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Yorkshire have issued a public apology to Wayne Morton, their long-standing physiotherapist, as part of an out-of-court settlement after he was one of 14 people sacked in December 2021 at the height of the club’s racism crisis.Morton, 62, was dismissed from his role as head of sports science and medicine by the club’s former chair, Lord Kamlesh Patel, after putting his name to a joint letter criticising Yorkshire’s handling of Azeem Rafiq’s revelations about club culture, and accusing Rafiq of being on “a one-man mission to bring down the club”.The case of Morton’s company, Pavilion Physiotherapy Clinic Limited, was settled by Yorkshire for an undisclosed fee earlier this week, ahead of a scheduled High Court hearing on March 8. This brings closure to a chapter of the club’s history that is thought to have cost them close to £3.5 million in legal fees and severance payments.”The club can confirm that it has agreed a settlement agreement in respect of the ongoing civil claim brought against the club by Pavilion Physiotherapy Clinic Limited (‘Pavilion’),” Yorkshire said in a statement. “Pavilion has received a sum in damages and its legal costs. The amount is confidential between the parties and will not be disclosed.”The club apologises to Pavilion, Mr Morton and any other parties that may have suffered distress since and as a result of the termination of the contract with Pavilion by the club. The club acknowledges that Mr Wayne Morton of Pavilion worked with the club for approximately 38 years. The club thanks Mr Morton for his service to the club and wishes him and Pavilion well for the future.”Writing on Facebook in the wake of the settlement, Morton claimed he had been the victim of “horrendous, scurrilous untruths”, and thanked Colin Graves, the returning chair whose takeover of Yorkshire was ratified earlier this month, for overseeing the end of the legal stand-off.”Thankfully, the return of someone with integrity and a genuine love of Yorkshire cricket has seen the end to this monumental waste of money,” Morton wrote.”Sadly, it took over two years and over £400k in legal fees to end this nonsense that should have been sorted within weeks of the ending of my contract and the sacking of the employed staff.”With Graves set to take charge again, Yorkshire have opened nominations for member-nominated directors to join the board, with the club actively seeking to “encourage nominations from members from groups that are currently under-represented at the club or more broadly across the sector”. The process is expected to see two candidates nominated for election to the board at the AGM in April.Yorkshire have also announced the signing of South Africa allrounder Donovan Ferreira as one of their overseas players for 2024. Ferreira, who can bat, bowl and keep wicket, has been capped twice in T20Is and smashed an 18-ball half-century in the recently completed SA20.”I’m pleased to have secured Donovan for the T20 Blast,” Darren Gough, Yorkshire’s managing director of cricket, said. “He is an exciting addition to the team, and his all-round abilities and consistent performances in various international franchise leagues are indicators that he has a significant career ahead in cricket.”We hope he will play a big part in Yorkshire’s T20 campaign, and we are looking forward to welcoming him to Headingley.”

Gregor Kobel has been instrumental in Dortmund's qualification for the Champions League and he could now stay put, despite being linked with an exit.

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Many clubs have been scouting Gregor KobelGoalkeeper helped Dortmund secure top fourMay now be willing to remain in GermanyFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Chelsea and several other clubs have been linked with a move for Gregor Kobel. There was intense speculation that the Swiss goalkeeper might switch allegiance, but according to Kicker, Borussia Dortmund's recent performance under head coach Niko Kovac, and the fact they've qualified for the Champions League, could derail the transfer plans of interested clubs.

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Dortmund's form dropped considerably in the middle of the season under former manager Nuri Sahin. The board then appointed Niko Kovac as the head coach in February. Kovac's arrival had an immediate impact on the team, as they went on to qualify for the Champions League, finishing fourth. Kobel, who had been expected to leave at the end of the season, suddenly became an instrumental part of the team. Now, following qualification and his recent performances, it's being suggested that the Swiss international might end up staying at the club.

DID YOU KNOW?

Borussia Dortmund secured Champions League qualification in the dying moments. Kobel who played a crucial role in the club's qualification was asked about his future post-match, the Swiss goalkeeper said, "I do not comment on such things at all. It was important to me that we were in the Champions League, because this club simply belongs in the Champions League. It is been a hell of a four years here."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR GREGOR KOBEL?

Chelsea and Borussia Dortmund have been in talks and exploring options that can help land the Swiss international at Stamford Bridge. Apparently, Dortmund is asking for €60m (£51m) for the goalkeeper. With the newfound UCL qualification, it will be exciting to see how things unfold at Signal Iduna in the summer and whether he now, ultimately, decides to stay.

