All posts by h716a5.icu

Will Celtic be crowned champions of Scotland again as soon as this weekend?

Following their 5-1 demolition of Kilmarnock, the Hoops are 15 points clear of fierce rivals Rangers with only five matches to go, and boasting a goal difference that is just the 42 superior.

So, even a draw against Dundee United on Saturday will secure a 13th Scottish Premiership title in just 14 seasons, rubber-stamping the title at Tannadice, just as they did in 2008 under Gordon Strachan as well as three years ago when Ange Postecoglou was in charge.

So now, as attention turns towards the summer plans, with a crucial Champions League play-off in August looming large, could Celtic save themselves a few quid in the transfer market by giving a young star, impressing out on loan, an opportunity?

Celtic's interest in Million Manhoef

As previously reported this month, Celtic are ‘eyeing’ a move for Stoke City winger Million Manhoef.

The 23-year-old Dutch U21 international joined the Potters from Vitesse Arnhem in January 2024 for a reported fee of £3m, scoring 11 goals and registering five assists in 51 appearances for the EFL Championship club to date.

His performances have earned rave reviews, including from Dean Jones, who told Give Me Sport that Manhoef is “the sort of player that will get fans off their seats”, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelled him both “quality and versatile”.

As a result, journalist Graeme Bailey believes Manhoef is valued at £10m by Stoke, which would make him one of Celtic’s most-expensive signings of all-time, so could the Scottish champions save their money by reintegrating a youngster currently impressing out on loan on the other side of the world?

Celtic's forgotten sensation out on loan

Back in June 2023, Celtic signed a 21-year-old by the name of Marco Tilio from Melbourne City for a reported fee of £1.5m.

This was, at the time, a record outgoing transfer fee for an A-League player, with Beth Limb of Total Football Analysis believing Celtic had secured a great deal for such a talented player.

Well, so far, this has not transpired, with Tilio making just two appearances in hoops to date, making his debut during a one-minute cameo against Motherwell in November 2023, before seeing 27 minutes off the bench against Hibernian 11 days later.

Instead, he has been loaned back to Melbourne City, for whom he’s now made 102 appearances, really starting to rediscover his best form this season after a long spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring injury.

So far this year, the Australian international has scored four A-League goals, actually making him the Sky Blues’ joint-top scorer, with this season-by-season breakdown outlining his career so far.

2024/25

14

1,002

4

3

2023/24

7

287

1

Zero

2022/23

29

2,092

10

6

2021/22

32

2,016

8

8

2020/21

22

1,139

2

5

2019/20

5

31

1

1

As the table shows, Tilio has started to somewhat show the form that convinced Celtic to sign him in the first place.

He was a “prolific goalscorer” during his first spell at Melbourne City, as per one source, form he has begun to rediscover, with Liam Bryce of the Herald believing that he certainly has the talent to ‘flourish’ in Glasgow, while Emma Kemp of the Guardian outlines that Tilio is always capable of producing a ‘moment of magic’.

So, given Tilio’s undeniable talent, he should certainly be given an opportunity at Celtic, suggesting they don’t need to go into the market and spend big on a new winger.

Kuhn 2.0: Celtic could sign £10m sensation who gets "fans off their seats"

As Brendan Rodgers starts to turn his attention to summer recruitment, could Celtic sign a new winger?

ByBen Gray Apr 23, 2025

Manchester City find themselves on a decent run of form, which has seen them remain unbeaten in their previous six games in the Premier League and FA Cup.

With an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forest to look forward to this weekend, especially as the competition represents the only chance they have of silverware this season, Pep Guardiola will be desperate for a win.

With just five league games left between now and the end of the campaign, City are yet to guarantee a top-five finish, which will see them secure qualification for the Champions League for the 15th year in a row.

It promises to be an exciting end to the season for the club. If FA Cup glory is achieved, plus a solid finish in the top flight, Guardiola could enter the summer with some renewed hope of starting a fresh era at the Etihad.

After several signings made during the winter transfer window, the Spaniard is already thinking ahead to the summer equivalent as one of Europe’s top young talents is being earmarked for a move to City.

Man City's summer transfer plans

With Kevin De Bruyne set to depart the Etihad Stadium this summer, City will be in the market for a new attacking midfielder.

Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest’s mercurial playmaker, has already been earmarked for a possible summer switch but the Citizens may have to pay upwards of £100m.

The England international isn’t the only player on City’s radar in the attacking midfield positions, however.

