Which club could Rashford sign for? | Maresca supports Mudryk after failed drugs test | Could Jesus be a significant player for Arsenal?
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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 Teddy Draper and joining me are sports writer and broadcaster Henry Winter and The Daily Mail's chief feature writer, Riaf Al Samurai. Welcome to you both.

Here's to future Henry after he told you on Tuesday he was ready for a new challenge. Brilliant scoop. But what do you make, Henry? The sunback page then. A rash decision. Ruben, he should have talked to me and not gone public. I'm interested in this because I thought Ruben Amarim struck quite a conciliatory note, didn't he? But the papers have taken a different angle. What did you make of the Manchester United manager's response to your story?

I thought he was very mature, showing his man management skills, very diplomatic, saying that there is a way ahead. And I thought he was quite clever in the way he used the new challenge

that Marcus Rashford had used. And let's be clear, when I asked him about that, I made it very clear that, you know, when he said new challenge, it was away from Old Trafford. There's no ambiguity in that. But I just thought that was good man management from Ameren. But obviously the story has developed during the day and the fact that of the 21-man squad that Ameren has taken to Spurs for tomorrow night, they met at Stockport Station heading to Houston,

Marcus Rashford wasn't amongst them. And Henry, in the Times as well, that story, Rashford still out in cold, striker unlikely to be in United's squad for Spurs match despite Amarim wanting him to stay. What do we decipher from this then, Henry? Amarim saying we need him, I just want to help Marcus, we're better with Rashford and they're not taking him for the Tottenham game. Is someone else influencing this? What's your read on it?

What else can Ruben Amerin say? He can't say, "No, I want him out of here." I think everyone can see, and Riyadh's paper has been covering it, the Times we see here, the Telegraph, all the papers have been covering the direction of travel for Marcus Rashford over the last week.

And the club, Manchester United, this great English institution, certainly haven't been closing down these stores, the suggestion of Rashford leaving. And he's obviously seen that. And now it's a question of when rather than if. Whether it's a loan in January, it would be a complicated deal to do for many reasons, mainly financial. But, yeah, it looks like he's out the door. I'll bring Riyad in very quickly, Henry, but I just wanted to get your sense. Obviously, I know you've been on Sky Sports News since the story broke, but...

But what would appeal to Marcus Rashford? Did you get any indication that this would be something he'd consider a pay cut? Would a loan option appeal? Was it just any new territory?

Well, new territory in terms of Saudis, as the Times are suggesting. The only issue there is he's very keen to get back in the England squad. Was it 17 goals in 60 appearances, played in two World Cups? He's obviously very keen, as all the young England players are, to play in the World Cup in America to try and impress Thomas Tuchel. So, Saudi, I don't think that would

be right for him Real Madrid obviously got Mbappe in and Rashford's not at Mbappe's level Barcelona probably don't have the money Juventus possibly in Italy but it's a complicated deal to do Very complicated Riyad let's go to your paper Henry did mention you having the story on the back page Chris Wheeler with it Amarim snubs Rashford again for big cup tie giving presumably the significance of this quarter final in the League Cup for Amarim and trying to get a trophy what does that really say about his opinion of where Marcus Rashford stands?

It's fascinating, obviously, since Henry's, well, Marcus Rashford, but via Henry's, throwing the cat among the pigeons here. Look, clearly he's out of favour. We saw him being left out of the Manchester derby.

I don't think anyone could take it as a positive that he's been left out of the Spurs game. Now, there was a suggestion that he was back a little unwell earlier in the week. He's clearly since gone on to...

to attend this function at this former school where he's spoken to Henry. So we're going to have to find out a little bit more on the reasons behind this. But I think when we're looking at Rashford at the moment, one of the kind of questions that comes for me now is where can he actually go to? Where is he going to fit in and move in? I can't see for the life of me...

I can't see him at the age of 27 going to Saudi Arabia. I can't, you know, for everything that's been said about him, about his commitment and everything else, I cannot see him throwing in the towel on his career, particularly with England, by going and playing in the Saudi Pro League. Then you've got to ask the question of

Who else is available? We've heard suggestions about his preference might be La Liga. Well, Barcelona haven't got any money and his salary is upwards of £325,000 a week. If that contract runs until 2028, it would have to be a mega pay cut. Real Madrid don't need him. I also don't believe that on the basis of the past 18 months, he's anywhere near good enough to go and play La Liga.

in that front line with Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and the rest of them. So I can't see that working out. Atletico, is there an option there? I don't believe so. PSG have got Bacola. They've been interested in him previously, but why would they upset the Apple Cup? Bayer Leverkusen have got a brilliant young English winger. Bayern Munich don't need a left winger.

