A Brazil international says his friends and family members are now urging him to join Arsenal, describing the Gunners as the ‘perfect’ club.

Arsenal prepare for Chelsea after statement Bayern Munich win

Arsenal’s commanding 3-1 victory over Bayern Munich on Wednesday night has set the stage perfectly for Sunday’s blockbuster Premier League clash with second-placed Chelsea this weekend.

Mikel Arteta’s side maintained their perfect Champions League record with a dominant second-half performance that overwhelmed the previously unbeaten German champions.

Jurrien Timber’s header from Bukayo Saka’s corner opened the scoring before teenage sensation Lennart Karl equalized with a composed volley to end Arsenal’s clean sheet streak in the competition.

However, the second period belonged entirely to the hosts. Substitute Noni Madueke, after returning from two months out with a knee injury, broke the deadlock with his first Arsenal goal before Gabriel Martinelli capitalized on Manuel Neuer’s catastrophic error to seal all three points.

The result sends Arsenal three points clear at the top of the Champions League table and represents their first victory over Bayern in a decade, ending a winless run against the Bavarians dating all the way back to October 2015.

Martin Odegaard’s late comeback appearance off the bench provided even more encouragement ahead of the weekend’s crucial encounter at Stamford Bridge.

The captain’s return offers Arteta additional midfield creativity just when Arsenal need it most, facing a Chelsea side riding high after their own impressive European victory over Barcelona.

Sunday’s clash represents a genuine title race test. Arsenal arrive in excellent form, having thrashed Tottenham 4-1 in the North London derby before dispatching Bayern, and they’re currently on a phenomenal 16-game unbeaten streak.

Arsenal 3-0 Nottingham Forest

Athletic Bilbao 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 1-1 Man City

Port Vale 0-2 Arsenal

Newcastle 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 2-0 Olympiacos

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

Fulham 0-1 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-0 Atlético Madrid

Arsenal 1-0 Crystal Palace

Arsenal 2-0 Brighton

Burnley 0-2 Arsenal

Slavia Prague 0-3 Arsenal

Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Arsenal 4-1 Tottenham

Arsenal 3-1 Bayern Munich

Chelsea, meanwhile, sit just six points behind the league leaders following their Champions League demolition job.

Mikel Arteta confirms Arsenal star will miss Chelsea clash through injury

The Spaniard is gearing up for one of their biggest games of the season.

ByEmilio Galantini Nov 28, 2025

Away from the pitch, sporting director Andrea Berta continues to weigh up how best to strengthen Arteta’s squad for the long-term.Reports suggest that Arsenal have already held ‘initial’ talks over Elche sensation Rodrigo Mendoza, amid his comparisons to Pedri, but someone else has now opened the door for a potential N5 move.

Luiz Henrique makes Arsenal transfer admission

That man is Zenit St. Petersburg winger Luiz Henrique.

The Brazilian, who boasts 11 caps for his country, joined the Russian Premier League side back in January following a brief stint in his homeland at Botafogo.

Before that, he was at Real Betis in La Liga after coming through the ranks at Fluminense, and he’s been discussing his next career moves in an interview with Globo Esporte.

Speaking to the outlet, as translated by Arsenal News, Henrique claims that his close circle have told him to join Arsenal, expressing how he is a “huge fan” of that idea.

The 23-year-old, who’s bagged one goal and three assists in 14 league appearances this season, is in Carlo Ancelotti’s thinking for the 2026 World Cup.

He was included in the Brazil squad for recent friendlies against Senegal and Tunisia, making appearances off the bench, and Henrique’s versatility to play almost anywhere in attack would appeal to Arteta.

However, as yet, there’s been no links to the forward from an Arsenal perspective, at least not this year.

That being said, Henrique has clearly invited the north Londoners to make a move, so the door is wide open.

