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Former captain also says coach Russell Domingo “should be held accountable” for the team’s elimination in the Super 12s

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Nov-2021The Bangladesh players’ inability to handle the BCB’s criticism was a factor in their T20 World Cup blowout. That’s the view of former captain Mashrafe Mortaza, who said that the board could have shown more patience with the team they believed was the best combination to go to the world event.BCB president Nazmul Hassan, in his characteristic no-holds-barred style, blamed Shakib Al Hasan, Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah for the Scotland defeat, in a press conference on October 18. Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur shot back in the post-game press conferences in the subsequent days, although Shakib said that he agreed with Hassan’s broadside.But it set forth a chaotic World Cup campaign for Bangladesh from which the focus kept deviating to what was being said off the field, rather than the cricket being played on it.Related

• BCB appoints 'fact-finding' committee to review Bangladesh's T20 World Cup performance

• Meek Bangladesh leaving yet another World Cup with a whimper

“The players succumbed to the pressure that came from the board’s criticism,” Mashrafe told . “Cricketers try to find solace in the cricket board during bad times. BCB should have been more patient. If a player doesn’t do well, you can drop him after the tournament but as long as they are in the tournament, it is better not to talk about them.”The cricket board sent this team to the World Cup. You can’t change the squad if someone does badly. You have to show patience. If you don’t have that patience, you should have realised much before if this is your best team or not. When the coach, captain, selectors and board have all agreed this is the best team, you have to be patient with the team.”Bangladesh were eliminated from the T20 World Cup with one Super 12s match, against Australia, to go•Getty Images

Mashrafe said that BCCI were an example in restraint when India lost the first two matches against Pakistan and New Zealand. “Regardless of what’s being said, players and board should be united. Look at India. The BCCI is quiet despite so much happening.”Nobody from their board says anything about the team’s poor performance, despite what is being said in the mainstream media and social media. This is because they know what to do next,” he said.Mashrafe admitted that the players, too, should have kept quiet when they were not performing well. “When players aren’t doing well, nobody will receive their words kindly. All they can do is play better in the next match.”Players don’t really need to say much. They have to play well to get out of their bad times, which is why there should be coordination between cricket board and players,” he said.Mashrafe however said that coach Russell Domingo should be answerable for the team’s performance. Mashrafe has been highly critical of Domingo on Facebook, terming the Bangladesh team management as a “rehab centre” for South African coaches.”The coach has to take responsibility. I don’t think he had a particular plan for the World Cup. My question is: why does the new coach always experiment with our team? Why does the cricket board agree to it?”I think the coach should be held accountable, even when he is given the freedom to do his work. When there’s no accountability, when their salary is guaranteed for the next six months, the coaches don’t care about anything. I think we have to think about the coach now,” he said.

Aaron Finch will be fit despite coming off knee surgery and is confident the team can overcome tricky preparation

Alex Malcolm06-Oct-2021Australia limited-overs captain Aaron Finch has confirmed that he and David Warner will open the batting together at the T20 World Cup despite Warner twice being dropped by Sunrisers Hyderabad in the IPL this year.Warner hasn’t played a T20I for Australia since September 2020, missing Australia’s last 14 matches across four series due to a combination of injury, rest, and schedule clashes.He has endured a difficult IPL season across the two halves of the tournament. Warner has scored two half-centuries in eight innings but his strike-rate of 107.73 was cause for him to be dropped as captain by Sunrisers during the first half of the IPL season in India. He didn’t tour with Australia to the Caribbean and Bangladesh mid-year in order to rest for the second half of the IPL and the World Cup but scored just 0 and 2 in his first two games on resumption of the IPL in the UAE and was left out of Sunrisers’ side again.But Finch, speaking a day before departing to the UAE for the World Cup, backed Warner to be his opening partner for the tournament.”Yep, absolutely,” Finch said. “He’s one of the best players to ever play the game for Australia. I’ve got no doubt that his preparation, while he would love to be playing for Hyderabad no doubt, I know that he’s still training away. He’ll be good to go.”Related

• Bayliss mum on Warner's future at Sunrisers Hyderabad

• Marcus Stoinis gives Australia injury concern ahead of T20 World Cup

• Australia's best are back, but will it be enough for a title tilt?

