Bilal Sami replaces Saleem in Afghanistan’s squad for the three-match series in Abu Dhabi

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Oct-2025Afghanistan’s right-arm fast bowler Mohammad Saleem has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi due to a groin (adductor) overload.As a result, Saleem will report to the ACB’s High Performance Center for rehabilitation, a release by the Afghanistan Cricket Board said.In Saleem’s place, right-arm medium-pace bowler Bilal Sami will be joining Afghanistan’s squad for the ODIs against Bangladesh.Twenty-three-year-old Saleem has played two ODIs so far, with both of those matches coming against Bangladesh in July 2023. He last played for Afghanistan in his solitary Test, which was against Sri Lanka in Colombo in February 2024.Saleem’s replacement Sami, meanwhile, has played for Afghanistan only once, which was on ODI debut against Zimbabwe in December 2024. Sami, 21, has played 25 List A games, where he has 44 wickets at an average of 25.72. He represented Afghanistan Under-19 at the World Cup in 2022, where he got four wickets in five matches.Sami was recently in action at the Ghazi Amanullah Khan Regional One Day Tournament, Afghanistan’s domestic List A competition, which ended in September. There, he was his team Speen Ghar Region’s second-highest wicket-taker with ten wickets at an average of 22.90, and an economy rate of 4.97.Afghanistan’s first ODI against Bangladesh will take place on Wednesday, October 8.

Jose Mourinho must reportedly sell one of his five existing central defensive options in order to land Harry Maguire for £65m this summer and Marcos Rojo is the most likely to depart.

The Argentine has battled with injuries during his time at Old Trafford and the feeling persists that he is not truly good enough for a side with title ambitions.

However, he is not the worst centre-half available to Mourinho and he can definitely offer something in the top flight.

Everton need defensive options as they seek to freshen up an ageing backline containing Ashley Williams, Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines and Michael Keane needs a sturdier, quicker partner if he is to show the form that got him into the England squad during his time at Burnley.

So, we asked Toffees fans whether they would back a swoop for Rojo, and 56 per cent of them do want the former Sporting man to come to Goodison this summer, as shown by the full results below…

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Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has refused to resign from the club and has stated that the reigning Premier League champions will not find a better boss than him.The West London side slumped to their fourth defeat of the campaign yesterday, with Southampton beating the hosts 3-1 at Stamford Bridge.This means that Chelsea find themselves in the unusual position of 16th in the league after eight games, with many suggesting that their title hopes are already over due to a ten-point gap that has formed at the top.Despite being under increasing pressure to turn things around, Mourinho has stated that he will never walk away from his role at the West London club.The Portuguese has stated that he is the man for the job and will stay to fight it out for the Blues, with the only way that he is set to leave the club if Roman Abramovich gives him his marching orders.“I do not run away,†The Guardian quote Mourinho as saying.“No way I resign. No way. If the club want to sack me, they have to sack me because I am not running away from my responsibility.“Why? Because Chelsea cannot have a better manager than me. There are many managers in the world that belong to my level, but they are not better. Not better. So no chance I run away.“I have my professional pride and I know that I am very good at my job, and also because I like this club very much. I want the best for my club, and that is for me to stay.“So I stay. When we were champions last season I said I was going to stay until the owner and the board wanted me to leave.“No club can persuade me to leave. No financial offer can persuade me to leave. I’m going to stay until the day the owner or the board tell me: ‘José, that’s enough.’“I said that when I was champion. I say that now when I’m 16th in the table.â€

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It was billed as a new era for Newcastle United when Steve McClaren became manager in June; one of competitive spending, a new management structure and without the turmoil of prior campaigns.

So the Toon army are understandably disillusioned with their club’s start to the new season and the apparent ‘new era’, currently laying second-bottom of the Premier League table with just two points and a division-lowest three goals from their first six games. Only 20th-placed Sunderland have fared worse.

But even in Newcastle’s hayday, the St. James’ Park hot-seat was always a rather tough gig, so McClaren can’t be expected to pull off minor miracles in such a short space of time.

