West Ham United find themselves in the hunt for new attacking options and could look to steal a march on Everton to land a striking target, according to a report.

West Ham look to bring attacking flair to the London Stadium

The Hammers struggled for goals last term and weren’t helped by Michail Antonio’s unfortunate injury struggles, while Niclas Fullkrug and Evan Ferguson weren’t able to deliver often enough in his absence. Danny Ings has also left under freedom of contract.

Addressing potential targets, former manager Martin Allen believes Aleksandar Mitrovic would be an upgrade on West Ham’s current striking options if they are to push forward in a bid to sign the Serbia international from Al-Hilal.

He explained: “West Ham certainly need somebody up front. Mitrovic was at Fulham and did so well there. Can West Ham afford £40m for him? I’m not sure they can. Would he fit into their team and do well? I personally think he would, he’d be an improvement on what they’ve got.”

West Ham are reportedly keen on adding Mitrovic to their forward line, even if his former club Fulham and the might of Manchester United stand in the way, though he is far from the only name linked with a move to the London Stadium.

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Dominic Lund

May 25, 2025

Tammy Abraham could move to the Hammers after a frustrating loan spell at AC Milan, albeit that would depend on whether parent club AS Roma feel now is the right time to let the England international return to more familiar surroundings.

Speculation is beginning to mount with the window now open and West Ham are looking to brush Everton aside in the race for a talented young forward, per recent developments.

West Ham hold talks to beat Everton to Adama Bojang signature

According to The Express, West Ham are eyeing a move for Gambian striker Adama Bojang, who spent the entirety of last campaign on loan at Grasshoppers Zurich from Stade de Reims.

Coming in with a return of six goals and two assists in 27 appearances across all competitions, he has previously attracted interest from the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United and Manchester City before settling on a £3m move to France.

Labelled “The Gambian Hurricane” as his rise to prominence continues, Everton and Brentford are also interested in his services, but the Hammers hold a key advantage after initiating talks over a potential deal.

Reims are hesitant to let him depart. Nevertheless, their relegation to the second-tier could mean they have to sell players to balance the books.

Bojang is unlikely to be a first-team starter straight away, though any notion of an agreement could see West Ham bring down the age of their strikeforce further after they brought in Daniel Cummings from Celtic to kickstart their summer business.

The strikers will be the headline acts in Sunday's blockbuster match at Old Trafford but they could easily have ended up at opposite destinations

Cesc Fabregas throwing pizza at Sir Alex Ferguson. Gary Neville scissor-tackling Jose Antonio Reyes. Roy Keane telling Patrick Vieira "I'll see you out there". Peter Schmeichel taking on Ian Wright after having his leg stamped on. It was rarely a dull affair when Manchester United met Arsenal.

But as well as the vitriol, the epic clashes between the clubs in the late 1990s and early 2000s were remembered as meetings of fearsome forwards. And the best moments belonged to Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy, the two leading marksmen who spearheaded the pitched battles between the teams for five seasons.

The rivalry never really truly recovered from their eventual departures and United-Arsenal was eventually overtaken by Manchester City versus Liverpool as the Premier League's biggest fixture. 

But this summer both United and Arsenal have broken the bank to land leading strikers and when they meet on Sunday at Old Trafford, all eyes will be on Viktor Gyokeres and Benjamin Sesko – two lethal centre-forwards who both clubs hope will take them to the next level.

Getty/GOALTrading places

The names Gyokeres and Sesko have been the lips of United and Arsenal fans for the last year, as both clubs had kept a keen eye on the two most coveted strikers in Europe. Gyokeres' career finally lifted off under the tutelage of Ruben Amorim at Sporting CP, so when the Portuguese coach moved to Old Trafford last November it seemed natural that the new boss would want to take his super-striker with him. But it soon emerged that Gyokeres only wanted a club that would be able to offer him Champions League football, which played to Arsenal's advantage. 

The Gunners, though, remained very interested in Sesko. The player’s agent, Elvis Basanovic, was a guest at their final home game of the season against Newcastle and at the end of May reports suggested that they were going to pick him to be their new No.9. The news stories were met with a lot of anger from Arsenal fans online as Gyokeres was felt to be the safer option, a guarantee of goals rather than a project. Those fans needn't have worried as Arsenal eventually agreed to pay Sporting up to £63m ($86m) for the 27-year-old after new sporting director Andrea Berta urged them to change direction and go for the Sweden frontman instead of the Slovenian.

