All posts by h716a5.icu

Glasgow Rangers enter 2025 having secured their first Old Firm victory since May 2023 in what was a dominant performance by Philippe Clement’s men at Ibrox.

Heading into the traditional festive clash between the two teams, Celtic were the overwhelming favourites to pile even more pressure on Clement as they looked to go 17 points ahead in the Premiership.

Rangers had other ideas. They stamped their authority early as Ianis Hagi netted a lovely finish and the Light Blues didn’t take their foot off the gas throughout the clash.

Second-half goals from Robin Propper and Danilo secured a stunning 3-0 win as a host of players shone during the game.

Rangers’ best performers vs Celtic

Truthfully, it is hard to pick just one standout player. Everyone battled for each other and showed plenty of fight against a team that has caused the club so much pain recently.

Nicolas Raskin was given the captain’s armband and was wonderful. The Belgian won 60% of his duels contested, made two key passes and looked solid in the heart of the midfield.

Hagi delivered arguably his finest performance since suffering his serious knee injury in January 2022.

In addition to grabbing the opener, the Romanian made four key passes, registered five shots, and delivered eight crosses.

On the opposite wing, Vaclav Cerny showed plenty of attacking intent, even hitting the woodwork twice during the game as he should have added to his goal tally.

Accurate passes

Cameron Carter-Vickers (86)

Shots on target

Ridvan Yilmaz (3)

Ground duels won

Mohamed Diomande (7)

Tackles

Nicolas Kuhn (4)

Key passes

Vaclav Cerny (5)

A special mention must go to Mohamed Diomande, however, as the midfielder was the beating heart of the team, showcasing his class alongside Raskin in the heart of the midfield for the Gers.

Mohamed Diomande’s game in numbers vs Celtic

Diomande did everything but get on the scoresheet against the Parkhead side. Clement has deployed him as a number ten at times this season, but this afternoon, his job was to nullify the Celtic side and control the game.

Finishing the game with a 92% pass success rate while taking 54 touches indicates how impressive he was at this, never giving the Celtic players a moment’s peace to get into any sort of rhythm.

While he may not have contributed much in an attacking sense, Diomande offered plenty defensively. Indeed, the Ivorian won seven of his 11 ground duels contested, made three tackles and only lost possession five times throughout the 90 minutes.

Journalist Jonny McFarlane even hailed Diomande as “excellent” alongside Raskin and Hagi at half-time, and it was very much a mature performance by the young African.

Clement’s first Old Firm victory at his seventh attempt will surely give the Light Blues plenty of confidence heading into 2025. The result must act as a catalyst for the club to push on and try and catch their rivals at the top of the table.

Whatever happens, the 3-0 win today proved that Rangers can go toe to toe with Celtic.

The 12 most expensive signings in Scottish Premiership history

We have taken a look at the biggest transfers in the history of the Scottish top flight, so expect Celtic and Rangers to dominate.

2 ByRoss Kilvington Dec 31, 2024

Chris Richards and Crystal Palace booked their place in the FA Cup quarterfinal with a 3-0 win over Antonee Robinson's Fulham

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Richards and Palace cruise to winRobinson starts after missing USMNT dutyTurner left on benchFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty Images SportWHAT HAPPENED?

With U.S. international Chris Richards in the starting XI, Crystal Palace cruised to a clear-cut 3-0 win over Antonee Robinson's Fulham behind a pair of first half goals. Eberechi Eze was the catalyst, netting Palace's opener in the 34th minute before assisting Ismaila Sarr four minutes later to double the lead for the visitors, who added one more for good measure in the 75th-minute when Eddie Nketiah put the game away.

Richards started and played all 90 minutes, helping Palace's five-man backline keep the clean sheet. Robinson, meanwhile, went 71 minutes for Fulham after missing USMNT duty due to lingering injury issues. He had one shot, four crosses attempted, and one chance created.

Matt Turner, Palace's usual cup goalkeeper, didn't see any action as the USMNT starter was left on the bench by manager Oliver Glasnee – opting instead to stick with starter Dean Henderson.

