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Leeds United have reportedly made a £20m defender similar to Joe Rodon one of their top targets following a recent scouting mission.

Leeds reach 100 points and lift Championship title on final day

It was a final day to remember for Daniel Farke and his Leeds side after clinching the Championship title in stoppage time.

A Manor Solomon goal in the 91st minute ensured a come-from-behind victory for the Whites at Home Park and meant they’d finish the season on 100 points.

Talking after winning the title, Farke said: “Today I was allowed to have one or two tears in my eyes. After Wembley I had to be there for my players and give them some belief, it was a tough moment. For Ethan [Ampadu], Ilia [Gruev], Joe [Rodon] they were all in tears.

“I wanted to create something really special with them. To see them like little kids [after the title was won], enjoying themselves like they did at the age when they started playing football. In these moments you’re never thinking about money or contracts. To be a bit reminded how happy they are, like children, it’s one of the best moments you can have as a manager.”

Leeds make advances in move to sign "top-class" 243 career-goal striker

The Whites are in the hunt for attacking reinforcements.

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By
Sean Markus Clifford

May 3, 2025

Now, the club’s attention behind the scenes at Elland Road will be on the summer, looking to bolster the current squad ahead of their Premier League return. Adam Underwood has been promoted to the role of sporting director having been at the club for more than 10 years, and it could be a crucial first transfer window with him at the helm.

Solomon has been linked with a permanent move to Leeds, whereas a raid on Celtic for the likes of Cameron Carter-Vickers and Nicolas Kuhn has also been mooted.

Additions at the back and in attack look likely, and now, a new defensive option has emerged on Underwood’s radar.

Leeds eyeing bid to sign £20m defender Leonardo Balerdi

According to reports from The Sun, relayed by MOT Leeds News, Leeds have recently sent scouts to watch Marseille defender Leonardo Balerdi.

The Whites have now made Balerdi one of their top targets, and the Argentine is open to a move to England. It is added that Marseille would demand a £20m fee for their defender over the coming months.

Balerdi signed for Marseille from Borussia Dortmund back in 2021 and is now the captain of the Ligue 1 side having made more than 160 appearances for his current employers.

Capped six times by Argentina, Balerdi has impressed on the ball over the last 12 months. As per FBref, he has ranked in the top 1% of centre-backs when it comes to passes attempted and top 3% for successful passes per 90, whereas the Marseille man is also in the top 1% for successful take-ons.

Balerdi is similar Rodon as the Leeds star ranks in the top 3% for passes attempted and top 2% for successful passes, and by the looks of things, he could be partnering the Wales international at the back next season.

With no Premier League game this weekend, every Arsenal fan will have their eyes firmly on their Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint Germain next week.

However, while Mikel Arteta’s side have a real chance of doing something sensational on the continent, it would be impossible to describe their domestic form as anything other than disappointing.

The Gunners crashed out of the FA Cup and League Cup, and should Liverpool pick up even a point at home to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday, they’ll be crowned champions with four games to spare.

While injuries have certainly played their part, poor performances have been just as big of a problem, with club captain Martin Odegaard’s drop in form emblematic of the season overall.

The Norwegian international may well get back to his mercurial best next year, but if recent reports are to be believed, the club may have already identified someone who’d be an upgrade, someone who’s won comparisons to the incredible Jude Bellingham.

Arsenal transfer news

Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other incredible names Arsenal have been linked with in recent weeks, such as Raphinha.

The Barcelona superstar would reportedly be available for about £86m in the summer, and while that is a lot, it could be a fee worth paying as he’s already scored 30 goals and provided 23 assists in 49 games this year.

A cheaper player touted for a £43m move to the Emirates in recent days has been Andrey Santos.

Transfer Focus

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

The Chelsea loanee is having a stellar campaign in France with Strasbourg, amassing 15 goal involvements in just 30 appearances from central and defensive midfield.

However, the most exciting name touted for a move to N5, and the one who could replace Odegaard is Désiré Doué.

Yes, according to reports from Spain, Arsenal are one of several Premier League sides interested in signing the Frenchman this summer.

