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England star Mary Earps is driving her Manchester United team-mate Phallon Tullis-Joyce to get even better, Red Devils boss Marc Skinner believes.

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• Earps and Tullis-Joyce both praised by Skinner
• England's No.1 firmly first-choice at Man Utd
• But is also driving her team-mate to new levels

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Tullis-Joyce joined the club in September after shining in the NWSL with the Seattle Reign but has found it difficult to usurp the Lionesses' No.1 for opportunities. The American did start all four of United's Continental Cup games but Earps was preferred for the clash with second-tier Southampton in the FA Cup last week, a game many thought she would be rested for.

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• WHAT SKINNER SAID

  Asked about the competition between the two goalkeepers on Thursday, Skinner praised both – Earps for the standards she sets and Tullis-Joyce for her desire to meet them. "I recently had a meeting with with Phallon, just to catch up really and just to reiterate the quality she has. She's a fantastic goalkeeper – but she's also behind the world's number one goalkeeper. That's the level," Skinner said.

  "The beauty of Phallon is that she wants to raise her game to try and get to Mary's standard. Mary's difference is in the mind, the way she thinks, the way she moves, the way she prepares. She almost sees the danger before it comes. I'm in that fortunate but unfortunate position of having to not play one of them but Mary is at the highest of levels and Phallon wants to get there. I think she understands the journey, I think she understands what she has to do."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Tullis-Joyce could well inherit the first-choice role at United later this year as Earps is out of contract at the club and is attracting interest from several parties. There is still a chance that the England star could stay and sign a new deal, though.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Only Manchester City teenager Khiara Keating (6) has kept more clean sheets in the Women's Super League this season than Earps (5).

Lionel Messi has become the first-ever soccer player to be named the most popular athlete in the USA.

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• Argentine the new No.1 on popularity list
• First-ever soccer player to top ranking
• Helped Inter Miami start 2024 season with win

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , a sports research polling company, the Heron's maestro has now overtaken the role of No.1 in the USA. It is the first time in the 30 years they have been polling data that a soccer star tops the charts. In one single quarter, the Argentine has become America's favorite. He joins elite company, too.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The likes of superstars Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Peyton Manning, Kobe Bryant, Steph Curry, LeBron James, and Tom Brady make up the other individuals who had only made the No. 1 spot for one-single quarter. In Q4 of 2023, the Argentine joined them, coming off of a stupendous first season in MLS and an inaugural Leagues Cup victory.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Inter Miami has also emerged as America's favorite MLS club, per the same polling site, beating out the LA Galaxy – previous club of co-owner David Beckham.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MESSI AND INTER MIAMI?

  Speaking of the Galaxy… that's Inter Miami's next stop as they travel to Los Angeles Sunday evening in game two of the 2024 MLS season. They kicked off their campaign Wednesday evening with a victory, defeating Real Salt Lake 2-0.

Anthony Elanga has revealed penalty advice he received from Cristiano Ronaldo as he prepares to take on former club Manchester United in FA Cup.

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• Elanga has point to prove to Man Utd
• Revealed Ronaldo's penalty advice
• Man Utd face Nottingham Forest in FA Cup

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 21-year-old was sold to Nottingham Forest ahead of the 2023-24 season after he failed to gain manager Erik ten Hag's trust at Old Trafford. Now, the winger is on a mission to prove a point to his former club as he gears up to face them in a fifth round FA Cup tie on Wednesday.

  Elanga has also revealed a key piece of advice that Ronaldo shared with him while they were at Old Trafford together in the 2021-22 season.

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  WHAT ANTHONY ELANGA SAID

  Speaking to , the Sweden international recalled spending time with the greats of the game like Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic as he said: "They are easily approachable, I enjoyed working with them and I think they enjoyed working with me. I’ve always been someone who wants to find that extra percentage to improve. Having Ronaldo come in, I tried to take some chapters out of his book and try and form it into mine.

