After a hectic January transfer window saw them welcome as many as five arrivals, Manchester City are now reportedly plotting a summer move to sign another midfield reinforcement for Pep Guardiola.

Man City transfer news

The Cityzens were in desperate need of a rebuild and commenced that construction during the winter window, adding another goalscorer in Omar Marmoush, three future star defenders in Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Juma Bah, before saving a defensive midfielder until last to cover for the injured Rodri – welcoming Nico Gonzalez on deadline day.

Speaking to the club website for the first time, Gonzalez expressed his delight over the move, saying: “This is the perfect opportunity for me at this stage of my career. I am 23 and I want to test myself in England. There’s no better club than Manchester City for me to do that.

“Look at the squad they have here. It’s unbelievable, full of world-class players. There isn’t a footballer in the world who would not want to be part of this set-up. I know the reputation Pep has and I cannot wait to work with him. In fact, I am honoured he wants me to play in his team.”

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Out of the five fresh faces, the £50m midfielder arguably has the most difficult task given that he’s job will be to replace Rodri and fix what has been a disastrous midfield without the Spaniard in the current campaign.

He may yet receive some help in that department in the summer too. According to Caught Offside, Manchester City are now battling Real Madrid and others to sign Hugo Larsson from Eintracht Frankfurt, who value their midfielder at a hefty €60m (£51m) this summer. Possibly splashing the cash once again, City could solve their midfield problem once and for all.

"Brilliant" Larsson is a rising star

Even when Rodri is crucially back fit and firing, Manchester City could do with some fresh faces in the middle of the park. The ageing stars in their current midfield have been exposed at times this season, with the Blues often overrun and the likes of Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva all struggling to keep up.

That’s where Gonzalez should immediately make an impact and where Larsson could eventually arrive to help. The 20-year-old Swede is a rising star, scoring four goals and assisting another two from midfield for Frankfurt this season and earning the praise of Jacek Kulig as a result. The football talent scout dubbed the Frankfurt star a “brilliant signing” last month.

Up against Real Madrid both on and off the pitch, Manchester City should be desperate to win the race and secure the arrival of Larsson this summer.

Celtic are set to wave goodbye to one of their fan favourites this month with Kyogo Furuhashi reportedly closing in on a £10m move to Rennes.

The Japanese striker is poised to end his Parkhead career and try his luck in France, after a return of 85 goals in 165 matches for the club in all competitions.

Meanwhile, Jota is set to return to Celtic for a second spell. The Portuguese winger is on his way to Glasgow for a medical ahead of an £8m transfer from Rennes, with Celtic banking a £2m profit by, essentially, trading Kyogo for the ex-Benfica man.

He may not be the only forward to arrive at Paradise before the end of the January transfer window, though, as the Hoops are eyeing up another winger.

Celtic's interest in Premier League forward

According to Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, Celtic are one of the clubs keen on a deal to sign Aston Villa forward Louie Barry before next month’s deadline.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The reporter claims that the Scottish giants have held talks with the Premier League side over a potential deal for the English youngster, but the Villans are ‘reluctant’ to cash in on him.

Joseph adds that they want to keep hold of the winger and loan him out for the second half of the season, amid interest from teams in England and abroad.

It remains to be seen whether or not Celtic are willing to take the 21-year-old dynamo on loan, rather than doing a permanent deal, but he could be an exciting addition if they manage to strike an agreement with Villa to sign him on a temporary basis.

Why Louie Barry would be an exciting addition

Barry would be an exciting signing for the Hoops because he could help Adam Idah, who is set to become the only recognised, senior, number nine in the squad, to shine in the second half of the campaign.

The Ireland international has found it difficult to be the main man for Celtic this season because Kyogo has been ahead of him in the pecking order more often than not, and he has only scored five goals in 20 Scottish Premiership matches.