Alongside the Gunners, the report has revealed that Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea are keen on the talent.

However, Paris Saint-Germain are not planning on selling the teenage sensation unless a monster offer of around £86m is made.

It looks like it could be a complicated and costly transfer to get over the line, but given Doué’s immense ability and potential, it’s one worth fighting for, especially as he could be a dream Odegaard replacement and has been compared to Bellingham.

How Doué compares to Odegaard and Bellingham

So, the first thing to say is that while Doué has spent more time on the wings this season, he has still made nine appearances as an attacking midfielder this term and has even been described as a “true 10” by respected analyst Ben Mattinson.

With that out the way, it’s worth examining this comparison to Bellingham and where it comes from before looking at how he stacks up against Odegaard.

In this instance, it stems from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions across Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one and, in this instance, has concluded that the Englishman is the number one most similar midfielder to the PSG gem.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, progressive passes, goals, assists, goals per shot and shot on target, carries and more, all per 90.

So, with his apparent statistical similarities to the Real Madrid star, how does the Angers-born ace compare to the Gunners’ captain?

Well, from a pure output perspective, he comes out miles ahead.

For example, in 46 appearances, totalling just 2538 minutes, he’s scored 13 goals and provided 12 assists.

That means the “absolute genius,” as dubbed by Mattinson, is currently averaging a goal involvement every 1.84 games or every 101.52 minutes.

For his efforts this year, the Drammen-born star has scored just five goals and provided ten assists in 39 appearances, totalling 2982 minutes.

Therefore, the 26-year-old is averaging a goal involvement every 2.6 games or every 198.8 minutes, which is undeniably disappointing.

Ultimately, while he might cost a huge sum of money, Arsenal should do what they can to sign Doué this summer, as not only has he won comparisons to Bellingham, but he could be a younger, more exciting upgrade on Odegaard.

Arsenal in contact to sign mega Partey upgrade with a £1bn release clause

Thomas Partey could stay at Arsenal but they should seek a replacement.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Apr 24, 2025

Chelsea are able to pile on the misery for Ipswich Town later on in the Premier League with Kieran McKenna’s away side looking nailed on for relegation at this point.

But, the Blues did lose the reserve fixture at Portman Road back in December 2-0, with former Chelsea academy product Omari Hutchinson getting in on the goalscoring act for the Tractor Boys to get one over on his ex-employers.

Still, Enzo Maresca will hope his top-four-chasing side have enough about them to condemn their relegation-doomed opponents to another top-flight loss, with Christopher Nkunku perhaps dropping to the substitutes bench after a frustrating Europa Conference League showing on Thursday night among other drab outings.

Nkunku's season in numbers at Chelsea

Not even a leaky Legia Warsawa outfit in the Conference League would end up gifting the Frenchman a much-needed Blues goal, with Maresca’s men thankfully running out convincing 3-0 victors away from their wasteful number 18’s woes continuing on.

Indeed, the former RB Leipzig attacker would spurn a penalty opportunity away in Poland, with four total chances not finding the back of the net from the low-on-confidence forward.

That means Nkunku is deep in a goalless stretch of form, with his team’s last six games in all competitions seeing the 27-year-old flounder in front of goal.

An alteration up top could be deemed necessary to catch a porous Ipswich side off-guard, therefore, with the visitors to Stamford Bridge later on today giving up a high 65 goals in league action.

Bringing one certain striker back into the first-team fold could really end up causing the lowly opponents all sorts of bother subsequently, leading to an out-of-sorts Nkunku being unsurprisingly axed.

Nkunku's "special" Chelsea replacement

Maresca hasn’t exactly had lady luck on his side this season in the striker department with a whole barrage of injury issues resulting in Nkunku leading the line in lacklustre fashion.

Now, the Italian will feel relieved he has Nicolas Jackson back at his disposal, with the former Villarreal centre-forward in line for a start against Ipswich after battling through his own injury setbacks. That return could come amidst recurring Liam Delap transfer talk, throwing into doubt his place as Chelsea’s first-choice number nine next term.

Even from his limited game time owing to injuries this season, Jackson has shown obvious spurts of quality when lining up as Maresca’s main marksman, with a mightily impressive 14 goals and assists combined from just 23 league starts.

