Another international break bites the dust – and this time, the wretched thing won’t return until March. For West Ham United, however, it perhaps came at the right time, for Julen Lopetegui needs to manufacture a sharp upswing in form.

West Ham avoided defeat before many players jetted off for their sojourns, though the recent goalless draw against Everton in the Premier League was not an exciting thing, and did little to sate the fanbase’s hunger for improvement.

A cynic would say that it’s kitchen sink time for Lopetegui, and even the most optimistic of Hammers supporters must be forced to accept that things need to improve – and fast.

25/11/24

Newcastle

St. James’ Park

30/11/24

Arsenal

London Stadium

03/12/24

Leicester

King Power Stadium

09/12/24

Wolves

London Stadium

16/12/24

Bournemouth

Vitality Stadium

21/12/24

Brighton

London Stadium

26/12/24

Southampton

St. Mary’s Stadium

29/12/24

Liverpool

London Stadium

There’s a good chance to escape from the sliding rut that has dampened a mood that, only this summer, crackled with nervous excitement after David Moyes departed and £120m was spent on new parts.

A lack of identity and bereftness of confidence have instead ruled with an iron grip. Something needs to change, and Jarrod Bowen will be sure to be at the centre of any hopeful revival.

Jarrod Bowen shows his quality for England

Bowen would be one of the first to admit that he hasn’t been at his best this season, but then it’s hard to operate with full form and fluency when the system whose tactics you adopt fails to roar into life.

Club insiders have refuted claims that CEO David Sullivan and bruised technical director Tim Steidten had been set for crunch talks regarding Lopetegui’s future, but the very fact that such news bobbed up, months into his tenure, makes a telling comment on the conundrum in east London.

Unfortunately, Bowen probably delighted in performing within Lee Carsley’s Three Lions set-up, scoring his first international goal off the bench during the 5-0 rout over the Republic of Ireland.

Let’s look at it from another angle, eh: Bowen’s confidence will have been raised after such an emphatic moment in his career, and he could be ready to tackle the biting winter period, armband girdled on, with fresh life.

West Ham will need his attacking authority; after all, the flow of goals has been more accurately described as a trickle this season, but the dynamic forward tops the charts even so.

1.

Jarrod Bowen

13

4

2.

Mohammed Kudus

10

2

2=

Tomas Soucek

12

2

2=

Lucas Paqueta

13

2

5.

Danny Ings

6

1

5=

Michail Antonio

12

1

5=

Crysencio Summerville

12

1

The lack of goals doesn’t make for great viewing. Bowen and his frontal peers haven’t been at their best, to be sure, but there’s a stark absence of creativity that makes it hard to flourish. The Premier League record that the Hammers have created 17 big chances this season, placing them joint-16th in the division.

More attacking dimensions are required, and getting rid of the likes of Said Benrahma and James Ward-Prowse this summer must rankle a few.

West Ham actually cast out another player since Moyes’ exit who’s actually outperforming most of the current squad in offence, though Thilo Kehrer is probably not the name that you’d expect.

Thilo Kehrer's season in numbers

When Kehrer first alighted in east London, the furore suggested that a great deal had been struck, with The Athletic’s Roshane Thomas even praising his: “speed and eagerness to occupy advanced positions should add an extra dimension.” The defender’s versatility also posited that he could dynamise Moyes’ backline.

Signed from Paris Saint-Germain in August 2022 – for a shrewd £10m – the Germany international had enjoyed success but wanted a more prominent role than he had been afforded in the French capital.

However, his time in the Premier League quickly proved to temper expectations to ground closer to that of the £10m figure, with Kehrer starting the first 14 top-flight fixtures of the season but just 11 thereafter.

He left England just a year and a half after joining West Ham, signing on loan with AS Monaco before the deal became permanent in the summer of 2024. The half-campaign he spent under Moyes’ wing in 2023/24, the German managed only four substitute appearances in the league.

Journalist Stefan Bienkowski had even criticised the 28-year-old for one “horrendous” performance with Germany, with his confidence clearly knocked for six after early struggles with West Ham. Indeed, previously he had been a near-infallible mainstay for his nation under the tutelage of Hansi Flick.

At least he’s enjoying his football again back in France, though it’s somewhat frustrating to see that he’s having some success from an attacking standpoint, posting three goals from 13 matches across all competitions for Monaco this season.

Operating as a centre-back, this is quite the feat, especially when considering that the 6 foot 1 titan has completed 90% of his passes and emerged triumphant in 68% of his duels in Ligue 1 too, as per Sofascore.

Though he didn’t quite make his mark under Moyes’ leadership, Kehrer is clearly a great defender who suffered due to circumstances. West Ham aren’t exactly flourishing right now, but Lopetegui wants more control and perhaps he could have aided the squad in that regard.

The fact that he’s also outscoring every West Ham star bar Bowen also speaks volumes to the struggles of the London club.

West Ham make "special" £20m player top target to replace Lucas Paqueta

West Ham’s board have identified a player who could be the perfect replacement for one of their key midfielders.

ByBrett Worthington Nov 17, 2024

Everything you need to know about Erling Haaland's salary at Manchester City

Manchester City haven’t been in the best of form in 2024-25, having been knocked out in the Champions League play-off against Real Madrid, while things haven’t really worked out for them in the Premier League either. Despite the turmoil at the club, Erling Haaland hasn’t been short of goals and the big Norwegian was rewarded with a contract renewal with the Cityzens, keeping him at the Etihad until 2034. The new contract has made him the highest paid-player at the club, but exactly how much does the City striker earn? Let’s find out!

