Former USMNT star Alexi Lalas praised midfielder Diego Luna for his substitute appearance against Ecuador in a 1-1 draw on Friday, highlighting the Real Salt Lake star’s unique flair and presence in midfield. Lalas noted that Luna offers a different look than No. 10 Malik Tillman, bringing a commanding touch to the U.S. attack.
Wadhera, not expecting to play the game against LSG, had turned up at the venue with just one shirt in his bag
ESPNcricinfo staff04-Apr-2025Nehal Wadhera didn’t think he would make his Punjab Kings (PBKS) and IPL 2025 debut on April 1 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).Vijaykumar Vyshak was the Impact Sub for Priyansh Arya in their season-opener against Gujarat Titans (GT). But, in their second game, Wadhera came on after Yuzvendra Chahal finished his four overs. And when LSG substituted David Miller for left-arm spinner M Siddharth in Lucknow, head coach Ricky Ponting asked him to be ready to bat, ahead of Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis.PBKS had already wiped out 110 of their 172-run target in just 10.1 overs. Wadhera went out at No. 4 and finished with a polished, unbeaten 25-ball 43 in Shreyas Iyer’s company. The pair added 67 in just 37 balls to take their team to victory with 22 balls to spare. And Wadhera hadn’t even bothered to take his whole kit to work, he was so sure he wouldn’t get a look-in.Related
PBKS winning without overseas contributions shows 'confidence'
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Pant 'still figuring out a lot of things for the team'
“We talk about players making an impact, right? You get an opportunity in a T20 game and it’s all about making an impact on the game and on the contest when you can,” Ponting said in his post-match briefing, which PBKS put up on their YouTube channel. “And Nehal, I know, came today, he only packed one shirt in his bag, because he didn’t think he was going to be taking much part in the game.”He fields the last four overs [of the LSG innings] and then I tap him on the shoulder when I saw that they’d made their Impact Sub as a left-arm offspinner, I said, ‘mate, you’re going in’. And I said, ‘make the most of the opportunity, play your way’.”Wadhera, subbed in for Yuzvendra Chahal, hit three fours and four sixes in his innings, building on the promising IPL initiation he had with Mumbai Indians (MI) in IPL 2023, where he had played a similar role as a middle-order floater, before not featuring in MI’s plans too much in IPL 2024.4:56
Knight: PBKS winning without overseas contributions a great sign
“It’s a great feeling,” Wadhera said in the PBKS video. “My only thought when I went into bat was that Iyer is set, I shouldn’t allow pressure to creep in on him. And I need is to prove Ricky Ponting right for the faith and backing he gave me.”After his unbeaten effort, Wadhera was full of praise for Iyer’s captaincy, while also speaking with admiration of Ponting, who he said he had “never heard any negative talk” from.”All credit goes to the way he [Iyer] is captaining us,” Wadhera told the official broadcaster after the LSG game. “And also the way he is boosting our confidence and the way he was telling me things like, ‘play your natural game, just go with the flow,’ and I just love playing like that.”
New Zealand’s coach says that the Champions Trophy scheduling was ‘out of [their] hands’
Andrew Fidel Fernando07-Mar-20252:19
Is it still advantage India in Dubai?
