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After beating Barcelona and drawing with Arsenal, Chelsea’s good week of results came grinding to a halt away to Leeds United.

Enzo Maresca’s side were defeated 3-1 at Elland Road, with two strikes in the first half and a late goal enough to sink them.

They did, of course, get on the scoresheet themselves. Pedro Neto was the man who found the back of the net, converting a Jamie Gittens cross at the back post just after half-time.

However, it proved to be too little, with Chelsea putting in a lacklustre performance overall.

It was a night to forget for the West Londoners, and in particular, Tosin Adarabioyo.

Tosin’s struggles vs. Leeds

At 2-1 down with 15 minutes or so to go, Chelsea were still in the game. However, it was an error from Tosin which gifted the home side the chance to score their third and seal an impressive victory.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin was the man who tapped home from two yards out. It came after Tosin played a risky backpass to Robert Sanchez, putting the Spaniard under immediate pressure in his six-yard box.

Leeds pounced, won the ball back, and it was a simple tap-in for their number nine.

The former Manchester City academy player has been a bit-part player under Maresca this term. Tosin has only played 13 games across all competitions, amassing 872 minutes. That is the equivalent of just nine full 90-minute games.

It will be interesting to see what his role is going forward after an error like that. Former Blues midfielder John Obi Mikel said in the summer that Tosin is “not a Chelsea standard defender.”

Well, after an error like that, it is easy to see why Mikel is of that opinion.

There is a defender waiting in the wings who Maresca could unleash to effectively end Tosin’s time at Stamford Bridge.

The Chelsea star ready to overtake Tosin

Chelsea’s depth at centre-back took a hit in August when Levi Colwill suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury. The full extent of Maresca’s squad at centre-back has been tested this season, including Tosin.

One man who has impressed and could leapfrog the 28-year-old in the pecking order is academy graduate Josh Acheampong. At 19 years of age, he has been described as the “future of Chelsea” by football talent scout Jacek Kulig.

Acheampong has certainly had his minutes managed by the Italian. He’s played nine times, but has impressed on each of those occasions, playing more than an hour four times in the Premier League.

He even got his first senior goal away to Nottingham Forest in the 3-0 win at the City Ground in October.

One of the standout attributes in Acheampong’s game is his ability on the ball. Kulig noted that he has “excellent technical capacity and range of passing,” which would serve him well in a Chelsea side that likes to dominate the ball.

In the Premier League this season, they average 58.7% possession, the third highest in the top flight.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Indeed, his underlying numbers reinforce the fact that Acheampong is such a good ball-playing defender.

The England under-21 star ranks in the top 9% of centre-backs in Europe for average passes completed per game, with 67.34.

Passes completed

67.34

91st

Pass accuracy

90.8%

80th

Carries

61.91

99th

Tackles won

1.09

76th

Interceptions

1.24

71st

Chelsea’s whole club philosophy at the moment is about investing in youth and looking towards the future.

Being a Cobham graduate, Acheampong certainly puts a big tick in that box and has already shown his quality at first-team level.

Tosin’s bad form could well be enough for Maresca to ditch him from the starting lineup. With injuries being an issue and such a need to rotate the squad, it might provide Acheampong with the perfect opportunity to stake his claim and lock down a permanent starting spot.

As bad as Tosin: Maresca's 4/10 flop must never start for Chelsea again

Chelsea’s title hopes seemingly went up in smoke away at Leeds United.

ByRobbie Walls Dec 4, 2025

Newcastle United’s wait for a first away win of the season is now over.

On Saturday night, the Magpies demolished Everton 4-1 on Merseyside, enjoying their first-ever visit to Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Malick Thiaw broke the deadlock inside 60 seconds, with Lewis Miley lashing home a second and then Nick Woltemade making it three in first half stoppage time, before Thiaw bagged his second shortly after the interval, rubber stamping victory.

Before this, Eddie Howe’s side had failed to win any of their six Premier League away games this season, losing each of their last three on the road, their most recent away league victory coming at a hopeless Leicester in April.

Now, ahead of back-to-back home games this week against Tottenham and Burnley, which Newcastle player put in an excellent performance at Bramley-Moore Dock, suggesting he may be the club’s best young talent?