GOAL delved into the numbers with Capology and found out!

*

Erling Haaland's wages at Manchester City in numbers

Under his current contract with the club, Haaland earns £525,000 ($663,164) on a weekly basis, which scales up to over £27 million ($34m) for a year, making him the highest-paid player in the entire squad.

Player

Nationality

Weekly wages in GBP

Weekly wages in USD

Annual wages in GBP

Annual wages in USD

Erling Haaland

Norwegian

  £525,000

$663,146

£27,300,00

$34,483,586

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTop earners at Manchester City

As already mentioned, Haaland is the highest-paid City player.

Following the striker is the experienced Kevin De Bruyne, a winner of multiple titles and the City player with the most Premier League assists.

Meanwhile, Jack Grealish is the third-highest earner at the Etihad alongside Bernardo Silva. Capping off the list in fifth spot is new signings Omar Marmoush.

Player

Nationality

Weekly wages in GBP

Weekly wages in USD

Annual wages in GBP

Annual wages in USD

Erling Haland

Norwegian

£525,000

$663,146

£27,300,000

$34,483,546

Kevin De Bruyne

Belgian

£400,000

$505,254

£20,800,000

$26,273,308

Jack Grealish

English

£300,000

$378,941

£15,600,00

$19,704,906

Bernardo Silva

Portuguese

£300,000

$378,941

£15,600,00

$19,704.906

Omar Marmoush

Egyptian

£295,000

$372,625

£15,340,000 

$12,376,491

Top 5 earners in the Premier League

Haaland and De Bruyne both sit at the top of the charts not just at City, but also in the league.

Arguably the Premier League’s best player in 2024-25, Mohamed Salah, makes an appearance at number three.

Meanwhile, Casemiro comes in as a rather surprising entrant at number four, followed by yet another city player in Grealish.

Player

Nationality

Weekly wages in GBP

Weekly wages in USD

Annual wages in GBP

Annual wage sin USD

Erling Haaland

Norwegian

£525,000

$663,146

£27,300,000

$34,483,586

Kevin De Bruyne

Belgian

£400,000

$505,254

£20,800,000

$26,273,206

Mohamed Salah

Egyptian

£350,000

$442,097

£18,200,000

$22,989,057

Casemiro

Brazilian

£350,000

$442,097

£18,200,000

$22,989,057

Jack Grealish

English

£300,000

$378,941

£15,600,000

$19,704,906

Getty Images SportHighest paid players in the world

Although Haaland and De Bruyne are the top earners in the Premier League, they fail to make the top five when it comes to the highest paid players across the world.

At the top sits the never-aging Cristiano Ronaldo, playing for Saudi Premier League side Al Nassr.

At number two comes Al Ittihad's Karim Benzema, while Riyad Mahrez of Al Ahli makes an appearance at number three.

Player

Club

Weekly wages GBP

Weekly wages USD

Annual wages GBP

Annual wages USD

Cristiano Ronaldo

Al Nassr

£3,846,154

$4,027,872

£200,000,000

$209,449,340

Karim Benzema

Al Ittihad

£1,923,077

$2,013,936

£100,000,000

$104,724,670

Riyad Mahrez

Al Ahli

£1,003,846

$1,051,275

£52,200,000

$54,666,278

Sadio Mane

Al Nassr

£769,231

$805,574

£40,000,000

$41,889,868

Kalidou Koulibaly

Al Hilal

£667,308

$698,836

£34,000,000

$36,339,460

Damien Fleming explains a few of the concepts he cooked up, his fondness for hard-rock and dishes on who hid a Britney Spears CD in their bag

