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A positive update has emerged regarding Leeds United completing the signing of an “extraordinary” new defender in the summer transfer window.

Leeds plotting to strengthen spine after promotion

The Whites are expected to sign an upgrade on Illan Meslier between the sticks this summer, with Chelsea goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic mentioned as a possible option – Wolves stopper Sam Johnstone is seen as an alternative target.

Another goalkeeper who has been linked with a switch to Leeds is Liverpool ace Caoimhin Kelleher, with an enquiry reportedly made about his availability. With Giorgi Mamardashvili joining the Reds from Valencia, now looks like the right time for him to depart.

Indeed, 49ers Enterprises want to strengthen the team’s spine this summer, with reports suggesting Leeds will happily spend around £30m each on a new goalkeeper, centre-back, centre-midfielder and striker.

Sky Sports: Leeds willing to spend £90m on 3 more players alongside Beto

The 49ers look ready to splash the cash.

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By
Charlie Smith

May 8, 2025

Kalvin Phillips was once a hero at Elland Hero, arguably standing out as the best player at the club, and a return to the Whites has been rumoured recently. The 29-year-old has had a tough time of things in recent years and may feel that going back to his former club could be best for him ahead of next season.

Manor Solomon is of course a top target for Leeds, as Daniel Farke looks to sign him on a permanent basis after an impressive season on loan at the club from Tottenham. He scored 10 goals and registered 12 assists in the Championship in 2024/25.

Leeds boosted in pursuit of "extraordinary" Balerdi

According to The Sunday Mirror [via MOT Leeds News], Leeds’ pursuit of Marseille centre-back Leonardo Balerdi has received a boost ahead of the summer window.

The report backs that the Whites are set for a “major” summer of spending and the 26-year-old defender has now refused to rule out an exit at the end of the season: “I’m happy in Marseille and I’d like to bring something back here, so I have to focus to the last match. After that, I don’t know. I’d like the team to be in the Champions League, then I’ll ask myself about the future.”

Balerdi would be a fantastic signing for Leeds in the summer, boosting their defensive options significantly ahead of what promises to be a tough season back in the Premier League.

The Marseille captain has been a rock-solid presence at the heart of his team’s defence this season, making 26 appearances in Ligue 1 and averaging 2.7 clearances per game. He has also completed 94% of his passes, showing that he is strong in possession.

Manager Roberto De Zerbi has heaped praise on him: “Balerdi? I hope that the big European teams don’t realise that he exists. I say every night before going to sleep that I am happy that he is going under the radar of the big teams. He is an extraordinary player.”

Bigger coup than Solomon: Leeds weigh up move for "exceptional" £13m star

Leeds United might be about to land a bigger coup than Manor Solomon if they can snap up this midfield star.

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By
Kelan Sarson

May 11, 2025

Balerdi is also a six-cap Argentina international, which is no mean feat considering they are World Cup winners with the likes of Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez in their team, and Leeds should do all they can to sign him.

Glasgow Rangers face arguably their most important summer in recent memory. Barry Ferguson’s interim spell will finish at the end of the season, which means that the Ibrox side will be looking for a permanent manager.

The news story which has dominated the previous few weeks was whether or not the 49ers Enterprises would finalise their proposed takeover of the club heading into the summer.

The latest on Rangers' prospective takeover by the 49ers

An update given by the Scottish Sun a few days ago stated that Andrew Cavenagh and the San Francisco 49ers have secured the required shares to complete their takeover at Rangers.

The American consortium has acquired 51% of the Gers and is expected to complete the multimillion-pound deal by the end of next month.

Firstly, they will have to bring in a new manager to the club, especially with pre-season looming on the horizon.

After several poor managerial decisions, this next one has to be spot on, otherwise the Gers will continue to see Celtic motor away, hoovering up all the Champions League cash and winning title after title.

A couple of names have been linked with a move to Glasgow, but one stands out among the others, especially with his history…

Will Rangers really appoint Jose Mourinho?

Three Premier Leagues, two Champions Leagues, a La Liga title, two UEFA Cups/Europa League crowns. The list of Jose Mourinho’s achievements in the game are second to very few.

The truth is, he has won just a single trophy since the start of the 2017/18 campaign, and that was the Conference League with AS Roma in May 2022.

He showed plenty of respect when Rangers knocked Fenerbahçe out of the Europa League at the last-16 stage in March, even coming into the dressing room to offer congratulations and wish the squad well going forwards.

Mourinho has always preferred a defensive style of play, and given what the Ibrox support have been witness to in recent years, this won’t exactly be music to their ears, that’s for sure.

Of course, it may lead to more success domestically, but going for a manager who is keen on attacking football and has a proper philosophy would be the ideal appointment for the long-term future.

Mourinho rarely hangs around longer than three seasons, but this team requires a manager who is in it for the long haul. Someone who can build a dynasty that will challenge Celtic over the coming years.

Could Gerrard do it again?

Steven Gerrard now open to a Rangers return

According to TEAMtalk, the Light Blues are after a high-profile manager to take the reins ahead of the 2025/26 season, which means a return for Gerrard is on the cards.

The report goes on to state that the former manager of the Gers would be very open to a return to the club that he managed between 2018 and 2021, winning a single Premiership title during that spell.

His departure in November 2021 was arguably due to the fact that he wasn’t properly backed that summer, having led Rangers to their first domestic title in a decade, yet things would be better this time around.

Gerrard isn’t the only big name that has been mentioned with regard to the job, either. TEAMtalk understands that the aforementioned Mourinho is another manager who would be open to a move to Glasgow, although this would be more difficult to get over the line.

2021/22

22

41

1.86

2020/21

56

141

2.52

2019/20

54

110

2.17

2018/19

60

115

1.9

He has a contract with Fener until 2026, which means the Ibrox side would have to pay substantial compensation to lure him away. His wages would also be an issue.

