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With one eye on sealing automatic promotion and another on the summer transfer market, Leeds United and the 49ers are reportedly poised to join the race to sign a new midfielder from the Austrian Bundesliga.

Leeds face crucial five-game run

In the space of a week, Leeds have seen their automatic promotion chances thrown into serious doubt for the first time in months to reclaiming their place at the top of the Championship – summing up the drama of England’s second division.

Victory against Middlesbrough last time out would have come as a huge relief for those in Yorkshire, who must now make it two wins in the space of a week when they play host to Preston North End on Saturday afternoon.

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With just one game against one of the Championship’s top six coming up in their five fixtures, Leeds should be full of confidence that the league title and automatic promotion will be theirs for the taking in the coming weeks.

Currently top on goal difference, the Whites will be desperate to form a gap between themselves on Burnley when the Clarets square off against third place Sheffield United and they, themselves, face Stoke City on April 21.

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Speaking about the pressure on his side during Leeds’ promotion run-in, manager Daniel Farke told reporters: “It’s so difficult and I wish sometimes the fans knew this. We’re in a business where there is lots of pressure.

“I don’t like to complain about this because the players have a proper life and earn lots of money, but let’s not forget, we work with human beings and we must keep this in mind when we criticise them a little bit.”

Farke, like those at Elland Road, has just five games before he can breathe a potential sigh of relief and then turn his attention towards the summer transfer window for Leeds.

Leeds set to join race for Abubakr Barry

With promotion back in their hands, the Whites have reportedly shifted their focus towards the transfer market. According to Kronen Zeitung in Austria, as relayed by Sports Witness, the 49ers are now poised to join the race to sign Abubakr Barry from Austria Vienna this summer, battling against Hull City as well as clubs in Germany and France for the midfielder’s signature in doing so.

The 24-year-old midfielder has impressed in Austria this season and could yet find himself on the move as a result despite only arriving in Vienna last summer. Dubbed “fantastic to watch” and even compared to Jobe Bellingham by scout and analyst Mfalsafa on X, Barry is undoubtedly one to watch.

Whilst chasing such a player, promotion to the Premier League will certainly go a long way for Leeds, who are already planning ahead.

All the key numbers from Afghanistan’s victory in their must-win Super Eight game against Bangladesh in St Vincent

Sampath Bandarupalli25-Jun-20241 Afghanistan’s win in Kingstown was their first against Bangladesh in a World Cup game. The two teams had met four times previously – once in a T20 World Cup (2014) and three times in the ODI World Cup (2015, 2019 and 2023) – and Bangladesh had won all those matches.2 Instances of teams outside of the first eight Full Members to have reached the semi-final of an ICC event before Afghanistan in this T20 World Cup. Kenya made it to the semi-finals in the 2003 ODI World Cup, and so did Bangladesh in the 2017 Champions Trophy.9 Four-plus wicket hauls for Rashid Khan in T20Is, the most by any bowler in the format, surpassing Shakib Al Hasan’s eight. He took his third four-wicket haul in all T20 World Cups during the Super Eight match against Bangladesh – the joint highest in the competition along with Ajantha Mendis, Saeed Ajmal and Anrich Nortje.3 Openers to carry the bat in a men’s T20I, including Litton Das against Afghanistan. Chris Gayle was the first to do it – in the 2009 T20 World Cup semis against Sri Lanka. Richmond Baaleri of Ghana carried his bat through the innings against Botswana in 2023.Related

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442 Partnership runs between Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Ibrahim Zadran at this T20 World Cup – the most by a pair in a single edition of the tournament, surpassing 411 runs by Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan in 2021.Gurbaz and Ibrahim are also the first to share four fifty-plus stands in a T20 World Cup.152 Wickets for Rashid in T20Is. He is only the second bowler to bag 150-plus wickets in T20Is, after Tim Southee (164).5-0 Record of teams batting first in Kingstown at this T20 World Cup. It is the first time that teams batting first have an unbeaten record at a venue in a men’s T20 World Cup.