Sidharth Monga13-Jan-2015What is the whole bowlologist concept?
You say as though it is a negative, with that bit of frown over there.I know the serious side of it, but I mean stuff like Avenue of Apprehension…
We played this beach cricket series. Australia, New Zealand, England, West Indies. Really good fun. Great way to play with legends like Viv Richards and Thommo [Jeff Thomson] and Dennis Lillee and Richard Hadlee. I remember talking to Sir Richard one night. About Geoff Boycott’s Corridor of Uncertainty. I can’t remember what exactly, but Sir Richard wanted to ban that. Next day on he said, “I am going to ban it, let’s come up with some options.” And so we came up with Avenue of Apprehension, Snick Street, and Hallway of Hesitation. But what I did was, I used other people’s ideas and used them as mine. Mixture of me and people coming up with stuff on Twitter and stuff.Were you always wacky?
We are in the entertainment business. Even Test cricket is entertainment. I want to make sure I am insightful and take the game seriously, but if there is a chance to have fun, do that. I was someone who could provide a bit of humour, I suppose. Sometimes intentional, sometimes unintentional. Just by being pretty sloppy. Boys reckoned I used to talk a lot of rubbish when I was playing, but guess who is in the media now. Bad luck, lads.How did you turn out like this?
I roomed with Merv Hughes for six years. I left school and got picked two weeks later at the age of 18 years. Nothing prepares you for that. No wonder my personality is slightly off the kilt, because to room with Merv for six years and survive, one, I deserve a medal, and two, I am not going to come out normal. I blame it on Mervyn Hughes.How was your first night with him?
It was in Queensland. Tony Dodemaide and Michael di Venuto wished me luck going up in the lift. I went, “What am I in for here?” Going in there, [Hughes asked], “What bed do you want? Double or single?” I said single. And he went, “Aww gee, you are good to room with.” And then he ended up putting his arm around me and said, “Mate, you will be all right.”We didn’t room together only one time in those six years, and we lost, so went back together. He taught me a lot about cricket. For all the fun and games, he is a very mentally tough cricketer. I learned the level that I needed to be at. You need those role models when starting out, and you need to be a role model.Tell us more about rooming with him
We have got our own clubs. I have got a Test-hat-trick-for-Australia-on-debut club. Table for one each year. Merv and I form the club with Test hat-tricks and Test 70s club. So obviously Merv was the first. Me. We inducted Shane Warne last year. He never turns up, Warnie. Merv wanted to get Dennis Lillee, but he has got a 70 but no hat-trick. I threw in Glenn Mcgrath’s name, but Merv mentioned he doesn’t have a 70. It is a small club, but we catch up.What’s with Australian fast bowlers and scores in the 70s?
Well Rhino joined us. I rang Merv. No, Merv texts me saying, “hope Rhino gets a hat-trick. Hoping to induct him.”So just a club of two?
We are waiting. Warnie never bloody turns up, does he?Was it difficult to be yourself while being in and out of the side?
I never got dropped a lot. I helped the selectors by getting injured. I am sure if I was uninjured I would have been dropped a lot more.What did you tell Warnie and what did Warnie tell you after that drop?
I still haven’t spoken to him after that. I am not happy with it.Did you see the skit we did on Cricket Australia’s website. Make sure you plug that in the article.When I speak at corporate gigs, I build up the story a fair bit. I like to say I was on a second hat-trick, and I wasn’t that nervous because I had taken test hat-tricks before. I had got bored, really. In all seriousness, when I released the ball, and you don’t have enough time to think this, “Oh no it’s wide, oh beauty Srinath has nicked it, you beauty it’s going straight for Warnie, oh no Warnie has dropped it.” I wasn’t disappointed. We had beaten India to go one-up in the series, I took 5 for 30 so I am on the honours board, but the only thing I am disappointed about is, 5 for 30 is up there but how good would 6 for 29, including a hat-trick look? Just the 6 for 29 including the hat-trick on honours board. That’s my regret. In a statistical way, it would have been nice. But I have a story to tell.You could have started another club…
Two Test hat-tricks. Just for one. I could merge it with Australians-with-hat-tricks-on-Test-debut club.The one that slipped from Shane Warne at slip left Damien Fleming with hands on hips•Getty ImagesYou fast bowlers seem to have a strong bond…
We call ourselves the fast-bowling cartel. Obviously Glenn McGrath is the president. But the rest of us, we didn’t have a bowling coach when we were there. But the fast bowlers, we would talk about the opposition, we’d talk about what we were going to do and even to this day, you can just see we are talking over cricket. James Sutherland, an ex-fast bowler is the CEO of Cricket Australia, Tony Dodemaide [for] Cricket Victoria, Glenn McGrath’s doing a lot of things, Kasper [Michael Kasprowicz] is on the board. I am in the media. Dizzy [Jason Gillespie] is Yorkshire coach. We have an Indian brand ambassador as well. Srinath is an ICC match referee.But there is N Srinivasan there who has never bowled…
He’s not part of the cartel.But he controls everything…
At the moment, yes. But the fast-bowling cartel is sitting here, boys.Did you share Dizzy’s love of wrestling?
We actually – not that it should be allowed to be shown in public – but we got a bit bored on the 2001 series in India. In Delhi, I think. We mixed mini-golf with WWF. We called it Slam Punk Mania 2001. So we dressed up and we filmed it all. Just for the boys. But as you’d imagine, with the Indian people that were staying at the hotel, we ended up with a massive crowd thinking, ‘what the hell is going on?’What names did you have?
All I can say is, I was FFF. I’ll say that, but I don’t want to say the rest. Dizzy was Goofball Gillespie. And what was Kasper? He was the Hooded Avenger. He had a bit of a sock as an ally.Have you read any wrestling books?
I’ve read Hulk Hogan. I borrowed it off Dizzy. He used to love him, Mankind and all those guys.Were there cracks in the cartel when it came to music?
Dizzy and Kasper are very close because we are big hard-rock fans as well. That’s one thing I liked about India. India liked their rock. So you knew you can always buy rock CDs in India.Heavy metal?
I can go pretty heavy. Metallica, Megadeth, Anthrax. I go as heavy as that. That would be the limit for probably Kasper and Dizzy. But you know AC/DC, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, Alice In Chains. I am more a big rock fan.The only disagreement we had in the Australian dressing room was what went on the rockbox. We had the hard-rock guys like Kasper, Dizzy and me. And the big little head-banger David Boon. Loved his Deep Purple, Led Zeppelin. Cause he is a legend, I gave him a Motley Crew CD, and we get a few plays out of it. Because no one wanted to take Boony on. But when he retired, I had no one. So they chucked them out.Then we had the pretty-boy bands. Like Warnie, he likes ABBA and Aqua, and Ricky Martin. Ricky Martin? Warnie. Binga Brett Lee and Blewy [Greg Blewett]. The worst thing is they all knew the dance moves to Backstreet Boys and all that. And we are going, “Jeez.” It was the near the end of Michael Slater’s career that I found a Britney Spears CD in his bag, and I am not lying. And I was like, ‘Mickey, you’re out, mate. You can’t open the batting for Australia.’But they weren’t the worst. The worst were the country and western fans. Guys who liked Kenny Rogers and Johnny Denver, and an Australian guy called John Williamson. Like Steve Waugh, the captain.And that’s where you saw the guys who wanted to please their captain. Like Justin Langer and Hayden and Gilchrist. They would act like they actually liked that music just to get the captain handy. So that was the only dissension in there. I think that shortened my career. I had serious arguments with Steve Waugh, which we still have. There’s still a bit of friction. We play a little bit of golf together, me and Steve. And we’ve been partners, and we haven’t been winning. I reckon that our music dissension doesn’t help us gel as a team.Did you ever play Megadeth in the dressing room?
Yeah, yeah yeah. We’d get set periods where we would get to put it on. Particularly, Warnie hates my music. His brother Jason loves my music. So he would be like, “You’re like my brother.” And he hates it. For every Megadeth song or Metallica song from , you hear . And you’re like, “Are you serious?” Ricky Martin, , what you doing? And you’re dancing to it? Seriously how about you get a few more runs? Then we would get Holy Wars on. Then we’d get Metallica on.Did bad music bring around bad results?
I had bowled pretty well in this ODI series in 2001. I had got a few 2 or 3 for 30s. We got slogged a bit. And I don’t even know where it was. We are about to go out and bowl. Warnie has on. Phil Collins. That’s the atheist of rock ‘n’ roll. I said to John Buchanan. “John, you expect me to go out and be a fiery fast bowler, bounce Tendulkar and Ganguly, and rip into them with in my ear?” Go out there, of course I get 0 for 60 off 10 [0 for 53 off eight]. Walk in, see John Buchanan, and all I say, “Are you happy?” And walk away. That was my last ODI in India.What did Buchanan like?
Buey was pretty happy if the team was happy. He would float everywhere. He didn’t mind a bit of banter. He didn’t mind a little bit of friction within the dressing rooms .He thrived on them a bit. He would have meetings and pose questions. Mark Waugh would be asleep. The rest of us would listen. I reckon he was pretty easy.Who knows, he might have been writing his own tunes?
He might have been. He was a bit loopy, Buey. Pink Floyd might have been up his alley. He was a little out there, John.What does bowlology recommend?
This is in the bowlology handbook, fast bowlers have got to listen to hard rock. If you are going to bowl fast, you have just got to rock. I used to have a pump-up tape and a mellow tape. Just if I was getting a little bit over. But mellow for me was AC/DC or Pearl Jam.What about the mullets?
I did have one early. I had one halfway down the back. Kasper never. He didn’t have the head-cut for a mullet. Glenn didn’t either. Glenn had that Dumb Dumber Christmas look for a while there.You would have heard Parables Of Glenn McGrath’s Haircut?
No, but Glenn was, like Merv, a pest in the dressing room. He is always throwing forks and knives. He is a real wildlife person. Whereas I was more witty comments. I was always there as a bit of wingman if someone wants to go out for a bit of a beer. I liked the social side of things. And not getting famous enough so you can’t go out and enjoy things.It’s all part of being in a team, the camaraderie. Something I really enjoyed. The fun we had away from the game. But also we were very fortunate that there was still the fun side to it in the mid-’90s. Where we still celebrate pretty hard. Because we won quite often. Only towards the end that we started to get more professional and paid more. That era from ’93-ish to early 2000s we started to get paid well, but we could still have a real life outside the game.

