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Manchester United signing Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa this summer would be a surprise as he would be a 'big name contender' to challenge David De Gea between the sticks, according to journalist Dean Jones.

What's the latest transfer news involving Diogo Costa?

According to A Bola via METRO, Manchester United are interested in signing Costa from Porto this summer and he has emerged as a priority target for Erik Ten Hag.

The report states that the Red Devils are reluctant to activate his £64 million release clause and are trying to get his current employers to lower the price of the £24k-a-week ace.

As per The Guardian, they also detail that Manchester United are known admirers of Costa; however, Newcastle United and Chelsea are also keen on the Portugal international this off-season.

David De Gea's future at Old Trafford is uncertain and he may well depart the club following a distinguished period of service stretching back to 2012, as per 90min.

Contractually, De Gea will be free to leave Manchester United at the end of the month when his deal at the Red Devils expires; however, Ten Hag does have an option to extend his terms at the Premier League giants by a further 12 months.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jones has indicated that he would be surprised if Costa was brought to Old Trafford this summer.

Jones told FFC: "To be honest, I would just be surprised generally if they brought in a big-name contender for De Gea. It doesn't really add up with what their intentions should be in this transfer window. They either replace David De Gea or they focus the main bulk of their money on other positions."

Would Diogo Costa be a good signing for Manchester United?

Costa is a very accomplished goalkeeper who is highly regarded among his peers due to his safe handling and his composure and distribution on the ball.

In 2022/23, the 23-year-old made 40 appearances in all competitions for Porto, recording 20 clean sheets in total, as per Transfermarkt.

As per FBRef, Costa has also managed to produce a save percentage rate of 77.2% in the Primeira Liga, demonstrating his reliability between the sticks.

Former Brazil international Helton was full of praise for Costa last year in an interview with Noticias ao Minuto, stating: “He [Costa] has the possibility of being the best goalkeeper in the world. I knew his qualities, and this is not a surprise to me. He took over at FC Porto and the national team as well, and this, even if there is Rui Patrício, an excellent goalkeeper.”

It is easy to see why Costa would warrant such high appraisal and he could well be a long-term replacement for De Gea if the latter chooses to depart Old Trafford.

A round-up of the Super Sixes games from the Women’s World Cup Qualifiers played on February 15, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2017

India began the Super Sixes stage of the Women’s World Cup Qualifier with a comfortable 49-run win against South Africa in Colombo. Mithali Raj and Mona Meshram struck fifties to propel India’s score to 205. In reply, South Africa were bowled out for 156 as fast bowler Shikha Pandey and left-arm spinner Ekta Bisht combined for seven wickets.After India were inserted, opener Deepti Sharma was dismissed in the 12th over for 9 off 38 balls. Meshram and Raj then shared a 96-run stand to set a platform for the end overs. South Africa ensured they kept India in control by picking up regular wickets. India managed to score just 93 runs in the final 20 overs. South Africa were quickly reduced to 8 for 2 in the fifth over, and were always behind the asking rate thereon. Trisha Chetty top-scored with an 81-ball 52. Pandey returned figures of 4 for 34.Eshani Lokusuriyage’s 65 and contributions from the top order ensured Sri Lanka cruised past the target of 213 against Pakistan with five wickets in hand and 14 balls to spare. Nipuni Hansika (37) and Chamari Atapattu (35) set the tone with a 75-run opening stand, before Pakistan hit back with three wickets in the space of eight overs. Prasadani Weerakkody struck 45 off 71 balls and shared an 88-run partnership with Lokusuriyage.Pakistan were helped along to 212 with fifties from Nahida Khan (64) and Javeria Khan (63). The pair shared a 119-run stand off 171 balls. Pakistan, too, lost a cluster of wickets in the end overs, stalling the momentum from the innings. Inoka Ranaweera and Chamari Polgampola added two wickets apiece.File photo – Sharmin Akhter struck five fours during her fifty•IDI/Getty Images

Bangladesh Women skittled Ireland Women for 144 and cruised to a seven-wicket win in their first Super Six match at the Colombo Cricket Ground.Jahanara Alam led the way with figures of 3 for 21 after Bangladesh inserted Ireland. She removed Cecelia Joyce and Kim Garth in successive overs to reduce Ireland to 15 for 2 inside nine overs. Panna Ghosh, Rumana Ahmed, Khadija Tul Kubra proceeded to make further inroads into the Ireland line-up. Salma Khatun was also among the wickets as Ireland were bowled out in 47.1 overs. Their major source of resistance came from Clare Shillington and captain Laura Delany, who struck 37 each. Apart from them, only Isobel Joyce passed 20.The Sharmins – Sultana and Akhter – gave Bangladesh a solid start in their chase with a 40-run partnership. The stand ended when Gaby Lewis got rid of Sultana for 22 at the end of the 15th over. Sanjida Islam then fell cheaply, but Akhter ate into target with a half-century before exiting in the 30th over. Fargana Hoque and Rumana eventually sealed the win in the 40th over with an unbroken 39-run stand.

