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The Arsenal team today is undoubtedly better than the one from a few years ago.

Bukayo Saka has reached another level entirely, Declan Rice is a monster in midfield, David Raya is a reliable presence between the sticks and the defence looks set to be the best in the Premier League for the second year running.

However, one area that is probably weaker than it was at the start of the decade is striker; as for all their hard work, neither Kai Havertz nor Gabriel Jesus are prolific, at least not compared to former goalscorer extraordinaire Pierre Emerick Aubameyang.

The Gabon international was a force of nature for most of his time at the Emirates – he was the fastest Arsenal player to hit 50 Premier League goals and left with a tally of 112 goal involvements – but now it looks as if Andrea Berta and Co could be about to sign someone who’d be the club’s best striker since the former captain.

Arsenal's striker search

With Arsenal’s most acute area of need heading into the summer window being the striker positions, it’s not a shock that they’ve been linked with a mountain of potential signings over the last month or so.

Transfer Focus

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

One of the most talked-about links has undoubtedly been to Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak, who has already racked up a sensational haul of 24 goals and five assists in 34 appearances this term – an average of a goal involvement every 1.17 games.

However, with the Toon reportedly after £150m for their star man, a move this summer feels increasingly unlikely, so reports have also touted the more affordable Benjamin Sesko for a transfer to the Emirates.

The Slovenian international could be available for around £67m, although at just 21 years old, there is a risk that Arteta and Co would be signing another project player when what they really need at this point is the finished article, someone like Viktor Gyokeres.

Fortunately, according to a recent report from Italy, the Sporting CP phenomenon is not only a target for the Gunners but also their primary striker target.

Moreover, the report has revealed that the North Londoners have now opened talks to try and sign the Swede and that the talks have been “positive” thus far.

A potential price for the marksman is not mentioned in the report, but stories from late last month claimed that he could be available for as little as £58m.

While that is still a sizable sum of money, it could prove to be incredible value for money in this case, and as Gyokeres could be the club’s best striker since Aubameyang, Arsenal should do all they can to get this deal over the line as soon as possible.

Why Gyokeres would be Arsenal's best striker since Aubameyang

Unsurprisingly, when it comes down to it, the reason Gyokeres would be Arsenal’s best centre-forward since Aubameyang was in his pomp is the simple fact that he is a lean, mean, goalscoring machine.

For example, in just 50 appearances last season, the Stockholm-born “powerhouse,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 43 goals and provided 15 assists, which comes out to an average of 1.16 goal involvements every game.

This year, the Swedish monster has done even better, racking up a sensational tally of 42 goals and 11 assists in 42 appearances, which comes out to an average of 1.26 goal involvements every game.

Appearances

42

34

27

MIinutes

3340′

2776′

1204′

Goals

42

15

7

Assists

11

5

2

Goal Involvements per Match

1.26

0.58

0.33

Minutes per Goal Involvement

63.01′

138.8′

133.77′

In contrast, Havertz produced 20 goal involvements in 34 appearances prior to his injury this term and Jesus nine in 27 appearances, meaning the German was averaging a goal involvement every 1.7 games and the Brazilian every three games.

Finally, on top of maintaining a level of output that is simply out of this world at the club level, the 26-year-old Sporting star is also incredibly effective at the international level.

For example, in 26 senior caps for Sweden, totalling 1568 minutes, he has scored 15 goals and provided five assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.23 games, or every 74.66 minutes.

Ultimately, Arsenal are already an incredible team, but they lack a genuinely prolific number nine; if they sign Gyokeres, that won’t be a problem anymore.

Better than Nico Williams: Arsenal lead race to sign "Bergkamp-esque" star

The incredible international would make Arsenal a far scarier proposition.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 3, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

da betcris： O Palmeiras manteve sua invencibilidade na temporada e garantiu mais uma vitória no Paulistão ao bater o Red Bull Bragantino, por 2 a 0, nesta quarta-feira, no Allianz Parque. Com gol de Rony e outra assistência de Raphael Veiga, além de um golaço de Breno Lopes, o Alviverde manteve a primeira posição no Grupo D e segue como a melhor campanha geral da competição estadual.

