“The franchise should be held responsible for this and it is totally unacceptable,” BCB chief Nazmul Hassan says

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Feb-2022

Shakib was named the Player of the BPL for his all-round show of 284 runs and 16 wickets•AFP/Getty Images

The BCB has issued a show-cause notice to BPL 2022 runner-up Fortune Barishal after their captain Shakib Al Hasan broke the bio-bubble before the final for an ad shoot. Barishal initially said Shakib had stomach trouble when they were asked why he had missed the captains’ photoshoot at the Shere Bangla National Stadium on the eve of the final. But it later emerged Shakib had gone for a shoot and he was asked to take a Covid-19 test before playing the final.BCB president Nazmul Hassan said the franchise needs to be held responsible for a bubble breach.”The series or tournament that is played under the supervision of the BCB, here we have to follow strict measures,” Hassan told reporters after the final on Friday. “But this time the franchises were given all the responsibilities to maintain the protocol. The franchise were given a show-cause letter today inquiring about how he (Shakib) went on to breaking the bio-bubble.”We have given clear instructions to all the franchises on how to maintain the bio-secure bubble. As they breached the protocol they were given a show-cause letter and I think the franchise should be held responsible for this and it is totally unacceptable.”Shakib bowled four overs for 1 for 30 and scored a run-a-ball 7 in Barishal’s title chase of 151, in which they fell short by just one run. Shakib was, however, named the Player of the Tournament for his all-round show of 284 runs and 16 wickets in the BPL.

لا يتوقف النجم المصري محمد صلاح، عن السعي، حتى بعدما حقق هدفه الأساسي المتمثل في توقيع عقد جديد مع نادي ليفربول، بعد أشهر طويلة من المفاوضات التي لم تكن سهلة على الإطلاق.

واستيقظ جمهور ليفربول على خبر سعيد، صباح اليوم الجمعة، بإعلان النادي عن تجديد عقد النجم المصري محمد صلاح لمدة عامين، حيث تستمر صفقته حتى 2027.

جاء ذلك الإعلان بعدما ارتبط محمد صلاح بقوة بخطوة الرحيل عن ليفربول، نهاية الموسم الحالي، حيث كان من المفترض أن ينتهي عقده السابق.

ورغم التكهنات التي بدأت مع الموسم وازدادت قوتها أسبوعًا تلو الآخر، إلا أن محمد صلاح لم يتراجع عن مستواه المعهود عنه، بل واصل تألقه على أرض الملعب واستمر في تحطيم الأرقام القياسية، طامعًا في المزيد.

اقرأ أيضًا | كواليس ملحمة عقد محمد صلاح.. بين مخاوف رامي عباس والاهتمام السعودي وحنكة ليفربول

والآن، مع تجديد عقد محمد صلاح مع ليفربول واستمرار بقائه لعامين آخرين، يستطيع المصري مواصلة كتابة اسمه المُسطر بالفعل بحروف من ذهب في تاريخ النادي والدوري الإنجليزي.

ومن المعروف أن محمد صلاح حقق بالفعل عدد لا يُصدق من الإنجازات والأرقام القياسية الفريدة بقميص ليفربول (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

ولكن الطمع سمة ستظل لاصقة بـ محمد صلاح، حيث تنتظره المزيد من الأرقام القياسية، على النحو التالي:

أفضل هداف أجنبي في الدوري الإنجليزي على مر العصور

يتصدر محمد صلاح تلك القائمة برصيد 184 هدفًا، بالتساوي مع النجم الأرجنتيني سيرجيو أجويرو، لاعب مانشستر سيتي السابق.

ويستطيع محمد صلاح الانفراد بتلك القائمة، ليصبح الهداف الأجنبي الأفضل في تاريخ الدوري الإنجليزي، حال تسجيله في مباراة الأحد المقبل ضد وست هام أو أي مباراة أخرى، وهو هدف سهل أمام المصري.

الهداف التاريخي لـ الدوري الإنجليزي

يتواجد محمد صلاح في المركز الخامس في تلك القائمة برصيد 184 هدفًا، بالتساوي مع أجويرو، ويتفوق عليهما كل من هاري كين 213 هدفًا، واين روني 208 هدفًا وآندي كول 187 هدفًا.

في حين يتصدر تلك القائمة النجم الأسطوري آلان شيرر برصيد 260 هدفًا.

ويمثل رقم آلان شيرر هدفًا صعبًا للغاية ولكنه ليس مستحيلًا، وإن كان في الإمكان بالنسبة لـ محمد صلاح الوصول إلى الوصافة على الأقل عن طريق تحطيم رقم هاري كين.

