Rashford linked with Bayern move | Draper eases through Wimbledon opener | Gauff suffers shock exit
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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 David Garrido and joining me are Charlie White, Football Editor of The Sun, Martin Hardy, Northern Sports Correspondent for The Times and The Sunday Times. Welcome along to you both.

Alright, let's head to the back page of The Sun. We're wondering where Marcus Rashford could end up after his little stay at Aston Villa on loan last season. But of course, that ship has sailed. Could he be heading to the Allianz Arena to join up with Harry Kane at Bayern Munich? What do you make of it, Charlie?

Well, you know, I think Rashford, you know, his heart has been set on a move to Barcelona. But I think if he ended up at Bayern Munich, he wouldn't be complaining. I mean, Harry Kane had one Englishman with him last season when he won the title, Eric Dier. He's moved on to Monaco now. So maybe Rashford, you know, Bayern's sporting director, they've compiled a list of

I don't think Rashford's at the top, if we're being honest, but he's definitely looking at him. He is an option. Luis Diaz is on that list as well. But, you know, if you're buying and you're in the market for a wide man, which they clearly are, as Leroy Sané's left the club, Rashford may be, but, you know, United want £40 million for him, which is a lot of money. Maybe it could be another loan deal. I don't think United want that. But, yeah, Marcus Rashford pulling on the Bayern shirt, yeah, definitely.

in the same team as Harry Kane would be a fascinating prospect. It certainly would be. And of course, another little ironic touch to this story, Martin, I'm sure it hasn't escaped your attention, is that if he were to join Bayern Munich, it would be a former Manchester United player playing for a former Manchester City captain. Vincent Kompany is, of course, head coach there now. How do you think Rashford might fit in, should this come to pass, with Kompany's coaching style?

I think wherever Marcus Rashford lands, and the hope has to be that he leaves Old Trafford this summer,

if they get him as fired up as he was at Aston Villa and you know maybe two or three seasons ago at Manchester United then you're landing a really top class player the challenge of the Bundesliga I'm sure would be something that would appeal to him if as is starting with the case that Barcelona might be an unlikely exit for him that that the clock may take down on this one because if Manchester United can't receive the 40 million pounds that they want then

you might be looking at a situation where Charlie's mentioned there that they have to get him off their books and therefore the loan deal, if a buying club or the loan club like Bayern Munich are keen to pay that salary, then that's a lot of money at £350,000 a week that disappears from Manchester United's wage bill. So I think that would appeal. In plain terms, like I've been on before and I've said,

I've always liked the idea of somebody taking a long punt on Marcus Rashford as a centre forward. That won't happen if he's going to a club where Harry Kane is. But playing wide, he still remains a very exciting player. The Allianz Arena might just be the stage to get the best out of him. There are still good years left in Marcus Rashford. And if he was to move to Germany, that would be an intriguing transfer and something for Thomas Tuchel to watch and hopefully see the best of that player emerge from.

Okay, let's have a little look at, well, day two of Wimbledon. So let's switch focus to the tennis and mentioned in the Sun, Union Jack, but also in the Times Sports section, I can handle the pressure is the quote from Jack Draper. I managed to catch him on court one today and I have to say, just from the word go, guys, he was just on it, fired up, just knew he had to get off to a clean start. And it was, in fact,

Even better than Cleen, didn't even play a full match because first two sets, 6-2, 6-2, then his opponent, Sebastian Baez, retired due to an injury he sort of suffered earlier in the match. I'll tell you what, given it's your paper, Martin, I'll come to you first. I mean, it seems like he has all of the attributes. Jack Draper, big serve, big forehand, attacking player, now world number four. He's handled the pressure up until now, but the scrutiny when it comes to Wimbledon is a very different thing, isn't it?

Yeah, I'm sure a lot of people become huge tennis fans for about two weeks out of every 52. And Jack Draper might not have been well known to everybody perhaps a week or two ago, but his persona and standing in English life will change dramatically with each round of Wimbledon that he comes through. He kind of sneaked up on us all to become number four in the world, as you said there.

