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Leeds United have a full midweek to train and prepare for their next Premier League clash with Brighton & Hove Albion at the AMEX next weekend.

One of the aspects of the team’s play that Daniel Farke may place a big emphasis on is their ruthlessness in front of goal when it comes to taking the big chances that they are creating this season.

Crystal Palace

22

Manchester City

19

Liverpool

19

Manchester United

17

Leeds United

15

Brentford

15

Arsenal

15

Newcastle United

14

Everton

13

Chelsea

11

As you can see in the table above, only four teams have missed more ‘big chances’ than the West Yorkshire outfit in the Premier League this term, which shows that they have been wasteful in the final third.

The Whites have only scored nine goals in nine matches in the top-flight in the 2025/25 campaign, but the number of ‘big chances’ that they have missed suggests that they should be well into double figures by now.

Part of that is down to the quality, or lack thereof, within the squad in the attacking areas of the pitch. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was brought in to be their main number nine, and they need much more from him.

Why Leeds need more from Dominic Calvert-Lewin

The £100k-per-week centre-forward was signed on a free transfer in the summer transfer window after he was released by Everton at the end of last season.

Calvert-Lewin’s only goal for the club in all competitions so far, though, came in the 3-1 win over bottom-of-the-league Wolverhampton Wanderers last month, as he brilliantly guided a header into the back of the net from Jayden Bogle’s cross.

The 11-cap England international was a risky signing for the Whites, despite being a vastly experienced player at Premier League level, because of his form in front of goal for Everton in recent seasons.

Since a 16-goal haul in the 2020/21 campaign, when supporters were not allowed in stadiums for the most part, the English striker has failed to hit double figures for goals in a top-flight season.

24/25

8.85

3

23/24

13.63

7

22/23

6.50

2

21/22

6.22

5

20/21

18.21

16

19/20

16.11

13

18/19

6.17

6

17/18

5.44

4

16/17

1.25

1

The statistics in the table above show that Leeds signed a player who arrived at Elland Road in fairly dismal form in front of goal as a finisher.

As you can see in the graphic below, that form has carried over to his time in West Yorkshire, as he has missed five ‘big chances’ and only scored one goal in the Premier League so far this season.

These statistics show that the Whites need more from the experienced forward, because he is one of the main reasons why they are among the worst teams in the division for missing ‘big chances’.

Leeds considering move for Championship striker

Amid Calvert-Lewin’s struggles as a finisher in the Premier League this season, Leeds are reportedly showing an interest in a striker from the Championship.

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 LeedsUnitedNews, the club are considering a swoop to sign Coventry City centre-forward Haji Wright to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch.

The report claims that Leeds are keen on a deal to sign the USA international when the January transfer window opens for business, after they also considered a move for him in the summer.

However, the outlet adds that it may be difficult for the club to convince the Sky Blues to part ways with the striker, as they are currently top of the Championship and gunning for promotion to the Premier League.

In January, pundit Carlton Palmer claimed that it could take a fee of around £20m to tempt Coventry to sell him, but it remains to be seen whether or not that would be the case next January.

Why Leeds should sign Haji Wright

Farke should push for Leeds to press ahead with a deal for the USMNT centre-forward when the January transfer window opens for business at the start of next year, because he could be an upgrade on Calvert-Lewin.

As aforementioned, the current Whites number nine has not done enough in front of goal in the Premier League to be deemed a reliable marksman for the German head coach, which may be why Wright has emerged as a possible target.

The Coventry star is unproven in the Premier League, having never played in the division, but his form in the Championship suggests that he has the potential to make the step up and excel at Elland Road.

Wright has racked up eight goals in ten starts in the second tier so far this season for Frank Lampard’s side, per Sofascore, after a return of 12 goals in 21 starts in the division in the 2024/25 campaign.

Appearances

7

11

xG

1.77

7.49

Goals

1

8

Big chances missed

5

6

Conversion rate

7%

29%

Minutes per goal

534

101

Duel success rate

38%

44%

As you can see in the table above, the American centre-forward has scored eight times as many goals as Calvert-Lewin at league level, with a far superior conversion rate.

