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      in Soccer

      Burnley set for £200m takeover by investors ALK Capital by end of year with Sean Dyche set to be given transfer funds

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      INVESTORS ALK Capital aim to complete their £200MILLION takeover of Burnley before the end of the year.
      The US firm want to plough money in to help Sean Dyche strengthen his squad in the January transfer window.

      Sean Dyche is set to be handed funds to improve his Burnley squad in JanuaryCredit: PA:Press Association

      And they are now in pole position to take charge at Turf Moor.
      This is ahead of a consortium led by sports lawyer Chris Farnell and businessman Mohamed El Kashashy.
      ALK head Alan Pace is expected to take over at the helm if the final details can be thrashed out in the coming weeks.
      Current chairman Mike Garlick is set to stay on in some capacity while the club’s new owners find their feet.

      Clarets boss Dyche has made his feelings known this week about the lack of funds he has had to work with from the current board.
      He said: “Is it helpful to have a deeper squad?
      “Yes, it is. The demands are higher than six or seven years ago.

      Man City’s owners have added a tenth club to their stable after buying Troyes

      “The physical demands are higher.

      “We’ve been unfortunate with injuries and I’d hope it is unlikely to continue all season.
      “But you never know and we have to be ready for that if it does.”

      Arsenal fan can’t bear to watch Burnley defeat and covers his eyes with face mask More

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      Marcus Rashford’s mum reveals she skipped meals to make sure the England striker and his brothers got by

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      MARCUS Rashford’s mum has revealed she skipped meals to make sure the England striker and his brothers got by.
      Melanie Maynard would go without but pretend she had eaten if her three boys asked.

      Marcus Rashford with his mum Melanie holding up his Man Of The Match gong

      She tells a BBC1 documentary: “As long as they got something to eat that was more what I was worried about. Sometimes we didn’t even have a loaf of bread in the house. But I wouldn’t tell somebody I was struggling either. It was embarrassing.”
      Man Utd hero Marcus, 23, forced a Government U-turn on free school meal vouchers and has since been made an MBE.
      When he was a kid his mum worked three jobs — at bookie Ladbrokes, as a cleaner after hours, and washing pots. Mel said: “I was working for Ladbrokes and worked there for 21 years. The cleaning job at Ladbrokes, I took that as well. I’d do my shift and go back and do the cleaning. Then I used to do pot washing on a Saturday as well.
      “I used to say to the kids sometimes that I’d already eaten because they used to say to me: ‘Have you had yours?’ and I’d say: ‘Yeah’ but I didn’t have anything to eat.”

      Melanie went hungry so that Marcus and his siblings could eat while growing upCredit: Refer to Caption

      Marcus, now 23, has been campaigning to feed Britain’s poorest kids

      She added: “I was just doing my best to survive. Now Marcus has provided me a home and I sit in my room sometimes and just cry. You’re thinking about where you’ve come from to where you are now.”
      Marcus tells the show, which airs on Monday at 7pm: “Nevermind an MBE or being a football player, it just wouldn’t have been likely if I didn’t have somebody like her behind me.
      “A lot of the work is Mum’s. She brought me up with these morals and expectations.”

      Marcus and his mother Melanie visit FareShare Greater Manchester Credit: AP:Associated Press

      The Man Utd hero forced a Government U-turn on free school meal vouchers Credit: PA:Press Association

      The Sun Says

      IS it any wonder Marcus Rashford’s heart is in the right place?
      His ­single mum Melanie worked long, gruelling minimum wage shifts to support him and his brothers — and even skipped meals to ensure they got fed.
      Marcus’s MBE at just 23 recognises not his football talents so much as the ­values Melanie imbued in him.
      Most of us make sacrifices for our kids.
      But her selflessness is still an example to every parent in the land.

