throughout his time at the club. Operating all over the pitch, he has found the back of the net on 43 occasions and assisted a further 32 times. His output has been ridiculous, particularly considering he is a midfielder.

His underlying numbers are extraordinary, too. Compared to other midfielders in Europe over the last 365 days, he’s created 1.89 chances and completed 1.75 take-ons per 90 minutes. That places him in the top 9% and 1% of those metrics.

Bellingham key stats in last 365 days

Stat (per 90)

Number

Percentile

Goals & assists

0.55

98th

Key passes

1.89

91st

Progressive passes

7.51

92nd

Take-ons completed

1.75

99th

Progressive carries

2.57

91st

Stats from FBref

It is easy to see how the 22-year-old could be United’s new version of Pogba. Not only would the Madrid star cost a club-record fee like the Frenchman, but they would also be joining from two of Europe’s heavyweights, Los Blancos and Juve, in Pogba’s case.

However, they are stylistically similar too. Pogba was also famed for his goalscoring ability from midfield, bagging 39 times in a United shirt. He could score all types of goals, including long-range screamers, poachers’ finishes and headers. That certainly rings true for Bellingham.

Not only that, but the technical brilliance that both possess is a clear similarity. It is not uncommon for both players to be seen dancing away from an opponent when under pressure and away into space, or pulling off an incredible piece of skill to control the ball.

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Someone who links the two players together is Zinedine Zidane, connected to Bellingham via Real Madrid and Pogba via Juve and France. He has lauded both in the past, calling his countryman a player who “knows how to do everything on the field” and said his fellow Los Blancos number five is “a player who does incredible things.”

There is no doubt that £130m is a huge investment, but Bellingham is surely worth that sort of price. He is a dominant, technically gifted goalscoring midfielder, and could well be seen as the second coming of Pogba in that sense. If United can pull this deal off, it would be the coup of the year.

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Posts 1 ByRobbie Walls

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

	Iain O’Brien atoned for his fielding lapse by claiming the key wickets of Mohammad Ashraful and Aftab Ahmed © Getty Images

New Zealand stormed back from an indifferent second day to dismiss a submissive Bangladesh for 254 and wrapped up a nine-wicket win before tea on day three at Dunedin’s University Oval.A four-pronged seam attack turned the Test quickly in the first session, grabbing the opposition by the scruff of the neck after a 161-run opening stand, before Daniel Vettori mopped up the tail quickly after lunch. With Tamim Iqbal and Junaid Siddique dismissed in succession it all fell apart in the second innings rather spectacularly for Bangladesh, who lost ten wickets for 93 runs to hand the hosts a series lead with one to play.If the batsmen did this pitch some justice on day two, with 349 runs, then the seamers struck quickly on day three to level the contest. The pitch played a little slow and low yet the ball moved around enough to put some doubt in the batsmens’ minds. The seamers were tidy, rarely slipping down leg with a packed off-side field, and responded to their captain’s call with five wickets in the first session.As thoughts trained towards Bangladesh’s highest partnership for any wicket and a debut hundred for Tamim, Kyle Mills struck. The ball nipped back in off a perfect length, kept a little low, and drew an inside-edge from his bat. The look of relief on the fielders’ faces was palpable.As often happens when one dominant partner departs, the second followed. The ball looked about ready to reverse-swing late on day three and Chris Martin achieved a hint of it, operating from around the stumps. Siddique failed to keep one down and edged to a sharp Stephen Fleming in the slips for 74. Bangladesh were still 53 behind at that stage but with the openers removed the tone of the innings changed dramatically.After a wonderful opening platform like that, it was disappointing to see how quickly the side pressed the detonation button. Habibul Bashar endured another poor score, tamely cutting Jacob Oram to gully for 11; Mohammad Ashraful was due for some runs but made just 23 before he chased one straight to Craig Cumming at backward point; it got worse as Aftab Ahmed bagged a pair, producing a shot to beat Ashraful’s minutes before lunch. Iain O’Brien’s double-strike atoned for a costly fielding lapse – he dropped Tamim on eight in the second session yesterday – and brought his bowling average down to 64. Brendon McCullum’s constant chirp of “five for 200 at lunch, boys” turned out to be very accurate.There wasn’t much turn or bounce in the track but Daniel Vettori backed himself after the interval. He struck twice in one over, picking up Mushfiqur Rahim and a trigger-happy Mashrafe Mortaza, and later ended a relatively solid innings from Shahriar Nafees (28 from 82 balls) with a clever arm-ball and handed Shahadat Hossain a pair as well. With Bangladesh 254 for 9 Vettori beckoned for Martin, wrecker-in-chief on day one, and he finished the innings with a smart bouncer.Set 35 to win, New Zealand knocked off the target with one casualty, Craig Cumming failing again, to complete trouncing of a side they’ve dominated all tour. This win, their first in over a year, included a fairytale century from comeback man Matthew Bell – the first by a New Zealand opener in 22 Tests – and it’s from such positives that the side must build.Conversely, Bangladesh have plenty to ponder after folding so meekly on the third day, especially after the debut openers led a most stirring resurgence on day two.