أكثر صانعي الأهداف لـ ليفربول في الدوري الإنجليزي

يمتلك محمد صلاح حاليًا 86 تمريرة حاسمة في الدوري الإنجليزي، منها 85 تمريرة حاسمة مع ليفربول، ويتفوق عليه فقط ستيفن جيرارد برصيد 92 تمريرة حاسمة.

ومن ثم، يحتاج محمد صلاح إلى صناعة 8 أهداف ليتجاوز رقم جيرارد، ويصبح صاحب أعلى عدد تمريرات حاسمة في ليفربول في المسابقة.

أكثر صانعي الأهداف في الدوري الإنجليزي

يحتل محمد صلاح المركز العاشر في قائمة صانعي الأهداف في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 86 أسيست، والتي يتصدرها ريان جيجز برصيد 162 أسيست، ويليه كيفين دي بروين برصيد 118.

وربما يصبح معادلة رقم ريان جيجز وتحطيه أمر صعب بعض الشيء لـ محمد صلاح، ولكن الوصول إلى الوصافة عن طريق تحطيم رقم كيفين دي بروين أسهل نسبيًا.

الهداف التاريخي لنادي ليفربول

يحتل محمد صلاح المركز الثالث في قائمة هدافي ليفربول برصيد 243 هدفًا، ويتفوق عليه كل من روجر هانت 285 هدفًا وإيان راش 346 هدفًا.

اللاعب الأكثر مساهمة مع فريقه في موسم واحد في الدوري الإنجليزي

ساهم محمد صلاح في 44 هدفًا بقميص ليفربول في الموسم الحالي من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي.

ويستطيع صاحب الـ32 عامًا في تحقيق رقم قياسي جديد هذا الموسم إذا نجح في المساهمة في 4 أهداف أخرى، ليتجاوز رقم آلان شيرر وآندي كول اللذين ساهما في 47 هدفًا في موسمي 1994/95 و1993/94 على التوالي، ويُعدان الأكثر مساهمة في موسم واحد في البطولة.

الأكثر تسجيلًا للأهداف في ملعب واحد في الدوري الإنجليزي

سجل محمد صلاح 103 هدف في الدوري الإنجليزي على ملعب “الأنفيلد” ولا يوجد سوى لاعبين اثنين سجلا أهدافًا أكثر في ملعب واحد في البطولة، وهما واين روني 106 هدفًا على “الأولد ترافورد” وتييري هنري صاحب الـ114 هدفًا على ملعب “هايباري” الخاص بـ آرسنال سابقًا.

ومن ثم يحتاج محمد صلاح إلى 12 هدفًا آخرين على “الأنفيلد” لكسر ذلك الرقم.

Former Barcelona and Sevilla defender is reportedly being sued by former club Pumas for up to €6 million after breaking a contract “code of conduct”.

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• Brazilian spent 13 months in jail
• Has been out for almost a year on bail
• Awaiting ruling in ongoing legal case

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The ex-Brazil international is awaiting the result of an appeal against the rape conviction that was handed down to him in February 2024. Alves spent 13 months in jail on the back of that ruling, but has been out on bail for almost a year.

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  In order to post bail, Alves had to pay €1m and give up his passport. He has always maintained his innocence and handed himself over to police after learning that his alleged victim had filed an official complaint.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The 41-year-old saw his professional career come to close when being incarcerated. He had been on the books of Mexican side Pumas – signing for them in the summer of 2023 after taking in a second spell at Barcelona – but saw a two-year contract terminated after just five months.

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  According to , Pumas are now seeking as much as €6m in compensation. Club directors are taking legal action through the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) as Alves stands accused of “non-compliance with the code of conduct in his contract, which including bringing the club into disrepute”.

A journalist has provided an update on Leeds United’s January transfer plans and it’s great news for Daniel Farke. The January transfer window will open in less than a month’s time, and given how desperate the Whites are to return to the Premier League, it could be a perfect time for them to further strengthen their promotion bid.

Leeds have found a "monster" who's now a potential £50m star in the making

Daniel Farke has hit the jackpot with the impressive Leeds United leader.

ByDan Emery Dec 2, 2024 Leeds transfer news

Defeat to Blackburn Rovers on Saturday put a dent in Leeds’ promotion bid, as they slip three points behind leaders Sheffield United and a point behind second place Burnley. However, there is still a long way to go in the race, and Farke will think a productive January transfer window can help them reach their goals in the second half of the campaign.

One player who could be heading to Elland Road is Lennon Miller, as the 49ers have sent Leeds officials to join the race for the Motherwell player. Miller is very highly rated, and he has been valued at £5 million by the Scottish side, as several Premier League teams also circle with interest.