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Nov-2015M Vijay and Cheteshwar Pujara led India to some stability with a 63-run, second-wicket partnership•BCCIDean Elgar’s part-time spin provided the breakthrough for South Africa, accounting for Pujara•BCCIKagiso Rabada then struck to remove Virat Kohli for 1 and India went in to lunch at a shaky 82 for 3•BCCIElgar’s strikes hurt India further and the hosts were soon struggling at 154 for 7•BCCIRavindra Jadeja, along with R Ashwin, added 42 for the eighth wicket to push India’s score towards 200. The home side was finally dismissed for 201•BCCIIndia’s spinners pulled things back – Ashwin dismissed Stiaan van Zyl and Jadeja bowled Faf du Plessis – to leave South Africa at 28 for 2 at close of play•BCCI

Following an inconsistent start to the season, Newcastle United and PIF are now reportedly willing to show the door to a player in January that Eddie Howe previously blocked from completing a departure.

Newcastle transfer news

It’s been one step forward, two steps back for the Magpies so far this season. Whilst Howe’s side secured impressive victories over Arsenal and Nottingham Forest before the international break, they’ve since suffered defeat at the hands of struggling West Ham United and were forced to settle for a point against relegation contenders Crystal Palace. With Premier League leaders Liverpool up next too, those at St James’ Park could be in for another difficult evening.

With the January transfer window just around the corner, Newcastle could be one of the most interesting clubs to watch, given how they failed to complete their recruitment during the summer.

Deals for players such as Marc Guehi never quite got over the line and amid their recent defensive struggles, it would come as little shock if the Magpies went again in pursuit of the defender, whose own goal to give Newcastle the lead this weekend was full of irony.

There could also be movement on the exit front, meanwhile. According to Wayne Veysey of Football Insider, PIF and Newcastle are now willing to accept offers to sell Kieran Trippier in the January transfer window just months since Howe reportedly blocked the right-back from leaving St James’ Park.