24/25 season	Adam Idah	Kyogo Furuhashi
Appearances	20	22
Starts	10	15
Goals	5	10
Big chances created	6	1
Assists	0	3
Stats via Sofascore

However, as you can see in the table above, Idah has been incredibly unfortunate in the sense that his teammates have let him down with their wasteful finishing in the final third, with zero goals scored from the six ‘big chances’ that he has created.

This suggests that Celtic could help their summer signing from Norwich to thrive in the second half of the season by signing a winger who can make the most of the high-quality opportunities that his impressive link-up play in the centre-forward position creates.

Barry, whose composure was once hailed as “incredible” by Declan Rice, scored 15 goals and only missed six ‘big chances’ in League One for Stockport County on loan in the first half of the season, which shows that he is an efficient finisher who can score on a regular basis from out wide.

He'd be amazing with Jota: Celtic plot late move for "sensational" star

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Jan 24, 2025

Therefore, the Aston Villa youngster could help Idah to shine by making the most of the ‘big chances’ he creates, which could bring more attention to the Irishman’s creative quality and put him on the road to being the main man for the Hoops.

Glasgow Rangers head into the final days of the transfer market having made just one signing. Defender Rafael Fernandes has joined on a six-month loan deal, which includes an option to buy at the end of the season.

Philippe Clement will know that the Premiership title is out of reach given Celtic’s dominance, but the Scottish Cup should be targeted, as well as a deep run in the Europa League.

There might be a late flurry of transfer activity at Ibrox before the deadline on Monday evening, but it appears as though the manager is planning ahead for next season already.

Rangers' pursuit of Lyall Cameron

As reported earlier this week, Rangers are currently in talks with Lyall Cameron over a pre-contract agreement.

The Dundee sensation has been linked with a move to Ibrox throughout the previous few weeks of the January transfer window, but it now looks as though Clement is aiming to get the Scot tied down.

This move could be a wise one, planning ahead for the 2025/26 season by signing one of the finest midfielders outside the Old Firm.

The Gers do have several of their own young talents emerging through the academy, however, and might they already have their own Cameron in someone who has just departed on loan?

Cole McKinnon could be Rangers’ own Lyall Cameron

Cameron has been outstanding this season, scoring eight goals while registering seven assists for the Dens Park side in all competitions this term.

His ability to play either in a defensive role or slightly further forward could give Clement plenty of options next season.

Goals

5

Assists

4

Key passes per game

1.6

Big chances created

4

Total duels won

3.8

Tackles per game

1

Cole McKinnon has been touted as one of the finest midfielders the academy has produced in quite some time, even being hailed by journalist Jordan Campbell before he moved to Partick Thistle on loan in 2022, who said:

He registered six goal contributions during his spell in Maryhill and this led to the midfielder making three appearances for the Light Blues last term, even making his European debut against Benfica.

During his cameo against the Portuguese giants, McKinnon won 100% of his aerial duels and lost possession just three times, certainly not looking out of his depth.

The 22-year-old was sent out on loan last month to Championship side Ayr United, who are battling it out at the top of the division.

In The Pipeline

This should be another great learning experience and there is no doubt McKinnon could be a vital squad player under Clement during 2025/26.

If played in his preferred position, the Scot loves to push forward regularly, as evidenced during his spell with Partick.

Cameron could be an excellent signing, especially if he can replicate his Dundee form, but in McKinnon, Clement already has a creative asset who could be ready to hit his peak at the club over the next couple of years.

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“It hurts our net run-rate… but we’re still going to be positive,” Australia captain says

Andrew McGlashan22-Oct-20222:56

Has opening loss put Australia in a spot of bother?