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Exits may also be on the cards for certain Leeds players in January. Striker Joe Gelhardt could be one to leave the club, as he is keen to leave in search of more playing time. Several teams are interested in a possible loan switch in January, given Gelhardt has hardly featured in this current campaign.

January transfer update as Leeds free up funds for Farke

According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Leeds United are preparing to make more money available for Daniel Farke in January. The January transfer window is an opportunity for teams across all divisions to make changes they see fit to their squad, and with the Whites fighting for promotion, they are laying the “groundwork” for a winter “spree”.

The Yorkshire side did spend significant money during the summer, as they added Joe Rodon, Largie Ramazani, Jayden Bogle, Ao Tanaka, and Isaac Schmidt to their ranks. However, they have had several injury concerns throughout this first part of the campaign, which compounded with the exits in the summer have left the manager a little light.

The club received hefty amounts of money from selling the likes of Archie Gray, Crysencio Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Glen Kamara in the summer, and this report states that Leeds’ hierarchy are prepared to make a chunk of that money available to Farke this winter.

It is unclear where Farke plans to prioritise strengthening, but given their recent injuries to Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, a midfielder purchase may be high on the list.

Post-Anderson and Broad era gets underway but reboot already under scrutiny

Andrew Miller07-Mar-2022Big Picture”We’re not going to panic,” Paul Collingwood said last week, midway through England’s one and only warm-up game ahead of a Test series that – fairly or otherwise – is destined to attract some snap judgements in the coming days. As preambles go for England’s much-vaunted “red-ball reset”, it wasn’t the most glowing of status reports.For England – in case you drifted off during the Ashes and haven’t entirely tuned back in since – have committed to doing things differently on this trip. Or should that be, the same but differently? For it would appear, for this first Test in Antigua, that instead of leading the line with 1,177 Test-wickets worth of mega-experience in James Anderson and Stuart Broad, England are about to launch their new era with a cut-throat new-ball pairing of … [checks notes] Chris Woakes and Craig Overton? That is “quite surprising”, as Kemar Roach put it this week.That potential attack is not quite as it was meant to be, of course. Ollie Robinson – England’s best newcomer of the 2021-22 season – would have been inked in for this contest, had he not succumbed to another iteration of the fitness issues that marred an otherwise combative Ashes campaign. But that in itself was a weird message to put across at the start of the squad’s new dawn: when you want to prove you mean business, it seems odd to bin the veterans whose professional standards have not dipped in more than a decade, in favour of a rookie who hasn’t yet convinced he’s got the stamina to match his undoubted talents with the ball.At least there’s Mark Wood – or at least, there should be, but Wood himself has been under the weather, having missed the first innings in Coolidge while undergoing blood tests for a non-Covid-related illness. He seemed back to his 0-100 best on the final day, but the sapping demands of a Test match may require some honest assessment from the management if they hope for him to replicate his Ashes heroics, let alone touch the 96mph/154kph speeds that he served up during England’s most recent Test in the Caribbean, at St Lucia in 2019.Either way, it’s all a touch sub-optimal for a side that has lost 10 of its last 14 Tests since February last year. And that’s before we even consider England’s bafflingly hopeless record in the Caribbean, a region where they have won one Test series in 10 in the past 50 years, in spite of the fact that West Indies’ golden era finally passed with the retirements of Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh two decades ago.”For me, England is our big series,” Roach added. “I’m always looking to put my best performance out against the Poms.” And few were bigger than his opening gambit on that last tour three years ago, when he routed England in a session, bowling them out for 77 with figures of 5 for 17. With Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph on hand for high-octane back-up, not to mention the cloud-snagging discipline of Jason Holder – whose most recent intervention against England was the small matter of four wickets in four balls to win January’s T20I series – there may yet be some uncomfortable echoes of Babylon’s Fire for Joe Root’s men to negotiate in the coming days.Related

