Mikel Arteta has confirmed that Arsenal defender Gabriel will be unavailable for "weeks" after sustaining a thigh injury on international duty. The defender limped off during last weekend’s friendly against Senegal at the Emirates Stadium and missed the subsequent match against Tunisia. His injury now presents a significant setback for a team sitting four points clear at the top of the Premier League.

• Gabriel to sit out for an extended period

  Gabriel, 27, has been central to Arsenal’s outstanding defensive record this season, with the Gunners conceding just five league goals in 11 matches. However, his injury during the international break will be a major reason for concern for Arteta. The manager confirmed further tests will take place next Wednesday, though early indications suggest a worrying layoff.

  "Gabi is going to be out for weeks," said Arteta. "It's clearly a blow because he's our leader in our backline, and to me, it's never a positive thing. The good thing is that we have very good options, and people have to stand up now and do the job."

  Reports via indicate fears that the Brazilian could miss up to two months, ruling him out for the rest of 2025 and potentially all the way into mid-January. A best-case scenario would see him return after a month, possibly just before Christmas.

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  Hincapie and Mosquera in line to step up

  With Gabriel unavailable for Sunday’s north London derby, Arteta will turn to deputies Piero Hincapie and Cristhian Mosquera. Both defenders are under consideration for the crucial clash at the Emirates Stadium, a fixture that could have early implications for the Premier League title race. Riccardo Calafiori is also a doubt after withdrawing from Italy duty with a hip issue. The defender has not trained since returning to England, though Arteta confirmed he will be evaluated in Saturday’s final session.

  "He has been carrying a few things," said Arteta. "He hasn't trained yet. Tomorrow we have another training session, let's see how he is."

  Before the international break, Arteta was already without Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Jesus. Arteta has hinted that several of those could return soon, but timing remains uncertain. Odegaard is expected back in early December, while Jesus is on track to return in January following ACL recovery.

• Tottenham receive huge boost before the derby

  In stark contrast to Arsenal’s growing injury list, Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank delivered a series of positive updates ahead of Sunday’s derby. Spurs will welcome back Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall and Randal Kolo Muani, all of whom trained on Friday and are available for selection. Sarr suffered a scare while on international duty with Senegal after limping off against Brazil, while Bergvall had withdrawn from the Sweden squad following further concussion checks. Kolo Muani, meanwhile, missed France’s qualifiers after picking up an injury in the 2-2 draw against Manchester United, but will feature against Arsenal wearing a protective mask. Mohammed Kudus, who missed Spurs’ last two matches, is also in contention to return.

  "Pape trained today,” Frank said. "He's ready, available. Lucas trained today. Ready, available. Kolo Muani, yes. Trained today. Available, of course, has a mask [he] needs to play with."

  Frank did, however, rule out Dominic Solanke, who is still recovering from an ankle injury that has plagued his season. Solanke’s last appearance came in August, and although the striker insists progress is being made, Spurs are unwilling to rush him.

  On Solanke, Frank said: "Dom is not ready yet. I think he also had an article recently where he spoke about it. So we are very, as I said, the same. Very aware that when we put him out there, we want to be absolutely sure, as sure as we can be, that no setback going forward. So I'm comfortable he will soon be ready, but I will not put a timeframe on it."

  There was further positive news for Spurs as Radu Dragusin, Archie Gray, Ben Davies and Kota Takai all returned to full training this week.

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  Derby stakes raised as Arsenal and Spurs prepare for collision

  Sunday’s derby promises to be an exciting affair as Arsenal will be battling to protect their position at the summit despite key injuries, whereas Spurs will arrive with renewed energy as major players return. For a defence built largely around Gabriel’s presence, the timing of the injury is far from ideal. If the worst-case prognosis is confirmed, he could miss 15 matches across the Premier League, Champions League, Carabao Cup and the FA Cup.

With the last international break of 2025 underway, it remains to be seen whether or not Martin O’Neill will be in charge of Celtic for their next competitive match.

Football Insider recently reported that the experienced manager could see his interim time in the dugout end if the club are able to land a new boss during the break.

The Northern Irish head coach, in his second stint at the club, has enjoyed an impressive time as the caretaker manager, winning three of his four matches in all competitions.

Celtic have won both of their Scottish Premiership games by a 4-0 scoreline since he came in after Brendan Rodgers tendered his resignation, beating Kilmarnock 4-0 on Sunday in what could be his last match.

