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Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca isn’t resting on his laurels in the transfer market as he attempts to get several deals done swiftly.

Jamie Gittens looks to be closing in on a move to Stamford Bridge. Borussia Dortmund accepted a bid of around £55m for the English talent, and he is set to have his medical soon.

The move for the 20-year-old is certainly a statement of intent by Maresca, but the Blues are also closing in on another attacking player.

Indeed, Joao Pedro looks set to make the move from Brighton and Hove Albion to Chelsea, as the Blues have agreed a deal worth up to £60m for the versatile forward.

Why Chelsea are signing Joao Pedro

Maresca will be looking to move on both Christoper Nkunku and João Felix during the summer transfer window.

As such, bringing in a versatile forward like Pedro makes perfect sense. He may have scored just ten goals in the top flight last season, but his attributes stretch to more than just finding the back of the net.

Indeed, he demonstrated his creative side by registering 11 big chances in the top flight, along with averaging 1.1 key passes and 1.1 successful dribbles per game for Brighton. This certainly proves he’s a particularly dangerous player in the final third.

This is the sort of forward that can thrive in Maresca’s system, no doubt about that. Add someone like Gittens on the wing, and it is a recipe for success.

Goals

10

Assists

6

Big chances created

11

Key passes per game

1.1

Successful dribbles per game

1.1

Shots per game

1.7

The Blues may be paying a premium price for the Brazilian, but they’ve had success when signing a similar player before…

The Chelsea star who's worth more than Pedro

When Chelsea spent £40m to sign Palmer from Manchester City in 2023, plenty of eyebrows were raised.

Not because of the fee, but because Pep Guardiola decided to let a player of such potential leave for so cheap. The Spaniard even lauded the player as having a “special quality” in front of goal after he scored his first Champions League goal for City, aged just 18.

The Stamford Bridge side have witnessed Palmer’s maturation over the previous two seasons, going from a winger to an attacking midfielder and even a false 9, starring in similar positions on the pitch to the incoming Pedro.

Across 94 games in all competitions, the 23-year-old has registered an enormous 68 goal contributions – 40 goals and 28 assists – in just 94 matches.

These statistics have more than repaid the £40m spent on him two years ago, but Palmer shines across other areas also.

When compared to his peers in Europe’s top five leagues, the former City starlet ranks in the top 12% for progressive passes (6.04) per 90, while also ranking in the top 10% for total shots (3.41) and in the top 5% for shot-creating actions (5.7) per 90.

This set of figures proves that Palmer is one of the finest attacking midfielders on the continent, which is evidenced by his market value.

According to Transfermarkt, the youngster is now valued at a whopping €120m (£102m), which is an incredible rise from the £40m they paid in 2023.

Not only that, but he is worth way more than Pedro, suggesting the Blues have struck gold by bringing Palmer to London.

He'd be unplayable with Pedro: Chelsea also trying to sign £85m PL star

Chelsea are looking to sign a Premier League winger

1 ByRoss Kilvington Jun 30, 2025

Afghanistan boosted their Super Eight chances with yet another dominating win, this time thumping New Zealand by 84 runs in Providence. Having beaten Uganda by 125 runs in their opening match, they are now at the top of Group C with a net run rate of 5.225.After being sent in, Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran gave Afghanistan a start of 103 in 14.3 overs. It came off the back of the 154 the pair added against Uganda, thus making them the first opening pair to register two successive century stands in the history of the T20 World Cup.Afghanistan’s was an innings of two halves. They scored 55 for no loss in the first ten overs and 104 for 6 in the last ten, with Gurbaz contributing 80 off 56 balls. New Zealand, who had decided not to play any warm-up games, looked every bit rusty as their fielders dropped catches and missed run-out opportunities.With the pitch assisting both seamers and spinners, chasing 160 was not going to be easy. But few would have expected New Zealand to collapse in the manner they did.Related

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Fazalhaq Farooqi picked up three wickets in the powerplay and Rashid Khan three just after it. Eventually, both ended with identical figures of 4 for 17 as New Zealand were bowled out for 75 in the 15.2 overs. Glenn Phillips and Matt Henry were the only New Zealand batters to reach the double digits.

Afghanistan’s shaky start

Trent Boult found some swing in the opening over but Gurbaz and Ibrahim showed their intent by picking up three fours off Henry from the other end.Both batters had luck on their side, too. Gurbaz got a second life when he skipped down the track to Santner and missed the ball, which went on to brush the leg stump but the bails did not budge. In the following over, Finn Allen dropped Ibrahim off Henry at the deep-square-leg boundary.That was not all. Gurbaz got another reprieve after being involved in a miscommunication with Ibrahim. Having taken off for a single, Gurbaz had to retrace his steps and would have been run out had Conway not fumbled the throw.Two balls later, New Zealand finally seemed to have found success when Santner pinged Ibrahim’s pads and umpire Kumar Dharmasena ruled it lbw. But the batter got the decision overturned on review as the ball was heading down the leg side. Immediately after that, Ibrahim hit Santner for an inside-out four as Afghanistan ended the powerplay on 44 for no loss.

Bracewell, Ferguson put the brakes on

New Zealand went against the prevailing wisdom of not bowling an offspinner when two right-hand batters at the crease, and Michael Bracewell repaid that faith by conceding only six off his first two overs.Lockie Ferguson was even more frugal, going for five in his first two. He could have had Ibrahim off a slower full toss but a leaping Kane Williamson failed to pull off a one-handed stunner at mid-off. That meant while Afghanistan remained unscathed, they had only 55 on the board after ten overs.

