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Despite coming off a sensational result in the Europa League, Tottenham Hotspur returned to their lacklustre form at home to Nottingham Forest on Monday night.

It was their 18th defeat in the Premier League and leaves them just a point above West Ham United in 17th place, so it’s not much of a surprise to see stories about Ange Postecoglou’s future returning.

One of the names most heavily touted to replace him at the end of the season is Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola, who has managed to lead the Cherries up to eighth place, partly thanks to their brilliant attack.

On top of being linked with a new manager, the North Londoners have also been linked with a plethora of exciting players, including one who’d be perfect under Iraola, were he to get the job.

Tottenham want to sign Premier League attacker

With how terribly this season has gone for Spurs, it’s unsurprising that they have been linked with so many players in recent weeks, such as Matheus Cunha.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

The North Londoners are reportedly willing to pay up to £75m to land the Brazilian star ahead of the other interested parties, and while that’s an enormous sum of money, it might be worth it, as he’s managed to amass a tally of 16 goals and four assists in 31 games this year, despite playing for a bottom half side.

A slightly cheaper target the club have supposedly been looking at has been Tyler Dibling.

The Southampton gem could be available for around £35m in the summer, and while he likely wouldn’t make an instant impact on the first team, he would be yet another tremendously exciting youngster on the club’s books.

However, if instant impact is what the fans are after, then the links to Marcus Rashford should excite them.

According to a recent report from Football Transfers, Spurs have now rekindled their interest in Premier League star Marcus Rashford, who has found some form of late on loan with Aston Villa.

The report claims that the 62-capped Englishman ‘is expected to leave Manchester United during the upcoming summer transfer window’ and that should the Villans decide against paying £40m to sign him, the North Londoners will step in.

It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given his immense quality, it’s worth fighting for, especially as he could be incredible under Iraola.

Why Rashford would be a great signing for Spurs

So, the first thing to say is that, regardless of who is in the hot seat next season, Rashford would be a good addition to Spurs’ squad, and the last few months have shown that.

For example, since moving to Villa, the Manchester-born monster has been electric, scoring four goals and providing six assists in 17 appearances, totalling just 940 minutes.

That means the often “unplayable” 27-year-old, as dubbed by analyst Raj Chohan, is currently averaging a goal involvement every 1.7 games or every 94 minutes, which is the sort of output the Lilywhites could really do with.

However, there is every chance that, under Iraola, he could be even better.

Now, this is obviously all theoretical at this point, but we know from this season that, when he has a summer to prepare his players, the Spaniard can extract some seriously impressive attacking numbers out of his frontline players.

For example, Justin Kluivert has produced 21 goal involvements compared to 11 last year, Antoine Semenyo has produced 16 compared to 11 and even Dango Ouattara has managed 13 compared to just three last year.

So, if he’s been able to improve those players that much within the space of just a season, imagine what he’d be able to do with a player as talented as Rashford.

Ultimately, while this might be a complicated transfer to get over the line, Spurs should do all they can to get it done, especially if they hire Iraola.

Their new Lucas Moura: Ange has struck gold on "generational" Spurs talent

The promising youngster could be great for Spurs.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Apr 23, 2025

A long-serving Everton player is now “all but certain” to leave the club at the end of the season, according to a fresh claim regarding his future.

Everton ramp up summer plans with safety certain

It’s fair to say that the Blues’ Premier League season is petering out now, having initially come alive when David Moyes replaced Sean Dyche as manager. Their top-flight status has once again been preserved and the focus will now be on new signings ahead of their move away from Goodison.

In terms of long-term transfer business, Everton are thought to have agreed a deal to sign highly-rated Hearts teenager John Dodds. The 16-year-old is a player with a bright future in the game, so Moyes could have a gem in his ranks to gradually turn into a first-team star.

Meanwhile, the Blues are reportedly confident of completing the signing of West Brom ace Tom Fellows, having unsuccessfully attempted to snap him up midway through the season.

A new striker also has to be high up on Everton’s agenda this summer, with Liam Delap and Evan Ferguson both seen as options to come in, and with several current Toffees stars out of contract, it’s clear Moyes and Dan Friedkin are plotting somewhat of an overhaul come the off season.