A round-up of the final round of Ranji Trophy matches from Group B on December 7, 2016

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2016A total of 18 wickets fell in Vadodara as four wickets each from medium-pacers Sumit Narwal and Pradeep Sangwan saw Saurashtra fold for 92 before Delhi went to stumps on 194 for 8 with a 102-run lead.Delhi, who need an outright win to be assured of a playoff spot, chose to field. Wicketkeeper Snell Patel (26) and Kishan Parmar (12) scored 24 runs for the first wicket, but the latter’s dismissal saw Saurashtra quickly fall to 35 for 4. Narwal and Sangwan removed the top seven batsmen, before part-time offspinner Nitish Rana took two wickets with the score on 81 in the 30th over. Saurashtra folded for 92 inside 34 overs. Prerak Mankad top-scored for the third Saurashtra innings in a row with his 33.Shikhar Dhawan and Gautam Gambhir opened Delhi’s innings and were out in consecutive overs after scoring 16 runs each. Their wickets were part of a collapse that saw Delhi go from 38 for no loss to 57 for 4. Rishabh Pant then hit a 28-ball 40 to take Delhi past Saurashtra’s score before Kushang Patel had him caught. Kushang finished the day with four wickets as he troubled Delhi’s middle order who were 128 for 7 at one stage, before a 62-run stand for the eighth wicket between Manan Sharma (33) and Sangwan (39*) took them to stumps with a sizable lead.Vinay Kumar took his third five-wicket haul this season as Karnataka dismissed Maharashtra for 163 before finishing the day on 67 for 1 in Mohali. The spell also saw him move past Madan Lal’s tally of 351 wickets to become the leading wicket-taker among seamers in Ranji Trophy history.Maharashtra, who also need an outright win to qualify, were put into bat. Openers Swapnil Gugale (25) and Rohit Motwani (32) added 42 runs for the first wicket before the former was caught behind off Stuart Binny. The next six overs saw only 3 runs, before Vinay picked up three middle-order wickets as Maharashtra lost six batsmen before they reached 100. Motwani, the innings’ top scorer, was removed by Binny as the team’s seventh dismissal on 113, which was followed by a brief resistance from the lower order before they were wrapped up for 163.Although Karnataka lost debutant opener Arjun Hoysala in the first over to Anupam Sanklecha, his partner Ravikumar Samarth (33*) put on 67 with Kaunain Abbas (30*) to cut Karnataka’s deficit to 96 runs.Noida saw only 46 overs of play due to inclement conditions. Play only began after the scheduled lunch time, and Rajasthan were bowled out for 140 by Vidarbha.Each of Vidarbha’s five bowlers had wickets to their name, as Rajasthan’s wickets fell within 98 runs after openers Amitkumar Gautam (18) and Manendar Singh (27) had put up 42 runs for the first wicket. This included collapses of 4 for 5 and 6 for 50 on either side of a 43-run fifth wicket stand between Rajat Bhatia (26) and Siddharth Dobal (19). Left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate finished with 3 for 22 while Shrikant Wagh, Rajneesh Gurbani and Lalit Yadav took two wickets each.In response, Vidarbha openers Sanjay Ramaswamy and Faiz Fazal played out the day’s last four overs and took them to stumps on 14 for no loss.

Ange Postecoglou is on Tottenham Hotspur's list as they search for a new manager, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed.

What's the latest on Spurs' manager search?

Daniel Levy has faced a few difficult weeks again as Spurs struggled to find a new manager, with pursuits of Julian Nagelsmann and Arne Slot falling through.

They have now turned their attention to the Celtic manager, and it has now been reported that the Hoops expect Postecoglou to depart the club as Spurs' interest grows.

The Australian has been a resounding success at Celtic, winning back-to-back titles, and could secure a domestic treble if his side win the Scottish Cup final.