It’s been a longer wait than most for Sri Lanka between their first and second games this World Cup. Since playing the tournament opener on September 30, a wash-out against Australia means their match against England on Saturday comes after a near two-week gap. So unsurprisingly, they are a side that’s itching to get back out in the middle.Against England though they’ll be up against a side they’ve beaten just once in WODIs in 18 attempts. But for coach Rumesh Ratnayake, dwelling on such records makes little sense.”The last meeting will be tomorrow,” said Ratnayake on the eve of the game. “So those are the things which we will encourage them with just before the match. But in our preparation we talk of the present, and we talk of the present team and where they are and what we can do.”What our strengths will be against them, and where we are going to bowl – if it is bowling – at a particular batter at what stage. So we have broken it into three stages, that’s just an example. And even in our batting, I think what we want most is patience and discipline.””That’s what we lacked maybe against India, not deliberate, but it needs more focus so that it could be established.”Coming into this game, Sri Lanka have had a fair bit of time to ponder on that defeat to India. Having had the hosts reeling on 124 for 6, they let the game slip. But even so, a chase of a target a shade under 250 should not have been beyond them.After that game skipper Chamari Athapaththu had not held back in her assessment of her side’s shortcomings, calling on her batters to shoulder more responsibility going forward. And in the build-up to this game, plans surrounding their batting have featured heavily.Related

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“In our batting, the girls are really up to it and wanting to do well,” Ratnayake said. “That’s a huge plus because they know it’s a big stage. Sometimes we need to bring it down and say it’s just another match. But they are excited about this big stage. To capitalise on that, to maximise on that, they need to have runs on the scoreboard. They are aware of that. They are also aware that somebody, at least one or two, should bat till the end.”One of the more prevalent themes across this tournament, particularly for matches played in Colombo, has been a tendency for batting to get easier as the innings has gone on. This has left a lopsided run-scoring burden on lower order batters towards the end of an innings. For Sri Lanka, who lack any real batting prowess beyond the top seven, Ratnayake feels they will need at least one batter to take it deep to ensure they effectively exploit conditions at the tail-end of the innings.”We actually spoke about this in detail, about how those coming lower down the order – even below number seven – need to score more. Our main responsibility, is that top seven needs to score the most runs. We’re addressing it differently, because even in the last game no one scored even 50 – not that 50 would have been enough.”We’ve spoken about how you need to bat deep – at least one of the top six needs to hang around. It’s because none of those batters hung around that we were unable to chase down India’s score.”What we have learned from the spinning wickets is about those who have scored runs. Like [Beth] Mooney. Her batting discipline, her focus, and the ability to do what was needed in those situations. So we need to learn from that.”The extra preparation time leading up to this game has also allowed the Sri Lankans to extensively analyse this England side, weaning through their strengths and weaknesses and how exactly to make use of any advantages they might have over such an experienced outfit.”England is a very experienced side, even though they don’t have left-handers they are quite well equipped, so we understand their strengths, we know what they’re strong at and we’ve seen them do it all so to speak, and we believe that we are ready to sort of counter-attack that and do the best we can in the best way we could.”With our coaches, we scrutinised every batter of the English team – not just their top seven, we analysed their top nine. But the time for observing is over, now we need to take ownership of the situation, and go out there and perform.”

Both the semi-finals and the final have reserve days, which could come into play given the forecasts in Navi Mumbai and Guwahati

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Oct-2025

England have set up a Women’s World Cup 2025 semi-final clash against South Africa in Guwahati on Wednesday, while defending champions Australia will meet hosts India at Navi Mumbai’s DY Patil Stadium on Thursday. The semi-finals line-up is a repeat of the 2017 edition of the tournament.Australia finished the league stage of the competition undefeated – the only team with no losses at this World Cup – with six wins from seven games. They topped the points table with 13 points following their latest victory against South Africa in Indore on Saturday. South Africa, meanwhile, are second with ten points, having registered five wins and two losses.With nine points from six matches, England – currently placed third – can move up to second if they beat New Zealand. India have won three and lost as many games in six matches, with one fixture remaining against Bangladesh in Navi Mumbai. Both matches are scheduled for Sunday.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

