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Setting their sights on the future, Leeds United are reportedly battling against Premier League clubs to sign a future star for Daniel Farke and his Championship side in 2025.

Leeds transfer news

The Whites had a mixed summer transfer window, with Crysencio Summerville, Glen Kamara, Georginio Rutter and Archie Gray all completing moves away – three of which came courtesy of the Premier League. In place of those stars, those in West Yorkshire welcomed the likes of Largie Ramazani, Ao Tanaka and Jayden Bogle, who scored in a 3-0 victory over Coventry City this weekend.

Bogle’s goal helped Leeds on their way to a convincing victory in pursuit of Championship promotion. As things stand, Farke’s side sit just two points adrift of leaders West Bromwich Albion and are gunning for the automatic promotion spots.

Of course, if those at Elland Road do secure a Premier League return at the second time of asking, the door to more reinforcements – and those of a higher quality – should swing open, which could yet include a future star.

Electric 8/10 Leeds star has finally stepped out of Summerville's shadow

The Whites whiz produced a fantastic performance against Coventry on Saturday.

ByDan Emery Sep 29, 2024

According to Alan Nixon on Patreon, Leeds are now battling Premier League clubs to sign Kofi Shaw from Bristol Rovers, with the 17-year-old midfielder a player in demand ahead of 2025.

Shaw is already making his mark on senior football, making four appearances in all competitions so far this season and notching a goal in the EFL Trophy against Tottenham Hotspur’s U21s. One for the future, Shaw could be a wise investment, especially if his recent rise is anything to go by.

The teenager looks set to have the biggest decision of his career so far to make when next summer arrives, with several big clubs reportedly chasing his signature, including Champions League newcomers Aston Villa.

"Fantastic" Shaw is one for the future

Given the opportunities that he’s received in League One, it’s no surprise that Shaw has caught the attention of Leeds and others, with the Whites looking to land their next Archie Gray. Since Leeds lost the likes of Summerville in the summer, they’ve needed a long-term replacement for their star man, which may well come in the form of the Rovers winger.

The teenager has earned plenty of deserved praise during his recent rise at his boyhood club, with Bristol Rovers podcaster Joshua Hemmings dubbing Shaw “fantastic” after his first league start for the club.

Before anything, of course, Leeds will have their focus firmly fixated on promotion back to the Premier League. Should they achieve that goal, however, names such as Shaw could begin to enter the transfer radar in West Yorkshire just in time for the summer transfer window.

Enzo Maresca ruled out the possibility of Chelsea signing a new striker in January as he defended Nicolas Jackson amid his goal drought.

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Chelsea won't sign new striker in JanuaryMaresca backed under-fire JacksonBlues face Wolves on MondayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Chelsea have found the back of the net on 41 occasions and have scored the third-highest number of goals in the 2024-25 Premier League, behind Liverpool and Arsenal. Yet the Blues are winless in their last five league matches and have dropped to the fifth in the table.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Star striker Jackson has impressed on occasion and has scored nine league goals thus far. However, his goal drought in the last five games has contributed majorly to their sudden drop in form. Head coach Maresca came to his defence and ruled out the possibility of the club signing a new striker in the January window.

WHAT ENZO MARESCA SAID

Speaking to reporters, the Italian coach replied when asked if there would be a major addition in attack: "No, because I think by being a little bit more lucky, we can convert and can score more goals. It’s not about [signing] a ‘killer’. At this moment, the one that’s probably missing the goal is Nico. But the way he is working is fantastic, and we don’t have any doubt that Nico is soon going to start scoring goals."

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

The west London side will aim to get back to winning ways when they take on Wolves in their next league clash on Monday at Stamford Bridge.

They might not be top of the table at the moment, but Arsenal should feel supremely confident about their chances of finally ending their two-decade title drought come May.

Mikel Arteta’s side have already played Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Manchester City away, and with a kinder run of league fixtures to come over the next month or so, they should still be near the top come Christmas.

However, the next game on the agenda is a home Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain, and given the congested nature of the fixture list, Arteta should look to rest one of his stars and hand Ethan Nwaneri his first start in Europe.

Why Nwaneri should start

So, while Nwaneri’s simply unreal record of 27 goals and ten assists in 52 youth team games should be reason enough to give him a chance tonight, his recent form for the first team makes his case impossible to ignore.

So far this season, the 17-year-old gem has made three appearances for Arsenal, and while his start in the League Cup, in which he bagged a brace, has understandably catapulted him into the spotlight, his two substitute appearances in the league have also been just as revealing.