At his current performance level, Calvert-Lewin would miss 40 ‘big chances’ to hit the eight-goal mark that Wright has reached this season, with just six ‘big chances’ missed for Coventry, albeit at a lower level.

The Sky Blues striker, who was described as a “big, big winner” by former USA international Alexi Lalas, has shown that he can finish chances at an impressive rate, outperforming his xG in the Championship in the 2024/25 and 2025/26 campaigns.

Meanwhile, Calvert-Lewin is currently underperforming against his xG for the tenth Premier League season running, which suggests that Leeds cannot expect his fortunes to change in front of goal.

Not just Aaronson: Farke's "monstrous" talent has saved his Leeds career

Brenden Aaronson isn’t alone in turning around his Leeds United career.

ByKelan Sarson Oct 29, 2025

This is why Farke should be pushing for the club to strike a deal to sign Wright in the January transfer window, as his impressive finishing skills could make him an upgrade on the Englishman at Elland Road.

MatériaMais Notícias

A Seleção Brasileira iniciou na última quinta-feira (30) a preparação para a disputa da Copa América. Com a presença de 17 dos 26 convocados, Dorival Júnior comandou a primeira atividade da equipe, que terá um longo período em Orlando para ajustar todos os detalhes antes do início da competição.

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O Lance! Betting tem apostas a longo prazo para a Seleção Brasileira em 2024! Vem conferir!

Ao todo, o elenco da Amarelinha vai permanecer mais de 40 dias treinando nos Estados Unidos. Esse será o maior período de convivência do grupo até a Copa do Mundo de 2026. A ideia da comissão técnica é criar entrosamento entre os jogadores selecionados e observar os atletas com menor experiência na Seleção, como Evanílson, Éderson e Savinho.

Diferente de sua primeira Data Fifa, em que teve apenas sete treinos antes dos duelos contra Inglaterra e Espanha, Dorival terá tempo para conviver com o grupo e construir laços com o grupo, que sofreu fortes críticas após a última Copa do Mundo.

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➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

Toda a preparação do Brasil para a Copa América será realizada nos Estados Unidos. A base de treinamentos da equipe comandada por Dorival será a cidade de Orlando, na Flórida. No dia 5 de junho, a delegação viaja até o Texas, onde encara o México. Depois do amistoso, o time retorna a Orlando, onde realiza seu último teste, contra os Estados Unidos, antes do torneio continental.

Na fase de grupos da Copa América, a Seleção Brasileira encara a Costa Rica, a Colômbia e o Paraguai. A estreia acontece no dia 24 de junho, contra a Costa Rica, em Los Angeles.

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Tudo sobre

Copa AméricaDorival JúniorSeleção Brasileira

Given the chance to bat at No. 5, David showed what could be possible for him in Australia’s T20 side

Alex Malcolm26-Jul-20252:37

Tim David smashes Australia’s fastest T20I century

A few weeks ago, prior to heading to the Caribbean, Tim David revealed he had been having discussions with his personal mentors about the next phase of career.At 29, after 280 T20 matches, there was a danger he could be typecast like a cameo actor, destined to forever fulfill in the same role as a T20 finisher.The fruits of those discussions bloomed in Basseterre on Friday night. Having been given the chance to bat in the powerplay for just the third time in his Australian T20I career, with the other two being tactical in-game promotions in rain-shortened sprints, he scored his first T20 century blasting the fastest T20I hundred by an Australian and rescuing the team from a perilous position to mow down 215 with six wickets and 23 balls to spare.Related

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David smashes fastest T20I century for Australia to make it 3-0