Then we look domestically. The only club I could see being potentially a fit for him would possibly be Arsenal. We've looked at Trossart this season. We've looked at Martinelli. Neither of them, I would say, are hitting their best form. Would there be an opening there? Potentially. It's not going to be Chelsea. They've got all the wingers in the world. Man City, I don't believe, even in current form, I don't believe Rashford's good enough to go there. And it's a fairly feisty move.

move to go there. I don't believe so either. Well, he'd still be able to visit his old primary school, which I think would be very controversial if he went to Manchester City, Henry. Let's have a quick take at the Daily Telegraph sports supplement. Saudis target Rashford. Jason Burt and James Ducker with a story. United striker on SBL elite list with Salah and De Bruyne. Lone with obligation to buy best option for Europe move. Where do you think's most likely destination is?

Henry, Raheem Sterling's an understudy. Chelsea loaned him to Arsenal. Didn't they? Could Arsenal go into loan market for Rashford?

Personally, I would love it if he stayed and fought for his place at Manchester United. They've got a fantastic manager or head coach, Ruben Aberyn, taking them in an exciting direction. But tactically, he doesn't really necessarily fit into that. He's bested a 4-3-3. We saw that famously in Seville with England. I mean, I think sort of echoing what Riyad says, I mean, Arsenal, although Gabriel Heslop's got a hat-trick tonight, Martinelli's not necessarily had the best of the seasons on the left side.

Rashford could play there. Again, finances is an issue. Tottenham tomorrow night would have been interesting if he'd been in the party because Heung-Min Son has been a fantastic server for Tottenham Hotspur on the left flank, but his powers are waning. He had a good game at the weekend, but he's fading a little bit.

does he want to stay in in england i don't know i mean he's still you know i said to him just as he sort of went off to his his car i said you know manchester united will always be in your blood and he said yeah 100 absolutely i do hope one thing in all this or slightly confusing um air at the moment is that when he does leave much united and it looks pretty certain that he is

that he goes out and he wants to, respecting the club, the club respecting him. What we don't want is, and we've seen it before in the past with Manchester United, players leaving angrily, going through the exit door and leaving the door hanging off its hinges. We don't want that. He has too much respect for him. And I think Manchester United fans, certainly those in the ground, will have too much respect for Marcus Rashford. Indeed, these Manchester United fans, Lee Bourne and Bredin, had some magical moments with the club. More trophies, perhaps,

than other people realise. In terms of wingers who have yet to realise their talent, perhaps let's talk Mikhailo Mudrik and his support from the Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca. Riyadh, we can go to the back page of the Mirror here. Enzo, we have trust in Mudrik. Paul Brown reporting, Enzo Maresca insists Mikhailo Mudrik is innocent and will not see his career ended by a failed drugs test. How powerful and unequivocal were these statements from Maresca today, Riyadh?

They were unequivocal, but I think they were also forced, because you sometimes have to ask yourself what could he say that would be different to that. I think Maresca will surely have more information on this

case than the rest of us. I'm sure he'll also have more information than he's let on today. He said that he's fairly hazy on the details. I'm not sure I would believe that personally. I think if you're the manager of an asset that costs the better part of £90 million, you want to know every single cough and splutter.

of what has gone on, what the substance is, how the contamination may have occurred, what date it took place on, you know, and I would be astonished if they weren't in possession of those details. Now, obviously, this is a very serious situation. At this point, we...

very early in the process, justice has to run its course. He has to put forward his explanations through the legal channels. He's enlisted a lawmaker

lawyer who is very famous in anti-doping circles for these cases. He's had a tremendous amount of success, that being Morgan Sports Law. He was the lawyer who looked after Paul Pogba's case as well, took his proposed ban down from four years to 18 months. These are incredibly complicated cases. They are also

really alarmingly common. Contamination is almost always the first line of defence when these cases come up. So we're all going to have to wait and see and reserve judgment until this process is seen through. But, you know, for Chelsea, on the back of what has been a superb start to the season, this is going to be absolutely the last thing they wanted.

