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Despite signing the likes of Philippe Coutinho, Diego Carlos, Boubacar Kamara and Robin Olsen, Aston Villa are keen to sign yet another player as they continue their aggressive transfer strategy.

What’s the word?

That is according to a report from Express and Star, who claim that Steven Gerrard is closing in on a deal for 16-year-old striker Rory Wilson as he looks to raid his former club Rangers,

It is said that the move will cost Villa just £300,000, which covers the development fee for the Rangers star.

The next Duncan Ferguson

Wilson’s potency in-front of goal is no joke. At just 16-years-old, the starlet has scored 49 goals for the Gers’ youth team last season alone and is expected to join the likes of Ben Chrisene, Josh Feeney and Tim Iroegbunam as starlets who were signed for six-figure fees.

The latter broke into Gerrard’s first team and earned himself a new five-year deal, with his path to regular first team football seemingly set in place. Villa will be hoping that Wilson can tread that same path.

Being Scottish and highly rated at that, the Rangers youth product naturally draws comparisons to talent in relation to his nationality, with his goal record for the Gers’ youth team pointing in the direction of Duncan Ferguson.

Ferguson did not enjoy a positive spell at the Ibrox and of course, unlike Wilson, was not an academy product.

Though the 16-year-old’s aggressive style up top is not too dissimilar to Ferguson’s and of course, with the current Everton first-team coach being the all time Premier League top Scottish goalscorer with 68 goals scored throughout his time in England’s top flight.

Wilson will be keen act on this comparison and get somewhere close to his goal haul – particularly after getting a taste as a prolific goalscorer at youth level.

Villa are showing real intent to break into the Premier League’s top six, and whilst they have made signings that will immediately slot into the first team, they are clearly thinking about the future with a signing as promising as Wilson who has been described as a “goal machine” by Jonty Colman.

In other news: Ashley Preece: AVFC have “astonishing” £25m gem on their radar, he’s Gerrard’s dream

Rangers boss Gio van Bronckhorst is set to get his first summer transfer window in charge of the club underway on Friday as the market opens for business.

The Gers head coach joined midway through the 2021/22 campaign and led the team to the Europa League final and the Scottish Cup trophy.

He will now be hoping to improve his squad with a view to winning the Premiership title and going as far as possible in the Champions League next term.

One player Ross Wilson must now bring in to help him is Chelsea central midfielder Billy Gilmour on a season-long loan.

The Gers have been linked with a swoop for their former academy gem and the club must do all they can to snap him up.

Imagine him & John Lundstram

Van Bronckhorst can form a dream midfield pairing by putting Gilmour next to John Lundstram as their respective styles can complement each other well.

In the Premiership, the Gers man won 60% of his individual duels and made 2.4 tackles and interceptions per game as he showcased his combative nature and ability to win the ball back for the team.

Offensively, he did little to progress the play, though, as he averaged 0.4 key passes and 2.8 long passes per game for the Light Blues.

Gilmour, meanwhile, provided 1.0 key passes and 3.4 long passes per game in the Premier League on loan at Norwich, showing that he has the quality on the ball to make things happen from midfield.

Graeme Souness previously heaped praise on the £28k-per-week maestro’s ability in possession, saying: “He doesn’t give the ball away. He’s got that fantastic habit for a midfield player of passing the ball to the same colour shirt. He keeps the ball in tight spaces and kept Scotland ticking over.

“He’s a fabulous little football player and when you factor in that last season he only made five starts in the Premier League for Chelsea, he’s not played a lot of football and he came into what was a hothouse of a game – high tempo, loads of pressing – and he managed to stay there.”

Off the ball, however, is where he has been found wanting at times. He lost 53% of his duels in the top-flight for Norwich and averaged one aerial duel won every two games, showing that he struggled with the physicality of the division.

Pairing him with Lundstram will mean that Rangers have one midfielder capable of being the defensive anchor ahead of the back four and the other being capable of driving the team forward and being a creative force in attack.

Wilson must now work with van Bronckhorst to land a deal for Gilmour so that the Gers have the option of fielding this dynamic duo in the 2021/22 campaign.

AND in other news, Wilson plotting Rangers swoop for “consistent” £5m enforcer, GVB would love him… 

Wolves have been boosted in their efforts to sign Sporting Lisbon midfielder Joao Palhinha this summer, with a fresh report claiming that they are favourites to land him.

The Lowdown: Constant Palhinha transfer links

In recent weeks and months, the Old Gold have been continually linked with a move for the 26-year-old, who appears to be a primary transfer target.

