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Allrounder Ed Barnard hit an excellent middle-order 67 and then helped close things out with the ball as Birmingham Bears defended a 206-target to claim a crucial Vitality Blast win over Yorkshire at Headingley.Barnard’s 40-ball knock was the centrepiece of a 205 for 8 total which also included a telling late assault of 76 runs in the last five overs from the lower order.Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali hit 22 not out off eight balls and later struck twice with the ball, sealing a third win in six in the North Group – this by 32 runs.Yorkshire, for whom New Zealand quick Will O’Rourke struck three times with the ball, looked well placed to reel in the target thanks to opener and captain Dawid Malan’s 65 off 34 balls. But his fourth successive fifty in this competition was not enough to prevent a fourth defeat in six, the hosts finishing on 173 for 5.Alex Davies, who elected to bat, guided George Hill’s seam to short third – 20 for 1 in the second over. Dom Bess, with his first ball, and O’Rourke then removed Dan Mousley bowled and Sam Hain caught at point as the Bears ended the powerplay at 51 for 3.Tom Latham and Barnard steadied through accumulation to reach halfway with the score on 85. However, the former fell on 24 at the start of the 12th when he top-edged England Lion Hill to long-leg.That was the first of three wickets in successive overs as the Bears slipped back into trouble at 123 for 6 in the 14th over. Moeen Ali was lbw to Jack White for 9 and Kai Smith caught behind off O’Rourke’s pace. But their batters refused to die wondering on a belter of a batting pitch.George Garton whacked two sixes over long-on as 21 came off Bess in the 16th before he skewed O’Rourke to deep cover in the 18th – 160 for 7. Sandwiched in between, Barnard reached a 32-ball fifty.Barnard fell caught in the deep off Jack White in the penultimate, which ended with two Hasan sixes to help the Bears get above 200.Will Luxton skewed Hassan’s pace high to mid-off in the second over of a chase which advanced at pace. Malan hit two slog-swept sixes over midwicket off Danny Briggs’ spin in the fifth over and the score reached 56 for 1 after six.Garton dropped Malan at deep midwicket on 29 off Briggs in the seventh over, though there was success for the Bears when Moeen’s second ball bowled Adam Lyth – 66 for 2 in the eighth.Malan aside, Yorkshire’s batting has been sketchy this campaign. So by now, it felt like Malan or bust for the hosts. By the time he reached his latest fifty, off 29 balls, the hosts were 100 for two early in the 12th over.James Wharton provided impressive third-wicket support in sharing 55 with his skipper, though left-armer Briggs struck a key blow in the 13th when he had Malan caught at short fine-leg off a skied top-edged sweep – 121 for 3.Yorkshire needed 65 off the last five overs before Mousley’s offspin removed powerful Australian Will Sutherland, the target becoming a stiffer 47 off three overs at 159 for 4. Wharton fell for 37 in the penultimate over before Barnard’s seam – nought for 18 from three overs – closed out the last, defending 39.

Speaking to GOAL, Bayern Munich and England striker Harry Kane has revealed the player he idolised growing up. In a game of 'Winner Stays On', the 32-year-old makes some difficult choices as he picks between some legendary current and former players, before eventually ending up with his champion, a forward he admits he "loved" watching as a boy.

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  Kane plays 'Winner Stays On' – striker edition

  In a quickfire game of 'Winner Stays On' with GOAL, Kane had to work his way through a knockout bracket of eight legendary forwards and strikers, from Ronaldo Nazario, to Dennis Bergkamp, Luis Suarez, Bayern Munich GOAT Gerd Muller, and more.

  He quickly eliminated Suarez in favour of Ronaldo, but made sure to state his "love" for the ex-Liverpool and Barcelona star. Sergio Aguero fell to Zlatan Ibrahimovic, then Kane opted for Muller over three-time Ballon d'Or winner Marco van Basten, clearly keyed into Bayern's rich heritage. Former Arsenal magician Bergkamp completed Kane's top four, picked over Premier League cult icon Eric Cantona.