Can Lewis Miley break into Newcastle's midfield?

For so long, the backbone of Newcastle’s rise, twice qualifying for the Champions League and winning last season’s EFL Cup, has been their midfield trio of Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton.

However, attempting to balance both domestic and continental commitments, Howe has started to rotate his team a bit more, ahead of a jam-packed December featuring eight fixtures, so could Lewis Miley force his way into the starting lineup on a more regular basis?

Still a teenager, Miley started in the Premier League for just the second time this season on Saturday evening, scoring his first goal since netting during a 4-3 victory over Nottingham Forest in February.

Dominic Scurr of the Shields Gazette awarded him a 9/10 for his performance against Everton, stating that it was ‘so good to see him shining’ having been handed a rare start, getting the nod over Tonali.

For a long time now, Miley has been viewed as the brightest young talent in this Newcastle squad, becoming the second-youngest player in the club’s Premier League history to both score and record an assist in a single match, behind only Charles N’Zogbia.

Meantime, almost two years ago, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout asserted that he is a “special talent”, labelling him “technical, elegant, composed, and hardworking” who is an “absolute unicorn in midfield”, emphasising that he’s been in the spotlight for quite a while.

However, did another player come to the fore at Hill Dickinson Stadium and underline that he is Newcastle’s brightest young thing?

Newcastle's bigger talent than Lewis Miley

Given their side’s inconsistent form, the Geordie faithful have been calling for Howe to tinker with his lineup, and they may be getting their wish.

Aaron Ramsdale displaced Nick Pope this weekend, while full-back is the other positions supporters have wanted to see a change, with Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall both starting too, and the latter certainly caught the eye.

The 21-year-old has now started back-to-back Premier League games, having been included in the lineup only twice this season in any competition beforehand, and underlined why supporters have been eager to see more of him, as the table documents.

Assists

1

1st

Successful dribbles

3

1st

Passing accuracy

91%

7th

Key passes

2

1st

Accurate crosses

2

2nd

Big chances created

2

1st

Ground duels won

5

1st

Tackle win %

100%

1st

Touches

87

3rd

Match rating

7.8

4th

As the table notes, Hall ranked first in a wide variety of statistics on Merseyside on Saturday evening.

He registered an assist, created two big chances and completed 91% of his 55 passes, while also winning five ground duels and 100% of his tackles.

For the majority of this season, Dan Burn has been the first-choice left-back, but the 6 ft 7 in hometown hero has been massively exposed in recent weeks.

This was particularly the case when he met Dango Ouattara of Brentford earlier this month, conceding a penalty and being sent off for fouling the Burkinabé winger during a 3-1 defeat in West London.

Thus, against both Man City and now Everton, Hall has proved he has to be Howe’s first-choice going forward, while the same may not yet be the case for his namesake in midfield.

Joelinton upgrade: PIF pursuing £44m Newcastle move for "one-man army"

Newcastle are planning to sign a centre-midfielder in 2026.

ByAngus Sinclair Nov 28, 2025

“Performances, I didn’t really focus on that much,” the East Zone captain said, as he returned to top-flight cricket for the first time since IPL

Ashish Pant31-Aug-2025East Zone captain Riyan Parag’s focus at the season-opening 2025-26 Duleep Trophy was on easing himself back into the grind of competitive cricket and getting some game-time after he had spent most of last season managing a shoulder injury.Parag last turned out for India in a T20I against Bangladesh in October 2024. He had to undergo surgery for his shoulder injury, after which he played in the Ranji Trophy 2024-25 for Assam in January. Before the Duleep Trophy, Parag had last played competitive cricket in IPL 2025 for Rajasthan Royals (RR). He was their second-highest run-scorer during the season, but was “managing a lot of stress” due to the shoulder injury.”It was good,” Parag said after the final day of the Duleep Trophy game against North Zone. “I mean, that was the main goal when I came here to play the game. Performances, I didn’t really focus on that much. I just wanted to have some fun.”I haven’t played competitive cricket in a long time. Since the IPL, I haven’t really played. [In the] IPL also, I was managing a lot of stress and stuff like that. But it was nice, was a good outing. Not in a good way with the amount of overs we fielded. But then still, rolled my arm for a few overs, batted for a while. Could have converted it for a bigger score, but then I’m happy. The shoulder feels much better now.”Related

