Newcastle have already got a bigger talent than Barnes who's "like Mbappe"

Eddie Howe has finally got the better of Pep Guardiola now in a Premier League environment.

At the 19th time of asking, Howe managed to get one over on the highly successful Manchester City manager, as Newcastle United romped back into top-flight action with a 2-1 win at St James’ Park.

Newcastle were good value for the win, too, as Harvey Barnes chipped in with a double to steer the Toon to another memorable victory on their own patch.

How Harvey Barnes downed Manchester City

The former Leicester City winger is now up to six goals for the season in all competitions, despite his appearance against Guardiola’s men only being his fifth Premier League start of the campaign.

With a brace under his belt, though, he’s surely a shoo-in for more starts as the congested winter fixture schedule hits. Journalist Henry Winter simply described his display as “clinical” when powering two quickfire efforts past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Barnes would manage to put away those two efforts confidently, with just four shots registered in total. But, away from stylishly getting the better of the new City number one with his opener, the 27-year-old also managed to win three duels and attempt three mazy dribbles as a constant livewire.

The only worry will be whether Barnes can stay fit to keep up this electric form, with three Premier League goals now next to his name from limited starts. Across the last three seasons on Tyneside, he has missed a concerning 38 games via injury.

Thankfully, though, Newcastle have a rising star in their ranks who could go on to be a bigger talent than the Toon winger.

Newcastle's 18-year-old Barnes replacement

Howe has shown frequently throughout his time as Newcastle boss to date that he is willing to chuck a starlet into the first team picture if they’re deemed ready for the challenge of senior action.

Indeed, Lewis Miley first made his senior debut under Howe when he was just 17 years of age, while another budding homegrown prodigy in Sean Neave, occupied a space on the bench against City, all while still being a wide-eyed 18-year-old prospect.

Could Seung Soo-Park be the next to bridge the gap between the U21s and the first team?

The future certainly looks bright for the South Korean attacker, who excelled for Suwon Bluewings back in his native Korea at just 17 years of age, becoming the youngest ever player in the history of Korean league football.

One goal and three assists came his way from 28 appearances for Suwon, with Barnes reduced to playing all the way down in League One at around the same age with Milton Keynes Dons, out on loan from then parent side Leicester City.

Park has even been described as a “similar [player] to Mbappe” by Asian football expert John Duerden for his frightening speed when bombing forward, which was seen in the summer when Park was handed opportunities in pre-season, with three dribbles successfully completed up against Espanyol.

With two duels won against Tottenham Hotspur in another pre-season test, it might not be the wildest suggestion in the world to state that Park could be gifted some senior minutes in the bread and butter of the Premier League soon, with the Korean sensation hailed for showing a “maturity beyond his years” by academy coach Steven Harper when first joining.

Gordon

13

4 + 1

Elanga

18

0 + 1

Barnes

18

6 + 2

Of course, the ex-Suwon winger does have both Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga in his way, too, down the left-hand side, but if he can manage to live up to all his early hype, he should be able to surpass those in front of him down the line.

Indeed, Elanga is yet to get up and running with zero goals for the season. Moreover, Barnes is also prone to a hit-and-miss performance in Newcastle black and white, having only managed five goals during the entire 2023/24 season.

For the time being, Howe will rely on Barnes, who is thankfully in a purple patch right now.

Yet, in the long term, don’t discount Park leapfrogging the Englishman, with a stunning Mbappe-style talent potentially on Howe’s hands.

9/10 Newcastle duo look even more important than Bruno G & Tonali

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ByJoe Nuttall Nov 23, 2025

Every Premier League team ranked by time spent losing in matches 2025/26

With 11 gameweeks gone and the final international break of 2025 underway, the Premier League table is starting to form a true representation of where teams stand.

Sunderland’s hot start has turned into sustained success after their draw with title chasing Arsenal, while Liverpool’s downfall is more than just a blip.

