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When Ali Khan took three wickets inside the first three overs to reduce Jamaica Tallawahs to 15 for 3 in a chase of 224, the USA seamer was matching his captain Dwayne Bravo move for move in a Trinbago Knight Riders dance-off. One false step in the field by Khan a few overs later and the party was over for the hosts at Port-of-Spain.Khan spilled Andre Russell’s first ball at deep square leg in the seventh over off a top-edged sweep against Fawad Ahmed. The Jamaican then went onto a 40-ball hundred – the fastest in the CPL – in a record chase as Tallawahs won with three balls to spare.Along with a hat-trick in the 20th over of the first innings, Russell’s 121 not out off 49 balls that included 13 sixes, capped one of the greatest all-round individual performances in T20 cricket.Munro keeps motoring
Colin Munro’s excellent early season form continued. Entering seven balls into the match after Sunil Narine miscued an Imad Wasim arm ball, Munro produced his second half-century in three days, adding 98 for the second wicket with Chris Lynn. However, he was hardly the star of the innings, and would be well back in the queue of spectacular performances by the end of the night.Belligerent Baz
Brendon McCullum was scratchy early on, following the loss of Munro with the score 130 for 3 in the 14th over. He was on 7 off 12 balls before a full toss from Kemar Roach in the 17th over helped to loosen him up. That boundary commenced his second 12-ball stretch which netted 43 runs as Knight Riders raced past 200 on the back of McCullum’s 24-ball half-century. He was especially brutal against Roach in the 19th over, wrecking him for 30 runs that included a no-ball hit for six.Russell tricks TKR
A four by McCullum off the first ball of the 20th over set the record for the highest ever CPL total at 216 for 3, but the next three balls went a long way towards allowing the record-setting first-innings score to become a record-setting chase. McCullum miscued a full toss next ball from Russell to long-on to end an 86-run partnership with Darren Bravo.Darren Bravo then dragged a wide yorker onto his stumps on the next ball before Denesh Ramdin yanked a slower bouncer to deep midwicket to complete Russell’s hat-trick, only the second one in CPL history after a trio of googlies netted Rashid Khan the first one for Guyana Amazon Warriors last season against the Tallawahs. A dot and a six off the final two legitimate balls to Javon Searles ended an adventurous 10-run final over, one in which Russell did far more damage in the final calculation.From hero to goat
Khan built on his brilliant spell from Wednesday night and struck three times in six balls against Tallawahs. He first cramped Glenn Phillips to create a catch at short third man. Two balls later, Andre McCarthy was bounced out and beaten for pace, attempting to pull Khan, which resulted in a simple catch to mid-on. Khan’s adrenaline was pumping when he had Ross Taylor pinned on the crease in his next over. He ended his opening spell with 3 for 15.Shannon Gabriel had Rovman Powell chopping on later in the Powerplay to make it 16 for 4. Fawad Ahmed took over for Khan in the seventh over and just as he did two nights earlier against St Lucia Stars struck first ball once again with a googly, trapping Johnson Charles to make it 41 for 5.It should have been 41 for 6 on the very next ball when Russell’s slog sweep swirled in the air toward Khan at deep square leg, but Khan misjudged the chance and nearly overran it coming in from the boundary, switching his hand position at the last moment to reach behind his head before the ball burst through his fingertips.Russell’s record-setting night
When the ball went tumbling off Khan’s hands to the ground, it set the stage for a series of records to tumble over the course of the next hour. The fastest CPL hundred entering the night had been done by Russell in the 2016 playoffs against TKR off 42 balls. He went two better on this night.If Russell sped along to his century like a Ferrari, Kennar Lewis drove a stagecoach in comparison as he took 34 balls to reach a half-century, though in reality much of his innings was spent tapping singles to get Russell on strike. The pair teamed in a 161-run stand that equaled the best for any wicket in the CPL while setting a world record for the sixth wicket in T20 cricket, going 35 better than Calum MacLeod and John Hastings had done for Durham against Northants in the Natwest T20 Blast in 2014.Russell brought up his century with his 12th six, breaking a CPL mark for the most in an innings jointly held by Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle. Kennar Lewis fell in the next over to Fawad, caught at long-on, but by that point they had narrowed the equation to 22 off 14 balls. Two overs later, Russell clattered his 13th six to end the match with room to spare, putting the finishing touches on a memorable captaincy debut.

It was a night of Red Devils redemption for Manchester United on Tuesday evening, with Erik ten Hag's men battling to a pivotal 1-0 win over FC Copenhagen to keep their hopes of Champions League progression alive.

As has been the way so far this season for the Old Trafford outfit, it was far from a vintage display from the hosts as they laboured for much of the proceedings, prior to unlikely hero Harry Maguire powering in an emphatic header to nudge his side in front with less than 20 minutes to play.

The drama didn't end there, however, as the much-maligned Andre Onana produced by far the finest moment of his United career to date to deny Jordan Larsson from the penalty spot at the death, with that vital save helping the Premier League giants to a third successive win in all competitions, ahead of this weekend's Manchester Derby.

Who impressed for Man United vs Galatasaray?

