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Manchester City may be at the end of a trophy-laden era, but it is clear that Pep Guardiola is looking ahead to the future in a bid to make sure this season is a one-off.

The Spaniard spent around £190m during the winter transfer window on strengthening his first-team squad, adding some much-needed freshness.

Omar Marmoush, Vitor Reis, Abdukodir Khusanov and Nico Gonzalez all arrived at the Etihad, with three of the four players aged 23 or younger, as Guardiola has scoured the market for the very best young talent.

Marmoush is the outlier in this regard, but the club required another player who was capable of rivalling Erling Haaland and providing some extra potency to a Man City side who have won just 14 of their 29 Premier League matches so far this campaign.

Early signs are certainly promising, with the Egyptian star settling into life in Manchester easily, replicating his stunning form during the first half of the season for Eintracht Frankfurt which saw him net 20 goals in 25 games.

Omar Marmoush’s start at Manchester City

Haaland’s first two seasons at the club saw him score 90 goals across just 98 matches, winning two Premier League titles and the Champions League in the process.

A return of 29 goals this season is certainly respectable indeed, yet he did go through a spell of scoring only three goals in 13 league matches between the end of September and the start of 2025.

This coincided with City struggling in the top flight, losing six matches and falling behind in the race for the title.

Goals

4

Assists

0

Big chances created

3

Key passes per game

1.1

Successful dribbles per game

0.4

Shots per game

2

Signing Marmoush has given the side a major boost, with his positional flexibility giving Guardiola some options.

Indeed, across seven league matches, Marmoush has played in four positions, scoring four goals during this time.

After selling Julian Alvarez last summer to Atlético Madrid, City were poor in the first half of the season, relying on Haaland far too much.

The signing of the former Frankfurt star has taken the pressure off the Norwegian sensation and this partnership could shine throughout the 2025/26 season.

Losing Alvarez, however, has proven to be a massive mistake by Guardiola.

Why Julian Alvarez left Manchester City

Despite his incredible talent, Alvarez was often fighting it out with Haaland for a place in the starting XI. During the 2022/23 season, only 23 of his 49 appearances came from the start, finding the back of the net 17 times.

The 2023/24 season was much better, with a tally of 19 goals and 13 assists coming from 53 games as City retained the Premier League title.

He was an excellent option for Guardiola to call upon, but rumours surfaced last summer regarding his future at the club, with the City boss revealing that the player had asked to leave in search of “a new challenge”.

Having signed the 2022 World Cup winner for just £14m in January 2022, City sold the forward to Atlético Madrid for a fee in the region of £81.5m, representing a club-record sale.

The deal was certainly profitable, but if Haaland suffered a long-term injury, the manager wouldn’t have a recognised centre-forward in the squad ready to deputise.

While City limped through the opening six months of the season, Alvarez has been enjoying life in Madrid, registering 28 goal contributions – 23 goals and five assists – so far across all competitions.

Could the manager already be brewing his next Alvarez at City?

Man City could already have their next Alvarez

Like the move to bring Alvarez to England, Guardiola paid River Plate a fee of around £12.5m to secure the services of the extremely talented teenager, Claudio Echeverri, in January 2024.

He would remain at his club until January this year when he finally moved to England, and he could follow in the footsteps of Alvarez, perhaps turning out even better than the 25-year-old.

Throughout the 2023/24 campaign, Echeverri played 41 matches for River Plate, scoring four goals and recording six assists in the process, coming close to leading his side to the final of the Copa Libertadores in November last year.

His best displays came during the U20 CONMEBOL Championship, which took place in January and February this year.

The midfielder started seven of his nine games for Argentina, scoring six goals, grabbing three assists and creating two big chances for his nation as they reached the final of the competition.

The 19-year-old also succeeded with 1.6 dribbles per game, recovered 1.8 balls per match and scored every 98 minutes, showcasing his talent during the tournament.

While Argentina may not have won, Guardiola will have been keeping a close watch on the teenager throughout the competition, and he will surely make his bow for City sooner rather than later.

Analyst Ben Mattinson profiled the midfielder upon his signing for Man City at the start of 2024 saying:

Remaining in his homeland for another year has only aided his development, as it was unlikely the teenager would get into the City midfield towards the end of last season.

Having starred at the South American Youth Championship last month, it might finally be time for Guardiola to start bleeding Echeverri over the coming months.

With the Club World Championships taking place this summer, might this be an ideal time to give the 19-year-old some game time? Especially with the tournament ranking low in terms of importance for City.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

He could be the future of the club, no doubt about that, and Guardiola could soon forget all about Alvarez once the former River Plate sensation gets going at the Etihad. That’s a certainty.

Best signing since Haaland: Pep hit the jackpot on Man City's “elite" star

Manchester City have made their best signing since Haaland with this “elite talent”

ByConnor Holden Mar 21, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

da brwin： Luciano lamentou a eliminação do São Paulo nas quartas de final do Campeonato Paulista, contra o Água Santa – que se classificou após uma disputa de pênaltis. O jogador falou sobre o resultado negativo do Tricolor, e tratou como ‘uma insatisfação’.