> Veja classificação e simulador do Paulistão-2023 clicando aqui

Massa Bruta começa pressionando o Verdão, que se incomoda, mas abre o placar

A equipe do Red Bull Bragantino começou a partida com uma estratégia ousada: a de marcar a saída de bola do Palmeiras bem afundada no campo de defesa adversário. O esquema deu certo e incomodou os palmeirenses, que não tinham muitas opções para sair. Quando o Verdão começou a “se achar” em campo, as chances vieram. Depois de uma boa sequência de ataques, Veiga cobrou escanteio no primeiro pau, na cabeça de Rony, que abriu o placar para colocar o time à frente. 1 a 0.

continua após a publicidade

da leao： Poucas oportunidades, muita reclamação, arbitragem ruim e pouco futebol

Com a vantagem, o Alviverde tinha tudo para estar no melhor dos mundos, partindo no contra-ataque. No entanto, foram poucas as oportunidades da equipe, que via o Massa Bruta achar espaços na intermediária para trocar passes. Acontece que os visitantes não levavam perigo e deixava a defesa palmeirense tranquila. O que tirou a paz de todos foi a arbitragem, que irritou ambos os lados e contribuiu fortemente para o jogo ficar muito ruim. Endrick, inclusive, levou amarelo por uma entrada dura em Juninho Capixaba e Weverton foi advertido por reclamação.

Palmeiras volta mais ligado e mais intenso, mas também leva sustos

Logo aos dois minutos de jogo, seguindo a intensidade com a qual voltou do vestiário, o Verdão teve uma chance com Dudu, que foi rebatida pelo goleiro Cleiton, mas Rony não conseguiu completar. Dali em diante, uma pane geral na defesa do Alviverde proporcionou chances ao Red Bull Bragantino. Houve uma sequência delas, mas a principal foi quando Sorriso infiltrou sozinho na área e Weverton salvou com os pés. O goleiro ainda fez algumas defesas difíceis durante esse “apagão”.

Mais confusão na parte final do jogo, mas com direito a golaço

Abel Ferreira começou a mexer no time depois da sequência de sustos e procurou estabilizar a atuação palmeirense. Com a ajuda da arbitragem, que mais uma vez contribuiu para não ter jogo no Allianz Parque, as ações de ambos os lados diminuíram muito. O lance de maior relevância havia sido uma reação de Rony, que levou entrada e, durante sua queda, deu um “coice” em Natan. O VAR chamou o árbitro para analisar a imagem, mas foi dado apenas um cartão amarelo o camisa 10.

No entanto, havia algo guardado para o final. Em uma arrancada ao ataque, Rony segurou a bola no tempo certo e esperou Breno Lopes chegar. Com um chute em ângulo “impossível”, ele balançou a rede de Cleiton para aumentar a vantagem e fechar o placar para o Palmeiras no Allianz Parque.

E agora?

Com a vitória, o Palmeiras vai a 24 pontos no Paulistão e, além de liderar o Grupo D, segue com a melhor campanha geral da fase de grupos da competição. No próximo domingo, o Verdão recebe a Ferroviária, no Allianz Parque, às 18h30. Já o Red Bull Bragantino fica na segunda posição do Grupo A com 14 pontos e enfrenta o Ituano, em Bragança Paulista, neste sábado, às 16h.

FICHA TÉCNICA
PALMEIRAS 2 x 0 RED BULL BRAGANTINO
Local: Allianz Parque, em São Paulo (SP)
Data-Hora: 22/2/2023 – 21h35 (de Brasília)
Árbitro: Douglas Marques das Flores
Assistentes: Neuza Inês Back e Amanda Pinto Matias
VAR: Vinicius Furlan
Público: 33.352 torcedores/R$ 1.549.693,46
Cartões amarelos: Rony, Endrick e Weverton (PAL) Gustavinho e Matheus Fernandes (RBB)
Cartões vermelhos: –
Gols: Rony (12’/1ºT) (1-0), Breno Lopes (47’/2ºT) (2-0)

PALMEIRAS: Weverton; Marcos Rocha (Mayke, aos 28’/2ºT), Gustavo Gómez, Murilo e Piquerez; Zé Rafael, Gabriel Menino (Jailson, aos 39’/2ºT) e Raphael Veiga (Bruno Tabata, aos 28’/2ºT); Rony, Dudu (Breno Lopes, aos 39’/2ºT) e Endrick (Giovani, aos 15’/2ºT). Técnico: Abel Ferreira.

RED BULL BRAGANTINO: Cleiton; Aderlan, Lucas Cunha, Natan e Juninho Capixaba (Guilherme Lopes, aos 22’/2ºT); Jadsom (Eric Ramires, aos 22’/2ºT), Matheus Fernandes e Bruninho (Werik Popó, aos 34’/2ºT); Artur, Sorriso (Gustavinho, aos 34’/2ºT) e Alerrandro (Thiago Borbas, aos 22’/2ºT). Técnico: Pedro Caixinha.