“I talked to both goalkeepers today and I took the decision that Dean [Henderson] will start tomorrow,” Glasner said Friday. “On one side, it was a tough decision. On the other side, it was a very good decision for me to take because [it’s good to choose] between two great goalkeepers with everybody having 100 percent confidence and trust of us."

He added, “Dean is our No. 1, he’s played most of the games. We didn’t have a game for three weeks and I didn’t want to change this [the goalkeepers], that is why he will start tomorrow. [Matt Turner took it] very professionally. We talked two or three times this week because I was undecided for a long time."

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With the win, Palace are into the FA Cup semifinals, becoming the first team to advance to that stage. The draw for the semifinal round, which will be held at Wembley Stadium, will be held on Sunday following the three other quarterfinal matches.

Palace have never won the FA Cup, with their best runs ending in final defeats in 1990 and 2016.

Getty Images SportDID YOU KNOW?

This will be Palace's first trip to the FA Cup semifinals since the 2021-22 season, the campaign before Richards made the move to the London club. He joined Palace from Bayern Munich in July 2022, having spent the previous two seasons on loan with Hoffenheim. He made a total of 10 appearances at Bayern, earning medals for a UEFA Super Cup and two DFL Supercup triumphs.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR PALACE AND FULHAM?

With the win, Palace will now look ahead to a return to the Premier League on Wednesday when they visit Southampton. Fulham, meanwhile, still have plenty at stake this season. currently sit eighth, only four points out of a Champions League spot, but will now face Arsenal and Liverpool in their next two Premier League matches.

Interviews underway for Test coach role as power vacuum continues to hamper board

ESPNcricinfo staff09-May-2022Ron Kalifa, the man widely tipped to become the next chair of the ECB, has withdrawn from the race, to deepen the leadership crisis at the top of English cricket.The ECB has been without a permanent chair since October, when Ian Watmore quit the role in the wake of England’s withdrawal from their planned tour of Pakistan, and after appearing to lose the confidence of several counties following a meeting on the domestic structure.Barry O’Brien, Watmore’s former deputy, initially took over in an interim capacity, but stood down at last month’s board meeting, citing ill-health, with Martin Darlow, another non-executive director, stepping up as the new stand-in.But the board’s hopes that Kalifa could fill the power vacuum on a permanent basis have reportedly been dashed with his withdrawal from the relaunched nominations process – a process that he himself had been heading up until last month when it became clear that, rather than any of his shortlisted contenders, Kalifa himself was the best qualified candidate to take over the top role.Related

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With Tom Harrison, the ECB’s incumbent CEO, keen to move on after seven years in his role, Kalifa’s nomination could have paved the way for Andrew Strauss, the former England captain and recent interim director of men’s cricket, to take over that key position.However, Kalifa was reported by The Times to have had a change of heart, potentially triggered by suggestions among the first-class counties that his nomination would have amounted to a “stitch-up” given his initial role leading the nominations committee, and been prone to intense scrutiny, not least from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport select committee, to which the board is obliged to report on a quarterly basis in the wake of English cricket’s racism crisis.Brenda Trenowdan – another non-executive director – has been charged with leading the renewed nominations committee, but given the formal nature of the process, it is now extremely unlikely that the board will be able to announce a new chair in time for its Annual General Meeting later this month.There are more promising developments in the hunt for a new head coach for England’s Test team, however, with the Evening Standard reporting that the interview process is underway, with just over three weeks until the first Test against New Zealand at Lord’s on June 2.With a preference for splitting the coaching role into red- and white-ball cricket, Rob Key, the newly appointed men’s director, stated at his own unveiling last week that he was “optimistic” that a Test appointment could be made before the New Zealand series gets underway. Simon Katich and Gary Kirsten are understood to be the frontrunners for that job, with Graham Ford and Jason Gillespie also in consideration.

Rob McElhenney had admitted he is feeling the tension of another promotion push as Wrexham picked up yet another three points.