RelacionadasSão PauloTorcida organizada do São Paulo se revolta com eliminação no Paulistão: ‘Desonraram a instituição. Ídolo é o torcedor’São Paulo13/03/2023São PauloVÍDEO: Os lances da eliminação do São Paulo nos pênaltis para o Água Santa no PaulistãoSão Paulo13/03/2023São PauloRafael se desculpa com torcida após eliminação do São Paulo e lamenta: ‘Precisávamos ter passado’São Paulo13/03/2023

da gbg bet： Segundo o atacante, todos da equipe estão ‘tristes’. O jogador trouxe à tona o bom desempenho da equipe na primeira fase do Estadual, quando encerrou a fase de grupos com o melhor ataque e ressaltou que, mesmo com as melhores oportunidades criadas na decisão, não conseguiram sair classificados.

ATUAÇÕES: São Paulo vive noite de horrores no ataque e não se garante nos pênaltis em eliminação no Paulistão

Veja tabela do Campeonato Paulista e simule os próximos jogos

A partida aconteceu no Allianz Parque, por conta dos shows que estão acontecendo no Morumbi. Luciano foi indagado se o gramado do estádio do rival influenciou, mas logo descartou a culpa.

– Estamos todos tristes, a insatisfação é grande. Estamos tristes, a gente fez uma excelente primeira fase, mas caímos hoje. Agora é trabalhar e seguir. É difícil, não posso falar que foi o gramado, a gente não é acostumado, mas não saímos classificado. É seguir. O time do Água Santa é forte, se defenderam bem. A gente teve as melhores oportunidades, mas não conseguimos fazer. Nos pênaltis é aquilo, né? Se o goleiro está em uma dia bom, ele ajuda a equipe – disse.

Com a camisa 10, Luciano tem jogado nesta temporada em um posicionamento diferente do que foi visto nos últimos anos. Agora sem Calleri disponível, e possivelmente sem Galoppo, quando perguntado se atuaria como um centroavante, afirmou que é um ‘segundo atacante e que já está tentando se adaptar em outra função’.

– Sou segundo atacante. Estou fazendo outra função, tentando me adaptar. A partir de amanhã é continuar trabalhando e seguir. Se você pegar o Paulista, é o estadual mais disputado que tem. A gente caiu, outra equipe caiu ontem, agora é seguir e trabalhar – completou.

Com a eliminação no Campeonato Paulista, o São Paulo deve ficar mais de um mês sem jogar nada, esperando sua estreia nas outras competições que disputará nesta temporada.

Arsenal sporting director Andrea Berta has his eyes on both Newcastle United star Bruno Guimaraes and Real Sociedad ace Martin Zubimendi, according to reports, but he could also look to bring in another highly-rated player with the duo.

Berta targeting Bruno Guimaraes and Martin Zubimendi for Arsenal

Earlier this week, journalist Eduardo Burgos broke news that Berta personally wants both Guimaraes and Zubimendi, not either or, to come in and bolster Mikel Arteta’s midfield ahead of next season.

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His final decision has been made.

ByEmilio Galantini Mar 13, 2025

While Arsenal are struggling to finalise a deal for Zubimendi right now, with advanced talks stalling (CaughtOffside), they haven’t completely given up the chase either, and it is believed that the Gunners could strike a deal for Guimaraes for around £59 million if Newcastle fail to qualify for the Champions League.

News of Berta plotting moves for both midfielders was then backed up by reports closer to home, with GiveMeSport’s Ben Jacobs sharing that Guimaraes has been put forward by Arsenal’s new transfer chief as a serious option.

Arsenal’s interest in the Brazil international with Zubimendi appears pretty concrete at this stage, which comes as good news considering Thomas Partey and Jorginho are set to leave when their contracts expire this summer.

Chelsea (home)

March 16th

Fulham (home)

April 1st

Everton (away)

April 5th

Brentford (home)

April 12th

Ipswich Town (away)

April 20th

Jacobs, sharing a further update on the club’s plans for what could be a record-breaking summer under Berta, says another Newcastle United star Alexander Isak remains firmly on their radar.

Arsenal may sign Alexander Isak with Guimaraes and Zubimendi

The £120,000-per-week striker has dazzled as one of the English top flight’s standout forwards this season, and despite the potential cost involved in their mooted double-swoop for Zubimendi and Guimaraes, it is believed Berta may also try to sign Isak for Arsenal alongside the pair.

“So Zubimendi is very much the Edu target, but Berta is going to be looking at Bruno Guimaraes,” said Jacobs to GiveMeSport.

“And my understanding is that Arsenal may try for both Zubimendi and Guimaraes, plus Isak or [Benjamin] Sesko.”

The Swede has scored 22 goals in just 32 appearances across all competitions, so Arsenal are well aware of his quality, but a deal for him could be too much to ask. Newcastle value their man at around £150 million, so the Gunners would need to smash their transfer record to even hope of prising Isak away from St. James’ Park.

Arteta personally wants Isak, according to other reports, but Sesko may be a much more realistic target considering the release clause in his contract.

