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With Adam Idah set to join Swansea City, Celtic have now reportedly opened talks to sign a £10m striker who was once backed to follow in the footsteps of the legendary Marco van Basten.

Adam Idah set to join Swansea

After a 50-minute cameo to forget against Kairat in the Champions League, Idah has been shown the door by Celtic in ruthless fashion. Returning to English football just one year since swapping Norwich City for the Scottish champions in a move worth £9.5m, Idah will be desperate to put his recent Celtic form behind him back in the Championship.

The forward is set to leave with 29 goals in 76 appearances to his name, which includes a last-gasp Scottish Cup winner against Old Firm rivals Rangers in 2024. For that moment alone, some may argue that Idah proved to be worth every penny.

Ultimately, however, with Brendan Rodgers keen to bolster his side before the deadline, Idah has been shown the door. The Celtic boss told reporters when asked about potential incomings following his side’s Champions League exit in midweek: “I always think that investment is great, but it has to be a timely investment.

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“It has to be at the right time. I think at this moment in time, we’ve just lost a game. Like I say, this group of players have given everything. We’re obviously being limited to what we could do in the game at the moment, but like I said, they gave everything.”

At that stage, there was arguably little room to welcome further arrivals. With Idah now set to seal his exit, however, the Bhoys could welcome an instant upgrade.

Celtic in talks to sign Dolberg

According to Sky Sports’ Anthony Joseph, Celtic are now in talks to sign Kasper Dolberg from Anderlecht this week. The 27-year-old forward is reportedly valued at £10m – a similar price that the Bhoys initially paid for Idah last summer – and negotiations are underway.

The Dolberg name is one that many will remember from several years ago. The Dane was the supposed to be the next best thing at Ajax. He was billed as football’s latest wonderkid. His own father even went as far as to compare him with the legendary Van Basten, whilst the Ajax scout who discovered Dolberg dubbed him an “extraordinary talent”, but things never quite worked out as planned.

That said, whilst the Dane is not among the world’s best players like many expected him to be, he still has a knack for goals and has already netted five in just eight games this season. And it is that knack for goals which should see Celtic push all the way for his signature.

India’s head coach dismisses talk of his team having an “undue advantage” in the Champions Trophy

Sidharth Monga04-Mar-2025

The pitch for the first semi-final was the most batting-friendly of the ones in Dubai so far•ICC via Getty Images

It comes with the territory that everything around India gets magnified, be it good or bad. Barely a press conference has gone by during this Champions Trophy where India’s supposed advantage has not been spoken about.Because of geopolitical issues, India haven’t travelled to the host nation, Pakistan, and have played all their matches – which will now include the final – in Dubai, while other teams have had to travel within Pakistan and then to Dubai to play India. It has been suggested that India benefited on two fronts: that their squad had fewer bases to cover, and that they had a chance to get used to one square unlike any other team in the competition. Coach Gautam Gambhir must have been really annoyed at such insinuations, and dismissed any such talk emphatically even when not directly asked about it.Gambhir was asked if India knew about the conditions in Dubai when they picked five spinners in their squad, three of them allrounders of varying capability. Gambhir came off the long run in response, taking aim at “perpetual cribbers”.Related

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Rahul: I'm quite used to going up and down the order

“See, first of all, this is as neutral a venue for us as it is for any other team,” Gambhir said. “We have not played here. I don’t remember when last we played here. And in fact, we didn’t plan anything like that. The plan was that if you pick two frontline spinners in the 15-man squad, then even if we played in Pakistan or anywhere, we would have picked two frontline spinners because this was a competition in the subcontinent.”So it’s not like we wanted to spin a spinners’ web. If you look at it, we only played one frontline spinner in the first two matches. We played two frontline spinners in this match and the previous match.”And there’s a lot of debate about the undue advantage and all that. What undue advantage? We haven’t practised here even for one day. We’re practising at the ICC academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. Some people are just perpetual cribbers, man. They’ve got to grow up. I feel that there was nothing like we had any undue advantage.”It is fair to say the vanquished captain Steven Smith is not one of those perpetual cribbers. He played down any advantage for India in the lead-up to the match, and was asked again about it afterwards.2:32

Do India have an unfair advantage at the Champions Trophy?

“Yeah, look, I’m not buying into it,” Smith said. “I think it is what it is. India obviously played some really good cricket here. The surface kind of suits their style with the spinners that they’ve got and the seamers that they have at their disposal for a wicket like that. They played well, they outplayed us, and they deserve the victory.”However, the tournament’s top wicket-taker, Mohammed Shami, did say the familiarity of playing at the same ground has helped him. It doesn’t mean that what he said directly contradicts what Gambhir said. Gambhir had spoken glowingly about how well Shami prepares for matches. So Shami was asked about his preparations.”Main thing is to know the conditions and the behaviour of the pitch well,” Shami said. “Because you are playing at one venue, you have an opportunity to get used to the conditions properly. So, at practice, I keep things simple, and try to bowl according to the pitches for the match.”When asked if it was a benefit to be playing at the same venue, Shami said, “Definitely. Because you get to know the conditions, the behaviour of the pitch. A lot of things… the way the weather was today – cool – your brain works even more. It can be said that it is a plus point that all your matches have been played at the same venue.””What undue advantage? We haven’t practised here even for one day. We’re practising at the ICC academy. And the conditions there and here are 180 degrees different”•Associated Press

