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Chelsea have not held back in the transfer market under new owner Todd Boehly. The Blues have certainly been comfortable to splash the cash, aiming to build a new dynasty at Stamford Bridge, and particularly looking to strengthen in attack.

Over the past few seasons, they have signed several new attackers, including permanent deals for the likes of Pedro Neto from Wolverhampton Wanderers, and even a loan move for Jadon Sancho from Manchester United.

They even have three young attackers joining in the next couple of seasons, further strengthening their options in forward areas. That does not include summer targets for 2025, with Kenan Yildiz one player they are linked with.

The latest on Chelsea’s pursuit of Yildiz

It seems as though the race to sign Juventus attacker Yildiz is on this summer, with Chelsea set to go head-to-head with one of their biggest rivals, Arsenal, to bring the 19-year-old to London. Whether he moves to West or North London, however, remains to be seen.

A recent report from Caught Offside suggests that the Blues have been ‘intensifying their efforts’ to bring the youngster to Stamford Bridge in the next few months. As well as facing competition from the Gunners, newly crowned Premier League champions Liverpool, 13-time winners Manchester United and their rivals Manchester City could all show interest.

As for why Enzo Maresca’s side want to add Yildiz to their ranks, he has been impressive for the Old Lady this term. The Turkey star has eight goals and five assists across all competitions for Juve, and has played everywhere across the frontline. They are eye-catching numbers for such a young player.

With that in mind, his price might not come as a shock, though it is certainly a high fee Juve could demand. Caught Offside report that he is worth £85.2m, if he is to depart the Allianz Stadium this summer.

Incredibly, the Blues have an attacker worth even more than the 19-year-old sensation.

The Chelsea star worth more than Yildiz

Of all the attackers the Blues have bought, none has made the impression that Cole Palmer has. The England international has been in lean form for a few weeks, but his time at Stamford Bridge overall has been exceptional.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

The 22-year-old, who hails from Wythenshawe in Manchester, has an exceptional record in that famous Blue shirt of Chelsea.

He’s managed 39 goals and 24 assists in 85 games so far, and was crowned PFA Young Player of the Year for his 33 goals in as many Premier League games last term.

This term has been slightly slower for the former Man City star. He has managed 14 goals and nine assists in the top flight, although has now gone 12 games without a goal. In that timeframe, he has chipped in with three assists.

With that being said, his underlying stats from the past two seasons, courtesy of Sofascore, show just how talented he is. For example, the 22-year-old averaged 2.5 key passes per game last term, and a slightly better 2.6 key passes per game so far this term.

When considering all that, it might not be a surprise to learn that Palmer is valued extremely highly by Football Transfers. They have him worth £100.2m, higher than any other player in the Chelsea squad.

Interestingly, that is around £15m more than the amount Juventus would be looking to charge for Yildiz this summer. If anything, this further highlights the importance of Palmer to the Chelsea side.

They certainly got lucky with Palmer when they signed him in 2023. He has proven to be a revelation, an “insanely consistent” player as Statman Dave called him. Despite his struggles in recent weeks, there is no doubt about the quality of Palmer.

He'd revive Palmer: Chelsea want to sign one of the best players in the PL

Chelsea are hunting a summer move for a Premier League star who could see Cole Palmer recapture his form.

By
Ethan Lamb

Apr 30, 2025

Manchester City have a historic summer transfer window ahead of them. The disappointing season they have endured in 2024/25 is almost over, and there is a chase to strengthen the squad in the summer, ahead of the Club World Cup and then the 2025/26 campaign.

It will be all change at the Etihad Stadium next term. Talisman Kevin De Bruyne will leave the club after a decade of success in the famous Sky Blue shirt, including the famous treble in 2022/23. He might not be the only club legend to leave on a free, given that Ilkay Gundogan’s contract is up in a few months.

It means that City will almost certainly sign a new midfielder this summer, and there has already been an update on their targets.

The latest on City's midfielder transfer plans

Well, it is going to be a crucial few months at City, and that all starts with their new director of football, Hugo Viana. The former Sporting CP director, who worked with Manchester United boss Ruben Amoirm, will take over from Txiki Begiristain at the helm in East Manchester.

