BBC
Chelsea are ready to offer more than 100m euros (£87m) to sign 21-year-old Spain striker Samuel Omorodion from Porto next summer. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Manchester United legends Eric Cantona, Wayne Rooney and David Beckham have been approached to front a takeover bid for the club by an unknown consortium from the United Arab Emirates. (Guardian), external
Argentina forward Lionel Messi, 38, is expected to sign a new contract with Inter Miami. (Fabrizio Romano), external
Arsenal and Tottenham are among the Premier League clubs interested in Saint-Etienne's 17-year-old French striker Djylian N'Guessan. (Caught Offside), external
Getafe's Spanish midfielder Luis Milla, 31, has caught the eye of Aston Villa manager Unai Emery and Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone this season. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Barcelona scouts watched former England forward Mason Greenwood, 21, score four goals for Marseille at the weekend. (TBR Football)
Fulham manager Marco Silva is Nottingham Forest's first choice to replace Ange Postecoglou, but he is reluctant to leave Craven Cottage mid-season. (Times - subscription), external
Bournemouth are prepared for more bids for Ghana forward Antoine Semenyo, 25, in future transfer windows. (Football Insider), external
Newcastle and Aston Villa have emerged as favourites to sign Ecuadorian defender Joel Ordonez, 21, from Club Brugge. (Caught Offside), external
Casemiro is set to be offered a new contract at Manchester United but any deal will require the Brazil midfielder, 33, to take a substantial pay cut. (Football Insider), external
Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes is considering leaving at the end of the season if they do not improve. Bayern Munich are keen to sign the 31-year-old Portugal midfielder. (Fichajes - in Spanish), external
Championship strugglers Sheffield United will not entertain offers for 28-year-old Dutch midfielder Gustavo Hamer, who is a target of Leeds United, in the January transfer window. (Football Insider), external
Chelsea are in talks to appoint former Liverpool director of scouting and recruitment Dave Fallows, who helped secure deals for Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane at Anfield. (Sun)
Sky Paper Talk
PREMIER LEAGUE
Harry Maguire admitted it was "embarrassing" that Manchester United had taken so long to achieve back-to-back wins in the Premier League under Ruben Amorim, after a famous victory over champions Liverpool - The Daily Telegraph.
Eric Cantona has been approached by a consortium of investors based in the United Arab Emirates to act as an ambassador for a potential bid to buy Manchester United. Wayne Rooney and David Beckham are also on the group's radar for similar roles - The Guardian.
Sean Dyche is still Nottingham Forest's front-runner to be their next boss - Daily Mirror
Nottingham Forest would have to stump up £10m to land Marco Silva. - The Sun.
SCOTTISH FOOTBALL
Danny Rohl is sensationally back in the frame to be named next Rangers boss - The Scottish Sun.
Slaven Bilic, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Michael Carrick are also potential candidates for the Rangers job - The Scottish Sun.
Angus Gunn is seen as the long-term replacement for Kasper Schmeichel at Celtic - The Daily Record.
EUROPEAN FOOTBALL
Xabi Alonso has told the Real Madrid hierarchy to hold off on signing a big-money midfielder as he hopes that Florian Wirtz’s struggles at Liverpool open the door for a move to the Santiago Bernabeu - Defensa Central
Jobe Bellingham’s camp would prefer him to continue his development in Europe as rumours of a Borussia Dortmund exit intensify following his costly mistake against Bayern Munich - AS
INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL
Harvey Elliott has to start more games for Aston Villa to put himself in England contention, says Michael Owen - talkSPORT.
Thomas Tuchel should consider picking Danny Welbeck as Harry Kane’s back-up, according to former Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino - talkSPORT
GOLF
Tiger Woods has dropped to his lowest ever golf world ranking, falling 2,048th after his most recent back surgery - Daily Mail.
OS
U18s see off reigning champions Villa to claim third straight home win
West Ham United U18s 2-1 Aston Villa U18s
U18 Premier League South, Little Heath Training Ground, Saturday 18 October 2025, 12.30pm BST
After beating Nottingham Forest in the Premier League Cup a fortnight ago, West Ham United U18s returned to league action with a win by defeating last season’s U18 Premier League champions Aston Villa thanks to goals from Lewis Beckford and Andre Dike.
The first chance of the game fell to West Ham after some excellent build-up play from the back, with Finley Hooper breaking the lines. The ball progressed down the left flank and eventually found Beckford, who set up Dike, but his low shot from inside the box was well saved.
