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Alexander Isak’s form in the 2024/25 campaign for Newcastle United has been sensational. Around a month ago, at the end of April, Jamie Carragher described the Swede as the “best striker in the Premier League right now”, and looking at the numbers, it is not hard to see why.

In 33 games in the English top flight, the striker has scored 23 goals and grabbed six assists. He has featured for 2,684 minutes in the Premier League, leaving him with an extraordinary average of one goal every 116 minutes.

With Isak’s superb form, it is no surprise Newcastle are looking to bolster his attack and bring him even more support in forward areas ahead of next term.

Newcastle’s latest attacking target

There might not be a more eye-catching signing to go along with Isak and winger Anthony Gordon in the Magpies’ attack than Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens. It has been an impressive campaign for the Englishman, and he could well leave the Bundesliga this summer.

Transfer Focus

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

According to a report from former Manchester United chief scout Mick Brown, in conversation with Football Insider, Newcastle ‘are working on a move to sign’ the young winger this summer. Brown confirmed that the North Eastern side have ‘had scouts watching him this season’ and could now swoop in to sign him.

Surprisingly, although Gittens is a player with high potential, this is a deal that could come cheap.

A report from talkSPORT last month claimed he is valued at just £35m by Dortmund. However, they also link Chelsea to a move for the winger, meaning Newcastle might face strong competition.

Why Gittens would be a good signing

It has been a strong campaign for Gittens, despite a tough time of it as a team for Dortmund. Described by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley as “England’s best winger in 24/25”, the 20-year-old has certainly made a difference at times in that famous Black and Yellow shirt.

In 48 games this season across all competitions, Gittens has managed to find the back of the net on 12 occasions and has also created five goals for his teammates. In total, 12 of those goal involvements have come in the Bundesliga.

However, if there was one game where Gittens really showed what he can do, it was away to Real Madrid in the Champions League group stage. The former Manchester City academy man impressed against the La Liga giants, executing an incisive counter-attack to give his side a 2-0 lead.

One thing that really stands out about Gittens is his ability with the ball at his feet. He is a fantastic ball carrier, deadly in one-vs-one scenarios and confident in taking a defender on and beating him in those situations.

In fact, the stats on FBref from the Bundesliga season show just how good he is when carrying the ball. For example, Gittens averages 5.73 progressive carries and 3.9 successful take-ons per 90 minutes, both of which rank him in the top 1% of wingers in the Bundesliga.

Take-ons attempted

8.67

99th

Take-ons completed

3.9

99th

Progressive carries

5.73

99th

Carries into final third

2.84

94th

Carries into penalty area

3.19

99th

Well, Newcastle will be hoping that Gittens can replicate Isak’s impact at St James’ Park. Just like the young England U21 star, Isak was formerly a Dortmund player, where he made 13 appearances but only scored once.

However, his impact in the North East has been colossal, proving that you can certainly make a fine transition from Germany to English football.

108 games and 62 goals later, he is, as Carragher said, one of the stars of the Premier League, and a far better player than he was at Dortmund all those years ago.

Newcastle would surely love for Gittens to replicate that sort of impact. He could well become the second coming of Isak, that is to say, a former Dortmund player who has a fantastic impact on the North Eastern club.

At just £35m, Gittens seems like a bargain, and this feels like a move Newcastle must do, to further elevate their attack.

A dream for Isak: Newcastle plotting move for £50m "wonderkid"

Howe has sent scouts to watch a Bundesliga wonderkid for Newcastle United.

ByRoss Kilvington May 17, 2025

One Rangers player is certain to be sold by prospective new owners the 49ers Enterprises this summer, according to a new update.

Rangers and Ferguson preparing for Europa League quarter-final

The Gers and interim boss Barry Ferguson are readying themselves for a last-eight clash in the Europa League with La Liga side Athletic Club, which begins next week.

After overcoming Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce, Rangers are looking to reach the final in Bilbao with a win over the hosts, something which could set up a semi-final with Manchester United.

Ferguson’s assistant, Neil McCann, has recently claimed that the interim boss is starting to prove people wrong with his impressive spell in temporary charge.

“I think that a lot of people maybe thought from his coaching CV that he maybe wouldn’t even be ready to even take this position. I think he’s proved that wrong. It’s not my place to tell anybody who is to get the job or not (beyond the end of the season). All we can do is work hard.

“He’s trying to bring the character he had as a player, the demands he had as a player. I think we’re showing that we’ve got a wee bit of guts about us.”

The 49ers, who have agreed a deal in principle to take over in Glasgow, will have a big call to make on who gets the permanent Rangers manager job.

Rangers and 49ers eye bid for 20 y/o who can play as right-back or striker

He’s also wanted in Germany and Italy.

ByCharlie Smith Apr 2, 2025

They’ll also be looking to make their mark in the transfer market and could bring a budget of more than £20m this summer. As well as incomings, there may also be plenty of outgoings, and it looks as if one player is likely to leave over the coming months.

Rangers certain to sell Jose Cifuentes this summer

Midfielder Jose Cifuentes joined Greek side Aris Thessaloniki on loan from Rangers for the 2024/25 season, and there have been claims that the club were in talks to lower the option to buy fee.

Now, as per The Daily Record, relayed by Ibrox News, Aris may pass up on their £4m option to sign Cifuentes, however, that doesn’t mean he’ll have a future in Scotland.