Aaron Finch conceded that Australia’s hopes of defending their men’s T20 World Cup title may already be out of their hands because of the huge margin of the loss to New Zealand and its impact on their net run-rate.Although the table is in its most embryonic stage after the first day of the Super 12s, Australia’s NRR is -4.450 following the 89-run hammering at the SCG, where they were bundled for 111.Related

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They had one huge blowout on their way to the title last year in the UAE when they were beaten heavily by England, but by then they had two wins on the board and had just two group matches left. So it was a shorter sprint to the line than they potentially face this time, starting with the match against Sri Lanka in Perth on Tuesday.”That’s a big loss in the context of the tournament,” Finch said. “We were just totally outplayed in all three facets. It hurts our net run-rate… but we’re still going to be positive. I think we still back ourselves that we can win four, and you need a little bit of luck along the way in such a brutal tournament.”Australia had little choice but to bat aggressively in their chase when faced with a target of 201, but both Finch and Mitchell Marsh fell trying to target the short boundary, which New Zealand had done to good effect, after David Warner was unlucky to be bowled via his pad and the back of the bat.This was Australia’s fifth defeat in their last nine T20Is but Finch said there would not be a reassessment of how they go about their game. “You can’t go into a shell in T20 cricket,” he said. “You have to be able to transfer pressure back on the opposition as quick as you can, and at times that comes with risk. So you have to be prepared to wear the consequences of taking risks at times.”We haven’t got it totally right. We’ve got to look at ourselves in that regard. But I’m still committed to playing the same way that won us the last World Cup and has given us a bit of a setback here. We’ve taken the fate out of our own hands I think, to a point. We need to be ultra-positive, ultra-aggressive, and I’m sure that we’ll all do that.”One of the talking points when Australia were in the field was the absence of Glenn Maxwell from the attack just two days after Andrew McDonald pinpointed him as a key part of the bowling unit. Finch indicated the absence had largely been down to an unfavourable match-up with Devon Conway, who batted through the innings, which meant Marcus Stoinis bowled his full quota of four overs.Australia’s batting collapse will cause Aaron Finch some concerns•ICC/Getty Images

“We felt that Marcus Stoinis bowling quite a bit of pace off was working really well,” Finch said. “Devon Conway is a really good player at spin. So while he was in and he’d faced 25, 30 balls, it can be hard to stop any batter hitting to that short side. And there wasn’t any spin in the wicket in that first half of the game, so it felt it would be a little bit of a bigger risk with Devon being able to access that side. We felt as though Stoinis would be able to defend himself a little bit better.”However, Adam Zampa suggested Australia may have been slow to take pace off the ball when New Zealand were away to a flying start from Finn Allen.”Making the right decisions earlier, it’s probably ‘do we take the pace off the second, third or fourth over just to change it up a bit’. Probably in hindsight we could have,” Zampa said. “Maxi’s a great option for us as well, think we made some poor decisions, took us a little longer to assess the conditions. You saw Tim Southee, Trent Boult in their powerplay… they just used the pitch, Tim Southee bowled off-pace really well and made it hard for us to score.”

Harry Kane has modelled Bayern Munich’s new away kit for 2025-26, with the England international finally breaking his trophy duck in Germany.

Article continues below

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• England captain has claimed first piece of silverware
• Club legend Muller preparing to part as a free agent
• New adidas design pays homage to the Allianz Arena

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Prolific frontman Kane moved to Bavaria in the summer of 2023. His debut campaign delivered 44 goals, but no major silverware. His second has seen the 31-year-old become a Bundesliga title winner.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Kane will be back for more next season, with his contract running until 2027. Bayern have revealed what they will be wearing on the road in 2025-26. Their coral and grey away kit pays homage to their Allianz Arena home – which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

• WHAT BAYERN MUNICH SAID

  The latest design from suppliers adidas takes inspiration from “the unique home of Germany’s biggest football club, a landmark of international football that has been the home of FC Bayern since 2005, with an iconic rendering of the outer shell of the Allianz Arena”.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Said kit will be the last that World Cup winner Thomas Muller wears at the Allianz Arena before leaving as a free agent at the end of his contract. Bayern will wear their new strip against Borussia Monchengladbach on May 10.