For the most part, the night belonged to the aforementioned pairing of Maguire and Onana, with the under-fire duo helping to somewhat silence the critics by steering Ten Hag and co to a much-needed victory over the Danish champions.

In the case of the latter man, the Cameroonian stopper has endured a dismal start to life in English football having made glaring errors against both Bayern Munich and Galatasaray, in particular, although the 27-year-old began to repay his £47.2m transfer fee with two mammoth saves on the night.

The former Inter Milan ace first produced an acrobatic dive to keep out Lukas Lerager's long-range effort just after the break, before then stealing the headlines in a frantic finale with another top-class save to thwart the unfortunate Larsson – son of one-time United loanee, Henrik.

As for Maguire, fresh from his Man of the Match display against former club Sheffield United, the England international continued his renaissance with an impactful display at both ends, notably getting on the scoresheet, while also winning five of his seven total duels as a marker of his dominance.

Having been stripped of the captaincy over the summer amid what looked like the end of his time in Manchester, to his credit the 30-year-old has fought back to force his way into Ten Hag's thinking once again, with it likely to be a real surprise if the towering centre-back is not called upon against City this weekend.

Another man who will also be hoping to start in the clash with Pep Guardiola's men is Rasmus Hojlund, with the Danish machine showcasing that he can be the long-term solution in that number nine berth.

How did Rasmus Hojlund perform against Copenhagen?

Faced with the club who foolishly sold him to Austrian side Sturm Graz in January 2022, the 20-year-old was not able to gain revenge by bursting the net, yet he did almost everything else in what was a largely complete centre-forward display.

Hailed as "seriously good" by journalist Liam Canning, the former Atalanta man was one of the few who seemed to relish the occasion throughout the contest despite his relative youth, having been "instrumental" in all that was good about the home side, as per The Athletic's Laurie Whitwell.

Although far from perfect – as he lost possession on 14 occasions and only recorded 27 touches – the youngster did produce two key passes as a marker of his ability to bring others into play, having regularly looked to tee up his teammates with a deft flick or clever threaded pass, including laying the ball off for compatriot Christian Eriksen in the second half.

As Manchester Evening News correspondent Samuel Luckhurst noted on Twitter, the £72m man was "almost single-handedly getting the crowd up with his enterprise" after the break, as he embraced the mantle of being the main man through the middle.

There was to be no goal to cap that fine showing, prior to his late withdrawal, yet Hojlund has undoubtedly already endeared himself to the home support with his willing work ethic and composed nature on the ball, with the hope now that the goals do finally begin to flow over the coming weeks and months.

Even if they don't, in the meantime it looks as if United have a centre-forward worthy of the shirt once again, with the days of Wout Weghorst leading the line now but a distant memory…

After a few months of relative calm, Manchester United's protracted takeover process suddenly shot back to life over the past month, and it would appear as if the end is very much in sight.

Here's everything we know about the current situation, from a partial takeover to a disappointed party. It is never a simple story with Man United.

What is the latest news on the Manchester United takeover?

The most pertient news surrounding Manchester United's potential takeover broke on Saturday 14th October, when it was revealed that Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad al Thani had withdrawn from the race to buy the club from the Glazer family.

This significant change to the process has now left British billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe as the only serious contender left willing to pay for the club. However, despite being the only serious party left in the process, the likely outcome is now no longer a straightforward purchase of the club, but instead something altogether more complicated.

Ratcliffe's offer to the Glazers is to buy a 25% stake in United instead of 100%, as Sheikh Jassim proposed.

According to Sky Sports News, the proposal from the OGC Nice owner would see him purchase a portion of the Glazer's personal shares and the publicly-traded stock on the New York Stock Exchange.

In all, his offer would see him pay in the region of £1.3bn for just a quarter of the club. However, there might be cause for optimism among United fans, as there is a possibility that this purchase is just the start of a longer process that would eventually see Ratcliffe assume complete control of the club – as was his initial ambition.

Read more: The latest Man United transfer rumours

While it would be foolish to guarantee that Sheikh Jassim is now entirely out of the picture, it does seem incredibly unlikely that he will make any more offers. According to football finance expert Kieran Maguire, the Qatari businessman and his associates were left frustrated by the conduct of the Glazers, telling Football Insider: "Senior sources close to the Sheikh Jassim bid have indicated to me that there was increased frustration towards the conduct of the Glazers.

"On more than one occasion, they had agreed to increase the bid. They had agreed to some concessions as far as the demands of the Glazers were concerned. Yet every time that they felt that they were close to shaking hands on a deal, the terms were changed.

"In the end, they didn't want to be taken advantage of."

However, another piece of takeover speculation has since come out of left field, and that's the speculation that United legend David Beckham could spearhead a consortium bid to take control of the club.

These rumours were initially started by Rio Ferdinand on his Vibe with Five podcast when he said (via The Mirror): "Becks will come with a consortium.

"When you mention someone like Becks' name, he's obviously a part-owner of Inter Miami but he doesn't come [alone]. It's not his money. It's not him in terms of putting his hand in his pocket. He comes with a consortium. He comes with people who do have deep pockets who have the ability to go and execute on a deal like that."

