Wrexham star James McClean appeared to aim a subtle dig at Chelsea’s Levi Colwill after their scrap on the pitch during a pre-season friendly. The match was friendly in name only, as the veteran Irishman and young Blues defender clashed within minutes of kick-off in their encounter at the Levi’s Stadium – home of NFL side San Francisco 49ers. McClean and Colwill clashed just minutes into their ‘friendly’ match in the StatesGetty England international Colwill reacted to an early challenge from McClean, with the pair going shoulder-to-shoulder off the ball. It led to a bit of a fracas, with Colwill grabbing McClean by his shirt and the pair grappling in the middle of the field with just 122 seconds on the clock. The scenes then escalated as players from both teams and even Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson got involved after sprinting out from the technical area. After the scenes petered out, both players avoided bookings and the two British clubs shared the spoils, with League One Wrexham holding the Premier League giants to a 2-2 draw across the pond. Christopher Nkunku opened the scoring for Chelsea in the first-half, before goals from Luke Bolton and Jack Marriott put the north Wales club ahead, with the Blues needing a late equaliser from Lesley Ugochukwu to salvage a draw. But McClean couldn’t resist a cheeky dig at his Chelsea rival with a social media post the day after the match. Posting a selfie from Sugarrays boxing gym in Vancouver, the former Wigan and Stoke star posted: “No pushing or shoving here – proper fighting.” Wrexham are currently enjoying their second pre-season tour of the United States since their takeover from Hollywood actor Ryan Reynolds and Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator Rob McElhenney. Branded the ‘Wrex Coast Tour’, the Welsh side are celebrating their back-to-back promotion success with friendly games in Santa Barbara, San Francisco and Los Angeles in the US. Plus, they’re making a trip north of the border to Vancouver, Canada – Reynolds’ home city. McClean is a big lover of boxing and has been no stranger to scraps on the football pitch over his careerInstagram: @macajw Colwill and McClean forgot the meaning of the word ‘friendly’Wrexham McClean captained Wrexham to a commendable 2-2 draw with Chelsea in CaliforniaGetty The club’s women’s team are also playing a series of matches in LA and Portland. Wrexham have enjoyed a decent pre-season so far, beating non-league side Hanley Town 5-1 before a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth and 2-2 draw with Chelsea in California. They play Major League Soccer outfit Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada on Sunday, before returning home to host Fleetwood Town at the Racecourse Ground on August 3. Parkinson’s men then begin their League One campaign against Wycombe on August 10, as Wrexham look to consolidate their position in the third tier of English football. Or, who knows, maybe even go for three straight promotions to reach the Championship.
Liverpool suffered a potential blow during their 1-0 victory over Real Betis as Curtis Jones was forced off through injury. The midfielder was substituted on 30 minutes and replaced by Trey Nyoni during the pre-season clash in Pittsburgh on Friday night. Arne Slot cut an animated figure during his first outing as Liverpool bossGetty Dominik Szoboszlai scored the winner in Arne Slot’s first outing but the new Reds boss admitted to concerns over Jones. He said: “I think it’s too early to tell [how bad it is]. He maybe could have played on, but I think maybe you could see he was not at 100 per cent. “In a friendly game, with so many days coming up in our tour, it was best to take him off. Hopefully he can recover from [it] really fast, but we have to wait and see. “We hope he recovers really fast so we can see him in the next few games.” Slot added: “It’s always a pity if he has to go out after 25 minutes, half an hour. And before that you could see that he was not completely free. “It was unfortunate because he had two really good weeks during the training sessions so I looked forward to seeing him in the game, but unfortunately he had to go out. “The good thing about that was that we brought someone [on] that impressed me in the 45 minutes to an hour he played afterwards. “That was the positive thing of Curtis going out for Trey, but of course for Curtis it’s a pity that he couldn’t play on.” Jones recently spoke of his delight at Slot’s arrival, having mostly been a fringe player under Jurgen Klopp. “He’s amazing,” the 23-year-old said when asked about Slot. Nyoni’s display came as a positive after Jones’ premature exitGetty “It’s probably the happiest I’ve been. As a style of play, it suits me. It is a clear plan. Arne is fully involved in the training, he coaches us a lot, he’s big on the finer details. “He knows it’s going to take a bit of time because it’s a big change. I came around the team as a young lad. I always had a way of playing, but I had to adapt and change. It wasn’t anything I couldn’t do. “But this now is more me. I can get on the ball more. I can ‘do me’ more.” Nyoni’s impressive display provided a silver lining for Slot during an eye-opening friendly in the States. The 17-year-old caught the manager’s eye and impressed Liverpool fans watching on from home. Nyoni made his senior debut in the 3-0 victory over Southampton in the FA Cup earlier this year, becoming Liverpool’s youngest ever player to feature in the competition. The former Leicester academy star was promoted to first-team training under Klopp last season after impressing in the Reds’ youth setup.
