Ruben Amorim reportedly had to be talked out of resigning as Manchester United boss in January, just two months after his arrival.

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Took the reins at Old Trafford in November 2024Has struggled to deliver a reversal in fortuneEmbracing challenge ahead of Europa League finalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

The Portuguese inherited managerial reins at Old Trafford in November 2024 following the departure of Erik ten Hag, and was charged with the task of turning a disappointing season around. He picked up just one win from his opening eight games at the helm.

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According to , on the back of a 3-1 home defeat to Brighton, Amorim was ready to walk away and had to be “talked out of the idea by associates”. There has been little improvement since then, with a record of 13 defeats in 25 Premier League games leaving United’s head coach “really embarrassed”.

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He has, however, guided the Red Devils through to the Europa League final – with domestic rivals Tottenham set to be faced in a continental showpiece that sees major silverware and Champions League qualification come up for grabs.

WHAT A SOURCE SAID

After mulling over his options in the new year, Amorim “had to be reassured by senior figures at the club, including CEO Omar Berrada, that he would be backed to turn the team's fortunes around”. United’s board remain convinced that they have the right man for the job.

شارك النجم المصري، عمر مرموش، في مباراة فريق مانشستر سيتي يوم السبت، ضد خصمه ولفرهامبتون، في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي والممتاز.

واستضاف ملعب “مولينيو” مباراة مانشستر سيتي وولفرهامبتون، في الجولة الأولى من الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2025/26.

وتمكن مانشستر سيتي من تحقيق فوز كبير على ولفرهامبتون، بأربعة أهداف دون رد، في بداية قوية لكتيبة بيب جوارديولا.

ولم يشارك عمر مرموش كأساسي في تلك المباراة، حيث نزل كبديل في الدقيقة 66 بعد خروج زميله جيريمي دوكو.

وبمجرد مشاركته، تسبب مرموش في حصول لاعب ولفرهامبتون مات دوهيرتي على بطاقة صفراء، في الدقيقة 67، بعدما ارتكب خطأ ضد المصري.

وحاول عمر مرموش تهديد مرمى ولفرهامبتون في الدقيقة 79، قبل أن تُشتت الكرة من جانب دفاع الخصم.

وتحصل مرموش على خطأ لصالحه، على حدود منطقة الجزاء، في الدقيقة 90، وسدد الركلة الحرة بنفسه، ولكن كرته اصطدمت في الحائط البشري. ملخص لمسات عمر مرموش في مباراة مانشستر سيتي وولفرهامبتون

Celtic’s march towards yet another Scottish Premiership title at Parkhead continued this week.

On Tuesday night, the Hoops swatted aside Aberdeen 5-1 at Parkhead, with Daizen Maeda scoring both the first and the last goals of the evening, with Jota, Callum McGregor and Yang Hyun-jun on target in between.

The Celts therefore remain 13 points clear of Rangers at the top, ahead of Saturday evening’s trip to St Mirren.

Meanwhile, a former Celtic striker, who Brendan Rodgers thought so highly of, is not living up to expectations elsewhere, enjoying two goal-filled, trophy-laden years in Glasgow, but having now disappeared into the footballing wilderness.

Celtic's best modern-day strikers

Daizen Maeda’s double on Tuesday took his tally to 54 goals for Celtic, a whopping 25 of which have come this season, hence why current right-back Alistair Johnston described the Japanese forward as “one of the most in-form players in Europe”.

Meanwhile, speaking on Premier Sports’ Scottish Football Social Club, former Hibs and Hearts midfielder Michael Stewart believes that Maeda has “stepped up a level” this season, becoming “top class”.

So, let’s analyse how he compares to Celtic’s other best centre-forward of the last decade or so.

Daizen Maeda

2022-present

54

188

4

Kyōgo Furuhashi

2021-25

85

126

8

Odsonne Édouard

2017-21

87

140

7

Moussa Dembélé

2016-18

51

121

7

Leigh Griffiths

2014-21

123

118

3

As the table outlines, somewhat surprisingly, Leigh Griffiths boasts the best minute-per-goal ratio of any Celtic striker over the past decade, also spending the longest period of time at the club.