  "There was a time when I missed a penalty [against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup] and after that, he kept speaking to me and telling me, ‘It’s not the end of the world, I’ve missed loads before and you’ve shown character and professionalism taking one at your age.’ I took that on board and that’s really helpful."

  On facing his former team again, Elanga added: "For me, it’s about showing I can do it against any team. Especially coming up against your old team you want to show them even more that you can do it. I feel I need to keep in my lane and keep doing what I’m doing. The people on the outside don’t know me so I don’t listen to the external noise. I just stay inside and try and keep improving."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Red Devils' five-match winning streak across all competitions came to an end last weekend when they went down 2-1 against Fulham in the Premier League. The last time they faced Forest was on December 30 in a league clash, and Elanga played a starring role as Nuno Espirito Santo's side ran out 2-1 winners.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Ten Hag's men will eye revenge over Nuno Espirito Santo's side in their midweek FA Cup clash. After that, United are set to take on rivals Manchester City in an important Premier League fixture on Sunday.

Everton could land South Korean defender Kim Min-Jae from Fenerbahce this summer following recent reports.

What’s the word?

According to Turkish news outlet Ajansspor, Everton are interested in making a move for Kim Min-Jae ahead of the summer transfer window in order to improve their defence.

The South Korean player has a release clause of €23m (£19.5m) and this could tempt Lampard into making a move.

The report states that the defender wishes to continue his career in the Premier League, which will be a major boost to Everton and Lampard as they push forward to make a deal happen.

Lampard must bolster his backline

The Everton boss has a major rebuilding job on his hands this summer, with too many players wasting their talents this season and contributing little as the club were saved from relegation by the finest of margins.

With 66 goals conceded in 38 matches, it’s clear to see which area Lampard should be prioritising when it comes to incoming transfers.

Kim Min-Jae has featured in 39 matches this season, scoring once as his side finished second in the Turkish Super Lig, eight points behind winners Trabzonspor.

Defensively, his average of 3 interceptions per 90 and 2.17 blocks rank him in the 93rd and 88th percentile when compared to positional peers in the big five leagues. With that in mind, it’s easy to see why he’s been nicknamed “the monster”.

His temperament is also excellent, receiving no cautions during the previous year, which ranks him in the 99th percentile, with only Vitaliy Mykolenko from Everton receiving no bookings, and he only joined in January. With that in mind, the Toffees boss would surely love to have him in his team.

These are stats that could convince Lampard to make his move for the 25-year-old. He was referred to as “indispensable” earlier this season as his side were challenging for the title and this type of praise will surely only boost his confidence.

With the player seeking a move to England, there may be more interest in the coming weeks and Everton will need to act fast in order to secure his services, and at £19.5m, it’s a bargain.

AND in other news, Moshiri plotting Everton bid for “fantastic” 19y/o “huge talent”, Lampard needs him

Rangers chief executive Ross Wilson is set for a big summer transfer window at Ibrox, as it will be Gio van Bronckhorst’s first extended chance to shape his squad.

The Dutchman had one month in January to bolster his playing ranks and was given a number of loanees to work with as Amad Diallo, James Sands and Aaron Ramsey all came in.

Nathan Patterson was also sold for a club-record transfer fee after coming through the academy setup, and he is one of many players over the years to achieve success after rising through the ranks at Ibrox.

However, one youth product on whom the club dropped a clanger was defender Craig Halkett, who Mark Warburton allowed to leave on a free transfer in 2016.

The centre-back was never offered an opportunity to play at senior level for the Gers, as he went on loan twice before joining Livingston on a permanent deal.

This gave him the chance to get regular game-time under his belt and he played 137 times in three-and-a-half seasons for Livi, helping them to climb from League One to the Premiership with back-to-back promotions – an extraordinary feat.

He then earned himself a move to Hearts in 2019 and he has played more than 100 matches for the Edinburgh club to date, catching the eye in the 2021/22 campaign.