Wood says five-wicket haul finally proves he is an England player

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Talking of Root, so much rests – as ever – on his shoulders. His stellar form in 2021 gave way to exhaustion and disillusionment as England’s dismal Ashes went down the tubes at the turn of the year, but his promotion to No. 3 signals a redoubled desire to lead from the front. Rather than hope against expectation that his openers can lay a platform, he’s committed to staunching the bleeding at the earliest opportunity – an admirable attitude, if perhaps an acknowledgement that if he can’t lift the team, then no one can.Root can at least anticipate a similar level of commitment from his vice-captain, the somewhat battered talisman Ben Stokes, even if Stokes’ struggles in the Ashes were proof that it’s not quite as simple as flicking a switch and finding your best form when you’ve endured quite such high-profile setbacks as he did last year.In theory, however, it ought to be England’s batting that gives their team the edge in this series – which is a curious conclusion to reach after they failed to reach 300 in any of their ten Ashes innings. There’s also Jonny Bairstow at No. 6, after all – the man who produced quite possibly the best innings on either side in the Ashes, a thrillingly combative century at Sydney that briefly kept a rampant Australia attack at arm’s length.Opener John Campbell is expected to return for West Indies•Getty ImagesPound for pound the experience of that trio ought to outmatch their opponents, on whom a huge amount rests on the proven obduracy of the captain, Kraigg Brathwaite, at the top of the order. There have been some promising signs elsewhere in their line-up, not least the impressive early outings of Nkrumah Bonner at No. 3, who made his maiden Test hundred when West Indies took on Sri Lanka in Antigua last year, and Kyle Mayers, whose debut double-century to beat Bangladesh in Chattogram in February 2021 was one of the performances of the decade.Overall, however, West Indies are suffering from a malaise not dissimilar to that which has dogged England in the recent past. The preponderance of white-ball cricket at regional level has produced some outstanding ball-strikers in recent years, and some proud success on the global stage. But it has left too many batters too ill-equipped for the rigours of the red-ball game – a debate that was enthusiastically taken up by Mali Richards, son of Viv, during his commentary duties in England’s warm-up game.As such, there’s no knowing what to expect in the coming days, except that West Indies will be gunning for the contest in a matter befitting the regional pride that their home record against England has long instilled. Whether or not you think that the dropping of Anderson and Broad is proof of England’s complacency or a necessary step in the “resetting” of those flatlined red-ball fortunes, you can rest assured how their absences will be framed in the Windies’ team-talks, and how there will be an extra spring in a few steps as they seek once more to rally round.Form guide(Last five matches; most recent first)
West Indies LLLWL
England LDLLLIn the spotlightAlex Lees is set to become the 22nd man to open the batting for England since the retirement of Andrew Strauss a decade ago, following the dropping of both men who fronted up at the start of the Ashes, Rory Burns and Haseeb Hameed. Like Burns before him, Lees gets his chance after sterling service on the county circuit – although his two County Championship wins with Yorkshire in 2014 and 2015 are already ancient history, given that this call-up comes after a dip in form and a move north to Durham. He made a decent impression in England’s warm-up in Coolidge with an unruffled first-innings half-century, but the bar for the role is currently extremely low. Of those who have debuted as specialist openers since Strauss, no one averages more than Joe Denly (31.33), the man who debuted in the corresponding Test in the Caribbean three years ago.Alex Lees is set for a Test debut•Getty ImagesThere’s nothing quite like a West Indies fast bowler to set the pulses racing, and in Jayden Seales, they have a truly special prospect in the process of breaking through. After cutting his teeth at the Under-19 World Cup in 2020, Seales was picked to take on South Africa the following year without ever having played a regional first-class fixture. It mattered not, as he dismissed Keegan Petersen in his first over with a display of startling pace, then backed that up against Pakistan two Tests later, with a second-innings five-for and eight in the match, en route a thrilling one-wicket victory in Jamaica. At the age of 20, there’s the danger of expecting too much too soon. But with 16 wickets at 21.31 in four Tests to date, he certainly delivers the raw goods.Team newsWest Indies have recalled opener John Campbell after a year out of the side, and are set to pick left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul in a home Test for the first time since 2015. Shai Hope and Roston Chase were dropped following defeat in Sri Lanka, meaning a reshaped middle order – Shamarh Brooks offers another batting option, though the temptation may be to target England’s batting fragility with a five-man attack. Shannon Gabriel was not fit to be picked in the squad but has been training with West Indies in Antigua and could feature later in the series.West Indies (possible) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite (capt), 2 John Campbell, 3 Nkrumah Bonner, 4 Kyle Mayers, 5 Jermaine Blackwood, 6 Jason Holder, 7 Joshua da Silva (wk), 8 Alzarri Joseph, 9 Kemar Roach, 10 Veerasammy Permaul, 11 Jayden SealesEngland have named their 12-man squad already, with Robinson’s absence notable following a back spasm in the warm-up. With Jack Leach a probable starter, Woakes already talked up as a new-ball shoo-in, and Wood sure to play if he is fully fit after undergoing blood tests last week, the final place looks like being a tussle between Overton and the uncapped Saqib Mahmood. Mahmood would be the bolder pick, but seeing as he was not in the warm-up frame until Wood’s illness, Overton is the likelier man to get his chance, following a brace of appearances against India last summer.England (probable) 1 Alex Lees, 2 Zak Crawley, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dan Lawrence, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Ben Foakes (wk), 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Craig Overton, 10 Mark Wood, 11 Jack LeachPitch and conditionsA straw-coloured, intermittently cracked surface awaits on Tuesday, although it’s anyone’s guess at this stage how it will play. West Indies and Sri Lanka played out two high-scoring draws in the ground’s most recent contests last year, although it didn’t seem that way when Sri Lanka crumbled to 169 all out in their first innings. The weather is set to be glorious, with intermittent Caribbean storms coming and going in a matter of minutes.Stats and trivia England have never won a Test in Antigua in nine-and-a-bit attempts spanning 31 years. They were beaten in three of their seven visits to the old Recreation Ground between 1981 and 2009, and also lost by ten wickets on their third and most recent visit to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in 2019. That tally also includes the so-called “sandpit Test” of 2009, which was called off after ten balls due to an unfit outfield. Kemar Roach, with 231 Test wickets, needs another five to go pass the tally of the great Sir Garfield Sobers. Only six West Indians have taken more than Sobers – including five all-time great fast bowlers in Walsh, Ambrose, Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding. England last played a Test against West Indies without either James Anderson and Stuart Broad at Edgbaston in 2012 – when both were rested for a dead-rubber in, ironically enough, England’s first attempt at succession planning. The match is best remembered for Tino Best’s 95 from No. 11. Almost three-and-a-half years since the prospect first tickled every cricket fan’s inner nerd, it seems that we are finally going to witness Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Ben Foakes in the same Test team. What japes.Quotes “Obviously they’re missing two experienced bowlers [in Anderson and Broad], but at the end of the day cricket is played on the park so we’re not taking it for granted.”
Kraigg Brathwaite is focused West Indies beating on the opposition players who have been picked to tour“We know that historically it’s not an easy place for England to come and play – but that’s a great opportunity for the group. To come away from here winning would be a huge achievement.”