Nine of those have been strikes hitting the back of the net even as Jackson has missed a whopping 17 big chances, but unlike Nkunku who never seems to drag himself out of the mire, his Senegalese counterpart has managed to ease some of the rampant criticism that has come his way by putting in clinical displays here and there.

Nkunku finds himself on a lower three goals in the demanding top-flight on the contrary, and with his confidence not exactly beaming after his no-show in Poland, bringing Jackson in from the start feels like a no-brainer.

After all, the Blues number 15 has even been heralded as “special” in the past by football journalist Rahman Osman, with Maresca also boldly publically declaring Jackson as the “perfect number nine” in the build-up to the clash with Ipswich, amid that speculation around Delap.

Therefore, Nkunku’s days could be numbered as the leading man, with Jackson potentially helping Chelsea to consolidate a spot in the Premier League top four if he can cause Ipswich defenders havoc today.

Up against the man who could potentially replace him in Delap – a player Maresca even described as “fantastic” ahead of the game – Jackson needs to prove why he should remain as the main centre-forward next season.

David Ornstein "fascinated" as Chelsea consider deal for £80m forward

He could replace Noni Madueke.

By
Emilio Galantini

Apr 12, 2025

Southampton were hit with a hammer blow on Saturday when they conceded in the 97th minute to lose to Millwall at The Den in their last Championship game of the month.

After fighting to make it 2-2 through Fin Azaz, the Saints defence fell asleep at a crucial moment to allow Tristan Crama to sneak in unmarked at the back post to score the winner.

It was a brutal way to lose a game of football, but it was also the first loss of Tonda Eckert’s time in interim charge, after four wins in his first four games in the dugout.

The latest on Tonda Eckert's future at Southampton

Football Insider recently reported that the German tactician is in the driving seat to land the role on a permanent basis, thanks to winning his first four matches in the Championship.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

The outlet claimed that the former U21s boss is the leading candidate to take the job from Sport Republic, ahead of more experienced managers who have been on the shortlist, including, but not limited to, Russell Martin.

However, Football Insider added that Eckert will still be given more time before a final decision is made, and that a permanent appointment is not imminent at this moment in time.

With this in mind, there is still time for Southampton to look elsewhere for their next manager, which is why they should push to hire Brendan Rodgers, who was linked with the role shortly after Will Still’s departure.

Why Southampton should hire Brendan Rodgers

Sport Republic, as they will, need to consider the short and long-term consequences with their next managerial appointment, because there are two elements at play.

In the short term, they need a manager, whether that is Eckert or someone else, who can guide the team up the table and into promotion contention to get back to the Premier League.

However, in the long term, the Saints need a boss who can then guide them to safety in the top-flight, because Martin was unable to do that after winning promotion with the club, which illustrates the importance of hiring a manager who can achieve both tasks.

Rodgers, once described as “world-class” by Gabby Agbonlahor, is a highly experienced Premier League manager who knows what it takes to be successful at that level, having managed Leicester, Liverpool, and Swansea in the top-flight.

As you can see in the table above, the only season that Rodgers did not have his team competing for a top-half finish was when he was sacked with ten matches to go in the 2022/23 campaign.

His overall history in the division suggests that he has the managerial chops to keep the Saints in the Premier League if they earn promotion, whilst Eckert has no previous experience at that level and would go in as a novice in that respect, just as Martin did.

Meanwhile, Rodgers is also coming off a second stint with Celtic in Scotland, where, as shown in the graphic above, he won four trophies in two full seasons in Glasgow.

The Northern Irish boss won four Premiership titles in four full seasons with the Hoops over two spells with the club, per Transfermarkt, which shows that the experienced manager also knows how to coach a team to win matches on a consistent basis.

That is further backed up by the fact that he won the Championship play-offs to win promotion to the Premier League with Swansea in the 2010/11 campaign, before finishing 11th in the top-flight with the Welsh outfit.

Rodgers is, therefore, a manager who has a proven track record of being able to achieve what Southampton need in the short and long-term, whilst Eckert has made a strong start to life in the Championship but does not have a proven record, with no top-flight experience.