Mourinho may be the headline name, but his style and combustible nature might not go down too well with the Gers faithful.

Why Rangers return for Gerrard makes sense

Gerrard may have failed at his previous two jobs with Al-Ettifaq and Aston Villa since leaving Glasgow in 2021, but his appointment could mirror that of Celtic bringing Brendan Rodgers back to the club.

The former Liverpool captain may have taken a few years to achieve success at Rangers, but those were spent building a team which could go toe-to-toe with their domestic rivals.

Throughout his three-year spell with the club, Gerrard won seven of his 12 games against Celtic, losing just four. Two of those came during his first season when his squad was arguably at its weakest.

A lack of success against the Parkhead outfit is why the fans turned on managers such as Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale and finally Phillipe Clement. Gerrard certainly wouldn’t be fazed by Rodgers’ side, that much is certain.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

His preferred system is a 4-3-3, which worked wonders for him, especially during the title-winning 2020/21 campaign.

Alfredo Morelos was often flanked by Ryan Kent on the left and Joe Aribo or Ianis Hagi on the right. Steven Davis and Glen Kamara operated at the heart of the midfield and provided superb defensive support.

Add in the likes of Connor Goldson and Filip Helander at the centre of the defence and Allan McGregor in goal, it was perhaps no wonder the club conceded just 13 goals throughout the entire campaign in the league.

This sort of formation would work wonders with the current squad, especially as Gerrard would hopefully get free rein in the transfer market to bring in his own transfer targets ahead of next season.

Much will depend on other managers who may become linked and show interest in the role over the next few weeks, but at this moment in time, Gerrard is the one who stands out.

He knows the club, knows how to beat Celtic on a regular basis and more importantly, knows how to win a league championship.

These three factors could prove to be a massive advantage when it comes to staking his claim for a return to the Glasgow side. Will it happen? Only time will tell.

Worse signing than Propper: Rangers must finally axe forgotten Ibrox flop

Rangers must ensure their transfer business is solid this summer

ByRoss Kilvington Apr 20, 2025

The middle Curran brother talks about comparisons with Tom and Sam and representing the country where their father was born

Firdose Moonda20-May-2025″If they weren’t my brothers, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” Ben Curran says. He’s only half-right.Perhaps if it wasn’t for Sam and Tom, who have made headlines for the last decade, ESPNcricinfo would not have requested to interview Ben ahead of Zimbabwe’s first Test in England in 22 years. But that’s not the only reason. Ben is playing for Zimbabwe, the country of his father Kevin’s birth, against England, the country of his and Sam’s birth and the place where his family have significant sporting connections.Kevin, who played 11 ODIs for Zimbabwe between 1983 and 1987, acquired English residency and played county cricket for Northamptonshire for eight years between 1991 and 1999. All three of his sons were born in that time: Tom in Cape Town, while Kevin was playing for Boland, and Ben and Sam in Northampton. By the year 2000, the family were all back in Zimbabwe, on the family farm halfway between Harare and Mutare, where Kevin began his coaching career. Initially, he was an assistant national coach, then had a stint in Namibia and at an academy before being given the main national job.Related

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The brothers were 9, 8 and 6 respectively when Kevin was put in charge of Zimbabwe as head coach, in 2004. It was a time of intense upheaval in the country, both politically and in sporting terms. That same year, the Currans’ farm was among those repossessed as part of Robert Mugabe’s land reform program and 13 of Zimbabwe’s white players staged a walkout over Heath Streak’s sacking as captain and a broader protest over quotas. The Currans survived both events, moved home and Kevin continued coaching, even when Zimbabwe took a self-imposed exile from Tests in 2006.Tom, Ben and Sam were too young to remember any of that in great detail but Ben knows that they were “always around cricket” and encouraged to enjoy it. “Whenever I see friends of my dad, they all tell me they remember me when I was knee-high. We were always there. He just wanted us to enjoy sport and if we wanted to work hard and practice a lot, he was there. He never said, ‘This is what you have to do’, it was up to us to decide if we wanted to go further.All three brothers were lured away from Zimbabwe by a scholarship from Wellington School in Surrey, where they stayed even after Kevin passed away unexpectedly in 2012. He never saw his sons play professionally but their mother, Sarah, has been a constant presence. Three years after Kevin’s death, Sam became the second-youngest player to represent Surrey in first-class cricket. Tom was already a regular in the team but Ben had to wait a little longer.”I didn’t have the immediate success my brothers did,” he says. “It took me until I was a couple of years out of school to get myself the opportunity to play on a professional level but everyone’s got their own path. It doesn’t really happen that quickly for a lot of people. If I take myself out of it, I know that if they weren’t my brothers, we wouldn’t be having the same conversation. There’s no timeline on anything and especially not in professional sport. Not everyone, not just in my family, but in general, has quick success. It just took me a little longer.”And unlike his brothers, Ben didn’t have his success at Surrey either but there was a synchronicity with where he ended up. At the age of 22, he was signed by Northants, the same team his father had played for. That had the potential to heighten the pressure on him even more but he didn’t let it. “As a professional, I distanced myself from the talk,” he says. “It was a lot easier to try and just focus on performing myself.”