We at Football Fancast have no doubt the former England gaffer will eventually turn the Magpies’ poor form around. To prove we haven’t forgotten to take our medication, here’s FIVE reasons why Newcastle fans should keep the faith in their new manager.

STEVE MCCLAREN IS AN EXPERIENCED MANAGER

He may never escape the nickname ‘Wally with the Brolly’ or that infamous accidental impersonation of a Dutchman trying to speak English. But tabloid jest aside, Steve McClaren is an experienced manager with a solid track record.

He served as Sir Alex Ferguson’s No.2 at Manchester United for three years, reached a UEFA Cup final with Middlesbrough and claimed an Eredivisie title with FC Twente in 2010 – all impressive feats in their own right.

Although the 54 year-old’s career has been peppered with juxtaposing spells of underwhelm, particularly England’s atrocious Euro 2008 qualifying campaign as well as short and unsuccessful stints with Wolfsburg and Nottingham Forest, he certainly possesses a good understanding of the English game and the top flight.

Obviously, he’s not enjoyed the best of starts at St. James’ Park. But whilst one would doubt a foreign appointment’s ability to turn it around through lack of Premier League knowledge, McClaren has the nous and the know-how to end Newcastle’s poor run.

SUMMER SIGNINGS YET TO DELIVER

The fact of the matter is that you can’t do much without a dependable goalscorer in the Premier League and Newcastle failed to sign one this summer despite an outlay of £45million.

They took a punt on Anderlecht’s Aleksandar Mitrovic and thus far it’s not paid off, with the 21 year-old finding more red cards than goals in the Premier League – one and none respectively.

Likewise, £14.5million man Georginio Wijnaldum, although impressive in spurts, is still yet to live deliver on his sizable price-tag.

Of course, ultimate responsibility for signings will rest upon McClaren’s shoulders, but it’s hardly a secret that Newcastle are no longer capable of attracting European football’s biggest names like they once were.

The Magpies have to take gambles on players already overlooked by the Premier League’s bigger clubs. In these instances it hasn’t worked out just yet, but I highly doubt the situation would be drastically different with another manager at the helm.

STICKING TO THE BASICS

Many have criticised Newcastle’s rather conservative style of play under McClaren this season.

Whilst it may seem like more of the same from a Magpies outfit accused of similar crimes under Alan Pardew and John Carver, the cold hard truth is that this Newcastle squad lacks genuine quality and needs a bit more investment from Mike Ashley.

I interpret Newcastle’s playing style as McClaren’s tacit admission of their limits. Without a reliable goal threat, as previously discussed, the majority of their wins over the next few months will likely be 1-0 affairs.

Right now, the 54 year-old is sticking to the basics. It may be rather unpleasant on the eye but until Newcastle’s squad proves proficient in them first, McClaren can’t really be expected to further complicate the Magpies’ play with a more expansive game.

For every club outside of the Premier League’s top seven, survival and sturdy defensive displays must take priority over attacking football.

NEGATIVE ATMOSPHERES DON’T HELP THE PLAYERS

I’m not a Newcastle supporter, so I won’t preach about how the fans should behave, what they should be angry about or how diligently they should attempt to drive Mike Ashley out of the club.

But I will point out that the incredibly vocal supporter disillusionment at St. James’ Park throughout Pardew and Carver’s tenures did not inspire higher performances from the players – in fact, quite the opposite.

Fans are understandably disappointed with Newcastle’s league standing after their first six games and the Toon army are a notoriously passionate bunch, but turning on McClaren already will only send the club into another downward spiral, affect player morale and cause even more turmoil.

What McClaren and his players need most right now is the kind of militant support Newcastle were one famed for, that lifted the players and the whole club under prior regimes.

SITUATION UNLIKELY TO CHANGE

Whether you’re a Steve McClaren phile or phobe, his employment status is unlikely to change in the near future, no matter how poor Newcastle’s results get.