Serie A giants Napoli and Antonio Conte are now planning a January bid for an “extraordinary” Arsenal player, who could well be tempted by a mid-season move.

Players linked with January exits from Arsenal

It has been a difficult start to the season for Mikel Arteta, who was tipped to guide the Gunners to their first Premier League title in 21 years.

Real Madrid now actively talking about signing Arsenal star in January

The Galacticos could make a mid-season swoop.

By
Emilio Galantini

Nov 12, 2024

Last week, Arsenal lost influential sporting director Edu Gaspar, who will no longer play a pivotal role in growing Arsenal as a club after announcing his departure. This comes amid their troubles on the field, with Arsenal failing to win a single league game since their 3-1 victory over Southampton in early October.

Arsenal’s next five Premier League games	Date
Nottingham Forest (home)	November 23
West Ham United (away)	November 30
Man United (home)	December 4
Fulham (away)	December 8
Everton (home)	December 14

The north Londoners are now nine points behind league leaders Liverpool as their chase for a first domestic crown in decades looks to be unravelling already, but despite this, there are still reports that Arteta could look to offload personnel in the winter.

Left-back Kieran Tierney is widely expected to depart Arsenal after falling out of favour under Arteta, with the Scotsman not playing for them since the club’s Community Shield win over Man City in 2023.

Meanwhile, it is also believed that Arsenal have been contemplating the sale of Takehiro Tomiyasu in January. The £100,000-per-week Japan international has suffered from serious injury problems since pre-season, with Tomiyasu playing just six minutes all campaign due to a recurring knee issue.

“We don’t know that [how long he will be out for],” said Arteta on Tomiyasu last month.

“It doesn’t look like, hopefully, a long period, but we have to see when he comes back how he reacts to the load and to the impact on the pitch as well.

“But we really need him, he has been incredible, his work rate, the amount of hours he has put in to get back. He did it and he was in great shape – and now he has got something else again. But, we are all behind him. He needs our support, and hopefully he will be fine.”

As well as Tomiyasu and Tierney, there are suggestions that defender Jakub Kiwior is expected to depart N5 next year.

Napoli planning January bid to sign Jakub Kiwior from Arsenal

According to Italian news outlet TUTTOmercatoWEB, Napoli are thinking about making a loan bid for Kiwior in January as Conte’s side scour the market for new central defensive reinforcements.

They’re also admirers of Radu Dragusin from Tottenham, but Arsenal’s fringe defender could be far more attainable in their eyes due to the Poland international being further down Arteta’s pecking order.

The loan bid could include an option to buy or an obligation based on certain conditions, which would hand Kiwior the opportunity to make a permanent Serie A return in the summer, who has received high praise from international teammate Robert Lewandowski in the past.

“He has great potential,” said Lewandowski in 2022 when asked about Kiwior.

“During the warm-up of the game with the Netherlands, I thought: ‘Who is this guy?’ Then, during the match, I saw that he is extraordinary.”

Football's brightest prospects don't always live up to the hype, with it sometimes difficult to deal with the pressures that come with such talent

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What were you doing at 16? What were you doing at 18? Do you think you could have coped with being in an international spotlight while you were doing that?