£80,000-a-week Everton defender Michael Keane set to leave as free agent

According to a new update from Football Insider, Everton centre-back Michael Keane is “all but certain” to depart when the 2024/25 season reaches its conclusion. The 32-year-old is out of contract at Goodison Park in June, and with “up to 14 first-team players” potentially moving on in the summer window he will be one of the first to go when his deal expires on June 30.

Allowing Keane to leave on a free transfer makes complete sense for Everton, considering he isn’t seen as an important part of the future under Moyes and is currently one of their highest earners.

Jeff Stelling once hailed his ability to get on the end of things in the opposition box as “absolutely brilliant”, but this season the veteran defender has only started nine Premier League games, and his performances from a defensive sense have simply not been good enough when he has played.

Selling Keane would free up wages at the club, with the former Manchester United player on £80,000-a-week currently, and it will allow him to be a regular elsewhere during the autumn of his career.

Everton agree deal to sign "excellent" 16 y/o ace with massive future

An offer for the player in question has been accepted.

ByHenry Jackson Apr 20, 2025

Keane will depart as a popular figure who always gave his all for Everton, though, racking up 227 appearances to date, but it’s time to bring in a younger centre-back instead this summer.

While his team-mates have fallen to flashy shots, the India opener has built his innings on leaving the ball

Alagappan Muthu17-Dec-20241:58

Pujara: Rahul’s preparation is the reason he’s being successful

To leave or not to leave? And how much to leave?Marnus Labuschagne was chided for overdoing it in Perth. Virat Kohli has been chided for not doing enough of it all series. KL Rahul was almost ridiculed for one in the tour game ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. He played no shot and let the Australia A offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli bowl him between his legs.If trying him out in that match – a last-minute decision after India lost 3-0 to New Zealand – was to gather information on whether Rahul was still good enough to merit a place in the side – he was no longer an automatic pick, missing two of India’s six home Tests this year – the only thing they would have learned was face-palming can hurt. Prior to his opening the batting in Perth, Rahul had made only four fifty-plus scores in 21 innings since the start of 2022; 16 of them ended before he could reach 25. The idea that he would be India’s best batter in Australia clearly took the scenic route towards making sense.Central to Rahul’s success has been his ability to judge which balls to play and which to leave, and considering where he was at the start of November, maybe the only way it could have gone was up. He has left 102 balls so far in five innings this series. It’s exactly how he produced two of India’s best centuries away from home in 2021. Those tours – to England (223 leaves) and South Africa (189) – are the only times he’s left more balls, and considering he could have five more innings in Australia, he has time to set a new benchmark.The 84 Rahul made in Brisbane on Tuesday deserves a place next to his 129 at Lord’s and his 123 in Centurion because he was the only Indian top order batter who could impose himself on the Test match.Related