One of Marcus Rashford’s cars was involved in an accident with a suspected drink driver – with Manchester United teammate Tyrell Malacia taken to hospital for checks. As reported by The Sun, Rashford’s Range Rover was hit by a black Mercedes on July 16 in Wilmslow, Cheshire. The incident happened shortly before Rashford headed off to America with the Premier League club Malacia was sent to hospital for checks but was cleared and returned to United training the next day Rashford was in a different car travelling behind his Range Rover, which was being driven by a friend, with Dutch defender Malacia sitting in the passenger seat of the luxury vehicle. Both his friend and Malacia were sent to hospital for checks following the collision. Thankfully, the duo were cleared to leave by doctors after suffering no serious injuries. Rashford himself was not directly impacted by the incident. Cheshire Police have confirmed they were called to a collision between a blue Range Rover Sport and a black Mercedes C220 AMG sport and that a 55-year-old woman was held at the scene. The crash occurred two days before Rashford was given a six-month ban for being caught speeding in December 2023. Following the incident, Rashford and Malacia returned to pre-season training the next day. Rashford later jetted off to the USA with United on their tour. Malacia, however, stayed in Manchester to do fitness work. The left-back hasn’t played for Manchester United since the final day of the 2022/23 season due to a serious knee injury. After more than a year out of action, Malacia was left out of the pre-season tour of the US as he continues his recovery. Rashford wasn’t in the car, but his teammate Tyrell Malacia wasGetty Rashford will be desperate to show his best form this termGetty Meanwhile, Rashford is putting in the hard yards in order to enjoy a much more successful campaign this time around. The forward scored just eight times last term as his inconsistent performances contributed to the Red Devils finishing eighth in the Premier League. As a result, he was left out of England’s Euro 2024 squad as the Three Lions made it all the way to the final, which they lost to Spain in Berlin. Speaking ahead of the new season, United boss Erik ten Hag backed new assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy to help bring Rashford back to top form. He said: “The reason Ruud is here is clear, he can help the strikers, but he is more than this. “With Rashford he can only prove himself. He scores so many goals already at a relatively young age, he is capable of it. So I am confident, 100 per cent belief, he can do the same as few years ago.” Man United’s preparations for the new season began a fortnight ago and they recorded a 2-0 win over Rangers in a friendly earlier this week. They’ll next face Arsenal, Real Betis and Liverpool in the US before taking on Manchester City in the Community Shield on Sunday, August 11. United face Fulham on Friday, August 16 in their Premier League curtain-raiser. The Red Devils are also welcoming back Harry Maguire, who missed the FA Cup final win and England’s Euro 2024 campaign through injury. “When I first did the injury, I thought I’d be fit for the FA Cup final,” Maguire told reporters in the United States. Man United and Maguire are hoping for a fresh start ahead of the new seasonGetty “So, I pushed myself for the final and then I had a setback in the week leading up to the final, which ruled me out of it. “At that time again, it was no problem, I was going to be fit for the Euros. Then I went away with England and I had another setback, so yeah, it was so frustrating. “When I look back, I wish I had no chance with all of them, so I could have got my head around it. “But I thought I was going to play in the cup final or be involved at some stage and I thought 100 per cent I’d be involved at the Euros. “But it just didn’t happen and maybe I just pushed myself to get back too early but definitely, it was the toughest moment of my career, definitely.”
