The Club World Cup might be a mixed bag for Chelsea at the moment, but next season looks rather exciting.

Enzo Maresca will lead his side into the Champions League for the first time, and be hoping for an even better finish in the Premier League.

The best way for the club to help him with that quest is by delivering him the right players over the coming weeks and months, and while they’ve made a good start, there is still plenty of work to do.

Fortunately, the Blues continue to be linked to dangerous forward Hugo Ekitiké, and if recent reports are to be believed, they are now closing in on another attacker who’d be a dream teammate for him.

Chelsea move for attacking reinforcements

The links between Chelsea and Ekitike first started to pop up around late March of this year while he was scoring for fun for German outfit Eintracht Frankfurt.

Transfer Focus

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

The links then quieted down for a couple of months before resurfacing again this summer, and based on stories from earlier this month, the club have been in talks to sign the Frenchman for around £84m.

There are, of course, other teams vying with the West Londoners for the forward’s signature, with Liverpool one of the more notable competitors, but if the last twenty years have taught us anything, it’s that the Pensioners are good at getting who they want.

However, while the prospect of signing the Frankfurt poacher is certainly exciting, it looks like the Blues are now closing in on another talented attacker from the Bundesliga.

At least, that’s according to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, who has claimed that Chelsea have reached an agreement on personal terms with Jamie Gittens.

However, that does not mean the transfer is sorted, as the Italian journalist reaffirms that an agreement with Borussia Dortmund is yet to be reached.

While Romano does not mention how much the German side want for the dynamic winger, reports from earlier this week revealed that a fee of around £55m could do the trick.

It’s a lot of money, but given Gittens’ ability and potential, this is a transfer Chelsea should be fighting for, especially as he’d be incredible alongside Ekitike.

Why Gittens would be a dream teammate for Ekitike

This was well and truly Ekitike’s breakout year for Frankfurt, as while he’s been good in campaigns prior, he was near enough unstoppable at points for the German outfit this season.

For example, in 48 appearances, totalling 3644 minutes, the young Frenchman was able to score 22 goals and provide 12 assists, which comes out to a brilliant average of a goal involvement every 1.41 games, or every 107.17 minutes.

So, with that said, why would Gittens help get even more out of him? There are two primary reasons, and the first is the Englishman’s output.

Across all competitions this season, the most productive, primarily left-sided winger at Chelsea was Jadon Sancho, who managed to produce 15 goal involvements in 41 games but has returned to Manchester United.

After that, it was Mykhaylo Mudryk, who looks unlikely to feature for some time, and then in third is youth product Tyrique George.

Appearances

49

42

15

25

Minutes

2803′

2426′

849′

1131′

Goals

12

5

3

2

Assists

5

10

5

5

Goal Involvements per Match

0.34

0.35

0.53

0.28

Minutes per Goal Involvements

164.88′

161.73′

106.12′

161.57′

So, in short, somehow, the West Londoners have found themselves looking short on numbers and quality when it comes to out-and-out left-wingers, which are two issues solved by the Dortmund star, as he racked up 17 goal involvements in just 2803 minutes across 49 games this season.

So, it’s not unrealistic to think that he could both help provide the Frankfurt ace with more goalscoring opportunities and get on the end of the chances he creates as well.

Finally, on top of the output, the 20-year-old “difference-maker,” as dubbed by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, also has some genuinely impressive underlying numbers that could be useful for his potential new teammate.

According to FBref, he sits in the top 1% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons and shot and goal-creating actions from take-ons and then the top 2% for take-ons attempted, all per 90.

This shows that not only is the youngster someone who likes to try and make things happen by himself, but someone who is capable of doing that, and if he’s constantly creating opportunities from out wide, then there will be more space for Ekitike to operate down the middle.

Ultimately, Chelsea should be looking to sign the Frankfurt goal machine, but if they want to get more out of him and dramatically improve their left-hand side, they should sign Gittens alongside him.

Chelsea ready to offer £80k-p/w ace in exchange for "amazing" 17 G/A star

The Blues could have a transfer trick up their sleeve.