Speaking on the Here We Go Podcast, Romano confirmed that the 57-year-old is being targeted for a move to North London.

"Spurs are deciding on the director very soon, and then they will pick the new manager. I'm told that Ange Postecoglou, who is doing an excellent job at Celtic, is a concrete name in the list," he stated.

"They wanted Arne Slot but no way, he extended his contract at Feyenoord, that was a crazy situation last week.

"It's really crazy, because it's not the first time it has happened, in the summer when they appointed Nuno [Espirito Santo], it was like a three, four or five weeks negotiation, with many managers, and then they ended up with Nuno so it's always like that at Tottenham. They need to clarify the situation as soon as possible."

Could Postecoglou be a good appointment for Spurs?

The Australian's success at Celtic bodes well for Spurs, taking over a team which had lost the title to Rangers, and winning back-to-back leagues in style.

Celtic scored an astonishing 114 goals in 38 league games this season, and asserted their dominance over their rivals, having knocked them out of both cup competitions.

Postecoglou has successfully implemented his style at the Hoops in this time, playing attacking football with a 4-3-3 formation, and if he can translate this success to Spurs, he could gain the support of fans very quickly if the team starts playing a more entertaining style to that of Conte or Jose Mourinho before him.

Attackers such as Son Heung-min and Dejan Kulusevski both struggled this season, but playing under an attacking coach like Postecoglou could help them rediscover their form.

Celtic attackers Kyogo Furuhashi, Jota, Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada all scored 10 or more goals this season, and if Postecoglou can manage similarly at Spurs, who were reliant on Harry Kane going forward, they may see some improvement next season.

Sophie Ecclestone, the uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, has been named in England Women’s 15-member squad for the three-match T20 series at home against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2016Sophie Ecclestone, the uncapped Lancashire left-arm spinner, has been named in England Women’s 15-member squad for the three-match T20 series at home against Pakistan. Her Lancashire team-mate, Kate Cross, however, was left out. Kent left-arm seamer Natasha Farrant, who was not picked for World T20 as well as the ODI series against Pakistan, replaced the injured Anya Shrubsole.Ecclestone and Farrant are the two changes to the squad that swept Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series. Ecclestone, only 17, is the second left-arm spinner in the squad behind Alexandra Hartley, who made her international debut against Pakistan in the third ODI in Taunton. She is yet to play a T20 international.England Women’s squad for Pakistan T20s

Heather Knight (capt), Tammy Beaumont, Katherine Brunt, Sophie Ecclestone, Natasha Farrant, Georgia Elwiss, Jenny Gunn, Alexandra Hartley, Danielle Hazell, Amy Jones (wk), Laura Marsh, Natalie Sciver, Fran Wilson, Lauren Winfield, Danielle Wyatt

“The T20 series brings a new set of challenges and further opportunities for the players, and I’m really pleased to call-up Sophie Ecclestone for the first time, and to welcome Tash Farrant back into the dressing room,” Mark Robinson, the head coach, said.”Sophie brings youth, vitality and another left-arm spin option alongside Alex Hartley into the squad. We have two world-class offspinners in Danielle Hazell and Laura Marsh, but we also need to be aware of the talent that we have underneath, and making sure that we are developing the likes of Alex and Sophie, by having them in the group and giving them international match-day experience.”Robinson said that it was a “real shame” that seamer Beth Langston missed on of selection again, because of injury. “She worked tremendously hard during the winter and had a great tour to Sri Lanka with the England Women’s Academy, but unfortunately hasn’t been able to get involved so far this summer because of her ankle,” he said.Robinson also said that Cross was still in the side’s plans, despite being overlooked for the Pakistan T20 series. “Kate Cross has been left out of this squad to face Pakistan, but we do see her as a Twenty20 bowler moving forwards,” he said. “There is no reason why she can’t be an outstanding bowler across all formats of the game, and we feel that there’s a window now where we can do some focused technical work with her away from match situations to help get her ready to perform at her best in the Kia Super League next month.”The T20 series begins with the first match at the Brightside Ground in Bristol on Sunday.

Journalist Dean Jones has warned that Manchester United should not rush Bruno Fernandes back from injury too early after hearing how the player wants to play "through the pain".

What's the latest Man United injury news?

The Red Devils battled hard on the weekend to confirm their spot in the FA Cup final after beating Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties after 120 minutes of goalless action.