For example, when the Gunners were 1-0 up in the North London Derby a few weeks ago, and the clock was ticking down, Arteta turned to the Hale Ender and not another defender to come on for the last ten minutes or so.

While some youngsters would be overawed by such an intense match, the Enfield-born star looked utterly unphased, played his game, and looked like a threat from his very first touch.

Something similar happened on Saturday as well. With the score level in the 85th minute, instead of turning to the infinitely more experienced Gabriel Jesus, the manager once again threw the talented midfielder on, and while he couldn’t score, he came incredibly close to doing so and offered more in his short cameo than some players do in entire games.

Overall, it’s certainly a lot to ask of a youngster to start in a game against Paris Saint-Germain, but as the old saying goes, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough, and there can be no doubting now, that Nwaneri is certainly good enough.

Why Thomas Partey should be rested

Okay, so if Nwaneri is going to come into the starting lineup tonight, someone has to make way, and that player is Thomas Partey.

This will allow Declan Rice to start as the six and potentially Jorginho or Leandro Trossard to fill in as the left-eight, depending on how aggressive the manager plans on being.

Now, with that said, while we are dropping the former Atlético Madrid star from the starting lineup, it is not due to his performances, as while he’s had a few off-games this season, he’s also reminded fans of how good he can be in the games against City, Tottenham, and Villa.

In fact, even though he picked up a 6/10 for his display against Leicester City from football.london’s Kaya Kaynak, the “sensational” midfielder, as dubbed by La Liga expert Gerry Armstrong, put in a decent performance in the first half, and by the time he was taken off in the 85th minute, he had taken 107 touches, completed 87 of 96 passes, completed 100% of his long balls and made four tackles.

However, he did start to tire in the second 45, which is entirely understandable as, aside from the match against Bolton, he has started every game so far this season, and when you take into account his injury record, that is a lot of football in a short space of time.

2020/21

3

81

21

2021/22

3

152

19

2022/23

2

29

6

2023/24

2

143

34

Total

10

430

80

Across his entire Arsenal career, the Ghanaian superstar has missed 80 games for club and country due to ten different injuries, and due to his seeming importance to the team this season, Arteta cannot afford to lose him for an extended period.

Therefore, while it’s an important game, Partey should be given the chance to rest tonight, as a midfield of Rice, Jorginho or Trossard, and the incredibly exciting Nwaneri should be enough to get the job done at home, especially if Arteta goes full strength elsewhere in the team.

Arsenal's "innovative" Hale End gem is the perfect White & Timber rival

The exciting prospect could be yet another sensational talent to come out of the Gunners’ famed academy.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 28, 2024

They still trail England by a sizeable chunk, but have kept the game alive through steadfast batting

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Aug-20212:55

Harmison: Kohli could be the difference between an India comeback and England win