O’Neill has been a breath of fresh air for the Scottish giants after the end of Rodgers’ tenure, as evidenced by the two league results, and he has worked wonders for a few players.

Johnny Kenny, for example, has stepped up under the experienced manager and shown that he can be relied on as a regular starter for the Hoops, if required.

The Celtic players who have improved under Martin O'Neill

The Ireland international is the most obvious player who has improved since O’Neill came in as a caretaker manager, as he has scored four goals in four matches, per Sofascore.

Kenny had scored two goals in 17 first-team matches for Celtic in all competitions before this run of four goals in four games under O’Neill, per Transfermarkt, which perfectly illustrates his recent improvement.

The 22-year-old marksman, who has stepped up in the absence of Kelechi Iheanacho, is not the only Hoops player who has taken their game up a gear under the interim boss, though, as Arne Engels has done the same.

Celtic’s Belgian midfield maestro did not provide a single goal or assist in eight appearances in the Premiership under Rodgers, in what was a dismal start to the campaign for the £11m signing from Augsburg.

Since O’Neil came in, though, the central midfielder has scored his first goal of the season and delivered two assists in all competitions, including a goal and an assist in the 4-0 win over Kilmarnock.

Auston Trusty

Vs Falkirk

Vs Kilmarnock

Minutes

90

90

Sofascore rating

7.5

8.4

Tackle success rate

100%

100%

Clearances

5

7

Ground duels won

1/2

3/3

Aerial duels won

6/11

6/8

Dribbled past

0x

0x

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Auston Trusty has excelled under O’Neill at the heart of the defence in his two league matches in the dugout, after the USA international did not start a single league match for Rodgers this season.

With O’Neill’s future in the dugout in doubt, the Scottish giants are reportedly looking at another manager who could make Kenny unplayable for the rest of the season and beyond.

3-4-2-1 emerges as contender for Celtic job

According to Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph, Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy has “emerged” as a contender to replace Rodgers and O’Neil at Parkhead.

The reporter claims that he is one of a number of names on the club’s shortlist as they look for a long-term successor to Rodgers, who won the Premiership title in both of his full seasons back in Glasgow.

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Joseph adds that the Hoops have now drawn up their full shortlist of options and that Nancy is a “serious” contender to land the job before the end of the international break.

The 48-year-old tactician, who typically deploys a 3-4-2-1 formation, is not the only manager on that list, of course, as Ipswich Town’s Kieran McKenna and Bodo/Glimt’s Kjetil Knutsen are also in the frame.

Why Wilfried Nancy could make Johnny Kenny unplayable

If Celtic decide to go through with a move for the French head coach, the Columbus Crew boss could help to make Kenny completely unplayable by carrying on O’Neill’s good work.

Nancy, who won the MLS Cup in the 2022/23 campaign, has won 81 of his 169 matches as a manager in the MLS, per Transfermarkt, and has won two trophies, one with Columbus Crew and one with Montreal, where he coached Alistair Johnston.

In his time with Columbus Crew, the French manager has shown that he can set up a team to consistently create chances for a striker like Kenny, as Diego Rossi has thrived under his management.

Like Kenny, the Uruguayan is a lean and diminutive forward who looks to score goals through clever movement and sharp finishing, as shown in his goal in the clip below.

Neither Rossi nor the Celtic striker are going to offer a towering presence in the number nine position and bully central defenders with their physical prowess; that is not a part of their game, but Nancy has shown that he can set a team up to create chances for their profile of forward.

Rossi has played through the middle as a striker on his own in a 3-4-2-1, as one of the two 10s behind a striker, and as part of a strike pairing in a 4-4-2 or a 3-5-2 during his time under the Celtic manager target, and he has been a prolific scorer in those roles.

Diego Rossi under Wilfried Nancy

2024

2025

Appearances

48

37

Shots

112

123

xG

13.14

15.54

Goals

21

19

xA

5.60

6.46

Big chances created

14

11

Assists

7

5

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Columbus Crew forward has scored 40 goals for Nancy since the start of the 2024 campaign, whilst also providing 12 assists for his side in that time.

These statistics suggest that Kenny, who is a similar profile of player to Rossi, could thrive under the Frenchman if Celtic decide to appoint him as their successor to Rodgers.

The Ireland international could thrive as the lone striker in a 3-4-2-1 on his own or alongside Iheanacho, when fit, in a 4-4-2, with his recent goal spurt showing that he can score goals on a regular basis at Premiership level.