After 13 minutes, the home side continued to show our attacking intent. Joel Kerr caused problems down the left wing, driving into the box with purpose, but his shot was blocked.
Aston Villa’s first major opportunity came through Cole Ramsey, brother of Jacob and Aaron Ramsey, who broke down the left with some tricky footwork, but his shot was comfortably saved by Hooper.
Lauris Coggin’s side kept the pressure on, with Kerr proving to be a constant outlet. After a quick Villa free-kick was intercepted by Jonathan Unwin, the Northern Ireland U17 international was set up again, only for his effort to be blocked once more.
It felt only a matter of time before the home side found the breakthrough, and after 37 minutes we did exactly that, once again attacking down the left. Joe Scanlon, who had been drifting into midfield throughout, drove to the byline on this occasion and picked out Beckford. He showed great composure in the box to slot home and make it 1-0.
The early stages of the second half saw Aston Villa apply pressure, trying to get in behind the defence, but the young Hammers stood firm and defended resolutely, catching their forwards offside numerous times.
Despite that spell, Chuk Obi came close twice to doubling the lead as the home side threatened from set-pieces. His first chance came in the 56th minute, when a corner was not cleared properly, with the ball falling to him to curl just over the bar. Moments later, he came even closer when Kerr’s delivery was flicked on and found him again, but his header was cleared off the line.
The pressure finally told as West Ham doubled our lead after 64 minutes with a moment of brilliance from Dike. Beckford turned provider, carrying the ball down the right and finding Dike, who cut inside onto his left foot before curling a stunning effort into the top corner.
Dike now has five goals in nine games in all competitions for our U18s this season
After several substitutions to refresh the team, Tyrone Omotoye almost made an instant impact when Kerr’s hold-up play found him inside the box, but his effort was saved by the Villa goalkeeper.
U16s centre-back Emmanuel Onyeka-Fejokwu also came close to adding a third on his first start for the U18s, meeting Dike’s low cross, but his shot drifted over the bar.
With only minutes remaining, Villa pulled one back after a long ball was missed by Hooper, allowing substitute Heaven Kilwa to score into an empty net.
Kilwa had one final chance in stoppage time after cutting inside the box, but his effort went wide, sealing a hard-fought and impressive three points for the young Hammers, and a third home win in a row in all competitions.
Our next league fixture is away to Ipswich Town on 1 November at the Ipswich Town Training Centre, where Coggin’s side will look to continue our excellent run of form.
West Ham United U18s: Hooper ©, Perkins, Onyeka-Fejokwu, Montague, Scanlon (Jonyla 64), Morris, Dike, Unwin (Peychev 73), Obi (Omotoye 73), Beckford, Kerr
Subs not used: Ayesta (GK), Medine
Goals: Beckford 37, Dike 64
Booked: Obi, Kerr
Aston Villa U18s: Oakley, Atkins (Pinell 73), Bernard, Addey, Wilson ©, Melhuish (Green 53), Hayward, Boyd, Adediran (Lloyd 73), Ramsey (Kilwa 73), Bindey
Sub not used: Houston (GK)
Goal: Kilwa 85
Coggin: We want to build a winning mentality and make it a habit
After two wins in a row in all competitions, lead coach Lauris Coggin was pleased with his side’s performance, despite allowing the visitors back into the game.
He said: “I thought we started the game really well. Controlled the game with and without the ball. Some positive performances and created a decent amount of chances.
“I'd like to see more quality in our final actions to really assert ourselves, especially in the first half, and make the game clear. We leave the door open in the second half, and it becomes nervy in the last ten minutes. I think that's more on us rather than the opponent.”
He was also proud of the defensive resilience shown by the side, particularly after numerous changes, with Onyeka-Fejokwu starting his first game, saying: “The nature of the age group is that we change personnel most weeks. Another backline in today.
“Really pleased with the three points and what they gave. Emmanuel coming in as an U16 as well, his first start and it was fantastic for him. We want to make winning a habit and build on that mentality.”
Coggin also added that he was happy with how the team adapted to tactical changes, such as when Scanlon drifted into midfield to aid the team’s progression, saying: “We want to be flexible and give the players what we think they need moving forward.
“The game in this country is changing constantly, so we need to try and be ahead of that phase, and Joe's position and what he's done throughout the season is an example of that.”