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One of the most exciting talents on Leeds United’s books right now is certainly Harry Gray. The 17-year-old centre-forward comes from a long line of Leeds players.

You can trace that back as recently as his brother Archie, who now plays for Tottenham Hotspur, and his grandfather, Eddie, a Leeds legend.

The England under-17 striker is an excellent talent. He’s shone for Leeds’ academy this season, with four goals in four Premier League 2 games, impressive in itself but even more so given he’s playing four years up.

Last season, Gray – who recently put pen to paper on a new deal in Yorkshire – was given his first-team debut by Daniel Farke, although he has not had that opportunity this term.

That might be due to Farke’s reliance on experienced players.

Farke’s reliance on experience over youth

Whilst the Leeds manager gave the youngest Gray brother his first taste of senior football at the end of last season, he isn’t one to turn to youth players a lot.

In fact, when he played former academy star Archie Gray 52 times in 2023/24, that was certainly more of an outlier.

This season, in Leeds’ battle for Premier League survival, Farke has relied on a more experienced group of players. The Whites have the seventh-highest average age in the top flight in 2025/26, at 27.1 years old, according to FBref.

There is only one player under 25 who has made an appearance this season, namely Wilfried Gnonto, who is 21 years of age.

In theory, that experience should certainly help the West Yorkshire outfit in the top flight.

Some players have years of Premier League football under their belt.

Yet, Leeds are just three points above the relegation zone, and things are not really working out for Farke’s experienced squad this season.

Perhaps it is time to take a punt on someone younger, like Gnonto or Gray.

Well, if recent reports are to be believed, Farke could soon be out of a job and replaced with someone who trusts the youngsters.

Why Leeds could benefit from a change of manager

There have been reports this week which have tipped the Whites to replace Farke with Strasbourg manager Liam Rosenior. Whilst former Leeds star Aidy White says that the appointment would be a “huge gamble,” there are plenty of merits to the move.

Firstly, the former Hull City manager has an impressive record in Ligue 1. He’s coached 42 top-flight games in France, winning 21, drawing ten and losing the other 11.

His average of 1.74 points per game is a real standout and a testament to his ability to churn out results.

Rosenior – Ligue 1 record at Strasbourg

Stat

Number

Games

42

Wins

21

Draws

10

Losses

11

Goals for/against

73/54

Points won

73

Average points per game

1.74

Stats from Transfermarkt

The London-born manager is certainly a highly rated coach. Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley said he is “one of the best emerging British coaches,” which he proved during his time in the Championship with Hull.

He guided the Tigers to seventh in 2023/24, including fantastic performances like this. His side narrowly missed out on a playoff spot.

It wouldn’t be a surprise to see Rosenior try and bed the younger players into the first-team fold at Leeds. He is known for trusting those with less experience, as showcased in the average ages of his squad at Strasbourg this season.

The French side have comfortably got the youngest squad in Ligue 1, fielding a side with an average age of just 21.6 years old. However, this is not an anomaly.

The situation at Hull was the same. In his only full year on Humberside, his squad was the joint sixth youngest, with an average age of 25.4.

It is easy to see why Rosenior could be the perfect head coach for someone like Gray. The homegrown star is a talented youngster who is putting up some excellent performances in the academy.

A coach like Rosenior, who values the academy players and the breakthrough stars, could well give him a chance to shine at senior level.

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If Farke is removed from his post, the Strasbourg boss could be the dream man to take charge and really shake things up at Elland Road.

Related Leeds star was their best signing since Raphinha, now he's on borrowed time

This Leeds star has fallen out of favour this season under Daniel Farke.

Posts ByJoe Nuttall Oct 23, 2025

USL Championship side North Carolina FC announced Tuesday that they will not compete in the 2026 season. The club will release all players, after the playoffs, allowing them to sign elsewhere for 2026 and beyond. As part of the move, North Carolina said their focus will shift toward preparing an application for USL’s new Division One league, set to launch in 2028.

Focus on Division One

The team has been a crucial part of the USL landscape since 2017 and won USL League One as recently as 2023. NCFC are locked in a playoff series with Rhode Island, where they have a 1-0 lead. 

Despite those factors, the league backed North Carolina's decision in a statement: "North Carolina FC’s franchise agreement with the USL Championship concluded at the end of the 2025 season. The club will not compete in the Championship in 2026 and has formally applied to join USL’s new Division One league launching in 2028.

