Scott McTominay is determined to make himself a Manchester United regular next season despite Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's attempts to sign a new midfielder.

United are interested in Sean Longstaff and Bruno Fernandes but McTominay says he is not concerned about the prospect of more competition.

"Regardless of what other signings come in or who plays where, you have to back yourself to be a Man United player," he said.

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"That's one thing that I've done over the last two years, I've always backed myself. I've tried to train hard and I've always wanted to do extra things to try and give me that one percent difference."

Despite Solskjaer's interest in adding another midfielder to his squad, time is running out with under three weeks to go before the transfer deadline.

Marouane Fellaini and Ander Herrera have both departed in the space of six months to leave the Norwegian short in the centre of the pitch.

The pair combined to make 49 appearances for United last season and McTominay admits the shake-up of the squad has presented him with an opportunity.

"It's my ambition to be a regular No. 6, No. 8, a box-to-box player -- that's my main ambition," he said.

"That's always been my goal. It's important that I really go for that now.

"Obviously there is an opportunity there and you've got to take it with both hands.

"Last year I had some decent performances and it's important that I carry on from that."

McTominay, 22, has been associated with the club since the age of five when he attended a development centre in Preston.

He is closing in on 50 first team appearances after making his senior debut under Jose Mourinho in 2017 but the Scotland international insists the aim isn't just to play games -- it's to help United start challenging for the Premier League title.

"That's the desire from kitchen ladies at Carrington, to the kit men, to the physios to the players and all of the staff and the manager," he said.

"That's the sole aim of the football club, to get it back to where we want to be. That's the top of the league and it's important we get there."

James Milner has not held contract discussions with Liverpool and is waiting on the club to begin the process.

The vice-captain, who has entered the final year of his current deal, wants to extend his stay on Merseyside with Jurgen Klopp eager to retain his services.

The manager has said "without players like Milner, success in football is absolutely impossible" and while it is on Liverpool's agenda to reward the 33-year-old, no negotiations have taken place yet.

"As it stands, last year we spoke to the club and asked them if they wanted to do something and they said not at that time," Milner revealed during the pre-season tour of the United States.

"We haven't heard anything since, so that's where we are at."

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Klopp has stated there will always be a place for Milner at Anfield as long as he is in charge, which the midfielder appreciates, but he would like a concrete commitment from Liverpool soon.

"It's obviously nice [to hear that]. All I can do is concentrate on my football and do what I can," he said.

"But in terms of where I am with my contract, that's what has happened up until now and I haven't heard anything from the club.

"Everyone pipes on about my age and stuff I understand you are going to get that.

"There are three things to it: availability, fitness and performance level. Hopefully I am delivering all three.

"I am just going to keep concentrating on my football, keep contributing to Liverpool and be the best player I can be for as long as possible."

Milner, signed as a free agent from Manchester City in the summer of 2015, picked up his first winners' medal with the Reds in June following the 2-0 victory over Tottenham in the Champions League final.

"I won't say it is a burden lifted, but to do something like that was the reason I came here, to lift a trophy," he said.

"I did say it four years ago, that if I ever left here without winning something I would be absolutely devastated.

"To be able to contribute to the history of Liverpool and put one on the board is fantastic. I'm sure it will be the first of many.

"We haven't won as many trophies in our recent history as we should have done. When I was at City, we got that first FA Cup [in 2011] and we managed to kick on from there. You see the quality in the squad now and the players we have... the Champions League isn't an easy one to get, but we managed to make that our first one.

"Hopefully, the belief and confidence and everything we can take from it will help us move on to the next level."

Australia are coached by a former batsman in Justin Langer who had to have a doorway physically blocked by his captain Ricky Ponting in order to prevent him re-entering the field after a serious blow to the head.

In a famous episode, Langer was barred from coming out to bat at the end of a thrilling fourth innings chase against South Africa at the Wanderers in 2006, ultimately achieved by Brett Lee and Michael Kasprowicz with eight wickets down. Langer, despite serious concussion, doggedly put the pads on with 10 runs still to win.

"To tell the truth I don't know what I would have done," Ponting said at the time. "If we needed two to win and he had to go out and be on strike I was probably going to have to declare or do something like that, which would have been pretty hard. He said to me then he wouldn't have spoken to me ever again as long as he was alive. If it comes to that again, I am just going to have to knock him out.

