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Newcastle United will not be signing Bryan Mbeumo this summer, as the Brentford winger has reportedly decided instead that he wants to join Manchester United, who finished 15th in the Premier League and lost the Europa League final to Tottenham Hotspur.

You have to say, the Red Devils’ ability to attract high-class players is very much intact, but Newcastle have some pull of their own, having finished the 2024/25 campaign as Carabao Cup winners, crossing the Champions League gateway too.

There’s also a desire to retain the biggest stars. The Athletic’s David Ornstein has confirmed the Magpies will keep hold of Alexander Isak, but Anthony Gordon’s future is more uncertain.

In light of Liverpool’s resurfaced interest, Newcastle appear keen on bagging themselves a new left-sided forward.

Newcastle eyeing Mbeumo alternative

The Mbeumo situation is certainly a puzzling one. The Toon can offer Champions League football and a place in the forward line next to man of the moment, Isak.

However, the Cameroon international wants something else, and that’s fair enough. So, where will Newcastle turn to next?

As per Football Transfers, Newcastle have joined Tottenham and Aston Villa in the race for Manchester City’s Jack Grealish, who is expected to leave Pep Guardiola’s side this summer.

Spurs appear to have the lead, having opened communications with the Three Lions star’s representatives, but Newcastle may feel they can offer the 29-year-old an agreeable salary.

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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.

City would be willing to cash in for a fee of around £43m, a fee far lower than the £100m it took to prise him away from Villa Park.

Why Newcastle should sign Jack Grealish

Last summer, Liverpool came knocking for Gordon when it became clear that Newcastle were fretting over compliance with the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability regulations.

Newcastle found alternative ways to swerve the financial bother, but fresh reports suggest that Liverpool are interested in signing the £80m-rated England star once again, with Luis Diaz being targeted by the Saudi Pro League.

Selling him and bringing in Grealish could be a shrewd move, but there’s potential for both players to operate together at the same time, especially as City’s man plays a bit like his fellow countryman, and thus could slot right into the St. James’ Park system.

FBref record the pair as similar players, with Grealish ranking among the top 1% of positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for pass completion and progressive carries, the top 13% for progressive passes and the top 8% for shot-creating actions per 90. Gordon-esque indeed.

His technical crispness and fleet feet certainly offer some semblance to that of Gordon, whose assertive and electric style of play has led him to declare himself “a nightmare for anyone I play against.”

Grealish has fallen from grace, somewhat, at the Etihad Stadium, only starting 17 Premier League games across the past two terms. That £100m figure paid to Aston Villa looks rather steep in hindsight, to be sure.

But there’s no denying he was incredible in his final season at Villa Park, his boyhood club, hailed as a “magician” by Premier League icon Ashley Cole. Certainly, he outperformed Gordon’s 2023/24 campaign, when the Toon talent was crowned Player of the Year after leading Howe’s troops through injury purgatory.

Matches (starts)

26 (24)

35 (34)

Goals

6

11

Assists

10

10

Shots (on target)*

1.9 (0.7)

2.3 (0.9)

Big chances missed

4

9

Pass completion

83%

82%

Big chances created

14

16

Key passes*

3.2

1.6

Dribbles*

2.5

1.5

Tackles + interceptions*

1.7

1.8

Total duels (won)*

8.9 (61%)

5.3 (49%)

If Newcastle can eke out the same degree of quality from Grealish on Tyneside next season, they could have an incredible new weapon on their hands.

And given Howe’s masterful coaching, he’s got a great chance at achieving just that.

Move over Delap: Newcastle teen is one of the "best prospects in the world"

Newcastle may find a new teenage superstar burst onto the scene next season.

ByAngus Sinclair Jun 3, 2025

Crystal Palace are now in the race to sign an “explosive” forward, who is set to be targeted by a number of Premier League clubs this summer, according to a report.

Palace keen to bolster attacking options

Prior to the surprise 1-1 draw at Southampton, Palace had been on a five-game winning streak in all competitions, having really managed to kick on under the helm of Oliver Glasner after a slow start to the campaign.