If KL Rahul is not fit to play the Asia Cup, India face quite a juggling act with Kishan, Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill – here’s Ravi Shastri, MSK Prasad and Sandeep Patil’s take

Shashank Kishore17-Aug-20236:15

Shastri: India need three left-handers in the top seven

Where does Ishan Kishan fit in to India’s ODI jigsaw if KL Rahul is not ready in time for the Asia Cup? This will be one of the big decisions the team management and the selectors face when they pick India’s Asia Cup squad later this week.Kishan has scored 425 of his 694 ODI runs so far at the top of the order. These have come in six innings at an average in the vicinity of 80 and strike rate of 125, with a best of 210 against Bangladesh late last year.So the numbers clearly suggest Kishan best fits in at the top, but that’s where Rohit Sharma bats alongside Shubman Gill, whose ODI numbers for 2023 are particularly compelling too: 750 runs in 12 innings, including three hundreds and two half-centuries.Related

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Jaiswal and Gill pack a punch and why that matters

Is there a workaround, then? Where does Kishan bat?”At the top of the order, nowhere else,” former India allrounder and coach Ravi Shastri said on Star Sports’ show . “The others have to be flexible. Between Rohit, Virat and Gill, that can be 2-3-4.”Like Shastri, former India keeper and chairman of selectors MSK Prasad, who picked India’s 2019 World Cup squad, also felt Kishan needed to be given a run in a spot he’s most comfortable in, even if that meant Rohit dropping down the order.”I think that’s the tough part right now,” Prasad said, on the same Star Sports show, of India’s top-order juggling. “If you’re looking at Gill to open with Rohit, then where to send Ishan Kishan is a cause for concern. If you see some of the roles he’s played at No. 4 or 5, I don’t think he has justified his place there.”The best thing is he enjoys batting up the order. Somehow, we need to accommodate him at the top of the order. Probably that left-right combination of Rohit and Ishan Kishan might come in handy.”Because Rohit always enjoyed the wonderful company of Shikhar Dhawan (they put on 18 century stands together). If you see, post-Dhawan, the form of Rohit has also been a cause of concern. The best place for Ishan Kishan to bat is up the order.”ESPNcricinfo LtdShastri, who was coach during the 2019 World Cup, said Dhawan missing the latter half of that tournament was a major miss. Dhawan fractured his finger during the course of his century against Australia and was replaced in the squad by Rishabh Pant. India opened with Rohit and KL Rahul for the remainder of that World Cup.”People don’t give the credit that Dhawan deserves,” Shastri said. “That guy was an amazing player. You mention the World Cup, when we lost the semi-final [to New Zealand at Old Trafford] after a brilliant World Cup, he was the missing man there. That made such a big difference.”A left-hander at the top of the order as opposed to three right-handers with the ball just swinging away, and allowing teams to get a grip on where to bowl and bowl consistently, was missing. And Rohit is a different player when he has a left-hander at the other end. He’s a totally different player altogether.”We’ve seen the stats, stats don’t lie over a period of time, so I think a left-right batting combination at the top will help. If you tinker with his [Kishan’s] batting position, if you put him at 5-6, it’s useless. He doesn’t know how to play. The pressure is on him to bat differently. He’s got a double-hundred at the top of the order, he’s got some runs, he scores quickly. The thing with Kishan is if he’s there for 30-40 balls, he’ll go, he’ll get you off to a flier.”Former India batter and chief selector Sandeep Patil, another guest, differed. Patil, who chaired India’s selection panel from 2012-2016, felt making a change at this juncture, with the World Cup less than two months away, was unwarranted, especially given the kind of year Gill has had across formats.”I’ll go with Gill [at the top],” he said. “I’m not sure if I agree with Ravi and MSK’s point where they say Rohit is comfortable if his partner is a left-hander. Like they say, [I agree] only position Ishan can bat is No. 1. So it’s a big decision to take.”Shastri cut in here, saying Rohit would play a very important role in the whole process. “It’s a very good point… Shubman has had a fabulous 2023. This where flexibility comes in. Rohit as captain is vastly experienced. He can go at 1-3-4. This is where you have to see the frame of mind of the player.”How will Gill feel if he’s asked to bat at 3-4 as opposed to batting at the top? If he feels he’s best at the top – and the runs he’s got of late is phenomenal – this is where flexibility comes into play and the captain will have to take a hard decision.”

Tottenham are now set to spark into life late in the transfer window as they look to improve what has been a dismal Premier League campaign under Ange Postecoglou so far.

Tottenham announce Danso deal

After astonishingly hijacking Kevin Danso’s move to Wolves at the 11th hour, the Austrian has officially become a Tottenham player. The Lilywhites agreed a loan move for the RC Lens star, which also includes an obligation to buy the right-footed centre-back, who will wear the no.4 shirt at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Danso, who already has Premier League experience courtesy of a short loan spell with Southampton, arrives to bolster a defence that has been crippled by injuries so far this season.

Though Spurs welcomed back Micky van de Ven in midweek, they lost Radu Dragusin to a knee injury, with fears that he could miss the remainder of the season after being forced off in the win over Elfsborg.

Danso is capable of playing on either side of defence, which will allow Posteoglou more opportunity to manage the minutes of both Van de Ven and Cristian Romero when the Argentine returns from injury.

Kevin Danso compared to Van de Ven and Romero 24/25
	Romero	Van de Ven	Danso
Appearances	12	9	12
Pass accuracy	90.1%	91.3%	85.6%
Tackles and interceptions per 90	3.7	1.93	3.25
Blocks per 90	1.2	0.91	2.08
Aerial Duels won %	54	50	66.1

It is reported that the Austrian will set Spurs back a total of €25m (£21m), with Danso likely to pen a long-term deal when his loan move becomes permanent in the summer.