One of the centre-forwards on that list, who racked up very impressive statistics during his time in Glasgow, has not quite lived up to the hype since departing for pastures new.

Celtic struck gold selling "world-class" striker

Shortly before his 20th birthday, Moussa Dembélé joined Celtic on a free transfer from Fulham, becoming Rodgers’ first signing for the club back in 2016.

Well, the Frenchman would make quite the impression, straight away scoring crucial goals during Champions League qualifiers against Astana and Hapoel Be’er Sheva, before netting a perfect hat-trick during his Old Firm debut, a thumping 5-1 victory, becoming the first Celtic player to score a Glasgow derby hat-trick since Stevie Chalmers in 1966.

Dembélé then starred in the Champions League group phase too, bagging a brace on matchday two against Manchester City, before also netting away at Borussia Mönchengladbach.

This makes him one of only nine Celtic players to have scored three or more goals in a single European Cup campaign since 1978, as outlined below.

Maeda

4

2024/25

Idah

3

2024/25

Kühn

3

2024/25

Dembélé

3

2016/17

Samaras

3

2012/13

Miller

3

2006/07

Sutton

3

2003/04

Larsson

3

2001/02

Mo Johnston

3

1986/87

His manager Rodgers described the striker as an “outstanding young talent”, before also adding he has the potential to be “world-class”.

In total, Dembélé scored 32 goals during his first season at Celtic and then 16 times the following campaign, winning back-to-back trebles, before he was sold to Olympique Lyonnais for £20m, at the time a Scottish transfer record fee.

He scored a respectable 70 goals in 172 appearances for Lyon, spending a brief period on loan at Atlético Madrid, only featuring seven times for los Colchoneros, not starting a single match, but earning a La Liga winners’ medal.

Following the expiration of his Lyon contract in 2023, Dembélé joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq.

There, up until his sacking in January, his manager was former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard, also playing alongside current Scotland international Jack Hendry as well as ex-Liverpool midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

Dembélé did score 12 Saudi Pro League goals last season, only 12 players managed more, netting 21 times overall, but won’t be adding to this tally any time soon, undergoing surgery on a ruptured achilles tendon suffered against Al-Okhdood earlier this month.

At 28-years-old, the Frenchman should be in his prime, but is now set to be sidelined for around nine months, hence why his Transfermarkt value has plummeted to around £7m, at his peak he was worth around six times that, proving that Celtic were right to cash in when they did.

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1 Feb 24, 2025

What a game at the Etihad Stadium it was between Manchester City and Real Madrid. It was a Champions League classic, in which the visitors ran out 3-2 winners late in stoppage time, in one of the most enthralling games of the season.

After early chances for Madrid, which they probably should have scored from, Erling Haaland gave City the lead 19 minutes into the game. The Norweigan finished off a lovely team move, in which Jack Grealish clipped a pass over to Josko Gvardiol, who chested it down to Haaland for 1-0 to the home side.

Their lead lasted until the 60th minute when Kylian Mbappe had his say on the game. It wasn’t a clean strike from the Frenchman, but he lifted the ball over Ederson and it looped into the back of the net for 1-1.

With time ticking away, it seemed like the next goal could be decisive. It was once again Haaland who scored, converting a penalty won by first-half substitute Phil Foden, who was brought down just on the edge of the box.

However, the City number nine’s strike was anything but decisive. In classic fashion, Los Blancos scored two late goals to equalise and then win the game, in what was a calamitous few moments for Pep Guardiola’s side.

The man who scored the winner, Jude Bellingham, proved to be a real thorn in City’s side as they collapsed in the final minutes of the crunch clash.

Bellingham’s brilliance as City collapse

The last six minutes of the game, from the 86th to the 92nd minute, were a calamity for the Citizens. Firstly, the Spanish side equalised through a former City academy graduate, Brahim Diaz.