Finch himself enters the tournament under an injury cloud. He missed Australia’s tour of Bangladesh due to knee surgery. There was initially doubt as to whether he would be fit for Australia’s two warm-up games against New Zealand and India but he is confident he will be ready to play in both of them.”Over the last couple of weeks my recovery has progressed really well so it’s looking more and more likely that I’ll be fit and ready to go for them,” Finch said. “And just in terms of the intensity that I’ve been able to train, the amount of accelerations, decelerations, putting load through my knee, that’s all really positive. So, yeah, I’ve got no issues.”I had probably my biggest session in terms of fielding, changing direction, and all that stuff with batting involved as well so that’s gone as well as it could. I had a meeting with the surgeon yesterday and he was really happy with where it’s at.”Australia’s preparation is a legitimate concern heading into the tournament. Never mind their recent form having lost their last five T20I series, a number of key players have played very little cricket full stop and have had difficulties trying to train due to the various lockdowns in Australia.Mitchell Starc has been able to train in Queensland but is has been a challenge for some other players•AFP

Glenn Maxwell and Josh Hazlewood are in sparkling form in the IPL but Marcus Stoinis has suffered a hamstring injury and has not batted in the middle after breaking down in the first game on resumption. Steve Smith has been in and out of Delhi Capital’s line-up playing just two matches.Those based in Australia have hardly had any cricket at all. Matthew Wade has not played since the Bangladesh tour after Tasmania’s two domestic fixtures against Queensland were postponed last week.Mitchell Marsh, Ashton Agar, and Kane Richardson have played one domestic 50-over match and Josh Inglis has only played two, one of which was a four-day Sheffield Shield game.It’s been even more difficult for Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, and Adam Zampa. Starc has been bowling on his own in Queensland while travelling with Australia’s women’s team in support of his wife Alyssa Healy. Zampa has been bowling to club cricketers in Byron Bay due to lockdown restrictions in New South Wales while Cummins has been training with the NSW state squad in Sydney but is awaiting the birth of his first child and may be delayed in getting to the UAE. However, despite the various issues, Finch believes his players will be ready to go.”Training indoors or training just in the nets is no comparison obviously to game intensity so the two warm-up games and the lead-in to the World Cup is going to be really crucial,” Finch said. “We get out of quarantine, I think there’s three days of practice scheduled, and then two warm-up games, so they’re going to be really important to get guys up to speed as quick as possible.”But I’ve got a lot of confidence in the experience of the group. We’ve got guys who have come off long layoffs before. We’ve got guys who have come off injuries before, and it’s not really all that much different when you’re trying to get yourself up to speed quickly. I think that that will play into their hands and might allow us to be a little bit more fresher, to be honest.”

“A player like him is probably just one good innings away from getting back to his natural way”

Hemant Brar09-Oct-20214:22

Rohit Sharma: ‘We just didn’t play as a team to start with’

Hardik Pandya didn’t bowl a single ball in the five games he played during the UAE leg of IPL 2021, and that could be a concern for India heading into the T20 World Cup. While Rohit Sharma, Hardik’s captain at Mumbai Indians, did say the allrounder was “getting better day by day”, he also added that only medical experts knew when Hardik could resume bowling.”The physios, the trainers, the medical team are working on him [Hardik],” Rohit said after the game against Sunrisers Hyderabad. “As of now, all I know is he hasn’t bowled a single ball yet. We wanted to take one game at a time and see where he stands. You saw he didn’t bowl today as well, but he is getting better day by day. In the next week or so he might be able to bowl, who knows. I mean only the doctors or the physios will be able to give an update on that.”