On day three, Headingley was the scene of a fightback. From India in general, whose openers battled through the early overs, resisted James Anderson, and whose top order lost only the wicket of KL Rahul in the first 47 overs they faced. From Cheteshwar Pujara in particular, who overcame a streak of 12 innings in which he did not pass 50 once, to finish the day as his team’s top-scorer, nine runs short of what would be his first century since January 2019.They still have a mountain to summit if they are to put any real pressure on England. They remain 139 runs in arrears at stumps, and crucially, will have to face the second new ball the moment play starts on day four. But at times on day three, their top order appeared comfortable on a surface that was not offering much in the way of seam movement, even if swing in the air was gleaned with the new ball. You suspect they would have to bat for most of day four – if not part way into day five, to really make England worried. But with the score at 215 for 2, their resistance has a start. Virat Kohli was largely untroubled during his unbeaten 45 as well.England will feel that perhaps their quicks were not menacing enough for long periods. Anderson did not glean the movement he had on day one, and occasionally strayed too far to leg as he went looking for big swing. They also only got nine overs out of Sam Curran, who was wayward and expensive, going at 4.44 an over.Craig Overton made the first breakthrough, when he had Rahul caught brilliantly at second slip by a diving Jonny Bairstow off the last ball of the first session, but it was Ollie Robinson who was England’s best, frequently nibbling balls back into the India batter’s pads. Rahul was given out in Robinson’s fifth over, but managed to overturn that decision on review (the ball was just sliding down leg). In his tenth over, another close shout against Rohit Sharma was (correctly) turned down. He’d eventually get Rohit lbw for 59, but was in good rhythm right through the day, conceding only 40 from his 18 overs.But it was Pujara, whose place in the team was under serious scrutiny, that produced Friday’s definitive performance. Having arrived at the crease without a fifty since February, and a century in over two-and-a-half years, he was done a favour by the England seamers, who kept straying too far down leg – balls Pujara, even in this form – whipped emphatically to the legside boundary. After his first 13 balls, Pujara had three boundaries and 14 runs to his name, and appeared somewhat at ease. Suddenly, he was leaving judiciously, defending resolutely, while waiting for the loose deliveries, which he gleefully punished. Of his first 32 runs, 28 came from boundaries. Only two of those seven boundaries came on the off side.Rohit Sharma goes airborne to uppercut Ollie Robinson for a six•Associated PressRohit, meanwhile, was himself defending and leaving happily, as the pair batted out a wicketless second session. He didn’t get as many loose legside deliveries as Pujara, but when he got balls he could hit, he wasn’t shy about hitting out. Late in the first session, a slightly wide bouncer from Robinson disappeared over the third man boundary, having been uppercut – India’s only six so far in the match. He was outscored by Pujara in the course of their 82-run stand, but he got to his half-century off the 125th ball he faced. He’d seemed the most comfortable of all India’s batters in the first two sessions, but nevertheless, could not push on much further after the tea break. He reviewed the lbw decision, having missed a slightly angled ball from Robinson, but ball tracker showed it to be shaving leg stump.Kohli, himself struggling for form, won his first battle with Anderson – who had got him in the first innings – when he clipped him through backward square, and smoked him through extra cover three balls later, early in his innings. At no stage did he really look to impose himself, though. Taking cues from Rohit and Pujara, perhaps, he worked the singles and twos, and largely waited for the wayward balls – Curran providing more than his share of them – to register boundaries.As the skies had been gloomy right through the day, floodlights had been on since the middle session, and when the umpires told Joe Root only slow bowlers could operate after the end of the 69th over, Root brought himself into the attack. Root’s intention, perhaps, was to rush a few overs and get England to that 80 over mark, when the second new ball would be available, and they could take it at the top of day four, their seamer’s having had their night’s rest. The umpires allowed Root and Moeen to bowl until the 80th over, but these were largely bloodless overs; India’s batters were happy to keep gradually adding to their scores.The new-ball showdown awaits first thing on Saturday.

Amid a poor start to the season, Ajax are now reportedly ready to offer a Manchester United star a shock move when his contract runs out at the end of the campaign.

Man Utd transfer news

On paper, Manchester United’s transfer business was among the more promising in the Premier League over the summer, as Sir Jim Ratcliffe had finally made his mark on the squad.

In came Leny Yoro, who the Red Devils signed ahead of Real Madrid, before Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui arrived to complete a rebuild of Erik ten Hag’s backline. As if those reinforcements weren’t impressive enough, INEOS also welcomed Joshua Zirkzee and a potential Casemiro replacement in the form of Manuel Ugarte.

Man Utd pushing to re-sign former "engine" who plays like Mazraoui

He’s gone from strength to strength since leaving.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 11, 2024

Despite so many impressive fresh faces, United’s success away from the action is yet to bear its fruits on the pitch, increasing the pressure on Ten Hag. The Dutchman has even beaten his own unwanted record in the current campaign after overseeing United’s worst start to a Premier League season for a second year on the bounce.

It’s not just the manager who could be shown the Old Trafford exit door, though. According to reports relayed by The Hard Tackle, Ajax are now ready to offer Christian Eriksen a shock return at the end of his current Manchester United contract next summer.

The £150,000-a-week midfielder looks unlikely to extend his current deal despite playing a part in Ten Hag’s plans so far this season. Alas, his pending exit should come as no shock given INEOS’s preference for younger players instead of those in their mid-thirties such as Eriksen.

Ajax return fitting for "fantastic" Eriksen

There was, of course, a moment in time in which Eriksen looked to have played his final game in a premature end for a great midfielder. The Dane’s collapse at Euro 2020 was both heartbreaking and shocking, yet it began one of football’s great tales of resilience as Eriksen fought back to not only return to the Premier League, but back to the level he once found himself at courtesy of Manchester United (via Brentford).

Dubbed “fantastic” by Thomas Frank during his time in west London, the conclusion to Eriksen’s inspiring story could receive the most fitting ending if he does decide to return to where it all began.

The Dane left Ajax a fresh-faced gem, but would return a player who found himself at the forefront of arguably Tottenham Hotspur’s best-ever Premier League side under Mauricio Pochettino before swapping north London for Italy, winning Serie A at Inter and earning one last shot in England’s top flight.