Absolutely not. Mikhailo Mudrik then for the foreseeable future, until the B-samples back at least, will be training on his own at home, Henry. What about the implications for Chelsea? Back page of The Sun, Enzo Jan plan. This by Andrew Dillon. Enzo Maresca set to raid the January transfer market if Mikhailo Mudrik cops a lengthy ban.

Given his sort of bit part role, Henry, does that surprise you? Would you think Chelsea do need to replace Modric if he's not available, given what he's done so far this season?

And what he's done before that, I mean, which is very little. I mean, he's a slightly complex character. I've interviewed him when he was over in Ukraine. But actually, you look at him tactically, I mean, he thought, or I think he hoped he was going to Arsenal to fill in their left-sided problem. He ended up at Chelsea because they obviously offered Shakhtar more money. And it's simply not worked out. If you actually look at, I mean, Ralf was alluding to this earlier, Chelsea are not short of options out wide, you know.

Pedro Neto was banned at the weekend, so Madueki comes in. You've got Jadon Sancho on the left as well. They're not actually short. And Kunku can play on the left as well. So I think Mudrick probably would get in a match day 18, but he's certainly not troubling the starters.

No. OK, we'll see that. Keep a watching brief on Chelsea, both the Mudrick situation and the January transfer window to come. Let's talk about Arsenal. Go to the back page of The Sun. Riyad, I'll come to you for Jordan Davis' piece here. Baby Jesus, or Jesus, a good time of year for hat-trick hero. He scored again. Jesus, who revealed this week his partner is expecting, celebrates his opening goal. Scored a hat-trick, Riyad, but...

Am I wrong in thinking the story isn't the fact that Jesus scored a hat-trick, it's the fact that it took Odegaard and Saka coming off the bench to set him up, that again, Arsenal's backup team didn't look that great? Yeah, yeah, Arteta sent for the cavalry. I mean, look, he'd made eight changes for the team. You know, I was a little surprised by that. I think, you know, I wouldn't dream of saying...

Arteta's under any kind of pressure. He's having a very strong season, had a very strong season last year, but they do have that imperative of winning a trophy. And this is, of course, a final. Did they take Palace lightly? Maybe. But that first half was very poor. They've gone behind to an early goal. But again, I think things change when Odegaard comes off the pitch. He is a magnificent player, I'd say, outside of...

Outside of Rodri, I think he's the best player in the Premier League. Maybe Salah. He's decent too. But look, we're talking about a transformation. Jesus, it's not before time, is it? The guy's not scored in the Premier League this season. I think it flashed up when he scored his first. It was actually his first at the Emirates of the year as well. So, you know, look, it's been a good night for him. But I think if you're Arteta, looking at perhaps the underbelly of that,

of that squad. There's still going to be a little bit of concern. Of course, they did let Palace back in towards the end there as well. But ultimately, it's a cup game and a cup game is just about getting through and they've won. And it is Gabriel Jesus, Henry, dominating the back pages. Gift of the gab, back page of the male stunning Jesus hat-trick is perfect present for Arteta.

is San Khan at the Emirates Stadium for the male. Henry, could he be a significant player this season? Gabriel Jesus, if he finds that confidence, Arteta was talking about that post-match. Well, you could see the confidence just coursing through him after he scored a very good first goal and then the second two were terrific instinctive finishes. I mean, it was interesting, all these ties were played without VAR and certainly one of his goals might have been chalked off but

But, yeah, I mean, as Riyadh was saying, Odegaard's delivery, Saliba coming in to sort of bolster the defence as well at half-time. But, yeah, absolutely, because, you know, everyone's been saying this for a long time about Arsenal. You know, they need a finisher. They need a centre-forward. Kai Havertz can do it. Does he always do it against the biggest teams? I know the Champions League final with Chelsea. But with Arsenal, you know, they haven't got a serial finisher, an Ian Wright-type character yet.

Gabriel Jesus does a lot of his work coming in off the left, but if he is going to go on a run now and get 20 goals for the rest of the season, that is just going to be so important, not simply for the League Cup where he's been getting his goals, but also in the Premier League. It feels like Arteta could do perhaps with a trophy to kick-start the season, Riyad, but other teams as well, just looking like a cracking semi-final line-up. Newcastle and Liverpool through as well. Back page of the Mirror, Harvey makes it to L. Fulham,

Four Saints, as in Elliot, there. Harvey Elliott, player of the match, scored a goal as Liverpool won at Southampton and Newcastle 3, Brentford 1. How excited are you about the Carabao Cup, Riyadh, this season with Manchester United against Tottenham to come?