The acceleration

Afghanistan had not hit a single six in the first ten overs, but there were five in the next three, including three in one Bracewell over as Gurbaz and Bracewell stepped on the accelerator. The pair took the side past 100 in the 14th over. New Zealand finally broke through when Ibrahim bottom-edged a short ball from Henry onto his stumps, after having been hit on the grille on the previous delivery.Promoted to No. 3, Azmatullah Omarzai played his part with 22 off 13, which included two sixes in three balls off Henry. Mohammad Nabi fell for a first-ball duck but Gurbaz kept finding the boundary at regular intervals. However, a three-wicket, three-run final over by Boult kept Afghanistan to 159.Rahmanullah Gurbaz scored his second fifty in as many games•ICC/Getty Images

Farooqi rocks New Zealand early

Farooqi gave Afghanistan a dream start with the ball. With the very first delivery of the innings, he uprooted Finn Allen’s leg stump as the ball moved in late. In the seamer’s next over, Conway pushed at one that seemed to come slower off the surface and was caught at extra cover.The decision to give Farooqi a third over in the powerplay brought further rewards. This time, bowling around the wicket to Daryl Mitchell, he got a length delivery to just straighten and take the outside edge. Gurbaz took a regulation catch to complete the dismissal and leave New Zealand 28 for 3.It could have been worse for New Zealand. In between, Naveen-ul-Haq had rapped Kane Williamson’s front pad after the batter had moved across to play a delivery. Afghanistan sent it upstairs for an lbw review but the umpire’s call saved the New Zealand captain.

Rashid joins the party

Afghanistan did not have to wait too long for Williamson’s wicket. Rashid brought himself on after the powerplay and struck straightaway as Williamson guided one to first slip. But Rashid was just warming up. In his next over, he dismissed Mark Chapman and Bracewell off successive deliveries to leave New Zealand on 43 for 6. Chapman went for a pull and got bowled; Bracewell was late to bring his bat down and was lbw.Phillips was New Zealand’s last hope. He did hit a couple of boundaries but was soon caught at long-on when he tried to take on Nabi. That ended any hopes of revival New Zealand might have had.

Manchester United might have fallen by the wayside under Ruben Amorim’s leadership last season, but INEOS are acting with intent in the transfer market to get Old Trafford back on course.

While Erik ten Hag’s dismissal last October was the right decision, a belated decision, a wholly different tactical plan issued by Amorim sank United further into their troubles, leading to a 15th-place Premier League finish and defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League final.

But the Red Devils are one of the biggest clubs in the world, and their peerless pull is still intact. Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Matheus Cunha has already been signed, and Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo wants the move despite rival interest carrying the promise of Champions League football.

And once again, another Premier League star with their feet higher placed up the league ladder wants to move to the Theatre of Dreams this summer.

Man Utd in talks for PL star

As per Football Insider, Man United are engaged in daily talks with Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez, who is anticipated to be switching clubs this summer.

The 32-year-old bid an emotional and cryptic farewell to Villa Park in May and is valued at £40m. This is a sizeable figure for a goalkeeper, but the need to replace the beleaguered Andre Onana is clear for Amorim, and it must happen.

Atletico Madrid are also keen, as are numerous clubs over in the Saudi Pro League. Still, United are working tooth and nail to get this one over the line.

Why Man Utd must sign Emi Martinez

Described as being “genuinely world-class” by Sky Sports’ Dan Bardell, Martinez would be exactly the type of upgrade Man United need to spark their desperately needed resurgence.

An Arsenal career largely on the backbenches and out on loan in lower divisions ended when Aston Villa paid the Gunners £17m for the shot-stopper in 2020. The rest, as some say, is history.

Aston Villa

212

256

70

Argentina

53

23

37

Arsenal

38

41

16

Arsenal U21

37

41

11

Reading

18

23

5

Wolves

15

19

5

Sheff Wed

15

19

2

Rotherham

8

10

2

Getafe

6

9

2

Oxford United

1

3

0

United have already raided England’s Midlands for one of the region’s most talented footballers, signing Cunha for £62.5m, and now they can repeat the trick between the sticks, upgrading on Onana in the same way that the Brazilian forward has replaced Marcus Rashford and soon-to-be-sold Alejandro Garnacho.

Clearly, these are different players indeed, but both stand as pillars in their respective Premier League positions, instrumental for their respective ‘non-big-six’ outfits.

Underscoring his credentials on the biggest stage, Martinez was only beaten seven times in the Champions League last term, finishing Villa’s European campaign with an 83% save percentage. By contrast, Onana finished the season with a 63% save rate in the Europa League, leaving a trail littered with errors.

Martinez is a proven Premier League and Champions League goalkeeper who just so happens to have won the World Cup too, coming up trumps against Randal Kolo Muani in extra time before crucially saving from Kingsley Coman during the shootout.

He’s exactly what Amorim needs, blessed with good distribution and elite shot-stopping skills.

United have already raided the Midlands this summer for one of the Premier League’s biggest stars; it’s time to do it again.

Their own Haaland: Wilcox plotting big Man Utd move for "remarkable" £44m CF

Manchester United could be about to land a star who could emulate Erling Haaland’s success.

ByEthan Lamb Jun 20, 2025

Liverpool could be crowned champions of England, once again, if they manage to avoid defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Sunday.

