Manchester United remain interested in signing Sean Longstaff despite the midfielder saying he is happy at Newcastle, sources have told ESPN FC.

Longstaff has been targeted by United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he looks to bring in the best young British players in a squad revamp.

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In an interview with Newcastle's TV channel the 21-year-old stated his intention to remain at St James' Park, but sources told ESPN FC United were still confident of convincing him to move if a fee could be agreed.

"I'm massively flattered to have my name even mentioned in those conversations, but I'm 100 percent focused on Newcastle," Longstaff said.

"I've always wanted to play for Newcastle and I've only had a little taste of that, so for me it's about getting fit [after a knee injury] as soon as I can and getting back on the pitch for Newcastle."

United's pursuit of Longstaff has been complicated by uncertainty at Newcastle.

Billionaire Sheikh Khaled bin Zayed Al Nehayan is in negotiations to buy the club from Mike Ashley, while the future of manager Rafael Benitez is up in the air with his contract expiring on June 30.

Longstaff, who has only made eight Premier League appearances for his boyhood club after loan spells at Kilmarnock and Blackpool, was given his first-team debut by Benitez in December.

Meanwhile, United are pushing ahead with a move for Crystal Palace right-back Aaron Wan-Bissaka.

An opening bid of around £35 million was knocked back, but United are prepared to up their offer for the 21-year-old.

LONDON -- Maurizio Sarri is set to leave Chelsea and take over at Juventus after the Italian champions agreed to pay around £5 million in compensation, sources have told ESPN FC.

The two clubs have been in talks over Sarri for more than a week, with Juve hoping to avoid paying to release him from his contract but Chelsea adamant that they want to be compensated.

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After Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici travelled to London for further discussions with Chelsea director Marina Granovskaia, the Serie A club agreed to pay the amount needed to enable Sarri to become their new coach.

Sarri is expected to be confirmed as Juventus coach in the next 24 hours, and Chelsea will now turn their attention to securing his replacement.

Frank Lampard is widely regarded as the front-runner for the job despite having only one season of managerial experience with Derby, who he led to the Championship playoff final.

Sarri took Chelsea to third place in the Premier League and won the Europa League, but had difficulty implementing his possession-based style and attracted hostility from some supporters.

In an interview with Vanity Fair in Italy earlier this month, the coach said he had grown homesick and wanted to return to Italy in the summer.

Real Madrid have announced the signing of FC Tokyo midfielder Takefusa Kubo.

Kubo, who has been described as "the Japanese Messi," was once on Barcelona's books and made his debut for the Japan senior team earlier this month. The 18-year-old will represent his country at the Copa America in Brazil.

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In a statement, Madrid said Kubo would play for their Castilla youth team in Spain's third tier next season.

"Real Madrid will have one of the most promising young players in world football, an attacking midfielder of excellent technique and very skilled," the statement said.

Marca reported that Madrid would pay €2 million to FC Tokyo and had offered the player a five-year contract worth €1 million a year.

Kubo will train with Zinedine Zidane's senior side while playing for Castilla, following the policy set with the signings of Martin Odegaard and Vinicius Junior.

South African middle-order batsman Rassie van der Dussen was "not surprised" to hear AB de Villiers wanted to play in the 2019 World Cup but believes it would have set a "difficult precedent" if the former captain was included. It would also likely have meant van der Dussen himself would not be at the tournament.

ALSO READ: AB de Villiers revelations could bring South Africa World Cup squad closer - Faf du Plessis

"It's not necessarily the best question to ask to me because I am involved in it but had he not retired it definitely would have influenced me directly," he said. "But you can't, on the day before the announcement and a team that's been working for something for year and even longer than a year, come and say, 'I want to make a comeback now'. I am not saying he was wrong or he was right; so don't misquote me. But it would have set a difficult precedent - not necessarily a wrong one, because it's still AB, he is still one of the best players in the world - I just think it was handled maybe not in the correct way from his side."

South Africa's squad was informed of de Villiers' desire to come out of retirement at their pre-tournament team camp, which included scaling the Table Mountain and training at the High Performance Centre in Pretoria. Though some, like Kagiso Rabada, have given little away about their opinion on the matter, van der Dussen explained de Villiers had been given options to make a comeback, which he refused.