It was poor defending from the Premier League champions, who did not pick up their former player, allowing him to waltz into the box unmarked. He got on the end of a rebound from Vinicius Junior’s shot and fired home to make it 2-2.

It got worse for the home side, however, in the 92nd minute when Madrid won the game. Who else but Bellingham, the “big game player” himself, as Statman Dave called him. The England international was superb on the night and got the decisive touch to win the game for his side.

It was, again, terrible work from City. Mateo Kovacic sloppily lost possession in midfield, selling Rico Lewis short with his pass. Vinicius ran onto the ball, clipped it over the onrushing Ederson and into Bellingham’s path. He got ahead of Three Lions teammate John Stones and sealed a remarkably victory.

Bellingham was excellent on the night, and City simply fell away. They would have been looking for their own creative force to step up like Bellingham did, but he was, in many ways, outclassed by the Madrid number five.

Performance in Numbers

Want data and stats? Football FanCast's Performance in Numbers series provides you with the latest match analysis from across Europe.

The Man City star who was outclassed by Bellingham

It was not the worst performance ever from Kevin De Bruyne against Los Blancos, but Guardiola would have wanted more from City’s star man. He threatened to impact the game with a goal or assist but did not actually manage to do so in that sense.

The Belgian stalwart’s stats via Sofascore from the game were, perhaps, a little disappointing. He did manage to create three chances, although lost the ball 19 times and had a dismal 74% pass accuracy. Off the ball, he was underwhelming too, winning just one from nine ground duels.

In comparison, Bellingham managed to create two chances himself, lost the ball just nine times and had an impressive 92% pass accuracy. He was imperious off the ball, winning seven from 12 ground duels, and, of course, scored the all-important winning goal.

De Bruyne vs. Bellingham key stats
Stat	De Bruyne	Bellingham
Touches	51	60
Pass accuracy	74%	92%
Passes completed	24/35	36/39
Key passes	3	2
Dribbles completed	0/2	3/3
Number of times ball lost	19	9
Ground duels won	1/9	7/12
Stats from Sofascore

There is no doubt that Guardiola will have been seeking more complete display from his number 17. So often a rich source of goals and assists, the Belgian did cause Madrid problems at times, but nothing too concerning. The Manchester Evening News journalist Simon Bajkowski described his balls into the box as “a nuisance”, but they did not lead to anything for City.

In the second leg, the Citizens will be desperate for their star man to show up for the count if they are to turn the tie around. De Bruyne already has eight goal involvements in ten games against Madrid, including Tuesday’s clash, but will be hoping to add to that next week in Spain.

Whether or not he starts, however, remains to be seen with both Omar Marmoush and Phil Foden waiting in the wings. Perhaps a place on the bench beckons next time out.

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2

By
Ben Gray

Feb 7, 2025

Luis Reece continued to wage his personal battle against the Glamorgan bowlers as he equaled the Derbyshire record of six successive fifties in first-class cricket on the way to plundering his third century of the summer against the Welsh county at Sophia Gardens.Glamorgan’s decision to put Derbyshire into bat on a green wicket in Cardiff came back to haunt them as the visitors settled in and made hay, ending the first day on 308 for 2.It was also a significant day for Sue Redfern, who became the first female umpire to stand in a first-class match in England or Wales – although Glamorgan asked few questions of either the batters or the officials.Reece, 33, was at the heart of the action all day long as he put his side in control with an unbeaten 139 in 96 overs. He put on 80 for the first wicket with Harry Came and then 180 for the second with Brooke Guest.Leus du Plooy joined him for the final 75 minutes of the day and ended on 22 not out as his contribution to an unbroken third wicket stand of 48.The home side are due to say goodbye to their chief executive, Hugh Morris, captain, David Lloyd, and head coach, Matt Maynard, and were hoping to push for a final to potentially take them up to third in the table. But the bowlers were once again made to toil in the field by the left-handed Reece as he took his tally of first-class runs against Glamorgan this summer to 471.He scored 139 and an unbeaten 201, his highest score in first-class cricket, in the drawn game at the County Ground, in Derby in July. He also made 69 against them in the One-Day Cup clash in Derby last month.Reece’s hot streak began in the home clash with Durham in July when he scored 54 in the second innings. From there he notched his twin centuries against Glamorgan before taking 77 off the Gloucestershire attack and 86 against Sussex.In his latest success, he reached 50 off 74 balls, his century off 175 balls and currently has 16 fours and a six to his credit. Fellow opener Came looked comfortable until he was caught at the wicket by Chris Cooke off the bowling of Zain-ul-Hassan in the 27th over. The next departure was 50 overs later when James Harris had Guest trapped lbw four runs short of his century.Glamorgan tried seven bowlers throughout the day and four of them went for more than 50 runs.