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Last week, Mumbai’s coach Mahela Jayawardene had said pushing Hardik too hard for bowling might affect his batting as well. But even without that extra workload, Hardik had a forgettable IPL with the bat, scoring only 127 runs at an average of 14.11 and a strike rate of 113.39. Rohit, however, backed Hardik, calling him a valuable asset.”As far as his batting is concerned, yes, he’ll be a little disappointed, but we know the quality of him,” Rohit said. “He is a quality player, and he has come back from tough situations before as well. He will not be happy with his batting but the team has confidence in his ability. I personally have confidence in his ability.”When you look at him, he’s getting better every time that he goes on to the field. A player like him is probably just one good innings away from getting back to his natural way. We’ve seen that he’s done it before as well. If I have to put everything together, I’m personally very confident of his ability and there’s no doubt that he will be a valuable asset.”Apart from Hardik and Rohit, Mumbai Indians have four more players – Jasprit Bumrah, Rahul Chahar, Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan – who are part of India’s World Cup squad. Except for Bumrah, the other three didn’t have a particularly great IPL. Chahar took just two wickets in four games in the UAE, and Kishan and Yadav too struck form only during the latter stages.Hardik Pandya’s season in IPL 2021 didn’t go as well as expected•BCCI

Rohit, though, suggested not to use the IPL form as a marker. “I personally don’t like to read too much into what has happened in the IPL and what is going to happen in the T20 World Cup. The T20 World Cup is a different ball game. When you play franchise cricket, it’s different. So you cannot really compare or look too much into those aspects.”Yes, the form matters. But it’s a different squad there, a different squad here. The way we play here is different to what we do there. So you cannot really look too much into that. Yes, all the six guys we have here would have liked to have a good run, but it didn’t happen. You saw a couple of fine performances today from Surya and Ishan. But again, when you talk about the World Cup, there’ll be a couple of practice games, and I believe the guys can get back into the rhythm.”Talking about Mumbai’s campaign this year, Rohit said the side was looking to pick up momentum during the India leg when the Covid-19 pandemic brought the tournament to a halt. And while the players couldn’t perform as a unit in the UAE and the team failed to qualify for the playoffs, he was proud of them for winning two successive titles in 2019 and 2020.Related

• Hardik Pandya: 'When I am on the ground, I believe nothing's impossible. I don't feel fear'

• Kishan, Suryakumar blitz not enough to push Mumbai into the playoffs

• Stats – Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav enter the IPL record books

• Jayawardene: Pushing Hardik too hard for bowling might affect his batting

“We had won the trophy here [in the UAE] last year, so the conditions were not alien for us,” Rohit said. “The thing was the momentum we had created with two back-to-back wins in Delhi, we wanted to continue that but unfortunately because of what was happening in the country, there was a break.”When we came here, some of our first XI players had a few injuries and missed a couple of games initially. Despite that, we should have done better, but we just didn’t play as a team to start with, and then collectively as a group, we didn’t come together. That was the main reason for not qualifying this year.”When you want to win games, championships, everyone needs to come together. And that is what we had been doing successfully in the last few years. That’s the hallmark of this team, to come collectively and perform. We don’t tend to rely on one or two individuals. We always believe in everyone coming together and chipping in with those performances. That didn’t happen this year. So that was a bit disappointing. But I don’t want to take anything away from the guys, we’ve had two successful campaigns back-to-back. This wasn’t our year.”