“I definitely have an eye on the ODI World Cup. I’m playing in the 50-over side at the minute and I want to get myself into the T20 side. I actually played more T20 cricket in the UK. I definitely want to cement myself in all three sides”

Over the next four years, Ben played semi-regularly but did not have any breakout success. He averaged 25.82, never scored a hundred and, understandably, was never part of the national team conversation. Although eligible to play for England, without the numbers to back it up, he never seriously entertained the thought. “When I was playing county cricket, I was just trying to focus on performing there. I didn’t really think too far ahead about what may or may not come.”Then, in 2022, he lost his contract and decided to return home and try again. “It was a conscious decision I made to go back and I obviously had ambitions to represent Zimbabwe,” he says, aware of the challenges that would face him.”The pitches are a lot slower and with the Kookaburra ball, there’s not as much lateral movement, so it’s about getting used to that, so they might have ring fields instead of more fielders behind the bat and a lot of more dismissals might be in front of the bat. It was about realising that there might not be as many scoring options, but you’ve got to find a way.”In what may be as much of an indicator of the difference in standards between England and Zimbabwe as of Curran feeling more comfortable in a familiar environment, in his first season, he averaged 41.77 in Zimbabwe’s first-class competition and finished eighth on the run-charts. In his second summer, he was up to seventh and by the end of his third, Curran was the second-highest run-scorer in the Logan Cup, averaging 75.30, with three hundreds from seven matches.It was during the last of those that he was also selected for Zimbabwe and made his international debut at Harare Sports Club, in an ODI against Afghanistan last December. A Test appearance soon followed, in the Boxing Day match in Bulawayo. Now Ben is all but a regular and sees himself that way. “It feels like I’ve been playing for a lot longer than just [since] December,” he says.Curran scored a half-century on Test debut•Zimbabwe CricketIt helps that he has performed relatively well. In his first Test innings, Ben scored 68 and in his sixth ODI, he raised his bat in celebration of a century to a jubilant crowd, who showed him the appreciation every international dreams of.”What I have been trying to do is just stay really present and take it all in,” he says. “I remember when I was on about 90-odd and we were in a good position in the game and I looked at the grandstand and everyone was singing and cheering. That was a standout moment, and made me appreciate where I am and what I’m actually doing.”Zimbabwe won the match against Ireland by nine wickets and Ben was there at the end to seal a series victory that could become the building block for the 2027 ODI World Cup, which they are co-hosting. Zimbabwe have not played at a 50-over World Cup since 2015 – and have been through two heartbreaking qualifying campaigns which saw them miss out – and see 2027 as an opportunity to underline their importance among the game’s top nations. That includes being able to have some of the formats best players and Ben hopes to be among those, at least for Zimbabwe.”I definitely have an eye on the ODI World Cup. I’m playing in the 50-over side at the minute and I want to get myself into the T20 side. I actually played more T20 cricket in the UK. I definitely want to cement myself in all three sides.”He played 23 T20s for Northants and scored three fifties with a strike rate of 126.84 but has only played 12 in Zimbabwe, and none for the national side. Whether that changes as they look towards the T20 World Cup Qualifiers remains to be seen. For now, their focus is on Tests and they are due to play 11 this year – as many as Australia and more than anyone else – in the hope of forcing their case for a World Test Championship spot.A match against England, given its profile, puts the conversation centre stage and gives the players a brighter spotlight than usual. For Ben, it’s about that and much more. There’s a touch of sibling rivalry even though neither Tom nor Sam are playing. He expects both to be around the match and hopefully cheering for him. He also expects the comparisons to keep being made but is confident he is carving his own path in his own way. “I’m enjoying my cricket,” he says. “The environment, where the guys and the team are in a good place and really wanting to take Zimbabwe cricket forward. I feel as though the timing is right for me.”

He has captained in only four ODIs so far, and as an automatic pick, his inclusion might affect the balance of the bowling attack

Andrew McGlashan28-Sep-2023A few weeks ago, Pat Cummins was again asked to reflect on the Ashes series in England.”Batters dominated, higher strike rates, more white-ball problems you had to try and solve – felt more like a one-dayer than Test matches at different times,” he said. “Which was great. Really enjoyed it.”Experience in dealing with those “white-ball problems” as England’s Bazball batting line-up hurtled along at 4.74 per over might become relevant in the next month, although the field Cummins had for the first ball at Edgbaston, with three boundary fielders, won’t be allowed against India in Chennai on October 8.Related

