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Several Saudi Arabian clubs are willing to return with another bid for Mohamed Salah in January, this time on reduced terms.

Confidence is high the Egyptian could finally be persuaded to move. Salah has long been coveted as the one player who can take the Saudi Pro League to new heights, with various record bids rejected by Liverpool over the past few years.

However, The i Paper has been told funds could be made available for at least two clubs to bid for an out-of-favour Salah in January. This time the offer, according to one well-placed source, will not come close to the £200m Al-Ittihad placed on the table two years ago.

“Several senior figures at PIF (Saudi’s Public Investment Fund) and within the Pro League believe the power lies with them,” a source said.

“Mo’s form, unhappiness about not being in the team, Liverpool’s need to change something and the fact they have too many strikers all help push him to the Middle East.”

PIF took 75 per cent of the Saudi “big four” Al‑Hilal, Al‑Nassr, Al‑Ittihad and Al‑Ahli in 2023. While they have reduced the amount clubs spend on marquee names, after the initial mind-blowing outlay, an exception can be made for the player the league has always wanted.

Contrary to what was said publicly by Salah and Liverpool after the 33-year-old signed a new two-year deal earlier in April, Saudi officials have always insisted Salah was tempted first time around.

Salah has since insisted he did consider the option, and given everything that is going on at Liverpool this season, there is growing confidence returning to seal the deal in January could be accomplished.

Form which has seen Salah dropped from the Liverpool starting XI in successive matches for the first time in his Anfield career only helps reduce the terms on offer.

Liverpool are already looking at ways they can arrest their alarming recent slump that has seen the champions drop to ninth in the table.

Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo is one target the Reds are pushing for, but they already have spent £250m on two other forward options in the summer, creating an arsenal that gives Arne Slot the option to leave a player of Salah’s calibre, and stature, on the bench.

The arrival of another forward will only add to Slot’s headache. Cashing in on Salah while they still can could be the resolution the Reds’ hierarchy are looking for.

Saudi Pro League clubs could lose several high-profile players in the January window, making room for Salah to step up.

The move makes so much sense for Salah now. Beyond the obvious financial appeal, the feeling is that an Arab player would become a huge megastar in an Islamic country, adulation to even dwarf what Cristiano Ronaldo receives.

A January exit would also help Salah preserve the legacy he deserves on Merseyside. A season out of form, out the team, is not the way anyone wants to go, not given Salah’s incredible Premier League contribution.

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Newcastle United have a midfielder and full-backs on their wish list for January, but the club may make “opportunistic” moves for marquee names if they become available.

A month out from the transfer window, it is being stressed that detailed plans are not yet fully formed at St James’ Park and targets have not yet been finalised.

There’s an expectation across recruitment circles of a quieter month, although The i Paper understands a number of clauses for high-profile players become active in January to mirror the situation with Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo.

Whether Newcastle act in that market or not is unclear. Talks between Ross Wilson, the club’s new director of football, and Eddie Howe have centred largely on the make-up of the current squad and the areas where he feels they are light rather than names.

A reunion with £100m-rated midfielder Elliot Anderson remains the club’s recruitment “north star” for 2026.

Running alongside that desire to take high calibre international talent is a recognition that they have to get smarter and drive average age of the squad down.

That’s why in the background Newcastle have expanded their recruitment network and are fast-tracking the use of data in their scouting under new technical director Sudarshan Gopaladesikan.

The i Paper understands tailored scouting algorithms devised by “Suds”, as he is known, are being used to compile lists of “under-the-radar” targets who fit Howe’s preferred style and could be considered in January and beyond.

Is there money to spend in January?

British record sale of Alexander Isak means there is. “Can we spend in January? Yes. If we want to, we can,” Wilson said.

“I think it’s fairly obvious to everybody given the level of club spend in the summer that we’re not going to do that again in the winter window as well, for a variety of reasons. But if we want to spend, we can.

“Of course, we’ll be creative, of course we’ll be opportunistic as well. But probably the most important thing is that it would have to align with what the summer plan looks like, which is the bigger squad plan.”

