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Tayla Vlaeminck is part of the Australia A group that will tour concurrently in England
Andrew McGlashan28-Mar-2023Opening batter Phoebe Litchfield has been included in Australia’s squad for the multi-format Women’s Ashes in England later this year alongside Kim Garth while fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck is part of the Australia A group that will tour concurrently.Litchfield, 19, could be in line for a Test debut following the retirement of Rachael Haynes when the Ashes gets underway with a five-day encounter at Trent Bridge from June 22. She will be an option to open the batting depending on where Australia want to use Beth Mooney and Alyssa Healy.Litchfield made her international debut against India in December during the T20I series before impressing in her first appearance at ODI level against Pakistan in January with 154 runs in the three-match series.Garth, the former Ireland allrounder who also made her first appearance for Australia in December, could also push for a Test debut as one of the pace options in a bowling attack that does not lack options.Grace Harris is the other player in the squad uncapped at Test level although she is likely to be more in the plans for the ODIs and T20Is which make up the multi-format Ashes.Australia have held the Ashes since 2015 and won by a convincing 12 points to four margin in 2021-22 although the Test produced a gripping contest where England nearly chased down a final-day target before hanging on nine wickets down.”Following the success of the side at the recent T20 World Cup, the focus now turns to the exciting challenge of retaining the Ashes away from home,” national selector Shawn Flegler said. “We’ve been fortunate to have a consistent side across all formats over the past couple of years and as a result we have selected a similar group to the squad which won the T20 World Cup in February.”Phoebe Litchfield has taken her game to the next level in the past 12 months, we view her as a long-term player for Australia and it’s pleasing to reward her progress with selection in an Ashes squad.”The inclusion of Vlaeminck in the Australia A squad is significant with her having not played since early 2022 when she suffered another stress fracture of her foot during that season’s Ashes.”Tayla Vlaeminck is progressing in her rehabilitation and is working back towards full bowling fitness,” Flegler said. “She is a highly regarded talent and is certainly part of our plans moving forward.”With the Australia A tour overlapping the first part of the Ashes, there is a chance for players to cross over if form or injuries require reinforcements with the main group. The A tour will include three T20s and three one-day games between June 21 and July 2.”It’s hugely beneficial to have an Australia A component to the tour and provide an opportunity for our developing players to test themselves in conditions they may not experience in Australia,” Flegler said.”The nature of concurrent tours also offers flexibility and allows players to be available for and cross over into both squads, whether it be from a preparation perspective or to provide an opportunity at international level.From the A squad, left-arm seamer Lauren Cheatle, allrounder Heather Graham and legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington have been capped at international level alongside Vlaeminck, while seamer Maitlan Brown has come close. Batter Courtney Webb was the WNCL Player of the Season for 2022-23.Australia Ashes squad: Meg Lanning (capt), Darcie Brown, Ashleigh Gardner, Kim Garth, Grace Harris, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Alana King, Phoebe Litchfield, Tahlia McGrath, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Annabel Sutherland, Georgia WarehamAustralia A squad: Maitlan Brown, Lauren Cheatle, Maddy Darke, Heather Graham, Nicole Faltum, Tess Flintoff, Charli Knott, Kate Peterson, Courtney Sippel, Tayla Vlaeminck, Courtney Webb, Amanda-Jade Wellington, Tahlia Wilson
Also, who’ll be the third specialist quick, and who are the back-ups to the first XI?
Andrew McGlashan14-Mar-20232:22
Ian Chappell: Australia didn’t learn a lot about their play in India series
In future Border-Gavaskar series there will be a fifth Test. However, in a way, we get one this time too. Australia and India will meet again in early June to decide the World Test Championship title.There will be precious little time for either side to prepare given the IPL runs until late May, but you can make the case that Australia have it better. A number of their players will have county cricket stints beforehand, including key batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith, while fringe players get the A tour of New Zealand and the potential of further training at home.By and large, selection for Australia’s best XI will not be an overly taxing affair provided injuries don’t play a major part. There are probably nine spots nailed down already. But those final two are ticklish decisions.