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Leading the side in the absence of Abhimanyu Easwaran, who was ruled out due to fever on the opening day, Parag was dismissed for 39 in the only innings East Zone batted. He didn’t bowl in the first innings, but bowled 22 overs in the second as North Zone made 658 for 4, building on their first-innings lead of 175.While the game ended in a draw, North Zone qualified for the semi-finals on the basis of their first-innings lead.”They played better cricket, I got to give credit to that,” Parag said on North Zone’s performance. “I feel we could have done better in the first innings while bowling but then we should have got at least close to like 350 and then try to restrict it.”But once we did not do that, they had the lead of around 200 runs. Then, just the batters batted really well and just took the game away from us and the last day was just formality, I think, for them to get their milestones.”East Zone were without Mukesh Kumar on day three and four after the fast bowler picked up a thigh strain on the opening day. Mohammed Shami also did not take the field on the final day after he cut his toe, which meant East Zone had to rely on their part-time options.”That was one of the tough things to manage,” Parag said. “Shami didn’t bowl today, Mukesh got injured in the first innings, I’m coming back from an injury so I had to bowl 20 overs. Utkarsh [Singh], our non-bowler, he had to bowl around 30 overs so that did play a part for us in fielding a lot of overs but then nothing we can do about it. We just take it as a loss.”Parag says it’s “back to basics” now as he readies himself for the upcoming season. He has been named as one of the stand-bys for the Asia Cup, and is hopeful to get a chance when India travel to Australia for a white-ball series in October-November.”I was in the T20 set-up, then took a break for the shoulder [injury], and stuff like that happened,” he said. “Ranji [Trophy] is coming in, then the Australia tour is coming in; if I get selected there, I do that. Otherwise, I go back to domestic and do what I’ve been doing for the last two to three years. Be top-scoring every single game. Have a good IPL and play for the country again.”Ankit Kumar: ‘Everyone did their job’North Zone captain Ankit Kumar was delighted by his team’s performance as they racked up the runs on the last two days. Ankit fell two short of his maiden first-class double-century in the second innings, but Ayush Badoni recorded an unbeaten 204, while Yash Dhull scored 133 on the third day.Ankit Kumar made 198 in the second innings•PTI Ankit, who replaced Shubman Gill as North Zone captain after Gill pulled out due to illness, said there was “a little pressure” captaining in a big game but was glad he found a way to score runs and lead the team efficiently.”I am captaining at this level for the first time,” Ankit said. “There weren’t a lot of changes from the Ranji Trophy; we followed the same process: bowl well, bat well. That’s worked for us.”We had a well-rounded batting and bowling attack. No one could play a big innings in the first innings, but everyone contributed and that mattered. It was a proper teamwork, so we didn’t face many challenges. Everyone did their jobs.”The basic plan was to take a first-innings lead. When that happened, we knew we could qualify. We wanted our bowlers to stay fresh. Arshdeep [Singh] and Harshit [Rana] have to go and play for India, so we wanted them to go fresh [for the Asia Cup].”

Arne Slot heaped praise on the Liverpool fans at Anfield after some were spotted leaving early during their Carabao Cup defeat to Crystal Palace on Wednesday.

The under-fire Dutchman does not believe Liverpool’s sixth loss in seven matches has increased the pressure on his team ahead of this weekend’s clash with Aston Villa. The Premier League champions won seven straight matches in all competitions as they bounced back from their shoot-out loss to Crystal Palace in the Community Shield.

But that run came to a halt with a late defeat to the Eagles at Selhurst Park a month ago, sending the Reds into a spiral that they have yet to climb out of.

Palace got the better of Liverpool for the third time this season in Wednesday’s 3-0 Carabao Cup fourth round win at Anfield as Slot’s decision to leave out stars and make 10 changes backfired.

Joe Gomez, Wataru Endo and Alexis Mac Allister were the first-team players deployed in a team of mostly youngsters, but the senior stars were some of Liverpool’s lowest rated players against Palace.