Howe must now ditch 6/10 Newcastle star who lost the ball 20x vs Palace

Newcastle failed to secure three points against Crystal Palace today

2 ByRoss Kilvington Nov 30, 2024

Now 34 years old and behind in the pecking order to the impressive Tino Livramento, a January exit could suit all parties. But Newcastle should act with caution, given just how fragile the depth of their squad has been throughout the current campaign. The last thing Howe needs is to be scrambling for internal solutions that have already headed for the exit door.

Newcastle must still replace "strong" Trippier

Although it’s far from in doubt that Trippier, on £120,000-a-week, is now past his best and is now a backup and backup only to Livramento at St James’ Park, Newcastle must still ensure that they replace the right-back if he completes a move away in the January transfer window. A player with experience on Europe’s biggest stage and someone who now offers key depth, the Magpies can’t afford to stretch their defensive options thinner than they have done already this season.

Trippier’s potential exit comes just one season after he found himself at the centre of Howe’s praise, with the Newcastle boss telling reporters as relayed by the Daily Mail last December: “Tripps [Trippier] is an incredibly strong character. As I’ve said many times he’s a transformative signing. Someone that’s taken the group onto a totally different level.”

All good things must come to an end, however, and after starting just three Premier League games all season, Trippier looks destined for the Newcastle exit door. Livramento, meanwhile, looks likely to only push on after making the right-back role his own in the last few months.

Derbyshire 306v (du Plooy 82, Came 78, Dal 56, Rushworth 3-60) and 214 for 9 dec (Madsen 58, Raine 5-43, Trevaskis 3-81) drew with Durham 223 (Jones 87, Conners 4-55) and 176 for 5 (Trevaskis 42*)Durham’s Liam Trevaskis and Paul Coughlin denied promotion hopefuls Derbyshire victory in a dramatic end to the LV=Insurance County Championship match at the Incora County Ground.The sixth-wicket pair batted through the final 17 overs to steer Durham to a fighting draw after they had been set 298 in 87 overs. Trevaskis faced 57 balls for an unbeaten 42 and Coughlin was 19 not out off 53 as Durham closed on 176 for 5 from 53 overs.Mark Watt took 2 for 37 in 13 overs but Derbyshire could not force the win that would have taken them to second in Division Two.Durham paceman Ben Raine claimed two more wickets to finish with 5 for 43 in 22 overs before Derbyshire declared on 214 for 9. Derbyshire had batted on for seven overs, adding 29 runs for the loss of Anuj Dal and Nick Potts before the declaration came.With showers forecast in the afternoon, they needed to make early inroads but Michael Jones again started positively, taking three fours from the second over from Nick Potts. Jones had scored 24 out of 26 when he tried to leave a ball from Ben Aitchison and got a bottom edge into his stumps.Aitchison should have had a second when Sean Dickson on 11 edged him low to first slip where Watt spilled the chance at the second attempt. But Derbyshire had a second breakthrough in the next over when Scott Borthwick played across a low dipping full toss from Conners and lost his middle stump.At lunch, Durham required a further 237 in 67 overs but their hopes took another blow when Dal removed Dickson. The allrounder thought he had the opener caught behind earlier and when Dickson missed a big swing and lost his off stump, he gave him a loud and visible send-off.Durham’s chances now rested with Nic Maddinson who drove Watt for consecutive fours before rain stopped play for 20 minutes with the loss of five overs.When play resumed under threatening clouds, Watt broke through in the first over when Maddinson pushed forward at a ball that went on with the arm and was caught behind. Watt struck again in his next over, tempting Jonathan Bushnell into a drive which he edged low to Wayne Madsen at slip.It was now a question of whether the rain would stay away but as the players were leaving the field for bad light, a storm broke over the ground, holding up play for two hours.The umpires decided the match could resume at 4.50pm, which gave Derbyshire 17.1 overs or 103 balls to take five wickets. And there was drama immediately with Coughlin put down at second slip on 1 as he pushed forward at Watt.Trevaskis and Coughlin showed application and good judgement to frustrate Derbyshire who, with seven overs left and the light deteriorating, were unable to use their pace bowlers. With spinners on at both ends, Derbyshire had every fielder in a catching position but the pair stood firm and the home side called off the hunt with one over remaining.There was a touching finale as the players and coaching staff applauded umpire Nick Cook off the field in his last appearance at Derby before he retires at the end of the season.

أعلن نادي ليفربول، في بيان رسمي منذ قليل، أولى صفقاته الصيفية لعام 2025 من أجل دعم صفوف الفريق تحت قيادة المدرب آرني سلوت، ومواصلة المشوار الذي وُضع أساسه قبل عام.

وتمكن ليفربول مؤخرًا من التتويج بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، 2024/25، في الموسم الأول للمدرب آرني سلوت في ملعب “الأنفيلد”.

ويسعى ليفربول إلى حسم أكثر من صفقة خلال الصيف من أجل دعم صفوف الفريق قبل منافسات الموسم المقبل.

وأصدر ليفربول بيانًا رسميًا منذ قليل، للإعلان عن أولى صفقاته المتمثلة في اللاعب جيريمي فريمبونج، قادمًا من باير ليفركوزن.

وتشير التقارير الصحفية إلى أن القيمة المالية لتلك الصفقة تبلغ 35 مليون يورو.

