Former Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez is on the radar of Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United after falling out of favor at Al Hilal, while Julián Álvarez will priortize a move to Barcelona if he leaves Atlético Madrid.

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TRENDING RUMORS

– Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United are among the clubs interested in signing Al Hilal striker Darwin Núñez if the former Liverpool striker becomes available, as reported by TEAMtalk. The 26-year-old has been left out of the Saudi club’s league and cup squads due to strict foreign-player quotas following the arrival of Karim Benzema. Atlético Madrid and Juventus are also long-term admirers of the Uruguay international and would both be interested in a move if the opportunity arose and the finances were within their reach.

– If Julián Álvarez leaves Atlético this summer, the striker will priortize a move to Barcelona over Liverpool or Arsenal, says Football Insider. Sources have told ESPN that Arsenal are exploring the possibility of launching a summer move for Álvarez, as Gunners sporting director Andrea Berta negotiated the Argentina international’s €95 million transfer from Manchester City in August 2024. But it appears the player has other ideas over a future destination.

– Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich, RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund are all interested in Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Mateus Mané, according to TEAMtalk. They join a flurry of Premier League clubs looking at the 18-year-old as Manchester United, Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton have all been keeping close tabs on his progress. Mane is happy with how his situation with Wolves has progressed in recent months and isn’t in a rush to leave the club, although the opportunity to join a top side could interest him, especially if his current side are relegated.

– Barcelona like Levante forward Karl Etta Eyong and are monitoring him, says Fabrizio Romano. They will face plenty of competition for the 22-year-old, with Fulham following his situation, while Levante received a late €30 million offer from CSKA Moscow in the last transfer window, which they were ready to accept until Etta Eyong stated that he didn’t want to move.

– Internazionale will trigger the option to make Man City defender Manuel Akanji‘s loan deal permanent for €15 million, according to Nicolo Schira. Inter have already agreed personal terms on a contract that will be worth €3.75 million-a-year and run until 2028, with the option for an extra year. Inter have an obligation to complete the deal if they win the league, yet they will sign the 27-year-old even if that isn’t triggered.

EXPERT TAKE

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Are Man City more confident in title charge after win vs. Newcastle

Don Hutchison and Steve Nicol discuss Man City’s Premier League title aspirations after their win over Newcastle.

OTHER RUMORS

– Arsenal are in talks over an €80 million summer move for AC Milan winger Rafael Leao. (Football Transfers)

– Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool are all particularly attentive regarding Eintracht Frankfurt left back Nathaniel Brown. (Caught Offside)

– Aston Villa plan on triggering their clause to make Douglas Luiz‘s loan from Juventus permanent for €25 million plus €3.5 million in add-ons. (Nicolo Schira)

– Atletico Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United are among the clubs monitoring Lyon attacking midfielder Pavel Sulc at around €50 million. (Daily Mail)

– Liverpool could look to offload Cody Gakpo in the summer if they identify a top left-wing option. (Football Insider)

– Lois Openda is not part of Juventus’ plans for next season and the Serie A club will try to offload him in the summer. (Nicolo Schira)

– Newcastle United hold a concrete interest in Wolves left back Hugo Bueno, as they look for a player to provide cover and competition for Lewis Hall. (Football Insider)

– Liam Rosenior doesn’t want Chelsea to let Trevoh Chalobah leave amid Aston Villa’s interest in the center back. (Football Insider)

– Several German Bundesliga and Premier League clubs have shown an interest in Club Brugge striker Nicolo Tresoldi. (Nicolo Schira)

– Genoa have offered Caleb Ekuban a new contract that would run until 2028. (Nicolo Schira)

Australia coach Andrew McDonald is adamant the players he took to the Twenty20 World Cup were good enough, but the evidence suggests otherwise with a rebuild looming before they co-host the next tournament with New Zealand in 2028.

The 2021 champions were seen as title contenders again at the showpiece in India and Sri Lanka, but the former white-ball heavyweights instead suffered a calamitous exit in the group stage for the first time since 2009.

They head home to a significant pile-on from former Australian greats and an acerbic media who expected more.

They have been quick to lob sharp criticism at the underperforming players and perceived selection blunders.

“We said at the start of this World Cup that we were concerned about Australia,” pace great Glenn McGrath told reporters, pointing to the absence of fast bowlers Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc as exposing a soft underbelly.

“All of a sudden, the aura of that Australian team is no longer there when other teams play it … unfortunately, not surprising.”

The warning lights were flashing before the event even started when they capitulated heavily to Pakistan in a three-game warm-up, outplayed with bat and ball.

In those matches they lost by 22, 90 and 111 runs — the final two Australia´s largest in terms of runs in T20 internationals.

At the time, skipper Mitchell Marsh said: “Absolutely no stress from our end.”

That soon became: “It´s a devastated group” as their T20 campaign unravelled with defeats to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka.

Australia´s three selectors — George Bailey, McDonald and Tony Dodemaide — have come in for particular criticism, notably their continued faith in under-performing all-rounders Cameron Green and Cooper Connolly.

