Nottingham Forest move to sign £17m star with 2 goals in Champions League

Nottingham Forest are making a strong move to sign an international forward with Champions League experience.

Nottingham Forest back in Champions League spots after 2-1 win at Tottenham

Nuno Espirito Santo’s side showed their top four credentials by winning 2-1 at Spurs on Monday evening. Forest went into the meeting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium outside the top five Champions League spots after wins for Manchester City and Chelsea over the weekend.

However, early goals from Elliot Anderson and Chris Wood settled the nerves and ensured the Reds would go back up into the Premier League top four.

Talking after the win at Tottenham, Espirito Santo said: “We have a clear way to play and when we found ourselves in our identity. We had goals [against Tottenham] but also they created chances in the second half and we had to hold on to what we had. We’ve been able this season to compete well and fight for every ball.”

Attention now turns to the weekend and an FA Cup semi-final at Wembley against Pep Guardiola’s Man City side as Forest look to add silverware to what has been an outstanding season.

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Away from the pitch, owner Evangelos Marinakis looks to be making preparations ahead of the summer transfer window where Forest could be readying themselves for Champions League football.

Now, Forest are moving behind the scenes to sign a player who has Champions League experience.

Nottingham Forest making strong moves to sign Alexis Saelemaekers

According to reports in Italy, relayed by Sport Witness, Nottingham Forest are interested in signing Alexis Saelemaekers from AC Milan.

The 25-year-old is currently on loan at AS Roma, however Forest are making a strong move to sign Saelemaekers, with Milan wanting €20m (£17m) to sell for good. Should Forest qualify for the Champions League, the report states that it could be crucial in a move for Saelemaekers.

A Belgium international, Saelemaekers can play as a right or left winger and is valued at €20m by Transfermarkt. Interestingly, the attacker also shares the same agency as Forest right-back Neco Williams and has actually scored twice in the Champions League in his career.

Similar players to Alexis Saelemaekers

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Dejan Kulusevski

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Kenan Yildiz

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Roma boss Claudio Ranieri hailed the Forest target earlier in the season, saying: “Saelemaekers is an international player, a good player who can play different roles. I needed him on this wing to execute certain plays, and he is doing well in interpreting what I want from him.

“So, this is my comment: he is fine like this. But this does not mean that it will always be like this, because, from game to game, coaches make choices, maybe change their minds and evaluate other solutions.”

Now, it looks as if a move to the City Ground could be one to keep an eye on over the coming months, providing things go to plan for Forest in the final stages of the season.

Stats – Cummins' rare captaincy double, and Babar's quiet 2023

Pakistan lost their 16th successive Test in Australia, even as their fast bowlers grabbed 19 of the 20 wickets at MCG

Sampath Bandarupalli29-Dec-202316 – Pakistan have lost each of the 16 Tests they have played in Australia since the start of the 1999 tour. It’s the longest losing streak for a team in any one country, with Bangladesh’s 13 at home between 2001 and 2004 the next longest.2 – Captains with ten-wicket match hauls in Tests for Australia, including Pat Cummins in the Melbourne Test. Allan Border was the first, bagging 11 against West Indies in the Sydney Test in 1989.12 – Captains before Cummins with five-wicket hauls in both innings of a men’s Test. The last of those was Rashid Khan, while on his captaincy debut against Bangladesh in 2019. Cummins also became the first Australia captain to achieve the feat – Border had picked up seven and four in that Sydney Test.ESPNcricinfo Ltd2008 – Dale Steyn was the last bowler before Cummins with ten or more wickets in a Test in Melbourne. The previous Australia bowler with a ten-for at MCG was Bruce Reid in 1991, when he took 12 wickets against India.252 – Test wickets for Cummins, making him the tenth Australian to get to 250 wickets in the format. Cummins’ average of 22.32 is the second best among the ten, behind Glenn McGrath’s 21.64, and his strike rate (46.7) is the best.ESPNcricinfo Ltd1 – Test with two 50-plus scores and two five-fors by captains before the MCG Test. Here, Cummins took two five-fors while Shan Masood scored two half-centuries.The 1983 Test between Pakistan and India in Faisalabad had Imran Khan claiming five-fors in both innings scoring a century, while Sunil Gavaskar scored a hundred in India’s second innings.Related