Having said all that, India’s unbeaten run into the final of another ICC event will gladden many a heart. India lost only the final in the 2023 ODI World Cup, won the T20 World Cup in 2024 without dropping a match, and have won all four of their matches in the ongoing Champions Trophy. Having been through some tough times in Test cricket recently, Gambhir rejoiced in the “flawless” performance but was wary of India getting ahead of themselves.”You used a very good word that we played ‘flawlessly’,” Gambhir said in response to a question. “I think yes, we did, but we still have one more game to go. We know that we are a good one-day side, and the most important thing is the way we’ve actually played throughout this competition. The hunger, the commitment, and the eagerness to try and do something special for the country is always there in the dressing room.”In international sport, you want to keep improving. You don’t say that you’ve ticked all the boxes. There’s always room to improve. There’s always something to improve, be it in batting, fielding, or bowling. And we still haven’t played a perfect game. We still have one more game to go. Hopefully we can play a perfect game.”And that is the kind of person I am. I will never be satisfied with the performances. We want to keep improving, we want to stay humble, we want to be ruthless on the cricket field, but absolutely humble off the field as well. That’s the kind of team environment and that’s the kind of culture we want to create in that dressing room, and be absolutely honest. So hopefully we can play one more game and play our best game.”

Temba Bavuma, South Africa’s Test captain, has recovered from his elbow injury in time to be available for their two-Test series at home against Sri Lanka. Bavuma will lead a 14-man side which also features Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee, who both made their international returns from a conditioning break in the recent T20I series against India and have not played Tests since last summer.Bavuma will bolster an inexperienced batting line-up, who had three maiden centurions in Bangladesh last month, and a team who are chasing a spot in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.South Africa need to win all four Tests at home – two against Sri Lanka and two against Pakistan – to guarantee their place at Lord’s next year. They could also make it with three wins out of four, based on results elsewhere. Either way, the importance of the next four Tests is clear and having their regular captain back was top of mind for Test coach Shukri Conrad who called his side “still Temba’s team” where Bavuma was unable to play.Related

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He travelled with the side but was battling the after-effects of the injury, which was sustained during an ODI against Ireland on October 4. Bavuma has not played any competitive cricket since then. He has also not played any red-ball cricket since Tests against West Indies in August, but Conrad is confident Bavuma will be ready for the upcoming challenges.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

“He’s probably going in cold in the back of not having played any matches but we’re certainly going to be simulating match situations during our short camp we’re going to have in Pretoria,” Conrad said. “His fitness test was always going to be yesterday (Monday, November 18) and then it would just be too close to a four-day match and too close to the Test match (for him to play a game). If we had asked him to or forced him to play last week, I think it could have been detrimental. And I don’t think there was anything to gain from that.”Instead, Bavuma underwent an extensive assessment which included batting for 90 minutes on Monday to determine whether his left elbow had sufficiently recovered from an awkward land when completing a run against Ireland. It is the same elbow that Bavuma injured in 2022.”The concern was the impact on striking the ball and if there was any pain associated with that. That was still the case when we were in Bangladesh, which then ruled him out of the second Test there. So, it included a battery of tests,” Conrad said. “There was the fitness side of things, the aerobic stuff with the running and doing all of that. We had our high-performance lead, Tumi Masekela, there. And then, also, he had an hour-and-a-half of batting with quick bowlers. He had a throw-down net with (fielding coach) Kruger van Wyk and a couple of throwers there as well. He got through that really well; unscathed and there was absolutely no pain. We felt that on the back of that, he could be cleared to play.Equally, Conrad said Bavuma is looking forward to leading a side he has only captained five times out of 10 possible opportunities since being named Test captain in March 2023. “He’s excited,” Conrad said. “He’s like a little kid in a toy shop at the moment because he hasn’t played Test cricket in a while.”The sense of expectation is high given the opportunity of making the WTC final. South Africa have loaded up with as many available fast bowlers possible with Kagiso Rabada to lead the attack, the experienced Dane Paterson included and the recall of Jansen and Coetzee. Lungi Ngidi is unavailable (groin injury) until January and Anrich Nortje has opted out of Tests for the time being having come back from lower-back stress fractures.There was some concern around Coetzee, who left the field during the fourth T20I against India, with what looked like a hamstring concern but returned to bowl later in the game. He has cleared the scans.South Africa have included two spinners in Keshav Maharaj and Senuran Muthusamy, but have no space for US-based offspinner Dane Piedt, who has been part of the last three Test squads. The batting line-up will include Aiden Markram and Tony de Zorzi at the top, Tristan Stubbs at No. 3 and allrounder Wiaan Mulder in the lower middle order. Ryan Rickelton will likely make way for Bavuma in what Conrad called “almost like a knockout quarter-final with us and Sri Lanka.”Sri Lanka are third on the WTC points table, 1.39 percentage points above South Africa, and also in with a chance of making the final. “That table is going to be quite a topsy-turvy one over the next couple of months,” Conrad said. “We all understand the magnitude of it. We also understand that we’ve got to play really good cricket in order for us to achieve the goal. I think we’re going to run into a very confident Sri Lanka side.”But we certainly know that if we play anything close to our ability, that we’ll be right there when it matters. It’s an exciting time for the Test side.”The two-Test series begins in Durban on November 27 before the teams move to Gqeberha for the second Test starting December 5.