BySean Markus Clifford Jun 24, 2025

Fast-bowling allrounder returned 4 for 21 before a fighting innings from Athapaththu confined TKR to a runners-up finish

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Aug-2024A four-wicket haul from fast-bowling allrounder Aaliyah Alleyne paved the way for Barbados Royals’ second Women’s Caribbean Premier League title. In a low-scoring final, Royals restricted Trinbago Knight Riders to 93 for 8 before overhauling the target with five overs to spare. Royals were the defending champions and finished runners-up in the inaugural WCPL in 2022.After being asked to bat, TKR started on the right note with captain Deandra Dottin – back in West Indies’ squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 after reversing her international retirement – smacking a six off Chinelle Henry in the opening over. But things went down south for them after Royals’ skipper Hayley Matthews got one to sneak in through Dottin in the second over. Henry then dismissed Jemimah Rodrigues, who ensured TKR’s qualification with a half-century in the previous outing, caught and bowled for just two.Related

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Opening the batting in place of Harshitha Samarawickrama, who was left out, Jannillea Glasgow then added 43 for the third with Shikha Pandey, who was promoted to No. 4. The introduction of Alleyne in the 12th over changed the course of the game. She struck on her first ball to have Glasgow miscue one to mid-off before cleaning up Pandey in her next over.Alleyne’s double-wicket 16th over, where she dismissed Chedean Nation and Zaida James within four balls, brought TKR to a screeching halt. Three of her four wickets broke the batters’ stumps, and she achieved that by constantly keeping the stumps in play.Chasing 94 for back-to-back titles, Royals raced off inside the powerplay with Chamari Athapaththu being the aggressor. She struck three consecutive fours off Jess Jonassen in the fourth over and then a further three off Shamilia Connell in the penultimate over of the powerplay, at the end of which, Royals were 48 for 0.Offspinner Samara Ramnath, TKR’s leading wicket-taker in WCPL 2024, then dismissed Matthews – caught by a diving Dottin at backward point. A few overs later, Connell pulled off an athletic catch at long-on to get rid of Qiana Joseph for Ramnath’s second wicket. A couple of balls after taking a catch to dismiss Alleyne at long-on, though, Connell landed on the boundary cushion in an attempt to catch a Laura Harris hit and hurt her ankle. She had to be stretchered off, and the West Indies management will be monitoring her recovery since she is part of the T20 World Cup squad.Despite losing three wickets for two runs in the middle, Athapaththu kept at it and sealed Royals’ win in the 15th over to set the celebrations off. The result was fitting for Royals, who lost only one match this season. Matthews was the Player of the Tournament, thanks to a chart-topping 11 wickets and the second-most runs in WCPL 2024.

Celtic have been fairly busy in the summer transfer window as they look to improve their squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign getting underway next month.

However, there have not been many big splashes in the market for Brendan Rodgers and his side, as the £2m deal to sign Benjamin Nygren is the most they have spent on one player so far.

The Hoops have brought in Kieran Tierney, Ross Doohan, and Callum Osmand on free transfers, and brought in Shin Yamada and Hayato Inamura in from Japan alongside the move for Nygren.

Celtic may have more work to do yet in the transfer market, potentially with bigger deals made to improve the team, after they were hammered 5-1 by Ajax in their most recent pre-season friendly.

After the match, Rodgers claimed that Celtic need to improve the squad if they really want to be ambitious and progress as a club, which shows what he thinks about what needs to happen in the coming weeks.

You do not just need to bring in big-money players from abroad to significantly improve the squad, though, as the Hoops have had success in the domestic market in the past, perhaps most notably with Scott Brown.

Celtic hit the jackpot with Scott Brown

The Scottish Premiership giants hit the jackpot with the central midfielder because they snapped him up from one of their league rivals and he went on to be a legend for the club.

Celtic reportedly paid a fee of around £4.4m to sign the midfield star from Hibernian in the summer of 2007, and that remains the biggest deal between two Scottish teams in history.

It was a deal that turned out to be well worth the money for the Bhoys, though, as Brown went on to play a staggering 618 matches for the club in all competitions, scoring 46 goals and providing 63 assists from the middle of the park.

The former Celtic captain won ten Scottish Premiership titles and 12 domestic cups in his time at Parkhead, whilst he also won the Player of the Year in the league in both 2009 and 2018, which shows that the midfielder enjoyed an incredibly successful time on the pitch.

Celtic struck gold by splashing the cash on the Scotland international because they were signing a young player who had already proven his quality in the division with Hibernian, which meant that he was able to hit the ground running as a proven star.

He did not need any time to adapt to the league or the country, and that made Brown a fantastic short-term signing, which then laid the foundation for him to go on to be a phenomenal long-term signing for the Scottish giants.

