Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola slammed the state of the pitch after the win at Nottingham Forest but said it ended up benefitting his side.
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For the second time this season, the Sydney Sixers captain completed a T20 century even as it seemed like time was running out
ESPNcricinfo staff22-Dec-2018For the second time this season, Ellyse Perry completed a T20 century even as it seemed like time was running out. And she did it in some style as well. A monstrous six over deep midwicket to take her from 93 to 99 and a sweet little sweep to the fine leg boundary to bring up the landmark. Nervous nineties? Pft.
She and the Sydney Sixers were batting first, and for the most part, they were batting slowly. Even as late as the 14th over, she was only 39 off 40 deliveries. Then she got past fifty and everything changed. She began the 18th over with a sequence that read 6, 4, 6, 4 and arrived at the final over still 16 runs away from the hundred. She took all six balls – there was even a run-out as she scrambled back to retain strike – but in the end she got to the landmark.Perry’s stats this Women’s Big Bash season are mind-boggling. She has 419 runs in only six innings, at an average of 209 and a strike-rate of 142. This run began almost as soon as the allrounder returned home from a victorious World T20 campaign, when she struck a 59-ball century. She was chasing then and her side had levelled the 167 put up by the Perth Scorchers but she was still three short of the hundred. Heather Graham ran in. Perry took strike. The ball was crashed straight down the ground to spark the celebrations.The Sixers faced a sterner fight against the Heat on Saturday with almost the entire batting line-up fighting hard to get to the target of 167. Jess Jonassen top-scored with 33 but it may well have been the eighth-wicket pair of Laura Wolvaardt and Laura Harris that gave the hosts the most cause for concern, coming in with the score at 138 and pushing it dangerously close to match-winning.
The Minnesota Twins honored their six-time MLB All-Star and 2009 American League MVP Joe Mauer with a statue outside of Target Field in Minneapolis on Sunday.
Mauer, 41, is a St. Paul native and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024 as a first-ballot entry. Now, he's enshrined in his city, steps outside of the Twins' ballpark.
“To think I’m bronzed here at Target Field in Minnesota, it means more to me than you guys will ever know,” Mauer said to a crowd as he stood beside his new statue Sunday via MLB.com. “Obviously it was a big summer last year, going into Cooperstown—that was just an unbelievable experience. But to see myself here, this isn’t going to be moving for a long time. Here in my home state of Minnesota, I was always proud to put on this uniform, to play for this club, and to go out there and try to win every night with my teammates. So this just means the world to me.”
In a heartwarming moment, the statue was unveiled to the large crowd by Mauer's children:
And the statue is extremely well done, too:
Before the Twins played the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Mauer threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his longtime former teammate Justin Morneau, another Twins legend.
Mauer's signature No. 7 was retired by the Twins in 2019, one year after he retired following 15 MLB seasons, all in his home state of Minnesota. Now, he's forever commemorated right outside of Target Field.
The collective strength of the team shone through at Lord’s just as it did in Brisbane a few months ago
Nagraj Gollapudi17-Aug-20216:44
What makes this Indian pace attack so lethal?
