Injury-hit Cardiff weighing up free-agent options

Manager Brian Barry-Murphy says Cardiff City are monitoring the free-agent market as an injury-hit and winless Championship start has reduced the Irishman’s options.

The Bluebirds’ lack of depth has come under scrutiny with 15-year-old Noah Anyadike and 16-year-old Paul Moreno named on the bench against Stoke City in midweek.

Barry-Murphy insists both youngsters, however, have earned their places in the matchday squad.

“Those players were on the bench because they’ve done really well and they were deserving of it,” he said.

“If we had signed more players, then maybe they wouldn’t have been, but they are and I’m very pleased with them.

“There were very similar players in a similar position last season who’ve now become mainstays in the team. They all have to start somewhere.”

Cardiff are still without Dylan Lawlor, Will Fish, Calum Chambers and Isaak Davies, while Rubin Colwill faces a race against time to be fit for Saturday’s trip to Bolton Wanderers after suffering ankle irritation.

The injury setbacks have increased focus on Cardiff’s recruitment after a summer that brought only four new signings.

Barry-Murphy had suggested the club were keen to do business after Krystian Bielik’s arrival, but transfer deadline day passed by with no more players coming in.

“We have to have an awareness of all the players who are available,” he said.

“Based on how the window is, we monitor everything. The recruitment team here are across everything.

“It’s a different time frame. All the players in the unattached market have different options all over the world. You just have to see what we need and what they have available. It’s an ongoing thing.”

Barry-Murphy also downplayed speculation linking Cardiff with Wales international Rabbi Matondo following his departure from Norwegian side Brann.

“There’s nothing in that,” he said.

“He’s a player I know, obviously. He was at Manchester City before I was there.”

For now, Cardiff’s focus must be on getting key players back on the pitch.

Ryan Wintle’s departure appeared to leave a gap in midfield for the Bluebirds, but Alex Robertson has stepped up to play that role, with his manager saying the player has gone up “another level” this season.

Lawlor is making encouraging progress and could return when they host Charlton Athletic at Cardiff City Stadium on 19 September (12:30 BST), while Fish is expected to resume full training during the upcoming international break in September.

“Once we get Dylan and Will back, we’ll be in a really strong and healthy position,” Barry-Murphy said.

The outlook is less clear for Chambers, who is nursing knee, neck and back issues.

“He’s been in the wars a bit,” Barry-Murphy added. “It’s quite difficult to put a timescale on when he returns.”

Cardiff are expected to be without Davies, who has a hamstring injury, for three weeks.

Spurs should be awarded 2016-17 title - Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea should be stripped of the Premier League title for 2016-17, when his Tottenham team finished runners-up.

Chelsea were fined £10.75m in March after being charged by the Premier League for historical breaches of competition rules.

The club also had a six-point deduction “set aside” on appeal. Antonio Conte’s Chelsea team finished seven points clear of Pochettino’s Spurs in 2016-17.

Chelsea owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital self-reported 74 breaches of Football Association rules when they purchased the club in 2022.

The Blues admitted making £47m in secret payments to unregistered agents and third-parties over transfers between 2011 and 2018.

Pochettino, who managed Spurs from 2014 to 2019, said: “We should win one title, one Premier League. We should have been awarded it.

“[Chelsea] were punished, they admitted, so that’s it? The title should be for the team that was second.

“It’s true that we didn’t compete with the same rules. It’s completely fair to say that we didn’t compete before the start of the season with the same card.”

The current USA coach led Tottenham to the 2019 Champions League final during his five years in charge of Spurs.

They did not win a trophy during his time there, with his best Premier League finish being that second place to Chelsea in 2017.

“Maybe with the same rules, if we apply the same things, maybe we could’ve signed some players that would have made the team better or scored more goals,” added the Argentine, who later became Chelsea boss for the 2023-24 season.

“It’s not me complaining - it’s the truth. If they admitted they broke the rules, the Premier League title was for the second-best team.

“I’m not scared to say the truth. The Chelsea fans will be upset with me because I’m saying this, but if we were at Tottenham and broke the rules I’d admit the same.”

After reporting the potential rule breaches, Chelsea said that it “treated these matters with the utmost seriousness, providing full cooperation to all relevant regulators”.

A subsequent investigation by the Premier League found that payments by third parties associated with Chelsea were made to players, unregistered agents and other third parties, which were not disclosed to the regulatory authorities at the time.

The Premier League’s report named a number of transfers related to those payments between 2011 and 2018, including those of Eden Hazard, Samuel Eto’o, Willian, Ramires, David Luiz, Andre Schurrle and Nemanja Matic.

There was no suggestion of any wrongdoing on the part of those players. Hazard, Willian, Matic and David Luiz all played for the Blues in 2016-17.

The Premier League assessed a series of recalculations of the club’s historical financial submissions, taking into account the previously undisclosed payments, and concluded that Chelsea would not have breached its profitability and sustainability rules had the payments been registered at the time.