Which names are worth looking out for?

Having fudged the issue in the summer after losing out on James Trafford, Newcastle want to build a goalkeeper succession plan soon. Nick Pope’s mistakes have thrown that into sharp focus.

One option that has support among the technical team is returning for Trafford and the player has always been “up” on a move to Newcastle but his wages and transfer fee might be problematic. The i Paper revealed last week that Newcastle have watched Toulouse’s France under-21 international Guillaume Restes in recent weeks.

Newcastle have expanded their recruitment network since Wilson was appointed and the use of data in signings is one area he has identified as being a priority. In practice that should mean a pivot away from Premier League-ready players – an area Howe prefers – and towards European and under-valued players in lesser-known markets.

Of course it’s always a blend. Anderson is seen as a possible “franchise” player who could be part of the club’s ambitious 2030 plan if they could tempt him back, but Newcastle need to marry those kind of targets with less vaunted names.

Convincing Howe to sign “project players” – including those from South America – was not something Wilson’s predecessor succeeding in so it will be fascinating to see the direction of travel.

Kees Smit, the 19-year-old AZ Alkmaar player, is an example of player who ticks the boxes of being up-and-coming but also seen as making an impact in the here and now. Expectations of a January move have been played down of late.

What about selling players?

Newcastle would consider sales of fringe men and Will Osula, still coveted by Eintracht Frankfurt, and Joe Willock, who has been linked with Crystal Palace, feel the most likely to depart.

But there’s no pressure to sell a star man to comply with financial fair play.

There is an acceptance internally, though, that they need to match the ambition of stars like Sandro Tonali to keep them at the club – or, to be brutally honest, pay them more.

Newcastle have opened talks with Sven Botman and Tino Livramento. On Botman The i Paper understands he is keen to stay although the two parties are apart are on terms.

Wilson has now completed the contract audit that took up some of his early weeks in the job. “My first three or four days in the job was when I found that Sandro’s contract situation as significantly better than the one I was expecting,” he explained.

“My first days were about analysing contracts – where are we, where are we strong, where are we weak, where have we got issues?

“It’s no secret at all that we would want to extend Tino’s contract and we would want to extend Sven Botman’s contract too. Those discussions are ongoing.

“Some discussions are more difficult than others, but the desire would be to keep those players. Will they agree those contracts? At the moment, I think it’s too early to say.”

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Man Utd 1-1 West Ham (Dalot (58’ | Magassa 83’)

OLD TRAFFORD — Ruben Amorim had to check himself this week. He has been at pains to make clear he often says things he shouldn’t, singling out individuals while forgetting the world hangs on every word uttered by the manager of Manchester United.

This time, ahead of West Ham’s visit, Matheus Cunha was the victim of Amorim’s slippery tongue. The goals, or lack thereof, were getting to the maverick Brazilian his manager professed, as was the reaction to some disenchanted displays in the vitriolic social media metaverse.

Amorim had to later insist he was in danger of throwing another player under the bus, pleading to take what he had said with a pinch of salt. The damage had nonetheless already been done.

Back in the team against West Ham after a recent head injury, Cunha played like a man with the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Just one comfortable evening is all Old Trafford wanted. One night where everyone wasn’t chewing their nails for 90 minutes or forced through another anodyne non-spectacle.

It should have been the case against 10-man Everton in their previous home outing, but United contrived to put in an even more turgid and unimaginative showing in defeat.

An impressive comeback victory away at high-flying Crystal Palace on Sunday raised hopes once more. A first dominant Premier League home win since a 4-0 success against Sean Dyche’s Everton last November was in the offing. No better way to spend a night under the lights at the famous old fortress.

The chance to move fifth, level on points with Chelsea in fourth, dangled in front of fans’ eyes. A familiar feeling of disappointment and delusion over where their team is heading inevitably followed for the perennially dissatisfied United following.

One point from two home games against 10-man Everton and relegation candidates West Ham in recent weeks tells you more about where United are headed than any other uptick in results.

