Ihsanullah Janat, the Afghanistan top-order batter, has been banned from “all forms of cricket activities” for five years for corruption, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said on Wednesday. The ban is effective immediately. The board said that the breaches of the ACB’s and ICC’s anti-corruption code had been committed during the second edition of the Kabul Premier League earlier this year.”Janat was found guilty of violating Article 2.1.1 of the ICC Anti-Corruption Code, which involves improper influence or efforts to fix the result, progress, conduct, or any other aspect of a match,” the ACB said in a statement. “In light of this violation, he has been handed a five-year ban from all cricket-related activities. Janat has admitted to the charges and confessed to his involvement in corrupt activities.”The statement added that the ACB’s anti-corruption unit has been investigating “three other players” for possible involvement in corrupt activities. “Decisions regarding their involvement will be made upon confirmation of their guilt,” the ACB said.Related
Ihsanullah, another jewel in the Mangal family
Ihsanullah, 26, was in action for Shamshad Eagles at the Kabul Premier League 2024, and scored 72 runs in four innings at an average of 18 and strike rate of 150. The team finished last on the six-team league table with just one win from five games.Internationally, Ihsanullah has appeared in 20 games for Afghanistan across the three formats. Following his debut in an ODI against Zimbabwe in Harare in February 2017, Ihsanullah has played 15 more times in the format, scoring 307 runs (average 21.92) and has also turned out in three Tests (110 runs at 22.00) and one T20I, where he scored a 14-ball 20. That T20I, in June 2022 against Zimbabwe in Harare, was his last appearance for his national team.Ihsanullah comes from a family with close ties to the game, with his brother Nawroz Mangal one of the country’s stalwarts in their early years of international cricket. Nawroz was the captain of the national team when they became the first Affiliate nation to gain ODI status at the 2009 World Cup qualifiers, and again when they qualified for the 2010 T20 World Cup.
It seems like one of West Ham United’s most loyal servants in recent years, Tomas Soucek, is going to leave the club this summer.
If reports from Football Insider are to be believed, the Hammers will lose the Czech Republic international to Everton, where former manager David Moyes is in charge.
The midfielder, who has been a key player for the Hammers for a number of years now, has certainly played an important role this season under Julen Lopetegui and, more recently, Graham Potter. Soucek has featured in 32 Premier League games, scoring and assisting ten goals in total.
West Ham's Tomas Soucek
If he does depart the London Stadium this summer, the Hammers will need a new midfielder. Already, they seem to have identified an early target.
West Ham’s midfield target
The Championship has always been a league from which many Premier League clubs make smart signings, with the Irons perhaps benefiting the best in recent memory, luring Jarrod Bowen away from Hull City.
Well, West Ham might well be set to acquire a similar signing this summer, if rumours of them signing Burnley midfielder Josh Brownhill are to be believed.
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Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
According to a report from Footballer Insider, the Hammers ‘have now been alerted to the opportunity to sign’ Brownhill from the Clarets this summer. Potter’s side are ‘keen to strengthen’ in the centre of the park, and the Burnley star could be the perfect option.
What makes this deal even more beneficial is the fact that he could be available on a free transfer.
The 29-year-old’s contract at Turf Moor expires this summer, and whilst Burnley want to agree a new deal, he could well leave for nothing. West Ham’s Premier League rivals Everton, as well as Scottish giants Celtic, are also in the race.
Why Brownhill would be a good signing
What a season it has been for Bronwhill in the Championship. He was pivotal in Burnley’s promotion back to the Premier League, helping them to second place in the league despite reaching a century of points.
Well, Clarets matchday commentator Phil Bird certainly believed the Manchester-born midfielder was a standout at Turf Moor this season. He described his performances as “out of this world”, which is high praise indeed.
The stats are certainly there to back up such a claim. Brownhill managed an outrageous 18 goals and six assists. Bearing in mind the fact that he most often played as a number 6 for Scott Parker’s side, those are astounding numbers.