Ederson has slammed the ‘completely false’ news circulating about the Manchester City goalkeeper. The Citizens‘ shot-stopper has been heavily linked with a potential move to Saudi Arabia this summer. Ederson has made a staggering 332 appearances for Man CityGetty Reigning league champions Al-Ittihad are reportedly particularly keen to sign the six-time Premier League champion. And Ederson, who has been at City since 2017, is reportedly open to the potential move with the club set to ask for offers in excess of £30million. Amidst these spiralling rumours, a bigger furore arose after it was suggested the goalkeeping situation at Man City might be contributing to Ederson‘s potential exit. An article from The Athletic claimed that Ederson had been ‘affected by the praise Stefan Ortega received’ last season for one-on-one save against Tottenham’s Heung-min Son – one many fans saw as a crucial moment in City’s title race against Arsenal. The report suggested second-choice keeper Ortega had made a strong case for himself standing in while Ederson was injured at the end of the campaign. Ortega had proved instrumental to Man City’s title charge with the German’s save in the penultimate game of the season ensuring his club remained in the driving seat for the title. Suggestions had also been made by some City fans that the injured Ederson would not have been able to make that same save. And Ederson has now addressed the article on his Instagram story, where he wrote: “Clarifying that the note published by The Athletic yesterday refers to whether my alleged dissatisfaction with a colleague. “It is completely false, The supposed reported day was without a doubt, one of the hardest days of my career, when I suffered a fracture that prevented me from playing in the final stretch of the season and consequently representing my country in Copa America.” He added: “At the time of the injury, my thought was only to continue in the match, defending City in the contest for the conquered title. Ederson has slammed the article claiming he has been ‘affected’ by Ortega’s praiseInstagram@ @ederson93 Ortega got his team out of a sticky situation last season, garnering much praise from his teammatesGetty But Guardiola has insisted he would like to keep Ederson at the club if he canGetty “But the emotion of the match would be greater than reality and fatally, I would have no way to continue as I would like because of the damage it caused, completely hindering my field of vision. “I stay focused on the preparation of the season. EM31.” Ederson’s wife Lais Moraes has also been quick to rubbish the news story. Moraes took to social media to respond: “Get better information first. This is totally fake news.” Amidst the reports of Ederson’s possible departure, his City boss Pep Guardiola has not shed any light on the situation, either. When asked about the 30-year-old’s future, Guardiola said he was none the wiser than anyone else. “I don’t know,” he recently told the media. “[Ederson] has to see maybe other options. “Of course, I would like him to stay but it depends now on the clubs. “I don’t really know the situation because there are no contacts in the last days and it’s a question of training and being with us until the transfer window is going to finish. “We will see what is going to happen with him.” Man City open their Premier League title defence with a trip to Stamford Bridge as they face Chelsea on Sunday 18 August.