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Not since Kim Hughes captained Australia in the 1979 World Cup, having not led in ODIs before then, have Australia gone into the tournament with a captain as inexperienced in the format as Cummins. After leading in two of the three matches against India this month, he is on a grand total of four outings as ODI captain, alongside four Marsh Cup games for New South Wales in the 2020-21 season.Still, his appointment was not surprising, although it came at a curious juncture, five days before Australia started their defence of the T20 World Cup title last year. The selectors wanted to avoid talk about the role becoming a distraction in the wake of Aaron Finch’s retirement, at a time when David Warner’s leadership ban was also muddying the waters.”I think there has been a lot of speculation and conjecture around the position,” national selector George Bailey said at the time. “We are at the doorstep of a World Cup. I think it’s easier to just announce it and move on from that.”Cummins leads Australia out in his first 50-over match as captain, against England in Adelaide last year•Sarah Reed/Getty ImagesCummins’ first two games in charge came against England in a forgettable series immediately after the T20 World Cup. He sat out the middle contest, in Sydney, where Josh Hazlewood captained. Cummins then missed the series in India in late March due to the death of his mother, and he sat out the recent matches in South Africa with a wrist injury sustained in the Ashes.While some of his absences from the role would not have been planned, there was a certain broad acceptance when he was named captain that he wouldn’t always be there – to the point where the significance of him leading much before the World Cup was downplayed.
“In our one-day team, we do feel like we’ve got some strong leaders, some really experienced members of the team, and some developing leaders,” Bailey said. “So regardless of Pat being there, I think we are moving away from this concept of a captain taking over and their leadership being all-encompassing.”But while not a shock, when Cummins was appointed captain of the ODI side, it was arguably a less natural fit than his Test role.On the one hand there are the usual questions about how well a fast bowler can perform in the leadership role in a format that, if not quite as intricate as T20 or as time-consuming as Tests, involves plenty of moving parts. As in other formats, it’s rare to find a frontline bowler doing the job. Among the few recent examples at the top level are Mashrafe Mortaza, who led Bangladesh in 2019, and Jason Holder, who did so for West Indies in 2015 and 2019.Cummins has managed impressively in the Test role since he took it on ahead of the 2021-22 Ashes, leading Australia to the World Test Championship title, and has yet to lose a match at home. But there were a few cracks appearing by the end of the intense and draining Ashes, particularly when England were rattling along at ODI tempo at Old Trafford.Who sits out? Australia will not find it easy to pick their best fast-bowling attack on the spin-friendly pitches at the World Cup, given there can’t be any debate about Cummins’ place in the side•Paul Kane/Getty ImagesHowever, the way he coped with the hasty promotion to the Test role bodes well, because he had very little captaincy experience at all when that job came. In fact, he had been handed the New South Wales one-day job largely to ensure he had a bit of captaincy under his belt.In this World Cup he will be well supported by senior players in the squad, not least Steven Smith and his stand-in, Mitchell Marsh. “I think that’s one of Pat’s strengths – he leans on other people in the squad and other leaders in our team. He does an incredible job,” Marsh said before heading to South Africa.”There’s no doubt with his role as a bowler, playing every game in every format is near-on impossible, so for him to have guys that he trusts, he leans on… we’ve got a great friendship first and foremost, and a great relationship professionally, so I always know I can lean on him, and vice-versa.”However, there is a balance to strike. Too many voices could well do more harm than good. A few times during the Ashes, the question was asked – admittedly more often from the English side of the fence – about who was really captaining Australia in the field.Team selection is an aspect that is potentially affected by Cummins being captain. There will be times during the World Cup when Australia are likely to field just two frontline quicks – a lot of the pre-tournament planning and tactics have been based on an allrounder-heavy model – while some venues are likely to call for two frontline spinners.It’s hard to see Mitchell Starc being left out of the side if he is fit, and as captain, Cummins needs to be in. But if you had to pick just two white-ball quicks, would one of them be Cummins? While his numbers are very good in ODIs, they don’t leap off the page like his Test returns do. Meanwhile, Hazlewood is currently the No. 1-ranked one-day bowler in the world, but he could become the fall guy.Fill-in guy: there are indications the head of selectors, George Bailey, and the rest of Australia’s think tank are looking at Cummins as a stop-gap ODI captain for the World Cup•Steve Bell/AFP/Getty ImagesThrough the impact of missing tours during Covid, and more recently rotation with a focus on Test cricket, the three had not actually played an ODI together since 2020 until the final match against India in Rajkot.Hazlewood, who missed the 2019 World Cup injured, may have been a touch optimistic when he recently said that he thought Australia would return to the big three quicks in India, although the problems that emerged for Australia in the latter part of the South Africa tour and in India may change things. Also, if Glenn Maxwell is fit and able to take the load of second spinner alongside Adam Zampa, it could boost the prospect of Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc playing together more often. Either way, it’s unusual for a captain to even be in the mix when such team-balance issues are discussed.But regardless of how it plays out over the next few weeks, there is a strong chance this World Cup will mark the end of Cummins’ ODI captaincy. His appointment was made with only this tournament in mind and the signs are the white-ball teams will be put under one captain, most likely Marsh, after this event.However, having held aloft the World Test Championship and retained (if not won) the Ashes, should Cummins be lifting the ODI World Cup trophy in Ahmedabad on November 19, it would make for one of the more successful years by an Australian captain.

The inside story of a champion team’s phoenix-like rise to win their fourth domestic 50-over title

Shashank Kishore16-Mar-2021Even as Mumbai sank to four defeats in five matches at the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, things were going from bad to worse at the Mumbai Cricket Association, whose scrap with the Cricket Improvement Committee was out in the open. Who the coach would be was a big bone of contention.It wouldn’t be Amit Pagnis. He was done after the T20 tournament. So, Ramesh Powar, after a convoluted and messy process, took charge 48 hours after the team was to depart for the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He has now helmed Mumbai to their fourth domestic 50-overs title.Powar’s appointment meant Mumbai had a fourth coach in the last three years. Pagnis, his predecessor, had been a late replacement for former wicketkeeper Vinayak Samant, under whom they won the Vijay Hazare Trophy in 2018-19 but had a poor Ranji Trophy. Samant had been brought in after Sameer Dighe was let go after one season. The churn threatened to take the focus completely away from the cricket.Even as the MCA and the CIC squabbled in full public view, Aditya Tare, one of their senior players, found to his shock that he had been given no explanation for his omission from the Vijay Hazare Trophy longlist. It wasn’t until Powar’s intervention that Tare was picked again. On Sunday, Tare scored his maiden List-A century in a tall chase as Mumbai beat Uttar Pradesh in the final to break a streak of six tournaments without a trophy. It capped a remarkable turnaround for a team that appeared to have been in the doldrums only six weeks earlier.”There was a lot of stuff happening,” Tare tells ESPNcricinfo of the state of flux Mumbai were in. “There was no camp, then the results in the Mushtaq Ali Trophy. Senior players had an axe on them, they were called a lot of things. It was like we were humiliated. A lot of remarks were passed, questions raised about the future of certain individuals. It was tough.”On his very first day on the job, Powar knew cricket was far off, and there was a crisis to be resolved first. “Total chaos, crisis, and I like such a situation,” Powar says of his first thoughts as he linked up with the team. “In a way, when things are so bad, the only way is up. Everyone’s character shines through in a crisis. It’s easier to take over a team in chaos because everyone has that fire of wanting to fight back and answer the critics, even if they may not admit to it openly. I could see that with this group too.”Related