Mike Ashley always stood by Alan Pardew despite the best efforts of the fan base to get him sacked, eventually letting him leave for Crystal Palace of his own accord after five years at St. James’ Park.

So regardless of the Magpies’ poor start, it seems implausible Ashley will be handing McClaren his P45 any time soon after just issuing him a three-year contract with the option of a further five, knowing full well that the compensation package will be a sizable one to say the least.

Likewise, who could Newcastle realistically bring in to replace him, just a matter of weeks into the new season? Steve Bruce, David Moyes or Remi Garde – the usual suspects linked with the St. James’ post – all either turned down Newcastle over the summer or didn’t take Ashley’s fancy. Meanwhile, another John Carver-esque appointment simply won’t do.

The fans may not like it; in fact, they may grow to despise McClaren for it in a similar manager to Pardew; but McClaren will be the man in the dugout until the situation becomes untenable, so they may as well get behind him.

Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has confessed that Joel Campbell wanted to leave the club over the summer.

The Costa Rica international signed for the Gunners way back in 2011, but has rarely featured for the club’s first-team with work permit issues and competition for places having forced him out on loan moves to the likes of Real Betis, Olympiacos and Villarreal.

However, a spate of injuries in north London saw Wenger hand Campbell a first Premier League start on Saturday at Swansea, and the 23-year-old impressed with a goal in a 3-0 win.

And speaking about Campbell’s situation at the club, Wenger revealed that the attacker was eyeing a move away from Arsenal during the last transfer window:

“I think he wanted to go [in the summer] because he didn’t play, which you can understand and as well because he didn’t play at all,” he is quoted by the London Evening Standard. “Sometimes people want you to buy more and more players but after a while you have to look at your own players.”

Wenger went on to praise the Central American’s patience and his performance against the Swans at the Liberty Stadium:

“When he came back he was on the waiting list and finally he got the chance and I’m very happy for him.

“I think he worked very hard, defended very well, created chances in the first half – he had that shot that was not that far off. He had another shot and in the second half he scored a goal and on top of that he worked very hard.”

Campbell’s other outings this season have been restricted to cup competitions, but he may be in line for more opportunities in the coming weeks with Aaron Ramsey, Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all injured.

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Saturday afternoon at 3pm represents perhaps the most defining point Aston Villa will have in their season. When games are billed as ‘must win’ or ‘six-pointers’, it usually isn’t quite so severe; those terms are overused to a large extent.

However, for Aston Villa, the game against Watford at Villa Park is simply a must win clash. If we go any longer without picking up three points, then we run the risk of being seriously cut adrift and making an escape look even less likely than it already does. Especially after Sunderland’s shock win at Crystal Palace on Monday night.In the same way that this game is a must win, although it may not obviously seem it, for us at least this is also a six-pointer. Although Watford have had a decent start to the season and currently occupy 13th place, they are a team who we should be looking at as potential relegation candidates. A team who, if they have a bad run, could potentially take one of the bottom three places instead of us. They are a huge 11 points ahead of us right now. However, reeling that into eight points just makes everything a bit tighter at the bottom and we need to drag in as many teams with us as possible to give ourselves a chance. These sort of games are now absolutely vital.[ffc-gal cat=”aston-villa” no=”5″] Much has been made of our December and January fixtures as having a run of winnable games and a period in which will give a significant idea of our fate. Yet, after the Watford game, we have two more horrible looking games, away at Southampton and at home to Arsenal. On paper, it is easy to discount any hope of a win from these games. However, due to our position, we can’t afford to have that mentality. Southampton are showing more vulnerabilities this season, and hopefully Arsenal’s injury crisis continues (and worsens) until three weeks time. We must not discard these games by the wayside. After all, nobody expected we’d get a point against Manchester City.

That said, the point against City now looks extremely fortuitous in the cold light of day against the Everton defeat. Make no mistake, City had chances and should’ve scored. Nevertheless, we defended admirably for the most part. Organised, committed and battling to win that point.