His arrival could spark a flurry of late activity in north London too, with the club once again looking to the future as much as the present after being turned down by Mathys Tel last week.

Tottenham have bid rejected for winger

Sport Witness have relayed reports that Tottenham have had a bid rejected to sign Valencia teenage forward David Otorbi as they look to continue their plan to recruit elite young talent from around Europe.

The 17-year-old Spain U18 international has reportedly caught the eye of both Tottenham and Aston Villa, despite not making his debut for Valencia’s senior team yet. It is claimed that the winger’s “performances and profile” have convinced at least Tottenham to try and land him early, despite regulations meaning that he cannot move to England until January 2026, when he turns 18 years old.

Described as a “powerful” winger who has “insane speed matched with agile running and footwork” by one U23 scout, Otorbi has grabbed two assists in 12 outings for the Valencia second team this season.

Tottenham make surprise late approach to sign £195k-per-week Chelsea star

Spurs are looking to raid their London rivals.

1

By
Emilio Galantini

Feb 1, 2025

Now, Tottenham have reportedly tabled a €4m (£3.3m) offer to take him away from Los Ches and bring him to north London. However, it has been knocked back by Valencia, with the Spanish outfit asking for a fee of €5m (£4.1m) to allow him to leave, “plus a percentage on a future sale” should Spurs look to cash in down the line.

Of course, given Otorbi’s age and the fact that a move would not occur for another 12 months, there is no rush to beat the transfer deadline in the coming hours for a deal for the Spanish youth international, which may see Spurs look elsewhere in the more immediate term as they hunt for a new forward, before returning to a deal later in the season.

English cricket is looking under the right rocks, Australia still speaks to a culture of superficiality

Andrew Miller20-Nov-2021Forgive my lack of empathy on this one, but in the grand scheme of cricket’s current miasma, Friday’s revelation from Down Under – that an ordinary cricketer has turned out, to use the Australian vernacular, to be an ordinary bloke – doesn’t exactly move the needle.It has, however, moved the sporting narrative.Tim Paine’s tearful exit as Australia’s Test captain – 1393 days after his predecessor Steven Smith was ejected for conduct similarly unbecoming of his revered office, and 18 days before the next Ashes instalment – has provided a far more complete narrative arc than the not-quite Ashes glory of 2019 that rounded off Cricket Australia’s recent home-vid documentary, .And so, with apologies to Paine’s apologies, and to his anguished lament for a lost innocence that , even while pressing on with his repackaging as the squeaky-clean boy next door who was going to rescue Australia’s morals from the gutter, let it be put on record that this is the first thing in weeks that has put a smile back on the face of English cricket.

Now, however, the clock is ticking and the world is watching, and the government’s stated “nuclear option” of appointing an independent regulator is one of many reasons why Tom Harrison and his ilk will have to progress from soundbites to actions in double-quick time

Schadenfreude? You betcha! But it is also a warning, amid English cricket’s own and ever-evolving reckoning, that some issues simply cannot be wished away – “kicked into the long grass”, as Nigel Huddlestone, the UK sports minister, said of the racism scandal – or made better overnight with a bit of elite sloganeering and a few well-timed crocodile tears.For here we have, on opposite sides of the globe but essentially hand-in-hand (given that the Ashes is basically a sibling squabble that could be played out just as effectively over a lifetime of Christmas dinners), two faces of the exact same coin. Two deep-rooted sporting cultures that, for very different but equally seismic reasons, have had cause in their recent histories for deep and urgent introspection.Related

• CA has reputational and cricketing questions to answer

• Not removing Paine in 2018 'clearly sent the wrong message', says CA board chairman

And yet… is it weird to point out that there’s a gravitas to England’s ongoing scandal that makes Australia – once again in strictures because of an addiction to moral trivia – look decidedly shallow?First ball-tampering, now a grotty text exchange. If these are the issues for which the nation’s prudish guardians screech to DEFCON 1, lobbing off weeping sportsmen like shrimps onto a moral barbie, then good luck to anyone who dares to penetrate this human shield, and undertake the sort of systemic autopsy that the ECB seems now to be bracing itself for.You’re right. It’s nothing to crow about whatsoever. It’s not as if England’s unfolding crisis has been undertaken willingly, or with any thanks due to the administrative heel-draggers whose lack of proactivity have allowed even Boris Johnson’s corruption-mired government to take the moral high ground.But it does feel, at the very least, that the racism scandal has moved England’s discourse into a “post-bad apples” phase, for want of a better description. Going into last week’s DCMS hearings, the sport had been braced for a bonfire of individual reputations, given both the names that had already leaked into the public domain, and the sense that Azeem Rafiq – euphemistically painted as “hot-headed” in the various attempts to discredit him in the course of the investigation – was set to spray his parliamentary privilege like napalm across the game that had rejected him.But it didn’t quite pan out like that. Of course, there was some more collateral damage along the way, with the likes of Matthew Hoggard, David Lloyd and Tim Bresnan joining those names already in the public domain – not to mention the feckless Alex Hales, who now seems destined to spend the rest of his career apologising for a lifetime of poor judgment.However, the common theme throughout Rafiq’s DCMS testimony, aside from his innate dignity, was that this issue was not about individuals. “It’s important we don’t make it about Michael,” he said at one point, when asked to expand on Michael Vaughan’s alleged “too many of you lot” comments. And if that now sounds like a convenient caveat, following the disclosure of Rafiq’s own anti-Semitic sentiments back in 2011, then in fact that revelation merely underscores the validity of his point.

