Phenoms

Get Malik Tillman on the plane.

The 20-year-old USMNT prodigy is at that nascent stage in his career where there's going to be ebbs and flows. Tillman arrived on loan at Rangers from Bayern Munich and had an incredible August — scoring in both Champions League qualifying and the Scottish Premiership — but a downturn in form saw him left on the bench for Rangers' last league match and Wednesday's 7-1 UCL defeat to Liverpool at the Ibrox.

MANCHESTER, England - Both Manchester City and Liverpool spent big to revamp their striker department in the close season, with Erling Haaland and Darwin Núñez tipped to be rivals atop the goalscoring charts, but so far it has been no contest.

City's capture of Haaland and Liverpool's addition of Núñez represented a style shift for both, focusing their forward lines around a central striker, as last season's title rivals tried something different.

Bayern Munich defender Alphonso Davies has suffered a skull contusion after he was kicked in the head during Saturday's draw with Borussia Dortmund, the Bundesliga champions said on Sunday.

Davies, 21, was challenging Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham for the ball towards the end of the first half and his head came into contact with the English midfielder's raised boot.

The New York Red Bulls announced a new four-year contract for defender John Tolkin on Wednesday.

The deal runs through the 2027 season and includes an option for 2028.

"We are very excited to sign John to a new contract and keep him with the club," NYRB head of sport Jochen Schneider said in a news release. "He had a very successful season, and we are pleased to have him on our team for years to come."

INKED ✍️

United States women’s national team head coach Vlatko Andonovski released the 24-women roster that will travel overseas to play England and Spain in a pair of friendlies. The latest USWNT roster had several interesting inclusions like the return of Crystal Dunn and a potential senior debut for 17-year-old Alyssa Thompson.

LONDON - Fifteen-year-old Ethan Nwaneri became the youngest player in Premier League history when he came on as a substitute for Arsenal as they returned to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win at Brentford on Sunday.

Goals from William Saliba and Gabriel Jesus gave Mikel Arteta's side a 2-0 lead at the break before Fábio Vieira completed the win in the 54th minute.

Amid reported interest from Man City, Man United, Chelsea and Liverpool, Barcelona has secured the services of football's most highly regarded midfield talent through 2026 after 18-year-old Gavi put pen to paper on a new three-year deal that sees his release clause rise to $1 billion.

Heading into this week, UCLA held the No. 3 ranking in NCAA Division I Women's Soccer but faced a daunting East Coast trip to play No. 2 Duke on Thursday and No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday afternoon. Well, get ready for a new No. 1 across the land because UCLA won both of them.

On Thursday, it was junior forward Reilyn Turner who earned a penalty for UCLA's first and then scored the all-important second in her team's 2-1 victory at the Blue Devils.

The last time we checked in on Brazilian prodigy Kauan Basile, it was Jan. 27, 2021, and the eight-year-old Santos futsal baller had just signed a three-year deal with Nike, making him the sportswear giant's youngest-ever affiliated athlete.

"I like to play football," Kauan Basile said at the time.