The batter laid into Natarajan and went on a boundary-hitting spree to give Sunrisers the jitters

Vishal Dikshit18-May-20222:01

Vettori: Tim David should bat at No. 4 for Mumbai

There are a few things that make Tim David a big and powerful hitter of the ball. One is his height. Another is his strong base at the crease. And two abilities he has worked on over the last few years are his “freakish” hand speed and hand-eye coordination.It was no surprise then that he was snapped up by Mumbai Indians for INR 8.25 crore (USD 1.1 million approx) at the mega auction in February purely for his six-hitting. The surprise came during the IPL. After giving him just two chances, in which he scored 12 and 1 at the start of the season, Mumbai dropped David from the XI. Mumbai and their captain Rohit Sharma are known to give their players a long rope before dropping them which made this move even more baffling.Related

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David, however, waited out for his next chance as Mumbai lost one game after another. He might have been prepared for such a scenario because of the stiff competition overseas players face for a spot in the XI, and David used the time to hone his power-hitting further.”I was sitting out after the first couple of games and during that period it was an opportunity to train really hard, do as much work as I can in the nets and in the gym, bowling and be ready for when an opportunity came,” David said a day before the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. “It’s an opportunity to get used to the conditions and see how other teams are stacking up, what is effective in these conditions in the IPL. So that was a good period for me to work really hard and get ready to come back in the team when that opportunity came.”The opportunity came after nearly a month by when Mumbai had lost all their eight games. He scored a couple of unbeaten knocks, struck four sixes in his 44 not out off 21 against Gujarat Titans, but the innings that really showcased his prowess came on Tuesday against Sunrisers.2:45

Tim David: ‘I spend a lot of time in the nets trying to hit sixes’

He came in to walk when Mumbai needed 67 off 35 in a chase of 194. In the 18 balls he faced, he struck three fours that weren’t as spectacular, but he laid into T Natarajan in the 18th over when Mumbai needed 45 from 18.On the first ball, David planted his strong base in front of the stumps and clubbed Natarajan’s full toss with a big swing of the arms over long-off. Two balls later, Natarajan missed another yorker, this time on middle, and David swung him square for another six. Next ball Natarajan tried a yorker again but ended up bowling another full toss and David dispatched him over square leg again, this time raising the decibel level further at Wankhede. Natarajan went for the blockhole yet again next ball and David smoked him over long-on for a monstrous six, the second biggest of IPL 2022, at 114 metres.”I spend a lot of my time in the nets trying to hit sixes,” David had said in a virtual press conference before the match. “It’s about putting pressure on the bowler and recognising the right situations for when you can try that in a game. There might be different pitches or grounds that suit power hitting for particular bowlers, you got to pick those moments. It’s about maintaining confidence for the season and trusting your ability which you can get through training, lots of practice, make sure you’re hitting the ball well and you can take that into the game and be fresh-minded.”How much of mental preparation comes in power hitting then? “You do all your work outside of the game in the nets and in the gym to make sure you’re feeling strong, and you are hitting the ball well, and then once it’s in the game it’s all mental if you’re…I think it’s the same for all batters, you’ve got to go in clear-minded. If you don’t, if you’re carrying things into the game, it often impacts your performance. So it’s trying to get into that state where you can try and be as consistent as possible mentally and then if you trust your process and stick to it then it will most often bring the best results.”David’s team-mate Ishan Kishan said at the post-match press conference that David puts in a lot of work behind his game.”He makes sure that he’ll hit the ball according to where it pitches,” Kishan said. “He speaks to the coaches also about it. The best part is he’s not someone who mainly hits to the leg side or only targets a certain kind of ball. He’s good on the back foot, he has very good power. So even if bowlers miss their yorkers, he’s very good at converting them into sixes.”Despite bringing the equation down to a gettable 19 off 13, David ran himself out when he tried to steal a single by bunting the last ball of the over back to Natarajan, who did well to take the bails off at the non-striker’s end to catch David short. With David gone, Mumbai also fell short, but after witnessing whom they had invested the 8.25 crore in.

The Yankees are right back to where they started following another disappointing postseason finish, as they saw their 2025 campaign end with a whimper in a lifeless Game 4 loss to the Blue Jays.

Yankees slugger Aaron Judge managed to bring their season back from the dead with an electric three-run homer in Game 3, but New York fell short at the plate especially in the late innings during Wednesday's 5-2 defeat.

Judge met with reporters after the game and offered a blunt assessment of why he thought the Yankees lost the series.

"I think once again it comes down to the little things, making the little plays, coming up with the big hit," Judge said. "If you don't do that, give teams extra outs, they're going to capitalize on it. … For us we gotta clean a couple things up and we'll be right back here.

"I liked our chances all year, it was a special group. Just sucks for the guys that might be their last time wearing pinstripes and not getting a chance to have a long run with them and end in a championship. Especially with the fans all year… disappointed we let all those guys down."