Transfer Focus

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

Indeed, according to Football Insider, Bayer Leverkusen midfielder Florian Wirtz remains the number one target for City to replace De Bruyne this summer.

German publication Bild reported last week that City could be set to pay the £129m fee that the German side has set for the player, although Bayern Munich and Real Madrid are also showing plenty of interest in the German international.

This high fee could give City a major advantage over the other teams, as detailed by former City financial advisor Stefan Borson who told Football Insider: “The impression I get is that they see Wirtz as that kind of headline signing to replace Kevin De Bruyne, and they recognise that to do that deal is going to cost what it costs.

“I think in some ways City might quite like the fact that that is the price because it pretty much rules out Real Madrid from the situation, and it possibly also rules out Bayern Munich as well.”

Replacing the ageing Belgian with someone who has the world at their feet could boost their confidence heading into next season, no doubt about that.

He is also comparable to another young maestro who is making waves on the continent – Lamine Yamal.

Why Wirtz could be Man City's very own Yamal

Yamal has been breaking records since he made his Barcelona debut at the age of just 15 years, nine months and 16 days in April 2023, becoming the youngest-ever debutant for the club in La Liga.

He hasn’t stopped there. A few months later, the winger made his debut for the Spanish national side aged just 16 and even scored, becoming both the youngest player and scorer for his country after the win over Georgia in September 2023.

At the 2024 European Championships, Spain won the title with Yamal playing a key role. His stunning goal in the semi-final against France set the nation on their way to an eventual 2-1 win, which powered them into the final.

He is on a fast track to greatness, and this season has been his most productive yet. Indeed, the 17-year-old has scored 14 times while grabbing 22 assists as Barcelona edges towards the La Liga title.

Although he plays in a different position to Wirtz, operating as a natural winger rather than an attacking midfielder, the two share some similar statistics this season.

Yamal is even the seventh-most comparable player to the Leverkusen star as per FBref.

The pair have registered similar statistics across a range of metrics in their respective domestic leagues, including goals and assists (19 vs 18), shots on target per 90 (1.26 vs 1.15), shot-creating actions per 90 (5.76 vs 5.53), touches in the attacking penalty area (122 vs 187) and successful take-on percentage (50.3% vs 49.6%) this season.

Should Guardiola get a deal for Wirtz over the line in the coming months, he could be signing his very own version of the Spanish superstar, that’s for sure.

Despite being only 21 years of age, it feels as though Wirtz has been around for a lifetime. He made his debut for Leverkusen during the 2019/20 season, even scoring in the Bundesliga.

The next two seasons saw him go from strength to strength, registering 18 goals and 22 assists for the club across just 69 matches. His emergence from raw talent into a potential world-class star was evident, but then disaster struck.

In March 2022, he suffered a cruciate ligament tear that saw him miss 43 games for club and country, ruling him out of the 2022 World Cup in the process.

This type of injury may have kept plenty of players down on their luck. Not Wirtz, who has arguably returned even stronger.

Football talent scout Jacek Kulig has previously hailed the 21-year-old as a “superstar”, and that is exactly what he was last season for Leverkusen. The club won the domestic double.

Goals

6

9

Assists

1

10

Big chances created

4

16

Key passes per game

2.8

1.9

Successful dribbles per game

2

2.7

Throughout the 2023/24 Bundesliga season, Wirtz created 12 big chances, averaged 2.3 key passes per game and succeeded with 2.5 dribbles each match – a success rate of 51% – which helped the club claim their first ever league title.

Although Leverkusen won’t win any silverware this term, Wirtz has still contributed superbly, netting 15 goals along with recording 13 assists in all competitions.

He has yet to hit his peak and this is what is so enticing about the youngster. Guardiola will be able to push him towards becoming one of the best in the world should he end up at City this summer.

Man City have found their own Declan Rice in "outstanding" homegrown star

Pep Guardiola might well have his own Declan Rice at Manchester City with this terrific talent.

1 ByKelan Sarson Apr 21, 2025

Trent Alexander-Arnold scored the winner as Liverpool defeated Leicester City on Sunday afternoon, which now means winning the Premier League title this month has fallen into Arne Slot’s hands.

Should Arsenal lose against Crystal Palace at the Emirates on Wednesday, Liverpool will be crowned. If not, Anfield will be charged with a frenzy next weekend, the Reds knowing victory over Tottenham Hotspur will seal the deal.

There was something poignant about Trent’s winner, the ecstasy of moving within an inch of the trophy tempered by the knowledge that the boyhood hero, the homegrown superstar, probably scored his final goal for Liverpool.