Chelsea's double swoop for Xavi Simons and Alejandro Garnacho is being held up by the potential exit of Christoper Nkunku.

• Nkunku wanted by Bayern
• Chelsea eyeing Simons and Garnacho
• Blues kick off season this weekend

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Per Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea are continuing to pursue a double deal to sign Simons and Garnacho from RB Leipzig and Manchester United respectively but they need to sell players first. Christopher Nkunku is in talks with Bayern Munich over a summer move, while the club also want to move Nicolas Jackson out of the club to free up squad space for the duo. They have thus far failed to receive any bids for the striker, who has been linked with Newcastle. 

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Chelsea have made significant moves in the transfer window this summer, signing Liam Delap, Jamie Gittens, Jorrel Hato, and Joao Pedro, and are searching for further attacking reinforcements. Nevertheless, dominoes need to fall for the deals to happen. 

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The Blues start their season this weekend, against Crystal Palace, but their pursuits of Simons and Garnacho are likely to drag until the end of the transfer window, given the lack of movement over Jackson's future, and the ongoing Nkunku talks. 

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Chelsea face a trio of London derbies to start their campaign; they face Palace, then play West Ham and Fulham.  

He says England’s attacking cricket has made him focus on restricting batters as well as taking wickets

Shashank Kishore13-Feb-2024India’s left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav has said he enjoyed his first taste of England’s Bazball approach in Visakhapatnam because it not only created more wicket-taking opportunities but also made bowlers think about restricting batters in Test cricket.”Usually in Tests you’re not used to teams attacking you with this kind of approach [Bazball], but it also involves you a lot more,” Kuldeep said ahead of the third Test against England starting on February 15 in Rajkot. “As a spinner it makes you more focused on how you want to bowl and what your approach is.”Normally when you play Tests, you don’t worry about batters attacking you, you’re only focused on how you want to get them out. But here the approach is different, they’re in attacking mode so you also have to plan how to restrict them. When they play shots, you have those many opportunities to take wickets. It’s interesting. The last game was my first [against Bazball], I enjoyed it a lot, it’s good for cricket.”Related

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The Visakhapatnam Test was only Kuldeep’s ninth Test since he made his debut in March 2017. It was his first in over 15 months. Kuldeep picked up three of his four wickets in the first innings as India took a 143-run lead that helped them level the five-Test series 1-1.”It’s been good,” Kuldeep said with a smile when asked about finally getting a chance in Test cricket. “Whatever Tests I’ve played, I’ve performed well. I have three five-fors, so yeah it feels good when you see the stats. I’m very happy.”The pitches for the first two Tests of this series have not been rank turners and, if that trend continues in Rajkot, Kuldeep could keep his place in the XI even if Ravindra Jadeja returns. Kuldeep’s accuracy and extra bounce made him more effective than Axar Patel in Visakhapatnam.”Am not sure of my position,” he said when asked about his chances of playing in Rajkot. “If I get the opportunity, I’ll be more than happy. I don’t think too much about whether am playing or not. I just enjoy my day and keep working hard. Combination is such a thing that it matters in a team game. As simple as that.”Kuldeep needed no reminders of his previous Test in Rajkot, where he took a five-for against West Indies in 2018.”It’ll be a batting wicket,” he said when asked about the pitch for the upcoming Test against England. ‘It doesn’t mean there’ll be 700-800 runs scored. It’ll be a good wicket. It won’t be a rank turner, it will be a live wicket, good for cricket.”Why has there been a sudden shift in the nature of pitches for this series?”I haven’t played on rank turners, I don’t know what the approach or thought is, it’s a team management decision,” Kuldeep said. “Obviously everyone wants to watch good cricket. I don’t know if I’ll get an opportunity or not, but whether it’s flat wicket or rank turner, I enjoy it. I think batting is also important, not just spin bowling. Fast bowling comes into the game as well. It’s good for cricket. It’s not like you’ll see rank turners only, but hopefully you’ll see it [laughs].”

The start of the second session on the third day was held up in unusual circumstances

AAP and ESPNcricinfo staff28-Dec-2023Play was held up in bizarre circumstances during the second Australia-Pakistan Test at the MCG because the third umpire Richard Illingworth got stuck in a lift.Players returned to the middle after the lunch break on Thursday, in time for the scheduled 1.25pm start to the second session. But in unusual scenes, the two central umpires wouldn’t allow a ball to be bowled because Illingworth was unable to return to his post in the grandstand.It left Australian batters David Warner and Steven Smith waiting to resume, with the hosts stuck on 6 for 2 in their second innings with an overall lead of 60.After a few minutes the fourth umpire, Phil Gillespie, ran from the boundary into the third umpire’s box so that play could resume and Illingworth made his way a few moments later, giving a light-hearted wave as he sat down.

