Memphis Depay’s season has taken another difficult turn as the Netherlands forward is ruled out for Corinthians with a knee sprain, suffering his sixth injury of the year. With many days already lost to physical setbacks in 2025, Depay’s availability once again becomes a concern at a crucial moment in the Brasileirao run-in and ahead of the Copa do Brasil semi-finals.
West Indies are in form, but Bangladesh have been boosted by the inclusion of players – like Soumya Sarkar – who took Rangpur Riders to the GSL title
Mohammad Isam07-Dec-2024
The cricket between the two sides was absorbing during the Test series. So, too, was the sledging. It was louder from the West Indies side as Jayden Seales had something to say to all the Bangladesh batters. He taunted Mehidy Hasan Miraz when he ducked under a bouncer. The slip cordon joined in from time to time, particularly Kevin Sinclair, who was a substitute fielder in Jamaica.Related
Mehidy to lead Bangladesh in West Indies ODIs
Greaves, Jangoo called up for ODIs against Bangladesh
Rangpur win GSL as final goes ahead despite uncertainty
The on-field umpires spoke to captain Kraigg Brathwaite a few times, and even told the players to calm down. Later, the ICC fined Seales for his send-off to Mahmudul Hasan Joy and Sinclair for not listening to the umpires and continuing to talk.Bangladesh, for their part, weren’t as animated as the home side, but they did have the odd one-liner to share from time to time.The West Indians looked like they lost a bit of focus on the job at hand as a result of all the talk, and might not take the same route in the ODIs. In any case, after the Test win in Jamaica, Bangladesh should now have a few replies ready.
The first priority for West Indies would be to continue their good showing in ODIs after the series win against England recently.Shai Hope leads a side that has a good batting line-up and an impressive pace battery. They have included the uncapped Amir Jangoo, who was the top run-getter in the recent Super50 ODI tournament. Justin Greaves, who made three centuries in a row in the competition, returns to the ODI setup, too.But Hope, the highest-ranked ODI batter of the two sets of players, needs to return to ODI form, having averaged 29.28 this year. This comes after several good years – in 2023, he made 824 runs at an average of 68.66. Keacy Carty has shown form for West Indies in ODIs this year, while left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie is their leading wicket-taker.West Indies’ batting line-up is full of power-hitters. Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer and Evin Lewis will be expected to provide the big hits, while Roston Chase usually holds together the middle-order. Shamar Joseph and Matthew Forde are nursing injuries, with Marquino Mindley and Jediah Blades replacing them and providing fast-bowling cover.Mehidy Hasan Miraz will lead Bangladesh in the West Indies ODIs as well•Athelstan Bellamy
Bangladesh need to carry the positives from their Test win in Jamaica into the ODIs. This is especially important as they have a side devoid of most of their experienced players. Shakib Al Hasan continues to be out, while Najmul Hossain Shanto, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mustafizur Rahman haven’t made it to the West Indies either – Shanto and Mushfiqur are recovering from injuries while Mustafizur has taken time off for personal reasons.Mehidy will continue as the captain with the likes of Taskin Ahmed, Jaker Ali and Litton Das from the Test side also part of the ODI squad. Soumya Sarkar’s performed in the Global Super League in Guyana should also give the team confidence – Soumya was the Player of the Tournament – and Player of the Match in the final for his 86 – as he finished as the tournament’s top-scorer. Rishad Hossain and Afif Hossain – also part of the Rangpur Riders’ trophy-winning side – are in the squad too.Bangladesh will have Taskin, Shoriful Islam, Nahid Rana and Hasan Mahmud from the Test pace attack. Tanzim Hasan will come from the GSL where he played for the Guayana Amazon Warriors side. Nasum Ahmed and Mehidy will take charge of the spin department, while Mahmudullah will add experience in the batting line-up that also includes Tanzid Hasan and Parvez Hossain.