  Kane then kept Ronaldo over Ibrahimovic, and Muller over Bergkamp. But even with Muller, such a pivotal individual in Bayern's storied history, the England captain couldn't not choose 'Brazilian Ronaldo' as his overall winner: "Loved him [growing up], he was my favourite striker."

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  Ronaldo an obvious choice

  Since moving to Munich in 2023, Kane will no doubt have been regaled with countless stories about Muller, scorer of a club-record 565 goals in 605 appearances for Bayern between 1964 and 1979. Muller, who sadly passed away in 2021, had finished his career before Kane was even born, which likely gave Ronaldo the final edge when he was asked to choose between them.

  Born in 1993, Kane may have been too young to remember Ronaldo at his explosive, electrifying best for PSV Eindhoven and Barcelona, before knee injuries threatened to ruin his career. But he was the perfect age to see the Brazilian steer his country to World Cup glory in 2002, completing an incredible redemption and scoring eight goals along the way. Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or for the second time that year and went on to spearhead Real Madrid's Galacticos in style.

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  Kane's World Cup dream

  Kane has already matched Ronaldo in the sense that both men have won a World Cup Golden Boot – the Englishman bagging his in 2018 with six goals enroute to a fourth-place finish with England.

  What the Brazilian has that Kane doesn't is a World Cup winner's medal. But his Three Lions will be among the favourites in North America next summer after reaching back-to-back European Championship finals and once more making light work of qualifying. Kane himself is in the best form of his career after banging in 103 goals for Bayern in little more than two seasons and is fast making his all-time England goal record look impossible to beat. Turning 33 this summer, this is his best chance.

The prize money for the winners is more than double of what it was in the previous two editions

ESPNcricinfo staff15-May-2025The winners of the World Test Championship (WTC) final, to be played between South Africa and Australia at Lord’s starting June 11, will secure a prize money of USD 3.6 million, more than double of the winners in the last two cycles. The runners-up, meanwhile, will bag more than USD 2.1 million, while the prize for the same in the previous editions was USD 800,000.The winners in the last two cycles — New Zealand and Australia — had earned USD 1.6 million each.”The increase in prize money exhibits the ICC’s efforts to prioritize Test cricket as it looks to build on the momentum of the first three cycles of the nine-team competition,” the ICC said in its release.India, who finished third on the table, will receive over USD 1.4 million, while fourth-placed New Zealand get USD 1.2 million. Even the prize money for teams finishing fifth (USD 960000) and sixth (USD 840000) — England and Sri Lanka — is more than what it was for the runners-up in the previous editions.ESPNcricinfo LtdSouth Africa topped the table in the 2023-25 edition with eight wins from 12 games, and were the first team to seal a final spot with a dramatic two-wicket win over Pakistan. Defending champions Australia got through by pipping India to the second spot after winning the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 3-1 at home.Both teams have named their squads for the final. The focus for South Africa will be on their pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada after his one-month ban for failing a drug test, while Cameron Green makes his return to Australia’s Test side after undergoing a lower spine surgery last year.

Ashutosh Sharma was going nowhere. He was on 20 off 20 balls. The required rate was over 12. Then he flicked a switch and decided to make Delhi Capitals’ opening game of IPL 2025, against Lucknow Super Giants in Visakhapatnam, all about him.Related

• 'There was no sign of panic' – Ashutosh's composure under pressure stands out

• Faf du Plessis after DC's incredible win: This is why Impact Player rule is there

• Awe-inspiring Ashutosh brings DC back from the brink

• Pant after LSG's narrow defeat: 'Think we had enough runs on the board'

• KL Rahul misses DC's opening game against LSG

With 62 needed off 30, with four wickets in hand, Ashutosh went bang, bang and then some more as he smashed 46 off his next 11 balls to lead DC to an epic one-wicket win with just three balls to spare. Arms raised he was engulfed by his team-mates as a bewildered Rishabh Pant, DC’s ex-captain now leading LSG, looked on.LSG, sent in to bat and riding on Nicholas Pooran and Mitchell Marsh’s whirlwind knocks, had posted 209 for 8. At one point, they had looked set for much more, even 250, but the DC bowlers came back in style, conceding only 48 runs off the last seven overs and picking up six wickets. While Pooran and Marsh accounted for 147 off 66 balls, the rest of LSG’s batters managed just 55 off 55 between them.DC were reduced to 7 for 3 in their chase and at most stages looked down and out, but they found a new hero in the debutant Vipraj Nigam, who walked out at No. 8, with 97 needed in 45 balls, and thrashed 39 off 15. He fell with DC needing 42 off 23, but Ashutosh made sure to haul DC over the line, finishing things off with a six down the ground off Shahbaz Ahmed.

