Category Uncategorized

The Punjab Kings and Chhattisgarh batter talks about impressing Brian Lara, his rollercoaster career so far, and the season ahead

Ashish Pant09-Oct-2024Players showing up at the IPL out of near obscurity and leaving a mark isn’t new. You get a handful of such names almost every season, and you got them this year too. Think Mayank Yadav, who hit 156.7kph. Or Harshit Rana, who played a key role in Kolkata Knight Riders’ title-winning run. Or Nitish Kumar Reddy, Sunrisers Hyderabad’s newest star.Another name made the rounds even before IPL 2024 got underway: Shashank Singh, who was picked by Punjab Kings in rather interesting circumstances at the auction, and went on to smash 61 not out off 29 against Gujarat Titans, 46 not out off 25 against SRH, and 68 not out off 28 against Kolkata Knight Riders – the last one in a record T20 run chase.That wasn’t Shashank’s first IPL rodeo. Nor was it the first time he had bittersweet feelings about the auction.Related

• Shashank Singh: 'I've realised cricket is my life. I don't know what I would do without it'

• Ranji Trophy 2024-25: All you need to know about the two-phased season

• Shashank Singh 'confusion' a case of mistaken identity, say Punjab Kings

• 'Best in the world' Shashank Singh defies odds in Kings' come-from-behind win

• Shashank's redemption: from toiling on Mumbai's maidans to turning heads at the IPL

December 23, 2022. He distinctly remembers the day of the IPL 2023 auction. He had just finished a Ranji Trophy game against Services in Delhi and was getting ready to catch a plane to Kerala, where his side, Chhattisgarh, were due to play their next match.After moving from Delhi Capitals (2017) to Rajasthan Royals (2019-21), Shashank finally made his IPL debut for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2022. He had to wait until his sixth game to get a bat, and in his first innings, against Gujarat Titans, he smashed Lockie Ferguson for three back-to-back sixes in the final over to finish on an unbeaten 25 off six balls, leaving social media abuzz. ” [Who is this Shashank?] read a tweet from Yuvraj Singh. Harbhajan Singh marvelled at the young man’s power-hitting, and so did several experts on social media.Shashank didn’t have another innings of note that season but he received positive feedback from the team management, which included Brian Lara, the SRH batting coach. He had reasons to be optimistic about his chances, but on auction day he found no bidders.”Even now, when I think about it, I get very uneasy,” Shashank says. “I still don’t know how I spent that night [after the auction]. I can’t explain how those two to three months of my life went. cricketing emotions ” [I had lost those cricketing emotions.]”After the SRH year [2022], I was expecting that things would be good for me. I was expecting too much from myself and IPL as well. But I was not picked. After that, I had a very lean patch. So many thoughts were coming into my mind. cricket [If there was something good happening, I didn’t react to it. Any which way, things weren’t exactly going right.]He was out hurt for the next IPL. He should have been there, he thought. He was good enough to be a part of a team, any team.”I always wanted to test myself in red-ball cricket – to find out where exactly I stand”•Saikat Das/BCCICut to a year later and Shashank became Kings’ crisis man, helping them eke out wins from almost unwinnable situations. The two contrasting years at the IPL were a microcosm of his career.