Trent is set to leave Liverpool

Liverpool fans were divided in opinion after Alexander-Arnold scored and celebrated with such undiluted emotion at the King Power Stadium.

The more optimistic among us suggested the vice-captain’s celebration bespoke a passion that will see him renew terms, devote the remainder of his prime years to his boyhood club.

But this doesn’t feel likely. Fabrizio Romano has already corroborated an overload of Spanish reports in recent months that the England international will indeed sign for Real Madrid this summer, and it would take a remarkable turn of events for that to change now.

Premier League

255

18

65

Champions League

60

2

13

FA Cup

13

1

3

Carabao Cup

10

0

6

Europa League

5

0

2

Club World Cup

2

0

1

Community Shield

2

1

0

CL Qualifying

2

0

1

UEFA Super Cup

1

0

0

Sadly, wishing for a thing doesn’t make it so, and all the pointers suggest that Liverpool’s number 66 is poised to leave when his contract expires in a few months.

One of those pointers is that FSG have already mapped out plans to sign a replacement. He’s been one of the Premier League’s standout full-backs this season.

Liverpool already chasing Trent replacement

As per Caught Offside, Liverpool have set Nottingham Forest’s Ola Aina in their sights as they prepare for life without Alexander-Arnold.

The Nigerian defender has been in fine fettle for high-flying Forest this season and is months away from the end of his £40k-per-week contract, and may well be tempted by a bumper pay rise with the soon-to-be champions.

With Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur also lurking, Forest are piecing together a long-term offer to keep the 28-year-old at the club for the remainder of his prime years, but Anfield presents an enticing package indeed.

How Ola Aina compares to Alexander-Arnold

Nottingham Forest are sixth in the Premier League with just over one month of the 2024/25 campaign left to play. Nuno Espirito Santo has worked wonders, and Aina has been one of his most vital cogs.

Transfer Focus

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

The one-year deal that Aina was tethered to when he joined Forest in July 2023, after his contract with Italians Torino expired, rather candidly comments on the hesitance behind the signing.

Though he’s currently set for free agency this summer, the City Ground side have been confident that an extension could be secured. The minutiae of the potential transfer is unclear, but Liverpool’s pull is a powerful thing.

Such a rumour might feel somewhat deflating, but Aina really has been among the finest full-backs in Europe this season, so important as the Tricky Trees chase down unexpected Champions League qualification.

His ability is uncontestable. In fact, the experienced ace has been described as “the best right-back in the Premier League” this season by former Nigeria international Julius Aghahowa.

It’s hard to dispute it. Defensively, at the least, Aina has been a force to be reckoned with, keeping 11 clean sheets across 30 top-flight fixtures while recovering 5.3 balls, winning 4.2 duels and making 2.8 tackles and interceptions per game, as per Sofascore.

He’s not averse to attacking play either. Aina has scored twice this term, the first of which carried Trent-esque technique as West Ham United were flattened by the ranged missile.

Moreover, he’s averaging a dribble per game this year, which is working out to a 55% success rate. Not bad going. Alexander-Arnold, for example, succeeds with just 48% of his ball-carrying attempts.

What about Conor Bradley? Here we find the crux of the argument. The reasoning behind FSG launching a bid for a wide defender at the north end of their 20s who simply doesn’t bring more than a mite of playmaking prowess that Alexander-Arnold will take with him as he capers off to Madrid.

Bradley has so much potential, and with Slot pleased with the Northern Irishman’s progress, it would take quite the right-back to oust him over many years.

Instead, by signing Aina, a sort of balance could be struck, keeping the finely-worked equilibrium on Anfield’s pitch at a productive angle.

To clear the fogs, so to speak, let’s have at how Aina compares to Alexander-Arnold, and how they look when their Premier League metrics from the current campaign are collated.

There’s plenty to unpack here, but we’ll try and simplify it.

First and foremost, it might appear like Aina pales in comparison to Liverpool’s star man, but it’s important to remember that Forest operate without possession. In fact, Nuno’s system has bred the least amount of possession in the Premier League this year, remarkable given they currently lie within the Champions League qualification zone.

Alexander-Arnold creates far more than Aina and curiously makes more tackles, but the Forest star’s duel success, athleticism and ability to take on and beat his man shines a light on his skill and how that could be perfect to slot in to compete with Bradley.

The confluence of styles that Bradley and Aina would project down the right flank could give Slot the right blend to tackle the forthcoming campaign.