That's the way of the sporting world. There's nowhere for the modern prodigy to hide. God forbid you make a mistake, be that on or off the pitch. It must be exhausting and, more importantly, devastating on a mental level.

For whatever reason, young athletes don't always live up to the expectations we set upon them. Maybe they were stunted in some way, maybe they were put on a pedestal, maybe injuries harmed their development beyond repair. The tales are always fascinating and proof that growth isn't always linear.

NXGN has been running for ten years now, and while there have been plenty of success stories from players on those lists, some have fallen by the wayside. Career resurgences aren't out of the question, but they haven't lived up to the hype just yet.

Here, GOAL ranks the 10 biggest underachievers to mark a decade of NXGN.

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images Sport10Ante Coric

Croatian football truly peaked in the late 2010s, and there was a buzz for the country to unearth their next gem to complement their senior pros. Ante Coric, with his twinkling toes and shaggy hair, seemed the perfect heir to Luka Modric, whom he rubbed shoulders with at Euro 2016.

And, well, that didn't quite go according to plan. Despite taking his young talent to Red Bull Salzburg as a schoolboy before returning home to Dinamo Zagreb once he turned professional, Coric failed to kick on at the highest level. A €6m move to Roma in 2018 ought to have been his big break, yet all it did was expose how his game didn't translate to the adult game.

Coric made only three appearances in the Italian capital in his debut 2018-19 season and spent the following years scarcely playing on loans at Almeria, VVV-Venlo, Olimpija Ljubljana and FC Zurich. He was released by Roma in 2022 and was a free agent for a year before signing a contract at Croatian side Rudes. However, he was sold to domestic rivals Varazdin a year later, before his contract was terminated at the start of 2025. Coric remains without a club.

AdvertisementGetty Images Sport9Sergio Diaz

Real Madrid's sweep of South American football has seen them unearth some top talent over the years. That's why there was so much expectation placed on Sergio Diaz's shoulders when he swapped Paraguay's Cerro Porteno for the capital of Spain in 2016. He had torn up his domestic division as a teenager and was tipped to do the same in Europe.

Yet he didn't even get a sniff in Los Blancos' senior team, instead spending five years contracted to their Castilla reserve side, and only actually plied his trade in Madrid for one of those. That sole 2016-17 season saw him put up a measly five goals in 36 games, and he barely got a look in when he spent the next term at Segunda outfit Lugo. A fairly glamorous two-year loan at Brazilian giants Corinthians yielded four appearances before Diaz returned to Cerro Porteno for another two-year stint, scoring five times in 25 matches.

A move to Mexico with Club America followed in 2020, again doing little to restore his reputation. Madrid released Diaz the summer afterwards, and though he was able to sign for Cerro Porteno for a third time on a free transfer, he lasted only a 12 more months there before moving to Greek Super League team Panetolikos, where he has seemingly found a home at last.

AFP8Ansu Fati

A harsh selection given his young age? Perhaps, but there's no denying that the world, rightly or wrongly, expected Ansu Fati to have made more of his career by now. He broke onto the Barcelona scene in such record-breaking fashion – youngest Barca scorer in La Liga, youngest player to score and assist in the same La Liga match, youngest player with a La Liga brace, youngest Champions League scorer, you get the idea – it seemed impossible for him to fail. This was a real talent with a real future.

There's still time for Fati to deliver on his promise, especially since he doesn't turn 23 until the autumn, but he's had some major wobbles in his formative footballing years, particularly for someone who actually topped a NXGN list. For the most part, injuries have derailed his progression, already nerfing his electric pace and ability to move both ways with the flick of a mental switch. He also spent time on loan at wonderkid factory Brighton, only to become a forgotten figure on England's south coast too. The emergence of Lamine Yamal, in the meantime, hasn't done Fati any favours considering the 17-year-old has already lapped him.

Fati remains at Barcelona but is a bit-part figure in Hansi Flick's setup, often left out of matchday squads altogether. Maybe he's one permanent transfer away from finding his feet again, maybe he's one ill-advised move from winding up out of the spotlight and into infamy forever.

Getty Images Sport7Timothy Fosu-Mensah

Louis van Gaal's time at Manchester United saw the Red Devils win their first major trophy in the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, but his greater impact came elsewhere, continuing both his and the club's long-standing philosophies of promoting youth. Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial were the main beneficiaries of the Dutchman's trust, and for a while, it seemed his compatriot Timothy Fosu-Mensah would stand as a cornerstone for United as well.

A versatile and intelligent player capable of playing in both defence and midfield, Fosu-Mensah at the very least looked someone who could be important as a squad member or off the bench. His diverse defensive skillset should have meant his floor as a player was a utility figure for a top-level side.

