The French midfielder has enjoyed a welcome return to form of late, but Clayton Blackmore believes he can offer even more to the collective cause

Paul Pogba is “not working hard enough getting back”, says Clayton Blackmore, with there more an in-form Manchester United midfielder could be offering to the collective cause.

Having endured a testing start to the 2018-19 campaign which ultimately led to him being benched by Jose Mourinho, a World Cup winner is currently enjoying a welcome upturn in form.

He has delivered five goals and four assists across his last six Premier League outings, with his efforts helping Ole Gunnar Solskjaer to open his reign as interim United boss with eight successive victories.

Plaudits are raining down on the 25-year-old once more, with another all-action performance put in during the Red Devils’ recent 3-1 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Arsenal.

Pogba has, however, been told that he could do even more, with former United defender Blackmore telling Love Sport Radio: “It’s a team game.

“You can have fantastic individuals who can win you the game over and over again but if the team aren’t playing well… I was a little bit disappointed with Paul [against Arsenal].

“He was really good going forward but he’s not working hard enough getting back.

“I know he’s got [Ander] Herrera and [Nemanja] Matic there but I like to see the whole team working as hard as each other.”

While suggesting that Pogba could do more for United, Blackmore admits the same accusation could not be levelled at Solskjaer.

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The Norwegian has made a remarkable impact since being appointed as interim successor to Mourinho, with calls for him to be handed the reins on a permanent basis now growing in intensity.

“Whoever is going to come in won’t do as well as he’s doing now so why would you bring someone else in?” said Blackmore, who spent 10 years as part of United’s senior squad after emerging out of their youth system.

“It’s not just him either. He’s got Mick Phelan in there. There was a lot said about when [David] Moyes came in and he got rid of Mick Phelan.

“You lose, on the coaching side of it, pretty much everything we had before.

“They’ve got great experience now there in terms of the coaching side and obviously playing at the club.

“For me, it’s a no-brainer. It was a no-brainer a few weeks ago.”

Solskjaer, Phelan and Pogba will be looking to make it nine wins in a row on Tuesday when United play host to Burnley in Premier League competition.

The Toffees boss addressed reports that the Senegalese star could be on his way to France, insisting no fresh bids have been submitted

Everton manager Marco Silva said he is hopeful that Idrissa Gueye will remain at Goodison Park, after revealing there have been ‘no new offers’ for the midfielder from Paris Saint Germain.

The Ligue 1 giants tabled a £22m ($29m/€25m) bid for the 29-year-old at the start of the week, which the Toffees rejected outright.

Gueye was forced to miss Everton’s 1-0 Premier League win at Huddersfield last night through injury, amid reports of a second approach from PSG.

Speaking after the game, Silva dismissed those transfer rumours before stating his belief that the Senegal international will not be leaving the club during the current transfer window.

When asked to explain Gueye’s absence from the Huddersfield clash, Silva responded: ‘He had a minor problem with his groin.

“But to be honest with you and our fans, but after the match, I found out if something new had happened because I expected your question about him.

“There is nothing new. He had a minor problem in his groin but the feedback I got after the match was there was nothing new, no new offers for him, he keeps being our player and I hope he can continue with us.”

There had been some suggestion in the media that Gueye submitted a transfer request after PSG lodged a fresh £30m ($39m) bid yesterday, but Silva went on to deny knowledge of any such action taking place.

“I don’t know about a transfer request or not because, as you know, we were in the hotel last night,” he added.

“For our players, I want their full focus even if we know the market is still open until the 31. It is always really tough for us.

“About the new offer of £30? Nothing new has come to our club. There is nothing new about this situation.”

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Gueye has featured in 20 Premier League matches this season, standing out as one of the bright sparks for Everton in an otherwise disappointing season to date.

Silva’s men are eighth in the top-flight standings and 12 points off a place in the final Europa League spot, with only 14 matches left to play.

The 18-year-old has finalised his switch from the Croatian first football league, but will remain in his homeland on loan

Manchester City have completed the signing of Hajduk Split midfielder Ante Palaversa, the club have announced on deadline day.

The Croatian teenager has put pen to paper on a deal with the Premier League champions after completing a medical on Tuesday.

Palaversa, 18, will be sent back to Hadjuk on loan until 2020, but City have the option to recall him in January of the same year.

The young playmaker expressed his delight after the transfer was made official on Thursday: “I’m Hajduk’s saying, playing at the Poljud was always my dream, and after all, I’m happy to see the work of the Hajduk Academy recognized one of the biggest clubs in the world. 

“Thanks to Manchester City on the trust, there is still a lot of work ahead for me, I have not yet shown all I can and I hope to play for Hajduk to justify the great trust I received from England champions.”