Bangladesh would have happy memories of Warner Park in St Kitts, having won two out of their four completed international matches at the venue.This will be the first international match in St Kitts since August 2022. Incidentally, the last ODI played at the venue was also between the same two sides, while there have been a handful of CPL and first-class matches held here this year.The three ODIs are on December 8, 10 and 12. The weather is mostly dry but there’s a forecast of some rain during the second ODI.
Bangladesh will hope to create an upset after beating Sri Lanka in their first Super Four game
Sidharth Monga23-Sep-20254:47
Chopra: India lives in Bangladesh’s head rent free
Even though they haven’t been close games, the tension during the two India-Pakistan matches has made players do and say things they otherwise wouldn’t. One of them is based on facts but lacks professional humility. After beating Pakistan once again, India captain Suryakumar Yadav invoked a dominant head-to-head in recent years in order to call for an end to the term “rivalry” for these contests.There is good reason to believe Suryakumar, or any India captain, would not have said what can be interpreted as arrogant had it not been Pakistan and the current relations between the two countries. For where is a rivalry for India in recent times? Since the start of 2024, India have won 32 and lost three matches of T20I cricket.The sheer talent, now coupled with the appropriate intent, has turned India into perhaps the most formidable T20I side ever assembled. Add to it the slowness of the Dubai pitches, and India are able to experiment with just one frontline quick and getting him to bowl three overs in the powerplay.Related
Jasprit Bumrah doing 'exceptionally tough job' at Asia Cup
Bangladesh ready to 'ride the hype' in high-stakes India clash
Fizz at the finish: Mustafizur Rahman is on a roll, but can he keep India quiet?
Bangladesh solve the middle-overs riddle
Suryakumar: India vs Pakistan isn't a rivalry anymore
Those who market the sport will not be too thrilled at such numbers because the biggest draw in sport is the possibility. If there is any consolation, though, one of the three defeats India have suffered in these two years has come against Zimbabwe.Bangladesh will go in believing they can cause an upset. They have just done that to the leaders of their group in the first round, Sri Lanka. They did so using the slowness of the conditions with Mahedi Hasan and Mustafizur Rahman combining for figures of 8-0-45-5. The reward is massive. If they can somehow beat India, Bangladesh will be a good shout to enter the final. Can they do the unthinkable, beat India for the first time since 2019, repair their 16-1 head to head, and somehow initiate a rivalry?
India WWWWW (last five T20Is, most recent first)
Bangladesh WWLWW
Another experiment that India are able to work on is Sanju Samson in the middle order. Clearly, the team management seems to have decided that Samson is too good a player to be sitting out, so they are trying to create a place for him in the side now that the top order is packed with Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar and Tilak Varma. The one innings he has played there is no sample size to draw any conclusions, but there were signs he wasn’t quite at home when starting against an older ball. So eyes will be on him whenever he gets a chance to bat.4:20
Chopra: India need to give Samson a long rope
One of the challenges for Samson and the rest of the middle order will be the canny bowling of Mustafizur Rahman, who becomes double dangerous on slower pitches. He showed that against Sri Lanka with figures of 4-0-20-3. An encore could give Bangladesh a strong chance against India.
In the first round, India experimented with their combination only once their progress to the Super Four was confirmed. So don’t expect any changes to their first-choice XI, which they returned to against Pakistan.India (probable): 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Tilak Varma, 4 Suryakumar Yadav (capt), 5 Sanju Samson (wk), 6 Shivam Dube, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Jasprit Bumrah, 11 Varun ChakravarthyCaptain Litton Das complained of a back strain during training two days before the match, but he should be okay to play. The one change Bangladesh are pondering is Tanzim Hasan for Shoriful Islam, who travelled for 49 runs against Sri Lanka.Bangladesh (probable): 1 Saif Hassan, 2 Tanzid Hasan, 3 Litton Das (capt. & wk), 4 Towhid Hridoy, 5 Shamim Hossain, 6 Jaker Ali, 7 Mahedi Hasan, 8 Nasum Ahmed, 9 Taskin Ahmed, 10 Tanzim Hasan, 11 Mustafizur Rahman
As expected, the pitches have been slow, making it difficult to score quickly in the middle overs. Expect more of the same in the extreme heat of Dubai.
