Has Ange confirmed Spurs stay? | Could Man Utd be forced to sell Bruno Fernandes? | Tuchel’s surprise Toney England recall
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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 Dave Reed and joining me are the sons Jack Rosser and Mark Ogden from ESPN. Welcome to you both.

We have got Jack with us. We've got Mark with us as well. We're going to start with Tottenham's trophy celebrations in North London and Postakoglu's speech on stage. He finished talking to the thousands of fans by saying that all the best television series, season three is better than season two. Jack, what gives him that confidence that if he's there next season, it will be better than what Tottenham fans have been served up in the Premier League this season?

I think what Tottenham have served up in the Premier League this season is probably what gives him confidence that next season will be better. It's been that bad. But I suppose it's the same thing that gave him the confidence to come out earlier this season and say that he always wins something in his second season. He's someone that, I think when he first arrived, he's had a long managerial career. Not that we've seen a lot of it, but he spoke about the fact that he knew who he was, he knew what he wanted to do, what he was capable of and

is very comfortable in himself and we see that sometimes he you know goes a bit too far with some of the things he says in press conferences and can look a bit a bit rattled and touchy but i think we see that every week with the way he talks the way he addresses issues the confidence he has in the opinions he takes and backing himself on that it's really quite refreshing and you know obviously the fact that he's gone and ended tottenham's way for a trophy well

really, really ratchet up the confidence he has in himself to come out and make statements like this. And I think it's a good thing, really. You need people like this in football. Mark, do you see it as a direct message to Daniel Levy, who was obviously part of the celebrations there in North London on Friday night? Is it a direct message? You know, he spoke after the game that he'd not had talks about his future yet and he didn't know what the future might hold, but it feels...

quite targeted his message to the supporters and to the Tottenham hierarchy. Yeah, it's a tough one to call really because throughout the last few weeks and months,

I've not always been convinced that Hans wants to stay either, whether Tottenham want him to stay or whether he wants to stay. At times it feels like he's had enough of it. Some of the way he's spoken at times is as though he's seen the end of the season himself and it might be good for him to go. So maybe he's playing around a bit. Maybe, as Jack said, he's using his position of strength now having won a trophy that he can maybe exploit it and see how far he can go because obviously...

you know by winning a trophy at any club it makes a difference but you know it can go both ways we saw what happened to Man United last year when they stuck with Eric Ten Hag and that lasted until November that was a disaster

so whatever decision Tottenham had made on Tuesday or prior to the game on Wednesday they should stick with that because what happened on Wednesday against United was yes they won a trophy but I don't think even any of the most ardent Tottenham fans would say that Ange had a plan that worked out to perfection it was a case of Man Utd being particularly bad and Spurs defending for almost an hour of the game after they scored a goal so it's

It's not an ideal way to keep a manager, but obviously he's won a trophy. But I think whatever Tottenham decided prior to winning the trophy, they should stick with because that would give them the better picture. Because let's be honest, they're finishing 17th or 16th and that's not good enough for Tottenham.

Conversely, on the other side of the coin, much disappointment for Manchester United in the aftermath of that defeat in Bilbao on Wednesday evening. Jamie Carragher, in his column, the headline is around that it might suit both Amarim and United if they parted company. But within that piece, Jamie Carragher talks about the post-match comments from Ruben Amarim and

when he talked about potentially leaving the club without compensation, if the board wanted him to go. And Jamie Carragher writes that it struck him as really the leap of faith that is necessary right now from the Manchester United board because they haven't seen much, Jamie Carragher says, in order to continue to back the head coach for next season. Would you agree with Jamie on that, Jack? It's a difficult one, isn't it? Because you look at how much needs to be done

Just on the squad in whole, really, they need a lot of new players and they need a lot of investment. But then you add in the fact that that squad has got to be built for Amarim if he stays, and that investment maybe almost doubles that's needed in terms of, I suppose, especially in terms of the number of players, it probably doubles.

Obviously not getting the Champions League football leaves them with a huge hole in their finances. Jim Ratcliffe has already spoken a lot this season about the fact that they could have run out of money. It's incredibly tight at Manchester United. There are constant stories of how they're trying to cut small amounts off the budget here, there and everywhere around the club. So to then go in and give all of that cash that they've got, that they can use, that wriggle room that they've got to a manager...

that we don't know whether they're confident in him or not is a huge decision. So it might be the fact that they do part ways. I mean, it's very bizarre that we went into this thinking that if Ange wins, he goes. If Amarim loses, he stays. And it's a very odd way of looking at a major European final. But I think Jamie's right in the piece. It's a good piece. And it might just be for Amarim that if he can move away from Manchester United now,

it almost won't tarnish his reputation too much, whereas if he stays and carries on and it doesn't get any better because they haven't got the finances to rebuild that sport the way he wants it, it could be really, really quite bad for him as a manager. We're told at this stage that Ameren retains the full backing of the board at Manchester United. So if and when he's given money to spend it in the summer, Mark, where would Ruben Ameren like to spend that money?