MatériaMais Notícias

Pela segunda vez em menos de seis meses, o atacante David Neres ajudará a reforçar os caixas do São Paulo. O clube espera receber nos próximos dias o montante de R$ 2,5 milhões, que considera ter direito pela transferência do jogador de 25 anos para o Benfica, de Portugal.

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Conforme informado pela imprensa portuguesa, o Benfica pagará cerca de R$ 83 milhões ao Shakhtar Donetsk para ter o futebol do ex-são-paulino.

Seguindo a regra de solidariedade da Fifa, como clube formador de Neres, o Tricolor tem direito a 3% do total pago pelos portugueses.

O ruim, para o São Paulo, é que a negociação do atacante não envolve só dinheiro. O Shakhtar aceitou amortizar parte do que devia pela compra do meia Pedrinho, ex-Corinthians.

No começo do ano, o Shakhtar pagou cerca de R$ 65 milhões ao Ajax, da Holanda, para ter o ex-São Paulo. O clube brasileiro embolsou cerca de R$ 1,95 mi pelo negócio.

Ao LANCE!, integrantes da cúpula tricolor festejaram o “bônus” a ser recebido e garantem que usarão o dinheiro para ajudar a reforçar o elenco para o restante da disputa da temporada, com a reabertura da janela de transferências, em 18 de julho.

Até agora, o Tricolor está verbalmente acertado com Marco Guilherme, atacante de 26 anos que já passou pelo Morumbi em 2017 e que chegaria de graça e com contrato de produtividade após rescindir o atual vínculo que mantém com o Internacional.

TABELA
> Confira jogos, classificação e simule resultados do Brasileirão-22
> Conheça o novo aplicativo de resultados do LANCE!

There is no denying it: this season has been nothing short of a disaster for Tottenham Hotspur, at least on the pitch.

Ange Postecoglou’s side have been dreadful in the Premier League, and following last week’s double cup exit, the only hope of silverware rests on their Europa League campaign.

With all that said, there have been some positives, such as the young players coming through and stamping their authority on the first team.

Moreover, despite the poor results, some of the first-team squad have seen their valuations grow, including someone signed by Nuno Espírito Santo during his short spell in the hot seat.

Nuno's Spurs signings

While he’s currently flying with Nottingham Forest, Nuno’s time in North London was far less successful.

In fact, with seven losses and one draw in his first 17 games, the Portuguese coach was sacked in November 2021, just four months after getting the job, and while he didn’t have much time to impact the club, he was responsible for some good and some not so good signings.

One who certainly falls into the latter camp was Emerson Royal, who moved from Barcelona in August 2021 for a fee of around £26m, which, according to a later report from the Telegraph, was a fee the Catalan club couldn’t believe the North Londoners were willing to pay.

Unfortunately, it didn’t take too long for fans to understand Barça’s shock, as while the Brazilian full-back wasn’t dreadful, he was not up to scratch, as demonstrated by the fact he was limited to just 1335 minutes of action in his final campaign with the club before being sold to AC Milan for just £13m.

Fortunately, Nuno did make a couple of good additions to the squad, with Cristian Romero being one of them.

The Argentine joined the Lilywhites on a season-long loan with an option to buy for around £46.7m in August 2021. While he endured a somewhat slow start to life in London thanks to injuries, isolation and the team’s overall poor form, he has since become one of the best players at the club.

In all, the World Cup winner has made 112 appearances for the North Londoners, in which he’s managed to rack up a fairly impressive haul – for a centre-back – of seven goals and one assist while also being named one of the club’s co-vice-captains in 2023.

The 26-year-old’s commanding presence has been sorely missed for much of this season, which further indicates his importance to the team, but he still isn’t the Nuno signing whose valuation has soared in recent years.

Market Movers

Expand Collapse The Nuno signing whose valuation has soared

Aside from the likes of Archie Gray, Djed Spence, Mikey Moore, Lucas Bergvall and maybe Dejan Kulusevski, it would be hard to say anyone in the Spurs first team has had a particularly good season this year, so it’s hard to imagine anyone’s valuation skyrocketing.

