Chelsea are now the front-runners in the race to sign an “exceptional” £50m striker, despite interest from Premier League rivals Manchester United, according to reporter Ben Jacobs.

Chelsea short on striker options

Despite spending heavily in almost every transfer window since the arrival of Todd Boehly, the Blues find themselves a little light on striker options heading into a crucial stage of the season, with a number of forwards suffering injury setbacks.

Not only is Nicolas Jackson set for a prolonged period on the sidelines, but Marc Guiu has also been ruled out, with Enzo Maresca recently confirming the Spaniard could be out for quite some time.

“Marc Guiu, unfortunately, it’s a bad injury,” said the Blues boss. “Could be [long-term], yeah. We are still waiting but it doesn’t look a short injury. It’s a long injury. Probably weeks or months.”

As such, Christopher Nkunku is the obvious choice to lead the line, but that may not be the case beyond the end of the season, with it being revealed the Blues are now willing to cash in on the forward, and there is interest from Bayern Munich.

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Chelsea have been on the lookout for a new striker to potentially replace Nkunku, and reliable reporter Ben Jacobs recently told GiveMeSport the west London club are the front-runners in the race for Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap.

Even if Ipswich avoid relegation from the Premier League, Delap is set to leave, and there are indications he could be keen on a move to Stamford Bridge, as he is “intrigued” by Maresca’s project and the possibility of becoming Chelsea’s no.9.

Jacobs also states Manchester City are unlikely to activate their buy-back clause, with Ipswich instead set to hold out for a fee of around £50m.

"Exceptional" Delap keeping Ipswich's survival hopes alive

Ipswich still have a fighting chance of avoiding the drop, and they owe a large part of that to their striker, who’s bagged nine of their 22 goals so far this season.

Pundit Glenn Murray lauded the 22-year-old as “exceptional” earlier in the campaign, and he has shown no signs of slowing down, bagging a goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory over the Blues in December, while also scoring against Southampton last time out.

With Nkunku potentially on the move at the end of the season, and doubt lingering over Jackson, who has been without a league goal since mid-December, it is clear the Blues will need to bring in a top-quality striker this summer.

Delap’s performances for Ipswich indicate he would be capable of making the step-up to one of the Premier League’s biggest clubs, so it is exciting news Chelsea are the front-runners for his signature.

Sandhu, Javeria, Naseem shine as hosts chase down 119 with ease in rain-hit game

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2022

File photo: Nida Dar made 28 runs and picked up two wickets•Asian Cricket Council

Pakistan beat Ireland by six wickets in a low-scoring rain-hit match to level the three-match T20I series 1-1 in Lahore on Monday. With the game reduced to 17-overs-a-side contest, Ireland were restricted to 118 for 7, courtesy Nida Dar and Nashra Sandhu’s measured bowling. Javeria Khan, Dar and Ayesha Naseem then helped the hosts chase down the total with an over to spare.Put into bat, Ireland lost opener Gaby Lewis in the third over and were kept quiet most of the time. Amy Hunter top-scored for the visitors with a 39-ball 36 and Orla Prendergast chipped in with 20 off 17. However, regular strikes dented Ireland’s progress. Eimear Richardson and Rebecca Stokell did manage to find some late runs which helped Ireland get past the 100-mark.Ireland toiled for wickets after dismissing opener Muneeba Ali for 12 and captain Bismah Maroof for 2 inside four overs. Javeria’s patient 35 off 39 deliveries was all Pakistan needed to steady the innings as she stitched a crucial 46-run stand with Dar for the third wicket.Javeria was run out in the 12th over, but that didn’t affect the team’s momentum. Dar ended with 28 runs to her name, with a six and a four in the 25-ball knock, while Naseem hit an unbeaten 12-ball 25. Aliya Riaz made an unbeaten 11 off 7 balls to steer Pakistan to victory. Arlene Kelly was the only bowler to take a wicket for Ireland.The third and series-deciding T20I will be played on Wednesday at the same venue.

Manchester City’s misery continues.