In the last few years, there has been a debate raging at Manchester City as to who is the better striker, Sergio Aguero or Erling Haaland.
Well, it is not an easy question to answer, given how long the Argentine striker was successful at City.
In total, Aguero played 390 times for the East Mancunian outfit, and his record speaks volumes about how good he is. The 101-cap Argentina international bagged 260 goals in that time. You consider it ludicrous to go against him in this debate.
Yet, the numbers Haaland is putting up certainly make him better than Aguero in the eyes of many.
This is a debate that, at this stage, doesn’t really have a right answer. However, with the trajectory that Haaland is on, it is hard to see him failing to overtake Aguero’s record as City’s all-time top goalscorer.
In just 161 appearances in the famous Sky Blue shirt, the 25-year-old already has 143 goals to his name, as well as 22 assists. He’s averaging a goal involvement in more than every game. That is why Jamie Carragher said Haaland is “the greatest goalscorer to ever play in English football.”
Indeed, his form this season has been astronomical. Already, he’s found the back of the net 19 times in just 15 games. Miraculously, he’s not added to the 11 hat-tricks he has for the club, but has bagged twice in a game six times.
Haaland is a simply ridiculous number nine who can do it all, from excellent link-up play to clinical finishing in the box. His goal against Arsenal is perhaps the best example, with the striker starting the move by tucking the ball round the corner to Tijjani Reijnders, before charging forward and receding the ball again to score.
The Norwegian is incredible, although City don’t have a natural striker as his understudy if he gets injured. If that were the case, the answer might be an academy star who could one day take the number nine shirt after Haaland.
Haaland’s injury record isn’t perfect. The striker has missed 26 games since he moved to City, and they don’t really have a natural replacement. Omar Marmoush can lead the line, but he excels in a slightly deeper role, a little like Julian Alvarez did.
Lucky for the Citizens, they might have the perfect striker in the academy in the form of Mahamadou Sangare.
The France U18 centre-forward only moved to the club in the summer from Paris Saint-Germain, but is already excelling in the youth side.
This season across all competitions for the esteemed City academy, Sangare has found the back of the net on nine occasions in just 14 games. That includes three goals in four UEFA Youth League games.
In fact, it was in that competition that Sangare put in his most impressive performance to date. The 18-year-old shone against AS Monaco U19s, bagging a hat-trick and assisting one goal, after creating two chances.
|
Sangare vs. Monaco U19s |
|
|---|---|
|
Stat |
Number |
|
Touches |
35 |
|
Opposition half passes completed |
14/18 |
|
Aerial duels won |
5/6 |
|
Shots |
4 |
|
Goals |
3 |
|
Chances created |
2 |
|
Assists |
1 |
|
Stats from Sofascore |
|
One person who has spoken highly of the striker is football scout Antonio Mango. He called Sangare a “prolific” number nine, complementing him on the fact that he was one of the standout PSG youngsters last season. He scored 33 times in 35 games for their U19s.
Well, it certainly seems like City are seeing the quality he can bring to the youth sides. It will be fascinating to see how quickly Sangare’s development continues. He certainly has an eye for goal and will be hoping that he can translate that to senior level.
Of course, the 18-year-old is quite some way from being on Haaland’s level, but with his natural goalscoring instinct, there is no reason why he can’t establish himself in the first team. Perhaps he will even be the natural successor to Haaland’s iconic number nine shirt.
As important as Doku: £50m star just had his best ever game for Man City
Manchester City smashed Liverpool 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, Jérémy Doku the star of the show, but another player shone for Pep Guardiola.