"As I believe it, Ottis [Gibson, the head coach] and Faf [du Plessis, the captain] gave him opportunities to, say, 'Let's manage your workload going into the World Cup because we want you to play a World Cup'. He had a fair chance to manage that and he said no and that he is happy to retire and that's fair enough. And Faf accepted it, Ottis accepted it and they stood by it," van der Dussen said.

ALSO READ: Did de Villiers want to have his cake and eat it too?

Zondi, Gibson and du Plessis have all confirmed they told de Villiers he could have time off but would need to play some part in the series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka which took place earlier this year to stay in contention. Van der Dussen made his ODI debut in the series against Pakistan and impressed. Van der Dussen scored five half-centuries in his first nine ODI innings to earn his place in the World Cup squad and, at the tournament, has so far been South Africa's most convincing performer with the bat.

"Do I have to replace him? I don't feel I have to. Can I play match-winning innings for my country? I believe I can"

Van der Dussen is South Africa's second-highest run-scorer with 113 runs from his three innings, one run behind Quinton de Kock. He has labelled the tournament the ultimate test of a player's ability, which is why he understood de Villiers' interest in coming back.

"I wasn't surprised [that he wanted to come back]," van der Dussen said. "The media and the press reports quite a lot on AB and the things he's said and how his last year has gone. I wasn't surprised that he would want to make a comeback on the world's biggest stage. That's the thing all the biggest players in sport have in common. They want to perform when the pressure is on and when the stage is at its biggest."

Despite knowing he may have missed out if de Villiers had been accommodated, van der Dussen does not think the situation has put extra pressure on him to put in de Villiers-esque performances but hinted that if the situation demands it, maybe he could do just that.

"In terms of did it affect me? No. I am quite happy to be mentioned in the same sentence as AB. He is obviously one of the best there has ever been," van der Dussen said. "So do I have to replace him? I don't feel I have to. Can I play match-winning innings for my country? I believe I can. Is that what he did? Yes, he did. It didn't have as big an effect as I think people would like to believe it had."

When does a cricketer feel at home in a team? Some get that sense within the minutes of their first match for a side, others may go seasons without ever quite feeling a part of it, whatever their performances or how things look in all the on-field backslapping.

The Australian team can be an unforgiving place. One former opening batsman confessed some years ago that when he was first called up, days went by before any other team-mate spoke to him by way of welcome. Another called a Cricket Australia official during an early spell in the team to say he was lonely away from home, and to ask for something to do.

No-one, though, has quite had an experience quite like that of David Warner, banished from the Australia side in the wake of the Newlands scandal last year and, unlike the former captain Steven Smith, left very much isolated by his identification as the ringleader of the ball tampering plot, if not its subsequent cover-up.

In those desperate hours and days following Warner's ban, accompanied by a lifetime suspension from ever holding a formal leadership position in the team, he was seen to be at odds with the rest, even more so than Smith or Cameron Bancroft. There was, in the game's highest circles, widespread acknowledgement that he may never be selected again. Warner, for his part, said as much in an otherwise legally constrained return home press conference at the SCG.

A little more than a year on, it should be noted that the first leadership figure in Australian cricket to offer a more welcoming word to Warner was Justin Langer, when he was appointed national team coach in May 2018. While Langer was not without his own reservations, wanting to get a stronger sense of where Warner and the team were at before a lengthy reintegration process began, he offered far more carrot than stick to the ex-vice-captain.

"He's a really good young bloke and he made a mistake," Langer said at the time. "I love the way he plays his cricket. The way he runs between the wickets, the way he fields, the way he bats - they're things that for the less-trained eye, you might not respect as much."

So it was that Warner and Smith were reintegrated, by way of net sessions in Australia, a team visit in the UAE, a World Cup preparation camp in Brisbane, and innumerable phone calls, text exchanges and coffee catch-ups. Warner all the while kept a commendable silence, not seeking any platform for self-justification, and grinding out runs wherever he was permitted to play.

Even so, his return to Australian ranks had been halting prior to the century against Pakistan that underlined his exceedingly rare ability, turning a bowler-friendly day into a head start of 146 without loss that was still standing when Australia finally secured victory in the Taunton twilight. A pair of scratchy innings against Afghanistan and India, either side of a brief one against the West Indies, suggested he was not yet at home. The hundred, Langer now reckons, will be remembered as the knock that sealed his return.