He's struggled with injuries, which we hope are behind him. It was nice to hear him speak so confidently after his victory and kind of said he was aware of the build-up, aware of that pressure, but now kind of he wants to absorb it and take it and hopefully this becomes his time. The one thing today is you're watching, so you've seen a player that's at the top of his form in terms of physicality. The confidence will probably develop. It was a difficult opponent today. Potentially, I think,

ranked 38 and he was blown away as I said you can imagine you can dream of that kind of pressure of becoming England's darling of a sport but until I think you've sat in that chair and felt the pressure then it would be something completely different but it's very encouraging to hear him talk so positively that he wants it now and that he's ready for what will come in the next two weeks

Let's have a look at the Daily Telegraph sports section. The picture on that front page, Jack Draper with a topspin forehand, that lefty, that strong weapon that he's got, Charlie. I mean, he...

is clearly in that world top four on merit, but how do you feel he will stack up against the likes of Yannick Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz? Doesn't have to worry about Alexander Zverev, he's already out. But when it comes to the business end of the tournament, those semi-finals and finals, how much damage can he do?

He can do damage. There is absolutely no question. And he will do. I mean, he really will do. But, you know, he has to learn. I think that, you know, he has to suffer a bit of pain first, I think. You know, we saw that, you know, with Andy Murray, who often used to get asked about dealing with pressure. And whereas I think...

Andy changed the mindset of the British tennis players. And he used to say, look, I thrive on that. In the past, you know, the tennis fans and some ex-players used to complain about the British press and the TV stations for putting too much pressure on Tim Henneman and Greg Grzecki. And, you know, they never complained about it, but Andy Murray always thrived on it. And it's interesting in his interview today,

Draper mentioned about Murray and how all these players coming through. I think seven men in the second round, which is absolutely brilliant. It really is. And very, very unusual that they all watched Andy Murray playing tennis. They've been inspired by him. But equally, not just as a player, but the men...

that winning mentality. And, you know, Murray suffered his injury problems. He had some heartbreak early on, but, you know, he channeled it in the right way most of the time. So I think Jack Draper, he does have all the tools to become a Grand Slam champion. I think he will win a Slam, at least one. Will it be Wimbledon this year? I'm not so sure. I mean, he's obviously...

done it elsewhere, but he's not really progressed far at Wimbledon so far. So this is almost, you know, although it's his home tournament, it's a new tournament, which is actually quite unusual, isn't it? So, you know, I think he's got to get used to that. Silic in the next round, he'll beat him. And of course, you need a bit of luck

in the draw and we thought it was going to be Alexander Bublik who beat him at the French Open and he got knocked out today. So, you know, that always is massively important for a player to sometimes get a little bit of fortune as well. But yeah, Draper's a good story and we're going to have many, many Wimbledon's, I'm sure, watching him. Yes, many, many roller coasters to ride along with him, I'm sure. I'm going to sit with you, Charlie. Back page of The Guardian has a picture of Coco Gauff and again, I mean, this one, you know,

I don't think anyone could have seen this coming. French Open champion, but defeated in straight sets. And that second set, six games to one against Danila Yastremska, was an absolute battering that she suffered. What's gone wrong here?

Really struggled mentally, obviously, judging by the fact that she lost in under an hour. Yeah, she was dismantled. And what a day in the women's draw because Jessica Pegula lost as well in 58 minutes to Elisabetta Coccinetto. So that was a tough one as well. So, yeah, the second and third seeds out. Yeah, on day two, a huge shock for both of them.

Right, let's stay with the Guardian and we're going to talk... It's that time of year, isn't it? Wimbledon, Silverstone, which coincides with the middle weekend of Wimbledon these days. And the piece from Giles Richards, Martin, the headline at the bottom of the front page of the Guardian Sports section, Silverstone should stage race forever, says F1 chief. So this is Stefano Domenicali, who is due to chat with Keir Starmer...

downing street and try and sort of convince him of how f1 is such an important part of business in Britain let alone sport and entertainment what's what's your read on that

No, it's good to see him pushing hard for that to keep the, not to get the race to Silverstone and to keep a part of the sporting calendar and fabric. And we see a lot of, um, top sport heading to Saudi Arabia now, where there is great wealth, whether it be the motor racing, um, or, you know, it's kind of, uh,

lit up the boxing game by putting big fights together. But by the same token, don't underestimate the significance of history and sport and tradition and just what that means to British Formula One fans. It's a chance to see the sport live and to get up close and to create a very special atmosphere. So yeah, it's good to see him pushing for that.