They were also blasted for their head-scratching failure to play Steve Smith and to drop in-form Matt Renshaw for the Sri Lanka clash when they were still mathematically alive.

“Look at the selections, look at [Glenn] Maxwell, Connolly, Green and [Josh] Inglis, these guys are all out of form,” lamented Mark Waugh, himself a former selector.

“The selectors have their plans in place, but you´ve got to be smart enough to see which players are in form and which players are out of form.

“And you´ve got to play the percentages a lot better than what our selectors have played.”

Own the fact

A defiant McDonald said there was “always going to be differing opinions from the outside”, suggesting they “don´t understand what the moving parts are and the conversations are on the inside”.

“The build into this tournament and the style of cricket, the balance of our batting unit and the balance of our bowling attack, we felt really confident coming into this tournament,” McDonald added.

“I think the decisions that we made and the squad that we picked, we´ve got a room full of players that are incredibly disappointed knowing that they were good enough to progress, and we´ve just got to own the fact that we haven´t.”

A forensic review of their disastrous performance is set to kick in once they return home ahead of planning for the next T20 World Cup when only three in the current squad — Green, Connolly and quick Xavier Bartlett — will be aged under 30.

What becomes of some of their ageing champions like Maxwell, Marcis Stoinis, Hazlewood and Cummins remains to be seen. Starc has already bowed out of the game´s shortest format.

McDonald noted that with a heavy Test load ahead and a one-day World Cup in 2027, Australia´s T20 schedule was light going forward, giving them limited opportunities to fine-tune the team in the immediate future.

“In the next 12 months, we´ll have a lack of T20 cricket, as is the way of the schedule,” he said. “We go to Bangladesh and we´ve got a series against England.

“They won´t really ramp up until pretty much that World Cup year, which is similar to what happened in this cycle.

“That´s probably not enough to start to build out what your direction is. I think that´ll come a little bit closer.”

WASHINGTON — Cameron Boozer scored 18 points, and No. 3 Duke handed another neutral-site loss to fellow blueblood Michigan, knocking off the top-ranked Wolverines 68-63 on Saturday night in a raucous possible Final Four preview in the nation’s capital.

The Wolverines had won 11 straight games and replaced Arizona atop the AP Top 25 poll this week. The now-fourth-ranked Wildcats won at No. 2 Houston earlier Saturday, making it the first time since Feb. 8, 2025, that the teams ranked Nos. 1 and 2 in the poll lost on the same day.

With his dad, former Duke and NBA star Carlos Boozer, in attendance, Cameron Boozer hit a 3-pointer with 1:55 left to give the Blue Devils a 64-58 lead. Isaiah Evans added 14 points for the Blue Devils (25-2), who could return to Capital One Arena in just over a month for the East Regional of the NCAA tournament.

“That was a game that didn’t feel like it was played in February,” Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. “That felt like a March or April game. Obviously, we have a ton of respect for Michigan, the staff, and how good they are. And I thought it just was a big-time game where our guys were ready to compete at a high level.”

In the programs’ first meeting in 12 years, Duke improved to 23-8 against Michigan and 7-0 on neutral courts, a series that includes the 1992 national title game. Michigan hasn’t beaten Duke since Dec. 6, 2009, in Ann Arbor.

Yaxel Lendeborg scored 21 points for the Wolverines (25-2), who had not lost since a home defeat by three points to Wisconsin on Jan. 10.

Though second-year coach Dusty May’s Michigan squad has been hailed for unselfishness, Scheyer’s Blue Devils showed more versatility on offense. Caleb Foster scored 12 points, and Patrick Ngongba II added 11 as Duke found soft spots in the Wolverines’ top-rated defense.

Meanwhile, Duke won the rebounding battle 41-28 as Michigan settled for too many one-and-done perimeter shots, going 6-of-25 from 3-point range.

“When you schedule a game like this, you don’t know what it’s going to look like after the fact, and even the preparation leading up to it. We know more about our team now. We’ll be better because of this game and overall,” May said. “We didn’t rebound the way we needed to, and we made some timely errors, and when you’re playing someone like Duke, they make you pay for every mistake. And they did that tonight.”

Fans traded chants of “Let’s go Duke!” and “Let’s go Blue!” for the rare must-see matchup in a city starved for meaningful basketball. ESPN’s “College GameDay” was broadcast from inside the arena during the teams’ morning shootaround, and tickets for upper-level seats were selling in the $600 range in the hours before the game, with courtside seats upwards of $6,000.

Defense had the upper hand in a spirited, physical first half in which neither team led by more than five points. Ngongba was fouled while fighting for a rebound with 0.8 seconds left and made both free throws to give the Blue Devils a 35-33 lead at the break.

Surprisingly, Duke never trailed again.

“This game helped us understand what a tournament environment is all about,” Scheyer said. “I’m thankful for this, just this whole event, because I think it really simulates what it’s going to be. And whether we have an opportunity to play in Washington or not, this helped us a lot.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.