Manchester United have confirmed the appointment of Lillestrom manager Andreas Georgson as the club’s new first team coach. The Swedish coach is the latest new addition to Erik ten Hag’s new-look backroom team after United activated his buyout clause from the Norwegian side. GettyAndreas Georgson is known for his expertise on set-pieces[/caption] The 42-year-old took up the role with Lillestrom just eight months ago, but he has now moved to Old Trafford, with United forking out £280,000 to release him from his contract. And the Premier League giants know exactly what they are getting with Georgson, who comes highly recommended by the club’s technical director Jason Wilcox. Wilcox worked closely with Georgson at Southampton last campaign where the Swedish coach spent the first half of last season. Georgson was appointed by Wilcox during his time at St Mary’s as director of football. And he has wasted no time in convincing senior figures at Old Trafford in bringing him to Manchester. On appointing the Swede at Southampton, Wilcox said: “Andreas has an excellent understanding of the game model we’re building here, in which set-pieces play an important role. “He is an expert in what he does and truly eats, sleeps and breathes set-pieces, adding another string to our bow within the backroom staff supporting Russell and the team.” Georgson, who holds a UEFA Pro License and UEFA Certificate in Football Management, is no stranger to English football having utilised his set-piece specialism at Arsenal, Brentford before landing at Southampton. He kicked off his coaching career at Swedish side Malmo, rising through the ranks from youth team to first-team assistant manager. In 2022, he returned to the club as head of first-team football and enjoyed a short spell as caretaker manager before moving to the south coast in August 2023. GettyJason Wilcox has been reunited with ‘expert’ Georgson at Old Trafford[/caption] GettyGeorgson spent one season at Arsenal working alongside boss Mikel Arteta[/caption] His addition at United means it is an almost unrecognisable coaching team compared to when Ten Hag arrived at Old Trafford in 2022. Georgson has joined new faces Ruud van Nistelrooy and Rene Hake who have taken up assistant manager roles. Jelle ten Rouwelaar was also drafted in this summer as the club’s new goalkeeper coach while former Red Devil Darren Fletcher takes up the position of first-team coach with Steve McClaren United’s senior first-team coach. United are hopeful the new inclusions can help spark the club into life after a disappointing campaign, finishing eighth – their lowest position in Premier League history. Ten Hag’s men kick off the new season against Fulham at Old Trafford on August 16.
Kevin Nolan has stated a lack of minutes for Kalvin Phillips prior to his West Ham switch was just one reason why his loan spell never worked out. The Manchester City midfielder headed to the London Stadium on loan in January this year in a bid to reignite his career after a difficult time with the Premier League champions. Kalvin Phillips endured a tough time during his loan spell with West HamGetty In his time in east London, Phillips started just three of his ten appearances and picked up a red card in his fourth match for the club, with his performances seeing him miss out on England’s Euro 2024 squad. Having emerged as one of English football’s top defensive midfielders during his hugely successful time with Leeds, Phillips seems to have lost his way in his career, something that former Hammers coach Nolan is hoping he can put right. Speaking on the talkSPORT Breakfast show about his time at West Ham, Nolan said: “We put him in right away because we thought we should put him in and just let him play and get him going, but it didn’t work out. “To be fair to him, he’s such a lovely lad. You want him to do well so were there and we were still going and giving him the support he needed. “You had the boss speaking, just saying he’s going to need support over the next couple of months and we gave him that. “I think he’s seeing it and I think what he sort of realised in the early months was that he missed a lot of football and it was difficult to get back to that level so I quickly. “It’s great to see that he had a run-out last night and you know, hopefully, on the back of a good pre-season he’ll get a nice move away because that’s what’s being talked about, but he needs the right support and the right club.” Everton could be set to offer Phillips an escape route from his City nightmare, talkSPORT understands, something that Nolan says could be a good move for the midfielder. Asked about a move to Everton, Nolan said: “Sean Dyche is someone who would give him the support that he needs. “He’s got a really good backroom team and how they use the fitness coaches so being around them will help him. Nolan coached Phillips at the London Stadium last seasontalkSPORT Phillips’ performances as West Ham saw him miss out on England’s Euro 2024 squadGetty “He’ll also be at home, which was a major thing with him coming down to London. “He’d just had a baby, but everybody forgets about all of those things when we’re moving here, there and everywhere and our wives and kids are going off to another place while we get them set or they’re looking at houses. “To come and try and bed in when his missus has just had a baby and stuff like that, it was a difficult time for him – off the field, as well as on. “So hopefully he gets the opportunity to go to a club where he’s fit, he’s ready and on level with the other players. “I think he has (got a fire in his belly) and it’s not for anyone else, but it’s sort like ‘I’ll show you’ and it’s for himself more than anything. “He’s definitely got the ability and I truly hope that he gets back to where he was a couple of years ago and I’ve got no doubt that when he does, England will come knocking again.”