South Africa squad for Test series against Sri Lanka

Temba Bavuma (capt), David Bedingham, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne

Big picture: Do not adjust your timezones

Are you keeping up at the back? England’s Test team has just arrived back home from Pakistan, licking their wounds after a 2-1 series defeat, but already making plans for their next three-Test tour of New Zealand in barely three weeks’ time. And now, to fill the idle minutes between those two significant endeavours, a separate England squad has been dispatched to the Caribbean for its fourth visit in the space of three years, to continue the reboot of their white-ball fortunes after two underwhelming World Cup defences.This is the sweet spot of England’s post-Covid fixture congestion – a series so shoehorned that it’s hard to know what to read into the players selected, or indeed the results expected. As Jason Holder told ESPNcricinfo, the ECB’s honouring of its debts to West Indies after his team’s efforts in the lockdown summer of 2020 is a significant factor in the timing of this tour, and so there’s a transactional aspect to the coming eight games that cannot be ignored. The financial stimulus in the Caribbean may matter more than the actual results, given that the hosts don’t even have a place at February’s Champions Trophy to offer a short-term focus for their efforts.For England, however, this is a golden opportunity for their next generation to stake claims for integral roles in the coming Bazball-ification of the white-ball team. Brendon McCullum won’t be getting his feet under the table until the tour of India in January, but his influence is already palpable. The cross-pollination of players – with Jordan Cox and Rehan Ahmed joining from the Pakistan tour and Jacob Bethell soon to take the opposite route to New Zealand – reinforces the sense that one philosophy is about to take hold across all three squads, and so it probably doesn’t matter where and how you make your case … Big Bazzer Will Be Watching You.And so, in the short term at least, cohesive strategies will probably matter less than well-crafted cameos. With Jos Buttler extending his absence from professional cricket into a fifth month, and with Harry Brook – his heir apparent – tied up on Test duty, Liam Livingstone gets an unlikely shot at the captaincy, just weeks after he was initially cut from England’s ODI plans against Australia. He takes charge of a squad that features five potential 50-over debutants, from the restlessly ambitious Cox, to the fast-tracked legspinner Jafer Chohan, as well as the ubiquitous John Turner, the Hampshire fast bowler who has been mentioned in dispatches for more than a year already but might finally get his opening in these coming games.Shimron Hetmyer is back in West Indies’ ODI squad•Getty Images

More established names ought to relish this opportunity too. Sam Curran, for instance, was wondering out loud last month whether his face fitted in the Bazball era, given his lack of extreme pace and height runs counter to the attributes that England’s selectors have been advocating of late. The fact that he was overlooked as Buttler’s stand-in might confirm his paranoia too. But he was player of the match in his last ODI in Antigua, and that will surely count for something.Phil Salt is another who might be grateful for the absence of the multi-format players. The Caribbean was the scene of his breakthrough as a T20I opener, with twin hundreds on England’s last visit, but in the 50-over format, he failed to make it out of the powerplay in any of the five matches against Australia, even if his 45 from 27 at Bristol last month was a rowdy way to sign off for the summer.They’ll be coming up against a West Indies team with a proud home record against England. In addition to their two-decade unbeaten run in Tests, they’ve won each of their last three home white-ball series against the visitors, including a 2-1 win in the corresponding ODI campaign in December 2023.Between the wily left-arm spin of Gudakesh Motie and the pace prowess of Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales, West Indies have invariably found the requisite firepower to blunt England’s hard-hitters, and they’ve rarely lacked muscle with the bat themselves. It ought to be high-octane cricket over the coming days, in front of eager crowds of autumnal English sun-seekers. But quite what any of it will prove, the jury will remain out on that, at least until the new year.