Palaversa has played 14 matches for Hadjuk this season and contributed two goals, developing quickly and enhancing his repuation as a talented future star with each passing game.

He has represented Croatia at every youth level between U-14 and U-19, with some suggestion that he could be called up to the senior squad for Euro 2020 if he continues on his current trajectory.

Manchester City will not be able to utlise his talents for a year or so yet, but regular football in his homeland should see him improve at a more dramatic rate before he joins his new teammates at the Etihad Stadium.

Palaversa is the English giant’s first signing of the January window, despite the fact Pep Guardiola had been looking at signing a new defensive midfielder, to provide cover for Fernandinho.

City are currently second in the Premier League, five points behind Liverpool with 14 matches left to play.

Guardiola’s men also have a Carabao Cup final against Chelsea to look forward to, while they also negotiate the latter rounds of both the FA Cup and Champions League, with an unprecendented quadruple still within their sights.

The former Manchester United man arrived on loan from Borussia Dortmund last week and made an immediate impact for his new club

Shinji Kagawa made Super Lig history on Sunday, becoming the first Japanese player to score in the Turkish top flight as Besiktas thrashed Antalyaspor.

The former Manchester United midfielder moved from Borussia Dortmund before the transfer deadline and made an immediate impact for his new club.

Kagawa started Sunday’s match on the bench before coming on to replace Adem Ljajic in the 81st minute.

Within a minute he had scored with his first shot on target, sending a low strike that beat goalkeeper Ruud Boffin, and two minutes later he had doubled his tally to complete an impressive debut.

Victory lifted Besiktas into third place in the table after 20 matches, although they remain 11 points behind leaders Istanbul Basaksehir.

The brace brought about the first goals the former Manchester United midfielder has scored all season after he fell out of favour at Dortmund before his loan departure .

Kagawa had only featured four times in all competitions for the Bundesliga side, who sit top of the German top tier with a lead of seven points over Borussia Monchengladbach and Bayern Munich.

Dortmund’s sporting director Michael Zorc had some complimentary words about Kagawa when his departure was announced last week: “Shinji is not only an outstanding football player, but also a great friend of our club,” he said. “We did not want to deny him this request.”

Despite making the move to Turkey on deadline day, the Japan international said in November that he wants to play in Spain before he retires from football.

If he were to eventually move to La Liga it would be the fifth country Kagawa has played in, having started his career in his native Japan before spells at Dortmund, United and now Besiktas.

But for the remainder of the 2018-19 campaign Kagawa will be focused on helping his new club improve on their current third-place position in the Turkish top tier.

He will not feature in any European competitions after Besiktas were knocked out of the group stages in the Europa League, finishing behind Genk and Malmo in Group I.

Merseyside Police have confirmed a 30-year-old man was extradited from Italy for charges of assault and violent disorder

A man has been charged with assault and violent disorder in relation to an attack on Liverpool supporter Sean Cox last April prior to the Anfield club hosting Roma in the Champions League semi-final.

The 53-year-old Cox, who is a father of three from Dunboyne in Ireland, was left in a coma and with life-changing injuries following the incident outside Anfield prior to the first leg of the Champions League semi-final tie between the teams.

Merseyside Police said 30-year-old Simone Mastrelli was arrested in Italy on a European Arrest Warrant and was extradited to the United Kingdom ahead of a court appearance on Friday.

A statement from Merseyside Police read: “Merseyside Police detectives investigating the assault of Sean Cox, 53, in April last year have extradited a man who was arrested in Rome on suspicion of assault.

“Thirty-year-old Simone Mastrelli from Rome was arrested on a European Arrest Warrant following the incident outside Anfield ahead of the Champions League match between Liverpool FC and AS Roma on 24 April 2018.

“Mastrelli was extradited back to England yesterday (Thursday, 31 January) and has been charged with Section 20 assault and violent disorder. He has been remanded in custody to appear at South Sefton Magistrates Court at 2pm today, Friday, 1 February.”

Previously, Roma supporter Filippo Lombardi was charged over the attack on Cox. Lombardi was shown in a crowd of 20 or 30 and swinging his belt toward Cox, but told a jury that another man was the one responsible for Cox’s injuries. 

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The 21-year-old was found not guilty of inflicting grievous bodily harm on Cox by a jury in Preston Crown Court in October 2018, but was still jailed for three years after admitting to a separate charge of violent disorder.

Later in November, Roma and their club president, James Palotta, made a €150,000 donation to a fund for Cox to cover his extensive rehabilitation. 