Read more: The top 10 David Beckham moments – ranked

Finally, another famous sports star and United fan has also signalled his desire to own part of Manchester United. Golfer Rory McIlroy revealed that should the opportunity arise to get involved with Ratcliffe's purchase, he would jump at it, saying: "I would have loved to have taken 0.00001 per cent of Manchester United when Jim Ratcliffe took 25 per cent. And if another opportunity comes my way, I will look at it. But it is not something that has come across our table as of yet.

There's never a normal day at Manchester United, is there?

Why are the Glazers selling the club?

Because they can make an enormous profit, essentially. Malcolm Glazer only put up £272m to purchase United back in 2005, despite the club being worth over £800m, per The Guardian. He achieved that through a leveraged buyout, putting up the club's assets as collateral against a loan.

In effect, the club paid for its own buyout – they've been saddled with enormous debt ever since as the Glazers slowly paid off the rest of the purchase using United's money.

A recent report from the Evening Standard suggests that the Glazers value the club at around £7-10bn – there's your reason for the sale.

Who is trying to buy Man Utd?

There are – or should we say were – two potential buyers. The first, Sheikh Jassim, is from the powerful Qatari Royal Family. The second, Sir Jim Ratcliffe, is the UK's richest man.

There are other options, of course. The Mirror claims that several US investment companies would like to take minority stakes in United, allowing the Glazers to retain control but with more spending power.

Finally, there are also rumours concerning the interest of David Beckham and Rory McIlroy, but both seem unlikely to amount to anything.

Ultimately, while it's impossible to rule out the other parties with absolute certainty, Sir Jim Ratcliffe now looks like the only party with a realistic chance of completing his deal, even if it is just for part of Manchester United.

Who is Sheikh Jassim?

Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani is the son of Qatar's former Prime Minister. He was educated in the United Kingdom before returning to Qatar, where he currently acts as chairman of the Qatar Islamic Bank. Sheikh Jassim was previously on the board of Credit Suisse – one of the world's biggest investment banks.

However, it's unclear what his actual net worth is, and it's thought that the majority of the money here comes from Qatar itself. Per the BBC, there are suggestions that Premier League clubs would want any purchase fully investigated under suspicions that the state will provide the funds. Those suspicions were only given strength when Paris Saint-Germain chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi – also chairman of Qatar Sports Investments – spoke with the Glazers in May.

As for Jassim himself, he's said to be a lifelong Manchester United fan. The controversy, though, is whether he's actually the one buying the club, although recent developments that would appear to be irrelevant.

Who is Sir Jim Ratcliffe?

Sir Jim Ratcliffe is, per the Sunday Times, the second-richest figure in the UK. He has a net worth standing at just under £30bn and is the chairman/CEO of INEOS chemicals group – a company he founded in 1998.

From Greater Manchester, Ratcliffe is a lifelong United fan and has actually stepped into football before. He, through INEOS, owns OGC Nice in France, though he hasn't found much success with them. Ratcliffe also attempted to purchase Chelsea during the dramatic bidding war last year, but saw a £4.25bn bid rejected.

When will the takeover be completed?

With the news that Sheikh Jassim has now walked away from the takeover process and that Sir Jim Ratcliffe is likely to see his offer to buy 25% of the club accepted, this whole saga could be wrapped up sooner than many would have predicted just last week.

Granted, these developments mean that a complete takeover could be years away, but for now, at least, it appears this story will be coming to a reasonably swift conclusion.

That said, in the unlikely event that the Qataris to come back in with a new bid, this story could easily go on into the new year.

How did this affect Manchester United in the transfer window?

Initially, there were worries that United wouldn't really be able to do anything in the transfer window because of the takeover talks. But the signings of Mason Mount, Rasmus Hojlund and Andre Onana reassured fans somewhat that there was still money to spend.

However, the positive momentum that those signings created quickly faded once it was clear that the club were relying on the potential sales of players like Harry Maguire and Scott McTominay to fund the rest of their summer targets.

When those two could not be sold, the club were resigned to offering Jonny Evans a one-year deal and signing Sofyan Amrabat on a season-long loan, which left many fans feeling let down.

كشف محمود حمدي الونش لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، عن موعد عودته للمشاركة مع القلعة البيضاء، موضحا كيف تمت الإصابة مجدداً بالرباط الصليبي وزيارة محمد صلاح له في لندن.

وقال محمود الونش في تصريحات عبر قناة “إم بي سي مصر 2”: “قبل أي شيء نُعزي أسرة أحمد رفعت، وإن شاء الله هو في مكان أفضل وفي الجنة”.

وتابع: “أسير بشكل جيد في العلاج، والإصابة الأولى علمتني الهدوء وعدم التعجل، وأشكر طبيب الزمالك محمد أسامة وطبيب المنتخب محمد أبو العلا، وهانت إن شاء الله”.