Opta have ranked every team in the top flight by game state, or how much time they spend playing from behind in matches, and it’s more bad news for Arne Slot…

Rank

Team

Percentage of mins played losing

1

Crystal Palace, Chelsea

13%

2

Man City

14%

3

Arsenal

17%

4

Newcastle United

18%

5

Sunderland

21%

6

AFC Bournemouth

22%

7

Everton

24%

8

Aston Villa & Man Utd

26%

9

Fulham

30%

10

Brentford, Tottenham, Leeds, Nottingham Forest

32%

11

Brighton

35%

12

Burnley

36%

13

Liverpool

37%

14

West Ham

47%

15

Wolves

58%

1 Chelsea and Crystal Palace

It has been a promising start to the campaign for both Chelsea and Crystal Palace, with Enzo Maresca’s side potentially still in a position to mount a title challenge, given that they are currently just six points behind league leaders Arsenal.

Palace, on the other hand, continued their unbeaten run from last season into the ongoing campaign, which ultimately came to an end after a record 19 matches, with Everton emerging 2-1 winners at the Hill Dickinson Stadium at the start of October.

Both London clubs have just spent 13% of their matches in losing positions, with the Eagles very much on course to mount a push for Europe, having taken 17 points from their opening 11 games.

2 Manchester City

Man City have also emerged as title contenders, with their most recent victory undoubtedly their most impressive to date, dispatching of reigning champions Liverpool 3-0 at the Etihad Stadium.

Having won six of the last eight Premier League titles, City can never be written off, and they have spent just 14% of their matches trailing up to this point, with Erling Haaland in the form of his life, scoring a whopping 14 goals in the Premier League alone.

3 Arsenal

Having finished in second place three years on the spin, Mikel Arteta will be hoping this is finally the Gunners’ year, and the early signs have been very positive, having opened up a four-point gap at the top of the table.

Arsenal have had to show resilience at times, with Gabriel Martinelli scoring a stoppage-time equaliser against Man City back in September to cancel out Haaland’s early opener, which earned them what could prove to be a vital point in the Premier League title race.

Arteta’s side were also behind for the majority of the game against Newcastle United, but late heroics from Mikel Merino and Gabriel secured a 2-1 win.

Some other victories have been much more routine, however, battering Leeds United 5-0 back in August, while also recording a comfortable 2-0 win at Burnley earlier this month, which means the north Londoners have been in a losing position just 17% of the time.

4 Newcastle United

Newcastle, on the other hand, won’t be feeling anywhere near as positive about their start to the campaign, currently sitting in 14th place, seven points behind bitter rivals Sunderland, despite only spending 18% of their games trailing.

That is largely because the Magpies have developed a very bad habit of conceding late goals, with Rio Ngumoha scoring a dramatic late winner for Liverpool in August, while Gabriel’s 96th-minute winner ensured Arsenal secured a 2-1 victory in September.

Should Eddie Howe’s side be able to cut out conceding late on, however, there is still plenty of time to have a successful season, as the European places remain within touching distance.

5 Sunderland

Few would have predicted Sunderland to be flying high near the top of the table, but it has been a fantastic start, having made the Stadium of Light a fortress, most recently holding Arsenal to a draw, courtesy of Brian Brobbey’s late heroics.

Having taken 19 points from their opening 11 matches, the Black Cats are already nearly half-way to the magic 40 point mark, which would almost certainly secure Premier League safety.

There are some tricky fixtures on the horizon, with trips to Liverpool and Man City penciled in for December, but Regis Le Bris will no doubt be delighted with how things are going, with his side spending just 21% of their matches in a losing position.

6 AFC Bournemouth

Having lost some key players in the summer, including Milos Kerkez, Ilya Zabarnyi and Dean Huijsen, Bournemouth may have been expected to struggle, but that certainly hasn’t been the case.

The Cherries are once again looking like they could mount a push for Europe, as one of five teams currently on 18 points, having spent just 22% of their matches trailing.

7 Everton

It has been a solid, if not spectacular, opening 11 games for Everton, taking 15 points, which leaves them firmly in mid-table, exactly where they were probably expecting to be.

The Toffees have been chasing the game just 24% of the time, which is respectable, given that they have had some very tricky fixtures, already travelling to both Anfield and the Etihad Stadium.

8 Aston Villa and Manchester United

Both Aston Villa and Man United were very poor at the beginning of the campaign, with Unai Emery’s side failing to score in any of their opening four games, while the Red Devils suffered a 3-0 defeat in the Manchester derby and a disappointing 4-2 loss at Brentford.

However, since then, the Villans have gone on to win eight of their last ten matches in all competitions, and things are also looking up at United, having taken 11 points from their last five Premier League games.