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Wrexham win 1-0 against StockportMcElhenney feeling the squeezeRed Dragons still in promotion spotsFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Phil Parkinson's side saw off promotion rivals Stockport 1-0 to stay three points clear of Wycombe Wanderers and remain in the automatic promotion spots. It was yet another important result for the Red Dragons who have now beaten three of their direct competitors in Stockport, Wycombe and Huddersfield in recent weeks to cement their place behind leaders Birmingham. Saturday's game marked their fourth win by that scoreline in five League Two games and is clearly beginning to test the club's Hollywood ownership's nerves.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT MCELHENNEY SAID

Posting on X, McElhenney said: "I guess there are worse records to break than the one for most 1-0 victories. But boy, is it terrible for the nervous system.

"8 GAMES TO GO FOR HISTORY."

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The Wrexham fans will have little complaints with the 1-0 scoreline so long as the club keeps winning. Not only does the three points help lift the Red Dragons closer to the Championship, but taking those points off their closest rivals is just as important. Parkinson's side will have been frustrated to see Wycombe steal a late winner away at Rotherham on Tuesday and leapfrog the Red Dragons, but Wrexham must focus on their remaining games, and not those around them, if they are to make it back-to-back-to-back promotions.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

With just eight games of the season remaining, there is still work to be done if history is to be made. Wrexham travel down to Exeter next weekend, while Wycombe host 12th-placed Lincoln at Adams Park hoping to close the gap before playing Shrewsbury at home in their game in hand over Wrexham on the Tuesday.

Since taking over as manager at Newcastle United, Eddie Howe has had the luxury of spending hundreds of millions of pounds. Of course, that is because of their takeover in 2021, when Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund bought the majority stake in the club.

It is fair to say that the new owners at St James’ Park have not been afraid to splash the cash when they need to. Last summer, they were held back by the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules so did not spend much. However, in recent years, the likes of Sandro Tonali, Bruno Guimaraes and Anthony Gordon have all joined for a sizeable fee.

The Magpies’ record signing is Alexander Isak, but he has been linked with a move away from the club recently.

Alexander Isak’s potential move away

Swedish striker Isak has been sensational since his club record £63m move to St James’ Park, from Spanish outfit Real Sociedad. The striker has 46 goals and nine assists in 85 games for the club in all competitions.

He has been a consistent goalscorer in the Premier League, despite struggling with injuries throughout his Magpies career. He has already hit double figures for the 2024/25 season, having only played 15 games.

Games

22

30

15

Minutes

1526

2266

1203

Goals

10

21

10

Assists

2

2

4

Despite having scored two goals in a game eight times, the 25-year-old had never managed to score a Magpies hat trick. However, that all changed last weekend after he smashed three goals past Ipswich Town in a 4-0 win, a phenomenal performance.

However, things are perhaps not as good as they might seem. According to Spanish reports, the deadly centre-forward is a target for French giants Paris Saint-Germain. He has been ‘singled out’ by PSG boss Luis Enrique as a potential signing. It could cost around £83m to sign him.

Should Isak leave, the Magpies are in danger of repeating a sale from the 1990s that proved to be a costly error.

The transfer repeat Newcastle will hope to avoid

There are few players as underrated in Premier League football than Andy Cole. He scored 187 Premier League goals, the fourth most in the competition’s history. Incredibly, only one of those strikes was a penalty.

For the Magpies, Cole was devastating. He played just three seasons at the club, but managed to score 68 goals and grab 23 assists in 84 appearances. In the 1993/94 season, he bagged 34 goals in 40 Premier League appearances.

It was off the back of this unstoppable form that Manchester United paid a British record fee of £8.6m. According to The Transfer Index, that would be a jaw-dropping £123m in today’s money, an extraordinary fee with inflation.

It is fair to say that Cole’s move to Old Trafford paid off for him. He went on to play 275 games for the club, scoring 121 goals and grabbing 44 assists in that time. He also won five Premier League titles and was a crucial part of the treble-winning side in 1998/99.

Despite the money they received, the Magpies surely regretted selling their striker. Although they signed Alan Shearer as his replacement, those two could have formed a clinical partnership.

Cole could have also been a big difference-maker in their hunt for the Premier League title. Newcastle finished second twice, in 1995/96 and 1996/97, but had they kept the striker he could have been the man to give them the edge and win the league.

This is simply not a mistake that Newcastle can make with Isak. The money is lucrative, and perhaps hard to turn down. However, they are building a project, with ambitions to win the Premier League, as Amanda Staveley explained after the takeover in 2021.