However, given the level of the Eagles’ performances, a number of key players are being linked with moves away in the summer, which means a rebuilding job may be necessary, with a move for Lyon striker Georges Mikautadze being lined up.

Mikautadze could be brought in as a replacement for Jean-Philippe Mateta, amid rumoured interest from Manchester United, while Glasner is also keen to bolster his options out wide.

Sky journalist drops major Glasner update as Klopp eyes Crystal Palace blow

A concern for those at Selhurst Park…

1 ByTom Cunningham Apr 2, 2025

FC Nordsjaelland winger Sindre Walle Egeli has been closely followed this season, ahead of a potential summer transfer swoop, however, there is also an alternative option from much closer to home.

According to a report from TEAMtalk, Crystal Palace are now in the race to sign Liverpool winger Ben Doak, but there may be stiff competition for the winger’s signature, with Everton and AFC Bournemouth also keen.

Having impressed on loan at Middlesbrough this season, the Championship side could also make a move for Doak this summer, should they achieve their aim of promotion to the Premier League.

The Reds value the 19-year-old at £25m – £30m, and he is highly regarded at Anfield, but a departure could be possible this summer, given that the youngster will find it very difficult to usurp Mohamed Salah at right-wing.

"Explosive" Doak impressing in the Championship

Understandably, it is very difficult to challenge for Salah’s starting spot, which means the Scot has spent the current season out on loan at Middlesbrough, where he looked very impressive up until picking up a thigh injury.

The teenager picked up three goals and seven assists in the second tier for Boro, indicating he could soon be ready to make the step-up to the Premier League, while he also places highly on some key attacking metrics over the past year, most notably excelling at dribbling.

Statistic

Average per 90

Assists

0.35 (90th percentile)

Progressive carries

6.78 (99th percentile)

Touches (Att Pen)

6.12 (95th percentile)

Not only that, but the forward has received high praise from former Liverpool man Danny Murphy, who said: “He is a super quick, explosive winger,”

“He gives you something so different because of his pace. He’s got amazing, explosive pace which could cause teams problems off the bench.”

Having excelled in the second tier, the next logical step is for Doak to sign for a Premier League club, and there is every indication he could be a success at Selhurst Park.

The exclusion hurt him, but it gave him a break that he perhaps needed after two years of carrying an intense workload. Now he’s back, and back to his best

Sidharth Monga06-Apr-20251:31

Rayudu: Siraj’s comeback since India omission has been amazing

Mohammed Siraj had been doing well for India in both limited-overs formats for some time when he was left out of their squad for the Champions Trophy. Even in Jasprit Bumrah’s absence, Siraj didn’t find a place in the 15-man squad. India wanted a left-arm quick, a tall, into-the-pitch bowler, and the expected conditions put a premium on the extra spinner. There was only one spot left for the traditional seam bowler, which went to Mohammed Shami, who was returning from injury.India were looking for someone who could run through a side when he got on a roll. Siraj had been doing this in 2023, but had gradually become a steady bowler since then. He didn’t have out-and-out bad days, but he didn’t run away with big hauls either. As any proud competitor, Siraj was upset by this exclusion coming hot on the heels of a release from his beloved IPL franchise Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).”To be honest, at the start, I couldn’t digest it,” Siraj said after his second straight Player-of-the-Match performance in IPL 2025, for Gujarat Titans (GT) against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). Put together international cricket and the IPL, and he won two in all of 2024. Now he has two in four days.Related