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وأفاد: “أنا عدت من الإصابة الأولى في مدة قليلة، أجريت العملية في ألمانيا والعلاج الطبيعي في قطر، وكان يجب أن أنزل الملعب بعد 8 أشهر، ولكني نزلت بعد 6 أشهر، ولم أجد أحدًا يمنعني، عندما شعرت أنني بحالة جيدة قررت النزول للملعب، خاصة وأن فيتوريا قال لي لو لعبت مع الفريق سأتواجد مع المنتخب في أمم إفريقيا، لكن الطبيب لم يُجازف بي ولم أنضم للمنتخب، وبعدها شاركت مع الفريق ولعبت في البطولة الودية في الإمارات وكانت توجد مباريات متتالية ونسيت أنني كنت مصابا”.

وواصل: “في الإصابة الثانية، تعرضت لكدمة في مباراة أهلي جدة، ولم أشعر أنها صليبي، والطبيب أجرى لي اختبار الصليبي وقال لا توجد إصابة، واستمريت في الملعب، وبين الشوطين الطبيب طلب مني عدم استكمال المباراة، بعدها خلال التدريبات تعرضت لالتواء وسمعت صوت العضلة”.

وأضاف: “محمد صلاح زارني عندما أصبت بقطع في وتر الخلفية، وأجريت عملية مع نفس الجراح الذي أجرى نفس العملية لـ ساديو ماني وهاري كين”.

وأكمل: “إن شاء الله بعد شهر سأذهب إلى الجراح بعد انتهاء المرحلة الأولى، وهو من سيحدد لي موعد مشاركتي مع الفريق في التدريبات الجماعية”.

وبسؤاله كيف رأيت الموسم الحالي لـ الزمالك؟ أجاب: “الموسم ليس على مستوى اللاعبين فقط، لكن على مستوى تغيير الإدارات، وعدد كبير من اللاعبين دخل الفريق، ومدرب جديد، بالتأكيد كل هذه عوامل تؤثر فنيًا على مستوى الفريق”.

وبسؤاله ما رأيك في أوسوريو؟، قال “لم أتدرب معه كثيرًا، ولكنني كنت أشاهد التدريبات، هو لا يعتمد خصوما، يطبق عمله ولا ينظر للخصم، وهذه كانت النقطة السلبية، لكنه مدرب تكتيكي جيد جدًا، كان يطلب من الناس مهام في غير مركزها”.

وفيما يتعلق بـ جوميز، أوضح “أول تدريب معه تعرضت لإصابة، ولكنني أتحدث معه كثيرًا، وفهم عقلية اللاعب المصري جدًا، وعكس أوسوريو يقرأ الخصم بشكل جيد ويضع السيناريوهات، ويختار اللاعبين المناسبين لكل مباراة، ومعه أحمد مجدي المجتهد جدًا”.

وبسؤاله هل توقعت الفوز بالكونفدرالية؟، قال “كنا قلقين، لكن بعد انضمام الصفقات الجديدة منحونا الروح، وفوق كل ذلك دعم الجمهور الذي صبر على اللاعبين، وفي كل مباراة يدعمون الفريق من أول دقيقة لآخر دقيقة”.

واستطرد: “نهائي الكونفدرالية كان دائمًا عندنا فكرة إننا نضغط أول ربع ساعة، تحدثت مع اللاعبين وقلنا إن هذه بطولة لنا في حضور الجمهور والاستاد ممتلئ”.

واستكمل: “بطولة الكونفدرالية كانت انكار ذات من كل الناس، كانت أملنا الوحيد بعد الخسارة أمام الأهلي في كأس مصر، وضغط الجمهور على اللاعبين جعلهم يهتمون بأن هذه البطولة لا بد أن نتوج بها”.

وعن مباراة السوبر الإفريقي، قال “أتمنى أن أشارك في هذه المباراة، دائمًا على مدار التاريخ مباراة القمة بطولة في حد ذاتها، ما بالنا في مباراة على بطولة، إن شاء الله اللاعبين يكونوا مستعدين”.

وواصل: “مواجهة الأهلي من أهم المواجهات في الموسم وعلى مستوى الشرق الأوسط يتم متابعتها، لكن الإعداد بالنسبة للاعب الكبير مثله مثل أي مباراة”.

وأشار: “يشرفني أن جمهور الزمالك يعتبرني ابن النادي، الجمهور كان داعما لي بشكل كبير، هذا نتيجة تعب سنين، وإن شاء الله أعود للملعب وأدافع عن قميص الفريق”.

واختتم: “جمهور الزمالك لن أوفيه حقه، هو جمهور عاطفي زيادة عن اللازم، أقل شيء يقدمه أي لاعب للنادي تجد الجماهير تحمله فوق رؤوسها”.

Record-breaking transfers, relegation battles and a whole host of managerial sackings – Farhad Moshiri’s tenure as Everton owner was chaotic.

The Iranian businessman’s arrival on Merseyside was welcomed with much optimism due to his well-documented wealth. That money, however, has not been spent well to say the least, with just over £600m worth of transfers seemingly going to waste in recent years.

Moshiri’s spell of eight turbulent years came to an end when he was replaced by the Friedkin Group in December 2024.

Here, we take a closer look at some of the worst Everton signings under Moshiri’s ownership.

10 Salomon Rondon

Now, this was a move that had flop written all over it, and the only reason it isn’t higher on this list is that there was no fee involved.

The only reason Rondon joined the club in August 2021 is due to Rafael Benitez, whom he had played under at Newcastle United and Chinese Super League outfit Dalian Pro.