As per the report, Cifuentes is “certain” to be sold by Rangers as he is under contract with Rangers until 2027.

Games

26

Goals

1

Assists

3

Yellow cards

2

Minutes played

2,023

The 26-year-old, as can be seen, has made plenty of appearances on loan in Greece, and he was even hailed by South American expert Tim Vickery before he moved to Scotland.

Vickery said on Cifuentes when playing for Ecuador’s U20s: “He was the beating heart of that side and I think he’s a terrific midfielder. He’s strong, he’s got quality, he’s got a good engine – he’s one of the best all-round midfielders, potentially, that I’ve seen come out of South America in a while.”

Extreme pitches have minimised the chance of draws and levelled the playing field, but what about the contest between ball and bat, and between runs, wickets and time?

Karthik Krishnaswamy15-Nov-20256:00

A ‘miscalculation’ in pitch preparation?

If the Eden Gardens Test ends the way it seems likeliest to after two days of cricket, India and South Africa will have a 3-3 record over their last six Test meetings. These six Tests – five in South Africa, and one now in India – have produced breathtaking cricket at times, showing just how good these two teams are, and how closely matched.Most of these contests, however, have lacked any semblance of balance between bat and ball. India have passed 200 only five times in 10 innings when they’ve had the chance to get that far (they chased down a target of 79 in the other innings), and 250 only twice. South Africa have passed 200 only four times, and 250 just once, in 11 innings.Only one of the six Tests has gone into a fifth day, and if the Kolkata Test finishes on Sunday, as it looks set to, it will be the third in a row to end in three days or fewer. The Cape Town Test of January 2024 ended inside two days, and lasted just 642 legal balls; the shortest of all result matches in Test history.Related

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This, with some exceptions, has been the way of the World Test Championship (WTC), where the reward for Test wins (12 points) and the relatively negligible benefit of draws (4 points) over losses (no points) have led teams en masse to roll out bowler-friendly decks in home Tests.Kolkata, though, has been a head-scratcher. It has served up extreme conditions, but it’s unclear whether they’ve come about through the usual route of the home team demanding them.Through their last Test series against West Indies, India suggested more than once that they were looking to move away from their post-2021 trend of square turners, and prepare home-Test pitches aiming for balance between bat and ball. Both the pitches in that series roughly corresponded to this template, with Ahmedabad starting out with help for the seamers before flattening out, and Delhi playing slow and low throughout.And in the days leading up to this Kolkata Test, neither team, judging by their public pronouncements, expected anything other than a traditional Indian pitch where batters could hope to score big runs in the first innings, and where wear and tear would begin to show its effects only around day three or thereabouts. South Africa left out their third spinner and picked a third seamer. India picked two seamers and as many as four spinners, which suggested they were expecting a heavy bowling workload.Wiaan Mulder was undone by the extra bounce•Getty Images”I think the conversation, leading up to the game, was that it was going to be a good wicket and it’s going to be hard work for us,” India bowling coach Morne Morkel said in his press conference at the end of day two. “We planned and focused more on how we are going to attack and target the South African batting line-up, we sort of took the thought of the conditions out of the equation and said, okay, we’ll adapt on the day, play it session by session.”But we definitely thought it was going to be a good wicket and sort of deteriorate as the Test match goes on, and play it from there.”The deterioration, as it turned out, began virtually from the first over of the match, during which one ball from Jasprit Bumrah kept low and two reared up. Uneven bounce has only grown more frequent and more pronounced in the sessions since, with the ball routinely causing bits of the pitch’s top layer to disintegrate and explode on impact.With 27 wickets already having fallen, 39 remains the highest individual score, even though there have been nine scores of over 20, suggesting that this is the kind of pitch where a batter is never , and where an unplayable ball is just around the corner.Matches like this often make for riveting viewing. And just as they are in other kinds of Test match, every run and wicket is earned. Batters are always remembered for scoring runs in difficult conditions. And if tricky conditions make wickets likelier to occur, they also ramp up the pressure bowlers face to take them, with fewer runs to play with, with every opposition partnership bringing greater consequences.For all that, though, this Kolkata Test, like so many others of its kind, has lacked two defining elements of Test cricket.One is time pressure. Runs, wickets and time are the three sides of the triangle of tension that elevates some Test matches to epic status. Without the pressure of time, you lose the possibility that a game could go into its final session, or even its final day, with all four results still possible.The other is the full physical challenge that Test cricket poses, asking fast bowlers if they can maintain their speed and intensity into their third spell of the day; asking spinners if they can keep sending down ball after ball, over long spells, with both control and high revolutions; asking batters if they can stay sharp, physically and mentally, through two, three, even four sessions at the crease.2:57