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However, it now remains to be seen whether or not the Hoops will decide to make Nancy their number one option, or if they will go with another manager on their shortlist.

Baseball Hall of Famer and Boston Red Sox legend Luis Tiant passed away this past October at the age of 83. The three-time All-Star and two-time AL ERA leader spent eight seasons in Boston, and even has a sausage stand named after him outside of Fenway Park.

"El Tiante," as he was nicknamed, was also well-known for using an elongated, over-the-head windup to deliver pitches. As such, Atlanta Braves pitcher Chris Sale honored the late Tiant with the same motion to kick off their spring training matchup against the Red Sox on Saturday.

Here's a look:

Pretty cool, especially given that Sale played six seasons in Boston and likely crossed paths with Tiant a time or two.

WEEI Sports Radio's Rob Bradford added that Sale, "had been thinking about doing this in this start for a while," given how much Tiant meant to him, saying that he "marveled" the late pitcher's throwing motion.

After authoring MLB's first 50-home run, 50-stolen base season and winning the National League MVP award in 2024, Shohei Ohtani has picked up right where he left off. In Tuesday's season-opening win over the Chicago Cubs, Ohtani rapped out two hits. On Wednesday, after narrowly missing a home run in his first at-bat of the game, Ohtani belted a solo homer in the top of the fifth inning to give the Dodgers a 6-2 lead.

So, the Cubs, seeing firsthand the damage Ohtani had already done, decided to take no chances. Chicago intentionally walked Ohtani in his fourth plate appearance of the game in the top of the seventh inning—and the fans at the Tokyo Dome were not happy.

On the one hand, one can hardly get mad at the Cubs for not wanting to pitch to Ohtani, a three-time MVP and arguably the best baseball player on the planet. On the other hand, it was a perfectly understandable reaction from the fans in Japan, who have enjoyed every bit of the show that the Dodgers star has put on in his return to his native country.

West Ham have emerged as favourites to sign a highly-rated striker in January as manager Nuno Espírito Santo scours the market for more firepower.

West Ham begin striker search ahead of January

The east Londoners, according to widespread reports, are intensifying their search for attacking reinforcements ahead of the winter transfer window, with Niclas Fullkrug’s impending departure forcing Nuno to prioritize forward additions during the crucial mid-season period.

The German international has made his intentions clear, informing the club he wishes to leave when the window reopens in a bid to revive his career, not to mention boost his chances of making Germany’s 2026 World Cup squad.

Fullkrug’s disastrous spell at the London Stadium has yielded zero goals this season across seven appearances, with persistent injury problems severely limiting his availability ever since his £27 million move from Borussia Dortmund last year.

In terms of the 32-year-old’s possible replacements, a few intriguing targets have been mooted already.

AC Milan striker Santiago Gimenez has emerged as a reported target for West Ham, with Nuno learning the Mexican international would cost approximately £30 million.

Manchester United’s Joshua Zirkzee represents another option being explored by the Hammers. The Dutchman has reportedly grown frustrated with his limited playing time under Ruben Amorim, and is seeking regular minutes to maintain his own international prospects ahead of the World Cup.

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Real Madrid youngster Endrick has also been mentioned as a possible loan target, but the Brazilian now looks set to join Lyon instead.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

West Ham 3-2 Burnley

Bournemouth 2-2 West Ham

Meanwhile, former Brentford striker Ivan Toney could be tempted to return to England from Saudi Arabia’s Al Ahli on a temporary basis, with West Ham said to be in the mix for his signature.

They’ve also been linked with Juventus’ Jonathan David, FC Midtjylland forward Franculino Dju and even former Tottenham striker Troy Parrott recently, as chairman David Sullivan casts his net far and wide in pursuit of solutions.

West Ham now in pole position to sign Promise David

Now, as per TEAMtalk, West Ham are emerging in pole position to sign Union Saint-Gilloise forward Promise David after already making contact.

USG are apparently ready to entertain offers of around £17.5 million for the Canadian international, and West Ham are fully aware of this.

The towering 24-year-old has captured attention following his impressive performances in Belgium, where he netted 24 goals in his debut campaign last season to help USG end a remarkable 90-year wait for a Jupiler Pro League title.

Standing at 6 ft 4, David offers the physical presence and aerial threat that West Ham desperately require up front, with Nuno potentially targeting his own version of Chris Wood in east London.