In all, the Venezuelan striker made 31 appearances for the Merseysiders, scoring just three goals and providing a single assist. Those are atrocious numbers, and when it was clear that he wasn’t at the required level, he agreed to terminate his contract with the club six months early.

Poor decisions were rife during the short-lived Benitez era, and Rondon’s signing was chief among them. Granted, the Spanish boss will have been hamstrung by Financial Fair Play constraints at the time, but this only serves to point the finger at Moshiri once more, as his catalogue of previous expensive mistakes is clearly continuing to hurt the club to this day.

9 Theo Walcott

Now, there is no denying that Theo Walcott had a rather excellent career in the Premier League; you can’t spend 12 years at a club like Arsenal and not have something special about you.

However, when he finally left north London and joined Everton, he was undeniably past his best, and his record for the Toffees shows that.

In total, the former Gunner made 85 appearances for the Toffees, in which he scored 11 goals and notched nine assists, giving him a goal involvement on average every 4.25 games. Were he signed on a free, those kinds of numbers could be seen as good enough, but he wasn’t free. In fact, he cost the club a whopping £20m when they signed him in the summer of 2018.

Ultimately, Walcott wasn’t an atrocious signing for the club, but you would generally want to get more out of an experienced attacker who costs £20m, so he has to make this list. Whoever sanctioned this has a lot of explaining to do.

8 Moise Kean

Moise Kean was destined for Everton greatness when the club signed him from Juventus for an initial fee of £29m in August 2019, but after just 39 appearances for the club and three seasons on loan, he was sold back to the Old Lady.

Admittedly, the fact that Everton were able to sell the player for £25m – practically erasing the cost of signing him in the first place – is rather impressive, but it doesn’t make that transfer any less of a failure.

In his 39 appearances, the young Italian scored just four goals and provided two assists, which is well below what was expected of him. He also picked up a straight red during his time with the Toffees.

In all, he failed to live up to the hype, and the four years he spent at the club were a waste of time for all involved.

7 Fabian Delph

Now, this might seem a little bit harsh to some; after all, Fabian Delph was a Premier League winner at Manchester City and could well have been a difference-maker at Everton had it not been for injuries that weren’t his fault – but that is the problem: he was always injured.

Delph signed for the Toffees in July 2019 for a reported fee of £8.5m, which for someone of his experience, seemed like a reasonable deal, especially as he signed a three-year contract at the club.

However, injury problems quickly arose, and before he had even seen his first Christmas as an Everton player, he had already missed 25 games for club and country through a myriad of injuries. In total, Delph would miss 63 games through injury as an Everton player and make just 41 appearances across three campaigns.

This signing was only made worse by the fact that it was well-known just how injury-prone he was before Everton signed him, but they did it anyway.

6 Jean-Philippe Gbamin

Gbamin joined the club in the summer of 2019 for a reported £25m from German outfit Mainz.

Hopes were high when the midfielder first arrived on Merseyside, with Everton having reportedly shrugged off interest from the likes of Arsenal and Tottenham to land the Ivory Coast international.

Sadly for both Everton and Gbamin, the midfielder’s time in England has been constantly plagued by injury, with the player’s agent recently describing his Everton spell as ‘a nightmare’.

Racking up only six Premier League appearances to date, Gbamin’s body has prevented him from making the impact he would have desired.

Recent loan moves to CSKA Moscow and Trabzonspor have not changed the midfielder’s fortunes, as he remains without a club after leaving Goodison Park in the summer.

5 4 Yannick Bolasie

One of the first signings of the Moshiri era, Bolasie’s flair and unpredictability during his time at Crystal Palace got a lot of Everton fans excited ahead of his move.

Joining for around £25m, the winger had an impressive start to life on Merseyside, contributing to five goals in his first 13 games. Bolasie then, however, would sustain a cruciate ligament rupture just four months after arriving at Goodison Park – an injury that would ultimately derail his Everton career.

Bolasie would only go on to make a further 16 appearances for Everton the next season and then headed out on a number of loans to clubs such as Aston Villa and Sporting CP, later leaving the club on a free transfer in 2021.

3 Davy Klaassen

Regarded as one of the most talented players in the Netherlands at the time of the move, Klaassen joined Everton for £23.6m from Dutch giants Ajax in the summer of 2017.

However, the midfielder, could not replicate the form that he had shown back in his homeland, ultimately failing to make an impact on Merseyside.

Seemingly struggling with the pace of the English game, the Dutchman only went on to make seven league appearances in his one season at the club.

He later left the Toffees to join Werder Bremen in a deal that saw Everton lose £13m on the player in the space of a year.

2 Cenk Tosun

Following the departure of Romelu Lukaku to Manchester United, the Toffees were in dire need of a goalscorer back in 2017. This led to them signing Turkish striker Cenk Tosun in a deal just shy of £30m.

After notching six goal contributions during the Champions League group stage earlier that season, Everton fans will have been hopeful that Tosun could fill the void left by Lukaku.

With four goals in his first seven games, the striker started well under the stewardship of Sam Allardyce. However, that is as good as it got for Tosun, as following the departure of Big Sam, the Turkiye international struggled for goals and game time under his successor, Marco Silva.