Although his time at Old Trafford has been full of frustrating results, Eriksen is still on course to leave having written his name in the history books as an FA Cup winner after the Red Devils defeated rivals Manchester City at Wembley last season.

The BCCI president had earlier been quoted saying he wanted the match to be a standalone event

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Sep-2021The replacement match for the now-cancelled Manchester Test should be continuation of the five-match England-India Test series and not a one-off Test, BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has clarified. India could not field a team in the series-decider because of a Covid-19 outbreak among the support staff of the team following which the fate of the series, which India lead 2-1, hangs in the balance.Related

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Ganguly on India sitting out Old Trafford Test: The players were dead scared, you can't blame them

“We want the series to be completed as this will be our first series win [in England] since 2007,” Ganguly told PTI. “The BCCI maintains that Test cricket is the ultimate format, and we won’t compromise it for anything.”We are ready to play extra ODI and T20Is and that’s not an issue. Just that the Test match that will be played later will be the fifth match of the series.”Ganguly had been quoted by Kolkata-based earlier in the day saying that the replacement Test should be a one-off.How the ICC views this Test – forfeited, abandoned or rescheduled – will have implications not just for the series result but also the ECB’s insurance cover. If it is considered abandoned because of the Covid-19 outbreak, it falls under “acceptable non-compliance” and ends the series 2-1 in India’s favour. It also means that ECB can’t claim its insurance cover in full because it doesn’t cover for Covid-19.However, ECB has made it a point to emphasise in its communications that none of the India players had tested positive, and that the match was called off keeping in mind the “mental health” of the players.In the meantime, it has emerged that the BCCI has offered to play a replacement Test when India travel to the UK for limited-overs internationals next year, but the status of such a match remains unclear. Ganguly has now clarified that India want it to be a continuation of this series. He will be in England later this month, and is expected to continue talks with the ECB.

With the Manchester City captain set to join the Rossoneri on loan, GOAL evaluates all eight of his compatriots' stints at San Siro

Kyle Walker is on his way to AC Milan, with the Manchester City captain set to join the Rossoneri on loan until the end of the season with a view to a permanent switch to San Siro.

The 34-year-old's eagerness to leave the Etihad Stadium midway through the season raised plenty of eyebrows in England, but his move to San Siro has also sparked a lot of discussion in Italy. Indeed, plenty of pundits are unsure if Walker will prove a shrewd signing for Milan, given the veteran defender performed poorly for his country at Euro 2024 and struggled badly at City during the first half of the 2024-25 campaign.

Still, Walker shouldn't struggle to settle at San Siro, which is presently home to three of his compatriots, while five other Englishmen have represented the Rossoneri in the past, although, as GOAL outlines below, some spells went better than others…

Hulton Archive8Luther Blissett

Luther Blissett is quite simply one of the most infamous and influential signings in the history of Italian football, a transfer flop that became something of a counter-cultural icon.

The likeable Jamaican-born England international arrived at Milan in 1984 on the back of a wonderful season at Graham Taylor's Watford, with the Rossoneri agreeing to pay £1 million ($1.23m) for an imposing No.9 who had just finished as the top scorer in England's top flight, with 27 goals.

However, Blissett scored just five times in 30 appearances during his one and only season at San Siro before being sold back to Watford – and at just over half the price.

His legend lives on, though, as Blissett's name became a popular nom de plume among radicals, activists and artists in Italy during the mid-1990s. The forward even got in on the joke himself by later claiming on an episode of the popular British TV show 'Fantasy Football' to be part of the 'Luther Blissett Project'!

So, while Blissett's time at Milan was by no means memorable from a sporting perspective, he certainly made an impact from a cultural point of view.

AdvertisementHulton Archive7Jimmy Greaves

Jimmy Greaves scored nine goals in 10 Serie A appearances for Milan – and yet his time at San Siro was an absolute disaster. The prolific England international would even later claim in his autobiography that the transfer was the cause of his alcoholism.

It was certainly an ill-advised move. Greaves hadn't even wanted to leave Chelsea in the first place, and tried but failed to get out of the deal. Unsurprisingly, things just got worse from there, with Greaves quickly falling out with the Rossoneri's notoriously strict coach Nereo Rocco, who was renowned for keeping a very close eye on his players' private lives.

Greaves, who was only 21 at the time, said that Rocco made his life "hell" even though he was scoring freely on the field. A parting of the ways became inevitable and Greaves was sold to Tottenham in December 1961 – just six months after joining Milan.