Alan Dawson managed to squeeze two runs off the last ball to follow top-class hitting by Rory Kleinveldt and Vernon Philander and guide the Cape Cobras to a thrilling two-wicket victory over the Warriors in their Pro20 semi-final at Newlands.Kleinveldt and Philander had raced the Cobras back into contention after they had staggered to 99 for six after 17 overs in search of 140 for victory. The duo scored freely in the 18th and 19th overs as 36 runs were scored off spinners Arno Jacobs and Johan Botha, before fast bowler Mario Olivier threatened to turn the tables once again with a brilliant final over.Olivier was defending a meagre five runs, but two fine yorkers removed Philander and Con de Lange with successive balls and the Cobras were left needing two runs off the last delivery. Olivier bowled a decent enough low full toss, but veteran Dawson managed to get it away to wide long-on and he and Kleinveldt raced through for the two runs required as Corbyn Dolley fumbled the pick-up.Philander (41 off 30 balls) and Kleinveldt (30 not out off 15 balls) each belted three sixes as they resurrected an innings which seemed terminally damaged by Zander de Bruyn’s four-wicket haul after a fine start by Adam Bacher and JP Duminy. De Bruyn’s top-class spell saw him finish with four for 18 as three wickets fell in his second over, including the run out of Benji Hector, who did not face a ball.The Warriors had to call on all the experience and skill of HD Ackerman to get to 139 for five after being sent in to bat. De Bruyn scored 35, but it was a sluggish innings lacking innovation or aggression, much like the rest of the Warriors batsmen, Ackerman excepted.Ackerman was practically the only batsman willing to come down the pitch and he charged to a 35-ball fifty with four fours and two sixes, eventually scoring 58 before being bowled by a superb Philander yorker in the final over, after facing 40 balls out in the middle. The Warriors batsmen always had a mountain to climb after Dawson’s brilliant new-ball spell that saw him finish with two for 15 in four overs, and the rest of the Cobras seamers also kept to a marvellous line and length, full and on or about off stump.

Ramnaresh Sarwan takes a knock on the helmet in the first Test at Auckland © Getty Images

West Indies suffered another blow to their already dismal tour of New Zealand when Ramnaresh Sarwan was ruled out of the rest of the series because of a torn muscle in his left leg, an injury he picked up during the third ODI a fortnight ago. He further damaged his leg while fielding in the second innings of the first Test at Eden Park. Imran Khan, the team manager, said that Sarwan would fly home from Auckland while the team heads for Wellington, where the second of the three Tests starts on Friday.Khan pointed out that the blow Sarwan took to the back of the helmet from Shane Bond on Sunday in West Indies’ second innings, forcing him to retire hurt, was not the reason for his withdrawal. “That left him temporarily groggy but there was no concussion and he is feeling fine as far as that is concerned,” Khan said. “But he tore a muscle in his leg fielding in the New Zealand second innings and he has been advised by team physiotherapist Stephen Partridge that it would need rest and treatment over the next few weeks.”According to Khan, no replacement has been sought.Sarwan’s place at No.3 in Wellington is almost certain to be taken by Runako Morton. Devon Smith, the left-handed opener, is another alternative. Morton was unlucky not to make the starting XI in the first Test after averaging 57.25 in the preceding National Bank ODI series, in which his unbeaten 110 in Napier remains the only hundred by a West Indies batsman so far on tour.Sarwan’s injury follows those that have prevented Dwayne Bravo and Jerome Taylor from bowling. Bravo, the allrounder, strained muscles in his left side in the opening match of the tour, the Twenty20 International, and played in the first Test strictly as a batsman. Taylor strained his left hamstring during the first Test and was confined to eight overs in the first innings and one in the second. Bravo, who scored 59 and 17 and remains outstanding in the field, will retain his place in Wellington, barring further mishaps. Daren Powell would be a straight swap for fellow Jamaican Taylor. The damages, both psychological and physical, will severely test West Indies’ resilience.Given little hope of even competing favourably in the Test series, following their 4-1 loss in the ODIs, West Indies matched New Zealand until their middle order collapse on Sunday led to defeat. Their limited bowling staff, with less than 100 wickets between them and further depleted by Taylor’s injury, demonstrated what can be achieved by discipline and commitment. Ian Bradshaw, a Test debutant at 31 but an experienced and thoughtful cricketer, set the example with his persistence and patience that earned him overall figures of 57.1-13-156-6. The constant concern has generally been the perceived inability of West Indies’ bowling to claim 20 wickets against Test opposition. There could be no such complaint this time.The batting, featuring Brian Lara, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sarwan and Chris Gayle in the top five, has a formidable look but, as in this match, frequently breaks down. Whenever it does again, West Indies will inevitably lose.