The Scottish star was not a player who was then sold on for millions in profit but they more than made back the money they spent on him through the trophies that he helped the team to win over the years.

Celtic have long-term interest in Premiership star

The Premiership champions could repeat their Scott Brown masterclass by splashing the cash on another midfielder from a fellow Scottish team this summer.

Transfer Focus

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

According to The Scottish Sun, Celtic are long-term admirers of Motherwell central midfielder Lennon Miller, who looks set to be on the move in the coming weeks.

The report claims that Serie A side Udinese are leading the race to land the Scotland international’s signature, as they are preparing a fresh bid to sign him.

It adds that Bologna and unnamed clubs from Germany are also interested in signing the 18-year-old starlet, and it is said that a move abroad currently appeals to the player.

The Scottish Sun claims that he has a price tag of £5m, which means that the Hoops will need to break the Scottish record that was set by the £4.4m move for Brown if they are to beat the likes of Udinese and Bologna to his services this summer.

Why Celtic should sign Lennon Miller

Celtic must push to convince Miller to turn down interest from clubs abroad to complete a Scottish record transfer for £5m this summer because he could be a fantastic addition to their squad.

The Scotland international turns 19 in August and this means that the Hoops would be signing a central midfielder who has plenty of time left ahead of him to replicate the kind of success Brown had at Parkhead.

Whilst he may not go on to play over 600 matches for Celtic, as the club’s model is to develop and then sell players, Miller could still enjoy a lengthy career in Glasgow before potentially moving on in the future.

As Brown did when he arrived from Hibernian, the teenage central midfield star could hit the ground running at Parkhead as a player who has already proven his quality in the Premiership, after an impressive 2024/25 campaign that led to him earning a senior Scotland call up.

Tackle success rate

68%

Top 28%

Duels won

5.84

Top 36%

Duel success rate

53%

Top 31%

Interceptions

1.38

Top 14%

Ball recoveries

6.52

Top 10%

Blocks

0.48

Top 28%

As you can see in the table above, Miller was among the best in his position in the Premiership when it came to making defensive interventions last season, ranking highly in a host of key defensive metrics.

To go along with his excellent work out of possession, the £5m-rated star also scored two goals and provided eight assists from the middle of the park, which shows that the youngster can offer a threat at the top end of the pitch as well as being combative and effective off the ball.

These statistics show that Miller, who has been hailed as “ridiculous” by pundit James McFadden, is a fantastic box-to-box player who has the potential to impact games by contributing in and out of possession in the Premiership, much like Brown did during his time as a player in Glasgow.

At the age of 18, the Scottish maestro also has plenty of time to grow and develop as a player, which means that Celtic would be signing him for the future as well as for the here and now.

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Therefore, the Hoops could repeat the masterclass they played with Brown by paying £5m to sign a proven Premiership star and fantastic young talent this summer.

كشف الدكتور أشرف عمر، أستاذ الكبد والجهاز الهضمي كلية طب القصر العيني ورئيس جمعية سرطان الكبد، موعد تعافي إمام عاشور لاعب الأهلي من فيروس A.

وقال الطبيب في تصريحات لبرنامج “لعبة والتانية” على “راديو ميجا إف إم”، مع كريم رمزي: “فيروس  A مثل فيروس الدم لا يسبب أي أزمات مزمنة على الكبد، ولكن أزمته أنه يسبب التهاب وارتفاع درجة الحرارة”.

طالع| طبيب كبد يكشف تفاصيل مثيرة حول مرض إمام عاشور.. ويحذر من انتكاسة خطيرة للاعب

وتابع أستاذ الكبد والجهاز الهضمي، أن خطورة الفيروس على كبار السن، إذ ينتقل عن طريق الطعام والشراب، وهو معد للغاية، ولكنه غير خطير.

وأضاف: “الفرق التي تسافر خارج مصر أكثر عرضة للإصابة بالفيروسات المعدية، لذلك لا بد من التطعيم بشكل جيد قبل السفر لا سيما إلى البلاد الإفريقية”.

واختتم: “إمام عاشور ممنوع تمامًا أن يبذل أي مجهود عضلي في الوقت الحالي، ويحتاج ما لا يقل عن 3 أسابيع من أجل التعافي بشكل تام ويكون جاهزًا للمباريات مع الأهلي”.