As far as the weather is concerned, showers are expected in Guwahati on the day of the first semi-final. In Navi Mumbai, too, conditions are likely to be cloudy, with a thunderstorm forecast in the evening, followed by a few late showers. The semi-finals and the final – scheduled for November 2 in Navi Mumbai – will have reserve days, which will be used to continue the incomplete match from the scheduled days. However, “every effort will be made to complete the match on the scheduled day with any necessary reduction in overs,” and only if the match does not produce a result on the scheduled day, despite reduction in overs, will it continue into the reserve day.The ICC’s playing conditions also cited two examples that if the match starts as a full 50-over game on the scheduled day and, say, a rain interruption at 19 overs reduces it to 46 overs per side. But if no further play takes place after the reduction of overs on that day, the action will resume on the reserve day for a full 50-over match. But in case the overs are reduced to 46 per side because of rain and play does resume on the scheduled day for a truncated match, and rain arrives again to abandon play for the rest of the scheduled day, the reserve day will resume the match for a truncated game, 46 overs, subject to further reduction if there is more rain.In case of a no-result in either semi-final, the team that finished higher on the points table will progress into the final. If no result is possible in the final, the trophy will be shared.Australia have met India three times in Women’s World Cup knockout games, winning twice and losing once. England have defeated South Africa twice in knockout matches in 50-over World Cups.

As Tom Verducci eloquently put it, there is nothing normal about Blue Jays rookie phenom Trey Yesavage’s incredible rise to World Series stardom. 22-year-old rookies simply aren’t supposed to dominate big league lineups that just so happen to include three former MVPs. Add in the fact that Yesavage, who struck out 12 Dodgers without issuing a walk in Toronto's Game 5 win, did so on the game's biggest stage and it makes it even clearer that he's no ordinary rookie.

What‘s perhaps even more astounding is the fact that Yesavage began the year in Class A ball and didn't pitch in the majors until September. He became just the 10th rookie since 2005 to have gone through Single A, High A, Double A and Triple A in the same season as his MLB debut. So with Yesavage fresh off of one the most impressive rookie performances in World Series history, let's take a look at every team the Blue Jays rookie pitched for in 2025 on the road to the Fall Classic.

Every team Trey Yesavage has pitched for in 2025Dunedin Blue Jays

After being drafted by the Blue Jays in the first round of the 2024 MLB draft, Yesavage didn't pitch that season, so his assignment in Dunedin was his first test as a professional baseball player. He aced it. The 6’ 4” righthander pitched to a sparkling 2.43 ERA, striking out 55 batters across 33 1/3 innings pitched.

Even at the Single A level, Yesavage‘s uniquely high delivery was giving opposing hitters fits, just as it would prove to do to big league batters later on.

“All his pitches look the same out of the hand,” MLB‘s No. 1 overall prospect and Pirates minor leaguer Konnor Griffin said. “That’s what makes him so tough. The slider looks like it’s going to be down the middle, you go to swing and then it’s in the dirt…”

And immediately, Yesavage caught Dunedin manager Gil Kim‘s attention for, not just his talent level, but also for his intangibles.

“What Trey stands out for, obviously, is his talent, his ability and his stuff,” Kim said. “But with that being said, he’s been just as impressive to watch how he attacks hitters, how he makes adjustments, how resilient he is when maybe things aren’t flowing as smoothly as you would expect.”

And so after just seven starts, Yesavage on May 16 earned a promotion to High A ball. He was Vancouver-bound.

Vancouver Canadians

Yesavage‘s time in Vancouver was even shorter than his stint in Dunedin. The Pottstown, Pa., native who grew up in the Boyerstown area, made just four starts for the Canadians, but took his game to another level. At a more difficult level of professional baseball, Yesavage allowed almost an entire earned run less on average and continued to strike out more than a batter per inning. He tossed 4 1/3 no-hit innings in a May 31 start for Vancouver, leading to another quick promotion for the phenom. On June 9, he was headed to Double A New Hampshire.

New Hampshire Fisher Cats

It was in New Hampshire with the Fisher Cats where Yesavage experienced his first taste of big league adversity. Yesavage walked four in four innings but only yielded one earned run in his Double A debut. New Hampshire pitching coach Austin Bibens-Dirkx told MLB.com that he and his staff made some “minor physical tweaks” during Yesavage’s stint with the club but emphasized one thing.

“The biggest thing is trying not to screw him up, honestly,” he said.

At that task, they certainly succeeded, as Yesavage continued to showcase his elite swing-and-miss stuff with the Fisher Cats, striking out 46 batters over 30 innings pitched, even though his ERA was north of 4.00 in seven starts with New Hampshire.