According to the highly reputable David Ornstein, City’s hunt for transfer targets will “ramp up” now that Viana’s role at the Etihad Stadium is sorted. The journalist has already confirmed two of the De Bruyne replacements they are eyeing up.

City are believed to be targeting Nottingham Forest number 10 Morgan Gibbs-White and Bayer Leverkusen and Germany starlet Florian Wirtz as potential replacements for their outgoing club legend.

There is not a clear first-choice target for the Mancunian side at this stage, and more could well emerge.

However, a deal to sign Wirtz in particular could be an expensive one. Sky Germany reported at the end of March that he could cost as much as £101m if a deal was to be struck.

With that hefty price in mind, perhaps City will be put off any potential deal. This could lead to them turning to an academy star to fill the void left by De Bruyne.

Man City's in-house Wirtz and Gibbs-White solution

There is plenty of attacking talent in the City academy, as you might expect. One of the most exciting players in that group is Reigan Heskey, the son of former England striker Emile and brother of Jaden, another City academy starlet.

Said to possess “Rashford-like ability” by analyst Ben Mattinson, the 17-year-old has made a big impression this term for City’s academy. In 33 appearances across all competitions, he’s amassed an impressive goal tally of 24, as well as grabbing eight assists.

It is worth noting that Heskey is, by trade, a winger rather than a number 10, like Gibbs-White and Wirtz. The latter can play in a wide area as well, but, if Pep Guardiola wanted to unleash the youngster, he could move Jack Grealish or Phil Foden into a more central role and play Heskey as a left-winger, where he truly excels.

There is no doubt that the teenager, who is an England U17 international, is an exciting talent. He is a tricky winger who excels when isolated against the full-back, thriving in one-vs-one situations. He also has a natural eye for goal, just as his father did.

Football scout Antonio Mango once said that Heskey is a player who “can’t be ignored” any longer by City. His goal involvement numbers this term across academy sides are exceptional, and it really does feel like he is ready to explode in first-team football.

With De Buryne guaranteed to leave the Etihad Stadium this summer, perhaps that opens the door for Heskey’s inclusion in the first team. It certainly would be a very much-deserved opportunity.

Bigger talent than De Bruyne: Man City lead race to sign £87m "superstar"

Manchester City have a huge task in replacing Kevin De Bruyne this summer but have wasted no time in the window.

By
Ethan Lamb

Apr 8, 2025

Bangladesh’s death-over expert was instrumental in their victories in their previous two games in the Asia Cup

Mohammad Isam and Shiva Jayaraman23-Sep-20254:47

Chopra: India lives in Bangladesh’s head rent free

Mustafizur Rahman equalling Shakib Al Hasan’s national record of 149 T20I wickets validates his stature as Bangladesh’s best bowler in the format. Seventy of those 149 wickets have come in the death overs (16-20) – the most by any bowler in this phase in men’s T20Is.He took 3 for 20 with his left-arm pace in Bangladesh’s first Super Four match of the Asia Cup, against Sri Lanka; his two wickets in the 19th over kept the opponents down to a target which his team’s batters were able to achieve. In the game before that, Mustafizur had taken 3 for 28, successfully spearheading Bangladesh’s defence of 154 against Afghanistan to earn two crucial points.Related

