Erik ten Hag has opened up on speculation linking him with Manchester United as the Red Devils continue to explore their managerial options. It’s been a nightmare campaign for the Premier League side, who have toiled under both Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ralf Rangnick. And the Dutchman is presently the frontrunner to take over at the end of the season. 

Manchester United sacked Solskjaer back in November, less than 24 hours after his team had been emphatically beaten by Watford at Vicarage Road.

And Ten Hag is now the frontrunner to take over from the 49-year-old permanently, especially after he recently conducted an interview with the club.

United, for their part, are keeping their options open with the Red Devils also understood to admire the likes of Mauricio Pochettino, Julen Lopetegui and Luis Enrique behind the scenes.

And Ten Hag has now broken his silence, insisting links with big clubs are normal while also suggesting he’d be open to leaving Ajax behind. 

“My focus is currently only on Ajax. But in football you never know,” he told Sport1.

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He added: “We simply have very good training for young people and can always bring up talent.

“Sometimes I also ask myself: where does he come from now? The quality that follows is enormous.

“It’s about developing the many talents. I managed to do that together with my coaching team.

“I can only speak for us: We have an idea and philosophy here in Amsterdam and that is passed on to the young players from an early age.

“The concept runs systematically through the club.”

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And, when quizzed on speculation surrounding Ajax players such as Ryan Gravenberch and Antony, he made it clear he was undeterred by rumours.

“No! I know that my players’ attention is only on Ajax,” he said when quizzed if he was annoyed by rumours.

“The boys know what they are playing for.

“But logically, if you are ambitious, you would of course want to take the next step in the Bundesliga, Premier League or La Liga at some point.

“I always tell the guys to take care of it after the season. Until then, Ajax will have full attention.”

F1 bosses could be set to axe the Monaco Grand Prix in favour of the new Las Vegas race announced yesterday. Stefano Domenicali says Las Vegas will be known as the “flagship race” in F1 within years, a title previously reserved for the classic Monaco race.

He said: “Nobody puts on a party like Las Vegas and I predict that this will be the iconic race, the flagship race, of F1 within a couple of years. It’s emotion, it’s passion, it’s a business, it’s relationships, it’s culture and it’s intensity. And this is the reason why this is the perfect place to be.”

Meanwhile, clouds have hung over the circuit’s future for a while as its deal is different to other tracks. For years Monaco paid less to host an F1 race than other promoters due to the spectacle it brought to the sport.

The Race claims F1 was “known to want more money” from Monaco with the principality having lost its special deal. Meanwhile, early predictions suggest F1 could earn up to £1billion from the new Las Vegas race over 10 years.

Furthermore, Monaco is one of several circuits that are yet to strike a deal to remain past 2022.

READ MORE: Disastrous original Las Vegas race was the ‘worst circuit ever’

Bernie Ecclestone signed a ten-year extension with Monaco a decade ago but a deal past 2022 has not been met. Other circuits which could possibly drop off the calendar include the French Grand Prix at Paul Ricard and the famous Belgian Grand Prix at Spa-Francorchamps.

Domenicali has previously warned F1 may not offer deals to many existing venues which have deals expiring. He also warned it was “not enough” for races to “have a pedigree” in an era of increasing demand for races.

He said: “There are some promoters who have expiring agreements, and probably some of the current grands prix will no longer be part of the calendar. Others will remain but in a different form, such as rotating between different tracks.

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“Soon the choices we are making will be announced, and you can expect some new grands prix. However, it is still not easy to plan everything in advance. We know we have to balance the arrival of new races with historic grands prix, and tracks that must continue to be part of our calendar.

“The arrival of offers from new promoters has an advantage for the F1 platform, and that is to force the organisers of traditional grands prix to raise their level of quality, in terms of what they offer the public, and infrastructure and management of the event. It’s not enough to have a pedigree anymore. You also have to demonstrate that you are keeping up.”

The Georgia venue is considered to be one of the most arduous courses in the United States. That’s not only due to the difficulty of the holes themselves, but the rolling hills and overall distance make it a daunting task for even the fittest stars on the Tour.

Woods previously battled back from multiple back and knee surgeries to win the 2019 Masters, ending his 11-year wait for a major crown. His 15 Grand Slam titles position him second on golf’s all-time list, trailing only 19-time major champion Jack Nicklaus.

An appearance at Augusta next week could trump any of his previous comebacks, however, after he suffered serious injuries to his right leg and foot in last year’s crash. Woods said in February that he was “still working on the walking part” as he sought a return to full fitness, with the signs more encouraging than ever that he may be ready to return.

Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel remains confident of securing a deal for defensive star Antonio Rudiger to stay at the club, despite the club not being able to offer new contracts to players amidst the continued government sanctions placed upon current owner Roman Abramovich.

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Novak Djokovic reached a remarkable seven years cumulative time spent at the top of the world rankings after Daniil Medvedev lost at the Miami Open. The Russian would have reclaimed the world No. 1 ranking had he reached the semi-finals, but he lost his quarter-final clash to Hubert Hurkacz. 

Medvedev entered Thursday’s clash knowing a win over the Pole would have seen him return to the top of the world rankings. However, the 26-year-old struggled amid difficult conditions and lost 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 to the reigning champion.

It means Djokovic remains atop the world rankings, securing his 364th week as the best in the world – which adds up to seven years in total. It is a stunning record that will be difficult to stop, considering he is 44 weeks clear of rival and fellow tennis great Roger Federer. 

