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The Glazer family’s search for new investors in Manchester United reaches the one-year mark on Wednesday, with boyhood fan Sir Jim Ratcliffe still poised to take a 25 per cent stake in the club in the coming days. The United owners announced on November 22 last year – during the Premier League’s World Cup recess – that they were “exploring strategic options” including a full sale of the club. One year on, Ratcliffe, the billionaire founder of chemicals company Ineos, is understood to be on the verge of a £1.25billion deal to secure a 25 per cent stake in United, but sources have indicated that an announcement may not come now until next week. If, as is anticipated, no deal is announced on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday, Monday would be the next earliest date that anything could be confirmed, with the Thanksgiving holiday period in the United States starting on Thursday. Ratcliffe is set to acquire significant control of football operations at United as part of his investment when it is ultimately confirmed, while it has also been reported that he would provide an additional £245million to upgrade club infrastructure. A takeover had been on the cards at one stage, with Ratcliffe and Qatari businessman Sheikh Jassim the two publicly announced figures in contention to complete a buyout of the Glazers. Sheikh Jassim’s interest was first confirmed in February, but he withdrew from the process last month. The Sheikh Jassim bid was understood to have eventually reached around double the 3.2billion dollar (£2.6bn) market valuation of the Premier League club as it stood in October. The Qatari was believed to have also been prepared to pledge an additional 1.7bn dollars (£1.4bn) for infrastructure projects. The Glazers took over at United with a £790m leveraged buy-out in 2005, but throughout their tenure have faced significant opposition from supporters, which has only grown in recent years at a club that have not won the Premier League since 2013. Tensions rose noticeably in 2021 when the owners were heavily involved in plans to launch a European Super League, which were swiftly abandoned amid fan protests and opposition from football’s domestic and international governing bodies. United announced last week that Richard Arnold was stepping down as chief executive after less than two years in the job. Sources close to Ineos indicated they were not involved in Arnold’s departure, but it seems likely that further changes would be afoot once the deal is signed. Read More Saracens issue Ben Earl Six Nations injury update Gareth Southgate reveals what he learned from England’s November double-header Kyle Walker urges England to get mentality right in bid for Euro 2024 glory Phil Taylor to retire at the end of World Senior Darts Tour in 2024 On this day in 2007: England fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after Croatia defeat Jalen Hurts grabs double as Philadelphia Eagles avenge Super Bowl loss

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Beth Mead has returned to the England squad for the first time in over a year ahead of the Lionesses’ crunch Women’s Nations League double-header against the Netherlands and Scotland. The news comes 364 days after Mead confirmed she had ruptured her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) playing for Arsenal, an injury which subsequently ruled the Euro 2022 golden boot winner out of this summer’s World Cup. The 28-year-old recently revealed she went through some “very dark moments” as she dealt with not only missing the World Cup due to a long-term injury but also the loss of her mum, who died in January after a battle with cancer. Mead returned to action with Arsenal last month but England manager Sarina Wiegman said she was not ready for international selection. However, the forward has since picked up more minutes for the Gunners and made her first start of the season in Sunday’s 3-0 win over Brighton in the Women’s Super League. Mead’s last appearance for the Lionesses came in a 4-0 victory over Japan last November and her return comes at a key time ahead of must-win fixtures against the Netherlands at Wembley on Friday 1 December and Scotland at Hampden Park the following Tuesday. The Lionesses’ hopes of earning Team GB a spot at next summer’s Olympics Games were dealt a significant blow following a shock defeat in Belgium last month, just the fourth suffered since Wiegman took charge. It means England trail both the Netherlands and Belgium in Nations League Group A, with three points separating the three sides, leaving the Lionesses requiring victories against the Dutch and Scotland while hoping other results also go