****

Shashank was born in Bhilai in Chhattisgarh but played a lot of his early age-group cricket in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, where his father, an officer in the Indian police, was posted. At 16 he moved to Mumbai for better opportunities. There he got a massive reality check.Coming from Bhopal, where cricketing infrastructure was not as developed, he was up against players of the calibre of Suryakumar Yadav, Shivam Dube and Shardul Thakur, and he realised he needed to level up quickly. He joined the DY Patil Academy under the tutelage of former India fast bowler Abey Kuruvilla, who became his mentor.”When I was in Bhopal playing school cricket, there weren’t a lot of inter-state matches. But when I went to Mumbai, I saw the competition,” Shashank says. “I was surprised by just how much talent the players had, compared to me. Be it fitness, cricketing skills, training, the struggle… that’s when I told myself that just this much work won’t do.”Then I joined DY Patil and Abey Kuruvilla sir, and obviously there my life completely changed. He gave me all the freedom. The initial days in Mumbai really made me tough. Even when I got settled in Mumbai, that competition was always there. The culture, that definitely got imbibed.”For the next ten years Shashank played every tournament that came his way: Kanga league, Times Shield, DY Patil league. It took him some time to get there, but he made his Vijay Hazare Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy debuts for Mumbai in 2015. However, with competition for spots tight in Mumbai cricket, he failed to get into the red-ball side. Even in white-ball cricket, matches were few and far between. He played three List A games, all in 2015, while his last T20 game for Mumbai came in 2018.Shashank with Punjab Kings team-mate Shikhar Dhawan•Arjun Singh/BCCIThen came probably one of the toughest decisions of his career. At 27, Shashank decided to part ways with Mumbai to try and play first-class cricket elsewhere and prolong his professional career. He moved to Chhattisgarh, the state of his birth. Kuruvilla helped, by speaking to the secretary of the cricket association there, and soon enough Shashank made his Ranji Trophy debut for the state in the 2019-20 season.Did he feel the move was a step down?”Yes, 100%,” Shashank says. “I cried. I still remember that night when I went to Abey sir and told him that I don’t want to leave Mumbai cricket. I am very emotional towards that Mumbai cap. But sir was very honest to me.”He said, in red-ball cricket it would be very difficult because Abhishek Nayar is there, Shivam Dube is there. [In] white-ball, we were all playing. There you can accommodate allrounders. But in red-ball it gets difficult.”I always wanted to test myself in red-ball cricket – [to find out] where exactly I stand. When you start playing cricket, it is mostly about Test cricket. Obviously you want to challenge yourself at the toughest competition.”It was very difficult for me to accept that I won’t be playing for Mumbai, I won’t be wearing that Mumbai cap, I won’t be in their dressing room. It took me a few days to digest it. I made the decision to play for Chhattisgarh because I wanted to test myself in red-ball cricket.”Shashank has since been a regular in the Chhattisgarh side across formats. Starting in 2019, in 21 first-class games for the state he has scored 858 runs at an average of 31.77, and taken 12 wickets with his medium pace. In List A cricket, he has better numbers: 859 runs in 23 innings at 40.90 and 31 wickets, while in T20s he averages 18.75 with the bat. In the 2023-24 season, he became the first Indian to score 150-plus runs and take five wickets in the same List A game, a feat he achieved against Manipur.Shashank says his success in the IPL has given him more credibility with his team-mates•Saikat Das/BCCIIn a lot of ways, the 2023-24 season was a turning point in Shashank’s career. He was among the runs and wickets during the Vijay Hazare Trophy and had decent returns in the Mushtaq Ali tournament as well. He finished IPL 2024 as Kings’ highest run-getter with 354 runs in 14 games at a strike rate of 164.65, and more recently scored back-to-back centuries for Chhattisgarh in the KSCA league in Bengaluru.Shashank’s new-found success in the IPL has helped him earn more respect from his Chhattisgarh team-mates.”The friendships, the bonding, how they used to pull my leg earlier, all that is there. But now they have started trusting me more with my batting abilities, now they have started respecting me more as a cricketer,” he says. “I am not the captain of the state but sometimes, when I give my opinions, the management as well as the players, they respect it. ‘Okay if Shashank is saying this, there must be some logic in it.'”Along with his growing reputation, there has also been an upsurge in his social media following, from a few hundreds it now numbers in the hundreds of thousands. The people who used to troll him earlier over the name confusion at the auction ended up praising him for his steely determination when, seemingly overnight, he became the centrepiece of Kings’ success.How did the sudden spotlight feel?”I felt happy – obviously, anybody will,” Shashank says. “You get out of the lift and all the people know you by your name.”When I came to the team hotel ahead of the IPL, they asked my name. I said, ‘Shashank Singh’, and they were like, ‘Right, yeah… which state do you play for?’ Oh, Chhattisgarh. After a month they were like, ‘Oh, here’s Shashank Singh.’ It felt nice, and who won’t like it?”I still remember, there was a huge Punjab Kings poster which had pictures of me, Arsh [Arshdeep Singh], Jitesh [Sharma], and I think Sam [Curran]. I sent that picture to my mother. It felt nice to open the [hotel] window in the morning and see my face. I won’t lie. You go shopping, you go out to eat, people ask for a selfie, autograph, recognise you… I feel blessed.”Shashank is a big AB de Villiers fan, but the cricketer he really looks up to is Lara. The former West Indies captain was SRH’s batting coach when Shashank was part of the team and he credits Lara with giving him the confidence and belief to succeed at the IPL.Shashank moved from Chhattisgarh, where he was born, to Bhopal, then to Mumbai, and now is playing for Chhattisgarh•Anupam Nath/Associated Press”I came into the IPL only because of Brian Lara. He literally changed my mindset, and the technical part as well,” he says. “He has changed my cricketing things – from being a normal cricketer to a good IPL cricketer. He has had a great impact on my cricketing journey.”I remember, the first time when I came to bat in front of him, I just tried to impress him. I was trying to hit every ball. One round of six bowlers finished, he called me and said, ‘Don’t try to impress me, just bat. I know you can bat well’.’ Then I calmed down, played according to the merit of the ball, and then he was impressed. He was the one who said, ‘Shashank, you are not a No. 6 batsman’, and gave me the confidence.”Ahead of a long season, Shashank says he has worked on a number of things. The first was to “stop being harsh on myself”. He didn’t have a great Ranji Trophy season last time around, managing just 232 runs in six games, which he believes was down to him being confused and overthinking his technique. But now, having played in the IPL, spoken to different coaches, he has developed clarity of thought.”Till last year I was extremely confused whether I should change my batting style in red-ball cricket,” he says. “But this year when I met Sanjay [Bangar] sir, and lately I met Wasim [Jaffer] as well in Mumbai. They just told me to play my normal game and not change just because the format is changed.”I have now started to react to the ball and have started backing myself, like I do in white-ball cricket, and I have stopped overthinking. Even if I score four zeroes in four innings, who cares? There is a chance I could score a century in the fifth.”And the other thing I worked on is my bowling and fitness. I was pretty sure as to what I needed to work on in my training. Before this, I wasn’t sure of the areas to work on. I was all over the place. Now I know where I am standing.”Shashank is not looking ahead to the IPL 2025 auction or thinking about retentions. For now, he wants to replicate his good form in the three major domestic tournaments, which begin with the Ranji Trophy on October 11. He wants to be an X-factor player for whichever team he plays for and is working hard towards it. The rest, he says, is destiny.