Sesko, meanwhile, was left without the big move to the Premier League that he had been craving. United were still on the lookout for a striker, however, after Chelsea beat them to Liam Delap and Liverpool landed Hugo Ekitike at their expense. They logically turned to Sesko, who they had explored signing in 2019 when he was 16, then again in 2022 and once more last year before eventually signing Joshua Zirkzee.

With Arsenal out of the picture, it was a straight choice between Newcastle United and the Red Devils for Sesko. He immediately opted for the 20-times league winners over the Magpies, rejecting the chance to play Champions League football at St. James' Park.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesThe missing piece

United and Arsenal have been crying out for a reliable centre-forward for some time, hence why they both committed so much time and money to their new recruits. A top-level striker, in theory, is the last missing piece for Arsenal after finishing second in the league for three years in a row and reaching the semi-finals of the Champions League last season.

Mikel Arteta's side had the best defence in the Premier League last term, conceding just 34 goals compared to champions Liverpool's 41. They were let down by their attack, scoring 69 goals compared to 91 the year before – when they missed out on the title to Manchester City by two points – and 88 in 2022-23.

No Arsenal player managed double figures last season, with Bukayo Saka's long absence after injuring his hamstring in December proving a big factor in their blunt attack. Kai Havertz finished as their top scorer with nine goals, his season ending in February after tearing his hamstring during a warm-weather camp in Dubai. It forced the Gunners to play central midfielder Mikel Merino up front for the remainder of the campaign. 

Even without a natural centre-forward, Arsenal rarely struggled to create chances. Converting them was a different matter. Their wastefulness was a big factor in them drawing 14 games last season. In 12 of the 18 matches in which they dropped points, they had a higher expected goals (xG) than their opponents.

Getty ImagesOnly behind Mbappe

Arsenal have not had a consistent out-and-out striker since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who scored 22 league goals in back-to-back seasons between 2018 and 2020. It was hoped that Gabriel Jesus could have a similar impact after signing from Manchester City in 2022 but a strong start to his first campaign in north London was derailed by a knee injury at the World Cup and he suffered a similar problem last season. He has scored a total of 18 Premier League goals in his three seasons.

Arsenal could not have signed a more prolific striker than Gyokeres, who scored 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting. He scored 39 goals in the league, averaging 1.25 strikes per start. That's more goals per start than the entire United squad managed. 

He ranked second in the European Golden Shoe rankings, only losing to Kylian Mbappe because the Portuguese league was given a lower weighting than La Liga as it is outside of Europe's top five leagues. The lack of quality beyond the major three sides in Portugal has to be considered, but it is worth stating that no player in Portugal had scored as many goals as Gyokeres since Mario Jardel in 2002.

Getty Images SportHenry: 'The perfect match'

Amorim warned that Gyokeres will have to adapt to a different and more physical league but he is not an English football novice. He joined Brighton when he was 20 but never made the first team. He did have success in the second tier of  English football, though, when being loaned to Coventry City, and after making the move permanent he scored 21 goals in the Championship, leading to him signing for Sporting for a club record €24m (£21m/$28m).

"He already was in England, let's not forget that. He was at Coventry, he couldn't do it at Brighton. So, you can see a guy who already knows what struggling is and comes back from that," said Thierry Henry, Arsenal's all-time top scorer. "He's more confident, and you can see from his body the way he's looked after himself, the way he's changed. You have a guy that's a killer in the box – numbers don't lie – and you have a team that creates a lot of chances, so it should be the perfect match."

While Arsenal see Gyokeres as the missing link between them and a first league title in 22 years or even a first major trophy in six, Sesko has a different remit at United. He has been brought in to help the team rise from the ashes of their lowest league finish, lowest points total and lowest goal count (just 44 strikes) in 51 years. 

A lack of goals, however, is not a new problem for the Red Devils. Even when they finished third under Erik ten Hag they only scored 58 times. And they have only scored more than 70 times in one season since Ferguson retired in 2013. No player has scored 20 goals in one campaign since Robin van Persie in that same season. Cristiano Ronaldo has come closest with 18, with Marcus Rashford hitting 17 in two campaigns.