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Mustafizur is a proven death-overs specialist: in the last 18 months, he has an economy rate of 3.0 while bowling the 19th over. He’s done it over six matches, an incredible feat regardless of the opposition. For context, Jasprit Bumrah’s economy in the 19th over during this period is 6.5.His mix of offcutters from over the wicket that went away from the right-hand batter was all the rage when Mustafizur emerged in 2015. Even R Ashwin wondered how he managed to bowl that cutter and still got the ball to carry to the wicketkeeper standing back.Shoulder injuries, however, forced Mustafizur to expand his skills. Between 2019 and 2021, he worked with fast-bowling coaches Ottis Gibson and Allan Donald to bring the ball back into the right-hand batter. In recent years, he worked hard on angling the ball across the right-hand batters with his left-arm angle at decent pace, but mixing it up with offcutters.Mustafizur Rahman needs one wicket to become Bangladesh’s top wicket-taker in T20Is•Associated PressMustafizur has the second-best economy rate (7.94) among bowlers with at least 50 wickets from overs 16 to 20 in T20Is. When narrowed down to matches between Full Member nations, Mustafizur still has the second-best economy rate (6.48) in the death overs, behind Bumrah, since April 2024. To be anywhere near Bumrah is impressive.Mustafizur’s career has had ebbs and flows since his debut across formats in 2015. He is no longer picked for Tests and he isn’t as impactful in ODIs as he is in T20Is. Like most bowlers, he’s had his struggles against particular batters and he could face one of them against India on Wednesday. Hardik Pandya has a T20 strike rate of 212.50 against Mustafizur since 2024, and poses a threat to his death-over effectiveness.Ahead of the game, Bangladesh’s head coach Phil Simmons said Mustafizur was now the leader of the attack. “[Mustafizur] has been bowling really well – he’s been the main bowler,” Simmons said. “And he’s carrying that mantle of being the senior bowler on the team. And even in meetings and everything, he’s really stepping up. So it’s great to see him performing out there.”In his debut IPL season, in 2016, Mustafizur Rahman won the Emerging Player award•BCCIBefore the Sri Lanka game, Bangladesh’s fast-bowling coach Shaun Tait had said he tries to keep Mustafizur comfortable to get the best out of him. “He has all the experience; he doesn’t need me to talk to him too much about the way he’s bowling,” Tait said. “If he’s in an environment where he’s happy, I think he’ll perform well. My job with him is just to make sure he’s happy and confident. The rest he takes care of himself.”Many of the world’s best T20 bowlers have honed their skills in franchise leagues around the world, and Mustafizur has been among the busiest Bangladesh players on the circuit. After playing the BPL in 2015-16, his first T20 tournament, he represented Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in IPL 2016, winning the Emerging Player award after taking 17 wickets in his debut season. He also had successful IPL seasons in 2021 and 2024, taking 14 wickets in each year for Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings. Apart from the BPL and IPL, he has also played in the Vitaility Blast, PSL and LPL. While he’s built up his experience, his performance has been a rung or two below the A-listers, and hence he doesn’t evoke the same aura.For Bangladesh, Mustafizur is their go-to bowler at the death. He usually bowls his first over in the powerplay, his second in the middle overs, before returning for two overs at the end. His record against India reads eight wickets at an average of 57.37 and economy rate of 9.4. He will need to improve on that for Bangladesh to upset the reigning T20 World Cup champions.

The Australia fast bowler has bowled about 70% of his balls in the hard lengths and from his height, those are a handful for batters

Sidharth Monga27-Oct-2023The new ball has taken worse battering at this men’s World Cup than at any in the past. At 5.42 runs an over (before Pakistan vs South Africa), this World Cup has cost teams a good six runs more in the first powerplay than the next-highest World Cup for batting against the new ball.It is amazing, because on an average, the ball has swung and seamed more than it did in the last World Cup. However, it has done less than it was doing earlier in the year. Perhaps the batters are just relieved after what they have been facing for the last little while or they are trying to make the most of the new ball before it gets scuffed up as it has been doing in this World Cup.Whatever the reason, it is an opportunity for the really good bowlers to stand out. Among those who have bowled at least ten overs inside the powerplay so far, the second-most economical bowler is someone who, not long ago, was not considered a limited-overs bowler. Josh Hazlewood missed the 2019 ODI World Cup, and wasn’t fought over in IPL auctions. Now he is going at 4.35 an over with the new ball and averaging 21.75 with it. Jasprit Bumrah is going at an unbelievable 2.9 an over, and averaging 29.Related