Josh Brownhill
In the final five games of the season, Brownhill was a key contributor, helping the Clarets get over the line and seal automatic promotion.
The 29-year-old scored and assisted seven goals in those matches, including two strikes against Sheffield United in the third-last game of the campaign, which sealed a 2-1 win and confirmed their place in the Premier League next term.
Should the Hammers be able to bring Brownhill into the club this summer, he could finally be a long-term replacement for Declan Rice.
In many ways, their side has felt like it has a void in midfield since his move to Arsenal two seasons ago. After all, he is “one of the best midfielders in the world”, according to Daniel Sturridge.
The England international was exceptional for West Ham during his time at the club. He made 245 appearances, scoring and assisting 28 times.
However, he has since added goals and assists to his game, just like Brownhill has and already has 15 goals and 20 assists in an Arsenal shirt.
Interestingly, the pair are actually statistically similar when looking at the 2020/21 Premier League campaign on FBref. For example, Brownhill averaged 6.23 ball recoveries per game, compared to 7.28 ball recoveries per game for Rice that season.
Passes into penalty area
0.51
0.56
Shot-creating actions
1.89
1.84
Tackles and interceptions
3.64
3.69
Blocks
1.05
1.22
Ball recoveries
6.23
7.28
The similarities between the two are clear to see. On top of all those factors, when you consider both are leaders, with Brownhill captaining Burnley this season, he really does seem like an excellent replacement.
For a free transfer, this does not seem like a deal West Ham can miss out on. They can replace Rice’s quality in the middle of the park and his leadership skills, and sign someone with proven Premier League experience.
It's not Rice: West Ham facing Lampard repeat after losing "serious talent"
West Ham may soon feel the effects of a Frank Lampard repeat…
Former Premier League referee Peter Walton has revealed to no one’s surprise that Manchester United legend Sir Alex Ferguson was the hardest manager to deal with as a referee.
Peter was a Premier League referee from 2003 until 2012, when he retired from his on-pitch duties to take up the role of general manager of the Professional Referee Organization in North America, which he performed until 2018.
Since then, he has returned to British shores to feature regularly as a pundit and officiating expert on TNT Sport’s football coverage, and you can read our exclusive chat with him below, in partnership with talkSPORT BET.
Who was the toughest manager you had to referee?
“Sir Alex Ferguson. He didn’t win what he wanted by being a shrinking violet. He didn’t keep United at the top of the tree for so many years by being nice to everybody. I’ve received the hairdryer treatment for sure.
“The manager’s office at Old Trafford is next to the referee’s room at Old Trafford and at the end of a game I’d go in there, I’d pop the door open and say cheerio. Normally that would be met with ‘thanks very much, see you next time’ but they played Portsmouth one night and Man United lost two full-backs through injury.
“One was when one of the Neville lads kicked through and caught the studs of an opponent. He got hurt – it was not a foul – the other one was a foul, I gave the foul. After the game, I tapped on the door as I normally do and I went to say ‘cheers, all the best’ and he went absolutely ballistic at me. Apparently, I’d caused the loss of two full-backs and there were a few Anglo-Saxon words in there. Of course, he always had a very short fuse.”
What was the hardest ground to officiate at?
“Thinking of grounds, the hardest one to referee at was Goodison Park. It’s a shame Everton are leaving there but Goodison Park always evoked an atmosphere for me.
“It was quite a feral place for me at times. The whole place would erupt and they would always encourage me if I was having a bad game. It was always a tough one to referee – when I looked at the fixtures and saw I had Everton I thought ‘here we go’.”
What's the toughest refereeing decision you ever made?
“I made a decision that was right but I didn’t agree with it. That was at Goodison. Everton were playing West Ham and West Ham were fighting for their Premier League survival. There was a striker called Freddie Piquionne and I cautioned him earlier in the game for a centre-forward’s challenge, he got nowhere near the ball. He was on a caution and we put that to bed.