“I’ve spent a lot of time practising my power-hitting, and to be honest, now I’m trying to focus on shot selection,” David said in the post-match presentation after his breathtaking knock. “Because that power game is always there, and it’s what I built my game around, it’s important to make the right decisions at the right time and obviously, if you bat for a length of balls without getting out, then you get a chance to make big scores.”David not only debunked some misconceptions about his batting capabilities, he destroyed them. His shot selection was superb from ball one in this innings. Even though he scored a boundary off his first ball, with a controlled pull behind square, he picked off five singles off his next six balls with Australia under enormous pressure at 65 for 3.Mitchell Marsh had chewed up 12 dots balls in his 19-ball 22 while Cameron Green had faced six in his 14-ball 11 with both innings marred by a series of wild hacks and ill-advised stroke choices trying to keep up with the double-digit required rate.ESPNcricinfo LtdDavid did nothing of the sort. With Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie in control of the initial post-powerplay period, David respected the tight lines and lengths, controlling his hands to play high percentage strokes to the sweepers. He waited for the right length and whenever they missed it disappeared with a controlled swing of the bat. He did not face a dot ball until he was 19 off 8 but his only risk was a lofted drive over cover for six.”A lot of the practice I’ve been doing recently over the past six months has helped a lot,” David said in the post-match press conference. “It’s about shot selection and not actually trying to hit it too hard. And it felt tonight like I wasn’t trying to hit it too hard, and it probably ended up with some good percentage of being able to hit the ball over the ropes.”That lone dot clicked him up a gear. He smashed his next four balls for six in same over off Motie. His only miscue was a safely toed edge trying to play a high percentage cut to a wide short ball from Hosein to set a new Australian record for the fastest T20I half-century. Either side of that he hit Hosein out of the ground.West Indies skipper Shai Hope oddly chose to follow those two overs with an over of offspin from Roston Chase. Such was the confidence of David, he turned down a single to long-on despite Australia still needing 75 from 54 to win with Mitchell Owen at the other end.He left a wide yorker next ball, his fourth dot of the innings and his third in four balls faced. Another player might have overswung at the next to make up for the momentum-killing inertia. David’s next two swings were smooth and powerful, and the fourth umpire had to run the replacement box of balls out twice.Tim David celebrates the fastest T20I century by an Australian off 37 balls•Getty ImagesThe only time David struggled was when he neared his century. His only other true miscue came on 90 when he failed to clear deep midwicket, but Brandon King did him a favour by spilling a simple chance on the rope.He admitted the thought of a rare T20 century had got to him.”I don’t play for records, but certainly I didn’t think I’d get the opportunity to score hundred and it is your childhood dream to score hundred for Australia,” David said. “That was definitely in the back of my mind, and the position I’ve been playing, I probably played a lot of T20 matches now and obviously I’ve never scored a hundred, so it was a little bit of foreign territory for me for a little bit.”But I’m just really thankful I had Mitch Owen out there who’s scored a couple recently, and my younger team-mate, but he’s certainly had the experience and helped me through.”It was his first century in any professional cricket since he made two List A centuries in three innings for Surrey in August 2021. Having considered batting David higher in the T20I order for some time prior to this series, it is the type of innings that might make Australia’s selectors revisit David’s potential as an ODI finisher in the wake of Glenn Maxwell’s retirement.Regardless, he proved he is more than a one-trick pony in T20 cricket and Australia’s rebuild towards the T20 World Cup is looking ominous as a result.

Sitting to the side of the Bernabeu during Arsenal’s triumphant night inside the Bernabeu last season, Rio Ferdinand was left in awe of an 18-year-old strutting his stuff.

“I’m sorry, is Lewis-Skelly really 18? His date of birth is right, isn’t it?”

It’s a fair question to ask. Myles Lewis-Skelly made enormous strides during the 2024/25 campaign. At the start of he was playing U21 football. By the end of it he was nominated for PFA Young Player of the Year, was a full England international and had helped guide Mikel Arteta’s team to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Not bad at all, is it? While Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman continue to be spoken about as generational talents, the most complete Hale Ender we’ve seen in years is Lewis-Skelly.

However, is everything now starting to unravel? It’s been a difficult campaign for the teenager to date.

Why Lewis-Skelly has struggled for game time at Arsenal

Arsenal’s injury problems last term were well-documented. To the benefit of Lewis-Skelly, Oleksandr Zinchenko could barely get a game and Riccardo Calafiori spent more time on the treatment table than on the field of play.