Scoring four league goals over the next two seasons, Tosun fell down the pecking order at Goodison Park – heading out on two loan moves at Crystal Palace and Besiktas in search of minutes.

Tosun eventually left Everton to join Besiktas permanently on a free transfer in 2022, meaning the Toffees did not recoup a single penny of the £28m they paid for the striker.

1 Sandro Ramirez

First hailed as an astute piece of business, the La Masia graduate joined the Toffees back in 2017 for what was an apparent bargain £5.25m fee.

The Spaniard’s performances on Merseyside soon changed those opinions, as the striker struggled to resemble anything like a top-flight striker – scoring only one goal in 16 disappointing appearances for the club.

Sandro would head out on numerous loan moves to clubs such as Sevilla and Real Sociedad, before leaving Everton permanently in 2020 to join SD Huesca on a free transfer.

MatériaMais Notícias

Na Arena, o Grêmio apresentou um bom nível de jogo e bateu o Goiás por 2 a 1, na noite desta segunda-feira. Com o placar, o Tricolor fica na 7ª posição do Campeonato Brasileiro, com 37 pontos. O Esmeraldino é o lanterna, com 16 pontos.

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Na próxima rodada, o Grêmio mede forças com o Vasco da Gama, em casa. O Goiás disputa jogo atrasado diante do São Paulo, na Serrinha.

O duelo

O início do Grêmio foi fulminante. Com um ritmo forte, o Tricolor não dava espaço ao Goiás e enfileirou chances para marcar. Foram pelo menos três momentos claros que ficaram em boas defesas de Tadeu.

De tanto insistir, aos 18 minutos o gol saiu. Tadeu saiu errado e jogou nos pés de Jean Pyerre, que só teve o trabalho de ajeitar o corpo e bater na saída do goleiro, 1 a 0.

Sem presença de ataque, o Goiás só levou perigo aos 30 minutos com Fernandão, que parou em ótima intervenção de Vanderlei. A resposta do Grêmio veio antes do intervalo com Ferreira. No passe de Jean Pyerre, o atacante saiu na cara de Tadeu e ficou no goleiro.

Na etapa final o panorama do confronto mudou. O Goiás se lançou ao ataque e resolveu assustar o Grêmio. Na bola parada, a bola sobrou com David Duarte, que cabeceou e carimbou o poste.

Após o susto, o Tricolor colocou a cabeça no lugar e voltou a habitar o ataque. Na primeira chance, Luiz Fernando carimbou o poste. Na segunda, Maicon recebeu cruzamento rasteiro e mandou para a rede. Inicialmente o bandeira anulou, mas o VAR confirmou a jogada lega.

O Goiás voltou ao jogo na casa dos 24 minutos. João Marcos recebeu nas costas da defesa, entrou na grande área e estufou as redes de Vanderlei.

Com a vantagem, o Tricolor aumentou o ritmo de jogo no ataque e teve outras chances para ampliar. Na melhor delas, Everton, sozinho na grande ára, soltou a bomba e Tadeu fez milagre. Mas não fez falta, o 2 a 1 estava sacramentado.

GRÊMIO 2 X 1 GOIÁS
Local: Arena Grêmio, Porto Alegre (RS)
Data-Hora: 30/11/2020 – 18h
Árbitro: Savio Pereira Sampaio (DF)
Auxiliares: Kléber Lucui Gil (SC) e Jonny Barros de Oliveira (RS)
VAR: Rodrigo Nunes de Sá (RJ)
Cartões amarelos:Lucas Silva (GRE), David Duarte, Miguel Figueira (GOI)
Cartões vermelhos: –
Gols: Jean Pyerre (18’/1ºT) Maicon (19’/2ºT) João Marcos (24’/2ºT)

GRÊMIO: Vanderlei; Victor Ferraz (Orejuela, aos 29/2ºT), Geromel, Rodrigues e Diogo Barbosa; Maicon (Lucas Silva, aos 28/2ºT), Matheus Henrique e Jean Pyerre; Luiz Fernando (Everton, aos 33/2ºT), Diego Souza (Churín, aos 28/2ºT) e Ferreira (Pepê, aos 16/2ºT). Técnico: Renato Gaúcho.

GOIÁS: Tadeu; Taylon (Heron, ao 0/2ºT), David Duarte, Fábio Sanches e Jefferson; Breno, Ariel Cabral, Miguel Figueira (Henrique, aos 36/2ºT), Shaylon (João Marcos, aos 21/2ºT) e Keko (Rodrigues, ao 0/2ºT); Fernandão (Rafael Moura, ao 0/2ºT). Técnico: Glauber Ramos.