Philander: Batters being challenged technically here

The ideal Test pitch, then, would create conditions for the runs-wickets-time triangle to exist. It would challenge, physically and mentally, batters and bowlers of all types without leaving them feeling that their exertions will be futile. It would reward bowlers for bowling good lines and lengths, and punish them from straying from them. It would have true bounce, which would ensure edges carry to close-in fielders, and allow batters to trust their defensive and attacking strokes if executed properly. If these conditions are met, the ideal pitch could be tilted either towards seam or spin.Pitch preparation, of course, is far from an exact science, and the best intentions of curators can often come to nothing, particularly if the weather comes in the way. But Test matches like Cape Town 2024 and Kolkata 2025 leave in their wake the question of whether the best intentions existed – or were allowed to exist – at all.That home teams influence pitch preparation all over the world is incontestable. India have experienced both sides of this in recent years. They tend to come up against pitches designed to negate their spinners when they travel outside Asia and the West Indies – New Zealand, for example, prepare noticeably greener pitches against India than they do against South Africa or England. And at home, India have prepared numerous pitches designed to weaponise their spinners at the cost of the opposition’s fast bowlers.In Nagpur in 2023, for example, they prepared a true designer pitch against an Australia side full of left-hand batters. It was selectively watered, rolled and mowed to have bare patches on a spinners’ good length, particularly in the areas outside the left-handers’ off stump at both ends. It turned out less spiteful than it appeared, but the intentions were clear.Ravindra Jadeja spun a web around South Africa•AFP/Getty ImagesThis Eden Gardens pitch was the opposite, looking more benign than it proved to be. Was it, then, what India wanted, and asked curator Sujan Mukherjee to prepare? Or was it a pitch prepared to hold together for much longer than it did, which ended up behaving in an unexpected manner? Or was it caught between two sets of intentions?The answer isn’t clear-cut, but on TV commentary, the former India keeper Dinesh Karthik suggested that the pitch had not been watered on the eve of the match. If this happened, India’s team management probably had a role to play.Now India aren’t alone in having a significant influence on their home pitches, so it would be wrong to point fingers only at them. But does a thing become okay if everyone does it? And is it, well, good for Test cricket?You could legitimately argue that it is. That extreme pitches minimise the chance of draws. That, rather than exaggerating home advantage, they have actually levelled the playing field, enabling West Indies to win Tests in Australia and Pakistan in the last two years, and New Zealand to pull off one of the greatest upsets of all time by beating India 3-0 in India. That this Kolkata pitch has left South Africa with a chance, still, of going 1-0 up.You could argue that all the costs – such as, for example, the Test averages of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara, which suffered irrevocably from a relentless diet of seaming, turning and/or uneven tracks from 2021 to the ends of their careers – are worth the upside of a Test-match landscape with fewer draws and a greater likelihood of unexpected results.But what of Test cricket as a contest between ball and bat, and between runs, wickets and time? What of Test cricket as a showcase for the full range of the sport’s bewitching skills?

From debuting for New Zealand at 27 to now becoming first-choice pick for the World Cup, the allrounder has made himself indispensable to the side

Matt Roller30-Sep-2023When New Zealand played England in the 2019 World Cup final, Daryl Mitchell was on the other side of the world. He had won his first three international caps in a T20I series earlier that year but was not in contention for ODI selection. He was 28 years old, eight months into fatherhood, and still had hair on top of his head.”I remember sitting on the sofa watching it – just like the other five million New Zealanders who were watching it at home,” Mitchell says, speaking for this story in mid-September. “I would get up in the early morning and watch the boys.” It was just after 6.30am in Hamilton when Jos Buttler whipped the bails off with Martin Guptill short of his ground.On Thursday, the 2023 World Cup launches with a rematch of that epic final. Mitchell, now 32, bald, and a father to two daughters, is among the first names on New Zealand’s team sheet. He has represented his country more than 100 times across formats, hitting nine hundreds, and will likely walk out in front of over 100,000 people in Ahmedabad next week.Related

