Tag: Luke Littler

United legend urges players to seek advice from Luke Littler for one key reason

Manchester United have been told to seek wisdom from darts sensation Luke Littler over how to handle high-pressure situations.

That’s the view of club legend Jaap Stam, who believes the teenage darts champion and United fan can inspire the next generation of Red Devils stars.

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Littler is the world number two having scooped five majors from his short career so farCredit: Getty

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Stam is regarded as one of United’s great ever defenders having starred between 1998-2001Credit: getty

Littler is the biggest draw in darts having won 13 PDC titles and five majors at the age of just 18.

Having won the World Championship and UK Open already in 2025, Littler is well on his way to becoming the world number one in the future.

Stam knows all about silverware having enjoyed a trophy-laden three-year spell at Old Trafford between 1998-2001.

During his time in England, he won three consecutive Premier League titles, as well as the Champions League, FA Cup and the International Cup.

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And the Dutchman, regarded as one of the finest centre-backs in top-flight history, is desperate for United’s next crop to have a winning mentality installed in them.

Kobbie Mainoo and Alejandro Garnacho have made the transition from the academy to the first-team and, with Ruben Amorim‘s side struggling for consistency, more youngsters could soon be called to action.

Speaking to Swedish news outlet Makthavare, Stam stressed how those in the United academy should take a leaf out of Littler’s book.

He said: “I’ve been so impressed with how Luke Littler has been performing.

“He is doing such an amazing job at a young age and I spoke to him at Old Trafford last season.

“I told him how impressive it was that he can still perform with all the noise and the shouting behind him at tournaments, it’s so hard to have that concentration and that focus.

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Littler is the reigning world champion having beaten Michael van Gerwen in the 2025 finalCredit: Getty

“I think it’s different for certain personalities in how you approach certain situations and how you deal with that, Luke’s been doing a great job at that.

“For young footballers who are going from the academy to the first team at a big club it can be very difficult.

“You have to think about all the social media attention and pressure put on these players.

“I think it would be good for these young players to talk to Luke about his experience and how he handles high pressure situations.

“I have seen players in the past who go from the academy to the first team and then they seem to struggle.

“It’s so important to have people within the club who can help that transition and make it easier for those young people to handle it and reach their potential.”

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United’s FA Cup heartache to Fulham earlier this month proved to be the catalyst for Littler to triumph over James Wade in the 2025 UK Open final.

Since that success, he has won two nights in the Premier League, while also emerging victorious at the Belgian Open in the PDC European Tour.

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March 22, 2025
Luke Littler gives Manchester United transfer advice hours before huge QF

Luke Littler may have a future as a sporting director at Manchester United.

Teenage darts sensation Littler is a passionate Red Devils fan, although that has been rather difficult amid United’s demise in recent years.

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Littler has revealed who he’d like United to sign in JanuaryCredit: Getty

With the January transfer window now open, United may look to reinforce Ruben Amorim‘s squad with some fresh faces.

Despite Littler having his own World Darts Championship quarter final to worry about, he has shared who he would like to see arrive at Old Trafford.

Taking to Instagram, Littler re-shared Fabrizio Romano’s post where he revealed LaLiga had removed Spanish international Dani Olmo from Barcelona‘s official squad list.

Littler wrote “6 month loan united” underneath and added the eyes emoji.

Olmo arrived at Barcelona from RB Leipzig in a deal worth £51million in the summer, signalling a return to where it all began.

However, the transfer has proved to be a constant thorn in the Spanish giants’ side as they struggled to register Olmo at the start of the season.

A temporary arrangement was soon struck that allowed Barcelona to register Olmo until the end of the calendar year.

Unfortunately Barcelona have failed to get their financial house in order and are now at serious risk of losing Olmo to a rival for free.

Speaking on talkSPORT’s White and Jordan, Spanish football expert Terry Gibson explained how the Olmo saga had reached breaking point.