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It will not quite be fair to call his exclusion a blessing in disguise, because there is no guarantee Siraj wouldn’t have done well in the Champions Trophy, but the break it gave him seems to have done him good. Through that break, Siraj followed the classic arc of struggling to come to terms with it before putting in the hard work to try and come back better.”I reached a point when I had to convince my mind that my cricket is not over,” Siraj said. “That I have bigger plans. Okay, this [Champions Trophy] was not in my destiny, but what can I do now? I got my mindset right, I worked on my fitness. I was playing non-stop, so I didn’t have time to reflect on what mistakes had crept into my game. So I worked on it. Now I am enjoying my bowling. The body is fresh, I am not overthinking, I am staying in the present.”It is important to remember that as Shami and Bumrah grappled with fitness issues, Siraj was the one constant in India’s team. He was perhaps denied the break that fast bowlers need to carry out running repairs. Since the start of 2023, only Ravindra Jadeja has bowled more overs for India than Siraj.Mohammed Siraj won his second Player of the Match award in a row•AFP/Getty ImagesNow Siraj already has more powerplay wickets in this IPL – six – than he managed in the entirety of the 2024 season. Again, just looking at wickets is neither accurate nor fair when it comes to T20. It’s his control that has been impressive. In this game – played on a slow and low pitch – Siraj bowled three straight overs in the powerplay. Only five deliveries went fuller than good length. Three of them were just a fact-finding mission in the first over.Once he knew there was no swing, Siraj bowled almost robotically to capitalise on the lack of pace in the pitch. There was no anxiety to go looking for wickets. The result was 11 dot balls to Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma, and both their wickets.With the old ball, Siraj drew a hint of reverse swing – he acknowledged the use of saliva to maintain the ball – which has been reinstated in this IPL – helped him pick up two more wickets at the death.In his last game, against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Siraj started the match with a sharp bouncer that nearly got Phil Salt out first ball. Only a handful of games in the 18 years of the IPL have started with a short ball bowled in anger. That Siraj was sharp enough from the get-go to bowl one with both venom and direction perhaps said something about his state of mind and body. There is perhaps a freshness to Siraj that makes a case for regular breaks. But now that Siraj finds himself on a roll, GT – and India? – won’t want to miss a thing.

They took Bangladesh into the Super Fours with a 194-run stand that showcased their best individual qualities

Mohammad Isam04-Sep-20231:34

Jaffer: Mehidy can be groomed to bat in the top four

With Bangladesh on the brink of elimination at the Asia Cup, there was an onus on their in-form players to step up against Afghanistan. And step up, they did. Najmul Hossain Shanto, the team’s leading run-scorer in all formats this year, and Mehidy Hasan Miraz, their transformed allrounder, struck vital centuries. Their 194-run stand made the difference in Bangladesh’s 89-run win in Lahore.Mehidy retiring hurt with a cramped right hand effectively ended their partnership, but when they came together in the 11th over, Bangladesh had lost two quick wickets after making their best start against Afghanistan. Mehidy was one of those who made the good start possible after bring promoted up to open.He is growing into one of the rare international cricketers who can bat anywhere in the order, besides regularly bowling his full quota of overs. Mehidy opened the innings against a bowling attack that Bangladesh consider one of the best in the world. The absence of Tamim Iqbal (back injury) and Litton Das (fever) had already unsettled Bangladesh’s usual opening line-up; and then both openers – Tanzid Hasan, on debut, and Mohammad Naim – failed in the first game against Sri Lanka. Thus, when Mehidy and Naim walked out against Afghanistan, it almost represented a hint of desperation from the Bangladesh dressing room.Related

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Mehidy said that he was informed about the new role on the eve of this game, but that he had also mentally prepared himself.”I am really happy to get my second hundred,” Mehidy said. “I was confident batting in the middle. The team management said that I should play normal cricket. The wicket was excellent. There was a bit of movement in the first few overs. I just tried to handle the situation. We played really well in this match.”Credit goes to the captain and team management [for the opening role]. Last night, they told me to open the innings. I agreed with them. I can play [as opener]. The last Asia Cup, I opened in the final. I was confident. I am always ready for every bowler. Actually, it is a new journey for me.”Mehidy said that although it was a hot day in Lahore, he enjoyed batting on that pitch.”It was too hot today, but conditions in the middle were very good. The wicket was really good. This is my first game in Lahore. I was a bit confused before getting here, but our practice was excellent. I was a bit cautious at the start, but after playing a few balls, Naim and I started well. It gave me confidence.”0:58