In the absence of Mukesh Kumar, the right-arm seamer has led the bowling charts for Bengal

Sreshth Shah07-Feb-2023After Bengal lost the 2019-20 Ranji Trophy final via a small first-innings deficit in a drawn match, there was a sense in the corridors of Bengal cricket, that nothing less than the trophy would do justice to the nearly three decades that have passed since their last win in 1990.After a cancelled 2020-21 season due to the pandemic, they topped their group in pursuit of the title in 2021-22, roaring into the semis without much trouble. But standing in their way were Madhya Pradesh, and the eventual champions steamrolled their way into the final to eventually clinch the trophy.This season seems to be eerily similar. Bengal finished first in their group and then secured a comfortable nine-wicket win over Jharkhand. Once again, MP are in their way, and this time the defending champions have home advantage too. That makes their semi-final in Indore their toughest challenge yet, and to overcome that, Bengal will need Akash Deep, their highest wicket-taker of the season, to repeat his Player-of-the-Match performance from the quarter-final.Akash is part of a three-pronged pace attack that has been Bengal’s bowling backbone for the past three seasons, along with Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel. The trio, having joined the Bengal set up at different periods of Bengal’s ‘Vision 2020’, have played most of their first-class cricket together, but Mukesh was always the leader.However, this season was different. With Mukesh part of India squads on occasion and regularly featuring for India A now, the team’s senior bowler played only two group-stage games and the quarter-final. Akash became the lead bowler of the team in his senior’s absence, and blossomed as the new lead, taking 31 wickets in eight matches at 21.96. It was as if Mukesh was not missed at all.Related

Mayank Agarwal fights against himself, and the conditions, to come up trumps

How Mukesh Kumar went from small-town Bihar to the Delhi Capitals line-up

Battered, bruised Tiwary keeps Bengal's Ranji dream burning

Shreyas Gopal opens up on cricket and life after cathartic quarter-final century

Saurashtra, Bengal, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh enter Ranji Trophy semi-finals

“When Mukesh isn’t in the team with us, then there’s extra pressure on me,” Akash told ESPNcricinfo before the semi-final. “When the three of us play together, we all feel that we can take wickets altogether anytime at any point of the game. When one of us is missing, there’s more pressure. The three of us have been playing cricket together through our career.”Akash hails from Sasaram in Bihar, and moved to Bengal with the desire to become a cricketer despite his father’s early hesitation. His struggles with personal loss – first of his father and then his brother in short time – is well documented, with him needing at least three years to pick the pieces up from the tragedy and resume his journey in becoming a state-level cricketer. In 2019, he was among the many bowlers in Bengal’s U-23 team. Four years later, he is their hope as the side’s most in-form bowler.Akash doesn’t need a lot of motivation to deliver these performances. He was part of that final that Bengal lost too, and despite being a fairly young member of an experienced squad, is aware how much a title would mean to the group.It starts off from Manoj Tiwary, their captain, who has suggested this could be his final year of cricket, and Bengal cricket as a whole has been dreaming of a Ranji title to give Tiwary a fitting farewell after three failed attempts in finals. Laxmi Shukla and Shib Paul, Bengal’s head coach and bowling coach respectively, along with Tiwary had two chances in the mid 2000s to clinch the title but lost in the final. This seems to be the final chance for that golden generation to taste success.Akash Deep:’I wasn’t 100% fit at the start of the Ranji season, but with Mukesh also not there, I was needed in the XI. So I came to play directly from rehab without any practice’•PTI “Winning the Ranji Trophy is a dream for every cricketer,” Akash said. “There are India cricketers who are yet to even reach a Ranji final. So it is also my dream to contribute towards the win for a team that has given me so much. When you lose in a final, a tinge of regret remains.”As a right-arm seam bowler, Akash bowls from wide of the crease and uses the angle coming into the right-hander’s body or away from the left-hander’s bat to trouble his opponents. When he isn’t contributing with the ball, he contributes useful runs as a No. 8, with a high score of 41 this season. Those runs have twice helped Bengal win games outright despite conceding first-innings deficits in the group stage.”I was injured at the start of the season, I did not play the Vijay Hazare Trophy also,” Akash said. “I wasn’t 100% fit at the start of the Ranji season, but with Mukesh also not there, I was needed in the XI. So I came to play directly from rehab without any practice. It took a short time for me to get my rhythm, but I got better as the season went along.”I have been focusing on my batting because I can bat well. From the number in bat in, if I score 35 or 40 then not only will it help the team but will also help the person batting with me. Whichever team has batters getting 25-30 runs late, then that team is very hard to beat, even in Tests.”With a strong MP team looking to make it two finals in a row, their captain Rajat Patidar back after a few weeks away for national duty and Avesh Khan in red-hot form, Bengal do not start Wednesday’s semi-final as favourites. But as veteran coach Chandrakant Pandit once said, the pressure of defending one’s title is more than winning it the first time. Bengal will be looking to take advantage of that undue pressure on MP, and for them to succeed, Tiwary will need Akash to come good.