The South African allrounder will be available for the remaining six Vitality Blast group matches and the knockouts, and four of the remaining six county championship matches

Firdose Moonda30-Jul-2018South Africa allrounder Wayne Parnell will play for Worcestershire until mid-September in both the Vitality Blast and County Championship first division as part of his preparation for the home summer.Parnell recently returned to action from a shoulder injury that had sidelined him since the start of the year. He finished as the top wicket-taker for the Edmonton Royals at the Global T20 in Canada, with six wickets from six matches at 22.50.”It was encouraging to be back again after the long layoff and finishing as the leading wicket-taker was good,” Parnell said. “My goal is to get Worcestershire to the quarter-final of their T20 league and also to keep them in the first division, as they are currently in last place.”Parnell will be available for the remaining six Vitality Blast group matches and the knockouts, and four of the remaining six county championship matches. He will return to South Africa to play for his domestic franchise, Cobras, and has made himself available across all formats. “I fully believe in my unique skill set and I back my ability with bat and ball to contribute to Worcestershire and the Cape Cobras’ cause,” Parnell said.Whether that will be enough to see Parnell back in contention for the South African squad and for the World Cup next year, is a matter of speculation. Parnell lost his national contract ahead of the 2018-19 season and has not played international cricket since a Test against Bangladesh in October, at home, last year.

Thierry Henry has sent a defiant message to Real Madrid regarding Kylian Mbappe’s potential involvement at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.

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• Superstar forward on the books at PSG
• Expected to head for Spain as a free agent
• Wants to compete for gold on home soil

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 2018 World Cup winner is currently playing his club football in the French capital, as he remains on the books of Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain. He is, however, running down his contract and is expected to head for Santiago Bernabeu as a free agent in the summer.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  It has been suggested that Real will block Mbappe from joining up with a gold medal bid on home soil, with the 25-year-old also expected to figure prominently in his country’s plans at Euro 2024. Henry, though, is not giving up hope of reaching an agreement that suits all parties.

• WHAT HENRY SAID

  The Arsenal and Barcelona legend, who is now manager of the French U21 team, has said when asked about the Mbappe poser: “We still don't know where he's going to go. We know he's going to leave, so we'll see what happens. What we want to do is have the best team but we don't have certainties. Everyone wants to come, but whether that's possible…that's another debate.”

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Henry added on Real’s stance: “It's always been the case. I knew how difficult it was going to be. I suspected it. It's completely normal, especially clubs abroad. It's the Olympics here, in France, the French clubs will be there I think to help. But for the foreign clubs, I suspected it. I never stopped at the first no. We will see what we can do, the decision will remain that of the clubs, since these are not FIFA dates. We will try to discuss, but it is not easy. We're going to try to talk, see what we can do. There are quite a few branches on the tree. We have to poll everyone. We're going to see if we can receive them. It's difficult to prepare because we don't have certainty. Yes, there are quite a few names that we would like to have. But we don't know when the yes will arrive. And if the player changes clubs…it's not easy, but we knew that would be the case.”

Manchester United have not made the most successful of starts to the Premier League season, but Erik ten Hag will now hope to use the last-gasp turnaround against Brentford before the international break as a landmark in the club's season.

Having spent considerably over the summer, United recruited with sights set on building upon last season's third-place league finish and triumph in the Carabao Cup.

But inconsistency and various issues have compounded a lack of fluidity that has left the Old Trafford side in tenth place after eight matches, also bottom of their Champions League group after defeats in both games so far.

However, Scott McTominay's stunning brace from the bench against Thomas Frank's resilient Bees two weeks ago harnessed the fabled 'Fergie Time' aura that will linger perpetually at the Theatre of Dreams, no matter the form of the home side.

It does now mean that Manchester United have the chance to clinch their third Premier League win from four outings against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Clinching three points is the absolute minimum, and despite a spate of injury issues in defence, Ten Hag will be certain of his side's ability to get the job done.

What's the Manchester United team news?

Casemiro has been ruled out of contention having picked up a minor issue on international duty with Brazil, though Ten Hag stated that he is "confident" of the midfielder's availability going forward.

It's something of a mixed bag, as far as the rest of the team is concerned, with Raphael Varane and Sergio Reguilon both training this week following injuries; Sofyan Amrabat is also available despite missing both of Morocco's recent matches.

The Red Devils have been hindered by a deluge of defensive setbacks this season, and while Ten Hag is emboldened by greater options today, Luke Shaw, Tyrell Malacia, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Lisandro Martinez remain sidelined.

Amrabat, who signed on a loan worth £8.5m from Serie A side Fiorentina on deadline day in August – with an option to sign on a permanent deal next summer for £21m – has started the past two matches in the Premier League, but Ten Hag must now consider whether starting him in favour of another midfield machine would be the best move today.

How is Sofyan Amrabat performing at Manchester United?

Manchester United's pursuit of Moroccan machine Amrabat was well-documented this summer, and while there were concerns that a deal wouldn't cross the line, Ten Hag succeeded in welcoming his former player (at Dutch side Utrecht) in the dying embers.

The £65k-per-week ace had earned acclaim for his performances over the past few years and was even described as the "best central midfielder in the tournament" by journalist Carlo Garganese after his central role with Morocco at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He is, undoubtedly, one of the most composed and measured presences in Ten Hag's team, but his particular set of skills. while instilling control, do not quite progress the play as well as certain other phenoms in the Red Devils squad.

Over the past year, Amrabat ranks among the top 12% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues for pass completion, the top 10% for attempted passes and the top 14% for progressive passes per 90, but also ranks among the bottom 34% for assists and 27% for shot-creating actions per 90, as per FBref.