Veterans who were surprise hits at the biggest show in international T20

Shashank Kishore02-Mar-2016Mahela Jayawardene
Sanath Jayasuriya’s reputation as a white-ball destroyer meant Jayawardene’s role in Sri Lanka’s T20 side wasn’t well defined. But his first innings as an opener, in the 2010 World T20, yielded a 51-ball 81 on a Guyana turner, and he followed up with a century in the next game, against Zimbabwe, to put to rest all doubts over his batting position in the format. The golden run at the top continued in 2012, but an uncharacteristic reverse sweep in the final resulted in heartbreak. In 2014, he wasn’t to be denied: he walked away with the trophy, and finished as the top run-getter for Sri Lanka for the third successive World T20 as well. He remains the leading run scorer over the history of the tournament.Tillakaratne Dilshan
A combination of unorthodox technique and precise hand-eye coordination was key to Dilshan’s reinvention of himself as a T20 opener. While the fierce cuts and pulls stayed intact, he revolutionised batting in 2009 with a fine paddle stroke over the wicketkeeper’s head. The shot, soon branded the Dilscoop, found its place in cricket’s dictionary, and Dilshan finished the tournament as the leading run-getter. It marked his second wind as a batsman, and the start of a purple patch that did wonders for Sri Lanka for the better part of the next three years.Graeme Swann
Small boundaries, flat pitches and heavy bats threatened to reduce spinners to a sideshow, but Swann used his guile and flight to defy the thinking that he was largely a Test specialist. His two wickets against India at Lord’s in the second edition, including that of Yuvraj Singh, the wonder of the first World T20, sent the defending champions crashing out in the group stage. Equally impressive was his miserly 1 for 17 in the 2010 final against Australia, which kept the lid on the scoring, helping win England their only global title till date.Muttiah Muralitharan
An elbow injury put paid to his hopes of participating in the first World T20. Ageing body, broken fingers and tired wrists, they said; but he made a splash in 2009, as Sri Lanka stormed into the final. His telling contribution had come in the previous game, where he applied the choke after Chris Gayle’s blitzkrieg to send West Indies packing. In the title match, even in defeat, Murali’s figures were a respectable 1 for 20 off three overs. The 2010 edition, in the West Indies, was to be his last international T20 tournament.Jacques Kallis
T20 looked to have passed Kallis by when he was left out of South Africa’s squad for the inaugural world tournament. After some serious rethinking of his approach to the format, under the eye of Ray Jennings, he transformed himself into a dynamic opener, topping the run charts for South Africa in the 2009 and 2010 editions, to go along with his more-than-useful seam bowling, before being dropped. Two years later he was back for the World T20 in Sri Lanka on the back of an impressive showing for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL in the course of their first title-winning run, in 2012.

Sports Interactive has announced that Football Manager 25 has been delayed until March 2025.

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• FM25 given lengthy delay
• SI explains they have been 'rushing' release
• First FM on Unity engine

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Football Manager 25 was scheduled to be released at the start of September, with Sports Interactive transitioning to the use of a new engine, powered by Unity. They initially delayed the game until the end of November, but have now confirmed that it will instead release in March. At the same time, they have offered to refund pre-orders and have also confirmed that the next gameplay reveal will take place in January.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  FM25 has officially been announced just last week, with a roadmap also promised, but SI have now explained that they do not feel they can release an acceptable product within the current timeframe. How this now impacts FM26, because the games are released on an annual schedule, is yet to be seen.

• WHAT SI SAID

  In a statement, SI wrote: "After careful consideration, Sports Interactive have made the tough decision to further delay the release of Football Manager 25.

  "Following discussions with SEGA, our licensors and partners, we have agreed the best course of action is to delay the launch until March 2025. Specific platform release dates will follow once confirmed.

  "In our last Development Update in September, we explained that we needed to push FM25’s original release back to give ourselves more time to deliver the best possible experience for this first instalment in a new era of Football Manager.

  "This additional time has not been sufficient to ensure the game quality and experience meets your expectations and our very high standards.

  "In the previous blog we explained that it has been a difficult development cycle for the studio. Many things have been moving slower than we had predicted – despite everyone in the team working at an incredible pace to try and get everything done.