Paine’s humiliation speaks to a culture of superficiality, one that still seeks to protect at all costs the sacred notion of “Australian-ism”, for fear of one day exposing the same rotten core that the ECB is now having to publicly contend with

This scandal is about a system that has made discrimination of all types endemic, and then tried everything it could to cover it up. To claim, as carpetbaggers such as Nigel Farage have tried, that Rafiq’s own failings invalidate his now widely acknowledged grievances, is a gross distortion of the facts.The question that arises, therefore, is whether the ECB is remotely capable of “putting its house in order”, as Huddlestone rather pompously put it at the DCMS hearing on Thursday?The early signs, it has to be said, have not been entirely convincing. On Friday, all 41 members of the ECB board met at the Kia Oval to consider English cricket’s unified response to the crisis. After much grunting and groaning, out popped a deeply vapid statement, shortly before 4pm, outlining explicitly non-specific “areas of focus” aiming at “winning back your trust”.Further details have since emerged, including a 12-point action plan with EDI initiatives at its core, but this was precisely the sort of gesture-political hogwash that Rafiq had warned the board not to latch on to during his DCMS appearance. “We need organic change,” Rafiq had told the committee. “If tokenism is the angle the ECB go down, I will call it out.”The ECB’s response to the Robinson saga, aside from Robinson’s suspension, was to plough on with their “moments of unity” prior to England internationals•PA Photos/Getty ImagesAt this point, let’s cut to Tom Harrison, English cricket’s rolled-up-sleeved, rakishly plausible frontman, whose innate shininess evokes David Cameron in his pre-Brexit heyday, but whose flustered, haunted responses in parliament had rather more in common with Cameron after the fall. Harrison emerged from that Oval meeting claiming that he had “the backing of the game” to drive the necessary changes, and at the very least, he has demonstrated in the past 18 months that he does care; his personal response to Rafiq’s interview with ESPNcricinfo last summer was a major factor in the escalation of Yorkshire’s response.And yet, barely five months have passed since the entire focus of English cricket was on one man, Ollie Robinson, and that cache of derogatory texts that he had sent (as an immature and soon-to-be-sacked Yorkshire rookie) a decade earlier. The ECB’s response to that saga, aside from Robinson’s suspension, was to plough on with their decidedly wishy-washy “moments of unity” prior to England internationals, a stance that Rafiq dismissively referred to as “T-shirts” during the hearing. England were also, Rafiq noted, “one of the first teams to stop” taking the knee in support of Black Lives Matter, as if content to have ticked the box and moved on to sunnier uplands.Now, however, the clock is ticking and the world is watching, and the government’s stated “nuclear option” of appointing an independent regulator is one of many reasons why Harrison and his ilk will have to progress from soundbites to actions in double-quick time.But I’d still wager that, when it comes to tokenism, the ECB has learnt more in the past fortnight than Cricket Australia in three years. Paine’s humiliation – like Smith’s, like David Warner’s, like Cameron Bancroft’s – speaks to a culture of superficiality, one that still seeks to protect at all costs the sacred notion of “Australian-ism”, for fear of one day exposing the same rotten core that the ECB is now having to publicly contend with.Nothing in this sorry saga offers an easy route to a better future. But the least that can now be said is that English cricket knows which rocks to look under, as opposed to which empty shells to build on.

da doce： It’s already been a busy summer at Celtic, so how many more signings will they make?

da luck： On Friday, Benjamin Nygren was presented at Parkhead, arriving from Nordsjælland for a reported fee of £1.3m.

He is the club’s third summer edition, after Ross Doohan and Kieran Tierney, but are the Hoops in the market for another full-back, one that Nygren would enjoy playing alongside?

Celtic's left-back latest

Greg Taylor’s contract at Celtic officially expires on Tuesday, and his six-year stay in Glasgow will come to an end, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that he has ‘agreed’ to join Greek Super League side PAOK Thessaloniki on a Bosman.

During his time at the club, Taylor made 216 appearances, 199 of which were starts, and was the undisputed first-choice left-back the vast majority of the time.

Taylor arrived from Kilmarnock to replace Tierney in 2019, the inverse is the case this time round but, with the returning hero infamously injury-prone, Brendan Rodgers will need a more than competent deputy.

Thus, as reported by Mark Pirie of the Daily Record, Keita Kosugi – who is valued at £2m by Football Transfers – is their first-choice target, with Celtic touted to sign him.

Sportbladet have previously documented Paris Saint-Germain’s interest in the full-back, while Djurgården’s sporting director Bosse Andersson told the same Swedish outlet that Kosugi will only be allowed to leave for “quite a lot of money”.

Nevertheless, this looks like a deal Celtic could get done.

How Keita Kosugi would improve Celtic

Just 19 years old, Kosugi joined Djurgården in March 2024, following a successful trial with the Stockholm-based side, and these are his statistics for the club so far.

Keita Kosugi Djurgården career statistics

Statistics

Kosugi

Appearances

45

Starts

42

Minutes

3,708

Goals

5

Assists

2

Conference League starts

16

Conference League goals

2

All statistics courtesy of Transfermarkt

As the table outlines, from the moment he arrived, the Japanese teenager has been a first-choice starter for Djurgården, a key figure in the team that reached last season’s Conference League semi-finals, scoring against Víkingur Reykjavík and Rapid Wien en route.

