Related items

• Former Wales winger Leighton James dies, aged 71

  Former Wales winger Leighton James has died at the age of 71.

  James’ former clubs Burnley and Swansea – where he spent 13 years of a colourful 19-year senior career – were among those to pay tribute to a gifted player who won 54 caps for his country.

  “We are sorry to hear the news of Leighton’s passing,” Burnley chairman Alan Pace said of James, who had three spells at Turf Moor and scored 81 goals in 399 appearances for the Clarets.

  “He left an indelible mark on this football club and stories of his playing skills still echo around Turf Moor.

  “Our thoughts are with his family at this sad time.”

  Swansea-born James made his Burnley debut in 1970 – his pace and trickery quickly making him a Clarets’ favourite – before joining Derby for a then club-record fee of £310,000 and having a one-season stop at QPR.

  James returned to Burnley in 1978 before joining his hometown club two years later and helping their rise in to the old First Division under John Toshack.

  “Swansea City is deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Leighton James at the age of 71,” read a club statement.

  “The gifted winger, widely-regarded as one of the Swans’ finest players, was a key figure in the side that secured a first-ever promotion to the top-flight in 1981, scoring a stunning goal in the victory over Preston North End at Deepdale to complete the club’s rise.

  “He went on to star the following campaign as John Toshack’s side took the fight to the elite of English football, eventually finishing sixth in the First Division.

  “The thoughts of everyone at Swansea City are with Leighton’s friends and family at this sad time.”

  After three years at Swansea, James went on to play for Sunderland, Bury and Newport before taking his career full circle with a third spell at Burnley.

  James’ 10 international goals included the match-winning penalty against England in the 1976-77 British Home Championship – Wales’ only ever victory against their neighbours at Wembley.

  The Football Association of Wales posted on X: “It is with great sadness that we share the news that @Cymru international Leighton James has sadly passed away.

  “Amongst his most famous moments with the dragon on his shirt was scoring a penalty in a famous win over England at Wembley in 1977.

  “He was a star of the only Cymru team to top a qualifying group before going on to reach the quarter-finals of Euro 1976.”

  James held various coaching positions in South Wales after his playing career and worked in the media, where he developed a reputation as a forthright columnist and pundit.

  Both Burnley and Swansea have confirmed they will wear black armbands in their respective matches against Sheffield United and Huddersfield on Saturday as a tribute to James.

• Man Utd appoint Jason Wilcox as new technical director after leaving Southampton

  Jason Wilcox has left Southampton to become Manchester United’s new technical director with immediate effect.

  The 53-year-old becomes a key appointment at Old Trafford as part of United’s off-field overhaul following Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s arrival at the club.

  Wilcox joined Championship side Southampton last summer as their director of football, making the switch from Manchester City where he developed a reputation for nurturing excellent young talent as well as recruiting some of the best prospects in the game.

  A United statement read: “Jason Wilcox has joined Manchester United as technical director with immediate effect.

  “He will work with all technical areas of the football department to achieve the highest standards of performance.

  “Jason was previously director of football at Southampton and before that academy director at Manchester City.

  “As a player he won the Premier League with Blackburn Rovers in 1995.”

  A Saints statement read: “Southampton Football Club can today confirm that it has reluctantly agreed to allow director of football Jason Wilcox to join Manchester United, having reached an agreement with the Premier League side on an acceptable compensation fee.

  “Whilst the club is naturally disappointed that Jason’s stay at Southampton has only lasted nine months, it wishes him well for the future.”

  John Murtough stepped down as football director at Old Trafford last week.

  United are looking to add Newcastle sporting director Dan Ashworth to their staff as Ratcliffe continues his off-field rebuild after taking a 27.7 per cent stake in the club.

  Wilcox will report to the sporting director, who will have overall responsibility for football performance, recruitment and operations.

  The PA news agency understands Darren Fletcher will continue to play a key role in the football leadership team working across the men’s first team and academy.

• Cole Palmer has nothing to prove to City, says Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino

  Mauricio Pochettino believes Cole Palmer will go into Chelsea’s FA Cup semi-final with Manchester City on Saturday with nothing to prove to his former employers, insisting he is the right manager to help the 21-year-old continue his stunning ascendancy.

  Palmer, who left Chelsea’s Wembley opponents in a £42.5million deal in the summer, is joint top scorer in the Premier League after his four goals in Monday’s 6-0 demolition of Everton moved him level with City’s Erling Haaland on 20 for the season.

  He has netted an incredible seven times in the team’s last two home games, including a hat-trick in the breathless 4-3 win over Manchester United when two of his goals came in the 10th and 11th minutes of stoppage time.

  He previously scored from the penalty spot in the fifth minute of added time to snatch a point in a 4-4 draw when City visited west London in November.

  Palmer has previously stated his decision to leave the champions – for whom he scored twice in August in the Community Shield and UEFA Super Cup – was based on the belief he would get more first-team game time at Chelsea.

  That decision has been thoroughly vindicated, with his performances for Mauricio Pochettino’s frustratingly inconsistent side placing him in the reckoning for the PFA Player of the Year award.

  His odds on winning the award have been slashed by as much as half with some bookmakers since his Everton haul.

  But his manager said there was no possibility the England international would face City with an axe to grind.

  “It’s his first consistent season playing, we need to be careful because he’s still young, he’s growing,” said Pochettino.

  “He’s already played twice (against City) in the Premier League. He’s very grateful for Manchester City, with Pep Guardiola. He always talks very highly of them.

  “He’s not the type of player that has something inside (to prove). He understood perfectly that for different reasons he wanted to prove himself in another club.

  “He’s not the type of person to wants to prove something against his former club.”

  Prior to joining Chelsea, Palmer had played only 19 senior league games spread over three seasons, and had not scored in the Premier League.

  Yet he is now a genuine contender to deprive his former team-mate Haaland of the Golden Boot won by the Norwegian last season.

  There is also the growing prospect of his being selected in Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024 in Germany this summer.

  “He has to absorb the pressure to play in the Premier League consistently,” said Pochettino, who previously enjoyed success at Tottenham stewarding young talents though their early years, including England captain Harry Kane.

  “It’s about the demands in his private life. He is top scorer. He maybe needs to pay attention to different things than before. That’s going to have an influence on how he is going to prepare himself, how he’s going to rest and going to sleep, how he spends his energy.

  “We need to be careful. We have the experience to manage this type of thing, when a young kid becomes a big star. Why is he not performing in a few months? Because his life has changed. He needs to learn from this experience that is completely different to the past.”