Mason Mount’s Manchester United future is uncertain after a number of injury issues during his Old Trafford career so far, and Michael Carrick’s thoughts on the midfielder are said to be clear

Michael Carrick’s plans for Manchester United midfielder Mason Mount could be clear with the England international facing a big summer.

Carrick’s permanent spell got off to a flying start with a 3-0 win at Brighton & Hove Albion, as the 27-year-old received just his second start since the United great arrived. The Athletic report that the new full-time boss thinks Mount’s positional flexibility will make him an asset to the squad for their quest in four competitions next season.

The former Chelsea man hasn’t managed to hit the heights at Old Trafford since his move from the capital but did strike form under former head coach, Ruben Amorim. But with United qualifying for the Champions League, their calendar next season will be busier and more gruelling, though with Carrick’s hopes for Mount, it poses as a good omen for the 27-year-old.

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Sunday’s outing was just Mount’s seventh under Carrick as he managed just 200 minutes for the club. Injuries and selection problems meant that Carrick’s focus on steering the club denied the midfielder the chance to continue his first-team involvement.

With the new United boss keen to utilise the 27-year-old, it puts to bed the idea of a summer sale this summer. Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville named the 36-time England international as a player that the club could cash in on to raise funds for the summer following their home win against Liverpool.

“Michael Carrick will be very happy tonight but I think he will also be disappointed deep down that they haven’t gone on to win that game 3-0 or 4-0,” he said on his Sky Sports podcast.

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“They should have killed that game and put Liverpool to sleep because they were nowhere near this football match. He’s won the game and that’s the most important thing but Carrick won’t be fooled by some of what he saw in that second half.

“He will know he needs to rebuild the defence and midfield. If you’re going to play 4-4-2, which I am massively in favour of United doing, you have to have two very special players in there and defenders who can play one-on-one.

“You’re asking a lot of the players. I think United need a left-back for next season because Luke Shaw has played every game this year and he may struggle. They need a centre-back, 100%, and they need two midfield players. They are the four priorities right now. They’re the players I would look at adding to this squad.”

He added: “Look, if you could then maybe trade Mason Mount for someone else who maybe can play in and out and can be a bit more flexible across the midfield and forward line then I would say go for a fifth.

“But if you can’t, I would say those four areas are the priority and they’ve got to be top-notch, those players.”

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Rob Kenyon has found himself at the centre of a controversy over his previous use of social media.

A senior Reform MP has said that alleged historic social media posts by the party’s Makerfield candidate were ‘unacceptable’, but were ‘intended as private conversations’.

Plumber and newly-elected Wigan councillor Robert Kenyon is standing in the June 18 by-election. He is seen as the main rival to Labour’s Andy Burnham as he bids to return to Westminster.

Following the announcement he will stand, councillor Kenyon has found himself at the centre of a controversy over his previous use of social media.

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Concerns were first raised after he was announced as the party’s candidate, when it emerged an X account believed to be his had been suspended. Campaign group Hope Not Hate has since reported on a second account on the platform, which has been deleted.

The group claimed Kenyon allegedly made misogynistic posts; a transphobic post; and remarks about Covid conspiracy theories.

Reform UK insists the plumber is the right person to represent Makerfield, with the party suggesting the comments were made before Kenyon entered politics.

Hope Not Hate alleged that on Christmas Eve in 2021, Coun Kenyon responded to an X user who wrote a degrading sexual message about Carol Vorderman.

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After another user criticised the remark, Mr Kenyon is said to have responded ‘he’s only saying what we’re all thinking’ with a thumbs up and laughing emoji.

Ms Vorderman has since hit out at Coun Kenyon in a post Instagram.

On Monday (May 25) East Wiltshire MP Danny Kruger – who heads the party’s ‘preparing for government unit’ – was quizzed on the alleged comment about Ms Vorderman on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.

Mr Kruger said it was ‘clearly an inappropriate thing to publicly’, but added: “I’m not going to judge people for what are essentially regarded at the time and intended as private conversations.

“Clearly that’s not the sort of thing you would want an elected politician to make (sic). Quite rightly, clearly, he’s deleted that post and regrets it.”

Asked if he believed Coun Kenyon needed to be removed as the party’s candidate, he said: “No I don’t.”

“It is clearly wrong for politicians to talk in that way,” he added. “He was not a politician at the time. He was an ordinary man, from an ordinary place. And what he has done now is to step forward, outraged at the state of our country and the state of his community.

“I’m not going to defend those comments, but please can you acknowledge there are other concerns at play here. I’m not going to sit here and police the previous remarks, unacceptable as they may be, of people who as private citizens said things they shouldn’t.

