He left in 2015: Ipswich loan flop is now outscoring both Delap & Lath

As many expected, this season has been a tough one for Ipswich Town.

However, unlike other promoted teams in the past, Kieran McKenna’s Tractor Boys have put up a serious fight in the majority of their games so far, and while the defeat to Southampton on the weekend was a bitter blow, there is still a genuine chance the club could stay up.

If they manage to beat the drop, then much of that will be down to the sensational efforts of striker extraordinaire Liam Delap, who has far exceeded the expectations of fans and pundits alike this term.

However, even though the Englishman has been talismanic up top, he and Emmanuel Latte Lath, who was heavily touted for a move to Portman Road last month, are being dramatically outscored by a former loan player who left the club in 2015.

Delap and Lath's form this season

Ipswich decided to splash £20m on Delap in the summer, and while there was an element of risk in signing a young striker with minimal Premier League experience, he’s since repaid them in spades.

For example, in just 24 appearances for the side, totalling 1795 minutes, the Winchester-born “super talent,” as dubbed by Danny Mills, has scored nine goals and provided two assists.

That means that in his first full season of top-flight football, the 21-year-old phenom is averaging a goal involvement every 2.18 games, or every 163.18 minutes.

However, given his extreme importance to the team, it wasn’t all that surprising to see the Suffolk side linked with several other number nines during the winter window, including former Middlesbrough ace Lath.

The Ivorian international racked up an impressive tally of 11 goals and three assists in 31 appearances, totalling 1791 minutes, for the Championship side this term, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.21 games, or every 127.92 minutes.

However, instead of remaining in the second tier or moving to Ipswich, the 26-year-old made a surprising move to MLS side Atlanta United for a league-record fee of £17.55m.

While the Anoumabo Marcory-born marksman would have been a valuable addition to the squad, the player McKenna could really do with is a former loanee who’s now outscoring Lath and Delap.

The former Ipswich loanee outscoring Delap and Lath

So, given how well Delap and Lath have been playing this season, the striker who’s outdoing the pair of them would have to be someone quite remarkable, which means it should come as no surprise that the player in question is, of course, Chris Wood.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

The New Zealand international joined the Tractor Boys on a short-term loan deal in February 2015 but made just eight appearances and left without a single goal or assist to his name.

Over the next ten years, he’d go on to play for Leeds United, Burnley, Newcastle United and most recently, Nottingham Forest, where, after a slow start, he has since reached stratospheric levels.

Appearances

25

24

31

Minutes

1947′

1795′

1791′

Goals

17

9

11

Assists

2

2

3

Goal Involvements per Match

0.76

0.45

0.45

Minutes per Goal Involvement

102.47′

163.18′

127.92′

The Auckland-born goal-machine initially moved to the City Ground on a short-term loan with an obligation to buy in January 2023 from the Magpies and scored just one goal in seven games.

However, the 33-year-old sharpshooter took a massive step forward the following season and ended up with a brilliant haul of 15 goals and one assist in 35 games, which he’s already bettered this year.

In just 25 appearances for Nuno Espírito Santo’s Tricky Trees, the “outstanding” number nine, as dubbed by Match Of The Day pundit Stephen Warnock, has found the back of the net on 17 occasions and provided two assists to boot and is currently the joint third top goalscorer in the Premier League, alongside Alexander Isak.

It has been a meteoric rise from the 74-capped Kiwi, and with a new contract under his belt, he doesn’t seem to be slowing down anytime soon.

Neco Williams and Chris Wood

Ultimately, Ipswich have their own incredible marksman in Delap, but we can’t help but imagine that McKenna would love to have Wood in his squad as well.

Big Hirst upgrade: McKenna could land "deadly" £80k-p/w star at Ipswich

Ipswich Town could soon secure the services of this new striker as transfer deadline day approaches.

2 ByKelan Sarson Jan 30, 2025

Arsenal nearly signed "lethal" star for £0, now he’s worth more than Saka

Arsenal’s ambitions of ending their two-decade wait for a Premier League title have taken a huge hit in recent weeks, with various injuries and setbacks derailing their progress.

Whilst Liverpool have been the runaway leaders for the majority of the campaign, Mikel Arteta’s side have the quality across the pitch to mount a serious charge to close the gap.

