For the last eight years, the home of the Chicago White Sox has carried the decidedly conventional corporate name of Guaranteed Rate Field.
In 2025, however, the park will have a radical new moniker: Field.
That's per an announcement from the White Sox Tuesday evening—a change that lines up with Guaranteed Rate's July rebrand, but one that was roundly mocked by fans and rivals of a team coming off a record-breaking 41-121 season.
If you want to gaze into the souls of baseball fans at rock bottom, check out the social media post in which Chicago announced the change.
Jokes about the meaning of the "guarantee" being removed from the park's name abounded…
…as did all your favorite memes denoting a microscopic change.
The White Sox will begin life at Rate Field on March 27 against the Los Angeles Angels. Whether their rate of winning can creep above .253 remains to be seen.
Wales and Leeds United goalkeeper Karl Darlow hopes to end his Wembley heartache against England – the country he once wanted to represent.
The Leeds stopper has twice been denied playing under the Wembley arch by red tape, at Newport in 2012 and in the 2023 Carabao Cup final for Newcastle.
Darlow was on loan from Nottingham Forest when he missed out on Newport’s FA Trophy final against York. The Exiles had failed to sign the then 21-year-old before the international clearance deadline and subsequently lost an appeal, claiming a paperwork delay was not their fault.
Over a decade later, Newcastle were unable to recall Darlow from a loan spell at Hull after Nick Pope had been ruled out of a Wembley date against Manchester United.
“I’ve been slightly unfortunate and it would be nice to finally tick it (Wembley) off the list.” Darlow said ahead of Wales’ friendly with England on Thursday.
“The Newport one was on the morning of the final. They were still waiting on confirmation and the manager Justin Edinburgh was optimistic it was going to be done.
“In the end I wasn’t even allowed to be part of the matchday squad and I watched the game in the stands. I’m 35 on Wednesday, so it’s been a long time coming.
“It’s one of the biggest and the best stadiums in the world. As a footballer you want to be playing in the biggest stadiums and testing yourself on that level.”
Darlow’s grandfather Ken Leek was a member of the 1958 Wales World Cup squad that reached the quarter-finals of the competition.
Darlow once wanted to represent England over Wales
But Darlow was born in Northampton and grew up with aspirations to represent England, saying in a previous interview there “would be no bigger achievement”.
Having rejected previous attempts from Wales managers to get him on board, Craig Bellamy persuaded him to join up last year and he has since established himself as the number one goalkeeper and won eight caps.
Darlow enters the international break – Wales also play a crucial World Cup qualifier against Belgium in Cardiff on Monday – having started Leeds’ last four Premier League games.
He has taken over the gloves from the injured Lucas Perri and been in fine form, with one of his stops at Fulham nominated for September’s Premier League Save of the Month award.
“If you’re drip-fed a game here and a game there, it’s tough,” said Darlow.
“You like to get into a rhythm of playing week in, week out and knowing you can prepare properly for each and every single game
“It’s a massive plus that I’ve had a run of games now.”
Juventus have confirmed the appointment of Luciano Spalletti following Igor Tudor's dismissal earlier this week. Tudor succeeded Thiago Motta in Turin in March and was handed a three-year contract after guiding Juventus to the Champions League. Juventus currently sit seventh in Serie A following their midweek 3-1 win over Udinese, though they are just three points behind rivals Inter in third.
AFP
Tudor out and Spalletti in at Juventus
Tudor oversaw a disappointing eight-game winless run in all competitions in the final weeks of his time in charge of Juventus. In addition, the Old Lady were mired on a four-goal goalless streak as the Serie A powerhouse struggled in the opening weeks of the season.
Massimo Brambilla was placed in interim charge following Tudor's exit and the reserve team boss coached Juventus to a 3-1 win over Udinese in midweek as goals from Dusan Vlahovic, Federico Gatti and Kenan Yildiz saw the Italian giants end their winless spell in style.
Juventus will look to make it back-to-back wins when they make the trip to Cremonese at the weekend, and will do so with Spalletti in charge after the Italian return to management. The 66-year-old had been out of work since leaving his role as Italy head coach in June.
