Nottingham Forest are now leading the race to sign a “world-class” £34 million star who already has an offer from West Ham, according to a new report.

Forest are still in the dark when it comes to the future of Morgan Gibbs-White, as Tottenham Hotspur remain interested in the England international after reportedly triggering his release clause, which the Reds believe was done illegally.

Nottingham Forest submit £6m bid for La Liga ace who's now pushing to join

The Tricky Trees have stepped up their pursuit of a defender.

ByDominic Lund Jul 22, 2025

In case Gibbs-White does leave the City Ground, Forest are looking at players who could replace their number 10 if needed. Manchester City’s James McAtee has been on Forest’s radar for a while now, and at the beginning of this week, it was reported by the Telegraph’s John Percy that the Reds are set to advance their pursuit of McAtee this week.

The England under-21 international looks free to leave the Etihad this summer, as his contract expires next year and he has fallen down the pecking order under Pep Guardiola.

The Blues are said to be looking for a fee of £25 million, but the Reds will need to fend off other teams from the Premier League as well as the Bundesliga for the young attacking midfielder.

Forest leading the race to sign “world-class” Douglas Luiz

As well as looking to wrap up a deal for McAtee, according to Gazzetta dello Sport, relayed by The Mirror, Nottingham Forest are now ahead in the race to sign Douglas Luiz from Juventus.

The report claims that Forest’s global head of football, Edu, is pushing the Reds to sign the former Villa man this summer. Despite only joining Juventus a year ago, the Italian giants are keen to offload the Brazilian, and Forest are one of the sides who are strongly interested.

However, they face stiff competition as Everton are also interested in a deal, while West Ham have already submitted an offer for Luiz, as Juventus look to get around £34 million for the midfielder.

Given the interest from England, this new update has revealed that Luiz’s agent, Kia Joorabchian, is flying into London to hold talks with the interested teams.

Apps

175

Goals

20

Assists

18

Luiz, who has been dubbed “world-class” by journalist Leonardo Bertozzi, was brought to Juventus by former manager Thiago Motta, but he struggled to make an impact for him, as he failed to nail down a starting spot before the Italian boss was sacked.

That is completely different from the situation he was in at Villa Park, as the Brazil international played 35 of 38 league games in his final season and scored nine goals and recorded five assists in the process.

After signing their sixth arrival of the summer in Anton Stach, Leeds United have now reportedly initiated contact to sign another midfield star ahead of their Premier League return.

Stach "excited" to get going at Leeds

As the new campaign closes in, Sunderland and Leeds have continued to make plenty of transfer statements. Both sides, alongside Burnley, will be desperate to end the trend of promoted teams heading straight back down to the Championship, which all the last six have done. And splashing the cash represents a good start towards doing exactly that.

So far, those at Elland Road have welcomed six new signings, with the most recent being Stach from Hoffenheim. The midfielder joins Jaka Bijol, Sean Longstaff, Gabriel Gudmunssson, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Lukas Nmcecha on Leeds’ list of incomings.

Leeds aren’t done there, either. The Whites have already set their sights on Igor Paixao and have now reportedly made their first move towards signing a midfield star.

Leeds hold talks with Gustavo Hamer

As Graeme Bailey told Leeds United News, Leeds have now opened talks to sign Gustavo Hamer from Sheffield United this summer.

The midfielder reportedly wants to leave the Blades following last season’s promotion failure and a race between the Whites and Dutch giants PSV Eindhoven is now forming.

Bailey told Leeds United News: “Hamer is assessing his options, he has had talks with Leeds and PSV Eindhoven – but I am told nothing is imminent, but it is clear he wants to leave Sheffield United this summer and will.”

Hamer, perhaps more than any other member of Sheffield United’s squad, is Premier League ready and missing out on promotion was always likely to initiate his desire to leave the club.

After scoring 10 goals and creating another eight in all competitions last season, former manager Chris Wilder often had nothing but positives to say about Hamer.

Leeds want 255 career-goal star who may be available for under £8 million

The Whites want to bring an experienced campaigner to Elland Road.

2 BySean Markus Clifford Jul 26, 2025

He described his midfield star as “outstanding” after he won Sheffield United’s Player of the Season last time out, before they ultimately fell short in the play-offs.