However, the hamstring injury to winger Bukayo Saka has seen an understandable decline in goals within the final third, with the Englishman registering five goals and 10 assists before his spell on the sidelines.

He’s been missing since the triumph over Crystal Palace on the 21st of December, with the Gunners failing to win five matches across all competitions in that time frame.

Saka isn’t the only forward who’s been sat on the sidelines in recent weeks, as two other players have seen their season cut short by injuries over the last couple of weeks.

Arsenal’s injuries to Gabriel Jesus & Kai Havertz

Just a couple of weeks after the injury sustained to Saka, Arteta also saw Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus suffer his own setback, picking up an ACL injury in the FA Cup defeat against Manchester United.

The 27-year-old had previously had issues with his knee, but this time the issue appears to be way more serious, undergoing surgery to solve his latest issue – ruling him out for the remainder of 2024/25.

If that wasn’t bad enough, Kai Havertz recently picked up a torn hamstring injury during the warm weather training camp in Dubai, leaving the Gunners without a recognised senior centre forward.

His own setback will also see him miss the rest of the season, with Raheem Sterling, Leandro Trossard and Ethan Nwaneri the only attacking options left at Arteta’s disposal.

The decision not to sign a new attacker in January now looks to be a huge mistake, but it’s not the first time they may regret not landing a forward, after one former target’s rapid development on the European stage.

The player who Arsenal nearly signed & is now worth more than Saka

There’s no denying that Saka has been a sensational player for Arsenal over the last couple of years, registering 56 combined goals and assists over the last two years despite his recent issue.

However, he’s often needed the added reinforcement alongside him to help the club end their long wait for a Premier League title despite finishing runners-up in each of the last two seasons.

They may have been able to complete the task had the club completed a deal for Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé, especially considering his form over the last couple of years.

Former boss Arsène Wenger revealed in an interview that he flew to speak to his compatriot during his time as a youngster at Monaco, but was unable to convince him to move to North London.

The 26-year-old has since emerged as one of the leading attackers in European football, impressing at Monaco, before a huge move to PSG back in 2017 – costing the Parisians a whopping £150m.

Mbappé, who’s since been dubbed “lethal” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored 256 times in just 310 appearances for the Ligue 1 giants, offering that clinical edge Arteta’s side have been craving.

Season

Games

Goals

Assists

2017/18

46

21

16

2018/19

43

39

17

2019/20

37

30

18

2020/21

47

42

11

2021/22

46

39

26

2022/23

43

41

10

2023/24

48

44

10

Total:

310

256

108

He’s since moved to Real Madrid in what’s dubbed the “most expensive free transfer in history” after the Spanish side had to pay the attacker a mammoth signing bonus after leaving PSG.

The forward has continued his goalscoring form under Carlo Ancelotti, scoring 24 times in his 36 appearances for his new side, creating a deadly partnership with Jude Bellingham and Vinícius Júnior.

As a result of his tremendous displays over the last few years, Mbappé is now valued at £133m by Transfermarkt – a figure higher than that of Saka, who’s valued at £125m after his own emergence in England.

There’s no denying that the Englishman is one of the Premier League’s leading attackers, as seen by his goal contributions before his injury, with Arteta certainly desperate for the youngster to return to action as soon as possible.

However, the thought of the academy graduate featuring alongside Mbappé is a scary one, but unfortunately for the supporters, it will always remain a case of what could’ve been had Wenger worked his magic during his time in charge.

His value has soared by £58m: Arsenal hit the jackpot on "phenomenal" star

Arsenal have conducted superb business in the transfer market over the last couple of years.

ByEthan Lamb Feb 14, 2025

هندرسون يقترب من العودة إلى الدوري الإنجليزي

اقترب قائد ليفربول السابق ولاعب أياكس أمستردام، جوردان هندرسون، من العودة إلى الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز في الموسم القادم.

وغادر اللاعب الإنجليزي صفوف ليفربول في صيف 2023 ليلتحق بنادي الاتفاق السعودي الذي أمضى معه 6 أشهر، ثم انضم إلى صفوف أياكس أمستردام في شتاء 2024.