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Either Hazlewood’s workload was being managed or people thought he was too consistent, and thus predictable, in formats where variations were all the buzz. Whatever the reason back then, it is that predictability and consistency that have made Hazlewood the face of the resurgence of the banker bowler. An era that rewards a bowler who can put the ball where he wants is a welcome era. This kind of bowler is not picking up wickets by the truckload, but almost always maintaining an economy better than the going rate and hardly ever has a horrible day out.Pat Cummins, who takes on the role of mixing his lengths in the middle overs, is thankful for such a consistent bowler in the line-up. “He’s been consistent his whole career, he’s been a gun,” Cummins said on the eve of their match against New Zealand. “So, I don’t think him being predictable has ever been a problem. He, I think, even in some of those times when he wasn’t in the team, was ranked No. 1 or 2 in the world. So, he’s fantastic.”He can now bowl at any time [new ball, middle overs or at the death]. But you’re going to get quality up front and, as you said, consistent. Just rarely gets hit off his length and just again another real luxury having someone like him in the team.”In this World Cup, despite taking the new ball, Hazlewood has been bashing the hard lengths, which, when done from his height, can be a handful. Hazlewood has bowled about 70% of his deliveries in the hard length band. For every five of those stock balls, he has bowled one bouncer.Josh Hazlewood goes into Batista mode with his celebrations•Getty ImagesHazlewood has drawn a false response every four balls, which is right up there with Bumrah. It is when he has got into the fuller side of the hard length that Hazlewood has been most effective, drawing a false response every three balls, going at 3.49 an over and taking half of his six wickets. Yet, he has resisted going to the well too often. More than half of his deliveries have been in the shorter side of that hard-length band.That is always the temptation with these bowlers: should they actually bowl fuller more often? The answer probably is that they have great numbers in that fuller part because they do so only when there is assistance in the conditions. That short of a good length – seven-to-nine metres to be precise – comes with the handicap of being employed when there is not much in the pitch.In Dharamsala, one of the three venues with encouraging swing and seam movement, in a day game, you could expect Hazlewood to get more into the six-to-seven-metre band. What’s remarkable with bowlers such as him and Bumrah is that they will go more aggressive without overpitching. You won’t expect half-volleys from them even if they go searching.In the process, if Hazlewood does walk away with a bag of wickets – law of averages would suggest such a match is not a million miles away – he will have earned it.

The story of a leader who does “not walk away from pressure but walks straight into it”

Firdose Moonda 03-Mar-20221:29

Elgar: ‘Decision to bat first was purely about playing a positive brand of cricket’

A leader needs a defining trait to underline his era and in Dean Elgar’s case it’s the ability to walk the talk, according to South Africa’s coach Mark Boucher.”Dean talks a lot but he is prepared to follow it up with actions,” Boucher said as South Africa make their way back from drawing the Test series 1-1 in New Zealand.Their journey home will take 32 hours in total, leaving plenty of time for reflection on their comeback from losing the first Test by an innings and 276 runs to winning the second by 198 runs.Related

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• Elgar: 'My character as a leader is not to take the easy way out'