Rain has final say as Australia, India draw at the Gabba

Hazlewood likely to miss rest of India series with calf strain

Rahul and Jadeja fight to help India avoid follow-on

Rain likely to help India on final day in Brisbane

Australia had great success pitching the ball up at the Gabba because immediately it gave the batter the cue that they could come forward and drive. That’s hard-coded muscle memory. Only the bounce here is different. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s flick that led to his dismissal was to a full ball but it hit high on the bat. Kohli’s nick to the wicketkeeper was to a full ball that rose well past the middle of his diagonal bat and took his outside edge. Shubman Gill could have left the ball he fell to on line. Rishabh Pant could potentially have left the ball he fell to on length.That was the way this Test match was going, except when Rahul was on strike. You can impose yourself on the game by being defensive too.Rahul was extremely choosy about when he was willing to go on the front foot and drive. The ball couldn’t just be on a good or full length. It had to be a shameless, unconscionable, blatant half-volley. Otherwise, he tried not to engage. And if he had to, if the ball was in line with his stumps, he didn’t just meet it with soft hands, he almost pulled the bat away on impact so that the likeliest place the ball would end up is straight back on the ground instead of in the hands of the Australian slip cordon. Once, he actually overdid it and had to protect his stumps from danger as the ball rolled backwards.”He knows his gameplans really well and that is the example he is setting for the other batsmen to follow,” Cheteshwar Pujara said on ESPNcricinfo. “Because if you can bat like KL Rahul, the way he is defending the ball, the way he is leaving the ball, he’s playing close to the body. He’s picking the right balls to hit for four because whenever the ball is pitched up, which is right under his eyes, that’s when he’s driving. So he’s picking the right balls and that’s how you should be batting in Australia.”The rest of India’s top six tried to impose themselves as well. They came away with scores of 4, 1, 3, 9 and 10. Jaiswal, Gill and Kohli fell trying to hit boundaries and throw Australia off their lines and lengths. But in these conditions, success depends on seeing off the new ball, not taking risks against it.”The only thing you can do in the first 30 overs is to tighten up your defence,” Rahul said after India had scraped past the follow-on mark. “Try and respect that the first 30 overs is the bowler’s time and give them their time, leave balls, try and play as tight as possible and then really try to cash in once the ball gets older. So that’s my plan and that’s pretty simple.”That’s a good thing about playing here in Australia. If you get used to the pace and bounce, you can trust the bounce and you can leave balls on bounce and that’s something that they showed us in the last game and they did that really well. Yeah, so for me, I mean, [leaving the ball] as important [as scoring runs].”Rahul has an unusual leave. He brings the bat down from his back-lift inside the line of the ball and hides it behind his pad. He teases even his own bowlers with it in the nets. In Brisbane, he dealt it out to Jasprit Bumrah, who is better than most at making sure he keeps the stumps in play, and made the bowler grunt in frustration. The sound off the bat as the ball goes for runs is pretty cool. But the satisfaction of making all these world-class bowlers feel just a little bit annoyed with him has to feel pretty good too.

Having kept at it in Delhi club cricket after losing his coach to Covid-19, the talented teenager’s world changed one day in December 2022 with the tap of an auctioneer’s hammer

Sreshth Shah13-Apr-2023In late 2022, former India pacer Pankaj Singh got in touch with Kolkata Knight Riders’ assistant coach Abhishek Nayar. Pankaj, the newly appointed Delhi Under-25 coach, had a recommendation to make. There was a new spinner, yet to play top-flight T20s, who was making heads turn in the Delhi circuit, and with IPL teams seeking new names for trials, Pankaj put forward the name of Suyash Sharma.Between IPL seasons, scouts from every franchise use their network of coaches and friends – mostly former cricketers – to find out about new talent. And Knight Riders were not the only side to learn about Suyash. Mumbai Indians – famed for their elite scouting that unearthed Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya – were also interested, and the teenager went for trials at both franchises.At the Knight Riders trial, Suyash impressed, and their staff – Nayar, assistant bowling coach Omkar Salvi and analyst AR Srikkanth – quickly recognised X-factor potential. With the murmurs that an Impact Player rule could come into play, he seemed a perfect fit for Knight Riders. At the auction, he was bought for INR 20 lakh (USD 24,000 approx.). Knight Riders’ CEO Venky Mysore would go on to say that he felt relieved that the franchise did not have to splurge for Suyash, having kept aside a significant portion of their small auction purse – they went in with the least money to spend – for the spinner.Related

• No time to pause for Kolkata Knight Riders in bid to break Wankhede jinx

• KKR vs RCB stats: Shardul's dream day, Suyash's memorable debut

• IPL week-one trends: Indians maximise impact, legspinners hit back

That auction was the first time the wider cricketing world heard of Suyash before last week, when he made his IPL and T20 debut against Royal Challengers Bangalore, and finished with 3 for 30 in a match-winning cause.For most young cricketers, a debut like that is nothing short of a dream. But Suyash’s thinking is a bit different, it seems.”Wickets don’t matter so much to me,” Suyash told ESPNcricinfo after his debut. “For me, my bowling graph matters, to see how many good balls I have landed. Whether I take five or seven wickets, it does not matter. What matters is if I’ve bowled well, and if I have, then even a one-wicket spell gives me satisfaction.”