The Swedish striker could be the key force behind that. Finding someone as clinical in front of goal as Isak is a rarity for Newcastle. They are once-in-a-generation strikers, the likes of Cole and Shearer.

This is not to say the Swede will hit these heights, but his numbers at this stage are undeniable, and he could be the man to take them to the top. Selling Isak could be a huge mistake for the Magpies, and they might well lose their best hope of finally lifting a Premier League title, just like they did when Cole left all those years ago.

Newcastle in pole position to sign £25m ace who could be the new Hall

Newcastle have crafted a mini-resurgence but need to get active in the January transfer window.

ByAngus Sinclair Dec 23, 2024

A 54-run win gave Knight Riders a healthy NRR boost while leaving Sunrisers on the brink of elimination

Sidharth Monga14-May-2022Kolkata Knight Riders kept their campaign alive and pushed Sunrisers Hyderabad’s to the brink with a 54-run win, which gave them a decent net-run-rate boost.It took a responsible innings from Andre Russell to take Knight Riders to a challenging total after they decided to bat first. Russell’s 49 off 28 was among his slowest innings of this length or more, but he waited for the spinner’s over, which Sunrisers held back because of his presence at the crease. Then, in the final over, bowled by Washington Sundar, he took 20 runs.Sunrisers’ batting woes continued in the chase with Kane Williamson adding to arguably the worst IPL season for a batter and a captain. Only Abhishek Sharma and Aiden Markram pushed Knight Riders but not for long enough to threaten a win.Bat first, start slow
This is now the tenth match out of 13 in Pune that the side batting first has won. And yet this was only the second time a team chose to bat first. Even Sunrisers would have done the same, which suggests they expected the pitch to slow down. Before that came a slow start in which Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Marco Jansen gave the Knight Riders openers nothing. Just two boundaries came in the first four overs, which brought 20 runs for the loss of Venkatesh Iyer.ESPNcricinfo LtdThe transformation
All of a sudden, a slow innings went into overdrive. Runs came quickly, wickets fell too. Before the wickets fell, though, Nitish Rana transformed the slow start with 26 off 16. He took 17 out of the 18 conceded in the fifth over by T Natarajan, who was returning from an injury layoff, and then ramped Jansen for a six to end the powerplay.Ajinkya Rahane, though, appeared to do his hamstring, and decided to take higher risks. Then came the high pace of Umran Malik, who took out Rana, Rahane and Shreyas Iyer in his first two overs. And when Natarajan trapped Rinku Singh with a yorker, Russell walked in as early as the 12th over, with Knight Riders 94 for 5.The gambit
Keeping an offspinner back for the death overs is not the smartest idea on paper but Knight Riders were five down and Williamson perhaps hoped to get Russell out before needing to bring Washington back. His quicks were nearly at their best against Russell. Malik, Bhuvneshwar and Natarajan collectively kept Russell and Sam Billings quiet. Russell was 10 off 11 and 30 off 23 at two points in his innings, which is usually a win for the bowling side. Billings eventually went past a run a ball but couldn’t manage major damage before falling to a slower ball from Bhuvneshwar in the 19th over.In the process of looking for Russell’s wicket, though, Sunrisers pushed their spinner’s over right to the end. To his credit, Russell played percentage cricket, not taking extravagant risks when he didn’t get the boundary balls from the quicks.Washington began the last over well with a yorker and then conceded just a single to the new batter Sunil Narine, but a whole over is too long a time for a spinner against these two hitters. Washington missed the blockhole three times out of four in the rest of the over, and Russell hit all three for sixes.Abhishek Sharma scored quickly to keep Sunrisers on track at the start•BCCIAbhishek the lone warrior
In an interview at half time, Russell said 170 would have been a good score, and that Knight Riders had bonus runs. That would suggest Sunrisers would need everything to go their way in the chase. However, Williamson’s wretched run continued with yet another innings under a run a ball. When he finally attempted a ramp, Russell bowled him in the fifth over.At the other end, though, Abhishek took down a second legend this IPL season. After scoring 47 off 23 Rashid Khan balls, he consigned Narine to his costliest over this IPL, costing him 17 runs.At the other end, though, runs hardly arrived. Rahul Tripathi tried as usual but kept finding the fielders, none more frustratingly than the full-blooded drive that ended up as a return catch for Tim Southee. Having faced only 27 balls out of 70, Abhishek eventually took one risk too many and skied Varun Chakravarthy.Hardly anyone has taken Narine on in this IPL, choosing instead to play him out, which showed in just the eight wickets for him coming into this match but also an economy rate of well under six. He went for 30 in his first three but made up for it with his ninth wicket of the season, of Nicholas Pooran, in the fourth.With Sunrisers now needing 102 off 45, Markram had to go for everything. He managed to hit three sixes before playing Umesh Yadav on.The net run-rate boost
It was now all about the margin of defeat because net run-rate can come in handy in the final equation. Shashank Singh and Washington batted normally until the end of the 17th but then Russell and Southee took quick wickets to restrict Sunrisers to 123 for 8.