A European push could be on the cards for both sides, who have been in losing positions 26% of the time.

9 Fulham

Marco Silva has managed to stabilise the Cottagers in the Premier League, but the manager is now under serious pressure, with his side just one point above the relegation zone following the 2-0 defeat at Everton last time out.

It is still too early to panic, but the early signs certainly haven’t been positive for the west Londoners, who have spent 30% of their matches in a losing position.

10 Brentford, Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, Nottingham Forest

The Thomas Frank era is now well underway, but Tottenham are still yet to put a consistent run together, with victories on the road against the likes of Manchester City and Everton being cancelled out by disappointing home defeats against Aston Villa and Chelsea.

That said, despite being one of four clubs who have spent 32% of their matches behind, Spurs are currently fifth in the standings, two points above Brentford, who have arguably surpassed expectations under the helm of new manager Keith Andrews.

Things aren’t looking quite as rosy for Leeds, who are now just one point above the relegation zone, as a result of losing four of their last five matches, while Nottingham Forest are already on their third manager and currently sit in 19th place.

رد قوي من إيران بشأن أزمة مباراة مصر في كأس العالم

علق مهدي تاج، رئيس الاتحاد الإيراني لكرة القدم على أزمة مباراة بلاده أمام منتخب مصر خلال نهائيات كأس العالم 2026 المقبل.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي منتخب مصر مع إيران في كأس العالم العام المقبل والتي تستضيفها كندا، المكسيك والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية.

ووقع منتخب مصر بقيادة حسام حسن ضمن منافسات المجموعة السابعة بجانب إيران وبلجيكا ونيوزيلندا.

ويسعى منتخب مصر إلى تقديم كأس عالم قوية، حيث تعتبر هذه المجموعة متوازنة بعض الشيء مقارنةً بالفرق الأخرى.

اقرأ أيضًا | “أنت عار”.. أحمد المحمدي يوجه رسالة نارية إلى كاراجر بسبب محمد صلاح

وكانت شبكة ESPN قد كشفت أن فيفا يخطط لجعل مباراة مصر وإيران في كأس العالم “لقاء فخر” لمجتمع المثليين، في قرار أثار جدلًا كبيرًا.

وفي ضوء ذلك، قال مهدي تاج: “لقد اعترضنا نحن ومصر على هذا القرار، لقد كانت خطوة غير منطقية بدت وكأنها تدعم مجموعة معينة، سنتناول هذه المسألة بالتأكيد”.

الجدير بالذكر أن قطر والتي استضافت كأس العالم النسخة الماضية عام 2022، قد فرضت عقوبات قاسية على المثليين، إذ تم اتخاذ قرار بحصول أي لاعب على بطاقة صفراء إذا ارتدى أي شارة تدعم المثليين.

'Not much will change' – Owen plans to bring his T20 approach to ODI cricket

Tasmania allrounder set for a middle-order role in ODIs after being called into Australia’s squad to face South Africa following his successful debut T20I series

Alex Malcolm04-Aug-2025Mitchell Owen says he will not change anything about his batting approach as he prepares to make his ODI debut for Australia later this month following a stunning debut T20I series in the Caribbean.Owen, 23, was an eye-catching inclusion in Australia’s new-look ODI squad for the three home ODIs against South Africa to be played in the northern Queensland towns of Cairns and Mackay starting on August 19. The ODI series follows a three-match T20I series against the same opponents in Darwin and Cairns starting next week, with Owen remaining in the squad following a successful debut series against West Indies where he made scores of 50, 36 not out, 2 and 37, striking at a phenomenal 192.30 batting at No. 6 across the series.Despite his BBL success opening the batting, Owen’s power and poise in the middle and death overs in the Caribbean, as well as his ability to chip in with some medium pace, saw him added to the ODI squad as Australia begins their build towards the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa in the aftermath of the retirements of Steven Smith, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis following the Champions Trophy.Related

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Nerves with the ball, calm with the bat, Owen happy with dream debut

Owen revealed he had not been given any indication of where he will bat in the ODI team if he gets a chance, but he said his approach won’t differ from what he showcased in the Caribbean.”If I am opening the batting or if I’m batting down the order, not much will change,” Owen said in Hobart on Monday. “Not much really changes in any form of my cricket. I just try and hit the ball and I feel like if I sort of think ‘defend’, I go into my shell a little bit and it just doesn’t work. So yeah, I’ll be keeping that same mindset.”Owen has only played 17 List A matches for Tasmania. He batted at No. 7 in his first 10 with a highest score of just 16. Tasmania, with the same coaching staff as Hobart Hurricanes, shifted him to open in the Dean Jones Trophy (Australia’s domestic one-day cup) last summer, partly in preparation for him making the same move in the BBL.It was post his BBL success where he really found another gear in 50-over cricket, smashing 48 off 19 and 149 off 69 to set up two winning chases against eventual finalists Victoria and South Australia respectively to end the season.