1
By
Ben Gray
Nov 10, 2025
He suffered the injury while attempting a catch on July 26 against Australia
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Aug-2025Rovman Powell, the West Indies batter, was officially ruled out of the T20I series against Pakistan following the wrist injury he suffered during the preceding series against Australia. West Indies will not name a replacement.Powell, 32, sustained the injury while attempting a catch in the fourth T20I against Australia on July 26 in St Kitts. He did not feature in the fifth T20I against Australia following the injury, and neither was he part of the first T20I against Pakistan in Florida’s Lauderhill on July 31 that West Indies lost by 14 runs.West Indies and Pakistan face off again on August 2 and 4 in Lauderhill in the three-match T20I series. The two teams then fly to Tarouba in Trinidad & Tobago for a three-ODI series starting August 8. Powell is unlikely to feature in the West Indies ODI squad as he last played in the format in 2023.
Veteran manager Sam Allardyce has voiced his willingness to fill the current vacancy at Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Hired in late 2024, Vitor Pereira guided Wolves away from the relegation zone in the second half of the 2024/25 Premier League season. Across the summer, though, the club sold star players Rayan Ait-Nouri and Matheus Cunha, replacing them with options that, seemingly, are not of the same quality. After 10 league matches without a win, Pereira was sacked by Wolves in early November, despite having signed a new contract earlier in the year.
Since the Portuguese was dismissed, Wolves have been linked with a number of potential replacements. Gary O’Neil, who himself was replaced by Pereira at Molineux, was seemingly in the frame for what would have been a shock return. O’Neil has since taken himself out of the running to be the manager that will try and ensure Wolves’ Premier League safety.
O’Neil, who had a generally solid tenure at Molineux, would have been a bold appointment from the Midlands club, whose search for a new manager is ongoing. As per David Ornstein of The Athletic, Erik ten Hag is “among the other candidates”. The former Man United manager was hired by Bayer Leverkusen to replace Xabi Alonso in the summer but was sacked after just three matches with the German side.
Now, it would appear that an English football icon is open to trying to save Wolves from dropping to the Championship.
As per talkSPORT, Sam Allardyce would be open to taking the current vacancy at Molineux. Having been out of work since his brief stint in charge of Leeds United came to an end in 2023, the veteran said:
Since taking up management in the early 1990s, Allardyce has worked extensively in the past three decades. The Englishman found a lot of success with Bolton between 1999 and 2007, going onto manage sides including Blackburn Rovers, West Ham and the England national team amongst many others.
|
Sam Allardyce’s Record Against Wolves |
|
|---|---|
|
Games |
10 |
|
Wins |
7 |
|
Draws |
3 |
|
Losses |
0 |
|
Points per Match |
2.40 |
Across a period of over 20 years, Allardyce is unbeaten in 10 games against Wolves, with games coming during his time at Bolton, Blackburn and West Bromwich Albion.
Though he no longer has a perfect record of avoiding relegation, Allardyce’s reputation could be a leading contributor to what would be a truly sensational return to Premier League management. As he noted, though, it may be that Wolves look for a younger candidate.
Wayne Rooney believes Paul Pogba is among Manchester United's three strangest signings before INEOS bought a stake in the club. The former forward delivered a scathing assessment of the club's transfer strategy before Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Co were onboarded, with their recruitment branded as 'horrendous'.