“In the second half Everton were winning 1-0 but West Ham made it 1-1. And when Piquionne scored what would be a winning goal for West Ham to make it 2-1, he peeled away and went into the away support that was at Goodison over at the far side and the away support surged forward. In doing so there was a group of young lads at the front of the seating area who weren’t crushed but they nearly were.
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“Freddie raced over to them but unfortunately, it was a safety issue. Referees had been briefed only a month before about clamping down on players creating safety issues for fans and you had to caution them for doing that.
“Freddie came back onto the field with the security and police sorting out the young lads at the front of the crowd and I shook my shoulders and said ‘Freddie you’ve got to go’. He shook my hand and actually said ‘thank you’. It was the right decision in law but it didn’t sit greatly with me.”
The fast bowler has fronted up to bowl the difficult overs and emerged as the leader of the current NZ pace pack
Deivarayan Muthu08-Nov-2025Fast bowler Jacob Duffy had figures of 8-1-40-3 across the first two T20Is against West Indies in Auckland – a big plus for New Zealand on the small straight boundaries at Eden Park.Opener Brandon King tried to access the small boundary over mid-off in the first over of West Indies’ chase of 208 in the second T20I, but Duffy denied him with an outswinger that wasn’t full enough and found his outside edge. When Shai Hope, the half-centurion from the first T20I, attempted the same, Duffy got the ball to move away further and beat the outside edge.Duffy’s first nine balls in the powerplay were all dots after which a fumble in the infield allowed a single. In his third over in the powerplay, Duffy almost had Alick Athanaze chop an inswinger pitched on an in-between length back onto his stumps.Nothing full. Nothing wide. Swing both ways. And the deliveries that went straight on were so tight that batters couldn’t take liberties against them.On most days, Duffy’s new-ball spell might have been enough for New Zealand to defend 207. But on Thursday, West Indies’ power-hitters mounted a late charge. Duffy was needed again at the death.When West Indies required 30 off 12 balls, Duffy conceded back-to-back boundaries to Rovman Powell in dewy conditions at the start of the 19th over. But he managed to regroup and conceded just four runs off the last four balls. A bumper flew past Matthew Forde’s head while a yorker was squirted to short fine leg for a single.Related
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While operating with the new ball is Duffy’s stronger suit, he can also do a job at the death. With a number of New Zealand’s first-choice fast bowlers on the sidelines, including Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson, Duffy displayed skill and composure to spearhead a young and inexperienced attack. Since April 2024, Duffy has been New Zealand highest wicket-taker, with 36 strikes, and second-most economical bowler for a minimum of 200 balls bowled in the format. Mitchell Santner, the most economical New Zealand bowler during this period and the captain, was impressed.”Duff has been excellent in the last two years,” Santner said after the first T20I against West Indies. “He has taken every opportunity that has gone his way and he’s probably the leader of the pack at the moment, especially in T20 and even in white-ball with Matt Henry as well. I mean three in the powerplay is never a tough gig but he made it look easy. You come up against very strong power-hitters – Rovman Powell, [Romario] Shepherd and [Jason] Holder…”Mitchell Santner: “Duff has been excellent in the last two years”•AFP/Getty ImagesDuffy, 31, made his international debut in December 2020 in a T20I against Pakistan, also at Eden Park, eight years after his maiden T20 appearance for Otago under Brendon McCullum. More recently in August this year, he made his Test debut in Zimbabwe, more than 13 years after his first first-class match for Otago. Duffy reckons his long and hard toil in domestic cricket has steeled him for the challenges of international cricket.”I’ve played a lot of cricket, albeit not at international level but domestically,” Duffy said. “So, that definitely helps. It’s the same game but just that you’re playing against better players, so that is good. I think we all get along very well as a bowling unit and at the same time, we’ve got very different skillsets.”Whenever you look at me, KJ [Kyle Jamieson], Foulkesy [Zak Foulkes] and Smudge [Nathan Smith] on the sidelines, we all do quite different things and we help each other out in our own way. But, at the end of the day, the boys are going to put their own game plan into place but, no, we are all feeding off each other and we’re all helping each other out.”The collective effort from New Zealand’s bowlers helped defend 207, despite West Indies scoring 87 in the last five overs. Duffy stood out, fronting up to bowl the difficult overs in the powerplay and death. It’s not for nothing he was the No.1-ranked T20I bowler until recently. He is strengthening his case for next year’s T20 World Cup – with or without some of the senior quicks.