Nuno helped to transform the colossal Wood into a clinical marksman at Nottingham Forest, and while that is an obvious comparison to make with David, there are gaping similarities.

However, West Ham face competition from fellow relegation battlers Leeds and Wolves, who both recognize David’s potential value as well.

The striker’s Champions League experience adds further appeal, having recently scored a winner against Galatasaray to announce himself on Europe’s biggest stage — ending the Turkish champions’ 33-game unbeaten run in the process.

For just under £18m, he could be a fine candidate to strengthen West Ham’s forward line, especially considering how teammates have described him as “the monster”.

Rangers’ winning streak continues, albeit in far from convincing fashion.

On Saturday, the Gers battled to a 2-1 victory over bottom of the table Livingston at Ibrox, with Emmanuel Fernandez marking his first start since August by scoring a towering header, only for Tete Yengi to equalise soon after, but Mohamed Diomandé’s goal 12 minutes from time, Bojan Miovski putting it on a plate for him, enough to snatch victory.

This makes it four Premiership wins out of four since Danny Röhl was appointed manager, the Gers’ longest streak since February, albeit they remain fourth, given that Hibernian beat Dundee 2-0 at Easter Road simultaneously.

Next up, Röhl’s team will take on Braga in a must win Europa League tie on Thursday and, despite victory on Saturday, which starter should be axed ahead of this one?

Rangers' current injury crisis

After some very underwhelming summer recruitment, most Rangers supporters agree that their squad lacks quality, so, when that is the situation, the last thing a coach needs is a lengthy injury list.

First-choice centre-back pairing John Souttar and Derek Cornelius are both expected to be sidelined until after Christmas, after suffering serious injuries while on international on the same evening, doing so within hours of one-another but more than 4,200 miles apart in Glasgow and Miami.

Meantime, just as he had started to click into gear, Mikey Moore suffered a muscle injury in training, so is set to spend weeks on the sidelines.

The Tottenham lonaee had made an inconspicuous start to life in Glasgow, but had started to show glimpses of his talent in recent weeks, scoring his first goal for the club at Dens Park in the last game prior to the international break.

In the absences of the teenager, Röhl’s team lacked dynamism, panache and flamboyance in attacking areas, with the player tasked with deputising certainly not earning rave reviews.

The Rangers star Röhl must axe after Livingston

Röhl went for a more attacking 4-2-3-1 formation for Livingston’s visit on Saturday, with Thelo Aasgaard given the free role as the central number ten.

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The Merseyside-born midfielder helped Norway qualify for a first World Cup since ’98 during the break, coming off the bench as his country crushed Italy 4-1 at San Siro last Sunday.

Thus, Aasgaard was handed a first club start since being sent off during the League Cup semi-final defeat at the hands of Celtic at Hampden.

Well, he certainly did not grasp this opportunity with both hands, as the table below documents.

Thelo Aasgaard’s stats vs Livingston
Stats	Aasgaard	Match rank
Shots	Zero	12th
Successful dribbles	1	11th
Accurate passes	12	16th
Key passes	1	4th
Duels won	2	24th
Touches	19	23rd
SofaScore rating	6.4	21st
Stats vis SofaScore

The statistics underline that Aasgaard was generally pretty anonymous during Saturday’s victory, completing just 12 passes and only one dribble, not registering a single attempt.

The most galling number is the fact that the Norwegian international touched the ball only 19 times before being hooked at half time, nine fewer than goalkeeper Jack Butland and six less than Livi scorer Yengi.

Writer Kai Watson asserted that Aasgaard went “missing” in the first half, adding that he “needs to offer something” and is “capable of much more than we’re seeing”.

Meantime, Aheed Abrar of Ibrox News exclaimed that the midfielder was “embarrassing” on Saturday, awarding him a 3/10 rating, while Let’s Talk Rangers believes he should not be an “automatic starter” over Nedim Bajrami, Lyall Cameron and others.

Thus, despite their ongoing injury issues, Röhl does appear to have better attacking options than Aasgaard, who did little to stake a claim for a start against Braga this weekend.

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Ben Gray

Nov 21, 2025

Liverpool now look a million miles off the likes of Arsenal, sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League.

Only last season, Arne Slot’s runaway Reds finished ten points clear of Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, having won a mammoth 25 clashes along the way to lifting the title.