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A tough talker, Powar gave no illusions to the team in his first chat with them at the Wankhede Stadium before departure. “They were low, disappointed with themselves that they’d let the Mumbai brand of cricket down. It was difficult to pick them up initially,” Powar says.Tare remembers having a sense of focus as they regrouped. “Ramsy (Powar) openly declared confidence into players. He said: ‘once I back a player, I will back long-term.’ That told the players he’s not someone who will throw you out after two games. That feeling affects the mentality of a player and the squad. He addressed that in the first meeting itself, after which he did a lot of one-on-one work during our quarantine since we couldn’t go out to train.”Once the talking was done, it was time to make the most of their two training sessions before the tournament. The focused vibe appeared to trickle down to the entire group. It began with the side being punctual for the nets, meetings and team events. Training sessions intense and structured.”We told them, we will give them whatever they needed, infrastructure-wise and support-wise, but [we] expect the best, in terms of attitude and performance,” Powar says. “They understood it wasn’t just fun and games anymore.”Not initially in Mumbai’s longlist of players, Aditya Tare went on to score a match-winning hundred in the final•Aditya TareIyer, Suryakumar, Tare, Thakur play mentorsThe one-on-ones were about setting expectations, prioritizing the first XI, clarifying every player’s role and asking the senior group of five players – Tare, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni and Shardul Thakur – to play a mentorship role. They warmed up to it so seriously that even on the day of the final, hours before Iyer, Suryakumar and Shardul took the field for India in a T20I, they sent motivating messages to the entire team.”We told each of them where they stand and if they fit into our scheme of things presently, [and] if not, what we’ve got planned for them,” Powar says of the planning. “Some players were insecure, so you had to give them that confidence. Like for Tare, I told him you will play the entire tournament. I wanted Dhawal to be the bowling leader. The message for the batsmen was, you have freedom but there is responsibility too.”If you hit fifty, I don’t want you to be satisfied with it. Also, youngsters came with a fearless attitude. Mohit Avasthi, for example, wasn’t in the first 15 but we gave him a chance because we saw a good attitude in the nets and rewarded him for it. That motivated a lot of guys.”Powar’s brand of cricket is one of aggression. “On a seaming track, 10 overs, none for 30 is not useful,” he says. “You may as well go for 50 runs and get us three wickets. On turning tracks, you can’t get away bowling under-cutters, you need to go for wickets. I made it clear that winning doesn’t matter, the brand of cricket matters, and you must be a match-winner, you must make a difference. Even when we won, we were critical in our assessment of the players in private. Everything was straightforward. It changed the entire outlook of the team.”‘Show players what they can be, not what they are’In a way, Powar’s challenge was multifold because he was appointed for just one tournament in a pandemic year. With all of two sessions to find a winning blueprint, it could have been intimidating. Would Powar’s methods have been different if he’d been given a three-year vision instead?”One month or three years, my approach would’ve been the same,” he says. “I have learnt a lot of things under Rahul Dravid during my stint at the NCA as one of the assistant coaches. One of the things is, you don’t show a player what he is, but show him what he can be. It’s not about timeframe but how you manage people, right from the support staff to curators to administrators to junior players.”Outside of the cricket, I learnt plenty on the human behavioural aspect. See, you can have an easy way out and say ‘I can’t do anything in one month’ or just say, ‘give me 10 days and I’ll do this.’ For me, Mumbai’s reputation was at stake and our brand of cricket was going down, that is why I jumped in. I thought there was a possibility of me being able can turn this around. So yes, three years or one month, no worries. This change in mindset has changed my thought process of head coach.”The human behavioural aspect that Powar refers to is quite revealing. Player management, he admits, has become an important part of his coaching blueprint. In 2019, his short tenure as head coach of India Women ended after he was embroiled in a controversy over not picking Mithali Raj, the women’s ODI captain, for the T20 World Cup semi-final in the Caribbean. Raj had accused Powar of trying to “destroy” her career, and Powar responded by saying Raj had threatened to retire if she was not allowed to open.Powar reflects on that episode and believes the experience has made him handle situations better. “There’s no right or wrong,” he says. “My heart was clear, and I’ve learnt many ways to handle situations. One of the things is you don’t have to be proactive all the time, you can be subtle at times. There are different ways to convey certain things, it’s a learning process.”With time and knowledge, you gain from experienced people around you, you think ‘I may have done this little differently,’ but now I know, I have to have 20 methods to handle players, you can’t have just one method or two methods. That’s what I’ve learnt.”Shaw smashed 827 runs, the most in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy•PTI Project Prithvi ShawSo how did Powar handle Prithvi Shaw? Dropped after one poor Test in Australia, Shaw admitted to having felt some loneliness on tour, even as the rest of the world dissected his batting technique. Back to the Mumbai set-up as captain after Iyer left midway through the tournament on national duty, Shaw turned a corner and responded by smashing 827 runs, the most in a single edition of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. He became the first player in List A history to make three 150-plus scores in a single series or tournament when he made 227*, 185* and 165 in his first three matches as captain.”In Jaipur, we [support staff] and Shaw had a one-to-one. I asked him what he wants from us,” Powar says. “We told him what’s expected of him. I said ‘look, you’re a senior player in this squad, I want you to inspire young players’ and in the end, I asked him what he wanted us to give him. He just wanted to keep the dressing room light and have good vibes. You could sense how he wanted to be around people, mingle with them. Maybe the loneliness did get to him, so having people around him who resonate with his ideas, really was a big plus.”The way we structured practice you could see the change from the first session. He was happy with the atmosphere around, he batted for 15-20 minutes and then bowled at young batsmen like Yashasvi Jaiswal. Yes, technique-wise he was agitated, even disturbed. He said, ‘my hands are going away [from my body], I have to get it closer, it won’t come easy, but I will keep working on it in the room, trying to shadow practice my downswing.’ But as much as it was about the technique, it was also about getting his mind right and getting him to understand why he needed to do certain things. Once that was sorted, he was clear.”Before the final when we trained, he didn’t bat at all. He bowled two hours to everyone with the sidearm. He likes to create an atmosphere where everyone is relaxed, everyone gets something out. He went through patches where he was alone, so he wanted to be there for everyone. I didn’t know about him sobbing [after getting dropped in Australia] initially even though I got the feeling, talking to him later. You could see he didn’t want to be alone, he wanted to mix with everyone. He was throwing at the batters not playing, not even in contention. Even the guys in the last seven.”‘It’s okay if I don’t bat, give Jaiswal enough practice’ – SarfarazOne of the things Powar wanted to inculcate was to get players talking more, and taking the onus on themselves. Team meetings, he says, were driven by the senior players to begin with. Youngsters would often be asked for their ideas, given situations, and asked how they’d approach it. One of the particularly engaging group sessions involved a debate with the team splitting themselves into Team Lionel Messi v Team Cristiano Ronaldo, depending on who they liked.Aditya Tare is chaired off the field by his team-mates after scoring a match-winning century in the final•Aditya Tare”That was fun,” Powar says. “You could see them become lively and intense; it was as if you had unlocked something. They were fiercely debating, backed it with data, trophies they’ve won, what they did in which championship. It mirrored the on-field intensity. They were close, and even if everyone can’t be friends all the time, you could say it got them closer.”Powar uses Jaiswal’s example to underline this. “Yashasvi is a kind of player who plays thousands of balls at the nets, but because of quarantine restrictions and severe time crunch, he couldn’t have the same level of build-up,” Powar says. “You could see he was struggling for timing, struggling for runs. Before the quarter-final against Saurashtra, Sarfaraz Khan knocked on my room and said: ‘Sir, I think Yashasvi is struggling, I think you should give him more batting. Even if it means my batting time is slightly reduced.'”Now, I was surprised at his maturity of knowing what’s best for the team at a given moment, even though Sarfaraz himself hadn’t got too many opportunities to bat. It was particularly refreshing because Jaiswal and Sarfaraz are completely different individuals. Because of that, they’re not the best of friends. But for the team’s sake, here, they were ready to do anything. The was heartening. The next day he scored a 75, but yes, it told us he’s someone who needs a lot of training. Maybe once the bubble is over, he will be a different player, type of guy who needs to bat more and more.” is a thing of the past While they’ve got their first trophy in the bag, for Powar, winning wasn’t the only thing. It has started as a journey in trying to transform the “brand of cricket” – something he alludes to often – he wants to see Mumbai play. For starters, he wants to see the term (a word that roughly means “stubborn”, in the sense of batsmen putting a price on their wicket) being shelved, for he believes it isn’t reflective of how the current generation of players approach the game. It’s a common refrain to hear past players talk of how no season is successful until Mumbai have won it. Powar thinks it’s time to redefine what a successful season is.”A lot of people still say show attitude. That’s fine, it’s in the past and we lived up to it,” Powar explains. “But it’s about time the current generation is motivated differently. Can’t keep bringing that up again and again.”We all know Mumbai’s legacy has been built in red-ball cricket. Right now, there’s a lot of white-ball cricket happening. This current group has 12 players featuring in the IPL. Going forward, the white-ball legacy can’t be understated either. You can’t be and dominate in white-ball cricket.”