Charlie, what are your thoughts in terms of Silverstone? It extended its contract with F1 to host this race until 2034. So that's pretty much the next decade. Do you sense that it will always be, given the fact that it's sort of in that bracket with Monza, with Monaco, those classic circuits? And F1 clearly wants to keep expanding to different territories, but it's got to keep a soul. And Silverstone is very much part of that.

It has. I mean, you know, F1 celebrating its 75th anniversary. There's been F1 at Silverstone since 1950. It's vitally important. You know, over the years, particularly sort of the last 30, the race has been in doubt a few times in terms of, you know, it has had to be improved. But, you know, we shouldn't take it for granted. So that's why the comments today are really encouraging. Because let's not forget, there's no F1 in France.

There's no F1 in Germany anymore. Germany used to have two races. So we've seen that disappear. And, you know, next year Madrid's going to get a race along with Barcelona. But, you know, they have been messing around with the calendar. You know, there's going to be three races again next year in the United States. So they have been tinkering with history. And as Martin said, we've been having quite a few races out in the Middle East, four I think as well. So, yeah, it's hugely important. It's a great weekend. I love going to Silverstone.

And thankfully, it's going to be exactly the same weekend next year as well. And as you said, at the very least, right through to 2034. Right, Charlie, we're heading back to you and your paper, The Sun. And on the left-hand side of the back page, the headline, Pep plots City cull after exit. I have to say, this one, you know, I woke up to this news. I was really quite surprised. City losing 4-3 to Al-Halal to go out of the Club World Cup. So,

In terms of the upshot of this, are you expecting major departures? Is that a little bit knee-jerk? And what has Pep learned? I think there has to be departures. Guardiola is saying, well, in that piece, talking about the fact that there were 27 players out there and that was still too many for him. And not forgetting the fact that there was no Jack Grealish, there was no Calvin Phillips, there was no Kyle Walker.

And their futures really look uncertain. It's pretty obvious that they're going to be moved on. It'd be a huge surprise if they weren't. And there are going to be some more changes as well at City. There's no doubt about that. Equally, and apart from that result last night,

You know, it'd been an all right few weeks for City, hadn't it, in Guardiola? And he'd been a bit more upbeat, certainly more upbeat than he was the last press conference of the season I was at at Craven Cottage, where, you know, they'd won at Fulham. But, you know, it was not a great end to the season all round, really.

for City because of course they'd lost in the Cup as well so it's been a strange few weeks for them I'm sure they'll sort it out and in many respects this is doing City a favour getting knocked out here of course they wanted to win the Club World Cup it'd been great financially the players wanted to win it Guardiola would have loved it but of course it's given them a bit more time just to

just to have that rest. Um, they're still only going to get three or four weeks before the start of the season. Um,

Thomas Tuchel says in terms of returning for training for the start of the season, Thomas Tuchel said that the Club World Cup in terms of the impact it will have on Chelsea and Man City, that's why he felt it's really helping or will help Liverpool, Arsenal and he mentioned Newcastle as well which I thought was interesting. But yeah, it's been a disappointing day to a few okay weeks for City but uncertain times coming up I think.

Let's have a look at the other side of that result, a memorable one for Al-Halal. And in your paper, Martin, The Times, Saudi success silences critics in inverted commas. This is from Serkan Milinkovic-Savic, the Al-Halal midfielder, who says that this is a poke in the eye for critics of Saudi Arabian football. So are they the coming force, as he's seeming to suggest here, Martin?

Look, Al-Halal has good players like Ruben Neves, Koulibaly's in there. It's a team that has had investment in it and it's a big result in terms of boosting the profile of the Saudi Arabian Pro League.

We just have to have a little bit of context in there. And that's when Pep Guardiola was interviewed before this game, had said his players were doing some training in the morning and then the afternoon they were either playing golf, going to the beach, having barbecues or spending time with their family. Now, that's not the same, I suspect, as Manchester City going into the quarterfinal of the Champions League.