Even before Virat Kohli declared* India’s second innings, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah were in for a surprise as they entered the Long Room inside the Lord’s Pavilion at lunch. The entire Indian squad, led by head coach Ravi Shastri, was at the door step, lavishly cheering the pair on.It was a mark of respect from the dressing room to the two tailenders after their unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 89 runs had put India in an unassailable position. That unprecedented gesture played a big role in the two fast bowlers quickly changing and racing back out with even greater vigour to share new ball.Kohli said later that he wanted at least 55 overs to bowl England out. That he believed India could knock a team out on their own turf in front of a partisan crowd was because he had a bowling attack so sharp, so incisive that it has been compared to some of the very best in history.Bumrah, Shami and Ishant Sharma allied with the fast, furious and youthful Mohammed Siraj destroyed every England batter’s confidence with a combination of pace, discipline, accuracy, consistency and clever presence of mind. It was such a compelling display that even the great James Anderson would have quietly appreciated it from his dressing room.The show started with Bumrah’s intimidating first over to Rory Burns. The left-hander left the field rattled. And it ended in the dying light, with just about half hour of play left, with Siraj gleefully dodging all his team-mates to go and pluck the stump he had just knocked back despite all of Anderson’s best efforts.James Anderson is bowled by Mohammed Siraj, and it’s game over•Getty ImagesIndia have now managed two miraculous wins in 2021 – at the Gabba in January and now at Lord’s. The thread that connects both victories is the collective effort by the 11 members in the team. KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma put on a century opening stand, Kohli made a scrappy 42, and while England regained the advantage on the second morning with two quick wickets, Jadeja and Rishabh Pant took India to a strong total. By now, the pitch had flat-lined, but India’s fast men bent their backs and brought it back to life to crack open England’s batters, well everyone except Root, to limit their lead.On the penultimate afternoon, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane batted out nearly two sessions to not just keep India afloat, but also resurrect their careers which were in danger after repeated failures. Every time England thought they had a foot in the door, they would be pushed out by more than one Indian hand. And then came ‘Shamrah’, an R Ashwin trademark to describe Shami and Bumrah’s batting brilliance.Kohli agrees that there is a pattern developing where India are now winning not due to the heroics of one player, but all 11. “KL and Rohit, had an outstanding partnership on day one,” the captain told which conducted interviews with several Indian players immediately after the Lord’s win. “The opposition put us [in] and [they thought] we were going to get blown away. Just the character we showed, to get a result in 60 overs on day five when the pitch was not offering anything to the bowlers… all I can say is I am really proud of the team. We have had some amazing overseas wins but this one is right up there just because of the belief and character we showed and that’s been the hallmark of our team.”While he obviously had special praise for Shami and Bumrah’s batting efforts, Kohli never thought they would help secure a lead so big that it just turned the fate of the match. “Unbelievable. We all knew that we are counting on Rishabh to carry through with the tail and get us extra runs. We were thinking, ‘Okay, 200 would be great. 175-180, we’ll take that as well to have a crack at them.’ But 280 is something we could not have imagined.3:29
Laxman: This win on par with the Brisbane win for India
“Just shows that in this game when you walk on to the field you have a chance as an individual. If you have that belief to take that chance special things can happen. Jasprit and Shami were outstanding – what they did shifted the momentum towards us. The opposition was completely out of the game. We knew that they were going to play for survival and if we got the right breakthroughs then it is going to be so tough for them which ended up being the case.”He might polarise opinions, but Kohli the captain, like the batter, has always been clear about his aim: play to win. Now he leads a team in his image, a fact made clear by Shami when he said none of the bowlers wanted to let the opportunity to win a Test match at Lord’s go to waste. “There was no pace, low (bounce). But all of us including Ishant, Bumrah, Siraj and myself bowled really well. Our aim was to attack the stumps at all times and make them play because we had very limited number of overs. The biggest happiness is we now have the series lead. Incredible.”This collective strength is even helping young players to feel like they belong on the biggest stage. Siraj, for example, has now played a role in two historic overseas victories. As a teenager, when he was busy playing tennis-ball cricket in the dusty by-lanes and in Hyderabad and Secunderabad, Siraj would dream of playing at Lord’s one day. In his Test at the fabled ground, where many-a-fast bowler has been distracted by the vagaries of the slope, he emerged as India’s highest wicket-taker. “From childhood I used to watch Lord’s, but to play here now and perform and help the country win I cannot express my happiness. I will enjoy this.”Kohli agrees that there is a pattern developing where India are winning not due to the heroics of one player, but all 11•AFP/Getty ImagesKohli has moved into the top echelon of Test captains with with only Steve Waugh, Ricky Ponting and Graeme Smith boasting more Test match wins. But he is still work in progress. It is only recently that he has sought out and allowed the likes of Rahane, Rohit, Bumrah, Ishant and Ashwin to help him with bowling plans. Rohit was a key sounding board for Rahane in Australia, too. His success as opener has played a huge role in India successes and he has also played mentor to young players like Pant and Shubman Gill.”To win a Test match like that you need character and that’s exactly what everyone showed,” Rohit said after the Lord’s win. “Not just one or two guys, but all 11 came together at different stages, put their hand up and took the responsibility. And that’s a great sign.”On Tuesday morning Shastri put a picture of the entire Indian squad along with the support staff bunched together under the visitors’ honours board at Lord’s. There was a palpable sense of joy on each and every face in that photograph because everyone in it had contributed to a miraculous victory. A win for the ages.