Now we have a crisis. West Ham United are not doomed, but a little over two months into the season, there’s a real sense of foreboding as the relegation-threatened Hammers struggle to climb out of the drop zone.

Leeds United were well worth their win as they saw off Nuno Espirito Santo’s side on Friday evening at Elland Road, with shaky West Ham lacking any of the principled, well-drilled defensive solidness that Nuno sides come to be defined by.

Early days yet, but it’s concerning that the Portuguese tactician has failed to structure his squad effectively across his opening Premier League matches at the London Stadium, drawing at Everton on his debut but since losing three on the bounce.

Journalist Jacob Steinberg commented on the issues, criticising the manager for fielding “inexplicable line-ups” and even saying he has “botched both games this week”, having slumped to a home defeat against Brentford on Monday.

But, equally, the players needed to step up against the newly-promoted Whites, and that they did not do.

West Ham's biggest villains at Leeds

West Ham didn’t turn up. Though Mateus Fernandes claimed his first goal for the club when heading Jarrod Bowen’s whipped cross into the net late on, it wasn’t enough and the Londoners retreated with none of the spoils, and the knowledge that they have just four points from nine fixtures thus far.

Bowen was as lively as ever, nearly sealing a show-stopping moment when his bicycle kick was saved in the first half, the Hammers 1-0 down.

But this was about the extent of the positives. Tomas Soucek was particularly poor. An industrious player and one of the finest stalwarts from the illustrious David Moyes era, the 30-year-old’s lumbering limitations were exposed, and aside from that chance which went begging, he was too high too often, leaving Andy Irving exposed.

Crysencio Summerville also flattered to deceive against his former side, but in fairness, he was a victim of tactical confusion, starting on the right and then moving to the left following Ollie Scarles’ first-half injury. There was a lot of huff and puff without any end product.

The 23-year-old has looked bright this term after an injury-hit 2024/25 campaign, but he remains inconsistent and needs to be more outgoing in front of goal.

Electric and inventive, he adds something different, and though the Netherlands-born talent shouldn’t be dropped, there’s little question that he needs to offer more.

However, there’s another member of the starting line-up who has proved he’s not cut out for the task at hand, and Nuno must surely think about dropping him soon.

The West Ham star who must be axed

After the full-time whistle screeched in Leeds, it was made known that West Ham have suffered their worst start to a top-flight campaign in 52 years. Nuno has yet to win a game since replacing Graham Potter.

What, then, needs to be done? Well, for one thing, United’s messy defending needs sorting out – and quickly. And to achieve this, it might be worth pulling Jean-Clair Todibo from the starting line-up, with the Frenchman putting in another poor performance on Friday.

Todibo, 25, spent last season on loan in east London before completing a permanent £35m transfer earlier in 2025. He had been coveted by Juventus and was regarded in France as one of the most athletic and exciting ball-playing defenders in the business.

But the Premier League is a different beast, and after lacking clarity and conviction in his performances last year, Todibo has now fallen by the wayside, with West Ham Fav TV contributor Nick Marsh saying after the match that he and Max Kilman are “comfortably the two worst centre-backs in this league.”