Fast-forward to 2025, and at the age of 27, Fosu-Mensah is without a club. He was last on the books at Bayer Leverkusen, where he didn't play a single minute in 2023-24, and was only a member of the matchday squad a handful of times. His last senior competitive appearance came on April 23, 2023, featuring for 11 minutes in a 2-0 win against RB Leipzig.

It seems Fosu-Mensah has been unable to totally recover from two ACL injuries – one in 2019 and the other in 2021 – and there are doubts over his future as a professional, which is a real shame considering how much potential he showed as a teenager.

The legspinner is expected to again team up with Nathan Lyon in Sri Lanka

Andrew McGlashan08-Apr-2022Legspinner Mitchell Swepson was left “frustrated” by his challenging introduction to Test cricket in Pakistan but is being backed to play a key on Australia’s next tour to Sri Lanka in the middle of the year.Swepson, who was the first specialist legspinner to make his Test debut for Australia’s men’s team since 2009, managed just two wickets in his two outings, both in his first innings. He sent down 53.4 barren overs in the second innings of the Karachi Test as Australia were denied victory across the last two days.However, he had a number of opportunities missed off his bowling – including three of varying difficulty in the space of seven balls in Karachi – and is a strong chance to again partner Nathan Lyon in the two Tests in Galle which start at the end of June having been awarded his first central contract.”For Mitch he’s got the fundamentals,” Usman Khawaja, who captains him at state level, said. “He’s got a beautiful legspinner, [he’s] a modern-day leggie, bowls a bit faster which is really important in those conditions. His accuracy is as good as I’ve ever seen for any leggie I’ve played with or against. He’s a once-in-a-generation type of legspinner so I’m sure he’ll figure it out [and] the more he’ll play, the better he’ll get.Related

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“I do believe Mitch Swepson has a big career in international cricket just from seeing him day-in, day-out at Queensland standing at first slip, I know what a class bowler he is. Sometimes these things take a little bit of time, he was really unlucky in Pakistan, had a lot of chances that went down, a few 50-50 calls that went against him, and if that goes the other way that could just open the floodgates. I think he’s very close to something really special.”The pitches in Pakistan were not hugely favourable for the spinners with only Lyon, in the final innings of the series, producing a decisive performance with 5 for 83 as reverse-swing made more of an impact. Spinners averaged 65.41 across the three matches while the quicks took their wickets at 36.57.National selector George Bailey believes Swepson will have benefited significantly from his lengthy stints at the bowling crease even if wickets proved hard to come by.Mitchell Swepson celebrates his first Test wicket•AFP/Getty Images

“[It was] just a great challenge for Swep to see what that step up was like and to have the opportunity to pump a huge amount of overs and get that challenge of what it’s like to try and work top-order batsmen out,” he said. “Knowing Swep and chatting to him post it, he sets pretty high standards for himself. And I think given the impact he’s had with Queensland over the last couple of years when he gets an opportunity to bowl that much he expects to impact the result.”So I know there was times he was a little frustrated that he wasn’t able to impact on the scoreboard from a wickets perspective but his ability to keep challenging and learn about what it’s like coming around the wicket, over the wicket, different fields to be able to set, how to try and break through against those world-class batters was fantastic. He’ll only get better at it. There’s no other opportunity that you can provide that can fast-track that learning than what he’s just had.”There is a possibility Australia may consider three spinners during the Test series in Sri Lanka which would bring Ashton Agar back into the frame although the development of Cameron Green now allows them to field a balanced attack in a variety of conditions. They lost 3-0 on their 2016 visit, despite Mitchell Starc’s haul of 24 wickets at 15.16, having won 1-0 in 2011.”Think the wickets will be slightly more sporting, especially with two matches in Galle, [they are] traditionally very spin-friendly wickets right from the first session,” Khawaja said. “Will be another challenge for us. Our record on the subcontinent over the last ten years hasn’t been great – winning in Pakistan was our first victory for a long time – but we’ve got a very well-balanced team.”I’ve been around Australian cricket a long time, I wouldn’t say this if I didn’t believe it, think we’ve got one of the most balanced teams we have especially when we talk about playing spin in the subcontinent. This is one of the better teams we’ve had for those conditions.”

Manchester City host Manchester United in the derby on Sunday afternoon, and it’s frighteningly difficult to determine who will come out on top.

This is new territory for Pep Guardiola’s usually invincible outfit, who have lost seven of their past ten matches in all competitions and claimed just one victory in that timeframe.

Having lost against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday evening, it’s pretty clear that this has turned into a crisis, and Pep must ensure that he ditches Jeremy Doku and Jack Grealish for the Red Devils clash.