Of all the teams in this Champions Trophy, New Zealand have had the toughest travel schedule. They began their tournament in Karachi, went to Rawalpindi next, arrived in Dubai to play India in their final group game, played a semi-final in Lahore, and have now traveled back to Dubai for the final.There have been plenty of suggestions through this tournament that India’s playing all their matches in the same city, at the same venue, amounts to a competitive advantage. New Zealand coach Gary Stead would not be drawn on that, stating that those decisions were “out of [their] hands”.But he did speak about the demands their hectic travel schedule put on his players. None of New Zealand’s games, additionally, were washed out.Related
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Henry's availability for Champions Trophy final 'a little bit unknown'
New ball or old, Henry will make things happen
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“There’s no doubt that coming here after Lahore – we had a full day of travel yesterday – takes it out of you a little bit,” Stead said. His team chose not to train on Friday, two days out from the final, using that day to recuperate as well.”But we’ve got a couple of days now, a little bit of recovery and a little bit of planning and training towards the game. But I guess we’re deep into the tournament now and sometimes it’s not always a lot of training that you need. It’s just getting your body and your mind right to compete in the final. That will be our key focus over the next two days.”On India playing their whole tournament in Dubai, Stead had this to say:”They’re not decisions that come across my desk anyway. For us, it’s something that we can’t control, so it’s really just getting on with it. Yes, India have played their four matches here. We’re lucky enough to have had one here against them. It was a good match, without us quite putting our best foot forward as well. Wherever you play, you just have to go up and be able to be better than them on the day, and that’s our focus.”New Zealand now also have to adjust from having played their semi-final at the highest-scoring venue in the tournament, to a Dubai surface that has tended to take substantial spin, and where par scores have generally been the lowest in the competition. In their group match against India, made 249 for 9, before New Zealand were bowled out for 205.”I think that’s just about adapting and working out on your feet what you think that par score is for the day,” Stead said. “I think the danger is you come from scoring 360-odd in a game and you think you’ll do that again immediately and you go a little bit [too] hard. So, for us, it’s just working out what is the right tactics on the day, who we are faced up against as well, and then adapting to that.”It’s also about communication between the batsmen in the middle, and making sure they’re having good communications around who is the right player to take risks against and what that might look like.”
Chelsea are in advanced talks over a deal for RB Leipzig starlet Xavi Simons, as has been the case for some time, but they may not have it all their own way.
Negotiations are far down the line for his signature, as widely reported, but Fabrizio Romano says that Chelsea are still attempting to make sales before pressing forward with a deal for the Dutchman.
Cole Palmer
7.33
Moises Caicedo
7.02
Enzo Fernández
6.95
Nicolas Jackson
6.88
Noni Madueke
6.82
via WhoScored
“Chelsea remain in talks with RB Leipzig and Xavi Simons wants to go there,” said Romano on his YouTube channel around two days ago.
“There are advanced talks, but at the moment, there’s been no breakthrough. Why?
“It’s not been done for two reasons. The first one is that RB Leipzig are completely focused on the Sesko deal. So they’ll resolve that and then clarify Xavi Simons. Secondly, Chelsea are working on the outgoings. I told you that the contract and salary are almost agreed, but we have to wait for official statements for Armando Broja, Lesley Ugochukwu, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and all the rest.
“Then there’s the conversation on the price between the two clubs, which is something absolutely important.”
Despite some reports in the last 48 hours claiming that Chelsea have reached a ‘total agreement’ for Simons, it appears there is still some work to do for the 22-year-old’s signature.
The former PSG playmaker is determined to join Chelsea, though, and has removed Leipzig from his Instagram bio in a clear hint that Simons has his eyes on a move to Stamford Bridge.
However, as per Chelsea journalist Simon Phillips, a mystery club is now threatening to derail their pursuit of the Bundesliga sensation.
Mystery club threaten Chelsea hijack for Xavi Simons
Writing via his Substack live blog [16:38, Thursday], an unnamed side have now come in for Simons, and this could ‘complicate things’, or at the very least force Chelsea to up the ante.
“SPTC Sources have heard that another ‘unnamed club’ has now come in for Xavi Simons,” wrote Phillips.
“Source states it could ‘complicate things’ or it could ‘speed Chelsea up’.
“Simons has agreed personal terms with Chelsea and is and has always been waiting for the move to us, but I’m not sure it’s been a Chelsea or nothing attitude so this would concern me.
“Let’s just hope it speeds us up to agree a fee.”
Sky Sports reporter Kaveh Solhekol states that the Blues want to agree a deal for Simons below the £50 million mark.
Given Tottenham’s glaring need for a number 10 after James Maddison’s serious knee injury, we speculate that Thomas Frank’s side may well be the mystery club here.
After all, they were ready to spend £60 million on Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White just last month before Evangelos Marinakis blocked the move, so Daniel Levy is quite clearly prepared to splash the cash on a new attacking midfielder.
وصل ثلاثة من أفراد فريق ليفربول لكرة القدم إلى مقر حفل جائزة الكرة الذهبية، لأفضل لاعب في العالم لعام 2025، في العاصمة الفرنسية باريس، من أجل حضور المراسم.
وتُقام مساء يوم الإثنين مراسم حفل توزيع جوائز الأفضل في العالم، المُقدمة من مجلة “فرانس فوتبول” الشهيرة، وعلى رأسها الكرة الذهبية (لمتابعة البث المباشر من هنا).
