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.

A look at where the semi-final between England and New Zealand could be won or lost

Gaurav Sundararaman09-Nov-20213:00

Can England stave off Southee-Boult challenge? Our experts discuss

The 2016 World T20 semi-final. The 2019 ODI World Cup final. And now, the 2021 T20 World Cup semi-final. That’s three knockout matches in the last three World Cups. New Zealand have failed to win on the two previous occasions against England: can they get across the line this time around against the favourites? This is where the game could be won or lost.Where should Moeen bat?
England’s middle order has been largely untested in this competition. Only three batters have faced more than 60 balls and one of them, Jason Roy, is now injured. New Zealand have a well-rounded attack with all bowlers capable of bowling across all phases. Moeen Ali is the man in form and has been playing in these conditions for a while now.Recently, Moeen Ali has been the world’s most destructive batter vs spin•ESPNcricinfo LtdWith Roy not around, would it make sense for England to use Moeen at the fall of the first wicket to capitalise upon the powerplay or would England want to use Moeen the spin smasher to target Ish Sodhi and Mitchell Santner in the middle? Moeen at three – where he batted against South Africa – could upset New Zealand’s rhythm by ensuring they bowl pace to him and that could delay the overs bowled by spin.Dawid Malan is a slow starter and does not match up well against spin. In a knockout game, will England bank on Malan or the experience of Moeen who delivered just a month ago in an all-important IPL final wearing a Chennai Super Kings shirt?Can New Zealand capitalise on England’s death bowling
South Africa scored 49 runs in the last four overs the only time England were properly tested at the death. With Tymal Mills injured, England have lost their specialist in that phase. It remains to be seen whether Roy will be replaced by an extra bowler or not, but the options that England have at their disposal are not very exciting.England’s pacers have not been tidy in the death overs•ESPNcricinfo LtdAll their pace options have gone for plenty in the death across the last four years in T20 cricket. Barring Chris Jordan, who goes at 9.65 an over, their other options have conceded more than ten runs per over. New Zealand will look to follow the template South Africa set: keeping wickets in hand and maximising the death rather than going hard first up, particularly with a relatively shallow batting lineup that sees Santner carded at No. 7.Can New Zealand’s swing bowlers win the powerplay?
England’s batters have some outstanding numbers in the powerplay this tournament. Their scoring rate of 8.33 is the best in the tournament and they have the tournament’s second-highest run-getter in Jos Buttler.England the better team in the powerplay overs?•ESPNcricinfo LtdHowever, this will be England’s first night match in Abu Dhabi. Of the three venues in the UAE for this tournament, Abu Dhabi has been most favourable for seamers in the powerplay. Seamers average just 17.38 (at 5.92 runs per over) here compared to averages of 25.17 and 31.33 in Dubai and Sharjah respectively.If the combination of Trent Boult, Tim Southee and Adam Milne can extract seam, swing and bounce, then the England batters could face their toughest test in this tournament. Could 20 minutes of madness cost England the tournament? Only time will tell.Can New Zealand find a way to attack England’s fifth bowler?
If England replace Roy with a batter then how are they going to use their ‘fifth’ bowler? England’s fifth bowler has been fantastic so far in the tournament: together Moeen and Liam Livingstone have picked up 11 wickets and have conceded less than six runs per over. With three right-handed batters in the top three for New Zealand, it would mean England may opt for the spin of Adil Rashid or the quicks early on.Can New Zealand take the attack against Moeen and Livingstone, whenever they bowl? This will be vital if New Zealand are looking to put up a challenging score to defend or ease the pressure while chasing. Devon Conway, James Neesham and Santner are the left-handers in the middle order who may end up facing the fifth bowler the most, while Kane Williamson will need to show greater attacking intent than he has so far in order to take those spin overs down.Other things to watchSodhi vs England
Sodhi has a very poor record against England, conceding 298 runs (with 20 sixes) at an economy of 11.03 runs per over. But these numbers mean very little: the majority of those games were played on grounds in New Zealand with much smaller dimensions than Abu Dhabi. On Wednesday, he gets a chance to bowl to England on the biggest ground of the tournament. That could work in his favour.Morgan’s form
Eoin Morgan enjoyed his career-best form in 2019 and 2020 but this year, he averages 17.59 and strikes at 118. Whichever metric you look at, he is struggling. England’s middle order is hardly tested in the tournament and Morgan will want to ensure he can play an impactful innings in a pressure game. His performances in knockout matches across his career are underwhelming – though the sample size is small.