Arne Slot is aiming to win a title in his first year in the country, having replaced Jurgen Klopp last summer, and only needs one more point to confirm it.

The Reds beat Leicester City 1-0 last time out at the King Power, consigning them to relegation to the Championship, and they now have the chance to win the Premier League title in front of a packed-out Anfield.

Whereas, when they won their first Premier League title, under Klopp, the players were forced to celebrate inside an empty arena due to restrictions.

Despite Liverpool being on course to win the division, the club are looking at ways to improve the squad in the upcoming summer transfer window, in order to give Slot the best possible chance of following up on his terrific debut season with more trophies next term.

The latest on Liverpool's interest in Premier League forward

According to Football Insider, Liverpool have a firm interest in West Ham United attacker Mohammed Kudus as they look to bolster their attacking options ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

The report claims that the Ghana international is ‘firmly’ on their radar heading into the summer transfer window, because of several factors. Liverpool are believed to be interested in his Premier League experience and his versatility to play in any of the positions across the attack.

Football Insider adds that the former Ajax star has a release clause in his contract that would allow teams from England to sign him for £80m, but that the Hammers are prepared to go lower than that and would be open to doing business for a fee of £70m.

The outlet adds that Slot wants to add a top-class attacker to his squad in the summer transfer window, with Kudus emerging as one of the club’s targets.

Transfer Focus

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

West Ham’s star winger is not at the top of Liverpool’s list of targets, however, and this suggests that they may have to miss out on others before they decide to go ahead with a move for the dynamo.

Football Insider also claims that a £70m deal would be difficult for the Reds to get over the line if they do press ahead with a swoop for his services, and that they could have to sell some of their current talent in order to facilitate a move.

What Mohammed Kudus could bring to Liverpool

As aforementioned, Liverpool would be signing a player with Premier League experience, having played 60 times in the division, and this suggests that he could hit the ground running.

Rather than taking a risk on a player from abroad who may not be able to adjust to the English top-flight, the Reds could snap up a proven performer in the league, making it less of a gamble.

Kudus would also provide impressive versatility across the frontline. He has played 46 or more matches in each position as a central midfielder, attacking midfielder, centre-forward, and right-winger in his career, which shows that the gem can adapt to playing in a multitude of roles across the pitch.

This means that Slot could play him out wide, through the middle as a striker, or as part of the midfield three, depending on the opposition and what suits the game, rather than being limited by the player only being effective in one particular role, for example.

Kudus, once described as a “game-changer” by analyst Ben Mattinson, can also provide quality at the top end of the pitch, as evidenced by his return of 18 goals and 12 assists in 75 matches for the Hammers to date, including 12 goals and 11 assists in the Premier League.

The 24-year-old ace has scored 11 goals from 12.02 xG, which means that the forward is performing around on par as a finisher, but he still has plenty of time left to develop and improve as a player at the age of 24.

The West Ham star, as you can see in the clip above, is an exciting player to watch who could get supporters off their feet with his ability on the ball, coupled with the goals and assists that he could provide.

This latest report about Liverpool’s interest in Kudus may not be exciting for everyone connected with the club, however, as it could be bad news for someone like Luis Diaz.

Why this is bad news for Luis Diaz

Football Insider’s report named the Colombia international as one of the players who could be sold in order to raise funds to afford a swoop for the West Ham attacker.

Diaz turned 28 in January and may now be at the peak of his market value, which could make it the best possible time for the club to cash in on him in the upcoming summer window.

It was reported earlier this month that there are teams in Saudi Arabia that are eyeing Diaz up as a potential target, and it was claimed in March that Barcelona are preparing to push for the ex-Porto star.

This suggests that Liverpool could have enough interest from other clubs to realistically cash in on the winger ahead of next season, which would provide them with more money to splash on new additions.

Luis Diaz (Premier League)	23/24	24/25
Appearances	37	32
xG	11.88	9.23
Big chances missed	13	9
Goals	8	11
Big chances created	5	8
Assists	5	5
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Diaz’s finishing quality has fluctuated between the last two seasons and Liverpool may wonder if his current form is a flash in the pan or a sign of things to come.

The Reds could decide that the interest in his services makes it the perfect time cash in on him whilst his stock is high, given his return at the top end of the pitch this season, and to use the cash to sign a younger replacement like Kudus.

Agent in England: Liverpool pushing to sign "immense" £30m Trent heir

Liverpool are set to lose their vice-captain on a free transfer this summer.

By
Angus Sinclair

Apr 26, 2025

Therefore, the news that Liverpool are interested in signing Kudus, who is four years younger than Diaz, could be bad news for the Colombian’s future at Anfield heading into next season.

Aqib and Masood have made it clear that the spin strategy is not short-term, but is it really a fix?