New Zealand captain believes the batting collapse on the third morning was the definitive portion of the match

Andrew Fidel Fernando23-Sep-2024

“Will O’Rourke’s had a very short Test career so far, and he’s certainly announced himself” – Tim Southee•AFP/Getty Images

New Zealand tend not to do especially well in Galle. Of their five Test defeats from as many games at the ground, one has been by an innings, another by ten wickets, and one more by 202 runs. Their latest Test at the venue, which ended in a 63-run defeat to Sri Lanka on Monday, when they went into the fifth morning with an outside shot of victory – 68 more runs to win, with two wickets remaining – represents their closest result here.But two players, in particular, stuck out. In his first outing in steaming conditions, and on a dry deck, seamer Will O’Rourke was frequently menacing – often touching 140kph – while sending down short deliveries on a pitch not especially conducive to short bowling. Vitally, for a bowler in his third Test, there were also no hugely loose spells. His takings were 8 for 104. Six of those dismissals were of top- or middle-order batters. Captain Tim Southee was suitably impressed by the 23-year-old.”Will’s had a very short Test career so far, and he’s certainly announced himself,” Southee said after the match. “We saw in New Zealand how dangerous he can be. He’s got the skills to have a very good Test career. For him to come to his first Test in the subcontinent and walk away with a very impressive eight wickets for the match is nothing short of special. He’s got a great head on his shoulders, and he’s a big guy. So there’s a lot to like about Will O’Rourke.”Related

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On the batting front, 24-year-old Rachin Ravindra produced his second-highest Test score – a characterful 92 on a treacherous fourth-innings pitch – as New Zealand pursued a tall 275. Ravindra is not quite so new to internationals, of course, having lit up last year’s ODI World Cup in India. But he remains a batter still finding his feet at the top level, and the clear-headed approach he took on day four – pouncing almost unnerringly on errors of length, while endeavouring to keep the score ticking – was especially impressive in his third Test in Asia.”Rachin kept us in the hunt with that chase,” Southee said. “We knew it was [a] tough ask, and that it was going to take something special, with the wicket taking a lot of turn in these last couple of days. It was a great knock in those conditions.”It’s not easy to bat – the ball was spinning, and doing all sorts [of things]. For a young guy without a lot of experience in this part of the world to go out and get 90-odd was great signs for him as well. He’s another one that’s an exceptional talent, and he’s had a little taste of international cricket as well, and done exceptionally well. He’s a great young kid with a good head on his shoulders.”Tim Southee called Rachin Ravindra an “exceptional talent” after the Galle Test•AP

For Southee, it was New Zealand’s batting collapse on the third morning that was the definitive portion of the match. They had been 255 for 4 in their first innings overnight, only 50 runs adrift of Sri Lanka’s total. But they then lost six wickets for 71 runs, as the middle and lower orders succumbed to finger spinners Prabath Jayasuriya and Ramesh Mendis. In the end, their lead was only 35, when it had threatened to be much more.”I guess the position where we got ourselves in, in the first innings, was good. But the last four or five fell for not many, and there was an opportunity to get a bigger first-innings lead,” he said. “We knew that that second new ball was going to be tough given the nature of the wicket and the quality of the Sri Lankan spin bowlers.”If you look at those moments, if we were able to press on and get more of a lead, things could have been different. It was still a good Test match. There’s plenty of good things we can take into the next couple of days.”

Brydon Carse could be in line for a Test debut, just weeks after serving a ban for betting irregularities, while Jack Leach is back in England’s plans for the first time since the tour of India in February, after the selectors named a 17-man squad for their three-match series against Pakistan, which gets underway next month.Carse, 29, is one of six frontline fast bowlers in England’s squad, alongside the left-armer Josh Hull, who has been picked for his maiden Test tour after claiming three wickets on debut in the final Test of the summer, against Sri Lanka at the Kia Oval.His inclusion comes in the wake of the elbow injury that has ruled Mark Wood, England’s fastest bowler, out for the rest of the year. In May, Carse was suspended from all cricket for a total of 16 months (13 suspended) after pleading guilty to making a total of 303 bets on cricket matches, including Durham games in which he was not playing.Carse was permitted to continue training during his ban, and marked his return to action on August 29 with a century against Somerset at Taunton. His inclusion adds another 90mph option to England’s ranks, alongside Gus Atkinson and Olly Stone, who will also make the trip.Chris Woakes is also recalled for his first overseas engagement since the tour of the Caribbean in March 2022, despite reservations about his effectiveness away from home, where he averages 51.88 compared to 21.59 in the UK. However, having been installed as the leader of England’s bowling attack since the retirement of James Anderson earlier this year, Woakes responded well to the responsibility, claiming 24 wickets at 20.25 against West Indies and Sri Lanka.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