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'Welcome to Juventus and good luck, coach'
"Luciano Spalletti is the new head coach of Juventus, signing an agreement with the Club until June 30, 2026," a statement read on the club's official website.
"We are delighted to welcome a coach with such expertise and experience to the Bianconeri family: welcome to Juventus and good luck, coach!"
The role is Spalletti's first in club football since he left Napoli in 2023 having replaced Gennaro Gattuso in 2021. Spalletti guided the Naples powerhouse to a first Scudetto since 1990 in his second, and final, season at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona helm.
In addition, the experienced Italian has also coach Inter, Roma – twice – Udinese, and in Russia, where he was head coach of Zenit St Petersburg between 2009 and 2014.
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Major clause in Spalletti contract – revealed
While Spalletti has put pen to paper on a deal with the Old Lady until the end of the season, there is reportedly a major clause in his contract. Said clause stipulates that his contract will be automatically renewed should Juventus qualify for the Champions League.
Juventus are currently three points off third-placed Inter and six behind league leaders and former side Napoli, who are currently managed by Antonio Conte. Spalletti's first game in charge will come at the Giovanni Zini, where Juventus take on Cremonese.
Davide Nicola's side claimed just their third league win of the season in midweek as a Federico Bonazzoli brace saw ease to a 2-0 win at Genoa. The result leaves Cremonese just one point and one place behind Saturday's opponents Juventus.
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Spalletti has tough start to life in Turin
Spalletti makes his home bow against Sporting in the Champions League next week and faces a real baptism of fire as Juventus welcome rivals Torino to the Juventus Stadium for the Turin Derby in the final round of games before the international break. Juventus then travel to rivals Fiorentina after the domestic hiatus as Spalletti looks to rescue the Old Lady's stuttering season.
Spalletti returns to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in early December as the former Italy boss gears up to take on former employers Napoli, while his first Derby d'Italia in the Juventus dugout takes place in mid-February.
It remains to be seen whether Spalletti will continue with the three-man backline that Juventus have favoured this season. It was his go-to setup for the Azzurri during his brief stint as Italy boss and one that the Turin giants have used in all but one of nine league matches.
Juventus have also used the setup in all three Champions League matches this season. Spalletti's side have made a sub-par start to the competition having fought back valiantly to rescue a point in an entertaining 4-4 draw with Borussia Dortmund last month. However, Juventus followed that up with another stalemate as they conceded a late equaliser in a 2-2 draw with Villarreal and then lost 1-0 to Real Madrid.
They have a fairly navigable run of European games between now and January as they face Sporting, Bodoe/Glimt, Pafos, Benfica and Monaco in the coming months.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is fast earning plenty of admirers for his work at N17 so far, and some players have gone up another level since his arrival.
Thomas Frank slowly transforming Tottenham after Ange Postecoglou era
Ange Postecoglou, despite a torrid 24/25 season in the Premier League, had his own loyal section of Spurs supporters after the Australian helped to end Spurs’ 17-year wait for a major trophy last season.
Postecoglou also endeared himself to members of the Lilywhites fanbase with his personality, memorable quotes and ‘no-nonsense’ demanour, whilst those within the Spurs squad appeared to have a very strong relationship with Frank’s predecessor, including Yves Bissouma, who described the tactician as a father figure.
The likes of Pedro Porro, Dominic Solanke, Son Heung-min, Guglielmo Vicario and more posted emotional tributes to Postecoglou after ex-chairman Daniel Levy and the board made the decision to part company, but since his departure, Frank has begun to steadily transform Tottenham.
Thomas Frank’s managerial record at Tottenham so far
Stats
Matches
9
Wins
5
Draws
2
Losses
2
Points
14
Points per game
1.89
Tottenham’s fragility defensively was a key complaint of Postecoglou’s tenure, and there is little denying that the north Londoners look far more assured in that respect under Frank.
Spurs have conceded just six goals in Frank’s first nine games in all competitions, and two of them came against European champions PSG in the UEFA Super Cup final.