It therefore deemed that a points deduction would not be an appropriate punishment.

The £10m fine would have been £20m, but was reduced by 50% on account of Chelsea’s proactive self-reporting and co-operation with the process.

The additional £750,000 fine in March was for the registration of academy players between 2019 and 2022, for which Chelsea were also given an immediate nine-month academy transfer ban.

Two goals in two games - Sesko gives Man Utd a different threat

Manchester United will experience far stiffer tests of their Champions League credentials than Sabah FK gave them at Old Trafford.

In fact, it would be no surprise if the Azerbaijani champions were by some distance the weakest of the eight league stage opponents Michael Carrick’s side will come up against.

However, there were some important lessons for head coach Carrick to absorb.

The biggest of them is that United are a much more effective unit when Benjamin Sesko starts.

This was the first time the Slovenian had done that since the Liverpool game last March, when he finally accepted he could no longer play through the shin issue that had been plaguing him for a number of weeks.

It had been hoped Sesko would be fit for the start of the Premier League season.

As it turned out, he was only at the stage where he could be brought on as a substitute in the second half of the opening-day trip to Hull. The same also applied for the subsequent outings against Ipswich and Everton.

It was Sabah’s bad luck that Sesko was fit to start against them – and it showed.

At 6ft 5in, the 23-year-old has a physical presence United’s other strikers lack.

Amad Diallo’s current absence has robbed Carrick of the option to start Bryan Mbeumo at the head of his attack, as he did during pre-season, but Matheus Cunha is not without ability in that role.

The problem is that the Brazilian likes to drift and drop back into space, which leaves a gap at the apex of Manchester United’s attack.

Sesko offers a totally different threat. He pushes defences back. He is not easy to dispossess. He runs at opponents rather than away from them.

He also scores goals.

At Everton, it was his size that allowed him to convert a close-range header that looked set to give United victory but ultimately didn’t, because of Ainsley Maitland-Niles’ stunning late strike.

Against Sabah FK, Sesko had threatened with an impudent first-half back-flick before Mbeumo sent him running beyond the visitors’ defence.

Sesko had clarity of thought, swiftly moving the ball past goalkeeper Stas Pokatilov before steering the ball into an empty net.

Sesko has now scored 12 goals in his past 21 games for Manchester United.

“Of course, I’m happy with my goal,” Sesko told TNT after the game. “I saw him rushing out, and it was a great opportunity to take the ball away from him and make the goal a little bit easier.”

United’s scenario is not that Mbeumo and Cunha can’t do that, it is more that Sesko can do it in addition to presenting the physical threat.

‘Good control for a big man’ is one of football’s oldest cliches. Yet the players who can combine size with skill and pace are exceptionally useful.

“He definitely offers a different kind of threat,” said Carrick. “That’s the beauty of it, really. We know what Ben gives us. There’s not many around that kind of give you what Ben does in terms of his physique, his physicality, playing on the last line and his speed to run in behind. He’s a real threat.”

“It’s great to have him back at this level after working to get his fitness back. A couple of goals and good performances, and good minutes in him. I’m really pleased with the way he’s gone.”

It is a fairly obvious thing to say but Carrick now has a big decision before Sunday’s Premier League derby with Manchester City at Old Trafford.

Does he trust Sesko’s fitness and stick with him? Or does he revert to Cunha, given there has been no indication Amad is ready to return.

On this evidence, Sesko should get the nod. That in turn would leave Carrick to decide whether Cunha, who opened the scoring against Sabah, or Marcus Rashford, who was an unused substitute, should start on the left.

Rashford has yet to score a goal or create one since he returned to his boyhood club after last season’s loan spell at Barcelona.

However, he has been their most consistent threat with his pace and direct running.

Cunha drifts into similar positions to skipper Bruno Fernandes, and Carrick may decide United’s structure works better with England international Rashford.

If that is the case, he wasn’t admitting it on a night when Fernandes also scored.

“It’s not an easy decision, of course it’s not,” Carrick said of his team selection. “But it’s definitely one I’d prefer: to have goals in the team and for the boys to be playing well.”

“The understanding they all have is that sometimes it’s going to be a start, sometimes it’s going to be finishing the game. We need that within the group, from game to game over the season, to be able to call upon slightly different kind of things at different times.”

“It’s fantastic they’re all in good form and started so well.”

'Spoke brilliantly' but Liverpool fans torn on Mac Allister contract comments

Alexis Mac Allister has made over 150 appearances for Liverpool

Did Alexis Mac Allister strike the right tone when he told the media about his contract situation with Liverpool?

The Argentine midfielder has a deal with the Reds until 2028, but said on Tuesday that he is “very sad” not to have received a new contract in the summer after team-mates Dominik Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch penned new agreements.

The public approach to stalling contract dealings is nothing new at Liverpool.

In November 2024, Mohamed Salah spoke openly about his contract stalemate when he admitted he was “disappointed” by a lack of offers from the club, as he entered the final six months of his deal.