Jaffer: Shanto the reliable batter Bangladesh need at No. 3

Mehidy has picked up a knack of successfully moulding himself into every role that the team management has given him – whether with bat or ball. Like any good opening foil, he allowed Naim to go for his shots before launching into his own boundaries.Later on, Shanto was positive from the start which was possible only because Mehidy was batting positively at the other end. Mehidy isn’t your run-of-the-mill slogger from the lower order. He has shots around the wicket – from a proper cover drive to cheeky ramps to big hits down the ground. He rotates the strike, whether he is opening like he did on Sunday, or when he bats at No. 7 or 8.Shanto, meanwhile, continued to bat serenely. It is hard to imagine that the same batter was in the doldrums for the two years before the T20 World Cup in 2022. That tournament was his turning point as he put together the best BPL season by a Bangladeshi batter soon afterwards. It was followed by plenty of runs – in all formats – against England, Ireland and Afghanistan this year. His ODI average before the T20 World Cup last year was 14.53. Since then, he has averaged three times of that – at 42.86 in 15 innings.Shanto and Mehidy contributing heavily in a critical game is an invaluable addition for a dressing room which gets into a flux sometimes. The Bangladesh team, from time to time, finds itself surrounded by controversies and unnecessary discussions. Talk about the senior players ending their careers soon has been a hot topic off late; the Tamim saga and the Mahmudullah question have overshadowed a lot of other things that had been happening in full view.Najmul Hossain Shanto and Mehidy Hasan added 194 for the third wicket against Afghanistan•AFP via Getty ImagesIn that sense, the improvement of players like Shanto, Mehidy and Taskin Ahmed in all formats – and how others like Towhid Hridoy and Shamim Hossain have taken to ODI cricket – is heartening.Against Afghanistan, there was a point in the 34th over during Bangladesh’s innings when Shanto was struggling to get Rashid Khan away. “It is no biggie,” Mehidy kept telling Shanto, who the TV commentator predicted could play a big shot out of frustration. But Shanto didn’t. He held his own, taking just a single after playing four dot balls.The surprising thing was that Shanto and Mehidy were batting together only for the second time in ODIs. The previous occasion was against Sri Lanka last week, when Mehidy ended up getting run-out after a big mix-up. In their Under-19 days, they were joined at the hips: at the time they played their last game together in 2016, Shanto and Mehidy were the fourth-most prolific partnership in Youth ODIs.As Bangladesh expect the next generation of cricketers to become match-winners at the highest level, they also need a group of leaders to guide the future. Shanto and Mehidy have been earmarked for this role for a long time, but they needed big performances in big moments for Bangladesh. These last 12 months have seen them take that next step. This big partnership and their centuries while batting in the top four against Afghanistan could go a long way into establishing their leadership credentials for a not-too-distant future.

With two wickets in four balls, and a third two overs later, Anderson provides spark at the perfect moment

Andrew Miller09-Feb-2021The method may have been subtly different but the impact was every bit as spectacular. Just as Andrew Flintoff ripped open the 2005 Edgbaston Test with a sensational and never-to-be-forgotten over of high-class reverse-swing bowling, James Anderson did likewise on the final day in Chennai – to set up an England victory that deserves to be recalled as one of their finest in recent memory.In claiming two wickets in four balls, either side of an excruciatingly tight lbw shout, and a third two overs later to prise out India’s first-innings star turn, Rishabh Pant, Anderson provided the spark of inspiration at the perfect moment, as England rumbled through to a 227-run win – their sixth in a row in Asia – that sets up this four-Test series as another potential classic.”He’s the GOAT of English cricket,” Joe Root, England’s captain, told Star Sports at the close. “He’s finding ways of constantly challenging himself, and he’s getting better all the time.”Related