David Warner will return to Australia colours this week in the three-match ODI series in India, having recovered from the fractured elbow he suffered in Delhi. But his Test future is as clouded as at any time, barring the immediate aftermath of the ball tampering.He has an underwhelming record in the UK where he averages 26.04 from 13 Tests without a century. The double-century he forged in his 100th Test against South Africa – a remarkable innings – is threatening to look like an outlier in the closing stages of his career.David Warner did not have a memorable tour of India•Associated Press
He appears likely to feature in the WTC final, but beyond that there feels less certainty. Ricky Ponting recently suggested that it could become a selection playoff for Warner to decide whether he at least starts the Ashes that follow in the English summer.After Ahmedabad, head coach Andrew McDonald was reasonably firm on the final but left the rest more open-ended. Warner’s endpoint in Test cricket may not be in his own hands. It is not beyond the realms that he starts the Ashes but does not finish it should England’s quicks reprise their round-the-wicket success of 2019.Related
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“I think you work through that conversation, and how each player finishes is always differently,” McDonald said. “Some want to go out in a certain way, and others are okay with potentially being dropped out of sides. But at the moment Dave’s fully in our plans for the World Test Championship, he’s coming back for the one-day series, he’s recovered from his injury there, so we’ll see Dave back in Australian colours on the 17th and we’ll go from there.”Even if Warner reaches the next home summer (where his home Test at the SCG will not be the final match of the season this time) there is little doubt that his Test career will end in the next 12 months, so there will need to be a replacement sooner rather than later.Matthew Renshaw batted in the middle order in India, and unconvincingly so, but is viewed as the leading candidate at the moment. By pure weight of domestic runs Cameron Bancroft is making a strong case although there may be other complexities involved. Marcus Harris could consider himself unfortunate to have been dropped in the 2021-22 Ashes when someone had to make way to keep Usman Khawaja in the side. Travis Head was excellent after being promoted to open in India but will remain a middle-order player outside the subcontinent.
The other big selection decision that will likely need to be made is who slots in as the third specialist quick behind Mitchell Starc and captain Pat Cummins. However, that is assuming that Josh Hazlewood can put an end to his run of injuries which, along with conditions-based selection in Asia, has limited him to four Tests in two years.Can Josh Hazlewood get fit for the WTC final?•Getty Images
Hazlewood left the India tour after not recovering from Achilles injury sustained in his comeback Test at the SCG against South Africa when he pounded in on soft turf caused by problems with the covers. He is a wonderful Test bowler but needs to stay on the park.”Injuries are unfortunate and it’s part of fast bowling,” McDonald said. “So two separate injuries, a side injury and an Achilles injury. When he does come back though, what we saw in Sydney is he’s still world-class. I think Scott Boland adds to depth there, we’ve got Lance Morris, unfortunately Jhye Richardson who is of great interest as well suffered a recent injury as well, but we feel as though those fast bowlers as a collective can help each other navigate through what the Future Tours Programme holds.”If Hazlewood is fit for the WTC final it will be a close-run thing between him and Boland, although before the SCG match against South Africa he stated his belief that the pace-bowling hierarchy was still in place – and he was, indeed, selected ahead of Boland. Either of them should be a handful in England during early June.Having said that Starc will be locked in, there may just be question posed as to whether he is the ideal type of fast bowler for early-season England. He only played once in the 2019 Ashes. However, since the start of 2021-22 season he has taken 51 wickets at 27.27 and he also has a role in creating rough for Nathan Lyon.