Australia’s qualification for the 2019 event might have been touch and go under the new rules
Daniel Brettig30-Jul-20202:16
The World Cup Super League explained
“Try explaining that to the man on the street.”Given the mouthful of terms and conditions plastered onto the screen during a rain delay in excellent coverage of the recent Test series between England and West Indies, it was perhaps understandable to hear Mike Atherton utter these words about the ICC’s new ODI league, after Ian Ward had wondered aloud why the existing rankings weren’t enough.What may have been more helpful, though, is to use a scenario from recent history to underline how different things will be in a world where cricket’s establishment nations actually face an equitable qualification bar to play in a global event. This is rather a change from the usual task of just turning up on the scheduled start date every four years and trying their luck from there, while the game’s other nations scramble, scrape and struggle to fight their way into the token couple of tournament spots left over.Of course, there had already been an attempt to use the rankings as a qualification method for 2015 to 2019, but it raised a couple of pretty large red flags. First, that historical points from a previous World Cup cycle still factored into rankings right up to the cut-off date – Australia, for instance, were still being pushed up the ICC table by their performances in the 2015 World Cup to ensure automatic qualification in late 2017, long after those results had lost currency.Second, and arguably more troublesome, is the fact that teams could manipulate the rankings by scheduling extra matches in order to try to reach the qualifying threshold. Essentially it was possible for nations to “game the system” by slotting in extra fixtures if needed.As the ICC’s cricket chief Geoff Allardice put it: “Ahead of the World Cup in England, in 2019, the qualification process was based on the ODI rankings. And the rankings can be influenced by the access to which opponents you get and if you end up playing against high rated teams you can move more speedily up the rankings.”So, the idea of creating a league and having each of the eligible teams competing over the same number of matches against the spread of opponents was felt to be a way to be able to bring a bit more meaning to the matches that were being played.”Funnily enough, there’s a terrific example of how greater meaning might have be gleaned from 2019, involving the eventual semi-finalists Australia, that clearly demonstrates how the new league, while far from perfect, will fundamentally change how “the man on the street” sees bilateral ODI series.
“The rankings can be influenced by the access to which opponents you get and if you end up playing against high rated teams you can move more speedily up the rankings.”Geoff Allardice
Having lifted the Cup on home soil in 2015, the Australian ODI team went more or less into mothballs as a competitive team over the next three or so years. With Test cricket as Cricket Australia’s publicly stated priority, ODI results were spotty at best, and often, as when they toured South Africa in late 2016 or faced England at home and away in 2018, downright embarrassing from one of the world’s best and certainly richest teams.”One of the challenges we know is trying to get our best players playing all forms of the game when they play most of the year,” Australia’s coach Justin Langer said. “So in the past it seemed to be that our ranking in T20 cricket wasn’t great because a lot of times some of our players were rested through that form of the game, and it’s the same now with one day cricket. It’s hard to have them playing all forms so you’ve got to work out what your priorities are.”The reality now though is that every form is a high priority, and we’ve been doing a lot over the last couple of months around how we can improve our 50-over cricket, we haven’t been great at it since the guys won the last World Cup in Australia. It’s certainly something we’re focusing on, and I guess it gives it more importance now with the table and new schedule as it is.”By unofficially ranking the world’s ODI teams on a win percentage basis in bilateral matches between the 2015 and 2019 Cups, Australia actually finished in seventh spot, just above the cut-off line for automatic qualification under the new league’s terms. In doing so they pipped Pakistan, while West Indies and Sri Lanka sagged a long way behind. Though they played fewer matches, Bangladesh and Afghanistan outperformed these “bigger” nations, illustrating