West Indies’ No. 7 was at it again, trying to dig his team out of a hole – the way he often goes about it begs the question: does he deserve a promotion?

Shashank Kishore06-Feb-2022Not for the first time in his career, Jason Holder had to clean up a top-order mess. And not for the first time, he showed how the job ought to have been done. Again, not for the first time, he made you wonder if he was batting too low at No. 7.Ahead of the series, Kieron Pollard spoke of batting out 50 overs being a realistic goal, but West Indies were in danger of folding inside 30 overs in the series opener against India. Holder’s defiance, which quickly turned into a full-blown attack, especially with India’s spinners trying to exercise control, helped them bat out 43.5 overs eventually. This was by no means any consolation.For the record, West Indies haven’t batted out 50 overs for seven matches in a row now, stretching back to the Australia series at home in July 2021. It merely reaffirms Pollard’s statement that West Indies have a batting problem.Related

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Pollard wants Windies to bat entire 50 overs

Holder put on a batting show that many of his team-mates would do well to emulate. There was no premeditation, neither was there an attempt to throw the bowlers off their lengths. He was simply reacting to what was presented to him and played shots he thought were appropriate without worrying about how the pitch was playing or how one good ball could get him.The essence of his innings was built around trying to get fully forward and using his long levers to play Yuzvendra Chahal’s teasing legbreaks, and playing Washington Sundar by going right back into the crease because the offspinner was looking to largely bowl good length.It wasn’t that the class of his batting suddenly stood out; he has oozed plenty of it right from his debut seven years ago. You don’t average 30 across 53 Tests at No. 7 without possessing it. You don’t make a Test highest off 202 not out without learning to apply yourself at the crease. Yet, you couldn’t help but marvel at his ability to loft the ball cleanly with the spin, pick lengths early to punch through the covers, and nonchalantly play the pickup shot to anything that veered into the pads. More than anything, Holder seemed to revel even when he walked out to immense scoreboard pressure at 71 for 5 in the 20th over.For a better part of the last seven years, Holder has shouldered much of West Indies’ lower-order batting in ODIs. Since the 2015 World Cup, Holder has walked into bat inside the 25-over mark 19 times when he has batted at No. 7 or lower. He has made 564 runs at an average of 35.25, including six half-centuries, in these games. He has struck these runs at 88. Does this merit a promotion? You’d think yes.”When you’re looking at different things, you can say that,” Pollard told host broadcaster Star Sports at the presentation ceremony, when asked if there was merit in promoting Holder. “For instance, 12 months ago, guys wouldn’t have been saying that from a statistical point of view. But last couple of games, he has done well. He has played Test cricket, he has made a double-hundred, so he can bat at any position in the order.”But again, the combination of the team, when you look at it, yes he can bat at No. 6 or at No. 5, but when you watch the make-up of our team, we have international batsmen who have played Test cricket. He (Holder) has a role to play for us, and he came into a crucial scenario and made a crucial fifty. In the last couple of weeks, his cricket has improved and he’s doing well for himself. We’re happy for Jason as a team and long may it continue.”Jason Holder adapted to the challenge of batting in India despite limited time to acclimatise•ICC via GettyThis batting ability from a bowling allrounder is something teams around the world yearn for. Holder’s batting, along with his nagging bowling, has contributed largely to whatever success West Indies have had in Test cricket too, in recent years. It has allowed them to play five bowlers for one thing. But Holder’s improved batting hasn’t quite been enough to mask the inefficiency, and in some cases recklessness, of some of his colleagues.In Ahmedabad, Shai Hope was out driving with no feet in the same over that he dispatched Mohammed Siraj for two glorious boundaries. Pollard was out looking to hit out, disregarding Chahal’s dip and spin as he attempted a big mow first ball with his team four down and trying to rebuild inside the 20th over. Brandon King and Fabian Allen tamely lobbed return-catches to deliveries that stopped on them. Nicholas Pooran completely misjudged the length trying to sweep a full delivery, only to lose his balance and wicket. Of course, you could make some allowances for the fact West Indies came into the series barely having had one full training session, but the question remains: if Holder could, maybe some of the others could, too?Holder aside, there were a few other positives too for the visitors. Alzarri Joseph, fresh off a short stint in the Bangladesh Premier League, was zippy and nipped out the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in an over. Kohli’s, in particular, was a wicket well-earned because he surprised him for pace and got him to top-edge an attempted pull to fine leg. Rohit was beaten and nipped out lbw trying to play across the line.West Indies have little time between now and the second ODI to get their mindset right. If they need to look for inspiration, they needn’t look beyond Holder. In an era of the Pollards, Bravos, Narines and Gayles, that he has managed to carve a niche for himself speaks volumes of his drive and resolve. His team-mates will do well to try and match the benchmark he has set.