A trademark century from Cheteshwar Pujara guided Sussex Sharks to a four-wicket Metro Bank One Day Cup victory over Somerset at the Cooper Associates County Ground, Taunton.The Indian run-machine hit an unbeaten 117 off 113 balls as his side chased down a target of 319 with 11 balls to spare. Tom Alsop contributed 60 and Oli Carter a rapid 44.Maiden Somerset hundreds from Andy Umeed (119) and Curtis Campher (101) had propelled their team to 318 for 6 after winning the toss, Fynn Hudson-Prentice claiming 3 for 50.But it looked no more than a par total in warm sunshine on a flat batting pitch and the Sharks ran it down comfortably to achieve their first win in the competition at the fourth attempt.Excellent opening spells by Sean Hunt and Hudson-Prentice restricted Somerset to 36 for 1 off 10 overs, George Thomas caught behind off the latter for five and Umeed playing and missing on numerous occasions.Hudson-Prentice had George Bartlett caught by wicketkeeper Carter, driving at a full-length ball and when James Rew, on 22, lofted a catch to long-off to give off-spinner Jack Carson his first wicket, Somerset were 80 for three in the 20th over.Umeed recovered from his uncertain start and set about bettering his career-best List A score of 77, made in the previous game against Northamptonshire. The opener reached a 68-ball fifty with a four through mid-wicket off Henry Crocombe.Campher greeted the introduction of leg-spinner Archie Lenham by dispatching his second ball for six over mid-wicket on his way to a 45-ball half-century and Umeed followed suit off the same bowler as the pair raised the tempo.Umeed produced a succession of sweetly-timed strokes in moving to his maiden List A hundred, off 115 balls, with 9 fours and 2 sixes.The stand with Campher was worth 163 from 23 overs when Umeed got an inside edge onto his stumps off Hudson-Prentice to make the score 243 for 4.Andrew Umeed celebrates his century with team-mate Curtis Campher•Getty Images

Campher reached his ton off 79 balls, with nine fours and three sixes, before being caught at long-on off Carson, and skipper Sean Dickson’s rapid 40 at the end of the innings ensured his side of a competitive total.Somerset gave the new ball to debutant James (JT) Langridge and the 17-year-old left-arm seamer did not disappoint, taking a wicket in his second over as Tom Haines sliced a catch to deep backward square.It was 47 for 2 when Tom Clark edged a pull shot off Jack Brooks to wicketkeeper Rew. But by then Alsop was well set and it seemed inevitable that Pujara would flourish in the afternoon sunshine.So it proved, as the pair added 92 in 15 overs with barely a false shot, Alsop reaching a 49-ball half-century before nicking a ball from medium-pacer George Thomas and seeing Rew take an excellent catch standing up to the stumps.Pujara followed Alsop to fifty, also off 49 balls, the Indian maestro calmly picking gaps in the field to keep the Sharks up with the required run rate. But the Sharks lost a fourth wicket when James Coles was bowled for 21, pushing forward to the left-arm spin of Josh Thomas, younger brother of George.Hudson-Prentice looked unlucky to be judged lbw aiming a reverse sweep at Josh Thomas and at 202 for five in the 34th over Sharks’ hopes rested with Pujara.Carter injected a late surge, smacking 4 fours and 2 sixes, including one amazing tennis shot that cleared the ropes over long-off, proving an ideal foil for Pujara, who coasted to his 16th List A century off 105 balls, barely seeming to take a risk.

da betsul： In partnership with NewBettingSites.uk, Football FanCast had a quick chat with former Liverpool, Leeds and Arsenal winger Jermaine Pennant this week to catch up on a few of his old stomping grounds. Catch the full video interview and transcript below.

Pennant heaps praise on Arsenal youngsters but raises doubts over title race

da roleta： Having come through Arsenal’s youth set-up to play his first senior minutes at Highbury, Pennant heaped praise on Myles Lewis-Skelly and Ethan Nwaneri, but did raise some possible red flags for the Gunners.

“Relying on youngsters going into a title dogfight, towards the end of the season, is not ideal. So it’s kind of a double edged sword – it’s great because they’re fearless and going out there with youth and athleticism and they’re hungry to play.

“But then you’ve got, when it comes down to the crunch time, inexperience, how can you handle that? It’s going to be new territory, so yeah it’s a double edged sword.”