The date is December 2023. Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United side have just suffered a dismal 3-0 defeat against Bournemouth at Old Trafford.

Now, the date is December 2024. Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United side have just suffered a terrible 3-0 loss against the Cherries at home again. Deja Vu? Quite.

When Amorim was first announced as the new United boss it spread hope across the fanbase that has been rarely seen over the last decade or so. Then, when Marcus Rashford put the Red Devils 1-0 up within a minute of the Portuguese’s first match in the dugout, it looked like a genius decision to hire him.

Sadly, since then, it’s not gone particularly well for either Rashford or Amorim. The winger has been excluded from the last three match days squads while United have won just twice in the Premier League since.

There was, of course, that famous win at the Etihad last Sunday, but another poor week has followed that victory and hasn’t given the new boss much breathing room ahead of this busy festive season.

So, who was to blame this weekend? A fair individuals red, truth be told. One of them was Tyrel Malacia.

Tyrel Malacia's performance vs Bournemouth

This was a terrible afternoon at the back for United who shipped their ninth set-piece goal of the league season before conceding a penalty and then giving the ball away all too easily for Andoni Iraola’s team’s third goal of the encounter.

While Malacia was hooked at half-time and unable to prevent the second and third goals that occurred, he was the man who gave away the free-kick that led to Dean Huijsen’s opener early on in the first half.

Minutes played

45

Touches

34

Accurate passes

20/24 (83%)

Key passes

1

Crosses

0/1

Long balls

2/3

Shots

0

Dribbles

0

Duels won

1/5

Possession lost

7x

Fouls

2

That rather set the tone for what was a shoddy afternoon for the wing-back who was brought off at half-time for the third time during Amorim’s reign, leaving the pitch having won just one of his five duels during the encounter.

Such a shaky performance did not go down with fans or pundits alike, with Manchester Evening News’ Samuel Luckhurst noting that he deserved a 3/10 for his display at the Theatre of Dreams on Sunday.

This was about as far from a dreamy performance you can get, with Malacia’s nightmare stint in the northwest only seeming to continue, despite the change in manager.

The Dutchman’s colleague, Joshua Zirkzee, also wasn’t particularly great.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Joshua Zirkzee's performance in numbers

Zirkzee has flattered to deceive since being signed in the summer, let’s put it that away.

The hulking forward got his United career off to a dream start when he netted a late winner against Fulham during the opening Premier League match of the season. Since then, he has added just two league goals to his tally, notably netting twice in the 4-0 win over Everton at the start of the month.

That’s about as good as it’s got, however, for a sluggish-looking forward whose touch has been incredibly poor. He’s lacked grace, composure and the necessary quality to thrive as the leading man for United and it surely won’t be long before Rasmus Hojlund is given an extended period in the starting lineup.

Also receiving a 3/10 rating from the aforementioned Luckhurst, he pinpointed Zirkzee’s poorest moment as his “absolutely hopeless” attempt at marking Huijsen for the opening goal of the afternoon.

Minutes played

54

Touches

19

Accurate passes

6/11 (55%)

Key passes

0

Crosses

0

Shots on target

0

Shots off target

1

Ground duels won

1/2

Aerial duels won

1/4

Amorim hasn’t been shy of hiding his feelings since becoming manager and was visibly irked by some of the work his striker was producing on Sunday. Indeed, that was most visible when, after losing an aerial duel, he withdrew the summer signing from proceedings just as United were preparing to defend a corner.