Cricketers around the world congratulated James Anderson on becoming the first fast bowler to 600 Test wickets

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Aug-2020Pacers sang praise.

Champion bowler James Anderson! Congrats on reaching the first-ever 600 wickets for a fast bowler.. hard work, passion and never-day-die approach have been the hallmark of your career.. doyen of fast bowlers, best wishes for the rest of your career @jimmy9

— Wasim Akram (@wasimakramlive) August 25, 2020

Just take a moment to appreciate how good Jimmy is
600! You’re amazing bro! @jimmy9 #600

— Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) August 25, 2020

Congratulations for your remarkable achievement @jimmy9! Your passion, fortitude and drive are exceptional, cheers and best wishes for the future. #600TestWickets

— Jasprit Bumrah (@Jaspritbumrah93) August 25, 2020

Slow and steady gets the milestone?

Incredible 600 by @jimmy9 . What an amazing achievement. Playing 156 Test Matches for a medium fast bowler is no less achievement. Cheers mate. #JamesAnderson #600TestWickets #England pic.twitter.com/dVFMqPvuwA

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) August 25, 2020

Anil Kumble welcomes Anderson to the 600 club.

Congratulations @jimmy9 on your 600 wickets! Massive effort from a great fast bowler. Welcome to the club

— Anil Kumble (@anilkumble1074) August 25, 2020

Former batsmen spoke of Anderson’s longevity and perseverance. He’s bowled the most among pace bowlers in Test cricket.

Remarkable achievement to play 156 Tests as a Batsman .. To do it as a quick bowler & then achieve 600 wickets is nothing short of extraordinary .. Well done @jimmy9 .. England’s greatest ever bowler .. #TestCricket

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) August 25, 2020

What an incredible achievement @jimmy9! Many congratulations on your feat.

wickets in Test Cricket over a span of 17 years for a fast bowler is a testament to your grit, perseverance and accurate bowling. pic.twitter.com/nQok5bgbOG

— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 25, 2020

Never thought I’d see in my lifetime a fast bowler take 600 test wickets! It’s not just the quantity but the quality with which he has bowled – be it slow or fast wickets, bounce or no bounce, seam or no seam, for him conditions never mattered! Sir @jimmy9 you are the #GOAT pic.twitter.com/ADrrW7m3zp

— Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) August 25, 2020

Well done james Anderson @jimmy9 .. this milestone is just greatness ..156 test matches as fast bowler is just unthinkable..u will make every young fast bowler believe that greatness is achievable .@bcci @ECB_cricket

— Sourav Ganguly (@SGanguly99) August 25, 2020

For a fast-bowler to play 156 test matches is an incredible achievement, a testament of his endurance. And becoming the first fast bowler to 600 test wickets is a just reward for the hard-work & the passion with which @jimmy9 has played his cricket. Many congratulations #ENGvPAK pic.twitter.com/RGOdReZXuL

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) August 25, 2020

Words of appreciation from current opposition batsmen followed.