Liverpool player ratings v Crystal Palace: Slot's first-team stars worse than youngsters

It was an evening to forget for a young Liverpool side.

ByTom Cunningham Oct 29, 2025

Fans were spotted leaving the stadium as early as the 70th minute, but the Dutchman said he had no regrets and brushed aside the suggestion it had increased the pressure heading into Saturday’s return to Premier League action at home to Villa, with Man City and Real Madrid also to come in the next ten days.

“I don’t think it’s possible if you lose five out of six that there’s now after six out of seven even more pressure,” Slot said.

“If you’re on a run of results like this, if you play for Liverpool, if you manage Liverpool, you know the pressure is there and I don’t think it has changed much after this loss.

“But if it did then maybe the most positive thing about tonight was that the position we were in, 2-0 down and we weren’t really pushing for a goal because we weren’t able to, the fans were behind the team, were supporting us.

“That gives me the feeling that Saturday when our players will show how much it means to them, our fans will be incredibly supportive for us Saturday.

“But, again, we face a team that has rested in the week to play us, and that’s Villa.”

Liverpool could be boosted by the return of midfielder Ryan Gravenberch against Villa following an ankle issue, but British record signing Alexander Isak remains a doubt with to a groin complaint.

Slot's treatment of Liverpool star is a "sackable offence"

حقق منتخب السنغال فوزًا هامًا على حساب الإمارات بنتيجة 5-0، في المباراة التي جمعت بينهما ضمن منافسات بطولة كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا.

وأقيمت المباراة بين السنغال والإمارات على أرضية ملعب اسباير2، ضمن لقاءات الجولة الثالثة من مرحلة المجموعات لـ كأس العالم للناشئين.

طالع | ترتيب مجموعة المغرب في كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا بعد الفوز على كاليدونيا (16-0)

وأحرز مالك سيبيه الهدف الأول من ضربة جزاء في الدقيقة 14، بينما سجل باكاري سونكو ثلاثة أهداف (هاتريك) في الدقائق 19، 41، 60.

وجاء الهدف الخامس عن طريق فيكتور ميندي بالدقيقة 74 من عمر المباراة لصالح السنغال. أهداف فوز السنغال على الإمارات في كأس العالم تحت 17 عامًا

أهداف المباراة |
منتخب السنغال يفوز 5-0 على الإمارات في كأس العالم تحت 17 عاماً#U17WC #كأس_العالم_تحت_17_سنة #قنوات_الكاس || #منصة_شوف pic.twitter.com/UqV41nYkDA — قنوات الكاس (@AlkassTVSports) November 9, 2025

وبهذه النتيجة تأهل منتخب السنغال إلى الدور التالي، متصدرًا ترتيب المجموعة الثالثة، ولديه 7 نقاط من الفوز بمباراتين وتعادل وحيد.

بينما تجمد رصيد الإمارات عند نقطة وحيدة، في المركز الرابع بالمجموعة، من تعادل وحيد وهزيمتين.

حقق نجم فريق ليفربول، محمد صلاح، رقمًا مميزًا بعدما تواجد في التشكيل الخاص بمباراة اليوم ضد نظيره فريق ريال مدريد، في بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا مساء اليوم.

ويستضيف ملعب “الأنفيلد” مباراة فريقي ليفربول وريال مدريد، في الجولة الرابعة من بطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا، مرحلة الدوري موسم 2025/26.

وأعلن المدير الفني لفريق ليفربول، آرني سلوت، التشكيل الأساسي لمباراة ريال مدريد مساء الثلاثاء، حيث شهد تواجد النجم محمد صلاح (لمطالعة التفاصيل من هنا).

وتُعد تلك المباراة هي رقم 200 لـ محمد صلاح رفقة ليفربول على ملعب “الأنفيلد” في مختلف المسابقات، مما يمثل رقمًا مميزًا للنجم المصري صاحب الـ33 عامًا.

وخاض محمد صلاح 199 مباراة مع ليفربول في معقله، في البطولات المختلفة، وسجل 137 هدفًا على “الأنفيلد”، مع العلم إنه وصل إلى هدفه رقم 250 بقميص الريدز بشكل عام، يوم السبت الماضي.