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It has been a remarkable rise for a player who admits that, in his mid-20s, he doubted if he would ever fulfil his ambition to represent his country: “Everyone believes they’ll be good enough to get the chance, but there was a time when I thought, ‘If it’s not meant to be, it’s not meant to be.'” Mitchell is New Zealand’s answer to Mike Hussey: a late bloomer who waited nearly a decade for a chance in international cricket that he then seized.His father, John, played rugby union for Waikato and the All Blacks – though he never officially won a Test cap, having only appeared in six tour matches in England in 1993. He moved into coaching, and his jobs – including two years as New Zealand coach – took the family around the world. “It was part of my upbringing,” Daryl recalls. “Every four years, you’d move to a new spot with dad.”Spending his teenage years in Perth while his dad was coaching Western Force, Mitchell became an accomplished player of fast bowling. He developed his trademark high-backlift stance, and has characterised himself as an early developer who used his physical advantages to dominate at junior levels.He developed a close relationship with Neil “Noddy” Holder, the renowned batting mentor, and in grade cricket his Scarborough team-mates included Marcus Harris, Justin Langer and Marcus Stoinis. He completed a sports-science degree, giving himself a back-up plan in case cricket didn’t work out, then signed a contract with Northern Districts to play domestic cricket.In his debut T20I series, against India in 2019, Mitchell played primarily as a fast bowler, taking four wickets in three matches•Getty ImagesAs a young player, Mitchell was “an abrasive personality” who “rubbed quite a few guys up the wrong way”, recalls Peter Fulton, an opponent in domestic cricket who would later become Mitchell’s coach when he moved to Christchurch and joined Canterbury. “He’s always been a very good player of fast bowling – but the book on him was that you could tie him down with spin early on. He would always eat up 10-15 balls.”Mitchell performed well enough in domestic cricket to tour India and Sri Lanka in 2013 with New Zealand A, but those struggles against spin meant he had little success with the bat. Another A-team tour followed a year later, to England, but he was a peripheral figure.When he returned to the New Zealand A set-up four years later, Mitchell had a fresh outlook. “That’s the thing with being domestically contracted in New Zealand,” he says. “You’re on contract for seven months of the year, so a lot of guys have to get jobs in the winter.” In his own case, he worked with Waikato Rugby as a strength and conditioning coach: “It gives you good balance, and puts things into perspective.”After an impressive Super Smash season in 2018-19, he earned a maiden international call-up at the age of 27 for a T20I series against India. “I remember getting that first call and it was pretty exciting,” he says. “Doing it a little bit later than most guys, I didn’t put too much pressure on myself. I just enjoyed the experience of representing our country, singing the national anthem.”When Colin de Grandhomme went down injured the following summer, Mitchell was the obvious replacement as an allrounder and made 73 against England on Test debut. But his real breakthrough came in 2020-21, after he signed for Canterbury and relocated to Christchurch, his wife Amy’s hometown.”For the majority of his career, he was playing for Northern Districts, who had five to seven Black Caps in the team, and he didn’t get much opportunity,” says Fulton, who arrived at Canterbury at the same time as Mitchell. “He used to bat No. 5 or 6 but started batting at No. 3 in white-ball cricket and had a great season with bat and ball.”Against England last year, Mitchell hit a career-best 190, the third of his four Test centuries•Getty ImagesAfter maiden Test and ODI hundreds against Pakistan and Bangladesh in early 2021, Mitchell was a surprise choice to open the batting alongside Martin Guptill at the T20 World Cup in the UAE. “That was a real turning point for him,” says Trent Boult, “and he’s never looked back since.”He made 49 in New Zealand’s demolition of India in Dubai, but it was against England down the road in Abu Dhabi that he made his mark on the tournament. Anchoring a semi-final run score, Mitchell had scored 46 off 40 with New Zealand still needing 57 off the final four overs; it only took them three, as he took down Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes to finish on 72 off 47, tidying up after Jimmy Neesham’s cameo.Since then, Mitchell has made himself indispensable across formats: having spent most of his professional career as an allrounder, he has developed into one of the world’s most destructive batters. “I look back now and think that in many ways, it was a blessing that I didn’t have a crack too early,” he says.”That allowed me to learn my game at the domestic level back home for a period of time; to have some good years but also some bad years; and to work out not only how I wanted to play cricket but the type of person I want to be off the field. Having kids and a family probably put my life in balance a bit better as well. It’s been a lot of hard yards to get here, which makes you grateful for when you do get opportunities.”New Zealand’s relatively small pool of professional players lends itself to the consistency of selection across formats from which Mitchell has benefited. “In the last few years, it’s been easier to stay in the team than get out of it – and I say that in a good way,” says Fulton. “That’s been one of the successes of the team: players realise that they’re going to be given a pretty long rope, and not having to worry about selection brings the best out of most players.”Mitchell toured England in 2022, scoring hundreds in three consecutive Tests, and has been back this year, gearing up for his first – and at 32, possibly only – crack at a 50-over World Cup. After going unsold at the IPL auction, he signed up for a three-month stint at Lancashire and spent August playing for London Spirit in the Hundred.Over the last two years, Mitchell has evolved from allrounder to destructive middle-order batter in white-ball cricket•ICC via GettyThat has given him a rare chance to spend time with his young daughters, Addison and Lily, as well as his father, who lives in London. “It’s not often, as an international cricketer, that you get to spend four months with your family,” Mitchell says. “It’s been nice to be a dad, as well as play some cricket.”He arrives at the World Cup on the back of three hundreds in his last eight ODI innings, and could even bat at No. 3 until Kane Williamson returns from injury. “One of my strengths is my ability to adapt to different positions. It just comes down to getting into the contest and competing: whether that’s opening or No. 7, it doesn’t worry me as long as I’m getting stuck in, trying to win games for our country.”Mitchell’s team-mates consider him invaluable. “He’s incredibly hungry, driven to succeed, and desperate for runs,” Boult says. “When you combine those attributes, you get quite a good player. He’s experienced India and subcontinental conditions as well, which is always a big bonus because it’s so different to what we’re used to. He’s a great asset to this side.”After his T20 and Test exploits against them, not to mention an ODI hundred last month, England’s players and supporters will be particularly wary of Mitchell. Heading into Thursday’s curtain-raiser, he is determined not to be overawed: “I won’t make it bigger than what it is.”It’ll be an amazing experience – but at the same time, it’s just a game of cricket. We’ll be given roles to do and if we win a couple of little moments then, cool, we’ll win that game and move onto the next one. The strength of this group is that we don’t make anything too big and just try and get the job done.”