Pennant on Arsenal's summer transfer plans amid links to Isak

Amid cries from fans in North London for a new number nine and constant links to Newcastle star Alexander Isak, Pennant believes the emergence of the aforementioned young stars clears the way for a serious signing up front this summer.

“I think so, you’ve seen now that Nwaneri can be a more than suitable replacement for Saka. You can put him in – like Liverpool throwing in a Gakpo or Diaz – and either/or you’re happy with. So with Nwaneri and Saka they’ve got that right hand side in a good place.

“Lewis-Skelly at left back, he’s proven that he’s more than capable in that position, so again they don’t really need to focus on that.

“So I think that’s helped them going into the market to really now finally focus on a good number nine.”

Related Arsenal told new Alexander Isak price tag in boost for Mikel Arteta

He’s a reported top target for the Gunners.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Feb 18, 2025 Pennant on Liverpool's plans to replace Mohamed Salah

With still no sign of a new contract for Liverpool superstar Mo Salah, we asked Pennant if there are any wingers within the Premier League good enough to succeed Anfield’s Egyptian King.

“Semenyo for Bournemouth, he’s looked exciting but he likes to play off the left, but I think he could play off the right as well. Mbeumo is a good option, but when you’re talking about other players rather than Mo Salah, it’s hard to put anyone up near him. Whoever we get, it’s just not going to be the same.

“So will we see someone from the Premier League? Probably not, I think they’ll go abroad to find a replacement.

“Their recruitment is usually spot on. I’m sure as we speak Liverpool are looking for some sort of replacement.”

Pennant on where else Liverpool need to strengthen this summer away from the 'big 3'

While the majority of the focus at Anfield remains on the futures of Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Pennant, a boyhood Reds fan, believes left-back is also an area of concern.

“This is probably one of the most important spots that Liverpool need to fill in and that’s left back.

“No disrespect to Andy Robertson, absolutely fantastic player, fantastic servant to the club, a left-back legend, probably one of the best left-backs Liverpool have ever had.

“But I think now he’s coming to the end of the tether, still can be a great Liverpool player and part of the team, but to be a top left-back at the moment, he’s coming to the end of that cliff.

“Out there now to replace him, Kerkez from Bournemouth, Robinson from Fulham or even the likes of Ait-Nouri from Wolves, he had a good game (on Sunday) and I think he’d suit Liverpool well.”

Liverpool left-back targets

Current Club

Age

G/A in 2024/25

Antonee Robinson

Fulham

27

0 goals, 10 assists

Milos Kerkez

Bournemouth

21

2 goals, 3 assists

Rayan Ait-Nouri

Wolves

23

3 goals, 5 assists

Pennant on Leeds plans to sign Solomon and Rothwell to permanent deals

Having spent a season on loan at Elland Road as a youngster back in the 2003-04 campaign, the now 42 year-old Pennant believes the Whites should be penning loanees Solomon and Rothwell to long-term contracts this summer.

“100 per cent. Especially when you come into the Premier League, you need as much talent as you can. They’re two great players who have helped Leeds immensely.

“When you get players who have got you promoted, you want to keep that core and then invest around that for players who can adapt and play in the Premier League.

“So 100 per cent they need to sign players like that, it’s only gonna benefit them if they can.”

Pennant urges Farke to bring Jack Harrison back to Leeds

With the likes of Joe Gelhardt, Jack Harrison and Rasmus Kristensen – who has been linked with a permanent exit – currently out on loan, it was the Everton winger Pennant picked out as a sure-fire candidate to help Leeds once promoted.

“We’ve seen teams come into the Premier League and not invest in Premier League players who can do the job. The Championship and the Premier League is such a drastic difference.

“So a player like Harrison who’s been in the Premier League and is in and out but knows all about it, I think they need to keep players like that and bring him back in.”