Cunha was leading the charge of the underwhelming light brigade. I was convinced, after his effervescent display against Brighton in late October, that the Brazilian had the exact type of swagger required to rouse United from their slumber. Cantona-esque.

Since, the sparkle has gone out. Tedium has set in. Not for the first time in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson wilderness years, early promise has fizzled out as quickly as it presented itself.

“We are losing because of the second balls,” a visibly angry Amorim said after seeing his side fail to win for the 12th time from the Portuguese’s 20th home Premier League encounters. “Sometimes there are not men in front to win the ball.

“We had nobody to put in the offence (from the bench). Who? The second ball with Matheus I was worried.”

Defensively, Cunha was breezed through time and again, offering the same resistance as wet tissue paper. In attack, he was at least trying to make things happen. The worrying thing was nothing came off.

Boos ring out at Old Trafford as the full-time whistle blows pic.twitter.com/zr1EUc3l36

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 4, 2025

Amorim will insist some progress is being made, and he is not wrong – nothing will ever be as bad as last season. He and his team probably would have taken being two points off the top four at a third of the way through the campaign back in August.

Widespread boos upon the final whistle tells you more about where this sleeping giant remains. Amorim will get time, but with three of his big players about to head to the Africa Cup of Nations, a drastic improvement in performance is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Even more pressure will therefore be placed on Cunha to step up. A few months ago, supporters would have been relishing the prospect of the Latin Roy of the Rovers beating his chest and driving right at the heart of many a Premier League defence.

Now, this pale imitation of the firebrand they signed is not inspiring anyone, even his own manager, in believing that better times lay ahead.

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WASHINGTON DC — Six months out from the 2026 World Cup, and on the day of the group stage draw here, it’s worth taking a step back from the Gianni Infantino x Donald Trump love-in and reflect upon the myriad issues and controversies facing the tournament.

Things could get messy. Things *will* get expensive. World Cups are complicated anyway, and then you add in the US President…

Travel bans

In August, speaking to African media, Fifa president Infantino insisted that everybody would be welcome to come to the 2026 World Cup because this was a tournament for all. So far, so textbook.

The only slight issue: in June, President Trump initiated a travel ban on people from 12 countries. Those countries include Haiti and Iran, both of whom have qualified for the World Cup next summer.

There is no suggestion yet that the squads or staff of the affected nations will be blocked from travel, but there’s also no suggestion that the ban, in its current form, would allow foreign nationals from these countries to travel to the World Cup.

It’s hard to see how that possibly fits Infantino’s brief of “welcome to all”, but then this is a man who, on Fifa’s watch, has explicitly praised Trump’s presidency and for “doing things we think but don’t act on”. Which is absolutely dismal on every level.

Host cities

Trump has repeatedly flirted publicly with removing the host status of various Democrat-governed cities and moving the matches elsewhere under the supposed guise of security concerns.

“If we think there’s going to be any sign of any trouble, I would ask Gianni to move that to a different city,” Trump said last month. “We have a lot of cities that would love to have it, No 1, and we’ll do it very safely.”

Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Seattle are the four cities most at risk and are down to host 27 matches between them. Perhaps this is just Trump bluster, but the lack of pushback from Infantino on his remarks create the possibility that travel plans for teams and supporters could be thrown into chaos. Hopefully these are empty threats.

Ticket pricing

This is the first World Cup that will use dynamic pricing (for which we can read: fans getting fleeced on resale sites). It will also be by far the most expensive World Cup in history for supporters.

Official prices for group games start at $60 (£45), but supporters have been quick to point out that the percentage of match tickets within his lowest category is miniscule. The cheapest ticket on the resale site (at time of writing) for the first non-USA match in the US – Boston on 13 June – is $816 (£611).

Fifa says that the pricing structures and use of dynamic pricing is in line with trends within the entertainment industry across North America, but it’s hardly opening up football for all, instead restricting attendance to a high-end US audience when you factor in the cost of travel and accommodation.