Why Guardiola must drop Doku & Grealish

Grealish has now gone 44 matches without scoring a goal for Manchester City, though has found a bit more success than he has had since being moved into midfield across his past few matches.

This has been done to bring a semblance of control back into the Man City engine room, uncharacteristically devoid of its typical inspiration, but Grealish still isn’t the answer and made just one tackle against the Old Lady.

Writing in their post-match player ratings, The Manchester Evening News could only provide Doku with a 5/10 score, criticising the Belgian for struggling to get involved in the flow of the match.

The electric-paced winger brings plenty to the table but still struggles to hit a vein of potency that City need in their current predicament.

It’s clear that Guardiola needs to make a few changes from the team that failed to turn the Champions League campaign back on track in midweek, and for that reason, Phil Foden and Matheus Nunes must step in for the aforementioned strugglers.

Why Pep must unleash Phil Foden & Matheus Nunes

Foden, 24, has yet to score in the Premier League this season, only starting six times due to injuries and disruption – recently missing a short period due to bronchitis.

Real Madrid were even sniffing around last summer following Foden’s awe-inspiring campaign, but were dissuaded by City’s response: that he would cost well in excess of £100m.

He’s still one of the finest players in England, and must indeed be unleashed with Nunes for the derby. The versatile Portuguese, who signed from Wolves for £53m in 2022, has been one of the better performers over the past several months and should take Grealish’s place in the middle of the park, bringing more completeness.

He showed that he can be the all-encompassing player that Pep needs to take control of things against Feyenoord.

Minutes played

90′

Goals

0

Assists

1

Shots (on target)

1 (1)

Touches

79

Accurate passes

48/54 (89%)

Key passes

3

Dribbles (completed)

3 (1)

Ground duels (won)

11 (8)

As you can see, Nunes can make an impact when he is placed in the centre of the park, proving to keep possession versus Feyenoord while unleashing a stream of key passes and bringing a combative element besides.

His dynamism could work well with Foden, who would find both creative supply and defensive security in the Portugal international.

While it’s true that Foden hasn’t been at the races this season, the 2023/24 Premier League Player of the Year has a superabundance of quality within his grasp and must simply tap back into it.

After all, he loves playing against the Sky Blues’ arch-rivals, and might just find that Sunday’s contest is the launchpad that he needs to get his season up and running.

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Callum Wilson could be set to play for the first time this season when Newcastle United host West Ham in the Premier League on Monday night.

The English striker has missed the entirety of the campaign with hamstring and back problems but is set to be back in training this week following a visit to the famous Aspetar hospital in Qatar. It is the same venue that has helped nurse stars like Neymar, Erling Haaland and Lionel Messi back to full fitness.

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1

By
Tom Cunningham

Nov 16, 2024

The news of Wilson’s potential return will come as bad news to West Ham fans given the striker’s impressive record against the Hammers. The 32-year-old has scored no less than 12 times in 14 games against West Ham across his spells with both Bournemouth and Newcastle, making them his most frequent victim by a large margin.

Wilson could leave Newcastle in January

As soon as Wilson could return, however, he could be on his way out of the door at St. James’ Park. That’s according to The Sun, who claim that the Magpies and PIF are willing to offer the England international to Brentford as part of a January deal for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo.

The publication reports that scouts from Newcastle have been watching the Cameroon international, who manager Eddie Howe is believed to regard as his “number one target.”

Mbeumo is rated at £50 million by Brentford, according to The Sun, and is also attracting interest from Liverpool. Reds boss Arne Slot sees the 25-year-old as a potential long-term replacement for Mohamed Salah, whose future at Anfield is unclear. The Egyptian forward is in the final year of his contract and has been widely linked with a move to Saudi Arabia next summer.

Frank expects Mbeumo to leave Brentford

Mbeumo joined Brentford back in 2019 from French side Troyes and has since been a key player for Thomas Frank’s side, scoring 58 goals and providing 43 assists in 213 games.

This season, he’s on course for his best-ever goal tally in a Brentford shirt, having scored eight goals in 11 Premier League starts. In September, Frank conceded that he expects the Bees to lose Mbeumo sooner rather than later.

“He was our biggest miss for four months last year, even with [Ivan] Toney out,” Frank said of Mbeumo after Brentford’s 1-1 draw with West Ham, in which the Cameroon star was on the scoresheet inside a minute. “He was our key player and has added another layer this season with five goals in six games.

“That’s incredible and he’s creating chances. He’s a top player. I’m convinced he will play for a bigger club. I’d buy him if I was at a bigger club.

“We convinced him to stay and he’s very happy. All our players might need to leave us one day but a lot of them are happy because we have a top environment, with good people. We push each other.”