In Tuesday’s heavyweight Champions League clash against Real Madrid, the Sky Blues appeared set for a statement victory over the reigning European champions, leading 2-1 with less than five minutes to play.

Erling Braut Håland the scorer of both, lashing home the opener having been expertly teed-up by Joško Gvardiol, before converting a late penalty to restore their advantage late on.

However, a poor kick out from Ederson led to a los Blancos equaliser before soon after, right at the death, another defensive mix-up led to Jude Bellingham poking him a dramatic last-gasp winner, silencing a shell-shocked Etihad.

As noted by OptaJoe on Twitter, this is the fifth time the Citizens have lost a match this season in which they have led, as many as across the previous four seasons combined.

Pep Guardiola’s team have reached the Champions League quarter-finals, at least, in each of the last seven seasons but, ahead of next Wednesday’s trip to the Bernabéu, that streak appears unlikely to continue.

So, as Man City’s struggles go on, attention has turned to the players Guardiola has allowed to leave the club in recent seasons, with one in particular outperforming any of Man City’s current midfielders.

Phil Foden's continued struggles

Just last season, Phil Foden picked up both the PFA Players’ Player of the Year and Football Writers’ Association Footballer of the Year awards, with teammate Rodri claiming “he has the ability to be the best English player in history”.

Now though, as noted by James Ducker of the Telegraph, his goals and assist numbers have “fallen off dramatically”, beginning the night on the bench against Real Madrid on Tuesday, albeit he was introduced on the half-hour mark, winning the late penalty when Dani Ceballos clattered into him.

So, let’s compare Foden’s statistics this season to the previous three campaigns.

Appearances

45

48

53

31

Minutes

3,184

2,660

4,276

2,181

Goals per 90

0.40

0.51

0.57

0.41

Assists per 90

0.31

0.27

0.25

0.21

xG per 90

0.43

0.28

0.35

0.28

xA per 90

0.28

0.24

0.27

0.23

Goals – xG

-1

+5.1

+10.4

+3.8

Shots per 90

2.52

2.06

3.37

3.15

Shots on target %

40%

52.3%

42.9%

32.9%

Take-on success %

58.9%

49.5%

49.2%

41.2%

As the table outlines, Foden’s metrics this season so far are almost universally lower than the previous three campaigns, with his goals and assists per 90 both significantly down, as are his shots on target and take-on success percentages, underlining his lack of confidence.

Earlier this season, Foden stated he was suffering from “burnout” as well as nursing “a few niggles” following his exertions for club and country, and he is currently being outperformed by another Man City academy graduate who would certainly be an asset to the Sky Blues right now, had they not let him go.

The Man City academy star how thriving in the Premier League

Alex Brotherton of BBC Sport posits if it’s possible for a 22-year-old to be described as a “journeyman”?

Well, if anyone fits that description at such a young age, it is Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.

That’s because, after spending the majority of his youth career at West Bromwich Albion, Rogers has been on the books of Manchester City, Lincoln City, Bournemouth, Blackpool and Middlesbrough, before being bought from Boro by Aston Villa for a reported £15m little over a year ago.

His performances in Claret and Blue have earned rave reviews, with Ryan Benson of Opta’s the Analyst labelling him a “rising star” while, as noted by Toby Cudworth of 90 Minutes, he became the first player in Champions League history to score twice in the opening five minutes of a match in January, thanks to a quick-fire double against Celtic.

On Monday’s Guardian Football Weekly podcast, Max Rushden stated that the way Rogers plays is quite “Lampardian”, adding that he might actually be a “more rounded player” than Frank Lampard ever was, while Jonathan Wilson also praised the Villa midfielder, calling him an “incredible talent”.

Rogers’ winner against Tottenham in the FA Cup on Sunday took his tally to 11 for the season, one more than Foden’s ten goals, with Haaland the only current Man City player who has bagged more goals to date.

The midfielder spent four seasons on the Sky Blues’ books between 2019 and 2023, appearing 37 times at youth level but never featuring in a senior matchday squad, before being sold to Boro for just £1.5m. Considering he’s now rated at £67m by CIES Football Observatory, it’s safe to say this could prove to be the biggest mistake the club have made in recent times.