وبعد قضاء عام ونصف في الدوري الهولندي، ارتبط هندرسون بالعودة من جديد إلى الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز في العام المقبل.

اقرأ أيضاً.. الموقف خطير.. سلوت يرفض استلام جائزة أفضل مدرب في الدوري الإنجليزي

وأشارت صحيفة “جارديان” أن نادي سندرلاند يرغب بشدة في التعاقد مع، جوردان هندرسون، في الصيف المقبل.

وسبق لـ قائد ليفربول السابق، أن لعب في صفوف سندرلاند في موسمي 2009 و2010، وذلك قبل أن ينضم إلى الريدز في انتقالات صيف 2011.

وبعد غياب 8 سنوات، تمكن فريق سندرلاند من العودة إلى منافسات الدوري الإنجليزي الممتا، بعدما فاز بنهائي ملحق الترقي “بلاي أوف”، على شيفيلد يونايتد بهدفين دون رد، في اللقاء الذي أقيم على ملعب “ويمبلي”.

وسيعمل القطط السوداء على تعزيز صفوف الفريق خلال فترة الانتقالات الصيفية، ليحافظ على تنافسيته في الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

وبحسب ما ورد في الصحف الإنجليزية، فإن هندرسون منفتح على العودة إلى نادي طفولته، وذلك بعد أن حضر مباراة شيفيلد وسندرلاند الأخيرة في ملعب ويمبلي.

ويمتلك هندرسون عقداً مع أياكس أمستردام سينتهي في صيف 2026، وتبلغ قيمته التسويقية حوالي 9 ملايين يورو.

وشارك هندرسون هذا العام في 45 مباراة مع أياكس بجميع المسابقات، وتمكن من تسجيل هدف واحد وقام بصناعة 6 أهداف.

Greg Barclay re-elected as ICC chairman without contest

Jay Shah to head influential Finance and Commercial Affairs committee

Nagraj Gollapudi and Tristan Lavalette12-Nov-2022Greg Barclay has been re-elected as ICC chairman for another two-year term after his rival, Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) chairman Tavengwa Mukuhlani, pulled out of the contest late on Friday. Barclay, who served his first stint as ICC chair between 2022 and this November, will now be in the position until 2024.The election assumed intrigue over the last couple of weeks after Mukuhlani decided to enter the fray despite knowing Barclay had potentially more votes in his favour from the 16-strong ballot. The election rules stated that winner would be determined by a simple majority. Mukuhlani, a long-term director on the ICC board, had at least six backers including some of the smaller countries from the Asian bloc. However, it was the BCCI, as always, which carried a lot of influence over the voting process.Despite stating informally that the board was leaning towards supporting Barclay, the BCCI kept everyone guessing which way they would eventually vote in case of an election. Whilst no one at the ICC has officially spoken, more than one director pointed out to ESPNcricinfo that the BCCI wanted to have a prime seat on the influential Finance & Commercial Affairs committee, which not only decides budget allocations for ICC events, but also looks after the distribution of money to member countries from the overall revenue pool.Accordingly, the BCCI camp led by Jay Shah and Arun Dhumal (IPL chairman) landed in Australia more than a week before the ICC Board meetings happening this weekend in Melbourne. Shah replaced former India captain Sourav Ganguly as the BCCI representative (BCCI president between 2019 till October) on the ICC Board while Dhumal will be sitting on the chief executives committee. More importantly, Shah will also be part of the F&CA and is poised to take over as chair of the committee at its next meeting in March 2023 from Ross McCollum, former Cricket Ireland chair, who is due to retire soon.Ever since the Shashank Manohar-lead ICC dismantled the Big Three power structure in 2017, and put in place a new financial model that enhanced the earnings of smaller Full Member countries, the BCCI has publicly said it would strive to get a bigger share of the ICC revenue pool which recently got much bigger this August after Disney Star* bought the broadcast rights for men’s and women’s events between 2024-27. The deal, to broadcast in the India market only, is reportedly worth over US$3 billion, considerably more than what the ICC got in the previous rights cycle (which was for eight years, and globally). That pot will get more bigger once the ICC sells the broadcast rights in the remaining key markets including the USA, Australia and Europe.Both Barclay and Mukuhlani’s manifestos comprised having a re-look at the financial distribution model as well as advocating changes to the ICC governance structure. While Mukuhlani has pulled out of the ICC chair contest, his camp believes they have secured enough assurances that smaller countries will receive a more significant share from the ICC revenues as well as occupying key positions in the ICC committees. Accordingly, Imran Khawaja, the ICC deputy chair, will retain that post and continue to lead the ICC Development Committee. Khwaja had lost to Barclay in 202 ICC chair elections and had thought of running again before deciding to back Mukuhlani.Mukuhlani himself is part of the ICC’s Audit Committee and chair of the Membership Committee. He is also part of the global body’s Olympics working group, which is tasked with pushing for cricket’s entry in the Summer Games. Mukuhlani said in an ICC media release on Saturday that he decided to “withdraw” because he believed Barclay continuing as ICC chair was “in the best interest of the sport.”On his part, Barclay said his aim would now be to “strengthen” cricket and help it grow beyond the “core markets.””Over the last two years we have made significant strides forward with the launch of our global growth strategy that provides clear direction to build a successful and sustainable future for our sport,” Barclay said.

