Can Frank lure Mbeumo to Spurs? | Beckham receives knighthood | Gyokeres or Osimhen - Who fits Man Utd the best?
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Welcome to Back Pages, bringing you everything you need to know about the biggest sports stories making the headlines in the morning's newspapers. I'm Chris Latcham. Joining me are the sports broadcaster Henry Winter and ESPN senior writer Mark Ogden. Welcome to you both.

Okay, gents, I think what we'll do is start with the Telegraph and we'll start with the Brian and Burmo story, which has been bubbling away for a couple of weeks. He's leaving Brentford, that much we know. We've been told he's leaning towards Manchester United, but all of a sudden, Mark, Tottenham are in the mix and the value seems to be creeping up. What's your take on this?

Yeah, well, obviously there's a strong connection at Tottenham with Thomas Frank having gone there from Brentford, but the last conversation I had with somebody at United earlier today was that they're quite relaxed about the situation, but on Bumo they're not worried as yet. They feel confident that it's a deal that can get done. And look, I mean, that's a big fee for Tottenham. Tottenham are a club that generally pays a lot of money. I think Brian and Berman would earn more money at Man Utd. Traditionally they pay much better wages than Tottenham, but obviously Tottenham have got a Champions League to offer, the chance to play with his old manager from Brentford.

But I'd be surprised if he doesn't end up at Man United. I think that deal seems to be quite well underway in the sense that Mboma has been known for a while at United are keen. I don't think it'll take a lot to get the deal over the line with Brentford. But while Tottenham are in there, the longer that United leave it without getting the deal done, the more at risk they are of missing out on Mboma because he won't wait forever.

but I've been told that he's pretty confident that he'll end up at United but they have to get the deal done first before he pulls on the red shirt It does seem that stories like these are allowed to grow inside a vacuum specifically in football Henry in Manchester United it seemed like they were almost over the line with Mbembe and then there was a bit of a delay now Thomas Frank's at Tottenham what's your hunch on this one?

Well, there's not a lot of football being played at the moment, so I think we're sort of rather grateful for these stories. I mean, one thing that needs clarifying is whether Thomas Frank, when he left Brentford, actually had any sort of dealing with them that he couldn't sort of poach any of his own players. I don't know whether that's the case or not. He already took half of his staff, didn't he?

He took half of his staff as well, and he's taken some really good people. So you'd imagine that Brentford would absolutely want to fight. And we've seen in the Guardian, as you showed it earlier, Whistler being linked with them as well. I mean, that's what, 40 goals taken out of their Premier League attack.

So you would expect them to resist that. I agree with Oggy. I think the attraction of Manchester United there, he is seemingly fairly, well, up the M1 and the M6 on that one. My only issue is, is that, look, he's got a fantastic attitude and Manchester United need more players with that sort of professionalism, that sort of wholeheartedness, which Brian and Bromo will bring, as well as those 20 Premier League goals.

But where does he actually play? If you're going to play him as one of the number 10s, and this often gets overlooked when we think we're linking players with clubs, where does he actually fit in? Actually, Manchester United, they need a centre forward. I know you've been, you showed this sort of Jokeres back there. They need a Jokeres.

In Bremer, if he's going to play as one of the number 10s, where does that leave Kunio? Where does that leave Bruno Fernandes? Where does that leave Mason Mount? So slightly further down the pecking order. He's a fantastic player, great attitude. He will bring goals. I don't know whether he could actually play through the middle.

But they need strengthening elsewhere at Manchester United. Yeah, just to take a second glance at the Telegraph's treatment of this story, the story is written by Sam Dean, Mark. And in the actual heading underneath the headline, it says the transfer battle could push up the price of £60 million rated forward. Brentford will welcome this kind of horse trading, won't they?

Yeah, I mean, I don't know what the deal is with Tottenham. We know that Thomas Frank had a £10 million release clause, but it's very convenient for both clubs that if Man United have to spend more money, it helps Tottenham in many ways. If Brentford get a bigger fee, it helps them.