Smashutosh

Ashutosh had been Punjab Kings’ finisher supreme in IPL 2024, playing blinders one after the other. But they often did not come in winning causes, with Ashutosh falling just short of the finishing line in thrilling chases against Sunrisers Hyderabad and Mumbai Indians. Now, playing for a new team, he entered the match as their Impact Player with DC in more than a spot of bother at 65 for 5 in 6.4 overs. He started slowly, taking time to find his touch, but made sure he didn’t throw his wicket away.Vipraj Nigam sparked DC’s chase to life with 39 off 15 balls•Associated Press

Losing Tristan Stubbs didn’t help, and at 116 for 6 in 13 overs, ESPNcricinfo’s win probability for DC was 1.46%. But Ashutosh has made fighting the odds a habit. He got excellent support from Nigam, who actually got the chase going. The allrounder first took on Ravi Bishnoi, carting him for two fours and a six in the 14th over, and then hacked Shahbaz for a four and a six in the next.While Nigam fell to fellow debutant Digvesh Rathi, Ashutosh was in no mood to stop. He went 6, 4, 6 against Bishnoi and the equation came down to a manageable 22 off 12, though DC only had two wickets in hand. It came down to the last wicket when Kuldeep Yadav was run out in an attempt to sneak a bye and get Ashutosh back on strike, but that sacrifice seemed worth it when Ashutosh hit the last two balls of that over, from Prince Yadav, for six and four to take DC into the final over needing just six.No. 11 Mohit Sharma was on strike for the first ball, and he could have been dismissed when he overbalanced, looking to flick Shahbaz against the turn. The ball missed his outside edge and deflected off his back leg, causing Pant to fumble a half-chance for a stumping, but he took a review for lbw; ball-tracking suggested the ball would have just missed off stump. Mohit then managed to push the next ball away for a single, bringing Ashutosh back on strike. Ashutosh walloped Shahbaz straight into the sightscreen, and the DC dugout erupted with joy.

LSG cut through DC’s top order

New DC captain Axar Patel had said at the toss that he was bowling first because he didn’t “want to take a risk with the dew later on”. Unfortunately for him, DC’s top order collapsed even before the dew could take effect. And it was Shardul Thakur who made the early strikes. Thakur wasn’t even supposed to be at the IPL. He went unsold at the auction, and was supposed to be playing County cricket for Essex while the IPL was on. But the injured Mohsin Khan was ruled out and Thakur found a way in.And in his first over, he had Jake Fraser-McGurk and Abishek Porel miscuing. There was excellent captaincy as well from Pant, who stationed a long-off for Fraser-McGurk. He miscued an outswinger in that fielder’s direction while attempting to go over the on side, and Ayush Badoni completed a good catch. Two balls later, Porel mistimed an outswinger to Pooran at mid-off.Sameer Rizvi came in and creamed a cover drive first ball but fell soon after, giving the left-arm spinner M Siddharth his first wicket as DC slipped to 7 for 3 in the second over. Axar and Faf du Plessis did a repair job of sorts, adding 43 off 23 balls, but both fell in successive overs and DC were 65 for 5 in the seventh.Mitchell Marsh and Nicholas Pooran added 87 for the second wicket in just 42 balls•BCCI