To this point, Yesavage had largely worked roughly four innings and thrown 70–75 pitches per outing. But the Fisher Cats, in perhaps the first real sign of an organization preparing a youngster for meaningful innings later on, had Yesavage work out of the bullpen in his final appearance with New Hampshire, handling an 89-pitch workload over five innings.

On August 11, Yesavage was called up to Triple A Buffalo.

Buffalo Bisons

Yesavage isn't just tough on opposing hitters. He can be tough on his own catchers, as backstop Brandon Valenzuela quickly discovered during an Aug. 27 outing, in which the Blue Jays righthander's unique delivery literally threw him for a loop.

“It was really, really bright, and I told him, ‘Bro, I don’t see the ball well, and I’m the one catching it,’” Valenzuela said. “We’re just going to keep spamming and spamming splitters because they couldn’t see it either.”

It turns out that not many were seeing the ball well out of Yessavage’s hand during his Bisons tenure, as he recorded 26 more strikeouts in 17 1/3 frames along with a 3.63 ERA. Yesavage was utilized out of the bullpen briefly during his time with Buffalo, but his final Triple-A appearance was as a starter.

On Sept. 14, he got the call: He was heading to the show.

“We expected him to be good,” Blue Jays pitching coordinator Ricky Meinhold told MLB.com in September. “But I’d be lying to you if I told you we expected what he’s done.”

Toronto Blue Jays

Despite pitching 98 innings in the minors—more than he had during his final college season—Yesavage was given no workload limitations by Blue Jays manager John Schneider. It was same old Yesavage in his first big league start against the Rays on Sept. 15. The 22-year-old fanned nine batters, a franchise rookie record for a debut, over five innings, yielding just one earned run in the process.

And even though Yesavage endured a rough outing in his second appearance, the Blue Jays had seen enough through his three total starts at the big league level to make him a part of their American League Division Series roster against the Yankees.

And in each round of the postseason, he has rewarded the Blue Jays for their faith in him, from his 11-strikeout playoff debut against New York, to his gritty Game 6 American League Championship Series victory over Seattle to his 12-strikeout World Series gem vs. the Dodgers in Game 5.

Of his incredible story and ride to the majors, Yesavage said it best.

“Crazy world,” Yesavage said. “Hollywood couldn’t have made it this good.”

انتقد محمد أبو العلا، لاعب الزمالك السابق، الوضع الحالي داخل القلعة البيضاء، مؤكدًا أن النادي يُستخدم – بحسب وصفه – كدور ثانوي في مسرحية تهدف لإبراز بطل واحد فقط على الساحة الرياضية.

وكتب أبو العلا عبر حسابه الشخصي على موقع “فيس بوك”: “إصرار أن نادي الزمالك يصبح بطلاً لا ينجو ولا يُدفن في المسرحية، يستمر في الوضع المعلق، ليقدم دور السنيد لشرعنة البطل الأوحد، وبكده المشاهدين يتبسطوا ويسقفوا”.

وتابع في منشوره: “وبعد كده يبدأ دور الهري الإعلامي لوهم الناس أن مشاكل الزمالك فنية، دون تقديم حلول حقيقية تُنفذ لحل الأزمات المزمنة”.

واختتم محمد أبو العلا تصريحاته برسالة حاسمة: “المخرج عايز كده.. الحلول التقليدية أصبحت لا تفيد!”.

طالع أيضًا | شيكابالا: الزمالك يمر بأسوأ فتراته على الإطلاق.. وأطالب المجلس بالرحيل

ويعيش نادي الزمالك واحدة من أصعب مراحله المالية في تاريخه، حيث يواجه أزمة خانقة أدت لتراكم الديون بصورة كبيرة، سواء مستحقات متأخرة للاعبين الحاليين أو مبالغ واجبة السداد لمدربين ولاعبين سابقين لدى “فيفا”، ما وضع النادي تحت ضغط قانوني متزايد.

وتسببت هذه الأوضاع في لجوء بعض اللاعبين لفسخ عقودهم من طرف واحد بالفعل، بينما يستعد آخرون لاتخاذ الخطوة نفسها خلال الأيام المقبلة بسبب غياب مستحقاتهم المالية لفترات طويلة، الأمر الذي ينذر بمزيد من الاضطرابات داخل الفريق ويهدد استقراره الفني.