Scout Elijah Michiels describes his performances as “excellent”, praising his “crossing abilities….great overlapping runs and fast acceleration”.

So, let’s take a look at his statistics from last year’s Conference League.

Keita Kosugi Conference League 24/25 statistics

Statistics

Kosugi

UECL rank

Minutes

987

14th

Completed passes

403

46th

Progressive carries

23

28th

Touches

653

25th

Tackles

23

18th

% of dribblers tackled

85.7%

8th

Blocks

22

3rd

Interceptions

12

24th

Clearances

46

15th

Statistics courtesy of FBref.com

As the table outlines, Kosugi ranked highly for a wide variety of metrics in last season’s Conference League.

This includes defensive statistics, tackles and blocks, but also progressive carries, emphasising his attacking capabilities.

Han June of Football Asian labels him “one of Asia’s hottest young prospects”, outlining his “fearless defending”, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout notes that ‘pace…work rate and technique’ are his primary attributes, all of which make Kosugi ”a modern defender’.

Meantime, writer Kai Watson notes that he is a “promising attacking threat”, which could see him link up well with new arrival Nygren down the left-hand side. The latter man scored 16 goals in 2024/25, with four of those coming from just eight outings on the left wing.

The Swede, who is capable of operating on either flank, would surely thrive with a dynamic, overlapping full-back in support, meaning, should Kosugi arrive, he could form an unstoppable partnership with his fellow new recruit.

Related Ajer 2.0: Celtic make enquiry to sign "imposing" £5m titan

Celtic are reportedly pursuing a deal to sign the central defender this summer.

Posts 1 ByDan Emery Jun 27, 2025

Gloucestershire fast bowler takes three wickets against CSA Invitational XI

ECB Reporters Network10-Dec-2024

England Lions took on a CSA Invitational XI in Cape Town to launch their tour•Gallo Images/Getty Images

CSA Invitational XI 285 for 8 (Senokwane 79, Akhter 3-51) vs England LionsZaman Akhter’s pace and bounce was the feature as the Gloucestershire quick claimed three wickets on the opening day of the England Lions’ four-day match against a Cricket South Africa Invitational XI in Cape Town.After Tom Lawes struck twice with the new ball – including the first delivery of the day – Akhtar made the most significant inroads as the hosts reached stumps at 285 for eight.Akhtar broke a century stand for the third wicket when he found extra bounce off a good length and Jean du Plessis edged to James Coles at second slip. Nottinghamshire’s teenage spinner Farhan Ahmed then claimed Lesego Senokwane, the leading run-scorer in the ongoing CSA 4-Day Series, when he miscued a swipe to Akhtar at mid-on after adding 79.Skipper Dan Mousley and Coles both took a wicket each in the afternoon, but the Lions were made to toil before the reintroduction of Akhter in the final hour.The 25-year-old produced a brutish short ball that Sinethemba Qeshile could only feather behind as he took evasive action after an eye-catching 73. From the next ball Matthew Boast popped a simple catch to backward point.The four-day game is the Lions’ only match of a three-week tour that has focused on providing the 19-player squad with individualised and high-quality training.

This IPL has seen a few feisty reunions, featuring Warner, Rashid, Kuldeep, Chahal, and others