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“One of the chats we had was that we were going to be under pressure in the second game. We didn’t want to run away from that. We wanted to walk towards that,” Boucher said. “Just by him (Elgar), winning the toss and batting, not that he is batting No. 5 or 6, but him being the opening batter speaks words for the character and individual that he is. He is prepared to go out there and front up like he did and . And then the rest of the team just gelled together. They look up to him. He has been fantastic, not just in this series but in the last series as well. The guys back him in a big way.”That will be exactly what Elgar, who is on the eve of completing his first year in the job, wants to hear. On March 4, 2021, he was named South Africa’s Test captain, ending an experiment that went wrong with Quinton de Kock and succeeding the highly popular Faf du Plessis. Elgar was not an obvious choice to take over but South Africa’s problem was that no-one else was either. He was one of very few players who had held down a regular place in the side over the last five years, was one of very few batters whose average was close to 40 and was the one who bristled at any talk of South Africa’s decline. So it was him that was chosen and so far, it’s worked out just fine.Under Elgar, South Africa have yet to lose a Test series, beating West Indies, India and sharing spoils with New Zealand. Though he has yet to score a century in the role, Elgar has contributed four fifties, including a match-winning and series-turning 96* against India in Johannesburg. He has spoken out about the administrative upheaval and criticised the way the coaching staff have been handled and has come out strongly in support of Boucher, who faces a disciplinary hearing in May.Dean Elgar has bristled at any talk of South Africa’s decline•AFP/Getty ImagesMost notably, he has led the team through a time when South African cricket is set for a sea charge, in the aftermath of the Social Justice and Nation-Building (SJN) hearings that have polarised the sport even further along racial lines. Elgar captains South Africa’s most transformed and diverse cricket team in history and he has managed to get them to band together even in the toughest of situations.”It’s one thing to lose a Test match but the way we lost the first Test was very disappointing,” Boucher said. “The nice thing was that there was no sense of panic. There was an understanding of what to bring to the table in the second Test match. The mental space the guys must have been in coming off the battering, to go out there and bat fist was very impressive for me. There were a couple of standout performances but as a unit, we managed to string together a very good Test match.”Boucher singled out centurions Sarel Erwee, who he called “a coach’s dream,” and Kyle Verreynne for their knocks in the second Test but also had a word for young bowlers Wiaan Mulder and Lutho Sipamla, who were brought into the XI after a period on the sidelines and were part of an inexperienced pace attack that bowled South Africa to victory.”If you look at the whole Test match, each individual had their part to play. There are always going to be heroes after Test matches and there’s probably going to be unsung ones who probably only get recognition in our change room. It’s important to recognise them,” Boucher said. “Lutho and Wiaan performed their roles within the side. Sometimes you don’t need wickets to go your way, you need to perform your role within the side. Everyone did that. It was a true team effort.”South Africa now lie in the top four on the World Test Championship points table and, with a home series against Bangladesh to com0,e could head into winter in a comfortable position to push for a place in the final. “This win will take us to a good situation and if we can carry on with where we left off, learn from mistakes, we are heading down the right road,” Boucher said.Whether they will have Boucher with them on that journey will only be known in the off-season but what is certain is that Elgar will take the team to England, where he first led them while du Plessis’ was on paternity leave. Then, Elgar did the job for one Test and could not hand the role back fast enough but that was almost five years ago. Elgar has changed his mind, in words and in deed.

LOS ANGELES — The laws of human performance cannot contain Shohei Ohtani anymore, so it was only right that on Friday, neither could Dodger Stadium. 

While he was two-hitting the team with the best record in the sport, after he clubbed the first leadoff home run as a pitcher in the history of the major leagues, as he was in the process of sending his team to the World Series to try to defend its 2024 title, Ohtani launched a cutter 469 feet to right-center field, over the wall and the stands and the pavilion roof and clear out of the ballpark. 

By the time it landed, his teammates had stopped cheering and started laughing. The smiles barely left their faces for the next hour as they finished their charge to the pennant 5–1 over the Brewers to cap a four-game sweep of the National League Championship Series.

In the most important game of Ohtani’s career, he produced simply the most magnificent game anyone has ever played. When he strode off the mound after six-plus innings to an instrumental version of “Jesus Christ, Superstar,” it felt understated. (Unfortunately, in his fourth at-bat, he hit a third home run—making him the 11th player to do so in postseason history, and the first to do so in between striking out 10 batters—rather than sacrificing.)

“This is just a performance that I’ve just never seen,” manager Dave Roberts said afterward. “No one’s ever seen something like this. I’m still in awe right now of Shohei.”

He had the three highest exit velocities (116.9 mph, 116.5 mph, 113.6 mph), the three top distances (469 feet, 446 feet, 427 feet) and 11 top pitch velocities (ranging from 100.3 mph to 99.2 mph) of the game.

And in the week leading up to it, most of the discussion about Ohtani was about whether he could do this at all. During a regular season that will almost certainly win him his third straight Most Valuable Player award and his fourth in five years, he began ramping up as a pitcher following his second elbow reconstruction. On the days he simply hit, he batted .285 with a 1.021 OPS. On the days he pitched, those figures were .214 and .848. (He had a 2.87 ERA in 47 innings, so the Dodgers were willing to make it work.) The problem became more acute in October, as he made his first postseason appearances as a pitcher. During the National League Division Series and the first three games of the NLCS, Ohtani was 3-for-29 with 14 strikeouts. 

German football legend Lothar Matthaus has issued a stark warning to Xabi Alonso, suggesting that Real Madrid superstars Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior may struggle to adapt to his rigid tactical demands after years of "freedom" under Carlo Ancelotti. The Spanish side's recent struggles have sparked claims the coach could be sacked, with his damaged relationship with the Brazilian a major point of contention.