Bar a disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Bournemouth, Tottenham have displayed real character when under the cosh too — mounting comebacks in each of their last two Premier League games against Brighton and Wolves.
Their very convincing 2-0 win away to Man City, where summer signing Joao Palhinha dominated the midfield, and 3-0 trouncing of London rivals West Ham were only overshadowed by the performances of some star players.
Barcelona are still regretting their botched deal for Lucas Bergvall, according to reports in Spain, with the midfield sensation, Palhinha, Micky van de Ven, Cristian Romero, Pape Sarr and others standing out among Tottenham’s best-performers of the season thus far.
A special nod also must go to Richarlison, who struggled with injuries under Postecoglou last season but has since found a new lease of life.
Richarlison for Tottenham
The Brazil international boasts three goals and an assist from his opening six league matches, replacing the injured Solanke with real aplomb, but Spurs chiefs may soon need to make a key call about his future.
The 28-year-old’s contract expires in 2027, meaning that Tottenham could be forced to sell on the cheap unless they agree an extension.
Richarlison could join Crystal Palace from Tottenham in £20m deal
As per BolaVip and journalist Alexsander Vieira, as relayed by Sport Witness, Crystal Palace are seen as a realistic destination for Richarlison if Spurs opt to sell — and the striker could go for around £20-25 million.
A return home to Flamengo is also touted, but Palace are seen as the likelier option, with Richarlison also having one eye on a place in Carlo Ancelotti’s Brazil squad for the 2026 World Cup next year.
Frank has already made his stance on Richarlison crystal clear, and the player himself has apparently expressed his commitment to Spurs.
However, given Richarlison’s contract situation, CEO Vinai Vinkatesham and the new-look Spurs boardroom could take the decision out of both their hands.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) stormed into Qualifier 1 of IPL 2025 as stand-in captain Jitesh Sharma’s 85 not out off 33 balls helped them pull off the third-highest successful chase in the tournament’s history.Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 118 off 61 balls had powered Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to 227 for 3, but RCB chased it down with eight balls and six wickets to spare. They will now face table-toppers Punjab Kings (PBKS) in New Chandigarh on Thursday.Related
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The night Jitesh got rid of the enormous weight on his shoulders
Pant: LSG haven't played '40 overs of good cricket' all season
Kohli, Salt set the platform
Virat Kohli and Phil Salt gave RCB a start of 61 in 5.4 overs. Salt began the first over with a four; Kohli ended it with a four. Salt began the second over with a four; Kohli ended it with four fours. After four overs, RCB had raced to 50 for no loss. Akash Singh broke through with Salt’s wicket, but Kohli carried on. He chipped Shahbaz Ahmed over his head for a four before hitting Akash on the up through the covers to raise his fifty off 27 balls.
O’Rourke strikes back
Having conceded 22 in his first over, Will O’Rourke returned to bowl the eighth over of the innings. Rajat Patidar, who was in as Impact Player once again, picked him over deep square-leg for a six. Two balls later, Kohli hit him over extra cover for four. But O’Rourke had the last laugh as Patidar slashed his fifth ball straight to Abdul Samad at backward point. Off the next, he had Liam Livingstone lbw with a full delivery. Kohli fell soon after his fifty, slicing Avesh Khan to long-off. With RCB still needing 105 from 8.4 overs, ESPNcricinfo’s Forecaster gave them a 21.07% chance of winning.2:02
‘A riled-up Kohli is bad news for the opposition’
Jitesh takes charge