Now, with an abysmal six defeats next to their name from 12 Premier League clashes, and 20 goals already leaked, the out-of-sorts giants are already 11 points behind the North Londoners, who swept Tottenham Hotspur aside 4-1, on the same weekend Liverpool crashed out to a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Thankfully, despite Liverpool suffering their worst start to a season since 2014, and Gary Neville chipping in by labelling the current state of affairs as “unacceptable”, the January transfer window opens soon, which could see the Reds spend wildly again to try and get their atrocious campaign back on track.

Liverpool preparing to spend big again

Just one look at the list above gives you a flavour as to how much Liverpool splashed out in the summer, with Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike all joining the building for an eye-watering combined total of £294m.

While these deals haven’t exactly gone to plan so far, that doesn’t mean more lavish spending won’t do the trick in an attempt to turn out Liverpool’s depressing fortunes, with sources from Spain now alleging that Slot and Co could be willing to drop an earth-shuddering £177m on the services of Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.

Liverpool have also been tipped to move for the likes of Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz and Premier League man of the moment Antoine Semenyo to freshen up their attacking ranks, but a new emerging report from Spain also suggests that their central midfield spots might well be given a major facelift, if they can pick up Paris St Germain ace Joao Neves.

Indeed, the report states that the faltering titans have an ‘intense interest’ in adding Neves to their squad after a breakout season in Ligue 1, with a battle for his services perhaps defining a busy January window to come.

It’s further revealed that Liverpool are preparing an offer close to £140m in an effort to persuade Luis Enrique’s men to part ways.

How Neves is a big upgrade on Mac Allister

Liverpool could win themselves a major upgrade on a declining Alexis Mac Allister if the ex-Benfica midfielder does choose to leave the comforts of France behind for a shot in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, the Argentine has looked seriously off the pace this season during Liverpool’s well-publicised struggles.

It’s been a significant fall from grace for the World Cup winner, who managed to bag five goals and collect five assists last season in league action to help Slot pick up the Premier League title in a crazy first campaign at the helm.

Now, however, the waning 26-year-old has an unconvincing zero goals and two assists from 11 league outings this season, leading to one analyst labelling him as a “huge disappointment”, with his once-feared ability to dictate play now nowhere to be found.

Mac Allister vs Neves in 25/26

Stat (* = per 90 mins)

Mac Allister

Neves

Games played

11

7

Goals scored

0

5

Assists

2

0

Shots*

1.3

1.9

Touches*

47.2

67.6

Accurate passes*

31.5 (86%)

55.3 (94%)

Ball recoveries*

2.9

3.1

Total duels won*

2.5 (44%)

2.9 (57%)

Stats by Sofascore

While the former Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder continues to decline, Neves has followed up his outrageous tally of three goals and eight assists from last season with five goals already this campaign, as the 21-year-old continues to live up to his billing as being “one of the best midfielders in the world” by European football content creator, Alex Brice.

On top of being a clinical and classy finisher of chances, Neves also blows his competition out of the water in terms of his pass accuracy with an unerring 94% average in tact, alongside also offering up more ball recoveries at 3.1 per Ligue 1 game, which should stand him in good stead to be an energetic partner to Ryan Gravenberch.

A major plus to his game, though, is his ability to fire home chances – as seen in his unbelievable hat-trick earlier this season – with Mac Allister also well-known to fire home a memorable strike or two during his Liverpool peak.

But, it’s his overall package that makes him such a “complete” talent, as he has been labelled by his ex-trainer in Luis Castro, who even said that number 87 can play in “any championship in the world” and “shine”, with Liverpool having to put their money where their mouth is to prove him right.

Of course, between now and January coming into view, Mac Allister might well pick up form again, as could his entire team, as they potentially climb far beyond their current mid-table slump.

But, with Curtis Jones the only real other figure Slot can fall back on in the defensive midfield ranks – away from the South American and Gravenberch – dropping £140m on Neves could be a fantastic, if costly, investment to make, as the big spenders hope the Portuguese superstar can enter the starting XI and push his new team back into the top positions in the tough division.

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Manchester City fans arriving at the Etihad on Tuesday evening might well have been somewhat perplexed by the lineup that was announced.

Indeed, for the showdown with Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, Pep Guardiola would ring the changes, with a mammoth ten alterations on display from the 2-1 defeat versus Newcastle United.

Nico Gonzalez was the only player remaining in the XI from that humbling loss.

The Spaniard’s widespread tinkering did not work the way he would have wanted, whatsoever, as City ended up crashing to a second successive defeat in all competitions, with Leverkusen taking advantage of the disjointed feel to the hosts to inflict a 2-0 loss.