"The USL believes Raleigh has strong potential as a future Division One market if it meets the league’s professional standards, including a minimum 15,000-seat, purpose-built soccer stadium that will serve as an anchor for real estate development. We thank NCFC’s supporters and the Triangle community and look forward to advancing professional soccer in the region."

AdvertisementImagn'Resetting our men’s strategy'

The club said the reason for temporarily shutting down is to focus on the USL's new Division One setup, which will launch in 2028. That league is expected to include a promotion-relegation model that American soccer has yet to embrace. 

Owner Steve Malik, who also owns NWSL's North Carolina Courage, explained the thought process for the team. 

"Right now, it’s essential that we focus our immediate resources and energy on strengthening the foundation for professional soccer in Raleigh by continuing to invest in the Courage and resetting our men’s strategy for the future," he said. 

Division One standards

Joining Division One, though, won't be easy. U.S. soccer has rigorous eligibility standards, including the size of the metropolitan area and stadium capacity. NCFC's current field, WakeMed Soccer Park, seats 9,200. The current minimum threshold is 15,000.

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The immediate future

For all of the discussion about the future, though, NCFC are in the midst of one of their most successful seasons in recent memory. They finished third in the Eastern Conference and could advance to the next round.

Real Madrid captain Dani Carvajal has condemned La Liga’s plan to stage a league match in Miami, calling it “a clear distortion of the competition.” The controversial Villarreal vs Barcelona fixture, initially set for December 20 in the United States, was scrapped amid widespread backlash from players, fans, and clubs across Spain.

• Carvajal slams Miami match plan

  Madrid captain Carvajal has strongly criticised La Liga’s now-cancelled plan to hold the Villarreal vs Barcelona match in Miami, branding the idea as “a clear adulteration of the competition.” Speaking to , the veteran defender argued that moving official league games abroad undermines the principles of fairness and equal competition.

  “I think it’s a clear adulteration of the competition, which doesn’t allow all La Liga teams to compete on the same footing,” Carvajal said. “It’s essential that we, the players, clubs, and the League itself, be fair. We’ll have to advocate for fairness, and I don’t think this does it.”

  The match, which was scheduled for December 20 at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, would have been the first official La Liga game played outside Spain. However, growing resistance from players, coaches, and fans led to the cancellation earlier this week.

Advertisement

• Getty/GOAL
  

  Protests from players and union pressure

  The Spanish Footballers’ Association (AFE) spearheaded protests against La Liga’s plans, calling for “transparency, dialogue, and coherence” from the governing body. Players across all 20 top-flight clubs symbolically paused for the first 15 seconds of their matches over the weekend to express their disapproval.

  In an official statement, AFE emphasised that footballers’ working conditions must remain consistent and fair across all matches, warning that overseas fixtures could disadvantage teams due to travel, climate, and scheduling disruptions. “Footballers’ conditions must be the same in all matches,” the statement read, underlining the players’ concerns about competitive imbalance.

  Real Madrid’s dressing room has been one of the most vocal in opposing the move. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois joined Carvajal in condemning the plan, stating at a press conference: “It adulterates the competition, totally. They put it in because it’s in their interest to do that, but it doesn’t comply with the players’ agreement. Everyone has to play at home and away, apart from force majeure.”

  The pushback extended beyond just Real Madrid as players, clubs, and fans across Spain united in their opposition to what many viewed as a commercial decision that ignored sporting integrity. Several team captains publicly criticised La Liga for prioritising financial gains over fairness, with Espanyol captain Leandro Cabrera telling : “All we ask for is transparency, respect, and coherence. If everything is honest, why not sit down and talk before selling tickets?”

  Even Barcelona coach Hansi Flick and his players were reluctant about the prospect of long-distance travel in the middle of a congested calendar. “My players are not happy, I am not happy, but La Liga decided that we will play this game,” Flick said in his pre-match press conference. Frenkie de Jong also voiced concern over the excessive travel demands, stating that players are already overloaded with games and commitments.

  The growing dissatisfaction, coupled with public protests, created mounting pressure on La Liga president Javier Tebas, who has defended the plan as a necessary step to increase the league’s global reach.