On the spin-bowling front, Leach is recalled to partner his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir, who has taken over as England’s first-choice pick in home conditions. He lost his place after suffering a knee injury during the first Test against India in Hyderabad in February, but claimed 12 wickets in his most recently completed match, against Durham at Taunton.He has been picked ahead of Tom Hartley, whose seven-wicket haul sealed victory in the Hyderabad Test, with the legspinner Rehan Ahmed preferred as England’s third spinner, two years on from his own starring role on debut in Karachi, during their 3-0 victory in their last tour of Pakistan.On the batting front, Dan Lawrence has paid the price for his frenetic displays against Sri Lanka, in which he made 120 runs at 20 in six innings as a makeshift opener, including a top score of 35. Though he was playing out of position, as a stand-in for Zak Crawley, his performances mean he loses out to Jordan Cox, the uncapped Essex batter who had been with the Test squad in Crawley’s absence.Crawley, who broke his right little finger while fielding during the Edgbaston Test against West Indies, is back in the squad and is said to be making “significant progress in his recovery”, with just under a month to go until the first Test of the Pakistan series.England’s captain, Ben Stokes, who missed the Sri Lanka series due to a torn hamstring sustained during the Men’s Hundred, is also included, having stayed with the Test squad to work on his rehabilitation throughout the Sri Lanka series, in which Ollie Pope led the side to a 2-1 series win.England do not yet know for certain where the series will be staged, with the unusual size of their squad a potential reflection of the doubts around the venues. Earlier this week, a PCB spokesman told ESPNcricinfo that Rawalpindi and Multan had been approved for the three Tests, beginning on October 7, but the ECB added that official confirmation is expected later this week.England Test squad to tour Pakistan: Ben Stokes (capt), Rehan Ahmed, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Jordan Cox, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Josh Hull, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes

اعترف لاعب فريق ليفربول، هوجو إيكتيكي، بأنه محظوظ في هدفه في مباراة اليوم أمام إيفرتون، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، موسم 2025/26.

واستضاف ملعب “الأنفيلد” مباراة فريقي ليفربول وإيفرتون في الجولة الخامسة من الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث حقق ليفربول فوزًا بهدفين مقابل بهدف.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ماذا قدم محمد صلاح في مباراة ليفربول وإيفرتون بـ الدوري الإنجليزي؟

وتمكن هوجو إيكتيكي من تسجيل الهدف الثاني لصالح ليفربول، في حين أحرز ريان جرافنبيرخ الأول بطريقة رائعة بعد تمريرة مثالية من محمد صلاح.

وقال إيكتيكي، في تصريحات نشرها موقع الدوري الإنجليزي: “إنه شعور رائع، كنا نعلم أنها ستكون مباراة صعبة وكانت كذلك بالفعل، كان علينا القتال حتى اللحظة الأخيرة، أشعر بالفخر، لقد كان اختبارًا جيدًا لي”.

وأضاف: “لقد قدمنا ​​أداءً جيدًا، نجحت في استغلال المساحة الخلفية وسددت الكرة، كنت محظوظًا بعض الشيء لأن الكرة مرت من تحت قدمي بيكفورد”.

وأفاد: “أريد أن أسجل في كل مباراة، إن سألتني عن ذلك، لم أسجل في المباراة الأخيرة، لكنني دائمًا أحاول إيجاد طريقة لإحداث الفارق، يمكن أن يكون هدفًا أو تمريرة حاسمة، أو ركضًا لخلق مساحة للاعب آخر، إنه أمر جيد، في النهاية الأهم هو الفريق والنقاط الثلاث اليوم”.

وواصل: “ألكسندر إيزاك لاعب رائع، لطالما تابعته قبل مجيئي إلى هنا ويمكنني التعلم منه، يمكننا اللعب معًا وإحداث الفارق، آمل أن نتمكن من تقاسم الملعب معًا في مباراة واحدة”.

وأردف: “كنت أعلم أن المباراة مهمة جدًا للجماهير، لذا كان الفوز اليوم مهمًا، شعرت بحماس الملعب والجمهور اليوم، إنه شعور بالفخر والسعادة، علينا فقط أن نواصل التقدم”.