Already closing in on Bryan Mbeumo, Manchester United are now reportedly very keen to sign an upgrade on Casemiro in the form of a £35m midfield star this summer.

Man Utd submit fresh Mbeumo bid

It hasn’t been the easiest deal to negotiate and the winger is yet to sign on the dotted line, but Manchester United’s latest bid to sign Mbeumo could yet prove to be successful at long last. The Red Devils have reportedly offered Brentford over £60m to sign their talented star who looks destined to become the second summer arrival at Old Trafford sooner rather than later.

Mbeumo’s arrival would take United’s spending to over £160m for the summer despite missing out on European football and often watching on as INEOS implemented several money-saving plans.

Success on the pitch has been given the priority no matter what, however, and the pressure will now be on Ruben Amorim to get the best out of his side next season.

What’s more, it seems unlikely at this stage that it will just be Cunha and Mbeumo who arrive. The likes of Emiliano Martinez have threatened to steal the headlines in recent weeks as Aston Villa attempt to comply with PSR rules, as has Eintracht Frankfurt’s Hugo Ekitike.

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Manchester United appear to be making strides in a deal to land a new striker for Ruben Amorim.

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Both arrivals would again offer Amorim much-needed upgrades on Andre Onana and Rasmus Hojlund, who has been linked with a move to Inter Milan in recent weeks.

Before Martinez and Ekitike enter Old Trafford, though, United may turn their focus towards a talented defensive midfielder worth just £34m this summer.

Man Utd very keen to sign Jashari

According to HLN, as relayed by Get Belgian & Dutch Football News, Manchester United are now very keen to sign Ardon Jashari from Club Brugge and, unlike others, are not put off by his €40m (£34m) price tag.

The Red Devils would be signing a player who was just voted the best player in Belgium – winning the Player of the Season award in the Belgium Pro League – and one who would be an instant upgrade on the ageing Casemiro.

Dubbed “impressive” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, Jashari certainly isn’t short on suitors this summer but it’s a race that Manchester United could have the financial power to win once again.

If the 22-year-old was the follow Cunha and Mbeumo through the Old Trafford doors then Amorim would instantly have three very impressive signings to work with this summer.

CA are advertising for a new national pace-bowling coach to work across the men’s team and the states to manage Australia’s next generation of fast bowlers

Alex Malcolm22-Oct-2024Cricket Australia is creating a new role for a national pace-bowling coach to oversee the management of fast bowlers across international and domestic programmes, in a bid to prevent the spate of injuries that have been occurring and ensure a more coordinated approach to the handling of Australia’s quicks.The new role, which would be based in Brisbane, comes after a limited-overs tour of the UK where six fast bowlers were injured and six others were unavailable, although the role was devised before that tour. A debate is also raging within Australian cricket about whether the current contracting model for the best male cricketers is fit for purpose in the age of franchise cricket, with the management of fast bowlers front and centre in that discussion.Daniel Vettori is Australia’s current bowling coach travelling with the team and will continue in that position. The new job will be largely Australia-based and focussed on the management of contracted fast bowlers as well as Under-19 and Australia A quicks, although the successful candidate will tour with the men’s international side at various stages.Related