“You’ve got to be ready to play every couple of days”Own on his recent T20 matches played across IPL, PSL, MLC and in the Caribbean

However, as was the case with his T20I debut, Owen is highly likely to get his ODI opportunity in the middle order despite his domestic success at the top. The loss of Maxwell in particular robs Australia of finishing power given Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey are set to retain their middle-order roles. Australia will need to re-jig their top four with ODI acting captain Mitchell Marsh and Cameron Green returning after missing the Champions Trophy through injury. Matthew Short also returns to the squad after missing the semi-final against India through injury having made a vital 63 off 66 while opening alongside Travis Head in Australia’s record chase against England in Lahore. Cooper Connolly opened the batting in the semi-final but has not been retained in either the T20I or ODI squads for the South Africa series.There will be a squeeze on for spots in Australia’s T20I side with Head and Short returning after missing the Caribbean series. Australia will likely start to bed their best available top seven against South Africa ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup. It means Maxwell, who opened in four of the five T20Is in the Caribbean will return to the middle order as he forecast, with Head likely to partner Marsh at the top while Josh Inglis looks set to remain locked at No. 3 unless Short is trialed there which would change the balance of the middle order.Mitchell Owen has a strike rate of 145.53 in his 17 List A matches•AFP via Getty ImagesGreen was the Player of the Series at No. 4 while Tim David made a century at No. 5 in St Kitts and Owen looked a ready-made T20I No. 6. With Maxwell being added into the mix, Australia look primed to have a power-packed middle order but who bats where in their first-choice combination remains to be seen. Stoinis is not in the squad for the South Africa T20Is just as he wasn’t in the Caribbean, in part due to his Hundred commitments, but he too is understood to still be in consideration heading towards the T20 World Cup with Australia set to play two more T20I series in October against New Zealand and India where some Test batters like Head and Green might be rested at different stages.Owen will join the squad in Darwin on Wednesday after a rare few days in his own bed. Since the start of April, Owen has played 26 T20s in five different countries across the PSL, IPL, MLC and his international debut.He said he has learned a lot about his own game after experiencing the T20 franchise merry-go-round for the first time in his career.”What I learned was that I have to find my own process and my own training methods to get ready for each game, because you don’t have those chunks of training time to upskill your game, or try new things,” Owen said. “You’ve got to be ready to play every couple of days. So for me, I learned a lot about that and a lot about what I need to get ready. And then obviously, on the different wickets, sometimes you don’t know what you’re going to get, but I think going to the subcontinent for Pakistan and India that held me in good stead for some of the wickets in the MLC and some of the wickets in the West Indies. It’s all just experience and knowledge that I’ve been able to sort of bank.”

Manipur's Lamabam Ajay Singh given out for hitting the ball twice

The last instance of this rare dismissal in the Ranji Trophy came in 2005-06

Shashank Kishore18-Nov-2025 • Updated on 21-Nov-2025Manipur’s Lamabam Ajay Singh fell to one of cricket’s rarest dismissals in the Ranji Trophy plate league match against Meghalaya in Surat – given out for hitting the ball twice.Ajay had defended an Aryan Bora delivery, but hit it again to gently push it in the direction of the bowler. The Meghalaya players appealed and the umpire M Madhu ruled it out after giving it some thought. No one, including the batter, protested the umpire’s decision.Clause 34.1.1 of the MCC Laws states that a striker is out hitting the ball twice if, while the ball is in play, it makes contact with any part of their body or bat, and the striker then wilfully strikes it a second time with the bat or with any part of the body (other than a hand not holding the bat), before a fielder touches the ball – except when the second strike is solely to protect their wicket.