Jeremie is a Red. pic.twitter.com/5hhB5QVpZP — Liverpool FC (@LFC) May 30, 2025

وأفاد ليفربول أن اللاعب الهولندي وقع عقدًا طويل الأمد مع النادي، في مركز التدريبات اليوم الجمعة، بعدما اجتاز الفحص الطبي بنجاح.

وقال فريمبونج في تصريحات للموقع الرسمي للنادي: “كان الأمر سهلاً للغاية، جاء ليفربول وأعرب عن اهتمامه، وبالطبع كان الأمر واضحًا بالنسبة لي”.

وأضاف: “كان الأمر بالنسبة لي أشبه بـ(نفذوا ما تريدون)، وكذلك قلت ذلك لوكلائي”، ووجه رسالة حماسية لجماهير ليفربول: “سأبذل قصارى جهدي وسأقدم كل ما لدي، آمل أن نفوز معًا ونحتفل معًا، ونحقق كل شيء”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. الكشف عن القيمة المالية لصفقة انتقال أرنولد من ليفربول إلى ريال مدريد

ووجه رسالة حماسية لجماهير ليفربول، حيث قال: “سأبذل قصارى جهدي وسأقدم كل ما لدي، آمل أن نفوز معًا ونحتفل معًا ونحقق كل شيء”.

وأفاد: “أنا متحمس جدًا لوجودي هنا، شكرًا لكم على استقبالكم لي، ولن أخذلكم، وسأمنحكم الطاقة التي تحتاجونها”.

وأكد: “كلاعب كرة قدم، كطفل، ترغب دائمًا في اللعب مع أفضل الفرق، عندما حاول ليفربول ضمي في سن أصغر، كان الأمر صعبًا بسبب طبيعة التنقل وكل تلك الأمور، اضطررت إلى اتخاذ مسار مختلف”.

وأشار: “انظروا إليّ الآن، لقد نجح الأمر بشكل رائع، أعتقد أن هذا هو أفضل ملعب (الأنفيلد) لعبت فيه عندما كنت مع ليفركوزن، الأجواء، الجماهير، والفريق أيضًا، كل شئ رائع، لا داعِ للحديث كثيرًا عن جودة ليفربول، لقد فازوا بالدوري”.

واختتم: ” بالنسبة لي كان اللعب ضد ليفربول عندما كنت في ليفركوزن صعبًا للغاية، كيف لي أن أقول ذلك؟ من الواضح أن ليفركوزن كان لا يزال جيدًا، ولكن كما ترى، ليفربول في مستوى آخر”.

ويُعد فريمبونج بديل ترينت ألكسندر أرنولد الذي رحل رسميًا عن ليفربول وانضم إلى ريال مدريد، اليوم.

The fact that Bangladesh batters didn’t score any hundreds and Zimbabwe had four made “a huge difference,” he says

Mohammad Isam11-Aug-2022Bangladesh’s ODI side has to address a number of areas for improvement, according to captain Tamim Iqbal. Their streak of five consecutive series wins was broken by Zimbabwe, who chased down two challenging totals – 291 and 304 – in the first two ODIs, before petering out in a 105-run loss in the third game on Wednesday.Tamim, who has been in charge of the side since January last year, said that a loss against a lower-ranked side would sting a bit more and hoped that this would ram home the message for improvement in the side.”Talking about improvement is often boring, and it usually comes up when we have lost a match or a series,” Tamim said. “If we had lost to Australia or India, say [Virat] Kohli or [Steven] Smith had played such knocks against us, we wouldn’t have really taken it to heart. They are top players. They are top teams. We didn’t have much to do. I am not belittling them. [Sikandar] Raza, [Regis] Chakabva and [Innocent] Kaia played unbelievably well, but it proved that we have a lot to improve in our ODI side.Related

Mustafizur four-for, fifties from Anamul and Afif give Bangladesh consolation win

“Ireland, whom we are playing at home and away next year, are also capable of doing similar things. But it doesn’t change the fact that we are a serious ODI team. We are a fantastic ODI team. We had a great run but the graph usually comes down. I am not going to blame the batters or the bowlers separately. We didn’t do well as a unit, which includes planning and execution. There are a lot of areas to work on to reach the top.”Tamim said that four centuries from Zimbabwe’s batters and none from Bangladesh put the two teams apart. Zimbabwe were led by Raza’s twin centuries, with Kaia and Chakabva also hitting hundreds in the big chases. Tamim also praised Zimbabwe for winning the series despite playing with a depleted side.”We couldn’t utilise our chances, they utlilised their opportunity,” he said. “They didn’t have the best possible team. Two of their main fast bowlers were injured, and two batters didn’t play. Credit goes to Zimbabwe. Two individuals took the game away in the first two matches. We didn’t have hundreds, they had four. It was a huge difference.”Tamim said that he wasn’t pleased with his own performance too, despite being one of the few batters showing an intention to score a big one quickly. He struck two half-centuries and was run-out for 19 in the third game.”Though I scored some runs, I am not at all happy,” he said. “It is such a good wicket. You just have to tackle the first ten overs. So getting a 60 and a 50-odd wasn’t enough. It was the difference between the two teams. They had four hundred and we had none.”Tamim believes that unless Bangladesh start scoring big like some of the better teams, they will struggle even on good batting pitches like Harare. “It is one of our team goals to score 350, something that we have not done before. The par score will be 300 in the World Cup in India. Apart from Mirpur and some venues in India where you can win games scoring 260-270, most of the venues are 290-310. This is what’s happening now. Soon you will see us try to reach what others are reaching.”Bangladesh won the third ODI thanks mainly to Afif Hossain’s unbeaten 85 off 81 for which he batted with the tail in the death overs. But Tamim warned that the media shouldn’t start labeling him one way or the other, which might affect his rhythm.”Don’t give any names to him yet. It is too early for him,” Tamim said. “He has a unique quality of taking the game away under pressure. He will do the same thing and sometimes get out, and then we will question him.”But I don’t want him to lose this quality, which is to want to dominate with the way he bats. It is a fantastic quality to have. It is still very early days for him, and I am pretty sure he will have a fantastic career, but it is too early to give him names.”