Palhinha has grown into a vital player for Sporting over the years and has become arguably their most important midfielder, making 27 Primeira Liga appearances in 2021/22.

A fresh update further suggests that the Portuguese gem could be plying his trade at Molineux next season.

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The Latest: Wolves favourites to sign Palhinha

According to Correio da Manha [via Sport Witness], Wolves is Palhinha’s ‘most likely destination’, giving Bruno Lage’s side an undoubted boost in this particular transfer pursuit.

However, it is also claimed that the ‘deal depends on’ whether or not they are happy to pay €30m (£25.5m) for his services, which is a possible stumbling block.

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The Verdict: Surely it happens now?

It increasingly looks as though Wolves are in pole position to get their man this summer, with Palhinha potentially being a seamless replacement for the exit-linked Ruben Neves.

A top-class player could be required to come in for the current Molineux hero and the 26-year-old Sporting midfielder is exactly that, enjoying an 84.3% pass completion rate across six Champions League appearances this season.

Losing Neves will clearly be a blow for Lage if he goes, but signing Palhinha would certainly help to make up for that loss, with the Portugal international described as a ‘special’ player by his manager Ruben Amorim.

In other news, a key update has emerged regarding one Wolves player’s future. Read more here.

Tottenham Hotspur correspondent Alasdair Gold has shared a promising update on the club’s transfer plans after a ‘huge’ development this week.

The Lowdown: £150 million injection?

On Tuesday, some very significant news came out of Hotspur Way, with ENIC and chairman Daniel Levy announcing a seismic £150m capital increase ahead of the summer window.

After Spurs head coach Antonio Conte guided the Premier League club to a place in next season’s Champions League qualification pot, it now appears that he could be set for a financial windfall in his bid to attack the transfer market.

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Some members of the press, such as BBC journalist Simon Stone, have described this as a ‘significant’ development, given that the £150m can be invested into transfers and player salaries. Fabrizio Romano also described the news as ‘huge for Tottenham’, with Gold now sharing a ‘big’ update on the Lilywhites’ transfer plans.

The Latest: Gold shares promising update…

According to the football.london reporter, the ‘bulk’ of this £150m will be used to back Conte in the summer, as well as funds from player sales.

Sharing his article in a ‘big piece’, he explained (via Twitter): “Understand the bulk of the £150m, as well as funds from sales, will be ploughed into backing Conte in this coming window.”

The Verdict: Very important…

A list of potential targets have already been drawn up ahead of transfer chief Fabio Paratici’s crunch meeting with Conte in Italy, including the likes of Alessandro Bastoni, Gleison Bremer, Djed Spence, Christian Eriksen, James Ward-Prowse, Kalvin Phillips and Gabriel Jesus (The Telegraph).

If Spurs are serious about providing Conte with what he needs ahead of his first full season at Tottenham, the cash injection will come as massive for Paratici and co in what is shaping up to be a very exciting summer.

Indeed, few would have envisaged this positivity at N17 after the unceremonious sacking of Nuno Espirito Santo late last year.

In other news: ‘Told Spurs are ready…’ – Kilpatrick shares another exciting update for supporters! Find out more here.

Pundit Gabby Agbonlahor believes Leeds United forward Joe Gelhardt may be ‘another’ player to leave cheaply if the Whites go down this weekend, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Exit links

Gelhardt has established himself as a regular in the match-day squad this season and has failed to feature in just three of the last 14 Premier League games.

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The 20-year-old provided a moment of quality last weekend to set up Pascal Struijk in injury time against Brighton, but reports earlier this month claimed that top-flight rivals will look to poach the youngster if Leeds find themselves in the Championship next season.

Jesse Marsch’s side now know that a defeat against Brentford on the final day of the season will send the club back to the Championship, and Agbonlahor has had his say on a number of Leeds stars and their futures.

The Latest: Agbonlahor’s claim

Agbonlahor, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to FI at what relegation could mean for Leeds.

He said that Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips will hand in ‘transfer requests’, should the Whites go down and also believes Gelhardt is ‘another’ who could leave for a ‘cheap fee’.

“If Leeds go down they are going to lose loads of players.

“Phillips and Raphinha will be handing in transfer requests to leave. They will not go back to the Championship.

“The biggest thing is that the Championship is getting harder and harder to get out of. Sheffield United haven’t gone up, you’ve got Norwich, Watford, and Middlesbrough all up there as favourites to come up. Leeds will find it hard to come straight back up.

“As much as it’s massive money wise, it’s about keeping your players too.