"He was probably only ever going to go out there if he could stand at the non-striker's end. We couldn't risk or afford him having to face any deliveries. Medically over the last couple of days his situation hasn't changed. It was going to take me and probably a few other blokes to keep him in the dressing room if it had got down to that."

That being the case, it is not so surprising that the captain Tim Paine is less than 100 percent sold on the concept of players being withdrawn and substituted from Test matches due to concussion. Even if Cricket Australia and its sports science division have led the way on pushing for concussion substitutes, ever since the death of Phillip Hughes highlighted the vulnerability of the head in 2014.

"I know the rule has come in. I think you'll be hard-pressed to make guys pull out of a Test match," Paine said in Southampton. "It's going to be interesting to see how it works.

"We're all for player safety and improving that space. But it's new to me as anyone and it'll be interesting to see how it's worked and policed. I find it quite fascinating that you can replace a guy halfway through a game. Again, we'll wait and see how that works."

Approval of concussion substitutes for the Ashes as part of the inaugural world Test Championship was a keynote decision at the ICC annual conference in London following the World Cup.

However, it left a few questions open that remain to be answered: will each Test venue have a demonstrably independent doctor on hand to determine concussions at arm's length from either team? Will decisions be enforceable irrespective of variable symptoms? Will teams either home or touring stock themselves with additional squad members just in case?

Whatever the answers, the area will be a source of interest throughout the Ashes, given the batteries of pace assembled on either side. Certainly Jofra Archer and Mark Wood will be eager to match the pace of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins by series end, the better for Australia to prepare by way of a bareknuckle internal trial in Southampton this week.

"I think it will be a proper game, Paine said. "Both sides will be looking to win and both sides will have individual players wanting to do really well to press the final case for Ashes selection. We certainly don't expect it peter out on the second innings or play around with a run chase or anything like that. At the moment it's a fair dinkum game of cricket and that's been made really clear.

"Over the years the opposition in tour games has, I wouldn't say it's got worse but I don't think opposition cricket boards have helped each other prepare as much as they used to. You've had to find different ways in your preparation to make sure everyone is ready to go for Test match intensity. And obviously a series of Ashes magnitude we thought it was a great idea and as close to a Test match as we think we can get it's a perfect preparation."

Usman Khawaja will be the one name missing from the game, as he recovers from a hamstring strain, although Paine left open the possibility that the Test No. 3 may get a bat towards the end of a self-regulated fixture. There is no question as yet regarding his availability for the first Test in Birmingham.

"I don't think he's in serious doubt. He's in a rehab stage so the decision has been made that he won't at this stage," Paine said. "There is a possibility, maybe, if something were to happen to someone else he might be right for the back end of the game. But we expect him to be fully fit and available for selection for the first Test."

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland -- A return of a skins game format that will feature Tiger Woods, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama will take place on Oct. 21 at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club in Japan, a source tells ESPN.

The one-day competition, which will offer lucrative prize money, will take place a few days prior to the start of the Zozo Championship, a new PGA Tour event being played outside of Tokyo where Woods will also compete.

The structure and prize money are to be determined, but the PGA Tour is sanctioning the event.

The Skins Game was once a popular offseason tournament that featured many of the game's greats from 1983 to 2005 and was often contested Thanksgiving weekend. Woods played the event seven times, but he never won it.

Typically in a skins competition, a certain amount of money is at stake per hole, with a player earning that sum only if he wins the hole outright. If there are any ties, the money carries over to the next hole until someone shoots the lowest score on the hole. There are various other wrinkles that could be added.

How much this version of a skins game will resemble that is unclear, but this event is part of an agreement Woods has to provide content to GolfTV, an entity that does interviews and other features with Woods at international locations that at this time do not include the United States -- although there are negotiations to have the skins event televised in the U.S. market.

GolfTV is a PGA Tour rights-holder.

Steinberg said earlier this year that there were plans for Woods to play a series of matches in Asia beginning later this year. Steinberg declined to comment for this story.