After four years with Surrey, Borthwick faces a fresh challenge in his second stint at his boyhood club

David Hopps03-Apr-2021How to level up the North has become one of England’s great political debates, but while politicians of rival colours joust over the best route forward, Durham’s cricket club appears to be just getting on with the job.Scott Borthwick is the latest cricketer to return, full of optimism, to the North-East following a four-year stint at Surrey. He takes up the captaincy of Durham’s County Championship side adamant that, at 30, his best years are still ahead of him. And, although he does not openly admit as much, he leaves some fairly unrewarding years behind him. A new challenge has come along at an ideal time.”I feel I’ve matured a lot,” he said. “I left as a boy and returned as a man – a corny expression, but that’s about right – a North-East boy going to the big bad world of London. You have to grow up, and you do grow up.”That boy didn’t always have it easy at The Oval. The underlying impression is of a player who was highly touted as an England prospect in his mid-20s and never quite justified it. International ambitions had been stoked by four successive 1,000-run seasons on the Riverside’s tricky pitches, preceded by a Test debut as a frontline legspinner in Sydney at the end of England’s disastrous Ashes series of 2013-14. That selection was hard to justify, but remind a bereft England selector that a leggie is in town and reason can go out of the window.The Oval had seemed a perfect fit, although it was Durham’s financial meltdown that forced him into a decision that otherwise might never have occurred. As he headed south, he called Surrey “the Manchester United of cricket” – although, as a Sunderland fan, that did not necessarily mean a transfer of affections and he freely admitted that Durham’s scores were the first he checked every day. He bought a flat, liked the coffee but came to realise that talking to people on the tube “meant you were looked at as if you were a bit of a weirdo.” He is not alone in that discovery.Borthwick rarely managed to perform at his best during four seasons at Surrey•Getty ImagesHe had a mediocre first season in 2017 before improving form in 2018 was disrupted by a broken wrist suffered in the nets and a side strain while batting the following season when – by his own admission – he attempted something out of character by charging a bowler and attempting to thrash him for six.He did not bowl enough to discover if The Oval’s firmer pitches really were made for his legspin. And the four-day batting that had been so diligent at the Riverside often appeared to be tentative and perhaps a little underpowered on flatter surfaces further south as he struggled to impose himself.He collected a Championship winners’ medal at Surrey to add to the one he collected in his breakthrough season at Durham in 2013 (the year Paul Collingwood shifted him from No. 8 to No. 3). But a first-class average for Surrey of 31.26 with four centuries tells its own story, as does the fact that he took only 25 of his 343 professional wickets for them.

“I’ve got the same squad number, the same spot in the dressing room and wear the same county cap. But there is different management and board members – [the club] looks the same on the surface but it’s completely different.”

By the time he approached Alec Stewart, Surrey’s director of cricket, in the middle of last season to say he was eager to return north, the decision to release him from his contract a year early made sense for both parties.”When I went down to Surrey that was [for] a cricketing reason – getting the chance to perform at the Oval as a batter who bowls legspin,” he said. “It was the right decision for cricketing reasons and four years later to move back is exactly the same. I still feel that at 30, I have got my best cricket ahead of me.”From a cricketing point of view, it probably didn’t go to plan in the first season. Maybe I was trying too hard, and I didn’t bowl as much I would have liked. I settled in quite nicely in the second season and was playing really well until I broke my wrist.”It was just one of those things. It definitely didn’t go as well as I wanted but nothing to do with lack of effort, I got on well with everyone and I really enjoyed the London lifestyle. It was an exciting and pretty cool place to live. But as soon as it was on the cards that Durham were interested it was a no-brainer for me. I said to Alec that a return to Durham really excited me. I had another year left on my contract but Surrey were fantastic about it.”Related

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He shared a dressing room with some influential captains, led by Kumar Sangakkara. “With Kumar it was about how calm and chilled he was. He never let things affect him. It was the same with Rory Burns. He wasn’t somebody who shouted and screamed. He got his message across calmly.”Then there was Gareth Batty. His style was very different: he was a shouter and screamer, a very passionate bloke. I think as a captain I’ll probably be leaning more towards the Sangakkara way. I’m full of energy and always try to play with a smile on my face so hopefully the lads will follow suit.”Loyalty to the North-East cause is central to his message. “The North-East is a special place,” he asserted. “People who leave generally come back. We’re those type of people. We’re passionate about the North-East and passionate about Durham as well. I came through the ranks from the Under-11s. There are a bunch of lads in the squad who have done the same. It’s a club that needs to be playing Division One cricket.””I came through the ranks from the Under-11s. There are a bunch of lads in the squad who have done the same”•Getty ImagesBorthwick back north this year; the Lindisfarne Chronicles next. By the time the priceless Anglo-Saxon manuscript returns for three months at the end of next summer, he hopes to have made an impact with his own form of cricketing evangelism.He joins two combative seam-bowling allrounders in Ben Raine and Paul Coughlin as recent homegrown Durham players to return to the fold as the county’s instincts to trust in their own once again come to the fore. Only Yorkshire have a bigger reputation for homegrown loyalties, but their recent acquisitions of Dom Bess and Dawid Malan suggest that Durham’s commitment might now surpass them.Durham, famously, were both financially rescued from impending bankruptcy in 2016 and royally punished for the privilege by the ECB which imposed relegation, points deductions and a salary cap. Borthwick was part of a sizeable exodus.They were not the only county club mired in debt – indeed, their debts were less than half those of Yorkshire – but they lacked a financial saviour, so the ECB reluctantly provided a short-term loan of £1.35m, turned them into a community interest company, renegotiated their debts with Durham County Council, and forced the departure of the chairman, Clive Leach, who had a thing about foreign ownership.Now Borthwick is returning to a club that is regenerating. “It looks the same on the surface but it’s completely different,” he said. “I’ve got the same squad number, the same spot in the dressing room and wear the same county cap. But there is different management and board members. It’s an exciting time to be involved.”I was lucky enough to play with some very talented cricketers coming through the ranks at Durham. I’m back here now eager to play the best cricket I’ve ever played. Now I have got the captain’s armband I might have to bowl some more. I still class myself as an allrounder. I have over 200 first-class wickets. It’s definitely still in there.”

