Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly has earned himself a surprise England call-up for this upcoming international break.
The impressive young utility player, who has been deployed as both a defender and a midfielder under Pep Guardiola, has proved to be a popular member of the squad among Man City fans.
A north Manchester-born academy product, O’Reilly has represented the Three Lions throughout various age groups across the youth level, but this England camp will be his first senior call-up.
Yet another local lad flying the flag for 0161 in the national team.
The 20-year-old arrived at St George’s Park on Monday afternoon along with a number of ther young English stars such as Myles Lewis-Skelly, Elliot Anderson, Jarrel Quansash, who have recently been integrated by national team boss, Thomas Tuchel.
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O’Reilly has been added to the squad following the withdrawal of fellow defender Reece James, with the Chelsea fullback having picked up yet another injury in the Premier League.
As detailed by England Football: “The Chelsea captain sustained an injury playing for his club over the weekend and has been ruled out of England’s October internationals following medical assessments.”
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With O’Reilly able to play not only in defence but on either flank, as he has already done in Guardiola’s ever-fluid system, the versatile Man City rotation player isn’t just looking more and more like a first-team star but could soon be a capped England international.
Looking forward to seeing more of this on the big stage:
As you can see, Pep has continued to deploy him in even the biggest of games, and it seems as though he’s clearly impressed Tuchel enough to make him first in the queue to replace James.
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Rightly so, we’d hasten to add; it remains to be seen whether or not he will feature in the two upcoming fixtures against Wales and Latvia.
Commenting on the moment of recognition, City expressed their pride and congratulations, insisting that the decision “also helps further cement what has been a quite magnificent start to the season for the 20-year-old” in which he’s already made nine first-team appearances across all competitions.
That now makes the number of Greater Manchester-born/based players in the current England squad to four (just one of those being from Man United in Barcelona loanee Marcus Rashford) – an admittedly smaller number than we’ve come to expect over the years.
Nico O’Reilly signed a fresh new deal at Manchester City just last month.
Premier League Darts is returning to Manchester’s AO Arena in 2027
Lydia Mastrolonardo
Premier League Darts is confirmed to be returning to Manchester next year.
Now’s your chance to see the youngest world champion in darts history, AKA Warrington’s very-own Luke ‘The Nuke’ Littler, show us how it’s done, as next year’s BetMGM Premier League Darts lineup has just been announced this week – with various dates confirmed across 17 different cities in the UK and Europe.
And Manchester is one of those cities, as the AO Arena has shared that they are set to host an evening next April, and we couldn’t be more excited about it.
This means that we will be lucky enough to witness the biggest names in world darts all under one roof, including headliners Gian van Veen and Luke Humphries, as well as Littler.
Manchester is the only northern city to get the pleasure of hosting the event next year, as Liverpool is also on the lineup, as is Leeds, Sheffield, and Newcastle, while elsewhere in the UK, the stars will travel to Glasgow, Birmingham, London, and several other major locations.
BetMGM Premier League Darts is to be held on Thursday 8 April at the AO Arena in Manchester, and to avoid being disappointed, fans are advised to register for presale ticket access.
Following a successful season of events in 2026, tickets are expected to be like gold-dust, so don’t say you haven’t been warned.
To access the first wave of tickets, fans must become an active PDCTV Annual Member before 23:59pm on Friday 9 October. Alternatively, general sale is on Thursday 22 October 2026, but make sure not to hang about.
Featured Image – Sandro Halank (via Wikimedia Commons)
Sport
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands
Emily Sergeant
Andy Burnham has claimed he wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on fans getting to drink alcohol in football stands.
It’s a ban that’s been in place in the top five tiers of men’s football since 1985, when fears over violence and hooliganism were at their height, but now the Prime Minister has raised the question of whether drinking in football stands – or ‘drinking in sight / view of the pitch’, as it’s known formally – is actually unjust, due to the fact that same rules don’t apply to fans of other sports.
“I don’t think it’s fair for football fans to be singled out in that way,” Andy Burnham has declared this week, grabbing headlines in the process.
He continued: “I think that legislation dates to an era where football was very different, and I do believe there is a case to remove that discrimination.
“I’m not going to back away from what’s been a long-held view of mine. I don’t see how it can be fair that some supporters of one sport can be treated differently.”
The Prime Minister’s comments have been met with mixed response.
Andy Burnham wants to scrap the ‘unfair’ ban on drinking alcohol in football stands / Credit: James Kirkup | Julia Nastogadka (via Unsplash)
The Football Supporters’ Association (FSA), for example, has very much welcomed the idea, saying that it ‘totally agrees’ the legislation is ‘outdated’ and ‘deserves to be reviewed’.
Tom Greatrex, chair of the FSA, said in a statement: “The FSA has always argued that it’s unfair to criminalise football fans for having a pint while watching the match – especially since you can sit in the same seat drinking alcohol whilst watching an Oasis gig or rugby league.”
However, on the flip side, the UK Football Policing Unit said it would be ‘incredibly rash’ to change the rules without proper consultation.
“Other sports simply don’t see the violence and criminal behaviour from their supporters that football does, albeit a minority, with alcohol often playing a significant part in violent and disorderly behaviour,” it said in a statement on the matter.
The Prime Minister did state in his initial proposition though that ‘there are different ways it could be done’, hinting that it could be done ‘on a trial basis’ perhaps.
The English Football League (EFL) added that it would be ‘receptive to discussions around reviewing current legislation and permitting alcoholic drinks within view of the pitch’.
No formal details on a review have been confirmed as of yet, so fans are encouraged to stay tuned for updates in due course.
Danny Jones -
6th October 2025 