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Vettori is highly regarded within the Australian set-up but is not working for CA around the year, as he has been allowed to take contracts as the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL and Birmingham Pheonix in the Hundred. It has meant that the likes of Clint McKay and Rob Cassell have been seconded into the Australian team as bowling coaches on an ad-hoc basis in recent times, but the new role would create some continuity. There would also be some consistency within the Australia A coaching staff, which has cycled through a multitude of different coaches in recent years on a series-to-series basis.Australia’s fast-bowling stocks have long been one of its great strengths, but the reliance on the big three in Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood in all forms and recent injuries to the next crop, as well as the stress fracture to Cameron Green, have only served to highlight the importance of managing the next generation.Green, Nathan Ellis, Xavier Bartlett, Riley Meredith, Spencer Johnson and Ben Dwarshuis all picked up injuries on the tour of the UK, while Lance Morris, Jhye Richardson, Michael Neser, Scott Boland and Will Sutherland were all unavailable as they recovered from differing ailments. Cummins also didn’t travel in order to do a block of training at home, focussing on getting his body right for the upcoming summer.While there were a variety of injuries, there have also been some common themes including side strains, and soft tissue and back stress injuries that continue to plague Australia’s fast bowlers. Green has become the fourth Australian fast bowler behind James Pattinson, Dwarshuis and Jason Behrendorff to undergo significant spine surgery to stabilise vertebrae in his back and prevent future stress fractures.Xavier Bartlett was one of the bowlers to pick up an injury on the UK tour•AFP/Getty ImagesThe injuries led to a situation where West Australian youngster Mahli Beardman was called up for the UK tour with just one List A game to his name, which raised some eyebrows among the state associations.There has been some friction between CA and the state associations over the management of some of Australia’s fringe fast bowlers in recent years, with the demanding international playing schedule meaning more players are required than ever before. Franchise opportunities have only added to the burden as individual players want to maximise their earnings during the winter months while the national and state teams would prefer them to manage their bodies in preparation for national and domestic duty.The new pace-bowling role has been designed to be a central point under Australia’s head coach Andrew McDonald to coordinate an approach to managing Australia’s current and next generation of quicks to avoid some of the friction.One of the key job descriptions in the advertisement is “performing a lead role in the case management (including load planning and monitoring), off tour preparation and individual skill development of CA contracted pace bowlers and pace bowlers of national interest”.Spencer Johnson suffered a side strain in the Hundred and has yet to return to playing•Cricket Australia via Getty ImagesThis has been a crunch point in recent years. CA’s high-performance team has been able to manage its contracted fast bowlers fairly successfully, but issues have arisen when the men’s team has needed to look beyond their contracted players. CA currently has nine contracted fast bowlers among a list of 23, not including the pace-bowling allrounders Green, Aaron Hardie and Mitchell Marsh.But ahead of the UK tour, where the selectors wanted to rest Cummins entirely in order to prepare for India, and have Hazlewood and Starc play the England portion only, they needed bowlers for the six T20Is. With contracted bowlers Morris and Richardson unavailable, Johnson was selected alongside Bartlett and Ellis.But CA were unable to tailor Johnson’s preparation as an uncontracted player. He played 39 T20s and a first-class game between December and August including the BBL, Sheffield Shield, internationals, the IPL, T20 Blast, MLC and the Hundred without a break to do a pre-tour build in the same mould as Hazlewood and Starc were. He suffered a side strain in the Hundred and has yet to return to playing. There was a similar occurrence in 2023 where Johnson played the MLC, Global T20 in Canada and the Hundred before making his international debut for Australia, only to tear his hamstring on his ODI debut bowling more than four overs for the first time in five months.Under the current memorandum of understanding, CA only offers up to 24 central contracts but there is a pool of money for players to qualify for a contract upgrade if they play enough games in the 12-month financial year. There is a thought within Australian cricket that that model is outdated, and the men’s team would be better served contracting 30-plus players initially each year and carefully tailoring the 12-month playing and preparation schedules for a large group of fast bowlers in particular to avoid injuries and situations like the one the arose in the UK.

At their current pace, Sunderland could soon have a whole starting lineup of new players to call upon.

The Black Cats are picking up fresh signings at a breakneck speed, with a whopping £67m already dropped on the services of Enzo Le Fee, Habib Diarra, and Noah Sadiki.

Amazingly, another £19.5m could soon dent the weighty Sunderland back account, with Club Brugge winger Chemsdine Talbi the reported next big buy on Regis Le Bris and Co’s agenda.

Four signings are nearly through the door, but don’t expect the Wearside underdogs to stop here as they go about assembling a Premier League-capable squad, with plenty more standout purchases in the offing.

Sunderland set sights on new £13m star

After a jubilant promotion, Sunderland might as well give it their all on their return to the top-flight, instead of just being content with making up the numbers.

Transfer Focus

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

Indeed, reports are coming thick and fast as to who Le Bris wants to add next to his ever-growing camp, with a bid of around £26m having allegedly been submitted to sign rising Real Madrid star Gonzalo Garcia.

Another name floating about is that of Armand Lauriente’s, with a new development from French outlet L’Equipe stating that Sunderland have entered negotiations to sign the 26-year-old attacker from Sassuolo.

Having caused a lot of havoc in Serie B last season, the hope will be that Lauriente explodes into life even more as a dangerous face down the Black Cats’ left flank.