      Man Utd star Marcus Rashford takes on child food poverty in new BBC documentary Feeding Britain’s Children
      GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk More

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      in Boxing

      The best Callum Smith can hope for is to be standing at final bell against P4P king Canelo Alvarez

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       I CAN imagine Canelo Alvarez bellowing Jack the Giant Killer’s old rhyme “Fie, fih, foh, fum I smell the blood of an Englishman” like a panto villain.
      The undisputed pound-for-pound greatest fighter on the planet faces Scouser Callum Smith for his WBA world super-middleweight title.

      Callum Smith faces the ultimate test against Canelo AlvarezCredit: Ed Mulholland/matchroom.

      And the vacant WBC crown is also at stake deep in the heart of Texas on Saturday night.
      Four-weight world champion Alvarez loves gobbling up men who carry the flag of St George into battle — he has already hungrily devoured five of them.
      Matthew Hatton, Ricky’s brother, was first nine years ago. Yet he at least survived 12 rounds before losing a unanimous points decision.
      Since then Ryan Rhodes, Amir Khan, Liam Smith — Callum’s brother — and Rocky Fielding were all KO’d.

      Smith is unbeaten in 27 fights and with 19 knockouts.
      But to use an old Muhammad Ali line, he only has two chances against the Mexican — slim and none, and slim’s left town.
      Trying to win when you are thousands of miles away on a foreign field is always daunting.
      Terry Lawless, when he was churning out world, European and British champions from his Canning Town gym, used to be paranoid whenever any of his lads had to travel.

      He believed for a fighter’s mental well-being, nothing can compare to home comforts.
      Smith certainly hasn’t done himself any favours by agreeing to go abroad to meet the best of the best with a month to prepare.
      He won’t get any help from ringside officials and will be in front of 12,000 hostile Latino fans who are allowed into San Antonio’s Alamodome Arena.

      Smith faces a huge challenge to upset the favourite in TexasCredit: Ed Mulholland/matchroom.
      It’s not unknown for British fighters to return from America having won world championships.
      Alan Minter, Kell Brook and Tyson Fury beat the odds — but they were all considered to be in with a shout.
      Alvarez is a 1-5 favourite. If Smith delivers an upset it would rightly be hailed as the most astounding British boxing away win since World War II.
      The trio who have vied for that honour — and you can take your pick who deserves to top the podium — are Ken Buchanan, John H Stracey and Lloyd Honeyghan.
      They were selected as they were expected to be easy touches for the local heroes.
      Fifty years ago Buchanan was sent to Puerto Rico’s San Juan to fight Ismael Laguna for the WBA lightweight title in the middle of the afternoon in a baseball stadium.
      With temperatures passing 100 degrees, locals thought the Edinburgh man, whose skin was as white as snow, would simply melt.
      But Buchanan boxed brilliantly and, at the end of the 15 rounds, got a shock split points decision.
      Five years later Stracey went to challenge Jose Napoles — who hadn’t been beaten for five years — in front of 40,000 belligerents in a Mexico City bullring.
      Dropped in the first round, Stracey recovered to batter Napoles to a six-round defeat and fly back to Bethnal Green with the WBC world welterweight title.
      Honeyghan, 34 years ago, took on Don Curry — judged to be the pound-for-pound best of his era — in Atlantic City for his WBA, IBF and WBC welterweight titles.

      Curry got such a hammering that he retired on his stool at the end of the sixth round with a broken nose, broken heart and a cut that needed 20 stitches.
      Because of his size, boxing brain and powerful right hand, Smith can give Alvarez trouble. He will certainly have his respect.
      But I’m afraid the most Callum can hope for is he’s still standing at the final bell. 

      Callum Smith towers over Canelo Alvarez in Texas for world title clash More

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      in Boxing

      Tyson Fury heaps praise on ‘great athlete’ Anthony Joshua as he eyes £500m two-fight deal

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      TYSON FURY is trying to flatter his way into a shot at flattening Anthony Joshua.
      On Saturday night, after AJ, 31, battered brave Kubrat Pulev but refused to call out the Gypsy King, Fury launched a verbal volley at the WBA, IBF and WBO champ.