واسترسل: “كان الشوط الأول جيدًا، كان الأمر صعبًا بعض الشيء بنتيجة 2/1، لكننا حافظنا على عقليتنا الصحيحة حتى النهاية، وأعتقد أن هذا ما صنع الفارق في النهاية”.

Chahal’s career-best match figures of 9 for 99 give hosts their season’s first win inside three days

ECB Reporters Network11-Sep-2024Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal starred with career-best match figures of 9 for 99 as he bowled Northamptonshire to their first Vitality County Championship victory of the season inside three days against Derbyshire.The experienced India white-ball international followed up his five-wicket tally from the first innings with 4 for 54 to demolish Derbyshire for just 132 second time around at Wantage Road.Chahal plugged away in tandem with off-spinner Rob Keogh, who took 5 for 44 – a season’s best of 8 for 110 in the match – through most of the final session after the entire afternoon had been lost to rain.The visitors, whose defeat keeps them at the foot of Division Two, never looked likely to mount a convincing challenge to their target of 266 despite bowling Northamptonshire out for 211 earlier in the day.Resuming their second innings on 178 for 5, Northamptonshire managed to stretch that total by a further 33, with Keogh completing his third half-century of the season before he was last man out for 63.Derbyshire spinner Jack Morley extracted some turn, having both Justin Broad and Ben Sanderson caught at slip before Martin Andersson sent Dom Leech’s middle stump flying.Andersson finished off the innings with figures of 3 for 23 after bowling Keogh around his legs, leaving Derbyshire to chase 266 – and they stumbled to 26 for two during the 40 minutes before rain arrived.Harry Came was first to depart as Broad brought one back to trap him lbw and Brooke Guest, having punched his first delivery to the cover fence, was foxed by the final ball of the session from Chahal.Guest was followed off by partner Luis Reece as well as the Northamptonshire fielders, with rain prompting an early lunch interval and a further heavy shower put paid to the afternoon session.Chahal accounted for Reece, playing for turn to a ball that kept straight on and struck his off stump, soon after the resumption – and he might also have removed Wayne Madsen with an edge that eluded the slip fielder.The veteran Derbyshire batter led a charmed life at times, attempting to late cut a couple of deliveries from Chahal that whistled just past the stumps before almost playing on to Keogh with a reverse sweep.Madsen’s presence in the middle became ever more vital for the visitors as sharp glovework by Lewis McManus, stumping David Lloyd and then snapping up a leg-side catch off Keogh to dismiss the dangerous Aneurin Donald, plunged them into deeper trouble.Andersson was bowled swinging across the line at Chahal, while Keogh continued to drive nails into the Derbyshire coffin, removing Zak Chappell lbw before Alex Thomson and Harry Moore were caught close in.Morley held Northamptonshire up for almost five overs before he was bowled sweeping at Keogh, who completed his second five-for of the season against Derbyshire and left Madsen high and dry on 48 not out.

Next season is undoubtedly going to be the most important one for Mikel Arteta since he took the Arsenal job over five years ago.

The Spanish coach has transformed the club from one spiralling down the Premier League table into genuine contenders, but he needs to lead them over the final hurdle next year.

Fortunately, Andrea Berta and his team have been hard at work this summer, bringing in some brilliant, potentially game-changing additions, such as Viktor Gyokeres and Martin Zubimendi.

However, the teams around the Gunners are also strengthening, and it looks like cross-London rivals Chelsea are about to get their hands on the exciting Xavi Simons, although if reports are to be believed, Arsenal are eyeing an international who’d be an even better signing.

Arsenal target massive Simons upgrade

If we go back in time just a few weeks, it was unclear where Simons would be ending up this summer, as among other teams, Arsenal were fairly heavily linked with him.

Transfer Focus

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

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However, it now looks like the RB Leipzig star will be heading to West London to join up with Chelsea for a fee of around £61m before the window comes to a close at the start of next month.

While losing out on such an exciting player is undoubtedly far from ideal, the Emirates faithful should not worry, as it now looks like the club is eyeing another dangerous attacker, an international who’d be a far better signing than the Dutchman.

At least that is according to a recent report from TEAMtalk, which claims Arsenal are very much interested in Ademola Lookman.