There is unlikely to be much difference between Australia’s WTC squad and their Ashes group, but the ICC will put a limit of the number of players for the final. For the 2021 edition it was 15. So let’s assume there are four extra spots to fill.Will Josh Inglis be called upon as backup wicketkeeper?•Getty Images
Todd Murphy would appear locked in as the back-up spinner after his outstanding tour of India. One of Hazlewood or Boland will be a spare quick but there will be another as well. Uncapped Lance Morris has been around squads at home and abroad, but selectors may just ponder if he’ll quite be the right fit for June conditions. Michael Neser could well come into the frame.Will they want a specialist wicketkeeper in reserve? It’s long way to fly someone from Australia at short notice. In India, Peter Handscomb, who is very capable with the gloves, filled the role and would be an option again. He would obviously cover the spare batter position, too. If an out-and-out keeper was wanted, Josh Inglis would lead the way, although Jimmy Peirson should push him close.Australia’s possible WTC final squad (if 15 named): David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Todd Murphy, Peter Handscomb, Michael Neser/Lance Morris
Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement is reportedly set to get the next few weeks to show that he is the right man to lead the team heading into the new year.
According to Football Insider, the Belgian manager will remain in the dugout until at least the League Cup final clash with Celtic at Hampden Park next month.
The report claims that CEO Patrick Stewart is due to officially start his role a day after the showpiece event and that a decision could then be made on the former AS Monaco chief’s future.
It states that pressure is mounting on Clement after his Rangers side dropped points once again at the weekend, drawing 1-1 with Dundee United at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership.
The Light Blues are now third in the table and 11 points adrift of their rivals at the top, having drawn two and lost three of their league games so far.
Clement may try to convince the board, irrespective of the result between now and the cup final, to allow him to use the January transfer window to turn the season around.
According to The Boot Room, Rangers are one a number of clubs showing an interest in signing Brighton & Hove Albion number nine Evan Ferguson.
The report claims that the Gers and Scottish rivals Celtic have both expressed an interest in bringing the Ireland international to Glasgow when the January transfer window opens for business.
Graeme Bailey, the author of the article, reports that both clubs are preparing to offer him a loan move to the Premiership for the second half of the season.
The Boot Room states that Brighton have given the young centre-forward the green light to pursue potential moves away from the AMEX on a temporary basis, given his lack of regular minutes on the pitch this season.
Securing a deal to sign the Irish sensation will not be easy for Rangers or Celtic, however, as the report adds that Premier League sides West Ham, Southampton, Leicester, and Fulham are also eyeing up the 20-year-old, who already has a top-flight hat-trick under his belt.
He is also said to have interest from unnamed clubs in Spain, France, Italy, and Germany, whilst Brighton view him as one of the best young forwards around right now.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The report also reveals that the Premier League outfit want assurances that Ferguson will play regularly during any loan in the second half of the season, to ensure that the forward is able to play week-in-week-out and continue his development.
Rangers must, now, work hard to ensure that they are able to win the race for the 20-year-old marksman, because their current first-choice number nine has not done enough to suggest that he should be starting every week.
The Nigeria international, who arrived from Cremonese in the summer of 2023, has not shown the quality needed to be a reliable number nine for the Scottish giants since his move to the club last year.
In the 2023/24 campaign, Dessers ended the Premiership season with a return of 16 goals in 35 appearances for the Gers. That was a solid return on paper but looks far less impressive when you consider that the forward also missed a staggering 27 ‘big chances’ in front of goal.
This shows that the experienced attacker simply did not do enough with the quality of chances that were being created for him by his teammates in the division.
After having a year to settle into life at Ibrox and in Scottish football, some may have hoped that Dessers would improve his consistency in the 2024/25 campaign.
|
Clement’s most wasteful finishers |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
24/25 Premiership |
xG |
Goals |
xG differential |
|
Cyriel Dessers |
6.53 |
4 |
-2.53 |
|
Hamza Igamane |
1.47 |
0 |
-1.47 |
|
James Tavernier |
1.45 |
0 |
-1.45 |
|
Dujon Sterling |
1.29 |
0 |
-1.29 |
|
Robin Propper |
1.06 |
0 |
-1.06 |
|
Stats via WhoScored |
|||
As you can see in the table above, the Nigerian marksman has been the most wasteful player in the squad, once again, in the Premiership this term, underperforming his xG by more than two goals.