Aina wouldn’t replace Alexander-Arnold’s supreme creativity; Liverpool must sign a new attacking midfielder to compensate for the loss of his playmaking.

However, this would balance, dynamise, you name it, Liverpool’s defence, giving Slot what he needs to challenge at the top once again while allowing Bradley to jockey for a place with a contrasting, older profile.

He was as bad as Salah: Liverpool star proved why FSG must spend millions

This Liverpool flop who was as bad as Mo Salah proved that FSG must spend millions this summer.

ByDan Emery Apr 21, 2025

In recent years, West Ham have been looking to increase their level of recruitment, aiming to improve their squad year upon year which has become even more possible since the big-money sale of Declan Rice.

The England midfielder was sold to Arsenal for a fee of around £105m, allowing the Hammers to invest plenty in the past two years.

In West Ham’s top ten most expensive transfers, four of the ten have been signed since Rice left the club, £123.5m being spent in the 2023/24 campaign and spending a further £123.4m in the 2024/25 season.

Sebastien Haller

£42.7m

Maximilian Kilman

£40.6m

Mohammed Kudus

£36.8m

Lucas Paqueta

£36.7m

Gianluca Scamacca

£33m

Edson Alvarez

£32.5m

Felipe Anderson

£32.5m

Kurt Zouma

£29.9m

Nayef Aguerd

£29.9m

James Ward-Prowse

£29.7m

But away from this list of their top ten most expensive transfers, the Hammers have had some bargains over the years, including one of their best-ever players who ranks 29th in the club’s most expensive transfer fees.

Dimitri Payet's incredible spell at West Ham

West Ham made the signing of Dimitri Payet from Marseille in 2015, with the Frenchman joining the Hammers for a fee of around £10m, which would turn out to be an absolute bargain.

West Ham co-chairman, David Sullivan, labeled Payet a “world-class” player who would be worth triple what they paid had he been in his “prime”. It’s easy to see why.

For the Irons, Payet made 60 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals and providing 22 assists in 4,981 minutes.

Capable of the magical and the extraordinary, his best moment was the extraordinary free-kick goal against Crystal Palace, a goal which finds itself on repeat to this day.

Unfortunately, Payet decided he wanted to return to France in 2017, heading back to Marseille for a fee of around £25m.

To this day, they arguably still lack that magic man, Jarrod Bowen aside, but they may well have the next Payet brewing at the London Stadium.

West Ham's "future icon" could be the next Payet

Bowen has been incredible since signing for West Ham from Hull, notably scoring the winner in the Conference League final, but he’s not the player in question here, it’s Mohammed Kudus.

Signed from Ajax in the 2023/24 summer transfer window, the 24-year-old forward joined for a fee of around £38m and has been a revelation since.

Indeed, Kudus has made 73 appearances for the club since arriving, scoring 17 goals and providing nine assists in his 5,718 minutes played. He may not have hit the dizzy heights of last term but he’s still a cracking player on his day.

Goals

0.37

0.12

Assists

0.17

0.12

xG

0.23

0.26

xAG

0.14

0.10

Progressive Carries

3.99

3.51

Progressive Passes

2.96

2.77

Shots Total

2.52

2.54

Key Passes

1.14

1.13

Shot-Creating Actions

3.52

3.68

Successful Take-Ons

3.93

3.16

When comparing the underlying metrics between Kudus’s first season at the club and this season (his second season) you can see how similar the metrics are. Despite this year being much tougher for the Hammers and the Ghana international struggling for output, the underlying metrics still look very strong, ranking highly for things like successful take-ons and shot-creating actions.

Described as a “future icon” of Ghanaian football by scout Jacek Kulig, he could also become this at West Ham, following in the steps of another magician in Payet. However, Kudus is already subject to plenty of interest from other clubs, and therefore, his decision to stay or leave could prove vital.

If Kudus decides to stay, he could go down as a legend over time, depending on the uplift of performances under Graham Potter.

However, if he does choose to leave, the fee that would be obtained would be very substantial, and it would be tough for Hammers fans to feel too aggrieved.

Best signing since Bowen: West Ham struck gold on £90k-p/w "game-changer"

West Ham have struck gold on their “game-changer” who is easily their best signing since Bowen.

ByConnor Holden Mar 31, 2025

Since taking over Manchester City in 2016, Pep Guardiola’s team has constantly evolved, going through different eras with countless top quality players key to the Sky Blues’ success.