However, a lacklustre campaign does not suddenly mean a talented player has no future or upside.

In Pape Matar Sarr’s case, there is clearly a belief that as he progresses, he’ll become a genuinely superb midfielder.

The Senegalese international signed for Tottenham from Ligue 1 side FC Metz for around £15m in August 2021 and, according to the CIES Football Observatory, is now worth an astounding €70.7m, which converts to about £59m.

That means that 22-year-old dynamo is now worth around 293% more than the fee paid by the club just three and a half years ago, and while that might sound like too much to some of you, it’s probably not.

Sarr’s senior career

Team

Spurs

FC Metz

Senegal

Appearances

86

59

24

Goals

8

5

1

Assists

6

3

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.16

0.13

0.12

All Stats via Transfermarkt

For example, despite still being relatively young, the “unplayable” midfielder, as dubbed by Spurs fan and podcaster Lee McQueen, has already racked up 86 appearances for the Lilywhites, in which he’s scored eight goals and provided six assists from central and defensive midfield positions.

Moreover, he has also won 24 senior caps for Senegal, so has plenty of experience marshalling the midfield domestically and internationally.

Ultimately, Nuno may not have left much of an impact on Spurs with his management, but he did at least sign two quality players in Romero and Sarr, the latter of whom could be set for a bright future in North London.

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Big picture

Five days on from one of the most captivating tussles ever witnessed at the Grand Old G, another of international cricket’s most storied rivalries takes to its oldest stage for a contest laced with a different flavour of existential jeopardy. Whereas India versus Pakistan was a clash of geopolitical magnitude, in both hype and denouement, England versus Australia offers a more fundamental sporting showdown.To the winner, the prospect of a tournament lifeline, a chance to keep a route to the semi-finals in their own hands. To the loser, the mounting prospect of an early elimination: an ignominious fate for the holders of each of the ICC’s two World Cup trophies. Even allowing for the threat of further rain-related twists, two spluttering campaigns require some urgent ignition if they are to recover the ground so far lost – in Australia’s case to a crushingly one-sided loss in their opening match against New Zealand, and in England’s, an oddly meek surrender in the showers against Ireland at this same venue.Related

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For their part, Australia will hope that that ignition has already happened. At the moment of Glenn Maxwell’s dismissal in the 13th over of their 158-run chase against Sri Lanka on Wednesday, they were a side without direction, as their NRR began to drift towards double figures with Aaron Finch stuck and stodgy in what he later admitted was an “unusual” knock of 31 not out from 42 balls. But then up popped Marcus Stoinis with a devastatingly straightforward bout of range-hitting – and by the time he’d blazed an Australia-record 17-ball fifty, all those doubts had been dispatched to the stands.Stoinis struck six sixes in his 18-ball stay against Sri Lanka – more than all his team-mates combined had produced in either of Australia’s first two matches of the tournament, but moreover, three times as many as England have produced in total against Group 1’s supposed lesser lights, Afghanistan and Ireland. Alex Hales lumped Fazalhaq Farooqi over long-on in Perth, Moeen Ali tonked Gareth Delany in the same direction at Melbourne, three balls before the rain sealed England’s fate against the Irish … and that, so far, has been that.It’s a baffling moment for Jos Buttler’s team to come over all gun-shy, especially given the free-spirited mayhem that they seemed to be unleashing in their warm-up week on these shores. Australia themselves encountered the full weight of England’s power-hitting in conceding 208 for 6 in Perth at the start of the month, while Liam Livingstone’s six – clean out of the Gabba in their practice match against Pakistan – was widely perceived as a statement of intent from a deep and formidable batting line-up that has not been renowned for dying wondering in recent years.Moeen Ali has hit one of only two sixes from England in this campaign•Getty Images