Bangladesh have found the Afghanistan spinners the most troublesome in ODIs in the last ten years.Since July 2013, Afghanistan’s spinners have the most wickets (50) – and the best average (26.02) – of all teams against Bangladesh in the format. That includes 5 for 69 for the trio of Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Mohammad Nabi in the first ODI on Wednesday. They combined to bowl 24 overs, and conceded runs at an economy of less than three per over.Although they made the most of the variable bounce on offer at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Bangladesh’s batters also didn’t do themselves any favours. While Litton Das and Najmul Hossain Shanto were out to soft dismissals when they were starting to look comfortable, Mushfiqur Rahim let a Rashid half-tracker slip through his legs.Related

• Litton to lead Bangladesh in last two ODIs against Afghanistan

• Farooqi provides the spark as Afghanistan beat Bangladesh in the rain

• Afif, Ebadot back in Bangladesh's T20I squad

• Rashid, Shahzad back in Afghanistan squad

“Our seamers didn’t bowl well with the new ball, but then our spinners were excellent,” Afghanistan coach Jonathan Trott said. “We didn’t expect the wicket to have as much uneven bounce as it did. It is surprising. Normally here in Chattogram, it goes through a little bit more. I think we adjusted well. We read the conditions. We played some good cricket.”Today’s wicket helped them [Afghanistan spinners] a little bit, but they have some good skills to put pressure on the Bangladesh batters. A lot of these [Bangladesh] batters would have been confident from the Test match [last month, which Bangladesh won by 546 runs]. But the quality of our spinners shone through on a wicket that we thought would seam more than it spun for us.”Trott highlighted the experience of his spin attack, which helped them switch from T20Is to ODIs. He said they knew exactly when to bowl in an attacking manner, and when to be a little defensive.”I don’t think it is too dissimilar nowadays [bowling in T20Is and ODIs]. Batsmen have an attacking mindset in both formats,” Trott said. “Spinners have to be clever. They are allowed four fielders out till the 40th over. That’s when they usually bowl. They sometimes bowl in the powerplay [too]. So they have to figure out how they attack at the right times, but also how to defend on wickets where there’s not much assistance.”But the one-off Test between Bangladesh and Afghanistan featured none of these three spinners, and Bangladesh had feasted on an inexperienced attack to post 382 and 425 for 4 declared.Bangladesh now have to face Afghanistan in the two remaining ODIs of the ongoing series, but also at least once in the upcoming Asia Cup in August-September, and then, in their tournament opener at the ODI World Cup, where they face each other in Dharamsala.How do Bangladesh try and limit the damage before the big games come around? Towhid Hridoy, the batter who hit his third ODI half-century in the first game – which was only his seventh in the format – said that individual batters would have to figure out their respective ways to counter the spinners.”It [Bangladesh] is a mature team. They have been serving the national team for a long time,” Hridoy said. “Nobody has to be told anything new. We will get out of this by thinking about it individually. We back everyone in the dressing room. We can come back from this position.”Towhid Hridoy expects the Bangladesh batters to find their own ways to succeed•AFP/Getty Images

Although this was Hridoy’s first time facing Rashid, Mujeeb and Nabi at the highest level, he already had some idea about Nabi and Mujeeb because of the BPL.”This was the first time that I faced Rashid. I have played Mujeeb in Under-19 cricket. We were also in the same team in BPL,” Hridoy said. “I played Nabi in the BPL. I think they are the best spin combination in the world. You can play spin better against any team after you do well against them. I was talking to Shakib [Al Hasan] and Afif played well. We also had a feeling that someone would do the job [in the first ODI]. We didn’t get a good partnership from the lower order. I am hopeful that in the next game, we will do better in a similar situation.”

New Manchester United signing Benjamin Sesko has revealed which iconic Red Devils player is his role model.

Sesko signs for Man UtdReveals who is role model isHopes to take after iconFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Following his £74 million ($100m) switch from RB Leipzig to United, Sesko has revealed former Red Devils striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic was his childhood idol. The Swede scored 29 goals in 53 appearances for the club and helped them win the Carabao Cup and the Europa League in 2017. Now, the 22-year-old is eager to emulate the ex-AC Milan star at Old Trafford.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT SESKO SAID

He told United's website: "He’s been my role model since I’ve been small. I've been watching him, like every single YouTube video that I can find, because he's just amazing for me, you know. We don't have the same, let's say, character. But I like to see him, the way he plays, the way he enjoys football, because that's when all the joy comes, you know. If you enjoy football, then everything works. And I think this is the most important. It's probably also one of the parts that just makes me love him so much, you know what I mean? So maybe one day to meet him, that would be great. He's my idol."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Ibrahimovic went on to become one of the greatest strikers of the 21st century, so if Sesko has a career anything like the big Swede, he will have done very well. For the time being, the 6ft 5in player has been tasked with reigniting United's lukewarm attack as he tries to make them a force again.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT?

Slovenia international Sesko, who signed a contract until 2030 with Ruben Amorim's team, could make his United debut when they host old adversary Arsenal at Old Trafford on Sunday in their first game of the Premier League season.