      Tyson Fury heaped praise on Anthony Joshua as he appeared on the Jonathan Ross showCredit: Rex Features

      Fury is looking to secure a £500m two-fight deal against his heavyweight rival, AJCredit: Mark Robinson Ltd

      Undefeated WBC boss Fury, 32,  said the “big bum dosser” had just “s*** himself live on TV” and vowed to KO him inside three rounds if they finally meet in 2021.
      But, on Jonathan Ross’ Saturday night show, Fury turns on the charm in a bid to woo AJ  into the ring for a potential £500MILLION two-fight deal.
      Fury  said: “He’s a great fighter, Olympic gold medallist, two-time heavyweight champion just like me, he’s won all the best, he’s a great, great athlete. Of course I have respect for him.
      “I don’t know him personally, to say I like him or dislike him, from what I’ve seen of him he seems a decent guy.

      “Next year the fight has to happen. He came over his final hurdle  against Pulev. Now we’re both free to make this fight. I’m willing to do the fight.”
      But he could not refuse one dig, replying to Wossy’s query on who is No 1, Fury said: “Me, by a mile. There we go, that’s how you answer the question.”
      And AJ’s promoter Eddie Hearn revealed both fighters could bin their belts, from the four major sanctioning bodies, if they try to block the undisputed decider.
      He said: “We’ve just got to be a bit careful because you may be on the verge of saying: “Lets just get rid of politics right now.

      “Let’s just drop all the belts because if we lose one belt, we might as well lose them all. We will do whatever we can to make sure that every belt in boxing is on the line in the Tyson Fury fight.
      “What we won’t be is held to ransom and we won’t let politics get involved in a fight that boxing needs.”
      One topic Fury will not  drop is his inclusion on the Sports Personality of the Year award.
      The 6ft 9in star could still be crowned the SPOTY king on Sunday, despite demanding to be taken off the list and ordering fans not to vote.
      He said: “I’ve asked to be taken off a list. They’ve not listened. I’ve even sent them a legal letter to be taken off. They’re still not listening.

      Fury had previously branded AJ a ‘big bum dosser’ in a heated blastCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      “They’re trying to take away my rights as a person, to not do something that I don’t want to do. My name shouldn’t be on there if I don’t want it on there.
      “It’s a free country. They are doing something that I do not wish to participate in.
      “The reason is, I don’t want an award from someone to say I’m a sports personality. I know what I am and who I am and what I’ve achieved, I know what I’ve come back from.
      “I don’t need a glass trophy. I’m the people’s champion. I don’t need this glamorous trophy to say who I am and what I’ve done.”
      Fury is not just happy being the biggest star in boxing, either, he fancies outshining the Moon.

      The father of five revealed himself to be a space boffin keen to check out the unknown and he even sees the upside of intergalactic disaster.
      He said: “We’ve made some real progress, I’m hopefully going, I’ve always wanted to go to space. I used to look at the Moon and think, ‘I want to go there one day’.
      “This year an opportunity arose where Virgin are doing galactic space travel, supposed to be going into space in the middle of next year.
      “I’m going to be one of the first ones on the list. Hopefully I’ll be going to space.
      “I cannot wait. If anything did go wrong, God forbid, what a story, what a legendary end.”
      The Jonathan Ross Show, Saturday December 19, at 9.25pm on ITV.

      Anthony Joshua lashes out at Tyson Fury after his rival’s comments after Pulev fight More

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      in Soccer

      Grandad whose van was smashed by footie ace Jack Grealish’s Range Rover is still waiting for apology

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      A GRANDAD whose van was smashed by Jack Grealish is still waiting for him to get in touch and apologise.
      Reginald Woodcock, 73, labelled footballers overpaid and self-entitled.