“His buyout clause is 500 million euros and he cost them 50 million euros.

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Littler hopes United can bring in Dani Olmo on a short-term loan in JanuaryCredit: @lukethenukelittler on Instagram

“They were only allowed to register him because of the injuries to Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo – Because they were going to be out for half a season, their salaries were taken off of the financial fair play that we have in LaLiga, so, therefore, they were allowed to bring in the salary of Dani Olmo.

“Christensen and Araujo are now fit again and going to be fit in January. So therefore they go back onto the roster, which means that Dani Olmo has to be taken off as it stands at the moment.”

The obvious solution for Barcelona’s financial woes is to try and sell their fringe players, but rivals are now well aware of the Spanish side’s dire financial situation.

Despite the circus, Gibson believes Olmo will ultimately still be a Barcelona player when the January window slams shut.

As for Littler, he has much more to worry about than United’s transfer dealings.

The 17-year-old sealed a spot in the last eight of this year’s World Darts Championship after surviving an almighty scare against Ryan Joyce.

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Littler remains in contention to win the World Darts ChampionshipCredit: PDC

Littler prevailed 4-3 in the tense contest but had to overcome some serious early jitters on the doubles.

After two sets, Littler had missed a staggering 14 out of 19 double attempts for a percentage of 26 per cent.

The pair traded sets throughout as the tension rose, but once Littler took a 3-2 lead, he let out an almighty roar.

Joyce escalated the drama when he took the match to a seventh and deciding set, but Littler held on for a nail-biting win.

Littler’s win booked him a quarter final date against his stablemate Nathan Aspinall in the evening session on New Year’s Day.

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January 1, 2025
Man United fan Littler shares funny WWE post summing up Liverpool misery

Darts sensation Luke Littler has twisted the knife on Liverpool after a shocking week with a hilarious WWE meme.

Liverpool were beaten 3-0 by Atalanta at Anfield in the first leg of their Europa League tie last Thursday.

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Liverpool were left embarrassed in the first leg after losing 3-0 to AtalantaCredit: Getty

And that was followed by another shoddy home performance that saw Crystal Palace claim a 1-0 win to seriously hamper their title ambitions.

For Manchester United fans, it has been a delight to watch their old rivals crumble at a crucial moment in the season.

That includes Littler, who is a devout Red Devils supporter and has revelled in Liverpool’s woe for the second time.

The 17-year-old darting superstar took to social media to troll the Reds with a WWE meme.

It showed a wrestler denoted as Liverpool by their club badge first get decked by another with the Atalanta badge.

Then Randy Orton, with a Crystal Palace badge, delivered an RKO on the Liverpool wrestler to leave them flat out on the canvas.

The caption read with a laughing emoji and skull emoji: “Liverpool this week.”

Liverpool travelled to United nearly two weeks ago and were expected to batter their rivals but ended up drawing 2-2.

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Littler reshared a WWE meme depicting Liverpool’s downfall on InstagramCredit: Instagram/@lukethenukelittler

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As a United fan, Littler was loving Liverpool’s woesCredit: Instagram/@lukethenukelittler

Red Devils fans rejoiced as it helped derail their season and now Jurgen Klopp‘s side are on a run of three matches without a win.

Liverpool face Atalanta in the second leg of their Europa League tie on Thursday night and now face an uphill battle to qualify for the semi-finals.

Jurgen Klopp addresses the Premier League title race following his sides 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace at Anfield

They then take on Fulham at Craven Cottage in desperate need of a win after falling behind in the title race.

While they are still only two points adrift of league leaders Manchester City, there is a fear that they have lost their momentum but also benefited from the fact that Arsenal lost too.

However, City are in rampant form in front of goal, scoring 16 in their last four matches, and it will take something special to halt them after going top.

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April 17, 2024
Bellingham and Littler love Maddison’s jibe at Maupay – but striker has last dig

James Maddison and Neal Maupay took their beef onto Instagram after a heated on-pitch clash and things are yet to simmer down.