In front of more than 90,000 fans at the MCG, India prevailed over Pakistan in a nerve-racking finish

Alagappan Muthu23-Oct-20225:51

Rohit Sharma on Virat Kohli’s 82*: ‘One of India’s best knocks’

That front foot…Just the way it lunges at the ball…Even in this game…Even against these guys…Virat Kohli isn’t a man. He is a feeling. It’s why every time he walks out to bat, he lifts the entire world with him. Or at the very least roughly around one billion of its people.On a day where only the extraordinary was allowed into the MCG, one of India’s greatest played an innings that may be their greatest ever in T20 cricket. It has to be because, in the end, they beat Pakistan, and it brought a tear to his eye.Related

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Drama at the death – a ball-by-ball account of a cracking finish

'Virat Kohli, what are you?'

How it ended
India went into the final three overs needing 48 runs to complete a chase of 160.And they were facing a bowling attack that was drawing every bit of venom available on a pitch that offered scary pace and seething bounce.Haris Rauf was more bolt of lighting than flesh and bone. He was the one who brought Pakistan back into this riotous game. So naturally he had to go.All night Kohli was batting at a level that shouldn’t be possible. Like a 27th letter of the English alphabet. It was preposterous. Just like the two sixes he hit to end the 19th over.The first one was a back-of-a-length slower ball climbing up above his waist. The only way he could have hit it straight over the bowler’s head is if his willpower actually bent the laws of physics.How can you clear the biggest cricket ground on the planet when there’s no pace on the ball, and when it was meant to get big on you? How?!An equation that read 28 off eight balls became 16 off six. And still mayhem lurked.On the other side of ecstasy, there’s agony – Mohammad Nawaz after the final over•Getty Images

Spin was the price this match paid to be this awesome. Anyone that couldn’t put pace on the ball was being dispatched. And Mohammad Nawaz knew the same fate awaited him when he fronted up for the final over.He started it well enough, with the wicket of Hardik Pandya, but when he ran into the day’s unstoppable force, everything changed.Kohli launched Nawaz over that giant square-leg boundary, and long before the ball landed, he was signalling for a no-ball. Pakistan didn’t like that. Babar Azam and the umpires were involved in a long, animated and emotional discussion. It was a marginal call, a full toss perhaps over waist-high, and in the end, India got what they wanted.A free hit, which Nawaz used to break Kohli’s stumps, but that didn’t matter. You can’t get bowled off a free hit. And, as the ball wandered away, Kohli sprinted three runs. Cue dissent from Pakistan once more. They felt the ball should’ve been dead once it had hit the stumps, but the umpires disagreed again. Rod Tucker signalled byes.India needed two off one, but Kohli was at the non-strikers’ end. And somewhere in the midst of all this Dinesh Karthik had been stumped.Two off one with R Ashwin on strike. Who writes these scripts?Nawaz ran in… and bowled a wide down the leg side. WHO WROTE THIS SCRIPT?!Ashwin, one of the cleverest going around, just sidestepped that ball, and then with one needed off one, he casually chipped the ball over mid-off. The sound barrier broke as 90,293 people at the MCG – and countless millions at home – all roared as one. Some in ecstasy, some in agony.Virat Kohli took a moment for himself after his incredible knock•Getty Images

Meanwhile, Kohli was on his knees – just as he was in Mohali, 2016. He punched the turf. This was new. And when he came up, he was mobbed. He allowed his team-mates their time with him but then wriggled away so he could be alone. Or well, as alone as he could be with a stadium full of people singing his name. He stared at the night sky, with his right hand raised, and his forefinger up. Was he saying thanks? Was he saying, ‘Ah, so this is why I went through that slump in form? Well, fair enough. Good deal.’ And then suddenly his thoughts were broken as the captain of the Indian cricket team hurtled onto the pitch and lifted him clean off his feet. When Rohit Sharma came to the presentation, he had no voice.The other hero
It now seems so long ago but India had another hero as well. His name was Arshdeep Singh. Last month at the Asia Cup, he shelled a catch in the dying moments of a very tight game against Pakistan and was met with the vilest abuse on social media. He’s 23 years old. All he wants to do is help his team win. And today he did just that, by removing Babar Azam lbw with his very first ball in a T20 World Cup.Back then, this game was all swing and hoop and the lurid geometry the white ball is capable of. Pakistan were reduced to 32 for 2 in the powerplay. Then Iftikhar Ahmed and Shan Masood built a partnership. They took down R Ashwin and Axar Patel. Spin just couldn’t catch a break in the game, leaking 107 runs in 72 balls, eight sixes and nine fours.Pakistan recovered to make 59 runs in the six overs immediately after the powerplay, prompting India to bring back their quicks, and within 12 balls Hardik and Mohammed Shami had three wickets. Shaheen Afridi came out at No. 9 and belted one NSFW six over the longest boundary of the ground at deep midwicket, pushing the total up to 159 for 8. And it was game on.Long before the pulsating denouement, Arshdeep Singh made crucial new-ball incisions to remove both Pakistan openers•Getty Images