Well I think we know that Matthias Kuhn is going to sign for United probably next week that deal is pretty much done that's a significant deal £62 million and obviously they need to improve their attacking options because they're just simply not good enough you know Garnaccio will probably leave Rasmus Hoyle isn't good enough

they haven't got the goals and that's been the reason why they've been so bad this season that they've not been able to put away the chances they've created now I've been told he's also desperate to get pace power and athleticism in his team especially midfield because United haven't got any legs in midfield obviously Agassi didn't start the game on Wednesday where he's not the quickest Casemiro started and struggled

Now, I was told prior to the semi-final second leg he was concerned that if United got through to the final that they would rather face Bodo Glimps than Tottenham because he felt that Tottenham's physical strength and power would be a problem for United because since the end of January they've only beaten two Premier League teams and that's Ipswich and Leicester so they really struggle against teams from the Premier League and he needs to get

that kind of strength and power box-to-box midfielders in his team to help United compete because obviously next season is purely domestic season for United. There's no European games. They'll be up against English teams all the way through. So he has to have players who can compete physically and energetically in those games. And you look at the midfield and they haven't got that in their team. It's ironic that tonight Scott McTominay scored a goal to help Napoli win Serie A. He's exactly what United need right now, but they let him go last summer because they had to bring some money in. So wherever you look at United right now, there's just...

There's mistakes that need to be rectified and there's big problems ahead, but that's what he needs, legs in midfield. Yeah, and given the financial pressure at Manchester United this summer, the scrutiny continues on Bruno Fernandes and his potential future, Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, a possible destination for Bruno Fernandes. Jack, your paper in The Sun saying that Bruno Fernandes has until next week to decide on a potential move to Saudi Arabia. Given...

the fact that at times many people have said that Bruno Fernandes has carried this Manchester United team. What would this Manchester United side look like without him? They'd probably look like a championship club, you know, even though the way the bottom three have been so poor, he has been a huge part of, well, he's been their best player all season. He's been one of the only ones that Ruben Amarillo has probably been able to rely upon. Others have come in and out at times. Ahmad's been very good, but obviously he's had his injury problems too.

It's a very difficult one. It's probably wise that, as it says in the paper there, that they make a decision early in the summer because you don't want something like that, your captain, your best player dragging out throughout the whole summer. If they have to sell him because the money comes in and they can't afford to say no, then you sort of have to do it early and swallow it. But it would be a big problem for whether it's Ruben Amorim or another manager and

Any coach would want him to stay around, given the state Manchester United are in at the moment. And from transfers at Old Trafford to transfers at Anfield, or should that be Florian Field? Because that's the headline on the back page of The Sun. This is the potential mega money move for Florian Wirtz. We believe that he's now ready to leave Germany, which would mean that he's turning down Bayern Munich and Schalke.

is ready to consider a move to the Premier League champions Liverpool. The Sunback page has that, the Telegraph back page also has this story. Mark, what kind of message does this send out? It's still obviously a long way to go on this potential move for Florian Wurz, but what kind of message does this send out to the rest of the league, to the rest of Europe?

Yeah, well, it'd be a massive coup for Liverpool to get Florian Wurz. He's, you know, one of the best young players in the world, never mind the Bundesliga. He's a superstar in the making, a fantastic player, great number 10 creator. And, you know, Liverpool have said they want a big summer and this will be a big statement, you know, if they're going to sign Florian Wurz. And I think, obviously, we saw Man City pull out last week

because of the cost of the deal, it may also be the fact that they realised that they weren't going to get him. So pull out quickly before you get turned down. Now, obviously, I think Liverpool might be benefiting from a little bit of domestic situation between Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

Leverkusen don't want to sell to Bayern Munich I think Wurz has probably seen other players go from German clubs to Munich and have a bit of trouble going back to their own ground so I think it suits Florian Wurz to leave the Bundesliga and Liverpool isn't a bad destination is it? The Champions League is the Premier League a team that will probably compete for the Champions League next season probably more contender than Bayern maybe so for Wurz it's a great move but for Liverpool it would be a sensational move because he really is a superstar