This dismissal does not fall under obstructing the field. Nor was the batter returning the ball to any fielder by hitting it for the second time.The last instance of this rare dismissal in the Ranji Trophy came in 2005-06, when Jammu & Kashmir captain Dhruv Mahajan was ruled out in similar fashion against Jharkhand.Before that, only three other Ranji cricketers had suffered the same fate: Andhra’s K Bavanna (1963-64), J&K’s Shahid Parvez (1986-87) and Tamil Nadu’s Anand George (1998-99).Ajay’s 20-ball duck on Tuesday was part of a lower-order collapse that left Manipur conceding an 88-run lead to Meghalaya. Manipur will hope to salvage a draw from this contest; one point will be enough to help secure a top-two spot and qualify for the Plate final.

WBBL round-up: Gardner, Wyatt-Hodge and Wareham star on opening day

The Australia legspinner claimed three wickets in the opening game of the season the Hobart Hurricanes produced a superb chase

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff09-Nov-2025

Georgia Wareham and Tess Flintoff celebrate•Getty Images

Danni Wyatt-Hodge dominated Hobart Hurricanes’ chase•Getty Images

Danni Wyatt-Hodge and Nicola Carey shared a Hobart Hurricanes record stand as they opened the season with their highest successful chase in the WBBL.Sydney Thunder’s middle order all scored rapidly, but the 143-run third-wicket partnership off just 82 balls between Wyatt-Hodge and Carey ensured Hurricanes could get home with three balls to spare, and in reality it was a little more comfortable than that with Shabnim Ismail doing well to force it into the final over.Wyatt-Hodge launched three sixes in her 52-ball 90, her highest score in WBBL, and might have been able to reach a century with 12 needed when she fell to Sam Bates. Carey finished unbeaten on 58, placing the ball expertly throughout her innings after Hurricanes had been 27 for 2 following the early losses of Lizelle Lee and England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt.Unlike Hurricanes, Thunder didn’t have a batter build on their start. Tahlia Wilson and Georgia Voll added 55 for the first wicket before falling in the space of five deliveries. Phoebe Litchfield played a stunning reverse sweep and raced to 16 when she fell to Molly Strano.Overseas duo Heather Knight and Chamari Athapaththu both played useful hands while Laura Harris, in her first game for the club, cracked 20 off just seven balls but fell with 21 balls remaining when she could have done some serious damage.

Ashleigh Gardner produced the ultimate captain’s performance to lead the Sydney Sixers to a crushing 10-wicket WBBL win over the Perth Scorchers at the WACA.Gardner’s first match as full-time Sixers skipper was as close to perfection as you could get, with the 28-year-old snaring a remarkable 5 for 15 off four overs as Perth were skittled for 109. They were the best WBBL bowling figures by a Sixers player.In reply to Scorchers’ meagre total, Sixers then raced to the victory target with a whopping 43 balls to spare courtesy of breezy knocks from Sophia Dunkley and Ellyse Perry in a performance that will send a huge warning to the rest of their opponents.Gardner’s rampage began with the key wicket of Sophie Devine, who was stumped in almost accidental fashion after wicketkeeper Emma Manix-Geeves fumbled the ball. Devine was initially reluctant to leave the ground but slow-mo replays confirmed the ball had dislodged the bail and not the keeper’s gloves.

Aston Villa make contact to sign "incredible" Real Madrid ace on loan in January

Aston Villa have now made contact to sign Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Garcia on loan in the January transfer window, but there could be competition from a plethora of rival Premier League clubs.

Villa’s interest in signing Garcia is nothing new, with claims they had even submitted an offer and wanted to get a deal over the line as quickly as possible, amid a lack of game time for the forward at Real Madrid.

The 21-year-old has appeared for just 96 minutes in La Liga this season, which will be a concern, given that he is now at an age where receiving consistent game time is important, otherwise his development could be hampered.

The Villans’ interest in signing a new forward also comes amid Evann Guessand making a slow start to life in the Premier League, having failed to register a goal or an assist, meaning Unai Emery may need a fresh injection of quality this winter if his side are going to push for the European places.

Aston Villa make contact to sign Gonzalo Garcia on loan

According to a report from Football Insider, Aston Villa have now made contact to sign Real Madrid forward Garcia on loan in the January transfer window, having registered their interest, but the Spanish heavyweights are yet to come to a final decision on his future.