Josh Bohannon’s 14th first-class century came to Lancashire’s rescue as this absorbing Rothesay County Championship Division Two match with Northamptonshire ended in a draw.A career best 7 for 119 from a marathon 57 overs and career-best match figures of 11 for 153 by the on-loan Calvin Harrison looked to be propelling Northamptonshire to a first win in 26 years at Old Trafford.But Bohannon’s innings of 155, spanning more than seven hours, allied to a half-century from Marcus Harris led some stern resistance from the hosts who started the morning on 126 for 2 and fought their way through the day to reach 351 for 9 by the time the players shook hands at 5.40pm with five overs left and Lancashire 83 runs ahead.Needing to take eight Lancashire wickets, Northamptonshire struck early when Harrison disposed of nightwatchman Anderson Phillip for 10, bowled playing down the wrong line to a delivery that turned just enough.That proved to be the visitors’ only success of the morning as Bohannon and Harris played watchfully but with increasing authority through the rest of the session in a partnership that had knocked a further 72 runs off the overnight deficit of 144 by the lunch break.Bohannon, 60 not out overnight, accumulated steadily before joyfully on-driving Harrison for four through midwicket to reach his fourth century in 10 innings against Northamptonshire to add to the two fifties he has scored against the Wantage Road side.Harris settled in quickly after edging his first boundary to deep third off Raphy Weatherall, although it bounced well in front of the slip cordon. The Australian left-hander reached the fence seven more times before posting his half-century from 94 balls that included one sumptuously timed back-foot square drive that was arguably the shot of the day.Northamptonshire grabbed the new ball as soon as it became available after 23 overs with skipper Luke Procter ringing the changes, using eight bowlers in all, in the hunt for a breakthrough which finally arrived three overs into the afternoon.Harris had just posted his third 50-plus score in four innings during a partnership of 94 when he was well caught at short leg by James Sales off Harrison with Lancashire 243 for 4 and still 25 runs in arrears.Bohannon drove Harrison gloriously through the covers for four to take the home side into the lead halfway through the day but the bowler then removed Matty Hurst for 8 via a catch at slip by Ricardo Vasconcelos.The wicket Northamptonshire really wanted arrived ten minutes before tea with Bohannon’s unlucky dismissal, caught by wicketkeeper Lewis McManus from a rebound off the back of Sales at short leg from a Saif Zaib delivery, and Harrison was next celebrating a second first-class five-for when George Balderson popped up a bat-pad catch to Sales at short leg eight overs into the evening.Luke Wells and Tom Bailey (8 not out) took the game into the final hour before Harrison removed Wells for 39 and Tom Hartley for 1 in quick succession but his fine, valiant effort proved to be in vain.

MatériaMais Notícias

A série de testes promovidas pelo técnico Bruno Lage no empate em 0 a 0 do Botafogo com o Guaraní, do Paraguai, passou por uma prévia de como a equipe lidará com a ausência de Tiquinho Soares. Com o camisa 9 ausente devido a uma lesão no ligamento colateral do joelho esquerdo e afastado por cinco semanas, o comandante optou por escalar Júnior Santos mais centralizado diante dos “aborígenes”.

O camisa 37 seria municiado por Matías Segovia, que era escalado como titular contra seu ex-clube, e Diego Hernández, lançado pela primeira vez como titular com a camisa botafoguense. Entretanto, neste primeiro ato sem Tiquinho, fatalmente o setor ofensivo foi comprometido.

+ Copo Stanley a partir de R$120,00. Bebida gelada nos 90′ de jogo do Líder!

Segovinha se lançava à frente e chegou a pavimentar o caminho para Júnior Santos avançar. No entanto, o goleiro Muñoz se antecipou e rechaçou o cruzamento.

Com o meio de campo muito engessado, Júnior Santos pouco pôde contribuir ao atuar entre os zagueiros. Em um raro momento, o camisa 37 chegou a fazer o pivô e esticar bola para Lucas Fernandes arriscar. Mas, em uma partida na qual o Botafogo estava repleto de reservas, o desentrosamento aos poucos pesou e o camisa 37 pouco pôde agregar à equipe.