Congratulations @jimmy9 for this outstanding achievement of 600 wickets. Definitely one of the best bowlers I've faced.

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) August 25, 2020

Congrats James Anderson @jimmy9
First fast bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets.
You are a nightmare for any openers in world cricket….. #ENGvPAK

— (@IamDimuth) August 25, 2020

A true ambassador of the game.

Congratulations @jimmy9 600 Test wickets1st Fast bowler to achieve this Milestone U r a Great Ambassador of this beautiful game of cricket Stay Blessed

— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) August 25, 2020

#600JA Couldn’t be a greater ambassador for Test Cricket than James Anderson! He’s an excellent example to young kids that to win a Cricket Oscar be great in Test Cricket!

— Ramiz Raja (@iramizraja) August 25, 2020

Congratulations @jimmy9. What a splendid record to have. More power to you https://t.co/EmpxuBzdrL

— Sir Vivian Richards (@ivivianrichards) August 25, 2020

While the defeat to Aston Villa has taken the wind out of their sails somewhat, Arsenal are still having an excellent season.

Mikel Arteta’s side are top of the Champions League table, having won five of five, and still sit two points clear atop the Premier League table.

However, while most of the team are playing at the level expected, a few stars aren’t quite where the manager would want them to be.

This latter camp includes one of Arteta’s most significant signings, who, if he doesn’t start improving, could become Arsenal’s new Nicolas Pepe.

What went wrong for Nicolas Pepe at Arsenal

In the summer of 2019, after Unai Emery’s first season in the dugout, Arsenal decided to go big in the transfer market, spending what was then a club record fee of around £72m to sign Pepe.

While the figure did raise a few eyebrows at the time, it wasn’t considered too outlandish as, in 41 appearances in the 17/18 season, the winger racked up a sensational haul of 23 goals and 12 assists.

Unfortunately, the Emirates faithful would never see the talented international reach that level during his time in North London.

In his first campaign in England, the former LOSC Lille star managed a reasonable, if a little underwhelming tally of eight goals and ten assists in 42 appearances.

However, as it was his first season in a new league, and he produced a goal involvement in the quarter-final, semi-final and final of the FA Cup, fans gave him some leeway.

Unfortunately, he also failed to hit the heady height of his Lille numbers the following season, ending it with a tally of 16 goals and five assists in 47 games, with ten of those goal involvements coming in the Europa League.

The 21/22 campaign would prove to be his last in red and white as Bukayo Saka was now well and truly Arteta’s first-choice right winger.

The 30-year-old spent the next two years on loan, first with Nice in France, and then with Turkish outfit Trabzonspor.

Arsenal finally agreed to terminate Pepe’s contract in the summer of 2024, and the player who was supposed to be the club’s superstar attacker left with a middling tally of 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances.

Chalkboard

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

Since then, the Gunners have been a bit better at spending money, but there is one of Arteta’s signings who could end up following the Ivorian’s path, lest he improve, and quickly.

Arsenal's new Nicolas Pepe

Now, it’s still early in the season, so making any concrete predictions about Arsenal’s summer signings would be unwise.

However, as things stand, the attacker who has somewhat underwhelmed since his big-money move, and could go down a similar route to Pepe, is Viktor Gyokeres.

Like the Ivorian, the Swedish international joined the Gunners for a fairly sizable fee off the back of a truly sensational season in a weaker league.