Pooran and Marsh light up Vizag

In IPL 2024, LSG were often found lagging in the powerplay. This season, they are on a mission to fix that, and Marsh and Pooran took on the responsibility. While Aiden Markram fell early, Marsh took on his countryman Mitchell Starc. Marsh, who is playing IPL 2025 as a specialist batter, piled on the runs in the powerplay – 43 off just 19 balls, the most he has ever scored in the phase in the IPL.Pooran came in at No. 3 and the onslaught came from both ends. While Marsh reached his half-century in 21 balls, Pooran took 24 to get there as LSG crossed the 100 mark in the ninth over. Pooran was particularly severe on the spinners. He smashed 60 runs off just 18 balls against them, at a strike rate of 333.33. That included a 28-run over against Stubbs, with Pooran smashing his offspin for four back-to-back sixes and then a four. At the other end, Marsh was brutal against the quicks, going at 255.55 against them.Pooran struck six fours and seven sixes in his 30-ball 75, while Marsh hammered six fours and six sixes in his 36-ball 72. When they were together, even 250 seemed to be on for LSG.But it would all go awry, soon.

Kuldeep, Starc derail LSG

At 161 for 2 after 13 overs, the sky was the limit for LSG. ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster had them scoring 246, and they looked like going beyond. But Starc and Kuldeep brought DC roaring back into the game. Kuldeep first took out Pant for a six-ball duck, as he toe-ended straight to long-off. Starc then rattled Pooran’s stumps with a full delivery that tailed in late in the next over, the 15th. Badoni took Kuldeep on in the 17th and failed to clear long-on, and two balls later, Thakur was run out. Starc took out Shahbaz and Bishnoi in his final over, and LSG only added 33 runs from overs 14 to 19 while losing six wickets.That LSG even crossed 200 was down to David Miller thumping Mohit for two sixes off the last two balls of the innings. That took them to 209, and for the longest time it felt like it would be enough. It wasn’t.

اختار فابيو كابيلو، المدرب الإيطالي المخضرم، أفضل لاعب قام بتدريبه في مسيرته كاملة كمدير فني.

كابيلو يمتلك خبرة كبيرة، حيث درب العديد من الأندية الأوروبية الكبرى كريال مدريد، وإي سي ميلان ويوفنتوس وروما، وكذلك درب منتخبي إنجلترا وروسيا، قبل أن يعتزل التدريب في عام 2021.

وكانت تجربة كابيلو مع ريال مدريد على فترتين، حيث أشرف المدرب الإيطالي على الإدارة الفنية للفريق الملكي خلال موسم 1997، ثم عاد ليدرب ريال مدريد من جديد خلال موسم 2007.

وقاد كابيلو ريال مدريد للفوز ببطولة الدوري الإسباني بعد منافسة قوية مع برشلونة، لكن هذا الموسم كان شاهدًا على بداية سقوط جيل قوي للفريق الملكي.

أقرأ أيضًا .. الاتحاد البرازيلي يعرض على أنشيلوتي تمديد عقده.. والمدرب يرد

وقال كابيلو في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة آس عن رونالدو الظاهرة: “كان الظاهرة رونالدو نازاريو أفضل لاعب دربته على الإطلاق، لكنه كان يعشق الاحتفال كل ليلة وكان جامحًا”.

وأضاف كابيلو في حديثه عن رونالدو: ”كان وزنه حوالي 90 كيلوجرامًا ورفض أن يفقد وزنه، في لحظة ما أخبرت الرئيس أنه يجب علينا تركه يرحل، لم يكن هناك أي سبيل للمضي قدمًا وهكذا فعلنا، لكنني سأكررها مرة أخرى، كان أفضل من دربته على الإطلاق”.

وأتم المدرب الإيطالي: ”كان رونالدو يحب حياة اللهو كثيراً والأسوأ من ذلك أنه كان يجر زملاءه إلى هذا الأسلوب من الحياة، وتسبب لي في مشاكل ومع ذلك منحته الفرص، لكنه رفض فالحل كان الرحيل”.

رونالدو دخل في خلاف بالفعل مع كابيلو خلال موسم 2007 ولم يكن أسطورة البرازيل يلعب كثيرًا مع ريال مدريد، حيث فضل المدرب الإيطالي التعويل آنذاك على رود فان نيستلروي بشكل أساسي على حساب الظاهرة.