Right now, we’re all very much living in the Erling Braut Håland-era, given that the Norwegian striker has now scored 18 goals this season, most recently on target against former club Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

In behind the goalbot though, Guardiola has an array of attacking options at his disposal, but could two of these players be poised to replicate, arguably, Manchester City’s most productive ever attacking duo?

Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling's Manchester City legacy

Of players who’ve made the most appearances for Guardiola during his illustrious managerial career, Raheem Sterling ranks seventh on 292, while Kevin De Bruyne sits second with 381, behind only Bernardo Silva.

The Belgian departed for Napoli in the summer having scored 108 goals and registered 177 assists for Man City, a high proportion of which were for Sterling.

As noted by Total Football Analysis, in the 2019/20 season, De Bruyne registered 20 Premier League assists, equaling Thierry Henry’s long-standing record, with 25% of these assists providing Sterling with a goal, underlining their exceptional combination play.

The midfielder himself stated that he and Sterling had a “strong connection”, making them unquestionably one of the most dangerous attacking partnerships in modern Premier League history, winning four league titles and seven other major trophies together.

With both having now moved on to pastures new, Guardiola is searching for his next great attacking partnership, seeking to feed a certain prolific striker, so does he boast the ideal two candidates?

Manchester City's new Sterling and De Bruyne

Now that Manchester City’s treatment room has begun to empty, Guardiola has plenty of options from which to choose, with eight players battling for the four spots alongside Håland.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Against Borussia Dortmund in mid-week, Tijjani Reijnders, Savinho, Jérémy Doku and scorer of a brace Phil Foden started, while Silva, Omar Marmoush and Rayan Cherki were all introduced during the second half, with Oscar Bobb left in reserve.

Nevertheless, ahead of Sunday’s blockbuster Premier League clash with Liverpool, Guardiola has to prioritise establishing Cherki and Doku as a partnership.

The 22-year-old Frenchman arrived from Olympique Lyonnais for £34m in the summer with a massive reputation.

Guardiola asserted that Cherki “is one of the most talented players I have ever seen in my career”, while Lyon teammate Ainsley Maitland-Niles labelled him “an absolute… wizard with the ball”.

So far, including the Club World Cup, Cherki has scored four goals in sky blue, on target against Wolves on his Premier League debut, subsequently netting against Swansea in the EFL Cup and Dortmund in the Champions League.

Doku meantime has been consistently one of the Premier League’s most prolific dribblers since first joining the club, as the table below highlights.

Attempted take-ons

2nd

2nd

Successful take-ons

1st

2nd

Progressive carries

1st

1st

Carries into area

2nd

3rd

Assists

43rd

4th

Shot-creating actions

62nd

4th

Big chances created

54th

1st

As the table outlines, Doku is both a high-quality and high-volume dribbler, ranked behind only Mohammed Kudus when it comes to take-ons this season.

However, ten matches into this campaign, there are signs that the Belgian will exponentially increase his attacking output, seeing a vast increase when it comes to shot-creating actions and big chances created.

In 1,514 Premier League minutes last time round, he created only eight big chances and registered just six assists, while this season, in only 549 minutes, he has already racked up five big chances created and three assists, thereby very much on course to smash last season’s tally.

Former Tottenham captain Ledley King labelled Doku “dynamic”, adding that he “likes to attack on the outside” while, following a 5-1 win over Burnley, Guardiola described the winger as “unstoppable”, interestingly noting that “I have the feeling that Jérémy’s decision-making in the final third has improved​​​​​​​”.

Reportedly earning £50k-per-week and £180k-per-week respectively, both still aged 23 or under, there are signs that Doku and Cherki are both realising their true potential at Man City.

On paper, Cherki’s creativity and eye for a pass, coupled with Doku’s flair, pace and off-the-scale dribbling ability, has all the ingredients to replicate when De Bruyne and Sterling were able to produce for many years.

Thus, it is over to Guardiola to ensure this duo can flourish together, starting on Sunday when Liverpool visit the Etihad in a match not to be missed.

Forget Haaland & Foden: 41-touch star had "his best game in a Man City shirt"

Man City beat Borussia Dortmund 4-1 and this player starred

ByJoe Nuttall Nov 6, 2025

Miguel Rojas emerged as one of the Dodgers’ heroes in Game 7 of the World Series as he crushed a home run in the top of the ninth inning to tie the game vs. the Blue Jays and keep Los Angeles’ chances of winning the title alive. By the end of the night, the Dodgers would win the Fall Classic in the 11th inning.

The 36-year-old infielder was understandably celebrated by his teammates when he went back in the Dodgers’ dugout after rounding the bases. Shohei Ohtani in particular had a message for Rojas after the miraculous homer.