If that wasn’t enough, Fifa also introduced a system whereby fans could buy tokens on the Fifa Blockchain whereby you can pay $999 (£748) and get a ticket for the final if your chosen nation makes it. If it doesn’t, you lose your money.

Matchday travel

Most major North American sports stadiums (we’re leaving Mexico out of this, you’re grand) share some common traits: they’re massive, they’re out-of-town and they are surrounded by roughly four billion car parking spaces because that is how the vast majority travel to matches.

Which presents a public transport emergency for a major event where many supporters will not have a car. At the Club World Cup last summer, there were huge issues with a lack of buses and a shortage of ride-sharing vehicles creating vast financial premiums for journeys.

Host cities are certainly attempting to implement new direct bus routes and creating services only available to ticket holders, but expect massive queues of people for transport and cars getting out of stadiums.

Human rights issues

“The 2026 World Cup is the first to begin with human rights criteria embedded in the bidding process,” said Andrea Florence, executive director of the Sport & Rights Alliance, in Washington on Wednesday. “But the deteriorating human rights situation in the United States has put those commitments at risk.”

The increase in attacks on immigrants in the US, the rhetoric of President Trump and his use of the National Guard to target and detain immigrants across the country creates serious questions about the suitability of the country to host the tournament and about the safety of all those attending matches.

Fifa’s decision to cancel anti-racism and anti-discrimination messaging at the Club World Cup was also a backwards step and suggests – even if inadvertently – that the issue has moved down the agenda of priorities. And that is unacceptable for an organisation that purports to represent all.

Extreme heat

A recent report from a climate action sport group concluded that 10 of the 16 stadiums at next summer’s World Cup are at a “very high risk of extreme heat stress conditions”.

We already have anecdotal evidence from the Club World Cup, where multiple games were suspended for up to two hours due to heat or electrical storms related to the heat. It seems inconceivable that the same issues won’t occur in 2026.

Misting sprays, cooling stations and large shaded areas can and should be installed for visiting supporters, but one suggestion is for some matches to be moved to morning to avoid the hottest time of day and likely stormy conditions. Any significant delays – and certainly match rearrangements – will provide a significant logistical headache for fans and organisers.

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Newcastle United will be one of the top clubs in the world by 2030 and winning the Premier League is a realistic short-term aim for the club.

That is the bullish verdict of Newcastle CEO David Hopkinson, who described the Magpies as a “rocket ship” as he laid out his blueprint to turbo charge their progress in an interview designed to shake complacency out of the club.

The i Paper was in the private function room above Shearer’s Bar in Newcastle city centre as Hopkinson made a series of bold, ambitious claims that are bound to be used as a yardstick for progress in the years to come.

Flanked by director of football Ross Wilson, Hopkinson said his focus was on building an organisation whose “sole focus is on winning”. He talked of the club becoming “perennial contenders” to win the Premier League on his watch.

“We have to have the courage to ignore those that doubt us, and even those that laugh at us,” Newcastle’s CEO said. Here’s the key takeaways from a remarkable half-hour.

St James’ Park is home for ‘years to come’

There’s no getting away from it, the breaks have been pumped on Newcastle’s big stadium plan.

A year ago the direction of travel appeared to be towards a new-build arena in nearby Leazes Park, but Newcastle are now planning for life at their current home for a while yet.

“Recognising that we are going to be at St James’ Park in pretty much its current format for years to come is important,” Hopkinson said on Monday. He admitted that important decisions had been parked while they awaited PIF’s final decision and that sense of stasis had to end.

Intriguingly, he said that “tweaks and improvements” to St James’ Park were back on the table while the club work through the complexities of a bigger decision that will take “years and years” either way.

A bold ‘transformation plan’

On Monday, Hopkinson will meet with PIF to deliver a detailed “transformation plan” that includes specific milestones the club intend to meet year-on-year to achieve their lofty aims. And boy are they are bold.

You could feel the frisson of excitement in the room when Hopkinson was asked where the club would be in 2030 (a year imbued with significance for the club because of the Saudi Vision 2030 intended to transform the country). “I see this club being in the debate about being the top club in the world,” he replied, not missing a beat.