Fast bowler expected to win debut during five-match ODI series against Australia

Matt Roller17-Sep-2024

John Turner toured the Caribbean with England in December•Ashley Allen/Getty Images

England will test out their fast-bowling depth when they unleash seven seamers across their ODI series against Australia. A tight schedule of five matches in 11 days – starting at Trent Bridge on Thursday – will demand some degree of rotation, which could aid Hampshire’s John Turner in his long-standing bid to make his international debut.Turner is 23 and only finished an economics and finance degree at Exeter University this summer, but has been on the fringes of England white-ball selection for over a year. He was first named in a squad for last summer’s T20I series against New Zealand, but was ruled out through injury, and was then an unused member of the touring party in the Caribbean in December.After running the drinks during last week’s drawn T20I series, Turner looks set to win first cap at some stage in the Australia ODIs – not least with Jofra Archer’s workload being managed, and three of England’s seven fast-bowling options (Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Olly Stone) flying to Pakistan for October’s Test series days after the final ODI on September 29. Saqib Mahmood’s late addition to the squad on Tuesday further underlined that there will be regular changes through the series.”Just being in the squad is a cool experience for myself,” Turner said. “But you obviously want to and hope to debut at some point, and hopefully that comes at some stage in this series… being in and around the squads and the players, you naturally improve and you naturally learn.Related

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“I definitely would say I’m in a much better place now than I was this time last year, but I’ve still got quite a long way to go: I’m not anywhere near the finished product… The way you approach the game with different ideas for different batsmen and different scenarios, that’s what I end up taking from these types of environments.”Turner has an unmistakable South African accent and only moved to the UK four years ago. But his pace piqued England’s interest during his first T20 campaign for Hampshire last summer and he has taken regular wickets throughout his young professional career, with a bowling average below 20 in all three formats.England are still hoping to identify a middle-overs wicket-taker in the Liam Plunkett mould and Jos Buttler – who will watch this series from the sidelines due to his calf injury – hinted last week that Turner could be used in a similar role. “[It’s about] finding ways to break partnerships and take wickets, which is crucial in those 50-over games,” Buttler said. “Having high pace is certainly a way of doing that.”Turner broke the 90mph/145kph barrier while playing for Trent Rockets this year and describes himself as “naturally competitive”. His Hundred season started in bizarre fashion – he was removed from the attack with figures of 0-0-5-0 against London Spirit after consecutive beamers – but he quickly recovered, taking five wickets in his next two games.He has enjoyed the challenge of playing in the Hundred – “constantly bowling against the best… you’re always under pressure” – and in particular, having his speeds tracked. “Post-game, I’ll probably end up watching every single ball back to see what speed I was at… it’s quite handy to know at times: almost don’t try too hard and it works itself out.”Turner believes that there will be “healthy competition” among England’s fast bowlers in their ODI series. “I’ve never played in the same team as Jof, and I probably won’t be as quick as him. But if I’m bowling with him, if I see his speed on the board, I’ll be like, ‘let me see if I can match him.’ I’m naturally competitive and I’ll naturally want to try and be the quickest.Turner jumps in celebration during the Hundred•PA Images via Getty Images

“It’s probably healthy competition if we have that as well… Pace is my point of difference, but around that, I want to have the skillset also to be able to compete. It’s always exciting to have a full stock of fast bowlers: the crowd enjoy watching sixes and boundaries, but I think it’s quite enjoyable watching guys bowling 85-plus and pure speed.”Despite having played only twice in the County Championship this year, Turner’s ambitions extend across formats. He missed the start of the season with a knee injury and has struggled to break into a Hampshire seam attack which boasts both Mohammad Abbas and Kyle Abbott as spearheads.”Just being in and around them has been a good learning area for me: they’ve helped me improve my game immensely,” Turner said. “That’s definitely the way I want my career to pan out. I’d like to be an all-format [player]: Test cricket, white-ball and franchise stuff. I don’t really want to put myself into a single category.”John Turner was speaking at Hampshire’s Utilita Bowl to mark the installation of 1044 solar panels at the venue, as part of an industry-leading partnership with Utilita Energy

Newcastle United have now identified their next target after a move for Anthony Elanga is completed, according to an update from Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie.

Newcastle agree deal for Elanga

The start of the new Premier League season is edging closer all the time, with Eddie Howe and his players hoping to kick on again in 2025/26, aided by sparkly new signings. Anthony Elanga has been the leading target to come in and make the Magpies even more of an attacking force, arriving as an upgrade on the departed Miguel Almiron, and a deal has now been agreed for aorund £55m.