  "Timelines were already tight and, as rightly pointed out by many of your recent comments, we were simply rushing too much and in danger of compromising our usual standards. This has put an enormous amount of pressure on everyone working across the studio, who are all passionately committed to delivering the best game possible.

  "FM25 is the biggest technical and visual advancement in the series for a generation. We simply cannot compromise the delivery of this crucial juncture in Football Manager’s history by rushing to release it in November.

  "Of course, this is not where any of us expected to be seven weeks out from our release but, in the spirit of our studio values, we always consider the bigger picture – and the bigger picture here is that we need this additional time to deliver a game that we can all be proud of."

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• Football Manager
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  This marks a disastrous period in SI's history as they aim to overhaul FM and have twice been forced to delay the most anticipated release in the game's history. Those wanting to role-play as a virtual manager will have to stick with FM24 for now.

Over the years, Everton have had their fair share of fan-favourites who have given multiple generations of supporters memories to last a lifetime.

From Dixie Dean to Tim Cahill, the club have employed many talents who have gone on to achieve unthinkable things and set records that are yet to be beaten – including Dean's record of 60 league goals during the 1927/28 campaign.

However, in recent times, the club have struggled on and off the pitch, with many players failing to impress and unable to make the impact they would’ve desired.

FFP and PSR issues have restricted the club as to what they can spend, devoting more focus on selling players to balance the books, rather than allowing them to make a name for themselves at Goodison Park.

Despite the troubles since the start of the 21st century, the club was home to numerous stars who lit up Merseyside, with one player especially capturing the hearts of many during his brief stint at the club.

Financial Fair Play: What is PSR, how does it work and who's in trouble?

Leicester City have become the latest club charged with an alleged PSR breach, but what could happen next?

By
Stephan Georgiou

Apr 16, 2024

Andrei Kanchelskis’ career at Everton

Following a fallout with Sir Alex Ferguson during his time at Manchester United, attacker Andrei Kanchelskis vowed never to play for the club again, subsequently moving to Everton in the summer of 1995.

The Toffees forked out a club-record £5m for the Russian, placing high expectations on him to succeed on Merseyside, especially after finding the net on 14 occasions the season prior at Old Trafford.

However, Kanchelskis endured a tough start to life with his new side, failing to score in any of his first seven league matches, before a double against local rivals Liverpool opened the floodgates during the 1995/96 campaign.

He would find form towards the tail end of the season, including a run that saw him score eight times in just seven matches – including a hat-trick against Sheffield Wednesday, which saw him end the campaign with 15 goals, making him the club’s top scorer.

He would make just another 20 appearances in the Premier League during the following season, scoring four times before abruptly ending his time at Goodison.

Kanchelskis would leave for £8m to join Fiorentina in Serie A during January 1997 – a figure that saw the club make £3m profit on the Russian in just 18 months, an excellent return.

To this day, he remains a fan-favourite on Merseyside, with his £5m deal up there with one of the club’s best pieces of business in the Premier League era.

But, just how much would that deal be worth today? Well, lucky for you, we have the answer.

How much Andrei Kanchelskis would be worth in 2024

Nearly 30 years on from his big-money move, the game has transformed dramatically, with huge amounts of money available in today’s game.

However, the premise remains the same, players who know where the back of the net is cost an absolute fortune, with the record transfer in 2024 sitting at over £200m, following Neymar’s transfer to PSG back in 2017.

If that same move went through today, Kanchelskis would've cost the club a jaw-dropping £64m to get through the door, according to Totally Money's Transfer Index.

That would make the “sensational” former Everton forward, as dubbed by Sky Sports’ Teddy Draper, worth more current Toffees centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, who is valued at around £60m following strong interest from fellow Premier League side Manchester United.

Although the club have secured their Premier League status for another season, boss Sean Dyche would've loved to have a player like the Russian within his ranks.

His constant goalscoring threat would not doubt have added to the club’s measly tally of just 39 goals in the league this season, with the club desperately needing reinforcements this summer.