Sorry. https://t.co/fh7EHBJxFr

— Melbourne Cricket Ground (@MCG) December 28, 2023

Cricket Australia and the MCG both produced light-hearted responses to the peculiar delay, which lasted seven minutes.”The game is delayed because the third umpire…is stuck in the lift,” Cricket Australia’s social media arm posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.The MCG was quick to reply: “Sorry.”Channel Seven host Mel McLaughlin was also in the lift that became stuck and said that it took about 10 minutes for them to be left out.Meanwhile, a busy afternoon for fourth umpire Gillespie continued later in the session when he was briefly called on to stand in the middle alongside Michael Gough when Joel Wilson needed to leave the field for an over.

A stylish maiden first-class century from Ollie Davies and a memorable new-ball spell from Chris Tremain put New South Wales on the brink of ending their run of 15 Sheffield Shield matches with a win.After Davies’ superbly-constructed 129 had built a lead of 135, Tremain produced a stunning opening spell of 5 for 12 in nine overs as Western Australia sank to 34 for 6 to briefly threaten their lowest even Shield total of 41.The defending champions saved themselves from that and managed to make it through to the end of the second day through the efforts of Cameron Bancroft and the lower order but will need a miracle to make a game of it.Davies, the 23-year-old who has predominantly been a white-ball player and has reached Australia A level, was overlooked for NSW’s first three Shield games this season but earned a spot at the SCG in place of the injured Jack Edwards.On the first evening Davies had walked in with the home side tottering on 71 for 4 amid fears NSW’s batting woes could rear their head again, but he responded with a 117-ball century, reaching the landmark with a six over long-on.”They brought the field and I said to myself, if this is tossed up, I’m hitting the ball quite nicely and I back myself to get it over,” Davies told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve been hitting a lot of balls trying to push myself back into the Shield team and was nice to get a hundred first crack back.”I’ve been overlooked at times for the red-ball side so for me I really did want to make a statement and show everyone that I can play red-ball cricket. Thought I did that today and helped put our team in a pretty good position.”When he was last-man out, NSW had built a strong lead and they quickly started to make it count on a pitch that had offered plenty of assistance with the new ball.Chris Tremain tore through the WA top order•Getty Images

Tremain was already their leading wicket-taker for the season and was soon growing his tally in dramatic fashion. He started by having Sam Whiteman caught down the leg side, then pinned Teague Wyllie and Hilton Cartwright lbw with consecutive deliveries to bring tea.On resumption, the hat-trick ball zipped past Josh Philippe’s edge but he did not last long before nicking into the slips. Tremain’s five-wicket haul arrived in just his seventh over when Ashton Turner shouldered arms and the ball clattered the top of off stump.NSW had resumed on a precarious 78 for 4 but they were soon making brisk inroads towards Western Australia’s total.Davies dominated the scoring in a stand of 116 in 27 overs with Moises Henriques before the captain was bowled by a ripping delivery from Corey Rocchiccioli.Davies batted at an excellent tempo and did not take undue risks, but also kept the bowlers under pressure. On 99 he showed the confidence to dance down the wicket to Rocchiccioli and launch him over long-on to bring up NSW’s first century of the Shield season.”My natural batting is quite aggressive, so I said to myself if I faced 100 balls I’d be close to 100 or 150 I’d be close to 150,” Davies said. “So for me it was just batting as long as I could and I knew scoring opportunities would present themselves along the way. It worked, so pretty stoked.”WA did take the last five wickets for 30, including two for debutant left-arm wrist spinner Hamish McKenzie, whose first scalp came courtesy of a brilliant catch at cover by Rocchiccioli, but any notion of them being back in the game was quickly scotched.

Liverpool have a striking problem. It’s funny, in a way, that there is so much negative noise around Arne Slot’s frontline, top scorers in the Premier League and firm favourites to lift the title by May.

But the hard truth is such concerns carry substance. Liverpool have tapered off in recent weeks, no longer playing the slick and dizzying football in the early months of the campaign, when teams of all shapes and sizes were put to the sword.

In the end, Liverpool were well beaten by Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League and Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup final. And that’s okay. It’s football.