      A grandad whose van was smashed by Jack Grealish is still waiting for him to get in touch and apologiseCredit: PA:Press Association

      The Aston Villa star has been banned from driving for nine months

      Grealish walked free from court on Tuesday despite claims he was drunkCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      The Aston Villa captain’s lawyer told a court that Grealish was “genuinely sorry” for the damage caused by his £90,000 Range Rover.
      But Reginald insisted he had not heard from the England midfielder.
      He also admitted he didn’t know who the star was.
      He said: “I don’t follow Villa — none of them. If that’s the way he wants to live his life, that is up to him, but footballers are overpaid.”

      Birmingham magistrates were told on Tuesday that £130,000-a-week Grealish had offered to pay for all damage.
      His 4×4 hit the van, a £30,000 Mercedes and a wall, as he tried to leave a pal’s house at 8.40am — allegedly smelling of drink — during lockdown.

      Mr Woodcock had left his van outside his son’s home in Solihull, West Mids, ten miles from Grealish’s house in Barnt Green, Worcs.
      The OAP added: “There was a little bit of damage. I don’t know who dealt with it. I didn’t pay for the repairs.”

      Grealish, 25, got a record fine for a player of £82,900 and a nine-month ban after admitting careless driving charges, a second relating to speeding.

      Grealish’s 4×4 hit the van, a £30,000 Mercedes and a wall

      Reginald Woodcock, 73, labelled footballers overpaid and self-entitledGOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk

      Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish arrives in court to face driving disqualification after Range Rover lockdown crash More

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      in Soccer

      Man Utd will find out if they’re Premier League title challengers by New Year’s Day, says boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer

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      OLE GUNNAR SOLSKJAER says he will know if Manchester United are title contenders by New Year’s Day.
      The Red Devils start a hectic run of six matches in 15 days when they travel to face bottom club Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

      Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he will know if Man Utd are title contenders by New Year’s DayCredit: Reuters

      Five of the games are in the league, with the last one of the sequence a game against Aston Villa at Old Trafford on January 1.
      With their game in hand, United are closer to the leaders than many people think and Solskjaer reckons the Christmas fixtures could shape their season.
      He wants his squad to show over the next fortnight that they have what it takes to mount a sustained challenge.
      The Norwegian said: “This is a big run of games for us. After the Villa game on New Year’s Day, we have a little bit of a break in the league.

      “So this period is going to be vital and it’ll be easier for me to answer around that time.
      “I’d be disappointed if the players didn’t think we can put a challenge up. At the moment, anything goes in the league.
      “There’s different reasons for different results. I feel we’re getting better but we have to improve quite a bit to take that next step as well.”
      While Liverpool and Manchester City have run away with recent titles, Ole is convinced this one will be different.

      Already the big boys have dropped points when it is least expected and he feels that could continue for the whole campaign. He said: “I think this season is going to be very unpredictable and up and down.
      “Whoever finds the consistency and the energy will have a better chance than in the last few seasons, when there’s been a few runaway teams.
      “For us, the quicker we can get the game in hand against Burnley played the better, so that the league table looks as it should be.
      “Then again, I’m as boring as you alluded to there, you have to take one game at a time.
      “Even though we’ve got six games in less than 16 days, we’ve still got to look at one, then one and then one.
      “If you take your eye off the ball you’ll quickly lose points in games where you expect to take more.
      “With regards to six games in 15 or 16 days, it’s probably difficult to perform at the top level every game.”
      Sheffield United, managed by Chris Wilder, have taken ONE point so far with almost a third of the season gone.

      But there have been many examples of the big boys dropping unexpected points and United need to be careful they do not become the latest to do so.
      Solskjaer added: “It’s a sign of the quality of the Premier League and the so-called lesser teams. There are no easy games but the top teams, in the last few seasons, had the knack of winning them instead of drawing them.
      “With the tight schedule and what’s happening in players’ lives, we’ll see this throughout the season.
      “Whoever gets a midweek rest will have an advantage as it’s hard to have players 100 per cent sharp.”