In truth, Zirkzee struggled to ever get in the game and made just six passes while only having 19 touches of the ball, far fewer than Malacia’s numbers as outlined earlier. Also losing possession ten times, it meant he surrendered the ball every 1.9 times he touched it. Dismal stuff.

Also failing to have a single shot on target, it’s clear that if Amorim is going to improve this side, he needs a better striker. How he must lust after Sporting’s Viktor Gyokeres.

Barca really want to sign him: Man Utd set for Beckham repeat with £35m ace

Barcelona are reportedly interested in signing a player from Manchester United.

ByMatt Dawson Dec 22, 2024

Young star Harry Ashfield has signed a new contract for Wrexham AFC and fans are absolutely thrilled by the news.

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18-year-old has made six appearances for the first teamAshfield: "Hopefully I can prove myself"Midfielder won Academy Player of the Year last seasonFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The 18-year-old has looked at home since making the step up to the senior team. Ashfield has made six appearances for Phil Parkinson's side, and scored his first professional goal for the club in a 4-1 victory over Port Vale in the Vertu Trophy. He's now committed his future to the club and signed a contract extension with the Welsh side. The club said in a statement: "Wrexham AFC are delighted to announce that Harry Ashfield has signed a new contract with the Club, on a deal until the end of the 2026/27 season, with the option of an additional year."

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Ashfield is a Wrexham native, and grew up supporting the Red Dragons. He was named the Bob Clark Academy Player of the Year in the 2023/24 season. The announcement has been met with glee among the Wrexham faithful.

WHAT THE FANS SAID

Fearless In Devotion the WREXHAM AFC podcast posted on X: "Absolute baller"

And @BenHeath2021 wrote: "Proud of this lad and deal #BigFuture."

Wrexham fan @craigyjones17 added: "So glad we’ve extended Harry’s contract. This boy is going to the top!"

Another fan @Only1Carter called for the youngster to be given a chance in the first team: "Genuinely think he’s a worth a place in the match day squad. No fear and creativity."

And @SYDWXM posted: "Brilliant news, a great lad who’s going to be hell of a player."

WHAT HARRY ASHFIELD SAID

Speaking after signing the new deal, Ashfield said: "It’s an excellent feeling to sign a new deal with my Club. I’m excited to kick-on and see what I can do in the first team – hopefully I can prove myself.”

Aston Villa now boast two wins from two in the Premier League after a lengthy winless run, having just about got the better of basement club Southampton 1-0 on Saturday.

Jhon Duran was the difference maker for Unai Emery’s men on the day, as the Colombian capped his first start in the top-flight this season with the winner, after he harassed the shaky Saints defence deep into the first 45 minutes before firing home past Joe Lumley.

Whilst everything looks to be rosy again on the pitch, the Villans won’t turn their nose up at a signing or two this January to boost their squad.

Aston Villa looking at "sensational" addition

As per a report by Football Insider, Villa are one of the leading Premier League outfits interested in Chelsea outcast Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall.

Enzo Maresca’s Blues have made their forgotten midfield man available for purchase, with the confident West London club wanting to recoup some of the sizeable £30m they splashed out on the former Leicester City man.

It remains to be seen whether Villa would pursue the 26-year-old on a permanent basis, with the report also stating that Chelsea would be up for loaning Dewsbury-Hall out if a club wasn’t prepared to match that £30m valuation.

Snapping up the Blues flop for that mammoth amount would be a risky move on the end of Villa, but Emery and Co have had success in the past buying stars who have excelled at the King Power Stadium, much like Dewsbury-Hall managed – whilst mainly starring in the Championship – for the Foxes.

The “sensational” midfielder – as he was once labelled by one of his ex-bosses in Brendan Rodgers – could well end up even becoming the next Youri Tielemans for the Premier League side, who has come on leaps and bounds at Villa Park since leaving Leicester behind in 2023.