How Lauriente can be Le Bris' own Amad Diallo

If Le Bris can bring Lauriente to Wearside this summer then he could potentially sign his very own Amad Diallo in the process, considering the Ivorian was once a slick attacker himself in Italy.

U19s

46

13

12

U17s

41

23

6

Youth League

6

1

3

Atalanta

5

1

0

Obviously, Amad is now more known for his exploits at Manchester United – with 26 goals and assists next to his name from 64 Old Trafford outings – but there was a time when he was considered an exciting winger ready for that next step on the books of Atalanta.

Whilst his Atalanta education ultimately won him that high-profile move to Manchester, Amad very much honed his craft at the Stadium of Light as a daring and entertaining option up top when he headed out on loan to the Mackems in 2022, leading to him strutting his stuff in style all across the 2022/23 season with 14 goals and four assists picked up from 42 clashes.

Sunderland’s new £13m-rated target will hope he finds his time at Le Bris’ men to be equally beneficial in advancing his game, with Lauriente having the useful advantage already of being proven at a top level when Sassuolo plied their trade in Serie A.

The blistering Frenchman is only two off Amad’s entire total for Man United when assessing his Italian top-flight numbers, with a mightily impressive 12 goals and 12 assists tallied up, but it’s his numbers last campaign for Sassuolo when they triumphantly moved back up to face the likes of Juventus and AC Milan again that will have really caught the eye of the Black Cats.

Games played

33

Goals scored

18

Assists

5

Big chances missed

4

Big chances created

6

In total, the former Lorient forward would pick up a bumper 23 goals and assists from just 33 Serie B games last season, with Lauriente now potentially ready to cause ripples on Wearside by challenging the likes of Enzo Le Fee and Romaine Mundle down the left wing.

Much like Amad needed Tony Mowbray’s guidance to get the very best out of him, Lauriente might be able to perform at the peak of his jaw-dropping excellence knowing he has Le Bris by his side, with this audacious free-kick below – which was heralded as “amazing” at the time by football talent scout Jacek Kulig – coming when the pair were together at Lorient.

Whilst Le Fee, Diarra, Sadiki, and Talbi will steal plenty of headlines, securing Lauriente’s services could be the best buy of the bunch, particularly if he morphs into being a star like Amad to help Sunderland beat the drop.

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1 ByKelan Sarson Jul 6, 2025

England have little to show aside from Nat Sciver-Brunt’s fifty on day one of pink-ball Test