But what we have here instead is an unexpectedly cagey state of affairs. To a greater or lesser degree, both England’s and Australia’s batting has struggled for that fluid faith in its constituent parts that epitomised their recent glory days. Buttler’s rare first-over dismissal against Ireland can probably be written off as an aberration, but with his sidekick Hales so far failing to repay the faith in his recall, and Ben Stokes at No. 4 a very high-profile work-in-progress, the uncertainty has been contagious.Dawid Malan has reverted to his old anchor-man habits, with 53 runs from 67 balls to date, and though Moeen did his utmost to tilt the DLS calculations in England’s favour as the rain closed in against Ireland, the inflexibility of England’s batting order was revealing. Eoin Morgan, you sense, would not have shied away from promoting his heavy artillery in a bid to get ahead of the rate in tough conditions, even if it had meant risking being all out for 80 in the process. Buttler’s subsequent statement that ‘England should let it hurt’ was perhaps a tacit admission that their campaign has not yet found the right levels of emotional investment.Nowithstanding Stoinis’s exploits, Australia aren’t exactly in their happy place either. But for rain in Canberra, England would have thumped them 3-0 in the recent T20I series – their consecutive eight-run wins were more comprehensive than the final margins suggested – while their camp has been dogged by the spectre of Covid-19 in recent days, with Adam Zampa missing the Sri Lanka match and Matthew Wade now under the weather too.An early exit for the defending champions on home soil wouldn’t be unprecedented for Australia – the same happened in 50-over cricket when they hosted the 1992 World Cup – but it would be deeply galling all the same. Their survival may require a knock-out blow against their oldest foes, and vice versa. But for the victor, who knows what a fillip to their spluttering campaign such a scalp would be.Marcus Stoinis, playing at his Western Australia homeground, was the star of the show in the last game•Getty Images

Form guide

Australia WLLLW (last five completed T20Is, most recent first)
England LWWWW

In the spotlight

Five matches (and a warm-up knockabout) into his T20I comeback, and there’s still no real clarity on where Ben Stokes‘ short-form game is at. A haul of 41 runs at 10.25 from 42 balls speaks of a player still trying to get his eye back in, which – in the context of this must-win game – isn’t the ideal tempo for your pivotal No .4. And yet, Stokes’ many strings are manifesting themselves in other ways in the tournament so far – most notably in his unexpected but very effective role as a new-ball option. A haul of 3 for 27 in 6.2 overs is mitigated by the fact that the first (and seventh) overs are the most favourable for bowling, given that batters tend to take a moment to gauge the conditions before going hell for leather. Nevertheless, he’s extracted some prodigious swing in that period, and brought his force of personality to bear in a manner that has so far been absent from his batting. At some stage, you sense his all-round game will click back into place again, but can England afford to wait for inspiration to strike?Much of the same could be said for Australia’s own No. 4, Glenn Maxwell. Patience has been worn thin in recent weeks, in which Maxwell has ground his gears in a bid for some traction but to little avail. And yet, in consecutive games against New Zealand and Sri Lanka, he’s just about threatened to poke his head out the other side. Scores of 28 from 20 and 23 from 12 are hardly proof of his renewed threat. But in each game he scored as many boundaries (four) as he had managed in nine completed innings since June, and against Sri Lanka in particular, he provided the spark that Australia’s chase desperately needed ahead of Stoinis’s rampant finish. Like Stokes, his value extends beyond the runs he offers too. The timely wicket of Dasun Shanaka in his only over on Wednesday was a key factor in cramping Sri Lanka’s ambitions.