However, it seems as though that victory did not come without some cost. Indeed, key midfielder Fernandes picked up a knock in the match and has since been spotted in a protective boot.

As a result, the player is now a major doubt ahead of the Premier League fixture away at top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Thursday night.

While speaking about the injury on Chasing Green Arrows, insider Jones explained that he'd heard that Fernandes was trying to play on through the pain.

The journalist suggested that could have further aggravated the issue and Man Utd must be careful not to rush him back with an FA Cup final on the horizon to consider as well.

Jones said: "He was actually injured during the game and carried on for, I think, longer than he probably should have.

"I don't know if that's aggravated it or not, but I was speaking to someone who seemed to think that he was just determined not to let the injury get the better of him.

"He doesn't miss games through injury, he plays through the pain.

"And while [Erik] ten Hag will be desperate to give him the benefit of the doubt – like, he needs him as much as he can get him out there – you don't want to make the problem worse.

"You don't want Bruno missing the back end of this season, especially now they've got an FA Cup final to look out for as well."

Will Bruno Fernandes play against Spurs?

The £240k-per-week star is obviously a vital part of the United team having played 49 games in all competitions this term, scoring 10 goals and providing 13 assists.

In the Premier League and the Europa League, in fact, the only time he's missed a game this season is due to suspension – showing just how impressive his fitness record is.

With that being the case, Fernandes will no doubt be desperate to push himself to get back into the starting team against Spurs.

However, as Jones points out, should he come back too soon having not properly recovered, any further aggravation could force him to spend a longer spell on the sidelines.

And with a spot in the top four still on the line, as well as that FA Cup final to come, it may be best if the Red Devils err on a side of caution for now.

Former Tottenham Hotspur boss and managerial candidate Mauricio Pochettino would take the job if offered it, according to Sky Sports.

The Lowdown: Spurs draw shortlist…

Spurs and sporting director Fabio Paratici have already drawn up a shortlist of names to potentially replace current head coach Antonio Conte.

Even before his astonishing post-match Southampton rant, the 53-year-old had been tipped to leave the club at the end of this Premier League season, with his contract expiring in June.

Chairman Daniel Levy has the option to extend his stay by a further 12 months but this is currently not in the pipeline.

Conte could well be shown his marching orders before then as the Lilywhites identify Roberto De Zerbi, Luis Enrique, Thomas Tuchel, Marco Silva, Thomas Frank and Pochettino as possible replacements.

The Latest: Pochettino would take Spurs job…

One of the most popular names by far to have been linked with the post is Pochettino, Spurs’ former boss who lead them to a Champions League final in 2019.

Sections of Tottenham’s fanbase have seriously campaigned for the Argentine to make a return and Sky have an update on the situation.

The broadcast giant claims Pochettino would take the job ‘if offered it’, stating on air:

“We understand that many of Tottenham’s squad have been in contact with their former manager, Mauricio Pochettino, they want him to replace Conte.

“And we also expect Pochettino would take the job if offered it. As things stand Pochettino will assess all of his options in the summer, he has had several approaches in the last eight months, none of them he felt were right.

“Tottenham also approached Pochettino in the summer of 2021 but his contract at PSG then meant he couldn’t talk to them.”

The Verdict: Perfect man for the job…

The former Southampton boss already has both a bond with members of the Spurs squad and large portions of supporters, surely making this a match made in heaven.

His status as a free agent also opens the door for Levy to make an approach with little obstacle in his path.

Pochettino would come back to Spurs with much more experience, having won a Ligue 1 title with Paris-Saint Germain last year.

The 51-year-old is also highly respected in other countries, especially Italy, with Serie A football expert Mina Rzouki telling BBC Radio 5 Live that Italians think he’s a ‘genius’ and ‘master tactician’.

Pochettino’s experience in England, where he is proven on limited resources, is yet another reason to make this move a reality.