The next Kane: Spurs ask about signing "phenomenal" Solanke rival on loan

The last couple of years have been a real roller coaster for Tottenham Hotspur.

The North Londoners have seen Ange Postecoglou take the reins and turn the club from one of the more boring teams to watch in the Premier League to arguably the most entertaining, and as things stand, they’re the third-highest scoring team in the competition this year.

What makes that fact even more remarkable is that they are so dangerous in attack despite being down in 15th place and are in the midst of an injury crisis that has seen them lose their starting number nine and second top-scorer in Dominic Solanke.

The former Bournemouth star doesn’t have much competition for a starting place in the squad, as while Richarlison is back fit, his overall record of 18 goals and nine assists in 77 games is simply not good enough.

Fortunately, recent reports have touted a forward who’d be the perfect rival for the Englishman for a move to N17 this month, a forward who has previously been compared to Harry Kane of all people.

Tottenham target Premier League striker

According to a recent report from the Daily Mail, Tottenham are one of multiple clubs interested in signing Brighton & Hove Albion’s Evan Ferguson this month.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Alongside the Lilywhites, the report has revealed that Bournemouth, Everton, Fulham, Celtic and West Ham have all asked about signing the Irish ace on loan. The Hammers are said to hold an advantage thanks to Graham Potter managing the youngster during his time on the south coast.

While this level of competition is far from ideal, the good news, for Daniel Levy and Co at least, is that the Seagulls are reportedly happy to let the exciting striker leave the club on loan, meaning that there is minimal financial downside to securing his services for the North Londoners.

Evan Ferguson for Republic of Ireland

It looks like it could be a challenging deal to get over the line, but given Ferguson’s raw ability and sky-high potential, it’s one worth fighting for, especially as he’d be an ideal rival for Solanke and has been compared to Kane in the past.

Why Ferguson would be a dream Solanke rival

Okay, so there are several reasons why having Ferguson in the squad would be good for the team as well as Solanke, and the first is that it would give Postecoglou the chance to rest the latter.

So far this season, the former Bournemouth star has played 29 games for the Australian, 24 of which have been starts, and while he hasn’t traditionally suffered from too many major injuries in the past, he’s also not got the cleanest of records, with nine injuries keeping him out of 40 games since the start of the 18/19 campaign.

So, if the manager knows that he has a young hungry striker who was previously tipped to reach the very top in his squad, then he can start him in some of the less important matches and allow his star poacher to rest more often, which in turn should hopefully minimise the chance of him being forced to sit out.

The second reason the Irish international would be a great rival is that he’s still the same player who was blowing people away a couple of seasons ago, and in the right environment, with the right coaching, there is no reason to suspect he couldn’t get back to that sort of form.

For example, it was only in March 2023 that former Liverpool and Ireland striker John Aldridge described the then 18-year-old centre-forward as “an Irish version of Harry Kane” and then just four months later, former Spurs star Gary Lineker mooted the idea that the club should sign the young phenom “as Kane’s replacement.”