Lage chegou a promover mudanças, ao deslocar Diego Hernández para a direita e lançar Luis Henrique no lugar de Segovinha. Entretanto, o ímpeto ofensivo da equipe esbarrava na imprecisão para definir as jogadas.

A entrada de Carlos Alberto chegou a aumentar as esperanças para os botafoguense. Só que, na reta final, prevaleceu a luta para segurar o empate. O Guaraní tornava a equipe ofensiva e tentava, a todo custo, superar a defesa alvinegra.

Por mais que não tenha conseguido investidas, Júnior Santos ajudou a equipe taticamente. Em momentos desafiadores, nos quais o Guaraní se arriscava, o camisa 37 teve importância tática, interceptando as jogadas e ajudando os botafoguenses a controlarem o jogo. Quando os paraguaios cercaram mais a área, viram Gatito Fernández, Adryelson e Marçal se esmerarem para garantir a vaga do Botafogo nas quartas de final da Sul-Americana.

Ao fim da partida, Júnior Santos reconheceu que foi uma missão árdua substituir Tiquinho.

– É uma responsabilidade muito grande substituí-lo, sabemos da diferença que o Tiquinho faz em campo. Tivemos que nos doar ao máximo, valeu pelo empenho de todos e pelo apoio da torcida durante os 90 minutos – disse à Paramount +.

O camisa 37 ainda destacou.

– É um torneio muito difícil, com equipes que também têm o sonho de conseguir o troféu. Estamos suportando bem. Independente dos empates, temos conseguido avançar na competição – destacou.

A vaga para as quartas de final da Copa Sul-Americana foi conquistada mesmo em um jogo desafiador. O Botafogo volta a campo diante do Internacional, no sábado (12), às 21h, pela décima-nona rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro. Resta ver como Bruno Lage tentará adequar a equipe para suprir a baixa de Tiquinho Soares.

There is tension between Test batter Usman Khawaja and Queensland Cricket ahead of next week’s Sheffield Shield final, but he is likely to be named in an extended squad for the final on Friday with a decision on whether he plays or not to come ahead of the game starting next Wednesday.Khawaja, 38, and Queensland Cricket are at odds over his absence from the last Shield game of the season against South Australia at Karen Rolton Oval, where Queensland secured a draw which qualified them for the final against South Australia at the same venue.Khawaja attended all five days of the Australian Formula One Grand Prix in Melbourne while the game was going on in Adelaide but posted on social media on Tuesday that he was rehabbing a hamstring niggle that he picked up while making match-winning contributions of 127 and 33 not out in the Bulls previous win over Tasmania. There is also a suggestion he is managing an ankle issue that flared up during the Sri Lanka tour although that did not stop him playing against Tasmania.Related

• Khawaja opts out of Shield fixture with final berth on the line

• Sangha makes ton, Queensland secure draw in possible Shield final preview

• South Australia prevented from hosting Shield final at Adelaide Oval

Queensland Cricket general manager Joe Dawes made strong comments on Wednesday suggesting that Khawaja was not injured and insisted Queensland’s medical staff had declared him available for selection.”That is my understanding from Cricket Australia staff as well. No hamstring issues as far as we are concerned,” Dawes told reporters at Brisbane Airport on Wednesday.”I go off our medical staff and there is no reason why he could not have played the last game. It’s just disappointing he didn’t play a game for Queensland when he had an opportunity to. I have got a bunch of blokes here that all want to play. I think we are disappointed he did not play the game against South Australia. That’s the decision he made and he has communicated some of the reasons for that in the public. Hopefully he will make that decision to make himself available for next week and we will make that decision on Friday.”Khawaja was not the only Cricket Australia contracted player who did not play in the final round of the season. Nathan Lyon also attended the Australian Formula One Grand Prix with Khawaja and has not played since returning from Sri Lanka due to management of a hip issue. Steven Smith did not play the final round for New South Wales after returning from the Champions Trophy but Marnus Labuschagne and Alex Carey both played for Queensland and South Australia respectively.Every CA and state-contracted player who is headed to the IPL also did not play in the final Shield round as they were all given No-Objection Certificates to head to India ahead of the tournament starting on Saturday.Khawaja has already played 11 first-class matches this summer including seven Tests, meaning he has already played more games and days than any Australian domestic red-ball-only batter would play in a Shield summer in total. The 38-year-old has managed his schedule carefully in recent years, valuing rest over playing a lot of back-to-back games in order to remain mentally and physically fresh for his Test commitments as he attempts to extend his career as long as possible.That management plan has been supported by CA. He missed one of Queensland’s first four Shield games to freshen up ahead of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and missed the Shield game against Western Australia that started nine days after the tour of Sri Lanka where he scored a career-best 232 not out in the first Test.However, Khawaja is likely to have all of April and May to rest after the Shield final finishes on March 30 before preparing for four Tests in June and July which include the WTC final and a three-Test tour of the Caribbean. He won’t have any international commitments thereafter until the Ashes begin in late November.