MatériaMais Notícias

O comando de ataque é, nos últimos jogos, a maior dor de cabeça do Botafogo. A partir desta segunda-feira (10), o Glorioso contará com um reforço: o atacante Carlos Alberto, que estava emprestado ao RWD Molenbeek, está de volta ao clube.

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➡️ Tudo sobre o Fogão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Botafogo

A permanência, ou não, do atleta no Fogão vai depender da vontade de Artur Jorge, que vai avaliar o jogador. Um novo empréstimo não está descartado.

Números de Carlos Alberto

Na Bélgica, Carlos Alberto fez 17 gols e marcou três gols, além de duas assistências. Antes disso, atuou em 33 oportunidades rolo Botafogo, marcando quatro gols e dando uma assistência.

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In an encouraging sign for Australia, Josh Hazlewood returned to the nets on Tuesday as he recovers from the hamstring injury that kept him out of the opening Ashes Test in Perth.Pat Cummins, meanwhile, was pictured bowling with a pink ball as he continues his push to return for the day-night Test at the Gabba following his back injury.The pair trained at Cricket Central in Sydney while New South Wales were playing their Sheffield Shield match against Tasmania.Related

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In what looked like clear evidence of immediate priorities, Hazlewood was bowling with a red ball. He is not expected to be available for the Gabba Test, so his comeback target will be Adelaide, which has reverted to a day Test this year.Speaking on Monday, Australia coach Andrew McDonald was confident that Hazlewood would be available later in the Ashes.”I know that he’ll be available at some point during the series,” he said. “We’ve got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series.”Cummins has been making good progress in ramping up his bowling in recent weeks and looked impressive in the nets in Perth ahead of the opening Test. The selectors will need to be fully confident that he can get through the workloads required for a Test, even if the early indications are that matches in this series may not go the distance.”It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation,” McDonald said. “The intensity was there, the ball speed was there. There’s a lot of positives, but now it’s just really building that resilience within the soft tissue and making sure that we’re not putting him in harm’s way in terms of accelerating it too much.”The first three Tests of the series are well spaced out – the gap between the first and second now 11 days after the two-day finish in Perth – but the schedule does become more condensed from Adelaide onwards: there is a four-day gap to the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne and the same to Sydney if those matches reach the fifth day.Pat Cummins has a go with the pink ball•Getty Images

With the day-night pink-ball element thrown into the mix for Brisbane, there is a good chance that it could be another short, sharp Test. In the current round of Sheffield Shield matches, ten wickets fell in the night session of the third day between Queensland and Victoria to hasten the contest to a result, although wickets hadn’t fallen at the same rate on the first two days.In that match, Xavier Bartlett put in an eye-catching performance with 4 for 35 in the second innings alongside a career-best 72 with the bat. Australia may not need further pace reinforcement during the Ashes, especially if Cummins and Hazlewood are available, but Bartlett, who has impressed in ODIs and T20Is, may have moved himself up the queue.Michael Neser was the spare pace bowler in Perth and the Gabba is his home ground. His two previous Tests have been with the pink ball in Adelaide: against England in 2021-22 and West Indies in 2022-23.In the build-up to the Ashes, the selectors also spoke of their hope that Jhye Richardson may become an option later in the series as he returns from the shoulder surgery he had earlier this year.He trained with the Test squad in Perth and then bowled 20 wicketless overs for the Cricket Australia XI against England Lions at Lilac Hill. He is expected to feature for Australia A against the Lions in Brisbane next week.”This game was a lot about physical preparation for me and making sure that we can get through,” Richardson told reporters after the CA XI outing. “I’m sure there would have been a few people seeing a bit of ice on it after the bowling but that’s basically just maintenance. The shoulder’s feeling really good and it’s feeling better and better each bowl.”It’s a decent hit out, the most overs I’ve bowled in a while and it’s all part of the process to building up to be ready for four and five-day cricket.”