• UEFA’s reluctant approval and eventual cancellation

  Despite UEFA’s initial “exceptional” approval for the match, the controversy proved too divisive. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin made it clear that the decision did not set a precedent, even as La Liga sought to follow Serie A’s lead in taking games abroad.

  Eventually, La Liga announced the cancellation of the Miami fixture, citing “the uncertainty that has arisen in Spain over the past few weeks.” In a statement, the league expressed “deep regret” over the decision, calling it “a missed opportunity for international expansion.” The league argued that the move complied with all regulations and would not have affected the integrity of the competition.

  Promoter Relevent Sports, which collaborated with Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross on the project, said the event was “postponed” due to logistical challenges and timing constraints. The decision means Villarreal vs Barcelona will now take place as originally scheduled at Estadio de la Ceramica.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  What next for La Liga and overseas plans?

  The collapse of the Miami plan has raised serious doubts about La Liga’s future international ambitions. President Javier Tebas has long expressed a desire to make overseas matches a regular part of the league calendar, hoping to emulate the global appeal of the Premier League and NFL.

  However, the fierce backlash from players, unions, and fans suggests such plans may face even stronger resistance moving forward. For now, the focus shifts back to domestic competition, with Barcelona now preparing for their real challenge as they are bracing themselves for a highly-anticipated El Clasico against Carvajal's Madrid. Meanwhile, Villarreal will face Valencia this weekend as attention returns to on-pitch matters.

GT had their biggest-ever powerplay of 82 for 0, as the SRH bowlers struggled in Ahmedabad

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-2025The Gujarat Titans (GT) top three continued their purple patch, scoring 48, 76 and 24, to help them post 224 against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). B Sai Sudharsan, Jos Buttler and Shubman Gill are now Nos. 1, 3 and 4 on the leader board for runs in this IPL. Gill scored 76 off 38 balls, Sudharsan 48 off 23, and Buttler 64 off 37.Buttler’s innings was important because it came when the SRH bowlers had got their act together. At the start, SRH put in arguably the worst bowling performance of the year. Mohammed Shami was sluggish, and struggled on the line on both sides of the wicket; Pat Cummins offered three half volleys in his one over; and Harshal Patel bowled full tosses. The result was GT’s biggest-ever powerplay, 82 for 0, without playing a shot in anger. A measure of how little they had to venture was how only four of these runs came through false shots.Shami offered a leg-side freebie to Gill in the first over, and then got cut and pulled for five fours by Sai Sudharsan in the third. Cummins then provided Gill the leg-up by bowling in the slot for two fours and a six. The bleeding stopped only when Zeeshan Ansari had Sai Sudharsan caught at the wicket while trying to run the ball behind square.It resulted in two overs without a boundary, but Gill and Buttler picked up again. The first unforced error from GT came at the end of the 13th over when Gill just ambled through for a single, allowing Heinrich Klaasen to pull off a deflection run-out MS Dhoni would be proud of.Washington Sundar never really got a measure of the pace of the pitch, which should suggest GT had put on a good score. However, a tired Buttler in the 40-plus degrees of heat found enough sixes to take GT past 220.

Tottenham Hotspur’s hunt for a new attacking midfielder has been unsuccessful to date, with Thomas Frank unable to land any of his transfer targets in such a position.

The need for a new attacking option in the role was evident before the Dane’s arrival, but after injuries to James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski, such a need has grown tenfold.

Morgan Gibbs-White and Eberechi Eze have been the new manager’s main targets throughout this summer, but the former agreed a new deal at Nottingham Forest, whilst the latter joined North London rivals, Arsenal.

With less than a week remaining in the transfer window, owner Daniel Levy desperately needs to hand the manager the tools and money he needs to land the player he desires.

As a result of missing out on the aforementioned duo, the boss has turned his attention to various other targets, but the Lilywhites face a race against time to complete a deal for their signatures.

Spurs’ hunt for a new attacking midfielder this summer

Over recent days, Spurs have made their move to land Como star Nico Paz, stumping up a £61m offer to land the Argentine before the September 1st transfer deadline.

However, the offer was swiftly rejected by the Serie A outfit, with the player now expected to remain with his current employers for at least the 2025/26 campaign.