Judge and the Yankees now face an offseason filled with looming questions about their roster, one that had the the third-highest opening day payroll in the big leagues but one that ultimately fell short of its lofty championship aspirations.

Cristiano Ronaldo’s career could have been markedly different, with it being revealed that Chelsea passed on the chance to sign the Portuguese forward for just €3.5 million prior to Manchester United offering him a route to superstardom. Barry Silkman claims to have agreed a deal with Jorge Mendes that would have delivered CR7 to Stamford Bridge rather than Old Trafford.

Near misses: Notable transfers slip the net

Near misses on the transfer front are common in modern football, with there no telling what players of obvious potential will go on to become. While they can often illuminate the youth ranks, or enjoy a bright start to their senior careers, longevity can never be guaranteed.

With that in mind, clubs around the world boast tales of near misses and what could have been. Chelsea fall into that camp, with questions probably still being asked in west London of how they allowed Ronaldo to slip the net.

AdvertisementGettyExplained: How Chelsea missed out on Ronaldo transfer

He was a fleet-footed winger on Sporting’s books when former player turned agent Silkman attempted to broker a deal with the Blues in 2003. His pleas fell on deaf ears, with Ronaldo – who is now a five-time Ballon d’Or winner and still going strong at 40 years of age – ultimately making his way to Manchester a matter of weeks later.

Silkman – who represented the likes of Wimbledon, Manchester City and Leyton Orient in his playing days – has told of one particular agreement that he failed to get over the line: “I did a deal with [Ronaldo’s agent] Jorge Mendes. But Chelsea said no. Cristiano Ronaldo was €3.5m and the deal was everything over that was split 50-50 with the club. He played against Man United pre-season, ruined them and straight after the game they paid €11.5m and Jorge must have stuck four million in his pocket. Good luck to him but I was gutted!”

Silkman went on to say of Ronaldo, who continues to illuminate the global game with Al-Nassr and Portugal: “If Cristiano Ronaldo was coming into the game today, he would do well to get signed by Barnsley because they’d be saying to him ‘what are you doing? All these stepovers and tricks and flicks? Pass the ball!’

“Coaches don’t want teams to make a mistake. I’ve watched a lot of young coaches. To say it’s crap is an understatement. What you hear is, ‘pass, pass, pass’. You never hear someone say, ‘Take him on, drop the shoulder, do a trick’.”

Ronaldo morphed from show pony to superstar striker

United phased tricks out of Ronaldo’s game during his time at Old Trafford, with his transformation into a free-scoring, Golden Ball-winning frontman being completed at the so-called ‘Theatre of Dreams’.

Chelsea’s loss was most definitely the Red Devils’ gain, with Ronaldo going on to make history and rewrite the record books with United, Real Madrid and Juventus. He is expected to grace another World Cup next summer and is giving little thought to retirement.

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GettyHenry at West Ham! What could have been

Discussing some other big names that he almost took down a different path to the one that made them famous, Silkman told : “Thierry Henry. Could have got him for £500,000 when he was a kid at Monaco as it was only compensation. I tried to get Harry [Redknapp] to buy him at West Ham and he scored a hat-trick in the game and Harry was convinced something had to be wrong with him. He stayed, signed a contract, went to Juventus and they messed up and played him on the left wing. And then went to Arsenal.”

He added on another Ballon d’Or winner who did pass through Chelsea and City after becoming a global superstar with AC Milan: “Then there was George Weah. I was bringing him on a free. No one wanted him. Five different clubs. They also said 'he can’t be any good if he’s free'.”

Chelsea will be cursing their luck at having passed on Ronaldo. He has worked with fellow countryman Jose Mourinho over the course of his remarkable career, during their time together in Madrid, but they could have chased down Premier League titles together from 2004 had the Blues listened to Silkman’s advice.

Samson, who was traded in, is understood to open the innings for the team

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Nov-20256:53

Samson-Mhatre CSK’s new opening pair?

Ruturaj Gaikwad will continue to be Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) captain for IPL 2026. In a social-media post, the franchise wrote, “Lead the way, captain Ruturaj Gaikwad,” ending the speculations that Sanju Samson could be the captain.CSK had traded in Samson from Rajasthan Royals in exchange for Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran. He comes with plenty of captaincy experience in the IPL but will not lead the franchise. It is understood, though, that he will open the innings.

LEAD THE WAY, CAPTAIN RUTURAJ GAIKWAD!#WhistlePodu pic.twitter.com/EawvX5k2yI

— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) November 15, 2025