"Really great coach" in pole position to be named permanent Southampton manager

The Saints are now edging closer to appointing a permanent manager.

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Nov 28, 2025

This is why Sport Republic should push to appoint Rodgers as their new permanent manager, if the former Hoops boss is willing to make the move, because he could be a big upgrade on Eckert with his reputation and proven coaching ability.

They are turning Ahmedabad into a fortress, where they have beaten Mumbai Indians four out of four times

Sidharth Monga29-Mar-20251:40

Pujara: Good to see Prasidh developing variations

Gujarat Titans (GT) have now beaten Mumbai Indians (MI) in all their four matches at home in the IPL. A young team beating one of the most successful T20 franchises so regularly is impressive in itself, but what’s even more impressive is that they have always had sound theories on how to beat their western-Indian neighbours.The first two wins came in IPL 2023, when GT managed to win four Ahmedabad matches out of seven when batting first. Despite dew, they did so through an early window of movement for fast bowlers. They had Mohammed Shami to exploit it. Both their wins against MI that year were on red-soil pitches where they scored 200-plus when asked to bat first and broke the game open with the new ball when defending. GT could play that way because MI didn’t have Jasprit Bumrah or a fast bowler to exploit these conditions.GT won the title in their debut season and came within one good ball of defending it next year. MI, of course, went shopping and took away their captain Hardik Pandya in 2024. They also put together a side full of big hitters. Bumrah was also fit. This time GT switched to a lower par-score pitch. Now they defended 168 successfully through change-up bowlers Rashid Khan, R Sai Kishore and Mohit Sharma.Related

• Hardik the bowler gets the better of Gill the batter, again

• Hardik: 'Batters have to come to the party, hopefully soon'

• 'You know the match is almost done' – Gill's praise for Prasidh's match-winning spell

• Titans off the mark with a thumping win over Mumbai Indians

• Sai Sudharsan, Prasidh Krishna consign MI to big defeat

Cut to their fourth encounter against MI at home. Even though captain Shubman Gill said their choice of a black-soil pitch was not specific to the opposition, Parthiv Patel, the assistant coach, said during a spot interview that they wanted to play MI on a black-soil pitch. Not only would it neutralise the threat of Trent Boult and Deepak Chahar with the new ball, it would also take MI away from the comforts of red-soil pitches that they are used to at the Wankhede.It also turned out that GT have a side more suited to under-200 games rather than the 240 one they ended up losing against Punjab Kings (PBKS). They have the most efficient anchor batter in all T20 cricket in Jos Buttler, and also B Sai Sudharsan, who capitalises on the powerplay and can anchor in the middle overs. The core of their batting is good enough to adapt to slightly difficult batting conditions.Most of all, GT have tall, into-the-pitch fast bowlers who can make use of variable pace and bounce in a surface. The pitch looked like the one used for the 2023 ODI World Cup final, played like it, and brought back memories of tall bowlers stifling batters. Only Mumbai Indians, not Indian.Apart from displaying that GT know how to win at home, this win showed the synergy between the franchise and the ground authorities. Given the short duration of the contest, T20 matches can turn on events as small as losing a wet ball with a six that goes out of the stadium. The only way to come close to guaranteeing consistent success is to maximise the home advantage.Chennai Super Kings (CSK), who hardly ever miss the IPL playoffs, do so because they win twice as many matches as they lose at home, comfortably the best win-loss ratio at home among IPL teams. Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) dominant run came when they could use their spinners on low-scoring home surfaces. As early as the first IPL, Shane Warne turned Sawai Mansingh Stadium into a fortress for Rajasthan Royals (RR), winning all seven matches at home. It is no surprise that GT have become a formidable team in their short existence: they hold the second-best win-loss ratio at home overall.1:06