The youngster isn’t the only player currently in their sights, with West Ham United star Lucas Paqueta another target they’re eyeing, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The journalist confirmed that the Lilywhites have reached out to the Hammers to discuss a possible transfer, with talks seemingly heading in the right direction for the 27-year-old.

It has previously been reported that the Brazilian could be available for as little as £40m before the transfer deadline, potentially seeing Frank’s side land themselves a bargain transfer.

Why Spurs’ latest target would be perfect for Kudus

Despite failing to land a new attacking midfielder in recent weeks, Spurs have already conducted shrewd business in the transfer market to date – completing a deal for Mohammed Kudus from West Ham United.

The hierarchy forked out £55m for the Ghanaian’s signature earlier this window, with such a figure seeming to be a bargain given his early-season form in North London.

He’s yet to find the back of the net for the Lilywhites, but has already racked up two assists in his first two league outings – with both coming in the 3-0 triumph over Burnley on the opening day.

However, he could also be aided in his attempts at the club if the hierarchy back manager Frank in the market, potentially landing a number ten who could provide Kudus with needed opportunities in front of goal.

A deal for Paqueta could see a reunion between the pair, after they operated together in the Hammers first team for two years – before Kudus joined Spurs this summer.

Any move could hand the new addition the platform for added success in North London, with the Brazilian’s figures from the 2024/25 season showcasing the creative threat he possesses.

Paqueta, who’s been labelled “one of the best 10s in the world” by one data analyst, ranked in the 94th percentile for through balls completed per 90 (0.7), whilst also ranking in the 81st percentile for passes into the final third (5.1).

Both tallies highlight his desire to break the lines and thread balls into dangerous areas, which could massively aid Kudus in trying to build on his impressive start to life under Frank.

He also achieved a pass accuracy rate of 78%, with 5.8 of his passes per 90 being described as progressive – further showcasing his ability to cause the opposition havoc at any given opportunity.

Paqueta has shown evidence that he’s capable of finding the back of the net himself, posting a goal-per-shot-on-target rate of 0.7 – which saw him rank in the top 6% of all players in England’s top-flight last season.

Kudus’ assist tally already this campaign could allow the big-money addition to return the favour to his former teammate in forward areas, should the Lilywhites hierarchy land the Brazilian.

The prospect of the pair linking up once again is certainly something for the Spurs fans to get excited about, with their partnership potentially playing a huge role in their potential success in 2025/26.

£40m would be a bargain transfer fee for Paqueta, subsequently landing a player with top-flight experience which could prove vital in any chances of Premier League title glory in the years ahead.

Their own Rice: Spurs begin talks to force through "world-class" signing

Tottenham Hotspur have made their move to land a top-level European talent in recent days.

4

By
Ethan Lamb

Aug 27, 2025

On another WACA surface that offered bowlers help, the visitors were able to defend 208 against struggling Western Australia

Tristan Lavalette13-Feb-2025Four days after the shortest outright result in Sheffield Shield history, considerable pace and bounce was still evident at the WACA ground as South Australia continued their stranglehold over Western Australia with a pivotal One-Day Cup victory.South Australia, who have not won the title since 2011-12, moved to the top of the table with one match to play before the final after dismissing last-placed WA for 164 in the 39th over with quick Liam Scott taking 3 for 16.Related