Tottenham and Manchester United's chance to qualify for the Champions League "doesn't sit right" with Micah Richards, amid Arsene Wenger's protests.

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• Rest is Football team debate qualification chances
• Spurs face United in Europa League final
• Winner qualifies for Champions League despite awful campaign

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards discussed Arsene Wenger's claim that the winners of the Europa League should not automatically qualify for the Champions League during The Rest is Football podcast, with the three coming to contrasting conclusions. While Lineker, a former Spurs player, was defensive of the practice – insisting the rule has existed for some time – both Richards and Shearer are agog at the fact that one of the two teams who are currently 16th and 17th in the Premier League table will be playing in Europe's elite club competition next season.

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  Neither United nor Spurs have won any of their last five Premier League games, but they will go head-to-head in Bilbao next week. A win for United would do wonders for their summer transfer planning, but Spurs may well sack Ange Postecoglou regardless of the result.

• WHAT THE REST IS FOOTBALL PODCAST SAID

  Richards said: "It's only been highlighted because Spurs and Man United have been so bad in the league. That's the reward for winning it!"

  Lineker added: "It's not like they've thrown this in at the last minute, it's been like that for a few years."

  Richards replied: "It doesn't sit well with me though that you can be so bad in the league, win a trophy, and then get Champions League football, it's supposed to be the consistency throughout the season. But rules are rules, I don't think we should start debating that now, it's been like that for a while and you just roll with it."

  Shearer mused: "That competition's different this year because the teams that drop out of the Champions League usually go into the Europa League so I think the standard in that competition has probably not been as high as it has been, hence why teams that are going to finish fourth and fifth bottom of the Premier League are going to be in the Champions League. It's incredible, really, when you think about it. Fourth and fifth bottom of the Premier League, Man United and Spurs, oh my goodness, it's like… wow."

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Both teams have league fixtures before the final next week. Spurs face Aston Villa on Friday, while United face Chelsea on the same evening.

Rockets skipper strikes four sixes in a row to overcome 125 target with 14 balls to spare