Neither party regretted the break-up, as Greaves fired Spurs to FA Cup in May of the following year, while Milan won the league that same summer thanks in no small part to Dino Sani, the Brazilian playmaker that the Rossoneri brought on board just before getting rid of their unsettled English striker.

Getty Images Sport6Tammy Abraham

Tammy Abraham only joined Milan on loan from Roma just before the close of the 2024 summer transfer window – so it's still a little too early for a definitive judgement on his spell at San Siro.

It's certainly been eventful, though, with Abraham causing all sorts of controversy in October by missing a spot-kick against Fiorentina that should have been taken by Christian Pulisic, before netting a dramatic late winner in the shock Supercoppa Italiana win over Inter earlier this month.

The hope is that Abraham can now kick on in the second half of the season, but doubts remain over his ability to get back to his very best form, as he's not looked quite the same player since his sensational debut season at the Stadio Olimpico, with an ACL injury in June 2023 having played a big part in his struggles.

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Getty Images5Rubens Loftus-Cheek

Unsurprisingly, Fikayo Tomori played a key role in Ruben Loftus-Cheek's decision to move to Milan. The pair had been team-mates at Chelsea and the defender spoke glowingly of the club, which effectively sealed the deal as far as Loftus-Cheek was concerned, as he'd also already enjoyed an encouraging chat with then-coach Stefano Pioli.

However, while Loftus Cheek's first year at San Siro went very well indeed – he equalled his career-high tally of 10 goals in all competitions over the course of a single season – he has struggled during the 2024-25 campaign.

Pioli's departure certainly didn't help, but the main issue has been injuries, which were so often a problem during the versatile midfielder's time at Stamford Bridge. The next few months, then, will determine if Loftus-Cheek can once again become a key player for Milan under new coach Sergio Conceicao.

Al-Hilal have reportedly lodged a 'super offer' for Real Madrid star Rodrygo as they seek to replace expensive flop Neymar.

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Neymar leaves Al-Hilal for SantosSaudi side target Rodrygo as replacementMake 'super offer' for BrazilianFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Al-Hilal cut ties with Neymar earlier this week, with the 32-year-old joining Santos instead. Now, Marca reports the Saudi Pro League team have made a 'super offer' to recruit Madrid ace Rodrygo and want to make him one of the best paid players in the division's history.

AdvertisementAFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Neymar's move to Al-Hilal from Paris Saint-Germain in 2023 ended up being one of the biggest transfer flops of all time. Marca adds the cash-rich Saudi league wants to make Rodrygo the face of Al-Hilal around the world but the 24-year-old wants to succeed at Madrid.

DID YOU KNOW?

Rodrygo, whose contract with Madrid runs until 2028, has scored 67 goals and bagged 47 assists in 245 appearances in all competitions for the Spanish giants.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

It remains to be seen if Al-Hilal step up their efforts to sign Rodrygo, with the league hoping to make the forward the 'main image' of the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.

Eden Hazard might not have forged the career for himself over in Spain that all across the footballing landscape envisaged when he left Chelsea, but the west London club will forever remember their magician for his brilliance in the Premier League.

That’s how his football should be remembered. Awe-inspiring and ethereal, gliding through opponents with a balletic grace that few, such a scant few, have ever been able to produce. Lionel Messi is one of them, Diego Maradona another.

Hazard painted the Premier League with tricks and skills, goals and assists. His was a skillset that will forever imbue the Stamford Bridge pitch with his presence.

Chelsea needed to replace him after his £130m transfer to Real Madrid. An unenviable task. Luckily, they had a transfer ban and, thus, couldn’t.

When Chelsea sold Eden Hazard

That’s facetious, of course, but perhaps Chelsea’s inability to replace Hazard prevented them from splurging on any old player and instead allowed for a more calculated approach.

Maybe not, but say what you want, the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz played vital roles in winning the Champions League, which is no small feat to be sure.

Hazard scored 110 goals and supplied 85 assists across 352 appearances for Chelsea, winning two Premier League and Europa League titles, the FA Cup and the League Cup, as well as being crowned the PFA Premier League Player of the Year for the 2014/15 campaign.

Chelsea might not have been able to replace their Belgian wizard externally, but they did have an internal option in Callum Hudson-Odoi who had been proclaimed Hazard’s second coming.

Callum Hudson-Odoi was supposed to be the next Hazard

In May 2019, former Chelsea defender David Luiz stated that Hudson-Odoi “has the talent one day to be like Eden”.