Jitesh started with a boundary off the first ball, but Akash conceded only seven in the 13th over to increase RCB’s troubles – they needed 89 from seven. Mayank Agarwal had got off to a brisk start and was on 27 off 15 at that point. But Jitesh decided to take matters into his own hands and hit O’Rourke for a six and a four in a 17-run over.When Shahbaz came on for the 15th over, Jitesh took him apart. He hit him for two fours and a six before Agarwal ended the over with a boundary off his own. That over went for 21 and tilted the balance in RCB’s favour. Now they needed only 51 from five overs.Jitesh hit two more fours off Avesh in the next before having a slice of luck. With 39 required from four overs, he tried a reverse sweep off Digvesh Rathi only to be caught at backward point. It was a low catch and the on-field umpires wanted the TV umpire to have a look. But even before that, the TV umpire found Rathi’s back foot touching the return crease. Jitesh heaved the free hit that followed over deep midwicket to bring up his fifty off 22 balls. It was his first-ever IPL fifty.The drama didn’t end there. As Rathi ran in for the last ball of the over, he aborted and broke the stumps at the non-striker’s end. Jitesh was out of his crease at that point. However, the TV umpire ruled it not out, saying Rathi had completed his “delivery stride” before effecting the run out. In the meantime, Pant had withdrawn the appeal.With 28 required from the last three overs, Jitesh smashed O’Rourke for two fours and two sixes and then completed the formalities with a slog-swept six off Ayush Badoni in the penultimate over.2:04
Moody: Jitesh’s 85* the innings of this season
RCB’s strange strategy
Earlier, RCB opted to bowl after winning the toss but their decision not to bowl Bhuvneshwar Kumar until the fifth over was baffling, especially after Nuwan Thushara had found swing in the opening over and had shattered Matthew Breetzke’s off stump with an awayswinging, low full toss in the third. This was the first time since 2015 that Bhuvneshwar did not share the new ball in an IPL game. By the time he came on, the swing had died.
Pant at his destructive best
Batting at No. 3, Pant played a scintillating knock that featured 11 fours, eight sixes and every Pant idiosyncrasy, including a one-handed six, a sideways tumble after failing to reach a wide delivery, and a frontflip to celebrate his hundred.He attacked straightaway. In the fourth over, he hit Yash Dayal for a six and two fours to move to 19 off just eight. That this was already his third-highest score of the season said all you needed to know about his form.1:15
Moody: Wouldn’t have thought Pant was in a form slump
In the seventh over, with no swing on offer, Bhuvneshwar tried a short ball. Pant duly pulled him over deep midwicket for a six. On the next delivery, Livingstone’s misfield at deep square-leg gifted him another boundary. Shortly after that, Pant brought up his fifty, off 29 balls.Mitchell Marsh, who was on 33 off 23 after ten overs, also joined in. Off his next eight balls, he smashed 20. He and Pant added 152 off 78 balls, a stand Bhuvneshwar broke by having Marsh caught behind in the 16th over.Pant was unstoppable, though. He brought up his hundred with a Pant shot and followed it up with a Pant celebration. It was a full and wide delivery from Bhuvneshwar. Pant reached out and scythed it over extra cover for four. By the time he completed the shot, his front leg was in the air, beyond parallel to the ground, the toe pointing towards deep midwicket. After regaining the balance, he looked up, removed his helmet and gloves, and did the flip. The LSG dugout stood up to applaud, as did the home crowd.Jitesh erred in the over distribution. Krunal Pandya, who bowled the second over of the innings, sent down just one more and finished with 2-0-14-0, while Romario Shepherd leaked 51 from his four. By the end of the day, however, he had more than made up for it.
أعلن نادي فياريال الإسباني تكريم لاعبه السابق خلال مواجهة الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي ضمن منافسات دوري أبطال أوروبا.
ويواجه مانشستر سيتي نظيره فياريال مساء اليوم، الثلاثاء، في تمام الساعة العاشرة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة ومكة المكرمة.
ويستضيف ملعب “لا سيراميكا” مباراة فريقي مانشستر سيتي وفياريال، ضمن منافسات الجولة الثالثة من مرحلة الدوري لبطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.
ويمتلك مانشستر سيتي 4 نقاط في الوقت الحالي، حيث فاز في الجولة الأولى على نابولي بهدفين دون رد، بينما سقط في فخ التعادل مع موناكو بهدفين لمثليهما.