The presence of Snoop Dogg at Swansea is expected to help them compete with Ryan Reynolds and Tom Brady for Premier League promotion.

• More famous faces in the Championship
• Taking aim at top-flight football
• Benefits to be found on & off the pitch

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Championship will be loaded with famous investors in 2025-26, with Reynolds and McElhenney having guided Wrexham into the second tier of English football on the back of three successive promotions.

Advertisement

• Amazon Prime Video/Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Birmingham continue to spend big in the transfer market, after shattering League One records last year, and NFL legend Tom Brady forms part of the board at St Andrew’s. Rap star Snoop Dogg has now joined the party at Swansea.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  He has acquired a minority stake in the Welsh club, having formed part of their 2025-26 kit release, and joins Ballon d’Or-winning Real Madrid legend Luka Modric as part of the Swans’ ownership group.

• (C)Getty Images
  

  WHAT FINANCE EXPERT SAID

  Snoop will help Swansea to build their brand off the pitch, but football finance expert Rob Wilson has told of benefits that can also be found on the field: "I think what we're seeing generally in the Championship with some of these celebrity buyers is that their cultural capital outweighs their capital investment.

  "It's about the brand of the artist and the additional benefit that that brings to really kind of promote and extend the Swansea City brand, particularly in the North American market which he is obviously very, very well recognised.

  "The North American market is mature from a commercialisation perspective but immature in terms of the followership of British clubs. So outside of Manchester United, Liverpool and to a lesser extent Chelsea, nobody's really capturing that market from a UK perspective, which is why Wrexham would be in the top 10.

  "So this is an opportunity for Swansea to increase that kind of global footprint, the marketing, the sponsorship, the advertising, to increase the longer term exposure and therefore increase the kind of the ongoing revenue generation for the football club, which then might have a medium term impact on squad size and transfer fees and then ultimately potentially getting to the Premier League as well."

da blaze casino： Rangers are closing in on another signing alongside a deal for right-back Max Aarons, according to a report.

Rangers agree Max Aarons loan deal

da dobrowin： The Gers already reached an agreement with midfielder Lyall Cameron earlier this year, with his transfer officially unveiled in the week. However, the first target identified by the 49ers Enterprises and Russell Martin who is set to be signed is Aarons.

The Bournemouth right-back spent the second half of the 2024/25 season out on loan at Valencia and looks set for another temporary move away from the Cherries in 25/26.

Rangers have agreed a straight loan deal for Aarons, who looks set to rival James Tavernier for a starting spot under Martin, providing the club captain remains at Ibrox.

Martin previously tried to sign Aarons at Southampton and knows the full-back from his time at Norwich City. Aarons has also praised the Rangers manager in the past.

“When he came and trained with us he had an aura. I always knew he would go on to be a manager. “I think players who played with him always knew that as well. I knew we had to be on it when he was training with us and giving 110 per cent because if not Russ would tell you and I loved that.

“He pushed every single training session. When he was training with us it almost gave me a feel that I was ready to go and make the jump with the senior players.”

Related Rangers target once worth £38m is now open to Ibrox transfer after contact

This comes as a boost to Russell Martin.

Posts ByCharlie Smith Jun 20, 2025

Attention will be on further signings alongside Aarons, and another heavily linked target also looks to be close to a Rangers move following an update.

Rangers closing in on £350,000 Kwame Poku transfer

Peterborough United winger Kwame Poku is the man who could be next through the door in Glasgow, with The Scottish Sun providing specific financial details over a permanent transfer to Ibrox.

Out of contract at the end of the month, it is claimed Rangers are “homing in” on the signing of Poku and that he “will cost a cross-border fee in the region of £350,000”.

Peterborough’s director of football Barry Fry admitted last month he didn’t think Poku would move to Scotland, but it appears as if a transfer is close. Talking last month, Fry said: “Celtic and Rangers have been at most of our games this season, but I don’t believe Kwame will go to Scotland. He will more likely sign for a top end Championship club.”

Kwame Poku’s 24/25 stats

Games

31

Goals

12

Assists

11

Minuted played

2,364

Turning 24 in August, Poku, dubbed a “huge talent”, had a career best season in 24/25 in regards to goals and assists, so it is no surprise that up to 30 clubs were keen on his services.

Therefore, Rangers winning the race for the Ghana international could be a shrewd piece of business, and by the looks of things, a £350,000 transfer is on the cards.