While Leverkusen were ultimately clinical and deserving of all three points, several of Guardiola’s reserve personnel did let him down big time against the visitors from Germany, with Savinho – in particular – putting in another poor showing down the flanks.

Savinho's poor performance in numbers

The Brazilian would have been hopeful that he could change Guardiola’s mind about who his starting attacker should be down the left wing by putting in a high-octane performance against Leverkusen, with Jeremy Doku pushing Savinho to one side with ease as of late.

Instead, however, the below-par forward remains on just one paltry goal for the season, with social media account City Chief going as far as to bash his display against Kasper Hjulmand’s men as offering “no end product” again.

The numbers don’t lie in this regard, too, with Savinho coming off the pitch at the end of a frustrating 90 minutes with just one shot attempted at the Leverkusen goal.

Moreover, despite successfully completing four successful dribbles from nine attempts, as per Sofascore, all of the South American’s trickery and flair on the night ultimately went to waste, with just one accurate cross amassed.

On top of that, the hit-and-miss 21-year-old also gave away possession 24 times, with his decision-making labelled as “puzzling” by journalist Amos Murphy.

Guardiola has defended Savinho in recent weeks by calling him an “aggressive” threat in attack at his best, with this criticism rampant when you consider he has put away just four goals from 64 City appearances.

But, even the Spaniard deciding to wear rose-tinted glasses at times can’t defend that shoddy showing against the Bundesliga giants, with the £30m attacker going down the route of becoming the club’s next Jack Grealish, in being another flashy and inconsistent flop.

He isn’t the only struggling star up top where the Grealish comparison rings true, however, as another underperformer begins to worry if he, too, is a high-profile acquisition gone wrong.

The Man City star turning into the next Grealish

At least Savinho, even if his efforts were largely inaccurate and clumsy, got himself involved in the thick of the action, having accumulated a mighty 76 touches of the ball come the full-time whistle.

On the contrary, Omar Marmoush – with his own tally of 18 touches – faded in and out of the contest as an unmemorable focal point, with his £59m price tag now weighing him down, much like Grealish’s excessive £100m valuation would be his dismal undoing.

Yet, Grealish did show flashes of his excellence at City here and there before an Everton loan move came to fruition, with 17 goals and 23 assists to date helping the sky blue half of Manchester to three Premier League titles.

Marmoush hasn’t quite got that in the bank, but he does have a respectable nine goals next to his name from just 36 outings.

Still, football is a fast-paced and fickle game, and for the riches that were splashed out on his services, after amassing a jaw-dropping 50 goal contributions for Eintracht Frankfurt, just one goal this season won’t cut the mustard, with his goal-shy display on Tuesday night further reinforcing how reliant City are on Erling Haaland to get them out of trouble.

Minutes played

65

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

18

Shots

0

Accurate passes

7/9 (78%)

Possession lost

7x

Total duels won

2/5

From his minimal touches of the ball, despite lasting 65 minutes on the Etihad turf, Marmoush would fail to register a single effort on Mark Flekken’s busy net.

In stark contrast, the constantly dangerous Haaland would manage a colossal four shots, from just nine touches.

With only two duels won, too, it’s unlikely that Guardiola will be keen to utilise the Egyptian as his lone striker moving forward, as he now finds himself in danger of fading into the background, rather than being an impactful statement signing, like the former Aston Villa man.

Time will only tell if he can kick on this season to show he belongs, with injuries not helping him this campaign so far, either.

But, based on his Leverkusen showing alone, he will be pushed back to the bench, alongside Savinho, when Premier League action returns at the weekend.

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“I think the ground reality is we have to sort out our batting,” Mushtaq Ahmed says after Bangladesh fold for 109 in the second ODI to concede the series against Afghanistan

Mohammad Isam12-Oct-2025Bangladesh are focusing on Rashid Khan’s reputation and not playing his deliveries on merit, in the opinion of spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed, after Rashid decimated Bangladesh’s middle order with 5 for 17 in the second ODI on Saturday to give Afghanistan an 81-run win and with that the series.It was Rashid’s sixth five-wicket haul in ODIs, with only Shahid Afridi now with more five-fors among legspinners in the format. Rashid got into the act when he clean-bowled Towhid Hridoy in the 17th over, before running through the batting with four of the last five wickets in a short burst. Bangladesh were shot out for 109 in response to Afghanistan’s 190.Mushtaq, the former Pakistan legspinner who is now working with the Bangladesh team, said that Rashid’s tight line and lengths got him the rewards but it was also the batters that couldn’t separate the ball from the bowler.Related