It also feels like a matter of time until Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford is a Newcastle player, with the young Englishman seen as the perfect long-term replacement for Nick Pope. It would be a shock if he didn’t complete a move in the near future.

A centre-back appears to be near the top of Newcastle’s list of priorities, with interest in Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi refusing to go away, and the likes of Giorgio Scalvini and Leonardo Balerdi also linked with summer moves to St James’ Park.

However, Newcastle’s focus after Elanga will be further up the pitch, with Downie revealing on Tuesday morning what’s coming next.

Newcastle set to target new striker in coming days

Now, according to Downie on X, Newcastle ‘will turn their attention to bringing in a striker’ once they wrap up a deal with Forest.

Elanga has the potential to be a real favourite at St James’ Park, possessing blistering pace and end product, bagging six goals and 11 assists in the Premier League last season for a Forest side who set up more defensively than the Magpies.

Still only 23 years of age, there is so much more to come from the Sweden international, who has even earned praise from the legendary Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the past.

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2

By
Ross Kilvington

Jul 8, 2025

A new winger is essential for Newcastle and Elanga fits the bill perfectly, but another number nine to support Isak is perhaps even more important.

The Magpies’ main man has missed games through injury in each of his campaigns with the club, and while his durability certainly improved last season, the presence of four competitions again next term is simply too much for the Swede, with only young talent William Osula available to lighten the load in the current squad.

Chelsea could potentially strike an exchange of players pretty soon, as one club open talks over signing a “clinical” Blues ace who’s not thought to be in Enzo Maresca’s long-term plans.

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ByEmilio Galantini Jul 23, 2025

Given Maresca’s desire to continue reinforcing the squad in key areas, combined with Chelsea’s need to sell surplus squad members, there are credible reports that exchanges could be a key transfer method at Stamford Bridge over the coming weeks.

Cole Palmer

7.33

Moises Caicedo

7.02

Enzo Fernández

6.95

Nicolas Jackson

6.88

Noni Madueke

6.82

via WhoScored

Chelsea are under pressure from UEFA to balance out the squad with exits after they were fined for breaking FFP rules recently (Kaveh Solhekol), but Maresca is believed to want another major attacking signing following his side’s struggles against teams in the low block last season (Simon Phillips).

Therefore, ‘unofficial swap deals’ are something to watch out for, as it would allow Chelsea to accomplish both of those feats simultaneously.

“Unofficial swap deals are something Chelsea and other clubs have done a lot of lately to help balance the books of both clubs and keep within PSR rules,” wrote journalist Simon Phillips, vis his Substack, recently.

“They make sense, really, and help both clubs get deals done. They aren’t swap deals as such, more like favour for a favour separate deals. Chelsea are still weighing up some opportunities for this.”

Earlier in the window, it was believed that this could happen with Christopher Nkunku heading to Man United and Alejandro Garnacho going the other way (Daily Telegraph), but it is now much more likely that another exchange materialises.

Chelsea are in active pursuit of RB Leipzig playmaker Xavi Simons, and it is believed that talks have been held with all sides as BlueCo attempt to make the Dutchman their fourth major signing of the summer after Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens and Joao Pedro.

Now, as per Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, Leipzig’s serious emerging interest in midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka could present an opportunity for Maresca’s side to add Simons whilst trimming their bloated books.

RB Leipzig pushing to sign Carney Chukwuemeka with Chelsea talks opened

Plettenberg, taking to X, states that Leipzig are now “pushing” to sign Chukwuemeka and have opened talks with Chelsea, so it could soon be a case of one in, one out at Cobham.

The former Aston Villa gem spent the second half of 2024/2025 impressing on loan at Borussia Dortmund, with their sporting director, Sebastien Kehl, recently confirming their intention to bring him back for next season.

However, Dortmund now face being hijacked by their Bundesliga rivals, and dealing with Leipzig over Chukwuemeka instead will suit Chelsea down to the ground, especially amid the Premier League side’s attempts to sign their highty-rated forward.

Carney Chukwuemeka

Called a “clinical” player by Marcel Desailly, Chukwuemeka appears destined for a return to the German top flight either way.

Reports have suggested that Chelsea want as much as £40 million for the Englishman, but there’s plenty of reason for BlueCo to ease up on their financial demands in an attempt to sweeten ‘separate’ talks for Simons.

