Manchester United fans on a train from London to Manchester before the recent Leicester City game were surprised to see Darren Fletcher occupying the seats they had reserved.
They assumed the Scotland captain was returning to Manchester having signed for West Ham United as per the stories in the media, which said the midfielder had accepted a three-year contract with the London side.
West Ham manager Sam Allardyce had been chasing Fletcher and appeared to have beaten off competition from Valencia and West Bromwich Albion.
Fletcher moved from the seats and assured the fans he would not be signing for West Ham.
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There were no elements of doubt in his voice, and with only two days of the transfer window remaining, it seemed he would be back at United, the club where he had spent the majority of his life.
He was popular with fans and teammates and had come back from serious illness, which saw him barely play between November 2011 and December 2013, to play Premier League football.
Despite being named second captain by Louis van Gaal in July, his opportunities were limited.
With Fletcher wanting to play football, he reluctantly began to consider life away from Old Trafford.
He would have played in Spain, but West Ham made the best offer and United let the Scot travel to London for a medical.
West Ham changed their mind and tried to switch a three-year deal to a loan offer. Unsurprisingly, Fletcher was not pleased and was back in Manchester for his 31st birthday on February 1.
On Saturday he will watch West Ham, but not as a Manchester United player. He will watch as West Bromwich Albion’s new captain.
The West Brom manager, Tony Pulis, made a late offer of a two-and-a-half-year deal with an option for a further year as the transfer window was about to close.
After 342 games in 12 first-team years at United, he will bring experience, leadership and technical excellence to the side taken on at the start of the year by Pulis, who immediately made his new signing captain.
Fletcher has played 90 minutes in their past two games, a 2-2 draw at Burnley and a 2-0 home win against Swansea City on Wednesday, the latter arguably the side’s best performance of the season.
The 180 minutes of football in four days was more than his entire league total in the previous four months at United.
The one full United game he did play in that time was an FA Cup tie at Yeovil last month, which means he is cup-tied for today’s game at the Hawthorns.
He will appreciate the rest ahead of his next match, a meeting with fellow strugglers Sunderland next weekend.
West Brom were 17th when they played West Ham away on New Year’s Day. Rob Kelly was caretaker manager after Alan Irvine had been dismissed the previous week with his side sliding towards the relegation zone.
West Brom had been 10th after six matches, but two wins in 13 league games saw Irvine sacked.
Pulis took charge and results improved quickly, with two wins and two draws in his five league games moving his side to 14th.
They also won their two FA Cup games against Gateshead and Birmingham City. While Premier league survival is the priority and the reason Fletcher was brought in, they hope for a cup run similar to 2008, when they reached the semi-finals.
Fletcher will be a bystander for any cup run, but he will feature heavily in the league and get the minutes he craved at United.
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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OTHER IPL BOWLING RECORDS
Best bowling figures: 6-14 – Sohail Tanvir (for Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in 2008)
Best average: 16.36 – Andrew Tye
Best economy rate: 6.53 – Sunil Narine
Best strike-rate: 12.83 – Andrew Tye
Best strike-rate in an innings: 1.50 – Suresh Raina (for Chennai Super Kings against Rajasthan Royals in 2011)
Most runs conceded in an innings: 70 – Basil Thampi (for Sunrisers Hyderabad against Royal Challengers Bangalore in 2018)
Most hat-tricks: 3 – Amit Mishra
Most dot-balls: 1,128 – Harbhajan Singh
Most maiden overs bowled: 14 – Praveen Kumar
Most four-wicket hauls: 6 – Sunil Narine
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Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
You Were Never Really Here
Director: Lynne Ramsay
Starring: Joaquim Phoenix, Ekaterina Samsonov
Four stars
Napoleon
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Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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QUARTER-FINAL
Wales 20-19 France
Wales: T: Wainwright, Moriarty. Cons: Biggar (2) Pens: Biggar 2
France: T: Vahaamahina, Ollivon, Vakatawa Cons: Ntamack (2)