Xabi Alonso’s side have concerns about a lack of depth in attack, meaning it could be worth keeping the Madrid-born starlet as a back-up option, especially considering Endrick is also set to go out on loan this winter.

Should the La Liga side sanction a departure, there may be stiff competition for the youngster’s signature, with Brighton & Hove Albion, Leeds United and Wolverhampton Wanderers also being named as potential suitors by journalist Pete O’Rourke.

Although the young Spaniard has been unable to force his way into Alonso’s plans in La Liga, he certainly made a name for himself at the Club World Cup in the summer, receiving high praise from scout Jacek Kulig.

Not only that, but the centre-forward has also impressed at international level for Spain U21s, scoring in each of his last three matches, while also captaining his side during two of his five international caps.

With Ollie Watkins arguably not the player he once was, having scored just one Premier League goal this term, Aston Villa could do with bringing in a young striker with high potential, and Garcia has proven he could be a future star.

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ByDominic Lund Nov 19, 2025

£75m spent; "monster" replaces Watkins: Aston Villa’s dream XI after January

The Premier League wound down for the November international break, and Unai Emery seemed content. After all, his side had just given Bournemouth a four-goal hiding, and that marked five wins from six in the top flight.

The Spanish tactician believes he has stopped the early-season rot that had crawled across the Villa Park surface and threatened the stability of the project. Villa have found form, and they believe they can go all the way in the Europa League.

However, there are wrinkles that need to be smoothed out as the January transfer window draws closer.

The changes Emery needs to make at Villa

Aston Villa are well-positioned for the months ahead. However, Emery has several issues to contend with. Chief of which is the future of Harvey Elliott, who is on loan from Liverpool but playing the bittiest of roles at Villa Park. It is anticipated he will return to Merseyside in January.

And what to do with Ollie Watkins? The centre-forward has been his side’s talisman for years now, and yet he’s been horribly out of sorts this season, raising questions as to whether the board need to dig into their purses this winter.

The Three Lions striker has only scored once in the Premier League this season despite starting ten of 11 fixtures. His instinctiveness has deserted him, with Sofascore revealing he has missed four big chances.

Watkins’ Premier League Career

Season

Apps

Goals (assists)

25/26

11

1 (0)

24/25

38

16 (8)

23/24

37

19 (13)

22/23

37

15 (6)

21/22

35

11 (2)

20/21

37

14 (5)

Data via Sofascore

Likewise, Evann Guessand has struggled since moving to England this summer, having started only five times in the Premier League and without registering a goal or assist.

There’s a player in there, for sure, but Leon Bailey out of the squad, Emery could package a few more stars to bring Villa’s chances of a grand-slam season to the fore.

The dream XI Emery could build in January

Aston Villa are in a good position, even having completed a quiet summer transfer window this year. Even so, some more depth could be beneficial up front.

As per FBref, the club’s 9.1 xG total this term puts them above only newly-promoted Burnley for that metric.

That’s why a move is being explored for Real Sociedad winger Takefusa Kubo, with the £26m-rated Japan star looking to leave the La Liga side and Villa among the frontrunners, according to reports from a few weeks ago.

Kubo is as pacy as they come and ranks among the top 3% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for shot-creating actions per 90, so in theory, he could help Villa in their bid to become a more fluent attacking outfit.

But for all that Villa aren’t creating much, Watkins is letting them down with his profligacy in the final third. That’s why fans will be attentive to the news that a number of unspecified Premier League clubs are considering moves for Ivan Toney, who left Brentford for Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli in 2024.

Regarded as a “monster” of a striker by his former Bees boss Thomas Frank, Toney, 29, has enjoyed prolific returns in the Gulf region but would be open to returning to his homeland ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

To cap off a prospectively wonderful transfer window, V Sports are understood to be interested in bringing right-back Guela Doue from Strasbourg to the club, looking to hijack Chelsea’s bid for the 23-year-old.

More progressive on the ball than Cash, the Ivorian would serve as a perfect counterpoint, adding the dimension required to wade deep into the European campaign while maintaining the push for top four in the Premier League too.

Aston Villa’s Dream XI after January

Position

Player

GK

Emi Martinez

RB

Guelo Doue

CB

Ezri Konsa

CB

Pau Torres

LB

Lucas Digne

CM

Amadou Onana

CM

Boubacar Kamara

CM

John McGinn

RW

Takefusa Kubo

LW

Morgan Rogers

CF

Ivan Toney

This is not the finished article. Lucas Digne, for example, turns 33 at the end of the season, and a left-back will be coveted in the Villan offices.