Wayanad’s star has walked a difficult path to get to the big stage, and she made it count
Shashank Kishore24-Feb-20242:32
Yastika Bhatia: ‘Sajana is the Kieron Pollard of MI women’s team’
She has a degree in Political Science. She’s featured in a Tamil film as a support artist. She was football captain of Wayanad district in Kerala in her teenage years, and a track-and-field champion in college. And on Friday night, S Sajana announced herself on the cricket field with a sensational first-ball act in the 2024 WPL season opener at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru.As Sajana swung powerfully and cleared the long-on boundary with Mumbai Indians needing five runs off the final delivery, Biju George sat in the Delhi Capitals dugout soaking in an emotional moment that may have been bittersweet.Biju, a renowned state coach in Kerala, has seen Sajana travel an arduous path from Wayanad where she once was also a cricket-throws champion. Modelled on shot-put, the competition at her school rewarded those who threw a cricket ball farthest. Sajana impressed local cricket coaches with her athleticism and, in 2013, she was invited to train at Wayanad’s residential women’s academy run by the Kerala Cricket Association, with Biju overseeing the camps. More than a decade later Biju, now the Capitals’ fielding coach, watched Sajana beat his team.Related
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Debutant Sajana takes Mumbai home with nerveless last-ball six
Sajana’s career had been on the upswing until disaster struck in 2018. Only three weeks before the floods in Kerala washed away her home, Sajana had scored the fastest hundred in age-group women’s cricket in India, which earned her a call-up to a women’s NCA camp.The year before, she had led Kerala Under-23 to the inter-state T20 title, leading to a call-up to the senior Kerala team when she trained once again under Biju. She was named KCA’s women’s player of the year two years in a tow.S Sajana roars in delight after slamming her first ball – the last of the innings – for six to take Mumbai Indians home•BCCIBut when the Covid-19 pandemic struck in 2020, it set Sajana – like it did many others – back.Sajana’s father, Sanjeevan, an autorickshaw driver in the scenic Wayanad hills didn’t have much of an income due to pandemic restrictions, especially with tourism in the region coming to a standstill. Her mother, Sarada, worked at the municipality in Mananthavady. The lack of a regular income was tough on the family.At this time, Sajana received assistance from Nazir Machan, secretary of the Wayanad District Cricket Association, who let her stay at KCA’s residential facility free of cost so that her cricket training would be unaffected by the pandemic.”Sajana was a natural athlete, so there was never a question of her having to put in more hours on her fitness,” Nazir told ESPNcricinfo. “She only needed guidance, which she got when she joined the KCA academy. She made use of the opportunities to excel even though there were numerous hardships like losing her home.”Ahead of WPL 2024, Sajana trialled with three franchises. Biju had even recommended her to Capitals, who couldn’t bid at the auction because they had exhausted their purse. Sajana had also been to trials with Mumbai and Gujarat Giants, and eventually got bought by Mumbai for INR 15 lakh.Sajana’s first act on the field on Friday night was the stuff of nightmares: she dropped a sitter at point with Alice Capsey on 72. Shabnim Ismail, the bowler, vented her frustration.Her shot at redemption came in the final act of the game. Sajana had no time for sighters. With five to get off the last ball, she swung, and smacked it straight out of the middle.”She’s like the Kieron Pollard of our women’s team,” Yastika Bhatia said after the match. “She has that role [of a finisher]. Credit to her. She has got an inspiring story. She has come from a humble background and we’re very happy and proud. Her family would be really proud she hit that six.”Sajana’s six showcased what the WPL can offer in India. In one ball, Sajana went from being an unknown woman cricketer who’d toiled for a decade to the person who ensured the WPL’s champions began their title defence with a thrilling victory on an evening of high drama and glamour.