The report has revealed that, while Inter Milan are stepping up their efforts to sign the Nigerian ace, the North Londoners remain an interested party, and as Atalanta announced that he wouldn’t be allowed to join another Italian side, they may just be best placed to pounce in the coming days.

In terms of how much the former Everton ace might cost, the report claims that a fee of around £43m could be enough to get things moving, which could be something of a bargain and help make the case he’d be a better signing than Simons.

Why Lookman would be a better signing than Simons

So, the first advantage that Lookman has over Simons is actually his age, as Arsenal do not need another project player at this point; they need someone who’s playing their best football to come in and help them win something.

At 27 years old, the Atlanta ace fits that category perfectly, especially considering research carried out by The Athletic suggests he is in his peak years while the Leipzig star is still at least four years from his.

The second significant advantage the Nigerian international has over his younger competition is his raw output over the last couple of seasons.

For example, since the start of the 23/24 season, the Wandsworth-born star, whom journalist Oma Akatugba described as “one of the best forwards in Europe,” has scored 37 goals and provided 17 assists in 85 appearances, totalling 5680 minutes.

That means he has maintained a simply sensational average of a goal involvement every 1.57 games, or every 105.18 minutes.

Lookman vs Simons

23/24

Lookman

Simons

Appearances

45

43

Minutes

2809′

3468′

Goals

17

10

Assists

10

15

Goal Involvements per Match

0.60

0.58

Minutes per Goal Involvement

104.03′

138.72′

24/25

Lookman

Simons

Appearances

40

33

Minutes

2871′

2763′

Goals

20

11

Assists

7

8

Goal Involvements per Match

0.67

0.57

Minutes per Goal Involvement

106.33

145.42′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

In contrast, the former PSV Eindhoven ace has scored 21 goals and provided 23 assists in 76 appearances, totalling 6231 minutes, which comes out to a still good, but less impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.72​​​​​​​ games, or every 141.61 minutes.

Finally, the Atalanta star has already proven that he can handle the biggest stages and most pressurized games thanks to the hat-trick he scored against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 Europa League final.

Ultimately, Simons and Lookman are both great players, but from experience to raw output, the latter would clearly be the better signing, especially for Arsenal.

توج نادي بيراميدز، ببطولة كأس القارات الثلاثة بالإضافة إلى تأهله إلى نصف نهائي بطولة كأس الإنتركونتيننتال، بالفوز على الأهلي السعودي 3-1، في المباراة التي أقيمت اليوم الثلاثاء.

والتقى فريقا بيراميدز والأهلي السعودي، في إطار مواجهات دور ربع النهائي من مباريات بطولة كأس الإنتركونتيننتال 2025، على ملعب الجوهرة بالسعودية، للمنافسة على لقب كأس القارات الثلاثة (كأس أفريقيا آسيا المحيط الهادي).

وتقدم نادي بيراميدز، عن طريق المهاجم فيستون مايلي، في الدقيقة 21، من تسديدة قوية من على حدود منطقة الـ18، بعد تمريرة رائعة من بلاتي توريه.

ثم تعادل النادي الأهلي السعودي، عن طريق مهاجمه الإنجليزي إيفان توني من ركلة جزاء نجح في تنفذها، عند الدقيقة 45 من نهاية الشوط الأول.

طالع | موعد مباراة بيراميدز القادمة في كأس إنتركونتيننتال بعد الفوز على الأهلي السعودي

وفي الشوط الثاني، نجح اللاعب الكونغولي فيستون مايلي، من تسجيل هدفين متتاليين، في الدقيقتين 71 و 75 على الترتيب، ليمنح فريق بيراميدز الفوز عن جدارة واستحاق. أهداف مباراة بيراميدز والأهلي السعودي في كأس إنتركونتيننتال

ويشارك بيراميدز في بطولة كأس إنتركونتيننتال، للمرة الأولى في تاريخه، بعد التتويج ببطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا الموسم الماضي.

وكان بيراميدز، قد خاض مباراة في الدور التمهيدي من بطولة  كأس إنتركونتيننتال أمام أوكلاند سيتي النيوزيلندي، حقق الفوز بنتجة 3-0، في المباراة التي أقيمت بالقاهرة.

ومن المقرر أن يستكمل بيراميدز، مباراته في بطولة كأس إنتركونتيننتال، بخوض مواجهة نصف النهائي مع الفائز من ديربي الأمريكتين، ذلك يوم 13 ديسمبر المقبل.