One website even saw it fit to brand Todibo with a lowly 3/10 match rating, and this was echoed across social media, with supporters fed up with the limp and unconvincing defensive displays.

Todibo’s quality in the air must be questioned, and he leaves so much to be desired when dealing with whipped deliveries. Herein lies the crux of West Ham’s issues, and Todibo is very much a part of the problem.

Looking at it across the span of the season, he doesn’t win enough duels – albeit proving strong in the few ground battles he has won – while failing to muster the creativity and initiative on the ball that drew such acclaim while with OGC Nice in France.

Matches (starts)

4 (4)

Touches*

60.0

Clean sheets

0

Accurate passes*

43.8 (88%)

Key passes*

0.0

Recoveries*

3.0

Tackles*

2.0

Interceptions*

0.8

Clearances*

3.5

Ground duels won*

2.8 (73%)

Aerial duels won*

1.5 (38%)

Standing at 6 foot 3, to be averaging success in just 38% of his aerial duels is inexcusable. Todibo must be dropped. But who comes in?

Former Brighton & Hove Albion defender Igor Julio continues to languish on the sidelines, though there are suggestions that the 27-year-old has impressed in training and could be in line for a debut soon, having only made one substitute appearance so far this term.

Meanwhile, Soungoutou Magassa has played in central defence before and has already been shown some trust by Nuno, starting twice in the Premier League this year.

In any case, changes are needed in east London. West Ham boast plenty of quality in their squad and cannot allow themselves to tumble from the first tier. If dropping Todibo is a means toward this goal, then so be it.

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1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 23, 2025

Things are starting to go wrong for Chelsea this season.

Just a few weeks ago, Enzo Maresca’s side looked like one of the best teams in the Premier League and a serious rival to Arsenal.

However, with two losses and two draws in their last four games, it feels like the Blues have hit a wall, and a number of their summer signings are struggling to make an impact.

One player who has had a particularly poor start to life at Chelsea is Liam Delap, and if he’s not careful, he could be replaced by a hugely exciting striker set to join the squad ahead of next season.

Delap's 24/25 vs 25/26

He might be getting pelters this season, but when Chelsea paid £30m to sign Delap in the summer, it looked like a good move for the club.

After all, the former Manchester City gem was one of the only bright sparks in a dire Ipswich Town side and, in his first proper season of Premier League football, put in a good account of himself.

For example, while he wasn’t the most prolific forward around, his tally of 12 goals and two assists in 40 appearances, 37 of which came in the league, was impressive, and came out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.85 games.

However, his form, at least in terms of output, seems to have fallen off a cliff this season, with him scoring a single goal in 11 games so far.

Unfortunately, his underlying numbers have also dropped off massively this year.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.34

0.21

Progressive Carries

2.12

2.05

Key Passes

0.73

0.00

Passes into the Final Third

0.59

0.26

Shot-Creating Actions

2.15

0.52

Goal-Creating Actions

0.24

0.00

Tackles Won

0.28

0.00

Blocks

0.28

0.00

According to FBref, the Englishman is doing worse in the majority of relevant metrics this year, like non-penalty expected goals plus assists, progressive carries, key passes, passes into the final third, shot- and goal-creating actions, successful take-ons, and multiple defensive statistics, all per 90.

Add to this the fact that he has already suffered two significant injuries and been sent off, and it’s not hard to see a world in which Delap fails to make the grade at Chelsea.

Especially as the club already has another exciting youngster set to join the summer who’s coming for his place.

The Chelsea youngster coming for Delap

Chelsea have made a real habit of signing some of the most exciting young talents from around the world of football, be that Estevao or Geovany Quenda.

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

Another name that should be added to that list of incredible prospects, and someone fans will become far more familiar with next season, is Dastan Satpaev.

The Blues signed the sensational prospect from the Kazakhstani side Kairat Almaty in February of this year for a fee of around €4m, which is about £3.5m.

However, due to rules around foreign-born youngsters, the teenager has to wait until next season, when he’s 18, to join up with Maresca’s squad.

Forcing the young phenom to stay in his home country for another year or so looks like it has been hugely beneficial, though, as he’s had plenty of senior game-time and, by all accounts, has been unreal.

Appearances

29

Starts

21

Minutes

2081

Goals

15

Assists

7

Goal Involvements per Match

0.75

Minutes per Goal Involvement

94.59′

For example, in 29 first-team appearances last season, totalling 2081 minutes, the dynamic game-changing forward scored 15 goals and provided seven assists.

In other words, the young striker averaged a goal involvement every 1.31 games, or every 94.59 minutes, which is a rate of return that should worry Delap.

As if that wasn’t enough, one Kazakh scout even told the press that in one campaign for Kairat’s under-17 side, the superstar in the making produced a frankly astounding tally of “54 goals with 50 assists in just 19 matches.”

Finally, on top of impressing at the junior level and in the domestic league, the future game-changer has also made 12 appearances in the Champions League this season, seven in the qualifying rounds and five in the competition proper, where he became the youngest goalscorer in its history.

Ultimately, Delap is a talented footballer, but he’s had a poor season so far, and if he doesn’t improve quickly, he could see himself replaced by Satpaev next year.

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ByJack Salveson Holmes 4 days ago

The Atlanta Braves have had a horrendous week that has seen them lose two games in the ninth inning and two more games in the 10th inning. In one of those losses they coughed up a six-run lead in the ninth inning, giving up seven runs to the Diamondbacks to lose 11-10.

Their latest devastating loss came Saturday in San Francisco. The Braves had a 2-1 leading going into the bottom of the ninth but shortly after Heliot Ramos got on with a single, Matt Chapman stepped to the plate and blasted a 1-1 pitch into the left field stands for a walk-off home run.

Braves announcer Brandon Gaudin had the saddest call of the homer as he immediately knew that the game was over.

"Deep to left… oh my," Gaudin said as the ball sailed through the air. "At the wall, it’s gone. The Giants win it 3-2 and Atlanta drops another one."