Salah was eventually offered an extension and Mac Allister will be hoping for the same.

But as they were with Salah, opinions are split on whether taking it public was the fair thing to do.

Fans contacting BBC Sport claim the ordeal is “self-indulgent”, while former Everton and Chelsea winger, Pat Nevin believes Mac Allister “said exactly the right things”.

Nevin told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily podcast: “I often hear various players saying things and pushing things a certain way and you get a bit fed up with it.

“You’re thinking, ‘go whinge and whine somewhere else mate, you’re doing OK’. Not this time.

“I thought he spoke brilliantly. I thought he said exactly the right things - that he loves the club. Any fan watching that is thinking how he just wants to play for Liverpool Football Club.

“He’s just shown us that is the case and if you are asked the question you answer it honestly. He is saying he’s seen his mates getting these contracts which might be disappointing, but he’s saying all the correct things I think.

“I take nothing away from that, I applaud him for all that.

“Things can change very quickly. It didn’t look like Cody Gakpo would leave very recently and then suddenly he’s knocking.

“If he is asking for far too much money and putting that pressure on it then he is playing a very good game because to speak the way he did there didn’t sound like that. It sounded like somebody who just wanted a contract offered.”

BBC Radio Merseyside also discussed the situation with Liverpool fan, Joel Richards, who called Mac Allister’s comments a “clever tactic”.

“Mac Allister’s at an age now, 27, where his next contract is going to be the biggest one of his career,” Richards said.

“He is someone who will be looking to be remunerated properly after seeing his team-mates getting bumper pay rises so, of course he’s going to put it out there that he came very close to leaving in the summer.

“I’d say it’s a clever tactic but how many times have we been here with footballers when they get a microphone put in front of them? If it wasn’t going to happen here before a Champions League game, it would have happened with Argentina on international duty.

“Objectively speaking, if you’re going to canvas the opinions of a decent size of Liverpool fans from last season, asked them what you thought on Mac Allister and whether he was deserving of a new deal, I think a large majority of that sample size would say ‘no’ simply because of the performances that he put in.

“However, it’s easy to focus on the negatives of last season whereas, his first two seasons at Liverpool he was an important player for us.”

Liverpool’s communications department have dealt with tricky player-led controversies in recent times.

Salah told media he had been “thrown under the bus” during a stand-off with former boss Arne Slot last season, Dominik Szoboszlai had to clear up a move to shrug his shoulders at fans after defeat at Manchester City and now Mac Allister has made contract frustration public.

Some fans think the World Cup winner could have held back.

Writing in to BBC Sport, supporter Rob said Mac Allister “should do his talking on the pitch, not off it”, while fan Patricio said the move was “childish” and that the midfielder should “earn” an extension.

BBC Sport reader David wrote: “Very poor from Mac Allister on so many levels. He still has two years remaining on his existing contract, had a very poor season so is not in a position to renegotiate terms unlike other players he referred to, and no doubt he is fully aware there will be a time to negotiate a new contract later in the season if his form improves.”

And fan Stuart added: “Self-indulgent and not in any way helpful. Alexis was there to represent the club ahead of a huge match and first major Anfield occasion for Iraola, not to air his contract grievance. You’re not bigger than the club even if you are a World Cup winner.”

Como officials giving up seats to older fans for Euro debut

Como president Mirwan Suwarso and several directors are giving up their tickets for the club’s Champions League debut to allow elderly supporters to attend.

The Serie A club will host RB Leipzig on Thursday (20:00 BST) after qualifying for the continental competition for the first time in their 119-year history.

They did so by finishing fourth in the Italian top flight last season under former Arsenal, Chelsea and Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas.

However, the demand for tickets for Como’s historic European debut has far exceeded the supply.

The club’s home venue of Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia on the shores of Lake Como has a capacity of about 12,000, but that number was reduced further by 1,000 because of Uefa’s broadcasting and operational requirements.

After the tickets were sold out, Indonesian businessman Suwarso has now announced on Instagram that he and other club executives plan to surrender their seats for older fans.

“With the reduced capacity and the limited number of tickets available, unfortunately we cannot accommodate everyone who would have liked to be there,” Suwarso wrote.

“However, some club executives and I have decided to give up our seats for this match.”

“We want those seats to be allocated to supporters who have waited the longest - fans born in 1950 or earlier, who have followed Como through every division and every era.”

“We will be honoured to give up our seat for them.”

Como have enjoyed a remarkable rise in recent years, climbing from the lower divisions to secure a place among Europe’s elite.

The Lombardy-based outfit - who have twice gone bankrupt in the past two decades - ended a 21-year wait to reach Serie A in 2024 after a third promotion in six seasons.

They finished 10th in their first season in the top division before former Spain international Fabregas guided them to a top-four finish and a place in the Champions League last term.

After their opener against Leipzig, Como will also face Feyenoord, Manchester United, Lens, AEK Athens, Real Betis, Paris St-Germain and Barcelona in their maiden European campaign.