Leeds United manager Daniel Farke has told one of his key players to “step up” ahead of the Premier League encounter against West Ham United at Elland Road this Friday.

Leeds gearing up for potential early six-pointer against West Ham

Although we are still in the very early stages of the season, Leeds’ home match against West Ham this Friday could have big ramifications at the end of the campaign, given that both sides are looking like they could be involved in a relegation battle.

The Hammers have already dismissed Graham Potter, who was replaced by Nuno at the end of September, but the former Nottingham Forest boss has been unable to make an immediate impact, with Jamie Carragher not impressed by recent performances.

Farke’s side, on the other hand, were always going to find it tough to avoid the drop as a newly-promoted team, but still remain three points clear of the relegation zone, having picked up wins against Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The manager made a number of new additions to his squad in the summer, in order to boost their survival chances, and Anton Stach has started all eight of the Whites’ Premier League fixtures up to this point.

However, the Leeds boss has now warned Stach he needs to improve, despite playing through injury, given that his performances have gone downhill in recent weeks.

Farke said: “They weren’t poor performances but not on the top level as before. It’ll be good for him to get rid of these problems with his finger and ribs.

“Hopefully then he’ll keep going with delivering top performances. This week having a bit of time to recover was good for him, hopefully he can step up.”

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ByCharlie Smith Oct 22, 2025 Stach must improve against West Ham on Friday night

The German has shown his class at times this season, most notably putting in a fantastic performance in the 3-1 victory against a struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers side last month, chipping in with a stunning free-kick goal and an assist.

However, as pointed out by the Leeds manager, recent performances have not been at the same level, with the 26-year-old struggling to make an impact against Burnley last time out, losing three of the five duels he contested before being replaced by Joel Piroe.

It has recently become clear that Farke is looking to sign a new midfielder in the January transfer window, with talks being opened over a deal for Maccabi Tel Aviv star Issouf Sissokho, while there have been widespread links to Inter Milan’s Piotr Zielinski.

As such, in order to keep his place in the side, Stach will need to rediscover his best form soon, hopefully starting Friday against West Ham at Elland Road.

Liverpool have been so vulnerable this season, with Arne Slot having struggled to come up with solutions to opposition set-ups and his own squad’s staggering capitulation, having dominated and cantered toward the Premier League title last season.

To say Virgil van Dijk’s backline has been leaky would be an understatement, and that is the crux of the Reds’ troubles, their form the stuff of relegation, two wins from ten in the top flight.

However, the defenders aren’t solely to blame, with Liverpool lacking creativity and sparkle in the final third.

The form of Alexander Isak has been a particular concern, with the Sweden international having endured a slow and stodgy start to the season, months into a British-record £125m transfer that secured for the club “the best striker in the centre-forward” in England last season “by a country mile”, as had been said by pundit Ally McCoist.

The latest on Alexander Isak's fitness

It’s not been plain sailing for Isak since forcing a record-breaking move to Merseyside on transfer deadline day. In fact, the 26-year-old has only scored twice across all competitions, and once in the Premier League.

Injuries and missing out on pre-season have stunted his seasonal development, and Slot issued an unwelcome update on Friday morning: Isak picked up a knock at the San Siro, and he may be sidelined for the Anfield clash against Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday afternoon.

This is just the latest in a growing line of setbacks. Liverpool signed Isak for six years, but the fact remains that more would have been expected from such a world-class talent at this stage.

Indeed, few would have expected Isak to have flattered to deceive as he has so far this season. Regardless of Liverpool’s crisis, this is a proven and world-class striker; he tore defences apart last season, including Liverpool’s, and on multiple occasions at that.

Isak only had four goals for Newcastle at this stage last season. Food for thought. And he’s not the only one who’s struggled since making his summer move to Merseyside, with a fellow recruit having left everything to be desired so far.

Liverpool signed a bigger problem than Isak

Like Isak, Jeremie Frimpong has been plagued by injury problems since joining Liverpool this summer, but unlike Isak, he has been sidelined for a longer spell, and there is less optimism that he will pick himself up and become a major player for the Anfield side.

Sporting director Richard Hughes activated Frimpong’s £29.5m release clause at Bayer Leverkusen at the start of the summer, bringing to Merseyside one of the fastest right-siders in the game, hailed as “a monster” in the attacking third by The United Stand’s Beth Tucker.

However, the Netherlands man, 25, has only started once in the Premier League this season due to injury, and this is a concern given he had navigated through his years in Germany without any detrimental fitness setbacks.

Isak has been a worry for Slot’s side, but he has also proven himself in the harsh English climate, one of the best in the world. Frimpong, however, is more of an unknown, and the £100k-per-week star’s first few months at Liverpool have hardly been propitious.

Moreover, Frimpong’s preference to play in a wing-back role could see him struggle to find his feet in his best position.

