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Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim has urged Benjamin Sesko to “embrace” the challenge of proving his doubters wrong after receiving criticism following his slow start to the season. The Slovenia international has found it difficult following his £74 million (€84m/$97m) move from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig but his manager has now challenged him to change the script.

Sesko has struggled to match Mbeumo and Cunha's instant impacts

Excitement was sky high over the summer as United invested over £200m on a new forward line consisting of Sesko, Bryan Mbeumo and Matheus Cunha. However, while Mbeumo and Cunha have hit the ground running for the Red Devils, it has been a different story for Sesko, who has scored just two goals in 11 appearances in all competitions.

Such has been Sesko’s difficulties adapting to English football that United legend Gary Neville has questioned whether the forward represents a good investment by the 20-time champions.

AdvertisementAFPSlovenia striker criticised by United legend

Speaking to on the back of United’s 2-2 draw with Nottingham Forest in the Premier League last Saturday, Neville said: "I’m no further forward with him, the jury’s still out. He’s miles off it compared to the other forwards United brought in, like Cunha and Mbeumo. He looks awkward, his touch was off a few times when balls went over the top. For £80m [sic], yes he’s young and still settling but you want to see something more.”

However, while United head coach Amorim accepts Sesko has struggled upon his arrival from German football, the Portuguese has advised his charge not to take criticism from club legends too personally.

Amorim urges Sesko not to take criticism too personally

Offering an insight into how hard Sesko is working behind the scenes in order to change the narrative surrounding his big-money move, Amorim said: "I'm relaxed, [but] he's not relaxed. I understand how things are in football and he's going to struggle. That is normal. He has no experience here.

"The first impact [is] when everyone says that you are so good, you are the next big thing and you hear that about Sesko. Then you come to one club that is the hardest club. If you don't perform every week, you are going to hear a lot of things from club legends, from pundits, from the media – and sometimes they are right.

"Of course, nobody likes to hear but he struggled a little bit, and that is a fact. So, let's embrace that. It is hard to hear but it's not personal. It's an opinion that is going to change in three weeks. Everything that is true today, in three weeks, could be a lie.

"Ben is a young kid, a control freak. He wants to control everything – and he's not going to control everything.

"He has more potential than I was thinking [but] we need to understand how he likes to play and also to put in our ideas. I'm quite relaxed with that. He is going to be our striker for the long term but he's going to have these struggles and these bumps during the ride. That is a normal thing in football."

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Getty Images SportRed Devils looking to extend unbeaten run in trip to Spurs

Sesko will be hoping to ease the pressure on his shoulders when United travel to Tottenham in the league on Saturday. It is the first meeting between the two sides since the Europa League final in May, when Spurs ended their 17-year trophy drought with a 1-0 victory over Amorim’s men.

United, however, head to north London in great spirits following a four-game unbeaten run in the league. The Old Trafford club – who are currently eighth in the table and just a point behind sixth-placed Tottenham – secured three consecutive victories over Sunderland, Liverpool and Brighton before last weekend’s draw with Forest.

Previewing his side’s trip to Spurs, Amorim said: "I think we are improving as a squad. We are winning games because we train better, we understand better the game. We have more options. So it's more, the consistency from the results is more a squad thing than a starting XI."

Wolverhampton Wanderers are now targeting Brendan Rodgers as a replacement for Vitor Pereira, amid boardroom doubts about the Portuguese manager, who has made a very poor start to the campaign.

Indeed, Pereira is arguably fortunate to still be in a job, given that West Ham United and Nottingham Forest have already made changes, with the Old Gold sitting bottom of the Premier League, having failed to win any of their opening nine games.

Wolves have amassed just two points, which means they are currently six points adrift of safety, and the most recent result is likely to be particularly concerning, suffering a 3-2 defeat at home against newly-promoted Burnley.

Pereiera had to be dragged away from an altercation with the fans after the full-time whistle, before going on to urge the supporters to stick with the team in his post-match interview, saying: “We understand the frustration of the people and supporters but what I must say, if we fight united with them, we can win games and compete and achieve our targets – without them, it is impossible,”

“If we win two or three games in a row, things will change.”

The 57-year-old appears to be safe for the meantime, with the board not taking any drastic action after the Burnley defeat, but the club’s hierarchy are starting to have doubts about their manager…

Wolves targeting Rodgers to replace Pereira

According to a report from The Boot Room, Rodgers has now emerged as a target for Wolves, with the 52-year-old now available after resigning from his position as Celtic manager earlier this week.

Transfer expert Graeme Bailey adds: “Wolves, as it stands, are sticking with Vitor Pereira, but I understand the club’s hierarchy is split. Some wanted Pereira out after their weekend defeat to Burnley, so they are one to watch.”

As such, the former FC Porto manager may get a few more games to save his job, but if results don’t improve, the Northern Irishman could be brought in to replace him, having decided moving back to England is his “number one priority”.

After such a poor start to the season, the Old Gold may need a special manager to guide them to safety, and the ex-Celtic boss, who has managed 34 Champions League games, could fit the bill.

