Manchester United have confirmed a third big signing of the summer transfer window after seemingly swooping in to hijack a deal for Benjamin Šeško from a fellow Premier League team.
While perhaps not direct rivals, Man United look to have virtually snapped up highly sought-after Slovenian striker, Šeško, from the jaws of Newcastle, who appeared to be getting closer to sealing a deal following a second bid.
Roughly a week later, Ruben Amorim now has another attacking option to choose from, with Šeško arriving at Old Trafford on a deal worth reportedly upwards of £73.3 million.
Signing a five-year deal with the club, Šeško will earn around £160,000 a week when it comes to wages, with his contract also including potential add-ons, according to Sportklub writer Rok Viškovič.
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United are said to be paying an initial fee of £66.3m, with the super-fast forward supposedly having made it clear that he preferred a move to United once he was made aware of their interest.
After the news broke of an agreement being reached, it didn’t take long for people to start tracking his equally quick turnaround flight, with the towering Bundesliga prospect – who clocks in at the same height as soon-to-be Man City rival, Erling Haaland – travelling to Manchester Airport on Thursday evening.
In fact, speaking of Haaland, a recently resurfaced quote should give fans plenty of food for thought ahead of his debut in red.
As the player with the most goals scored – 39, to be specific – of any player under 23 since he arrived in Germany in the middle of the 22/23 season, it’s no surprise that United moved quickly on the deal to bring Šeško to the English top flight.
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With his medical believed to have been conducted that same night, his official unveiling as an MUFC player on Friday, 8 August, sees INEOS’ spending so far this season tip over the £200m mark, even despite having recorded their worst domestic finish in the modern era in the previous campaign.
Should the add-ons in the roughly £71m deal for Bryan Mbuemo, not to mention the approximately £62.5m and nearly £7m outlay (all possible bonuses considered) for young defender Diego Leon, materialise over the course of the next year or so, that figure is more like £215m.
They’re not messing around.
Manchester United's new front three in all competitions last season:
Benjamin Sesko: 🏟 45 games ⚽️ 21 goals 🅰️ 6 assists
Šeško will be presented in front of the Old Trafford faithful before their final 25/26 pre-season game against Fiorentina, where a special presentation will also be held in honour of former goalkeeper, David de Gea.
What do you make of Amorim‘s latest signings, and how well do you think Šeško is going to take to life in the most competitive league in the world?
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Perhaps more importantly, what might it mean for some existing players?
Featured Images — Manchester United/Wikimedia Commons
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Greater Manchester stadiums included in the bid to host the Women’s World Cup confirmed
Danny Jones
The locations for the official UK bid to host the FIFA Women’s World Cup have been revealed, along with the Greater Manchester football stadiums chosen for the honour.
Not exactly a ground-breaking spoiler, but the FA did make a somewhat curious choice when they shared the news.
In case you hadn’t heard the news earlier this year, our nation has officially thrown its hat into the ring for the Women’s World Cup (WWC) in 2035, with England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland all set to offer up their arenas as part of the record-breaking proposal.
Naturally, a region as footy-obsessed as ours and with two of the biggest stadiums in the country was always going to be included, but as mentioned, there was a particular detail that lots of people quickly noticed following the announcement.
Yes, in a slightly bizarre but ultimately innocuous turn of events, Etihad Stadium – home of Manchester City FC – has been selected, as was the world-famous ‘Theatre of Dreams‘, the only difference being that it was listed separately from the city itself.
Instead, Man United’s iconic home turf, Old Trafford, has been listed as just that: in Trafford, specifically, as opposed to simply being listed in the same section as its sky blue counterpart.
Now, while it’s true that all 10 boroughs have their own identity, culture (not to mention some subscribing to still being part of Lancashire or even Cheshire), it did strike us and others as a bit odd to put that rather iconic and equally historic venue down as almost separate from the city.
Many would argue that one of the things Manchester is best known for around the globe is the team of Red Devils that play at that ground.
Naturally, ‘Cityzens‘ have had their fair share of fun with the post and, conversely, there’s been plenty of retorts regarding ‘supporters from Stockport’, as you would expect…
Nevertheless, we’re just glad to see the Etihad and Old Trafford continuing to cater to some of the biggest dates on the sporting calendar.
Some have actually argued that the region should have been given opportunities to host more stadiums and/or games as part of the market pitch, as the likes of both Bolton Wanderers and Wigan Athletic’s stadiums were floated as viable or even better alternatives, capacity-wise.
Either way, with the 22 venues that have been selected for the UK’s bid for the 2035 Women’s World Cup and us Brits currently unopposed in the race to secure the tournament, the FA are going all-in for the 48-team competition, which would be “the biggest single-sport event ever staged in the UK.”
You can read more down below.
Our shared ambition: to host the largest single-sport event ever staged in the UK, and the first FIFA World Cup in this country since 1966.#AllTogetherpic.twitter.com/y6GOPEPDdG
Stockport County’s Christmas dinner in a cup returns for 2025 as part of new festive food range
Danny Jones
We can’t believe it’s rolled around again already, but with the festive period well underway and the big day just a few weeks away, Stockport County have brought back their viral ‘Xmas dinner in a cup’for 2025.
Better still, the County Courtyard has seen some new Christmas specials added to its food menu, too.
The local football club are absolutely flying in League One at the moment, having spent plenty of time at the top of the table already and still well and truly contesting those promotion/play-off spots.
If you’re a Stopfordian, that’s plenty of cause for celebration right there, but with the Christmas dinner in a cup also up for grabs once more, the holiday season literally couldn’t taste any better right now.
For those who’ve never seen it before, it’s exactly what it says on the tin – well, cup: a little Sunday dinner in a County-branded takeaway coffee cup, complete with a healthy pour of gravy and pretty much all the trimmings you could hope for.
Yes, including sprouts, because all of you who still don’t touch them need to grow up already.
Currently priced at just £4.50, not only does it contain virtually all the major food groups (barring the customary matchday pints, of course), it might just be one of the healthiest and best value-for-money bits of footy scran around – certainly in Greater Manchester, anyway.
But, as mentioned, that’s not all this year; Stockport are also serving up the new festive hot dog and even a ‘leftover Christmas curry’ in a bowl, which might even be more warming on a cold night at Edgeley Park than the Xmas dinner in a cup or clinging onto a flask of Bovril.
Anyone else craving that curry with a cheeky bit of bubble and squeak now?
It’s also worth noting that you’ll only be able to get one of those on Boxing Day, by the way, when the Hatters host Lincoln City in the league.
As for the rest of it, County fans can get their hands on this seasonal scran for the first time this year at the weekend when Dave Challinor’s side take on Barnsley at 12:30pm, and two of the three specials will then be served at home every game over the holiday period.
Speaking of random Christmas food creations, there’s another limited-time-only and potentially divisive example that we’ll also be sampling this December…