****

Only 19, Suyash comes from Bhajanpura in northeast Delhi. He wanted to be a batter like his elder brother, but soon learned that to stand out in Delhi’s competitive age-group circuit, he had to do something different. So he switched to spin bowling. After working closely with Delhi-based coach Suresh Batra – a childhood coach of Virat Kohli’s – he developed a fast action like Rashid Khan and added a googly to his repertoire which, from the hand, is not discernible from his legbreaks.Then, when Suyash was 17, Batra succumbed to Covid-19. Left unmoored with no mentor, Suyash approached another Delhi coach, Randhir Singh, for help. Randhir roped Suyash into the DDCA club-cricket competitions, and he enrolled with Madras Club.Madras Club in Delhi is famous for being the place where Virender Sehwag made his runs in his formative years, but a lesser-known fact is that it has been a breeding ground for spinners. Yuzvendra Chahal and Pawan Negi made their mark here, as did other IPL spinners like Pardeep Sahu and Tejas Baroka.

“As soon as I began my walk home, the phones started ringing to say [it has happened]. My uncle was crying, my family were screaming with joy. It was an emotional moment.”Suyash Sharma on being picked at the IPL auction

This is where Suyash polished his craft. He increased his pace and developed a strong wrist to allow his googlies and legbreaks to be delivered with the same speed. That made it tougher for batters to pick him, and he was unleashed as a non-paid amateur in the club circuit. That led to a Delhi U-25 call-up, and the IPL trials.But trials are relatively common for the innumerable amateur Indian players who dream big. For many, the stage is so big that they fail to impress, daunted by the watching scouts. If they do get past this first test, they are are left competing with Ranji-level players on the IPL auction list and, with no professional experience yet, there remains the question of whether such players could stand up and deliver under pressure with a million eyes watching on TV.So, despite the positive feedback from the trials with Knight Riders and Mumbai, Suyash knew an IPL contract was still far away. Suyash returned to the Delhi club circuit and tried to focus on that. But December 23, 2022, soon arrived, and it turned out to be the first day of the rest of his life.”I was returning from a trial match for the Delhi U-25 red-ball team,” Suyash says. “I was tired and had just got off from the rickshaw. I was watching the auction a few times but since my name was coming later, I didn’t catch mine.If you think mystery spin at the IPL over the years, Knight Riders and Sunil Narine probably come straight to mind•R Parthibhan/Associated Press”As soon as I began my walk home, the phones started ringing to say [it has happened]. My uncle was crying, my family were screaming with joy. It was an emotional moment.”Having struggled with his father’s battle with cancer for a few years, and the death of his coach, and taken the much tougher path towards becoming a recognised cricketer, now everything was falling into place.

****

In the IPL, no team has been as obsessed with mystery spinners as Knight Riders. They’ve been a core part of the side’s plans right from the days of Ajantha Mendis, Sachithra Senanayake and KC Cariappa to more recently, when Sunil Narine was unconditionally backed despite an action change and Varun Chakravarthy was persisted with even after a horror IPL debut.At most other franchises, being the squad’s third mystery spinner would mean you’re a back-up of a back-up, but at Knight Riders Suyash could be more. His moment came when he was duly introduced in Knight Riders’ second game of the season, as an Impact Player, at the change of innings against Royal Challengers.

“I was prepared for this, but got nervous when I stood at my bowling mark. I cannot explain the feeling. When I had thought about my future debut, I was excited, but when I was there, I got nervous.”Suyash Sharma on debuting at the IPL