I don't know what you're suggesting there, Chris, but, you know, there's probably an interest in Brian Mbumo from Thomas Frank, but like I say, I think he will end up at United. But Henry's right, you know, that they've moved on to Mbumo after missing it on Liam de Lappe, and Liam de Lappe is the centre-forward. So it's a kind of a... It's a mixed-up kind of strategy to go for a...

a floating forward rather than a centre forward but obviously they do want Jokers as well and Osserman's been linked Hugo Ekertike is another player at Eintracht Frankfurt so United are in the market for forwards I think one more forward would probably do it because they do need midfielders really they need to strengthen all areas of the pitch and I think if you get two or three forwards and you haven't got anyone midfield then you're not going to get the ball to them and it's going to be the same problem as last season so United listen it's early it's the first week in June the window doesn't open officially until next Monday we've had this little brief window but

I do think sooner or later United will get Mbouma through the door. If that doesn't happen for whatever reason, that's when I think it'll turn to Jokers or to Ossieman. But I think Ossieman is a very unlikely deal to be done, but it depends how desperate United get and if he's still available.

towards the end of the window. It brings us nicely onto the Suns' back page tomorrow. Vic or Vic, Manchester United strike a chase. The suggestion is that Manchester United are in a battle with Arsenal to sign Victor Jokeres from Sporting Lisbon, who's obviously scored goals in the Championship with Coventry, banging them in in Europe and in Portugal for Sporting. But if that deal were to fall through, then they would go back in for Victor Osserman, who's been playing most recently in Turkey, Henry. Which one do you think would be the more natural fit for United?

Well, Jokeres, obviously, with the Ruben Amarin connection, he scored 57 times in 57 games for Amarin at Sporting Lisbon. I think with his work ethic, I just think he would be perfect. He's exactly what they need. And if they can get a few quid for Rasmus Erland going to somewhere in Europe, maybe Italy, wherever, I think that would suit them all the way down to ground. But I wish Osserman would finally go somewhere and stay there and do...

you know, fantastically, whether it's in the Premier League or wherever, because I think there's a fabulous talent there. And when you hear him being linked with Saudi clubs, that's too early. He really should be playing at the top level because he's a very, very, very good striker. But if I was Manchester United, I still think that the Jokers one. Your point about Arsenal, I mean, they have had an interest in Jokers. I think all the leading clubs have. But they look fairly far down the road with Sesco. Of those two, the two Vicks, Mark...

Which one do you think would be a natural fit for the Premier League, taking out the connection that Jokeres has had with Amorim? Well, I mean, Jokeres has got the pace, he's got the power, he's certainly the guy in form right now. He got a hat-trick against Man City in the Champions League last season, so he's kind of proved that he can do it against Premier League defences, even the best Premier League defences. But, you know, Ossie Mann's got... I think he's probably a quicker player, he's a much more...

I don't know, he's much more of a predatory striker than Jokers, but still, what I've been told is that the situation with Osserman is that the cost of that would be prohibitive. And also, a lot of clubs have looked at him over the years. They've looked at him at Napoli and tried to take a chance, but there is a kind of concern about Serie A right now, whether the players who score goals in Serie A can translate to the Premier League. Now, United have kind of been stung by that a little bit with not only with Rasmus Haaland, but also Joshua Xerxe as well. So, there aren't many forwards who come from Serie A to thrive

in the Premier League and he's gone to Turkey and done well but again he's not really tested himself or something at the highest level and it's a big fee it's big wages to pay out for a guy that you're probably just a little bit concerned about you could say the same for Jokers because the Portuguese league again is not the best league to translate to the Premier League but I think if you had to take one and certainly Amrim's got a familiarity with Jokers you'd go with Jokers

Yeah, you point to players like Ruben Diaz and the players that Jose Mourinho brought from Portugal. There's been a lot of players that have bridged that gap quite successfully in recent memory. You're talking big money, you're talking big wages. Let's focus on what could become a British record transfer. The Daily Star back page, sweet £116 million. That's what

Liverpool will pay for Florian Witt if he goes on and hits every single part of their checkpoint of all of the add-ons, Henry. Could be a British transfer outstripping Caicedo. What a talent Liverpool are adding. It just shows that they're here meaning business from an already strong position.