It undoubtedly makes for a juicy headline but how that lands with supporters as the team toils and the big infrastructure projects remain elusive is unclear. But perhaps it needed someone to start talking big and embracing accountability.

“Can Newcastle win the Premier League? Yeah, of course. Why not? Our job is to set ourselves up to be perennial contenders,” he said.

“This is a tough league, and the correlation between points earned and revenue is undeniable. So, again, so much of this is self-help and doing everything we can to try to increase our ability to compete by driving revenues.”

In a light-hearted aside Hopkinson also bemoaned the lack of end-of-season play-offs in the Premier League “which introduce an element of luck”. That drew an intervention from Wilson that the CEO was not advocating for them to be introduced.

New training ground absolutely key

Hopkinson branded their current Benton training base a “seven out of 10” (upgrading it to eight with ongoing, multi-million-pound renovations) but admitted it was not “world class” and that the club are planning a “very big investment” to haul it up to a “ten out of ten”.

He is the first CEO to admit that the facility in its current guise isn’t particularly impressive to “world-class talent”, saying: “I don’t think we have a lot of (world-class talent) who say they want to go to Newcastle because of the training ground.”

The new facility is going to be all-singing, all-dancing, leaning into North American “campus”-style facilities which include creches, places to get their cars worked on and even get their haircut. It is an “arms race” that Newcastle are willing to invest a big sum to join, Hopkinson suggested.

PIF commitment is ‘absolute’

Hopkinson said he had sought reassurances about the level of commitment of majority investors PIF in the lengthy interview process – and the Saudi owners had backed them up with daily calls.

“I truly believe in my heart of hearts that we are their favourite investment,” he said.

“I think we take up so much of their shared mind and heart, way more than would be warranted given the size of the investment. I feel like we’re a special investment to them.

‘World-class’ commercial talent incoming

Here’s some music to the ears of fans: Hopkinson made a pledge that within a year they will have a training ground sponsor.

“We can literally wake up tomorrow morning and get cracking on closing some of those obvious and less obvious opportunities,” he said.

The club will also soon appoint their first chief strategy officer and are considering splitting up the chief commercial officer job that Peter Silverstone has vacated.

Hopkinson said that Newcastle were on the hunt for “world-class talent” and that two impressive overseas candidates had contacted him and said the club was a “rocket ship” they wanted to get on.

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Liverpool 1-1 Sunderland (Mukiele 81′ og | Talbi 67′)

In a bizarre Premier League season perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising one enduring image is that of Virgil van Dijk sticking out his backside.

Already it is a repeat offender, twice playing a big role in goals Liverpool have conceded during a title defence that barely lasted three months.

This case of derriere déjà vu was first seen against Chelsea in October, when Liverpool’s captain backed away and backed away before Moises Caicedo rattled in a beautiful opener for the Blues.

Social media had a field day with a “twerking” Van Dijk, while the serious point made was that the Dutchman’s powers were waning having been the 2020s centre-back closest to troubling the much-debated, never-agreed-upon Premier League’s all-time XI.

And rather than put this futile defensive action behind him, on Wednesday night the hind was causing Arne Slot’s side more problems, with Chemsdine Talbi’s strike deflecting off Van Dijk – whose misplayed pass had just gifted Sunderland possession – to hand the Black Cats the lead at Anfield.

Chemsdine Talbi with an absolute SCREAMER to put Sunderland ahead at Anfield! pic.twitter.com/5s3Onlz6Od

— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 3, 2025

“I don’t like it when a defender does that [turns their back on the ball],” Jamie Redknapp said on Sky Sports. “Van Dijk last year couldn’t make a mistake. He was imperious. Now he’s second guessing himself.”

Liverpool did rescue a point after Florian Wirtz’s strike went down as a Nordi Mukiele own goal given this was an even heavier deflection, but had it not been for the injury-time heroics of Federico Chiesa – whose goalline clearance denied Wilson Isidor – then the Reds would have suffered a seventh league defeat of the season.