اقرأ أيضًا | المرشحون لجائزة أفضل لاعب في الجولة الثامنة بـ الدوري الإنجليزي
وشهدت قائمة مانشستر سيتي المستدعاة لخوض مباراة فياريال مساء اليوم وجود النجم المصري عمر مرموش بعدما تعافى مؤخرًا من الإصابة.
وأعلن نادي فياريال أنه سيقوم بتكريم لاعبه السابق رودري، نجم خط وسط مانشستر سيتي قبل اللقاء بـ 10 دقائق إذ سيقوم الجمهور بإلقاء التحية للاعب الفريق السابق الذي حقق نجاحًا استثنائيًا خلال مسيرته.
وبالإضافة إلى التكريم على أرض الملعب، النادي الإسباني سيضيف اسم اللاعب المتوج بالكرة الذهبية على ممر “باسيج جروس” في ملعب لا سيراميكا، وهو ممشى المشاهير للنادي الذي يكرم الشخصيات التي صنعت تاريخ “الغواصات الصفراء”.
WA, currently bottom of the Shield table, gave themselves a chance of a vital win
AAP18-Feb-2025
Corey Rocchiccioli took a career-best 7 for 52•Getty Images
Spinner Corey Rocchiccioli bagged his best first-class figures as Western Australia dominated Queensland on day one of their Sheffield Shield game.Rocchiccioli snared 7 for 52 as Queensland were bowled out for 147 at the Gabba in Brisbane. WA cruised to 112 for 1 in reply, with Sam Whiteman making 67.Related
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WA (24.91 points) are in last place, with Queensland (27.75) third on a table topped by South Australia (36.93). But with three games including this fixture remaining, Rocchiccioli’s feats have given WA a superb opportunity to jump up the ladder.The 27-year-old had never previously taken five wickets in a first-class innings but spun his way to a career-best day. He captured seven of the last nine wickets to fall as the Queensland batsmen struggled.Ben McDermott top-scored with 37 from 112 balls. Next best were No.10 Mitchell Swepson (20 not out) and No. 8 Xavier Bartlett (20).Matthew Renshaw, Jimmy Peirson and Michael Neser were among those to fall cheaply against Rocchiccioli and paceman Cameron Gannon.Neser fell to a superb one-handed catch from Rocchiccioli, diving to his right from his own bowling. He also took a smart, diving return catch to dismiss Renshaw.WA’s openers Whiteman and Sam Fanning then cashed in for the visitors with their unbroken partnership. Whiteman set an aggressive tone, smacking seven fours and three sixes in his 88-ball innings before being bowled by Tom Whitney about 25 minutes before stumps. Fanning was more circumspect, striking two fours from his 107 deliveries.
It may seem crazy at this early stage of the season, but it would appear as though Russell Martin’s days at Rangers are numbered.
On Sunday, the first Old Firm of the season took place and to say it wasn’t a classic would be a contender for understatement of the century; it finished goalless, with Rangers’ xG 0.16 to the opposition’s 0.17.
After both Glasgow giants were ignominiously dumped out of Champions League qualifying during the week, neither are at the peak of their powers just now, but the crisis in Govan is certainly the more alarming of the two, so could this result in the shortest managerial tenure in the club’s 153-year history?
Russell Martin a man under pressure
Not including caretakers, Pedro Caixinha holds the record for the shortest tenure of any permanent Rangers manager, overseeing 26 matches in 2017, infamously knocked out of Europa League qualifying by Luxembourgish minnows Progrès Niederkorn.
Manager Focus
However, this record could be smashed in the coming weeks, with Martin having taken charge of just 11 fixtures to date; his 26th would come on 27 November against Braga, but many are forecasting that he’ll be long gone before then.
Sunday’s goalless stalemate with Celtic means Rangers have now drawn all four Premiership matches so far, previously held by Motherwell, Dundee and St Mirren, making this their worst start to a season since 1983, going on to finish all the way down in fourth back then.
Meantime, while they did enjoy impressive victories over Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzeň, Rangers’ Champions League dreams were crushed by Club Brugge in the play-off round, steamrollered 9-1 on aggregate, their biggest two-legged European defeat for 65 years.