“I was prepared for this, but got nervous when I stood at my bowling mark,” Suyash says. “I cannot explain the feeling. When I had thought about my future debut, I was excited, but when I was there, I got nervous. At my run-up, there was so much [noise] from the crowd, that I got a bit flustered.”But I had been visualising my first ever ball for a long time. I practice visualisation a lot. So I wanted to start off with my best ball right from the first delivery.”Even though Suyash’s bowling wasn’t too accurate on debut, one thing that was undeniable was his ability to make the ball turn. Narine and Chakravarthy rely on variations to deceive batters but Suyash uses flight and sharp spin.Sporting a headband to keep his long hair out of his face, Suyash’s first ball to Dinesh Karthik was more half-tracker than good length, and two balls later when he repeated the same to Michael Bracewell, he was pulled for six. The first over went for nine and for a short moment it felt like maybe the step up to the IPL was a bit too much too soon.But he came back strongly to outfox both Anuj Rawat and Karthik in his second over, using his flight and turn to have them both top-edging slogs to short third. When Suyash hit Karn Sharma on his pads next over, he displayed the natural confidence he’s known to possess by going up to the captain Nitish Rana and demanding a review. Replays showed Karn was caught at first slip courtesy an edge, but even if he didn’t edge it, he was certainly lbw.Suyash Sharma takes off in celebration after bowling Gujarat Titans’ Abhinav Manohar in his second game•Associated PressHis spell impressed head coach Chandrakant Pandit enough for the youngster to get a special mention after the game.”He is just inexperienced but he has shown very good attitude,” Pandit said. “And it is fighting spirit that he has been showing in his camps.”Currently, Suyash has four different deliveries he is willing to talk about – the googly, the legbreak, the backspinner and the flipper. He says that he has been practicing more variations but will reveal them only when he’s ready. His challenge will be to stay mysterious as other teams actively look to demystify his bowling as he gets more game time.But that’s a challenge that Suyash is up for and he is in safe hands with Pandit, bowling coach Bharat Arun, and team-mates Narine and Chakravarthy guiding him. It’s been a while since an Indian spinner has drawn so much interest in such a short time, and if Suyash can keep focusing on his bowling graphs instead of the noise, it just might be the start of something significant.

Five key questions that Australia will need to answer during the three-match series

Andrew McGlashan25-Nov-20202:01

We like having an extra bowling option in ODIs – Langer

Does Green get a debut?There will be at least one change from the team that clinched the ODI series against England in September with the Glenn Maxwell-Alex Carey inspired run chase. Mitchell Marsh is sidelined by the ankle injury he sustained during the IPL, which means an allrounder is needed in the middle order. It might be that Steven Smith’s comeback – he missed the England series because of concussion – sees Marcus Stoinis slip down the order on the back of his impressive IPL 2020 campaign and share 10 overs with Maxwell (another option would be the recalled Moises Henriques). However, the name on everyone’s lips is the uncapped Western Australia allrounder Cameron Green although he has been picked on the strength of his first-class rather than one-day form: he has only played nine List A games for a batting average of 27.83 and seven wickets at 34.42. Justin Langer has made it clear that Green will only be selected if he can perform a full role with the ball as he continues his comeback to bowling following stress fractures of his back.Beyond the big threeMitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins make up a fine pace-bowling trio in any format. But depending on whether any of them are rested during the ODIs, it could be a chance to a have look at what’s just below them. Kane Richardson would normally be the first understudy, but he has opted out of the series to stay with his family in Adelaide, so it is Sean Abbott, Daniel Sams and Andrew Tye who are the pace-bowling reserves. The latter two are known more for – and selected on – their T20 skills, so Abbott could be in pole position. His one ODI cap to date came back in 2014 against Pakistan, but overall he has an impressive List A bowling record of 97 wickets at 24.87 and, while in a different format, was one of the standout players in the recent Sheffield Shield hub.Marnus Labuschagne bowls in the nets•Getty ImagesTop-order formA couple of key members of Australia’s top order come into the series with question marks over their form following the IPL. Captain Aaron Finch couldn’t get going for the Royal Challengers Bangalore and was dropped for a few matches towards the end of the tournament after a campaign where he made starts but did not convert. Smith was ever present as captain of the Rajasthan Royals, who finished bottom, and while he started with a brace of half-centuries and later added a third, it wasn’t his most convincing of tournaments. However, speaking on Tuesday, Smith said he had “found his hands again” and was ready to go. While the white-ball matches are important in their own right, it will be interesting to see if the India bowlers can score any points against Smith ahead of the Test series.Will Labuschagne bowl more?Marnus Labuschagne is settling nicely into Australia’s ODI top order at No. 4 – averaging 43.77 after nine innings – but with the second string of his legspin he has only sent down four overs. His bowling continues to be in the developmental stage and is perhaps more suited to the red-ball game where the occasional drag-down or full-toss does not really matter but, particularly with the next ODI World Cup being in India, his value will continue to increase if he can become a viable option for Finch. Australia tend to play with four frontline bowlers and then a collection of batting allrounders to fill the rest of the overs.The Maxwell factorTalking of the balance of the side, so much of that revolves around Maxwell. In the deciding match against England, he produced one of the best innings of his career – 108 off 90 balls – which followed 77 in the opening match of the series, which steered another recovery. They were his first ODIs since the disappointing 2019 World Cup and, even though he will be 35, he is a key part of the team’s strategy for 2023. Having been all over the order, it would appear the No. 7 position is now his home, albeit with the ability to move up if the situation dictates.