وسجل فان نيستلروي في موسم 2007، 25 هدفًا وقدم عروضاً كبيرة قاد بها ريال مدريد للفوز بلقب الدوري الإسباني.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Palmeiras foi derrotado por 1 a 0 pelo Fortaleza, na última quarta-feira (31), mas mesmo assim se classificou para as quartas de final da Copa do Brasil por conta do placar agregado. O Verdão venceu a equipe cearense por 3 a 0 na partida de ida, quando jogou no Allianz Parque. Com isso, o clube já faturou quase R$ 10 milhões na competição e atingiu sua meta esportiva prevista no orçamento.

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+ Veja tabela da Copa do Brasil-2023 clicando aqui

A classificação para as quartas de final valeu R$ 4,3 milhões para os cofres do clube. Quando passou para as oitavas eliminando o Tombense-MG, o valor recebido foi de R$ 3,3 milhões. Já por conta de sua entrada na terceira fase, a quantia arrecadada foi de R$ 2,1 milhões. Ao todo, o Alviverde acumulou R$ 9,7 milhões em premiação na Copa do Brasil.

Em seu orçamento para 2023, o Palmeiras havia previsto que pelo menos chegaria nas quartas de final da competição. Dessa forma, já atingiu sua meta esportiva no que diz respeito a esse torneio. É normal que os clubes coloquem uma meta conservadora em seu orçamento a fim de não ficar na dependência dos resultados esportivos para equilibrar suas finanças.

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Com dois títulos na temporada até aqui, o Verdão soma outras premiações em 2023. A conquista da Supercopa do Brasil, contra o Flamengo, rendeu R$ 10 milhões ao clube. Já a taça do Paulistão valeu R$ 5 milhões da Federação Paulista de Futebol e R$ 4 milhões referentes ao bônus estipulado pela Crefisa, valor esse que tem sido usado para abater a dívida com a patrocinadora. Assim, foram arrecadados R$ 19 milhões com títulos.

+ Palmeiras volta para casa para sequência em São Paulo e terá descanso

Na Libertadores, além dos 3 milhões de dólares (R$ 15 milhões) pela fase de grupos, o Palmeiras já recebeu 300 mil dólares (R$ 1,5 milhão) referentes a cada uma das suas três vitórias na competição até aqui, ou seja, 900 mil dólares (R$ 4,5 milhões). Ao todo, o Verdão já levou para casa 3,9 milhões de dólares (R$ 19,5 milhões).

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Somando tudo isso que já garantiu em premiação no ano, o Palmeiras acumula R$ 48,2 milhões. Na temporada de 2022, segundo o balanço do clube, o valor arrecadado em premiações foi de R$ 94,5 milhões. Com competições ainda a serem jogadas em 2023, o Alviverde tem praticamente metade do que faturou nesse quesito no último ano.

Questions around India’s batting order for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth grew after Shubman Gill hurt his left thumb on the second day of India’s intra-squad training match at the WACA.He picked up the injury while fielding in the slips and left the field, not to return. It could not be confirmed if the injury will affect Gill’s selection for the first Test, starting November 22 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.Gill has been bating at No. 3, but has also been lined up as an option for the opening slot alongside Yashasvi Jaiswal in case Rohit Sharma is not available for the first Test because of the birth of his second child.It has also been learnt that Devdutt Padikkal, who was part of the India A group in Australia, will stay back with the Test squad*. It could not be confirmed, however, if Padikkal will be part of the main squad or the reserves.

Rohit Sharma welcomes second child but still not confirmed to play in Perth

While they await a proper assessment of Gill’s injury, the Indian camp received the good news that Rohit’s wife Ritika Sajdeh had given birth to their second child on Friday. With the due date for delivery close to the Perth Test, Rohit had communicated to the BCCI and the selectors that he might not be available for the series opener.Related

• Boost for India as KL Rahul returns to bat in Sunday training

• What India and Australia can expect at the five venues

• Rahul injury scare as India batters struggle at WACA

• Can Jaiswal counter fire with fire in Australia?