This is like the people of old when they would win the title in the 70s and 80s and go out and buy an absolute star to whether it's a freshen them up, bring more goals, bring more defensive security, whatever. I mean, this is a fantastic statement of intent. You look, I think he's got seven international goals in 30 odd games for Germany. And you look at the teams that he's scored against.

I mean, he scored against France. He scored against Portugal. He scored against Scotland. But I mean, he has actually got a good record against elite sides. So I think he's a fantastic signing. And you look at the other players they've brought in. They've brought in Frumpong. It looks like they're going to get Kerkic as well at left back. I mean, if they're not favourites for the title next season, I know Manchester City have spent well as well, but we actually look like we could get a real title race next season.

Yeah, and pretty menacing if you look at the back page of the Daily Mail as well. They say we are not done yet. So the transfers that they've already brought in that Henry was talking about, Mark, and then could see Kyrkos following from Bournemouth and they may still not be done, Liverpool. This is going to send alarm bells ringing across the top of the Premier League.

Yeah, absolutely. And they won the Premier League by some distance last season as well. So they were by far the best team and they're making really good acquisitions. And I think, you know, you mentioned Man City have added players, they've added in bulk really, but I don't think they've had the quality that Liverpool have added. I mean, Liverpool have really gone for the top shelf of players, really, really excellent players. I mean, Florian Wurz is a potential world star. I think Man City have gone, you know, for probably...

B-list players rather than A-list players and it's not what Man City have usually done so I think Liverpool have actually pulled away from Man City despite the money that City have spent so it's worrying for the rest of the Premier League if Arsenal sign a proven goal scorer maybe they can close the gap but I still think they've got a lot to do so for me Liverpool yeah already by far and away the favourites to win the title next season Yeah

Yeah, Sam Dean's written a really nice piece in The Telegraph as well about a bit of a background on Florian Wirtz. Apparently he was not allowed to watch TV as a kid, nor was his sister. She's also a professional player for Werder Bremen. So good parenting. That's a really nice piece from Sam. There's also a nod to James McAtee. I know you're out at the European Under-21s, Henry, and James McAtee's been captaining England. That Leverkusen might look to the Manchester City starlet as a replacement. What's your take on that?

Yeah, I mean, replacement is doing a bit of heavy lifting there in terms of the quality of Florian Wurz. I mean, look, McAtee is a terrific prospect and he actually played well last night in England's 3-1 win against Chechia. It was his work rate, his leadership, his captain. He sort of embodies many of the strengths of Lee Carsley's under-21s, that sort of teamwork and that individual commitment.

ability to, you know, desire to take responsibility. He set up the first goal for Harvey Elliott with a very sort of composed past. So, yeah, look, he's a terrific prospect. But, you know, he is leaving Manchester City. I think he played, what, seven or nine starts for them in various competitions.

But look, absolutely he needs to move and if he goes abroad, as we've seen with quite a few of the young English players, they've gone out there, they've developed as people, they've developed superbly as players, it will be a fantastic move for him. So good luck to him. Yeah, good luck to him indeed. Do you think Manchester City will be writing some kind of clause into any transfer, Mark, when you look at recent history? I mean, Jadon Sancho went to Germany and...

Has obviously gone on to have a good career. Cole Palmer more recently has gone to Chelsea and City are left going, might be nice to have had a retainer on him.

Yeah, when Liam Delat, they let him go to Ipswich with a buyback clause that never activated it. But you're right, McAtee was a player that I think Pep Guardiola thought he could be the long-term replacement for Bernardo Silva. I mean, again, that is heavy lifting, as Henry said, but he's a talented player, but he needs to play and he doesn't play enough. So I think he could go to Leverkusen and do really well in Germany. And it's a big task to replace Florian Wurz, but he's definitely got the talent to make a difference at Leverkusen. So City would be very wise, and I'm sure they would do.

to have a buyback clause or a sell-on clause in there. Let's focus straight on the Guardian. Club World Cup, the hard sell. That's what we're going to focus on for the next few minutes. It starts this weekend. It's in the US of A. I'm not sure that everybody there is completely buying into it. Is this going to be the land of milk and honey that the FIFA president hopes for, Henry?