I always enjoy the Carabao Cup. I don't fully understand why it gets so maligned. But look, I think Newcastle are probably the interesting package in all of this. You know, it's not been a good season for Newcastle. You can just start to, you know, feel a little bit of the pressure creeping up.

Eddie Howe and of course you've got this ongoing clock that has been ticking since 1955 for them with a trophy so you know they've gone through they've looked very comfortable I was a little surprised by that given the difficulties against Brentford a couple of weeks ago but you know you can see what Eddie Howe's putting into this competition he's gone with an unchanged he's

He's gone through with an unchanged team. He's not done what Arteta's done. He's not done what Arnaud Slot's done. You know, he's gone with his absolute strongest hand. I think everything is staked on a cup. And I think, you know, I would be amazed if Foster Coghlu, injuries permitting, doesn't give it the same seriousness. We've heard him talking plenty recently.

He always delivers in his second season. There is an absolute imperative on him for him to do that. And he's got to do that against United, who are going very well under Amorim. So that's a hard game. Spurs really...

have got a huge amount to lose going into it. Well, it feels like all the teams left in it, apart from Liverpool, probably need a confidence boost in a sense, Henry. But I suppose Harvey makes it L for Saints, that headline in the mirror. Again, they look pretty formidable, don't they? Again, Arnott Slott able to really change things tonight and still win.

Yes, they did. But actually, in fairness to Southampton, they were terrific in the second half in particular. They were really spirited. They were, I mean, the Russell Martin experiments of playing out the back persistently clearly hadn't worked. They were a lot more direct at times. They could very easily, with a slightly more eagle-eyed referee and assistant,

have had a free kick on the edge of the area and maybe conjured up another goal in the last minute. So I think Saints fans going away from that, you know, they applauded their team because they showed real spirit. But absolutely, Liverpool have got this fantastic strength in depth. Jurgen Klopp's inheritance that he's passed on to Arne Slott has been fantastic. Some of the kids on show were again good.

Yeah, we were impressed with a Tyler Morton as well. Strong statement from Liverpool. But what about Southampton? Henry makes a cogent point there, doesn't he? They changed the style under Simon Ruskin and look pretty good doing it. Will that maybe spread the managerial net further now? They can look at different options of styles of manager with the team playing like that tonight.

I think so, but again, kind of going to what Henry was saying there, what surprised me about Southampton, particularly the second half, is, you know, yeah, they've got good players. They know they do, you know, they've got good technical players,

players there, but I thought their confidence was going to be absolutely shredded. Tottenham marmalised them at the weekend and, you know, after going a couple of goals down behind, again, against Liverpool, you can see them rolling over, but, you know, fair play to Rusty. He's been able to do something in a couple of days there. Why where Southampton go from here? Do you start

looking even at survival or do you immediately start looking to a championship manager? This team is tracking to have a worse season points-wise than Derby way back when. You know, I don't think...

You know, you'd have to be an incurable optimist to think that they've got any chance of survival. So really, you're starting to look ahead then to, you know, who's out there with championship pedigree, who knows the division, who can bring them back up. And that's suddenly a very different conversation, quite difficult one to have, I think, when you're actually currently in the Premier League.

It's a difficult picture for Southampton. We'll see how they get on. They've got Fulham and West Ham in the next week in the Premier League. Let's talk rugby. Latest rugby football union accounts have caused some controversy, met by uproar in and outside of Twickenham. Reports showing an operating loss of nearly £40 million. This set against the fact that chief executive Bill Sweeney pocketed £1.1 million after scooping a bonus of £358,000.

the club's vote could oust RFU duo Tommy Lube and Bill Sweeney. Riyadh, we've only got about 30, 40 seconds. How ugly and complicated is this picture now? I think it's extraordinary. I think they're saying this kind of vote of no confidence. It's the first time something like this has been triggered in living memory. And as you say there, we're talking about a time when they've posted record losses, they've made redundancies, but...

but Bill Sweeney's sort of contrived to effectively pay himself a bonus of more than £350,000. It's absolutely remarkable. This is being driven by the referees. I think one of the sources in Will Keller's piece is also pointing out, you know, these are the most balanced people in the game and it's driven by the clubs and the grassroots. It's remarkable. We'll keep our eye across it.

And Henry, thank you very much for your company tonight on Back Pages Tonight. Hope to see you again very soon.