"You can see in his eyes how determined he is to be back playing for Australia," Langer said. "When you score a hundred, it is almost like there is no better feeling in the world. I listened to the press conference you had with him, he can only explain how he felt, but for us if you score a hundred it's almost like, 'righto, I am back, I am back'. And that's a good thing.

"That's a nice feeling I am sure for him and it's a nice feeling for us that you can score some runs. Hundreds, they are the milestone, they are the reward. In a lot of ways, that's a really great reward for him."

Recognition, both for Warner and team-mates, that his singular match-winning skills remain very much intact, was distinct from regaining respect. This, Langer argued, had been generated long ago by the way Warner set about the time he had away from international cricket.

"Honestly, when you pay the price that he has paid for 12 months, and see him come back with a smile on his face and super fit, he didn't have to earn back any respect," Langer said. "Everyone knew what he has been through the last 12 months. They also know what a great player he is. He has always had the respect as a player. He is a really good young bloke and he has come back with a smile on his face, he is fit, he had respect as soon as he came in."

Langer has observed Warner's batting with optimism but also realism. He is looking for Warner the batsman, not Warner the hitter, perhaps with half an eye towards the Ashes. The Taunton century was Warner's first international hundred in England or Wales after also touring in 2012, 2013, 2015 and 2017. He has some ground to make up in the UK.

"There is a bit of talk about how he was going. He has done an unbelievable job for the team in all games we have played so far," Langer said. "You saw how emotional he was and how much it meant to him. It meant a lot to all of us as well."

If there was a criticism of Warner from Langer it was this: from where he set the team's platform, a far bigger score was in the offing against Pakistan, and Australia's subsequent decline needed to be seen as falling at least somewhat in his lap.

"I think we probably left 50 or 60 runs. It was a really very frustrating last 15 overs for us with the bat with the way Aaron and Davey started. We had a perfect platform and went a bit away from our game plan there," Langer said. "I remember Brian Lara used to always say, if you have a good day, have a great day because you have a lot of bad days in cricket. As very, very good as it was for Davey, he probably missed out on having a great day for himself and for the team and great players are frustrated about that."

But like Australia, with three wins from four games without having played particularly well, there is plenty more to come from Warner's bat. "It's a fickle game. You never want to mess with mother cricket," Langer said. "He will just keep preparing well and we'll make sure he stays nice and relaxed and enjoying his cricket because people with talent like that, when they are relaxed and well prepared, they perform. He has done that his whole career and hopefully he continues to do that."

Warner, having messed up before, is unlikely ever to do so again.

Chatter, analysis and some silliness from the World Cup 2019. If the blog doesn't load, please refresh the page. Also, ball-by-ball commentary can be found here.

The Papua New Guinea cricket board has suspended 10 of its Under-19 players for a year for bringing the game into disrepute. The sanction is in relation to their conduct in Japan, where they were favourites to win a qualifying tournament for the Under-19 World Cup in 2020; however, 10 players missed a crucial game against Japan and the team had to forfeit the game because they didn't have enough players to field an XI.

Cricket PNG chief executive Greg Campbell said: "The behaviour of our players is not what we would expect from international cricketers of any age. The players have expressed sincere regret at their actions and in addition to their suspension from cricket, they will undertake a comprehensive rehabilitation programme over the next 12 months."

ICC General Counsel and COO Iain Higgins added: "This has been a highly unusual incident by a group of young players and I would like to thank Cricket PNG for acting swiftly and decisively. It sends out a clear message that the sport will not tolerate this sort of behaviour at ICC events.

"We are obviously extremely disappointed with the behavior of the players, but we are satisfied that Cricket PNG has delivered a suitable and proportionate sanction and programme for rehabilitation. Therefore, the ICC will not take any further action against any of the players."

In addition to being suspended, the 10 players will take part in 60 hours of community service and also attend a counselling programme.

Sri Lanka team manager Ashantha de Mel has complained to the ICC about the "unfair" pitches he feels Sri Lanka have had to play their matches on, as well as the less-than-ideal training facilities and accommodation.