Everton hit gold selling PL icon who'd be worth more than Lukaku in 2024

He made the club a huge profit when he departed Goodison Park.

By
Ethan Lamb

May 15, 2024

Portugal and Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot opened up about his experience of playing alongside compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

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• Dalot finds spending time with Ronaldo an enriching experience
• Ferdinand joked Ronaldo is tight with his finances
• Dalot and Ronaldo played together at United

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  During a chat with Red Devils legend Rio Ferdinand on TNT Sports, the 25-year-old defender spoke highly of his national team captain with whom he shared a dressing room for one and a half seasons at Old Trafford and also in the Selecao side since 2021 where he has earned 24 international caps.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The Portuguese full-back further claimed that every time he leaves Ronaldo, he comes back richer. Ferdinand then jokingly asked if the Al-Nassr gives him money as he suggested that the 39-year-old is generally tight with his finances despite being vastly wealthy.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  Ferdinand asked about the similarities between Dalot and Ronaldo, to which the United player said, "I learned a lot from him and I know you are close to him as well. Every time I leave him, I feel more rich. I'm not talking about money, no he doesn't give me money. But personal-wise, you can leave any space with him and if he is really comfortable with you, you'll leave with something new that you learn."

  In between, the former England international quipped, "He's tight, he's tight, he's tight."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Dalot could be next seen in action on Wednesday as Erik ten Hag's side take on FC Twente in their Europa League 2024-25 opener. Ronaldo, on the other hand, will next face Al-Wehda in the Saudi Pro League on Friday with Al-Nassr.

Neymar is looking sharp as he prepares to end his 11-month injury nightmare, with the Brazilian picking out the top corner during Al-Hilal training.

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• Damaged knee ligaments in October 2023
• Has taken in a long road to recovery
• Stepping up fitness ahead of long-awaited return

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 32-year-old forward has been out of action since damaging knee ligaments during an appearance for his country in World Cup qualifying on October 18, 2023. A long road to recovery has been taken in by the former Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain superstar.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Neymar has been restricted to just five appearances and one goal for Al-Hilal, with fitness issues preventing him from figuring as prominently as he would have liked in the club’s 2023-24 Saudi Pro League title triumph. He is, however, fully committed to the cause.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Transfer talk over the summer was quickly played down – amid speculation of a reunion being enjoyed with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at MLS side Inter Miami – and Neymar will be honouring the final year of his contract in the Middle East.

Arsenal have been looking into signing a highly-rated potential replacement for midfielder Thomas Partey, and he could cost them just £34 million.

Arsenal open to selling Partey as Edu chases new Rice partner

The Ghanaian was a key player under Mikel Arteta last season, making 33 Premier League appearances, but he's been far more starved of chances this term.

Arsenal show club they're prepared to pay £52 million to sign their key man

It would be enough.

By
Emilio Galantini

May 10, 2024

Partey's been handed the starting nod by Arteta on just seven occasions in the league across 2023/2024, which is a far cry from his previous mainstay status. This is largely down injury problems and the form of Declan Rice, with Jorginho also coming into his own in recent months.

Arsenal officially rewarded the latter with a contract extension this week, keeping Jorginho at Hale End until 2025, but it is likely that Partey may well be gone far before then.

Indeed, it is believed Arteta is open to selling Partey this summer, with clubs in Saudi Arabia taking a firm interest and apparently considering a "lucrative" contract offer for the ex-Atletico Madrid star (GiveMeSport).

The 30-year-old's contract also expires next year, giving sporting director Edu precious little time to make any money back off the £45 million they paid to sign him from Atletico in 2020.

Now could be the time to sell Partey and respectfully wave goodbye to the midfielder after years of service. It is believed that Arsenal are also keen to sign a new central midfielder this summer, who could step into the African's shoes.