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41 – Babar Azam’s score in the second innings at the MCG – his highest in Tests in 2023. The last top-six batter to end a calendar year without a fifty for Pakistan, having batted eight or more Test innings, was Basit Ali in 1995.8 – Pakistan have bowled Australia out in both innings of a Test eight times out of the 39 they have played in Australia. The MCG Test was only the second instance of Pakistan getting all 20 wickets in their ongoing 16-match losing streak in Australia.19 – Wickets by Pakistan fast bowlers in Melbourne are the most by them in a Test in Australia, surpassing the 18 in Sydney in 1977. The 19 wickets are the most by Pakistan quicks anywhere in a Test since taking all 20 against Zimbabwe in Harare in 1995.

Smart Stats – Buttler, Chahal rule first half of IPL 2022

A look at how impactful individual performances have been, with the help of Smart Stats

S Rajesh24-Apr-2022With 491 runs in seven innings – almost 200 more than the next-highest – there is no doubt over who has been the batter of IPL 2022 so far. Jos Buttler has slammed three centuries – (ironically, Virat Kohli, the only batter to score more hundreds in a season is currently having a wretched run, with two first-ball ducks in his last two innings) – and has scored his runs at the strike rate of 161.5. He has singlehandedly scored 39% of Rajasthan Royals’ total runs. Not surprisingly, Buttler has notched up 81.1 impact points per match, and sits comfortably on top of the list.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe batter with the next-highest aggregate is also the player with the second-highest rating points, but apart from scoring 295 runs, Hardik Pandya has also contributed with the ball, taking four wickets at an economy rate of 7.56. In terms of batting impact alone, Suryakumar Yadav (55.9) and Liam Livingstone (53.2) follow Buttler. The fact that Buttler is 45% ahead of the next-best in terms of batting impact score shows just how dominant he has been.Related

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The method in Jos Buttler's ton-scoring madness

If the top run-scorer is in top spot in terms of impact, the top wicket-taker isn’t far behind. Yuzvendra Chahal has been in terrific form this season, taking at least two wickets in five out of seven innings. In terms of bowling impact alone, Avesh Khan (45.8), Mohammed Shami (45.6) and Khaleel Ahmed (44.1) follow Chahal. Like Buttler, Chahal has also dominated the bowling charts, and has a bowling impact score that is 42% higher than the next-best bowler.Andre Russell and Suryakumar round off the top five. Russell has been a mixed bag with the bat – a couple of strong performances interspersed with some failures – but he has still scored 227 runs at a strike rate of 180. To add to that, he also has 10 wickets in 14.4 overs. Suryakumar, meanwhile, has been the one bright spot in a dismal Mumbai Indians campaign so far.ESPNcricinfo LtdNot only does Chahal lead with the most wickets in the tournament so far, he also owns the best bowling performance of the season: his game-changing 5 for 40 in a high-pressure, high-scoring match against Kolkata Knight Riders fetched 141 impact points. In terms of smart wickets, that five-for was worth 7.55.Smart wickets puts a value to each wicket taken by a bowler based on the quality of the batter, his score at the time of dismissal, and the match situation and pressure on the fielding team at that point. The highlight of Chahal’s spell was a fantastic 17th over in which he took four wickets, including a hattrick. At the start of that over, Knight Riders had needed 40 from four overs with six wickets in hand in a chase of 218, which means they were already going at more than the required rate at the start of their innings. ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster gave them a 66% chance of victory at that stage. By the end of that over, their win percentage had slumped to 9.5.ESPNcricinfo LtdAvesh Khan’s 4 for 24 helped Lucknow Super Giants defend a middling total of 169 against Sunrisers Hyderabad, and included the wickets of both openers and Nicholas Pooran. Lockie Ferguson’s performance was similar, in a defence of 171 against Delhi Capitals.Overall, Chahal’s 18 wickets is worth 22.2 smart wickets, seven more than Avesh, whose 11 wickets are worth 15.1 smart wickets. T Natarajan, who is second on the wickets tally, is fifth in terms of smart wickets: his 15 wickets converts to 14.2. Umesh Yadav’s 11, on the other hand, is worth 14.8, because of the number of top-order batters he has dismissed early: nine of his 11 wickets are of batters in the top four, and six times he has dismissed batters for single-digit scores.