ويتواجد محمد صلاح ضمن قائمة المرشحين التي تضم 30 لاعبًا للتنافس على جائزة الكرة الذهبية لأفضل لاعب في العالم لذلك العام.
وظهر ثلاثي ليفربول، المدرب آرني سلوت والمدافع فيرجيل فان دايك والحارس أليسون بيكر، على السجادة الحمراء منذ قليل لحضور حفل “فرانس فوتبول”.
هذا، ويتواجد آرني سلوت ضمن المرشحين لجائزة كرويف لأفضل مدرب في العالم لعام 2025، في حين أن أليسون بيكر يتواجد ضمن المرشحين لجائزة ياشين لأفضل حارس مرمى.
وكان فيرجيل فان دايك يتواجد ضمن المرشحين لجائزة الكرة الذهبية للعام الحالي، ولكنه احتل المركز الثامن والعشرين من أصل 30.
ولم يظهر محمد صلاح ضمن وفد ليفربول الذي يتواجد في الوقت الحالي في مقر حفل الكرة الذهبية، مع العلم أنه لن يشارك في مباراة الغد ضد ساوثهامبتون في دور الـ32 من كأس كاراباو.
.@LFC is in the house! Welcome to Paris!#ballondor pic.twitter.com/SNOgODooR5 — Ballon d’Or (@ballondor) September 22, 2025
Tilak Varma became India’s second centurion in the space of six days and ensured they cannot lose the four-match T20I series. They lead 2-1 with the final match to be played on Friday, and the hosts left with only the option of a draw. South Africa have not won a bilateral T20I series since beating Ireland 2-0 in August 2022 and have lost five and drawn two series in that time.At a time when the next major tournament is 15 months away, and with the knowledge they reached this year’s T20 World Cup final, that may not worry South Africa much. But there will be questions over their depth and some of their strategies after they conceded heavily and stumbled in the chase for the second time this series.South Africa’s seam strength without Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje, is, as expected, inexperienced. It showed in a messy display at Supersport Park which included 10 wides and three no-balls. Those numbers pale in comparison to that of Tilak, who, at 22 years and five days old, became India’s second youngest centurion after Yashasvi Jaiswal, and took just 51 balls to get to his hundred. He shared a 107-run second-wicket stand with Abhishek Sharma, and a 58-run fifth-wicket partnership with Rinku Singh, in which Tilak contributed 45. Though India were set for a total above 240, after bringing up 100 in the ninth over, Tilak still made sure they had enough.Related
India look to add more shine to already glowing T20 credentials
Tilak asks Suryakumar for No. 3 spot and owns it with dazzling century
With an asking rate of 11 needed, South Africa fell behind early on. They needed close to 12 runs an over by the end of the powerplay and as much as 17 an over in the last five. At that stage, they had their two biggest hitters, Heinrich Klaasen and David Miller at the crease and their partnership had reached 58 off 35 balls. In an eerie reminder of Suryakumar Yadav’s catch on the long-off boundary in the T20 World Cup final in June, Axar Patel timed his jump at deep mid-wicket boundary to perfection and Miller had to depart.Tilak Varma leaps in celebration after bringing up his first international century•AFP/Getty Images
Marco Jansen kept South Africa in it until the last over and ensured the result flattered them. He scored his first T20I half-century and blitzed four four and five sixes, three down the ground, to threaten a coup. But South Africa had left themselves with too much to do. Jansen was dismissed lbw to Arshdeep Singh with three balls left in the innings and 18 to get. South Africa lost by 11 runs.