With this in mind, Rangers must attempt to land Ferguson on loan until the end of the season, as the Irishman has the potential to come in as a big upgrade on Dessers.
Despite only turning 20 in October, the Brighton youngster has already showcased his ability in front of goal at the top level in the Premier League.
He has made 54 appearances for the Seagulls in the top division of English football and scored an impressive, given his age, 13 goals, to go along with two assists.
The most eye-catching part of his record in the Premier League is that his tally of 13 goals has come from an xG of 9.80, which means that he has scored 3.20 more goals than the average player would be expected to score from the quality of chances created.
He has also scored four goals in 18 caps for Ireland at senior level and produced 18 goals in 39 matches for Brighton at U23 level, to further illustrate his goalscoring capabilities.
|
Evan Ferguson |
23/24 Premier League |
24/25 Premier League |
|---|---|---|
|
Appearances |
27 |
7 |
|
Starts |
15 |
1 |
|
xG |
4.61 |
0.15 |
|
Goals |
6 |
1 |
|
Duel success rate |
40% |
37% |
|
Stats via Sofascore |
||
As you can see in the table above, Ferguson has scored seven goals from 4.76 xG in the league for Brighton since the start of last season, but has also lost the majority of his physical duels, which may be why he has struggled for starts.
Dessers, however, has only won 34% of his duels in the Premiership this season, which suggests that Ferguson could even come in as an upgrade on the Rangers striker in one of the weakest aspects of his own game.
Meanwhile, the Brighton gem, who was hailed as “phenomenal” by teammate James Milner, also has the quality to be a huge upgrade on the Nigerian flop as a goalscorer for the Gers, given their respective finishing quality.
Rangers signed their own Kante before he left after one forgettable year
Glasgow Rangers thought they had their own version of N’Golo Kante, then he flopped.
By
Dan Emery
Nov 25, 2024
Ferguson, based on his Premier League form, is a striker who can more than make the most of the high-quality chances that Rangers create, whilst Dessers continues to let the team down with his poor finishing, and that is why the Gers must swoop to bring him in in January.
The allrounder in the former Australia captain’s Ashes XI: the star of England’s 2005 Ashes win
Ricky Ponting13-Jul-20152:12
Andrew Flintoff
“He saved his best cricket for the Ashes. I like those sort of competitors that stand up in the big series and perform for their team. He did it with bat and ball and was always the go-to guy for that very powerful English team of the mid- and late 2000s”
Batting
OVERALL: Matches 79 Innings 130 Runs 3845 Average 31.89 100s/50s 5/26
ASHES: Matches 14 Innings 27 Runs 856 Average 34.24 100s/50s 1/6Bowling
OVERALL: Matches 79 Innings 137 Wickets 226 Average 32.78 5/10 3/0
ASHES: Matches 14 Innings 24 Runs 43 Average 36.11 5/10 2/0
68 and 73, 3 for 52 and 4 for 79 in Birmingham, 2005
Flintoff the allrounder was at his peak in the 2005 Ashes and he was imperious in that famous Test at Edgbaston. He hit six fours and five sixes in a 62-ball 68 and then took 3 for 52 as England gained a 99-run lead. In the second innings, Brett Lee and Shane Warne had England at 75 for 6, but Flintoff’s vital 73 set Australia a competitive 282 to win. Justin Langer got an inside edge onto his stumps, and Ricky Ponting was set up to offer an outside edge. Flintoff returned to remove Jason Gillespie with a yorker and had Warne out hit-wicket – with Australia still needing 62. England narrowly won the Test by two runs, with Flintoff the Man of the Match in one of the greatest matches of all time.
Andrew Flintoff is the only England player to score more than 400 runs and take 20 wickets in an Ashes series.
Chelsea's stance on sending Jadon Sancho back to Manchester United in the summer has been revealed as a clause may help the Blues send him back.