Litton Das, Bangladesh’s T20I captain, had questioned the decision of the selectors after Shamim Hossain had been dropped for the T20I series against Ireland

Mohammad Isam30-Nov-2025

Bangladesh have added Shamim Hossain to the squad for the third T20I against Ireland, to be played on Tuesday.The move came after captain Litton Das had criticised the selectors for leaving Shamim out of the squad for the series, saying that neither he nor coach Phil Simmons had been informed about it. Chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain said last Friday that Shamim was being dropped to give Mahidul Islam Ankon a run in the middle order.”I think it would have been better if [Shamim] was in the team. But this is not my call, [it is] totally the selectors’ call,” Litton, known to be a mild-mannered man, had said before the first T20I. “I don’t know why, but the selector dropped Shamim without giving us notice. I have known that a captain would know which player would be in the team, and which player would be out of the team. I don’t see any reason behind Shamim getting dropped. It would have been better if he was in the team.”Ashraf countered Litton later the same day, saying that he didn’t need the captain’s permission to select or not select a player, though there has clearly been a change of heart now.The relationship between the two has reportedly been frosty since Ashraf dropped Litton during the ODI series against Sri Lanka last year.For the record, Shamim had recorded scores of 0, 0, 1 and 1 in his last four T20Is.The T20I series is level at 1-1 going into the decider.Bangladesh squad for third T20I against IrelandLitton Das (capt, wk), Saif Hassan (vice-capt), Tanzid Hasan, Parvez Hossain Emon, Towhid Hridoy, Jaker Ali, Nurul Hasan, Mahidul Islam, Mahedi Hasan, Rishad Hossain, Nasum Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Shoriful Islam, Mohammad Saifuddin, Shamim Hossain

Newcastle are eyeing Palmeiras star Allan Elias, who has a €100 million (£87.5m/$117m) release clause as the January transfer window looms. The Magpies have stepped up their interest with reports in Brazil claiming the Premier League side are pushing for an "immediate" agreement.

Magpies plot ambitious move for Brazil’s Elias

According to , Palmeiras have outlined a plan to generate €70m (£61m/$82m) from new player sales in 2026. The club will count only fresh transactions, excluding any instalments from past deals, and view Allan as a prime candidate to command a major transfer fee. Having developed into Abel Ferreira’s go-to "utility player", featuring across multiple positions and delivering decisive moments in crucial matches, the youngster is now counted among the club’s most valuable assets. 

Newcastle, aware of Palmeiras’ willingness to negotiate, are said to be ready to make a significant investment. The Palmeiras hierarchy admits that no player is considered "untouchable" for the 2026 season. Should a suitable proposal arrive, Allianz Parque officials are prepared to sanction a sale that supports their revenue objectives. Palmeiras have already turned down a €20m (£17m/$23m) bid from Zenit and expect future offers to approach at least €32m (£28m/$37m). While Allan’s release clause gives the club substantial leverage, their urgent financial targets increase the likelihood of movement in 2026 if negotiations progress. And the midfielder’s situation is being monitored closely in England, where Newcastle have been tracking him as part of their long-term squad rebuild. 

AdvertisementGettyPalmeiras’ track record of blockbuster departures fuels speculation

If Allan does depart, it would follow a growing pattern of record-breaking sales by Palmeiras in recent years. Their academy pipeline has become one of the most profitable in world football, producing talents snapped up by Europe’s biggest names. Endrick’s monumental €72m (£63m/$84m) switch to Real Madrid in 2022 set a new bar for Brazilian exports. That was followed by Estevão’s €61.5m (£54m/$72m) move to Chelsea, Luis Guilherme’s €23m (£20m/$27m) transfer to West Ham, and the most recent agreement for teenage defender Vitor Reis, whose €37m (£33m/$43m) package, €35m (£31m/$41m) of which goes directly to Palmeiras, further swelled the club’s coffers. Against this backdrop, Allan stands out as the next likely high-value departure. With the January window looming and Palmeiras openly embracing negotiations as part of their long-term financial planning, Newcastle’s interest comes at precisely the right moment.