وستقام مباراة ديربي الأمريكتين بين كروز أزول المكسيكي (بطل الكونكاكاف) أمام بطل قارة أمريكا الجنوبية (لم يتحدد بعد)، يوم 10 ديسمبر.

يذكر، أن في حالة تخطي بيراميدز دور نصف النهائي، سيواجه باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي (بطل دوري أبطال أوروبا) يوم 17 ديسمبر.

They might not be partaking in pre-season at the moment, but it would be fair to say that the mood around Chelsea at the moment is a positive one.

While the fans are still basking in Enzo Maresca’s side’s Club World Cup triumph, the board continue to make moves in the transfer window.

The Blues have already welcomed in a host of talented attacking players like Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Joao Pedro.

Yet, there is still seemingly more work to do, with Jorrel Hato the next player to come through the doors at Stamford Bridge, although if reports are to be believed, the club could risk spoiling some of their good work by making a Jadon Sancho-esque signing.

Chelsea target Sancho repeat

As things stand, it’s looking almost certain that the next player to join Chelsea will be Hato.

Transfer Focus

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

The young Ajax defender is one of the most highly-rated youngsters in world football, with 111 appearances to his name already.

His transfer has already been given the “here we go” treatment by Farbrizio Romano, who has also revealed that the final fee for him is around €40m, which is about £35m.

When it’s finally announced, it’ll be a massively exciting move, but there could be another transfer just on the horizon that doesn’t go down quite as well with fans.

At least that is according to journalist Alex Crook, who confirmed that Chelsea are still incredibly interested in Alejandro Garnacho.

In fact, he has revealed that the Blues are now “pushing for” the Manchester United ace this summer.

In terms of how much the Argentinian could end up costing the West Londoners, plenty of reports from earlier this summer have claimed that an offer of around £40m could be enough to get this deal done.

Garnacho might be a talented player, but this feels like a deal Chelsea do not need to do, especially as it could be another Sancho situation.

Why Garnacho could be another Sancho

Now then, it has to be said that Garnacho is clearly a talented prospect, as, even with United in their current state, a player doesn’t make 58 appearances in a season without having something about them.

However, before moving to Old Trafford, there was even more reason to think Sancho was going to be one of the future stars of English football, as in his final campaign with Borussia Dortmund, he racked up a sensational tally of 16 goals and 20 assists in just 38 games for the German giants.

Flash forward to today, and the former wonderkid has a pretty dire tally of 12 goals and six assists in 83 games for the Red Devils and a slightly better, but still poor, record of five goals and ten assists in 41 games for the Blues from last season.

Moreover, it’s not just that the 25-year-old underperformed on the pitch, but he also caused trouble off of it, getting into a public spat with former boss Erik ten Hag at the start of the 23/24 season, which ultimately saw him frozen out of the team for some time.

We’ve already seen that Garnacho has the same ability to cause trouble off the pitch as well, falling out in a rather spectacular way with Ruben Amorim at the end of last season, so much so that reports came out suggesting the manager told him he’d have to pray another side came in for him.

Now, on the rare occasion, a club might put up with someone who could disrupt the dressing room if they can have a massive impact on the pitch, but for all the talent the “electric” ace has, as dubbed by Statman Dave, he’s not got enough of it to be worth the trouble.

For example, in his 58 appearances last season, the Madrid-born dynamo only scored 11 goals and provided ten assists, which comes out to a rather underwhelming average of a goal involvement every 2.76 games.

Appearances

58

Minutes

3568′

Goals

11

Assists

10

Goal Involvements per Match

0.36

Minutes per Goal Involvements

169.90′

That’s certainly not a bad rate of return, but it’s not a game-changing one either, nor is it one that would make up for the potentially destabilising behaviour that might come with it.

Ultimately, Garnacho is a good player, but that is about as much as we can say at the moment, and therefore, Chelsea should avoid bringing him to Stamford Bridge this summer, as he wouldn’t be worth the fee that could end up being a Sancho repeat.