Trescothick’s neuroses are peerless and this book goes into great detail about them. Pity about the cricket

Patrick Kidd14-Sep-2008

Howard Clayton, the long-serving England Under-19 scorer, tells a story about the young Marcus Trescothick that sticks in the mind. Trescothick used to wear his England cap and blazer everywhere while playing for the Under-19 side and was teased for it by his team-mates. “It might be the closest I get to playing for England” was Trescothick’s proud response.Years later, and with 202 senior international matches behind him, an older Trescothick is contemptuous of age-group cricket. “A complete waste of my time,” he writes in his autobiography, annoyed that having to play for the Under-19 team in 1994 meant he was 76 first-class runs shy of becoming the youngest Somerset batsman to score 1000 in a county season.Such things should really not matter – not when you have won the Ashes and people still sigh: “If only Tresco were still playing for England …” That even now this one tiny record rankles hints at Trescothick’s fatal obsession.Cricketers do tend to be obsessives, as do cricket fans, but Trescothick’s neurosis is peerless. It is seen in his refusal to eat any meat except sausages, a trait which lent him the nickname Banger. His fascination with kit, particularly bats, is another obsession. Trescothick says that if he were ever on Desert Island Discs his luxury would be a cricket kit catalogue.Of course, getting Trescothick on a desert island would be tricky given his homesickness. The depression that afflicted him on England’s tours of Pakistan, India and Australia in 2005 and 2006 appears to have been based on obsession. When doubts and homesickness appear, as they can for any sportsman, Trescothick cannot let go. The first show of fear came when travelling on a school outing to Torquay. “I was terrified, irrationally so, and that scared me even more,” he writes.The condition returned heavily in Pakistan in late 2005. Being away from his wife and baby daughter hurt Trescothick and his depression was exacerbated when he visited victims of the Pakistan earthquake. Witnessing children in pain left Trescothick in floods of tears. The first Test, in Multan, could have been a highlight of his career. Made captain after Michael Vaughan’s knee injury, Trescothick scored 193 as England built a healthy first-innings lead, but chasing 198 to win they were dismissed for 175, the captain making 5.Trescothick reveals why his mind was not on the game. On the second evening of the Test his wife rang him in distress after finding her father unconscious outside their house. He had fallen off a ladder and was taken to hospital. Here Trescothick’s obsession is apparent. He had installed CCTV at home and could watch the images on his laptop. That night he sits in his hotel room and watches the footage of his father-in-law falling, hitting his head and passing out. Forward and back goes the tape as he watches the images repeatedly.The next day his wife asks him to come home but Vaughan refuses to release him. The guilt of staying, heightened by a bomb “scare” (just an exploding gas canister), haunts Trescothick, as does his daughter’s lack of recognition of him at the end of the tour. Undeniably the pain and anxiety of the Pakistan tour caused his breakdown in India a couple of months later.Of the 20 chapters in this autobiography, half deal with his illness, his counselling, his attempted comebacks, why he lied in the set-up confessional with Ian Ward on Sky, and the false rumours about his marriage. This, sadly, is what we want to know, more than his experience of the 2005 Ashes or any of his feats with Somerset.It is a shame, because some of the cricketing stories are fascinating, particularly how Trescothick almost manipulated a run-chase of 612 for Somerset 2nd XI against Warwickshire, run out for 322 with victory seven runs away. But in these celebrity-focused days it is the mental frailties of our heroes that we need to read about in minute detail. Obsession is a weakness of us all.Marcus Trescothick: Coming Back To Me with Peter Hayter
(HarperSport) £18.99

The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket

Steven Lynch14-Nov-2005The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket:

I recently read about Hasan Raza’s Test debut at the tender age of 14. Is he the youngest debutant? And who is the youngest to get a century? asked Aswin Chari from Singapore
Hasan Raza, who is playing in the current Test against England at Multan, is indeed the youngest person to appear in a Test match – he was only 14 years 227 days old when he made his debut for Pakistan against Zimbabwe at Faisalabad in 1996-97. There is some doubt about his exact age, but independent tests at the time suggested that he was about 15, so the published date is not far wrong (if indeed it’s wrong at all). For a full list of the youngest Test players, click here. The 12th man on that list, Mohammad Ashraful, is the youngest to score a Test century – he was 16 years 364 days old when he scored 114 against Sri Lanka in Colombo on the third day of his Test debut.Shaun Udal is currently playing his first Test for England, aged 36. Have many people have been older on their Test debut? asked Jeffrey Cobb from Fareham
Shaun Udal was 36 years and 239 days old when the match started, making him the oldest debutant for England since John Childs, who was 81 days older when he made the first of his two Test appearances in 1988. In all 22 players have been older than Udal when winning their first cap for England: for a full list of the oldest Test debutants, click here.Why did Mark Boucher have the number 200 printed on the back of his shirt in the fifth ODI between South Africa and New Zealand? asked Aamir Masood
Mark Boucher wore the special shirt because that match at Centurion was his 200th one-day international. He is the fourth South African to reach this landmark, after Jonty Rhodes (245 ODI appearances), Shaun Pollock (244) and Jacques Kallis (224). For a list of those with most ODI appearances, click here.