“I think one of the coolest things that happened in my life so far,” Rojas told Chris Rose. “… I’m by the bat rack like laying my helmet, and Shohei came to me and say ‘Miggy, you can’t retire next year. You’re playing with me for 10 more years.’

“…And, I say, ‘Shohei, I’m old, and I don’t know if I can play for 10 more years, but I’ll play with you next year for sure.’”

Rojas noted in this interview that he plans to only play one more year in MLB, and he would prefer to play in Los Angeles. He is expected to become a free agent this offseason, so he would need to sign a new deal with the Dodgers in order to remain with them. With Ohtani in his corner, there’s a good chance he’ll get his wish.

Rafa Silva has backed down from his intention to leave Besiktas and returned to training after the Turkish club threatened to report him to FIFA for unauthorised absence. The Portuguese forward, who had been complaining of pain despite clean medical scans, cited "family problems" rather than financial issues as the reason for his actions, admitting his "head was a mess".

Rafa Silva returns to Besiktas training after FIFA threat

The crisis between Portuguese forward Rafa Silva and Besiktas appears to have reached a resolution, with the player returning to individual training this week. According to a report from , Silva had been absent from training and matches, complaining of physical pain despite medical examinations, including an MRI scan, showing no underlying issues. The player had even suggested he wanted to retire with immediate effect in order to break ties with the club.

The situation escalated when Besiktas took decisive action in response to Silva's continued absence. The club's management officially registered his unauthorised absence with a notary last Thursday. Furthermore, club officials contacted Silva's agent, warning that they would file a formal complaint with FIFA if the player's refusal to train and play continued.

This firm stance from Besiktas appears to have prompted Silva to reconsider his position. Facing potential legal repercussions and with no contractual breaches by the club to justify his actions, the 32-year-old forward met with members of Besiktas' football committee to communicate his decision to return.

AdvertisementGetty Images Sport'The problem isn't money,' insists Rafa Silva

In his discussions with the club's management, Rafa Silva was keen to clarify the reasons behind his recent behaviour, insisting that financial motivations were not the driving force. He emphasised that he had no issues with the club's board or head coach, Sergen Yalcın.

"The problem isn't money. If it were, I would have gone to the Arab countries. I have family problems," Silva explained. He went on to reveal a long-standing desire to leave the club and return to his homeland. "In truth, I wanted to leave at the end of last season. My only wish was to return to my country, but I didn't get a positive response from the management. I was demoralised and very sad. My head was a mess."

Rafa Silva commits to Besiktas for now

Following his period of reflection and the pressure from the club, Silva has committed to fulfilling his professional obligations for the immediate future. He has already begun individual training and is expected to rejoin the team's collective sessions starting this Wednesday.

"After recent events, I've reflected again. I want this problem resolved. I'll be back playing and training," Silva stated. However, he also hinted that his long-term future at the club remains uncertain beyond the upcoming transfer window. "I don't know what will happen during the winter break, but as long as I'm given the opportunity, I'll do my best for the team."

Besiktas management reportedly received Silva's words with satisfaction, welcoming his decision to return to the fold. The experienced Portuguese forward, who joined the club in the summer of 2024 after eight seasons at Benfica, has made 16 appearances this season, scoring five goals and providing three assists.

Despite Silva's return, the underlying tension and his stated desire to leave have led Besiktas to continue their search for a potential replacement in the upcoming January transfer window. The club's management had accelerated transfer activities when Silva was absent and expressing his wish to depart.

According to Polish journalist Lukasz Olkowicz, Besiktas are showing strong interest in Patrik Hellebrand, a Czech midfielder currently playing for Gornik Zabrze in the Polish League. Reports suggest the possibility of this transfer is high, with Gornik Zabrze open to selling the player. Hellebrand has recorded three goals and one assist in 17 appearances this season.

Meanwhile, Besiktas president Serdal Adali has reportedly taken a firm stance regarding any potential move for Silva within Turkey, emphasizing that he would never allow the Portuguese forward to play for another Turkish club.

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Beşiktaş TwitterWhat next for Rafa Silva and Besiktas?

Silva's immediate focus will be on reintegrating with the Besiktas squad and regaining his match fitness. His return to collective training on Wednesday will be the first step. The player will need to demonstrate his commitment on the pitch to win back the trust of head coach Yalcin, who has maintained that team selection is based solely on training performance.