763 balls, 66 all out, 7 for 11: McAndrew recounts wild WACA

Konstas flays century but Hearne's ton the matchwinner

The pitch used for this match had limited grass coverage and contrasted with the nearby green-tinged surface, which had just 763 deliveries bowled on it during South Australia’s six-wicket victory in the Shield.But the quicks still relished the conditions with 19-year-old WA paceman Mahli Beardman bowling with rapid pace to finish with 4 for 46 in his second List A match as South Australia reached a seemingly modest total.Tall offspinner Corey Rocchiccioli also enjoyed the bounce and finished with 2 for 38 off 10 overs in his List A debut. It was a tonic for him after missing out on the tour of Sri Lanka.”The wicket was fine, don’t think you can read [the low scores] too much into it…just one of those weeks,” said Rocchiccioli, who also said he’s eyeing playing in the UK during the off-season.Chasing 209 was never going to be easy for WA, who had five of their top six batters looking to make amends after being part of the side that capitulated for 120 and 66 in the Shield.Opener Sam Fanning did not have nightmares with his 49 in their first innings being the top score of that match. And his form continued as he drove well and attacked short-pitched bowling to dominate an opening stand of 40 with Jayden Goodwin.But Fanning was cut short on 34 after Jason Sangha took a brilliant one-handed catch above his head in the slips to trigger a collapse of 4 for 4. Skipper Ashton Turner has rescued his side plenty of times over the years and appeared to be on a mission with D’Arcy Short as they combined for a 77-run stand.But Turner almost out of nowhere on 43 was clean bowled by Scott in a misjudgement after he decided to let the ball go. WA’s slim hopes rested on Short, who notched the first half-century between the teams across the Shield-One-Day Cup double.The task proved too difficult with Short holing out on 55 to effectively ice the match for South Australia.Earlier, openers Henry Hunt and Mackenzie Harvey scored quickly against the new ball after the visitors were sent in to bat. There wasn’t the tennis ball bounce and prodigious sideways movement that was evident throughout the five sessions of the Shield.But speedster Lance Morris bent his back and Hunt was late on a short ball to hook straight to fine leg. Beardman entered the attack and almost matched Morris’ pace as he reached speeds of around 140kph. He got through the defences of Daniel Drew and hit the top of off-stump in a sign of things to come.South Australia slumped to 51 for 3 when Harvey fell to Rocchiccioli. With left-arm spinner Ashton Agar sidelined with a calf injury sustained in the ILT20, Rocchiccioli finally got his opportunity having been WA’s frontline spinner in the Shield in recent seasons.South Australia recovered with captain Nathan McSweeney, on his return from the Sri Lanka tour, and Sangha playing with relative ease in a 54-run partnership.Sangha had been the standout batter during the Shield match with 45 and 24 not out as his technique and application thwarted the minefield. He raced to 38 before throwing his wicket away out of nowhere after hitting a short and wide delivery from Morris straight down third man’s throat.McSweeney had toiled to 28 before uncharacteristically losing patience and being stumped after missing a straighter Rocchiccioli delivery. South Australia appeared in danger of a score of under 150, but Scott held the backend together with 47 as they batted through the 50 overs.South Australia, however, didn’t have a late flourish with Beardman completing an eye-catching performance with a further three wickets, including clean bowling Scott and Harry Matthias with piercing yorkers.But they had more than enough on the board as their quicks went about once again tormenting WA’s beleaguered batters.

Tim David fired for the second time in as many matches to steer Hobart Hurricanes to a convincing win over Sydney Thunder and top spot on the BBL table.Hurricanes ran down Thunder’s 164 for 6 at Ninja Stadium on Friday night with 19 balls to spare, with David finishing unbeaten on 68 from 38 balls.David, elevated to No. 5 after Ben McDermott suffered hamstring soreness while fielding, came to life in the two-over power surge, hitting 26 from six balls. David iced the win with a six off Wes Agar, his sixth six of the match.The 28-year-old played an almost identical hand in Hurricanes’ win over Adelaide Strikers in their previous match with an unbeaten 62 from 28 deliveries.Hurricanes have won five matches in a row to stamp themselves as genuine title contenders with three games remaining before the finals. They have missed the finals in the past two seasons and are one of two teams yet to lift the BBL silverware.They overcame an injury scare in the field when skipper Nathan Ellis crashed head-first into an advertising board in the 15th over when diving trying to stop a boundary. He was assessed by medical staff and remarkably returned to the field soon afterwards and continued to bowl.Thunder drop from first to third on the ladder with four wins from eight games. Earlier, David Warner top scored for them with an unbeaten 88 off 66 balls in an innings that took time to get going.Thunder didn’t hit a boundary until the fifth over and grafted to 85 for 3 after 13. But they picked up the pace towards the back end, with Sam Billings contributing 28 from 15 balls.Warner, who snapped his bat early on, looked more comfortable the longer he went and took the long handle to Ellis in a final over that went for 17 runs.Young gun Sam Konstas failed to fire for Thunder after a whirlwind two Tests against India and was out for 4 from nine balls, gloving a short ball from Riley Meredith.Openers Mitchell Owen and Matthew Wade got Hurricanes off to a flying start in the chase with the latter hitting George Garton out of the ground.Hurricanes lost three wickets to keep Thunder somewhat in the hunt before David and Chris Jordan steered them home.