He really is very highly thought of in Germany as well. Jack, where do you see him fitting in potentially in that Liverpool side? I think we've seen all season, you know, Liverpool have walked away with the title, but towards the end, I suppose, when it became so clear that they were going to win the league, everyone starts looking ahead and talking about

how the fact this brilliant team already needs a rebuild and getting concerned about what was going on so i think he'll he'll come in slots done very well to to rebuild that midfield but it sounds like he wants to shake things up a bit and as mark said they they want to have a big summer so he will come straight in he'll hit the ground running they've obviously got europe as well which they will want to have a better crack at this season they finished top of the group stage and then

obviously fell out to PSG. So to have that level of star quality alongside the likes of Salah to bring a bit more creativity and goals to that midfield is such a good blend that they're going to have, you know, McAllister, Sabozlai, and you add him in and it really does start to look worrying. They're obviously building from a position of strength. It'll be interesting to see

how much Manchester City can come back next season, whether Arsenal can take that next step. But Liverpool are ahead of them at the moment and already looking to be moving further ahead of them with signing someone like him. Well, it's certainly whetted our appetite for the early summer transfer window. This is because of the Club World Cup.

All the clubs in England can take part and it opens on June 1st, the day after the Champions League final. We'll have plenty of coverage across the Sky Sports platforms, but it gets us all very excited. A potential move to Liverpool for Florian Wirtz. Let's go to The Guardian, shall we? Thomas Tuchel's comments on Trent Alexander-Arnold after naming his latest England squad. Tuchel says that he must take the defensive role very seriously. He says he relies heavily on his offensive contributions

and gives not so much emphasis on the defensive discipline and effort. This, of course, comes after Arnaud Slot in his news conference today, saying that he had to have a word with Trent Alexander-Arnold and said that maybe he didn't give enough in training, to put it mildly. Essentially, the Liverpool head coach said, what does Thomas Tuchel need to do, Mark, to get the best out of Trent Alexander-Arnold in an England shirt?

Well, I think he started that process today by going public in what he thinks of his defending. You know, Trent's had a bad day without playing. Obviously, like you said, the slot comments were really surprising that he was so open in saying that he had to pull him aside in the summer and say, you have to do more, you have to defend better, you have to show how good a defender you are. So that was at kind of nine o'clock this morning. Then by midday, Thomas Tuchel, his England coach, has said the same thing. So I think Trent has certainly got...

a warning ringing in his ears that he has to focus more on his defending I think we know that he's going to Real Madrid with the desire to become the Ballon d'Or winner he's had the first right back to win the Ballon d'Or and we know that Trent's strengths are his attacking game so if he thinks he's going to Real Madrid to kind of make that even better and create lots of assists and be part of a winning team by playing more on the offensive side well Thomas Tuchel's just said look I want you to defend and if you don't defend there's plenty of options obviously a lot of them can't stay fit Rhys James being an obvious one but

At right-back England have got a wealth of talent and he has to show that he can do both sides of the game. And Tuchel today has made that clear and he's been pretty strong in his comments. Yeah, and since the move or the announcement that he was leaving Liverpool has been made, he's had a bit of criticism. He's had some booing as well, Jack, from Liverpool supporters, which has divided opinion.

What is it that these managers are trying to achieve in, once again, questioning the players' defensive attributes? Are they trying to send a message to him? Is it a reality check for the player? What are they trying to get out of him? He's had quite a bad day, hasn't he? You almost feel a bit sorry for him if he wasn't just about to move to Madrid. It will be just trying to sharpen his focus, really. You know, don't get...

carried away with he's had a he's had a fantastic season and we all know and all the coaches will know that he's he's an incredible player um that can really deliver and change games for you on the ball but he can change games in the wrong direction if if a foot gets put out of place defensively and tuchel said you know in in these games in the world cup one mistake like that

And everyone's packing up and going home. And that's the brutal truth of it. And Thomas Tuchel, you know, we've had Gareth Southgate, who was huge on building culture and a collective feeling within the England camp, which was absolutely needed. And he did an incredible job with that. But Thomas Tuchel, I'd imagine, won't give two hoots about, you know, the FA culture long term. He's here for one aim to win the World Cup. He's got a short term contract to do just that.

And he will want Trent on the pitch. I think Rhys James, when he's fully fit, might be a favourite of Tuchel's considering their time together at Chelsea. But if you've got a player like Trent, you want him in there. But you can't afford to maybe have that risk if he's going up against a Vinicius, a Kylian Mbappe, that one mistake will kill the entire team because he will create so much...

for England on the ball. But it is just those one moments in the high pressure states of a World Cup knockout game. And it's good to get that out there in the open early on and have him focused on working on that. Former Brentford striker Ivan Toney has been recalled by Thomas Tuchel playing for Al-Ali in Saudi Arabia. Why do you think he's been recalled, Mark? What's your view on Ivan Toney being back in an England squad?