West Bromwich Albion clinched an entertaining 3-2 victory in their final runout before the Championship season kicks off against Spanish visitors Rayo Vallecano.

Not much can often be dissected from these summer runouts, as the main priority will always be to get fitness into the legs, but Ryan Mason will hope his side can follow up this win with one or two more across the daunting opening matches in the league.

The 33-year-old will be equal parts nervous and excited as he embarks on his first proper season as a rookie head coach, with more new signings likely to be in the pipeline before September’s deadline to help Mason navigate these choppy waters.

Unfortunately, he won’t be able to convince Tottenham Hotspur prodigy Mikey Moore to move to the West Midlands, even with the bonus of Mason’s Spurs connections being on their side.

West Brom's failed pursuit of Mikey Moore

It looked nailed on that the 17-year-old attacker was going to be West Brom’s next statement capture, having already impressed the Baggies masses by signing Aune Heggebo for £4.7m from Brann, alongside ex-Liverpool centre-back Nat Phillips also catching the eye as a reinforcement defensively.

However, this deal is no longer one that is feasible to get over the line, with Scottish giants Rangers pipping the Baggies to the in-demand teenager’s signature over Mason’s men, amid a battle also once forming for his signature from Birmingham City.

This is a body blow to the second-tier outfit, with Moore no doubt ready to explode into life even more away from his limited senior chances back at Spurs, having previously collected a staggering 17 goals and 12 assists from just 22 U18 Premier League appearances in North London.

Of course, there is the worry that the teenage sensation will falter away from that Spurs bubble, as the Baggies now attempt to forget about any move falling through by looking to snap up this other exciting attacker instead.

West Brom can forget Moore by signing "sublime" star

Moore is the flavour of the month, but there’s no guarantee he would be an instant success story in the Championship, away from already bagging a senior goal at Spurs during a fleeting Europa League runout.

Instead, the Baggies could be better off going after an attacking star who already knows what it takes to excel at such a demanding level in the form of AFC Bournemouth forward David Brooks – a player who once cost the Cherries £11.5m back in 2018, having later been valued at £40m amid rival Premier League interest.

West Brom had previously been tipped to make a loan move for the former Sheffield United attacker this summer, but no such move came to fruition in the end, even as the deal hung in the balance at the advanced stages.

His eventual arrival onto the scene, if a move were to get back into motion, would allow for West Brom to forget about Moore in an instant, as the Welshman has more than shown his obvious class in the testing division previously.

AFC Bournemouth

39

6

6

Sheffield United

30

3

5

Southampton

17

2

5

The 17-year-old Ibrox-bound attacker, on the contrary, has never experienced what the testing terrain of the second tier is like, even if he does look ready for an opportunity in such a division.

Therefore, going after Brooks – especially on a loan basis – feels like a more savvy move on West Brom’s end over ruminating too much over losing out on Moore, particularly when you also consider the 28-year-old can play through the middle and on both wings, much like his young Gers counterpart.

His former Bournemouth boss, Eddie Howe, even labelled Brooks as a “sublime” talent when he was first cutting his teeth on the South Coast, with his standout stint in South Yorkshire in the EFL also leading to his ex-Sheffield United manager, Chris Wilder, describing him as “superb.”

Everything is pointing in the direction of this being a sterling move to pursue to bounce back from the disappointing news about Moore, as Brooks potentially attempts to be the spark yet again for a Championship side in their hunt for promotion glory.

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1 BySean Markus Clifford Jul 30, 2025