In the wake of the 3-0 whitewash India suffered against New Zealand recently, Rohit, it is learnt, even considered travelling to Australia to train with the team and return for the birth of his child.It’s not clear yet if he will travel to Perth in time to be available for the first Test.Another opening option, KL Rahul, had left the field during the first day of the simulation match after being struck in the elbow by a short ball. He did not come out to bat later in the day as India’s main batters had another turn at the crease. Rahul did not take the field on Saturday either.Abhimanyu Easwaran is the other option India have for the top of the order.Gill, who batted twice on Friday, made 28 in his first go before being caught at gully off a Navdeep Saini back-of-length delivery. He made an unbeaten 42 upon his return to the crease.

This summer has been an exciting one for Arsenal fans to watch. Gone are the days of Edu dragging things out and missing out on key targets; Andrea Berta has come in and been aggressive in the window.

The Gunners have only played two pre-season games but have already signed six players.

That being said, the saga that revolved around new centre-forward, Viktor Gyokeres, was certainly a tiring one. That wasn’t Berta’s fault, however.

Arsenal had predominantly earmarked two strikers this window; Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko. However, despite approval from most at Arsenal, Sesko’s agent priced him out of a move and the Swede was pursued instead.

The Gunners are no doubt happy with their business. This is a player who scored 54 goals in 52 games last season. Even half of that tally in 2025/26 and this will have been a successful acquisition.

But, what’s next? Well, Berta is already hard at work.

What's next for Arsenal after Gyokeres

It’s likely that for a short while, Arsenal will focus on moving players out of the club. The arrival of Gyokeres took their spending to over £200m this summer, so sales may well be necessary.

Fulham are said to be in talks to sign Reiss Nelson but there’s also interest from Crystal Palace, and that’s where Arsenal’s next deal could take them.

It’s no secret that the north Londoners are keen on signing Eberechi Eze this summer and according to journalist Ben Jacobs, they are now in talks with Palace over a move.

Up to this point, there had only been an agreement between Eze and Arsenal on personal terms.

There have been plenty of developments over the weekend, however, with Football Transfers noting that Mikel Arteta’s side have agreed to pay an initial £30m for the England international and talks are now focused around the payment structure of the remaining £38m of his release clause.

The Independent’s Miguel Delaney reports that sources close to the player believe that he will become an Arsenal player in the next few weeks, confident that a deal will get done.

The Emirates Stadium outfit are said to be Eze’s top choice this summer, but Berta and Co hope to be able to agree a fee of around £60m for his services.

Why Eze could be Arsenal's new Tomas Rosicky

During the days of Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal, the team was filled with technical geniuses. Not forgetting the likes of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry, the later years of the Frenchman’s tenure saw players like Jack Wilshere, Santi Cazorla, Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez come to the fore.

There were others too. Think Andrey Arshavin, the scorer of four goals at Anfield, Alexander Hleb and a player cut from a similar cloth, Tomas Rosicky.

Signed from Borussia Dortmund for a fee of just £6.8m, he arrived as one of the most exciting young attacking midfielders on the continent.

The Czech Republic international had a fierce ball strike on him, something we saw when he cracked home his first goal but he also possessed the ability to dazzle defenders, dribbling past them with ease and explosively driving forward.

As Wenger once said: “He always makes things happen, not with individual dribbling but with individual acceleration and his passing. I think when he arrived here he was less of a tactical player and more the ‘Mozart’ from Prague – he was purely a creative, offensive player.”

Injuries really destroyed Rosicky’s career in London, ultimately meaning his numbers didn’t look particularly impressive, scoring 28 goals and supplying 23 assists. Yet, his qualities are still remembered fondly by supporters of a certain generation.

Take injuries out of the equation, and Eze has been built in a similar lab. As The Telegraph’s Sam Dean says, the Palace sensation is a “magician” and the “exact sort of player Arsenal have been missing.”

It’s hard to dispute that claim. Like Rosicky, he’s creative, he’s a goalscorer and like Wenger noted, he’s a bit of a Mozart on the ball.