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Results on the field have remained inconsistent, but Delhi Daredevils have the ingredients in place for a bigger push next season
Arun Venugopal16-May-20153:54
We need to find a winning culture – Duminy
Ahead of IPL 2015, Delhi Daredevils had more than one challenge confronting them. Firstly, they had to up their game on the field. After two consecutive years of finishing last, Delhi Daredevils’ big buys had misfired in 2014. Secondly, with the team not being taken seriously enough as a championship contender, their profile needed a boost.The owners decided to do something about it and made a statement of intent four months ahead of IPL 2015 by offloading 13 players, including Kevin Pietersen, Ross Taylor, Dinesh Karthik and M Vijay.With their purse fattened they splurged money on Yuvraj Singh, the costliest buy in the auction at Rs 16 crore, as much to strengthen their squad as to attract advertisers, perhaps more of the latter than the former. There were other big investments in the form of Angelo Mathews (Rs 7.5 crore), Zaheer Khan (Rs 4 crore), Amit Mishra (Rs 3.5 crore), Shreyas Iyer (Rs 2.6 crore) and Gurinder Sandhu (Rs 1.7 crore).As Daredevils’ campaign winds down, they will perhaps have mixed feelings. If they were to strictly go by the bottomline – Daredevils will finish seventh – then things haven’t improved a great deal.But a closer look would reveal that they have made incremental gains to their performances and, with a bit of luck, could have been placed higher. What also hurt them was their inability to string together consistently good performances, their graph an alternating pattern of wins and losses. Captain JP Duminy conceded that his team fell short when it came to closing out games.
Going into the season, Daredevils had an embarrassing record to set straight, that of losing nine IPL matches in a row, and two last-ball defeats, against Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, made it 11 on the trot. The long-awaited win finally came against Kings XI Punjab, with Mayank Agarwal and Yuvraj Singh scoring fifties. They followed it up with a four-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad courtesy Duminy’s all-round performance. That was the only instance of Daredevils winning two consecutive games.Shreyas Iyer has justified his Rs. 2.6 crore price tag with over 400 runs in his debut season•BCCI
At the end of eight games, Daredevils, after crushing Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets, had won four and lost as many. They were in with a decent shout of qualifying for the playoffs at that point, but then went off the boil, losing four games in a row. Daredevils also suffered a 10-wicket defeat at the hands of Royal Challengers Bangalore after being bowled out for 95.
When Shreyas Iyer was signed for Rs 2.6 crore, there was disbelief and curiosity in equal measure. Iyer, Mumbai’s highest run-getter in the Ranji Trophy, was an investment that appeared to appreciate as the season went on. One of the best young players of IPL 2015, Iyer, 20, is comfortably the leading run-getter for Daredevils with 419 runs* at an average of 34.91, including four fifties.Despite the impressive numbers, Iyer admitted his preparation wasn’t ideal ahead of the IPL. “I wasn’t prepared as I didn’t know where I’ll bat,” Iyer told ESPNcricinfo. “The preparation was not the best but I took the confidence of a good Ranji season.”
At the other end of the spectrum is Yuvraj Singh, who didn’t do much justice to his price tag. He managed 237 runs at 19.75 and didn’t do much with the ball either.
Daredevils have in the past been guilty of changing the core of their team too often. This time, as Duminy said, Daredevils are on the “right track”, and have the building blocks in place for next year. If they can ensure continuity and put together some consistent performances, the results might not remain elusive for too long.
How much does Frenkie de Jong make per week playing for Catalan giants Barcelona?
Frenkie de Jong has been a regular presence in Barcelona's midfield ever since his arrival from Ajax in 2019.
Despite struggling with injuries at times, de Jong has eventually won over each manager he's worked with at the Catalan club so far.
Thanks to his dedication, performances, and seniority within the squad, De Jong has been rewarded with a high salary, making him one of the top earners at the club.
Let's take a look at exactly how much the Dutchman earns playing for Barcelona.
GOAL delved into the numbers with Capology and found out!