Pooran talks bio-bubbles, his personal aspirations for 2021, and why he opted out of Bangladesh tour

Sreshth Shah06-Jan-2021There’s a perception that West Indies cricketers have saved international and franchise cricket in 2020. But that comes with bubble life and plenty of sacrifices on a personal level. One can say you’re one of the experts of this new life that cricketers must lead. How has it been?
First of all, the bubble life is extremely difficult, to be honest. I am currently in my fifth month in a row hopping from bubble to bubble. It’s especially difficult being away from friends and family. As a cricketer, you appreciate the bubble because your focus is all about the game, how to get better, but if you’re not performing as a sportsperson and in the bubble, then you need to get out, have a drink, have a laugh, catch up with others. There are positives and negatives of being in the bubble.I learnt a lot about myself because in the last six-seven months, I wasn’t too sure if we’d play cricket again in 2020. And here I am five months after in 2021, five months in the bubble, and I am just trying to appreciate every single match. Eight months ago, I really wasn’t sure when I’d play cricket again. And now I am looking to just take advantage of these moments and looking to enjoy playing as if it’s my last game.How do you spend time alone, in your own company? Is there anything new you’ve discovered about yourself?
I’ve just been reading books. I’m reading a lot, trying my best to get better not only in cricket but other aspects of life … like my intellect. There’s not much else you can do. My focus at the moment is to get better at the game, so I’ll spend a lot of time on my iPad looking at videos, doing homework on my game, looking at other batsmen, what they do to be successful, watch interviews. That’s the most, I think, I can do.Why did you, in particular, opt out of the Bangladesh ODIs set to start mid-January? Was it because of the burnout, the bio-bubbles or something else?
It’s not at all about pulling the plug on cricket or wanting a break, but about the health factor in Bangladesh. As a player, I wasn’t sure, was a bit sceptical of the health situation there. Because other players weren’t going either, I felt I didn’t have to take the risk and Cricket West Indies were understanding and gave the players the benefit of the doubt. What I’ll be doing when West Indies play the ODIs is not be involved in any other cricket. I’ll be watching the ODI series from home.Related

Kumar Sangakkara: 'T10 a format that might be pushed forward' to get cricket into Olympics

Ten West Indies players pull out of Bangladesh tour

Pooran, Pollard in ESPNcricinfo's T20 team of the year

Who are you excited to watch in those Bangladesh ODIs, given so many withdrawals allow some new faces to have a crack at international cricket?I have a couple of names. Kyle Mayers, Kjorn Ottley, Akeal Hosein and even Jason Mohammed. These are guys that can do really good. Looking forward to seeing them tackle this challenge in Bangladesh. Bangladesh plays very well at home, but these guys are good enough and it’s a great opportunity for them, which they should look to grab.The T20 World Cup is scheduled later this year in India. What are your – and West Indies’ – aspirations for that event?Personally, I am looking forward to the T20 World Cup. As a team, our strength is T20s. For the last couple of years, we’ve been doing good in World Cups, but as a team where we are ranked [10th], it doesn’t show how good our team actually is. Most of the senior guys are coming back to the West Indies team … like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are all coming back eventually. As a player, I am especially excited because I want to do good for the West Indies people and put a smile on their faces. My record for West Indies in T20s isn’t that good and I want to improve that for the next couple of months.Can you pinpoint why the rankings aren’t reflective of how good, as you just said, West Indies cricket is?I just believe that most of the series West Indies play, they don’t play with their strongest team. And by strongest I mean Chris Gayle, Pollard, Russell, Narine, Bravo in the team together. In the last couple of years, we haven’t witnessed these players together. Either most of them weren’t selected, some were unavailable … but definitely a case around that. We couldn’t play as a team after the last T20 World Cup. This, I am saying from a player’s and a fan’s point of view. Not seeing some of my favourite players represent West Indies might be one of the reasons.You were one of the breakout stars of the T10 format, top-scoring in the Abu Dhabi T10 League in 2018 even, and this season will be captain at Northern Warriors. When it comes to batting in T10 cricket, does the tradition role of a ‘top-order’ or ‘middle-order batsman’ exist? Or are all the batsmen – from Nos. 1 to 7 – simply … ‘batsmen.’No, I feel there are different roles. If you lose your openers in the first or second over, then the middle order needs to come into play. I wouldn’t expect them to come out and take risks that are not required, and yes, it’s only 10 overs, and your strike-rate needs to be in the 150s or 160s, but if you keep going hard at the bowlers, then there’s a chance of losing a lot of wickets.So it’s just like 50 overs or T20s, you need to rebuild, but in this case you can rebuild only for one or two overs, so I do feel there’s a middle order and it’s very important to a team’s success in T10. Especially when you play in bigger grounds.Nicholas Pooran finished IPL 2020 with a strike-rate of 169•BCCISpending so much time in the UAE for the IPL, then, will be very helpful as you approach the T10 tournament?The first two years of the T10 was – in Sharjah – everyone had high strike-rates. In a small ground like that, even edges went for six, but in Abu Dhabi – where we will be playing now – you can’t come out and play a big shot and hope it goes for six. It’s difficult. So you need to get yourself in as well in T10, more so in Abu Dhabi because of the ground sizes.After this IPL, we saw that the new ball is especially effective in Abu Dhabi. If you’re going to get wickets, you will get it with the new ball. The ground is obviously bigger so you need to hit the gaps, try to run your twos. If you mistime your ball, you will get out, which doesn’t happen in smaller grounds like Sharjah.It’s also the first time you’ll be captaining a franchise. There’s a theory that certain players fare better when they aren’t burdened with captaincy while certain players thrive under the extra responsibility. Where do you stand on that debate when it comes to you?First I consider myself as a player in a team. And in franchise cricket, a lot of decisions, like choosing a captain is about trust and communication. I can’t say if I’ll be a captain of other franchises, but if they see me fit that I am ready to lead whatever team … it’s no problem.I always see myself as a leader on and off the field. If things aren’t working out and I have to make a decision where leadership is not for me, I’ll own up and take that decision. But for now it’s a challenge I am always willing to accept.As a globetrotting cricketer, I’m sure you can discuss batting with many great players. But do you discuss tactics with people too? Who is your go-to person to discuss cricket beyond just batting?I am very close to Pollard. I think he is one of the best T20 players in the world. He has played the most T20 games, so I discuss tactics with him. I try to model my game around him. I discuss field settings, bowling options, bowling changes, where bowlers should bowl to certain batsmen according to the game’s situation. I also have played enough T20 cricket to understand what is required at a particular stage of the game.