Transfer Focus

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

How Dewsbury-Hall could be Tielemans 2.0

The Belgian ace has been a stalwart for the Villans in the hustle and bustle of the top flight so far this campaign, with the 27-year-old yet to miss a league clash and for many a valid reason.

Tielemans has four assists next to his name from 15 league clashes to date, and when you delve deeper at his statistics so far, he has also created eight big chances, with the Villa number eight a smooth and stylish operator for his team under pressure.

Dewsbury-Hall also has this same level of flair oozing out from his game when setting up teammates for chances galore, with 14 assists notched up last campaign for Leicester as they romped home to the Championship title.

Alongside that, he also bagged 12 crucial strikes playing all across the central spots, whether that be occupying a holding role like Tielemans is most comfortable in, or being pushed further forward as a number 10.

Games played

31

Goals scored

1

Assists

2

Big chances missed

3

Big chances created

3

Tackles per game

1.7

Duels won per game

4.6

Of course, an obvious area of concern will be the fact the Blues dud has struggled at Stamford Bridge ever since making a cursed £30m move a reality in the summer of 2023.

But, he has only been handed a slim 13 first-team chances, with the table above bringing into the view that he has shown signs of promise in the tough division before, even as Leicester slipped down to the second tier at the end of the 2022-23 season.

Moreover, the Villans have worked wonders with other players who saw their careers fall to the wayside up the league, with Ross Barkley once on the books of Chelsea himself and struggling for opportunities.

Now, he has two goals and one assist from 12 Premier League outings donning a Villa strip, with Dewsbury-Hall surely also keen for a slice of a similar redemptive arc.

Emery and Co might be best placed to operate with caution here and go after Dewsbury-Hall initially on a loan deal, but if this move was to go swimmingly, Villa could win themselves another top performer in the middle of the park.

Sold under Sherwood: Aston Villa star is now among world's best in key area

Aston Villa sold a striker under Tim Sherwood who is one of the best in the world in one key area…

1 ByRoss Kilvington Dec 6, 2024

Reduced to 27 for 3 after being sent in, Super Giants recovered to set a target of 170, and Sunrisers stumbled at the end of the chase