Harry Kane has spoken out in defence of new Bayern Munich team-mate Nicolas Jackson, with the odd question being asked of why the Senegalese striker has been drafted in by the Bundesliga giants. Kane has pointed out that the lively frontman put in plenty of encouraging Premier League performances for Chelsea when leading the line for an often inconsistent outfit.

Jackson embracing new challenge in Germany

Jackson helped the Blues to Conference League and FIFA Club World triumphs in 2024-25, but is now embracing a new challenge. He bid farewell to Stamford Bridge late in the summer transfer window.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWill £70m purchase option by triggered?

He has a contract in England through to 2033, with it considered to be unlikely that a £70 million ($95m) purchase option in his season-long loan will be triggered – through the number of appearances he makes – or taken up by Bayern.

Jackson provides alternative to Kane

Jackson will find himself filling back-up duties behind prolific England captain Kane for as long as Bayern’s talismanic striker is fully fit and firing. He will, however, provide useful competition and a rotation option for Vincent Kompany to draft in when required.

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GettyKane supportive of new Allianz Arena colleague

Kane – who knows all about life in the Premier League from his record-breaking spell at Tottenham – has said of Jackson, who made his Bayern debut off the bench in a 5-0 demolition of Hamburg: "If you follow the Premier League, you can see that he has many good attributes. He creates a lot of chances. And he's here to help the team. We're already working together in training and finishing together.

"I feel he can have a big impact for us this season, with his speed, his movement, and his goals. He's a great addition for us. I didn't know him very well. We played against him in the summer [England vs Senegal], and he made a very good impression, he played a really good game."

New Zealand’s new Test captain Tom Latham wants the team to play with “no fear” in the three-match series against India as they look to turn around a run of four consecutive World Test Championship defeats which have all-but ended their hopes of a place in the final.Latham has taken over as full-time captain after Tim Southee stood down following the series against Sri Lanka last month. He starts his tenure with the three Tests in Bengaluru, Pune and Mumbai over the next three weeks before hosting England at home for a further three matches.New Zealand have only ever won two Tests in India out of 36 matches with victories in 1969 in Nagpur and 1988 in Mumbai. On the recent tour of Sri Lanka they lost a closely-fought opening Test by 63 runs before being comprehensibly beaten by an innings and 154 runs in the second where they were bowled out 88 in the first innings.”From my point of view it’s about trying to continue doing the good stuff we’ve been doing, trying to put my spin on things,” Latham said. “It’s an exciting challenging going over to India and once we can go over there hopefully [we can] play with a bit of freedom, bit of no fear and try and take it to them. If we do that hopefully gives ourselves a good chance.”Think in India we’ve seen teams that have done well out there in the past have been quite aggressive towards them, especially with the bat they’ve looked to play a few shots, but also put them under pressure which is really important over there rather than sitting and waiting for something to happen. We’ll decide on how we want to play when we get over there, but guys have got plans around how they like to approach things and hopefully we can fine tune those.”Tom Latham faces some tricky selection questions in India•Getty Images

“We actually did some really good things in Sri Lanka,” Latham added. “We fell on the wrong sides of the results but there were some good things. The approach we had with the bat, apart from that one innings I thought we played really well. So it’s about continuing that as much as we can and trying to play a brand that we are proud of playing and if we do that hopefully it gives us a good chance.”Latham has previously led the Test side on nine occasions as a stand-in for Kane Williamson between 2020 and 2022 but now has the opportunity to leave a more permanent mark in the role.”Will certainly be leaning on those experiences,” he said. “Obviously a different situation being full-time where you can put your own spin on things but think what I want to do is encourage guys to be themselves, be leaders amongst themselves as well and hopefully if we can do that we can play the brand of cricket we want to play.”As captain, Latham faces being part of the tricky selection call as to whether former captain Southee continues to keep his place in the XI after a lean run of wicket-taking in Test cricket over the last 12 months. Will O’Rourke was outstanding in Sri Lanka while Matt Henry and Ben Sears were on the sidelines but at the very least Latham will be looking to tap into Southee’s knowledge.”If you look back, think in Bangalore [Southee] took seven wickets last time we toured there,” Latham said. “Someone with that amount of experience who’s done it for many years there’s certainly no reason why he can’t get back to where he’s been in the past. He’s been a fantastic bowler for us for many years, there’s a reason why he’s so high on the wicket list for New Zealand.”He’ll have a similar role that he has always had whether it’s as captain or in the past, someone like that who has a wealth of experience, a wealth of knowledge in all conditions and he’s done it for many years and has been successful. We’ll certainly be tapping into his mind, his ideas, so looking forward to it.”