The Zozo Championship debuts Oct. 24-27 at Narashino Country Club outside of Japan and is part of a three-tournament Asia swing on the official PGA Tour schedule that includes the CJ Cup in South Korea and the WGC HSBC Champions in China.

Woods committed to the tournament months ago, and it will likely be his only official PGA Tour start in the fall. Since the PGA Tour went to a wraparound schedule in 2013-14, Woods has never played an official fall event.

The Japan tournament has a 78-player field with no cut and a $9.75 million purse.

This season, Woods has played just 10 times, including his missed cut at The Open. He is skipping this week's WGC-FedEx St. Jude Classic and not expected to play again until the Northern Trust, which begins Aug. 8.

The Miami Dolphins have waived defensive tackle Kendrick Norton, who had his left arm amputated following a car crash near Miami earlier this month, with a non-football injury designation.

By placing Norton on the reserve/non-football injury list, the team is able to pay the 22-year-old his full salary.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Norton's Ford F-250 crashed into a concrete barrier on State Road 836 in the early hours of July 4.

The University of Miami product underwent at least six surgeries before he was released from the hospital last week.

"I just want to give a big thank-you, first of all, to God for me still being here. Second of all, to Jackson Medical Center. They did a great job. They took great care of me while I was in here," Norton told reporters outside the hospital. "Next, I would like to thank the Miami Dolphins family. They've been crazy with how much help they've been willing to give and, you know, they really didn't have to."

The hope is that Norton will be able to get a prosthetic arm as he transitions to life after football. He confirmed last week that his playing career is over after the accident.

Dolphins coach Brian Flores has been a frequent visitor. General manager Chris Grier and several of Norton's teammates have visited him, as well, giving their support.

All of Norton's medical bills will be covered by the NFL's and Dolphins' insurance policies.

Norton was cited as at fault for the July 4 accident with an improper lane change, due to his pulling in front of another vehicle and making slight contact with it before crashing into a concrete barrier, according to a copy of the Florida Highway Patrol accident report obtained by ESPN. According to the report, alcohol and drugs were not suspected as a factor in the accident for either driver.

Norton was selected in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft by the Carolina Panthers, and the Dolphins signed him off the Panthers' practice squad in December. He was expected to compete for a spot on the 53-man roster this season.

ESPN's Cameron Wolfe contributed to this report.

NEW YORK -- Mark Reynolds was cut by the Colorado Rockies two home runs shy of 300 after hitting .170 with four homers and 20 RBI in limited at-bats.

The 35-year-old infielder returned for his second stint with the Rockies in March, agreeing to a $1 million, one-year deal. He had just 135 at-bats in 78 games and was designated for assignment on Sunday in a flurry of roster moves by Colorado, which had lost 13 of its previous 15 games.

"Kind of a punch in the gut," Reynolds said. "It's tough to be consistent when you don't get consistent at-bats. I knew the role I signed up for; I knew what my role was on this team. It was just one of those things where I could never get going."

A 13-year veteran, Reynolds said he will return home to assess whether or not he'd attempt to continue his playing career. He was a key member of Colorado's 2017 wild-card team, hitting 30 homers with 97 RBI to guide the Rockies to the first postseason appearance in eight seasons.

"Mark never really got on track, especially the last couple of months," manager Bud Black said. "He's been a great pro. He's had a great career."

"We're going to miss Mark," Black added. "Change in this game is inevitable, and we had to make these moves for the present."

Colorado recalled right-hander Jeff Hoffman from Albuquerque, selected the contract of left-hander Sam Howard from the Triple-A farm team and optioned Antonio Senzatela to the Isotopes, a day after the right-hander allowed six runs and lasted just 1 1/3 innings in an 11-5 loss to the New York Yankees. Senzatela allowed 21 earned runs with six walks and six strikeouts in his past three outings.

Hoffman, 26, begins his third stint with the team and has allowed 25 earned runs over seven starts with the Rockies. He was 6-5 with a 7.32 ERA with Albuquerque, and Black said Hoffman will pitch in relief.

Howard was dropped from Colorado's 40-man roster during the offseason and the 26-year-old was 2-1 with a 3.83 ERA over 36 appearances with the Isotopes.