It’s absolutely crystal clear to me though, had we conceded in the first 20 minutes or so of the City game, we’d have lost that comfortably by three or four and the fight that we showed would’ve been nowhere to be seen. Although it seemed Remi Garde had worked a miracle after just three training sessions, it seems Billy Smart once again took over for the Everton game. Now, whilst Everton are a good side, we didn’t half help them to look much better that I think they perhaps are. At least the first three of their goals should’ve been cut out and avoided, with their third goal in particular being an example of the absolute comedy gold we’ve come to be so familiar with; our defence tripping over and clattering into each other whilst their one man, who is outnumbered in the box by a ratio of 2:5, nips in to score. It was utterly embarrassing. How had Remi gotten us to look so solid and compact against City, yet suddenly look at our most frail against Everton?I have never known a team who’s players heads drop as much as ours do when we concede a goal. This is probably reinforced by the horrible form we are in, showing the players have no belief in being able to get back into a game once we go a goal down. But we have seen so many occasions this season where we concede and any confidence or belief just completely evaporates out of us. The Swansea game is a great example of this. Having gone a goal up, once they equalised, it just seemed inevitable that we would go on to lose. There was no notion of fighting them back and going for the win. Does this stem from the capitulation at Leicester? Can we really be that psychologically damaged?!Whatever it is, it needs to be addressed, and quickly. Because if we don’t have that fight and determination at the very least, we may as well accept relegation now.Watford may be a good game for us, in so much as they are the among the league’s lowest scorers, leading only ourselves, Stoke and tying with West Brom on 12 goals. Hopefully we can summon up the spirit we found against City and shut them out. In saying this, Odion Ighalo is a tricky player who both creates and scores goals, and I personally wouldn’t want to bump into Troy Deeney outside of a Birmingham nightclub. Being a Blues fan, and getting rejected by Villa as a kid, he will be up for this and he is beginning to find his feet at this level. Despite a lack of goals so far, they certainly pose more of a threat than we do at the moment and attack with power and pace. The flip side of their poor goals return is that they have largely been solid at the back, shipping just 14 so far. This obviously poses it’s problems for us and our non-existent attack and it is hard to see how we can trouble such a miserly defence when we have mustered just 10 goals so far this season.In regards to personnel, I would like an XI as close as possible to the one that started against City. With the obvious exception of Jordan Amavi, left-back is a problem. Kieran Richardson has simply consolidated the view that he is a liability on the left hand side; the more I watch the clip of the way he tried to shoulder barge Gerard Deulofeu on the touchline instead of going for the ball and nearly falling over instead, the angrier I get. I would prefer Garde to come up with a solution (Clark at left back, with Jores Okore coming into the centre) or at the very least have the hard working Scott Sinclair to start on the same flank as Richardson to offer more protection on that side. Ashley Westwood cannot start this, or any, game in my opinion, and a non jet-legged Carlos Sanchez must come in again. Garde was refreshingly firm in dropping Jack Grealish to the U21s  having been snapped in the papers out on the pop again supposedly after the Everton game. It would also be nice to see the lesser-spotted Adama Traore to at least make the bench this week.Either way, it’s going to be interesting to see how Garde sets us up and see which Villa turns up this week. Please, please, please give us 3 points and finally get this season going!Any thoughts or comments? Please let me know either in the comments below or on Twitter @lovespud83, and thanks for reading! Also check out my full blog at aviewonvilla.blogspot.com.This article was submitted via our new Write For Us feature. Think you can do better? Submit your own article via the link below, and make sure you follow @FFC_WFU on Twitter for #RealOpinions…[ad_pod id=’writeforus’ align=’center’]

West Ham have been in great form all season, and with no club running away with the title thus far, they still have a shot, albeit a 40 yarder, at the biggest prize available to them.

The Hammers find themselves in sixth place, eight points from leaders Arsenal and just four out of the top four. In order to secure at least a top four finish, the Irons need to make some moves this transfer window and Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge could be just what the club needs going forward.