Manchester United decided to splash the cash on their attack during the summer transfer window after they failed to win any trophies in the 2024/25 campaign.

The Red Devils opted to spend £66.4m on the signing of Slovenia international Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig to lead the line for Ruben Amorim this season.

Sesko provided an assist in the 4-2 win over Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League last weekend, and has had a strong start to life at Old Trafford since his move to England.

The 6 foot 5 centre-forward has scored two goals from 1.81 xG and provided one assist across five starts in the top-flight for the Red Devils so far this season, per Sofascore.

Sesko scored 21 goals in 45 appearances in all competitions for Leipzig in the 2024/25 campaign, after a return of 18 goals in 42 outings in all competitions in his first season in Germany, per Sofascore.

The 22-year-old marksman, having already scored two league goals for United, will be hoping that he can continue to impress and be the first striker since Robin van Persie to score 20 or more Premier League goals in a season.

Why Man United have been looking for their next Robin van Persie

Manchester United have been searching for their next van Persie for around 12 years, as his haul of 26 goals in the Premier League in the 2012/13 campaign is the last time a player hit 20 league goals for the club.

The former Netherlands international, who was signed from rivals Arsenal, netted a staggering 26 goals in the top-flight that season for Sir Alex Ferguson to win the title for the Red Devils, their most recent title to date.

The highlights in the video above show just how lethal the Dutchman was in front of goal for United that season, with his incredible movement in behind and his lethal left foot that consistently buried chances past goalkeepers.

24/25

Bruno Fernandes & Amad Diallo – 8

23/24

Bruno Fernandes & Rasmus Hojlund – 10

22/23

Marcus Rashford – 17

21/22

Cristiano Ronaldo – 18

20/21

Bruno Fernandes – 18

19/20

Marcus Rashford & Antony Martial – 17

18/19

Paul Pogba – 13

17/18

Romelu Lukaku – 16

16/17

Zlatan Ibrahimovic – 17

15/16

Anthony Martial – 11

14/15

Wayne Rooney – 12

13/14

Wayne Rooney – 17

12/13

Robin van Persie – 26

As you can see in the table above, no Manchester United player has come close to what he achieved in the 2012/13 campaign since then, with no player scoring more than 18 Premier League goals.

Sesko will be hoping that he can end that drought for the Red Devils and kick on to be the 20+ goal centre-forward that the club have not had since van Persie’s incredible season, given his aforementioned record for Leipzig and the two goals he has already scored this term.

However, there is another player currently shining at Old Trafford who may be the club’s new version of van Persie, despite not being an out-and-out centre-forward.

Chalkboard

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

The Premier League giants paid £71m to sign winger Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch, and it is safe to say that he has hit the ground running in Manchester.

Why Bryan Mbeumo is Man Utd's new Robin van Persie

The Cameroon international arrived at Old Trafford as a player who had already proven himself in the Premier League during his time with the Bees, just as Van Persie had done with Arsenal prior to his move to the club in 2012.

Mbeumo scored a staggering 20 goals in 38 matches in the top-flight for Brentford in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, which means that he scored more league goals than any Manchester United player has managed since Van Persie.

As they did with the Dutchman, Manchester United are now profiting from bringing in a player who has already proven himself as a goalscorer in England, as he has provided a huge threat in front of goal for Amorim.

Mbeumo has scored five goals in ten appearances in all competitions for the Red Devils, per Sofascore, and four of those five have come in his nine outings in the Premier League.

The left-footed star scored twice against Brighton in the top-flight on Saturday and his second goal was incredibly van Persie-esque, with a brilliant run across the defenders and a terrific left-footed finish into the roof of the net with power and accuracy.