Danyal Rasool27-Jan-2025There has been lots of glorious myth-making of Pakistani fast-bowling. Of Sarfraz Nawaz, wily inventor of a new art no one new anything about. Of Imran Khan running in open chested, grace and effectiveness in equal measure, all culminating in a gazelle like gallop, creating the cricketer that led Pakistan’s greatest ever side. Of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, whose swing and accuracy were as addictively watchable as they were devastating, of Shoaib Akhtar, a high-speed train in a world of freight locomotives. The legends are passed on from one generation to another, and, for much of the region’s cricketing history, marked Pakistan out as the exception to the rule that the sub-continent was a land of spin-bowling specialists.The stories we tell of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali will be different, and nowhere near as enduring. After years of repeated failures to develop a home template in line with the self-image Pakistan wish to live up to, the current setup – led in part by Aqib Javed, member of Pakistan’s selection panel and all-format interim coach – dispensed with the idealism and injected realpolitik into their philosophy. The fast bowlers weren’t taking 20 wickets, and all attempts to prepare seam-friendly wickets had failed, as, seemingly, had the ability and willingness of many of their fast bowlers to actually play Test matches.Related

• Warrican bags five as West Indies win in Pakistan after 34 years

• Warrican dominates a series made for spinners in Multan

• Brathwaite: Had to be 'brave' on pitch where 'you are going to get out'

• Masood wants turning pitches in Pakistan domestic cricket

Their new idea was as brilliant as it was simple, hiding in plain sight. Pakistan had wizened old fingerspinners who always seemed to do well in spin-conducive conditions in domestic cricket. So, by way of fans and heaters, windbreakers and greenhouses, they prepared surfaces that ragged from day one, where fast bowlers were rendered as superfluous as horse-drawn carriages; seamers have bowled 17 overs for Pakistan in their last four Tests, and taken one wicket. Bat first, get the ball ragging, rinse, repeat.Pakistan finished the World Test Championship cycle at the bottom•AFP/Getty ImagesAnd supporters, despite disgruntlement from some quarters, were happy to sacrifice playing style at the altar of effectiveness. Drawbacks, such as what it meant for Pakistan’s fast bowling future, or the toll it would take on batters’ confidence and techniques could be ignored. Their captain Shan Masood went far enough to call it a “sacrifice” that the batters and fast bowlers were making. However, they had to win. That was the social contract.But if your only selling point is that the trains run on time, you do at the very least have to ensure the trains do, in fact, run on time. Over the past two days, West Indies demonstrated to Pakistan the precarity of that assumption. Any denunciation of Pakistan’s playing style over the past three Tests largely circled around whether these were sporting wickets of if they were doing Pakistan’s long-term prospects hard; that victory would be achieved was almost assumed. Before this Test, Aqib was already referencing the next World Test Championship cycle and how Pakistan would replicate these wickets because they needed to win “all their Test matches” at home to qualify for the final.Yet, results – on these surfaces more than perhaps any other – can tilt substantially on the flip of a coin. Pakistan were on the right side of it in two of the first three Test matches they won this way, but no pitch can guarantee you won’t have to bat fourth. And while three out of four wins is a vastly improved Test run than any Pakistan have managed at home in years, West Indies hoisting Pakistan by their own petard in Multan was a reminder of how few data points we have to extrapolate meaningfully into the future. Brendon McCullum’s “Bazball” approach to the England Test side began with a similar uptick in results to equally wild optimism over the first season, but longer sample sizes can provide surprisingly sobering reality checks.Pakistan were willing to ignore drawbacks of playing on a turner – like the toll it would take on batters’ confidence•AFP/Getty ImagesBut Pakistan have, to their credit, provided consistent clarity on their future intentions. An on-paper soft draw over the next cycle has encouraged Pakistan to dream of a possible slot at the WTC final in 2027, with the path invariably running through home wins. Masood backed his coach up, promising domestic cricket on similar pitches to help batters cope with opposition spin better.But Pakistan have to guard against chasing their own tails here; they may find they’re preparing for the season just passed than the one that follows. This was billed as the “bumper home Test season” with seven home games across three series, but it has come and gone, with their spin strategy “a new one for our batters, too” as Masood said. It may not be quite as new for them when the next season does roll around.Pakistan are scheduled to host South Africa later this year and then welcome Sri Lanka – a side that, in any case, they are unlikely to want to curate uber-spin tracks for – for two Tests in 2026. A year of honing batters’ spin techniques on pitches that have nothing for red-ball quicks is unlikely to be of much assistance when they travel away between March and August next year, five of which come in West Indies and England. Not to mention, of course, that in Pakistan, where the domestic red-ball season is jostled around at the mercy of different priorities, two years might as well be an epoch.The most flippant criticism of Aqibball, as it has come to be known, is that it was a short-term fix. But Aqib and Masood have made clear they don’t view it as short term, and Jomel Warrican’s West Indies showed them it may not necessarily even be a fix.

He’s still only 19, but the highs and lows he’s packed into a 13-Test career have accelerated his growth into a hugely impressive cricketer

Danyal Rasool30-Nov-2022He is only 13 Tests old, but there have been several moments when it’s felt like Naseem Shah has arrived.As early as in his third Test, in Karachi, when he became the second-youngest bowler to take five wickets in an innings, leading Pakistan to a 263-run win over Sri Lanka. Maybe you remember that hat-trick in the Rawalpindi twilight that broke open Bangladesh in February 2020. The 4 for 58 against Australia in Lahore perhaps sticks in the mind – he had recently returned after more than a year out with a niggling back injury. Or the second Test in Galle earlier this year, when he was thrust into the role of leading an attack that had lost Shaheen Shah Afridi to injury, and ended up the pick of the Pakistan bowlers.Related

• 'We are excited about the prospect of playing the WTC final' – Babar Azam

• The wunderkind from Lower Dir who conquered Sharjah

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• England in Pakistan: A history of controversy