Although a deal before the close of the current window appears unlikely given the player’s injury record, Sturridge is certainly an intriguing option going into the future as the Irons head towards the Olympic Stadium and, potentially, the next level of English football.

Here are FIVE reasons why the striker would be an £18m gamble worth taking…

1. Lack of Goals Coming From Up Top This Season

The Hammers have got a solid goalscoring production from midfielders Dimitri Payet (six) and Cheikhou Kouyate (four) but are missing a consistent goalscorer from their forward ranks. Strikers Andy Carroll, Diafra Sakho and Mauro Zárate have all only scored three goals each this season and if the club is serious about a top four finish they need to address this problem. Sturridge has proven in his time since joining Liverpool that, when he is healthy, he can put the ball in the back of the net. The 26 year-old forward has scored 44 times for the club despite a series of injuries, illustrating his quality and ability to bounce back. Although he’s only made six appearances in all competitions with the Anfield side this season, he has four goals, netting in two separate matches.

2. The Hammers Need a Consistent Goal Threat Year After Year

West Ham has shown that they have the talent to compete in the Premier League in the years to come. However, without a consistent goalscorer year after year the club will not be able to establish themselves among the Premier league’s elite. Sturridge has only made four appearances in the Premier League this year, but prior to that when the forward was playing on a more consistent basis the Reds won 71% of their matches with him on the pitch as opposed to only 45% with him sidelined. The Irons also haven’t had a forward score over 10 goals since Carlton Cole netted 14 in the 2011/12 season when the Hammers won the Championship play-offs to earn promotion back to the Premier League. A new talisman is needed…

3. Could Two Talented Injury Prone Forwards Make For a Decent Threat?

Former Liverpool prospect Andy Carroll has shown flashes of greatness throughout his rocky career, but has never been able to string together a consistent campaign due to injuries. The same could be said for Sturridge in recent years, as he has not played on a regular basis since the 2013/14 season – his best year by far. If the two were healthy at the same time, the club could consider using one essentially as a replacement for the other when one becomes unfit to play.

4. Good Replacement For ‘Bad Egg’ Zarate

Any time Joey Barton, one of football’s most controversial voices, feels another team-mate is bad for the club environment heads may turn. After West Ham loaned Mauro Zarate out to QPR, criticism was the only thing that surrounded him as QPR were relegated. There are rumours that the Argentine/Chilean may be heading back to the Serie A as Fiorentina are, according to Sky Sports Italia (via Football Italia), in talks with the Hammers to obtain the forward on loan or to outright. While he may be a ‘bad egg’, he is very talented, but the money from the sale to another club could free up funds to purchase Sturridge.

5. West Ham Should Buy Now Before Price Rises

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has shown his dissatisfaction with Sturridge since arriving to Anfield this year with a series of passive aggresive press conference answers. Recently, Klopp noted that there is no chance for the forward to play in the Wednesday’s replay of their FA Cup match against Exeter, while his niggling fitness worries have sparked all manner of rumours online. The time to buy Sturridge from Liverpool may come up in the coming six months while the Reds may be swayed. The Merseysiders are also in the market for a new striker as well and could be looking for some extra spending money…

Louis van Gaal and Kenny Jackett have rather a lot in common, despite the gulf in style of clubs they are in charge of respectively.

While the Dutchman’s struggles at Old Trafford are well documented and constantly plastered across back pages, the dismal run of form dogging Wolves currently may pale in comparison.

That’s for everyone other than Wolves fans and Jackett himself, who is under increasing amounts of pressure at Molineux.

With a late surge for the playoffs looking more unlikely with every passing frustrating result, the club could surely use a lift. It is not a situation that differs too much to the state of disarray darkening the Theatre of Dreams.

As Jose Mourinho looms large over his former Barcelona mentor, perhaps two clubs in a somewhat similar position can work together. While young players have been given a chance under the Dutch coach, that’s largely because of the amount of injuries the Red Devils have suffered.