For Besiktas, the upcoming weeks will be crucial in managing the situation. While Silva has returned, his long-term future remains uncertain, and the club's pursuit of a potential replacement like Hellebrand suggests they are preparing for his possible departure in the winter transfer window. The team faces upcoming league fixtures where Silva's availability and performance will be closely monitored.

Liverpool know that things need to improve when club football returns this weekend.

The final international break of the calendar year has offered a welcome reprieve for Arne Slot and co following the dour 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, stunting any hopes of short-lived growth and condemning the champions to five defeats from six Premier League matches.

Concerning stuff, to be sure. Liverpool were outthought and outfought, a common theme that must not be given another through line over the winter months, with the Reds sat in eighth place and already such a far cry away from table-topping Arsenal.

Despite the record-breaking summer of spending, Liverpool need some more attacking inspiration from out wide.

It was a mistake not to directly replace Luis Diaz after his £66.5m move to Bayern Munich, but sporting director Richard Hughes is now looking to rectify that.

Liverpool chasing Semenyo upgrade

It has emerged this week that Bournemouth talisman Antoine Semenyo has a £65m release clause. The versatile Ghanaian forward’s buyout option will diminish further at the end of the campaign.

Liverpool are among the frontrunners for his signature, though Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have also been credited with an interest.

Competition will be thick, and according to Spanish sources, Liverpool have earmarked an alternative who might actually prove an upgrade on Semenyo in Real Madrid’s Vinicius Junior.

It is claimed that, with the 25-year-old currently in the penultimate year of his Los Blancos contract and without a renewal in sight, suitors such as Liverpool smell blood, with the Reds believed to be willing to submit an £88m offer to prise him away from Spain.

Vinicius Jr is one of the finest forwards in the world, and he would certainly be worth chasing over Semenyo, even at a more expensive outlay.

How Vinicius Junior compares to Semenyo in 2025/26

Semenyo is a special athlete, and he has been one of the Premier League’s most dangerous players under Andoni Iraola’s wing at Bournemouth this season.

However, Vinicius Jr is among the finest in the world, and the murmurs of discontent at Real Madrid suggest a transfer to a club such as Liverpool might not be as far-fetched as it might seem.

Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti said that his protege is “unstoppable” when on his A-game, and with 111 goals and 87 assists across 338 senior showings with Real Madrid, this certainly looks to be the case.

This is a man who is made for the big moments, having scored in two successful Champions League finals at Madrid.

He is a cut above someone like Semenyo, who is endowed with such athleticism and pace and power across both wings, but lacks the proof of elite-level performances that Vini has been producing since he burst onto the scene as a teenager.

It would not be unfair to say that Real Madrid’s mercurial winger has been out of sorts this season, and yet he has still maintained a level that would be considered top-notch for most other players.

Matches (starts)

11 (11)

12 (10)

Goals

6

5

Assists

3

4

Shots (on target)*

2.1 (1.3)

2.8 (1.3)

Big chances missed

5

5

Accurate passes

19.8 (77%)

28.4 (82%)

Chances created*

1.0

2.3

Succ. dribbles*

1.9

2.5

Tackles*

1.6

1.3

Duels won*

6.5

6.0

This is Vinicius Jr we are talking about. This is a player that Liverpool knows well.

Described as “the best player in the world” by his Real teammate Jude Bellingham, the South American would light the Premier League up and offer a new dimension to Slot’s Liverpool team.

Semenyo would also be a fine addition, but Vinicius Jr is quite simply on another level.

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ByAngus Sinclair Nov 18, 2025

They are now in a place where they need to decide whether one-day cricket matters

Cameron Ponsonby07-Nov-2024There is a fundamental truth in life. You can’t be good at something you don’t do.Only rowers, who spend their lives facing the wrong way, are the exception to this rule. But they are six-foot-five-inch, VO2 max robots who couldn’t catch a rugby ball at 15 and were instead shoved into a boat to live a life of misery. Cricket is actually a sport.And it’s one that England currently aren’t very good at. After a 13th ODI loss in 20 and third consecutive one-day series defeat, the ECB need to make a choice: invest in List A cricket or not.When the Hundred arrived in 2021, the repercussions on the international one-day side were not immediate. Those in the team already had vast 50-over experience to draw on and were World Champions. There was not much room in the team – and if there was – you were of an age where you’d had some List A experience in the preceding years.Related