For sheer exhilaration, though, it isn’t a performance, but a particular delivery that defines what makes Naseem the box-office cricketer he has grown into so quickly. It came against Ollie Pope at Old Trafford, one star in the making pitted against another. The ball had become old and soft, and Pope had built a 65-run stand with Jos Buttler as England chipped away at Pakistan’s first-innings total. It was a length ball, not short, but it was sent down with enough venom to lift like a bouncer. Pope fended at it and edged to gully, where Shadab Khan held on to a low catch.It was Pope’s nonplussed expression that added to the sense that this was a moment of sorts.Naseem hasn’t been with the Pakistan side for long, but he has managed to fit in enough highs and lows to almost mirror a whole career. Many moments felt like he had arrived, many made one worry that he had faded away.The debut in Brisbane in November 2019, when he was not yet 17 and very raw, and was coming off a personal tragedy, now feels like it came awfully soon. There’s always the possibility of a young bowler struggling to recover from a difficult first game like that: Muhammad Musa, who made his debut when still a teenager in the following Test in Adelaide, hasn’t played another Test. The back injury that hampered him kept him out for more than a year, and Pakistan’s history of fast bowlers with recurring injuries – and their unfortunate fates – raised fears that it might be career-threatening.

“I think it is a big achievement for him that he is still playing and is very fit and that shows how much hard work he has been doing. He is a legend, and I have learnt from him”Naseem Shah on James Anderson

Now, England’s arrival in Pakistan thrusts upon Naseem a responsibility he has only fleetingly carried for Pakistan before, that of leading the red-ball attack. With Afridi out for the series, Naseem has to, in all likelihood, take over new-ball responsibilities. For much of his career, Pakistan have deployed him as first change, looking to use the pace and the unpredictable bounce and seam movement he gets once the initial shine comes off the ball.A brief stint at Gloucestershire earlier in the year only ended up amounting to one-first class match, but Naseem has been steadily expanding his horizons in red-ball cricket. In a press conference on Tuesday, he pointed out that the benefits of his time in England extended beyond his game.”I had a good season. I enjoyed it a lot, and learnt a lot,” he said. “They were different conditions and different pitches. In life, you learn a lot when you live alone. I think bowling is not easy anywhere, but in England, you need to know the conditions and pitch. So yeah, it was a different type of experience.”England have arrived to play Test cricket in Pakistan after 17 years; Naseem was just two when they were last here. There have been plenty of peaks and troughs in the England-Pakistan relationship over this time – unsurprising, given there’s a generation’s gap between these two series. But straddling that gap is James Anderson, the only member of this England side to have toured Pakistan before.Naseem was keen to pay homage to Anderson’s longevity, which, given the 19-year-old’s ambitions, he would be keen to draw from.”I think it is a big achievement for him that he is still playing and is very fit and that shows how much hard work he has been doing,” Naseem said. “He does that required hard work, he is a legend, and I have learnt from him. The big thing about him is that he is still fit and playing at 40. He is a legend and knows everything about bowling, having played everywhere in the world.”Naseem Shah found himself among Pakistan’s spearheads during runs to the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup finals•AFP/Getty ImagesNaseem now feels very different from the painfully shy 16-year-old who found cricket’s invasive and at times hostile media a challenge at the start of his international career. There have been signs of Naseem growing into his own person, and the cheeky confidence of someone who retains his boyish charm even as he develops into the impressive young man he’s become.Speaking of England’s newfound aggression in the Test format, he didn’t seem fazed. “They take risk and play aggressively, that is their mindset and if they are succeeding in that so be it, we have to bowl accordingly and counter that.”He has dismissed Joe Root once before, but when asked about his plans for the batter, Naseem shot back with a smile: “Why should I tell you?”Naseem’s skills with the English language have come a long way since he made his debut, too, but when probed in a language he is still coming to grips with, he was blunt. “Brother, I have just 30% English,” he laughed. “My English is finished now, okay?”For the past three months, the focus had moved from Naseem the red-ball bowler to Naseem the limited-overs cricketer. It was quite a remarkable turnaround, given he hadn’t yet made his international white-ball debut until August, only to find himself among Pakistan’s spearheads during runs to the Asia Cup and T20 World Cup finals. He now returns to the format he lit up first, vastly more mature as a cricketer and, just as noticeably, as a person.Unbelievably, he is still a teenager. But now it does feel like Naseem Shah has arrived.

Also, why did Axar Patel bowl only three overs?