Eze’s first game of pre-season showcased exactly that, nearly scoring a remarkable solo goal. A little like Rosicky, he bursts forward in possession of the ball. What happened next was audacious, nearly chipping the goalkeeper.

£68m please, Berta, that’s all it’ll take to bring this creative genius to the Emirates Stadium this summer.

Arsenal have plenty of players who put fun into football. Bukayo Saka and Martin Odegaard are chief among them. Yet, what Arteta has done since arriving at Arsenal is build a team of giants.

Mikel Merino suggested that “we [Arsenal] look like a basketball team” when he first moved to the Premier League and within that, some of the technical aesthetics have been lost.

Eze’s Crystal Palace career (all comps)

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

2024/25

43

14

11

2023/24

31

11

6

2022/23

40

10

4

2021/22

19

1

1

2020/21

36

3

6

Stats via Transfermarkt.

Eze, however, would bring that back to Arsenal. He was the scorer of 14 goals and the creator of 11 assists in 2024/25.

That wasn’t a one-off either. He’s hit double figures throughout the last three campaigns and is only getting better. Last season was his finest in the red and blue stripes of Palace to date.

He’s a Premier League-proven star and like Declan Rice, would surely settle into things at the club with ease.

Related He'd be better than Rodrygo: Arsenal "are looking" at signing £100m winger

Arsenal are ready to complete their summer transfer window with a big-money signing.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Jul 25, 2025

Ryan Mason has already won himself one standout signing since entering the pressurised West Bromwich Albion hot-seat.

Indeed, the Baggies forked out £3m on the services of Nathaniel Phillips to strengthen at the back, with Phillips just fresh off a relegation-saving season at Derby County in the Championship on loan from Liverpool. Now, he’s West Brom’s first major foray into the market.

Transfers at the Hawthorns are unlikely to halt there, though, as West Brom aim to bolster all over the pitch in the wake of Baggies stalwarts Grady Diangana, John Swift, and Semi Ajayi all leaving for nothing.

West Brom interested in another centre-back

A big chunk of West Brom’s long-standing servants are now nowhere to be seen in the West Midlands, as Mason prepares to leave his mark on proceedings.

It’s been heavily commented on, but the 33-year-old does have his past Tottenham Hotspur connections he can fall back on when targeting some sensational summer acquisitions, with both Mikey Moore and Will Lankshear reportedly in their sights when assessing the cream of Spurs’ young crop.

Away from treading down this familiar North London path, however, West Brom could be about to win a much-talked-about 22-year-old prospect from the EFL.

West Brom-based X account DOOD has speculated that Mason and Co. are interested in the possibility of acquiring Stockport County powerhouse Ethan Pye this summer, although nothing is in motion as of yet.

It’s clear when looking at his sublime 2024/25 season – which ended with him winning every personal Hatters accolade possible – why West Brom are hunting him down as a possible partner for Phillips in the heart of defence.

After all, many of West Brom’s star performers once plied their trade in the lower depths of the EFL, as the promotion hopefuls now hope that Pye can be another to burst into life up a division, much like Tom Fellows managed after an early lower league education.

How Pye can be Fellows 2.0

Looking at the final West Brom lineup fielded at the close of the 24/25 campaign is enough to validate how many of the Baggies’ seasoned first-teamers have the third tier to thank for an initial boost in confidence, with Darnell Furlong once loaned out to Swindon Town in League One, before his big Hawthorns break.

Two goals and five assists would come the experienced right-back’s way during his formative County Ground switch, which is amazingly five more goal contributions than Fellows would register on the books of Crawley Town prior to his moment in the spotlight.

The rest is history now for the Solihull-born ace, however, with the homegrown product one of the first names on the Baggies’ teamsheet last season when collecting a blistering 14 assists in Championship action.

Pye will hope he can be as much of a standout figure for the second tier side down the line if a move is finalised, considering the Manchester-born defender has also had to endure many a lower league loan, before developing into one of Dave Challinor’s integral pieces of the jigsaw last season at Edgeley Park.