One of two crucial lapses by Denesh Ramdin, as Stephen Fleming gets a reprieve © Getty Images

Indeed, West Indies would surely have won had the bowlers had the support of both their main batsmen and their wicketkeeper. Chanderpaul and Lara scored 33 runs between them, Denesh Ramdin missed two vital second innings catches, off Stephen Fleming before he had scored and Daniel Vettori at 4 off his second ball, completely spoiling his 21st birthday yesterday.Bennett King, the coach, was clearly disappointed with the defeat, the West Indies’ seventh in succession and their tenth in 12 Tests in the past year. But he was adamant that the team was “moving in the right direction”.”We’ve lost a lot of games, but sometimes you’ve got to get to the depths of despair before you start re-emerging,” he said. “You can look at a lot of cricket teams in the history of the game, and you can see how many have been in similar positions before. It’s how you react at that stage that counts.”Over the time that I’ve been here, I certainly think we’ve improved and progressed in different areas,” King added. “We’re creating opportunities to win Test matches … [and] this was a game that was there for the taking.”King was philosophical about the missed catches. “I guess it’s better to have created chances and lost them than not to have created any chances at all,” he added. “Catches went down on both sides and if New Zealand had lost they would have said their misses were costly. As it was, we lost so our missed chances were just as costly.”

Scorecard
Jai Prakash Yadav continued his dream season and propelled Railways to an emphatic five-wicket win over Delhi in the pre-quarterfinals of the Ranji Trophy one-day tournament. Yadav’s two early wickets pegged Delhi back in the morning before his thrilling 60 off 65 balls, including three sixes, ensured that Railways cruised home with 8.5 overs to spare. Sanjay Bangar also contributed a composed 55 and shared a vital 106-run partnership with Yadav in the middle overs. Ajay Jadeja managed a steady 98 for Delhi but 213 proved too small a total in the end.
Scorecard
Despite making a formidable 284 in their first innings, Karnataka were shunted out of the tournament largely due to some fantastic hitting from the Orissa batsmen. BBCC Mohapatra began the carnage with a 26-ball 52, including 4 sixes and five fours, before Shiv Sundar Das and Rashmi Ranjan Parida raced to a 91-run partnership in quick time. Das anchored the innings with a rapid 82 as Orissa reached the target with more than four overs to spare. Earlier, Karnataka rode on Barrington Rowland’s century to post a competetive total. Sujit Somasundar, the captain, also chipped in with 77.

Watch what you do with those hands, Andre © Getty Images

Andre Nel’s impressive Test comeback was marred after he was fined half his match fee for making offensive gestures at Chris Gayle, the West Indian batsman, during their second innings at the Wanderers.After Gayle edged Nel to Mark Boucher, Nel stuck his tongue out at Gayle and then sent him off with some crude language. The incident did not go unnoticed by Brian Jerling, the third umpire, who reported it to Ranjan Madugalle, the match referee.Nel, who pleaded guilty to the offence, was charged under section 1.4 ofthe ICC players’ code of conduct, which concerns “using language that isobscene, offensive or insulting, and/or the making of obscene gestures”.That wasn’t all. Both teams and their captains were fined for a slow over-rate, with South Africa losing 15% of their match fee, and West Indies being docked 5%. That figure was doubled for the captains – Graeme Smith was fined 30% of his match fee, while Brian Lara lost 10%.

A crushing six wicket victory over Taunton has allowed Hampshire’s indoor cricket specialists Winchester K.S. another crack at progressing to the National Finals, the competition they won six years ago.The county capital’s men easily qualified for the Regional Finals at Taunton in a fortnight’s time (March 3), and carry the Hampshire flag once more towards another prospective visit to Lord’s, where they were crowned champions in 1996.Having already scooped the Hammonds Jewellers South Hampshire title, Winchester, on their familiar home patch at Fleming Park made light work of the Somerset side’s challenge.Electing to field first, some outstanding fielding and tight bowling picked off Taunton for just 56, with Hampshire Board representative Dave Greetham collecting 2-6 and Havant & Waterlooville striker Jim Taylor (2-17) the main protagonists.Paul Marks and Taylor added a steady 30 in seven overs before Chris Wheeler joined the Wiltshire Minor Counties all-rounder to see the side home with 10 balls to spare.Wheeler is looking forward to the challenge ahead of the former European Champions, “Unless we lost an early wicket or two, the target was always going to be a straightforward chase.”The action starts at 2pm at the Indoor School at the County Ground, the home of Somerset County Cricket Club.

