Erik Ten Hag has praised the progress made by Harry Maguire despite the Manchester United captain continuing to play a bit part role.

Erik Ten Hag has praised the progress made by Harry Maguire despite the Manchester United captain continuing to play a bit part role.
The central defender made only his 11th start of the season in the 1-0 victory over Real Betis in the Europa League on Thursday, with just five of those starts coming in the Premier League.
Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been Ten Hag's first-choice partnership, with Victor Lindelof also providing competition along with full-back Luke Shaw.
Ten Hag said: "I am really happy with the progress Harry is making, he is more dominant and dictating, taking more initiative in the training space. I think also we have seen it in Seville against Betis where he showed leadership, especially in aspects of initiative and dictation of the game."
Winger Facundo Pellistri made his first start for the club in Seville after a lively European debut in the home leg.
The 21-year-old Uruguayan again impressed and could be given more chances with Alejandro Garnacho joining the injured list, while Antony is a doubt for Sunday's FA Cup quarter-final against Fulham through illness.
Ten Hag sent a warning to Pellistri that he must seize every chance he gets if he is to carve out a future for himself at Old Trafford.
"You have to deserve it and you have to gather it by yourself," said the Dutchman.
"We will help him with the culture, the way of play, the coaches, really working hard for them. But the players have to take their chances, they have to deserve their chances by performing every day on and off the pitch.
"He has the abilities to do it, like others coming up from the youth like Garnacho, like Kobbie Mainoo. Pellistri is also one of them, and there are more who can do it. But you have to contribute to the team.
"Manchester United is not a place where we can have the patience to try one for 10 games – you have to perform."
Ten Hag insisted, though, that his patience is not yet wearing thin with Anthony Martial, who is still not ready to return from his latest injury lay-off.
"I don't think it is the right moment if that would be the case," said the United boss. "I believe in him. Every time he is available, he really gave a good contribution to the team performance.
"The level of the team is upgraded the moment he is available. We are just working with him to get fit and to be available."
Asked if the Frenchman should be prepared to push his body a bit more, Ten Hag said: "Every person is different, so you have to treat everyone differently. This process you have to take really carefully. I do everything to get him available."

Man Utd boss Erik Ten Hag pleased with progress of 'more dominant' Harry Maguire

Coach Sean Dyche won't let Everton's reported financial issues affect his running of things on the pitch.

Everton manager Sean Dyche insists news the club is facing an investigation over alleged financial irregularities will not affect him.
The Premier League has referred the Toffees to an independent commission for an alleged breach of its financial fair play rules.
Everton have denied wrongdoing and said they will "robustly defend" their position.
Dyche said: "There is no situation at the moment. The club's statement covers everything. I'm happy to go along with that. I'm more focused on what's going on on the pitch, quite obviously."
Everton, who face Tottenham on Monday, are battling for survival in the Premier League and Dyche says he is fully focused on that task.
He said: "The club have assured me the statement is correct and the rest of it will come down to the powers that be to do what they have to do.
"At the minute we are really focusing on what is going on now. Of course there are background views on the future but I'm working with the squad now, working to get more points and to make sure we get what we all want, which is to be in the Premier League."

Everton boss Sean Dyche won't be distracted by club's financial issues

Tottenham are "urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA" after the club's managing director of football Fabio Paratici’s ban in Italy was extended worldwide.