Such a sequence of events meant that even Kieran Tierney enjoyed something of a career revival at the Emirates Stadium.

For Lewis-Skelly, however, he was the biggest winner of Arsenal’s lack of depth throughout 2024/25. He enjoyed a phenomenal season as a result, featuring on 39 occasions for the senior team, assisting two goals and scoring that strike against Manchester City.

The celebration summed up everything the Hale Ender is about. He’s a jovial, unique and confident character. He’s certainly cemented himself as one of the finest young players on the planet.

2025/26 has been more challenging. Now 19, he is yet to start in the Premier League and has enjoyed just 86 minutes of top-flight action.

While the Champions League has seen the teenager start twice, he missed out on a spot in the starting XI last week when summer arrival Piero Hincapie was selected ahead of him in Prague.

There are several reasons for his lack of action, not least Calafiori’s improved fitness but also from a tactical point of view. There is a feeling that the Italian’s defensive discipline is stronger, while Hincapie’s overlapping ability, more aligned with the inverted Leandro Trossard’s skillset, is perhaps a stronger dynamic.

While Arteta is right to manage the youngster’s minutes, it did set off alarm bells, not just among supporters but also England boss Thomas Tuchel.

Lewis-Skelly has been a regular feature in Tuchel’s squads since he was given the Three Lions gig and the full-back even scored on his international debut towards the beginning of the year.

But, the German made it abundantly clear that he needed more minutes during October’s break. “Being a good citizen isn’t enough,” he warned the teen.

Lo and behold, he was left out of the fixtures for the November break. Tuchel stated that “Myles simply needs more starts, more minutes.”

Such news sparked fear regarding the academy graduate’s future at Arsenal. Sky Sports reported this week that he was being monitored by Premier League clubs, although the Gunners are not keen on selling anyone in the January transfer window.

Lewis-Skelly is still young but there may well be another figure in the defensive ranks growing more concerned about what the future holds.

£50m signing should be worried about his Arsenal future

Cast your mind back to the beginning of Arteta’s tenure in north London. The defensive ranks were not pretty at all.

Who can forget that day in August 2021 when Manchester City beat the Gunners 5-0? Their back five that day included Cedric, Rob Holding, Calum Chambers, Sead Kolasinac and Kieran Tierney.

How far they have come since. Arsenal now boast the best defence in the league having shipped just five goals. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes are easily the best centre-back partnership in the division, while they arguably have the two best full-backs in the form of Jurrien Timber and Calafiori.

All of that means that a certain Ben White has endured quite the downfall at Arsenal, not necessarily due to his own faults but the north Londoners have simply improved significantly.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

A big issue for White has been his fitness. Last season he missed a large portion due to injury which meant he only started 13 league fixtures.

This term, while he has improved his fitness and fought hard to put himself back in the reckoning, Arteta has preferred Timber. Understandably so, too.

The Dutchman has cemented his spot and in the words of the Standard’s Simon Collings, he is “the best right-back in the Premier League right now.” There is no escaping that for White, and his lack of game time proves it.

The full-back started the win over Manchester United on the opening weekend of the season but since then he has not played a single minute of Premier League football.

He has been an unused sub on eight occasions and is struggling to earn minutes in any other competition as well. The 28-year-old has just 82 minutes of Champions League football under his belt and while he has started the League Cup wins over Port Vale and Brighton, has only managed the best part of 70 minutes in both of those games.

2021/22

37

0

2022/23

46

7

2023/24

51

9

2024/25

26

2

2025/26

6

0

When White signed in a £50m deal from Brighton back in 2021, journalist Tom Barclay wrote that the Gunners had acquired “one of the best prospects in English football.”

That much was certainly true. Despite his price tag, he proved to be an inspired pick-up, perhaps one of Arteta’s best since becoming Arsenal manager.

Signed as a centre-half, he quickly became the number one choice at right-back and was an England regular for a period of time under Gareth Southgate until that alleged fallout.

He only missed one league game during his debut year at the Emirates, played 46 matches the following season and then reached over half a century of appearances in 2023/24. Indeed, in the words of one content creator, he was Arsenal’s “most reliable player.”