Team news

Hindsight suggests that England might have preferred to rest their trump card, Mark Wood, for the Ireland match, given the 48-hour turnaround between these two games, and the fact that another thrillingly high-octane display could not deliver the victory his team craved. The indications from head coach, Matthew Mott, however, are that England will field an unchanged XI – meaning Chris Woakes will get another outing in his return from long-term injury, and Hales will be trusted once again at the top of the order despite Phil Salt’s claims to a starting berth.England (probable): 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Alex Hales / Phil Salt, 3 Dawid Malan, 4 Ben Stokes, 5 Liam Livingstone, 6 Harry Brook, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Chris Woakes, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Mark Wood.Mark Wood has been England’s trump card with the ball•Albert Perez/ICC/Getty Images

Zampa’s recovery from Covid means he’s likely to slot into the side in place of Ashton Agar, as Australia’s solitary change from their Sri Lanka line-up. Wade is set to keep his place behind the stumps in spite of his own Covid diagnosis.Australia (probable): 1 Aaron Finch (capt), 2 David Warner, 3 Mitchell Marsh, 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 Marcus Stoinis, 6 Tim David, 7 Matthew Wade (wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Adam Zampa, 11 Josh Hazlewood.

Pitch and conditions

The MCG’s surface proved zippy in the damp on Wednesday, and overall is a far cry from the range of stodgy drop-in pitches that had given cricket there a bad name in recent years. Either way, the decisive factor is threatening once again to come from overhead. More grim weather is in store, and this may be another case of shower-dodging and DLS bargaining.

Stats and trivia

• England and Australia have met on three previous occasions at the T20 World Cup. Australia won their first encounter, in crushing fashion at Cape Town in the inaugural tournament in 2007, but have been seen off in each of the next two – in the final of the 2010 event in Barbados, and in Dubai 12 months ago, where a Buttler special sealed victory with 50 balls to spare.
• Adil Rashid remains in the running to become England’s first man to 100 T20I wickets, but his returns this winter have been noticeably sparse. Since claiming four wickets in his first three matches against Pakistan in Karachi, he’s added just two more in eight outings, at a leaky economy rate of 8.58.
• Sam Curran, by contrast, has been England’s golden arm in the same period. Since the start of the Pakistan tour, he’s claimed 19 wickets at 14.36 in ten matches, and in the process has more than doubled his previous T20I wickets haul of 16 at 32.00 in 21 games.

Quotes

“I don’t feel any more pressure than I ever have. The only pressure is the expectation you put on yourself.”
“If you needed a game to get up for – a must-win game – England and Australia at the MCG is certainly one of those.”

Arsenal are seriously weighing up a transfer alternative to Newcastle United star Alexander Isak who they are convinced will be much cheaper, with the attacker having also enjoyed an excellent 2024/2025 campaign thus far.

Arsenal want Alexander Isak but Newcastle unlikely to sell

The Gunners are reliably reported admirers of Isak, and manager Mikel Arteta in particular is believed to be a real fan.

Arsenal can sign striker with nearly 20 goals this season for £43m in July

The Gunners are still in the market for a centre-forward.

ByEmilio Galantini Feb 18, 2025

Reports as far back as May last year claimed Isak is Arteta’s dream signing for Arsenal, and his admiration for the superstar Premier League striker doesn’t appear to have waned in the slightest.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein stated this month that Isak is top of Arteta’s transfer wishlist, but Eddie Howe won’t be in any hurry to green-light the sale of his key player, even if those around Arsenal believe he is perfect for the club’s system.

West Ham (home)

February 22nd

Nottingham Forest (away)

February 26th

Man United (away)

March 9th

Chelsea (home)

March 16th

Fulham (home)

April 1st

“I’ve always said that Alexander Isak is perfect for Arsenal. He would be at the top of my list of new forwards if he were to become available,” said Arsenal correspondent Charles Watts in late 2024.

“He’s long been mentioned as a potential target, but I don’t believe there have ever been any talks or anything like that.

“The word coming out of Newcastle has always been that Isak has not been for sale and given the money it would take to change that stance, Arsenal have focused attention elsewhere, like on Benjamin Sesko for example. I would love to see Arsenal at least try and have a conversation about a potential move.