Jansen got South Africa off to a perfect start when his second ball scythed through Sanju Samson. Samson’s all-or-bust time continued, with his last four T20I scores reading 111, 107, 0, 0 but India did not spend too much time dwelling on that. They promoted Tilak to No. 3 with astonishing results. He hit the second ball he faced through backward point for four and then smashed Jansen over third for six. Abhishek, who was dismissed for single-figure scores at both coastal venues, quickly rectified that when he took 14 runs off Gerald Coetzee’s opening over, and he showed the full range of his repertoire.Abhishek went through midwicket, over point and then through the covers. Coetzee was swiftly replaced by Lutho Sipamla, who Tilak pulled behind square, and Jansen by Andile Simelane, who bore the brunt of Abhishek’s aggression. He struck back-to-back sixes to opposite corners of the ground and India were running away with the powerplay. They were 70 for 1 after six overs, and South Africa were yet to bring on the spinners.Andile Simelane celebrates with his team-mates after removing Suryakumar Yadav•AFP/Getty Images
India brought up 100 inside nine overs when Abhishek launched Keshav Maharaj over long-on but the spinner had the last laugh. Three balls later, he dragged a delivery wide of Abhishek, who reached out to try and send it through the leg side but missed and was stumped. In the next over, Simelane gave Suryakumar width and tempted him to cut but the India captain could only slice it to deep point. Maharaj’s second over cost 10 runs but he was kept on for a third, with success. Hardik Pandya missed a sweep, was hit on the pack pad and given out lbw. India lost 3 for 25 in 26 balls and South Africa pulled them back.
Maharaj is known for his ability to slow things down but by his last over, Tilak had had enough. He used his crease well to go 4-6-4 over extra cover, deep square leg and deep mid-wicket and Maharaj finished with 36 off his four overs. That was the warning shot. Coetzee took a pasting in his next over, which also included three wides, with Tilak finding the long and short boundaries. Jansen bowled a boundary-less 17th over and Rinku was bowled by a Simelane yorker in the 18th. But by then Tilak was unstoppable. He brought up his hundred when he smoked Sipamla past mid-off for his seventh four. Tilak went on to hit one more four to add to his seven sixes and ended unbeaten on 107.
We’ve had bees at the Wanderers but this is, to this amateur historian’s mind, the first time flying ants have stopped play. What, you may ask? Maybe you call them or or or but you probably know the ones. They come before the rain, are attracted to light and shed their wings upon landing, and there were so many of them at SuperSport Park, the umpires were concerned they would fly into the players’ eyes. The players were taken off after an over of South Africa’s chase and a light pylon at SuperSport Park was turned off in the hope the flying ants would go somewhere else. After 28 minutes, play could resume, with no overs lost. It’s wild out in Africa, they say, and so it was.India and South Africa players walked off the field due to flying ants•AFP/Getty Images
Forget everything history says about spinners struggling on the Highveld and just look at Varun Chakravarthy. He came into this match as the leading wicket-taker in the series (with double the number of wickets as his nearest rival) and added another to his name with his most unplayable delivery. South Africa have had no idea about his googly and Reeza Hendricks was done for a second time. He advanced on Varun, slogged wildly, missed and was stumped. South Africa finished the powerplay on 55 for 2.South Africa may have thought they had the better of Varun when Aiden Markram hit him for two sixes over long-on in his third over but it was a case of the opposite. Markram should have put the last ball away over mid-wicket but hit it straight to debutant Ramandeep Singh and extended a miserable run for himself. He has gone 27 innings without a T20I fifty and has not gone past 30 in his last 12 innings. Klaasen was the only player who could take some bragging rights after he hit Varun for three successive sixes, including the biggest of the match at 109 meters, in an over that cost 23. Varun finished with his most expensive T20I analysis but made two crucial breakthroughs and in the end, that’s all that matters. South Africa needed 86 off the last five overs and it was a bridge too far.