      Having been in charge of Cardiff when they were relegated, he has some sympathy with his opposite number Wilder. Solskjaer said: “I don’t want to compare my job at Cardiff and Chris at Sheffield United.
      “I enjoy being at the top more than being at the bottom, definitely. The players enjoy that more as well. That’s pressure to win.
      “The other pressure of relegating, losing wages is a different pressure and you might just suddenly lose that bit of confidence or belief that you normally have.
      “Players fighting for the top positions should be flying high in confidence and enjoying it. I enjoy being at the top of the table rather than at the bottom, which goes without saying.”
      ⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford

      Man Utd boss Solskjaer thanks Sheffield United for developing Dean Henderson into top talent More

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      Man Utd could let Brandon Williams out on loan in January for first-team action after Alex Telles arrival

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      MANCHESTER UNITED could allow young full-back Brandon Williams to go out on loan next month.
      The defender, 20, has seen his opportunities limited by the arrival of Alex Telles before the deadline in October.

      Brandon Williams has impressed Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in trainingCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Williams signed a new deal at Old Trafford in the summer but has not been used as much as he hoped by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
      Southampton are among the clubs who have shown interest but the United boss says he will make a decision in the New Year.
      Solskjaer said: “That’s something we’ll look at in January but we highly rate Brandon so whoever’s interested, they’re not wrong.
      “Brandon has done really well since he came into the team.

      “He had a slow start to the season for different reasons.
      “I think he’s now coming back to more like himself.
      “I can see more Brandon being Brandon again.
      “I’ve enjoyed him more in training, he’s played a couple of 23s games and he has been more involved.”

      Solskjaer believes that clubs are right to be interested in talented WilliamsCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      Williams enjoyed a breakthrough campaign last time out, appearing 36 times in all competitions for Solskjaer’s men.
      Opportunities have become few and far between this season, however.
      The full-back started two of the Red Devils’ EFL Cup games earlier in the campaign – but has featured for just six minutes in the Premier League.
      ⚽ Read our Man United live blog for the latest news from Old Trafford

      Man Utd boss Solskjaer thanks Sheffield United for developing Dean Henderson into top talent More

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      Grandad whose van was smashed by footie ace Jack Grealish’s Range Rover is still waiting for an apology

      by

      A GRANDAD whose van was smashed by Jack Grealish is still waiting for him to get in touch and apologise.
      Reginald Woodcock, 73, labelled footballers overpaid and self-entitled.

      A grandad whose van was smashed by Jack Grealish is still waiting for him to get in touch and apologiseCredit: PA:Press Association

      The Aston Villa star has been banned from driving for nine months

      Grealish walked free from court on Tuesday despite claims he was drunkCredit: Getty Images – Getty

      The Aston Villa captain’s lawyer told a court that Grealish was “genuinely sorry” for the damage caused by his £90,000 Range Rover.
      But Reginald insisted he had not heard from the England midfielder.
      He also admitted he didn’t know who the star was.
      He said: “I don’t follow Villa — none of them. If that’s the way he wants to live his life, that is up to him, but footballers are overpaid.”

      Birmingham magistrates were told on Tuesday that £130,000-a-week Grealish had offered to pay for all damage.
      His 4×4 hit the van, a £30,000 Mercedes and a wall, as he tried to leave a pal’s house at 8.40am — allegedly smelling of drink — during lockdown.

      Mr Woodcock had left his van outside his son’s home in Solihull, West Mids, ten miles from Grealish’s house in Barnt Green, Worcs.
      The OAP added: “There was a little bit of damage. I don’t know who dealt with it. I didn’t pay for the repairs.”

      Grealish, 25, got a record fine for a player of £82,900 and a nine-month ban after admitting careless driving charges, a second relating to speeding.

      Grealish’s 4×4 hit the van, a £30,000 Mercedes and a wall

      Reginald Woodcock, 73, labelled footballers overpaid and self-entitledGOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk

      Aston Villa captain Jack Grealish arrives in court to face driving disqualification after Range Rover lockdown crash More