It's definitely a surprise. I mean, I don't think anybody could claim to have a great insight into how well he's done in Saudi Arabia, apart from looking at the stats. We haven't seen him play. You know, it's a league that has been obviously...

often kind of mocked and decried in Europe because it's a league that's got a lot of older players that have maybe had their better days elsewhere but you know Tuchel has watched him play Antonio's got a great record in the Premier League so maybe he's thinking that he needs that sort of profile of a striker and he's basically sending a message to all players that have maybe fallen off the fringes a little bit that you know there's a way back I mean you look at people like Mason Mount at United who is not a great season but he's a favourite of Thomas Tuchel it's perhaps

a message to people like that that you might think you're out of the picture now but you've got a year to go and if Ivan Toni can get back in playing in Saudi Arabia where not a lot of people see him play

then you guys that aren't playing right now can get back in. So it's a message to Tony, but it's also a message to a lot of players who are still knocking on the door that they've got a chance to break through if they have a good season next year. The critics, Jack, will say that Ivan Toney's playing for a side that, according to Opta, has them as the 138th best team in the world. That's below, I feel a bit bad pointing them out, but teams like Vancouver Whitecaps, Paphos...

And in the Opta rankings as of last year, the Saudi league was the 33rd strongest league in the world. What is he doing in an England squad when there's other options playing in better leagues for better teams? That's what the critics were saying. Yeah, absolutely. And I think, you know, Dominic Falanghi will be joining in saying that as well, you know, considering he's just helped Tottenham win a trophy. He'll be quite disappointed not to be in there. But I think...

We all know that Harry Kane, you know, Tuchel is clear. He's still my captain. He is the number one striker. Harry Kane is the one that will be playing that role for England, barring any injury or issue before the World Cup. Ollie Watkins is also in there and is very capable of playing there. Liam De Laffa coming to it. Tuchel wants to look at all of these players and he's not going to be using, with Kane as that number one, he's not going to be using Ivan Toni anymore.

I think physically would probably be the biggest worry of the Saudi league, the pace of the, of the league and physicality of it compared to the premier league is where you're going to fall down. But in a, in a one-off split moment or a penalty, we know how good Ivan Tony is from the penalty spot in those moments. I think you would still back him to deliver, to have the finish, to have the cool head, to, to stand up and do something for England there. So he's definitely worth a look at, you know, we're still a way out from the world cup. This isn't,

the last group before the tournament. It's not like a rash experiment then. It's a good chance to have a look at him. They're obviously going away to their camp in Girona as well to spend a bit of time together and use every hour, Tuchel has been saying. So I think he can deliver in these one-off moments regardless of where he's playing and it's a good chance to get a look at him.

Let's talk about the playoff final Saturday afternoon. Two historic clubs, Sheffield United and Sunderland. Great interview in The Telegraph with Chris Wilder by Mike McGrath. And Wilder saying that he admits now he's at a period of his career where he's thinking less about what he ought to say. And he's basically been saying that he's acting with a bit more freedom now. He's criticised his own fans at times this season, criticised officials. And he's talked about him being a Sheffield fan.

Boy to man, he says, we're a breed that when we get pokes, we retaliate and push back. That's just the characteristics of people from this city. Do you expect him, Mark, to show that kind of freedom of thought and expression on the touchline in the playoff final? Yeah, absolutely. Like he says, he's 57 now. He's not going to change at 57. But Chris Wilder's got a great record, hasn't he? He's won promotion, I think, for every division, every domestic division, certainly the Pyramid. So he's done well with Sheffield United, got them up in the past.

he's been down with them in the past as well so I think this is his chance of redemption but you know Chris Wilder's a very good manager I think Sheffield United had the better season than Sunderland they had a points deduction but they still managed to finish quite some distance ahead of Sunderland who finished I think in fourth place so but it's a big game it's two massive clubs and I think you know the Premier League will be richer with either of them being up there but I think from Chris Wilder's perspective I think he does feel he's got a bit of

unfinished business from what happened the last time he was in charge of Sheffield United in the Premier League so it's a massive day and I think the Premier League will welcome either team that wins We've just got about 30 seconds left Jack let's talk about the Women's Champions League Arsenal against the stars the mighty Barcelona what is the size of the task that faces Arsenal in this Women's Champions League?

That was absolutely enormous. You only have to look at the last few finals. I think Barcelona are trying to go for a third title in a row. They've got Ballon d'Or winners across their midfield and you just have to look to the semi-final and what they did to the WSL champions Chelsea. They absolutely ripped them to pieces in the semi-final in both legs. So it's a huge, huge task for Arsenal. They are complete underdogs in this one, but it would be absolutely incredible if they could

go over there and pull something off. And while Chelsea are having all this success domestically, again, win a trophy that they haven't managed to get. Yeah. Jack, thanks so much. Mark, thank you very much.