why a more meritocratic system is long overdue.”The prioritisation even from a playing POV, prior to Covid-19, some countries talking about their series in the Super League, wasn’t as easy to rest players as it used to be because the matches all counted towards World Cup qualification,” Allardice said. “In terms of making sure teams were putting out their strongest XI, teams aren’t going to take any of these teams lightly and we’re probably going to see a higher quality of ODI cricket as a result.”What makes things still more intriguing for Australia however, is this. Because they had more or less ignored ODIs as a format of priority in intervening years, they entered their final three assignments: home and away ODI series against India and another in the UAE against Pakistan, struggling to maintain what would now be one of the automatic qualification places based on their winning percentage.Anyone who has watched the Amazon documentary will know that the early months of 2019 were far from easy for the Australians. Langer was struggling under the strain of the national coaching job, ODI captain Aaron Finch woefully out of touch as a batsman after being pitched into the Test team, and there was uncertainty about the looming returns of Steven Smith and David Warner from their Newlands bans.Australia’s win percentage between the 2015 and 2019 World Cups was fairly low•ESPNcricinfo LtdGiven their lack of context or any pressure in terms of qualification for the World Cup, the white ball matches against India and Pakistan ultimately served as a time in which, under less pressure, the Australian side was able to regroup and pull together a workable formula for playing ODIs, losing creditably to India at home, then coming from behind to win a thrilling series against Virat Kohli’s men 3-2 away, then swatting Pakistan aside 5-0 in the UAE. They won eight matches in a row to finish with a 50% winning record for the cycle.Contrast this with the kinds of suffocating pressure experienced by the likes of Scotland or Ireland in their failed efforts to qualify for a World Cup played more or less on their doorstep, or the cycle of anxiety and jubilation and/or desolation faced by major nations trying to qualify for a FIFA World Cup.Faced with the prospect of missing automatic qualification and then needing to enter an extra tournament just to take part in the World Cup proper, it is not hard to imagine Langer’s image in The Test coming to resemble that of the harried England football manager Graham Taylor during qualifiers for the 1994 football World Cup in an earlier fly-on-the-wall effort, An Impossible Job.”It certainly puts a new perspective on it,” Langer said. “For a long time there’s been discussion or whispers or observations that perhaps a lot of one day cricket is, not meaningless cricket, but people will say ‘what’s the point of it’ and we all know what the point of it is, but from a pure performance point of view, it gives us a whole new perspective and a really good one I think.”In terms of performance it gives it great relevance, so hopefully that means we have our best players on the park more often. You’ve got to make sure you qualify – with the schedule as it is, you don’t want to have to qualify for the World Cup. With the Ashes and probably India Test series now, the World Cup is numero uno in white ball cricket, so of course we want to be qualifying for it, playing great cricket and building up to the World Cup at the same time.”As it stands, the cut-off date for automatic qualification ahead of the 2023 event is likely to be around February of that year, before the qualification repechage event in June/July ahead of the World Cup itself in India in October and November. That sort of time-frame would mean that Australia’s typical program of home ODIs following a Test summer would loom as a last chance to qualify: either for the hosts themselves, or opponents including England and South Africa.That, undoubtedly, would be a pressure understood by “the man on the street”, regardless of how complex the ODI league might look at the current distance.
da roleta： Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca isn’t resting on his laurels in the transfer market as he attempts to get several deals done swiftly.
da betsul： Jamie Gittens looks to be closing in on a move to Stamford Bridge. Borussia Dortmund accepted a bid of around £55m for the English talent, and he is set to have his medical soon.
The move for the 20-year-old is certainly a statement of intent by Maresca, but the Blues are also closing in on another attacking player.