FBref likens the 27-year-old to Arsenal's Jorginho, and this is quite an apt assessment of where his talents lie, and while he is "perfectly suited to Ten Hag's Man Utd", according to Statman Dave, the forthcoming match against Paul Heckingbottom's side could be a great opportunity to unleash Christian Eriksen.

Why should Christian Eriksen start vs Sheffield United?

Hailed as a “genius” by Statman Dave, Eriksen has been one of the finest playmakers in the Premier League over the past decade.

Player

No of Assists

Kevin De Bruyne

102

James Milner

87

Christian Eriksen

75

Ashley Young

71

Mohamed Salah

63

Signing for Manchester United from Brentford on a free transfer in 2022, the 31-year-old has now forged 53 displays, scoring three goals and supplying 11 assists.

The £150k-per-week maestro has posted one goal and one assist across seven matches this season, but has only started three times in the English top flight, having started from the bench on the past three occasions.

The Danish midfielder ranks among the top 1% of positional peers for assists, the top 12% for shot-creating actions, the top 10% for attempted passes and the top 7% for progressive passes per 90.

Clearly, Eriksen's talent lies in his ball-playing ability and creativity, and while Amrabat boasts a superlative level of passing, he is more disciplined and metronomic in his carriage.

Against the Blades, who are moored in deep waters already this season, United will ostensibly have little trouble with controlling the flow of the match – after all, today's hosts rank bottom for shots (71) and 19th for passes (2,773) in the division this season.

There is nothing to suggest that Amrabat and Eriksen couldn't thrive together in the middle of the pitch, and with Casemiro ruled out this is certainly a possibility today.

But given McTominay's destructive cameo last time out at Old Trafford, it would make sense to provide him with a starting berth against the Premier League's bottom club.

Ten Hag will want to restore the balance and get United, belatedly, up and running for good this term, and anything other than a victory over Heckingbottom's men will set the vultures circling.

Eriksen has not started any of the past three Premier League matches, but must be unleashed today to pump inventive life into the United squad, which will only benefit from his creativity.

Niroshan Dickwella agreed with his captain, saying Sri Lanka made too many mistakes in the field to defend a total of 244

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Aug-2018Angelo Mathews put it bluntly: “We were a bunch of school kids when it came to today’s fielding.” Niroshan Dickwella said basically the same thing, but with a little more subtlety, drawing attention to the many “mistakes” that led to Sri Lanka’s 10th straight loss to South Africa, and their second loss in this series.Sri Lanka had begun shakily with the bat, losing two wickets in the second over – bowled by Lungi Ngidi. They had failed to accelerate through the late overs, with wickets having fallen regularly, and ended up with only 244 on the board. Then in the field, they shelled two straightforward chances in the early overs, both off the bowling off Kasun Rajitha, and the reprieved Hashim Amla (4) and Quinton de Kock (24) put on a 91-run opening stand to reinforce South Africa’s advantage. More shoddy fielding was to follow, as well as poor bowling at various times in the innings.”We made mistakes throughout the game,” Dickwella said. “If we want to win a match, we can’t make so many mistakes. Maybe you can make two or three mistakes and fix those things within the game itself and win the match. But if you make mistakes through the match, it’s hard to win.”Dickwella’s own batting though, was less ridden with mistakes, especially compared with how his team-mates played, and as such he hit 69 off 78 balls to give Sri Lanka’s top-order effort a little bit of credibility. Dickwella has been struglling for runs through this tour, recording scores of 18, 9, 5, 7* and 2 across the two Tests and first ODI. His success on Wednesday was due to a change of approach, or rather a reversion to the way he used to play, before coaches had asked him to change his technique. As is often the case with Dickwella, more than half his runs came behind square.”I was working with the batting coach Thilan Samaraweera and coach Chandika Hathurusingha, and I did some changes in my batting and I was worried about those things,” he said. “Then we had one-to-one meetings, and I said I’m going to play like how I used to play, and not think about my technique. I’m going to work on my technique in the nets, but I’m going to play my normal game like I used to play when I started my career. That’s what I did when I went to the middle today. It worked out for me.”Part of that “normal game” for Dickwella, is to attack more or less relentlessly in the early overs. In this match, he hit three audacious boundaries off the opposition’s best bowler, Kagiso Rabada, to set his innings off at a canter. He started by socking Rabada over mid off for four in the third over, before twice backing away to scythe him through the off side – one of those shots was a ramp shot that flew just over slip. Soon enough, Dickwella was on 21 off 18 balls, and seemed more comfortable at the crease than he had all through this tour, even as Sri Lanka lost wickets at the other end. Dickwella’s 67-run partnership with Mathews would be the best stand of Sri Lanka’s innings.”If I go to a negative mindset after we lost two wickets, definitely I’m going to get out,” Dickwella said. “I didn’t think about the wickets. It was not my mistake to lose those wickets, so if I think about those things, and bat as a reaction to that, it’s not going to help me. I spoke to my partners, and we wanted to build a partnership. Then Angelo Mathews came and it really helped me because he is the senior player and he always talks to me. He always advises me how to play and how to take the calculated risk. That helped me.”