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“I can’t think of [a better over] in my time,” he added later. “It reminded me a little bit of Flintoff in ’05, the impact of that over to Ponting and Langer, but in the context of this game it was huge.”When you are looking around, in big moments in Test matches, naturally you expect that from him and the likes of Ben Stokes, coming on and taking the wicket of Virat Kohli. Big-game players stand up and do special things.”As was the case with Flintoff at Edgbaston, all those years ago, the stage had been set by the time Anderson entered the fray in the second hour of the morning, and if the jeopardy wasn’t quite comparable given England’s weighty cushion of runs in this contest, then the opportunity was there for India, at 92 for 2, to build themselves towards a position whereby stalemate might yet be possible.The old ball, after all, had been England’s Achilles heel in overseas conditions in recent years – not least on their last tour of India in 2016-17, when their spinners were all too easily neutralised once the leather began to soften, and when Anderson himself was only semi-fit having battled back from a shoulder fracture that might have dissuaded a less dogged combatant from boarding the plane in the first place.This time, however, he arrived at the top of his mark at the top of his game – and at the age of 38 as well, of all the preposterous postscripts. It had been more than a decade, since Lord’s 2009 in fact, since Anderson had last been shunted off the new ball in a Test match, but the logic was utterly sound on this occasion. In his stead, Jack Leach benefitted from the hard bounce and rip to prise out two priceless scalps in alliance with the menacing Jofra Archer, leaving Anderson to focus on the swing as the shine began to dissipate.And just like Flintoff in 2005, Anderson needed just a single sighter before hurtling into the game. Shubman Gill had caressed his way to a wonderfully serene half-century – but even his fast hands and keen eye had no answer for a stunning off-stump heat-seeker that screeched back through the gate to send the stump cartwheeling and the contest ablaze.Anderson’s is a different brand of reverse-swing to the bruising, deck-hitting menace that Flintoff made his trademark during his early-2000s pomp. He is lighter through the crease and skiddier off the pitch, but it’s the relentlessness that sets his game apart from any other contemporary practitioner. When every ball is demanding a decision, regardless of its misbehaviour through the air or off the pitch, that makes his magic balls all the more devastating, as Rahane discovered before he could lay bat on ball.James Anderson is thrilled after beating Shubman Gill with his reverse swing•BCCINot unlike Ponting in 2005, Rahane’s immediate awareness of the dangers did little to mitigate the challenge he faced. He might have been dismissed by his second delivery, another wickedly zippy inswinger that smashed him on the shin but was adjudged umpire’s call on review. Undeterred, Anderson simply returned to the top of his mark and did it all over again – producing such a pinpoint reload that Rahane’s leg bail was left unruffled as his off stump tumbled gleefully towards the keeper.”It’s always nice to see stumps cartwheeling out of the ground because it doesn’t happen very often my age,” Anderson said. “It just really tops off a really good performance throughout the five days.”The pitch was deteriorating, which we knew, so it was about getting enough balls in the right spot,” he added. “I got lucky with the bounce on a few of them, but it got us off to a good start for the day.”[The reverse swing] was huge for us. The pitch wasn’t particularly quick, but that movement in the air makes it so much better for us seamers, it makes you feel like you can get a wicket with any ball.”And by the time Rishabh Pant was unseated with a more cerebral but no less skilful piece of bowling – drawn hard-handedly into a punch to short cover after being challenged to keep playing his natural stroke-filled game – Anderson had snaffled three wickets for seven runs in six overs, to take his tally for the winter to 11 wickets for 99 runs in 54 overs. Average 9.00, economy-rate 1.83. Incision and parsimony combined to extraordinary effect.”For someone at 38 years old to be still getting better, still being as fit as he’s ever been, is huge credit to his desire to play for England,” Root said. “He’s a great role model to the rest of the group. And his skill level is right up there. He’s still as good as anyone you’ll ever see, and long may that continue.”4:23