Fast bowler to miss tours to Pakistan, New Zealand after problem picked up on routine scan
ESPNcricinfo staff06-Sep-2024Mark Wood, England’s fastest bowler, will miss the forthcoming Test tours of Pakistan and New Zealand, after being ruled out for the rest of the year due to a bone-stress injury to his right elbow.Wood was withdrawn from the ongoing Sri Lanka series as a precaution, after suffering a right thigh strain while bowling during the first Test at Old Trafford. However, he subsequently underwent what he had hoped was a routine elbow scan, after feeling discomfort in the joint, and admitted in an Instagram post that he had received some “pretty rubbish news”.”During what I thought was routine check on a previously troublesome elbow, I was shocked to learn I’ve got some bone stress in my right elbow,” Wood wrote.As a result, he will miss England’s final six Tests of the year, three each against Pakistan in October and New Zealand in December.He will continue to work closely with the ECB medical team in the meantime, with the aim of returning to full fitness by early 2025, in time for England’s white-ball tour of India and the ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan, which is scheduled to begin in February 2025.Wood’s surprise at his diagnosis comes in the wake of some of the fastest bowling of his international career. During the Trent Bridge Test against West Indies in July, he hit a top speed of 97.1mph in an electrifying performance that culminated in a broken forearm for Kevin Sinclair, and had his captain, Ben Stokes, predicting he would break the 100mph before his career is done.Though he went relatively under-rewarded in that performance, he closed out the series with 5 for 40 at Edgbaston, his first five-wicket haul in a home Test. However, he bowled just 18.2 overs across two innings against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, before he was withdrawn from the action.”After the minor groin injury at Emirates Old Trafford, me and the medical team felt it was a good time to get my elbow looked at as it was a bit irritated,” Wood added in his Instagram post. “I’d put that down to the normal niggles every fast bowler gets and which I was playing through.”I’m especially surprised because I’ve been playing Test cricket and kept my speeds up.”I work incredibly hard on my fitness, putting in extra work with coaches and physios making this even more disappointing. However, I guess this is, ‘part of being a fast bowler’, like Stokesy says.”I will miss the rest of the year needing time to rest and build up, fully expecting to be back and firing in early 2025. I have been down this path before and will put in all the hard yards behind the scenes. I am very proud to represent my country and there is no better feeling. See you for some rockets in 2025!”In Wood’s absence, Olly Stone was recalled for last week’s Lord’s Test, his first Test since undergoing back surgery three years ago, with Josh Hull, the 20-year-old left-arm seamer, making his debut in the ongoing third Test at The Oval.
Celtic enter the market with a clear idea of where they need to strengthen and could now turn to a recognisable name to solve their quest to land another centre-forward, according to a report.
Adam Idah and Daizen Maeda ended the campaign as Celtic’s only two senior centre-forward options, while Johnny Kenny came in from the cold to supplement their output from the bench.
Late attempts in January to secure a striker fell through, despite the Bhoys’ failed pursuit of Danny Ings from West Ham United following Kyogo Furuhashi’s departure to Rennes.
Nevertheless, the calculated decision to stick with what they had at the time has allowed more time to make sure the right man arrives to bolster Brendan Rodgers’ pool of attacking talent.
Youssef El Kachati was mooted as a Celtic target. However, the former Morocco Under-23 international looks set to join NEC Nijmegen under freedom of contract on a three-year deal from Telstar.
Rodgers could potentially be left with more work to do on that front if Fenerbache or Tottenham step up their interest in Japanese forward Maeda. Both clubs are keen to deal him in, though have been told a fee in excess of £21 million is required for his services.
Brentford set to go at Celtic with £60m Mbeumo windfall to sign "breathtaking" star
The Bhoys are set to witness movement in both directions this summer…
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By
Sean Markus Clifford
Jun 6, 2025
Left-back, centre midfield and on the flanks have been mooted as areas of the field where Celtic could look to enact squad surgery, whetting the appetite for a summer of significance before they enter the Champions League qualifiers at the playoff phase.
Encountering a quick turnaround, the Bhoys may now look to a former player who is available on the market to add some expertise in front of goal.
According to reports in France, Celtic are ‘ready’ to offer an olive branch to former striker Furuhashi following his frustrating spell at Rennes, where he has yet to score in six appearances.
The Ligue 1 outfit are set to part ways with the 30-year-old this summer, and it is now said that the Bhoys icon is in favour of completing a sensational return to Parkhead. However, Bournemouth are also lurking in the distance and could submit an offer.
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Kyogo Furuhashi’s excellent time at Celtic |
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Rennes boss Habib Beye is set to omit Furuhashi from his pre-season plans and will put him up for sale after he failed to live up to expectations at Roazhon Park.
Labelled “excellent” by Rodgers, he made his move to France for roughly £10 million mid-season, though he has only completed 120 minutes of football, coming mostly as a substitute.
Truthfully, it did seem like a strange move in January for the Nara-born man in light of his new club’s close brush with relegation, but a swift exit would suit all parties, including the player and his desire to be considered for Japan’s 2026 World Cup squad.
Whether he could achieve that feat at Celtic remains to be seen. Either way, the prospect of Furuhashi returning to Glasgow’s east end could soon become a reality.
Well, if Arsenal didn’t already need a new striker, one look at their first six fixtures of the new Premier League season tells you they certainly do.