It was a goal that the former Premier League title winner would have been proud of, and it led to Alice Talks Football to describe him as “one of the best players in the league this season” on X.

xG

2.89

2nd

Shots per game

2.6

1st

Shots on target per game

1.3

1st

Goals

4

1st

Minutes per goal

194

1st

xA

2.04

1st

Assists

1

Joint-1st

Goals + assists

5

1st

It is hard to argue with that assessment when, as you can see in the table above, he has been the most impactful attacking player for the team that currently sit sixth in the Premier League table.

He has been the standout attacking star for United, with the most combined goals and assists and the most xA, and deserves to be in the conversation when fans and pundits speak about the best players in the league this season.

Putting all of this together, it appears as though INEOS and Amorim may have unearthed Manchester United’s new van Persie, as Mbeumo has the lethal left foot, the movement, and the experience to follow in the Dutchman’s footsteps.

Hopefully, supporters will be celebrating next May if the Cameroon international can rake in a 20-plus-goal-haul to earn the club a trophy or two at the end of the season.

Euro club's target: £105k-p/w Man Utd star is "set to move" in January

The Red Devils could be able to cut ties in January.

BySean Markus Clifford Oct 27, 2025

Ryan Mason now has only two wins from his last ten games in charge of West Bromwich Albion, as the pressure on his shoulders at the Hawthorns only gets heavier by the match.

Indeed, after falling to a 3-2 defeat to Tonda Eckert’s red-hot Southampton in the Championship in mid-week, the Baggies – who had promotion aspirations coming into the long second-tier season – now sit in an unsatisfactory 16th spot in the competitive division, six points shy of the coveted playoff positions.

Will Mason ultimately have to pay the price with his employment? Only time will tell.

An obvious source of frustration for the under-fire boss will be the continued no-show performances from Isaac Price, who was once one of the former Tottenham Hotspur coach’s first names on the teamsheet, only to now find himself slipping out of his manager’s first team plans on occasion.

Price's drop off at West Brom

Price started the brand new Championship season like a runaway train, with three goals and one assist coming his way from just his opening three clashes.

Of course, there would have to be a slight decline, as it’s unreasonable to expect the Northern Ireland international to be consistently hitting these ridiculous heights over a full campaign.

But, he has been extremely poor, all the same, in recent weeks as West Brom’s form has fallen off a cliff, leading to Mason only handing the ex-Everton youngster 26 minutes of action against Queens Park Rangers at the start of the month.

From the start against the Saints, he wasn’t any better, either, with just one of his six efforts at St. Mary’s being hit on target, alongside the lacklustre 22-year-old only winning two of his seven duels, as his previous tag of being an energetic livewire was nowhere to be found.

Games played

10

Minutes played

754 mins

Games started

9

Goals scored

1

Assists

1

With his last goal for the club coming all the way back in October, amid a barren patch of form that can be seen looking at the table above, it could well fall to a new manager to get the very best out of Price.

Indeed, if Mason is brutally given the axe, there is one rumoured manager target who could be the fresh head coach the Northern Ireland international needs to reignite his failing season.

The Mason upgrade who can revive Price

As is the cruel nature of the beast, whenever a manager is going through a torrid run of form, rumours will circulate in the air that he is soon going to be on the chopping block.

That has begun for Mason, with suggestions that former Middlesbrough boss Michael Carrick could soon fill the vacancy if it opens up.

After all, Carrick did manage to guide Boro to one playoff finish during his three seasons at the Riverside helm, which is where West Brom are aspiring to be, leading to 56 league wins being notched up in total by the ex-Manchester United legend on Teesside.

He did eventually get the sack, but he still holds a prestigious reputation in the beautiful game among his peers, having been noted as a figure that “oozes class” by Plymouth Argyle boss Tom Cleverley, whom he played alongside at Old Trafford.

Most importantly for West Brom’s specific predicament, too, he managed to have a positive impact on a litany of attacking midfielders at the Riverside, with Finn Azaz – who operates from the number ten spot much like Price, but can also fill in down the left – amassing a ridiculous 16 goals and 16 assists from 66 games under Carrick.

Carrick even worked alongside Morgan Rogers at Boro before his Aston Villa explosion, with seven goals and nine assists coming his way under the out-of-work boss, before maturing into a Premier League-calibre star.

If Carrick were to be handed the reins after Mason, Price would be praying that he could be transformed into another revelation, having shown glimpses here and there of what he can do.

Price and co would surely relish the opportunity to work with a figure like Carrick, and not just because of his playing career, having been hailed as an “insanely talented coach” by former Boro player Lukas Engel.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

Before anyone gets too carried away, however, Mason does a bumper set of Christmas fixtures ahead to save his skin. Still, the final nail in the coffin would surely come if more and more losses were tallied up.

West Brom gem who left for £4m is now worth more than entire squad combined

This former West Brom talent is now worth more than every player in the current squad combined.

ByDan Emery Dec 4, 2025

Arsenal are fielding enquiries for a ‘frustrated’ star in their squad ahead of the looming January window, and Premier League rivals Man City are one of the clubs keen.

Arsenal play Aston Villa in crucial Premier League title clash

Arsenal travel to the Midlands this Saturday to take on an in-form Aston Villa — a fixture that could prove pivotal in the early title race.