Alonso under pressure already

The atmosphere at the Bernabeu has shifted from expectant to anxious in the space of a few turbulent weeks. Following the departure of Ancelotti, who delivered three Champions League and two La Liga titles, Alonso arrived with a mandate to modernise the club's tactical identity.

Arriving from Bayer Leverkusen with an unbeaten legacy and a reputation for meticulous, system-based football, Alonso was seen as the natural heir to the throne. However, the transition has been far from seamless. With Los Blancos trailing in the Spanish league title race and facing a mounting injury crisis, questions are already being asked about whether the squad's individualists can function within Alonso's "machine".

Writing in his latest column for , Matthaus offered a forensic breakdown of the cultural clash currently taking place in the Spanish capital.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportSuffocating the stars: Why Vini and Jude are struggling

The former Bayern Munich and Inter icon did not hold back in his assessment of the contrasting styles, pinpointing the loss of autonomy as a potential friction point for Madrid's most creative talents.

"He's a different kind of coach than Carlo Ancelotti," he wrote. "The Italian was more like a father figure, giving his players more freedom – especially on the pitch. Alonso, as everyone knew beforehand, values details like discipline, punctuality, and organization on the field. Under Ancelotti, Real Madrid relied more on the individual quality of its players. Alonso continues to give them freedom, but he also gives the stars more guidance on the pitch. Players like Jude Bellingham or Vinicius might not cope as well with that approach.

"For Alonso, the focus isn't on the individual player, but on the team. That worked well in Leverkusen. Florian Wirtz certainly had his freedom there. But Alonso expected all his players to contribute defensively. If a player doesn't like that, he'll have a hard time with the coach.

"You have to question yourself, you have to speak openly, you have to talk to each other. Ultimately, though, the coach decides how the team plays and who plays. And I'm convinced that Alonso is a good fit for Real Madrid, but in his own way."

The friction of transition

Under Ancelotti, Vinicius and Bellingham were the architects of their own destiny, often roaming from their positions to overload specific areas of the pitch based on instinct. It was a strategy of chaos that opposition defences found impossible to predict. Under Alonso, that chaos has been replaced by structure. While effective in the Bundesliga, the system places a heavy cognitive load on players who are used to playing on impulse.

The friction was evident during Sunday's disastrous 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo as frustration boiled over spectacularly, with the team picking up three red cards, including a dismissal for Brazilian prodigy Endrick from the bench, signalling a loss of emotional control that was rare under the previous regime.

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Getty Images SportA defensive crisis ahead of Man City showdown

To compound the tactical headaches, Alonso is currently navigating an injury crisis of biblical proportions. The loss of Eder Militao to a serious hamstring injury against Celta was the latest blow to a backline that has already been decimated.

With Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold and David Alaba all in the treatment room, and Ferland Mendy struggling for fitness, Alonso is trying to implement his complex high-line system with a defence held together by tape and prayers.

On Wednesday night, Madrid host Manchester City in the Champions League and the stakes are high. For Alonso, it is a trial by fire. Facing Pep Guardiola's side without his best defenders and with his best attackers reportedly struggling to "cope" with his demands, the Basque coach needs a result to silence the doubters. It has already been reported that the result may determine whether or not he stays in charge of the club.

Harry Kane and his Bayern Munich team-mates have wished former team-mate Thomas Muller luck ahead of Vancouver Whitecaps' MLS Cup Final against Lionel Messi's Inter Miami. Muller had an immediate impact at his new club after joining the MLS side this summer. He has led the team from the front and helped the Whitecaps to their first-ever MLS Cup final.

• Kane and Bayern stars send message to Muller

  Muller's club mates at Bayern Munich came up with a surprise for the German legend as Kane and Co. sent out good wishes for him ahead of the all-important MLS Cup final against Inter Miami on Saturday. Muller, who served Bayern Munich throughout his career, parted ways with them this summer after his contract expired. The former Germany international followed Messi's footsteps and moved to the US and signed for the Whitecaps.