He’s batting as well as ever, but teams are packing the leg side and making him work much harder than ever before
Alex Malcolm21-Mar-2022Something is not quite right with Steven Smith, and yet he’s not playing badly by any stretch.There are a number of players in this series who would gladly sign up for scores of 78, 72, and 59 in three innings. David Warner is chief among them. Marnus Labuschagne, with two inexplicable ducks in four innings, is another, while Travis Head is the only Australia batter on tour who hasn’t passed 30.Related
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Maybe we expect too much of Smith. But it seems he’s no longer Superman, piling up centuries at will, and no one can quite work out why.Smith himself looked bewildered as he trudged off after being trapped lbw in Lahore. He was so plumb he walked before Ahsan Raza had a chance to raise his finger. It was his 7th 50-plus score in his last 14 Test innings without a century. Since the 2019 Ashes, Smith’s opus, he has passed 50 on 10 occasions in 26 innings but has only registered one three-figure score. In total, he has just one century in his last 29 Test innings dating back to his epic 211 in Manchester in 2019.Lahore looked the venue where his 14-innings drought would end. Smith has long been Australia’s man for a crisis, but he has not often entered in a crisis since the emergence of Labuschagne.Here he entered at 8 for 2 after Shaheen Shah Afridi burst through Warner and Labuschagne in the same over to leave Australia reeling after winning the toss. Smith looked like a man on a mission. He caressed three glorious boundaries in his first 15 balls, including two sumptuous off-side drives. The mannerisms were back. The senses were heightened. He even spotted the roving camera moving at deep midwicket while playing a defensive stroke off Hasan Ali.When Smith stroked his third dazzling drive, off Hasan, to move to 19 from 27 balls the headlines were being readied.Smith was lbw off Naseem Shah, with his bat getting stuck behind his back pad•AFP/Getty ImagesBut what happened next was indicative of what has plagued Smith for two-and-a-half years. He stopped scoring. He went 22 balls without a run. That included a dropped catch when he attacked Nauman Ali’s first ball to him. Smith crushed a drive at a catchable height back to the bowler, but it was too hot to handle.Smith broke the shackles by lofting Nauman straight down the ground in the 18th over for his fifth boundary. But that would be the last boundary he would score until the 51st over. He scored just 30 runs from 106 balls in that period. Usman Khawaja, on his way to another outstanding 91, struck seven fours and a six during that time.Run-scoring has become a grind for Smith, even accounting for surfaces as slow as these in Pakistan. Where once he cruised through the middle overs of an opening day, rotating the strike at will and finding the boundary with ease, he has now been made to earn every run and it is taking a toll.Since the 2019 Ashes, Smith has a strike-rate in Test cricket of just 40.80. Up until the end of the 2019 Ashes, his career strike-rate was 56.38. For Smith to score a century at a strike-rate of 40.80, he needs to face 246 deliveries, approximately, whereas previously it took, on average, just 177.Since the 2019 Ashes, he has faced 177 balls or more in six innings, including in the first two Tests of this series, and has just one Test century to show for it. On the previous 27 occasions when he faced 177 balls or more in Tests, he posted 24 centuries, and he added two more hundreds in innings where he faced fewer than 177 deliveries.Teams have become better at containing Smith. They have been smarter with their leg-side fields to cut off his scoring zones. His main batting coaches, Trent Woodhill and Michael Di Venuto, had set him up technically to score heavily from good length balls in the fourth-stump channel. His back-and-across movement and unique grip set him up to pick opponents apart through the leg side as they tried to hit his pads.Teams have become smarter at blocking the leg side, which was previously Smith’s most productive area•AFP/Getty ImagesBut the slowness of the surfaces in this series and the canny field