India have looked far better balanced since she took over the gloves, and her keeping is now matching up to her hitting

Annesha Ghosh09-Mar-2022India teen Richa Ghosh is no stranger to firsts. Especially at World Cups.On March 8, 2020, she became the first-ever concussion substitute in a T20 World Cup final. Two years later, during India’s 2022 ODI World Cup opener against Pakistan, she became the first wicketkeeper to effect five dismissals on debut at a women’s 50-over global event.The feat is commendable for any 18-year-old, let alone one making just her eighth ODI appearance. Ghosh the keeper had till then been known more for her batting pyrotechnics. Her first impact with the gloves has left many impressed. One of them is her India and Bengal team-mate Jhulan Goswami.”Richa has taken responsibility as a wicketkeeper,” says Goswami. “She’s improving day by day, and her batting ability – you know she is even able to hit big sixes, she can score fast… So I think in our team – she will give us a lot of volume [value] because you are getting one more allrounder, a batting allrounder.”That Ghosh, who counts MS Dhoni among her idols, is keeping wicket at this World Cup is itself extraordinary. To understand why, we must go back in time.Playing as a specialist batter in March 2021, Ghosh had a horrid time in the field in the second T20I against South Africa in Lucknow. By the end of the match, she was tongue-tied and in tears, fielding at short fine leg, when the last of her many fielding errors on the night handed South Africa a series-sealing last-ball win. And this wasn’t a one-off. She had let a ball slip through for four, at point, at a critical juncture of South Africa’s chase in the previous match.

In domestic cricket, Ghosh had dabbled in keeping and bowled medium-pace for her state side, Bengal. But, with more established keepers around, Bengal mostly played her as a batting allrounder.

Ghosh had only played four international matches – all T20Is – before that nightmarish evening in Lucknow. But she had done enough already to show why India needed her hitting skills in an otherwise relatively sedate line-up. What to do about her heavy legs in the field, though?That’s where Ghosh’s multi-faceted talents came into play. Smriti Mandhana, the stand-in T20I captain in the series, retained Ghosh for the third T20I, but handed her the gloves.The incumbent in that series, Nuzhat Parween, and longtime first-choice limited-overs keeper Taniya Bhatia, one of the best with the gloves in the women’s game, had both struggled to make a mark with the bat. India’s balance, as a result, had been shaky. Entrusting Ghosh with keeping duties, despite her having no prior experience of it in international cricket, was a risk the team was willing to take to address this.In domestic cricket, Ghosh had dabbled in keeping and also bowled medium-pace for her state side, Bengal. But with more established keepers around, Bengal mostly played her as a batting allrounder.”In the absence of wicketkeeping opportunities, she would do well as a bowler because she is tall and one of the rare hit-the-deck kind of bowlers in women’s cricket in our country,” Bengal head coach Rituparna Roy says. “She has a fairly strong grounding in all three skills, so Bengal’s teams has used her wicketkeeping and bowling based on match-by-match requirements.”In that final T20I against South Africa, Ghosh claimed a straightforward caught-behind of Sinalo Jafta for her first keeping dismissal in India colours.”Once she got that clarity from the Indian team management that she is being looked at as a wicketkeeping choice, Richa started working harder on her keeping in the Bengal set-up, too, and kept wicket more regularly for the Bengal senior team,” Roy says. She adds that Ghosh took up fitness routines to improve her agility and offset some of the disadvantages her height poses.During the bilateral series against New Zealand, right before the World Cup, Ghosh struck the fastest ODI fifty by an India Women – off just 26 balls•Getty ImagesOn the tour of England that followed the South Africa series, Bhatia kept wicket during the one-off Test and the three ODIs. But her lean run with the bat in white-ball cricket opened the door for Ghosh to take over the gloves in the T20Is. Ghosh made an impact almost instantly. In the eighth over of the first T20I, she took the lead in convincing captain Harmanpreet Kaur to use the DRS when an appeal for caught-behind against Danni Wyatt was turned down. The result: a big spike on UltraEdge, and off went Wyatt.Across the three T20Is, Ghosh was involved in seven dismissals and made 28 lower-middle-order runs off 21 balls. A big affirmation of her rapid evolution as keeper came less than two months later, in the 50-over warm-up game on the tour of Australia, when she effected four dismissals, including the wily stumping of Ellyse Perry off pacer Pooja Vastrakar. Bhatia was no longer a sure-shot inclusion in ODIs.India had every reason to try Ghosh out in the 50-over format. If successful, her T20I batting credentials could offer India respite from the dearth of runs down the order, that too with the ODI World Cup just around the corner. And Ghosh wasted no time in taking her chance. An unbeaten 29-ball 32 at No. 7 on ODI debut, followed by a 50-ball 44 at No. 5 that anchored a 76-run stand with Mandhana, effectively shut the door out on Bhatia. By the end of the Australia tour, her selection as first-choice keeper for the tour of New Zealand – where she would go on to hit the fastest ODI fifty by an India Women player – and the ODI World Cup had become a foregone conclusion.According to ODI captain Mithali Raj, Ghosh’s “good game sense” – much like Dhoni’s – is a standout feature of her glovework. “There are many times I’ve seen her involvement on the field. That is also a great quality at such a young age,” Raj told during the New Zealand series. Asked about Ghosh’s future, Goswami puts it simply: “We all are looking forward [to it].”That future, if her start to the World Cup is anything to go by, could be very bright.

