Drugs boss who played 'leading role' in Manchester and Oldham gang kept on selling heroin, cocaine and ecstasy - even after being arrested twice

straight to your inbox every day for freeDonny van de Beek could look to leave Manchester United if he is not given more game time, according to Dimitar Berbatov.Van de Beek has had to bide his time since arriving at Old Trafford from Ajax in a £39million deal during the summer transfer window. The Dutch midfielder has made 21 appearances in all competitions for United this season but only two Premier League starts.

straight to your inbox every day for freeIt could have been one of the finest assists of the season, but Juan Mata’s failure to beat Watford goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann meant Donny van de Beek’s impudent flick didn’t get the reward it deserved.In a first half of toil, it was the moment that enlivened a low key cup tie and a sign of the brilliance that Van de Beek can bring to this Manchester United side.The Holland international had already exchanged flicks with Mata earlier in the move before

straight to your inbox every day for freeRio Ferdinand says neither Jesse Lingard nor Donny van de Beek should be satisfied with the amount of football they are getting at Manchester United. Both players made rare starts for United in their FA Cup tie against Watford, which was only Lingard's third appearance of the season.

straight to your inbox every day for freeFormer Manchester United coach Rene Meulensteen is baffled by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's reluctance to hand more first-team minutes to summer signing Donny van de Beek.The Dutchman became United's first major signing of the summer window, signing from Ajax for around £35million, but has struggled to cement a place in the starting XI.Solskjaer has used the midfielder sporadically so far this season with van de Beek seeing his playing time extremely limited

straight to your inbox every day for freeWhere does Van de Beek play?A domestic cup game means a domestic start for Donny van de Beek, despite his omission from the XI for the midweek derby.

straight to your inbox every day for freeIt felt a little like Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was trolling with the introduction of Donny van de Beek in the 88th minute of Manchester United's Carabao Cup defeat by Manchester City. Too little, too late, would be an understatement and United fans were rightly concerned over why their manager took an age to change a game that had ebbed away from him long before.

straight to your inbox every day for freeDonny van de Beek is set to start for Manchester United against Watford amid concerns in Holland over his lack of playing time.Van de Beek, 23, has only started eight times for United since his £40million move from Ajax in the summer and the Dutch club's youth coach Ronald de Boer suggested Van de Beek should consider requesting a loan or a permanent transfer before the European Championship.Holland have qualified for their first major tournament since

direct to your inbox The old Littlewoods distribution centre in Oldham - once the town's biggest private employer and one of the largest warehouses in the world - is to close its doors today for the final time. At the height of operations the warehouse, which dominates the skyline in Shaw, once employed more than 1,200 staff.

direct to your inboxManchester United are set to make wholesale changes for the FA Cup third-round clash against Watford, with Dean Henderson among those sure to keep his place.Ole Gunnar Solskjaer confirmed he would make "a few changes" from the United side that lost 2-0 to Manchester City in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night. United could recall Brandon Williams, Eric Bailly, Axel Tuanzebe and Alex Telles to their defence, while Donny van de Beek is set to start.

straight to your inbox every day for freeOle Gunnar Solskjaer says Donny van de Beek will need time to establish himself in the Manchester United first-team.Van de Beek, 23, was United's major summer signing in a £40million move from Ajax and scored on his debut in the 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace in September.However, Van de Beek has only started twice in the Premier League and his start at West Ham a month ago ended at half-time when Solskjaer replaced him for Bruno Fernandes with United 1-0

direct to your inboxCovid-19 infection rates are beginning to rise again in Oldham after weeks of plateauing case numbers.It comes as a more transmissible variant of the virus has begun to circulate in Greater Manchester, which Mayor Andy Burnham says could already account to 25pc of all new cases in the region.Oldham’s infection rate is the second lowest of the ten boroughs, just above Bolton, standing at 249.7 per 100,000 people in the week to January 3.However this is up 29pc on the previous

direct to your inboxLeaders in Manchester, Oldham and Rochdale have now spoken out in the row over whether schools should stay closed due to coronavirus.The Prime Minister said today 'schools are safe ' and that he wants all primary schools to open tomorrow as planned, apart from those in London and the South East where the number of cases is soaring.

direct to your inboxForecasters have posted three flood alerts across Greater Manchester as Storm Bella wreaks havoc in parts of the country.People in communities in Trafford, Stockport and Tameside close to the River Mersey valley and also residents in Oldham, Bolton and Rochdale in the River Irk catchment have been urged to be prepared for possible flooding.Met Office forecasters have warned that Storm Bella could bring 70mph winds and heavy rain to parts of the UK on Saturday, with the worst

straight to your inbox every day for freeVictor Lindelof was withdrawn during the second half of Manchester United's Boxing Day game at Leicester due to injury. The Swede has been struggling with a chronic back problem that first began troubling him over a year ago, but has been managing the pain for much of the season and started in all but one of United's 14 Premier League matches this term.

Ariana Grande has brought some Christmas cheer to hundreds of young hospital patients in Manchester.The pop star has surprised hundreds of children at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital and Manchester Royal Infirmary (MRI) with an Amazon voucher each worth £100.Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, the father of one of the patents said his daughter was “absolutely delighted” with the kind gesture, describing the ‘7 Rings’ singer as “a wonderful human being”.“She said, ‘look dad, I’ve got a

Ariana Grande is proving the people of Manchester are very much in her heart this holiday season.

direct to your inboxAxel Tuanzebe enjoyed the attacking freedom his right-back role against Everton granted him as Manchester United moved into the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.The 23-year-old lined up on the right side of United's back four in the absence of the injured Aaron Wan-Bissaka and put in an impressive performance at Goodison Park.“It was good - 90 minutes in the bank again but most important is we're through to the next round,” Tuanzebe told club media. “It's good to get involved

Ariana Grande had an early Christmas present for young people in Manchester spending the festive season in hospital. It’s been reported that Ariana has gifted every child being treated at Manchester’s Royal Infirmary and the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital with a £100 voucher that they can use on Amazon.

direct to your inboxA drugs boss and his 'loyal and trusted workers' have been jailed for flooding the streets of Manchester and Oldham with heroin and cocaine.Dorian Bell spearheaded the long-running enterprise over two years, recruiting 'vulnerable and naïve young men' to do his bidding.He was arrested three times but carried on dealing, only stopping because he had been remanded into custody.Bell, 23, has now been locked up for nine years after admitting three counts of conspiracy to supply