“Gelhardt is another one that clubs will be wanting to nick for a cheap fee.”

The Verdict: Make him a regular

Should the worst-case scenario happen this weekend, then the likes of Raphinha and Phillips will almost certainly leave. You’d expect that a few more big earners could also depart, however, Leeds should be under no pressure to part ways with Gelhardt.

He’s under contract until 2024 and has shown his quality this season, so it could be wise to make him a regular starter in a rebuild under Marsch in the Championship.

Hopefully, Leeds can better Burnley’s result on Sunday and fans won’t have to worry about a Premier League side poaching Gelhardt and another spell in the second tier – only time will tell.

In other news: Orta now finally set to accept defeat as Leeds plot exit for Bielsa ‘mistake’ – opinion. 

Everton have had a disappointing season that has seen them compete in a rollercoaster relegation fight over the last few months, and with two Premier League games left to go they are still in a vulnerable position.

Despite a two-point cushion on the bottom three, the Toffees squandered their opportunity to secure safety in their game against Brentford on Sunday at Goodison Park in their first loss in four games.

Frank Lampard’s side went down to nine-men by the time the whistle had blown, and will now need to hope they can pick up results in their final fixtures this week.

Many players have clearly underperformed to put Everton in this position, but one player in particular who featured in the self-destructive performance against Brentford was Andre Gomes.

Lampard was left with no choice but to make changes to his recently in-form midfield as both Donny van de Beek and Fabian Delph are out with injuries, so the manager made the decision to play Gomes for the first time in eight games and it surely wasn’t the right one when you consider his lack of impact and positive influence in the centre of the pitch.

According to SofaScore, the Portuguese midfielder who was branded “ridiculous” by Sky Sports pundit Gary Birtles, only made 78% accurate passes completing just 14 in total. He also made no tackles or interceptions, was dribbled past and made an error leading to a shot, proving he was simply a passenger in the game before being brought back to the bench in the 72nd minute.

This isn’t a one off for Gomes either and the game against Brentford was simply a reflection of the midfielder’s lack of presence and effectiveness throughout the season in his 13 appearances. He the ball every 3.8 touches on average, failed to win the majority of both his ground and aerial duels (62%) and was dribbled past by opponents 1.8 times on average.

With that being said, the Toffees boss clearly doesn’t see a future for the 28-year-old giving him just three opportunities over the last 15 games so if he can make some money by selling the player this summer, it would be the best outcome for Everton going forward.

AND in other news: Talks ongoing: Major Everton transfer development will leave supporters fuming

Everton are renowned for their disastrous transfer decisions since Farhad Moshiri arrived at the club, spending over £500m and still finding themselves neck deep into a relegation battle but nothing will haunt Goodison Park more than the decision not to sign one particular superstar.

What’s the latest?

Brain King, who was the Scandinavian-based scout for the Toffees, has revealed to The Times that he arranged a trial for Erling Haaland back in 2016 but his efforts to get the player to Everton were rejected.

King recalls: “We could have had him for a compensation fee of £60,000.

“But the consensus was he was so young and so big that once he got older and other players got bigger too, he’d lose his effectiveness.

The report further states that Everton had a second chance a few months later to seal a deal for the youngster who was just 15 at the time, but the new head of recruitment, Steve Walsh, was refused backing for the £3.4 million transfer.”

Moshiri will be haunted forever

The decision not to sign the now 21-year-old will surely haunt Moshiri and the powers at the club forever, as the star striker has gone on to be one of if not the most promising prospect in world football, recently signing for Manchester City in a deal worth a reported £375k-per-week.

The £135m-rated superstar who was hailed a “cyborg” by journalist Alex Truica was eventually snapped up by Borussia Dortmund in 2020, where he has made his name and earned a hugely impressive reputation with his attacking output for the Bundesliga side.

Haaland has scored 86 goals and contributed 23 assists for Dortmund in 89 appearances, with a goal contribution every 66 minutes which is an astonishing output that would’ve surely put Everton in a much better position than they would be in now had they taken the chance on the young ace.

In the Bundesliga this season, the Leeds born striker is the third top goal scorer, ranking fifth for pass completion into the box, shots on target and goal conversion in the entire league, again proving that the lack of effectiveness Everton were worried about was a huge howler by the club.

There is no doubt that supporters of the club will wonder what could have been had they have signed the Norway international all those years ago and where the club could have been now with Haaland deployed in their forward line.

However, for Moshiri it’s just another mistake on a long list of transfer decisions gone wrong.