But six it remains after a first league draw, with Liverpool taking one step back after hopes on the weekend that the win over West Ham had helped them turn a corner.

“Liverpool have been awful,” Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports before half-time. “They are sleepwalking through the game, everything feels so slow.”

And the ex-Liverpool defender’s assessment was hardly any better after full-time: “It feels like a real step back. It’s really worrying. They’re lacking energy, zip, pace, power.”

Van Dijk’s rear is therefore just the start when it comes to Liverpool’s frailties.

At Anfield alone they have conceded nine league goals already, having shipped in 16 there all of last season, while overall this campaign they are conceding at a rate of 1.5 goals per game – exactly one more than Arsenal’s rate (0.5) and worse than their own 1.08 rate last term.

The goal difference is also smack on zero after 21 goals for and against – a rarity for Liverpool who have boasted exactly +45 GD at the end of their past two seasons, and last went below +25 in 2015–16 (+13).

So not only are they leaking more goals but they are looking stifled in attack. Mohamed Salah is now in and out of the XI – all before he heads off to the Africa Cup of Nations – while Alexander Isak is not yet firing despite ending his league wait at West Ham.

Problems abound therefore ahead of the trip on Saturday to Leeds United, who will be bouncing from a big win over Chelsea.

Slot though is adamant on steering away from negativity and putting on a positive spin. “We didn’t concede a lot,” he said afterwards. “We didn’t create a lot. We’re unlucky with the goal we conceded, a deflection that could have gone anywhere.”

That feels kind, for now, somehow, Slot must find a way to ensure his captain’s backside isn’t one of the reasons he ends up fighting to save his own.

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WASHINGTON DC — In the build-up to Friday’s World Cup draw here, one feeling pervades that has repeated on me often over the last two years: it’s easy to forget that there are two other countries hosting this tournament.

Canada and Mexico are only hosting 26 matches in 21 days, after all. Barely even worth thinking about.

This is the USA’s parade and this is Donald Trump’s show because football has allowed it to be so. The draw will take place 140 miles from the nearest host city and 1.01 miles from the White House. That symbolism punches you square in the jaw.

Still, at least we will learn which countries will play who and (after some more Fifa deliberation) where and when. Sometimes in all this politicking fog it’s easy to forget that it’s football at all. Sport as an afterthought to geopolitical self-gratification – nice catchphrase, but probably too long for a scarf.

This should trouble us all. In August, Fifa president Gianni Infantino insisted that next summer will be a glorious melting pot of different peoples treated well, speaking out against “misconception” and reinforcing that “everyone will be welcome”.

Three days before the draw in Washington, President Trump said in this city that Somalia “stinks and we don’t want them in our country”, so it’s probably worth crossing them off the welcome spreadsheet.

Haiti and Iran have both qualified for this tournament and the two countries remain on Trump’s banned list. “Welcome to all (terms and conditions may apply).”

Increasingly, what you are told and what you hear from both sides of this World Cup hype parade are two disparate concepts. One suspects Infantino would prefer Trump to turn down the most explicit of the unapologetic bigotry, but we’re in too deep now.

The World Cup has been dogged by the controversies of host power and their strongarm leaders before, of course. In Russia, where Vladimir Putin promoted a non-isolationist, non-aggressive image of a country that subsequently invaded its neighbour.

In Qatar, where a state supercharged its attempt to diversify from oil and gas and distract from its questionable human rights record. In Argentina in 1978, where General Videla used the tournament as a high-end propaganda mission.

This feels different. Then the impression was that the nation was hosting the biggest tournament in sport for self-interest. Now, it’s as if Fifa and its World Cup are hosting Trump.

The strongarm leader doesn’t get their way by wallflowering. The key is to apply the brakes and contain their ambition. Fifa, whose own statutes state that it should be politically neutral, often has to toe that line carefully when co-organising vast events. In Washington and beyond, its president has allowed Trump to ride roughshod.

It’s the little things, like hosting the draw at a venue where Trump is the chair or inviting the Village People to do a set, whose hit so happens to be the soundtrack of Trump’s campaign trail in 2024. Andrea Bocelli will be there too; it’s certainly time to say goodbye to something.