*
New captain takes heart from the fight his team showed over 10 hard-fought days against Pakistan in Karachi
Alagappan Muthu06-Jan-20233:03
Southee: ‘Great finish to a tough series’
There was but one member of this New Zealand squad on tour in Pakistan to have ever played cricket in the country, and that was their batting coach. Even so, they were “one ball away from series victory” and the captain Tim Southee took a lot of heart from that.Karachi provided conditions that made batting and bowling a hard graft, so much so that both Test matches only really came alive on the final day. Last week, an odd declaration from Babar Azam gave New Zealand the chance to nick a win after it seemed like they had been batted out of the game. And on Friday, they had Pakistan at 80 for 5 in a chase of 319. They weathered Sarfaraz Ahmed’s brilliant counterattack. And in the dying light, became the only team with any chance of victory.”You play to win Test matches and we got ourselves in, probably, positions to win both of them,” Southee said at the post-match press conference. “It was pretty tough going but the guys toiled away and we were one ball away from a series victory. So yeah, disappointing to walk away [0-0] and I’m sure Pakistan are the same. You walk away, you toil away for 10 days and a drawn series. So yeah. A lot of good cricket was played in and amongst those 10 days.”Related
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When the umpires had to take the players off the field for bad light, New Zealand were one wicket away from victory, and Pakistan needed just 15 runs. Southee, captaining for the first time in Test cricket in this series, was asked whether he had any regrets about the timing of his declaration. He gave his team 93 overs to take 10 wickets. They got in 90, and took nine, before the game was called off.”We felt the surfaces was still a pretty good surface if you wanted to just bat,” Southee said. “Tough if you wanted to score runs. So it was a bit of a balancing act to try and get the right amount of overs left and the right amount of runs. And I guess to get a little dip at them [2.5 overs] last night and get them two down, that was a great start.”I guess you always look back and there’s ways you could improve and you could get better with hindsight. But that was a decision we made at the time. The guys that were batting felt that it wasn’t easy to just go out and hit the ball. So it was one of those ones that you had to weigh up. Last night we declared and made the most of the three overs we had. But it was one of those decisions you make with discussions around how the batters are feeling, what the surface is doing and what you think is right at the time.”
The biggest stumbling block in New Zealand’s road to victory was Sarfaraz. Making a comeback to the Pakistan team for the first time in nearly four years, he found a way to score fluently in conditions that weren’t really conducive for that. Sarfaraz finished with 118 runs at a strike rate of 67 and slowing him down was of such importance that New Zealand denied themselves the second new ball, worried that it might come onto his bat better. Pakistan were 267 for 6 after 80 overs, 52 shy of their target.”With the two batters still in, Sarfaraz and [Agha] Salman, we felt that runs could have come quickly,” Southee said, “And I think that’s a build-up of the way Sarfaraz played through the day, which delayed us taking the new ball. If he hadn’t played as positively as he did through the day, then we would’ve been able to take the new ball when it became available and had a lot more runs to play with. So again it was a bit of a balancing act. If you take the new ball, it may come on a bit easier and we were just trying to manage how to get through that partnership, which we did. We were able to take that new ball and get another couple of wickets. So yeah, its a fine line and you go on a bit of a gut feel what you feel is right at the time along with the other leaders in the group.”
This was New Zealand’s first tour of Pakistan in 19 years and although the result didn’t go their way, Southee was happy he was part of the entertainment.”Dunno if I rate draws,” he said. “But yeah it was an exciting finish. I hope that the people watching enjoyed the end there. It was nice to see a few people through the gates at the end there, a bit of an atmosphere around. It would’ve been better to win but I guess for the people that were watching, I hope it was exciting.””We’ve really enjoyed our time here so far. It’s a place a lot of the guys haven’t been. We’ve been welcomed very nicely and the guys have enjoyed it and we’re now looking forward to the one-day series.”
West Ham United spent around £120m in the 2023/24 season, bringing five permanent signings to the club, and one loan deal for Kalvin Phillips in the January window.
This was also the same summer Declan Rice was sold to Arsenal for £105m, giving the club that conundrum to replace his midfield output in the team.