Pujara: Siraj looks fired up again

Because of excessive dew and small grounds, MI and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) can’t quite set out to maximise home advantage. This makes MI’s five titles an impressive feat. Outside them, the teams that generally struggle in the IPL are the ones without a stable home base, and can’t build their teams for specific conditions.Strange events are taking place in IPL 2025. CSK and KKR have gone on record about apparent tension with curators at Chepauk and Eden Gardens not maximising their home advantage. They are both set up for under-200 games for their spinners to come into their own, but the surfaces have denied them that. With administerial turmoil in Rajasthan Cricket Association and with the Jaipur stadium being under the government, and thus not looked after throughout the year, RR are now playing some of their games away from Jaipur, losing out on a home base and conditions they can dominate.In a sport as reliant on conditions as cricket is, home advantage is a valid tactic. That’s why winning away has always been special. However, IPL is a unique case. These franchises don’t keep the grounds running all year round. They are just tenants for a couple of months. They can’t feel entitled to the kind of co-operation a Ranji Trophy team might. The groundsman is well within his rights to ask the franchises to select according to the general conditions. They aren’t out to get the home side, they just loathe having to change the nature of the square.It pays to have a management and team leadership that can build good relations with the state association and the ground staff. All this makes CSK’s case particularly curious because their state association and their IPL franchise have had the closest links. Eden Gardens and Chepauk will be two grounds to watch out for in the coming games. Watch out also for GT’s use of different soils for different teams. Chances are, CSK will not get the black one.

LOS ANGELES — The digital clock on the wall of the Dodgers’ clubhouse read 12:10 a.m., only 20 minutes after the most exhausting World Series game ever played, and Shohei Ohtani, hair tousled and uncombed from a quick towel dry, clad in shorts and a T-shirt, hurried out a back door. His first World Series start on the mound was approaching later the same day, just 17 hours away.

Maybe Ohtani was headed toward a phone booth to restore his superpowers. Or maybe he is the modern Chiron, the centaur whom the ancient Greeks believed when wounded by Hercules invented modern medicine to heal himself.

We know not how he does it. All we know is that those 17 hours, like the eye of a hurricane, define the sheer wonder of Ohtani as definitively as the whirlwind of what he does on the field. Somehow after reaching base nine times in the 18 innings of madness that was Game 3—three more times than anybody ever did in a postseason game—and refusing to leave the game as cramps wracked his legs, Ohtani planned to take the ball as the starting pitcher in Game 4.

The Dodgers outlasted the Blue Jays, 6-5, on a merciful home run by Freddie Freeman that put an immediate stop to 18 innings, 19 pitchers, 31 hits, 399 minutes, 595 pitches and innumerable thrills, many of which were the consequences of awful baserunning and shaky fielding interspersed with moments of grandeur. It was a night you needed the organist to sign off with Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” the way Fenway Park’s John Kiley did 50 years and six days previous when Carlton Fisk presaged Freeman. But nothing rose above the sublime and the ridiculous like the industriousness and unique greatness of Ohtani.

When I asked him on the field immediately after the game how he felt, he said quietly, “I need to go to bed.” The most active game anybody ever played in the World Series was played by the next day’s starting pitcher. Just the idea of that, like most everything Ohtani does, was unfathomable until he came along.

“I mean, I threw two innings, and I feel like I’m dead,” Dodgers reliever Emmet Sheehan said. “So, it’s really just a testament to everything he does behind the scenes, like taking care of his body. He’s one of a kind. And yeah, if anybody can do it, play a game like that and pitch the next day, it’s him.”

Shohei Ohtani’s Record-Setting Night

Running a depleted staff, Dodgers manager Dave Roberts has little choice but to stick with Ohtani on the mound for Game 4. Given how exhausted and hobbled Ohtani looked over the back half of Game 3, maybe Roberts would do well to allow him to pitch only—and give him some rest while somebody else takes his DH spot. But such an impact hitter is Ohtani that giving his four or five—or nine—plate appearances to anybody else is doing the Toronto Blue Jays a favor.

How is this for spending the day before your start on the mound:

• First player to reach base nine times in a postseason game.
• First player in 119 years to swat four extra-base hits in a World Series game.
• First player with a third multi-homer game in one postseason.
• First player with four intentional walks in one postseason game.