Yash Jha07-May-2022A player-franchise association of years breaks down every few years. Now with a new home side, a player meets his old friend and turns up big against them. It’s a script that plays out often and with much interest around it. Like in football, the IPL, now that it is a decade-and-a-half into existence, is seeing its own share of feisty reunions, and a fair few players have turned the heat on their past employers this season. We pick the most notable such contributions so far in IPL 2022:David Warner (Delhi Capitals): 92* (58) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Brabourne StadiumDavid Warner scored a match-winning knock against Sunrisers Hyderabad•BCCIIt’s hard to think of a more publicly acrimonious fallout in the IPL than the one between Sunrisers and Warner in 2021: team legend, he led them to the 2016 title, three Orange Caps in six completed seasons alone for Sunrisers, and yet reduced to a reserve.Warner quashed any arguments of how much was left in the tank with a Player-of-the-Tournament medal in Australia’s title win at the T20 World Cup that followed the IPL season last year. Well into this IPL campaign came his chance to take on his team of the previous seven years.He grabbed it with both hands, playing that quintessential Warner knock that had heralded so many Sunrisers victories in the past: cautious to begin with, unaffected by wickets at the other end, upping the gears with ease, and batting it out till the end. He took his time and picked his battles – 15 off 13 balls against Bhuvneshwar Kumar, but 47 off 25 versus Umran Malik and Kartik Tyagi combined – and was the fulcrum of Capitals’ charge to 207 for 3, which proved too good for his old team.Rashid Khan (Gujarat Titans): 31*(11) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Wankhede StadiumRashid Khan finished on 31 in 11 balls•BCCIThe absence of Rashid from Sunrisers’ list of retained players ahead of the 2022 auction sparked off the most blazing debate with many questioning the franchise owners and team management’s logic.It turned out to be an evening to forget for Rashid when he came on to bowl against Sunrisers. It was probably the familiarity that helped Sunrisers’ batters taking Rashid apart: he conceded 40-plus runs for only the third time in the IPL, with Abhishek Sharma smashing him for 34 from just 15 balls.But Titans – who had gleefully lapped Rashid up as one of their three draft picks – would have the final laugh.The tie seemed beyond Titans with 56 needed from the final four overs when Rashid joined Rahul Tewatia in the middle. The equation became 37 off 14 after Rashid hit his first six – a helicopter flick off Bhuvneshwar – and some blows from Tewatia brought it down to 15 off four, with Rashid on strike, facing Marco Jansen. Six, dot, six, six: a stunning sequence left Sunrisers seething, the usually-calm Muthiah Muralidaran fuming, and Titans extending their stay at the top of the table.Wriddhiman Saha (Gujarat Titans): 68 (38) vs Sunrisers Hyderabad, Wankhede StadiumWriddhiman Saha reached fifty in 28 balls•BCCIThat Titans were still in the hunt in the back-end of that chase was down to another ex-Sunrisers man. Saha got a late entry into the XI after the move to play Matthew Wade at the top didn’t work, and he hadn’t done much in his first two outings (11 off 18 and 25 off 25).But he took the attack to Sunrisers, comfortably outscoring Shubman Gill in a strong start to Titans’ pursuit of 196. The openers faced 18 balls each in the powerplay – Saha scored 39 and Gill 15. Saha brought up a 28-ball fifty and continued to motor on, leaving Titans with 74 to get off 40 balls by the time he was done.Saha was fluent against his former Sunrisers team-mates, taking 10 from seven balls off Bhuvneshwar and 13 off six off T Natarajan, while taking Marco Jansen to the cleaners: 26 off nine balls, laced with four fours and a six.Kuldeep Yadav (Delhi Capitals) : 4 for 35, Brabourne Stadium and 4 for 14, Wankhede Stadium, both vs Kolkata Knight RidersKuldeep Yadav was a thorn in KKR’s side•BCCIFrom 2019 to 2021, Kuldeep Yadav had bowled 270 balls for Knight Riders in the IPL and picked up just five wickets. By the time he bowled his 27th delivery against them this season, the Capitals’ lead spinner had crossed that tally, and he is the second-highest wicket-taker this IPL right now.The first rubber was a high-scoring clash at Brabourne, and Kuldeep had gone wicketless while conceding 28 runs from his first 16 balls – but his last eight deliveries would decisively turn the game in Capitals’ favour. He had Shreyas Iyer stumped for 54 off 33 before dismissing Pat Cummins, Sunil Narine and Umesh Yadav in the space of four balls – the last an excellent caught-and-bowled effort.Kuldeep took it to another level 18 days later. After getting rid of B Indrajith and Narine off consecutive deliveries in his first over, he got the wickets of Shreyas and Andre Russell in his third. It could have been more than a four-for, but Capitals – for some reason – didn’t bowl out Kuldeep’s quota.Yuzvendra Chahal (Rajasthan Royals): 2 for 15 vs Royal Challengers Bangalore, Wankhede StadiumYuzvendra Chahal also struck against his former side•BCCIChahal’s exclusion from Royal Challengers’ shortlist was one of the talking points when the retentions were announced ahead of the mega auction. Between 2014 and 2021, Chahal picked up 139 wickets in 113 games for Royal Challengers; no bowler took more wickets in the IPL in that period.That provided enough intrigue as the legspinner lined up against his old unit early in the 2022 season, and although his new team – Royals – couldn’t get the win, Chahal was arguably the best bowler on the night. He returned superlative figures of 2 for 15 from his four overs, accounting for Faf du Plessis and David Willey, and also playing a part in the run out of his former captain Virat Kohli.Rahul Tripathi (Sunrisers Hyderabad): 71 (37) vs Kolkata Knight Riders, Brabourne StadiumRahul Tripathi brought up his half-century in just 21 balls•PTI With 397 runs in 16 innings at a strike rate of 140, Tripathi was key to Knight Riders’ run to the final last season and second only to Gill on their run-scoring charts. Knight Riders did stay in pursuit of him till the INR 6-crore mark at this year’s auction, before seeing Sunrisers eventually acquire the 31-year-old for INR 8.5 crore (USD 1.1 million approx.).Tripathi walked out early in Sunrisers’ chase of 176, and took the attack to Knight Riders. Sunrisers went from 15 for 1 at the end of the third over to 105 for 2 after 11, with Tripathi flaying 53 of those runs off just 23 balls. He was particularly severe on Varun Chakravarthy, taking 19 runs from six balls off him, including two magnificently-driven sixes on the off side.Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran (Sunrisers Hyderabad) vs Punjab Kings, DY Patil Stadium
Aiden Markram and Nicholas Pooran took their side home•BCCIMarkram and Pooran had been part of the Punjab Kings line-up that found ways to not finish over the line in 2021. The pair, most notably, was in the middle for that Kartik Tyagi over last year when Kings contrived to lose to Royals in Dubai.So what could be more IPL than the same duo being tasked to finish off a chase against Kings? It wasn’t the most nerve-wracking equation – 75 needed from 57 balls when Pooran joined Markram in the middle – but they assembled knowing there wasn’t a lot to follow for Sunrisers. Shashank Singh, who hadn’t batted in the IPL until then, was slated at No. 6, and J Suchith at No. 7.They took Sunrisers home with little trouble. Markram was fluent in his 41 off 27, Pooran solid in his 30-ball 35, and Sunrisers were over the line with seven balls to spare.