Jeremie Frimpong – Career Stats by Position

Position

Apps

Goals + Assists

Right wing-back

140

26 + 35

Right-back

133

7 + 20

Left-back

18

1 + 2

Right wing

5

3 + 0

Attacking midfield

4

0 + 0

Data via Transfermarkt

The issue: Liverpool do not use a system which employs wing-backs, and Frimpong perhaps lacks the economy of strength and the awareness to nail down a starting berth as Liverpool’s right-back in the Premier League.

For example, he only won 44% of his duels in the Bundesliga last year. Liverpool correspondent Dominic King noted this week that the Dutchman “has not had a great start” to life back in England, and with Conor Bradley and even Dominik Szoboszlai as his positional rivals, Frimpong might have a tough time establishing himself at the club, even when back to full fitness.

Could it be that he is simply not a stylistic fit? Liverpool have a host of problems they need to fix, and with Mohamed Salah’s future uncertain, the signing of a new right-sided forward would deepen Frimpong’s struggles, leaving him struggling to show FSG that they have got bang for their buck.

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Shai Hope and Tagenarine Chanderpaul scored fifties, but no other batter made a big contribution as West Indies fell 64 behind in the first-innings exchanges

Hemant Brar03-Dec-2025

Jacob Duffy’s maiden five-wicket haul in Test cricket gave New Zealand the upper hand on the second day of the first Test against West Indies in Christchurch. Matt Henry also chipped in with a three-for as West Indies folded for 167 in response to New Zealand’s first-innings total of 231. This despite New Zealand dropping four catches, three of those off Henry, and giving away 28 extras. For West Indies, Shai Hope and Tagenarine Chanderpaul scored half-centuries but only two others reached double-digits. At stumps, New Zealand were 32 for no loss in their second innings, extending their lead to 96.In the morning, West Indies needed only three balls to take the last New Zealand wicket, Zak Foulkes edging Jayden Seales down the leg side. But they themselves lost an early wicket as Foulkes struck with the first ball of the second over. Bowling around the wicket, he induced an outside edge from John Campbell, and Will Young took the catch diving to his left at third slip.However, a few overs later, Young dropped a much easier chance when Henry got Alick Athanaze to edge one. Henry wasn’t to be denied for long, though. In his next over, he got the ball to jag back in from around the wicket to make a mess of Athanaze’s stumps. All this while, the scoreboard moved at a snail’s pace. After 12 overs, West Indies were 10 for 2.Shai Hope batted in sunglasses because of an eye infection, and scored a half-century•AFP/Getty Images

Hope and Chanderpaul, though, hung around without worrying about the scoring rate. The first boundary of West Indies’ innings came in the 23rd over when Hope, batting in sunglasses because of an eye infection, drove Duffy through the covers. In the next over, he drove Nathan Smith through mid-on for another boundary.Chanderpaul, meanwhile, enjoyed his luck. He was dropped twice, on 5 and 24, both times by Devon Conway at leg slip, first off the bowling of Smith and then Henry.Hope brought up his fifty after lunch. With Chanderpaul also looking comfortable, New Zealand were forced to change their plan. Duffy went short against Hope and had him hopping around. Once a short leg was deployed, Hope’s problems increased. Eventually, he ended up gloving a short ball from around the wicket to Tom Latham, who was keeping in place of Tom Blundell. Blundell had hurt his hamstring while batting on the first day and didn’t take the field in the morning.New Zealand dropped four catches – here, Devon Conway reacts after giving Tagenarine Chanderpaul a reprieve•Getty Images

Once Duffy broke the 90-run stand, Henry returned to pick up two in one over. Bowling awayswingers just around off stump, he had Roston Chase and Justin Greaves caught behind for ducks, leaving West Indies on 106 for 5.It didn’t affect Chanderpaul, though. He carried on in his unhurried manner and brought up his half-century. He and Tevin Imlach added 34 for the sixth wicket, a stand that was broken when Conway finally held on to a catch. Chanderpaul pulled Foulkes aerially towards square leg, where Conway flung himself to his left, went with both hands, and landed with the ball in his left.Henry forced Kemar Roach’s outside edge soon after. The ball was going straight to first slip but Michael Bracewell dived across from second and spilled it.Soon, it became dark enough that only spinners were allowed to bowl. But after a short rain break, the sky brightened up again. When play resumed, Duffy did not take long to mop up the remaining four wickets. With the first ball after resumption, he had Imlach caught down the leg side. The batter reviewed the on-field decision only for replays to show he had gloved the bouncer. Johann Layne was caught and bowled in the same over. Duffy then went full and bowled Seales and Ojay Shields to complete his five-for.

Liverpool’s season went from bad to worse at the weekend, with Sean Dyche’s Nottingham Forest condemning Arne Slot to a 3-0 Anfield defeat and a fifth loss in six Premier League matches.

Though FSG retain the faith in the Dutch coach, who so confidently won the league title last season, it’s clear that results and performances need to improve quickly, else the Reds will find themselves shackled to mid-table and a campaign of misery.

It’s also clear that sporting director Richard Hughes will consider making another signing this January, having overseen a summer transfer window in which Liverpool paid over £400m on new players, and Bournemouth forward Antoine Semenyo has been earmarked as the perfect fit.

However, Liverpool don’t have a bottomless pool of resources, and it may be the other end of the field which requires attention.