Now, that all might sound a little hyperbolic today, but at the time, it really did look like the Bettystown-born gem was going to be the next superstar striker, as in just 25 first-team appearances across the 22/23 season, totalling 1345 minutes, the “phenomenal” striker, as dubbed by teammate James Milner, scored ten goals and provided three assists.

That means he averaged a goal involvement every 1.92 games, or every 103.46 minutes as an 18-year-old, which is unbelievably impressive, and were it not for a number of unfortunate injuries, then he might well have carried that form into the following seasons.

Ferguson’s 22/23

Appearances

25

Starts

15

Minutes

1345′

Goals

10

Assists

3

Goal Involvements per Match

0.52

Minutes per Goal Involvement

103.46′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

Ultimately, Spurs need another centre-forward to genuinely rival Solanke once he’s back from his injury, and while there is an element of risk around how good Ferguson still is, it’s a risk well worth taking, as if he can recreate anything close to his form of a couple of years ago, then Postecoglou will have another extraordinary striker in his squad.

He could dethrone Son: Spurs plot move for incredible £49m speedster

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Jack Salveson Holmes

Jan 27, 2025

Patterson edges past Bradman on rain-interrupted opening day

It was slow going with the bat in Wollongong while South Australia managed one breakthrough

AAP31-Oct-2022

Kurtis Patterson helped the home side into a solid position between stoppages•Getty Images

Kurtis Patterson edged past Don Bradman in the New South Wales record books after making it to stumps on day one of the weather-affected Sheffield Shield match against South Australia in Wollongong.Rain stopped play for almost three-and-a-half hours in the middle of the day, before bad light forced another stoppage only seven overs after the resumption.”The game’s probably sitting pretty fifty-fifty at the moment,” South Australia spinner Ben Manenti said. “They haven’t gotten away from us but they haven’t lost many wickets.”Soon before the lunch break, Patterson surpassed Bradman to become the 19th-highest run-scorer for NSW in Sheffield Shield history. The 29-year-old Patterson now has 4656 runs for NSW, while Bradman made 4633.Only Moises Henriques (14th) sits higher than Patterson amongst the current crop. Bradman averaged 107.74 from his 31 Shield matches for NSW before his move to South Australia in 1934, while Patterson is averaging 37.07 from 76 appearances.The majority of play at North Dalton Park took place in the morning session, which failed to reach any great heights.Hughes was dropped by Nathan McAndrew at short leg early in his innings, while Manenti secured the only breakthrough of the session when he dismissed Blake Nikitaras for 32. Nikitaras departed when he chipped Manenti to mid-on, where he was caught by Jordan Buckingham.”It was like he was batting on a different surface from me,” Hughes said. “It’s quite a slow wicket but it’s quite flat and the outfield’s slow.  There’s going to be a bit of grinding to do but hopefully we can do that tomorrow.”NSW and South Australia are in the bottom two spots on the Shield ladder with a draw and a loss to their names.

Finch to play BBL before making call on international future

Australia do not have any T20s on their schedule until next August

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Nov-20223:40

Glenn Maxwell: Every time we were one wicket too many down to go hard

Aaron Finch won’t rush into a decision over his international future following Australia’s exit from the T20 World Cup, instead giving himself a chance to see how this season’s BBL goes.Having retired from ODIs in September, there are no international commitments for Finch until next August when Australia have T20s in South Africa. The next T20 World Cup is in West Indies and the USA in mid-2024 when Finch will be 37.”No, I’m not going to retire. Not just yet,” Finch told as he arrived back at Melbourne airport on Sunday. “I’ll play Big Bash and see where we sit after that, but I’m still enjoying playing cricket, playing T20.”It still feels unlikely that Finch will pad up again for Australia and if that’s the case he will finish with 3120 T20I runs at 34.28 and a strike-rate of 142.53 including a top score 172. He continued to struggle for form at the World Cup with a painful innings against Sri Lanka, but rebounded somewhat with 63 off 44 balls against Ireland in what may have been his last international innings after a hamstring injury keeping him out of the Afghanistan game.Related