Form guide

West Indies WLLLL
England LWWLL

In the spotlight – Evin Lewis and Liam Livingstone

England fans may remember Evin Lewis from his astonishing onslaught at the Kia Oval in 2017, right at the apex of England’s white-ball revolution. On a cool autumnal afternoon, he blazed a remarkable 176 not out from 130 balls with 17 fours and seven sixes, and was firmly on course for West Indies’ second ODI double-hundred when he inside-edged a yorker onto his ankle and retired hurt with a hairline fracture. That was the third of his five ODI hundreds to date – a tally that only Shai Hope among contemporary West Indies cricketers can beat – and the most recent came only last week against Sri Lanka in Kandy: a 61-ball onslaught, sealed with a matchwinning six. Remarkably, that was Lewis’ first ODI appearance for more than three years, but as his captain Hope put it at the post-match presentations, “he picked up where he left off”.Barely six weeks have elapsed since Liam Livingstone was called up as an injury replacement for Jos Buttler, after his calf injury ruled him out of the ODI series against Australia. Now, he’s been handed a more remarkable promotion still – stepping directly into the skipper’s shoes as England’s sixth captain of 2024. He returns on the crest of a relative wave, after recently rising to become the leading T20I allrounder in the ICC’s rankings. But his returns in ODI cricket remain hit-and-miss. His blistering 62 not out from 27 balls against Australia at Lord’s contained a stunning seven sixes, but was also his first half-century in 14 innings since another dramatic intervention, 95 not out from 78 balls, against New Zealand in September 2023. In between whiles he went missing (along with most of his team-mates, to be fair) at the 50-over World Cup in India. His multi-faceted spin bowling remains a vital means of balancing England’s XIs, however, and a strong showing in this series will set him on course for a shot at redemption in the Champions Trophy.Jacob Bethell prepares to bat in the nets in Antigua•Getty Images

Team news: Debuts in prospect for England

Shimron Hetmyer’s return is West Indies’ only change from the ODI squad that played (and won) the last of its three matches against Sri Lanka on Saturday, and so continuity would seem to be the order of the day. He looks likely to slot into the middle-order, with the 17-year-old Jewel Andrew, who made his international debut in that Kandy contest, the obvious batter to make way. There’s time enough for him to come again. Romario Shepherd could also make a return after sitting out that same match.West Indies: 1 Brandon King, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (capt and wk), 4 Sherfane Rutherford, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Keacy Carty, 7 Alzarri Joseph, 8 Roston Chase, 9 Gudakesh Motie, 10 Romario Shepherd, 11 Jayden SealesThe squeeze on this series, from Test tours of Pakistan at one end and New Zealand at the other, mean a swathe of multi-format players will be missing in the coming days, including Brook and Ben Duckett, whose century against Australia in Bristol was a perfect translation of his Bazball tempo from five-day to 50 overs. Cox, fresh from the Pakistan tour, will be one of several players earmarked for ODI debut in the coming days, while Buttler’s absence means Michael Pepper, his injury replacement, could be another. More likely, perhaps, given the rough hierarchy that governs England’s opportunities, is that Will Jacks gets a chance to open, and Dan Mousley – overlooked for a debut against Australia – gets first dibs in the middle order.England: 1 Phil Salt (wk), 2 Will Jacks, 3 Jordan Cox, 4 Jacob Bethell, 5 Liam Livingstone (capt), 6 Dan Mousley, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Jofra Archer, 11 Reece Topley

Pitch and conditions: Remember the wind factor

A fairly central strip means boundary dimensions are more or less uniform. With four visits to the Caribbean in the space of three years, England’s senior players are well used to the cross-winds that can aid or end any given batter’s attempts to clear the ropes. Conflicting reports of rain may also throw a little chaos into the mix.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have won seven of their previous 18 ODIs at the Sir Vivian Richards Ground in Antigua, five of which have come in their last six appearances since 2017.
• Their most recent match at the venue, however, was a six-wicket defeat against England in December 2023.
• Evin Lewis needs 51 runs to reach 2000 in ODIs.

Quotes

“That’s something you’re going to see throughout the series, there’s going to be a fair few debuts. And there’s going to be people who get an opportunity because we want to see what we can do. Because that’s what we want to get out of this trip is see how they fare in international cricket.”

تقدم الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي بيراميدز، بالهدف الأول في شباك فريق زد، في لقاء يقام ضمن منافسات مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

ويخوض بيراميدز مباراته أمام زد، اليوم الخميس في تمام الثامنة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة والسعودية على أرضية استاد الدفاع الجوي في الجولة السابعة من بطولة الدوري المصري.

طالع| تشكيل بيراميدز أمام زد في الدوري.. مروان حمدي يقود الهجوم

وجاء هدف بيراميدز عن طريق اللاعب مصطفى زيكو في الدقيقة 73 بعد عرضية من محمد الشيبي قابلها زيكو برأسية في الشباك.

ويحتل بيراميدز المركز التاسع في جدول ترتيب مسابقة الدوري المصري برصيد 8 نقاط من فوزين وتعادلين وخسارة.

ويدخل بيراميدز، اللقاء بمعنويات مرتفعة بعد الفوز على الأهلي بهدفين نظيفين في آخر ظهور محلي، والانتصار على أوكلاند بثلاثية نظيفة في كأس القارات “إنتركونتينتتال”. هدف بيراميدز الأول أمام زد

Newcastle United are believed to be eyeing an impressive double swoop alongside their imminent move for Nottingham Forest winger Anthony Elanga this summer.

Newcastle closing in on Elanga signing

The Magpies continue to work hard on new signings, from James Trafford to Marc Guehi, but it looks as though the addition of Elanga from Forest is closer than ever to happening.

According to a new claim from Sky Sports reporter Keith Downie, Newcastle have agreed a £55m for the signing of the Swede, with a medical expected to take place imminently.