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خاطب مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك، برئاسة حسين لبيب، اتحاد الكرة المصري، منذ قليل بشأن مباراة فريق الكرة الأول بالقلعة البيضاء أمام نظيره بيراميدز في بطولة كأس مصر.

ويلتقي الزمالك، مع بيراميدز يوم 5 يونيو المقبل على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي، ضمن منافسات المباراة النهائية لبطولة كأس مصر موسم 2024-2025.

طالع.. الزمالك يعلن تفاصيل إصابة الجفالي وموقفه من مباراة بيراميدز ووصل الزمالك إلى نهائي كأس مصر، على حساب فريق سيراميكا كليوباترا بالفوز بهدفين مقابل هدف، بينما بيراميدز تأهل بعد فوز كبير على البنك الأهلي بأربعة أهداف دون رد.

يأمل بيراميدز، حامل لقب النسخة الماضية، في تقديم أداء قوي يضمن له التتويج بالكأس للمرة الثانية على التوالي، وتعزيز رصيده بلقب ثانٍ في تاريخه الحديث، في المقابل يسعى الزمالك لإنقاذ موسمه بتتويج محلي يُخفف من وطأة الإخفاقات.

وأرسل مجلس إدارة نادي الزمالك، خطاباً رسمياً يطلب خلاله الموافقة على حضور الجماهير بالسعة الكاملة في نهائي كأس مصر.

وشدد الزمالك في خطابه على أهمية الموافقة على حضور السعة الكاملة من أجل دعم الفريق ومساندته في المواجهة المرتقبة.

Celtic failed to automatically qualify for the next stage of the Champions League and will have to go through the play-offs after their 4-2 loss to Aston Villa on Wednesday night.

The Hoops found themselves 2-0 down inside the opening five minutes of the match against the Premier League outfit, thanks to two goals from Morgan Rogers.

Adam Idah, however, scored two goals in three minutes to make it 2-2 before the break. Despite their valiant comeback, Ollie Watkins and Rodgers scored in the second half to secure all three points for the hosts.

Auston Trusty was one of the players who struggled against Unai Emery’s side, playing on the right side of the defence in the absence of the injured Cameron Carter-Vickers.

Auston Trusty's performance against Aston Villa

The USA international needed to step up without his compatriot available but was caught out in the opening couple of minutes as he failed to cut out a cross at the front post, which allowed Rogers to score, although multiple other players missed chances to cut out the attack before that.

Trusty was composed in possession, completing 94% of his attempted passes, and managed to end the game with five clearances, a block, a tackle, and a clearance.

There is no getting away, however, with his big error to gift Aston Villa a penalty in the second half. He was slow to track Watkins’ run into the box and made an incredibly rash, and clumsy, challenge that gave the England international a chance from the spot, which he then failed to take.

The American defender, despite that mistake, was not the worst player on the pitch for the Scottish giants, though, as Hyun-jun Yang struggled badly out wide.

Performance in Numbers

Hyun-jun Yang missed his big chance

The South Korean youngster had a huge opportunity to shine and show Brendan Rodgers that he deserves to continue to play regularly, now that Jota has returned to the club and Daizen Maeda is still at Parkhead.

However, his performance against Aston Villa is more likely to end up costing him a place in the team moving forward, as the other two wingers could be preferred ahead of him.

Minutes

73

Dribbles completed

0/2

Shots

0

Key passes

0

Duels won

0/5

It was a big chance for him to showcase his talent, with Jota and Maeda both unavailable for selection, and he failed to take it, putting in a dismal showing instead.

As you can see in the table above, Yang offered almost nothing in or out of possession on the left flank for the Hoops, losing 100% of his duels and failing to register a single shot or key pass.

Whilst Idah took his chance, after Kyogo Furuhashi’s exit, by scoring two goals, the South Korean winger, instead, showed Rodgers why he should be behind Jota and Maeda in the pecking order when they are both available for selection next time out in the Scottish Premiership.