The Gunners arrive in pole position atop the table, buoyed by a recent 2–0 win over Brentford that extended their unbeaten run in all competitions to a remarkable 18 games.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal

Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham

Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich

Chelsea 1-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Brentford

Villa have surged into third thanks to a stunning 4–3 victory over Brighton in midweek, their sixth consecutive win across all competitions, so Unai Emery’s side will be no pushovers.

Historically, the matchup has been a tight affair. Across all competitions, the two clubs have met over 200 times — with Arsenal holding a slight edge.

However, in recent seasons, Villa have shown that they can be a thorn in Arsenal’s side.

The Villans completed a league double over Arsenal in 2023–24, including a 2–0 win in April that derailed Mikel Arteta’s title hopes and handed the Premier League crown to City.

Arteta will be fully aware of the danger they pose, especially on home turf, with Villa reigning victorious in five of their last seven home league games while boasting the joint-third best home record in the division.’

Declan Rice makes Cristhian Mosquera statement as Arsenal sweat over injury scare

Arteta is waiting on a definitive update.

ByEmilio Galantini Dec 4, 2025

To trot out the old cliché, every game is like a cup final for Arsenal right now, so Arteta will need every man at their very best against a Villa side flying high on confidence.

The north Londoners’ strength in depth, following a near-£270 million summer spend, has paid dividends amid the club’s injury woes.

It has even allowed Arteta to rest some key personnel amid the hectic festive calendar, like he did against Brentford, with right-back Ben White getting a rare start ahead of first-choice Jurrien Timber.

The Englishman has barely been given any game time this season thanks to Timber’s form, with an update now emerging on his future ahead of January.

Ben White 'frustrated' at Arsenal as Man City make January enquiry

As per TEAMtalk and journalist Graeme Bailey, White — once a regular starter — is growing ‘frustrated’ with his limited minutes.

The 28-year-old has made only a handful of appearances so far this season, prompting concern about his long-term future at the club.

That frustration hasn’t gone unnoticed beyond North London. City, now exploring options at right-back, have reportedly marked White as a strong candidate to reinforce Pep Guardiola’s squad.

The Sky Blues are said to be one of a few clubs who’ve made enquiries, alongside Marseille, Como and Atlético Madrid, but Arsenal’s stance is pretty clear.

Arteta, alongside club management, are poised to reject any proposals for White in the January window, even amid mounting interest. This is because they don’t want to weaken the squad in any way shape or form amid their title challenge.

From White’s perspective, the situation is increasingly uncomfortable.

Once viewed as a defensive mainstay, he now finds his opportunities severely curtailed, and media sources suggest he’s unwilling to spend extended periods on the sidelines.

As things stand, White remains at Arsenal, but the coming months could prove pivotal.

If this current trend continues, and if City or other suitors persist, the defender’s exit may well be one to watch in the summer instead.

Nuno Espirito Santo is now reportedly ready to launch his first transfer move in charge of West Ham United to sign Bristol City’s set-piece specialist Scott Twine.

The Hammers could certainly do with a busy January transfer window. Whilst results have improved recently, their 2-2 draw against Bournemouth in a game that they led 2-0 exposed their problems once again.

After watching on as his side let go of their 2-0 lead gained through Callum Wilson’s goals, Nuno told reporters: “It’s a very tough place to come. The first half was us – we took advantage of the straight ball, of the second ball, we managed the tempo of the game, we managed to control Bournemouth, and we achieved a good lead.

“In the second half, Bournemouth did exactly the same that we did [in the first]. They managed better the circumstances of the game, we couldn’t go out, they put us against the ropes, they engaged five players in the last line.

“The boys were organised but were missing the pass to go out of pressure, to really hurt them with space, under tough circumstances. But the positive is that I think the team was resilient, was organised, was compact and was really committed.”

After the dramatic draw, West Ham have at least escaped the dropzone, albeit only on goal difference. With the visit of Liverpool up next, they’ll be hoping to compile the champions’ recent misery and escape the relegation zone in the process.

It goes without saying that the January transfer window would be a lot easier if West Ham were approaching it without the bottom three in mind. It would hand Nuno the perfect opportunity to welcome first-choice reinforcements and potentially take the Hammers onwards and upwards.

On that front, the former Nottingham Forest manager already has certain additions in mind, according to reports.

West Ham and Nuno ready to launch Scott Twine move

According to Sports Boom, Nuno is now ready to launch West Ham’s move to sign Twine from Bristol City in the January transfer window. The set-piece specialist would be an instant upgrade on James Ward-Prowse, who has been frozen out by Nuno, and would cost West Ham just £8m.

League stats 25/26	Scott Twine	Lucas Paqueta
Minutes	1,244	958
Goals	6	3
Progressive Passes	41	71
Ball Recoveries	52	53

Although it is in a league below the Premier League, Twine has shown plenty of promise compared to Lucas Paqueta this season. Based on those numbers, £8m could quickly turn into a bargain for the London club.

Whether Bristol City allow one of their key men to leave so easily remains to be seen, however. Robins manager Gerhard Struber recently praised his midfielder – telling reporters: “Scott (has) outstanding technical power with his monster leg.