Gabriel Agbonlahor once lauded the former Leicester City boss for the work he did at the King Power Stadium, describing him as a “world-class” manager.

During his time with the Foxes, Rodgers, who often utilises a 4-3-3 formation, secured two fifth-place finishes and won the FA Cup, showcasing that he is capable of punching above his weight with a smaller club.

Despite signing a new three-year contract last month, there is only so long Wolves can stick with Pereira if results don’t improve dramatically, and the former Leicester manager could be the ideal replacement.

Could Jorgen Strand Larsen save Vitor Pereira's job? Wolves' "phenomenal" star looks like another Cunha-type player for Pereira

The talented international could be another Cunha-type star for Wolves this season.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 18, 2025

Yusei Kikuchi started the Los Angeles Angels game against the Texas Rangers on Monday night. Kikuchi pitched five innings, giving up four runs on six hits. When he left the game after the fifth inning, his team trailed, but came back to win 6-5.

Not bad considering how things started for Kikuchi. Sam Haggerty, leading off for the Rangers, hit the ball back to Kikuchi on a 3-2 count in the first at-bat of the game. Kikuchi did not field the ball cleanly and chased after it, tripping over the mound in the process. Kikuchi tumbled and ended up on his knees, sitting feet away from the ball while Haggerty stood safely on second.

The next batter to come up, Corey Saeger, also took Kikuchi to a full count before he hit a two-run home run.

That's about as rough of a start as you can have. Two batters, 14 pitches, one home run, two earned runs, one embarassing fall. Going five full innings was downright heroic considering that start.

Nottinghamshire batter Matthew Montgomery joins Derbyshire on three-year contract

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2025Gloucestershire’s England Lions fast bowler Ajeet Singh Dale has agreed a move to Lancashire at the end of the season, signing a three-year contract, while fellow seamer Matt Milnes has opted for a return to Kent after three injury-hit seasons with Yorkshire.Singh Dale, 25, is regarded as one of the quickest bowlers on the county circuit and was subject to interest from several counties after entering the final summer of his contract with Gloucestershire, whom he joined from Hampshire in 2022. Across four seasons at Bristol, he took 81 first-class wickets at 38.24, as well as being picked for the Lions in 2024 and 2025.Lancashire’s director of cricket performance, Mark Chilton, described Singh Dale as an “exciting young fast bowler with genuine pace and a real hunger to keep on developing and improving his game” who would help add depth to the attack at Old Trafford.Singh Dale said: “I’m really excited to be joining Lancashire and can’t wait to get started with the club in November. Lancashire has an exceptionally strong squad, which can compete across all formats, and I’m looking forward to pushing myself in a new environment while contributing towards success for this great club.”I have heard great things about the set-up and facilities at Emirates Old Trafford and I’m confident it’s the right place for me to take the next step in my career with the Red Rose.”Matt Milnes claimed his maiden five-wicket haul for Yorkshire this week• Allan McKenzie/SWPIx.comMilnes, 31, has opted to head back to Kent on a three-year deal in order to be closer to family, having failed to make the expected impact after signing for Yorkshire in 2022. He only managed five County Championship appearances across three seasons, due to a series of back problems, with his best figures coming in their most-recent match – victory over Sussex at Scarborough that lifted hopes of the club avoiding relegation.A member of the Kent team that won the 2021 T20 Blast, Milnes said he was “excited to come back to Kent and join this new project under Adam Hollioake”. In a successful first spell at Canterbury, he claimed 126 first-class wickets at 27.15, as well as 37 in T20.Simon Cook, Kent director of cricket, said: “We’re delighted that Milnesy has chosen to come back to Kent. He was an extremely big part of our bowling attack during our sustained periods of success in his first time here, and he is an extremely talented bowler in both red- and white-ball cricket.”As we plan for the future in our ethos of producing Kent talent, his experience will also be a great boost to us, too.”Montgomery to join DerbyshireMatthew Montgomery’s offspin has been successful in T20•Getty ImagesNottinghamshire batter Matthew Montgomery will make the switch to Derbyshire on a three-year contract. He will join the club initially on loan for the Metro Bank One-Day Cup (although will be ineligible to face Notts).Montgomery, who was born in South Africa but has a German passport, made his Notts debut in 2021 and scored the first of his two first-class hundreds the following summer. Although he has only played once in the County Championship this year, he became an integral part of the T20 side, topping the bowling averages with 15 wickets at 18.06.”Matt has chosen to join our project at Derbyshire and we’re delighted to welcome him to the club,” Mickey Arthur, Derbyshire’s head of cricket, said. “He’s a batter with real ability in all formats, and he will get the opportunity to show what he can do. His bowling will also be a real asset for us in T20 cricket.”Montgomery said: “I’m excited to work with Mickey and join a group that is moving in the right direction. I look forward to taking this next step in my career and hope I can contribute to Derbyshire’s success across all formats.”