Tottenham are "urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA" after the club's managing director of football Fabio Paratici’s ban in Italy was extended worldwide.
Paratici is suspended in his home country after his former club Juventus, where he was sporting director and latterly managing director, were found guilty of false accounting.
FIFA's extension of the ban – which was initially 30 months and applicable only to Italian football – means he will have to step down from his role at Tottenham.
A Tottenham statement read: "FIFA has late this afternoon responded to us in writing notifying us that a decision has been made by the FIFA disciplinary committee to extend the FIGC sanction worldwide.
"This committee deliberation has been taken with no advance notice to any of the parties involved. We are urgently seeking further clarification from FIFA as to the details of the extension and its variance from the FIGC sanction.
"We should like to make clear that when Fabio conducted the interview on club channels yesterday neither he nor the club had any indication of this decision being made by FIFA, based on the fact the FIGC sanction was taken on 20 January 2023 and remains subject to an appeal on 19 April 2023."
Having left the Serie A club in May 2021 Paratici joined Spurs the following month and would have been involved in the search for a new manager following Antonio Conte’s departure last week.
FIFA announced they had extended Paratici’s ban "to have worldwide effect" in a statement released earlier on Wednesday.
The governing body said: “FIFA can confirm that following a request by the Italian FA (FIGC), the chairperson of FIFA disciplinary committee has decided to extend the sanctions imposed by FIGC on several football officials to have worldwide effect.”
Juventus have denied wrongdoing and they and Paratici have appealed against the sanctions.
On Tuesday Tottenham published a lengthy interview with Paratici in which he said Conte's departure was "the right decision for everyone" and the club was "focused" on supporting interim head coach Cristian Stellini as they try to secure a top-four finish.
Fan group the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust on Wednesday afternoon called for clarity and reassurance from the club.
Responding to the Paratici ban, it tweeted: "This news adds further to the extremely concerning situation at the club. No manager, no director of football and uncertainty around our star player and our end of season finish.
"Fans deserve to hear a clear statement of strategy from THFC so they can be reassured by the board on their plan to bring success and stability to the club."

Tottenham 'urgently seeking clarification from FIFA' over Fabio Paratici ban

Manchester United fans would be the focal point of the club if Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus is successful in his proposed takeover.

Manchester United fans would be the focal point of the club if Finnish businessman Thomas Zilliacus is successful in his proposed takeover.
Zilliacus, founder and chairman of investment company Mobile FutureWorks, has put together an offer that is being considered by the Raine Group, the firm overseeing a possible sale on behalf of the Glazer family.
The Finn, said to be a long-term United supporter, favours a 'Nordic model' that would see his consortium buy the club and then sell shares to supporters worldwide.
"It (United) was there long before all these people who are bidding for it were born and it will be here long after all these people who are bidding for it have passed away," he told the I newspaper.
"The backbone of that institution is the fans and in that respect it's hugely important the fans are at the centre of the decisions."
Zilliacus says that if his bid is chosen, supporters will be given a say on major issues such as ground redevelopment and squad building, but not team selection.
Although an outsider and a latecomer to the race to buy United - becoming the third party to publicly declare an interest after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani - Zilliacus claims his investment group should be considered serious contenders.
"I actually saw that the deadline was last Wednesday, literally on Wednesday morning and then I had to act very, very fast," the former chief executive of Nokia in Asia said.
"I called the bank [Raine], told them we would like to participate, Raine said it was kind of late and they weren't sure it made much sense.
"They discussed it internally and got back to us and said 'OK, here's an NDA [non-disclosure agreement], sign it then we'll discuss the next steps after that'.
"We signed the NDA, put in a bid in general terms on Wednesday but then the deadline was extended to Friday, which gave us two more days to put in a revised bid, which had an actual number of what we were bidding, and that's how it's played out.
"I have been doing business all my life, I have started companies, bought companies, sold companies so I have a global network and I have done this on a global scale - first with the largest phone company in the world, Nokia, then with my own group.
"I have a network that spans the globe of people who want to participate in interesting ventures, and this certainly is one. To put together financing for something like this - and it is a big sum - is something I'm used to."

Thomas Zilliacus: Manchester United fans the priority in proposed takeover

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford said a reported new deal worth £500,000 per week is not true. 

Marcus Rashford says reports he is looking for a new deal worth £500,000 per week to extend his contract at Manchester United are "complete nonsense".
The England forward will be out of contract in 2024, with the club having triggered a one-year extension earlier this season.
Negotiations continue over finalising a long-term deal for Rashford, who has been in fine form since his return from the World Cup, scoring 19 goals in 25 appearances.
Rashford, though, has rejected suggestions he is holding out for a big-money pay deal to stay at Old Trafford.
"Just before this one starts to do the rounds! It's complete nonsense," Rashford wrote on his Instagram story.
"The club and myself have been respectful to one another, and that's how it will remain. My focus is purely on finishing as well as possible in the league and winning trophies."
Rashford was called up for England's Euro 2024 qualification double-header against Italy and Ukraine, but withdrew having picked up a knock during United's FA Cup quarter-final win over Fulham.
The 25-year-old, who spent some time in New York during the international break, has returned to training with United ahead of Sunday's Premier League game at Newcastle.