For example, the “absolute steam train,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 54 goals and provided 13 assists in just 52 appearances.

Moreover, while nobody expected him to recreate those numbers in England, fans would have expected more than what he has delivered thus far.

For example, even though he hasn’t been a total flop like some other striker signings this season, the 27-year-old’s return of just six goals in 17 appearances is underwhelming.

Furthermore, all four of his Premier League goals have come against relegation candidates, and in games against the big sides earlier in the season, he looked somewhat out of his depth. As Gary Neville said earlier this term, he’s a bit of a “misfit.”

Appearances

52

17

Minutes

4248′

1130′

Goals

54

6

Assists

13

0

Finally, with Mikel Merino contributing up top, Gabriel Jesus back in matchday squads and reports that Kai Havertz is set to come right back in as Arteta’s first choice before Christmas, it’s not difficult to see a world in which the Stockholm-born powerhouse becomes a rotation option.

That was evident against Aston Villa. Arteta relied on the Swede to make a difference, bring him on at half-time for Merino. Yet, in his 45 minutes on the field, the centre-forward only had 11 touches of the ball and completed just four passes. He didn’t even have a single shot.

With all that said, there is still plenty of time for the former Coventry City star to come good, especially if he starts the next two games against Club Brugge and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Ultimately, the next six months will be vital in determining whether Gyokeres becomes Arsenal’s next superstar striker or their next Nicolas Pepe.

Their new Ozil: Arsenal ramp up move to sign £88m "generational talent"

The incredible talent could be a real game-changer for Arsenal and become Arteta’s own Mesut Ozil.

2 ByJack Salveson Holmes 2 days ago

When Dan Mousley walked out to bat on his ODI debut in Antigua, he was playing his first List A match in three years.And one million pounds to whoever in the audience knows which team his previous game was for. Because it was obviously, clearly, never-in-doubtedly for Burgher Recreation Club against Nugegoda Sports and Welfare in Sri Lanka’s 2021 domestic competition .A series of broken fingers meant he had been short of cricket, so a 20-year-old Mousley approached a coach at the Warwickshire Academy with connections to Sri Lanka and asked if he could get a game. A few weeks later he was off to Colombo.Mousley has never been one to do things the usual way. A point he is now proving with his one-of-a-kind “offspin”.Related