Maupay was up to his usual s***housing against Tottenham, but it spectacularly backfired in a 3-2 defeat.

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Things got very heated between Maupay and Maddison

Scoring the opener in the 15th minute, the Frenchman ripped off Maddison’s dart-throwing celebration in front of the crowd.

That would have been enough of a storyline with Spurs coming back and leaving Maupay red-faced, but Maddison made sure to add some extra spice.

Grabbing the striker after his celebration, things got heated as hands were put round necks and yellow cards were narrowly avoided.

Maddison very much had the last laugh, and made the most of it in front of his 1.9million Instagram followers, posting Maupay’s celebration, then himself celebrating, then the final score below eventual match-winner in Richarlison.

To further rub salt in Maupay’s wounds, Maddison had some all-star backing, with Jude Bellingham and darts sensation Luke Littler both commenting on the post.

Alongside a dart in a dart board emoji, Littler said: “Yes sirrrr.”

Meanwhile, Bellingham merely commented the grimacing emoji.

Not to forfeit the last word, Maupay couldn’t help himself but post another photo of himself celebrating 20 minutes later, but with an extra dig at Maddison.

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Maddison had the support of some big names

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But Maupay fired back one final brutal dig

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Maddison vs Maupay tale of the tape

“Went a bit early with that one,” he wrote.

“Gutted we couldn’t get the win. More goals and less relegations in my career than James Maddison. We go again Monday bees.”

He then commented on Maddison’s post, writing: “Ahaha rent free.”

England international had Maddison had earlier explained his heated tangle with Maupay, telling TNT Sports: “I told him he hasn’t scored enough goals to have his own celebration so he had to copy mine… a short story, it ended well for us though.”

Judging by the aftermath, it won’t be too short a story, and given Maupay’s history, it will likely rumble on next time the two sides meet…

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January 31, 2024
Littler meets Sir Alex, Fernandes and receives perfect gift at Man United draw

Darts sensation Luke Littler met the stars of Manchester United as he attended the Red Devils’ entertaining 2-2 draw against Tottenham.

The 16-year-old took the darts world by storm earlier in the year as he reached the final of the PDC World Championship.

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Littler has received a lot of media attention for his huge rise in dartsCredit: Getty

Littler went on to lose 7-4 against Humphries but won the hearts of many following an excellent run throughout the tournament.

His incredible efforts led to United inviting him to Old Trafford on Sunday for their match against Spurs.

On the club’s official X account, he was seen stood by the pitch and holding a shirt with his name and 180 on the back – the perfect gift for the darts sensation.

And things got better for Littler after the game as he met legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson while also catching up with club captain Bruno Fernandes.

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Both sides were desperate to win as they eye qualification for Europe next season but they settled for a 2-2 draw, with Littler there to cheer his side on.

He revealed to talkSPORT that United legend David Beckham sent him a message on social media amid his amazing tournament.

‘Well done, once a Red always a Red,’ the former England star said to Littler as he prepared for the biggest match of his career so far.

Beckham’s son Romeo did the same and was seen at Alexandra Palace for the final, with defender Luke Shaw also sending his best wishes.

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talkSPORT’s Alex Crook also snapped him in one of the boxes at Old TraffordCredit: @alex_crook X

Littler is a United fan and he may well have done his scouting on Spurs having attended their 3-1 win against Bournemouth.

He met James Maddison prior to kick-off, with the midfielder known to pull out a darts throw celebration this season.

Littler and the Spurs star were pictured together and showed off their aims whilst doing so as football and darts came together.

Darts’ latest prodigy was also able to meet his rugby heroes at Warrington Wolves on Saturday at The Halliwell Jones Stadium.

Littler will soon be back behind the oche when he makes his debut on the Premier League circuit, which starts on February 1.

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January 14, 2024