Elanga has the potential to be such an eye-catching signing for Eddie Howe, with his pace helping make them a huge threat on the counter-attack, as highlighted last season when he scored a stunning solo effort against former club Manchester United.

It’s now a case of ensuring that the Forest man becomes a Newcastle player and that there are no late obstacles to overcome, before turning their attention to further signings, with a striker believed to be a major focus for PIF this summer.

Newcastle eyeing double defensive swoop

According to L’Equipe [via Sport Witness], Newcastle remain keen on signing Lyon goalkeeper Lucas Perri, despite their strong interest in Trafford. He is considered a good alternative to the Englishman and may well head to the Premier League either way this summer, with Leeds United also in the mix.

Meanwhile, Give Me Sport claim that the Magpies are continuing to eye a summer move for Guehi from Crystal Palace, in a potential £70m deal. They are described as being “hopeful of winning the race” to sign the England international once they wrap up Elanga.

Perri stands out as an excellent alternative to Trafford, should Newcastle fail to sign the Burnley man, with Paulo Fonseca even calling him the “best in the world” in his position. At 27, the Brazilian is also a more proven player at the top level than Trafford, although at this point, it would still be a surprise if the Clarets goalkeeper wasn’t the man to come in this summer.

Meanwhile, Guehi arguably stands out as the strongest possible choice to come in and bolster Newcastle’s back-line, having now shown that he can excel for both club and country, standing out as England’s best defender at Euro 2024 last summer.

Now feels like the right time for him to enjoy a new challenge in his career, and he possesses the leadership, quality on the ball and reading of play to be a mainstay of the Magpies’ defence for many years.

He will love Elanga: Newcastle in advanced talks to sign a "top striker"

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Granted, the £70m price tag is bloated, as is often the case with homegrown players, but he could prove to be worth every penny if he shines at the heart of the defence for the next decade.

Celtic fans are taking some time to wind down after a hectic campaign, but Brendan Rodgers is already reportedly on the brink of sealing their first summer signing.

Celtic reflect after ending campaign with two trophies

Domestic doubles are a strong marker of success at Parkhead. However, Celtic will feel they let the prospect of a clean sweep in Scotland slip away during an unfateful Scottish Cup final loss to Aberdeen last weekend.

Coming down to penalties, claiming another prize proved to be a step too far for Brendan Rodgers’ men, who ended extra time with an unfamiliar line-up that illustrates their need to strengthen again this summer.

Showing faith in his manager to get it right in the market, Celtic defender Liam Scales has backed his compatriot to bolster squad depth ahead of another long campaign.

He stated: “He always wants the club to improve year on year. Since I arrived four years ago, it seems to keep getting better at every transfer window.

“I think that’s obviously going to be the focus, especially with the Champions League coming up. We need to qualify for that. If we do, we want to be strong going into that as well.”

Celtic’s summer schedule

Cork City (A)

SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh

Newcastle United (H)

St James Park – Adidas Trophy

SPFL opening day

Weekend of August 1st to August 3rd

Champions League playoff round

19/20th and 26/27th August

Jeffrey Schlupp could be set for an extended Celtic stay and is in discussions over signing on a permanent basis at Parkhead. Greg Taylor could make way following six years in Glasgow.

Either way, it is all change at the Hoops ahead of next season, though a familiar face could now be set to return between the sticks.

Ross Doohan to complete Celtic return after signing pre-contract

According to Press and Journal, Aberdeen goalkeeper Ross Doohan has signed a pre-contract with Celtic and will return to Glasgow following three years away from his boyhood club.

Labelled “brilliant” by Graeme Shinnie, the former Scotland Under-21 international has kept five clean sheets in 18 appearances across all competitions this season.

Celtic could sign Idah upgrade in £40m star who's "guaranteed goals"

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ByDan Emery May 25, 2025

Scott Bain has entered the final year of his deal at Parkhead and is expected to make way this summer, creating the path for Doohan to come in as third-choice behind Kasper Schmeichel and Viljami Sinisalo.

In addition, the 27-year-old will help Celtic in their quest to meet UEFA’s squad registration rules, given he is homegrown and also a club-trained asset.

Celtic will make more eye-catching signings this summer, but being able to call on a familiar presence to integrate withing the goalkeeping group at Lennoxtown could be a savvy move.

Doohan spent seven years at Celtic in his first spell at the club. Now, he will have the opportunity to be part of a successful dressing room in the prime of his career.

Leeds United ended their Championship season by beating Plymouth Argyle in stoppage time to claim the title ahead of Burnley, whilst also hitting a century of points.

Since then, it has been a week full of parades, celebrations, and interesting chants and dance moves from members of the squad and management.

Once the celebrations are over, or at least subdued, Daniel Farke and his staff will have to start to think about plans for the upcoming summer transfer window.

Leeds are in a party atmosphere right now, and rightly so after their incredible achievement, but they know how hard the task ahead of them will be.

In fact, Football Insider reports that the Whites already have doubts over Joel Piroe and are not expected to build their attack around the Dutchman next season, which suggests that the club will be in the market for a new centre-forward.