The El Tri coach says he understands the feeling of fans who would’ve preferred a Mexican manager but will work to deliver those fans joy

Mexico manager Gerardo “Tata” Martino says he understands why fans may have concerns about a foreign coach leading the national team but said there should be no worries about the commitment he and his staff have to El Tri.

The Argentine has led his own nation’s national team but also coached Paraguay earlier in his career and took La Albirroja to their best-ever finish at a World Cup, making the quarterfinals in 2010. Martino was announced as the new El Tri boss in January and has quickly gotten to work ahead of March friendly matches against Chile and Paraguay.

Martino took over from Juan Carlos Osorio, who was largely unpopular with Mexico fans despite a winning record. While most criticisms of Osorio revolved around his tactical decisions, an incident at the Mexico City airport where a woman told Osorio to go back to his native Colombia received widespread publicity.

The current coach said he could see where the sentiment of wanting a Mexican coach to lead the team comes from, but assured fans he’ll do everything possible to make sure Mexico is successful.

“I understand that it’s always difficult for a national team to have a foreign manager,” Martino said at a news conference Thursday in Los Angeles . “It’s a nationalistic question that also flows into football. We always think that the right thing is to make an effort to have domestic coaches. I don’t think that posture is bad. Right now, I’m here like (Argentine Ricardo) La Volpe was here or Osorio was here, also being from different countries.

“We’re taking it on with a lot of hope, with a lot of intensity and with a lot of desire. We weren’t born in Mexico, but when we’re in this role we’re putting on the shirt and giving our best. I’m not one of those people who kisses the shirt because my commitment is shown through work, but since the 6th or 7th of January, I don’t remember what it was, we’ve got the shirt on.”

Martino’s last stop was at Atlanta United, and he said he’d be happy to consider MLS-based players for his March squad even with the season beginning only a few weeks earlier. He also showed a willingness to accept players’ decisions to come back to North America.

A number of players have elected to join teams in MLS or Liga MX in recent years rather than staying in Europen leagues with a higher quality of play. In the winter transfer window, Carlos Salcedo moved from Eintracht Frankfurt to Tigres and Miguel Layun signed with Monterrey. Asked specifically about the 25-year-old Salcedo’s transfer, Martino said there are more factors to consider than simply soccer.

“A player doesn’t only define his situation by sporting issues, but rather also with personal ones. That’s where, as managers, we don’t have anything to say,” Martino said. “Surely, he considered and analyzed the situation. I wouldn’t put it down as a step back, coming to a team with the characteristics that Tigres has. For me particularly, as manager of the national team, it’s true that we want the players to play in the best leagues in the world.

“The second step for me is that the players play, and in no way do I consider it a regression that he’s come to play here in Mexican football because when you analyze the European leagues, I don’t know if there are as many matches like America-Monterrey, Cruz Azul-America, Monterrey-Tigres, Tigres-Pachuca, in Mexico there are seven or eight teams that are really even and that gives the player competition.

“If you analyze the German league, the Spanish league, the Italian league, there are two or three teams that stand out above the rest and the other teams have a regular level. That’s on the football side, but there also is the personal side and every player has to make his own decision. I can’t add anything else to his choice.”

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Martino makes his debut as El Tri coach on March 22 against Chile in San Diego before a March 26 contest with a Paraguay team now coached by Osorio.

Questions have been raised over the Blaugrana’s ability to compete on all fronts after the Argentine rescued a weakened starting XI

Just when you think you’re out, they pull you back in. That’s effectively what happened when Barcelona were drawn against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Friday.

The Catalans have done their best this season to forget about the cup, convinced their deep runs and eventual triumphs over the past four seasons have hurt them in the Champions League.

The Copa del Rey is gruelling, with two legs in each round instead of just one, and Barca have taken to playing reserves in the first leg, losing at Levante and Sevilla, before turning things around at home both times.

But with two upcoming cup Clasicos thrown into their path, the Blaugrana finally caved, resting players against Valencia in La Liga on Saturday, and they stumbled to a 2-2 draw.

It extends their lead at the top of the table to six points, but both second-placed Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in third can close the gap on them when they play against Real Betis and Alaves, respectively, on Sunday.

Ernesto Valverde rested midfield passing machine Arthur, opting for Arturo Vidal, even though Sergio Busquets was suspended too.

The coach also played Sergi Roberto at left-back instead of Jordi Alba, who is having a sublime season, and Thomas Vermaelen next to Gerard Pique, resting Clement Lenglet.

Valencia took advantage. The visitors broke the deadlock in controversial fashion, with Messi appearing to be felled at one end before Los Che raced down to the other, Rodrigo leading the charge.