By the 11th inning, so worn out was Ohtani that Roberts, upon seeing him dead-legged hobble from first to second, offered to take him out of the game to rest for his Game 4 start on the mound. Ohtani told him he wasn’t going anywhere.

“It’s really crazy to put it in words what he did,” said Dodgers infielder Miguel Rojas, “but the biggest thing is he didn’t want to come out of the game. He got the opportunity to. When he was cramping and he was feeling discomfort on his legs, he got the opportunity to come out of the game knowing that he needs to pitch tomorrow.

“But he talks a lot about like the commitment and the effort that everybody’s doing. Like he’s seeing his teammates out there and the pitchers going extra mileage, like a guy [pitcher Will Klein] who maybe never threw more than 25 pitches or 30 pitches in a game in his life. With Shohei, that’s kind of like his aura and who he is. He will never come out of the game because he wanted to win today. And regardless of what happened tomorrow, we got this one. And that’s the most important part.”

Right there in the gallantry department with Ohtani, Klein, Freeman and exhausted catcher Will Smith, who caught all 18 innings and blocked more pitches than a Hollywood show-runner, was Yoshinobu Yamamoto. Only two days earlier, the 5-foot-10 Yamamoto became the smallest pitcher to post a World Series complete game win since Billy Pierce of the 1962 Giants. Yet around the 16th inning, just after Roberts told me he would have to use a position player after Klein, Yamamoto, still with his sneakers on, approached pitching coach Mark Prior in the dugout with the interpreter Will Ireton. He volunteered to pitch in relief.

Former Manchester United forward Louis Saha believes that although Viktor Gyokeres "has done well so far" since making a big-money move to Arsenal from Sporting CP over the summer, he "has had it easy in some ways." Saha has urged the Swedish international to prove his mettle "when the pressure in on", claiming that he "needs to be the final piece of the puzzle" for Mikel Arteta and co.

• Arsenal firing on all cylinders, without Gyokeres…

  Arsenal are flying high – both domestically and in Europe – as Mikel Arteta's project finally takes full shape, producing a side with the firepower and maturity to not only challenge for major honours but genuinely expect to lift silverware at the end of the season. 

  The Gunners are on a 16-game unbeaten streak, showcasing their consistency. They firmly established themselves as the team to beat right now following a 3-1 shellacking of a seemingly unbeatable and unstoppable Bayern Munich in the Champions League this week. It was a statement win that underscored Arsenal's intent to assert their authority across the continent, handing Vincent Kompany's side their first defeat of the season after they had triumphantly won 17 of their previous 18 matches.

  Arteta has done remarkably to navigate through the ongoing injury crisis, which has seen Arsenal deal with the absences of Kai Havertz, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel, and Gyokeres.

  To make up for the Swede's unavailability – he's scored six goals in 14 games since arriving at the Emirates Stadium – Arteta has shown his profound ability to adapt and reinvent, again playing Mikel Merino in the false nine role. The move has paid dividends, proving that Arsenal can do just fine without their biggest signing of the summer. 

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• (C)Getty Images
  

  Gyokeres told to step up for Arsenal in 'tough moments'

  Speaking to Saha dissected Gyokeres' first three months as an Arsenal player. Although he wasn't too critical of the striker, he has urged him to finish his adaptation as soon as possible.

  "He's done well so far. It's a good start," Saha said. "Viktor has had it easy in some ways, because Arsenal are a team who create a lot of chances and they've been on the hunt for a No. 9 to put the ball in the net. He should be finding himself in the position to score week in, week out. But the real test will be at those tough moments, when the pressure is on.

  "I think we're going to judge Gyokeres' debut season on those moments of real pressure and importance, and we haven't seen them yet. It's only November. Those moments will define his season and his time at Arsenal. He may only need to score tap-ins, but it's when those tap-ins come that matter.

  "He's been in England before, for a few seasons, at Coventry and Brighton, so the style of football and the way of life can't be a shock to him. He needs to adapt quickly because this is a side that had its foundations made long ago. He just needs to be the final piece of the puzzle, to put away chances in big games, or when they're struggling."