"We needed some reinforcements for our bullpen," Black said. "The pitching has been taxed over the last few weeks, and especially late, especially the last couple of days."

In its first nine games since the All-Star break, Colorado's bullpen allowed 36 earned runs in 39 1/3 innings for an 8.24 ERA.

Samuel Tefera follows in footsteps of fellow Ethiopian Haile Gebrselassie to win historic race on day two of the Müller Anniversary Games in London

Until this weekend Haile Gebrselassie was the last – and only – Ethiopian to win the Emsley Carr Mile. The legendary runner won the race when it was held at Gateshead in 1999 and now, 20 years later, Samuel Tefera followed in his fellow countryman’s famous footsteps by out-kicking Filip Ingebrigtsen in a thrilling finish on day two of the Müller Anniversary Games in London.

Tefera’s time of 3:49.45 was also the quickest since 2003 as he held off Ingebrigtsen, who ran a Norwegian record of 3:49.60. It meant the 19-year-old wrote his name into history – quite literally, because a post-race tradition is for winners to sign an Emsley Carr Mile book which dates back to 1953 and includes names such as Seb Coe, Steve Ovett and Hicham El Guerrouj.

“I am very happy to get the win and to be the quickest in the world this year,” said Tefera, who won the world indoor title in Birmingham last year. “It was very strong competition so I knew I had to push all the way to the line.”

Ingebrigtsen’s national record came 24 hours after his younger brother, Jakob, set a Norwegian 5000m record when, coincidentally, being outkicked by another Ethiopian, Hagos Gebrhiwet. “Two national records for the Ingebrigtsen’s is how we like it,” he said. “With him doing a national record I thought I at least have to PB.”

Similar to Saturday’s middle-distance races on the first day of this Diamond League meeting, there were a number of good British performances further down the field. Jake Wightman, the 2018 Emsley Carr Mile winner, clocked a PB of 3:52.02 in third. Chris O’Hare ran 3:53.35 in seventh, just ahead of Josh Kerr, who clocked a PB of 3:53.88, while Jake Heyward continued his comeback from injury to clock a fine 3:54.78 in 10th and Piers Copeland and James West also broke four minutes with PBs.

Zhenye Xie clocked an Asian record of 19.88 (0.9) as Miguel Francis clocked 19.97 in second to go equal third on the UK all-time rankings with Adam Gemili. “I’m not in the greatest shape so to run 19.97 in the shape that I’m in is actually very pleasing,” said Jamaica-based Francis, who was born in the British overseas territory of Montserrat and has a PB of 19.88 set before he transferred his allegiance to GB.

Behind, fellow Brit Nethaneel Mitchell-Blake ran 20.28 in fifth while European under-23 champion Shemar Boldizsar was eighth in a PB of 20.56. Earlier, Mitchell-Blake had anchored a GB team that included CJ Ujah, Zharnel Hughes and Richard Kilty (pictured below) to a world lead and meet record of 37.60 ahead of Japan (37.78) and Netherlands (national record of 37.99).

The 400m saw Akeem Bloomfield of Jamaica go No.5 on the world rankings with 44.40 as he beat Jonathan Jones in Barbados (44.63).

There was a large contingent of Chinese media in London and they saw another of their athletes, Wenjun Xie, win the 110m hurdles in 13.28 from Wilhelm Belocian as Britain’s Andrew Pozzi finished sixth in 13.52.

Daniel Stahl won the discus in a meeting record of 68.56m but all eyes were on British record-holder Lawrence Okoye as he made his first competitive appearance since 2012 and threw 60.80m to finish ninth and one place ahead of up-and-coming fellow Brit Greg Thompson. Okoye has been absent from athletics since London 2012 in order to play American Football and, while he is still living in the United States, he says he is having fun on his return to athletics and is targeting the British Championships next month in Birmingham.

There was also a comeback in the high jump as Mutaz Essa Barshim made his first Diamond League appearance for more than a year but the world champion from Qatar was beaten by Majededdin Ghazal as the Syrian leapt 2.30m to beat Barshim’s 2.27m.

Earlier in the Club Connect relays, Croydon Harriers set an under-20 men’s club record of 40.63, while the T53-54 800m was won by Dillon Labrooy in 1:38.13 in a close race with GB team-mate Richard Chiassaro.