England aren’t quite the force they were on their all-conquering 2022-23 tour. That, however, is no consolation to a struggling Pakistan side
Danyal Rasool04-Oct-2024Pakistan have been confronted by two sets of very different challenges in their last two Test series. First, they lost the unwinnable; no Pakistan Test side had managed anything other than defeat in Australia since 1995. Then, at home, they lost the unlosable, suffering their first and second Test defeats to Bangladesh. Now, with England on their shores to play three Test matches, they face their most intriguing challenge: the possible.It is perhaps this kind of match-up, where success is unlikely but eminently achievable, that is best placed to determine the upper limits of Pakistan’s grasp, and most in danger of exposing the pace of their slide. Moving past Pakistan’s defeats in Australia as a grim rite of passage that they cannot escape requires some generosity; setting aside an excellent Bangladesh side’s clean sweep in Pakistan as a freak event demands excessive charity. One was too predictable, the other too dramatic, and neither conducive to rational assessment. But a home series against England is precisely the sort of contest Pakistan have cherished competing in. This is a litmus test.Related
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Pakistan’s psychological scars may have begun to prick once more at the memories of what England dished out in 2022-23. But while the tendency to group all of their results under the all-encompassing term Bazball remains undying, England now are scarcely the formidable side that delivered Pakistan’s only home-series whitewash to date. In the intervening two years, England have just about split the 19 Tests they’ve played, winning 10 and losing eight; six of those wins have come at home against West Indies, Sri Lanka and Ireland. Five of their seven away Tests have ended as defeats. None of the four seamers who played any part in the 2022-23 Pakistan tour are in their current squad, and captain Ben Stokes is a serious doubt for the first Test in Multan.With that limited context, England’s triumph two years ago appears an aberration, not the heralding of a new dawn. Greater England sides than this have found playing in Pakistan a struggle; until their 2022 victory, England had managed just one away-series win against Pakistan in 60 years. Months after their iconic Ashes win in 2005, they fell 2-0 on Pakistani shores, and that famously hard-nosed 2009-12 England side were swept away by Pakistan at their adopted UAE home ground in 2011.But zoom out for greater context, and you run into Pakistan’s problems. It’s difficult for them to draw encouragement from their opposition’s away record when they haven’t won a home Test in three-and-a-half years, and though England did lose a dead rubber to Sri Lanka to cap off their red-ball summer, it was overshadowed by Pakistan’s own dismantling at Bangladesh’s hands.Abrar Ahmed’s 11-wicket debut two years ago seems like a distant memory•Matthew Lewis/Getty ImagesEngland’s seamers might never have played in Pakistan, but Pakistan are going through their own fast-bowling identity crisis as they struggle for speed, form, fitness or a combination of the three. England’s spinners are inexperienced, but Pakistan’s supply isn’t brimming either, and Abrar Ahmed’s 11-wicket debut in Multan two years ago is now a distant memory. And when it comes to batting, Pakistan’s problems are in a different league.Earlier this week, captain Shan Masood appealed for time and patience, but is also clever enough to understand those will be offered in stingy doses with severe prescriptive restrictions. And against an England side perceived to be better than it perhaps is, a competitive series with enough of the numbers in the result corner presents the only viable opportunity to change attitudes about his side.Pakistan have had a month to reflect on that Bangladesh series, and played domestic one-day cricket in the interregnum; the wisdom of that remains up for debate. But at some point, the only way to read into the quality of this Test side will be the results they get rather than the promise they show, the quality of the opposition or the capriciousness of the pitch. This Pakistan side is either good enough to beat England at home, or they’re not. Zak Crawley’s comments about the dangers of underestimating Pakistan would suggest England are blocking out the external noise about their supposed superiority over the hosts, and are approaching this series as a contest of equals.Pakistan still have a distance to travel to demonstrate they have earned that tag. But either way, the upcoming three weeks should go a long way towards illuminating whether that Bangladesh series was a wake-up call, or simply the new company Pakistan keep.
Wolverhampton Wanderers fans will already be contemplating the return of Championship football to Molineux next season.
Indeed, the miserable Old Gold are currently sat at the bottom of the Premier League pile on a pitiful two points, which culminated in the dismissal of Vitor Pereira, who had managed to turn around Wolves’ fortunes when coming in mid-way through the 2024/25 season.
Unfortunately, in the here and now, Pereira couldn’t arrest the worrying slide, with the West Midlands outfit now on the hunt for a successor who can somehow lift the downbeat side off the very foot of the top-flight.
Gary O’Neil has already turned down the opportunity to come back to his old stomping ground as a dramatic saviour, with Wolves now having to look at alternative targets.