Karthik Krishnaswamy11-Oct-2020Rishabh Pant was injured, but why did the Delhi Capitals leave out Shimron Hetmyer?The Capitals only have two wicketkeepers in their squad, so Pant’s absence meant Alex Carey necessarily had to play. That meant one of their four overseas players would have to drop out, and with Marcus Stoinis, Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje un-droppables, the Capitals made the difficult decision to leave out Hetmyer despite him being the top-scorer with a 24-ball 45 in their previous game against the Rajasthan Royals.Did Shikhar Dhawan bat too conservatively?With Pant and Hetmyer out, Carey making his IPL debut, and with a bowling allrounder in Axar Patel slotted at No. 7, the Capitals may have been a little worried about their middle and lower order, which might have prompted Dhawan to bat with a little more caution, especially after two early wickets.There’s also a case to be made that Dhawan’s low strike rates are a little different to those of, say, KL Rahul. Where Rahul, this season, seems to be playing within himself, Dhawan has a more limited range of shots and can therefore be contained by good bowling. The Mumbai Indians planned and executed excellently against him, diligently keeping the ball away from his strong zones.But equally, the Mumbai Indians’ innings showed what Dhawan could have done to counteract those plans. Quinton de Kock and Suryakumar Yadav, in particular, made great use of the crease, moving across their stumps or away from them in order to play with the bowlers’ lines and target unguarded areas of the field. There was an example within the Capitals innings too, when Marcus Stoinis gave himself premeditated room to hit Trent Boult for a pair of boundaries either side of mid-off in the 16th over. Dhawan didn’t do enough of this, and finished unbeaten on 69 off 52.How did Krunal Pandya and Rahul Chahar keep the Capitals so quiet?Iyer is a noted six-hitter against any kind of spin bowling. Dhawan is a left-hander and should theoretically thrive against left-arm spinners and legspinners. Krunal is a left-arm spinner, Chahar is a legspinner.Krunal and Chahar bowled the bulk of their overs to these two batsmen and finished with combined figures of 2 for 53 in eight overs, conceding just three boundaries between them. How did they manage it?Axar Patel sent back Rohit Sharma but bowled only three overs•BCCIThis was partly down to the Capitals’ cagey approach through the middle overs but also to some good bowling. Chahar – much like the Kings XI Punjab’s Ravi Bishnoi against left-handers through this season – bowled from over the wicket to Dhawan and angled the ball across him and away from his natural hitting arc while mostly bowling wrong’uns and sliders. To Iyer, he bowled quickly and slightly short of length, making it hard for him to go over the top – especially with the long boundaries in Abu Dhabi – or step out.Krunal bowled back of a length and into the stumps, and occasionally fired one in really full against Dhawan.When Iyer finally decided to go big in the 15th over, he made a bright start, slicing Krunal for a four over point. But the left-armer went back to shorter lengths and straighter lines for the rest of the over, and Iyer couldn’t pull off the big hit. After hitting a one-bounce single to long-on, Iyer tried to go aerial again when he came back on strike, and holed out to deep midwicket.Why did Axar Patel bowl only three overs?Axar has been one of the Capitals’ most valuable players this season – his economy rate before this match was 4.50 – and he bowled two excellent overs in the powerplay, conceding just 12 runs and picking up the wicket of Rohit Sharma. He didn’t bowl too badly when he came back for the 13th over, despite conceding 12 runs – one of the two boundaries in the over came via a misfield from Prithvi Shaw in the deep. So why didn’t he bowl another over?Axar could have bowled the 15th over too, but with the Mumbai Indians needing only 47 from 36 at that stage with eight wickets in hand, the Capitals brought back Kagiso Rabada, probably to try and dismiss either Yadav or Ishan Kishan, both of whom are better players of spin than pace.Rabada went for 14 but sent back Yadav. The Capitals stuck with the medium pace of Marcus Stoinis for the next over, and he did well to get the wicket of the dangerous Hardik Pandya with a cross-seam delivery. With only four overs left thereafter, the Capitals went with the tried-and-tested route of their two best bowlers – Nortje and Rabada – finishing off their quotas in the 17th, 18th and 19th, leaving the 20th for either Axar or Stoinis or Harshal Patel. Stoinis has done the job before this season, so it was he who took the ball with the Mumbai Indians needing seven off six balls.Did the Capitals use their fielders in the right positions?Shaw isn’t the fleetest of fielders, and the Capitals seemed to station him in the so-called “hot zones” at two crucial junctures late in the game. In the 18th over, he was at deep square leg where Kishan’s pull just about cleared him and went over the rope. Shaw was at full stretch, and a taller fielder might have pulled off the catch.In the final over, with three runs required off five balls, Krunal knocked the ball just behind square on the off side and set off for a quick single. Kieron Pollard didn’t want the run initially, and a quicker fielder might have swooped on the ball from backward point and made him pay for the indecision. Shaw, despite going towards his natural right side, failed to make a clean pick-up, and let Pollard off the hook.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference on Tuesday, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta issued a rallying cry to supporters. “Be in your seats by 7.30pm,” he commanded.

Fans inside the Emirates Stadium did not disappoint. North London Forever blared out from the sound system and after an intense week in which they’d gone unbeaten against Spurs, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, the fans were very needed.

The Gunners failed to defeat ten-man Chelsea at the weekend and it was a performance that looked tired. Arsenal have enormous squad depth but injuries are already testing this crop of players. As a result, Arteta rang the changes for the visit of Brentford on Wednesday night.

Arsenal may well have secured a 2-0 victory but it was not a vintage performance. It was a display befitting of just how different the starting XI looked.

There were no Bukayo Saka or Eberechi Eze. Martin Odegaard and Noni Madueke started instead. With Gabriel Magalhaes and William Saliba still injured, the responsibilities at the heart of the defence fell to Cristian Mosquera and Piero Hincapie again.

Did they deliver? Well, Arsenal scored twice and kept a clean sheet, so it’s hard to argue against that.

Did Arsenal's midweek starters stake their claim?

Mosquera and Hincapie were rather patched together at the last minute when Saliba sustained a training injury late last week.

The Frenchman has now missed the last two games but for the two summer signings, this was a more composed and easier night than their showing at Stamford Bridge.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Hincapie has been brave and aggressive in both fixtures but Mosquera struggled against Chelsea, notably when it came to progressing the ball. Of course, a Brentford side missing the Premier League’s second top goalscorer in Igor Thiago for over an hour helped their cause, but if Arteta is going to be missing two of the world’s finest defenders, the stand-ins have proven they can more than do a job.