Jam Tarts manager Robbie Neilson previously hailed the 26-year-old’s “standout” performances, while Hearts TV pundit Robert Borthwick claimed in March that Halkett had been “immense all season”, and the statistics back that up.

In the Premiership, he averaged an excellent SofaScore rating of 7.14 across 28 outings. He made a whopping 4.5 clearances per game and won an impressive 67% of his duels as he showcased both his positional awareness and his physical strength at this level.

For context, that rating would place him seventh in the Rangers squad for outfield average ratings in the top flight. This suggests that the £2.4k-per-week enforcer would be one of the Gers’ top performers if Van Bronckhorst had him as an option within his squad.

At the age of 26, Halkett is now heading into the prime years of his career, and he still has room to hone his skills even further as he continues to gain experience.

Therefore, Warburton dropped a huge clanger by allowing the defender to leave for nothing six years ago, as the Hearts tank has gone on to make a success of himself elsewhere. The former Rangers boss must surely be regretting the call to axe him from the squad in 2016.

AND in other news, Imagine him & Lundstram: GvB can form scary Rangers duo by signing £4.5k-p/w machine…

According to former Premier League goalkeeper Paddy Kenny, the opportunity to move to Real Madrid might be too ‘massive’ for Manchester City star Raheem Sterling to turn down.  

The Lowdown: Madrid’s confirmed interest

The forward first arrived at the Etihad in a £49m deal from Liverpool seven years ago, but after last putting pen to paper on an extension with the Sky Blues in 2018, this now means that he will be out of contract in just over 12 months time.

It was reported by The Times earlier this week that the Kingston-born talent had been attracting attention as he enters the last year of his current agreement, with Spanish giants Real Madrid claimed to be ramping up their interest in his services as the transfer window fast approaches.

The same publication also state that the winger is set to meet with City executives following the conclusion of the international break to discuss his future with the top-flight champions.

The Latest: Kenny reacts

Kenny, 44, suggested that while Sterling has loved his time in Manchester, the pull of a club like Madrid might just be too good to turn down. He told Football Insider correspondent Ben Wild:

“Real Madrid have a massive pull.

“Does he think his time is up at City now? Is he wanting a fresh challenge?

“That would explain why he has let his contract run down a little bit.

“We don’t know want has gone on and Real Madrid is the club everyone wants to play for.

“They have just won La Liga and the Champions League even though they weren’t at their best.

“They just showed what Real Madrid is about by winning that trophy, they looked dead and buried in a few games but still won them.

“The opportunity to play for the European champions might be too much for Sterling to turn down.”

The Verdict: An absolute no-brainer

Ever since his arrival at City in the summer of 2015, the 74-cap international has played a pivotal role in Pep Guardiola’s squad, making an outstanding 226 goal contributions in just 339 appearances, as per Transfermarkt.

In more recent times though, the starlet has slightly fallen down the pecking order under the Spaniard, with the likes of Phil Foden, Riyad Mahrez and Jack Grealish often chosen ahead of him in the match-day starting XI, something that’s resulted in him being tempted to look elsewhere.

A move to the newly-crowned Champions League winners would not only aid Sterling’s game time, but would seemingly also increase his chances of getting his hands on that one truly elusive piece of silverware.

In other news… a Man City maestro could be set for a surprise Etihad exit this summer.

A big update has emerged on Newcastle’s attempts to sign Sven Botman in the upcoming summer transfer window… 

What’s the talk?

According to Luke Edwards in The Telegraph, the Magpies are on the verge of a ‘breakthrough’ in their pursuit of the Dutch central defender.

The report claims that the club have been negotiating a swoop for weeks and are now focusing all of their effort on beating AC Milan to his signature.

Edwards added this after posting the article: “This does not mean Botman is definitely going to sign. What it means is that it looks more likely than it has done for a while. And budget is being stretched by paying instalments and as little up front as possible. Which means deals are complicated and hard to thrash out.”