But Slot and FSG know where they can improve next season. Anfield’s commanding lead at the top of the table is great enough to be called unassailable, but the frontline will still need to be chopped and changed during the off-season, for sure.

What's going on at number nine for Liverpool

Below, you’re going to see a rather concerning table. It tells the tale of Liverpool’s attacking success since the turn of the calendar year, with Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo the only two who can hold their heads high as far as goal threat is concerned.

Luis Diaz has only scored one goal across his past 18 matches, Diogo Jota just two – one of which came against Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup.

Then there’s Darwin Nunez, who remains an unsolvable conundrum. He’s actually registered more goal involvements than everyone bar Salah in 2025, but the 25-year-old still flatters to deceive through the bulk of his time at Liverpool.

He came close to signing for Saudi club Al-Nassr in January, and while this didn’t come to fruition, the reliably informed Fabrizio Romano has confirmed the expectation is the Uruguayan will be sold at the end of the season.

Who to bring in his place? Well, Alexander Isak is the name on everyone’s lips, having dazzled for Newcastle this season. The Sweden striker has posted 23 goals and five assists across 32 matches in 2024/25, netting as Eddie Howe’s side beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final.

The Athletic’s David Ornstein has confirmed Liverpool are in the running, but at a reported £150m asking price (or even more), it’s not going to be an easy deal to engineer, and FSG’s frugal chiefs appear to be swivelling their heads elsewhere.

So then, without any further ado, let’s take a look at the first-rate centre-forward who may grace Slot’s exciting project this summer.

England star wants to sign for Liverpool

According to Spanish reports, Liverpool have been monitoring Harry Kane’s situation at Bayern Munich, aware that the all-inspiring England captain has an attractive release clause in his contract, active from January 2026.

It’s thought Kane is considering a return to the Premier League and his ‘preferred destination’ is Anfield, which makes sense when considering FSG’s desire to sign a new striker.

Perhaps the most complete number nine in the business, the 31-year-old would be an incredible addition to Slot’s line-up and might just be the best signing sporting director Richard Hughes could make.

How Harry Kane compares to Alexander Isak

Kane may be 31, but exceptions can surely be made for the most incredible of world-class talents. Take Thiago Alcantara, for example, who joined the Reds from Bayern Munich (would you look at that) for £20m aged 29 in 2020, strengthening Jurgen Klopp’s Premier League-winning squad.

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The Three Lions skipper has never been reliant on his speed either and could thrive as an elite player on the European scene for years yet to come.

The bulk of Kane’s career came in north London, but he hasn’t exactly been shabby in the two campaigns since leaving Tottenham Hotspur. At Bayern, Kane has scored 76 goals and supplied 25 assists across 82 matches.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 1% of forwards across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goals scored, the top 10% for assists, the top 19% for shot-creating actions and the top 7% for progressive carries per 90.

Kane might be one of the deadliest finishers in the business, but he’s certainly no one-trick pony. Creative, dynamic and a tenacious leader, he embodies Slot’s virtues and would be the perfect central talisman as he chases down the record goals haul in the Premier League alongside teammate Salah.

Comparatively, Isak’s prowess stems from his athleticism, pace and multi-layered approach to the striking game, but he’s not as complete as Kane. Ange Postecoglou has even called the veteran a “generational player,” and he’s probably got that one about right.

Further to that point, following Kane’s dominant Champions League performance against Bayer Leverkusen, trouncing their Bundesliga rivals, journalist Matt Law hailed him as “the best striker in the world.”

Isak’s haul of 23 goals this season is impressive stuff, but it’s not on par with Kane’s 32-goal haul, whose creativity also knows no bounds and would make considerable success regarding Anfield’s overall attacking fluency.

Just imagine, were Kane in the middle of the line instead of, say, Nunez, Slot wouldn’t just wield a deadly goalscorer but a player who could elevate each of those around him, lessening Salah’s burden to no end.

If there is an inkling of a chance that FSG can get this one over the line, they must pounce on the opportunity and spark a new illustrious era on Merseyside.

Liverpool starlet was once ahead of Trent, then Klopp sold him for just £3m

This former Liverpool player is only 27 but is currently out of a job.

By
Angus Sinclair

Mar 22, 2025

كشف محمد عبد المنصف، مدرب حراس المرمى السابق بنادي الزمالك، عن تفاصيل مفاوضات الأبيض، مع لاعب الأهلي السابق لضمه خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية الحالية.

وقال محمد عبد المنصف في تصريحات عبر قناة “MBC مصر”: “كانت هناك مفاوضات من الزمالك مع محمد شريف لاعب الأهلي السابق بشكل جدي جدًا، ولكن في الفترة الأخيرة توقفت”.