Similarly, Wanindu Hasaranga’s 11 wickets are worth 14.3 smart wickets. On the other hand, Kuldeep Yadav’s 13 are worth only 12.7, because some of his wickets have come with Delhi Capitals already in dominant positions. For instance, his 4 for 35 against Knight Riders was worth only 2.15 smart wickets, because three of those dismissals happened when victory was already assured. However, his 3 for 18 against Mumbai Indians was worth 4.2 smart wickets and finds a place among the top five most impactful bowling performances of the season. That’s because his victims included Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard, in a match where both teams scored at around nine an over.

Among the batters, Buttler obviously tops the smart runs list as well – his 491 runs are worth 530 smart runs – but further down the table the rankings for the two lists don’t match. Livingstone is 12th in terms of runs scored, but third in the smart runs table: his 226 runs are worth 298 smart runs. That is because smart runs takes into account the batter’s strike rate, the phase of the innings when he batted, and the pressure and match situation for each delivery that he faced. Livingstone has batted largely in the middle overs and achieved a strike rate of 171.6 in that phase; the strike rate of all the other batters in the middle overs is only 133.

Dave Roberts Explains Dodgers Decision to Delay Shohei Ohtani's Next Start

Fans in attendance at Wednesday's Pirates-Dodgers game in Pittsburgh will have the chance to see Shohei Ohtani, but the three-time MVP will only take part in one facet of the game for Los Angeles.

Ohtani was in line to make his 12th start on the mound for the Dodgers on Wednesday, but has instead been scratched in favor of Emmet Sheehan, per L.A.'s lineup announcement. Ohtani will instead serve as designated hitter and bat first in the Dodgers' lineup.

Ohtani made his pitching debut for the Dodgers in June, after missing nearly two seasons on the mound following an elbow injury suffered late in the 2023 season with the Angels. Because he has been an everyday part of L.A.'s lineup, he hasn't had the chance to ramp back up on the mound in the minor leagues, as is traditional, and has instead done so at the big league level, leading to some shaky outings. His last start, on Aug. 27 against the Reds, was his best of the year so far—Ohtani went five innings allowing a single run on two hits, with a pair of walks and nine strikeouts.

Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts Says Shohei Ohtani Is 'Under the Weather'

A few hours after news broke that Ohtani would not make his scheduled start Wednesday, Los Angeles manager Dave Roberts updated the star's status, saying that he has been feeling a bit "under the weather" since Tuesday, per 's Fabian Ardaya. Ohtani is feeling well enough to hit, but was uncomfortable throwing during a recent side session, leading to the decision.

The fact that Ohtani will still appear at the plate—and the Dodgers' understandable conservatism around his return to two-way status—certainly makes this scratch less concerning than it could be.

First pitch between the Dodgers and Pirates—and Ohtani's first at-bat of the game—will take place at 6:40 p.m. ET.

Suryakumar Yadav: There's never anything like all bases covered

India have now won each of the seven T20I series they have been part of since winning the 2024 T20 World Cup. They hold a 26-4 win-loss record over this period. They still have two bilateral series at home, where they will defend their crown in about three months. Surely they are favourites given their strengths, experience and current record, but their captain Suryakumar Yadav is aware you can never say all the bases are covered.”I’m very lucky to have all these boys with different-different skills,” he said after the Brisbane washout when asked if India had all bases covered. “They bring very different-different things to the table. When we chat around about the bowling, batting, and fielding… You must have seen a lot of energy on the ground. People enjoy when they go together on the ground.”But yeah, from a batting point of view, definitely what we’ve been doing in the last six to eight months, I think we’re sticking to that, not changing anything. These guys are doing it really well. The way they bat at the top of the order, it puts a smile on everyone’s face when they’re batting together.Related