Leeds United have now officially unveiled Sean Longstaff as their fifth summer buy after promotion to the Premier League.

This is the first time this summer that the Whites have actually purchased some experience of the division; however, with Longstaff able to boast a mammoth 171 Premier League appearances for former employers Newcastle United – with ten goals and nine assists tallied up along the way – before Elland Road came calling.

Still, there are more exciting signings potentially on Leeds’ radar than the 27-year-old’s £12m switch to West Yorkshire, as a versatile forward presence is now eyed up.

Leeds ready to hijack deal for £12m star

A far more eye-catching pick-up than Longstaff’s arrival onto the scene would surely come in the form of Rodrigo Muniz entering Daniel Farke’s ranks, with recent reports suggesting that Leeds are continuing to pursue a move for the Fulham attacker who has a healthy 17-goal return in the top-flight.

Moreover, Igor Paxiao is also on the Whites’ agenda from Feyenoord as they try to replicate their Crysencio Summerville magic, but a move might be on the table for Juventus star Timothy Weah, too, if Leeds can hijack Marseille’s advances at the final hour.

Indeed, as per football journalist Mirko Di Natale, via his X account, Leeds and Everton remain in the background for the hunt for Weah, but a hijack could be on the cards owing to no agreement being reached yet between Marseille and the Old Lady.

The interest is still there – and at a reported £12m – this might well go down as one of the standout deals from Leeds’ hectic transfer window, with Weah potentially going on to be a far more exciting buy than the ex-Toon midfielder.

Why Weah would be a more exciting signing than Longstaff

Longstaff does have that added boost of plenty of Premier League experience, but it will be a competition for the 27-year-old to make Farke’s XI from the get-go, when considering the Whites’ already stacked midfield options.

The German already has Ao Tanaka at his disposal centrally, who is fresh from a standout Championship season where he collected seven goal contributions in total, on top of also having the steady presence of Ilia Gruev by his side.

The brand new Leeds purchase will also need time to get up to speed with proceedings, having only made eight starts in league action last season for Eddie Howe’s Magpies as a rotation member of his squad.

Weah did also struggle for consistent first team minutes in Turin last campaign, with 18 starts being handed his way in the hustle and bustle of Serie A, but the “versatile” ace – as he’s been praised in the past by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley – has still managed to shine in spurts across various positions on the pitch for Igor Tudor’s giants across 78 clashes.

Weah’s numbers for Juventus by position

Position played

Games played

Goals scored

Assists

RM

32

2

1

RB

11

1

1

RW

10

3

1

LM

6

0

0

CF

3

0

0

LW

3

2

1

LB

1

0

0

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Despite such limited opportunities, Weah would manage to chip in with an impressive five strikes last campaign for his Italian employers, with the American even lining up in defence on occasion.

This flexibility for the cause will be music to Farke’s ears, considering the ex-Norwich City boss loved utilising a similarly fluid body in the form of Archie Gray when he was situated at Elland Road.

Away from his adaptable nature piquing Farke’s interest, Weah would also be capable of pushing Daniel James all the way to a starting spot on the right channel when you weigh up the Welshman’s previous Premier League difficulties – with only 12 goals next to his name in the daunting division – next to the 25-year-old’s more assured presence in Serie A.

This isn’t to say that Longstaff won’t be a valued member of Farke’s squad, with his know-how of the taxing league no doubt coming in handy.

But, the “wonderful” £12m star – as he’s been labelled by ex-boss Brendan Rodgers – might just be a slightly more captivating signing to someone peeking in, when you take into account his malleable nature and his bursts of quality at the very top of Serie A.

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Posts ByDan Emery Jul 19, 2025

Fatima Sana, Pakistan’s captain, doesn’t want to her team to feel any pressure ahead of their match against India, but believes it’s inevitable given the magnitude of the occasion.Pakistan opened the tournament with a resounding win over Sri Lanka, and are riding a recent wave of success in terms of development, not just results.For example: Pakistan posted 181, their highest T20I total, during their recent series at home against South Africa. In that innings, they hit as many as six sixes, significantly higher than their average of one every 19 overs between the 2023 and 2024 T20 World Cups.Related