Arizona Diamondbacks slugging third baseman Eugenio Suarez is widely considered be one of the crown jewels of this year's trade deadline.

Suarez has been on a tear in 2025, racking up 36 home runs and an NL-best 87 RBIs through his first 105 games this year. His .898 OPS is his best in a season since 2019, when he hit a career-high 49 homers.

As the trade deadline approaches, with less than 30 hours to go until it passes, the market for Suarez is reportedly beginning to "shape up," according to MLB insider Mark Feinsand. Four teams have emerged as the primary contenders to land Suarez if Arizona does elect to deal him prior to Thursday's deadline—the Seattle Mariners, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies and Detroit Tigers—per Feinsand.

With the Diamondbacks slipping out of playoff contention and having already moved on from Josh Naylor in a trade with the Mariners, it wouldn't be surprising to see them offload Suarez while his value is at its highest. Suarez is ranked No. 3 in 's among top trade candidates, ahead of Thursday's deadline.

All four of the aforementioned teams are in the mix for a playoff spot and could be true World Series contenders if they make the right additions at the deadline. Suarez would be a great pickup for all four. Of the rumored suitors, he's previously spent some time in Seattle, having played for the Mariners in 2022 and '23 and made his major league debut with the Tigers in '14.

With so much interest in the 34-year-old, the Diamondbacks could receive quite the haul of prospects in exchange for Suarez, and it looks as if some teams may be more willing to meet their demands than others.

Section 140, Row 19, Seat 2.

At Rate Field in Chicago, that is the papal seat—the seat in which a priest by the name of Father Robert Prevost watched the Chicago White Sox win Game 1 of the World Series 5–3 over the Houston Astros on Oct. 22, 2005.

Prevost, who appeared briefly in a crowd shot during Fox's broadcast of that game, became Cardinal Robert Prevost in 2023. Two years later, on May 8, he was elected Pope Leo XIV—immediately making the White Sox unexpected preservationists of a historical moment that still seems unreal.

On Monday, Chicago unveiled artwork commemorating the first American Supreme Pontiff's visit. Fans at Rate Field can now see a rendering of the pope on a pillar outside Section 140—along with a No. 14 "Pope Leo" jersey.

In a development befitting the pope's South Side roots, the Archdiocese of Chicago announced Sunday it would host a celebration and Mass at Rate Field in his honor.

Now if only the team could get back on track…

Manchester United are plotting signings and now look to be on the verge of announcing their latest arrival at Old Trafford, according to Fabrizio Romano.

Man Utd prepare to take on Crystal Palace

The dust has settled on a disappointing defeat for Manchester United against Everton on Monday night, which will have left Ruben Amorim with plenty to stew over after being denied by a rigid block that refused to budge at Old Trafford.

Arguably, a change of shape or style would’ve heightened the chances of the Red Devils scoring. Still, some excellent saves from Jordan Pickford ended their five-match unbeaten run in the Premier League, and they will now need to reset against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

South London has proved to be one of the toughest destinations in the top-flight this campaign for clubs keen on points, albeit Manchester United will have no choice but to try and defy recent norms in their pursuit of continental qualification.

Come the January window, Amorim will hope to call upon the backing of INEOS in the hunt for new additions, and Wolverhampton Wanderers pair Joao Gomes and Andre are wanted at Old Trafford.

Casemiro could be on his way out at Manchester United, with Fabrizio Romano confirming that he may only be kept on under reduced salary conditions, as he said: “So now the desire is from Man Utd obviously to continue with Casemiro, but on different conditions.

“So the salary he has right now is a salary Manchester United don’t want to pay in the future. Not because of unhappiness with the player, but because they want to change the salary structure.”

With that in mind, the Red Devils could now be set to imminently sign a younger midfielder who shares similar traits with the Brazil international.

Man Utd set to sign Cristian Orozco

According to Romano on X, Manchester United are now close to signing Fortaleza midfielder Cristian Orozco for a fee in the region of £756,800 and he will arrive in England over the coming days to seal his move.