their way. Wiegman has named a 23-player for the clashes against her former side Netherlands and rivals Scotland, with no place for Manchester City goalkeeper Ellie Roebuck or Manchester City forward Jess Park, who is replaced by Mead. Uncapped City goalkeeper Khiara Keating, 19, and Tottenham’s on-loan midfielder Grace Clinton, 20, retain their places after receiving their first call-ups in October’s squad, as does Euros winner Fran Kirby, who marked her return from a year-long injury absence in the home win against Belgium. England squad for Netherlands and Scotland Goalkeepers: Mary Earps (Manchester United), Hannah Hampton (Chelsea), Khiara Keating (Manchester City) Defenders: Millie Bright (Chelsea), Lucy Bronze (Barcelona), Jess Carter (Chelsea), Niamh Charles (Chelsea), Alex Greenwood (Manchester City), Maya Le Tissier (Manchester United), Esme Morgan (Manchester City), Lotte Wubben-Moy (Arsenal) Midfielders: Grace Clinton (Tottenham Hotspur, loan from Manchester United), Fran Kirby (Chelsea), Georgia Stanway (Bayern Munich), Ella Toone (Manchester United), Keira Walsh (Barcelona), Katie Zelem (Manchester United) Forwards: Rachel Daly (Aston Villa), Lauren Hemp (Manchester City), Lauren James (Chelsea), Chloe Kelly (Manchester City), Beth Mead (Arsenal), Alessia Russo (Arsenal) Read More England’s Euro 2024 squad: Who’s on the plane and who has work to do? Kyle Walker urges England to get mentality right in bid for Euro 2024 glory Gareth Southgate reveals what he learned from England’s November double-header England’s Euro 2024 squad: Who’s on the plane and who has work to do? Kyle Walker urges England to get mentality right in bid for Euro 2024 glory Gareth Southgate reveals what he learned from England’s November double-header

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Gareth Southgate has been pleased by England’s progress during an unbeaten 2023 but knows there is work to do as the team tries to win the European Championship. The Euro 2020 runners-up are among the favourites to win in Germany next summer but seemed to lose their edge after sealing qualification with two matches to spare. Friday’s uninspiring 2-0 Wembley win against minnows Malta was followed three days later by an underwhelming 1-1 draw in North Macedonia as the curtain came down on an undefeated year. November’s double-header will not live long in the memory but Southgate has “learned a lot” from the fixtures, with attention now intensifying on his fourth – and possibly final – major tournament in the dugout. “We wanted to look at a few different things as well, so we’ve managed to learn from the game as well as the result,” the England boss said in Skopje. “I have to be pleased with the progress of the team. You know, if you’d said at the start of the campaign that we would be eight wins, two draws at the end of the year, it’s a pretty good record given the fixtures that we’ve had. “(North Macedonia) was always a game where we knew if you’d needed to come here for that point to qualify would be a very difficult place to come. They took the draw from Italy as well, so credit to North Macedonia for that. “We can now start to look forward. We’ve got these two exciting games in March to look forward to and prepare for. “So, yeah, I think we’ve done a lot of things well, but there’s always room for improvement.” March’s home friendlies against Brazil and Belgium will provide much-needed challenges in the final meet-up before Southgate selects his 23-man squad for Germany. Two further preparation games will follow before the Euros get under way, with the December 2 draw in Hamburg providing clarity on next summer’s opposition, base camp and potential route to the final. I think we've done a lot of things well, but there's always room for improvement. Gareth Southgate England’s draw against Macedonia rubber-stamped their place among the top seeds for the Euro 2024 draw and Southgate said: “In the calendar year we’re eight wins and two draws from a particularly tough qualifying group and certainly a friendly in Scotland that was always going to be challenging. “Of course, you’d like 10 wins out of 10 but not many teams do that. “I’m really pleased with what the players have given – not just the players that are here tonight, but the players that have represented us through this year because they’ve been excellent.” Harry Kane has, unsurprisingly, been among the standout performers this year but questions about the Bayern Munich sharpshooter’s back-up remain. Callum Wilson, Ivan Toney, Eddie Nketiah and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have all been selected in recent times, but Ollie Watkins is the current frontrunner for the job. The Aston Villa striker had