“There is a bigger story here. I recognise, I’m not going to diminish the importance of that, but if I may, the real challenge for our country is to get our economy moving, to secure our borders, to give opportunities to young people and to rescue places like Makerfield from an economic model that isn’t working.”

The Manchester Evening News has attempted to contact Coun Kenyon for comment.

A Reform spokesperson previously said: “We fully back Councillor Kenyon. He is an excellent, local candidate who we are confident will be a superb MP for Makerfield. These comments were made before he was in politics.

“Rob isn’t a polished, professional politician and doesn’t speak like one. That’s precisely why he’ll be a straight-talking, effective voice for normal working people in Makerfield.”

Remember Turki Al-Sheikh? The man who once posted a cryptic message on X suggesting Manchester United were in an ‘advanced stage’ of a takeover.

He said: “The best news I heard today is that Manchester United is now in an advanced stage of completing a deal to sell to a new investor. I hope he’s better than the previous owners.”

He later clarified he was not the ‘new investor’, but now he now wants to buy Derby County.

The Times is reporting that the EFL and the Independent Football Regulator are aware of Turki Al-Sheikh’s interest in the Championship club, but both organisations declined to comment when approached by them.

Al-Sheikh is a government minister in Saudi Arabia’s royal court and is the man behind Saudi Arabia’s takeover of boxing.

Drivers are facing bank holiday queues on the M62 following a crash near Saddleworth.

Two lanes of traffic are currently closed on the westbound carriageway through the Pennines, between junctions 24 and 22.

It is affecting drivers heading from Yorkshire to Greater Manchester this morning.

Further details about the incident are yet to be confirmed.

Updates will be posted in this blog when they are available.

Reform say they ‘clamp down’ on any abuse of a proposed £5 billion tax break for workers doing extra hours, Robert Jenrick has said.

The ‘hard work bonus’ would create a tax-free allowance for overtime above a 40-hour week for workers earning less than £75,000.

Reform has aimed the plan at attracting more voters in Labour’s former industrial heartlands as it seeks to prevent Andy Burnham winning the Makerfield by-election.

Responding to the suggestion that employers could decide to pay workers’ first 40 hours at minimum wage and then pay overtime at an exorbitant rate, Mr Jenrick told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips yesterday:

“We don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. There will be anti-avoidance measures in place.”

The Reform Treasury spokesman added: “We’ve allocated £5 billion to this and that includes an apportionment for some reclassification of unpaid overtime to paid overtime, so we expect there will be some changes within the labour market, but if there is gaming of this, if there’s abuse, then obviously we’ll clamp down on that and we’ll work with HMRC and the Treasury when we enter government to make sure that we get that right.”

Drivers are facing long delays on two Lancashire motorways this morning following an ‘obstruction’ on the M6.

The road is partially blocked on the northbound carriageway between junctions 30 and 31, near Preston.

It is affecting drivers on both the M6 and M61, heading north from Greater Manchester, towards popular bank holiday getaway destinations Blackpool and the Lake District.

Drivers heading north on the M6 are facing queues from junction 28, at Leyland.

On the M61, there are delays tailing back to junction eight at Chorley.

Hello and welcome to the League Two play-off final live blog as Salford City look to make history. The Ammies head down to Wembley to face Notts County looking to reach the third tier for the first time ever. It will be a monumental achievement for a club that has dominated the spotlight thanks to their Class of ’92 ownership.

Salford head into the game on the pitch as favourites but will be outnumbered by Notts fans at Wembley. City have sold a fraction of the tickets of their opponents but that may play in their favour. Notts supporters already feel they have one foot in League One. Salford will be hoping they can show that promotion is won on the pitch, rather than in the stands.

Stay tuned for live updates…

Reform say they ‘clamp down’ on any abuse of a proposed £5 billion tax break for workers doing extra hours, Robert Jenrick has said.

The ‘hard work bonus’ would create a tax-free allowance for overtime above a 40-hour week for workers earning less than £75,000.

Reform has aimed the plan at attracting more voters in Labour’s former industrial heartlands as it seeks to prevent Andy Burnham winning the Makerfield by-election.

Responding to the suggestion that employers could decide to pay workers’ first 40 hours at minimum wage and then pay overtime at an exorbitant rate, Mr Jenrick told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips yesterday:

“We don’t think that’s what’s going to happen. There will be anti-avoidance measures in place.”

The Reform Treasury spokesman added: “We’ve allocated £5 billion to this and that includes an apportionment for some reclassification of unpaid overtime to paid overtime, so we expect there will be some changes within the labour market, but if there is gaming of this, if there’s abuse, then obviously we’ll clamp down on that and we’ll work with HMRC and the Treasury when we enter government to make sure that we get that right.”