Andrea Berta has replaced Edu and he’d been completing negotiations on a number of targets but now is the time to strike and ensure the Gunners are ready to hit the ground running once the campaign commences in August.
17th Aug
Manchester United (A)
23rd Aug
Leeds United (H)
30th Aug
Liverpool (A)
13th Sept
Nottingham Forest (H)
20th Sept
Manchester City (H)
27th Sept
Newcastle United (A)
Truth be told, Mikel Arteta and Co couldn’t have been handed a much tougher start with away fixtures at United, Liverpool and Newcastle, while having to play newly-promoted Leeds and title rivals Man City.
So, this squad needs to be ready. It needs extra firepower. But, the age-old question, who will they sign?
The latest on Arsenal's striker hunt
Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko are the two names that feature most prominently on Arsenal’s summer wish list but both deals, at the moment, look complicated.
Gyokeres – the scorer of an enormous 54 goals in 2024/25 – is likely to leave Sporting but Portuguese reports revealed earlier this week that Arsenal have so far yet to meet the Lisbon club’s demands. As a result, they’ve put their pursuit of the Swede on hold.
That means that Sesko has become the number one target again. One report comes from journalist Graeme Bailey who now insists that ‘Sesko is still the furthest along in terms of a deal being done’.
That said, if a deal cannot be agreed, Bailey reveals that ‘it wouldn’t take an awful lot for Arsenal to divert’ their attention elsewhere.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Gyokeres is name-dropped, while Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins and Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike are also on the shortlist.
While Arsenal tried and failed to sign Watkins last January, Ekitike isn’t a name we’ve heard mentioned too often in Arsenal circles. Up to now, the race has been between Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
What Ekitike could bring to Arsenal
Arsenal need goals. In 2024/25, no player recorded double figures in the Premier League. Kai Havertz was the top scorer with just 15 – albeit with the caveat that he missed several months through injury – and Mikel Merino ended the campaign as the centre-forward.
To Merino’s credit, he did a fine job, scoring six goals in 12 games. Obviously, that wasn’t enough to help them reach the Champions League final and it served as evidence that the Gunners need a new striker. No ifs, no buts, no maybes, they simply have to sign one.
So, if it’s goals Arsenal require then surely Gyokeres must be the number one option? He scored more than any other player in Europe’s top leagues over the last season and is a rampant finisher. He’s even got experience of English football having played for Brighton and Coventry.
However, there have been doubts, some red flags, so to speak. Had the powerful Swede scored that many goals in a top-five league, you doubt there’d be question marks. However, he did it in the Portuguese top-flight.
We’re not trying to dismiss the quality of the division here but it does pale in comparison to the Premier League or LaLiga for instance.
Then you have the traits Gyokeres could bring. Competent in front of goal, of course, but as data analyst Ben Mattinson outlines, the Swede has a “heavy first touch” and “doesn’t anticipate contact or shield the ball well.”
So, is there a player out there with a better all-around package? In that regard, Ekitike’s your man.
Cast out by PSG despite being heralded as the “next Kylian Mbappe” in some quarters, he departed Paris having played just 33 games, scoring four goals in the French capital.
Luis Enrique and Co are unlikely to lose much sleep given their recent Champions League heroics, but the 22-year-old has become something of a phenomenon in the Bundesliga for Frankfurt.
The Frenchman ended 2024/25 with 22 goals and 12 assists to his name. Not mindblowing numbers, sure, but his electric play is seriously pleasing on the eye.
What should fill Arsenal fans with excitement is regular comparisons to their all-time leading goalscorer. Scout Jacek Kulig has suggested that his most similar player is the great Thierry Henry, while one PSG content creator went as far as to claim he is “the new Henry.” Fine praise indeed.
So, what makes them alike? Well, the goal below tells you all you need to know.
The similarities between Henry and Ekitike here are scary. He’s got the same languid but smooth and powerful running style, brushing defenders aside with ease and then sliding the ball home.
His movement is first class, he’s a phenomenal dribbler and unlike Gyokeres, there’s less chaos to his running style and first touch. Everything feels a bit neater and tidier in that regard.
Let’s throw another bonus in there for you. One of Ekitike’s most similar players in Europe’s top five leagues over the last year, according to FBRef, is Alexander Isak.