Well, they're hoping it's the land of milk and money, I think, with FIFA and Infantino. I mean, I covered, I'm old enough to have covered USA 94 and there was not a lot of interest then. There's obviously more interest now. You're seeing sort of MLS, some of the sort of crowds and the players who are going there. But I think this is embarrassing by FIFA. They're supposed to be guardians of the game. They're supposed to be looking after players

players' health and welfare. I mean, it was only a couple of days ago that FIFPro, the players' global union, actually came out with this report with 70 elite doctors and performance specialists from leading clubs and national associations across the world warning about the dangers of overplaying. And there will, sadly, be an injury out there. It's after a long season and you're going to get... One of the stars will get injured.

the flip side of it, of course, is that with every tournament, with every build-up, there are always these sort of doubts and everything. You get people like me on the high horse and saying, you know, it shouldn't happen, whatever. But actually, when you get PSG or Real Madrid having a real sort of all-in, um,

battle with another team at the time of year when there's not a lot of football on, then I think people will watch it. I do feel that it's a disgrace that it overlaps with the women's European Championships. I thought that was just terrible by FIFA, who are supposed to be looking after the women's game as well as the men's game. So I'm not a huge fan, and I think the Guardian's front page says it very well, the hard sell. There's also a very good piece by Jason Burt, who's out in Miami putting the whole thing into perspective as well. But the hard sell sums the whole thing up.

Yeah, I mean, speaking of hard sell, I really like watching football, Mark. I watch a lot because I work in this job. I'm sure you do as well. And my wife said to me the other day, I thought football season had finished. You told me a month ago it was all winding down. It's still going every night. I just need to watch the under-21s and now it's the Club World Cup. That's where the hard sell comes from, isn't it? Does there come a point with eyeballs on the game where even fans might need a rest? I think that point has come now. I think we've hit it. I think, you know...

The Club World Cup is... Clubs should not be playing at this time of the year. We know that there's a major tournament every two years. It's a Euros, it's a Copa America, it's the World Cup. You accept that because it's international football. This is the slot for it. I think fans have got a different perspective on that because that's what fills the summer, really. But club football is not where it's at. We shouldn't be watching club games now.

Now, over the last maybe five or six years, I've been told there's a bit of football fatigue in the US because every summer you get the big teams from Europe going out there. And the crowds have dropped in recent years because the fans have seen the same teams over and over again. Now, we're getting that this time. And I don't think...

With the due respect to the teams from different nations outside of Europe, there's not the same kind of ground support that you would get for a World Cup. If you had an African team or an Asian team playing the World Cup, there would be a local community across the states that would back that team. But for Picasso Blanca or Al-Ain from Abu Dhabi, who's going to watch these games?

It is a hard sell, it's the wrong time to be playing, it shouldn't be a month-long tournament, it shouldn't be in the heat of the summer in the US, it's also clashing with the Gold Cup which is the CONCACAF tournament this summer, so actually the North American tournament is clashing with the Club World Cup and also in terms of eyeballs in the US it's clashing with the NBA Basketball Finals which is the only show in town really so it's way down the billing as well in terms of local sports so

But it's the only thing, Gianni Anfantino will make lots of money for FIFA out of it. So that ultimately is his end game, not the good of the game. Yeah, and one of the vehicles that they've used was the curious way that Lionel Messi and Inter Miami have been shoehorned into this Club World Cup. And you alluded to Jason Burt's piece in the Telegraph, which we can show on the screen right now. FIFA artificially shoehorned him into the Club World Cup and how he performs.

may decide his MLS legacy. Big few weeks for Lionel Messi, Henry. Yeah, I mean, I think his legacy is fairly secure. I mean, he's in the top three, four players of all time. I mean, he's also tried to, or Infantino did, tried to shoehorn Ronaldo in as well. So, you know, I...