More exciting than Hato: Chelsea close to agreement for "phenomenal" CF

The talented gem could be a superstar for Chelsea.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jul 31, 2025

A second-wicket stand of 206 was the bedrock of a comfortable win, with a mid-innings collapse ending New Zealand’s challenge in a rain-shortened chase

Andrew Fidel Fernando13-Nov-2024

Kusal Mendis celebrates his century with Avishka Fernando•AFP/Getty Images

Kusal Mendis and Avishka Fernando made centuries, and put on 206 together to send Sri Lanka to a commanding score. Then, once rain had reduced New Zealand’s chase to 27 overs, Sri Lanka’s spinners reaped five wickets for 22 runs to derail the visitors after their openers had made a strong start.In the end, New Zealand didn’t get close to the 221 they required off 27 overs. They puttered to 175 for 9, with too little firepower in their lower order to get them up with the required rate, and too much know-how in Sri Lanka’s attack to let them prosper after the collapse.The primary architects of Sri Lanka’s victory, however, were Kusal and Avishka. Their partnership was the highest ever for the second wicket in men’s ODI’s between these sides. Kusal’s 143 off 128 was also his highest individual score. And their propelling Sri Lanka to their eventual 324 for 5, before rain brought a halt to their innings after 49.2 overs, was a huge step towards victory, because although this surface was not especially spin-friendly, no chasing team had made so much as 290 in Dambulla.In the end, a long rain delay meant New Zealand had a curtailed chase. But even their openers, who put 88 off 80 balls, weren’t quite keeping up with the required rate. Will Young made 48 off 46 and Tim Robinson 35 off 36. But they needed big fireworks from the likes of Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman. They never came.Early on, after Pathum Nissanka was dismissed, Kusal and Avishka gained significant momentum through the first powerplay, in which Sri Lanka scored 57 runs. In the fifth over, bowled by Jacob Duffy, Mendis smoked a straight drive, then crashed a short ball in front of midwicket to hit his first two fours of the innings. In the next over, bowled by debutant Nathan Smith, Avishka lifted a ball down the ground, then swivel-pulled another one over the fine leg boundary for six.Kusal Mendis made a career-best 143•AFP/Getty Images

That period did have a hiccup – Mendis was dropped on 11 by Duffy, who could not hold a sharp return catch. But otherwise Sri Lanka’s progress was smooth. There was not as much turn as expected, and Kusal and Avishka settled into a steady rhythm of accumulation, both batters using the sweep to good effect when the New Zealand bowlers delivered consecutive dot balls.Avishka was also strong over cover, going inside-out repeatedly, while Kusal found runs square of the wicket on the off side. They both milked the bowling of Ish Sodhi and Michael Bracewell, neither of whom were able to build pressure over substantial periods. Kusal got to his fifty off the 64th ball he faced, before Avishka got to his own half-century – his ninth – off his 60th ball.They raised the tempo slighly after getting to those milestones, but largely batted in the same gear. Avishka was dropped on 77 by Sodhi in the outfield, though the fielder only really got fingertips to the chance. Kusal got to his century first, in the 37th over, off 102 balls. Avishka got there in the 38th. For both batters, this was their fourth ODI ton.Avishka was out soon after, caught at mid-off, but the partnership had delivered Sri Lanka to the brink of the death overs. At his fall the total was 223 for 2 in the 39th over.Both Kusal and Charith Asalanka were effective through the last 10, Kusal largely bashing spinners down the ground while Asalanka found runs square of the wicket. The rain returned with Asalanka being caught on the square leg boundary, with four balls remaining. It had rained early in the match too, forcing a roughly 40-minute break in the first over.Charith Asalanka enjoyed a happy outing with bat and ball•AFP/Getty Images

Once their opening pair was separated, New Zealand’s downfall was rapid and decisive. Maheesh Theekshana delivered the first two breakthroughs, having Robinson stumped, then Young bowled, in the same over, the 14th of the innings. Henry Nicholls was then bowled off the inside edge by Asalanka, before Theekshana held on to a screamer off the bat of Chapman at short midwicket, also off the bowling of Asalanka. When Glenn Phillips sliced a Jeffrey Vandersay legbreak to point, New Zealand had lost their top five in the space of 28 balls. It was always going to be almost impossible to recover from there.Of New Zealand’s players, Jacob Duffy came out of this match with perhaps the best performance, having taken 3 for 41 in his 8.2 overs. With the freshly-arrived Adam Milne likely to be fit for the second ODI on Sunday, Duffy has made a strong case that he should be persisted with. Of their three debutants (Nathan Smith, Mitchell Hay, and Robinson), Robinson showed the most promise in this match.