After a characteristically slow start, this summer is turning into a massive one for Arsenal.

Mikel Arteta’s side have already announced the signings of Martin Zubimendi, Christian Norgaard and Kepa Arrizabalaga, and they don’t look close to being done there.

Andrea Berta and Co have finally agreed a deal in principle for Viktor Gyokeres, and then Noni Madueke’s arrival should be announced any day now.

Furthermore, links to £77m Real Madrid superstar Rodrygo won’t go away, and if recent reports are to be believed, they could soon sell a first-team regular, which could free up space and finances for the Brazilian superstar.

Why Arsenal would want to sign Rodrygo

Being the incredible player he is, there are several reasons why Arsenal would want to splash the cash on Rodrygo, such as his raw output.

Since the start of the 23/24 campaign, the “world-class superstar,” as dubbed by Luka Modrić, has scored 31 goals and provided 20 assists in 105 appearances, totalling 7159 minutes.

That means even though he has played out of his favour left-wing position for most of that period, the former Santos gem was still able to average a goal involvement every 2.05 games, or every 140.37 minutes.

Appearances

51

54

Minutes

3707′

3452′

Goals

17

14

Assists

9

11

Goal Involvements per Match

0.50

0.46

Minutes per Goal Involvement

142.57′

138.08′

Furthermore, while he would almost certainly spend most of his time at the Emirates off the left, his ability to play across the frontline would undoubtedly be another of the reasons Arteta and Co would want to bring him in.

It would allow him to cover for Bukayo Saka at times, or even start as a false nine and give the team a whole new dimension in challenging games.

Finally, the 24-year-old has also won all there is to win in the club game and played a crucial role in the Spanish giants’ multiple Champions League triumphs.

In other words, he’d bring some much-needed know-how to an already talented side who have been so close to getting it over the line on so many occasions now.

With all that said, bringing in a world-class talent like Rodrygo would be a massive financial commitment, although it looks like Arsenal might be making some changes to the squad, which could help facilitate it.

What Rodrygo's arrival would mean for Arsenal

With Gyokeres and Madueke set to join the club and then links to Eberechi Eze refusing to go away, it seems incredibly unlikely that Arsenal would sign Rodrygo without first making an attacking sale.

Transfer Focus

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

The likes of Saka and Kai Havertz aren’t going anywhere, and Gabriel Jesus is still out injured, so the options fall on the left-hand side.

Gabriel Martinelli was linked with a big-money move to Al Hilal earlier this summer, but it was then revealed to be nothing more than paper talk.

That then brings us to Leandro Trossard, and based on a recent report from Sport Bild’s Christian Falk, Bayern Munich are interested in him.

The German journalist has revealed that the Belgian international could be FC Hollywood’s “next big signing,” and while he makes no mention of how much the fee could be, reports from earlier this month claimed that the Gunners would want £20m.

According to separate reports from Just Arsenal, Bayern have already opened talks with the player’s camp regarding a move.

Appearances

54

56

Minutes

3452

3455′

Goals

14

10

Assists

11

10

Goal Involvements per Match

0.46

0.35

Minutes per Goal Involvement

138.08

172.75′

While the former Brighton & Hove Albion star has been a useful player for Arteta over the last two and a half years, it would be good money for a winger who is set to turn 31 at the end of the year, and wasn’t massively impactful last season.

For example, the “sensational” ace, as dubbed by journalist Charles Watts, produced 20 goal involvements in 56 appearances, totalling 3455 minutes, which comes out to a goal involvement every 2.8 games, or every 172.75 minutes.

In contrast, the Real monster scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in 54 appearances, totalling 3452 minutes, which comes out to a goal involvement every 2.16 games, or every 138.08 minutes.

Ultimately, Trossard has been an undeniable success at Arsenal, but with where the team want to go and the players they need to take them there, this feels like the right time to say thank you and goodbye.

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