There have been several different names linked to the Molineux vacancy since Pereira was put out of his misery after a 3-0 defeat away at Fulham.
Rob Edwards has consistently been tipped to leave promotion-chasing Middlesbrough behind in the Championship to return to the side he lined up for as a player. At the same time, Wolves have also utilised their well-known Portuguese connections, with ex-Benfica boss Rui Vitoria allegedly on their radar.
Sky Sports News’ Lyall Thomas has fired back, though, to state that either Edwards or Vitoria replacing Pereira is considered “unlikely”, with Erik ten Hag also a shout that has been dismissed, as Wolves head into their next league encounter with youth team duo James Collins and Richard Walker at the helm.
A decision will soon have to be made, as Wolves fight a losing battle against the drop, with one name that Thomas hasn’t dismissed, still perhaps in the running as a clear upgrade on the Boro boss.
Before delving deeper into why this alternative target would be an upgrade on Edwards, it does have to be said that the 42-year-old did a commendable job the last time he was in the top-flight with Luton Town.
Indeed, Edwards did make the Hatters a “difficult” team to beat, as were the words of Arsenal’s Mikel Arteta.
But, away from initial admiration, the Championship promotion-winning manager did still take Luton down, with 47 defeats from 103 games in charge of the Kenilworth Road outfit, not exactly music to the ears of those at Molineux who crave a transformative clean slate.
This is where the reappointment of Bruno Lage could be a masterstroke, with reports from Portugal – via Sport Witness – indicating that the 49-year-old is weighing up the possibility of a return to the Black Country, having been on Wolves’ manager shortlist.
Wolves have arguably been on a decline since the one-time Liga Portugal champion left the building, with Lage’s tenth-place finish during the 2021/22 season yet to be bettered by the litany of managers that have come into the Old Gold dug-out since.
|
Wolves’ season finishes – with Lage/without Lage |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
Final position |
Manager |
|
2024/25 |
16th |
Pereira |
|
2023/24 |
14th |
O’Neil |
|
2022/23 |
13th |
Lopetegui |
|
2021/22 |
10th |
Lage |
|
Sourced by Transfermarkt |
||
Lage also turned the Old Gold into a well-oiled machine when he was at the helm, which they are in dire need of right now, as only 43 goals were leaked across 38 league contests.
His fellow compatriot and ex-Sheffield Wednesday boss Carlos Carvalhal would even label his one full campaign in the dug-out as “the best success story in the Premier League”, with Lage even taking the West Midlands titans to the brink of a Champions League spot at one point, having masterminded a 1-0 away win at Manchester United in early 2022.
19 Premier League wins would come his way, subsequently, with Edwards stuck on just six, in stark contrast, from his time at Kenilworth Road.
With Lage favouring a 4-3-3 set-up, too, much like Pereira, the hope will be that Setubal-born boss can get the ball rolling again immediately on his return, having been described as “one of the best men I have met in football” by ex-Wolves skipper Conor Coady.
After all, he fared well last time out when the pressure was on him, having had to replace a modern Molineux great in Nuno Espirito Santo, as the “excellent” head coach – as he was once labelled by rival Premier League manager Thomas Frank – now tries to steer the ship back on course again.
Wolves in contact for new manager Abel Ferreira as Jeff Shi receives reply
A new name on the Molineux radar.
By
Charlie Smith
Nov 6, 2025
It’s been another frustrating campaign for Chelsea so far this season.
One week, Enzo Maresca’s side are able to keep Premier League leaders Arsenal at bay with ten men and tear Barcelona apart 3-0 in the Champions League.
Yet, the next week they’ll lose 3-1 to Leeds United and be held to a draw away to Bournemouth.
One of the big problems this season has been a lack of goals from their strikers, and the worrying thing for Liam Delap in particular is that Chelsea may already have a forward who could end his stay at Stamford Bridge early.