You can hear that call in the tweet below the very enthusiastic one by the Giants' broadcast.

The Braves are 2-8 in their last 10 games and stand at 27-36 heading into Sunday's series finale with the Giants.

Manchester United are on a better run of form than ever before under Ruben Amorim. They have now gone unbeaten in their last five games, a momentum that they will be looking to keep up ahead of what is set to be another busy festive period.

They will lose some players next month, though, with AFCON set to start just before Christmas. Bryan Mbeumo, who has been one of Amorim’s best players, will be representing Cameroon, and Noussair Mazraoui will be playing for Morocco, who host the competition.

However, perhaps the biggest loss for United will be Ivory Coast international Amad.

Why Amad will be the biggest loss during AFCON

It has not been easy for every member of United’s squad to find a place they fit into Amorim’s infamous 3-4-2-1 system. Yet, for Amad, that has been at right wing-back, a role in which he has gelled nicely.

The former Atalanta academy star has become a pivotal player on that right flank for Amorim. His electric ability going forward has been important, and his hard-working nature defensively is something which seemingly makes him a real favourite of the United manager on the right.

This term, the 23-year-old has made all but three of his ten Premier League appearances at right wing-back. Amad has grabbed two assists and a goal whilst playing that role, with the pick of the bunch surely the pass which set Mbeumo up to give the Red Devils an early lead at Anfield last month.

As to why Amad might be viewed as the biggest loss during AFCON, well, United don’t really have anyone else who can play that role like him.

If you take the Ivorian out of the equation, Diogo Dalot and Mazraoui, both full-backs, are the only viable options. The latter, of course, will be away on international duty himself.

So, Amorim may be forced to turn to the academy to help solve this particular issue.

United’s in-house Amad replacement

The academy has so often been the answer to United’s problems. Think back to Marcus Rashford’s debut for the club, when the then 18-year-old was drafted into the Europa League side at the last minute.

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He scored twice on debut, did the same again against Arsenal a few days later, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Well, the person who could step into Amad’s shoes when he is on national team duty is Shea Lacey. The youngster is also a right-winger by trade, a position in which he has shone for their academy this season.

In nine games across all competitions for the Red Devils’ youth sides, Lacey has scored three times and assisted a further two. He averages a goal involvement every 101 minutes, mainly operating as a right-winger.

The Liverpool-born forward has always been a highly-rated player. He has shone for several years in a United shirt, notably “beating Lamine Yamal” to the player of the competition award in a junior tournament, as per GOAL’s Richard Martin.

One reason why the youngster could excel as a right wing-back is his crossing ability. Look at this pass he played for Gabriele Biancheri a few weeks back.

Operating from wide on the right, he’s able to move inside and loft a perfect cross into the path of the Wales youth striker, who scored a lovely goal.

Lacey has impressed against senior sides in the EFL Trophy this term, too. The 18-year-old has put up some impressive numbers, averaging one key pass and completing 1.7 dribbles per 90 minutes.

Lacey – EFL Trophy 25/26

Stat

Per 90 mins

Competition total

Goals and assists

0.6

2

Key passes

1

3

Dribbles completed

1.7

5

Tackles

2.4

7

Stats from Sofascore

Losing Amad will be a blow to United, especially if this upturn in form continues. However, in Lacey, they might have a ready-made wing-back replacement, who, like Amad, will offer plenty going forward.

It could be seen as a risk to play the teenager in a new role, but if Amorim wants to keep in line with the DNA of the club, it might be something he is willing to do.

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Posts ByMatt Dawson Nov 10, 2025

Liverpool made some eye-catching signings during the summer window and could now be set to enact a surprise double deal involving Real Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga and Inter defender Alessandro Bastoni.

After a frustrating period of matches, Arne Slot led his side to only their second win in their last eight fixtures against Aston Villa last weekend, offering something to build on ahead of the festive period.

Mohamed Salah’s 250th Premier League goal came as a landmark milestone, and his teammates stepped up after a dip in form, leaving them seven points off Arsenal in the Premier League title race as they gun for more silverware.

Admittedly, the visitors still produced moments of panic within the Liverpool backline. By no means were the Reds perfect last weekend, but three points are the only thing that matters after a dismal run of results that have caused them to drift from top spot.

Club legend Steven Gerrard spoke out in defence of Slot amid recent criticism involving the Dutchman, telling TNT Sports that ‘keyboard warriors’ won’t detract from the fine job he has done at Anfield.

He said: “It’s a great win; he deserves a lot of credit for that. But they come thick and fast, in two days’ time, the pressure will build again as he’ll be expected to beat Real Madrid.

“Compared to when we played there are a lot more people with microphones and cameras in front of their face, there are a lot more keyboard warriors and a lot of unnecessary noise. But it is football in the modern age, you have to take the rough with the smooth, that is life.”

Reds supporters will be fully behind their manager after the return he produced last term, and he could now be set to conclude a couple of lucrative deals to vastly improve his side.

Liverpool willing to bid for Eduardo Camavinga and Alessandro Bastoni

According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are plotting an ambitious double swoop for Eduardo Camavinga and Alessandro Bastoni that could cost within the region of £122 million to complete.

Real Madrid won’t make it easy for Camavinga to leave the building, albeit the Reds’ desire to acquire him is there and they hope that their project could be enough to entice him to England.

In the case of Bastoni, he is viewed as a natural successor to Virgil Van Dijk, something that supporters could get on board with due to his left-sided nature, tenacity and willingness to contribute in all thirds.

The Italy star has registered a goal and three assists in 12 matches this season. On the other hand, Camavinga has notched a solitary strike in nine appearances, featuring either as a central midfielder, in a holding role, and even on the right flank.

Liverpool could earn £132 million to fund Camavinga and Bastoni deals

Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Vitinha is also named as a target, though his situation is not as advanced. Either way, expect some notable future transfer dealings at Anfield.