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Bowling 116kph/72mph yorkers off three steps, his first international wicket was secured with his signature move. Right-arm, round the wicket, fast, straight, out. Rovman Powell the victim.No one in the world bowls like Mousley does. According to CricViz, he is the fastest spin bowler since ball tracking records began in 2006. And by miles.The second fastest spinner on record, Manimaran Siddharth, averages 99kph/61.5mph. Mousley averages 109kph/68mph. The fastest he has been clocked is 132kph/82mph during the Hundred, but even he accepts that may be a juiced reading.”We’ll take it anyway,” he jokes.His speed has always been part of his style. But compared to when he was younger and encouraged to slow down, now he is being encouraged to lean into it.”I don’t know where he’s got it from,” England captain Jos Buttler said of Mousley, who was entrusted with the final over of West Indies’ innings on Sunday. “As a captain, it’s unique. Everyone will see him now and so they’ll come up with plans. But his character is one of his biggest attributes and to deliver a bit of unique skill and give us a point of difference is fantastic.”While Mousley is new to the international scene, he wouldn’t have been to Powell. Mousley’s fast spin/seamers first rose to national attention during the Hundred when he delivered a triple-wicket final set of ten to snatch victory for Birmingham Phoenix against Trent Rockets. In the Rockets team that day was Powell himself.Mousley will be a fascinating case study of whether this is the future appearing in front of our eyes, or a fad that’ll soon be understood by batters and launched into orbit.With T20 scores always on the up, some commentators, including Sourav Ganguly, have called upon bowlers to step-up and up-skill. New challenges have to be presented to players and Mousley is presenting one.If you wanted to be cruel, you could make the case that Mousley’s bowling is, by traditional aesthetics, bad. In the warm-ups, when other spinners are hammering the tea towel that’s been draped on a length, he is spraying it at pace in various different directions. There is no spin on the ball as it is released, instead he has flipped his fingers round and bowled what’s pretty much a standard seamer.But, as former England offspinner Gareth Batty once told ESPNcricinfo, there is “no place for your traditional ball in T20 cricket”.”Any player that is not trying to get better and diversify is a sitting duck,” he added.Mousley is not a one-trick pony either, with eight first-class wickets at an average of 38.37, he is capable of bowling in a traditional manner with a traditional skillset. But if you’re bowling to Andre Russell and Nicholas Pooran, pretty offies aren’t going to get you very far.In short, rather than attempting to always bowl wicket-taking deliveries, he is trying to bowl the ball that is hardest to hit for six.”I’m just trying to use the conditions,” says Mousley, who has played the majority of his T20 cricket at Edgbaston, which often has one long side and one short. “I know I bowl a lot of yorkers, but I try and use the dimensions and try to use the wind as much as I can.”Batters are honed on a lifetime of responding to certain cues. It is why left-handed bowlers feel faster than right-handed bowlers because batters don’t have the same level of muscle memory hard-wired into their body. And it’s this lack of familiarity which Mousley feeds off. Stick the ball in his hand and give him a ten yard run-up and he’s a 70mph seamer who’d go the distance. But off three paces and from round the wicket? No-one has seen that before. Batters are concert pianists that have been trained within an inch of their life; Mousley is asking them to play jazz.”It started off because people say offspinners can’t bowl at right-handers,” Mousley says.”But I don’t believe in that, I made it clear at Warwickshire I didn’t believe in that and then ended up getting a bit of confidence. It went from there. It’s a different skill, it’s probably not traditional offspin but it’s one of those things which I’ve just learnt to bring into my favour. It’s okay to be different as a bowler.”And if there’s one thing Mousley’s bowling is, it’s exactly that.

West Ham United are keen on a January swoop for an “unbelievable” striker, who now wants a move to the Premier League.

West Ham looking to provide Jarrod Bowen with support in attack

West Ham have become more difficult to beat since the arrival of Nuno, having lost just one of their last six Premier League games, but they will be disappointed they were unable to hold on against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday.

The Hammers were in the lead until stoppage time, before Georginio Rutter netted a controversial late equaliser, which Nuno believes should’ve been ruled out, saying: “It was a handball, wasn’t it, and a high foot. No need to speak with the referee. I think it was the main factor.”

Picking up three points against an in-form Brighton side would’ve been an impressive result, but it wasn’t to be, despite Jarrod Bowen putting in an impressive performance, netting his fourth Premier League goal of the season after starting in a central role.

Callum Wilson came off the bench to assist Bowen’s goal, with the former Newcastle United man now up to five goal contributions this season, but with his contract due to expire in the summer, the Irons are looking to provide their captain with some additional support in attack.

That is according to a report from Hammers News, which has provided a new update on West Ham’s Ivan Toney pursuit, stating Nuno’s side are keen on signing the striker in the January transfer window.

The Hammers have already explored a deal for Toney, having been impressed by his performances in England for Brentford, and the centre-forward now wants to make a return to the Premier League ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

However, it is unlikely the east Londoners will be able to get a deal over the line, given the Al-Ahli star’s huge wage demands, which could be a major obstacle.

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The Hammers are looking to sign a “leader” in the upcoming transfer window.

ByDominic Lund 4 days ago "Unbelievable" Toney could help fire West Ham to safety

Despite West Ham being difficult to beat in recent weeks, they are still in real trouble, currently sitting two points from safety and inside the relegation zone.