That’s one way to keep cool

Paddling pools are a staple of British summer time, but one Wythenshawe dad has taken it to the extreme with a massive pool right in his back garden – complete with a waterslide.

40-year-old Liam Tandy has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on TikTok for the clips, which show his son flying down the slide and splash land in the pool – right on his back patio in Benchill.

Liam said he has had the pool since 2024 – and only half-jokingly puts the decision down to having ADHD. “That’s just how I am, once I get an idea in my head, I just have to have it,” he told the M.E.N.

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Returning from a summer holiday, Liam found that he didn’t want to leave the poolside fun behind. “I had just moved into a new house and it was my first time having a garden,” he said.

“I thought, I want my own pool at home. I started looking online before the holiday even ended.”

He ‘levelled’ most of his back garden to install the 12ft by 24ft pool, which cost about £1,000, and added a former playground slide which he sourced on eBay.

A mechanic by trade, he also erected a platform over the garage roof, which he attached the slide to. “I don’t see it as unsafe, I’ve made it easy to get up there and put netting around the sides,” he said.

“I’ve spoken to my neighbours and they don’t have an issue with it. As long as my kids are happy, I’m happy.”

The pool has its own filter and Liam uses chlorine to treat the water. “Let’s not talk about costs…” he says of his water bill.

Things ‘went a bit mad’ when another TikTok user posted a video of the pool. “She was staying in an AirBnB round the corner and took a video from her window,” he said. “It had been a bit of a secret until then.

“Now it’s gone viral I am expecting a visit from the council. But it’s a temporary structure and I can have it down in an hour.”

With the arrival of the year’s first proper heatwave and the beginning of May half time, Liam’s kids and their friends are flocking round to swim in the pool. “I kind of live through my children, I have three and I know how fast it goes,” he said.

“They’re only young once and once they’re grown up you don’t get that time back. And the love and support and positivity I have had has been absolutely amazing.

“It is nice to get credit as a dad cause I don’t think we get credit or appreciated very often. I go above and beyond for my kids.”

Jarrod Bowen has been linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, and he was speaking following West Ham’s relegation from the Premier League

Manchester United-linked Jarrod Bowen has suggested he has no plans to leave West Ham United following the club’s relegation to the Sky Bet Championship. The Hammers needed a victory against Leeds United and for Tottenham Hotspur to lose at home to Everton to stay up and send Spurs down instead.

And although Nuno Espirito Santo’s side kept their side of the bargain with second-half goals from Taty Castellanos, Bowen and Callum Wilson, Spurs, who had not won at home in the league this year, beat Everton 1-0 to ensure it would be they who are playing in the Premier League next season.

United are one of a number of Premier League clubs who have been linked with a move for Bowen. The Guardian recently reported that the Reds were considering the England international as an option on the left wing.

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Chelsea and Liverpool have also been linked, but Bowen insisted following the game at the London Stadium that he has no plans to leave the Hammers this summer.

“Ultimately, this season we haven’t been good enough and we’ve paid the price,” he told Sky Sports.

“I’m under contract here. I’ve been here six and a half years. I’ve had some really high moments and this is a low moment that will outweigh everything.

“There’s going to be rumours, there’s going to be talk. Ultimately, what I see is getting this club back in the Premier League because that is where it deserves to be.

“This is a really, really low moment, but we have to bounce back because there’s no other way. This is a really difficult moment.

“You never know what the future holds. For me, I want to get this club back in the Premier League. Right now our vision is to do that.”

Before he continued: “We have to go away now, not enjoy our time off because you’re never going to enjoy your time off with the season we’ve had, but stay with your family and loved ones, recover well and prepare well for when we come back in and get promoted.”

He then concluded: “Not really [a consolation that West Ham did what they needed to] because we never wanted to be in this situation.

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“Coming into the game, we had to take care of ourselves and hold onto that bit of hope that we had. That’s all we could do. We were relying on another result. Ultimately, it’s not enough.

“[I just feel] hurt. I’ve been here six and a half years now. Had a lot of good moments and this outweighs all of it. Getting this club relegated… it hurts.

“We shouldn’t be in the position we’re in but we’ve found ourselves in it and we’ve not done enough to stay up. Hurt is the only thing.”

Sky Sports, HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ with Ultimate TV package

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Sky has upgraded its Ultimate TV and Sky Sports bundle to now include HBO Max, Netflix, Disney+, discovery+ and Hayu, as well as 135 channels and full Sky coverage of the Premier League and EFL.

Sky broadcasts more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more with at least 215 live from the top flight alongside Formula 1, darts and golf.