Amad Diallo and Matthijs de Ligt were both fit enough to get back on the training pitch before Manchester United take on Athletic Club in Thursday’s Europa League semi-final.
The two players have been among the club’s top performers in a campaign which may be best forgotten. Amad scored six goals and created another five during his first 14 appearances under Ruben Amorim, flourishing whether he lined up as a wing-back or part of the attacking triumvirate before sustaining a serious ankle injury in February.
It was initially thought that Amad would miss the remainder of the campaign before he embarked upon a staggering recovery to fight his way back into contention for the club’s crucial European climax.
De Ligt’s return has not been quite so widely lauded, but the Dutch defender will be warmly welcomed back after missing the club’s last six matches. In his absence, United won just once and conceded 12 times.
United will need their strongest available XI to overcome Athletic in front of their raucous home crowd on Thursday evening. San Mames, a stadium known as ‘the Cathedral of Football’, has not seen many home defeats this season. Athletic are unbeaten in European competition on home soil this term and have lost just once in front of their own fans since August.
The Red Devils have been beaten on their previous two trips to Bilbao. Marcelo Bielsa’s full-throttle outfit smothered Sir Alex Ferguson’s side in 2012 en route to the Europa League final, while the first iteration of the Busby Babes were beaten 5-3 in the Basque Country 68 years ago.
It remains to be seen if either Amad or De Ligt will be thrown straight into the searing heat of San Mames. United are dealing with a potentially season-ending injury for Diogo Dalot, opening up a void at wing-back which could be directly filled by Amad. Alternatively, De Ligt’s insertion into the back-three could free Noussair Mazraoui to shuffle onto the right flank.
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90min rounds up the latest transfer news, rumours and gossip circulating around the world…
Real Madrid are ready to launch a bid worth €90m (£76.5m) to sign Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister, who they see as the long-term successor to Luka Modric. (Empire of the Kop)
Liverpool will demand €100m (£85m) to part ways with Mac Allister this summer. (Defensa Central – Spain)
Also linked with an exit from Liverpool is midfielder Harvey Elliott, who has been mentioned by former employers Fulham in conversations about a move to Anfield for left-back Antonee Robinson. (TBR Football)
Chelsea are looking at Aston Villa‘s Morgan Rogers who, despite not being made available for transfer, may be sold because of the chance to record a significant profit on a player who was signed for just £8m last year. (The Independent)
Aston Villa will do their best to keep hold of Rogers. Instead, it is Jacob Ramsey who is more likely to leave the club amid interest from Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. (TBR Football)
Man City are ready to spend over €100m (£85m) to sign Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz, who has already reached a verbal agreement with Bayern Munich. (Foot Mercato – France)
Real Madrid want to sign Wirtz as their replacement for winger Rodrygo. (Fichajes – Spain)
Rodrygo‘s price tag has been set at €100m (£85m), with both Arsenal and Man City expressing interest in the Real Madrid forward. (TodoFichajes – Spain)
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur are leading Bayern Munich in the race to sign Lyon midfielder Rayan Cherki, who is available for around €35m (£29.8m). (CaughtOffside)
Available for a move away from Man Utd is winger Alejandro Garnacho, whose price tag of €50m (£42.5m) is of interest to Napoli. (Cristiano Abbruzzese)
Marcus Rashford does not want to complete a permanent move to Aston Villa when his loan from Man Utd expires and is prepared to take a pay cut in order to seal a dream move to Barcelona. (The Mirror)
Rashford continue to be linked with Barcelona / Alex Livesey – Danehouse/GettyImages
Raphinha has warned Barcelona president Joan Laporta he will leave the club this summer if a new player is signed to provide competition for his position, such as Athletic Club’s Nico Williams. (El Nacional – Spain)
Borussia Dortmund are keen to keep Chelsea midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka permanently and could entertain a swap deal involving winger Jamie Gittens. Chelsea could offer Jadon Sancho to his former employers instead. (TEAMtalk)
Christopher Nkunku has asked to leave Chelsea at the end of the season and hopes to seal a move away from the Blues before the Club World Cup. (CF Bayern Insider)
There could be further movement away from Chelsea as goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga is emerging as a possible target for Bayer Leverkusen. (talkSPORT)
Liverpool are interested in signing Juventus full-back Andrea Cambiaso, also a target for Man City, as their replacement for Trent Alexander-Arnold. (Calciomercato – Italy)
Bayern Munich defender Eric Dier is close to sealing a free transfer to Monaco when his contract expires this summer. (L’Equipe – France)
Tottenham could enquire about midfielder Atletico Madrid midfielder Conor Gallagher if the La Liga side chase deals for Cristian Romero and Rodrigo Bentancur. (GIVEMESPORT)
Everton have identified Tottenham striker Richarlison as their top attacking target for the summer. (GIVEMESPORT)
Wrexham will look to sign Man Utd centre-back Jonny Evans when his contract expires as they seek to prepare themselves for life in the Championship. (The Sun)
Aston Villa will compete with Newcastle United to sign Lazio midfielder Matteo Guendouzi, who is valued at €35m (£29.8m). (InterLive – Italy)
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Barcelona are hoping to finally return home to Camp Nou from the early weeks of next season, a report has revealed.