Bangladesh must change approach and attitude to prevent series sweep

Zadran, Omarzai and Rashid give Afghanistan series win

“I think they are playing Rashid, not the ball,” Mushtaq said after the game. “He is not a big spinner of the ball. But he is very experienced. He is a wicket-taker. His line and length is very consistent. I think we have to sometimes play the ball, not the bowler. We have to improve quickly.”If you have great temperament you can play against any bowler in international cricket. Rashid has been very successful for many, many years for Afghanistan, but [at the] same time as a Bangladeshi batting unit, we should know how to play the ball, not the bowler.”Mushtaq said that Bangladesh’s middle-order batters have to be more proactive against the spinners. Bangladesh have averaged 18.70 in the middle overs, compared to Afghanistan’s 29.37 in the same period in this ODI series. Both sides have gone at lower than four per over between overs 11 and 40, but while Bangladesh have collapsed against spin, Afghanistan have been more patient.

“You must have a better technique against spinners in middle overs, how to get singles on good balls. If you can rotate a strike, I think that will put more pressure on bowlers than yourself”Mushtaq Ahmed

“I think the ground reality is we have to sort out our batting,” Mushtaq said. “They are good players, they can bat. But obviously against spinners like Rashid and all, [who are] very mature and experienced cricketers in those conditions, we have to be very proactive to playing those kind of spinners very quickly.”I think if we can do that in the middle overs, if we can start playing spin well in those conditions, I believe that Bangladesh can challenge against any team.”Bangladesh batters have been poor in the middle overs this year, where they have averaged 21.86, compared to 35.10 in the two previous calendar years. The 21.86 is also their lowest average in the middle overs since 2007.Bangladesh have now won four bilateral T20I series in a row, including against Sri Lanka and Pakistan•Afghanistan Cricket BoardBangladesh have also visibly struggled to shift from the T20I mindset.”You must have a better technique against spinners in middle overs, how to get singles on good balls. If you can rotate a strike, I think that will put more pressure on bowlers than yourself,” Mushtaq said. “I think when you play lots of dot ball, and then you have to play a big shot, that’s why you start losing a wicket. Being a spinner [myself], I know that the people who score runs easily, singles and doubles, that puts more pressure on a spinner.”He said that Bangladesh’s recent run of winning four bilateral T20I series has given them confidence in that format, but translating that form in ODIs, especially with the bat, hasn’t happened.”I think there is an issue in batting coming from T20s into ODIs,” Mushtaq said. “Everything else is clicking. Our fielding standard, fitness, spin and fast bowling are all doing well. Our system is working well. They are playing good cricket. So if we sort out our batting in the 50-over format, that will be great for us. I think it is very, very important that we have to improve a lot in batting.”

Leeds United are currently one point above the relegation zone in the Premier League after picking up 11 points from their first 11 matches of the 2025/26 campaign.

Whilst it has not been a disastrous start for the Championship champions, there are already some eyes wandering to the January transfer window with a view to the club bolstering the squad with new recruits.

Adding more goals to the team may be one of the priorities for the 49ers ahead of the window, as Daniel Farke’s side have only scored 11 goals in their 11 league matches.

Noah Okafor, Joe Rodon, and Lukas Nmecha are all currently tied on two goals in the Premier League this season, making them the club’s joint-top scorers.

25/26

Noah Okafor

Joe Rodon

Lukas Nmecha

2

22/23

Rodrigo

13

21/22

Raphinha

11

20/21

Patrick Bamford

17

As you can see in the table above, Leeds look to be on course for their first top-flight campaign without a player in double figures for goals for the first time since they were promoted under Marcelo Bielsa in 2020.

What the Whites would give to have Raphinha back at Elland Road for a second spell, as the Brazil international was a sensational signing by Victor Orta and Bielsa.

Where Raphinha ranks among Leeds signings since 2020

The left-footed forward was signed from Rennes for a fee of £18m in the summer of 2020 after Leeds had won the Championship title in the 2019/20 campaign.

It is hard to argue against Raphinha being the best signing that the club have made since their promotion in 2020, as he was a superstar for the Whites and earned them a significant profit upon his eventual departure.