Reports this week have suggested Arsenal are holding talks with Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi. Indeed, claims from Spain have also surfaced recently that Edu is prepared to pay £52 million to sign Zubimendi – which would be enough given that fee is the full value of his release clause.

However, Arsenal have other positions they want to strengthen as well, namely in-between the sticks, defensively and further forward (Simon Collings). Money will have to be spent wisely when the window reopens, and a cheaper alternative to Zubimendi could be Borussia Monchengladbach ace Kouadio "Manu" Kone.

Arsenal looking into signing Manu Kone to replace Partey

Indeed, according to Stev Kay talking to KS1TV, relayed by TBR, Arsenal have been "looking into" signing Kone this summer, coming after reports from Sky Germany last year that he could cost as little as £34 million to prise away from Gladbach.

The 22-year-old has made 20 Bundesliga appearances this term, with WhoScored detailing his main strength as an excellent dribbler. Interestingly, former Premier League keeper Mark Schwarzer urged Liverpool to make a move for him last year.

"There is one player, for me, that stands out that plays for Borussia Monchengladbach and that’s Kone," said the Australian on Sky Sports' The Football Show (via HITC).

“He is only 21 years old. He came from Toulouse. He has only been at Gladbach for two years. But he has been a real big find for them and a phenomenal player in the Bundesliga. I think someone like him could do really well at Liverpool.”

Leeds United have it all to play for when they host Norwich City at Elland Road in the second leg of the Championship play-off semi-finals on Thursday night.

The Whites were held to a 0-0 draw by the Canaries in the first leg at Carrow Road on Sunday and will now compete for a place in the final at Wembley later this week.

Daniel Farke's side do not yet know what division they will be competing in for the 2024/25 campaign, yet there has already been transfer speculation ahead of the summer window.

Football Insider reported last month that the club would accept an offer in the region of £30m for Wilfried Gnonto, should a team come in with a firm offer in that ballpark.

Farke, however, may already have an heir to the Italian's place in the squad within the academy set-up, as young forward Josh McDonald has shown great potential this season.

Wilfried Gnonto's Championship form

The 20-year-old forward has enjoyed a solid, if unspectacular, campaign with Leeds in the Championship, after being part of the team that suffered relegation from the Premier League last term.

Gnonto has failed to nail down a place in the starting XI throughout the entire season, with 19 starts out of 36 league appearances, but has chipped in with double figures for goals and assists.

As you can see in the table above, the former Zurich star has been directly involved in ten goals, with eight strikes and two assists, in 36 outings.

That is an average of one goal or assist every 3.6 matches on average in the second tier, which shows that he has been a semi-regular contributor in the final third.

Why Josh McDonald could be Wilfried Gnonto's heir

Amid speculation over Gnonto's future at Elland Road, McDonald could eventually emerge as his replacement in Yorkshire if he continues to impress at academy level.

The talented whiz, who only turned 17 in March, has enjoyed a terrific season for the U18s at Thorp Arch, with a return of seven goals and seven assists in all competitions.

He has racked up seven goals and six assists in 22 U18 Premier League matches, an average of one goal contribution every 1.69 outings, and produced one assist in six FA Youth Cup clashes.

The impressive youngster, who can play on the left or the right flank, was described as a "lovely" player by journalist Connor McGilligan earlier this month, and his statistics back that up.

McDonald appears to be an excellent prospect for Leeds on paper with his fantastic contributions as both a scorer and a creator of goals for the U18 side.

Farke must brutally drop 1/10 Leeds player after play-off no-show

The Whites midfielder endured a rough afternoon at Carrow Road on Sunday.

By
Dan Emery

May 13, 2024

It is, of course, now down to him to prove that his form can translate over to the U21 team and then the first-team in the years to come to stake a claim for a place in the senior squad.

If he can continue to replicate his current level of scoring and creating, then he could eventually be a fantastic heir to Gnonto's position out wide, as a forward who can score and assist goals more frequently than the Italian.