  • India seal T20I series 2-1 after Brisbane washout

“And also from a bowling point of view as well, people are taking responsibility. Having an experienced bowler like [Jasprit] Bumrah around in the team and everyone chatting with him, learning a lot of skills, tricks and trade of the game, I think that’s a good thing. So there’s good friendship building up in that as well.”So we are trying to get there. There’s never anything like all bases covered. We always learn from this game, every game we play. Yeah, till now things look good, touch wood, let’s continue that.”Abhishek Sharma became the fastest batter to 1000 T20I runs by balls faced•AFP/Getty Images

One of the top-order batters responsible for putting said smiles on faces sat next to Suryakumar as the Player of the Series. During the course of this Australia tour, Abhishek Sharma became the quickest to 1000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced. He also played a more sedate innings when he judged the pitch to be a tricky one. India defended 167 successfully in that match.Suryakumar was impressed with that aspect of Abhishek’s game, joking that sometimes even a tiger has to turn herbivorous. “If the wicket is difficult, the quicker you adapt the better it is,” Suryakumar said. “The wicket was good today so they went back to normal, scoring 50-plus in four-and-a-half overs. But it was important in the last game to read the wicket well. These two [Abhishek and opening partner Shubman Gill] did that well. At this level, you only learn from experience. The way he adapted so quickly, if in the future also if we get such a wicket in the subcontinent, it won’t be something new for him.”They communicate well. They run well. They are learning quickly. Yes, there are just 120 balls, but often you have more time than you think. Sometimes if they take four-five balls extra to figure out the conditions, they are so skilled they can cover up easily.”Abhishek credited all his success to the absolute freedom given to him by the team management, who, he said, told him he will still be in the side if he scores 15 consecutive ducks. “I knew there’s gonna be extra bounce and pace, but, from a team point of view, I had a plan that I have to play the same way I’ve been playing. Because as an opening batter, it’s very easy for you to understand your role.”But I feel when you’re playing like this, when you want to dominate the opposition, you have to have that confidence and that ability. I think the captain and coach always backed me in that. I practised really hard on this because it’s not easy to come to Australia and beat them in white-ball cricket as well. So I wanted to play the same brand of cricket because we have been following that since before the Asia Cup.”

Quinton de Kock's comeback century helps South Africa level series

He made his first ton since returning to the national side, as they breezed to the target after Burger’s four-for set them up