The Hammers’ biggest signing of the summer was Mohammed Kudus, signing from Ajax for a fee of around £38m. Since joining, the 24-year-old has made 55 appearances, scoring 16 goals and providing seven assists.
|
West Ham 2023/24 signings |
|
|---|---|
|
Player |
Fee (£) |
|
Mohammed Kudus |
£38m |
|
Edson Alvarez |
£31.5m |
|
James Ward-Prowse |
£28.8m |
|
Konstantinos Mavropanos |
£16.6m |
|
Andy Irving |
£1.4m |
|
Stats taken from Transfermarkt |
|
But there was one signing that the Hammers didn’t make in the summer of 2023/24 – one they were heavily linked with – and he’s now outscoring both Jarrod Bowen and Michail Antonio combined.
So far this season, Bowen is leading the way for West Ham, scoring four goals and providing two assists in 13 games so far.
The Hammers captain scored 20 goals last term and their lack of goals from a recognised striker has meant the club rely more on their wide men for attacking output.
Antonio has only got one goal and one assist in his 12 appearances as the 34-year-old still struggles to provide consistent output through the middle, despite his hard work and overall impact on the team. Last season, the Jamaican striker only netted seven times in 32 games, far behind their star man in Bowen.
Unfortunately for the Irons, the man they missed out on last summer not only scored more than Bowen and Antonio combined in 2023/24 but is also outscoring them combined in 2024/25 with data analyst Ben Mattinson having labelled the “on fire” striker when analysing potential strikers for the club.
Reports in June 2023 linked Viktor Gyokeres with a move to West Ham from Coventry, with senior officials allegedly entering negotiations.
David Moyes appeared to be a big fan of Gyokeres, and the Hammers could have made a move in that summer.
One that got away
The transfers that nearly happened but never did. This article is part of Football FanCast's One That Got Away series.
But fast-forward a tad and the 26-year-old made a move to Portuguese side, Sporting CP, for a fee of around £20m, becoming Coventry’s record sale.
In his first season in Lisbon, Gyokeres more than lived up to his billing of an “unplayable” poacher – as dubbed by former teammate Maxime Biamou – scoring a whopping 43 goals and providing 15 assists in 50 appearances, firing Sporting to the title.
Now in his second year, the Sweden international has started in the same red-hot goalscoring form, netting 23 times in 17 appearances, also providing four assists, totalling 1,436 minutes played. This is more than three times the output of Bowen and Antonio combined in this campaign.
|
Gyokeres vs Bowen & Antonio |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Stats (per 90 mins) |
Gyokeres |
Bowen |
Antonio |
|
Goals |
1.41 |
0.31 |
0.13 |
|
Assists |
0.28 |
0.16 |
0.13 |
|
xG |
1.15 |
0.19 |
0.27 |
|
xAG |
0.24 |
0.28 |
0.22 |
|
Progressive Carries |
4.57 |
3.93 |
2.70 |
|
Progressive Passes |
1.74 |
4.02 |
1.89 |
|
Shots Total |
4.41 |
2.50 |
2.31 |
|
Goals/Shot |
0.21 |
0.09 |
0.06 |
|
Key Passes |
2.03 |
2.24 |
1.08 |
|
Shot-Creating Actions |
5.36 |
3.83 |
2.43 |
|
Stats taken from FBref |
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The Swedish striker has a complete skillset, with the ability to run the channels, carry the ball himself, link play and create for others, as well as, of course, finishing chances at an exceptionally high ratio. Just look at his hat-trick against Manchester City in the Champions League last week; it’s superb stuff.
Gyokeres betters Antonio in all but one metric analysed above, with the 34-year-old completing 0.15 more progressive passes per 90, but when you put these stats side by side, you can really see how Gyokeres and Bowen would have complemented each other, and West Ham fans will wonder what could have been.
Fewer touches than Fabianski: Lopetegui must now axe 5/10 West Ham star
West Ham United had to settle for a draw during their Premier League clash against Everton
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By
Ross Kilvington
Nov 9, 2024