Despite never playing senior club football, scouts have compared him to the likes of Moises Caicedo and believe he could be the “next Casemiro” due to his “physically imposing” displays in the engine room.

Capped 13 times at Under-17 level by Colombia, he looks to be the latest in a long line of additions Manchester United have made over recent times with an eye for the future, similar to the likes of Chido Obi-Martin, Ayden Heaven and Diego Leon.

Man Utd plotting "bargain" deal to sign "imposing" Ligue 1 defender who scouts love

He could complete Amorim’s back three.

ByTom Cunningham Nov 27, 2025

With Casemiro soon to be into the final few months of his contract, the Red Devils may have now done the groundwork to land his long-term replacement.

A proud part of Arsenal’s DNA has long been their development and promotion of young academy talents.

This has been especially true over the last few years, with the emergence of players like Ethan Nwaneri, Myles Lewis-Skelly and, of course, Bukayo Saka.

The latest player who seems ready to make the leap from the youth sides to regular senior football is Max Dowman.

However, the talented 15-year-old certainly won’t be the last, and there is already one youngster making waves in the academy who could soon find himself in the first team.

Dowman's rapid rise to stardom at Arsenal

Even before this season, Arsenal fans have been at least somewhat aware of Dowman.

After all, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig boldly proclaimed him as the “most exciting prospect” he had seen “since Lamine Yamal.”

That might sound absurd, but over the course of last season, the youngster ended up scoring 19 times and providing five assists in just 23 appearances, totalling 1945 minutes, for the youth sides.

Appearances

23

Minutes

1945′

Goals

19

Assists

5

Goal Involvements per Match

1.04

Minutes per Goal Involvement

81.04′

That comes out to a sensational average of 1.04 goal involvements per match, or one every 81.04 minutes, made all the more astonishing by the fact he was playing for the u18s and even the u21s.

With performances like that in age groups well above his own, it wasn’t much of a surprise to see the Chelmsford-born dynamo included in the first team’s pre-season tour.

The 15-year-old made his debut against Newcastle United, and in the words of analyst Ben Mattinson, spent his short cameo “humiliating Premier League players.”

His competitive debut came at home to Leeds United in the Premier League, and then he became the youngest player to ever start a game for the club against Brighton & Hove Albion in the League Cup.

The superstar in the making then broke another record in the Champions League a week later, and was described as “a miracle player” by Slavia Prague defender David Zima.

In all, it certainly seems like Dowman is destined to reach the top of the game with Arsenal, although he might be joined by another academy gem this season.

Hale End's next superstar

It’s been a good season for Hale End this year, as on top of Dowman, Andre Harriman-Annous has also been given his full competitive debut by Mikel Arteta.

It could get even better, though, as there is another youngster in the system, who, like the record-breaker, could find himself becoming more involved with the senior side as the campaign goes on: Ife Ibrahim.

The 17-year-old has been with the club since May 2016, and while he started out as a striker, he has since moved back down the pitch, into defensive midfield.

However, he’s not limited to just one position, as the highly rated youngster has also played at right-back, in central midfield, and even as a centre-back.

It’s no surprise that he has been used in the defence before, as even though he’s still so young, the versatile prospect is huge and towers above some of the first team in pictures taken of the time he trained with them. It is no wonder that analyst Harvey Diamonds said that he has a “languid frame like [Patrick] Vieira and [Abou] Diaby.”

Don’t let his size and physicality fool you, though; the Hale Ender is no slouch on the ball.

In fact, academy expert Will Balsam described him as someone who makes everything look so “effortless.” Moreover, this and his height mean “he eats up space, recovers the ball, and glides past players with ease.”

He has also made an impression on U23 scout Antonio Mango, who has described him as “composed, technically talented in possession and calculated out of possession.”

Overall, while he plays in a totally different position to Dowman, Ibrahim sounds like the sort of Hale End product who could come in and have a serious impact on the first team soon enough.

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Everton very much need a victory away at Sunderland this coming Monday night after a pretty disastrous October to date.