Indeed, Joao Pedro looks set to make the move from Brighton and Hove Albion to Chelsea, as the Blues have agreed a deal worth up to £60m for the versatile forward.
Why Chelsea are signing Joao Pedro
Maresca will be looking to move on both Christoper Nkunku and João Felix during the summer transfer window.
As such, bringing in a versatile forward like Pedro makes perfect sense. He may have scored just ten goals in the top flight last season, but his attributes stretch to more than just finding the back of the net.
Indeed, he demonstrated his creative side by registering 11 big chances in the top flight, along with averaging 1.1 key passes and 1.1 successful dribbles per game for Brighton. This certainly proves he’s a particularly dangerous player in the final third.
This is the sort of forward that can thrive in Maresca’s system, no doubt about that. Add someone like Gittens on the wing, and it is a recipe for success.
Pedro’s PL statistics for Brighton last season
Goals
10
Assists
6
Big chances created
11
Key passes per game
1.1
Successful dribbles per game
1.1
Shots per game
1.7
Via Sofascore
The Blues may be paying a premium price for the Brazilian, but they’ve had success when signing a similar player before…
The Chelsea star who's worth more than Pedro
When Chelsea spent £40m to sign Palmer from Manchester City in 2023, plenty of eyebrows were raised.
Not because of the fee, but because Pep Guardiola decided to let a player of such potential leave for so cheap. The Spaniard even lauded the player as having a “special quality” in front of goal after he scored his first Champions League goal for City, aged just 18.
The Stamford Bridge side have witnessed Palmer’s maturation over the previous two seasons, going from a winger to an attacking midfielder and even a false 9, starring in similar positions on the pitch to the incoming Pedro.
Across 94 games in all competitions, the 23-year-old has registered an enormous 68 goal contributions – 40 goals and 28 assists – in just 94 matches.
These statistics have more than repaid the £40m spent on him two years ago, but Palmer shines across other areas also.
When compared to his peers in Europe’s top five leagues, the former City starlet ranks in the top 12% for progressive passes (6.04) per 90, while also ranking in the top 10% for total shots (3.41) and in the top 5% for shot-creating actions (5.7) per 90.
This set of figures proves that Palmer is one of the finest attacking midfielders on the continent, which is evidenced by his market value.
According to Transfermarkt, the youngster is now valued at a whopping €120m (£102m), which is an incredible rise from the £40m they paid in 2023.
Not only that, but he is worth way more than Pedro, suggesting the Blues have struck gold by bringing Palmer to London.
He'd be unplayable with Pedro: Chelsea also trying to sign £85m PL star
Chelsea are looking to sign a Premier League winger
1 ByRoss Kilvington Jun 30, 2025
Nottingham Forest could now look to sign an “unbelievable” forward as part of a swap deal for Morgan Gibbs-White, according to a report.
Gibbs-White could be heading for Nottingham Forest exit
It may have been a difficult task for Forest to keep hold of Gibbs-White even if they had secured qualification for next season’s Champions League, but having missed out on the top five, it now appears as though the midfielder could be heading for an exit.
The 25-year-old is now considered a dream signing for Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, amid Martin Odegaard’s disappointing performances last season, while Manchester City are also considered frontrunners in the race for the Englishman.
The Tricky Trees are not willing to let their star player leave on the cheap, however, with the aforementioned report suggesting they could look to hold out for a fee of £100m for the maestro, who remains under contract until 2027.
A new report from Football Insider has also suggested that Nottingham Forest could agree a deal of a different nature, as they may look to sign Jack Grealish as part of a swap deal for Gibbs-White.
Having been left out of Pep Guardiola’s squad for the final game of the season, Grealish could be on his way out this summer, and a move to the City Ground is a possibility, with transfer correspondent Pete O’Rourke adding: “Swap deals are notoriously hard in the Premier League, but we know Morgan Gibbs-White is a major target for Manchester City this summer.