settings have caused Smith’s scoring to grind to a halt. The challenge of facing an extra 69 balls to score the centuries he so desperately craves is taking a mental toll.It’s forcing mistakes Smith would not previously make. In Rawalpindi, he tried to sweep a length ball from outside leg and gloved a catch down the leg side. In Karachi, he tried to force off the back foot through cover point with only minutes remaining in the day, and edged to slip. And today, he got his bat tangled against his back pad while trying to work a ball off middle stump from Naseem Shah and was plumb lbw, having ground his way to 59 from 169 deliveries.”I thought he batted really well today,” Khawaja said. “He was stiff. His bat got stuck in his pad.”You bowl that ball against Steve Smith he’s hitting it 99 out of 100 times.”I’m sure it’s frustrating in some respects. He is in my opinion the greatest batter I’ve seen in my era, averaging 60 throughout pretty much his whole Test career.”It’s so funny. We’re talking about Steve Smith probably not scoring hundreds but he seems to be getting 70, 80 every game and doing it very easily. That’s just the class that Steve Smith has. I’m sure there’s a big score coming and then once he gets a big score there will be more big scores.”The odds say that he’s going to get a big one very soon.”
Leeds United’s stance on recalling Joe Gelhardt from Hull City in January has now been revealed.
Gelhardt starring at Hull on loan from Leeds
The Whites have been struggling in front of goal in the Premier League this season, with only bottom of the table Wolves scoring fewer than Daniel Farke’s side.
The 49ers Enterprises arguably failed to bolster the final third as well as they should’ve, with free transfers Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin joined by Noah Okafor as Leeds’ only attacking additions.
They did decide to loan out Gelhardt to Hull once again, and the 23-year-old has been in fine form for the Tigers in the second tier.
In 15 Championship games, Gelhardt has already scored seven goals and provided two assists, coming in for praise from manager Sergej Jakirovic.
“When I watched him in last season’s games, I begged Mr Chairman (Acun Ilicali) to bring him back here.
“He likes playing here and he wanted to come back here. He has a completely different profile to the players we have. He has the quality to play in a number of positions and is able to pass, shoot and has speed, which is special.
“He’s 23 years old and maybe he can reach the Premier League. But, right now, he’s made the difference.”
As a result of Gelhardt’s form, there has been speculation over a potential recall in the New Year to help Leeds in their Premier League survival push.
The forward played his part in the 2021/22 season as a teenager to help the Whites remain in the top flight, scoring a memorable winner against Norwich City and providing a late equaliser for Pascal Struijk against Brighton in the penultimate league fixture.
Hull want Harry Gray
However, according to TEAMtalk, ‘Leeds have no plans to bring Gelhardt back to Elland Road’ in the New Year.
The Whites are happy for the forward to remain with Hull until the end of the season and Gelhardt’s form could help the 49ers sell him for £4m, which would result in a 300% profit following his move from Wigan in 2020.
As well as keeping hold of Gelhardt, Hull also have their eyes on a potential loan move for Harry Gray after the Leeds teenager penned his first professional contract in Yorkshire.
Gray, 17, is yet to feature under Farke in 25/26 after being handed his debut on the same day Leeds won promotion to the Premier League. He’s also being eyed by Charlton Athletic, Derby County and Swansea City.
Leeds are considering allowing Gray to leave for the second half of the season so he can get regular senior game time, but when it comes to Gelhardt, don’t expect to see him in a Leeds shirt in the New Year.
Academy star who's never played a senior minute for Leeds could replace Bijol
Uma briga entre torcedores organizados de Cruzeiro e Atlético-MG nas ruas de Belo Horizonte deixou um morto, segundo informação da “Itatiaia”. Lucas Elias Vieira foi baleado, chegou a ser encaminhado para o Hospital Santa Rita, mas não resistiu.