Yang was even worse than Trusty, who at least contributed with some defensive interventions and remained composed on the ball, and should be concerned about what his game time will look like in the weeks to come.

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Kai Rooney has made father Wayne “proud” after netting the winning goal for Manchester United that secured their U15 team a trophy.

Article continues below

Article continues below

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• Youngster starring at youth level
• Following in illustrious footsteps
• Secured another winners' medal

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rooney junior, who is now 15 years of age, has been causing quite a stir in the Red Devils’ famed academy system. Videos posted on social media have shown that he boasts the same finishing skills as his famous dad.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wayne is United’s all-time leading goalscorer, with 253 efforts to his name, and is hoping to see his son follow in illustrious footsteps at Old Trafford. Positive progress continues to be made while heading down that path.

• Manchester United
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Kai has become a prolific presence at youth level, while silverware has been lifted on a regular basis. He has another honour to his name after inspiring United to victory in the U15 Premier League Floodlit Cup North competition.

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• TELL ME MORE

  The Red Devils edged out derby rivals Manchester City in a thrilling final. Having found themselves 3-0 down with 12 minutes to go, United turned the tie on its head to prevail 4-3 – with Rooney grabbing their winner.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Atlético-MG deve ser um dos clubes que mais movimentarão a janela de transferências que se abre em julho. O clube mineiro tem observado como está a situação de alguns nomes que pode vir a reforçar o Galo no segundo semestre deste ano.

Dois nomes, que estão sem clubes no mercado, podem ser oportunidades de mercado e aparecer em negociações no alvinegro: o atacante Alan Kardec e o meia ofensivo Pedrinho.

Alan Kardec, de 33 anos, está livre no mercado desde abril, quando encerrou o vínculo com o Shenzhen FC, da China. Sem custos de contratação, a vinda de Kardec para algum clube no Brasil, incluindo o galo, o jogador teria de aceitar um salário abaixo do que recebia no país asiático.

Já no caso de Pedrinho, a situação pode ser menos complexa. O meia de 24 anos pertence ao Shakhtar Donetsk, da Ucrânia. E, por conta da guerra com a Rússia, o campeonato nacional está paralisado. Assim, um empréstimo seria possível. Entretanto, o Galo tem a concorrência do Wolverhampton, da Inglaterra.

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Movimentos de saída
​
Além de ir ao mercado para reforçar o elenco, o Galo, que já tem pré-acordos com o zagueiro Jemerson e o atacante Pavón, o time mineiro pode sofrer assédio de outras equipes. O uruguaio Diego Godín tem conversas avançadas para acertar com o Vélez Sarsfield, da Argentina, pois ele quer jogar mais, visando a Copa do Mundo do Catar, no fim do ano.

Mas a principal preocupação de perda no clube é do lateral Guilherme Arana, um dos destaques da equipe desde 2020. Algumas sondagens de clubes da Europa já surgiram para saber da situação do jogador, que pode estar no grupo da Copa.

Todavia, já há interesses mais concretos, casos do West Ham e o Wolverhampton, ambos da Inglaterra, que estão na da Premier League. Além de Arana, o lateral direito Guga e o zagueiro Nathan Silva podem estar envolvidos em novos negócios, já que o alvinegro quer fazer caixa com negociações.

Success on the field equals success off the field in soccer and Wrexham are set to benefit following promotion.

The English Football League has been enlivened by the arrival of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to Wrexham, whose charisma and Hollywood status have undoubtedly added to the glamour of the competitions they compete in.

The club has ambitions of reaching – and even winning – the Premier League and recently took another step on that journey, securing promotion to the Championship, with The Red Dragons doing back-to-back-to-back promotions.

While the holy grail of the Premier League remains the chief aim, promotion to the Championship is nevertheless still rewarding, with financial benefits attached. Here, GOAL takes a look at how much Wrexham stand to earn after getting out of League One.

Getty Images SportEFL payments & TV money increase

In 2024-25, Championship clubs received around £11 million ($14.6m) each for participating in the league, and Wrexham will be one of the beneficiaries of a similar payment in 2025-26.