But such signings would take Villa’s winter spending to the £75m ballpark, and you have to be realistic about parameters.

It’s more than a start, a flourish on a canvas already bursting with colour. Emery’s Aston Villa are many things, but they are nothing if not progressive.

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Different Sunday, same script: Pakistan's promising final gets inevitable ending

It was another chapter in the rivalry where the suspense thrived, but the surprise never really came

Danyal Rasool29-Sep-20253:23

‘Clueless batting from Pakistan’

After all these years, it is remarkable that an India-Pakistan contest somehow manages to retain both its jeopardy and its inevitability. Long after India has cemented its status as cricket’s shepherd that corals its flock and drives it any way it might want it to go, Pakistan still manage to run off into a rogue field and cause brief mayhem. That order will eventually be restored, though, has never been in doubt, and in a final that never revealed its hand until the end, the people have played this game long enough to know the cards it concealed. And they knew it well before Tilak Varma’s arcing swipe found the midwicket stands rather than the fielder stationed just in front.That Pakistan came as close as they did, though, must have plenty more to do with this rivalry, still very much alive despite the lopsided win count of late or the Indian captain’s attempt to dismiss it as one. It is often said in football that local derbies fling form out of the window, and those games are impossible to learn anything from or read much into. That principle is all that looks to have tipped Sunday’s final into a thriller. Because, on the balance of what Pakistan had to offer against an Indian side that last lost a T20I in the Bronze Age or how much Pakistan even appeared to understands their own side’s capabilities and limitations, their proximity to glory – 11 days after they had to scrap to avoid elimination against the UAE – stretches credulity.Related

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It must be a strange thing to be Saim Ayub, a man who looks like he perpetually just woke up after his mother shooed him out of the house and funnelled him straight into the Pakistan team. He is both in the worst form of his life, but his dismissal also appears to act as his side’s trigger for absolute implosion. For the second Sunday in a row, Sahibzada Farhan – who had never played India a fortnight ago and has now scored more than a quarter of his international runs against them – got Pakistan off to the start of their dreams, before Saim popped in and tried to play himself into a bit of form.He lost his wicket shortly after, but Pakistan were still in almost the precise desirable position they found themselves in the previous week, given a precious do-over in the final. On that occasion, they’d sent in Hussain Talat, a player whose T20 game carries about the same excitement as a robot with a sore throat reading War and Peace. This time around, in the Mohammad Haris sweepstakes, this was the moment he was sent in – three wildly different uses of the same player on three different Sundays. The first time around, he was batting in the first over; last Sunday, he did not bat at all. In the final, with India’s torturously relentless spinners beginning to find their groove, out strode Haris.3:35