It was in attack where Arsenal perhaps struggled a bit more. While Set Piece FC seem to have become more about scoring from open play, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli didn’t do a huge amount to suggest they should be starting.

Madueke was energetic and effervescent on the right flank, performing four dribbles, two of which were successful, but he ultimately lacked end product, amassing two shots and failing to provide a key pass. Martinelli’s night was even worse. He had only one shot and completed just one dribble.

Odegaard, who stood in for Eze, was also lacking sharpness. The skipper created four key passes but lost six of his seven duels.

For Arteta, he will have been pleased with Mikel Merino, however. The Spaniard scored yet again, taking his goal tally as a centre-forward for the club to ten in 22 outings.

Arsenal have been fortunate that they can rely on their squad depth. They’ve missed Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus in recent weeks but Merino has more than stepped up.

It was the substitutes who changed the game on Wednesday too. Saka, who replaced Madueke, scored the second strike to seal all three points for the Londoners.

Yet, the goalscorers were pipped to the man of the match award by someone who’s been on the fringes of things this season.

Arsenal's man of the match against Brentford

The contributions that Saka and Merino came up with were vital but if it wasn’t for the performance of Ben White, this night would have been far more challenging.

For White, this has been a troubling last year or so of his career. Signed for a mega £50m back in 2021, he had established himself as a core member of the Arsenal side.

2021/22

37

0

2022/23

46

7

2023/24

51

9

2024/25

26

2

2025/26

8

1

He was notably described by journalist Tom Barclay as “one of the best prospects in English football” in the summer he moved from Brighton and in the early stages of his Arsenal career he lived up to that, amassing nearly 100 appearances between 2022/23 and 2023/24.

Last season, however, things began to unravel. Fellow right-back Jurrien Timber was back from an ACL injury and his form since has been impeccable. In the words of the Standard’s Simon Collings, he is “the best right-back in the Premier League right now.”

What didn’t help White last season were persistent injuries that meant he was never really able to build momentum.

In 2025/26, though, he’s been available all season but has been met with stubborn resistance from Arteta to play him. He’s not the first person to find himself in this position during the Spaniard’s tenure.

Think of the likes of Aaron Ramsdale, Kieran Tierney, Emile Smith Rowe or Oleksandr Zinchenko. While they all didn’t do a lot wrong in Arsenal colours, Arteta sought to upgrade them at the earliest opportunity available.

Zinchenko, in particular, has suffered the same fate as White has this season. When the Ukrainian signed for Arsenal from Manchester City he revolutionised the way Arsenal were able to play.

Previously, Arteta’s system saw Tierney flying forward from left-back but Zinchenko was fielded as an inverted full-back, something we now see from both Myles Lewis-Skelly and Riccardo Calafiori.

During that 2022/23 campaign, Zinchenko and White were vital from their respective roles in defence. They contributed in all phases of play. The former Man City man was finally moved on in the summer, albeit only on loan to Nottingham Forest and if White wasn’t careful, he may have been heading elsewhere too.

But, he revived his career on Wednesday, given just his second start in the top-flight all campaign. The defender’s only previous start came against Manchester United on the opening weekend and since then, Timber has made the spot his own.

When Brentford came to town, White rolled back the years. The 28-year-old was phenomenal, notably providing the assist for Merino’s opener.

He took home the player of the match award and deservedly so for a display in which the England international won more duels (10) and made more tackles (6) than any other player against Brentford. He also made more clearances than any of his Arsenal colleagues (6).

Many have tried and failed to get back in Arteta’s good books. Zinchenko and Ramsdale can testify to that. However, White has showcased that he’s still very much an elite full-back and he should not be dismissed just yet.

With Mosquera having had to limp off the field in the first half with an injury, replaced at centre-half by Timber, it would not be a surprise to see White back in the starting lineup this weekend against Aston Villa. On the evidence of this performance, he is undroppable right now.

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Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl must surely be looking forward to the January transfer window after his side were beaten 2-1 by Ferencvaros on Thursday night.

The Light Blues boss arrived after the summer transfer window, led by Russell Martin and Kevin Thelwell, which means that he has not had a chance to bring in any of his own players.

Rangers made 12 signings in the summer, though, and that means that they may have to part ways with a few players to make room for new signings to come through the door at Ibrox.

Players who could leave Rangers in January

Clinton Nsiala and Rabbi Matondo could be candidates to move on because they are the only two senior outfield players who have yet to play a single minute in any competition, per Transfermarkt.

If they want to play regular football in the second half of the campaign, Nsiala and Matondo may need to force their way out of Ibrox, on loan or permanently, next month.

Kieran Dowell, meanwhile, played six games under Russell Martin at the start of the season and has now been linked with a loan move to Hull, which could see him see out the rest of his Rangers contract down south.

Another player who has been linked with a move away from Ibrox in January is Djeidi Gassama. He is a reported target for Spanish side Villarreal, who are said to be ‘exploring’ the possibility of a deal for the winger next month.

Villarreal’s interest in signing the Frenchman presents the Light Blues with an intriguing dilemma ahead of the January transfer window, as they may have a big decision to make.

Why Rangers should sell Djeidi Gassama

Rangers signed the 22-year-old attacker from Sheffield Wednesday for a fee of £2.2m in the summer, and they should ruthlessly cash in on him if the Spanish team are willing to offer a decent profit on that.

The Frenchman’s performances for the Gers this season have been inconsistent, at best, and his recent displays on the pitch suggest that he should be dropped from the team.