It’s the medium things, like Fifa moving an office into Trump Tower in New York City and one president praising another for their warm relationship. And Trump threatening to move World Cup matches from “trouble” (read: Democrat) cities and no public pushback from the game’s governing body appearing.

And it’s the massive, line-in-the-sand, “we will never forget this” things. Fifa suspends nations from competitive matches if there is proven governmental interference, such is its commitment to keeping political opinion and sport separate.

Have a guess who said this: “We should all support what he [Trump] is doing because I think it’s looking good.” Clue: their surname rhymes with Icanttakeanymoreofthisfantino.

On Friday, Fifa will award its inaugural Peace Prize, an idea reportedly so close to the Fifa president’s heart that nobody else within the organisation knew much about it.

Trump will surely win it and be lauded, having publicly courted the Nobel Peace Prize and failed. Sometimes you really do have to take a step back to appreciate how far we have walked into dystopia. Repeat after me: this is definitely all about football, right?

Sport, power and governance have always walked along the same side of the same street because they are intrinsically intertwined. Giant sporting events attract global audiences and populist powerbrokers are attracted to global audiences, ergo giant sporting events become vehicles for proof of power to be promulgated. Nobody is naive here; the World Cup isn’t a sports day.

But if this all feels bigger, more blatant and less palatable than before, it’s not just because of the cumulative impact of the last two World Cups. When all else settled, football was supposed to shine through and rise above.

In Trump’s backyard and political playground this week, there comes further proof of what we always feared: the greatest show on earth has the US president as its headliner.

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At the risk of sounding like a broken record, now is not the time for Newcastle United to panic.

Momentum might have evaporated again with a gnawing home draw against an eminently beatable Tottenham but growing pains are not the same as terminal afflictions. Repeat after me: the Magpies are going to be alright this season.

Eddie Howe did not look like a man who believed that on Tuesday night. He can be glass half full at the best of times but he carried the demeanour of a man who knew his life had been made that bit more difficult by Cristian Romero’s late equaliser. It did not make for easy viewing for a defence that has collected plenty of plaudits.

But when he retired to rewatch the match in full in the early hours of Wednesday – a Howe post-match tradition, complete with mug of tea and biscuit – there might have been a brighter take on the 99 minutes that had gone before.

He likes to press play when the adrenaline subsides because it gives him a chance to remove emotion from his analysis of what he’s just seen. Perhaps some Newcastle supporters need to do the same.

This is going to be a season where Howe and the club are fixing things on the fly and in that regard they are better placed than they were at the start of November. Threat has returned, creativity is up and some of their big guns are beginning to fire again. When Yoane Wissa – a striker much more aligned to Howe’s game plan – is finally ready to play this team will look very different.

The issue right now feels more about mentality, which is not something you would normally associate with a Howe team. There’s a fragility about them when pressure is applied and it is a damning statistic that they have conceded five goals in injury time this season. On three of those occasions – against Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham – it has ended up costing them crucial home points.

Howe admitted that decision-making in those crucial moments is deserting them and the mind wanders back to the summer, when Newcastle had to make some big recruitment calls under pressure. Opinion can vary from week to week on Newcastle’s summer but there’s no credible argument to state that their XI is much better for a £250m spend.

Instead it’s a personal opinion that the squad are much, much deeper in terms of quality – and that will end up proving critical when the season hits its home straight. Newcastle remain very competitive in the Carabao Cup and Champions League – and are within touching distance of the top three in a wide open Premier League. December is huge but wait it out before jumping to conclusions.

And the bigger picture remains of a club progressing. CEO David Hopkinson spoke well on Monday and was flanked by Ross Wilson, the club’s director of football, who described Newcastle as the most exciting project in European football – and in a month Newcastle can add to their squad.

The intent is there, even if detailed plans are yet to be crystallised. Like everything, we don’t yet know what this Newcastle can become. But Tuesday night’s frustration might quickly be forgotten.

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