As the pandemic wreaks havoc in India, the IPL marches on. That is not necessarily a bad thing, but can the BCCI make it count for more?

Jayaditya Gupta25-Apr-2021On Sunday afternoon, as the captains of Chennai Super Kings and Royal Challengers Bangalore waited for the toss, the commentator Ian Bishop put out this public service announcement: mask up, keep a safe distance, self-sanitise. The simple message, repeated several times during play, was the first high-visibility sign of the IPL as an institution addressing the resurgence of the Covid-19 pandemic that has wreaked havoc in India.There have been occasional statements by commentators and some franchises on similar lines – mask up, stay safe – and some individual players have gone further. But this was the first time the IPL used the high-profile toss segment of its broadcast to spread this message, the recognition that outside the bio-bubble was a country fighting a desperate battle against the pandemic.India is currently in the grip of an especially vicious wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. Countrywide, there are 300,000 new cases every day – the most by any nation since the pandemic first broke out last year – and the effect has crippled healthcare and allied services, even in Delhi, the national capital. Just for context, there have been 26,000 deaths since the IPL began on April 9.Related

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• Australia suspends flights from India; Chris Lynn hopes for post-IPL charter home

The IPL’s tepid response till very recently has prompted the perception that it is a bubble within the bubble – that the entire system is cut off from the world outside to the extent almost of tone-deafness. This cannot be the reality, of course, because the players are in virtual contact with life outside and have had family and acquaintances affected by the virus. But it is the perception, helped by the silence emanating from the tournament itself.Indeed, it has led to a line of thinking that the IPL should be called off. That in a time of national tragedy as this is – and a tragedy that, by all estimates, will get worse before it gets better – sport is irrelevant, perhaps even disrespectful. This is not a time for light entertainment.That is debatable, because there are clearly takers for the IPL as entertainment or distraction from the surrounding grimness. Anecdotal evidence, perhaps, but I can hear the TV commentary from apartments around mine every evening, and I know of people – including one 80-year-old aunt – who wait for that match every day to offer some relief.Equally important, though, is to see the IPL as not merely a sporting activity, 22 men playing cricket under floodlights. It is an economic activity that brings in millions of dollars, which are then spread around the wider cricketing ecosystem and to the country at large. Think of hotel rooms occupied, chartered flights booked and the IPL gig economy – social-media teams, cameramen, commentators, security and catering and housekeeping staff, and all the people they support in turn – that keeps the wheels turning. A distressed economy needs whatever cylinders that can keep firing.Crucially, it is a well-managed bubble, as it was in the UAE last year; two weeks in, there have been positive cases, but largely before the tournament started. The lack of crowds and the caravan concept – two venues at a time, instead of teams criss-crossing through the tournament – make it easier to manage logistics.It is precisely this immense soft power, though, that the IPL needs to wield at this moment.

If you have beaten COVID-19, you have the power to save a life. #ProjectPlasma – A joint initiative by #DelhiCapitals and @FeverFMOfficial encourages you to donate your plasma.

And as @SDhawan25 says, let's defeat this pandemic with positivity #YehHaiNayiDilli pic.twitter.com/gCzH2FIsBh

— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) April 24, 2021

There have been individual, perhaps oblique, statements. Royal Challengers Bangalore have a short public-service video about basic bio-safety protocols; on Saturday, Delhi Capitals released a message about plasma donation in the Covid-19 context. R Ashwin, who plays for them, has also been tweeting about plasma availability. Harbhajan Singh hasn’t merely expressed his anguish – he has helped set up a mobile testing lab in Pune and has retweeted some of the thousands of cries for help on social media, hoping his influence can open doors.

Everything coming to an END.. we are clueless..No one is to guide don’t see any light.. it’s getting dark.. people are dying.. someone care ? NO #COVIDEmergency #COVID19India #Covid

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) April 16, 2021

Even Shoaib Akhtar – the Pakistani bowler Indian fans loved to hate – issued a simple, heartfelt appeal for help.

India is really struggling with Covid-19. Global support needed. Health care system is crashing. Its a Pandemic, we are all in it together. Must become each other's support.
Full video: https://t.co/XmNp5oTBQ2#IndiaNeedsOxygen #COVID19 pic.twitter.com/vX1FCSlQjs

— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) April 23, 2021

There is plenty more that the IPL can do even now – sponsor the distribution of N95 masks or sanitisers; setting up vaccine camps or announcing that some percentage of their income will go to a specified fund. And, easiest of all, using the big names – especially those on its payroll – to reinforce the same simple message.Abhinav Bindra, the only Indian to win an individual Olympic gold and now part of various high-level athletes’ commissions, spoke about this issue on Sunday. Writing in , he said the players should acknowledge the enormous privilege they enjoy to be able to play sport in these times. If he was BCCI president, he said, and “had the capability”, he would “give a large amount to do, say, the vaccination right or help out in any other way. This is one way to acknowledge that to conduct the IPL right now is a huge privilege and everyone should act responsibly.”The BCCI is famous for its ability to think on its feet, to change or create or tweak plans to suit the situation. It has responded with alacrity to many crises in the past, usually when cricket is under threat. This threat is far greater and more serious – it’s a country in crisis.