Nottingham Forest make bid to sign "elegant" defender likened to Van Dijk
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side are working to strengthen their squad after a terrific season overall.
ByEmilio Galantini May 31, 2025
“If they get an offer which is too good to turn down, Forest might have to let him move to City… to work under Pep Guardiola… you’d probably be thinking that Forest will be looking to double their investment.
“Jack Grealish potentially is a swap deal – [that] might cause unrest if Forest were to break their budget to try and get Grealish in.”
"Unbelievable" Grealish could reignite career at Forest
The England international has been lauded as “unbelievable” courtesy of his contributions for the Three Lions in the past, but he has struggled to force his way into Guardiola’s plans as of late.
As such, it would make sense if City cash-in on their £100m signing this summer, and he could be a solid signing for Forest under Nuno Espirito Santo, if he is able to rediscover his previous form, with the winger often catching the eye during his time at Villa Park.
The 29-year-old was arguably at his best during his Aston Villa days, during which time he regularly contributed goals and assists in the Premier League.
Season
PL appearances
Goals
Assists
2019-20
36
8
6
2020-21
26
6
12
No Forest fan will want to see Gibbs-White leave this summer, and it could be a risk to sign Grealish, considering he hasn’t been a regular starter for quite some time, but his previous exploits for club and country indicate he is clearly a very talented player.
What a big summer it is going to be for Leeds United.
Daniel Farke’s side are hoping to defy the odds and avoid relegation in the Premier League, something that has become notoriously more difficult over the past few seasons. In the last couple of campaigns, all six previously promoted sides were relegated.
So, it will have to be an odds-defying campaign for the Whites, who were the team to beat in the second tier last season. They won the Championship, picking up 100 points and losing just four games. Farke will be hoping to count on his players to step up even more in 2025/26.
However, they will be active in the transfer market too. In fact, they are stepping up their hunt for a midfielder to help upgrade their options in the middle of the park.
Leeds' hunt for a midfielder
Farke already has some talented midfielders at his disposal, including Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev. So, to strengthen in that area, and potentially upgrade on the likes of Brenden Aaronson, would be a huge statement of intent.
According to a report from the Yorkshire Evening Post, the Whites have ‘included’ Noah Sadiki on their shortlist to beef up the midfield this summer.
However, he’s not the only one. Indeed, they are said to have ‘identified’ Strasbourg midfielder Habib Diarra ‘as a potential midfield addition’. The Senegal international is a player ‘they believe will be Premier League quality’ ahead of next season.
It would appear that this a move firmly in the works now with Sky Sports journalist Rob Dorsett further revealing on Tuesday that the Elland Road outfit have lodged a bid of £21m to sign Diarra.
Why Diarra would be a good signing
If Leeds were to sign Diarra this summer, they would be adding a “complete midfielder” to the squad. At least, that is how football analyst Ben Mattinson described the Senegal international, implying he can play all over midfield.
That “Swiss Army Knife” type profile would surely work well in Farke’s midfield, and give him plenty of tactical flexibility. Diarra is both a goalscorer and creator, finding the back of the net four times and registering five assists for Strasbourg last season.
Impressively, the 21-year-old, who is already the Strasbourg captain after coming through their academy, scored on the international stage for Senegal against England one week ago. He showed good intelligence to curve his run behind the Three Lions defence, carrying the ball into the six-yard box and slotting home from a narrow angle.
Diarra could be the perfect upgrade in the Leeds midfield for Aaronson. The USA international has previously struggled in the Premier League.
He has made 36 appearances in the top flight of England, mainly operating as a number 10 and a right-winger, but has just four goals and assists to his name.
Despite scoring nine times and registering two assists in 46 Championship games last season, there have been doubts about Aaronson’s scalability to the top flight. The Whites’ former goalkeeper, Paul Robinson, told Football Insider he is “nowhere near Premier League level”.