What praise, what confidence. It’s the kind of double-edged effusion that can hamper an up-and-coming prospect. Hudson-Odoi was indeed an electrifying talent when bursting onto the scene with Chelsea but he shouldered quite the burden, his rise coinciding with Hazard’s exit.

The English winger featured 126 times for Chelsea, scoring 16 goals and adding 21 assists, in an impressive start to life as a senior, his fleet-footed, dynamic ability translating seamlessly from the youth stage.

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Nott’m Forest

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29 (20)

8

1

2022/23

Chelsea

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–

–

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15 (11)

1

2

2020/21

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23 (10)

2

3

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Chelsea

22 (7)

1

5

2018/19

Chelsea

10 (4)

0

1

2017/18

Chelsea

2 (0)

0

0

The bleak truth is that the 23-year-old suffered a knee injury toward the end of the 2018/19 season that severely disrupted his progress. It’s an unfortunate tale of setbacks that ultimately proved his undoing at Stamford Bridge, with his petered-out finish to life in London leading to a £3.5m sale to Nottingham Forest in 2023.

First Impressions

What did pundits and fans alike think about their new star signing when they arrived? Football FanCast's 'First Impressions' series has everything you need.

It’s all the more poignant when considering Bayern Munich once wanted his signature and had even seen a £70m bid rejected by the Blues for his signing in 2020, which seems remarkable in hindsight.

Few Blues fans (even considering that celebration) will be unhappy to see him doing well after a testing start to life as a professional, but the fact that he was cashed in for a paltry return merely emphasises what might have been, the perfect homegrown Hazard successor to fire Chelsea back to the top.

Hudson-Odoi was clearly one of the finest young talents that English football had to offer, but despite being the jewel of Cobham’s packed academy, fell heavily by the wayside.

He’s resurrected his Premier League career with Forest, but, frankly, it doesn’t look likely that he will capture and sustain the form that would put him back into conversations concerning Hazard-esque quality.

Tuchel really liked him: Chelsea have already sold Palmer's dream teammate

Chelsea have already sold a player who could’ve made Palmer even better

ByConnor Holden Oct 18, 2024

The captain admitted conditions were a challenge for Ireland as they fell for 101

Andrew Fidel Fernando20-Oct-2021Ireland have to win their match against Namibia on Friday, to qualify for the Super 12s. But if they do, their batters will need to quickly adapt to facing the kind of skiddy pace they struggled with against Sri Lanka.On Wednesday, Ireland were visibly troubled by Dushmantha Chameera and Lahiru Kumara, both of whom frequently clocked speeds in excess of 145kph. On the UAE’s pitches, which don’t offer a lot of bounce to begin with, and seem to skid on when the ball gets a little bit of evening dew on it, those two bowlers were especially tough to face, Ireland captain Andy Balbirnie said.Ireland lost three wickets and scored only 38 runs across Chameera and Kumara’s combined seven overs.”We don’t get wickets like this and we don’t get pace like that too often like that at home,” Balbirnie said. “But the more we go up the levels – and if we go well on Friday, looking ahead to next week – it’s only going to get quicker. They were quite skiddy, the bowlers. They bowled good short balls. But that’s what you expect at the international level and you’ve got to find ways to cope.”Related

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If Ireland win against Namibia on Friday, they will likely be in Group 2, where their batters will face the attacks of India, Pakistan, New Zealand, and Afghanistan. Although Ireland are not accustomed to playing bowling at high speeds on the lower UAE decks, that is not a challenge they will balk at.”Look, we’re perfectly capable of playing that kind of bowling. I’m not saying we’re not,” Balbirnie said. “We played some of the quickest bowlers in the summer back home – against South Africa – and we did pretty well. It’s slightly different out here. It’s skiddier than what we’re used to. Particularly under lights it skids on.”But I love that challenge, and a lot of our batters do, to get out there and having the ball zinging past your head – that’s the battle we want to be in. We’re not going to be able to change that over the course of the week if we do qualify. But we’ve just got to back our skills and take it head on and not back away from it. That’s a mental thing, rather than a technical thing. But we don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves. We’ve got a big game on Friday.”Sri Lanka are through to the Super 12s following their 70-run win. Balbirnie was Ireland’s top-scorer with 41 off 39, as they attempted a target of 172.”Our batting just didn’t get going at all,” he said. “We couldn’t get any momentum. I scored forty-odd, and it took me quite a few balls, and I certainly found it tricky enough. Sri Lanka are a good team. They deserve to go through. We’ll be eyeing up the second spot.”