Following last Wednesday’s 6-0 annihilation at Jan Breydelstadion, speaking on the Guardian Football Weekly podcast, Ewan Murray believes that never before has there been a managerial appointment so instantaneously “doomed” as Martin at Rangers, adding that supporters didn’t want him in the first place, and the atmosphere has truly turned toxic following “horrendous” results and performances.
So, with games against Hearts, Hibs and then Genk to come after the international break, the new ownership group 49ers Enterprises have to be considering other managerial candidates, despite publicly backing Martin, so should a “serial winner” be very much at the top of their list?
Rangers' dream Russell Martin successor
In shock news last Friday, it was announced that Fenerbahçe had sacked José Mourinho, following their own elimination in the Champions League play-offs, defeated at Estádio da Luz on Wednesday, thereby ousted 1-0 aggregate by Benfica.
The İstanbul-based giants still have not qualified for the Champions League group stages since 2008, their most recent Turkish Süper Lig title coming in 2014, appointing Mourinho to change both of these facts, but he ultimately achieved neither during 14 months in the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium dugout.
In fairness, this has proved a salient strategy for numerous clubs in the past.
Before Mourinho, Porto hadn’t won the Champions League for 17 years, Chelsea hadn’t won the Premier League for 50 years, Inter hadn’t been European champions for 45 years and Roma hadn’t won a continental title for 62 years.
Well, given Celtic’s dominance of Scottish football recently, Rangers appears to be the perfect next destination for Mourinho, given his cult of personality, with reports late last week suggesting that the Gers could be set to open talks with the veteran coach.
For context, not only have the Hoops won 13 of the last 14 Premiership titles, since 2011/12, Celtic have picked up 28 major honours, during which time Rangers have won three, the same number as St Johnstone.
Well, speaking on BT Sport following Roma’s Conference League triumph over Feyenoord, Owen Hargreaves labelled Mourinho a “serial winner”, adding “football is about winning” and that is why he has brought Rome to life, so could the Special One do something similar on Glasgow’s south side?
Well, when 49ers Enterprises took a majority stake in Rangers earlier this summer, many were expecting them to target a big name; Martin doesn’t really fit that billing, does he?
Also, ahead of Fenerbahçe’s Europa League round of 16 tie at Ibrox in March, Mourinho intimated that he would like to manage one of Glasgow’s big two in the future.
When asked, he stated “why not in the future?”, adding that the Scottish league is a “league of passion…. which is everything”, and that he only wants to work at a club with “big fan bases, big emotions, big responsibilities and big expectations”.
So, could the recently out-of-work 62-year-old soon be unveiled in Glasgow?
Should this happen, it would, without doubt, be the most excited the Rangers support have been about a new manager since Steven Gerrard arrived seven years ago.
Back in 2018, thousands of supporters descended on Ibrox just to welcome the rookie manager, who would eventually deliver the Premiership title in his third season.
None of his successors, Giovanni van Bronckhorst, Michael Beale nor Philippe Clement, have been able to repeat this feat, but Mourinho-mania would go through the roof in Glasgow, and he wins wherever he goes, except Tottenham, so why not Rangers?
Martin cost Rangers the win by playing star who was worse than Aasgaard
Russell Martin may look back on this tactical decision with regret after his underwhelming display.
Celtic are back in action once again this evening as they prepare to welcome Falkirk to Parkhead in their first League Cup match of the season.
The Hoops won the competition in the 2024/25 campaign, beating Rangers on penalties in the final, and they will be hoping to lift it again this year under Brendan Rodgers.
They must first get past Falkirk, who have conceded five goals in their first two matches back in the Scottish Premiership, and it will be interesting to see what route the manager goes down with his team selection.
Rodgers could see this as an opportunity to provide the fringe players with chances to impress him, or he could go with his preferred line-up to give them the best chance of winning the game.
The Northern Irish head coach should hand minutes to one of his other options in the centre-forward position, though, as Shin Yamada and Johnny Kenny are both waiting in the wings behind Adam Idah.