Rangers have four more Scottish Premiership matches before the January window opens and he should not start another match for Rohl before being sold to Villarreal in January, as he has not done enough to warrant a starting berth.

Appearances

15

6

Starts

13

6

Goals

1

1

Minutes per goal

1,171

480

Key passes per game

0.9

0.7

Big chances created

1

1

Assists

1

0

As you can see in the table above, Gassama has only produced two goals in 21 appearances in the Premiership and the Europa League, despite starting almost every game, which shows that he has not been reliable in front of goal.

His dismal form in the final third in those competitions came as a bit of a surprise after he started his career at Ibrox with four goals in six matches in the Champions League qualifiers.

The 23-year-old attacker has been unable to live up to the hype that his early burst of goals created, with just two goals in all competitions since the end of the Champions League qualifiers.

Rangers Journal creator Kai Watson said that Gassama has “been a ghost” since those early weeks of the season, and it is hard to argue with that assessment when you consider his form in the Premiership and the Europa League.

Meanwhile, Mikey Moore, who has scored two goals in his last three appearances, and Findlay Curtis, who created a ‘big chance’ off the bench against Ferencvaros (Sofascore), are waiting in the wings to take his place on the left flank.

As Rangers have two other viable left-sided options, in Moore and Curtis, Rohl can afford to take Gassama out of the starting line-up for the next four matches, using him as an impact substitute instead.

This would then give the other two players a chance to prove that they have what it takes to hold down that position moving forward, allowing Rangers to ruthlessly cash in on Gassama if Villarreal come knocking in January.

Selling the French ‘ghost’ could also provide Rohl with funds to bring in his own players in other positions, depending on how much the Spaniards are willing to pay for his services.

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Therefore, placing Gassama on the bench for the next few weeks before selling him in January could be a move that is in the club’s best interests, if Villarreal’s interest is serious.

One of the targets Leeds United have for the January transfer window seems to be a new striker. Despite bringing Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha in for free over the summer, they have been lacklustre in front of goal, and are now set to sign a new number nine.

Indeed, that player could be Troy Parrott. The former Tottenham Hotspur star is said to be a key target for the Whites going into the winter transfer window.

However, the 49ers will not have a clear run at his signature, with Wolverhampton Wanderers also keen on the £20m-rated star.

Indeed, the Irish international is a man in excellent goalscoring form, sparking such interest.

Why Leeds want to sign Parrott

£20m is a small fee in the current transfer market, and Parrott certainly seems like he’d be worth that sort of price. The 23-year-old has been in excellent goalscoring form this season for both his club, Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, and his country, Ireland.

For the Dutch top-flight side, the Spurs academy graduate has bagged an impressive 14 goals in 15 appearances, chipping in with a couple of assists, too. His form in the Eredivisie has been scintillating, with seven goals in eight appearances.

However, what has really stood out of late is Parrott’s form for Ireland.

He became a national hero earlier in the month, bagging five times in just two World Cup qualifiers to help guide his side to the playoffs and keep their dream of going Stateside next summer well and truly alive.

The 33-cap Ireland star kicked off November’s qualifiers by scoring twice to sink Portugal in a 2-0 win. Next up was a game against Hungary, in which the centre-forward bagged a remarkable hat-trick, scoring the third in stoppage time, to secure a 3-2 win and a playoff spot.

To fund the signing of Ireland’s striker, though, Leeds might first have to sell one of their highest earners.

The player Leeds must now sell

After a summer of heavy spending under the new 49ers regime, there is no saying just how much Leeds will have at their disposal in January.

The reported £20m fee for Parrott isn’t too expensive in the grand scheme of things, but who knows how much the Whites have left in the bank?

Thus, it might be the case that Jack Harrison has to depart the club in January. He has not been in good form this season after returning to the club following two years on loan at Everton, and isn’t necessarily loved by the fans. They even booed him in a preseason friendly upon his return.

Indeed, Harrison has not been the most trusted lieutenant this season under Daniel Farke. He’s played ten times in the Premier League, but has only started once and has racked up just 262 minutes.

Whilst the Stoke-born winger has yet to bag this term, he has scored 34 times and assisted 32 for Leeds across his career.

Perhaps the highlight of that was a hat-trick away to West Ham United back in 2022. However, he simply can’t reach that sort of form nowadays.

As for his time as an Everton player, those were a forgettable couple of seasons. The former Middlesbrough star played 73 games for the Toffees, but could only muster nine goals and assists.

Premier League legend Gary Neville said at the end of last season that his “quality’s been poor” for the Merseysiders.

It is easy to see why Harrison might be the fall guy for Leeds if they are to sell someone. Valued at £10.5m by Transfermarkt, he is also the second-highest earner at the club, on £90k per week, a yearly total of £4.68m.

Leeds top 5 highest earners
Player	Weekly wage	Yearly wage
Dominic Calvert-Lewin	£100k	£5.2m
Jack Harrison	£90k	£4.68m
Sean Longstaff	£80k	£4.16m
Daniel James	£75k	£3.9m
Noah Okafor	£72.5k	£3.77m
Information via Football Fancast

Selling Harrison this winter could help Leeds raise the funds they need to add to their squad up front. Depth on the left wing is not necessarily an issue, with Noah Okafor and Wilfried Gnonto both fighting it out for a starting spot out there.

If Leeds can help themselves sign Parrott by selling Harrison, a player who hasn’t exactly set the world alight with his form this term, then it might be an excellent piece of business.

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