Karthik Krishnaswamy04-Apr-2022Deepak Hooda, KL Rahul and Avesh Khan led the way as Lucknow Super Giants came back from behind with bat and ball to complete a 12-run win over Sunrisers Hyderabad, continuing the reversal of fortunes for teams batting first in IPL 2022.Reduced to 27 for 3 after being sent in, Super Giants recovered to set a target of 170, and Avesh took two powerplay wickets to put them firmly in front. But Sunrisers took the initiative with quickfire knocks from Rahul Tripathi and Nicholas Pooran; at one stage, they needed 27 from 17 balls with six wickets in hand. But Avesh turned it around once again with two wickets in two balls in the 18th over, and two more solid death overs from Andrew Tye and Jason Holder, playing his first game of the season, completed the job.Washington dominates powerplay
Sunrisers didn’t open the bowling with Washington Sundar in their first match against Rajasthan Royals, but they had a clear case to do so against Super Giants. One of their openers, Quinton de Kock, was a left-hander, and the other, KL Rahul, has struggled to score quickly against offspin of late, his strike rate against that style of bowling dropping from 176.66 until the end of 2019.Washington made an even bigger impact than Sunrisers may have hoped for. He dismissed de Kock by denying him room to hit inside-out, and took out another left-hander in Evin Lewis, who fell in the dangerous pursuit of sweeping every ball from a bowler who targets the stumps incessantly. With Rahul and Manish Pandey – another right-hander who starts slowly against spin – taking no chances against him either, Washington ended the powerplay with figures of 3-0-11-2.Romario Shepherd’s hard lengths took out Pandey, meanwhile, after he had conceded a six and a four earlier in the over, and Super Giants finished the powerplay at 32 for 3.A partnership of contrasts
In both 2020 and 2021, Rahul came in for plenty of criticism for his low-risk approach in the powerplay and middle overs, which brought him plenty of runs but also left the feeling that his franchise at the time, Punjab Kings, frequently ended up with lower-than-ideal totals even when they didn’t lose too many wickets. That approach was more understandable in this game, given the situation Super Giants got themselves into.At the other end, Hooda adopted a different approach, after taking 12 balls to get his eye in. The rapid Umran Malik bore the brunt of the punishment, with three fours and a six pinging off Hooda’s bat. It wasn’t that Malik bowled particularly badly: Hooda played some exceptional shots off him, including an open-faced slice to steer a near-yorker past backward point and a whipped six off a short ball angled in to tuck him up for room. There was also a ramped six that the leaping third man fielder – stationed fine for exactly that shot – got a hand to but couldn’t grab hold of.Rahul also hit two fours off Malik, and his second and third overs – the 10th and 14th of Super Giants’ innings – went for a combined 36. Even with Sunrisers’ other bowlers doing decently through this phase, Super Giants’ recovery was firmly on track.Bhuvneshwar and Natarajan nail the yorkers
Malik’s poor night forced Sunrisers into using Washington’s fourth over – which they probably weren’t planning to bowl – in the 17th over. Rahul and Ayush Badoni – who replaced Hooda following his dismissal in the 16th over – took it for 17.Badoni and Holder then took 17 off Shepherd in the 20th over, but in between, Bhuvneshwar and T Natarajan ensured Sunrisers wouldn’t be chasing too steep a target, with expert use of the yorker – if they erred, they sent down low full-tosses rather than half-volleys, and they always followed the batters’ movements with their line, ensuring they seldom got room to free their arms. Super Giants only took a combined 15 runs off the 18th and 19th overs, and lost Rahul and Krunal Pandya in the process.Avesh, part one
Sunrisers began their chase solidly enough, getting to 21 for no loss after three overs, with Kane Williamson picking up an eye-catching six behind the wicket with a scoop over the keeper off Holder in the third over.But just when Williamson’s form was beginning to look ominous – he punched Avesh to the cover point boundary at the start of the fourth over – Avesh got him out, another attempted lap over short fine leg ending up in the hands of the fielder.Abhishek Sharma, the other opener, fell in Avesh’s next over, miscuing an attempted big hit off a slower ball, and Sunrisers ended the powerplay at 40 for 2.KL Rahul and Deepak Hooda put up a half-century stand for the fourth wicket•BCCIOne way, then the other, and back
The middle overs seesawed this way and that. Rahul Tripathi clattered 44 off 30, including taking three fours off the eighth over, delivered by Andrew Tye – the highlight a deft ramp over the keeper off a rising short ball. But Krunal took both him and Aiden Markram out, leaving Sunrisers needing 75 off 41 with six wickets in hand and two new batters at the crease.Pooran began not just slowly but also most unconvincingly, as Ravi Bishnoi beat his outside edge three times in four balls with his wrong’un allied to his across-the-left-hander angle. But he muscled Krunal for a leg-side six in the 14th over and hit Holder for two fours in the 15th, before ending the 16th with a glorious drive to bisect extra-cover and long-off, off Bishnoi, to leave Sunrisers needing 41 off 24. The match was turning once again.Avesh, part two
Tye’s changes of pace and ability to land the ball wide of the left-handers’ hitting arc ensured he only conceded eight runs in the 17th over, with its one boundary coming via a lofted drive from Washington.Then, with Sunrisers needing 33 from 18, Pooran miscued a pull off Avesh only for the ball to carry all the way for six. The luck turned two balls later, as Pooran hit a full-toss straight into long-off’s hands.Then Avesh nicked off Abdul Samad first ball, delivering another blow to Sunrisers’ chances, before closing out the over with two dots and a wide, backing the wide line outside off to Shepherd.Tye delivered another superb over in the 19th, but just when Sunrisers seemed to be slipping out of the contest with 22 required off 8, an attempted yorker turned into a full-toss that Shepherd launched for a straight six.Sixteen of the last over was possible, though difficult. And it proved even more difficult thanks to the new rule regarding batters crossing over. Looking to hit the first ball for six, Washington was caught on the long-on boundary. Where Shepherd may have taken strike next ball in previous seasons, he now had to watch Bhuvneshwar from the other end.Two singles followed, before Bhuvneshwar holed out. Again, Shepherd couldn’t take strike, and with two sixes needed just to tie the game, the match was all but over.