Manchester United are now leading Barcelona and Liverpool in the race to sign Nico Schlotterbeck, with it being revealed why the Borussia Dortmund defender could be ideal for Ruben Amorim.

With Amorim making it abundantly clear he is unwilling to compromise on his principles and change the three-at-the-back system, Luke Shaw has predominantly featured as a left-sided centre-back this season, although the 30-year-old has struggled at times.

Man United suffered a heavy 3-0 defeat at the hands of rivals Manchester City back in September, and it would be fair to say Roy Keane wasn’t too impressed with Shaw’s play in the build-up to Phil Foden’s goal, saying: “Shaw’s an England international player. He’s got hundreds of games under his belt, he doesn’t even get his body position right. It’s like he has thrown the towel in.”

The Englishman was also one of the worst performers in the disappointing 4-2 defeat against Brentford, receiving a SofaScore match rating of just 5.9, the second-lowest of any player.

Consequently, it would perhaps be a wise move to bring in a new defender more accustomed to playing in the left centre-back role, and there has been a development in the Red Devils’ pursuit of a Bundesliga star…

Man Utd now leading race for Nico Schlotterbeck

According to a report from Spain, Man United have now moved into pole position in the race to sign Borussia Dortmund star Schlotterbeck, having overtaken Liverpool and Barcelona, given their good relations with the German club.

The German has now been identified as a priority target for United, as there is a feeling he could be ideal for Amorim, given that the 25-year-old is left-footed, physical, and has real quality in possession of the ball.

With the centre-back’s contract due to expire in 2027, Dortmund are willing to sanction a departure, should they receive a significant offer, placing the Red Devils in a strong position to secure his signature.

Scout Jacek Kulig has been a strong admirer of the Bundesliga star for quite some time, waxing lyrical about his performances across the 2021-22 campaign on X.

Since then, the 22-time Germany international has remained a key player for Dortmund, chipping in with six goals and 17 assists in 134 appearances for the Bundesliga side, which is an impressive return for a defender.

Schlotterbeck’s all-round attributes mean he could be the perfect addition for Man United, and the fact he is left-footed is an added bonus, given that Shaw hasn’t exactly been setting the world alight.

Fabrizio Romano confirms key signing Man Utd are set to make in 2026

"For sure" – Fabrizio Romano confirms Man Utd "will" make key signing in 2026

The Red Devils will look to do business in January.

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 10, 2025

Sri Lanka last hosted the men’s T20 World Cup in 2012, India in 2016

Nagraj Gollapudi09-Sep-2025The 2026 men’s T20 World Cup is likely to be played between February 7 and March 8. The tournament will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka and will comprise 20 teams.The matches will be played in at least five venues in India and two in Sri Lanka. The final will be in Ahmedabad or Colombo, depending on whether Pakistan is playing. India and Pakistan are not playing in each other’s countries due to strained political relations between the two governments at present.While the ICC is still finalising the schedule, ESPNcricinfo has learned that it has identified the window and informed the participating countries.Related

Dates for next three IPL seasons revealed

Italy's long road to T20WC qualification

At present, 15 teams have been confirmed for the 2026 men’s T20 World Cup: India, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, South Africa, USA, West Indies, New Zealand, Pakistan, Ireland, Canada, Netherlands and Italy, who have qualified for a World Cup for the first time. Of the remaining five teams, two will come from the Africa regional qualifier and three from the Asia and East Asia Pacific qualifier.The format will be the same as the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA, where the 20 teams were divided into four groups of five each, with the top two from each group qualifying for the Super Eight round, where once again the eight teams were divided into two groups of four. The top two from each Super Eight group progressed to the semi-finals. India are the reigning champions, having beaten South Africa in the final in Barbados. The entire tournament comprised 55 matches.India are hosting several marquee events in the first four months of 2026 starting with the WPL, dates for which are yet to be finalised. The BCCI has earmarked a window between early January and early February for the five-team tournament. The WPL will be followed by the men’s T20 World Cup, after which the BCCI will host the IPL, with the tentative window being March 15 to May 31. India also host New Zealand for ODIs and T20Is from January 11 to 31.

Between breakout performances and returning stars making noise, the U.S. leave November camp with momentum – and something close to genuine belief. GOAL’s writers unpack the key storylines that emerged.

Right, then – we’ve got some results. And they’re good ones, too. The USMNT have taken plenty of heat – and rightly so – for leaning too much on the good-vibes narrative. The message has long been that winning doesn’t matter all that much. That may or may not be true, but this is America, and American fans like it when their teams win.

And how about two of them? Including one emphatic battering of a top-tier team? The U.S. played two, won two, scored seven, and conceded two. They brought some old faces back into the fray and got some real promise out of new ones, too. And perhaps most importantly, there's real hope where there was once total apathy. Suddenly, we're all allowed to be excited, and that's a good thing.