Pye’s league numbers for Stockport (24/25)
Stat (* = per game)	Pye
Games played	35
Goals scored	1
Assists	1
Touches*	73.7
Accurate passes*	44.4 (79%)
Ball recoveries*	4.5
Total duels won*	7.3
Clean sheets	11
Stats by Sofascore

Only two years prior to his breakout 24/25 offering Pye was plying his trade in the National League with Gateshead. Now, much like Fellows back at the Hawthorns, the Hatters’ success largely depended on the 22-year-old last season, with a mighty 7.3 duels won per game by Pye as Stockport dared to dream about promotion up to the Championship.

Hailed as “outstanding” by West Brom-based journalist Chris Hall, this could be a buy that sees West Brom repeat their unbelievable Fellows magic, with Pye more than ready to make a splash up a level.

It does appear to be only faint murmurs at this point, but West Brom will surely want to make more moves soon as the new season edges closer, with Pye perhaps the next figure to join the intriguing Mason project.

West Brom can secure perfect Swift replacement by signing "incredible" star

West Bromwich Albion could instantly respond to John Swift leaving the Hawthorns by snapping up this EFL ace.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jul 2, 2025

Will Smeed smashed 86 off 48 balls to lead Somerset to a 108-run Vitality Blast South Group victory over Glamorgan at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.The opener blitzed nine fours and five sixes to dominate the home side’s innings of 193 for 8 after losing the toss. Craig Overton contributed 42, while Dan Douthwaite claimed three wickets in an over to finish with 4 for 37 from four.In reply, Glamorgan could muster only 85 all out, Sam Northeast top scoring with 24 and Lewis Gregory taking 3 for 11 to become Somerset’s equal leading wicket-taker in T20 cricket.Somerset’s innings was a rollercoaster, starting well, dipping dramatically and finishing strongly. Smeed and Tom Banton produced an opening stand of 38 inside four overs before Banton was bowled by a full delivery from Timm van der Gugten.It was 51 for 1 at the end of the six-over powerplay as Smeed took centre stage, dominating a second-wicket stand of 54 inside six overs with an out-of-sorts Tom Kohler-Cadmore, who fell to a boundary catch off Andy Gorvin for nine.By then, Smeed had gone to a brilliant 30-ball half-century with a pulled four to fine leg off Douthwaite. He celebrated by clearing the rope in the same area next ball and Somerset looked on course for a 200-plus score.That changed in the 12th over, which saw Douthwaite send back Tom Abell, Sean Dickson and Gregory with the second, fourth and sixth deliveries, Dickson to a brilliant one-handed catch by Jamie McIlroy at mid-on. When Ben Green was caught and bowled by Mason Crane at the start of the following over four wickets had fallen in the space of seven balls.Smeed, who had looked on course for his second T20 century, was bowled by a full-length ball from Douthwaite and Somerset were seven down with more than six overs of their innings left. Overton and Roelof van der Merwe showed their experience by steadying the ship before a late assault, which saw Overton hit sixes over long-off and long-on, the latter sending the ball sailing into the River Tone.A half-century stand off 30 balls gave the hosts momentum going into Glamorgan’s reply, which saw Overton dismiss Kiran Carlson, caught at third man in the first over, and Riley Meredith send down a wicket-maiden, having former Somerset player Eddie Byrom caught behind for a duck.Marnus Labuschagne and Northeast took the score to 37 by the end of the powerplay, but the second ball of the seventh over saw Labuschagne fall lbw to Gregory aiming to leg. Colin Ingram then guided an Overton delivery straight to gully to leave Glamorgan 43 for 4.Northeast miscued an attempted scoop shot off Gregory to Jake Ball at short fine-leg and when Douthwaite offered the same bowler a tame return catch Somerset’s captain had equalled leg-spinner Max Waller’s record of 139 T20 wickets for the county.Van der Gugten clothed a Ball delivery to cover and Chris Cooke was superbly caught by Green on the cover boundary at the end of the same over to make it 71 for eight.Gorvin delayed the inevitable with a couple of belligerent blows, but left-arm spinner van der Merwe wrapped up the result, taking wickets with his only two balls of the innings.