The former Brentford striker has proven he has what it takes to help fire the Hammers to safety, maintaining a fantastic attacking record across his three seasons in the Premier League with the Bees.

Season

Premier League appearances

Goal contributions

2021-22

33

17

2022-23

33

24

2023-24

17

6

Former manager Thomas Frank also waxed lyrical about the Englishman upon his departure, saying: “It’s been a pleasure to work with Ivan over the last four years. He has averaged more than one goal every two games, which is an unbelievable number.”

With West Ham at real risk of relegation, they definitely need to make some new additions in the January window, and Toney is exactly the calibre of signing they should be looking to make.

Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney appears to have put his managerial ambitions on hold after announcing a new podcast.

Rooney puts management on back burnerMan Utd icon back in punditryEx-England man launches new podcastFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The 39-year-old has been back in punditry after being sacked by Plymouth Argyle late last year. And this week, the former England international and his wife, Coleen, celebrated the launch of his new podcast, 'The Wayne Rooney Show', at a special BBC event. 

AdvertisementGetty Images EntertainmentWHAT ROONEY SAID

He wrote on Instagram: "Great event last night celebrating the start of a new football season with @bbcsport and the launch of my new podcast, The Wayne Rooney Show! Episode 1 is out now, available on @bbciplayer, @bbcsport YouTube, and @bbcsounds."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

The former Everton man is taking a break from management after two disastrous spells at Plymouth and Birmingham City. The ex-striker has proven that not all great players make great managers, and now Rooney is deciding to go down the punditry route for the foreseeable future. 

Getty Images/GOALWHAT NEXT?

After hitting back at minority Birmingham owner Tom Brady in the first episode of his new show, following the NFL icon's critique of his "work ethic" at the West Midlands club, more fireworks could happen in Rooney's podcast next week.

Birmingham City were an absolute joy to behold at the very top of League One last season.

Chris Davies’ rampant Blues would only lose three of their 46 league fixtures, leading to a colossal 111-point total being reached, with standout figures such as Jay Stansfield very much raising the excitement levels with a bumper 19 strikes tallied up in third-tier action.

Come the end of their very enjoyable League One marathon, Birmingham would go on to accumulate a mightily impressive 84 goals.

They won’t be receding into their shell when heading back up to the Championship, with plenty of fresh strikers now being linked to make the switch to St. Andrew’s to boost their already frightening firepower, which includes a promising Premier League-bound talent.

Birmingham monitoring situation of £10m striker

According to a report from GIVEMESPORT, the super-confident Blues are now monitoring the situation of Leeds United striker Mateo Joseph.

GIVEMESPORT states that Birmingham have been interested in the Spanish hotshot for some time now, with Davies’ men potentially seeing this opening in the summer transfer window as the perfect opportunity to strike up a deal.

RC Strasbourg are also noted as an interested party- on top of a January £10m bid from Real Betis being mentioned – but Birmingham have successfully flexed their muscles recently to win a similarly expensive striker from a Premier League side.

Of course, Stansfield cost £15m to pick up from Marco Silva’s Fulham last summer, with everyone at St. Andrew’s hopeful that Joseph can go down as an unbelievable success story much like the former Cottagers forward.

How Joseph can be Stansfield 2.0

It was somewhat of a gamble to fork out £15m for Stansfield’s services, considering the electric number 28 only had 21 strikes next to his name in senior action in the EFL before confirming a permanent Birmingham stay.

Now, that lavish fee doesn’t look too steep, with Stansfield an integral part of the Blues’ promotion story.

When moving up a division, Birmingham will be keeping their fingers crossed that Joseph can play an equal starring role, but this time around he could be the exact figure they desire in helping Davies’ men consolidate themselves as a Championship-worthy outfit.

After all, despite fading into the background at times last season under Daniel Farke’s wing, Joseph would still chip in with three goals and three assists in league action. This is a more than respectable return when you weigh up the fact that the 21-year-old only started 11 Championship contests.