The franchise will be banking on the allrounders and Gaikwad to add urgency to their approach

Deivarayan Muthu04-Apr-20212:47

Gambhir: CSK won’t be able to make the playoffs

Where they finished in 2020

Second from bottom, with six wins in 14 matches at a net run rate of minus 0.455. It was the first time that the Chennai Super Kings didn’t make it to the playoffs in their 11 seasons in the IPL.

Potential XI

1 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 2 Moeen Ali/Faf du Plessis, 3 Suresh Raina/Robin Uthappa, 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 6 Ravindra Jadeja, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Dwayne Bravo, 9 Shardul Thakur, 10 Deepak Chahar, 11 Imran Tahir

Batting

The Super Kings had the second-worst run rate in the powerplay (7.13) as well as in the middle overs (7.37) in the last IPL. They could remedy this go-slow by fitting in their new recruit Moeen Ali at the top. The England allrounder had led the way for Worcestershire Rapids in the powerplay in 2018 and 2019 by regularly and effortlessly hitting over the top. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who finished the 2020 season strongly, with a hat-trick of half-centuries, will likely continue to open.ESPNcricinfo LtdSuresh Raina has returned to the set-up after abruptly pulling out of the last season, but he is past his prime, as is MS Dhoni. Both players – and even Ambati Rayudu – haven’t had much game time since the last IPL. To compound their worries, Ravindra Jadeja, too, hasn’t played competitive cricket since January 2021, having sustained a thumb injury during the Test leg of the Australia tour. The lack of game time for the middle order might prove a thorny issue for the Super Kings again.Faf du Plessis, who carried the Super Kings’ batting and fielding in the UAE, might be relegated to the reserves this season because of the team combination.Related

• CSK fast bowler Hazlewood withdraws from IPL 2021

• Boost for CSK as Raina and Jadeja enter team bubble

Bowling

Josh Hazlewood has opted out of the tournament and Lungi Ngidi will only join the squad later after his South Africa commitments, but Dwayne Bravo is fit again, having bowled at the death for West Indies against Sri Lanka at home. Sam Curran, who earned a glowing appraisal from Dhoni in his first season at the Super Kings, and Shardul Thakur, who has been a wicket-glutton in recent times, lend more variety to the seam attack. The presence of a number of Indian batting options this time could allow the team management to seamlessly slot Imran Tahir into the XI.The absence of an offspinner last year left them vulnerable against left-hander-heavy sides, but now they have Ali and K Gowtham to counter them although neither Wankhede nor Chinnaswamy will aid spin. Nevertheless, the attack looks in much healthier shape in comparison to the batting line-up.

Young player(s) to watch out for

. This was coach Stephen Fleming’s quip last year. The Super Kings continue to rely on their over-30s seniors, but if they choose to give Jadeja breaks and manage him more carefully after the recent injury, R Sai Kishore offers them a decent option. The 24-year old is a left-arm version of Washington Sundar who threatens the stumps and hits hard lengths in the powerplay. Sai Kishore had finished the most recent Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament with an economy rate of 4.82 – the second best among bowlers who delivered at least 20 overs. Last season, he had the best economy among bowlers who had sent down at least 20 overs.Then, there’s the 22-year old Harishankar Reddy, the third-youngest member in the squad behind Bhagath Varma and Curran. The Andhra seamer can bowl yorkers from a sling-arm, whippy action and had even knocked over Dhoni during a practice match at Chepauk last month.

Coaching staff

Stephen Fleming (head coach), Mike Hussey (batting coach), L Balaji (bowling coach), Eric Simons (bowling consultant), Rajiv Kumar (fielding coach)

Poll