This comes after 90min reported that Italian giants Milan were hoping to announce the signing of Botman by the end of the week.

Dan Ashworth masterclass

Ashworth joined Newcastle as their sporting director earlier this month and is already hard at work as he shapes Eddie Howe’s squad.

Forget signing Matt Targett on a permanent basis, a deal for Botman would be a huge masterclass from the supremo in the transfer market.

Milan were reportedly – per 90min’s report – confident of getting a deal over the line and Edwards’ fresh claim provides a twist that will leave supporters hailing the ex-Brighton chief’s impact at St. James’ Park.

He has seemingly been able to swing the situation around in the club’s favour with this imminent breakthrough and landing Botman would be a big coup for the Magpies.

Newcastle do not have European football next season and a title challenge seems unlikely after a midtable finish in the Premier League. Whereas, Milan just lifted the Serie A trophy and will be competing in the Champions League next term.

On paper, the Italian side – with legendary defender Paolo Maldini on board to sell the dream – appear to be the obvious choice to sign Botman. This is why Ashworth now looks set to pull off a blinder by striking a deal to land the Dutchman.

It will also be a coup because they will be bringing in an excellent, young, defender to bolster the squad. In two Ligue 1 seasons for Lille, the 22-year-old has averaged a SofaScore rating of at least 7.08 across both campaigns.

He has shown that he can deliver brilliant displays on a consistent basis and still has plenty of time left ahead of him to continue development. Hopefully, that development will come at St. James’ Park.

AND in other news, Ashworth now plotting NUFC bid for £20m gem with “no nerves”, he’s a huge Burn upgrade…

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph has delivered a fresh update on Celtic’s interest in Lommel SK midfielder Vinicius Souza.

The Lowdown: Celtic monitoring Souza

The Brazilian first joined the Belgian outfit when he made the move from Flamengo two years ago, but ended up spending the entirety of the 2021/22 season out on loan at KV Mechelen in a bid to find some much-needed game time.

Even though the 23-year-old’s contract with Lommel isn’t set to expire until 2025, this need for regular minutes has seen him being linked with a move away from the Limburg-based side in recent weeks, in particular to the Scottish Premiership, with the maestro believed to be on the wish-list of the Hoops.

The Latest: Joseph’s transfer update

Taking to Twitter, Joseph shared a new update on Celtic’s interest in Souza, with the player ‘keen’ to assess all his options before making a decision. He wrote:

“Celtic are interested in Lommel SK defensive midfielder Vinicius Souza but face competition from a number of clubs, including PSV, Fenerbahce, Club Brugge and Bologna.

“PSV made a formal approach to Lommel earlier this week.

“It’s understood the player wants to play in Europe next season, but has some reservations about moving to the Scottish Premiership.

“However, he is keen to take time to explore all his options.”

The Verdict: Bitton replacement

Despite Souza having doubts about making the switch to Glasgow as a result of wanting to play at the highest level, let’s not forget that the Bhoys have qualified for the Champions League and will be showcasing their talent on the world stage next season, something that surely has to attract potential new signings.

The Rio de Janeiro-born talent was once dubbed “incredible” at breaking up attacks by Belgian footballer Steven Defour, and the evidence supports that – his 3.8 tackles per game in Belgium are far more than any Celtic player managed last season.

He could be an ideal replacement for Nir Bitton, with Ange Postecoglou now on the lookout for a new holding midfielder since the 30-year-old’s departure.

Lommel, his parent club, are owned by the City Football Group, which the Hoops’ new head of recruitment, Mark Lawwell, was involved in before arriving at Parkhead – could that existing link prove to be essential in Celtic’s chase to secure their man?

In other news… a BBC pundit has backed Celtic to complete the signing of a highly-rated transfer target this summer.

Rangers have set their sights on a potential replacement for Alfredo Morelos if he leaves the club. 

That’s according to The Northern Echo’s chief sports writer Scott Wilson.