The Brazilian phenomenon ranked first in the squad for ‘big chances’ created in both the 2020/21 and 2021/22 campaign, with 12 in the first and ten in the second, per Sofascore, which speaks to how important he was as a creative force.

Appearances

30

35

Goals

6

11

Big chances missed

4

6

Big chances created

12

10

Key passes per game

2.1

1.9

Assists

9

3

Dribbles completed per game

1.9

1.8

Raphinha, as shown in the statistics above, also provided a big threat as a scorer of goals, with a return of 17 strikes in 65 Premier League games for the Whites in total.

Leeds were relegated the season after he left the club and no players in the squad hit double figures for ‘big chances’ created, per Sofascore, which speaks to the impact that his exit had on the team.

His £55m move to Barcelona in 2022 was also a club-record sale for Leeds, which remains the case today, and this is another reason why he must be considered their best signing since 2020, due to his undeniable impact on the pitch and the money that his sale generated.

He was an exciting signing at the time of his arrival in 2020, as a technically brilliant Brazilian forward coming in from Ligue 1, and the club could recapture that level of excitement with one of their targets for the next window.

Leeds lining up move for Premier League star

According to MOTLeedsNews, Leeds United are lining up a potential swoop to sign Manchester United central midfielder Kobbie Mainoo in the upcoming January transfer window.

The report claims that the Whites were interested in a move for the England international in the summer window, but the Red Devils were unwilling to sanction an exit at the time.

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It states that ‘all signs’ point to a January exit from Old Trafford for Mainoo, due to his lack of game time this season, and that Leeds are keeping tabs on his situation with a view to a move for his signature.

However, MOTLeedsNews reveals that the main priority for the Whites is to sign a new number nine to bolster their attack, with any deal for the United midfielder on the back burner until they get that done.

If Leeds do land a new striker and go on to sign Mainoo on loan for the second half of the 2025/26 campaign, the central midfielder could be the most exciting signing since Raphinha.

Why Leeds should sign Kobbie Mainoo

In September, it was reported that a £79m price tag had been placed on the English starlet amid interest from Real Madrid, as United looked to scare teams off an attempt to sign him on a permanent basis.

£79m is £43.5m more than Leeds have ever spent on a player and £24m more than the club have ever sold a player for, which shows that Mainoo may be the most valuable player in the club’s history, even if he only joins on loan.

It would be an incredibly exciting signing for supporters and surely viewed as an ambitious move by neutrals, because the midfield star has made 80 appearances for Manchester United and been capped ten times by England, per Transfermarkt, despite not turning 21 until next April.

Mainoo, as explained by Ruben Amorim in the comments above, is in an unfortunate situation at Old Trafford because he has found himself behind club captain and Portuguese star Bruno Fernandes in his position because of the manager’s 3-4-2-1 system.

Before Amorim’s time at United, the English midfielder excelled in a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 system under Erik ten Hag in the 2023/24 campaign, which bodes well for a potential move to Leeds, as they are Farke’s two preferred formations at Elland Road.

Take-ons attempted

2.71

Top 20%

Take-ons completed

1.42

Top 18%

Take-on success rate

53.4%

Top 28%

Goal-creating actions (take-ons)

0.09

Top 4%

Goal-creating actions (shot)

0.09

Top 2%

Goal-creating actions (fouls drawn)

0.05

Top 9%

As you can see in the table above, Mainoo earned his place in the England team and as a regular starter for United thanks to his impressive play in possession under the Dutch coach.

The 20-year-old midfield star, who was dubbed “generational” by teammate Rasmus Hojlund, was among the best midfielders in the Premier League at creating chances and carrying his side up the pitch with his ball control and mobility, which could helpd Leeds to improve their dismal goal tally of 11 goals from 11 games.

Mainoo, as shown in the clips above, also provided quality defensively, tracking back to make vital challenges, and showed potential as a goalscorer with five goals in all competitions, per Sofascore.

Therefore, the England international should not be judged by his failure to get into the current United team, as that is almost purely down to the manager’s preferred tactics.

Bamford 2.0: Leeds chase ST with 15 goals in 25/26, he'd save Farke's job

Leeds United are interested in signing a striker who could save Daniel Farke’s job at Elland Road.

ByDan Emery Nov 15, 2025

Overall, Leeds fans should be incredibly excited by the prospect of signing the young star, as he could be just as exciting a signing as Raphinha was, for different reasons, despite the fact that it would only be a loan deal.