The month did open with the Toffees battling it out at home to Crystal Palace and picking up a hard-fought 2-1 win, but since then, it’s been two Premier League defeats on the spin, with the most recent loss at home to Tottenham Hotspur – with Thomas Frank’s men running out emphatic 3-0 victors – exposing Everton’s clear weaknesses from set-pieces.

Moyes will have also left those two defeats frustrated by what Beto is offering his side up top, with a few missed chances here and there from the goal-shy number nine, leaving him rooted on just one goal for the season so far.

Even more frustratingly, Everton have been blessed with some top attacking talent this campaign – excluding the ex-Udinese striker from the conversation – despite things often falling apart at the final decisive moment.

Everton's best attackers this season

This late winner against the Eagles very much sums up the Merseyside giants this season, with Beto missing a glorious chance, before someone else – thankfully – mops up the next opportunity.

In that case against Oliver Glasner’s tricky visitors, it was Jack Grealish who managed to be in the right place, at the right time, to fire home, handing himself his first Premier League goal since 2023 in the process.

Away from breaking his goalscoring duck, though, the Manchester City loanee has been a “revelation” in Everton blue so far – as pundit Chris Sutton recently put it – with the disenchanted playmaker at the Etihad now a focal point of many a Toffees attack, as seen in him creating a Premier League-best 19 chances from open play.

Next to him in attack, who has also turned around his playing days after a failed big move, is Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, with the 27-year-old able to quickly move on from his Chelsea disappointment under Moyes’ wing.

The brand-new number 22 has also created four big chances, himself, with 4.6 duels won on average across his eight league outings, as per Sofascore, also displaying a tenacious number ten option.

Yet, it’s neither Grealish nor Dewsbury-Hall that could now be considered one of Everton’s biggest talents since the golden days of Romelu Lukaku, with suggestions even emerging that the star in question is one of the best in his position in such a daunting league.

Everton's biggest talent since Lukaku

Everton would love to have a striker of Lukaku’s clinical edge on their side at the moment, with the Belgian a firm fan favourite throughout his 166-game spell on Merseyside.

Indeed, the intimidating centre-forward would hammer home a weighty 87 goals in total for the Toffees, leading to one of his ex-managers in Ronald Koeman, heralding him as a “world-class” finisher.

In the here and now, Iliman Ndiaye is also being lauded week in week out for his standout showings in attack, with Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher – despite his Liverpool connections – going out of his way to label the ex-Sheffield United man as a “superstar” earlier in the year for his electric ability to bamboozle any defender in his path.

He certainly showed off why he’s been considered a maverick since leaving Marseille behind for Everton against Manchester City, with Ndiaye constantly bombing down the right wing at the Etihad to harass the home side’s defence, much like Lukaku would consistently terrorise defenders during his Toffees pomp.

Journalist Patrick Boyland, after the 2-0 loss, even hailed Ndiaye as being “one of the best in the league in his position” after he proved to be a major thorn in the side of Pep Guardiola’s hosts all afternoon.

Indeed, Boyland also noted that his “mesmeric” nature against City has further been matched with plenty of grit and fight this season for Moyes and Co.

Games played

9

Goals scored

3

Assists

1

Expected assists

2.16

Ball recoveries*

6.4

Ground duels won*

6.6

Total duels won*

7.0

His first Premier League season in Everton blue saw him tally up a whopping nine league goals in total, but he wasn’t always the most creative talent, away from cutting a lethal presence in front of goal.

Now, he looks to be a far more well-rounded talent, worthy of being in the conversations Boyland has started, with the Senegal international leading the way overall with his expected assists numbers this campaign, on top of also beating out the likes of Bukayo Saka down the right by winning a high seven duels on average, next to the Arsenal forward’s 6.4.

He does need to fine-tune certain aspects of his game, but Ndiaye is undoubtedly in these conversations now, as a talent capable of “standing out a mile” with his genius, as ex-Toffees player Mark Pembridge noted last season.

While true superstars have been few and far between in recent times, Ndiaye certainly stands aloft as arguably the club’s biggest talent since £75m man, Lukaku – a fact only further enhanced by his soaring £49m market value, as per CIES.

Like the Belgian, he has that knack for tearing through a defence and winning games on his own for Moyes and co, seemingly relishing that talismanic status.

Long may he continue to dazzle at the Hill Dickinson.

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