But zoom out for a second, and what are the takeaways here? Sure, Gio Reyna impressed, but what does that actually mean? Is Alex Freeman good enough to, you know, be any good long term? And, on the slightly negative side, who showed that they might not be good enough for the big time? GOAL U.S. writers break it all down in another edition of… . 

GettyBiggest takeaway from the thrashing of Uruguay?

Tom Hindle: That Sebastian Berhalter can BALL. There will be a lot of chat about the depth of the player pool – and rightfully so. But the center midfield options are plentiful here, and Berhalter turned in a fine audition for a spot.   

Ryan Tolmich: The player pool is deeper than many would think. After the game, Pochettino was upset by the idea of “regular” players, and he’s right; this team is much more than a few names now. There are now so many players who will believe that they won’t just make the World Cup, but make a difference once there, and that’s a pretty damn good thing considering where this team was just a few months ago.

AdvertisementImagnIs this Mauricio Pochettino's best result?

TH: By a country mile, with the minute caveat that Uruguay were really rather bad on the day. 

RT: Certainly, and not just because of the scoreline. This was a team playing in perfect harmony with fight, energy and intention. Despite making wholesale changes, the standards didn’t drop at all. It’s a testament to the work the staff has put in to get everyone humming and on the same page.

GettyWho stood out over the course of the camp?

TH: Gio Reyna. Cooked from the start against Paraguay, balled in the second half against Uruguay. A proper player.

RT: Alex Freeman is the easy answer, and he’s also the right answer. He’s become so much more confident over the last few months, and that confidence resulted in two goals. That won’t be the norm, but it shows how dangerous he is as an attacking weapon. He's gotten much better defensively, too, so the sky seems to be the limit.

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AFPWho missed their shot to impress?

TH: Brenden Aaronson. He's clearly a talented footballer, and could really do with showing a bit more when he puts his national team kit on. This was another near miss. 

RT: No one really? If you’re nitpicking, you could say that Ricardo Pepi will really wish he buried that shot against Paraguay to put some pressure on Balogun, but at the moment, he just isn’t fully fit. Generally, though, everyone performed well enough to keep themselves in the mix.

Manchester United are looking to add to their squad in January, and Fabrizio Romano has revealed one signing the Red Devils absolutely “will” make in 2026.

Ruben Amorim will be pleased with the progress his side have made in their last batch of Premier League matches with the international break now here, given that the Red Devils have gone five games unbeaten in the top-flight.

Despite looking set for a defeat last weekend, Matthijs De Ligt’s late header against Tottenham salvaged Manchester United a draw in the capital to keep his side one point off the top four.

Intriguingly, the Red Devils now sit above Liverpool on goal difference after their heavy defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, which is a testament to their resilience despite losing three players due to injury, something Amorim was keen to point out when speaking to Match of the Day.

“It was a complicated match, especially in the end. If you look at the game the three points were there to take. I think we can be so much better to understand more what’s happening in the game,” said the United boss.

“We lacked a little bit in the final third, the quality was not perfect. We fight in every adversity. We lost Harry Maguire, Casemiro, Benjamin Sesko and we lose two goals, but we still managed to score.”

While the Slovenian appears to be the worst of the casualties, it does beg the question of where Manchester United could look to strengthen in January. With that in mind, Romano has delivered a telling update from Old Trafford.

Fabrizio Romano confirms Man Utd "will" sign midfielder

Speaking on GIVEMESPORT’s Market Madness podcast, Romano has confirmed that Manchester United will “for sure” sign a midfielder next year, noting that Atletico Madrid star Conor Gallagher and Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller are two targets that the club could look to acquire.

Conor Gallagher in 2025/26 – all competitions

Appearances – 16

2 goals 0 assists

Angelo Stiller in 2025/26 – all competitions

Appearances – 17

1 goal 5 assists

With both midfielders excelling inside Europe’s top five leagues, it appears there could be room for movement, even if January may not be a suitable time due to the difficult nature of conducting business mid-season.

Man Utd are also eyeing a midfielder they could get a £60m discount on

Gallagher’s homegrown status would also appeal to Amorim. However, there are no certainties in football, and it appears that there is plenty of work to be done before Manchester United secure a new operator in the engine room.