The world famous stadium hasn’t seen a ball kicked since the 2022/23 campaign, with Barca instead playing ‘home’ games at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in the Montjuic neighbourhood.
It was intended to be a temporary measure for just last season, but delays in the Camp Nou redevelopment project have extended that stay to double its originally anticipated length.
But the final steps are being taken to ensure that the facility will be ready to begin hosting games again in the next few months. Mundo Deportivo writes that the pitch has now been laid, fully installed ahead of time to allow it to be ready to be played on in September.
Barcelona had previously confirmed the pitch-laying process would take around ten weeks and the time-frame should also eliminate further setbacks and delays.
Barcelona have been playing away from home / Alex Caparros/GettyImages
The Camp Nou project won’t be fully completed next season. The stadium, while re-open, will have to operate at a reduced capacity. But, still in excess of 60,000, it will be a step up from the Lluis Companys (55,000) in terms of size and therefore invaluable matchday revenue.
Final completion of all renovation work is expected ahead of the 2026/27 season, thereby restoring the capacity to over 100,000 once more.
In an official statement in February, Barcelona addressed the delays so far.
“The development of the works has undergone several unforgivables, a common situation in projects of this magnitude,” the club reasoned.
“These have been due to factors such as the availability of materials, the lack of qualified labor and work not initially planned, aspects that have generated changes in the execution schedules, which were very tight from the beginning.”
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Arsenal have work to do if they’re to reach their first Champions League final since 2006 as they were beaten 1-0 at home by Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.
The Gunners were rocked by an early goal, quickly learning that this was not the same PSG side that limped to a tame 2-0 defeat in north London back in October, and struggled to get a grip of the contest until later in the first half, well after Ousmane Dembele had opened the scoring.
They rallied after half-time but were tamed late on, with PSG missing the better of the chances in the final 15 minutes. As a result, Luis Enrique’s side merely need a result at home next Wednesday to advance into next month’s final.
How the game unfolded
Keen to ignite the Emirates ahead of the game, Mikel Arteta encouraged supporters to “bring their boots” to the stadium on Tuesday night, although it might’ve taken a few more than 60,000 to slow this PSG team down in the opening 30 minutes.
It was a deafening start to the semi-final, with the visitors immediately taming the home crowd’s vivacity which further ignited a relentless away end. Nuno Mendes’ scything pass broke through Arsenal’s defensive structure, finding the feet of Dembele and, after distributing wide to Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, the Frenchman put PSG ahead with an excellent first-time finish off the post.
Rocked, the Gunners struggled in the aftermath amid a Parisian exhibition. Their technical mastery was on full display as they made a mockery of Arsenal’s work without the ball, coming close to doubling their lead through Marquinhos and the nifty Desire Doue.
After half an hour of ominous PSG superiority, the hosts started to gain a foothold in proceedings. Their set-pieces gave the visitors something to think about, while Bukayo Saka’s increased influence undoubtedly worked in Arsenal’s favour. Gabriel Martinelli would’ve been offside had he converted Saka’s cross from the left, but the Brazilian timed his run perfectly when receiving Myles Lewis-Skelly’s pass in behind Marquinhos. The winger somewhat telegraphed his effort and couldn’t quite get the ball out of his feet when finishing, but he still forced Gianluigi Donnarumma into an excellent save.
Still, there was a sense of Arsenal building momentum at the interval.
For all their brilliance in 2025, PSG have interestingly shown some vulnerability at the start of second halves. They conceded twice in quick succession against Manchester City during the league phase, while Nice enjoyed a fast start after the interval on Friday night. The Gunners almost became the next team to take advantage of the sleepy Parisians, but Mikel Merino’s headed equaliser was ruled out for offside following a lengthy VAR check.
It seemed as if Enrique’s side were in for a period of suffering, especially after Leandro Trossard forced Donnarumma into a marvellous fingertip save, but they continued to produce enough prolonged passing sequences to keep the more buoyant hosts at bay. Enrique’s men then started to come on strong as the first leg neared its conclusion, with Arsenal struggling to win possession back and retain it when they did.
While Arteta’s side huffed and puffed, it was PSG who continued to create the better chances. Joao Neves blazed over from the edge of the box before substitutes Bradley Barcola and Goncalo Ramos spurned gilt-edge chances to potentially put the tie beyond the Gunners.