So, if they do bring Diarra in as his replacement, the numbers on FBref suggest it’d be a good move. Not only did he average more goals and assists per 90 minutes than Aaronson, with 0.34 compared to 0.28, but his off-the-ball work was better, too. Diarra’s 3.45 ball recoveries each game trumped Aaronson’s tally of 3.09.
Goals and assists
0.34
0.38
Progressive passes
4.44
4.05
Passes into final third
2.45
2.13
Interceptions
0.50
0.20
Ball recoveries
3.45
3.09
If Leeds can agree a deal to sign Diarra somewhere around the £21m mark, it would be a fantastic piece of business. They are signing a leader and an international-class midfielder, capable of playing numerous roles.
As far as an upgrade on Aaronson goes, time will tell, but the stats are there to suggest this is the dream move for the Yorkshire club this summer.
Big Aaronson upgrade: Leeds close to agreeing deal for £30m "magician"
Leeds are confident that they will sign this star, and he would be a big upgrade on Brenden Aaronson.
1 ByDan Emery Jun 17, 2025
Will Emi Martínez leave Aston Villa this summer?
According to a report by Football Insider, the Villans are under pressure to ‘sell a prize asset’ before 30 June to avoid breaching Profit and Sustainability Rules, claiming that Martínez is one of the most likely candidates to be sacrificed.
Well, there are plenty of suitors for the back-to-back Yashin Trophy winner.
Goal documents Manchester United’s interest, while The Telegraph claim that numerous Saudi Pro League clubs would be delighted to secure his signature.
Well, given, as noted by Jacob Tanswell of The Athletic, Martínez’s propensity to deliver ‘defining moments’ and ‘standout performances’, he will be a difficult man to replace, but have Aston Villa actually managed to identify an upgrade?
Aston Villa's first-choice Emi Martínez replacement
According to a report by John Townley for Birmingham Live, Aston Villa will ‘target’ a move to sign LOSC Lille goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier, should Martínez be sold.
French publication L’Équipe has previously noted that newly-crowned European champions Paris Saint-Germain are tracking the 23-year-old, with TEAMtalk claiming that he is valued at just £34m by les Dogues.
Chevalier joined Lille as a 13-year-old, making 127 appearances for the senior team, conceding exactly 127 goals and keeping 44 clean sheets in this time.
So, could he soon be swapping Northern France for the English Midlands?
Why Lucas Chevalier would be an Emi Martínez upgrade
During his three seasons as Lille’s number one, Chevalier has earned countless rave reviews.
Alongside Rayan Cherki of Olympique Lyonnais, they were the only non-PSG players to feature in Ligue 1’s team of the season.
Meanwhile, following les Nordistes’ stunning 1-0 Champions League victory over Real Madrid at Stade Pierre-Mauroy in October, Joel Domenighetti of L’Équipe described Chevalier’s display as ‘exceptional’, while Nick Hartland of Get French Football News labels him ‘one of the breakout stars’ from this season’s competition.
Described as “one of the most talented young goalkeepers in Europe” by scout Jacek Kulig, what makes him so good is that – in the words of Liam Tharme and Matt Pyzdrowski of the Athletic – he not only boasts ‘excellent reach’ and exceptional ‘handling’, but also that his ‘super-strength’ is his ‘accomplished’ in possession play.
So, how did the young Frenchman compare to the man he could be replacing between the Villa Park posts this season?
The table makes for interesting reading, considering the duo played a near-identical number of minutes this season across their respective domestic leagues and the Champions League
Appearances
48
49
Minutes
4,350
4,275
Goals conceded
53
57
Clean sheets
13
14
Post-shot xG – goals-conceded
+9.6
+4.7
Saves
123
144
Save %
74.9%
72.8%
% of crosses stopped
5.4%
11.3%
Ball recoveries
83
45
Errors leading to an opposition shot
4
8
Note: Martínez’s statistics are Premier League and Champions League only.
Across Europe’s top five leagues, the Frenchman ranks tenth for post-shot xG – goals conceded, while he is also 11th in this season’s Champions League for the same metric, a key figure as Lille upset the odds to finish seventh in the league phase.