Not just a rock-solid defender, he had attacking quality in abundance, registering 16 goal involvements between 2022/23 and 2023/24. His link-up and combination play with star man, Bukayo Saka, was a huge weapon for Arsenal.

Now, however, he’s made to settle for a place on the bench and unlike Lewis-Skelly, he doesn’t really have time on his side.

Linked with Manchester City in recent weeks, Arsenal may not want to get rid, but it would not be a surprise if White forced Arteta’s hand next summer if he continues to be omitted from the starting lineup.

Mikel Arteta has admitted that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is helping to power Arsenal’s Premier League title bid. The Gunners are looking to land a first top-flight crown since the fabled ‘Invincibles’ of 2003-04, with their Spanish head coach prepared to use all of the tools available to him. He has, however, urged caution when leaning on technology for assistance.

Unique methods: Arteta seeking marginal gains

Arteta has become renowned for his somewhat unique take on coaching, with an Amazon Prime documentary series lifting the lid on his occasionally bizarre methods of motivation – which once included playing crowd noise in training sessions. He is always seeking marginal gains.

In the modern era, that means taking advantage of the many sources of advice that are available. AI services are on hand to answer questions and simplify masses of data, with Arteta conceding that he is among those to have explored potential benefits there.

AdvertisementGettyFormer Arsenal Women's boss uses ChatGPT

Former Arsenal women’s team coach Laura Harvey, who now works with the Seattle Reign in NWSL, recently told the of ChatGPT influencing her tactical decisions: “One day in the offseason, I was writing things into ChatGPT like, ‘What is Seattle Reign’s identity?’ And it would spurt it out. And I was like, ‘I don’t know if that’s true or not’. “And then like, ‘what do you need to do to be successful in the NWSL?’ Like really broad questions.

“And then I put in, ‘What formation should you play to beat NWSL teams?’ And it spurted out every team in the league and what formation you should play. And for two teams — I’m not going to say who they are because they’ll know — it went, ‘You should play a back five.’ So I did. No joke, that’s why I did it.

“It was early in the season and I said to the coaching staff, I’m not joking this is what I did. And they were like, ‘huh, interesting’. We researched it, we did a deep dive on it, we thought about how we could play it. And we went for it, and we liked it. It worked. We won the game. It didn’t tell you how to play it or what to do in it or any of that stuff. It was just like ‘this is what we would say to do’. And I was like, ‘alright’. And that was what spurred me to look into it. So then I really looked into it.”

How Arteta is using AI at Arsenal

Quizzed on whether he is treading a similar path, Arteta said of using AI to evaluate performances and identify areas of improvement: “It’s a tool that is super powerful if you use it in the right way and you ask the right questions. It’s in use already for many things and many processes that can help not just a team but an organisation as well. It will improve and it will give us good insight, or things at least to think about. I’m not an expert but it’s a valuable tool.

“We have developed certain things that in our opinion can help us to understand ourselves better and evaluate what we do and what we can improve. And then we will explore using it in many other areas of the club.”

He added on tech tools being unable to replicate the skills required to deal with players on a personal level: “If it’s reliable, it can help us [for injuries], for sure but always without losing the sensitivity and feeling and following your gut. We are dealing with human beings and that’s an aspect that, so far, it is not able to replace.

“With the stats, it is about how do I interpret those stats and how reliable they are? You can get very confused, very annoyed, immediately. But this data means nothing, because you have to analyse. What is the methodology of that? And if you don’t understand that, and you just look at the data, then you can have a big problem.”

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gettyNorth London derby & Kane: Arsenal fixtures

Arsenal have opened up a four-point lead at the top of the Premier League table, but dropped two in the latest outing after being held to a dramatic 2-2 draw at Sunderland.

With another international break being reached, the Gunners will be back in action on November 23 when playing host to arch-rivals Tottenham in the north London derby – before then tackling Harry Kane and Bayern Munich in the Champions League.

After enduring perhaps the most disappointing 2025 season of any team in the league, the Orioles wasted little time this offseason trying to ensure the ’26 campaign is a different story.