The 91 they managed before they were all out was their lowest T20I total in New Zealand

Namooh Shah16-Mar-202591 – Pakistan were all out for their lowest T20I total in New Zealand. It was also the fourth-lowest total recorded in a T20I innings in New Zealand.59 balls remained after New Zealand completed the chase, it is the third-biggest win for them in a home T20I in terms of balls remaining, the top two being against Bangladesh in 2010 and Sri Lanka in 2016.ESPNcricinfo Ltd11 for 4 – Pakistan’s score on Sunday, their lowest at the fall of the fourth wicket in a T20I, with the previous being 13 against West Indies in Mirpur in 2014. They had only managed one run before three wickets had fallen in Christchurch, also a new low point.2 – Only the second time that both Pakistan openers have gotten out for a duck in a T20I, the other such instance happened more than a decade ago against West Indies in 2014.ESPNcricinfo Ltd3 – Pakistan recorded the joint third-lowest powerplay total of 14 for 4 in T20Is amongst the top 10 teams, with the lowest being 13 by West Indies in 2013 and by Pakistan themselves in 2014. Pakistan also played out 28 dot balls in the powerplay on Sunday, the joint-most for them in a T20I.

Surrey stumble despite resistance from Kalea Moore and Alexa Stonehouse

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay07-Sep-2025

Lancashire Women stayed on course for the Metro Bank Cup semi-finals with a four-wicket win over Surrey at Beckenham.Grace Potts took 3 for 31 as Surrey were bowled out for 225, while Hannah Jones took 2 for 33 and was unlucky not to get two more. Kalea Moore was dropped twice off her bowling and she cashed in to make a career-best List A score of 67, while Alexa Stonehouse was the next highest scorer with 48.Seren Smale anchored the visitor’s reply with 67 not out, as they closed on 227 for 6, victory secured with 24 balls remaining. Stonehouse was the pick of Surrey’s bowlers with 3 for 34.Lancashire chose to bowl and quickly made inroads, reducing them to 60 for 5. Ailsa Lister dropped Bryony Smith off Potts when she was on 14 but two balls later Potts dismissed Smith with an outstanding one-handed return catch.Kira Chathli then went for 17, driving Kate Cross straight to Smale. Alice Capsey was run out by Fi Morris for 5 and Paige Scholfield was bowled by Hannah Jones for just a single.Jones then had Alice Davidson-Richards caught for 20 by Cross at mid-off, after she’d initially dropped her drive, but Phoebe Franklin and Moore responded with the biggest partnership of the innings to that point, putting on 61 before the former cut Phoebe Graham to Emma Lamb and was out for 25. Morris then had Alice Monaghan caught behind for 4.Moore cut Jones for a single to reach 50 and she was on 53 when she heaved Jones to the midwicket boundary and was dropped over the rope by Lister.In Jones’ final over Moore was put down again, this time on 67 and this time when Gaby Lewis missed a far more difficult chance at square leg. This time she couldn’t profit as Moore was lbw to Lamb in the next over, the 42nd.Stonehouse, who’d put on 55 with Moore, blasted a huge six off Cross but fell to Potts in the final over, holing out to Graham at mid-off and Potts then ended the innings one ball early when she had Danni Gregory caught, also by Graham, for 18.Lancashire’s openers put on 74 for the opening wicket before Lewis tried to pull out of a hook shot and edged Monaghan behind for 39.The visitors seemed to be coasting at 117 for 1, when two quick wickets opened a window for Surrey. Lamb tried to reach for a Stonehouse delivery and was brilliantly caught by a diving Franklin at backward point and Morris lofted Stonehouse to Scholfield for 6.Ellie Threlkeld went to an even better catch by Smith, who almost pirouetted to take a one-handed grab off Moore, but she made a useful 21 and by then Lancashire only needed 47.Smale eased past 50 by clipping Moore for four through midwicket.The target was down to three when two wickets gave the scoreline some respectability: Lister skied Stonehouse to Scholfield and although she was dropped, she hit the next delivery straight to Smith for 23. Collins ramped Franklin to Tilly Corteen-Coleman for a duck, but this merely allowed Cross to hit Franklin back over her head for the winning boundary.

Aaron Judge launched home run No. 50 on the season during Wednesday's game against the White Sox, and in doing so, he joined a select group of sluggers in MLB's history books.

2025 is now the fourth season of Judge's career in which he's hit 50 or more home runs. Only three other players in MLB history have ever done that: Sammy Sosa, Mark McGwire and the legendary Babe Ruth. The Yankees' star finds himself in the mix with some of the greatest sluggers of all time, and deservingly so.

Judge has hit 50 or more homers in three of the last four seasons, and achieved the feat for the first time back in 2017, his first full season in MLB.

He's now up to 365 homers for his career, having reached that milestone in just 1,140 games. Judge was the fastest player in MLB history to hit 350 home runs, needing just 1,088 games to do so, and he hasn't slowed down since checking off that achievement in July.

Judge, an AL MVP candidate, owns the American League record of 62 home runs in a single season, though it's possible Mariners catcher Cal Raleigh, with whom Judge is competing for MVP, could dethrone that mark this year.