• Arteta's brutal conversation with Gyokeres

  Back in October, Arteta revealed the words he told Gyokeres after he joined from Sporting CP. "I told him before the first meeting, I said, 'the nine that I want is a nine that when he doesn't score for six or eight games, he can handle that. If not, you have to go somewhere else because the expectation is going to be there'," he told reporters.

  “So, if you put on a nine shirt for Arsenal, you have to be able to say, 'OK, six games, if I don't score, I'm a different player? I start to act in a different way?'. No, I want much more of the same of what he's doing."

  Arteta is going to be a demanding coach as he guides the Gunners' title charge in the Premier League and tries to also justify their label as 'favourites' in the Champions League. He has done an excellent job at keeping the squad fresh and motivated, but Gyokeres' contributions could yet go a long way in influencing where Arsenal stand at the end of the season. 

  The Spanish gaffer, though, remains adamant that the 27-year-old will soon get the appreciation he deserves for the sacrifices he makes for the team. "The first thing is that. That's going to give you something extra. Viktor has so many things that probably are not noticeable," he added. "But as well, he creates environment and space and solutions to a lot of the players around him. And with the talent that we have in the team, I'm sure that everybody, him included, will benefit from that."

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  When will Gyokeres return to action for Arsenal?

  Gyokeres has been sidelined with a muscle injury since the start of November, his last appearance coming against Burnley on November 1. He has missed four games, but Arteta provided a fresh update on the forward ahead of Arsenal's top-of-the-table visit to Stamford Bridge on Sunday. 

  "They are getting closer and closer. We are very positive with both of them, so let's see," Arteta responded when asked about Gyokeres and Kai Havertz.

  Arteta also provided his thoughts on whether Gyokeres will slot right back into in the XI once he's fit. "Well, the good thing is that now we have found another option. We have three different options," he explained. "That's a really good learning for all of us, especially for me, to understand that with other players, with other connections, with other ways of doing things, we can still be very, very efficient."

Dodgers reliever Brock Stewart is done for the season, as he's set to undergo season ending shoulder surgery, manager Dave Roberts told reporters on Friday.

The injury news about Stewart being shut down was hardly a surprise. The righty hasn't pitched since the middle of August due to his sore shoulder.

Stewart will undergo a debridement procedure, and will be on the shelf for at least six months. L.A. general manager Brandon Gomes said that the franchise does not expect him to be ready for spring's Opening Day, but that he could return sometime in the first half of the season if all goes well.

Stewart was acquired by the Dodgers from the Twins at the trade deadline, and finishes the season with a 2.63 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched. Stewart's injury is the latest blow to a Dodgers bullpen that has been up-and-down during the second half of the season.

England made 125 runs and took two wickets in the morning session at Manchester

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jul-2025

Ben Stokes brought up his century on fourth morning•AFP via Getty Images

Ben Stokes added a century to the five-for he had already taken to cement his place among the greatest allrounders in Test cricket, and after all that he just had to sit back and watch as his bowling attack laid waste to India’s top-order. England had piled up 669, their fifth-highest total in this format. They kept India on the field for 157.1 overs and the fatigue that it caused was certainly on show. India, trailing by 311 runs, lost two wickets scoring any of their own.Stokes, who retired hurt on 66 with leg cramps, seemed back to his fighting best judging by the quick single he took in the very first over of play. Anshul Kamboj had hit the stumps direct at the bowlers end and Mohammed Siraj was so certain it was out that he had his forefinger raised to various corners of the ground. Replays showed a different picture and Stokes took to Siraj in the next over, dancing down the track and clattering him through cover for four.There were a few nervy moments as he approached his century, his first in 35 innings. A neat nudge off the hips brought it up. Stokes punched the air as he ran down the pitch and brought out the folded-finger salute – a tribute to his father Ged – while the trumpeter in the crowd added to the moment by belting out the Superman theme. Stokes joined Garry Sobers and Jacques Kallis as the only three allrounders with 7000 Test runs and 200 Test wickets. He became the fifth captain to score a century and pick up a five-for.India were already showing signs of wear. They gave away overthrows. They spread the field for the No. 10. In situations like this, the 15 minutes they had to endure until lunch become extremely dicey and Chris Woakes made it impossible. He started around the wicket immediately to make sure the left-handed Yashasvi Jaiwal would not have easy leaves. The angle forced the mistake as he tried to flick one off middle stump only for the ball to seam extremely sharply off the pitch to take his leading edge through to Joe Root, who fumbled initially before gathering it on the second attempt. Sai Sudharsan showed the clearest signs of fatigue among the Indian players when he was faced with a harmless short and wide delivery. He tried to play at it. Eventually he realised he didn’t need to. In the end, he was caught at second slip leaving the ball.Shubman Gill walked out to face the hat-trick delivery, surrounded by five slips and a leg slip and his team yet to score. They managed one run during the three-over barrage.