AND in other news: Everton plotting bid for £9.9m-rated “monster”, he’s miles better than Holgate

Cummins is the fifth-fastest to 300 Test wickets in terms of balls bowled, reaching the milestone in 13,725 balls

Shubh Agarwal12-Jun-20251:53

‘Once the ball gets older, Cummins puts his hand up’

Pat Cummins has reached the milestone of 300 Test wickets, claiming his 14th five-wicket haul during the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s. Picking five of the six South African wickets to fall on day two, Cummins finished with figures of 6 for 28 in 18.1 overs.Six wickets short at the start of the Test, he has now become the 40th bowler to reach the landmark and the eighth for Australia. Among pacers, he is the 30th to enter this club and the sixth for Australia.Cummins is the fifth-fastest to reach there in terms of balls bowled, completing 300 wickets in 13,725 balls, beating Malcolm Marshall by three deliveries. His bowling strike rate of 45.75 is the best for an Australian seamer.He also levelled with Imran Khan to become the joint-tenth-fastest to complete 300 wickets, reaching there in 68 Test matches.Cummins has picked up 136 wickets as the captain of his side. Among pace-bowling captains, only Imran has picked up more wickets (187). Among Australian captains, only Richie Benaud is ahead by a slender margin of two wickets. Overall, only ten bowlers have picked up over 100 Test wickets while being the captain of their side.Cummins has been among Australia’s greatest match-winners with the ball in this format. Overall, 184 of his Test wickets before this WTC final came in wins. The likes of Jason Gillespie, Mitchell Johnson, Dennis Lillee, Brett Lee, Mitchell Starc and Glenn McGrath are ahead but no one has a better average than Cummins’ 18.09, which is bound to improve further if Australia win the WTC final to claim their second successive title.Also, he is only the second Australian to claim over 200 wickets in the WTC, and the only quick bowler in the list with 206 wickets at 22.11 runs apiece.Cummins has mostly been a first-change bowler for Australia, coming in after the new ball bowlers in 48 of the 126 innings in which he has bowled in Test cricket. He is the only Australia quick with more than 100 wickets as a first-change bowler, with Peter Siddle behind him with 87 wickets on this metric. Among those who have over 50 wickets as the first-change bowler, only Scott Boland (52 wickets) has a better average than that of Cummins (Boland 15.75, Cummins 24.50).Overall, only four quick bowler have more than 100 Test wickets as first-change bowler – Courtney Walsh (106), Cummins (107), Morne Morkel (129) and Ian Botham (129).Cummins made his Test debut in 2011. However, after one Test – where he was the Player of the Match against South Africa – he was sidelined for six years owing to recurring injuries, and made a return in 2017 when he played his second Test. England’s Joe Root has been the highest run-scorer during Cummins’ career since November 2011, scoring 13,006 runs in this period.Cummins has dismissed Root 11 times, the most time he has dismissed a single batter in Test cricket, followed by Cheteshwar Pujara and Rohit Sharma (eight times each).He also holds the record for the best bowling average for an Australia fast bowler in a calendar year with more than 50 wickets. He averaged 20.13 for his 59 wickets in 2019, bettering Lillee’s feat in 1981 – 85 wickets at 20.95.

Stina Blackstenius came to the rescue as a beleaguered Arsenal limped to a nervy 2-1 win over Women's Super League basement side Liverpool on Saturday. Former Reds star Olivia Smith banged in a sublime individual goal before Beata Olsson levelled up for a well-earned first-half equaliser. The Gunners were poor for lengthy spells but substitute Blackstenius' quality finish gave the home fans a huge sigh of relief.

Much of the build-up to the game centred on Canada international Smith facing her old side, and, sure enough, the livewire forward gave Arsenal the lead with a 25-yard strike after beating three defenders in the 16th minute. But an all too familiar story played out on the pitch for the Gunners as they failed to grab a second and were punished on the half-hour mark when Olsson tucked the ball home for a relatively soft equaliser. The Swedish forward, who became the first WSL player to score in four of her first five starts, was the home side's tormentor-in-chief as the north London team were second-best for sustained periods. 

England forward Alessia Russo spurned some good opportunities in front of goal as Arsenal regrouped in the second half, and then substitute Stina Blackstenius was denied by some heroic, last-gasp defending by Gemma Evans. But the Swede grabbed the winner three minutes from time when she emphatically whacked a terrific finish into the top corner in front of nearly 35,000 fans. The result sees Arsenal climb up to third in the WSL for the time being, whereas Liverpool are rock bottom.