Declan Rice had a free-kick in a promising position at the death, but the visitors ensured they didn’t succumb to any dead-ball magic from the midfielder. In the end, they saw out their 1-0 win with some comfort.
Check out the player ratings from Arsenal 0-1 PSG here.
Arsenal couldn’t live with PSG in the opening exchanges / Xavier Laine/GettyImages
We knew this PSG team were special, and a little bit different to previous, more mentally frail iterations, and their glory manifested after their early goal.
Dembele has been emboldened by Enrique’s utilisation of him as a fluid false nine, and his fingerprints were all over their opener. Not only was he the man who finished the move off, but it was the Frenchman’s positioning behind Mikel Merino and in front of the Arsenal defence which allowed Nuno Mendes to pick him out with a decisive pass.
He took his role to the extreme, often creating a +1 advantage in the middle of the park, and occasionally hoping to receive possession off his centre-backs in the PSG half. Their interchangibility renders them almost impossible to slow down, and the Arsenal players spent much of the opening 30 minutes looking over their shoulders. Their revered press was compromised time-and-time again.
PSG’s technical genius allowed them to assert total control, but their capacity to win duels as well meant it took a while for the hosts to get a sniff. Their opening set the tone, but the way they finished the contest was just as impressive. As Arsenal grew in desperation, their willingness to keep the ball for longer periods increased.
This is an incredibly mature team.
Donnarumma made two big saves to ensure PSG won on the night / Justin Setterfield/GettyImages
Let’s not even think about Euro 2020.
During PSG’s run to the semi-finals, Donnarumma, who’s certainly not escaped criticism since moving to the French capital, has saved two penalties at Anfield to knock out the Premier League champions, and produced a couple of outstanding stops amid an Aston Villa onslaught to ensure his side progressed.
On Tuesday night in north London, the Italian was called upon infrequently, but his two moments on either side of half-time may prove decisive. Martinelli’s effort at the end of the first half was telegraphed, but it still required a big right-hand from the towering goalkeeper. That was a fine save, but his second major prevention of the night was even better. Donnarumma got down low ever so sharply to tip Trossard’s drive across goal past his far post.
His shot-stopping abilities have long been lauded, and Donnarumma came up with the goods again here. Moreover, there’s a sense that he’s improving when dealing with the high ball, and he was calm enough with his feet to contribute to PSG’s serene possession play.
Arsenal have a mountain to climb in Paris / Catherine Ivill – AMA/GettyImages
The final hour of the game was undoubtedly more balanced, although there was a sense that Arsenal had run out of ideas during the closing stages of the contest. Donnarumma wasn’t tested after Trossard’s effort drew the save of the night 56 minutes in.
He didn’t have many options, but could Arteta have turned to his bench sooner? Ben White may have supplied an alternate threat down the right, while Martin Odegaard was woeful and was worthy of an earlier removal. The captain has had a tough season, and some supporters will undoubtedly be questioning whether he should be included in the starting XI next week.
They came up against a magnificent opponent on Tuesday, but there was a sense in N5 ahead of the first leg that this may well be their year after the 15-time winners were slain. In order to reach the final, they must win handsomely in Paris against a team that won’t let them have the ball.
Arteta’s side aren’t ones for ceding control, and they’ll need to be decisive in moments next week. Set-pieces were an issue for the visitors, and a more direct game plan should work in Arsenal’s favour. There’s space to exploit in behind this PSG backline, but they can’t allow the tie to escape their clutches early on in the second leg. Parc des Princes will be raucous.
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Jurgen Klopp took to social media to admit Liverpool’s Premier League title triumph had left him feeling “super, super happy”.
Arne Slot became the first Dutch manager to lift the trophy after leading Liverpool to the top of the standings in his first season at the helm at Anfield, having replaced Klopp last summer following the German’s decision to step down.
It was Liverpool’s 20th top-flight title and comes five years after Klopp led the Reds to their first Premier League honours five years ago.
Reflecting on Liverpool’s latest triumph, Klopp wrote on Instagram: “Super grateful for the past, super, super happy about the present, extremely positive about the future!
“Congratulations – YNWA. Thank You Luv.”
Slot urged fans to chant Klopp’s name / Carl Recine/GettyImages
As Klopp bid farewell to the Anfield crowd last season, he encouraged those in attendance to serenade his successor, and Slot made sure to return the favour during his title celebrations. The current boss was asked why he felt the need to do so after the game.
“Because of what he did when I arrived here, before I even arrived here,” Slot said. “I think that is something not one manager ever did before.
“So that is what definitely helped me. But apart from that, he helped me even more by the team he left behind and the culture he left behind in that team.
“The quality the players have was, I think, obvious for everyone [to see]. But the culture of hard work, not only from the players, but also from the staff members, has been incredible. And that is one of the reasons we could achieve what we’ve achieved this season.”
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