the chance to underline that status against Macedonia but was replaced by Kane just 58 minutes into a frustrating night in Skopje, where the skipper made an immediate impact as he forced Jani Atanasov into an own goal equaliser. “Look, it was a difficult game,” Southgate said when asked about Watkins. “Very little space, back five, so we’re dealing with three centre-backs, really, and we weren’t quite able to create the clear chance for him. “But he did fine. It’s not easy when you’re coming in in those circumstances but that’s international football. “Of course, he’s had games where there’s been more opportunities to score and he’s done that well with us. “(This) was a different sort of test and, yeah, as a team, it was hard to find the spaces and find the gaps even though moments Phil (Foden) found lovely little passes and Trent (Alexander-Arnold) did. “It was so crowded around the edge of that box to find those clear chances for our forwards.” Read More Kyle Walker urges England to get mentality right in bid for Euro 2024 glory Phil Taylor to retire at the end of World Senior Darts Tour in 2024 On this day in 2007: England fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after Croatia defeat Jalen Hurts grabs double as Philadelphia Eagles avenge Super Bowl loss Gareth Southgate hails Rico Lewis after strong England debut in North Macedonia Michael O’Neill calls Northern Ireland win over Denmark step in right direction

Kyle Walker believes England have enough players with big-match experience to challenge for Euro 2024 glory – if they can perfect their mentality. England rounded off 2023 with a forgettable 1-1 draw in North Macedonia on Monday night having already assured their spot at next summer’s finals by beating Italy last month. Gareth Southgate’s side ended the calendar year unbeaten and topped Group C of Euro 2024 qualifying in the process. The Euro 2020 runners-up will now be top seeds for December’s group-stage draw in Hamburg as England target their first major silverware since 1966. Walker insists they ended the year well despite having already secured qualification amid criticism of the performances in North Macedonia and in the 2-0 Wembley win over Malta. “I don’t think there’s really been a drop off,” he told Radio 5Live. “There’s been a good win against Malta. Okay, if you go and score eight everyone says you should have gone and scored eight- if we don’t score eight it’s a problem. We're all mature, we've all been in big situations, Whether it's Champions League finals, fighting for the Premier League, semi-finals of a World Cup, finals of the Euros Kyle Walker “So it’s three points. Never mind if it’s an eight or 1-0, it is still three points on the board. We know coming here, we should win. We should win but the campaign and the group is wrapped up and it was always going to be a difficult one. “But I said at the start of the team talk that it’s about mentality now, we’ve got the group of players that we’ve had for a number of years now. We’re all mature, we’ve all been in big situations, whether it’s Champions League finals, fighting for the Premier League, semi-finals of a World Cup, finals of the Euros. “Now it’s about our mentality. Now it’s about mentality on the field and off the field to make sure that we take this country to where it deserves and that is to hopefully pick up that European trophy.” Walker, 33, has been installed as Manchester City captain this season but sported the armband for his country for the first time in Monday’s draw. “It was a really proud moment when the manager pulled me aside this afternoon and told me that I would be leading the team out,” he added. “Obviously I’m doing that for Manchester City now but to do it for my country is a real big step in the right direction and another thing I’ve ticked off my list. “We had to be patient and try and break them down. They had a back five and it’s always going to be tough but that’s no excuse. “We know that we should be coming here, taking three points and getting on the plane back home and celebrating qualifying with a good end to the campaign. “But listen, we’ve qualified and let’s not underestimate that. We’ve qualified for a major tournament once again and that’s what we needed to really do.” Read More Phil Taylor to retire at the end of World Senior Darts Tour in 2024 On this day in 2007: England fail to qualify for Euro 2008 after Croatia defeat Jalen Hurts grabs double as Philadelphia Eagles avenge Super Bowl loss Gareth Southgate hails Rico Lewis after strong England debut in North Macedonia Michael O’Neill calls Northern Ireland win over Denmark step in right direction Rob Page: Wales not entertaining Euro 2024 play-off talk before Turkey qualifier