I read somewhere long ago about a Test played in the West Indies that was abandoned because the pitch was deemed unsafe to play on. Was that the only such occurrence? asked Prateek Goorha from Australia
It wasn’t actually that long ago – the match in question was the first Test of England’s 1997-98 tour, at Sabina Park in Kingston. There was less than an hour’s play – 10.1 overs in all – during which time England limped to 17 for 3, with the busiest man on the ground being their physiotherapist, who kept having to run out to players who had been injured by balls flying unpredictably off the rutted surface. I’ve always felt particularly sorry for Mark Butcher, who hadn’t expected to play, got a late call-up … and was then dismissed by an unplayable lifter. This is the only instance in Test history of a match being abandoned after it had started because of an unfit pitch, although there was one ODI that suffered this fate – India v Sri Lanka at Indore on Christmas Day, 1997.You wrote a couple of weeks ago about there having been only one Test in Multan – but surely there have been several played there? asked Siddiq Khan from Lahore
The question was in this column two weeks ago, and asked about grounds which had only staged one Test. What I meant was that there was a ground at Multan – the Ibn-e-Qasim Bagh Stadium – which had only staged one Test (against West Indies in 1980-81). Subsequent Test matches in Multan have been played at the new Multan Cricket Stadium. The current Test against England is the fourth to be played there.I know that Mohammad Azharuddin scored a hundred in both his first and last Tests – has anyone else done this? asked Neeraj Bhardwaj from Canada
Apart from Mohammad Azharuddin there have been three other batsmen have scored hundreds in their first and last Tests, and they are all Australians: the current Indian coach Greg Chappell, Reggie Duff and Bill Ponsford. This excludes any current players, and the two men – Andy Ganteaume and Rodney Redmond – who scored a century in their only Test match.

Renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano has dropped a hugely significant piece of Newcastle United news regarding one specific player.

Who have Newcastle signed recently?

The Magpies have spent vast chunks of recent times languishing somewhere near the bottom of the Premier League table or even being relegated to the Championship, which has been unacceptable for such a huge club.

Thankfully, the good times have returned to St James' Park, however, with finances no longer an issue in the slightest, and Eddie Howe building a side that finished fourth in the league last season, qualifying for the Champions League in the process.

Not only has the manager created a strong unit, but he has also acquired the services of some top players, many of whom have become new heroes at Newcastle. The likes of new signings in recent years Nick Pope, Kieran Trippier, Sven Botman, Bruno Guimaraes and Alexander Isak have all made a big impression, among others, and you'd expect they will continue to be vital figures moving forward.

There is always going to be interest in some of those players from other big clubs, so tying down their future is absolutely essential. A new update suggests that that is very much the case with one individual.

Which Newcastle player could sign a new deal?

Taking to X, Romano claimed that Bruno Guimaraes has agreed a contract extension with Newcastle – one that will keep him at the club for the foreseeable future and includes a release clause of approximately £100m:

"EXCLUSIVE: Newcastle agree new deal with Bruno Guimaraes, here we go! It’s done — contract until June 2028. Key detail: understand the new deal will include release clause and it will be in the region of £100m. Bruno, so happy to extend as he loves the club."

This is fantastic news for Newcastle, considering what a huge impact Guimaraes has made at St James' ever since arriving from Lyon in January 2022. His arrival coincided with the Magpies becoming a force again, and his influence in the middle of the park has arguably been unrivalled at times.

At 25, the Brazilian is heading into his peak years, so to tie him down to a new contract that will see him remain at Newcastle into his 30s feels every bit as important as any new signing that comes along in the approaching transfer windows.

Magpies legend Alan Shearer is clearly a big fan of Guimaraes, calling him "absolutely magnificent" in the past. Granted, he is arguably yet to hit top form so far this season, but he has still averaged 1.8 tackles per game in the Premier League and enjoyed a 92.3% pass completion rate in the Champions League.

There is always the threat that one of Europe's biggest teams could trigger his release clause one day, following reported interest from Chelsea, assuming he keeps improving as a player and doesn't drop off, and while losing him would be an enormous blow, it is at least nice to know that he would only be allowed to leave for a massive transfer fee.