The best vs the best
Defending 160 is hard work, even for Pakistan. Since 2019, they’ve only managed to do it thrice in 13 matches. This had all the looks of being lucky number four.Rohit and KL Rahul were given the short shrift. Suryakumar Yadav was bounced out. India were 45 for 4 after 10 overs. If they were going to win, they had to score nearly two runs a ball for half of their innings.Talk about goading a genius. Kohli was 12 off 21 then. He would pick himself up with a six off Nawaz – a thundering strike after stepping down the pitch. Hardik at the other end got going as well. India managed 55 runs in the five overs from 11th and 15th and Pakistan knew they had to bring back their big guns.Shaheen came on. But he hadn’t played any cricket since July 2022 and all that rust showed. A would-be leg-stump yorker turned into a low full toss – which isn’t the worst ball to bowl in T20 cricket, it still denies the batter the room they like to hit boundaries. But Kohli somehow managed it. And all it took was a twist of his wrist.That loft over extra cover which beat three fielders – one running back and two converging on it from deep cover point and long-off – was like a catharsis. Not so long ago, Kohli confessed to faking his intensity. Here, he felt its embrace and it was all natural. And it was all good. So good that he actually punched the air even though India still needed 37 off 15 balls.Hardik, though, was still struggling. The pressure to find those sixes was getting to him and he began searching in all the wrong places – like square of the wicket at the MCG. Rauf bowled a brilliant 19th over – the first four balls anyway – to push the equation up to 28 off 8. Then Kohli got on strike. He knew the straight boundaries were shorter. And he went for them. Got one down the ground. Then another behind the wicket. Poof, just like that, 12 off 2. To be that clear-headed, to be that calculative, in that situation, requires…Actually, there’s no real word for it.Kohli said it himself. “I have no words. I have no idea how this happened”.

da pinup bet： Tottenham Hotspur were a hard team to predict last season, as in one game, they could be sensational and blow their opponents away, whereas, in the next, they could be blown away themselves.

da cassino： Unfortunately for Ange Postecoglou, that seems to be just as true for this season, as his side has beaten the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Aston Villa but lost to Crystal Palace, Ipswich Town and Galatasaray.

However, while there are certainly issues with the North Londoners this season, they’re scoring goals, as their 23 in 11 games is the most out of anyone in the Premier League.

PL’s Top Scorers

#

Team

Goals

1

Tottenham

23

2

Man City

22

=

Brentford

22

3

Liverpool

21

=

Chelsea

21

4

Brighton

19

5

Arsenal

18

Even Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-min have chipped in, although both are being outscored by a former academy gem who left just before Ange started.

Kulusevski & Son's season so far

It’s been a particularly interesting campaign for Kulsevski this season, as after a somewhat underwhelming one out on the wing last year, Postecoglou opted to move him into a midfield role on a more permanent basis, where he’s thrived.

In his 17 appearances so far, the “world-class” Swede, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has scored twice and provided five assists, and of those seven goal involvements, six of them have come with him in the middle of the park.

On the other hand, it’s been a slightly more frustrating campaign for Son so far, as injury and fitness issues have limited him to just 11 appearances.

However, when he’s been on the pitch, he has been deceivingly effective, and by this, we mean that while some of the sharpness and quick movements he was known for in the past have somewhat disappeared, he’s still scored three goals and provided three assists.

This means that despite declining all-round play, the South Korean superstar is still averaging a goal involvement every 1.83 games, which is remarkable.

With that said, both stars are being outscored by a former academy gem who left the club last year.

Spurs' former Academy gem enjoying a stellar campaign

So, the former academy gem in question is 21-year-old Romaine Mundle.

The Edmonton-born winger came up through Spurs’ youth system and was even named in the first-team squad a few times between 2021 and 2023.

However, upon refusing to sign a new deal in 2023, he left the club to join Belgian outfit Standard Liège a few days before Postecoglou officially took charge of the club.

Unfortunately for the talented winger, he did not get many chances with the first team in Belgium, so he joined Sunderland on a four-and-a-half-year deal in February of this year.

His first half-season with the Black Cats wasn’t ideal either, as in 11 games he scored just a single goal and failed to provide any assists, which left some feeling like he might not be of the level required to play in the Championship.

Mundle’s Sunderland record

Season

23/24

24/25

Appearances

11

16

Goals

1

4

Assists

0

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.09

0.37

All Stats via Transfermarkt

However, with half a year under his belt, this season has been a different story entirely as, in 16 appearances, the 21-year-old winger, whom journalist Josh Bunting described as having “bags of talent,” has scored four goals and provided two assists, meaning he’s averaging a goal involvement every 2.66 games.

Moreover, according to Transfermarkt, his value has also skyrocketed from €300k – £250k – just before he left Tottenham to €2m – £1.6m – today, which is not bad at all.

Ultimately, leaving Spurs when he did was probably the best thing Mundle could have done, as he’s now finally showing just what he can do at a big club and in a challenging league, although it would have been interesting to see how he’d have got on under Postecoglou.

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