A month ago, the team traded the super-talented but oft-injured Grayson Rodriguez for Taylor Ward, then signed two-time All-Star closer Ryan Helsley to a two-year deal over Thanksgiving weekend. Wednesday, though, saw the biggest move yet, as Baltimore has reportedly agreed to a five-year, $155 million deal with former Mets star Pete Alonso.

The move has huge ramifications, of course, for both the Orioles and Alonso’s now former team. For Baltimore, Alonso represents another massive addition to an offense that ranked 24th in runs scored a year ago. He and Ward hit a combined 74 home runs in 2025, and Alonso’s 195 blasts since ’21 rank fourth behind only Aaron Judge, Shohei Ohtani and Kyle Schwarber.

How Alonso’s presence impacts the roles of some of the Orioles’ younger bats remains to be seen. Before his signing, Baltimore projected to use Adley Rutschman, Samuel Basallo and Coby Mayo at catcher, first base and DH. Alonso makes that setup more crowded, and it stands to reason that one of those youngsters (most likely Mayo) could be used as a trade chip for a starting pitcher that the O’s still desperately need. And that’s not the only logjam that needs sorting out, as Baltimore has an abundance of corner outfielders but no obvious solution in center field (your mileage may vary on Colton Cowser’s viability as an everyday option there).

As for the terms of the deal, five years for a player entering his age-31 season who’s quickly approaching DH-only status has very little chance of aging well. For a team that will be making deferred payments to Chris Davis for another 12 years, it’s a bit of a surprise Baltimore jumped back in the saddle on a player with a similar bat-first profile. Then again, as Andrew Friedman once said, “If you’re always rational on every free agent, you will finish third on every free agent.” Consider that fifth year the price for being irrational.

And then, there are the Mets. One day after All-Star closer Edwin Díaz signed with the Dodgers, they now watch another longtime organizational stalwart and fan favorite opt to sign elsewhere. Those developments undoubtedly sting—especially considering the Mets were also a massively disappointing team last season—but it’s not as if those two players are irreplaceable. Under Steve Cohen’s ownership, New York has been linked to basically every big-ticket free agent, and the club will continue to be a possible landing spot for Kyle Tucker, Cody Bellinger and Munetaka Murakami, among others.

Any of those external options could very well end up working out better than Alonso and Diaz would have over the next handful of years. But the fact that two of the Mets’ most productive and popular players of the last half decade decided to leave town certainly adds to the bad vibe that has clung to the organization for the past six months, and cranks up the urgency to do something——to stop the perceived skid from spiraling into further disaster.

West Ham are entering the market for a new striker in January as injury-prone flop Niclas Füllkrug prepares to leave the London Stadium, according to multiple reports.

Nuno Espírito Santo’s side are facing a critical winter transfer window as they scramble to address their striker shortage, with Fullkrug’s impending departure forcing manager them to accelerate plans for attacking reinforcements.

While free agent summer signing Callum Wilson is proving he can lead the line, having scored four goals in four starts already this season, West Ham will definitely need another number nine soon.

Fullkrug has informed the club of his intention to leave when the winter window opens, bringing a premature end to what has been a disastrous spell at the club.

The Germany international, who joined from Borussia Dortmund for £27 million in August 2024, has failed to score a single goal this season across seven appearances, with injuries severely limiting his availability and impact.

His agent, Thorsten Wirth, publicly acknowledged the transfer has been a failure, stating that it “might make sense to make a change” and admitting “the transfer didn’t work”.

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

The 32-year-old striker is reportedly desperate to secure regular playing time to boost his chances of making Germany’s 2026 World Cup squad, having made just two international appearances in the past 12 months amid persistent injury problems.

However, the Hammers will only sanction his departure if they can secure a suitable replacement or receive a substantial offer, unwilling to leave themselves dangerously thin up front while battling relegation.

The club are actively pursuing multiple striker targets as they seek to avoid repeating past recruitment failures, and AC Milan’s Santiago Gimenez has emerged as a primary target.