Frattesi back on the agenda as Newcastle weigh midfield options

In parallel with their pursuit of Elias, Newcastle are also keeping a close eye on Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi. The Italian midfielder, who was strongly linked with the Magpies last summer, has seen his playing time shrink dramatically under new manager Cristian Chivu. reported that Newcastle were keen to sign the 26-year-old during the last transfer window, only for Inter to block the move following Simone Inzaghi’s departure. But with Frattesi logging fewer than 200 minutes in Serie A this season, a January move is now considered "very likely,” according to

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Getty Images SportFinancial realities cast doubt on mega-deals

Eddie Howe has repeatedly expressed his desire to expand his midfield options, particularly after injuries to Joe Willock and Lewis Miley disrupted Newcastle’s rhythm earlier in the campaign. The Magpies eventually secured Jacob Ramsey from Aston Villa, but Howe made no secret of his concern that the squad were operating with fewer central midfielders than he wanted. Despite their interest in Allan, Howe has sought to temper expectations about Newcastle making extravagant purchases in January as the club remain tightly constrained by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules (PSR).

At the time, he said: "We want six [midfielders] and now we are down to four. That is an issue for us and it is a position we are looking at."

"Certainly paying fees like that (£100 million), and I am not sure we are going to be in a position to do that. I am talking about that without any knowledge on January. It is just not really a window that big fees are usually paid. There is always a long-term management of PSR and long-term management on our financial situation. We can’t let one transfer unbalance that."

Newcastle currently sit 12th in the Premier League and face Burnley on Saturday.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has revealed that he may still be in interim charge of the club when they face Dundee at Parkhead on Wednesday night in the Scottish Premiership.

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph claims that there has been a delay in finalising the deal to bring Wilfried Nancy to the club from MLS outfit Columbus Crew, which is why the Northern Irishman may still be in the dugout in midweek.

The French boss will surely be keeping close tabs on how the team fared under O’Neill in November, and will already be thinking about how he wants to set the side up moving forward.

The Celtic players who will have impressed Nancy against Hibernian

In the 2-1 win over Hibernian in the Premiership on Sunday, several players showed that they can be key players for the next head coach, whenever he finally takes charge.

Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels are the two obvious ones after they both got on the scoresheet in the first half, with the former tapping into an empty net and the latter bravely burying a header in just seconds later.

Reo Hatate also excelled in a number ten role ahead of Callum McGregor and Engels, biting into the tackle to then set up Maeda for the opening goal.

Goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel also made a couple of impressive stops late on in the match to secure all three points, and he will surely be Nancy’s number one, in the short-term at least.

Whilst several players, mainly the ones mentioned here, will have impressed the incoming boss, Nancy may already have an idea of the players he wants to move on when the January transfer window opens up.

The first Celtic player Nancy should sell in January

After a confident first-half showing, academy graduate Colby Donovan was forced off with an injury at the break and replaced by experienced full-back Anthony Ralston.

Within minutes of his introduction, the Scotland international was caught out defensively before playing a poor pass back that went straight out of play on the right touchline.

Speaking on Sky Sports’ live coverage of the game, former Hoops striker Chris Sutton described Ralston’s play as “really sloppy” and claimed that the defender “hasn’t recovered” from his below par showing against St Mirren.

In that win over the Saints, as shown in the table above, the Scottish flop lost 75% of his duels and offered virtually nothing to the team from a creative perspective.

His disappointing displays against St Mirren and Hibs in recent weeks have not been a blip, unfortunately, as he also left far too much to be desired from his performance against Midtjylland in the Europa League at the start of November.

Ralston made it far too easy, as shown in the clip above, for Mikel Gogorza to beat him and score, which came just moments after the Spaniard had danced past the defender to cross for the opening goal.

He ultimately left the pitch with 45 touches, nine fewer than goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel, while he also failed to have a shot, provide a cross or key pass and he also only made one interception.

Therefore, the 27-year-old dud’s performances on and off the ball this season have not been up to scratch, which is why he may already be a player who could be on the chopping block for Nancy.

With Alistair Johnston to come back from his hamstring injury and Donovan emerging as a genuine first-team level option at right-back, Ralston may not be needed beyond January, as potentially the third-choice option in his position.

That is why the incoming Celtic boss should make the experienced flop the first player he axes at Parkhead when the January transfer window opens for business, whether that is by sending him out on loan or by selling him on a permanent basis.

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By
Dan Emery

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Whilst you never know who will shine with a clean slate under Nancy, it is hard to look past Ralston as the first player he needs to move on from the squad when the next transfer window rolls around at the turn of the year.