Firdose Moonda06-Nov-2025Quinton de Kock scored the first hundred since his international comeback, and 22nd overall, as South Africa drew level in the ODI series against Pakistan. Tony de Zorzi and de Kock shared a 153-run second-wicket stand, which followed de Kock and Lhuan-dre Pretorius’ 81-run opening partnership. They only lost two wickets, as de Kock completed the chase of 270 with 59 balls to spare, in Matthew Breetzke’s company.South Africa batted with fluency and flair, both of which were absent from the Pakistan line-up after they chose to bat first. Though half-centuries from Saim Ayub and Salman Agha set Pakistan up well, their strike rates of 80.30 and 65.09 meant the going was slow throughout their innings. Mohammad Nawaz’s career-best run-a-ball 59 eventually took them over 250 – to 269.Nawaz’s individual achievement was one of three in the first half of the match. South Africa’s left-arm seamer Nandre Burger and legspinner Nqabayomzi Peter, who both sat out the first game, bagged career-best figures of 4 for 46 and 3 for 55 respectively. They were well supported by disciplined efforts from Corbin Bosch, Donovan Ferreira and Bjorn Fortuin, who all conceded at under six runs an over.While Pakistan made batting look tough, South Africa found the flow with their left-handed opening pair of Pretorius and de Kock. Pretorius enjoyed the bulk of the strike in the first four overs and hit three fours off Naseem Shah in the second, before de Kock hit his first shot of intent. He punched a short, wide Afridi ball through the covers for four. Pretorius should have been out in the next over, but Naseen spilled a return chance and Pretorius made Pakistan pay.Tony de Zorzi ensured South Africa’s smooth passage in the chase•Getty ImagesPretorious went after Shaheen Shah Afridi, and then Mohammed Wasim, and appeared unstoppable before he flayed at a wide Wasim delivery and nicked off. De Kock was on 32 off 31 balls himself when he lost his opening partner, and rebuilt quietly with de Zorzi.The pair scored 35 runs off the next seven overs and de Kock got his fifty with a six off Ashraf, before de Zorzi was finally ready to take on Afridi. He sent a short ball through midwicket and a full one through deep backward square, but his full range on the legside was on display when he took on Mohammad Nawaz. He reverse-swept, slogged over mid-wicket and then reached for a wide one to send it over long-off. In total, de Zorzi took 27 runs off 13 balls he faced from Nawaz, and also reached fifty off him.De Kock helped himself to runs off Afridi, then entered the 80s with a six over cover off Agha. He was on 98 when Afridi reviewed an lbw shout off Wasim. However, the delivery pitched outside leg and de Kock reached his century two balls later. The ball after that, Afridi reviewed again; once more, it had pitched outside leg.Pakistan used eight bowling options as they tried to break through, and Faheem eventually did. De Zorzi was caught off a leading edge by Ayub at point. De Kock – who finished unbeaten on 123* – and stand-in captain Matthew Breetzke ensured it was too late for Pakistan to defend their score, which could have been much less after they were reduced to 22 for 3 in the fifth over.Nandre Burger’s four tied down Pakistan’s batters•AFP via Getty ImagesEarlier in the day, Burger struck with this third ball when Fakhar Zaman gloved an attempted pull to de Kock. Bosch had Babar Azam given out lbw off with his second delivery, but Babar reviewed. Ball-tracking showed the ball was bouncing over the stumps. All the same, South Africa did not have to wait too long to dismiss Pakistan’s talisman. In this third over, Burger squared up Babar, and he edged to Ferreira at first slip. Four balls later, Mohammed Rizwan fetched a Burger ball from fifth stump and chopped it onto his leg stump. At the other end, Bosch’s opening spell read: 4-0-8-0.The change bowlers Fortuin and Ferreira kept things quiet and limited the boundaries. By the 20th over, Pakistan had collectively hit just six fours before Ayub scored the innings’ first six, off Fortuin. Ayub also got to his second ODI 50 off Fortuin.Breetzke then made an inspired bowling change, which ended Ayub’s innings: he brought Bosch back as the halfway stage approached halfway stage, Ayub drove the ball back at Bosch with some force, and Bosch took a good low catch in his follow-through to pick up his first.At the time, Agha was on 34 off 62 balls, and showed no signs of speeding up. So, it fell to his partners to up the ante. Hussain Talat attempted to flick Peter over the legside, but the ball only found a leading edge, giving Peter a return catch and leaving Pakistan at 131 for 5 after 30 overs.Mohammad Nawaz added plenty of runs at the death•Getty ImagesAgha made his way to fifty off 83 balls, and then began showing signs of urgency. He also slog-swept Fortuin for four, but it was Mohammad Nawaz who danced down the track to hit the left-arm spinner for six, and then repeated the feat against Bosch. Agha tried to join in, but Bosch had the final say when he bowled him with an inswinging yorker.Faheem Ashraf took 12 of the 13 runs off Bosch’s penultimate over, but was caught at deep mid-wicket when he tried to slog a Burger slower-ball bouncer. Peter got another return catch when Afridi top-edged him while trying to go big.After that, it was all Nawaz. He reached his fifty with six off the first ball of the final over, hit another 10 runs, and then gave Peter his third caught and bowled. This final dismissal was the best of the lot, as he had to judge a high chance. Though Naseem finished the innings with a six, Pakistan did not have nearly enough.Saturday’s third ODI, also in Faisalabad, will decide the series and end South Africa’s all-format tour of Pakistan.

Danubio-URU x Athletico-PR: onde assistir, horário e escalações pela Sul-Americana

MatériaMais Notícias

Danubio e Atletico-PR se enfrentam nesta quarta-feira (24), pela 3ª rodada da fase de grupos da Copa Sul-Americana. A bola rola às 19h (de Brasília), no Estádio Centenário, em Montevideo, com transmissão da ESPN e no Star+.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansCorinthians perde para o Argentinos Juniors e deixa liderança do grupo na Sul-AmericanaCorinthians23/04/2024NotíciasCombinada dos brazucas! Aposte R$100 e fature R$248 para vitórias de Athletico e Bragantino na Sul-AmericanaNotícias24/04/2024Fora de CampoAdversário do Internacional na Sul-Americana anuncia venda de ingressos com funk de Bibi Fogosa e web viralizaFora de Campo23/04/2024

➡️A boa do Lance! Betting: vamos dobrar seu primeiro depósito, até R$200! Basta abrir sua conta!