  In his first season in Vancouver, the 36-year-old scored nine goals in 12 matches across all competitions, including seven goals in as MLS league stage appearances. As he gears up to win his first-ever trophy with his new side, Bayern stars wished him luck. Kane said in the video message: "Congratulations on getting to the final. Wishing you the best of luck. We'll be watching Saturday evening. It'll be late here but we will make the effort for you for sure. All the best. Hope it goes well. I'll see you soon. Stars like Joshua Kimmich, Jamal Musiala and Dayot Upamecano also had some words of support for Muller. 

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  Messi excited to face Muller in MLS Cup final

  Messi, who has faced Muller on multiple occassions in the past during their stints at Barcelona and Bayern respecively, is excited to meet his old rival once again at the grandest stage. Speaking to reporters, the Herons captain said: "First of all, it is very nice that Muller has come to play in MLS and the repercussions that this represents. It’s good that this final came to be and that we can face each other again. We have already faced Vancouver, and we know what kind of team they are. 

  "In fact, they eliminated us in [the CONCACAF Champions Cup]. It was also a very consistent team throughout the year that finished among the top teams and competed in all competitions until the end, just as we did. And well, we know it's going to be a very, very tough game. And the addition of Muller coming to that team, makes them much better still. It brings more awareness to the game, to the team, and it will be a very, very special final, in which we hope it will be in our favour."

• Inter Miami overdependent on Messi?

  Muller earlier claimed that Vancouver Whitecaps are a more balanced until compared to Inter Miami as he felt that their MLS Cup final opponents were overdependent on their captain. Speaking to MLSsoccer.com, the German said: "It's not about Messi against Thomas Müller; it's Miami against the Whitecaps. Maybe they rely a little bit more on him than we do on me, because we are such a good group, you know what I mean?" 

  He went on to call Messi "the greatest player who played our game and is still playing our game" and added that the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has brought a new audience to MLS. He added: "If more people are watching, the value also for you as a player, as an individual, also for your team and also for your franchise, is way bigger."

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  Kane and Co. thrash Stuttgart before cheering for Muller

  Bayern faced Stuttgart in the Bundesliga earlier on Saturday. The reigning German champions thrashed their opponents 5-0, courtesy of yet another hat-trick from Kane as they extended their unbeaten run in the league to 13 matches and are now 11 points ahead of second-placed RB Leipzig.

  Vincent Kompany's side next face Sporting CP on December 9 at home in a key Champions League fixture. 

Australia’s selectors have still not locked in a consistent opening duo since David Warner’s retirement

Andrew McGlashan14-Oct-2025

David Warner has urged Australia’s selectors to stick with Sam Konstas for the first Ashes in Perth believing he has the game to take on England’s fast bowlers.Australia have been through a revolving door of partners for Usman Khawaja since Warner’s retirement in early 2024. Konstas, who is the incumbent but made just 50 runs in six innings against West Indies earlier this year, is one of five options used across the last 15 Tests.The selection race will resume this week with the second round of the Sheffield Shield, where Konstas will feature for New South Wales against Victoria at Junction Oval, facing an attack including Scott Boland and Fergus O’Neill.Related

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Ashes tracker: Labuschagne shines as Konstas stumbles

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Konstas endured a difficult first outing of the domestic season with scores of 4 and 14 against Western Australia in Perth on what Nathan Lyon termed a “naughty” WACA pitch while NSW coach Greg Shipperd also urged context around Konstas’ returns.Meanwhile, Marnus Labuschagne peeled off 160 for Queensland, which came between two one-day hundreds as he makes a compelling case for a recall and looms as another opening option.”I’d like them to try and probably stick with Sam and give him a crack,” Warner said at Kayo Sports’ Summer of Cricket launch in Sydney. “He scored that hundred in the Australian A series [in India last month]. He batted outstanding there.”I don’t think we’ve seen exactly what we know Sam Konstas can do. Last year… he probably got overwhelmed by the occasion and we saw some very highlighted cricket. But I’ve seen him build innings, I’ve seen him play some fantastic innings and I’d like to see him go back to just doing that.” When Konstas made his debut at the MCG against India he was picked with the specific role of disrupting Jasprit Bumrah, who had dominated Australia’s top order. He was an immediate success in that role with 60 off 65 balls and then produced two cameos at the SCG. However, he was left out in Sri Lanka, when Travis Head opened in a conditions-specific selection, before being tasked with taking on difficult batting conditions in the Caribbean.Warner believes his early salvos in Test cricket left him uncertain about the tempo needed for sustained success but, while acknowledging England have a stock of fast bowlers, does not see their attack needing such a left-field approach.”They don’t have a Jasprit Bumrah so he doesn’t have to worry about that,” Warner said. “They’ve got some fast bowlers but he can tackle that.”Last year, I felt like he just got caught up in the occasions. He got caught up in thinking it was the only way to play that way against Bumrah and then did it to the other players.Marnus Labuschagne brought up a century in his first Shield innings of the season•Getty Images