Alex Malcolm30-Jan-2025

Not for the first time in this series, Alana King put on a masterclass of legspin bowling in front of the Shane Warne Stand to bamboozle England and hand Australia full control on the opening day of the pink-ball Test at the MCG.Just as she did across town at the Junction Oval during the ODI series, where a smaller, quainter Shane Warne Stand casts a shadow at the southern end, King put on a clinic bowling 23 overs unchanged from the start of the second session to claim career-best Test figures of 4 for 45 and help bowl England out for 170. Nat Sciver-Brunt’s 51 was the lone shining light for England on another bleak afternoon, but she should have been out twice to King whose spell even outshone the bizarre pop-up rock concert Australian artist G-Flip performed during the dinner break.The bowling performance was soured however by a hip injury to Ellyse Perry. She landed heavily after diving to knock back a ball on the rope during the middle session. She left the field shortly after and did not return for the last two hours of Australia’s bowling innings. Australia’s team management confirmed she would not bat on the first evening and would be reassessed in the morning.Annabel Sutherland instead walked in at No. 3 and saw Australia through to stumps alongside Phoebe Litchfield, cruising to 56 for 1 after the loss of Georgia Voll who opened on Test debut.Australia would have been delighted with the bowling performance after winning the toss and electing to field on an MCG surface featuring 9mm of grass. But they could have bowled England out even sooner.King should have had more, with four chances missed off her bowling alone as Australia were uncharacteristically sloppy in the field. Beth Mooney missed a stumping and a caught behind off King and dropped another off Annabel Sutherland diving to her right. Alyssa Healy failed to take a simple catch cleanly at slip, again off King, clutching at the ball awkwardly and grounding it while it was in the end of her fingers. King dropped a caught-and-bowled chance, while Voll grassed a straightforward chance at slip off Darcie Brown.None of the misses were costly though as England capitulated again. King’s hard-spun legbreaks were the stuff of dreams for a legspinner but will only create further nightmares for England’s batters after haunting them all tour.England were getting a foothold in the day at 97 for 3 when King deceived Sophia Dunkley with late drop to force a simple chipped return catch after Mooney had early missed a difficult stumping chance.King then went to work on Danni Wyatt-Hodge, fizzing three huge legbreaks past her outside edge in one over. Sciver-Brunt, who had held England’s innings together, was also beaten multiple times in similar fashion.King finally kissed Sciver-Brunt’s outside edge with another perfect legbreak only for a poorly set-up Healy at slip to grass the rare catch without gloves on. Her injured foot meant she was not keeping and posting up at slip to limit her running. But she was set up too high, with her hands on her knees, and was unable to pouch the ankle-high chance cleanly.Litchfield had no such problems at silly mid-off, taking at outstanding catch diving low to her right after Wyatt-Hodge presented the leading edge to another fizzing legbreak.England may have regretted leaving out Charlie Dean and selecting three seamers as their lone spinner Sophie Ecclestone chipped King to cover to hand her a third scalp.Sciver-Brunt was then bowled for the fifth consecutive innings in the series, and for the third time against legspin, trying to a pull a good-length legbreak that hit the stumps well under bail height.Amongst King’s carnage, Amy Jones was bowled playing back to spin for the second time in the series, missing a full delivery from Ash Gardner and losing her off stump.King missed out on a maiden Test five-for as Mooney dropped an edge off Ryana MacDonald-Gay and then clanged a sharp return catch offered by Lauren Filer. Brown claimed Filer instead before Lauren Bell was run out tamely to end the innings.Brown and Kim Garth had earlier laid the groundwork for King’s wizardry with an excellent opening burst that saw England slump to 47 for 3. Maia Bouchier’s miserable tour continued, nicking Garth behind for 2 to go with scores of 13, 0, 0, 17 and 9 in the white-ball series.Tammy Beaumont was trapped plumb lbw for 8 by an excellent delivery from Brown that nipped back off the seam to leave England 23 for 2.Skipper Heather Knight’s innings was anything but assured. She survived a similar lbw shout off Brown and a subsequent review that showed it was umpire’s call on clipping leg stump. She edged Sutherland behind but Mooney could not take the one-handed offer. Garth then followed Brown and nipped another back into Knight’s front pad and the appeal was rewarded with a raised finger.

أعلن بيب جوارديولا، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي مانشستر سيتي، تشكيل فريقه لمواجهة نظيره بورنموث ضمن منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف مانشستر سيتي، مساء اليوم الأحد، بورنموث في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز “بريميرليج”.

وتقام المباراة على ملعب “الاتحاد” في تمام الساعة السادسة والنصف بتوقيت القاهرة السابعة والنصف بتوقيت مكة المكرمة، ضمن منافسات الجولة العاشرة من البريميرليج.

اقرأ أيضًا | دوناروما: كرة القدم في إنجلترا مختلفة.. وأسعى لرد الجميل إلى جوارديولا

ويحتل مانشستر سيتي حاليًا المركز الثامن في جدول الدوري الإنجليزي برصيد 16 نقطة، في حين أن بورنموث لديه 18 نقطة في المركز الثاني.

ويجلس عمر مرموش على دكة البدلاء في مباراة اليوم رغم تألقه وتسجيله هدفًا رائعًا ضد سوانزي سيتي في كأس كاراباو، يوم الأربعاء الماضي. تشكيل مانشستر سيتي اليوم أمام بورنموث في الدوري الإنجليزي

في حراسة المرمى: دوناروما.

في خط الدفاع: روبن دياز – ماتيوس نونيز – جفارديول.

في خط الوسط: فيل فودين – برناردو سيلفا – نيكو – نيكو أوريللي.

في خط الهجوم: جيريمي دوكو – إيرلينج هالاند – ريان شرقي.