Meantime, his save percentage ranks highly both domestically and in the Champions League, with his Ligue 1 figure of 74.6% a noteworthy amount higher than Martínez’s 69% in the Premier League.
This is not to denigrate Martínez in any way, given that former Aston Villa striker Chris Sutton believes the Argentine has been an “outstanding goalkeeper” and a “brilliant shot-stopper” since joining the club in 2020.
Nevertheless, if the Claret and Blue Army are able to sell the 32-year-old for a big fee and replace him with a 23 year old, this is surely an upgrade they should be looking to make.
Aston Villa book medical to sign forward who Emery feels can be next Duran
He’s agreed a four-year deal at Villa Park.
ByCharlie Smith Jun 1, 2025
Arsenal have been offered the chance to sign a cheaper alternative to Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko through a unique release clause, with the striker also in the form of his life after two impeccable seasons.
Arsenal identify Gyokeres and Sesko as top striker targets
While a plethora of reports over the last week have claimed that Arsenal are advancing in talks for Gyokeres, Sesko also isn’t completely out of the picture, one year after the latter rejected an offer to join the Gunners (Fabrizio Romano).
Arsenal now in "advanced" talks to sign £84m player ahead of Liverpool
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Portuguese and English media sources claim Arsenal are taking significant steps to agree a move for Gyokeres, with CaughtOffside reporting Andrea Berta is in advanced talks for the Swede, while A Bola state they’ve offered him a contract worth £135,000-per-week.
19/20 – winter
£0
20/21 – summer
£81.5m
20/21 – winter
£900k
21/22 – summer
£156.8m
21/22 – winter
£1.8m
22/23 – summer
£121.5m
22/23 – winter
£59m
23/24 – summer
£208m
23/24 – winter
£0
24/25 – summer
£101.5m
24/25 – winter
£0
However, reliable journalist Simon Phillips, after speaking with his Arsenal sources, is also under the impression that Mikel Arteta actually prefers Sesko as a potential signing, even if Berta personally wants Gyokeres.
This would indicate a disagreement over Arsenal’s transfer plans between the pair, but Arteta insisted in a press conference on Friday that both the Spaniard and Berta are on the same page when it comes to the club’s recruitment drive.
“On what we have to do, yes [we are fully aligned],” said Arteta. “On what we can do, I don’t know. I think sometimes from the plan that we had, and actually what we’re able to execute, we’ve never been able to replicate it exactly.
“This is football. It happens to every football club, that’s why we plan certain ways, and okay, if we cannot do it, we do something else. I think the aim is clear but then you have to just do it slowly, thing by thing and start to achieve it.”
What has been made crystal clear, though, is that both Sesko and Gyokeres are top Arsenal targets. The former’s deal includes a release clause set at around £62 million, while it is believed the latter will be allowed to leave Sporting for around £63 million.
The striker duo have both enjoyed record-breaking seasons at their respective clubs, making either a standout upgrade to Arteta’s current options, but Arsenal now have a chance to seal an even cheaper alternative.
Arsenal can sign Borussia Dortmund star Serhou Guirassy for £59m
According to German newspaper Bild, that man is Borussia Dortmund star Serhou Guirassy. The Guinea international, after signing for Dortmund last summer, has proved he’s no one season wonder following a breakout campaign at VfB Stuttgart last year.
Guirassy’s built upon that stellar 2023/2024 in his debut season at Dortmund, bagging 33 goals in 44 appearances across all competitions, and he’s second only behind Harry Kane in the Bundesliga scoring charts.
It is now believed Arsenal can sign Guirassy for just £59 million as well, thanks to a unique release clause in his deal, which permits only a handful of elite sides to strike a deal for that amount.
Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona can also activate this option, but it could be a fruitful avenue for Berta to go down if he cannot get Sesko or Gyokeres over the line.
Called “world-class” by Dortmund boss Niko Kovac, the 29-year-old is continuing to make waves in Germany.