“The issue is, however, that Isak’s current deal does not run out until 2028, so Newcastle are still in a very strong position. It would still take huge money to prize him away from St James’ Park.”

The list of potential alternatives to Isak is interesting, with reports claiming Arsenal are still very much targeting RB Leipzig’s Sesko for the summer window after their hopes of a deal faded in January.

As well as the Slovenia international starlet, it is now believed that Eintracht Frankfurt newbie Hugo Ekitiké is on their list of targets.

Arsenal "majorly considering" Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike

According to CaughtOffside, Arsenal are “majorly considering” Ekitike as a cheaper alternative to Isak, following the Frenchman’s brilliant 24/25 campaign where he’s managed 17 goals in all competitions thus far.

Ekitike was on the fringes of PSG’s first-team before making an initial loan move to Frankfurt in 2024, with the Bundesliga side then opting to make his transfer permanent last summer.

The 22-year-old has enjoyed a new lease of life in Germany, so much so that his form is now attracting serious interest from both Arsenal and London rivals Chelsea. However, as expected, Ekitike’s club are in no rush to sell him, and will demand a set fee of £60 million to let the forward go before next season.

Interestingly, West Ham were heavily linked with a summer deadline day move for Ekitike in 2023, so this isn’t the first time he’s garnered attention from English clubs.

“There is something very special about him,” said former Reims boss Oscar Garcia. “He’s young, and he has the quality to become a very good player. He’s a young man with a lot of quality but also a lot to improve on, but he works hard in training.”

West Ham United are facing a summer rebuild under new manager Graham Potter, and the squad could look very different by the start of the next Premier League season.

West Ham players who could leave at the end of the season

The Hammers have some key decisions to make in regard to notable squad members, with Aaron Cresswell, Vladimir Coufal, Danny Ings and Michail Antonio all set to leave West Ham on free deals this year as things stand.

West Ham open talks with striker's agent amid potential £62m discount

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Those players’ deals expire in July, meaning they’re free to find new clubs with zero compensation to West Ham. Long-serving goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski is in the same boat, but it is worth noting that Potter’s side have a one-year extension option in the Pole’s contract.

Uncertainty also surrounds the future of Lucas Paqueta, who is currently at the centre of match-fixing allegations, while another star player in winger Mohammed Kudus may well leave West Ham this summer.

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April 1st

Reports in the build-up to January claimed that Kudus is frustrated at West Ham, and the Ghanaian has so far not matched his imperious 2023/24 form with a spell of inconsistency on the field.

His contract includes an £85m release clause which will become active this summer, but it is unclear which sides would be eager to fork out such a marquee fee.

Loanee midfielder Carlos Soler is likely to return to PSG after his loan spell, while some media sources suggest that West Ham could look to sell Jean-Clair Todibo immediately after triggering the obligation to buy in his temporary deal from Nice.

West Ham have no option to buy Evan Ferguson after his loan, meaning Potter will be a striker short once again before the summer window opens.

Luizao in talks to leave West Ham with transfer expected

According to club insider ExWHUemployee, we can add young Brazilian defender Luizao to the growing list of players who are expected to depart Rush Green sooner rather than later.

The 22-year-old has found it difficult to break into West Ham’s senior side since signing for the east Londoners from Sao Paulo in 2023, with the David Moyes signing now looking for an alternate route into first-team football.

Luizao is now in talks to join Pogoń Szczecin from West Ham, and a transfer is even expected to happen in the next few days.

“Brazilian academy defender Luizao is in talks to join Polish side Pogoń Szczecin,” reported Ex.

“The player had been in talks about both a loan and permanent move and was keen to start playing first-team football.

“Despite his young age, the Brazilian has a wife and kids and is looking to settle somewhere and kick on with a first-team career. The Polish transfer window closes this Monday and Luizao is expected to make his move official before then.”

Once called a “fantastic” young player by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, his stay at West Ham has been a disappointing one.