This means that Leeds will need to find a lethal number nine to come in and provide the team with goals on a regular basis, as they look to land their best striker signing since Chris Wood.

Leeds United's strikers since Chris Wood

The New Zealand international set the bar high when he plundered an exceptional haul of 27 goals in 44 Championship matches for the West Yorkshire outfit in the 2016/17 campaign.

His incredible form in the second tier led to interest from the Premier League, though, and Burnley swooped in to sign him for a reported fee of £15m, which was a club-record deal for the Clarets at the time.

Wood has gone on to score 88 goals in the Premier League for Burnley, Newcastle United, and Nottingham Forest combined, which shows that he has proven himself to be a reliable scorer in the top-flight.

Leeds, meanwhile, have not found a striker of Wood’s quality or potential since his move to Turf Moor, as none of their former or current strikers since the New Zealand international have gone on to achieve what he has.

24/25

Joel Piroe

Championship

19

23/24

Crysencio Summerville

Championship

20

22/23

Rodrigo

Premier League

13

21/22

Raphinha

Premier League

11

20/21

Patrick Bamford

Premier League

17

19/20

Patrick Bamford

Championship

16

18/19

Kemar Roofe

Championship

15

17/18

Kemar Roofe

Championship

11

As you can see in the table above, no striker has hit 20 goals in the league for the Whites since Wood’s return of 27 goals, with winger Crysencio Summerville the only player to hit that mark in the last eight seasons.

Patrick Bamford showed great potential to kick on when he scored 17 goals in the Premier League in the 2020/21 campaign, but the former England international has failed to score more than eight goals in a season in any of the last four years.

Football Insider’s report that the club have doubts over Piroe’s suitability for the top-flight does not suggest that the Dutchman is set to be the next Wood by going on to be a success in the Premier League, either, and this means that Leeds have to nail their next striker signing this summer.

The Whites have already been linked with an interest in new players ahead of the summer transfer window and one of their targets, Troy Parrott, could be their best striker signing since Chris Wood.

Why Troy Parrott could be the best striker signing since Chris Wood

What made Wood such a successful signing for Leeds was that he developed during his time at Elland Road, as the forward scored 13 goals in his first Championship season before hitting 27 goals in his second.

The Whites were, then, able to cash in on him for a significant amount of money, which is not something that they have been able to do since then.

Parrott is reportedly one of the names on the club’s shortlist of striker targets ahead of the summer transfer window, and the Ireland international is a forward who has the potential to be the best centre-forward signing since Wood.

Firstly, the Irish striker has plenty of time left ahead of him to develop and improve at the age of 23, which means that he could grow in value throughout his time at Elland Road before being sold for a profit in the future, as was the case with the current Nottingham Forest star.

Secondly, Parrott is a player with the physical attributes to compete at the top level, as he is a nimble and quick forward who can race away from opposition defenders, whilst Piroe, for example, is not blessed with lightning-quick speed or athleticism.

Finally, the 23-year-old star’s form in the Netherlands over the past two seasons suggests that he has the potential to be a reliable goalscoring threat for the Whites.

Parrott, who was described as a “phenomenal” marksman by former Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe, has caught the eye with his performances in the Eredivisie for Excelsior and the Eredivisie and the Europa League for AZ Alkmaar.

Appearances

29

40

69

xG

9.49

20.22

29.71

Goals

17

18

35

Big chances created

5

10

15

Assists

4

3

7

As you can see in the table above, the former Tottenham Hotspur youngster has plundered an eye-catching 35 goals in those two competitions in the last two seasons combined, outperforming his xG by roughly five goals in that time.

These statistics suggest that Parrott, who has scored 20 goals in all competitions this term for AZ Alkmaar, is already a player who can deliver goals on a regular basis at the top level, because he has proven himself in a big European league and in a big European competition.

If you take his form in the last two seasons, his physical attributes, and his age profile into account, the Leeds target has the potential to be the club’s best striker signing since Chris Wood.

No centre-forward since the ex-Burnley man has gone on to thrive in the Premier League on a consistent basis, or be sold on for a major profit, and Parrott is a striker who seemingly has the potential to go on to achieve both of those things, which is why the Whites must swoop for his services this summer.

Rio Ferdinand 2.0: Leeds want to sign "extraordinary" £20m defender

Leeds United are keen on signing a £20m star who could be the next Rio Ferdinand at Elland Road.

ByDan Emery May 5, 2025

Leeds United will be playing Premier League football next season and will be aiming to buck the recent trend of newly-promoted teams going straight back down.

All three of the promoted sides from the Championship have been relegated in each of the last two seasons, including Southampton, Leicester City, and Ipswich Town this term.

The Whites know that they need to recruit well for Daniel Farke to build a squad that is capable of competing in the Premier League week-in-week-out in the 2025/26 campaign.

Leeds won the Championship title with a 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle on the final day earlier this month, hitting a century of points in the process, but that achievement does not mean that they already have a squad that is ready for the top-flight.

There is, obviously, a gap in quality between the Premier League and the Championship, and Whites star Dan James is, perhaps, the best example of that, given the difference in his output in the top-flight and the second tier.