The payment is made up of a basic award plus a solidarity payment from the Premier League and is a number of times larger than that received by teams in League One (£2m) and League Two (£1.5m).

Of course, Wrexham will expect to see their costs rise in 2025-26 as they attempt to compete, but the EFL payment will go some way towards offsetting any increase.

AdvertisementShirt sales & retail boost

Reynolds and McElhenney have created a financial juggernaut in Wrexham that shows little sign of slowing down, as evidenced by the announcement of record turnover back in March. The club's turnover for the year was £26.725 million ($35.5m), an astonishing increase of 155 per cent on the previous year, when the turnover was £10.478m ($14m).

They can expect to generate more sales in the retail department now that they are in the Championship, having witnessed a jump of around £1m last year. Matchday revenue rose to £5m from just over £3m last term, and with a whole new cohort of teams to play in the new league, we can reasonably assume that there will be added intrigue for away fans as well as home supporters.

Getty Images SportMore lucrative games against bigger teams

In 2025-26, Wrexham will regularly play teams with a much bigger profile than those they came up against in League One.

For example, the Red Dragons will face off against the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City, Middlesbrough and fellow Welsh side Swansea City – a game that should have plenty of spice as a local rivalry. They will also lock horns with Leicester City (Premier League champions in 2016), Southampton and one-time UEFA Cup champions Ipswich Town, all of which were just relegated from the Premier League.

Each of those fixtures should attract sell-out crowds at the Racecourse Ground.

While Wrexham still enter the Carabao Cup at the first round in 2025-26, they will enter the FA Cup at the third round stage, where they will be in the hat with Premier League clubs – another potentially lucrative area.

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Stronger commercial power

While the involvement of Reynolds and McElhenney (along with the documentary) have ensured a base-line attraction for sponsors, promotion to the Championship means games against bigger teams (who boast bigger fanbases) to come, greater TV exposure and so on. All of the above means that Wrexham's commercial power has grown considerably.

Last year, the club's commercial revenue jumped from £1.9m to just over £13m, and, while it is difficult to predict, further growth is anticipated. Thanks to promotion and the aforementioned factors, Wrexham now has a stronger hand to play in negotiations while also becoming more attractive to brands, particularly those in the United States.

Playing at a higher level – just one rung below the Premier League – means the club is also a more attractive destination for footballers, though this will also mean more spending on the wages and transfers department.

A stroke of luck helped South Australia halt Daniel Hughes on a North Sydney Oval batting paradise to pinch an eight-run win over NSW in a one-day Cup run-fest.The Redbacks set NSW 331 to win on Saturday, Nathan McSweeney (94) anchoring the innings and Travis Head, Alex Carey and Thomas Kelly all scoring half-centuries.But NSW, bowled out for a state-record 76 in a winless campaign already this season, were purring to victory when their top order responded.Needing 15 off as many balls, Hughes (139 off 127) looked set to steer the hosts home until he was run-out at the bowler’s end when McSweeney inadvertently deflected the ball onto the stumps.Nathan Lyon was then out lbw on the first ball he faced and, needing nine off the final over, Ben Dwarshuis was dismissed on the first delivery from former NSW quick Harry Conway.”I shouldn’t be backing up as much as I was…I should have just stayed in my crease,” Hughes said. “If I’m there at the end we get the runs.”We always had it pretty much in the bag, guys coming out scoring at a nice rate and never got above eight an over. No-one was stressed out; they needed to bowl us out to win the game and they did that, so hats off to them.”Earlier McSweeney drove and swept Lyon, both conventionally and unconventionally, with great impact as he shared 110 and 96-run stands with Head and Carey respectively.Kelly pushed the Redbacks well past 300, a huge six over mid-on bringing up his 50 from the final ball of the innings.McSweeney’s knock followed 75 in his previous one-day innings and comes after an unbeaten 99 earlier in the season gave South Australia their first Sheffield Shield win in two years.”The game ebbed and flowed all day, luck we came out on top when it was likely Hughesy was going to get the Blues over the line,” McSweeney said.Head, a contender to replace Aaron Finch at the top of the order for Australia in 50-over cricket, was filthy with himself at an opportunity missed.He passed 50 for the first time since his first Shield innings this season but was no sooner inside edging as he charged and attempted to loft Liam Hatcher over mid-on.