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“There’s not another international T20 until August, so there’s quite a long break,” he said. “Still plenty of time to be able to weigh all that up. It’s been a pretty good ride regardless of what happens.”Finch’s BBL season with Melbourne Renegades will start on December 15 against Brisbane Heat.Speaking earlier in the day, head coach Andrew McDonald did not preempt any decision from Finch but noted that once conversations about retirement start that’s often the way they play out.”Any time that you, I suppose, start to think about it then the end will be one day closer, there’s no doubt about that,” he said. “I think the Big Bash will probably determine his future – how he goes there, his performances, how his body is holding up.Is it the end? Aaron Finch won’t be making that call just yet•ICC via Getty Images

“His body has failed him here in terms of a hamstring strain that put him out of the World Cup…the next game is not until August next year so that gives him a lot of time to repair if he is willing to go on.”If not, then I am sure that over the next couple of weeks he will have a think about that and call it a little bit similarly to what he did in the one-day international scene.”McDonald, who took over as head coach from Justin Langer earlier this year, offered no excuses for Australia’s Super 12s exit of their home tournament.”We have only got ourselves to really blame,” he said, while forecasting personnel changes ahead of the next T20 World Cup. “We will go through what that looks like in terms of building towards the next World Cup”There will be some natural turnover because of the gap and space and also the age profile of the team. So there will be some people that get some opportunities, albeit next August when we play T20 again.”Australia’s next international action is a three-match ODI series against England which starts four days after the World Cup final. McDonald hinted that the early end to their tournament could mean a stronger-than-expected squad will be named. Pat Cummins was announced as the new ODI captain last month although he is not expected to feature in every series.

Lopetegui may have already sold "incredible" Rice replacement at West Ham

West Ham made around £142m worth of sales in the 2023/24 season, which has since gone on to fund multiple big spending windows for the Hammers as they look to transform their identity to a more possession-based side and establish themselves in European places each season.

Of course, their biggest loss was Declan Rice, who joined Arsenal for around £100m in the summer 2023 window, after making 245 appearances for the club, scoring 15 goals, providing 13 assists and totalling 20,580 minutes in his time at the club.

West Ham 2023/24 sales

Player

Fee (£)

Declan Rice

£97.1m

Gianluca Scamacca

£21.3m

Nikola Vlasic

£8.8m

Pablo Fornals

£6.6m

Said Benrahma

£5m (Loan)

Arthur Masuaku

£1.6m

Conor Coventry

£966k

Thilo Kehrer

£416k (Loan)

Manuel Lanzini

£0

Flynn Downes

Loan

Andrew Irving

Loan

Data taken from Transfermarkt

The departure of Rice is still causing issues for West Ham at present, with their midfield struggling to strike balance, firstly under Julen Lopetegui, but now also under new head coach, Graham Potter.

West Ham's midfield issues since Rice's departure

Since Rice left the club, West Ham have tried to replace him with multiple midfield signings, bringing Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse in during the 2023/24 season, before adding Guido Rodriguez and Carlos Soler in the 2024/25 season.

None of these signings have replaced the key attributes that Rice brought to the squad, with his raw athleticism, ability to cover ground and contest in duels, as well as carry the ball forwards when breaking from deep, getting West Ham up the pitch at speed.

Alvarez has proven to walk a disciplinary tightrope on too many occasions, Rodriguez has been more notable for similar and Ward-Prowse spent the first half of 2024/25 out on loan.

But, perhaps the best Rice replacement was right there all along, being sent out on loan during the 2023/24 season by West Ham, before being sold last summer, joining Southampton for a fee of around £18m.

West Ham may have sold a Rice replacement

Flynn Downes was sold after managing just 35 appearances for the West Ham first-team, with the majority of his time being spent out on loan after joining West Ham from Ipswich in 2022.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

Rice leaving in 2023 could have been the best time to fast-track Downes’s minutes, giving him a more important role in the team.

Many of the traits mentioned earlier which were lost with Rice, including an ability to progress play, athleticism to defend in transition and protect the defence, as well as mobility and an engine to get around the pitch and contribute to all phases, could have been addressed with Downes.

Flynn Downes for West Ham

Since moving permanently, he has made 20 appearances for Southampton this season, scoring once, contributing to two clean sheets and totalling 1,536 minutes.