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➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte
Além disso, outras duas pessoas foram baleadas no confronto. De acordo com a Polícia Militar, as vítimas são torcedores da Raposa. Dois homens considerados suspeitos dos disparos foram presos e uma arma foi apreendida pelas forças de segurança.
Neste sábado (2), o Cruzeiro encarou o Uberlândia, no Mineirão, enquanto o Atlético-MG recebeu o Ipatinga, na Arena MRV. A briga aconteceu enquanto o grupo de torcedores se encaminhavam para os jogos de suas equipes, que ocorreram em Belo Horizonte apesar da rivalidade existente.
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Lucas Elias Vieira era entregador de aplicativo e deixa uma filha de dois anos. De acordo com familiares ouvidos pela “Itatiaia”, o homem de 28 anos era considerado uma pessoa “do bem”.
Last year, Arne Slot won the sprawling Liverpool fanbase over with his incredible success in replacing the irreplaceable Jurgen Klopp and establishing a clear and compelling identity.
But last season’s Premier League title triumph is a far cry from this current Liverpool crop, who have been battered away from title-defending contention after a run of six losses and just one win across eight league fixtures.
So much has gone awry, but Slot’s failure to get a tune out of £125m summer signing Alexander Isak has got to be among the biggest worries.
Isak's start to life at Liverpool
Isak, 26, left Newcastle as one of the most devastating forwards in world football, instrumental in the rise of Eddie Howe’s Tyneside team over the past three years.
But there’s no question that he’s struggled to adapt so far this season, having only scored twice so far and routinely drifting on the edge of matches. After Liverpool’s recent draw to Sunderland, Slot admitted that providing the 26-year-old was among his priorities to fix.
But, for now, his impact has been nominal, failing to bring the completeness and sharpness that his predecessor, Darwin Nunez, failed over three years to sustain with consistency.
Darwin Nunez Liverpool record (timeless)
Reporter David Lynch actually claimed last month that “Isak is currently offering less than Nunez did during his final year at Anfield”, and the few games he has played since have offered little encouragement that such a bold claim is without legs.
However, this is a time for cool heads, as far as the Swedish striker’s future on Merseyside is concerned.
Isak is one of the best strikers in the world, and he will surely come good at the Anfield spearhead.
Liverpool's new version of Darwin Nunez
Liverpool have enjoyed Cody Gakpo’s services for almost three years now, purchasing PSV Eindhoven’s talisman for a fee rising to £45m in late December 2022.
The left-sided forward is well regarded as one of the most prolific wingers in European football, but his overall performances do leave something to be desired. In fact, his samey efforts down the wing have irked some Liverpool fans across the campaign, and it is for this reason that he, and not Isak, is becoming the club’s new version of Nunez.
Liverpool have been too predictable this season, and the sight of Gakpo claiming the ball on the left flank and proceeding to cut inside has become a too-regular occurrence, something opponents are clearly cottoning onto.
The Netherlands international does offer something, but he isn’t dynamic enough, and the absence of Luis Diaz’s electric threat is accentuated by his sustained starting role on the left wing.
Looking at the data could leave a few fans feeling rather incredulous. Gakpo is statistically among the most creative players in the Premier League this season, and his return of four goals and three assists from 12 top-flight starts is pretty good for an outfit so far out of sorts.
Bruno Fernandes
40
2.9
Jeremy Doku
31
3.3
Mohamed Salah
28
2.3
Yankuba Minteh
27
2.0
Cody Gakpo
26
2.2
But he has also fallen into the trap of predictability, and many are questioning why someone like Federico Chiesa is not getting a chance to show what he can do in his stead (reminder: Chiesa has not started in the Premier League or Champions League for Liverpool this year).
Nunez left Anfield a popular figure, but it was clear that Liverpool needed to level up at number nine after three terms of inconsistency from the Uruguayan.
Gakpo isn’t inconsistent, per se, but he is undoubtedly frustrating in his inswinging repetition, and this is why he is becoming a picked-on figure in the same vein as Nunez before him.