Com o Athletico invicto na Sul-Americana, o técnico Cuca não relacionou diversos titulares, e a expectativa é de um jogo equilibrado no Uruguai. As odds disponiveis no Lance! Betting mostram isso de forma clara, apontando 3.73 para um triunfo do Danubio, 3.28 no empate e 2.05 para uma vitória do Furacão.

➡️ Siga o Lance! São Paulo no WhatsApp e acompanhe todas as notícias do Tricolor

Confira abaixo todas as informações que você precisa saber sobre o confronto entre Danubio e Athletico-PR pela Sul-Americana (onde assistir, horário, escalações e local).

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✅FICHA TÉCNICA
Danubio x Athletico-PR
3ª rodada – Fase de grupos Copa Sul-Americana

Data e horário: quarta-feira, 24 de abril de 2024, às 19h (de Brasília)
Local: Estádio Centenário, em Montevideo, Uruguai
Onde assistir: ESPN e Star+
Árbitro: Kevin Ortega (PER)
VAR: Augusto Menendez (PER)
Assistentes: Stephen Atoche (PER) e Enrique Pinto (PER)

➡️ Veja tabela com datas e horários dos jogos do Brasileirão

⚽ PROVÁVEIS ESCALAÇÕES

DANUBIO (Técnico: Mario Saralegui)
oicoechea, Ancheta, Lucas Ferreira, Fracchia e Saravia; Santiago Romer, Kevin Lewis, Rossi e Sanseviero; Sebastián Fernández e Leyes

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ATHLETICO-PR (Técnico: Cuca)
Bento; Madson, Kaique Rocha (Marcos André), Gamarra e Fernando; Felipinho, Alex Santana, Christian (Cuello) e Zapelli (Julimar); Canobbio e Mastriani

Tudo sobre

Athletico-PRSul-Americana

Kuldeep takes four as India skittle UAE for 57

The left-arm wristspinner was back with a bang as UAE lost 8 for 10

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Sep-20252:03

What are India’s expectations from Gill?

India began their Asia Cup title defence by making short work of UAE’s batting, bowling the hosts out for 57 in just 13.1 overs. UAE came into this match on the back of encouraging displays against Pakistan and Afghanistan in the tri-series they recently hosted, but all that promise came to nothing against the relentless quality of India’s bowling.Related

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UAE began well enough, all things considered, scoring 41 for 2 in their powerplay with openers Alishan Sharafu and Muhammad Waseem hitting six fours and a six between them. They fell apart thereafter, losing their last eight wickets for the addition of just ten runs.Jasprit Bumrah – India’s only specialist quick – and Varun Chakravarthy took the first two wickets, but the bulk of the damage thereafter came courtesy two bowlers who had looked less than certain to play in the lead-up to this match. Kuldeep Yadav picked up 4 for 7, including three wickets in his second over, and Shivam Dube ran through the lower order to bag 3 for 4, his best T20I figures.To their credit, UAE did not let the loss of two powerplay wickets curb their intent, but on this day they kept losing wickets to low-percentage shots. Rahul Chopra took on the large outfield at the Dubai International Stadium and the protected long-on boundary and holed out off Kuldeep. Waseem followed him to the dressing room three balls later, missing a sweep against a bowler whose stock ball, straightening into the right-hander from left-arm over, is stump-to-stump by design. Kuldeep finished the over with a trademark wrong’un to bowl the left-handed Harshit Kaushik through the gate, and UAE were already five down.India used six bowlers, and five of them ended up on the wickets column, with Bumrah – who bowled three overs in the powerplay, a rarity for him – Varun and Axar Patel taking one each. Dube, playing ahead of a second frontline quick to give India batting depth until No. 8, couldn’t help but take wickets with his medium-pace, even when India gave them back. No. 10 Junaid Siddique was given out stumped when Sanju Samson caught him wandering out of his crease, a la Jonny Bairstow, but India withdrew their appeal. Next ball, Junaid swung at a slower ball and skewed it to India captain Suryakumar Yadav, the man who had made that call.