We asked experts – and one participant – their considered view of the controversial Hawk-Eye projection

ESPNcricinfo staff31-Mar-2020It was a replay that rang around the world. Sachin Tendulkar is given out on the field to Saeed Ajmal, reviews it after a long discussion with his partner, and is reinstated by a Hawk-Eye projection that says the ball is missing leg. Tendulkar goes on to score a match-winning 85.The replay was subject of conspiracy theories with many YouTube videos showing what the correct prediction path should have been. There is one difference between fans’ rants and this replay: quite a few neutral experts found the prediction incredulous. Umpire Ian Gould, a man known for his humour and even temper on the field, was seen shaking his head when he saw the replay. Moments later, Mark Nicholas came on air and said, “It seemed inconceivable that that ball could miss the leg stump.” Sunil Gavaskar observed the ball had hit the inside of Tendulkar’s shin, which is traditionally considered incriminating in such cases.All these years later, keeping in mind what we have learnt from technology, we asked experts – and one participant – their considered view of the prediction.Saeed Ajmal
This is a ball the whole world will remember. There has been a lot of debate over it already. Once Ian Gould gave it out, I was sure it would stay out because all it needed to do was clip the leg stump. And I overheard Sachin tell Gautam Gambhir, “Let me take a chance. Who knows it might save me?” Gambhir advised him against it because he felt he was out, but Sachin insisted.Getty ImagesThe time taken in the review made me suspect something, but I can’t say there was any foul play for sure. Even when I see the replay today, that looks 100% out. Even if it had been an umpire’s call, it was given out on the field. You have to remember it was the straighter ball, but they showed a big break on it. I think they missed a frame in between; that’s how it appears to me when I watch it again.ALSO READ: Ajmal still baffled by Tendulkar lbw reversalSanjay Manjrekar
This was all new for us. This is Hawk-Eye and DRS, and we were not as experienced watching Hawk-Eye predictions and everything but when I watch it now, I think today as a commentator I would have said probably missing leg stump. Because you see where it pitched and where the impact is. So it turned big. If you watch the keeper Kamran Akmal, he has already moved down the leg side and then when it hits him [Tendulkar] on the pad, he comes back towards the stumps to appeal. So because we didn’t understand angles as well as we do today, I don’t think it is as controversial as it seemed at the time.Aakash Chopra
When I saw that Ajmal delivery thudding into Sachin’s pad, my hand went up in the air because it was quite apparent that the ball would go on to hit middle and leg stump. It wasn’t a ball that would’ve turned enough to miss the leg stump, and it was definitely not going the other way as much either. Tendulkar’s decision to review the decision was, perhaps, more in hope than in belief. The Hawk-Eye trajectory taking the ball down the leg side – missing the three stumps – was quite astonishing. You knew that it was an error but an error that couldn’t be reversed. My mind went back to another such dismissal in Sri Lanka where the ball was an offbreak but the Hawk-Eye trajectory showed it as a carrom ball turning the other way after pitching and, therefore, missing the stumps. It was a further reiteration of the fact that DRS wasn’t foolproof yet; in fact, far from it.The replay that rang around the world•ESPNcricinfo LtdDeep Dasgupta
My assessment is that the Hawk-Eye got it right. It was at best clipping the leg stump. Don’t get me wrong, it was an extremely close call. It’ll fall under the realm of Protagoras Paradox, in that both sides have convincing arguments. Saeed Ajmal is not a big turner, neither was the pitch a rank turner. The impact was within the stumps and post impact the ball landed on the off side, which means it hit the inside of the shin.I have three pieces of evidence to make the call.

• Ajmal bowled fairly from the top of the box, almost from the wide ball mark on the crease, which is 35 inches from the middle stump. That is bound to create an angle.
• The ball pitched on the fourth stump, and hit Sachin in front of the middle stump.
• At the point of impact, Sachin was on the front foot, albeit “half-cock”, let’s say seven feet from the stumps.