Pakistan’s shot selection, understanding of situation need to be better – Urooj

Haris is what might happen if a box of firecrackers were accidentally set off all at the same time: dazzling brief drama with bleak nothingness to follow. He opted – off just his second ball – to play the only inside out drive of the game, trying to caress Axar Patel on a surface that was stopping. Pakistan had lost two in four balls, and were rushing to fill in the lines in the pattern they had carved out last Sunday.Having had a week to ruminate on this precise scenario, Pakistan demonstrated they still had little idea how to deal with it. Fair play if you can accurately recall the Pakistani order in the wake of that Haris wicket, because it might as well just have been anyone at any time. It was, for the record, Salman Agha, who showed up next, a player Babar Azam could be compared to if he chewed gum and lost his cover drive. And of course, in a lot of ways, it really is all about Salman Agha.There’s little to dislike about Salman Agha the man, who has worked his way into international cricket at a relatively advanced age after toiling through the domestic circuit for a decade. He’s generally affable in his post-match interactions, and there’s a real sincerity to his everyman image and the seemingly informal elocution which media training has mercifully not yet modulated.”There have been ups and downs,” Agha said, in an assessment that might put a fortune cookie to shame. “There have been lots of positives and lots of things to work on. The good thing is we know what we did well and what we didn’t. We’ll try to do better with the things we did wrong, and to keep doing the things we did right.”But watching him walk out in the final began to feel like one of those things that Pakistan appeared to be doing wrong, and a moment when the emperor’s lack of clothes become impossible to ignore. This tournament has seen 28 batters score more runs than the Pakistan captain, all at over a run a ball. Agha’s strike rate in the Asia Cup is less than 81, and 110 over his career, dropping every time he seems to play an opposition of note. Against India and Australia, he has scored a combined 33 runs in 44 balls, averaging just over six. Even against the UAE on spinning tracks – his supposed strength, three games produced 32 runs at a strike rate of 78.09.It was off his seventh ball that he decided he wanted to launch Kuldeep Yadav out of the ground. Like a toddler biting off more chocolate than they can chew ability didn’t seem to come into it. He sputtered at the ball with the ungainliness of a wedding dancer thrust into the Bolshoi Ballet. It fizzed straight up and Sanju Samson was happy to collect.A dejected Pakistan side after the loss in the final•AFP/Getty ImagesFour balls earlier, Talat, also at the crease because the fall of wickets was no longer an event as much as an inevitability, had also taken his leave in similar circumstances, power-hitting with no power and offering the wicketkeeper catching practice. The two anchors had made little headway to Pakistan’s total, and hadn’t done much anchoring, either. A few overs later, Pakistan were bowled out for 146, nine wickets falling for 33 runs. 113 now is the highest total in T20I history upon which a side lost their second wicket and found themselves bowled out under 150.Perhaps there is a more charitable explanation for it all; that Pakistan simply have no tools to take India on when in full flow. An intentional slowdown the previous week, precisely to guard against a capitulation last night saw them fall well short anyway. In the final, they kept trying to hack at the spinners; they played aggressive shots to 40% of the balls they faced to India’s slower bowlers, and yet that trio allowed just 86 in 12 overs, picking up eight of Pakistan’s wickets. There is pain and misery whichever way you twist.But Pakistan are not setting this T20 side up, for now, anyway, to compete with India. No matter how close they felt to that mirage of an Asia Cup trophy, the chasm between the two sides remains tremendously large. Just flip the roles and picture Pakistan chasing last night, and see if there are any points in the chase you’d back them as favourites. Pakistan have set themselves a longer-term project that may involve short term pain for a side set up to reap longer term rewards. It is why Babar and Rizwan are out in the cold even if, as has been pointed out, they may ironically have been perfectly suited for the conditions this tournament offered up, and with whom Pakistan have a 2-1 winning T20I record against India in Dubai.Haris Rauf and Salman Agha plot a surprise•Associated PressWhile doing away with those two, though, Pakistan appear to have replaced them, simply further down the order, with decisively inferior options. After praising Hasan Nawaz as a generational power hitter whose non-Powerplay strike rate this year is inferior only to Dewald Brevis and Tim David, they turned once more to Talat, very much not in the mould that coach Mike Hesson has insisted Pakistan will look to relentlessly pursue. With the uncertainty of Haris’ role, or indeed Shaheen Afridi’s with the bat, Pakistan have spent the last month showing they may be willing to wound, but at the moments that usually matter, they have been afraid to strike.And that sounds very much like the side that Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan used to lead. Against India where they somehow both overperformed and underperformed, it is anyone’s guess what lessons Pakistan will take as they continue on with what they still consider to be a revolution. But, as far as jeopardy and inevitability go, this is, after all, that most characteristic way of Pakistani revolutions, one where the establishment structure doesn’t quite seem to change.

Braves Make Official Contract Decision on Pitcher Chris Sale

After two All-Star seasons with the Braves, Atlanta chose to pick up pitcher Chris Sale’s $18 million club option on Wednesday, ’s Jon Heyman reported. He will remain in Atlanta for the 2026 season.

Next offseason, when Sale is 37 years old, he will become a free agent.

The 2024 Cy Young award winner started in 20 games this past season. Sale posted a 2.58 ERA and a 1.066 WHIP—His ERA was the best amongst his fellow Braves starting pitchers this past season. He threw 165 strikeouts (a team-high) over 125.2 innings pitched, while giving up 102 hits, 36 earned runs and 11 home runs.

Atlanta is believed to be in the market for another starting pitcher this offseason, so we’ll see who the team shows interest in to possibly join Sale in the rotation in 2026.

The Braves went 76–86 this past season and missed the playoffs after going to seven consecutive postseasons.

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