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2023Trent Rockets skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt smashed an unbeaten 81 from 41 balls to lead her side to their first victory of the Women’s Hundred as they overcame London Spirit by five wickets at Lord’s.Sciver-Brunt’s brutal hitting was too much for the home bowlers as she racked up nine fours and four sixes, including two successive maximums off Danielle Gibson, to clinch the win with 13 balls to spare.The visitors’ spinners had bowled well to restrict Spirit – who remain without a win in the tournament – to 124 for four, with Kirstie Gordon taking two for 19. But Rockets were in some difficulty themselves at 29 for three before the captain took control of the game, sharing a partnership of 51 from 34 with Fran Wilson to get her side back on track.Having won the toss, Rockets put the hosts in and opened with left-arm seam pair Alexa Stonehouse and Naomi Dattani, who concentrated on bowling a line that protected the short boundary on the grandstand side. However, it was spin that broke the opening stand of 27, with Gordon’s second delivery tempting Grace Harris to cut straight into the hands of the point fielder.Gibson continued to thrive, crunching a series of boundaries that included a sweet straight drive off Alana King to reach 36 from 27 before she was also undone by Gordon, miscuing one to the off side. Spirit struggled to get the slow bowlers away, with Heather Knight skying King to deep square leg as both the Australian all-rounder and Bryony Smith went for less than a run a ball.Richa Ghosh batted shrewdly for her 20 from 18 and, following a quiet start, Amelia Kerr picked up some momentum during the penultimate set of five as she scooped Stonehouse for three boundaries to finish unbeaten on 36.Rockets suffered an early blow in reply as the big-hitting Lizelle Lee – having dispatched Gibson to the leg-side fence – tried to repeat the shot three balls later and speared it to mid-on instead. Sciver-Brunt was soon up and running, though, punching Charlie Dean off the back foot for four as the visitors progressed to 21 for one from 20 balls before a sudden downpour held up play.The game resumed after a 25-minute delay and Spirit’s spinners seized their opportunity, with Dean pinning Smith in front before Glenn produced another ball that skidded on to remove Harmanpreet Kaur in the same fashion.That left Rockets in trouble, but the captain counter-attacked as she drove Glenn twice to the fence and took 13 off five balls from Kerr before hitting Lauren Filer for back-to-back boundaries to bring up her half-century from 32.Despite losing two quick wickets, Jo Gardner kept Sciver-Brunt company with an unbeaten 17 from 11 and the pair plundered 23 from Grace Scrivens’ set of five – including three sixes – to propel their side across the line.

da 888casino： Leeds United have only picked up one point from their last two matches and it has left their place in the automatic promotion spots vulnerable heading into midweek.

da betano casino： After Burnley and Sheffield United both won on Saturday, the Whites are now only above the Blades on goal difference and are only two points ahead of Scott Parker’s team in third.

The West Yorkshire outfit failed to extend their lead at the top of the table when they went to Fratton Park on Sunday, as they were beaten 1-0 by the newly-promoted outfit.

Daniel Farke will surely be frustrated with the lack of clinical edge that his team displayed in the defeat, as Leeds missed three ‘big chances’ and created 2.27 xG.

The German head coach may also be frustrated by some of the performances of his players. Much-talked-about goalkeeper Illan Meslier, for example, did himself few favours for the winning goal.

Illan Meslier's performance against Portsmouth

The French goalkeeper, who has made two errors that have directly led to goals this season, only faced three shots on target in the match and conceded once.

Meslier was indecisive with the ball that was played in behind for Colby Bishop and hesitated multiple times before committing too late and flopping to the floor, giving the Pompey striker all the room he needed to lift the ball over him.

Whilst it is easy to say with hindsight, the former Lorient man should have come out quicker, instead of hesitating, to clear the danger, or he should have remained big to make the block, instead of opening up the lob opportunity for Bishop, once he realised it was too late to get the ball first.

Of course, blame also lies at the feet of Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk, who allowed the attacker to run off them, but the left-footed stopper may also not be best pleased with his part in the goal.

Chalkboard

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The 25-year-old goalkeeper, who had 65 touches and completed 59% of his attempted passes, was not the sole reason behind the defeat for Leeds, however, as numerous other players struggled throughout the game, including centre-forward Joel Piroe.

Joel Piroe's struggles against Portsmouth

The Dutch attacker was selected to lead the line against Portsmouth and it seems to be a perfectly fine selection by Farke, given that he is the joint-top scorer in the Championship alongside Norwich City’s Borja Sainz.

Piroe had scored 15 goals in 25 starts prior to the clash at Fratton Park. This suggested that the Whites could rely upon him in front of goal if they created the chances for him in Hampshire.

As you can see in the clip above, however, that was not the case as the former Swansea City marksman missed a glorious opportunity to find the back of the net to make it 1-0 in the second half, when Manor Solomon appeared to put it on a plate for the striker.