Keeping these three in mind, I’d say the angle of the ball would have missed the stump, maybe clipped the leg stump at best. If we add a hint of turn, which I reckon it did, I’d say Hawk-Eye got it right.Saqlain Mushtaq
Absolutely plumb. That is my observation. Sachin’s stride wasn’t big. Yes, he was on front foot, but he didn’t get a big stride in. If you see the trajectory of the ball, it is not loopy. It tells you it was bowled fast. Saeed Ajmal has himself said he didn’t try to turn the ball. He bowled from mid-crease so he had an angle on it, but no turn. Because of the trajectory, it stayed low, so height is out of question. And it hit the inside of his shin, in front of middle after pitching just outside off. It would have hit the stumps. I can’t say how the mistake was made.The final word: Hawk-Eye
Hawk-eye doesn’t feel the need to clarify further after it made an explanation back in the day. There were two discrepancies that were popularly observed then. Firstly, the point of impact on the predictive-path replay was different from the last time the ball was seen in the replay. Hawk-Eye said the frame rate on TV cameras was 50 frames per second, and that they didn’t capture the actual point of impact. Hawk-Eye cameras used the run-out camera too to calibrate and determine the actual interception point, the explanation said.The other point of contention was the predictive track appeared to have moved to the right of what it would have been had it been a straight extension of the trajectory of the ball. The explanation pointed to gravity, and how the ball had already started veering off a straight line even before hitting the pad.”For each ball bowled the Hawk-Eye system outputs a screen-shot showing our raw data,” the explanation said. “For reviewed LBWs this is sent to the ICC so that there is an independent check verifying the integrity of what is seen on TV for any DRS LBW decision. The ICC were happy with the outcome of this review.”

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick has revealed why he wanted to sign Manchester United outcast Marcus Rashford on loan this summer. The German also delivered his verdict on ex-United star Jesse Lingard ahead of Barca's pre-season friendly clash with FC Seoul.

• Flick revealed why he wanted Rashford
• Admitted he followed his performances for Man Utd
• Barcelona to face Lingard's FC Seoul

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Rashford has joined Barcelona on a season-long loan deal and the Catalan giants have an option to make the transfer permanent for €30m (£26m/$35m). Flick has admitted that he has been following Rashford's games at United for many years and believes that the England international can shine at Barca, despite his poor form in the last couple of seasons at Old Trafford. Rashford made his unofficial debut for Barcelona in their first pre-season friendly against Vissel Kobe in Japan last week, where he played for just 33 minutes.

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• WHAT FLICK SAID

  Speaking to reporters about Rashford, the German coach said: "Marcus is a great player. I’ve been following him for many years, since he started his career at United. He has a lot of quality, and we hope he can show it this season with the team."

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ahead of facing Lingard's FC Seoul in their upcoming friendly in South Korea, Flick added: "Lingard is a great player, we know him from his time in England, but we focus on his team… Seoul is working well and will be our second challenge."

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

  The reigning La Liga champions will face Lingard and Co in a friendly clash at the Seoul World Cup Stadium on Thursday. Barca are due to kick off their new domestic campaign away at Mallorca on August 16.

Tatsuya Imai wants to forge his own path.

The 27-year-old right-hander was posted by the Saitama Seibu Lions of the Nippon Professional Baseball League and has until Jan. 2 to sign with an MLB team. It’s pretty clear he won’t be joining the Dodgers.

When asked about potentially joining Shohei Ohtani, Yoshinobu Yamamoto and Roki Sasaki in Los Angeles, Imai was quick to point out that he wanted to do something different.

“I want to take them down,” Imai said in a recent interview, translated to English. “(Playing together with players like Ohtani, Yamamoto, Sasaki, and others) of course, sounds fun, but I think beating a team like that and becoming world champions would be the most valuable thing in my life.”

That’s a bold proclamation from Imai, and he probably earned a bunch of new fans with his attitude.

Tatsuya Imai’s stats in Japan

Imai is a three-time NPB All-Star who just finished his eighth season in the league. In 2025, he made 24 starts and went 10-5 with a 1.92 ERA, a 0.89 WHIP, and 178 strikeouts against 45 walks in 163 2/3 innings. He tossed five complete games and three shutouts along the way. He has posted a sub-3.00 ERA in each of the past four seasons, and owns a career NPB ERA of 3.15.

The newly-posted righty debuted in 2018 at the age of 20, and has been one of the league’s top pitchers since 2021, when he went 8-8 with a 3.30 ERA. He has improved in every season since, peaking with his 2025 performance.

Tatsuya Imai scouting report

Imai is undersized for a pitcher by MLB standards. He stands at 5’11” and 176 pounds. It’s worth noting, Yamamoto is only 5’10” and 176 pounds, so the two are comparable in size.

He throws the ball out of a lower three-quarters arm slot, but he can still generate excellent velocity. Imai’s fastball can hit 99 mph, and it sits in the 95 mph range. He works off that four-seamer with an excellent mid-80s slider, and will toss in occasional splitters as well. He has a changeup and a sinker, but is mostly a fastball-slider guy.

He is an intriguing option for MLB teams this winter.