The Spain striker, who hit a cup hat-trick against Getafe to put Valencia in the semi-finals themselves, slipped in Gameiro who finished coolly past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Busquets’ suspension gave Valverde little choice but to deploy Ivan Rakitic in the holding role, and if the Spaniard was there he might have done more to stop the break.

More preventable still was Valencia’s second goal, with Sergi Roberto out of position at left-back and out of position in the moment too, shoving over Daniel Wass to stop him reaching a cross. Valencia skipper Dani Parejo slammed home the penalty to give his team a commanding advantage at Camp Nou.

However, when you have Messi on your team you always have a chance, and the Argentine star pulled one back from the penalty spot after Lato fouled Nelson Semedo.

It was Messi’s 20th league goal of the season and the ninth consecutive match in which he’s found the net, across all competitions.

The 21st followed after the break, another Messi special – a shot most players wouldn’t have attempted – that left goalkeeper Neto unsighted as it whistled into the bottom corner. With a thicket of players in his way, the shot wasn’t on, until suddenly it was, and the ball was already spinning in the back of the net.

Alba was thrown on by Valverde at half-time, with the coach looking for fruit from the special connection the defender shares with Messi, while Coutinho was taken off as the team chased a winner. It was another disappointing night for the Brazilian.

After his cup double against Sevilla there was some hope his confidence would be restored, but he showed fear in the one clear-cut chance he had, dilly-dallying on the ball instead of shooting, and the opening went to waste.

Barcelona couldn’t find a winner and Alba kicked the ball away in frustration at the final whistle, as they dropped their first points in La Liga since a 1-1 draw at Atletico Madrid in November.

The pressure and intensity is only rising from here and the question will be asked again, can Barcelona handle a war on three fronts? The answers will be found in the weeks ahead.

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Goal rounds up all the weekend’s football action in the English top-flight, with Liverpool looking to reclaim their spot at the top of the table

The Premier League title race is back in full swing after Manchester City capitalised on Liverpool’s 1-1 draw with West Ham by claiming an emphatic 2-0 victory against Everton in midweek.

Pep Guardiola’s win at Goodison Park means that his side have soared to the top of the league through superior goal difference over second-placed Liverpool. The Reds, however, do have a game in hand and will be desperate to bounce back following consecutive draws against Leicester and the Hammers when they host Bournemouth on Saturday.

Manchester United will kick off the weekend fixtures when they travel to Fulham on Saturday afternoon, with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer still on an impressive unbeaten run in all competitions since taking over in December.

Arsenal look to continue their pursuit of a top-four spot when they make the trip to Huddersfield. The biggest clash of the weekend, though, is Manchester City’s meeting with Chelsea at the Etihad. Maurizio Sarri will be keen for a repeat of their meeting earlier in the season when his Blues side inflicted Man City’s first league defeat of the season in a 2-0 victory at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham will have the chance to prove their status as title challengers should they beat the Leicester City on Sunday afternoon, while Wolves and Newcastle face off on Monday evening.

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The prospect of the club captain calling time on his career may be unthinkable for some fans, but the president is already getting ready for the day

Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu says the club are investing in “great young players” in preparation for life after Lionel Messi.

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With 29 goals from 28 games in all competitions, captain Messi remains the star player for Ernesto Valverde’s team, but at 31 years old La Liga’s top scorer may be in his last few seasons at the top of the sport. 

The Argentine sensation will be 34 when his contract runs out in 2021 and although Bartomeu expects him to sign on for a few more years, he knows he cannot carry on forever. 

The Catalan side have already wrapped up the signing of two young players who will move to Camp Nou in the summer as they look to build a team for the future. Frenkie de Jong will join from Ajax at the end of the season for an initial €75 million (£65m/$85m) and 20-year-old right-back Emerson is on his way from Atletico Mineiro. Those two deals add to their previous acquisitions of Malcom, Arthur, Clement Lenglet and Jean-Clair Todibo over the last two transfer windows.

Bartomeu’s term as president will also come to an end in 2021 and he is confident that he will leave the Spanish champions in good shape to maintain their place among Europe’s elite even after their talisman brings an end to his career.

“I know one day Lionel will say he’s retiring,” he told BBC Radio 5Live.

“We have to prepare the club for the future. 

“We are bringing great young players to the team because we need to continue this era of success. That’s our responsibility.

“My mandate will be finished in two seasons. So I need to leave the club in a great position and tell the new president ‘that’s our legacy’.”

Messi is top of La Liga’s goal chart with 21 goals and is chasing his 10th title with Barca, who sit six points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of the table with fierce rivals Real Madrid trailing by a further two points.

They are also in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey with Madrid, with the first leg finishing a 1-1 draw at Camp Nou and the second leg to follow at the Bernabeu on February 27.