“I don’t think he needed to change his game to the other bowlers. He could have just stayed there and played the normal way. There was one guy that was getting a lot of people out and… [Konstas] just didn’t want to get out to him because he was bringing the ball back in.”He countered that and he could have went back in and just batted normally. So I think if he can work out that and identify those periods, I think he’ll go a long way.”Warner added that Labuschagne had probably already done enough to return to the line-up but was less convinced about him opening. “I think when you’ve got a lot of Test cricket under your belt, you know what he’s capable of and know what he can do,” he said. “If someone’s averaging 50 in Test cricket, you’ve probably got to go back to that. Does he open? I wouldn’t like to see him open. I’d like him to shuffle back down to three.”If Labuschagne did return at No. 3, it would mean pushing Cameron Green down the order and would leave Beau Webster struggling to retain his place. Webster has been forced to sit out the opening two rounds of the Shield with an ankle injury but, barring a major form slump on his return, is expected to be part of the squad for Perth.

Richard Thompson insists 100-ball format will not change before end of current rights cycle

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Sep-2025The tight turnaround between England’s international and the Hundred is a “short-term issue” which ECB chairman Richard Thompson has pledged will be solved for the next TV rights cycle.England’s men played one day before the start and two days after the end of the Hundred this year, leaving all-format players short on relevant preparation for the ongoing ODI series against South Africa. The same scenario will play out in 2026, with the Hundred expected to start two days after an ODI series against India and three days before the first Test against Pakistan.New investors in the Hundred will expect their England players to be available throughout the tournament. Jamie Smith, Jamie Overton and Ollie Pope missed London Spirit’s first game of this season, the day after the fifth Test at The Oval, which their incoming co-owner Nikesh Arora described as “disappointing” while calling for “better planning” by the ECB.Thompson acknowledged that the schedule is too crammed, speaking in his capacity as an ambassador for the Alzheimer’s Society during England’s third ODI against South Africa on Sunday. “There are no easy answers, but the reality is we can’t have our cake and eat it,” Thompson told Sky Sports.”We want England players to play. This is our premium white-ball competition and we want England players to play in it. What we have to do is find a way of ensuring the schedule before and after the tournament [is better]. Take this year: the gap was a day or two days… That can’t be right.Related

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“If we’re going to get this level of investment, we’ve got to commit to ensuring our England players are available. We don’t want that to be at the expense of the success of England. We need to find a balance, and ultimately we can look at the schedule and we can try and free up time.”We’ve done this deal in the middle of a rights schedule. Come ’28, when we then cut the next deal for the next four years, we can cut this in a different way. We might have a short-term issue here, but we can overcome that.”Ultimately, if a player feels they’re injured, they’re going to rest themselves. They won’t want to play on an injury. England is still everything here. But we are not prepared to accept that you can’t find a halfway house and work with the owners to ensure that the owner will get what they need, and England will get what it needs.”Thompson also said that the tournament’s format will not change from 100-balls-a-side to T20 during the current broadcast cycle, which runs to the end of the 2028 summer, and denied that the sale of stakes in the eight Hundred franchises equates to selling the month of August to private investors.”I can categorically tell you it’s 100 balls next year,” he said. “I don’t think anything will change in this rights cycle. Sky [the Hundred’s main broadcaster] have bought 100 [balls a side]. Sky are not going to want to change that. It’s up to the owners and the ECB to decide what that might be in the future.”This is not English cricket selling off the family silver. This is English cricket bringing in investors to enable us to have a tournament that could challenge the IPL.”