In his time at Swansea, Russell Martin (who signed Downes from West Ham for Southampton) described the English midfielder as “incredible”, praising his work-rate, athleticism, creative ability and his ability to enable others to perform their roles.

This isn’t to say he was the sole answer to replacing Rice, but given the circumstances, it would have been a good idea to implement Downes alongside a new signing, in order to provide the team with balance, not completely stripping the team of its central mobility.

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ByConnor Holden Feb 13, 2025

جرينوبل يوضح لـ"بطولات" حقيقة التعاقد مع حمزة علاء بعد الرحيل عن الأهلي

رحل الحارس الثالث بالفريق الأول لكرة القدم بالنادي الأهلي، حمزة علاء، مجانًا بعدما انتهى عقده ووجه المارد الأحمر الشكر له بعد نهاية موسم 2024/2025.

ورفض علاء فكرة تمديد عقده مع الأهلي منذ فترة، مفضلًا الرحيل، خاصة وأنه لا يشارك كثيرًا في المباريات مقارنة بالحارس الأساسي، محمد الشناوي، والبديل مصطفى شوبير.

وترددت أنباء عن عودة نادي جرينوبل الناشط في دوري الدرجة الثانية الفرنسي للاهتمام بضم، حمزة علاء في الميركاتو الصيفي المقبل.

اقرأ أيضًا | لاعبو الأهلي اتخضوا.. كواليس تقديم الخطيب لـ ريفيرو وماذا قال لهم؟

وتواصل بطولات مع المدرب المساعد لنادي جرينوبل، فريدريك جيجين، لمعرفة حقيقة الاهتمام بضم حمزة علاء، وقال: “اهتمامنا بضم هذا الحارس كان يعود للصيف الماضي فقط”.

وتابع: “خططنا في الميركاتو الصيفي المقبل لا تتضمن أبدًا التعاقد مع حارس مرمى جديد، وبالتالي، اسم حمزة علاء لم يتردد أبدًا في أي اجتماع لنا كجهاز فني في جرينوبل”.

الجدير بالذكر أن حمزة علاء كان حارسًا لمنتخب مصر الأولمبي في أولمبياد باريس 2024 والذي أقيم في العام الماضي، لكن مشواره مع الأهلي انتهى مبكرًا بسبب عدم الحصول على فرصة للمشاركة في المباريات.

It was the penultimate over of the Maharashtra innings, which started with the scoreboard reading 272 for 5, and ended with Maharashtra on 315 for 5. They finished on 330 for 5. The total of 43 runs from the over also made it to the record books, matching the combined effort of Brett Hampton and Joe Carter, off Willem Ludick, for Northern Districts against Central Districts in a Ford Trophy game in 2018.On Monday in Ahmedabad, left-arm spinner Shiva Singh was in operation from around the wicket at the start of the over. The first ball, a low full toss, was smoked over wide long-on. The second was in the arc, and was smashed straight down the ground. The third was shorter, and Gaikwad swung it over the rope at deep square-leg. Shiva changed his line for the fourth ball and went outside off stump, but the length was perfect for Gaikwad to hit over long-off. The fifth went roughly in the same direction, and was a no-ball to boot, and the free hit went over long-on. That was the sixth six in five legal deliveries, and Gaikwad got to his double-century with that. The last ball, Shiva finally going over the wicket, was again in the arc on middle stump, and went over deep midwicket again.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Gaikwad finished on 220 not out off 159 balls, with ten fours and 16 sixes. And the unfortunate Shiva finished with 0 for 88 from nine overs. It was pretty much a one-man show from Gaikwad, with the rest of the Maharashtra batters aggregating 96 runs from 142 balls.The 220 not out became the 39th double-century in List A cricket, and the fifth-highest score by an Indian in the format. The top score in that list, N Jagadeesan’s 277, was also recorded at this year’s Vijay Hazare Trophy, for Tamil Nadu against Arunachal Pradesh.While the record for most runs in an over in a first-class match is generally thought to be 36 – achieved twice, by Garry Sobers and Ravi Shastri – there are instances of much higher totals. The biggest, in all likelihood, is the 77 conceded in somewhat dubious circumstances by Wellington’s Bert Vance in a Shell Trophy game against Canterbury back in February 1990.

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