Results can be found here, while a women’s events report is here.

UK discus record-holder makes promising comeback at Diamond League in London after spending recent years focusing on American football

Seven years ago Lawrence Okoye was one of the top young talents in British athletics. The giant discus thrower from Croydon Harriers set a British record of 68.24m, featured on the cover of AW a couple of times and placed 12th in the Olympic final in London.

Aged 20, he was the youngest finalist in the discus final at London 2012 by four years and had an offer to study law at Oxford University, but he suddenly and dramatically quit athletics – and England – to try his hand at grid iron in the NFL in the United States.

Okoye signed for the San Francisco 49ers but his American Football career never really took off as he did not make their team and moved to the Arizona Cardinals, Dallas Cowboys, Miami Dolphins and other clubs without ever making his mark.

Then, earlier this year, he received negative headlines after being arrested for being part of a prostitution sting in Alabama, although the details of the case are vague and Okoye was reluctant to give details when he made a surprise return to the discus circle – and the London Stadium – on Sunday for the Müller Anniversary Games.

Okoye threw 60.80m to place ninth – one place ahead of current British No.1 Greg Thompson – but eight metres short of his British record and also the mark of the winner, Daniel Ståhl of Sweden, who threw 68.56m.

Okoye looked slightly bemused by the media interest in his comeback on Sunday and was more curt and tight-lipped than the chatty, articulate thrower that left Britain in 2013. But he has not lost his polite personality and answered a handful of questions on his return, saying: “I’m just having some fun. I’m taking it day by day. Right now I’m just recovering from an injury so wanted to pick up a discus and see how it goes.”

Okoye, who still lives in the United States, says he began practising with a discus again about six to seven weeks ago. “Obviously it’s not long enough to be at my best but I think if I work to come back then I can get back to good throws,” he said, adding that he plans to contact his old coach John Hillier but the geographical factor could now be an issue when it comes to eyes-on coaching.

Can he get back to his best – or even over the 70-metre barrier perhaps? “It’s definitely possible,” he said. “We’ll see how things go. We don’t know how things are going to pan out. This was a nice opportunity to come back into the stadium, though.

“I don’t have to make a decision right now. I’m enjoying being in London and I liked competing here today. I’ll probably come to the British Champs and we’ll look to take it from there.”

Britain tops medal table at European U20 Championships after three golds on final day

Three gold medal-winning performances, including one as part of a clean sweep in the men’s 800m, helped the Great Britain team to the top of the medal table as the European Under-20 Championships came to a close in Borås, Sweden.

Oliver Dustin, Ben Pattison and Finley McLear stormed off the final bend in the two-lap final and battled down the home straight before Dustin edged ahead to pip Pattison and McLear managed to stay on his feet to bag bronze.

It was reminiscent of the GB one-two-three at the 1986 European Championships, where Seb Coe, Tom McKean and Steve Cram were memorably described as “three Spitfires out of the sun” by one newspaper as they swept into the home straight. Although time will tell if the GB junior trio from 2019 will go on to match those achievements at senior level.

The winning time was 1:50.56 as Pattison, who had led through 400m in 57.90, clocked 1:50.68 and McLear ran 1:51.19, almost staggering over the line, as the trio finished more than a second ahead of the rest of the field.

Hungary’s Lorinc Varga was fourth in 1:52.26.

Reminiscent of the good ol' day of British middle distance running!

A British one-two-three in the men's 800m in #Boras2019! pic.twitter.com/orOdMLkzHt

— European Athletics (@EuroAthletics) July 21, 2019

Demonstrating the nation’s great current depth, Britain managed the clean sweep even with European under-20 leader and British record-holder Max Burgin out injured.

“What a race, what a battle,” said 18-year-old Dustin, last year’s English Schools champion. “It was a scrappy race. It was a slow-ish first lap and it took a bit to wind it up. I just wanted to sit in a good position, track whoever was leading and then give it everything in the home straight.

“I can’t wait to get to the victory ceremony with the guys. We all came into this wanting a one-two-three and we all performed to the best of our ability. We just showed Europe how to run an 800m.”

Britain’s two other triumphs came in the women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays.