Piroe, who had fewer touches (33) than Meslier, also missed a huge chance to score in the first half when he followed up on a save by Nicolas Schmid, only to fire his unmarked and unchallenged effort straight back at the Pompey goalkeeper.

Vs Portsmouth (A)

Joel Piroe

Minutes

90

xG

0.98

Big chances missed

2

Shots

2

Goals

0

Pass accuracy

75%

Duels won

5/11

Stats via Sofascore

The Dutchman, who also lost six of his 11 duels, racked up 0.98 xG from those two chances combined but failed to find the back of the net, both times with the score at 0-0, and it could have been a completely different match if the Whites had taken the lead instead of going behind.

Yorkshire Evening Post reporter Graham Smyth was critical in his assessment of the forward’s performance. The journalist awarded the striker a player rating of just 3/10, citing his big misses and lack of impact on the game.

With all of this in mind, Farke must finally drop the Dutch number nine from the starting XI for the midweek clash with Millwall at Elland Road on Wednesday, bringing Mateo Joseph in as his replacement.

Why Mateo Joseph should be given a chance

Piroe should be ruthlessly dropped to the bench after his struggles in the last two games, with zero goals and two ‘big chances’ missed against West Brom and Portsmouth as a starter.

This clash with Millwall on Wednesday is the second part of a three-game week and Farke must also keep in mind that he has a big squad to utilise, to ensure that his players do not suffer from burnout heading into the final weeks of the promotion race.

Therefore, now could be the perfect time for Piroe to be dropped from the starting line-up – after two subpar performances – in order to provide him with a much-needed rest, and Joseph with an opportunity to show what he can do.

The Spain U21 international’s last Championship start came against Derby County in a 1-0 win at Pride Park on the 29th of December, which shows that it has been a while since the academy graduate has had a chance to shine as a starter.

24/25

Joseph (per 90)

Percentile rank vs forwards

Non-penalty xG

0.37

Top 34%

Non-penalty goals

0.22

Bottom 35%

Expected Assisted Goals

0.14

Top 16%

Assists

0.22

Top 15%

Shot-creating actions

2.26

Top 23%

Stats via FBref

As you can see in the table above, Joseph – who has started 11 of his 35 league outings – does rank highly among his positional peers in the Championship in several key attacking metrics.

The 21-year-old ace, who was once described as “dynamite” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, gets himself into great positions, hence his high rank for xG, but has not converted enough of those opportunities into goals.

He has thrived as a creative presence in the final third, though, and could come in against Millwall to provide a foil for the likes of Solomon, Brenden Aaronson, and Dan James – or Wilfried Gnonto and Largie Ramazani if they are selected.

The right-footed Spaniard has created four ‘big chances’ in his 11 starts and could play a decisive pass to help his team to the win next time out.

Farke certainly has options to play with and should bring Joseph back into the XI, finally dropping Piroe, for this clash on Wednesday to freshen up the team and, hopefully, retain their place at the top of the Championship table.

Related Left for £1m: Leeds sold big Meslier upgrade who was one of the PL's best

Leeds could have had a perfect, long-term goalkeeping solution

Posts ByJoe Nuttall Mar 8, 2025

Arsenal have been scouting a “world-class” £70m+ striker who Arsène Wenger once compared to Thierry Henry, according to a report.

Gunners' striker issues on show at Old Trafford

Prior to Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville questioned the decision not to bring in a new striker over the past few years, branding it “poor recruitment”.

Mikel Merino once again had to lead the line against United, with Kai Havertz set to miss the remainder of the season with injury, but the Spaniard struggled to have an impact, failing to score for the third game on the spin in the Premier League.

Gabriel Jesus is the only other senior striker at Mikel Arteta’s disposal, but Neville believes the manager isn’t a big fan of the Brazilian, meaning signing a new forward in the summer may be one of the Spaniard’s main priorities.

A number of targets have been identified, including Benjamin Sesko and Victor Osimhen, and a report from The Boot Room has now revealed Arsenal scouts are also watching Inter Milan’s Marcus Thuram.