Although their two most-recent matches were washouts in Bristol, Sri Lanka had begun the tournament on two green decks in Cardiff, where they lost to New Zealand and narrowly beat Afghanistan. In the approach to their match against Australia at The Oval - a venue that has seen high-scoring games thus far - de Mel believes Sri Lanka have been saddled with another green track. As seaming conditions will ostensibly aid Australia, de Mel is unhappy.

"What we have found out is that for the four matches we have played so far at Cardiff and Bristol, the ICC has prepared a green pitch," he told Daily News. "At the same venues, the other countries have played on pitches are brown and favourable for high scoring.

"The pitch being prepared for our match against Australia on Saturday here at The Oval is green. It is not sour grapes that we are complaining. But it is very unfair on the part of the ICC that they prepare one type of wicket for certain teams and another type for others."

There have been other inconveniences too, according to de Mel, which he said he has officially brought to the ICC's notice.

"Even the practice facilities provided at Cardiff were unsatisfactory. Instead of three nets they gave us only two, and the hotel we were put up at Bristol did not have a swimming pool, which is very essential for every team - for the fast bowlers, especially, to relax their muscles after practice," he said. "The hotels that Pakistan and Bangladesh were put up at Bristol had swimming pools.

"We wrote to the ICC listing all these shortcomings four days ago but so far we have not had any response from them. We will continue to write to them until we get a reply."

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Golden State Warriors stars Stephen Curry and Draymond Green remain confident that the team's five-year run of dominance is not ready to end after it fell to the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals.

"We'll be thinking about this one. it's tough," Curry said after Thursday night's 114-110 loss in Game 6. "But our DNA and who we are and the character that we have on this team, I wouldn't bet against us being back on this stage next year and going forward. So really proud of the way that we fought until the end and this five-year run's been awesome, but definitely don't think it's over."

Curry's remarks came before the team announced that Warriors swingman Klay Thompson had torn the ACL in his left knee. That emotional blow comes just three days after Warriors star forward Kevin Durant ruptured the Achilles tendon in his right foot.

Green echoed Curry's sentiments, remaining buoyed by the fact the Warriors have dealt with so many emotional highs and lows over the past five years.

"I think everybody thinks it's kind of the end of us," Green said. "But that's just not smart. We're not done yet. We lost this year. Clearly just wasn't our year, but that's how the cookie crumbles sometimes. But, yeah, I hear a lot of that noise, it's the end of a run and all that jazz. I don't see it happening though. We'll be back."

Before the Thompson news, Green was one of several teammates to praise Thompson for the way he competed before leaving Thursday night's game in the third quarter with the injury. Thompson injured his left hamstring in Game 2 and had to sit out Game 3 before returning to help the Warriors the rest of the series.

"Probably the guy that got the most heart on this team," Green said of Thompson. "It's not really the most popular opinion, but as a guy who's been with Klay for seven years, I don't know many people with as much heart as Klay. So the way he was playing, as aggressive as he was, he was carrying us, and when he went down, obviously we lose a lot."

The Warriors now face the strong possibility that even if they are able to retain both Durant and Thompson this summer in free agency, they will miss both All-Stars for most -- if not all -- of next season.

Warriors head coach Steve Kerr spoke with pride about the way his team battled until the end of this series, as it dealt with multiple injuries along the way, including Kevon Looney playing through a nondisplaced first costal cartilage fracture on his right side.

"It's hard to put into words how I feel about our team," Kerr said. "What I've witnessed as their coach over the last five years is just an incredible combination of talent and character and commitment to each other. This just doesn't happen. A group of guys like this doesn't come around together and do what they did over the last five years. And I've been lucky enough to be their coach. That's what I told them in the locker room.

"I can't tell you my gratitude in terms of just being put in this position to be with this group and to coach them and to help them. But I could not be any luckier as a coach to be with these guys every day and to watch them compete and, boy, do they compete. I think they showed that throughout this series and throughout the playoffs."

As sad as the Warriors felt about losing the series, Green admitted there was some solace to be taken in the way in which the group played and fought until the end.

"Obviously, you feel good about it, but it's no shocker to us," Green said. "We know what this team has been made of all along. I said it over and over again, the pretty offense will always be the storyline, but this team, a ton of heart. Everybody that steps on that floor displayed a ton of heart. So it's no shocker to us that we continue to fight, but we came up a little short and that's just it."