Forget Guilherme: Nuno can fix Summerville blow with West Ham academy star

Nuno might already have the perfect solution to West Ham’s Summerville problem.

1

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Nov 25, 2025

“It helped us to score in this way but I like his energy at the moment – his work ethic on the field to invest everything. You do not see it that often that players on this level work really hard against the ball but this was the key – players with high technical level were involved in our defensive pressing moments.”

West Ham now make enquiry to sign Champions League CF with eight goals in 25/26

One of the New York Mets’ biggest fans couldn’t wait to welcome superstar outfielder Juan Soto with open arms.

After news broke of Soto’s historic signing with the Mets on Sunday night, Cleveland Cavaliers star and longtime Mets superfan Donovan Mitchell shared a screenshot of a jubilant Soto during a late-night FaceTime call. 

“LFFFGGGMMMMMM,” Mitchell wrote in the caption on X.

Soto, who has already made four All-Star teams and played in two World Series at just 26 years old, reportedly agreed to a monster 15-year, $765 million deal with the Mets, the largest ever in professional sports history.

Mitchell had been anxiously following the months-long Soto saga this offseason and is rightfully overjoyed to see the superstar join his beloved team in Queens.

Other fanbases will mourn missing out on the ex-New York Yankees slugger, but Mitchell—and Soto, based on the looks of it—couldn’t be happier. 

Kieron Pollard’s all-round performance of a 36-ball 50 and bowling figures of 1 for 12 in two overs kept MI New York in the hunt for a playoff spot in MLC 2025 as they defeated bottom-placed Los Angeles Knight Riders by six runs.Pollard came in at 63 for 4 in the tenth over of the first innings and hit four sixes and one four to give MINY a fighting total of 142 for 9 although he had little support from the remaining batters, except Nicholas Pooran’s 24-ball 30 from No. 3. MINY’s batting was wrecked by Shadley van Schalkwyk taking 3 for 24 with support from Jason Holder (2 for 28) and Corne Dry (2 for 25) to leave LAKR chasing 143.However, even that target proved difficult to chase for LAKR as they finished on 136, six runs short, despite losing only four wickets. Openers Alex Hales produced a sluggish 21 in 26 balls and Andre Fletcher was out for a 10-ball nine. Even though Sherfane Rutherford scored a 28-ball 29 and Unmukt Chand hit a 48-ball 59, they couldn’t keep up with the game’s equation that left them needing 21 off the last two overs.Pollard dismissed Rutherford in the 19th over and LAKR retired out Chand at the end of the same over. But with 16 needed off the final over, new batters Andre Russell and Holder could not take them over the line with Ehsan Adil holding his nerves with the ball.The defeat was LAKR’s eighth in nine outings while it was MINY’s third win in nine games.

Levante's young forward Etta Eyong is in sublime form in La Liga and has garnered attention over the past few months from major Spanish clubs. On one hand, there is Real Madrid, whose decision-makers view Eyong as a promising prospect, and on the other hand, there is Barcelona, who had wanted to sign the Cameroonian in the previous window. The 22-year-old has now made a decision over which club he would prefer to join, if bids are tabled.

• In-demand Eyong is one of La Liga's MVPs

  In just 11 La Liga appearances this season, Eyong has forced top European clubs to enquire about his transfer. Thanks to his six goals and three assists in 896 minutes in the Spanish top flight, the Cameroonian is currently the talk of the top-flight. His exploits had started last season, when he took the limelight in the Spanish third tier, nailing 19 goals and six assists in 30 appearances. He also featured four times in La Liga, scoring a crucial winner against Girona. He joined Levante earlier this season, after Villarreal did not keep faith in him, and was even close to joining Barcelona. Currently, the third-highest scorer in the competition behind Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Atletico's Julian Alvarez, Eyong's demand has escalated, with a potential transfer over the horizon.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Which club does Eyong want to join?

  According to a report by SPORT, Los Blancos have initiated contact with Eyong's entourage over a possible move for the 22-year-old. Although anything concrete is yet to develop, Levante are aware of the situation, and there is no rush as the player is not looking for a move until the January window. However, he had indicated in the past that his preference is Barca. The Catalans' director, Deco, was in contact with Villarreal back in August, but with the club demanding a full €10 million for his transfer, the club had no other option but to back out. 

• What are the finances involved in his transfer?

  The Cameroonian joined Levante from Villarreal for a transfer fee of €3 million, and the latter included certain clauses which would yield profit for both the outfits. Firstly, he has a release clause worth €30m, and Villarreal, his former club, have the right of first refusal. Secondly, an offer worth €15m might be enough to ensure a transfer. 

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Do Barca need a No.9?

  Hansi Flick has a brilliant attacking third, comprising Raphinha, Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, and Marcus Rashford among the notable players. While the Polish forward is injured, Rashford has stepped up to shoulder the goal-scoring responsibilities, having secured 12 goals in 14 appearances for the club since his loan move from Manchester United. However, Lewandowski's age and the lack of a prominent No.9 might be Deco's concern in the upcoming windows. Eying's market value has escalated and might not be a feasible option considering the financial regulations imposed by the league authorities. However, the Barca administration might offload certain players in the future to accommodate a player of Eyong's caliber. But as of now, there is no movement from the Catalans regarding a new forward.