GOAL rates Arsenal's players from Emirates Stadium…

Getty Images SportGoalkeeper & Defence

Anneke Borbe (4/10):

The pressure was on the keeper on her Arsenal debut but she didn't look convincing in between the sticks. She was flat-footed and didn't get a strong enough hand on the ball to keep out Olsson's goal. Not a good first outing.

Emily Fox (5/10):

Got into some dangerous positions but some of her decision-making at important moments wasn't quite good enough.

Lotte Wubben-Moy (6/10):

Probably should have given Arsenal an early lead but her header from two yards out somehow hit the post. However, she did make some good recovery tackles.

Steph Catley (5/10):

Was undone by Mia Enderby's through ball, but she was well out of position anyway. Her place could now be under threat.

Taylor Hinds (6/10):

Fired in some nice crosses into the box against her old team and didn't do much wrong before being taken off.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMidfield

Frida Maanum (5/10):

The experienced campaigner didn't do a great deal on and off the ball and was hooked before the hour mark.

Mariona Caldentey (6/10):

The Spaniard was one of Arsenal's few lively players in the first half as her creativity and crosses into the box caused problems. But even some of her passing was downright sloppy.

Kyra Cooney-Cross (5/10):

Even though she isn't a defender, Cooney-Cross' slack marking allowed Liverpool to draw level – an opportunity they duly took. Not the Aussie's best day.

Getty Images SportAttack

Beth Mead (5/10):

The England stalwart provided some dangerous deliveries into the box but was part of an attack that was too cumbersome.

Alessia Russo (5/10):

Played with her back to goal on a number of occasions but when she did get into good positions, she wasted some big chances. 

Olivia Smith (7/10):

Was able to conjure something out of nothing as Arsenal's lukewarm attack uninspiringly huffed and puffed. Faded as the game wore on.

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Caitlin Foord (4/10):

Initially added a bit more dynamism off the bench but made a right meal out of a golden chance after the hour mark and some of her passing was very shoddy.

Katie McCabe (6/10):

Didn't really have much to deal with as Arsenal turned the screw in the second half.

Stina Blackstenius (7/10):

The striker was caught offside on too many occasions, with the Swede not needing to make her runs so early. She should have made it 2-1 but wasn't clinical enough when one-on-one with the keeper, but spectacularly took her goal at the end.

Kim Little (6/10):

The captain was competent enough when she was introduced. 

Laia Codina (N/A):

Had no time to make an impact.

Renee Slegers (6/10):

Her second-half substitutes helped wrestle the game's momentum back to Arsenal but she will be worried how her players don't put away teams and have lengthy lulls. 

Wolvaardt and Beaumont’s fifties paved the way for a tense finish

AAP25-Nov-2025South African powerhouse Laura Wolvaardt smacked a half-century in Adelaide Strikers’ tense six-wicket WBBL win over battling Brisbane Heat. After Heat posted 169 for 5, Strikers nudged two a leg bye from the final ball in a thriller at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval.Wolvaardt set an ominous early tone with 51 from 33 balls in a decisive Tuesday night knock, while Bridget Patterson (32* from 22) played a cool hand in the frenetic finale. The Strikers required 31 from the last three overs, an equation reduced to seven from Nadine de Klerk’s final over. With scores tied on the last ball, Patterson tried a leg-side flick, the ball hitting her pads and running to a vacant fine leg.Heat remain winless from six games while Adelaide logged a second win of the campaign.Chasing the tricky total, Wolvaardt and opening partner Tammy Beaumont (51 from 33 deliveries) made early inroads. The pair put on 92 before Wolvaardt fell in the 10th over. She’d struck 10 fours and was caught on the midwicket fence attempting another from the left-arm spin of Jonassen (1-36). Tahlia McGrath (16 from 17) chimed in before Patterson’s final flurry lifted the Strikers to victory.Earlier, the Heat’s innings was powered by Lauren Winfield-Hill (47 from 36 balls), Georgia Redmayne (36* from 20) and Jess Jonassen (37 from 35). Winfield-Hill lost her opening partner Charlie Knott (11 from 14 balls) in the sixth over but attacked Adelaide’s bowlers. She struck a six, and six fours, and was on the cusp of a half-century when she missed a reverse swat and was out lbw to the spin of Jemma Barsby (1-13).Winfield-Hill’s exit left the Heat 87 for 2 after 11 overs and Jonassen continued the momentum until a late flourish. Redmayne and de Klerk (25 from nine balls) produced cameos against a Strikers attack led by legspinner Amanda-Jade Wellington (2-31) and Sophie Ecclestone (2-36).