طالع.. خاص – موقف حازم إمام من الاستمرار مع مدرب الزمالك الجديد

وتابع: “الزمالك يحتاج إلى لاعب مثل محمد شريف، فهو يعرف ظروف الأبيض ومشكلاته ووضعه وإمكاناته”.

وواصل: “محمد الشناوي يتحمل مسؤولية كبيرة في الأهداف الأربعة بمباراة بورتو، وتمركزه لم يكن في أفضل حالاته”.

وانتهى عقد محمد شريف، مع الخليج السعودي بنهاية الموسم الماضي، حيث يحق له الانضمام إلى أي فريق بشكل مجاني.

Stunning run-spree notwithstanding, host venue gives off air of camping holiday

David Hopps31-May-2023Glamorgan 238 for 3 (Cooke 113*, Ingram 92*) beat Middlesex 209 for 5 (Cracknell 77, Eskinazi 59) by 29 runsMiddlesex’s captain Stephen Eskinazi had finished the first match at Merchant Taylor’s School two days earlier, incandescent about how a seemingly straightforward run-chase had coagulated when victory seemed certain. This time runs came in a torrent at the end of an innings, just as they are meant to. The only problem for Middlesex was that they belonged to Glamorgan.Glamorgan set their highest T20 score, 238 for 3, as they pulverised 72 from the last three overs on the same ground where Middlesex – with Gloucestershire the grateful opposition – had failed to get nine from the last two on the same pitch: a stark comparison that might well have entered Eskinazi’s consciousness on the journey home.Either Chris Cooke or Colin Ingram, both South African-born, could have reached their hundred with a couple more prodigious blows as Glamorgan’s innings entered its final over – by that time it largely depended who was on strike – but it was Cooke who made 113 from 51 balls while Ingram had to settle for 92 from 66. Staggeringly, Cooke moved from 50 to 100 in only 12 balls, a sequence including five sixes and four fours.John Simpson, Middlesex’s experienced wicketkeeper, and one of the two senior players at the crease as Middlesex failed to beat Gloucestershire, had been dropped for this game. Ryan Higgins, the other culprit, might have wished he had been too as his wayward four overs disappeared for 62. The all-rounder’s much-heralded return home from Gloucestershire has been followed by good Championship returns but is yet to bear fruit in the Blast.Blake Cullen was the only bowler to escape the carnage, returning 2 for 23, most of his overs bowled as Glamorgan wandered to 51 for 3 in 6.5 overs, but Tom Helm was flayed to the tune of 0 for 69, his last two overs going for 25 and 27 respectively, the worst figures ever by a Middlesex bowler in the format.Ingram already has four T20 hundreds; this was Cooke’s first and, 37 now, he celebrated the achievement as only a player who feels the shadows lengthening on his career can. Helm, Middlesex’s most potent T20 bowler, began the last over with Cooke still 12 short, but he deposited two full-length balls, the first one a slower ball, over deep midwicket with the sort of repetitive clean hitting that had characterised an increasingly out-of-control partnership of 187 in 79 balls.”It’s the first time I’ve played here, so hopefully I can come back as it’s a great place to bat,” Cooke said. “We had 180 as a par score which wouldn’t have been enough. I’d like to think I’ve hit the ball close to as good as that before, but I didn’t really have a T20 hundred in my career on my radar, with me batting at five or six, so it’s amazing to get it.”Middlesex would have had to achieve a record score batting second to overhaul Glamorgan’s total – the highest is Sussex’s 233 for 6 last summer, and even they lost at Chelmsford – but Eskinazi and James Cracknell provided a platform with a stand of 146 in 12 overs before both fell reverse-sweeping. They needed one more innings of substance, but instead delivered a meek mish-mash of half-baked strokes as Glamorgan’s bowlers proved far more resilient.Cracknell, like so many white-ball specialists in county cricket, deserves great credit for early-season success. Preparation time can be limited as the switch is made from the Championship format in which he takes no part. “It’s been a really odd season,” he conceded. “I’ve had one red-ball innings in the 2s so to go from that and be told you are opening the innings in the white-ball stuff with little practice and middle time has been strange. But I’ve been given the backing and this is the format I’ve had most success in so I’m feeling good.”Most eye-catching was Peter Hatzoglou, the “accidental cricketer”, whose background in risk consulting presumably helped him put Middlesex’s response into perspective. Hatzoglou approaches like a conjurer – all ball tosses and feverish arms – and it was enough to delude Cracknell as he tried to reverse-sweep a long hop that had strayed wide outside off stump and his lifted foot enabled Cooke to complete a stumping. Hatzoglou’s second wicket was Pieter Malan, Middlesex’s sole overseas player, who was bowled by a faster delivery as he attempted a leg-side heave. Prem Sisodiya turned in another good shift on a good night for Glamorgan’s spinners.The Blast is never more rural than the week or so when Middlesex temporarily abandon Lord’s for the delights of Merchant Taylor’s School and Radlett. It feels as if the tenants of a stately home have suddenly upped sticks and gone on a camping holiday, exchanging the silver service and an attentive butler for a soggy beefburger on a plastic plate.The runs flow, so much so that it puts some tired county squares to shame, the settings are delightful and its all jolly nice, reminiscent of some of the outgrounds used when 40-over cricket saved county cricket from financial disaster half a century ago. It has its place, but it would be counter-intuitive, at best, to argue that it is what the Blast needs if it is to retain its status as a global T20 tournament worthy of attention.It also puts the financial position of Middlesex into focus. With the club’ assets last quoted as down to £179,000, a fall from around £2m in two years, they even invited questions from the ECB about what was going on. In terms of perentage of income, no county is subsidised more heavily.Playing at Lord’s gives Middlesex an air of privilege, but they are more in tune with the average millennial in that it’s hard to see how they will ever afford their own home. Whenever they play at Lord’s, MCC get £16,000 as the cost of staging the game and 30% of whatever proceeds remain. Play on an outground and a convivial crowd of a few thousand is not about to transform the finances unless a hedge fund manager gets tipsy in the bar after the game and agrees a sponsorship deal. They have to cut their cloth to suit – appropriate enough on the cricket ground of a school founded by a group of craftsmen tailors. Those tailors might have warned that going out of fashion is a very dangerous thing.