Rain washed out the second day’s play in the South Zone Ranji Trophyleague match between Tamil Nadu and Andhra at the Guru Nanak collegegrounds on Thursday. Umpires Adil Palai and Vilas Bandiwedgar made sixinspections before calling off play for the day at 3 pm. At stumps onthe first day, Tamil Nadu at the end of a truncated day’s play, were153 for one.

Sharing ‘world class’ footage out of West Ham United, reliable club insider ExWHUemployee has been simply blown away by one thing he has seen lately.

The Lowdown: Hammers make history…

On Thursday, a quite unforgettable story took place which will live long in the memories of West Ham supporters throughout the country.

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Trailing 1-0 from the first leg, David Moyes’ men faced a tough task against La Liga giants and Europa League last 16 opponents Sevilla.

Battling a tense contest, West Ham overturned the deficit and clinched a historic victory at the London Stadium courtesy of a first half goal from Tomas Soucek and a fitting extra-time winner from Ukraine international Andriy Yarmolenko.

Sharing footage from the brilliant 2-0 win, ExWHUemployee has been left blown away by one key moment from a famous night.

The Latest: Ex wowed by West Ham footage…

Raving over footage which has been called ‘world class’ by 90min reporter Toby Cudworth, Ex heaped praise on Irons goalkeeper Alphonse Areola for his stunning reflex save to deny Youssef En-Nesyri just before Soucek’s opening goal.

Sharing his reaction, Ex said (via Twitter): “Wow it’s even better than what I thought at the time.”

The Verdict: Absolutely crucial…

The Paris Saint-Germain loanee was undoubtedly the unsung hero of the night for the Hammers, not just for that crucial piece of heroics, but also for his performance overall.

FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast. Subscribe FootballFanCast General Stay ahead in the world of football analysis, commentary, and fan insights with FootballFancast.

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West Ham journalists rated his overall outing an 8/10, drawing attention to his superb saves whilst also praising Areola for other important stops and coping well under pressure (football.london).

The ex-Fulham stopper even attracted praise from sections of the Spanish press for his display, and we believe that Moyes’ decision on whether or not to make his loan deal a permanent one may have been made that bit tougher.

In other news: GSB allegedly preparing bid to sign ‘big name’ player everyone is ‘crazy about’, find out more here

	Andrew Strauss: a return to the England scene © Getty Images

The England selectors sprung a major surprise as they unveiled their squads for the forthcoming ODI and Test series in New Zealand. Though Andrew Strauss has been recalled to the Test squad as anticipated, the shock omission is that of the wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who has paid the price for one dropped catch too many in the Sri Lanka series.The uncapped Warwickshire wicketkeeper Tim Ambrose wins a place in both squads at the expense of Prior, while Kent’s offspinner James Tredwell has also been called up to the one-day squad for the first time. Strauss, who was dropped in October for the first time in his 43-Test career, will join up with the tour party in New Zealand after playing for Northern Knights in the State Shield and Twenty20 competitions.”Tim Ambrose fully deserves an opportunity at this level following impressive performances for the England Performance Squad in India before Christmas and for Warwickshire last season,” David Graveney, the chairman of selectors, said. “Matt Prior performed well with the bat in Sri Lanka and it has been a difficult decision to leave him out of this tour. But the selectors feel that he needs to further improve his wicket-keeping in order to realise his full potential in international cricket.”Andrew Strauss needed a break from international cricket in our view and he will now be keen to re-establish himself in the Test side. His experience will be of benefit to the squad as a whole and his inclusion will also provide us with alternative options if required at the top of the batting order.”James Tredwell has performed well for Kent in the domestic one-day game and continued to impress in India with the Performance Squad. This is an excellent opportunity for him to show that he can step up to the next level.”Meanwhile, the Sussex batsman Michael Yardy has been named as captain of a 13-man England Lions squad which will compete in the Duleep Trophy in India later this month. Monty Panesar will tour India with the Lions prior to joining up with England’s Test squad in New Zealand.England Test squad Michael Vaughan (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Stuart Broad, Paul Collingwood, Alastair Cook, Steve Harmison, Matthew Hoggard, Phil Mustard, Monty Panesar, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Andrew Strauss, Graeme Swann.England ODI squad Paul Collingwood (capt), Tim Ambrose (wk), James Anderson, Ian Bell, Ravi Bopara, Stuart Broad, Alastair Cook, Dimitri Mascarenhas, Phil Mustard, Kevin Pietersen, Owais Shah, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Chris Tremlett, Luke Wright.England Lions squad Michael Yardy (capt), Kabir Ali, Michael Carberry, Steven Davies, Joe Denly, James Hildreth, Ed Joyce, Graham Onions, Monty Panesar, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Alan Richardson, Jonathan Trott.