The once famed United academy is reportedly at its lowest ebb in years, though there remains eager young talent to nurture. With the Wanderers desperately needing a lift, perhaps they can offer some younger Red Devils a temporary home to develop further.

Here are FIVE Man United players Wolves should look to target on loan in the emergency window…

JOE ROTHWELL

With the club looking so flat in recent weeks, the arrival of a combative midfielder to spark proceedings in the engine room could be an ideal tonic.

Joe Rothwell is by no means a midfield destroyer, but the 21-year-old’s energy in central midfield helps him reclaim possession, before pushing forward and linking with strikers.

His ease on the ball could help Wolves retain possession, while creating space for himself and others. That particularly has been a key issue dogging the Midlands outfit during their miserable run of six games without a win.

PADDY MCNAIR

Largely because of the sheer amount of injuries dogging the Red Devils, Paddy McNair has been a relative fixture in the first-team under van Gaal.

However, perhaps the 20-year-old would benefit from some time away. The defender is by no means a bad player, though has looked out of depth when the Red Devils have been at their very worst.

Injuries are surely the only keeping him at Old Trafford, especially with Euro 2016 on the horizon.

ANDREAS PEREIRA

The most ambitious of these names due to his exploits in the first-team earlier this season, Brazilian attacker Andreas Pereira would be a revelation at Championship level.

Wayne Rooney’s injury may have opened up a space for the 20-year-old, though surely Adnan Januzaj is surely ahead of him in the pecking order.

Having torn Ipswich apart in the League Cup earlier this season, the Brazil U20 star has shown just what he can do against teams in England’s second tier.

JAMES WEIR

Having starred for the club’s U21 squad, James Weir has begun to appear in Louis van Gaal’s match day squads of late. The Dutch coach has tipped the young midfielder for big things since, though it’s unlikely he will be given too much of a chance with the pressure so high.

For a club in desperate need of a lift such as Wolves, a player of such technical ability would excite fans. He’s been likened to World Cup winning teammate Juan Mata, creating space for himself and others in the final third.

REGAN POOLE

The youngest of players mentioned, but centre-back Regan Poole has enjoyed a rapid career rise since making his debut for Newport County at just 16 years and 94 days.

The Welsh centre-back was recently promoted to the first-team squad after a short stint in the under-21s, though would relish the chance to secure first-team football on a short term basis.

A ball playing centre-half, the 17-year-old is comfortable on the ball and would give Jackett’s backline a calming presence, while retaining the ability to build attacks from the back.

Upon deciding the next Manchester United manager – working on the same presumption as the British media that Louis van Gaal will be sacked before next season – the ultimate litmus test should be their ability to beat Manchester City.

After all, if you can claim three points against the Citizens – one of the best and most expensively assembled squads in Europe – you’re either a managerial genius or you’ve put together a half-decent side. They haven’t lost to anybody below the top eight this term, with the exception of Stoke City, and swept away Borussia Monchengladbach, one of the best of the rest in the Bundesliga, and Sevilla, back-to-back Europa League winners, rather comfortably in the Champions League.

Therefore, one can assume that if you’re beating Man City twice every season, you’re at the right end of the Premier League table. And more often than not, you’re usually going to be above them in the table as well. Consequently, being above a club who have been title favourites every season since 2011/12 and will continue to be under Pep Guardiola gives you a pretty good chance of winning the English crown. Of course, Manchunian bragging rights are a welcome bonus too.

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That may seem a rather simplistic barometer for a club of Manchester United’s magnitude, involved in a title race as complex and unique as the English top flight’s. Nonetheless, as I have already alluded to, City are a top-rate team and beating them requires many aspects of a club moving in the right direction, ranging from recruitment to youth policy and training methods to tactics – much of which depends on the co-ordination, execution and vision of the man in the dugout.

Perhaps you don’t quite agree with that methodology. After all, City could become a completely different team under Pep Guardiola next season. Nonetheless, it does create an interesting perspective to consider some of the candidates for the Old Trafford hot seat from.