Celtic’s number nine has started the season as the first-choice striker for Rodgers, but has yet to prove that he has what it takes to be the main man for the team moving forward.
Why Adam Idah should be on the bench
Idah did not do enough in the games against St Mirren and Aberdeen to suggest that he is going to be a ruthless and clinical goalscorer in the centre-forward position for the Hoops this term.
Whilst it is still very early in the season, the former Norwich City marksman’s statistics in the graphic above illustrate just how poorly he played on the opening day, missing three ‘big chances’ in the scrappy 1-0 win over St Mirren.
The 6 foot 3 attacker’s output for the Scottish giants in the 2024/25 campaign also does not suggest that he is suited to starting week-in-week-out in the Premiership, as he was more productive when coming off the bench against tired defenders to make an impact.
Appearances
19
16
Minutes
1,352
357
Goals
6
7
Minutes per goal
225
51
Assists
0
1
As you can see in the table above, Idah was far more effective as a substitute in the Premiership last season, scoring more goals in roughly 1,000 fewer minutes on the pitch.
These statistics suggest that the Irishman is at his best when he is coming off the bench to use his physicality – strength and speed – to take advantage of tiring defences to score goals for the Hoops.
This means that the Hoops need to find a player, before the end of the summer transfer window, to allow Idah to drop down to the bench to play that role.
However, it does not have to be a centre-forward because Daizen Maeda scored 14 goals in 11 matches as a striker, per Transfermarkt, for Celtic last season and could play that role.
Celtic make contact to sign new winger
According to Africa Foot, Celtic are interested in a deal to sign Al Jazira wide attacker Oumar Traore before the summer transfer window slams shut.
The report claims that the Scottish giants have already made contact with the UAE outfit to discuss a potential move for the Mali international in the coming weeks.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
It adds that negotiations are well underway between Celtic and Al Jazira over a deal for the 23-year-old forward, as they remain locked in talks to reach an agreement for his services.
Africa Foot also reveals that it will take an offer of around €3m (£2.6m) to convince his club to part ways with him, and it remains to be seen whether or not the Hoops are prepared to pay that asking price.
The outlet claims that Traore is expected to complete a transfer to a team in Europe before the end of the summer transfer window, and Celtic are seemingly hoping that they will be the club to snap him up.
Why Celtic should sign Oumar Traore
The Premiership champions should push to get a deal over the line for Traore, if he is the winger they want to sign as this report suggests, because he could allow Rodgers to bench Idah.
He is a versatile winger who can play on either the left or the right flank, having played over 30 matches on both sides of the pitch, as per Transfermarkt, and this could make him a very useful player for the manager to call upon.
If Rodgers decides to use him as a left winger, Maeda would then be free to play through the middle, where he had success last term, and that would allow Idah to move to the bench to come on as a super sub.
Of course, Traore still needs to have the quality to be an effective operator in his own position to make this transfer make sense, though, as the Hoops could otherwise put any player out on the left to facilitate this move.
Starts
17
8
Goals
5
3
Conversion rate
12%
19%
Big chances created
5
2
Assists
4
2
Completed dribbles
33
8
As you can see in the table above, the Mali international has scored eight goals and created seven ‘big chances’ in his last 25 league starts for his club, which suggests that he can provide a fairly regular threat in front of goal as both a scorer and a creator.
Traore has delivered 24 goals and 19 assists in 140 matches for Al Jazira in all competitions during his career to date, as per Transfermarkt, and still has plenty of time left ahead of him, at the age of 23, to develop and improve his output at the top end of the pitch.
Celtic manager BrendanRodgersbefore the match
These statistics suggest that he carries enough of a threat in the final third already, if he can translate it over to Scottish football, to allow Maeda to move centrally, where he thrived last season.
This is why the signing of Traore could directly lead to Idah being dropped down to the bench, where he is at his best, despite the Mali international not being a natural centre-forward to replace the striker.
Celtic make offer to sign attacker compared to Jota as Hoops receive reply
The first of Rodgers’ three potential new signings has been identified.
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.