With Leeds now in the big time, Joseph will be worrying that his first-team opportunities will become even more sparse. Therefore, a move to St. Andrew’s could be just what the Spain U21 international needs to kick on as he aims to follow in the footsteps of Stansfield, a fellow young striker who was also on the periphery of his then employers, Fulham, before finally becoming a main striker option in the West Midlands.

Joseph’s G/A numbers for Leeds/Spain
Club played for	Games	Goals	Assists
Leeds	73	6	3
Leeds U21s	33	19	3
Leeds U18s	4	1	1
Spain U21s	11	8	0
Sourced by Transfermarkt

That was the case even as Stansfield scored a blistering 38 goals for both the Fulham U18s and U21s combined, with Joseph not that far behind on a healthy total of 20 on the youth pitches at Thorp Arch, away from also hammering home six strikes in the senior ranks.

Staggeringly, Stansfield would only ever reach two senior goals at Craven Cottage, but all of that is firmly at the back of his mind now as Birmingham’s leading star.

The “dynamite” Leeds forward – as he was once glowingly labelled by U23 scout Antonio Mango – will want to be held in the same high esteem soon, rather than fighting it out for scraps at Elland Road.

Therefore, another statement striker deal could soon be on the cards at St. Andrew’s, as Joseph possibly joins and fires in the goals to make Birmingham’s transition to Championship life as smooth as possible.

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Newcastle United have now moved ahead of Chelsea in the race to sign a £60 million star with a bid now being prepared and salary terms already agreed, according to a recent report.

Rashford among Newcastle targets as Howe seeks new forwards

The Magpies have added just one new player to their squad so far this summer, and that is winger Antonio Cordero, who joins the club on a free transfer at the start of July following the expiration of his contract at Malaga. Cordero is not expected to be the only arrival at St James’ Park, as the Magpies continue to be linked with several high-profile players.

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Newcastle are looking to overhaul their defence

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It was reported earlier this week that Newcastle made contact over signing defender Evan Ndicka from AS Roma. Newcastle are in the market for a new central defender, as they’ve been heavily linked with a move for Marc Guehi, but Ndicka is another option who could come at a cheaper price.

Meanwhile, they are also in the market for attacking reinforcements, and they have held internal talks over signing Mohammed Kudus from West Ham, as the forward is free to leave the Premier League side.

In fresh news, Newcastle are now also interested in signing Marcus Rashford on a season-long loan deal.

The Englishman’s future at Old Trafford looks to be coming to an end but he has yet to receive any concrete offers to leave United. The Magpies are now weighing up making a loan bid, as they can offer Rashford Champions League football, but the Red Devils are more interested in selling Rashford this summer than loaning him out again.

Newcastle move ahead of Chelsea in Joao Pedro race

As such, a permanent move for Rashford may not be on the cards for the Magpies, as according to Brazilian outlet UOL Esporte, Newcastle are now preparing a bid to sign Joao Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion.

The report states that the Magpies have moved ahead of Premier League rivals Chelsea in the race to sign Pedro, as they have already agreed personal terms with the forward. However, Chelsea’s interest in Pedro has reportedly ‘shaken’ the player, and now both clubs are preparing to make an official offer.

It isn’t clear how much Newcastle would be willing to spend on Pedro, but it’s been previously reported that Brighton value the forward at around £60 million. The 23-year-old scored 10 goals in 27 league games during the 2024/25 season, but a falling out at the club means he is now likely to leave during this summer transfer window.

Apps

70

Goals

30

Assists

10

Newcastle chasing Pedro may be seen as them looking to replace Alexander Isak, but Pedro being able to operate anywhere across the frontline as, well as a number 10, makes him a player who could be a perfect partner for the Swede.

The Brazilian has had back-to-back impressive campaigns in the Premier League now, and a move to Newcastle could accelerate his career further, as he will be able to play on the biggest stage of them all, the Champions League.