I just think that is just embarrassing. And look, there's going to be a knock-on effect because players aren't going to be properly rested this summer. And these are some of the elite stars in the world who we are hoping are going to light up the world on the same pitches a year from now at the World Cup in America. So FIFA is actually going to inhibit its own competition. Plus also, and this is a slightly parochial view, there will be a knock-on effect to the start of the Premier League season because...

Chelsea and Manchester City, their players will have had to have had some form of break going into the season and that's obviously been delayed while other players from the Premier League are in Ibiza or relaxing or doing whatever. Yeah, I don't know how you relax in Ibiza, but just a quick one on that point that Henry makes, Mark. Chelsea and Manchester City...

At various points in the last season would have been title contenders. Can they be considered title contenders next season, considering how many more minutes and travel will be in their legs compared to Liverpool, as we talked about before the break, have just strengthened massively? I think it puts them to the back of the grid in many ways because the players are going to be absolutely shattered.

I don't know any Man City players or Chelsea players that want to be at the Club World Cup. They're absolutely running to the ground. We know that Phil Foden was talking about not wanting to be there. Mentally and physically drained, he's there. These players aren't going to get a rest. It's not so much the physical rest, it's the mental rest as well. It's the strain of going again. We were just talking then about football fatigue. You have to have a break from football, whether you play it or watch it. These guys are going to get back middle of July. They're going to get maybe...

two weeks off and the Premier League season starts I think in the third week of August so they're going to get no break, they're going to hit a wall in December, they're going to be really struggling in the spring and like Henry says they're going to get to the World Cup and our best players, England's best players are probably not going to be fit enough to play so it's going to have a long knock on effect throughout the season for club and country.

Yeah, I think so. Now, we don't tend to do the front pages very often on back pages tonight, but we'll focus on the Daily Mirror. And this is all about David Beckham. It was reported a couple of weeks ago, now being confirmed he is in line for a knighthood. He reveals his pride. What a knight, say the Mirror. What's your reaction to this, Henry? I know you've followed his career with England from the very start.

Yeah, I covered all 115 games and he gave everything. Obviously, there was the Sanetti in aberration when he got sent off, but within 18 months of that, because of his perseverance and Ferguson's management...

He was England captain. You've got to admire someone with that work ethic. I mean, you know, 600 plus games gave everything. I mean, you know, moments like the Greece game to get England to the World Cup in 2002. I mean, you look at him on the front pages there. I can remember there were a few front pages when everyone was sort of praying that his metatarsals would heal in time, not on the back pages, on the front pages.

look, he's done so much for our industry, let alone charitable thing, which I think probably swung it in the end. You know, the work he's done with UNICEF, the work he's done on malaria, the work he's obviously done with the King's Trust as well. So, yeah, I think there are many reasons. And you know what? I mean, Oggy knows him as well, and he's actually a very down-to-earth guy, given all the sort of, you know, the circus around him. Yeah, he still looks a billion dollars, doesn't he? Where do you rank him in terms of England players, Mark?

Well, the other day I was just flicking through the channels and Sky was showing David Beckham's best goals. It was a half an hour programme and he was an amazing player. I suppose for a younger audience, if you can imagine the quality of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andrew Bellingham combined, that was David Beckham. He could score great goals, great free kicks, real tenacity, had a real edge to his game. He's a brilliant player and I think

Obviously, what's happened off the pitch over the years, he's become kind of an A-list superstar. You kind of forget what a player he was, but he was an amazing player. Man United in England would love to have a David Beckham at his prime right now. He was a really, really good player. And, you know, the honour system is quite an opaque situation. We don't know how it's dealt with at times, and you can argue against it or for it. But from a football perspective, he's one of England's best players of the last 50 years. And I don't think that often gets said enough because he really was a top player. Yeah.

Last feature of the show, I want to turn our attention to The Times, purely for the pun, really. Mick Jagger was at the cricket, Australia are suffering, and the headline is, "You can't always get what you want, Henry." I think that's right up your street.

Well, absolutely, yes. It's a great pitcher and if you're a slip fielder, you really need sticky fingers. It's a really important game that South Africa, they really need to win that. But yeah, Mick Jagger, I think he's a member of MCC as well, so he absolutely loves his cricket. That's how he gets his satisfaction from sport.