Medvedev had to deal with dizziness and fatigue during the match, and was disappointed to not perform at his very best during the ATP Masters 1000 event. In his post-match press conference, Medvedev appeared to be relatively content despite missing the chance to achieve the milestone of world’s best. 

READ MORE: Medvedev admits he was ‘like a fish on the sofa’ in Hurkacz defeat

Pep Guardiola has sparked Premier League title fear into Manchester City fans by suggesting that Ruben Dias will not recover from injury in time to face Liverpool later this month. The Sky Blues’ star centre-back has been side-lined for a month, but the Catalan coach claims that he needs more time to regain fitness and will miss more matches before returning to action. 

Ruben Dias was forced off during City’s FA Cup fifth-round tie with Peterborough one month ago to the day. Having received an initial diagnosis of four to six weeks, City fans will be pained to learn that Dias’ absence now looks to be at the top end of that estimate. 

Guardiola must gear up his side to face Burnley at Turf Moor on Saturday afternoon, but crucial clashes against Atletico Madrid and Liverpool could ultimately determine their Champions League and Premier League fates.  

“We have still nine games to play,” said Guardiola on Friday, “We will go game by game. We know what we have to do. We have to win games. It will be difficult, but we try.

“Ruben [Dias] and Cole Palmer are out. The rest are fit. He is out. I don’t know. The doctor said for four to six weeks. We need 10 days or two weeks more. The plan depends on the players when I saw them for the training today and yesterday.”

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Antonio Conte has insisted that Tottenham will find it ‘very difficult’ to break into the Premier League’s top four ahead of Arsenal and Manchester United between now and the end of the campaign. The north Londoners still have an outside chance of qualifying for next season’s Champions League but currently sit three points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal with just nine matches left to play.

“If you had asked me [before] about our possiblity to reach a place in the Champions League, I would say very, very difficult,” Conte told reporters at Friday’s press conference. “Now I think we have to try to fight until the end to have the possibility to reach this target.

“I think to play in the Champions League next season is important for me, important for the players and the fans. To play in the Champions League is completely different to the Europa League and Conference League, it’s a different target for the club because you can plan for important things.”

It remains to be seen whether Tottenham will be able to book their place in next season’s tournament by sneaking into the Premier League’s top four over the coming weeks. They will be looking to claim a much-needed three points in their next outing against Newcastle United on Sunday in order to boost their hopes of sealing Champions League qualification for the first time since 2019.

Conte went on to deliver a positive update when quizzed on Oliver Skipp and Ryan Sessegnon but conceded that neither player will be fit to face Newcastle this weekend. The former has not featured for Tottenham since January after picking up a groin issue, while the latter was hurt in last month’s win over Everton and has been sidelined for around four weeks.

“Good news for Skippy and Ryan Sessegnon, they are very, very close to being back with the team,” added Conte. “They are improving a lot. They are having important training sessions, not with the team but apart. I hope next week to have both players back with the team.”

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Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has given a strong indication that Trent Alexander-Arnold will be back in time to face Benfica next week. The right-back was unavailable for Liverpool’s FA Cup tie against Nottingham Forest before the international break after picking up a hamstring injury.

There was immediate concerns on whether Alexander-Arnold would be back to full fitness in time for the title clash against Manchester City on April 10. He remained at Liverpool during the international break to recover from the hamstring injury.

But Klopp has now confirmed that it has taken just “two weeks” for the defender to fully recover, even putting him in contention to face Benfica next week before the game against City.

“Trent trained yesterday for parts and will be in full training today and we have to see what we do about it,” he said. “I know, and I’ve heard, of how it is in this country. Trent wanted to go to the national team. I just wanted to make sure that everybody [understood].

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Manchester United midfielder Andreas Pereira could see his move from the Red Devils to Flamengo derailed, according to reports. The Brazilian midfielder was sent on loan to the South American giants at the start of the season after falling out of favour under then manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

Pereira found himself behind the likes of Bruno Fernandes and Paul Pogba in the Reds’ pecking order at the start of the current campaign. With first team opportunities appearing slim at Old Trafford, Pereira was sent on his second consecutive loan spell by United.

The 26-year-old was loaned to Serie A giants Lazio in the preceding campaign, where he contributed one goal and four assists in 33 appearances for the Italian giants. However, any opportunities of forcing his way into first team contention at Old Trafford appear to be rather slim.

Pereira had repeatedly expressed a desire to remain with the Brazilian side when his temporary spell comes to an end. However, his wish may not be granted as Flamengo are yet to secure a deal with United.

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However, clubs from La Liga and the Eredivisie could yet make a late move for the midfielder. Pereira has previously impressed while on loan at Spanish giants Granada and Valencia when he was still trying to force his way into first team contention under Jose Mourinho.

But Pereira has already affirmed a desire to secure a permanent move to Flamengo at the end of the season. After making a decisive mistake in the Copa Liberatadores final against Palmeiras, Pereira said in an interview that he will remain at the club until they “win the next one”.

He stated: “You can count on me, I’ll stay here until we win the next one,” shortly after the contest. Pereira also went on to suggest that the Copa Liberatadores was the main title he wants to win.

Unfortunately for him, his hopes of avenging his crucial mistake continue to hang in the balance. Pereira’s current deal at Old Trafford expires in 2023, meaning there is still time for the Reds to sell him for a sizeable fee.