Bell: The best I’ve seen Anderson bowl

It’s become passé to point out that Anderson is actually rather a handy bowler in Asian conditions, in spite of the reputation that has dogged too much of his career. In the course of this wicket-spree, his average in India briefly dipped below 30 – even as he ticked past Courtney Walsh to become the most successful 30-plus fast bowler in Test history. He has the small matter of 343 at 23.44 since August 2012, numbers that aren’t a million miles from the great Dennis Lillee’s former world-record haul.For he’s been doing this for decades – he played a starring role in England’s series-levelling victory in Mumbai in 2006, and six years after that, he was hailed by MS Dhoni no less as the “difference between the sides” when his 12 wickets in England’s 2-1 series win were three times as many as any other fast bowler on either side. At Kolkata, in fact, he produced a spell so incisive that Sachin Tendulkar recently claimed he had produced “reverse-reverse swing”.Frankly, endorsements of one’s India credentials don’t get much bigger than those two names. But Anderson himself is adamant he’s got yet more to come.”It’s hard to compare, really,” he said of his original starring role in India, almost 15 years ago now. “I think I’m a very different bowler. I’ve got a lot more skills, and I feel like I can perform on a variation of surfaces.”Now back then I relied heavily on swing and reverse swing. Now I’ve got cutters and other things to help me on different pitches. And I think my consistency is also improved.”I feel like I’m getting better,” he added. “I feel like I can still keep improving my fitness, my skills and my consistencies. I don’t see why I can’t get better. And that’s what I strive to do so.”When I don’t feel like I need to come to the ground and practise my skills in the nets to get better, maybe that’s when I’ll need to start looking for something else to do. But right now I feel I can still get better and I’m enjoying the challenge of doing that.”

Nobody was happier that Game 5 of the American League Division Series between the Mariners and Tigers went much longer than anyone could have expected than the Blue Jays.

Toronto awaited the winner of Seattle and Detroit in the AL Championship Series with Game 1 slated for Sunday. As Game 5 at T-Mobile Park went deep into extra innings, both sides had to dig into the depth of their bullpens and even return to their starters from earlier in the series.

Seattle finally finished off the Tigers thanks to a hit from Jorge Polanco that drove in J.P. Crawford in the bottom of the 15th for a 3–2 win in one of the wildest playoff games you'll ever see.

The Tigers used eight pitchers compared to seven for the Mariners in 15 innings of their wacky decisive game that turned into one of the 10 longest games in MLB postseason history. Both teams used three of four starters from the series in Game 5. With bullpens and rotations becoming depleted, the Blue Jays’ social account posted the perfect GIF on the team’s X account as their team watched comfortably at home:

Polanco eventually played hero with a walk-off single with the bases loaded, sending the home crowd in Seattle into a frenzy. With the win, the Mariners advanced to the ALCS for the first time in 24 years.

The Blue Jays eliminated the Yankees in four games to finish their ALDS matchup Wednesday. As a result, Toronto got some extra rest and then some considering the 15-inning marathon that the Mariners had to play to close out their own series.

Seattle will now travel to Toronto for Game 1 of the ALCS Sunday evening. Hopefully Cal Raleigh and Co. can get some rest in between celebrations.

With the 2025 MLB trade deadline upon us, there are some teams expected to take bigger swings than others as they look to gear up for a postseason push.

Different front offices face different amounts of pressure to improve their rosters in the pursuit of success. Some teams are stuck in a lengthy World Series drought that fans are eager to see end, while others have the make-up of contenders and are simply missing a piece or two.

Regardless of why, there will be a few front offices in the market for a seismic move, and we'll take a look at what organizations may be feeling the most pressure to make a big splash before Thursday's deadline.

New York Yankees

Alan Gardner is joined on the pod by Vithushan Ehantharajah in Wellington, and Andrew Miller and Matt Roller in the studio, to pick through England’s victory over New Zealand

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Dec-2024England hit the ground running in the first Test, in large part thanks to several catches hitting the ground during a shoddy New Zealand fielding display at Hagley Oval. On this week’s pod, Alan Gardner heard from Vithushan Ehantharajah on arrival in Wellington, and was then joined in the studio by Andrew Miller and Matt Roller. Topics for discussion included Bryson Carse outdoing Anderson and Broad, Jacob Bethell’s composed debut, and Ollie Pope’s best spot – as well as a row brewing between English T20 freelancers and the ECB.