For all intents and purposes, Liverpool are the Champions Elect at the top of the Premier League table, but Newcastle United can upset their party both this week and in three weeks.

Anfield awaits for Eddie Howe’s men, whose shaky form in recent weeks was epitomised during Sunday afternoon’s thrilling win over Nottingham Forest, winning 4-3 in a game that highlighted strengths and exposed flaws.

Liverpool are ruthless, but they aren’t perfect. The Magpies earned a draw at St. James’ Park in December and have ample firepower to strike a blow to Arne Slot’s high-flying season, indeed making themselves known ahead of next month’s Carabao Cup final.

Howe’s dealing with a few injuries, but it’s largely positive news for the travelling Toon.

Newcastle team news

Joelinton remains sidelined after sustaining a knee injury at the beginning of the month. He won’t be fit for this one but Howe remains adamant the Brazilian is in contention to play at Wembley in three weeks.

Newcastle’s depleted backline remains without Jamal Lascelles for most of the campaign, but Sven Botman is looking to return from his latest setback. Albeit, this one might come a tad too soon.

Newcastle’s gaffer revealed he reluctantly replaced Joe Willock with Sandro Tonali against Forest at the weekend, initially unwilling to make the change after the silky midfielder felt a twinge in his hamstring earlier in the week. As it is, he’s in contention for Anfield.

Luckily, it’s a clean bill of health for United’s ferocious frontline – and it’s a good thing too, for the Magpies will need all their firepower to overcome the unstoppable Mohamed Salah.

Howe must unleash his own Mohamed Salah

Salah has scored 30 goals and provided 21 assists from 38 matches in all competitions for Liverpool this season, and while the Merseysiders have a range of dangerous forwards, he is the chief sharpshooter and supplier, all wrapped into one.

The only forward to outscore Alexander Isak in the Premier League this season, Newcastle’s defence will need to be on their a-game, but Howe must also meet fire with fire in some instances, and may want to consider unleashing his own version of the Egpyt star.

1.

Mohamed Salah

27 (27)

25

16

2.

Alexander Isak

24 (24)

19

5

3.

Erling Haaland

25 (25)

19

3

4.

Chris Wood

26 (25)

18

3

5.

Bryan Mbeumo

26 (26)

15

4

As such, this might be a good game for Harvey Barnes to make a rare start in the Premier League, having last been unleashed from the outset against Brentford in December – it was a chastening 4-2 defeat for Howe’s men, but Barnes scored.

His clinical edge can rival Salah’s. As per FBref, Barnes ranks among the top 4% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for non-penalty goals scored (0.57) and the top 9% for touches in the attacking penalty area (6.90) per 90.

Such skills have seen Salah drawn by FBref as a player of statistical likeness, curiously. Pundit Matthew Upson has even praised Barnes for his “razor-sharp” finishing.

Anthony Gordon has wheels and multi-dimensional wide qualities, so he could play on the right flank in place of Jacob Murphy, to allow the right-footed Barnes space and positioning to arc inside and strike past Liverpool’s redoubtable goalkeeper.

Barnes is also something of a secret weapon, with five of his last six Newcastle goals coming on the road. The England international’s pace and potency in the final third could see Liverpool come unstuck, with Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate going to have an eye on Isak at all times.

It’s a move that would be somewhat contentious, moving Murphy to the bench after such committed and balanced attacking performances, but he flattered to deceive during December’s 3-3 draw, withdrawn after 74 minutes having completed only seven passes, missed a fantastic chance to score in hitting the woodwork and lost all three ground duels, squandering possession 12 times, as per Sofascore.

Against Liverpool’s mean defence, Newcastle need something more deadly to alleviate Isak’s workload, and Barnes might just be the man for the job.

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