Chelsea did not score enough goals last season; they ended the campaign having scored 22 fewer than Liverpool, eight fewer than Manchester City, five fewer than Arsenal and even four fewer than Newcastle United.
Chalkboard
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So, on top of their other business, the Blues opted to send Nicolas Jackson out on loan and bring in Delap and Joao Pedro to compete for that nine position, with Marc Guiu then returning from loan after the Englishman suffered a hamstring injury in the third game of the season.
Now, while this looked like a reasonable plan from the outset, it would be fair to say that, so far, it has not really worked out.
The West Londoners have still scored fewer goals than the Gunners and City, and their forward options are a significant reason why.
Pedro, for example, may have been on fire in the Club World Cup and pre-season, but after the first few games of the campaign proper, he has underwhelmed.
For example, in 18 appearances, totalling 1377 minutes, the former Brighton & Hove Albion star has scored four goals and provided three assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 2.57 games, or every 196.71 minutes.
Moving on to Guiu, the Spaniard has barely been given a chance to play this season, but has scored and assisted a goal in 280 minutes of football across eight appearances.
That comes out to a reasonable enough average of a goal involvement every 140 minutes, or every four games.
Finally, arguably the most orthodox centre forward of the lot, and potentially the most disappointing so far, is Delap.
|
Chelsea’s Strikers |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Player |
Pedro |
Guiu |
Delap |
|
Games |
18 |
8 |
11 |
|
Minutes |
1377′ |
280′ |
453′ |
|
Goals |
4 |
1 |
1 |
|
Assists |
3 |
1 |
0 |
|
All Stats via Transfermarkt |
|||
When not injured or suspended, the former Ipswich Town star has made 11 appearances for the West Londoners, totalling 453 minutes, in which he has scored just a solitary goal.
Unfortunately for the 22-year-old, he is now set to miss another eight weeks of action with a shoulder injury he picked up against the Cherries.
Now, there is every chance Delap could eventually come good this season, but if he does not, his stay at Stamford Bridge could be cut short by another exciting striker making his way there in the summer.
Following the news that Delap would be out for up to eight weeks, there was talk that Chelsea could potentially bring Emmanuel Emegha’s move forward to the winter window.
That now seems to be unlikely, but even so, the Strasbourg forward, who agreed to join the Blues in September, is the player who could be bad news for the Englishman next season.
Why is this the case, you may ask. Well, the first and by far most significant reason is the simple fact that he appears to be a reliable source of goals and assists.
For example, in 29 appearances last season, totalling 2408 minutes, the Dutchman scored 14 goals and provided three assists, which is an average of a goal involvement every 1.70 games, or every 141.64 minutes. There’s a reason he’s been described as a “devastating” talent by scout Antonio Mango.
As if that wasn’t impressive enough for a young forward, the “simply phenomenal” goalscorer, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has gotten even better this season.
In 11 appearances, totalling 664 minutes, he has already scored seven goals and provided two assists, which comes out to a staggering average of a goal involvement every 1.22 games, or every 73.77 minutes.
|
Emegha’s recent record |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Season |
24/25 |
25/26 |
|
Appearances |
29 |
11 |
|
Minutes |
2408′ |
664′ |
|
Goals |
14 |
7 |
|
Assists |
3 |
2 |
|
Goal Involvements per Match |
0.58 |
0.81 |
|
Minutes per Goal Involvement |
141.64′ |
73.77′ |
|
All Stats via Transfermarkt |
||
On top of this incredible output, the Den Haag-born poacher is also the captain of Strasbourg, so he should not feel intimidated by stepping up a level in the Premier League.
Finally, he is also 6 foot 5 and no pushover, so on top of potentially being a better goalscorer than Delap, he should be able to hold up the ball at least as well, if not better.
Ultimately, there is still time for the former Ipswich ace to come good at Chelsea, but if he doesn’t improve this season, Emegha could be the one to end his Stamford Bridge stay as soon as next year.
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