Man Utd have struck gold on talent who "has the same raw chaos as Rooney"

Manchester United have been known over recent years to invest heavily in youngsters who can make an immediate and long-term impact at Old Trafford.

Part of their £800m spending spree in the last four years has seen numerous big-money talents arrive at the club – with Leny Yoro making the move to join the Red Devils last summer.

Despite being just 18, the hierarchy forked out a reported £52m for the teenager’s signature, even fending off competition from Real Madrid for his services.

He’s since become a key component of Ruben Amorim’s first-team squad, already racking up 42 appearances in the last 12 months or so since his big-money transfer.

However, whilst he still has bags of time to reach world-class status, the Frenchman would do very well to hit the heights of one player during his own stint at the Theatre of Dreams.

Man Utd’s best ever young first-team addition

Back in the summer of 2004, eyebrows were raised across England after United paid a staggering £27m for the signature of teenage sensation Wayne Rooney from Everton.

Such a fee was a mammoth investment for an 18-year-old, but over two decades on, it’s clear the transfer is one of the Red Devils’ best in their 146-year history.

He would spend 13 successful years as a star player at Old Trafford, winning countless individual awards along with team success under the guidance of Sir Alex Ferguson.

The now 40-year-old won England’s Player of the Year award on five separate occasions, even winning the PFA Player of the Year award back in 2009/10 after scoring 34 times in all competitions.

Under the management of Sir Alex, he won five Premier League titles and a Champions League – subsequently making himself one of the most decorated English players of all time.

Individually, he was just as impressive, scoring 253 times for the Red Devils, a tally that ranks him top of the club’s all-time goalscorer charts – sitting ahead of Sir Bobby Charlton.

His talents were also there for all to see at international level, scoring 53 times, a record that saw him top the list for the Three Lions until Harry Kane came along.

Alongside his tangible contributions, Rooney made a name for himself as a warrior on the pitch, with one current player currently possessing a very similar playstyle.

The United player who is becoming the new Rooney

After scoring just 44 times across the 2024/25 campaign, Amorim made it abundantly clear to the United hierarchy that he wanted reinforcements within the final third.

Bryan Mbeumo was just one of the signings made during the off-season, arriving in a staggering £71m transfer from fellow top-flight outfit Brentford.

The Cameroonian international has already made a stellar start to life in Manchester, scoring five times and registering one assist in his first ten outings for the club.

His latest appearance against Brighton and Hove Albion was arguably his best to date, subsequently scoring twice and helping secure the manager’s third Premier League win in a row.

He was also joined at the Red Devils by Matheus Cunha, with the Brazilian also costing a pretty penny at £62.5m including add-ons from Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The Brazilian international has occupied the number ten role with Mbeumo at Old Trafford and has undoubtedly played a key role in the recent revival under Amorim.

Unlike the Cameroonian, he’s had to wait to make the desired impact, only registering his first goal for the Red Devils in this weekend’s convincing win over Brighton.

However, he’s still received key praise from former first-team member Patrice Evra, who claimed Cunha “has the same raw chaos as Rooney” – certainly high praise indeed.

His underlying stats at Old Trafford showcase the reasoning behind Evra’s comments, with the Brazilian currently creating 1.2 chances per 90 in the Premier League.

Matheus Cunha – PL stats (25/26)

Statistics (per 90)

Tally

Games played

8

Goals & assists

1

Chances created

1.2

Shots on target

1.6

Dribbles completed

1.9

Possession won in final third

0.7

Fouls won

2.4

Ball recoveries

4.3

Stats via FotMob

Other figures, such as 1.6 shots on target per 90 and 1.9 dribbles per 90, showcase his ability within the final third, which has already seen the forward become a fan-favourite.

However, his chaos without the ball is reflected in his tally of 0.7 ball regains per 90 in the final third – a tally which ranks him in the top 25% of all attackers in the division.

It’s certainly early days in his career at Old Trafford, but the signs are all positive for Cunha to become an influential figure in any success endured in the years ahead.

Should he continue on his current path, there’s no reason why he can’t have a similar impact to Rooney during his own period at the Theatre of Dreams.

Forget Cunha & Mbuemo: Man Utd star was the shining light against Brighton

Manchester United secured their third win in a row against Brighton & Hove Albion last night.