Now, we all know how much Arteta rates the Swede and for a fraction of the price, they could sign a player with the potential to be just as good.
Gyokeres might be the best goalscorer on the planet right now but doubts surrounding his playstyle continue to linger. Ekitike is a proper on the last shoulder of the defender striker, someone with pace, power and a Henry-likeness to boot. Arsenal should be all over this move.
He's a lot like Isak: Arsenal in talks to sign amazing upgrade on Sesko
Arsenal are turning their attention to a striker they tried to sign in the winter.
1 ByMatt Dawson Jun 17, 2025
Since winning the Premier League a few weeks ago, Liverpool have either been working aggressively behind the scenes to sign new players or quite literally, they have been on the beach, enjoying the party life in Ibiza and Dubai.
Well, set to enter that part over the summer is Jeremie Frimpong, who is due to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold as Arne Slot’s new right-back.
They could also welcome Bayer Leverkusen Florian Wirtz to Anfield with the German being headhunted by some of Europe’s heavyweights.
Valued at over £100m, Wirtz has attracted the interest of Liverpool, Manchester City and Bayern Munich.
Bayern love signing domestic players while Man City are on the hunt to find a replacement for Kevin De Bruyne.
So, with such a hotly contested race, perhaps FSG will turn their attention elsewhere.
Liverpool big admirers of Florian Wirtz alternative
According to a report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Liverpool are currently working on a list of creative targets.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
While Wirtz is on that list, the Reds have carried out background checks on RB Leipzig’s Dutch midfielder, Xabi Simons, while if Morgan Gibbs-White is made available by Nottingham Forest, he is another player they could pursue.
Also name-checked is Aston Villa sensation, Morgan Rogers. The report states that Liverpool are big admirers’ of the playmaker but it will be difficult to prise him away from Villa Park.
Rogers signed last year for a tiny fee of just £8m, and as some reports claim, he is now valued at around £90m by the Villans.
Given Villa’s PSR situation, it’s unlikely they’d turn down a bid in that region.
Why Rogers would be such an exciting signing
The meteoric rise of Rogers in the last year has been quite extraordinary. In January 2024, he traded Middlesbrough for the Midlands and has only gone from strength to strength since.
During 2024/25, the creative midfielder has become a full England international, scored a hat-trick in the Champions League against Celtic and helped himself to 29 goal involvements (14 goals & 15 assists).
It feels like Liverpool have been trying to add a player of his profile for a while. They famously missed out on Jude Bellingham before he went to Real Madrid and instead signed Hungarian Dominik Szoboszlai.
The attacking midfielder has impressed, but ultimately hasn’t been too great a goal threat, netting just seven times in all competitions this term.
That explains links to players like Rogers and Wirtz who beat the goalkeeper with greater regularity.
Similarities between the Villa midfielder and the aforementioned Bellingham are also eye-catching. Indeed, speaking back in August, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp acknowledged that “there are parts of what Jude Bellingham does” in Rogers’ game.
That comparison stems from not just the way they carry the ball – an “electric” trait of Rogers’ in the words of European football expert Zach Lowy – but primarily their final actions in the final third of the pitch.
Goals
0.24
0.30
Assists
0.30
0.30
Key passes
1.51
1.54
Progressive passes
3.62
7.11
Shot-creating actions
3.12
3.87
Successful take-ons
1.93
1.47
Progressive carries
3.38
2.71
Ball recoveries
3.41
3.50
Considering the former Borussia Dortmund star’s elite status, it’s interesting to note that of the metrics selected here, there aren’t too many differences between the two.
Villa’s star man doesn’t register as many progressive passes, but he is in the lead for progressive carrying, a particular highlight of the duo’s game.
It’s when it comes to creating chances and scoring goals where they are most similar, and if Liverpool are to miss out on Wirtz, Rogers would be a superb alternative.
What makes this comparison even more noteworthy is that the two are actually childhood friends, with Bellingham taking Rogers under his wing during his first training sessions with the Three Lions.
So, while Liverpool fans might not be too keen on Bellingham right, good friends with Trent of course, they would love a player of his ilk in the squad.
There are not many in the game who perform quite as highly as the Madrid star does, but Rogers is well on the way to cementing himself as one of the most exciting English players about.
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