The leading contender, Jose Mourinho, has beaten City just twice from his last six attempts in all competitions – both of which came during the 2013/14 season. Stoke City boss Mark Hughes, the dark horse, has claimed six points off the Citizens from his last three encounters with them. And Tottenham Hotspur’s Mauricio Pochettino, rapidly emerging as the popular alternative to the Special One, has done the double over City this season – all the more impressively to an aggregate score line of 6-2.

Although the results remain the bottom line, it’s equally about what they represent and how they were achieved. Mourinho’s Chelsea were the archetype European-away-fixture team, cost around £225million to put together, contained just two guaranteed starters aged 25 or under (Cesar Azpilicueta and Eden Hazard), rarely took the game to City and from six encounters recorded two wins, two draws and two defeats – an absolute stalemate.

Pochettino, on the other hand, has reinvented Spurs at a cost of just £82million, replacing the club’s historical ‘soft underbelly’ and with a hardworking yet hugely entertaining style of football. The Argentine’s squad has the youngest average age throughout the Premier League, but he’s overcome deficiencies of experience by creating an identity, a system that further amplifies their youthful energy, and capturing the imaginations of some of the brightest sparks in the division – such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.

Immediately, the latter approach fits into United’s traditional philosophy – the Sir Alex Ferguson pillars of industrious attacking football and a coherent link between the first team and the academy – far better than the former. That’s not to suggest Pochettino is the next Fergie in waiting, but appointing Mourinho would take the club down a rather different path; one that, based on his career thus far, will contain countless displays of pragmatism before coming to an abrupt end via spectacular meltdown two or three years down the line.

Of course, working in the Portuguese’s favour is the fact he’s one of the few managers in world football to boast more trophies – over a wider variety of leagues – than Guardiola and to have got the better of him in a title race before. In fact, he’s the only manager to have achieved the latter, with the two rivals claiming one La Liga trophy apiece during their two years on either side of the El Clasico divide.

Resultantly, Mourinho is seen as the Spaniard’s ultimate nemesis and United’s only chance of curtailing City’s influence on the rest of the league. It’s certainly hard to argue with that point of view and if we’re not basing United’s next appointment on their ability to beat City, it should be at least on their ability to beat Guardiola.

But Pochettino’s record against Guardiola is nothing to be sniffed at either, especially considering the disparity of quality between Mourinho’s Real Madrid and the Argentine’s Espanyol.

Indeed, the Catalan club are solid mid-tablers yet claimed one win and two draws against their considerably superior local rivals  – who, at that time, possessed probably the most dominant club side the beautiful game has ever witnessed – from their seven encounters with the South American at the helm. Mourinho’s Real, meanwhile, claimed just two wins and one draw against Barca from the same amount of games.

Considering Barcelona failed to win just 32 of their 152 La Liga fixtures under Guardiola, only ten of which were defeats, Espanyol’s return is a monumental achievement in itself. Likewise, if Pochettino occasionally outwitted the Bayern boss with a rank-and-file La Liga side, logic suggests he’ll do it more regularly with a United team of higher quality against a City team who can only dream of replicating Barcelona’s historic escapades.

Inevitably, not everybody is convinced by Pochettino. He’s got better with every passing season in the Premier League since arriving at Southampton in January 2013, but he’s yet to lift any silverware as a manager and isn’t seen as a member of world football’s gaffer elite in the same way as Mourinho, Guardiola, Diego Simeone or Carlo Ancelotti, for example. He certainly lacks experience at Champions League level.

But Spurs are now second in the table with just twelve fixtures remaining and anything above a top four finish will be an enormous achievement almost entirely owed to Pochettino, whilst winning the title would represent arguably the greatest managerial triumph ever witnessed in the Premier League. Mourinho may seem the obvious candidate right now but if Tottenham’s title-contending form continues, Pochettino could prize that unofficial title from the Special One come the end of May.

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