The lowdown

Morelos’ contract is due to expire at the end of the 2022/23 season, so as it stands, he would be able to negotiate pre-contract terms with foreign clubs from 1 January.

The Athletic’s Jordan Campbell wrote recently that the Colombian ‘may be open to prolonging his stay so long as the terms are not prohibitive for Rangers’, although talks between the two parties over an extension are apparently ‘stalling’.

Sunderland striker Ross Stewart, the man named in Wilson’s report as the player who Rangers are targeting as Morelos’ successor, is valued at £450,000 by Transfermarkt and is in the same position with his contract. In another similarity between the two strikers, both are 25 years old.

The latest

Wilson took to Twitter to share the ‘transfer latest’ on Monday morning, posting his corresponding report from The Northern Echo.

Rangers officials are ‘adamant’ that Morelos won’t walk away on a free transfer in 12 months’ time and are duly drawing up possible succession plans in the event that they are compelled to entertain offers for the Colombian this summer.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst has assessed a number of options and picked out Stewart as his ‘number one’ target. The Gers are confident that they can ‘trump’ whatever wages Sunderland can offer to the Scotland international.

The verdict

Can Stewart cut it as a replacement for Morelos?

First and foremost, he impressively bagged 26 goals and laid on five assists in 53 appearances for the Black Cats last season.

Encouragingly for Van Bronckhorst, he has also shown he can be a big-game player, having netted in the League One play-off semi-final against Sheffield Wednesday and in the final against Wycombe Wanderers at Wembley as Sunderland earned promotion to the Championship.

Sky Sports commentator Andy Hinchcliffe hailed the 25-year-old as ‘clinical’ after his play-off heroics, while The Times’ Henry Winter dubbed him ‘ruthless’.

Stewart has earned international recognition, too, making his debut for Scotland in their 2-0 win over Armenia last week, and he looks ready to make the step-up at club level if Rangers bring him to Ibrox.

In other news, this pundit weighs in on a significant Rangers development

A transfer update regarding the future of Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos has been dropped, and it could leave Ibrox manager Giovanni van Bronckhorst frustrated.

What’s the news?

BBC Scotland reporter Fraser Fletcher tweeted: “My sources tell me interest in Alfredo Morelos is high but no offers on table. I’m also told Rangers want him to stay at the club as his deal reaches its last year.”

With no indication that the striker wants a new deal to extend his stay at Ibrox, the manager might have felt that getting a big fee for the Colombian this summer would help the 47-year-old to pursue other targets.

Van Bronckhorst may be frustrated

Football Scotland have claimed that a bid from Sevilla worth €8m (£6.6m) is being reported from Spain, but this could be well below the fee that Van Bronckhorst will be seeking if he is willing to sell the 25-year-old.

Clubs will obviously try and sign the player at a knockdown price, especially with his contract expiring in a year’s time, but he is too important for that.

The Colombian didn’t seem himself at the beginning of last season, scoring just four league goals by Halloween. However, once Steven Gerrard left and the Dutchman arrived, he looked leaner, and a slight tactical tweak saw him back amongst the goals.

He scored 12 goals under Van Bronckhorst before a thigh injury on international duty curtailed his season in March. He missed the Europa League and Scottish Cup finals, and his presence was particularly missed during the continental run as Rangers came up just short in the Seville showpiece.

With the Ibrox club desperate to claim back the Premiership title from Celtic next year, Van Bronckhorst will want to have as strong a squad as possible at his disposal.

With the Gers being linked with a move for free agent Erik Botheim, this might be an indication that, if a big-money bid arrives for Morelos, Ross Wilson will take it and invest it into other areas of the squad.

A crucial few weeks await for Van Bronckhorst, who could feel frustrated over how things are panning out regarding the Colombian striker’s future.

AND in other news, Bye-bye Morelos: Wilson must now seal Rangers swoop for “outstanding” 26-goal monster…