Manchester United have been left ruing their decision to snub a swoop for Serhou Guirassy last year amid Ruben Amorim’s continued attacking deficiencies. Only Everton, Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton have scored fewer goals than the Red Devils’ 28 in 24 Premier League games this season.

United have splashed £108.5million to sign Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee in the past two summer transfer windows, but neither has been regularly productive.

Amad and Bruno Fernandes are Amorim’s top scorers this season but have netted just nine each. Hojlund has notched seven and Zirkzee five – but those tallies become two and three in the league.

United are expected to pursue a new striker in a third successive off-season later this year, potentially cashing in on either of Amorim’s current options to fund a move.

The Old Trafford giants’ failure to replace Marcus Rashford after his late loan switch to Aston Villa in January sparked uproar among concerned supporters.

Amorim suggested that the call was with the summer in mind amid financial restrictions imposed by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

There was also a lack of realistic options, but the same can’t be said about 12 months earlier when United, again, were short of goals.

Guirassy was enjoying an astonishing season in front of goal for Stuttgart, which he ended with 30 strikes in as many appearances, including 28 in 28 in the Champions League.

And the Guinean’s relentless goalscoring habits were made all the more eye-catching by the £14.6million release clause in his Stuttgart contract.

However, according to The Athletic, United considered the fee too high for a 27-year-old who hadn’t previously enjoyed as prolific a campaign.

Stuttgart’s Bundesliga rivals Borussia Dortmund took a chance, activating his exit in the summer, and have been handsomely rewarded.

Guirassy has scored 19 goals in 28 games in all competitions this season, providing a further six assists.

The 28-year-old, who turns 29 next month, is currently the top goalscorer in this term’s Champions League, netting 10 times in nine outings, seven of them starts.

Guirassy has found the net against Club Brugge, Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb, Barcelona, Bologna, Shakhtar Donetsk and Sporting, only drawing blank against Real Madrid and Sturm Graz.

Amorim is relying on Hojlund and Zirkzee, as well as his entire attack, to increase their output across the remainder of the season.

United are still challenging for the FA Cup and Europa League but are slumped in 13th in the Premier League.

Spanish tennis legend Fernando Verdasco has confirmed he will bow out from the sport playing alongside Novak Djokovic. The 41-year-old is in his 24th season as a professional player, and reached a career-high ranking of world No.7 in 2009.

That was the same season he produced his best showing at a Grand Slam, reaching the semi-finals of the Australian Open before losing to eventual winner Rafael Nadal.

And the curtain will now come down on his career at the Qatar Open in Doha next week, where he has entered into the men’s doubles alongside the Serbian icon.

Verdasco announced his decision on Instagram, posting a video of himself alongside Djokovic to explain his reasoning. And he also wrote an emotional caption revealing that Djokovic had previously agreed to his special request.

“After so many incredible years on the ATP Tour, the time has come for my final tournament at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2025,” he said. “And what better way to finish than playing doubles with my friend Novak Djokovic , a true legend of our sport and one of the best athletes of all time

“Novak thank you so much for saying yes since the first moment I told you. I’m going to enjoy every moment and give it my all one last time.”

Referencing the fans, he added: “Thank you, everyone, for being there for me throughout my career, in the good times and in the bad times. Let’s make this week unforgettable.”

Verdasco’s career appeared in danger of petering out in late 2022 when he received a two-month ban after testing positive for the prohibited substance methylphenidate. However, authorities did show leniency, having accepted Verdasco’s argument that he had forgotten to renew his therapeutic use exemption for the medication.

The following year, he dropped out of the world’s top 500. But he has now seemingly found the perfect way to bow out by sharing a court with one of the all-time greats.

After uploading his video, Verdasco’s post received more than 25,000 likes in just over an hour. And many of his 282,000 plus followers also recated with comments congratulating him on his career.

The star was also a quarter-finalist in Wimbledon and 2013, famously losing to eventual champion Andy Murray after leading by two sets. He also became an established doubles player and that same year, triumphed at the ATP Finals with David Marrero.

A former Premier League referee has blasted Michael Oliver for his role in the controversy that followed Wednesday’s Merseyside derby. In a chaotic finale, James Tarkowski scored a 98th-minute equaliser despite Liverpool’s complaints over a push in the area.

But the potential missed foul was far from the biggest talking point, as both sets of players became embroiled in a brawl after the final whistle.

As a result, Everton’s Abdoulaye Doucoure and away player Curtis Jones were both sent off after receiving a second yellow card each, while Liverpool manager Arne Slot and assistant Sipke Hulshoff also saw red.

The FA have since confirmed that both clubs, as well as Slot and Hulshof, have been charged over the unsavoury scenes. But Hackett believes that Oliver, long regarded as one of England’s leading officials, was responsible for instigating his confrontation with the Dutch manager.

“I cannot see why, after the game is over, he has to stand with his colleagues in the middle waiting for confrontation,” he told the Daily Telegraph. “Whether this is instruction or advice from the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) or not, the game is over.

“The referee can monitor Doucoure’s actions, creating mass confrontation from a distance. But he is stood there. My view is that he should leave the field of play as quickly as possible to avoid the confrontation with the Liverpool manager.”

After Jones, who had reacted angrily to Doucoure celebrating in front of Liverpool fans, had been shown red Slot appeared to aggressively shake the hand of Oliver before having words with the referee. And Hackett also believes that situation should have been handled better.

“The confrontation between Oliver and Slot could have been avoided,” he continued. “Because there is the 30-minute arrangement in place where a manager can knock on the door, and the referee can invite him in and clarify any situation rather than produce a red card.

“If you have got a manager inflamed, you recognise and are aware of that and say ‘30 minutes after come and see me’. If you are stood there, you are inviting that problem.”

Hackett also branded Oliver “arrogant,” although in his press conference on Friday, Slot did concede he had let his emotions get the better of him. He now faces the prospect of a touchline ban, and has until February 19 to appeal.

Only last month, police in the UK launched an investigation over Oliver being subjected to threats after taking charge of Arsenal’s 1-0 win at Wolves. It followed him issuing a dubious red card to Myles Lewis-Skelly during the first half.