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Mohammad Wasim, their current coach, has incorporated some best practices from the Pakistan Super League, such as the influx of data wherever available, as well as an improved focus on range-hitting that was on full view in that match against South Africa, with Sana at the center of it herself.Six-hitting comes with a certain mindset that Sana believes is slowly being ingrained into Pakistan’s batting DNA. She believes it wasn’t always that way.”If you look at the last series of South Africa, a lot of our girls have improved in power hitting,” Sana said. “In the last South Africa series, our team hit six sixes in one match.”I think the girls believe that even if the fielders are standing behind, if they hit, they can go for six. It’s a good thing that all the girls are confident in this. Personally, I used to bat a lot before, but I didn’t know if I could hit or not. But with that belief now it’s become a lot easier.”Fatima Sana scored 30 off 20 in Pakistan’s win over Sri Lanka•ICC/Getty Images

Wasim has had the support of Hanif Malik, whom he worked with at Islamabad United, to help with the range-hitting. Sana believes that adopting different methods to try and improve – irrespective of results – is a good starting point.”First of all, we always wanted to play attacking cricket,” Sana said. “I have been watching that whichever team we played against – we’ve [tried to play] attacking cricket. As a bowler, I used to feel that whoever used to bowl against us, used to hit us from the first ball. I wanted our team to have batters who can punish the bowler from the first ball. We have worked a lot on this and you will see the result soon hopefully.”Sana believes the best way to bring about this change on the batting front is to lead by example herself. On Thursday, Sana’s crucial 20-ball 30 provided Pakistan the late impetus they needed to apply the squeeze on Sri Lanka.Ahead of the India match, Sana was among the first in for range-hitting with the coaching staff, spending considerable time on her backswing and head position while striking the ball. These improvements come from a deep desire to be the “number one allrounder.””I always wanted to be the number one all-rounder – because obviously bowling is a team sport, but the team wins when you are good at it all – even when you are good on the field,” she said. “So that’s why I was trying to prove myself always in helping the team win. So, I think that was the only challenge for me.”That I should take my batting along. Sir [Wasim] has played a big role in this. He has helped me a lot. Our power-hitting coach, he has helped a lot of girls. I think all the credit goes to him because he has given us the belief that you can become an all-rounder. So he gets the credit for this.”

After already welcoming both Emmanuel Fernandez and Joe Rothwell this week, Glasgow Rangers are now reportedly keen to sign a Premier League gem this summer.

Rangers sign Fernandez and Rothwell

The Gers have well and truly got their summer business underway and now that things have started, they don’t look likely to slow down anytime soon. After welcoming both Fernandez and Rothwell, Russell Martin has taken his incomings count to as many as five since arriving with the likes of Conor Coady also on Rangers’ radar as they look to add to that number.

The latest to arrive, Fernandez told Rangers’ official website after putting pen to paper: “I am honoured, it is a huge club with a great fanbase and I think I can kickstart my career and have a good journey here.

“I was shocked when I heard about Rangers because it is such a big club but it was the place I wanted to be. I haven’t played at this level, there will be a lot of life changes for me, but it is something I want to be part of and I can’t wait to get started.”

Meanwhile, equally delighted to be joining up with those at Ibrox, Rothwell said: “My first reaction? A yes straight away, obviously then with the manager coming in as well it made that decision a little bit easier for me.

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“Working with him and knowing what type of guy he is and how he wants to do things that was an even bigger pull for me, but the club speaks for itself really.”

It’s been the most important week of the summer so far for Rangers, who have now set their sights on welcoming another impressive Premier League talent for Martin.

Rangers keen to sign Owen Beck

According to The Daily Record, Rangers are now keen to sign Owen Beck from Liverpool but will need to sell Ridvan Yilmaz if they are to make their move to sign the left-back on a permanent deal. Recent reports have suggested that the Premier League champions would accept a loan offer for their youngster, although there would need to be guarantees over his game time.

It should come as little shock that Beck has found himself on Rangers’ radar. The 22-year-old enjoyed an impressive loan spell at Blackburn Rovers last season and following Milos Kerkez’s Anfield arrival, is likely to need either another loan move or a permanent exit to earn further game time.

It wouldn’t be the first time that Beck features in Scotland either, given that he also spent time on loan at Dundee. It was then that their technical director and former Celtic manager Gordon Strachan told reporters: “With Owen Beck, you can take all the data away from the player and it will tell you this: he gets forward, his engine’s good, it’s all good.

“What it won’t tell you is that Owen is a great kid with wonderful personality. He has a great team ethic, and he can’t do enough for the people around him. His first thought is always the team, and I like that in younger players. He’s made himself into a better footballer. He’s clever.”