Why Dan James may not be ready to star in the Premier League

The Wales international was named the club’s 2024/25 Player of the Year recently after another impressive season from the right-sided attacker under Farke.

James racked up 12 goals and nine assists in 36 appearances in the Championship to help the Whites on their way to 100 points and the league title, which shows that he provided a consistent threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals on the right flank.

The 27-year-old speedster also caught the eye with his contributions at the top end of the pitch in the 2023/24 campaign, with a return of 13 goals, 13 ‘big chances’ created, and seven assists in 43 appearances in the second tier.

This means that James has scored 25 goals and provided 16 assists in the Championship since the start of last season, which is a fantastic haul and proves that he has been a star for Farke in the final third.

Appearances

34

24

Goals

4

2

Big chances created

5

3

Key passes per game

0.8

0.4

Assists

4

1

Dribbles completed per game

0.6

0.3

However, as you can see in the table above, the Welsh attacker’s last two seasons in the Premier League suggest that he may not be able to replicate that kind of form for the Whites next term.

James failed to provide consistent quality at the top end of the pitch for Fulham and Leeds in those two campaigns, and it remains to be seen whether or not he will be able to show a better version of himself in the top-flight this time around.

This is why the former Manchester United forward may not be a star for Leeds next season, despite his form this year, and that is why a fresh report on the club’s interest in a new winger is good news for Farke.

Leeds eyeing deal for Bundesliga forward

According to Foot Mercato, Leeds United are one of a number of clubs interested in a deal to sign Borussia Monchengladbach winger Franck Honorat in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The report claims that OGC Nice and Freiburg are also keen on the 28-year-old attacker, who moved to the Bundesliga from Stade Brest in the summer of 2023.

Transfer Focus

This means that there could be plenty of competition to land his services ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, as Farke lines up a raid on his former club, having managed Gladbach between 2022 and 2023.

The German boss moved on from the club before Honorat arrived in the summer of 2023, though, so there will not be any advantage for Leeds from that perspective.

Foot Mercato does not reveal how much money it would take for Gladbach to consider selling the experienced forward, but the Whites should press ahead with a move for the star because he could be an even better option than Dan James in the Premier League next season.

Why Franck Honorat could be a better option than Dan James

As aforementioned, the current Leeds star has failed to prove that he has the quality to perform consistently in the top-flight of English football in his previous seasons at that level.

James is an undoubted talent in the Championship but his output in the Premier League in the past is a concern ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, as he may not have what it takes to fire the Whites to safety with goals and assists on a regular basis.

Honorat, however, has already proven that he can deliver impressive performances in two of Europe’s top five leagues, as shown by his form for Stade Brest in Ligue 1 and for Gladbach in the Bundesliga.

During his time in France, the 28-year-old attacker produced 25 goals and 16 assists in 103 Ligue 1 matches for Stade Brest, with at least six goals and five assists in all three of his league seasons there.

His form in Ligue 1 led to a move to Gladbach on a permanent deal in the summer of 2023, and the French star has proven himself in the Bundesliga in the last two seasons.

Appearances

32

17

Goals

3

4

Big chances created

19

12

Key passes per game

2.8

2.5

Assists

9

7

As you can see in the table above, the Leeds target has created a staggering 31 ‘big chances’ in 49 appearances in the Bundesliga for his current club, whilst James created eight ‘big chances’ in 58 games in his last two seasons in the Premier League.

Honorat, who was described as “fast” by Gladbach sporting director Roland Virkus, has proven himself to be an exceptional creative force on the wing for both Gladbach and Stade Brest in Europe over the past five seasons, which suggests that he has the quality to make the step over to the Premier League.

The 28-year-old star has already proven that he has the ability to deliver consistent quality in the final third in France and Germany, whilst James is yet to prove himself in any major leagues, and that is why he could be even better than the Welsh forward for Farke next season.

Time to go: 49ers must axe Leeds ace who's played even less than Schmidt

The Leeds United man who played less than Isaac Schmidt should be let go this summer.

ByDan Emery May 8, 2025

Honorat could improve the club’s chances of avoiding instant relegation to the Championship because his statistics suggest that he is more likely to be a difference-maker who can win vital points for Leeds with goals and assists than Dan James is.

The India batter is a game changer on his day but he needs to string more days like that together in Test cricket

Alagappan Muthu23-Jan-2024Shubman Gill has 1040 runs in Test cricket. Over half of them have come in boundaries.Now there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. The team he will be up against over the next couple of months has adopted a style of play that more or less turns every single ball into an event, and they have won 13 of their last 18 Test matches, including one share of an incredible Ashes series last year.Even otherwise, a hallmark of orthodox batting is in keeping good balls out and pouncing on bad ones. India’s most recent No. 3s were extremely skilled at that. Gill, early though it is in his career, will be keen to match them. He has more ball-striking raw material than either Rahul Dravid or Cheteshwar Pujara did. He’s like a Ferrari. Except he keeps wanting to floor it. Even in traffic.Related