Everton have seen their attempts to sign a talented European teenager stall due to visa issues, a source close to the player has now revealed.

Everton eye attacking reinforcements

After a turbulent few years at Everton, the club’s new owners, the Friedkin Group, have restored a sense of stability as the club looks ahead to a fresh chapter away from Goodison Park.

Not only have Friedkin reappointed David Moyes as manager, which has resulted in a huge upturn in the Toffees’ fortunes on the pitch, they’ve also significantly reduced the club’s £600 million debt, which should free up funds for new signings in the upcoming season.

With money in the kitty, Everton have been linked with a number of big names ahead of the summer, including former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham, who is currently on loan at AC Milan from AS Roma.

Everton are understood to have already made an approach for the Englishman, who has scored eight goals in 34 games for Milan this season, with Moyes keen to bolster his attacking line, especially with the future of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who is out of contract at the end of the campaign, uncertain.

Contact made: Everton now make first move for "sensational" £34m striker

The Toffees have asked for information about a forward who is keen on moving to the Premier League.

ByDominic Lund Mar 6, 2025

Abraham himself is believed to be keen on a return to the Premier League, with West Ham United, Nottingham Forest and Fulham also named as potential suitors. Elsewhere, the Toffees are also reported to be keen on both West Ham United star Tomas Soucek and Brentford’s Christian Norgaard, seeking an experienced head in midfield.

Everton to lose out on teenage star

Another player Everton had reportedly been keen to land was Hungarian youngster Ricsi Pisont. Pisont, the 13-year-old nephew of former Hungary international István Pisont, has, according to Sportal, recently spent time at the Toffees’ academy, where he impressed enough for the Toffees to want to sign him.

The teenager also attended Blackburn’s academy, where he again convinced an English suitor of his talent. Instead, however, he will now have to stay with the academy of Budapest Honvéd, his uncle’s former club, because he is unable to get an English visa.

“He has gained great experience and both clubs wanted to sign him, but unfortunately we are not yet at the point where we can get a visa to England,” the youngster’s father, Richárd Pisont, told Sportal, per Sports Witness.

“In any case, we are in a very good place now, serious work is underway at the Honvéd academy, and everything is in place for Ricsi to develop his talent in Kispest,” he said.

If István Pisont’s comments on his nephew are anything to be believed, Everton look to have missed out on a serious talent.

“He has extremely good insights in the attacking zone, he makes good decisions in different game situations, he has high game intelligence and very good technical preparation,” the Honvéd legend, who now manages Hungary’s U-17s team, said. “If his physical parameters are also suitable, and if God helps him, he will have a very good career.”