By
Ethan Lamb

Oct 26, 2025

Risk-taking Henry comes out on top with death-overs wizardry

The New Zealand fast bowler was clear on not going to the yorker in the three-run win to clinch the T20I tri-series final

S Sudarshanan26-Jul-2025

Matt Henry is mobbed by his mates after defending seven runs in the final over•Zimbabwe Cricket

Take a bit of risks and don’t go after the yorkers for all six balls – that was Matt Henry’s clear plan as he helped New Zealand to the men’s T20I tri-series title in a last-ball thriller in Harare.Henry stood at the top of his mark with South Africa needing seven off the last over with six wickets in hand. ESPNcricinfo’s win predictor gave South Africa a 93.3% chance, with a set Dewald Brevis batting on 31 off just 14. But all Henry conceded were three runs and picked up two wickets.”The thought process was making sure that there were tough options [for the batters]. If you go to yorkers too early and you run two, it’s hard to kind of keep six [balls] out,” Henry said after New Zealand’s three-run win. “So, we just tried to be positive and to take an element of risk of the death that doesn’t always come off but that was good.Related

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“With not too many to defend, I probably made it a little bit clearer in terms of, having probably taken a few more risks, and making sure that it either was a dot ball or a wicket. Just making sure I was nice and clear at the top of the mark and executing what I wanted to do, and thankfully executed the plans nicely and catches stuck, so that was good.”2:32

Matt Henry: ‘Tried to take an element of risk at the death’

The last over was not devoid of drama. A couple of athletic catches sealed New Zealand’s fate, while the one missed chance did not cost them. On the second ball, Brevis looked to pull a bouncer over the deep midwicket boundary and almost succeeded. But Michael Bracewell timed his jump, held his balance to complete a juggling catch that gave New Zealand the edge. A ball later, he couldn’t hang on to a miscue from Corbin Bosch, grassing the chance after running in from deep midwicket. On the fifth ball, Daryl Mitchell covered good ground to his right from long-on to pull off another excellent catch to convert a certain boundary into a wicket, thus sending back George Linde.”I was hoping he was going to catch it,” Henry said of Bracewell, “it was a really good catch. When you’ve got Bracewell out there on the boundaries, [he is] one of the better fielders going around. So [I had] a lot of confidence, just hoped that one did his job. These guys, they take more catches than they drop, so I wasn’t as worried [about the dropped catch]. I was more just focused on what I could do. [It was a] tough chance, and not many people probably get to that to create a chance. He’s an unbelievable fielder.”Henry finished the tri-series as the leading wicket-taker with ten wickets. Six of those wickets came at the death (overs 17-20), a phase in which he had an economy of 6.69.”The key thing is wanting those overs,” Henry, who was named the Player of the Match as well as the Player of the Series, said. “It’s never easy, they don’t always go your way either. It’s something we all train at, and I think when you’re talking about death, it’s not just the final over. It’s actually the building up of that.

“The thought process was making sure that there were tough options [for the batters]. If you go to yorkers too early and you run two, it’s hard to kind of keep six [balls] out.”Matt Henry

“I think the guys that had some really tough sets there, [Jacob] Duffy and Zakary Foulkes, they’ve done a great job. There was some seriously aggressive striking there [from South Africa] as well. So for us to get to that position was probably the key thing.Henry also praised the tri-series as a means to play high-pressure matches in preparation for the T20 World Cup next year.”We don’t play too many of them, but to come here today and then the final one is great,” he said. “We want to play cricket against great sides and under pressure, that’s why we play the game. Today was one of those games. It was different to all the games we played here. It was a really strong surface, which required a high scoring game – obviously 180 was probably the highest for the tri series – so to come down to the wire was exciting. For us, it was building on what we’ve been talking about. A lot of guys that have stepped up at different times, which is a pleasing thing.”We’ve loved it, we’ve had such a great tour, and we’ve got a big year of T20 cricket with the World Cup to look forward to. For us, [it is about] not getting carried away with the results, more of the style of cricket we’re playing, and how do we keep asking ourselves to grow in our roles and take the game forward. It was a great stepping stone towards where we want to get to.”

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