Liverpool ready to sign centre-back this winter

It almost feels absurd to think Liverpool need to spend in January after their record-breaking summer, but there’s no question that Liverpool would become threadbare if, say, Virgil van Dijk succumbed to a months-long injury setback.

Ibrahima Konate’s form has gone beyond the pale, and Liverpool’s full-back system is plumbing to imbalanced depths that were surely unfathomable after an ostensibly satisfactory spending spree.

That’s why Liverpool are considering a winter bid for Marc Guehi, having seen a deal for the Crystal Palace centre-half fall through on transfer deadline day at the start of September.

According to reports from Belgian journalist Sacha Tavolieri, Liverpool remain in pole position to sign Guehi and will be emboldened to learn that the Eagles are setting their sights on Sporting Lisbon’s Ousmane Diomande as his replacement.

Reports from Spain in the last 24 hours corroborate those claims, suggesting that things are ‘practically a done deal’ and that ‘after several months of negotiations, the agreement appears to be almost finalised’.

Guehi is out of contract at the end of the season but Palace are expected to accept offers of £35m in January should one arrive.

While FSG would be wary of paying out for a player who can be snapped up for free only months down the line, Guehi is a rare talent, and Liverpool desperately need a defender.

Why Liverpool should sign Guehi now

Liverpool have already strengthened at centre-back this year through the £27m signing of Giovanni Leoni. The former Parma defender is only 18, but he’s among the most exciting talents in the world. He is also sidelined for nearly a year after rupturing his ACL on his Reds debut.

The uncertainty around Konate’s contract, and the Frenchman’s abject performances this year, emphasise the need for more depth, and Guehi has already been profiled extensively; he’s the man for the job.

The 25-year-old has played an instrumental part in Palace’s rise under Oliver Glasner’s wing, winning the FA Cup and then the Community Shield. The Londoners are currently fifth in the Premier League, with two losses from 12 games.

Liverpool, conversely, can’t stop losing, and they are leaking goals and lacking any semblance of security at the back. Guehi would fix that. Not only is he a “monster in defence”, as has been noted by Palace reporter Bobby Manzi, but he is also among the most dynamic and intelligent modern centre-halves out there.

His range of passing is exactly what Liverpool need. Van Dijk is getting old, and Konate is hardly a convincing proponent of play-out-from-the-back football.

This is outlined by FBref’s data. According to the digital platform, the Three Lions star ranks among the top 9% of centre-backs in the Premier League this season for progressive passes and the top 3% for shot-creating actions per 90.

This underscores Guehi’s confidence on the ball, and that’s exactly what Liverpool need, with analyst Raj Chohan saying that, partnered with Conor Bradley on the right side of the defence, the “build-up combination is horrible”.

Guehi, meanwhile, is two-footed and a driver of Glasner’s progressive vision in possession. He is also proving himself to be a more stable and convincing defender.

Matches (starts)

11 (11)

12 (12)

Goals

1

0

Assists

1

0

Touches*

65.9

73.3

Accurate passes*

45.1 (87%)

54.7 (90%)

Chances created*

0.6

0.4

Ball recoveries*

3.5

2.5

Dribbles*

0.1

0.2

Tackles + interceptions*

3.3

2.0

Clearances*

5.1

5.7

Duels (won)*

5.9 (66%)

6.0 (65%)

Errors made

1

3

Though Konate remains a convincing aerial battler, his overall game has left so much to be desired, with errors rife and sure to be disabling any kind of confidence from his teammates.

He has actually been criticised by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher for being at the epicentre of all of Liverpool’s woes. Not quite, but there’s no denying he’s the weakest link in a fragile backline, and Slot cannot afford to persist with him for the duration of the campaign, not if he wishes to salvage things.

While Semenyo would be a neat addition, it’s true that Liverpool could crumble, truly, if they suffer a damaging defensive setback. Moreover, Rio Ngumoha has shown his class already this term and will be convinced that he has more to offer over the coming months.

Whether Liverpool opt to go this way or that this summer remains to be seen, but there’s no question that the Anfield side need to pull off a change or two, else they will flake away and be condemned to a truly disastrous campaign.

Guehi would ease the concerns and then some. The plan was to bring him over this summer, and the plan remains to seal his signature come the end of the season. Why not now?

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Shohei Ohtani's massive, $700 million (largely deferred) contract was valued as high as it was in part because there was an expectation he would impact the game on both sides of the ball both as a slugger and a pitcher.

Ohtani missed out on pitching his first season with the Dodgers as he recovered from an operation to repair his UCL after the 2023 season. Los Angeles found a way to build around that, though, including with some trade deadline moves to add pitching help, ultimately winning a World Series trophy in 2024.

Now, Ohtani is hoping to get back on the bump, spending this spring training getting prepared to pitch in a Dodgers uniform for the first time in 2025. Manager Dave Roberts gave an update on how he's progressing on Saturday.

Roberts told reporters that Ohtani was throwing 92 to 94 miles per hour (fastball) with a brief 14-pitch bullpen session. He also added it's possible Ohtani will be facing batters in simulated settings before the Dodgers head to Toyko for the 2025 MLB World Tour in mid-March.

Ohtani's average fastball velocity was 96.8 mph in 2023.

It's overall great news for Ohtani and the Dodgers, who will be even more of a threat once he's back as a pitcher.