The spinning pitch in Pune seems like a reaction to the seaming pitch in Bengaluru and its come back to bite them

Deivarayan Muthu25-Oct-20241:37

Manjrekar: Kohli’s perception of length seems to be an issue

Skittled for 46 by fast bowlers in seaming conditions under cloudy skies in Bengaluru.Skittled for 156 by spin on a dry, turning pitch under cloudless skies in Pune.After two collapses in contrasting conditions, India are on the verge of losing their first Test series at home since December 2012, when Alastair Cook’s England toppled them. It feels like a storied era might be coming to an end.Mitchell Santner and Glenn Phillips, who aren’t specialist spinners in Test cricket, outshone R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar. New Zealand also outbatted India in Pune.Related

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While Ryan ten Doeschate, the assistant coach, dismissed notions that it was a “desperate measure” to prepare a pitch that would help spinners create uncertainty simply by landing the ball on a good length – and bring in the extra offie from outside the squad to exploit it better – it seems like an overreaction to their collapse in Bengaluru. India were looking to take New Zealand’s quicks out of the game and then trust their batters to deal with the spinners but again when one ball turns and another doesn’t – even though they pitched in the exact same spot – batting becomes a lottery. Shubman Gill was lbw to a straight ball soon after seeing one rip past his outside edge. Rishabh Pant was bowled by a short ball that shot low.Perhaps India might look back and wonder if they could have done more to throw Santner and Phillips off their lines and lengths. A lot of batters, especially those visiting the subcontinent, turn to the sweep shot to accomplish this. New Zealand were no different. On the opening day, even though there was a short third, and a square point led to dissuade Devon Conway from playing that shot, he went for it anyway and prospered. Overall, New Zealand scored 87 runs off 67 balls using various varieties of the sweep across both innings. It has cost them just the two wickets.3:12

Why have India’s batters struggled in home Tests?

India had even more reason to try and upset the bowlers because by the time they batted it was difficult to be sure what the ball would do. Would it spin? Would it go straight on? Would it stay low? They tried to answer these questions with a vertical bat. That’s how they’ve had success playing spin. They went to the sweep only 17 times and got 24 runs for the loss of Virat Kohli. Increasingly, they just ended up stuck in the crease, allowing Santner and co. to keep hitting the drier, good-length spots.Morne Morkel, India’s bowling coach, admitted that New Zealand’s attacking approach disrupted their plans. New Zealand had similarly disrupted Sri Lanka’s plans in Galle with their sweeps.”Yeah, I think I must give credit to New Zealand, I think the way they’ve adapted to conditions, the way they’ve blocked out what is in front of them and just played the game has been incredible so far in this series,” Morkel said. “I think definitely in Bangalore and here, playing those sessions, playing those important moments, they’ve done it better than us at the moment, and that’s one of the reasons why they’re on top of this game at the moment as well.”They’re creating pressure with the ball, they’re putting our batters under pressure by sweeping well, reverse-sweeping well, so they’re a team that always plan well and they go into tours and really leave no stone unturned, so I’m not surprised with the way they’re playing at the moment.”Santner, who was rolling out some sweeps during New Zealand’s training session on the eve of the Test, said that they had made a concerted effort to take some calculated risks and attack India’s spinners.”We know how challenging it can be in these conditions,” Santner said. “We’ve seen India squeeze a lot of teams for a long time and I guess it was pleasing with the bat was guys trying to fire some shots and play some sweeps and take on the bowlers because we know on the flip side, as a bowler, if guys are using their feet or going back or sweeping it kind of can upset your length a little bit. You know, in the past we’ve come here and just tried to block it out and, you know, eventually one’s got your name on it.”The collapse on Friday will sting, especially with New Zealand finding ways to score and push their lead up to 301, and there will be serious introspection – both in terms of the options they chose with the bat and the problems they had with the ball. But these events are part of a team’s life cycle.”Every few years there comes a time when key players are not in their prime,” Sanjay Manjrekar said on . “And you can clearly say Rohit Sharma is not in his prime right now so is Virat Kohli. That happened in 2011, when India suffered defeats in England 4-0 and Australia 4-0. There you had many senior players who were on the wane, and they didn’t quite deliver and India suffered. But here there’s been a nice transition. There’s Gill, there’s [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, there’s Sarfaraz [Khan], there’s Rishabh Pant. It’s been a nice transition.”But I guess somewhere in a situation like this, when New Zealand were throwing some really difficult questions at India, experienced players have to be at the forefront and they haven’t quite contributed. Hardly any contributions from Rohit Sharma in the first innings. From Virat Kohli as well and that is somewhere coming into play.”From 2012 to 2024, India were invincible at home. With every series, they kept finding ways to outlast their opponents, seemingly immune to the way good things are supposed to work. Crowds all over the country had gotten used to this. The 20,000 or so in Pune were screaming their heads off as the second wicket fell. Because it wasn’t so much a success for the opposition. It was the intro to their hero. The DJ played Oscar winner AR Rahman’s as Kohli walked out to the middle. But this script wasn’t like the others, and now there is every chance that in the next two days – or maybe even less – a proud and unmatched streak will finally come to an end.