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But now it’s three years later and the next generation of English one-day cricketers are arriving in the team with next to no experience. Of the 15 players to make their ODI debut for England since the first edition of the Hundred, ODI cricket makes up 23% of all List A matches they’ve played. And that’s only due to David Payne, Sam Hain and Jamie Overton doing a lot of heavy lifting. Remove the ‘old-boys’, aka those aged 29 and above, and that percentage jumps to 41%.Dan Mousley scored his maiden international half-century in the decider•Getty ImagesWhen Dan Mousley, who made his maiden international half-century in the deciding ODI, walked out on debut to bat in Antigua at No.7, with 15 overs to go, he commented to Sam Curran that he didn’t really know what he was doing.”He almost admitted himself he hadn’t actually played loads of 50-over cricket,” Curran said earlier in the week. “Guys are learning.”More experienced players are adding their voice to that sentiment.”I don’t think there’s many players in this team that you could go through and go ‘oh they’re doing a great job right now’,” said Phil Salt ahead of the third ODI, where he made 74. “That’s the reality of it because we’ve not played a lot of 50-over cricket. I’d love something like a domestic 50-over competition. I’d love the opportunity to play in that so you can get the rhythm and it’s not always stop-start.”There is, of course, a domestic tournament in England, but the current calendar infamously means that none of the top white-ball players are available to play in it.This is not a call to scrap the Hundred, far from it. But a recognition of the reality that English cricket finds itself. If ODI cricket is something they want to excel at, a change from the status quo is required to give players the opportunity to play. They’re literally asking for it.What that looks like is unclear, and it is easy to point to some of the best ODI cricketers in the world who have not developed from a healthy back catalogue of domestic cricket. Virat Kohli has played 34 domestic one-dayers compared to 295 ODIs. Joe Root 38 compared to 171.But the thing about the best is that they are by definition anomalies. Harry Brook does not need to play a handful of games for Yorkshire to get the rhythm of the format, but Mousley might.Phil Salt had a consistent series in the West Indies•Getty ImagesIt is unusual and not desirable for an England team to lose to a team that hasn’t even qualified for the Champions Trophy and consider the entire XI almost devoid of any responsibility. It is not Jordan Cox’s fault that he underperformed at No.3. He had literally never done it before. In his four List A matches before this series, he had batted at four once, five once and six twice.”I’m not paid enough for that,” Salt laughed when asked what the answer might be.There are all number of fag-packet solutions. More England Lions matches, the return of the North-South series or letting any player in the Hundred hop home quickly to have a hit in the One-Day Cup. None of those ideas are particularly good.Ultimately, the untangling of the calendar would be the only solution. One option would be to move the One-Day Cup to April when wickets are fresh and bowlers could benefit from building their workloads rather than entering a two-month block of County Championship cricket straight off the bat.

“I know that I’ve not had the most successful time in 50-over cricket and not really been doing myself justice, but the more opportunities I get to play it, the better I will be at it. That’s the bottom line.”Phil Salt on ODI cricket

Yes, it would clash with the IPL, but if you’re playing in the IPL, you’re probably already playing for England so you’re of less concern. It’s the players who aren’t currently playing for England, but might in the future, that you need to target.”I don’t think there’s many people that can just walk in and do it after not playing for a while,” Salt said. “I know that I’ve not had the most successful time in 50-over cricket and not really been doing myself justice, but the more opportunities I get to play it, the better I will be at it. That’s the bottom line.”There is, of course, option C. Which is that it’s not worth the hassle. Test is best and play T20 the rest. In the modern world with format fatigue and an overcrowded schedule, maybe something has to go. That would be sad. But if something is of value to you, you put in time towards it. And if you’re not going to play it and you’re not going to practice it, then really, you’ve got to ask what’s the point of it.Players deserve the opportunity to be good at what they do. It’s up to England to decide whether one-day cricket matters enough to give them that chance.

Pitcher Cade Horton has been one of the Cubs' most consistent performers in recent months, but Chicago will not be able to start the rookie against the Padres in the National League wild-card series.

The Cubs are putting Horton on the 15-day injured list with a right rib fracture, they announced Saturday afternoon. Per Jesse Rogers of ESPN, Horton would potentially be able to return for Game 5 of the NLDS should Chicago make it there.

Horton, 24, has gone 11–4 with a 2.67 ERA and 97 strikeouts in 118 innings this season. More specifically, he's 7–3 with a 1.28 ERA and 47 strikeouts in 49 1/3 innings since Aug. 1.

The Cubs are scheduled to play San Diego in the teams' second-ever playoff matchup next week, though its location is still to be determined.

Chicago is hosting the Cardinals in a three-game set this weekend; Jameson Taillon is starting Saturday while Sunday's starter is to be determined.