As Charlie, I think, has correctly said there, this might be the best get-out for Pep Guardiola because his team go home just at the start of July. They can have a bit of rest.

before this game, he had said, when asked about the demands he was putting on his players, he said, I try not to think about it, otherwise I get too anxious. So it's certainly in his thoughts that this could really exhaust his team. And he said at the same time, I don't know the impact of playing competitive games now when my players need rest. I know they have complained themselves. And he said, we'll see come November, December, January. So I

And then in the context of the game, I think the thing which will worry Manchester City and Guardiola is the fact that in transition, something they struggled with last season against these fast, strong teams on the counter-attack, this is what did for them in this game. They still had more than 800 passes in the match, 30 shots. So there was a lot of that old Manchester City rhythm that you saw. It's just defensively, that central defensive power, and as you said, Rodri went off.

Are they a bit light in that centre midfield area? Have they bought too many attacking players because they've spent heavily so far in this window on in January? So we'll see. I think that what were the 40, 50 million pounds richer for playing in this tournament, which is a huge boost and help even for a club like Man City and PSR. I think there's some questions for Pep, but I think he'll be pleased that his players are now heading off for some rest.

Yeah, just short of £40 million in prize money, Manchester City have earned from getting through to this stage. Let's go into the inside pages of the sports section of the Daily Telegraph. And, Charlie, this piece by Matt Law, Chelsea plan for nine attackers, opens door to more ins and outs. I mean, look, this is nothing new. Chelsea just seem to operate in a, you know, a situation, a process of flux, don't they? You know, what do you make of, you know, again, how they're operating transfer-wise?

It's just extraordinary, isn't it? You know, you hope that eventually things might quieten down for a few weeks, a few days. And then, you know, they're up for either, you know, signing another major player or looking to ship a few out. And I'm sure we're going to see both over the next few weeks. I think they've done some good business. There's no doubt about that. I think Liam Dillatt particularly for £30 million. I know it's really early days, but I think, you know, particularly...

but, you know, also Matt's written about maybe Nani Madueki might be leaving the club. Arsenal interested, potentially Newcastle as well. He's a really good player. I can understand why clubs want him. Chelsea, you know,

aren't actively looking to sell him but equally if the if the price is right they might look to sell it'd be a good one for Arsenal who of course well they need to sign someone basically or certainly need to sign some forward players so I can see why they'd want him but yeah this thing's never seemed to be settled at Chelsea do they but equally it could end up being quite a few quite a good month for them if they end up winning the Club World Cup that's for sure

And along with the player transfer market, it seems like we also have sort of a sporting director transfer market that is getting more and more active. Same paper, same page. Down the right-hand side, a piece by Mike McGrath and Sam Dean to you, Martin. Newcastleite ex-Arsenal manager, new transfer guru, and his name is Jason Aito. Fill us in on this one.

Well, Paul Mitchell left his position officially yesterday as the director of Newcastle. Darren Eales, the chief executive, will leave soon as well. Jason Aitow from Arsenal, formerly of Arsenal, is one of

of the list of four who has been whittled down to, I think, down to two, along with Ross Mitchell from Nottingham Forest, there's potentials to come into that position, which is now vacant at Newcastle. It was high praise for A2 from Mikel Arteta for the work that he did at Arsenal when he was kind of number two, and then when he took over in the temporary role and apparently was very close to getting it permanently as well.

He said to have a brilliant knowledge of footballers all over Europe. And one of the players that I like, Martin Zubimendi, who's coming into Arsenal, the Spanish international midfielder, was one that I think he pushed hard for. So I think it's fair to say he does have a very good eye for a player. And we remain to be seen what the next move is from Newcastle. But they are two positions that they need to fill in the long term pretty shortly.

OK, let's finish with a bit of cricket. This one's for you, Charlie, and it's in the mail. A piece by Lawrence Booth, their cricket correspondent. Ben Stokes, confident his batting form will pick up with more time at the crease. I'm not worried about it, says Ben Stokes, but two years since his last Test 100, he's averaged just 27 with a bat since the beginning of 2024. Are you more worried about Ben Stokes' batting form than he is? No, I think it will come back. I mean, some interesting stuff from him today, just talking about...

how shattered he was last week, basically. You know, being out in the field for 200 overs, it was really hot. So, yeah, the most important thing that he feels good again. I think England will be confident. Of course, after this one, it

Another week we're at lords. So, you know, it's pretty intense for everyone, particularly when you've got heat like we're going to have again at the moment. Obviously, the wickets are going to be dry as well, but there is a bit of rain forecast. So maybe it'll be a draw. But yeah, plenty of room for optimism at the moment.