Leeds United will be aiming to stay put in the Premier League past the end of the 2025/26 season, but that will be easier said than done.

The last time the Whites managed to stay up at the first time of asking after triumphantly securing promotion to the top-flight was when the revered Marcelo Bielsa still occupied the Elland Road dug-out, with an unbelievable seventh place position somehow pulled off come the close of the memorable 2020/21 campaign.

Ever since that major high point, though, Leeds have struggled when keeping their heads above water in the elite division, having fallen back down to the Championship with a whimper in 2023.

Daniel Farke is the boss who will be aiming to rewrite the depressing script in West Yorkshire, however, with it not being all doom and gloom since the Argentine’s sombre exit, either, as several exciting stars have called Leeds home since his sacking in early 2022.

Some of Leeds' best signings since Bielsa left

Even with Championship football regularly being on the menu after the enigmatic South American’s departure, Leeds have been blessed with possessing some exceptional talents.

Georginio Rutter has to go down as one of Leeds’ best bits of business in terms of the entertainment he offered in the rebuild after Bielsa, with the £35.5m purchase from Hoffenheim tallying up a ridiculous eight goals and 18 assists for the Whites, leading to Paul Merson even comparing him to Arsenal great Dennis Bergkamp for his audacious footwork.

Amazingly, too, Wilfried Gnonto never crossed paths with Bielsa at Elland Road, with the Italian attacker a real force to be reckoned with when unleashed, as seen in him firing home 22 goals to date for the Whites.

Moving away from the attack, Ethan Ampadu has also become a mainstay in the middle of the park since joining for £7m from Chelsea in the summer of 2023, as Leeds also finally stormed back up to the Premier League.

There’s even a compelling enough argument already to suggest that Sean Longstaff joining for £12m this summer just gone is one of the best bits of business since Bielsa left the building, with five big chances created by the ex-Newcastle United man helping Leeds push up to 15th in the early league standings.

Yet, despite the Newcastle-born ace experiencing such a promising start to life in West Yorkshire, he arguably lags just behind this Farke stalwart still in this argument, who is continuing to shine very bright as one of the first names on the German’s teamsheet.

Leeds' best signing since Bielsa left

There’s no guarantee that Longstaff will be able to keep up these excellent early levels at Leeds across a full Premier League season, having been regularly injury-prone at St James’ Park.

Farke won’t have any lingering concerns about Joe Rodon pulling up with an injury anytime soon, however, with the commanding Welshman now starting a staggering 94 consecutive games for Leeds as he remains one of the vital parts of his manager’s jigsaw, even as new signings aplenty – such as Longstaff – joined this off-season.

Having also collected a mammoth 48 clean sheets across his first century of appearances for Leeds, Rodon has only cemented himself as a key Whites first-teamer during the infancy of this new season.

The Swansea-born warrior has even chipped in with two goals so far this campaign to ensure the top-flight newcomers already have three league wins under their belt, the latest of which steered his side to a valuable win over struggling West Ham United.

Yet, it’s his unwavering determination for Leeds that stretches all the way back to the 2023/24 campaign, which means he is surely their best signing since Bielsa sadly left Elland Road behind, with the £10m spent on his permanent services at the close of that promotion near-miss season continuing to look like a bargain amount.

He will only be seen in an even more glowing light if his imposing displays result in Leeds beating the drop, with Farke’s “unbelievable” assessment of the 28-year-old after his debut two years ago still ringing true today.

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