Huge Gakpo upgrade: £70m "superstar" now keen to join Liverpool in January
Arne Slot’s Liverpool frontline is not quite right this season.
Newcastle United dropped more points in the Premier League on Tuesday night, drawing 2-2 at home to Tottenham Hotspur in a chaotic game.
Eddie Howe’s side were the dominant team at St. James’ Park, but could not prevent Spurs’ only two shots on target from going in the back of the net.
After a goalless first half, it took until the 71st minute for the deadlock to be broken. It was Magpies midfielder Bruno Guimaraes who opened the scoring. He strolled onto Nick Woltemade’s layoff and fired home to give his side the lead, after good play by Anthony Gordon.
Just six minutes later, Spurs had their equaliser. Cristian Romero got in front of Dan Burn to score a clever diving header at the near post.
However, it did not take long for the home side to get back in front. They won a contentious penalty, which Gordon emphatically scored, his first Premier League strike since January.
Just as it looked like the Magpies might hold on, Spurs equalised, five minutes into added time. It was their captain, Romero, again, whose acrobatic overhead kick somehow found its way through a mass of Newcastle shirts and into the back of the net.
It was a disappointing result for the Magpies in a game they dominated. Indeed, their attack left a little to be desired.
Newcastle’s misfiring attack vs. Spurs
After scoring four goals at the Hill Dickinson Stadium against Everton last weekend, the Magpies might have expected to continue that sort of form.
However, they could only turn their 19 shots, and seven on target, into two goals, which proved to be too few.
One man who struggled to get into the game was Woltemade.
Although he grabbed the assist for Guimaraes’ goal, a neat lay-off into the Brazilian’s path, it was a tough night against the physicality of Romero and Mickey van de Ven.
The summer signing only had 36 touches of the ball and lost possession 12 times, as per Sofascore. He could only muster two shots and was often left fairly isolated against the Spurs centre-backs.
Another attacker who struggled for the Magpies was Jacob Murphy. The winger was unusually sloppy in the final third, completing just three out of ten attempted crosses.
Jordan Cronin, journalist for Newcastle World, said he ‘lacked conviction and concentration’ during the game.
However, it was not just Woltemade and Murphy who struggled against the Lilywhites.
Newcastle’s most disappointing player vs. Spurs
For all their domination, the Magpies struggled to get a real grip on the game. Indeed, Joelinton was another player who looked off the pace and did not have the sort of impact going forward that Howe might have wanted from him.
It was notable just how poorly the Brazilian performed on Tuesday night. Cronin was one of the people who criticised him, giving him a 5/10 for his efforts and explaining that he ‘needlessly gave the ball away’ too many times.
His fellow journalist, Charlie Bennett, also noted that Joelinton was “very sloppy” on the ball. The stats back that theory up, with Newcastle’s number seven losing the ball 11 times out of 49 touches, and having a pass accuracy of just 83%.
Joelinton vs. Spurs
Stat
Record
Touches
49
Pass accuracy
83%
Possession lost
11
Ground duels won
3/10
Number of times dribbled past
3
Key passes
1
Stats from Sofascore
It feels like Howe has an interesting selection call to make ahead of Newcastle’s next game, at home against Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
It is a game you can expect the Magpies to dominate, so perhaps their manager will want midfielders who look after the ball better.
Chalkboard
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There are options, too. It seems almost certain that Guimaraes will slot back into the side after he only played 45 minutes on Tuesday, replacing Sandro Tonali.
Lewis Miley would deserve to keep his place in the starting lineup, and Jacob Ramsey is another player who could come into the fold.
Joelinton’s poor showing against Spurs may well have cost him his place in the side. Howe has other players at his disposal, all of whom may offer him extra quality on the ball.
It would certainly not be a surprise if Joelinton was rotated out of the side against the Clarets.
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Newcastle United were denied another Premier League win by Tottenham Hotspur last night.