West Ham told they can sign Santiago Gimenez for £30 million

The Mexican bagged 22 goals in all competitions across his total appearances for both previous club Feyenoord and Milan last season, including six strikes in seven Champions League outings.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola will remember Gimenez’s strike at the Etihad when Feyenoord sealed a shock 3-3 draw. Meanwhile, Bayern head coach Vincent Kompany won’t have fond memories of the 24-year-old’s brace against them when Feyenoord thrashed the Bundesliga giants 3-0.

Make no mistake, on his day, Gimenez is a big-game player.

However, the North American is yet to score this campaign, and reports suggest that the Rossoneri are underwhelmed by their 2025 signing as they ponder a January sale.

According to Hammers News, West Ham have been told they could strike a £30 million deal for Gimenez when the window reopens, and going by his age, potential and previous exploits, this could actually prove to be a bargain.

Milan’s interest in Fullkrug has even opened up the possibility of a swap deal, so Gimenez’s price tag could be brought down even further as West Ham look for that perfect number nine mid-season.

The former Cruz Azul sensation stands out as one of January’s best-available forward men if he can rediscover his past form, so he’ll undoubtedly be under serious consideration at Rush Green.

Miles Robinson addressed the altercation that erupted at the end of the United States men’s national team’s 2-1 win over Paraguay during the November 2025 friendlies, offering clarity on how a late throw-in dispute escalated into a bench-clearing confrontation. However, both Robinson and Gio Reyna said the scuffle ultimately reflected the team’s character and commitment to one another.

Getty'That’s what got us the W'

Robinson said the altercation began with a U.S. throw-in after teammate Alex Freeman pursued the ball aggressively. According to Robinson, the sequence led to “one or two cheap shots” from Paraguay, escalating tensions until players from both benches became involved in a brief confrontation.

Robinson added that the moment reflected the team’s togetherness.

“It’s our throw-in, Alex [Freeman] takes the ball and then you know, one or two cheap shots,” Robinson said in his post-match interview with . “But it is what it is, we came out and we played with a lot of heart tonight, and I think that’s what got us the W.”

Reyna, who did not see the initial incident, echoed Robinson’s comments about the team’s competitiveness.

“Honestly, I have no idea [how it started]. I was kind of looking off to the side, and then Alex and someone from their team seemed like they weren't very happy with each other. Yeah, it's a friendly game, but it's a competitive environment. We wanted to win this game," Reyna said to "Obviously, we've played friendlies pretty much all last year. So yeah, it's important to get that competitive energy in this group and take it with us. I think it's great for Alex coming into another tough match on Tuesday against Uruguay.”

AdvertisementImagnTeam unity underpin USMNT’s approach

Despite the confrontation, Robinson stressed that the USMNT operates as one cohesive family that refuses to tolerate disrespect or intimidation. He highlighted the team’s collective mindset of fighting for one another and maintaining focus on the ultimate goal of winning. 

“Yeah, I mean, I think we’re one big family, we’re playing at home, so we’re not going to take anything,” Robinson said. “We came out, we’re trying to fight for each other, we’re trying to fight for our country, and obviously we came out, we got the W, and that’s what means the most to us.”

Getty Images SportDefensive focus

Reflecting on the team’s overall performance, Robinson praised the defenders for their hard work and dedication in training, particularly their emphasis on defensive organization. While acknowledging the significance of the win, he expressed belief that there is still considerable room for improvement in the team’s defensive execution.

“Yeah, I think we’ve been training really hard overall,” Robinson said. “I think we focused a lot defensively. The thing about tonight is we got the W, I think there’s a lot we can improve on. So that’s something we can definitely take back with us and learn from, and hopefully we can use this as a stepping stone for the future.”

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What comes next for Robinson and the USMNT

The USMNT will face Uruguay in its final match of the 2025 calendar year on Nov. 18.