The Gunners watched Thuram in action in the Champions League recently, and they are likely to be impressed by what they saw, given that he scored in his side’s 2-0 victory against Feyenoord.

Chelsea and Liverpool scouts were also in attendance to run the rule over the striker, so there may be competition for his signature this summer, should the north Londoners decide to formalise their interest.

However, a deal will not be cheap, as the Frenchman has a release clause of just over £70m included in his contract, and the Italian club want to enter talks to remove or increase that figure.

"World-class" Thuram enjoying another impressive season

The 27-year-old has been a regular source of goals and assists for Inter since arriving from Borussia Mönchengladbach, following up a solid debut campaign by scoring 15 goals in all competitions this season, including two in the Champions League.

Barring an injury-marred 2021-22 campaign, the Parma-born striker has impressed in front of goal over the course of the past six seasons, and there are signs he is entering his prime, given that he is on course to have his most prolific campaign to date.

Season

League appearances

Goals

Assists

2019-20

31

10

7

2020-21

29

8

3

2021-22

21

3

0

2022-23

30

13

6

2023-24

35

13

8

2024-25

27

13

4

As shown, the France international regularly chips in with assists, which may be one of the reasons he was compared to compatriot Thierry Henry by Arsenal legend Wenger. More recently, the Inter star has also received high praise from journalist Zach Lowy.

Arsenal’s recent drop-off indicates they may need to bring in a top striker if they are to compete for the Premier League title next season, and Thuram’s performances this season indicate he could be in that category.

“He’s got all the makings of a really strong leader,” says Pat Cummins of his new junior deputy

Alex Malcolm13-Dec-2023Australia’s World Test Championship final and ODI World Cup hero Travis Head has formally been elevated to co-vice-captain in Australia’s Test team alongside Steven Smith, with current captain Pat Cummins saying that he has all the makings of a future Test leader as they try to future-proof the leadership stocks within Australian cricket.Head, 29, was added to Australia’s leadership group on Wednesday, just a day out from the first Test against Pakistan in Perth, as Cummins also revealed Australia’s XI with only one change being made from the last Test they played back in July at The Oval against England: Nathan Lyon returns from injury in place of Todd Murphy as the lone spinner.Smith remains the senior vice-captain and will continue to be the first choice to stand in for Cummins when required. Smith has stood in for Cummins in four separate Test matches over the last two years when Cummins has missed matches for a variety of reasons, having also captained Australia in 34 Tests between 2014 and 2018.Related

• Australia's marvel and crisis man, Head again shows why he's a cult hero

• The four big battles that could define Australia vs Pakistan

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Head had previously been a co-vice-captain of the Test team alongside Cummins when Tim Paine was captain. The pair was named as Paine’s new deputies in February 2019, replacing the previous co-vice-captains in Mitchell Marsh and Josh Hazlewood, who had been installed in the roles in October 2018 following a team vote in the aftermath of the sandpaper scandal. But Head, like Marsh and Hazlewood, lost the title when he lost his Test place after being dropped from the side during the 2019-20 home series against India.But his stunning run of form over the last two years across all formats has Head well-entrenched in the side, despite briefly being controversially left out for the first Test in India earlier this year. Cummins confirmed the move had been made with an eye to the future.”Really excited to have Trav on board as the co-vice-captain,” Cummins said on Wednesday. “He’s been playing for a long time. He’s always been a leader in our group. So we thought it was a good time to formally recognise that. Whilst nothing’s imminent, Steve’s not going to play forever. I daresay I’m not going to captain forever. So we feel like we’ve got some responsibility to future-proof the team and start trying to give opportunities to other leaders.Cummins is entering his third year as Test captain having been appointed in November 2021. He has consistently noted that he will not have a long tenure as captain despite an incredible run of success that has included winning the World Test Championship and the ODI World Cup this year. Meanwhile, Smith is 34 and highly unlikely to be the permanent captain again.