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Gill has faced 1753 deliveries in Test cricket. That averages out to 47.4 deliveries per innings. For perspective, Dravid averaged 109.29 balls per innings, and Pujara 92.14. Gill could offer so much more if he would just wait for the open stretch of road.In his previous two Test series – seven innings in West Indies and South Africa – Gill scored only 119 runs at an average of 19.83 with a high score of 36, even though he was dismissed in single figures only twice.It has become all the more vital that India find a new source of runs now that their most prolific batter in home Tests over the last decade is missing, and that doesn’t happen often. There was Kanpur 2021. Bengaluru 2018. And Dharamsala 2017. Then a couple of Tests before he had truly established himself in the side. That’s it. Virat Kohli has missed only five Test matches in India since making his debut. He averages 60 in those games, when the collective average of the top seven batters was only 35. India haven’t lost an edge. They’ve lost a battalion. So it’s up to the others to pick up the slack, which they are plenty capable of.Gill, for example, plays shots that feel straight out of a dream. The back-foot, high-elbow, half-jab, half-drive through midwicket for example. Balls that finish on top of off stump – maybe even slightly outside – at 139 kph from Mitchell Starc do not invite such disdain. But with Gill, it looked commonplace. He is enemy to bowlers, physics and geometry. So long as he stays at the crease.”It’s a matter of perception. Depends who you ask. I think Gill’s a fine player,” India coach Rahul Dravid said two days out from the first Test against England in Hyderabad. “Starting out his journey as a cricketer, sometimes you forget that it takes people a little bit of time. Some guys have success instantly. Actually he’s one of those guys. He’s done really well in some of his early tours, especially in Australia. To be fair to him and a lot of the young guys coming through, a lot of them have played on really challenging wickets, whether it’s in India or even overseas, over the last two-three years. It gets quite hard at times for some of these guys.””But he’s doing all the right things. He’s working really hard, he’s putting in the time, putting in the effort. His last season he got a couple of nice hundreds for us, one in Bangladesh, one in Ahmedabad. So I think he’s on the right track. Just hoping that over the course of this five-match series he has some big performances.Shubman Gill averaged 19 on the tours to West Indies and South Africa•AFP/Getty ImagesThere is no reason an attack-minded No. 3 can’t also be hard to dismiss. Ricky Ponting combined those two traits so well that there were times when it was almost impossible to get him to make a mistake. Indeed, those who were somehow able to – like Ishant Sharma or Andrew Flintoff – were accorded instant cult-hero status.It is, of course, patently unfair to stack Gill against a contender for the greatest of all time, but consider this. Gill has two centuries from his first 37 Test innings. Ponting had only three, and he went on to be unstoppable, at one point scoring 10 hundreds in 19 Tests. The Ponting of that era (2002-03) was defined by his conviction. And that is what Gill needs to distinguish himself. At the moment, he is running on pure instinct.”I think he is playing a bit too aggressively in Test cricket,” Gavaskar said of him a few days ago. He gets a signal that there’s a ball to attack and he just goes for it. But if he were to look at the bigger picture and devote more of himself to shaping the fate of a whole Test match instead of the odd delivery or two, well …Bazball pushes every opponent to their limits simply because England keep finding ways to put massive totals on the board. Keeping up with the runs they score becomes paramount and that puts the onus on India to dig deeper than they might normally do. For Gill, that means finding a way to last. Almost 38% of his Test innings have ended in fewer than 25 balls.That may well be a function of the way he sets up, staying leg side to allow a free flow of his arms. And while that in itself isn’t really a problem, he does complicate matters by trying to play at almost every delivery. Half of his dismissals (17) are a consequence of the fact that he rarely leaves the ball. Another 13 have been bowled and lbw. Granted, some of those were jaffas, like when Neil Wagner set him up to be caught behind in the 2021 World Test Championship final, and others just plain bad luck, like when Kagiso Rabada benefited from low bounce last month, but by and large the rest are a sign of a guy needing to tighten up a little bit. Perhaps his white-ball game, where throwing your hands at the ball is crucial to keep hitting sixes, has been seeping into his red-ball routine.”Gill is under pressure,” Sanjay Manjrekar told ESPNcricinfo ahead of the series. “Not just in Test cricket but in T20 cricket as well. I think there’s a crowd gathering around him, making his life a little difficult. Fifty-overs format, he is set for the moment. In Test cricket, there’s one imperative [thing] that you need, unless you’re batting down at No. 6 of 7, but even then you need it, especially with the kind of pitches that India have had in the recent past at home, where you need to have a good defence.”If you can’t defend, and you’re looking to attack your way out of trouble. That works in 50-overs cricket. T20 cricket it definitely works. In Test cricket, you need to have reasonably good defence and that is what he should be focusing on completely. His defence against seam, swing. Pace and bounce, he’s okay. And in India, against spinners, imagining a silly point, short leg and so on.”Imagine the series India will have if Gill sticks it out to thwart England’s plan A and B. If he makes them turn to C, D and E, to funky fields and golden arms, simply by being a little more strategic. Imagine the threat he will pose if he focused on innings-building as much as shot-making.That Shubman Gill will be a sight to behold too.