Ishan Kishan is named captain of the 15-man squad, which includes Abhimanyu Easwaran, Akash Deep, Riyan Parag and Mukesh Kumar

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Aug-2025Mohammed Shami has been named in the East Zone squad for the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy.Ishan Kishan, who scored two half-centuries in two innings for Nottinghamshire in the ongoing County Championship Division One, was named captain of the 15-member squad, which also included Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar and Riyan Parag. Abhimanyu Easwaran, part of India’s Test squad in England, was named vice-captain.Fourteen-year-old Vaibhav Suryavanshi, who struck the fastest century in youth ODIs on India Under-19’s tour of England last month, was among the six standbys.Related

Kuldeep, Khaleel in Jurel-led Central Zone squad for Duleep Trophy

Shubman Gill to lead North Zone in Duleep Trophy

Tilak Varma to lead South Zone

Iyer, Sarfaraz in West Zone squad for Duleep Trophy; Thakur to lead

Shami, 34, was last in action in IPL 2025, where he picked up six wickets in nine matches for his new team Sunrisers Hyderabad. His last first-class game was for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy in November 2024. That was his only red-ball outing since his last Test match for India – the World Test Championship final in June 2023.There was no place in the East Zone squad for Sudip Chatterjee, Bengal’s leading run-getter in last season’s Ranji Trophy, while Sudip Kumar Gharami, their second highest run-getter, was part of the standbys.Virat Singh and Sharandeep Singh, Jharkhand’s top-two run-scorers in the previous Ranji Trophy, were part of the squad, as well as left-arm spinner Manishi, who took 22 wickets in seven matches.The six-team Duleep Trophy is returning to the zonal format, with squads picked by the zonal selectors, and the tournament will kickstart the 2025-26 domestic season. Last season, the tournament had four teams – India A, B, C and D – that were picked by the national selectors. East Zone will play the domestic season’s opening game against North Zone from August 28 at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.East Zone squadIshan Kishan (capt), Abhimanyu Easwaran (vc), Sandeep Patnaik, Virat Singh, Denish Das, Sridam Paul, Sharandeep Singh, Kumar Kushagra, Riyan Parag, Utkarsh Singh, Manishi, Suraj Sindhu Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, Akash Deep, Mohammed Shami

أعلن مدرب نادي ليفربول، آرني سلوت، عن تشكيل فريقه لمباراة ليدز يونايد، لحساب منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ليفربول سوف يحل ضيفًا على نظيره ليدز يونايتد، وذلك على ملعب إيلانج رود، في الجولة الرابعة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز في لقاء صعب على الريدز.

ويسعى ليفربول إلى تحقيق الانتصار على ليدز يونايتد، وذلك من أجل العودة من جديد إلى سكة الانتصارات عقب التعادل المخيب للآمال مع سندرلاند في الجولة الماضية.

اقرأ أيضًا.. بعد ارتباطه بخلافة محمد صلاح.. مدرب غانا يوضح موقفه من رحيل سيمينيو عن بورنموث

وشهد تشكيل ليفربول استمرار اسبتعاد محمد صلاح، حيث كان الدولي المصري بديلًا خلال المباراتين الماضيتين أمام سندرلاند ووست هام يونايتد.

كما عول سلوت على هوجو إيكتيكي في مركز المهاجم الصريح بشكل أساسي، على حساب ألكسندر إيزاك والذي بقى بديلًا اليوم.

ويعتبر وضع ليفربول صعبًا في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، حيث يحتل الريدز المركز الـ12 في ترتيب المسابقة المحلية برصيد 22 نقطة. تشكيل ليفربول أمام ليدز يونايتد اليوم في الدوري الإنجليزي

حراسة المرمى: أليسون بيكر.

خط الدفاع: كونور برادلي، فيرجيل فان دايك، إبراهيما كوناتي، ميلوس كيركيز.

خط الوسط: كورتيس جونز، ريان جرافنبرج، دومينيك سوبوسلاي.

خط الهجوم: كودي جاكبو، فلوريان فيرتز، هوجو إيكتيكي.

ويجلس على مقاعد ليفربول كلًا من: آندي روبرتسون، فيديريكو كييزا، ألكسندر إيزاك، واتارو إندو، جيورجي مامارداشفيلي، تري نيوني، ريو نجوهوما، أليكسيس ماك أليستير، محمد صلاح.