First Cassie-Ann Pemberton, Amy Hunt, Georgina Adam and Immanuela Aliu combined to clock 44.11 to win the 4x100m ahead of the Dutch team (44.21) and Germany (44.34) as world under-18 record-holder Hunt claimed her second crown of the championships after her individual 200m success.

Then Natasha Harrison, Isabelle Boffey, Louise Evans and Amber Anning ran a world under-20 lead of 3:33.03 to win the 4x400m ahead of Belarus with a national under-20 record of 3:37.06 and Poland with 3:37.13.

That secured a second title for 800m winner Boffey and a second medal for Anning after her 400m silver.

Another two medals had been claimed by GB team-members earlier on during the final day of competition as Seamus Derbyshire secured silver in the 400m hurdles and Holly Mills claimed bronze in the long jump after her fourth place in the heptathlon.

Sweden’s Carl Bengtstrom got gold in the hurdles in 50.32 ahead of Derbyshire’s 50.86 PB, while Mills was just a single centimetre off her PB with a best of 6.50m.

The long jump was won by Italy’s Larissa Iapichino, the daughter of Olympic and world medallist Fiona May, after an exciting contest.

Iapichino jumped 6.58m to take a title which her mother had claimed in 1987, while silver went to Sweden’s Tilde Johansson thanks to her best leap of 6.52m. Mills’ British team-mate Josie Oliarny placed seventh with 6.14m.

Another athlete following in her parent’s footsteps was Russia’s Aksana Gataullina as, competing as an authorised neutral athlete, she claimed the pole vault title with a clearance of 4.36m, 36 years after her father Rodion Gataullin won gold himself.

The women’s 400m hurdles title was claimed by Femke Bol of Netherlands after a run of 56.25, with GB’s Marcey Winter finishing sixth with a PB of 58.18.

Switzerland’s 800m silver medallist Delia Sclabas won the women’s 1500m title after a sub-60-second final lap as Ireland’s Sarah Healy secured silver, 4:25.95 to 4:27.14. GB’s Erin Wallace finished seventh in 4:30.08.

Slovenia’s Klara Lukan gained gold in the women’s 5000m as GB’s Izzy Fry finished fourth (16:24.50) and Grace Brock eighth (16:43.00), while the men’s title was won by Spain’s Aaron Las Heras after a PB of 14:02.76 as Ireland’s Darragh McElhinney claimed bronze (14:06.05). GB’s Rory Leonard placed ninth in 14:28.56.

Poland’s Zofia Dudek (9:30.06) won the women’s 3000m title from Portugal’s Mariana Machado (9:30.66) as GB’s Saskia Millard (9:33.77) and Eloise Walker (9:45.19) were fifth and 11th respectively. Turkey’s Murat Yalçinkaya claimed the men’s steeplechase crown after clocking 8:58.20 as Britain’s Remi Adebiyi (9:17.81) and Kristian Imroth (9:25.19) were 12th and 14th.

There was gold for Germany in the men’s 4x100m as the quartet pipped GB by 0.01 with 39.79, but the British team missed out on medals after later being disqualified. Silver went to Italy and bronze to Netherlands. The men’s 4x400m title was won by Turkey in 3:08.34.

Spain’s Yasiel Brayan Sotero won the men’s discus title with 62.93m as Czech twins Michal (62.17m) and Jakub Forejt (61.64m) secured silver and bronze. GB team co-captain James Tomlinson finished fifth with 60.01m.

Netherlands’ Jorinde van Klinken (17.39m) claimed the women’s shot put gold, with Britain’s Sarah Omoregie 10th (14.69m), while Simon Wieland threw a Swiss under-23 record of 79.44m to win the men’s javelin and Italy’s Carolina Visca 56.48m to win the women’s.

Germany’s Thomas Carmoy won the high jump (2.22m) and Artem Konovalenko of Ukraine won the triple jump (16.50m).

The morning’s 10,000m race walk titles were won by Belarus’ Mikita Kaliada in 41:10.03 and world under-20 silver medallist Meryem Bekmez as she led a one-two for Turkey in the women’s event, clocking 44:44.50 ahead of Evin Demir with 46:38.68.

Results can be found here.