Leeds United have made a positive beginning to the Premier League campaign and one of their players has been making a huge impact behind the scenes at Thorp Arch.

Leeds winger Daniel James ruled out due to injury

Unfortunately, Daniel Farke has confirmed that Leeds United winger Daniel James has been ruled out due to injury and is expected to be out for four to six weeks, leaving the Whites searching for an alternative out wide.

He said: “Daniel James will be out for a few weeks, he’s rolled his ankle sadly in training. The doctors say he’s likely out four to six weeks so realistically we expect him back just after the November international break. If he would be back before it would be a bonus and a surprise. It’s not great news.”

Joel Piroe may well come back into Farke’s thinking following his exploits last season. Either way, the German coach has shown he can compete with the Premier League elite on a tactical level this term, and he will be keen to build on a draw against Newcastle United that could’ve easily yielded three points.

Wilfried Gnonto and Harry Gray are also on the sidelines until after the international break, compounding Leeds United’s bad luck with absentees since returning to the top-flight.

As it stands, a return of eight points from their opening six league games has bred optimism that a positive season could be on the cards. That may well be the case, though Farke’s ability to make adjustments could determine how many results his side pick up across their coming run of fixtures.

While injuries continue to complicate matters, one of the Whites’ summer signings has been given credit for the impact he has made since arriving at Elland Road.

Leeds striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin's telling impact

Speaking to TBR, Graeme Bailey has talked up Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s impact at Leeds United behind the scenes, claiming his teammates have been impressed with how his arrival has raised standards alongside his general contribution on the field thus far.

He said: “Leeds are really happy with how he’s settling in. When you bring in good-quality players, they rub off on each other, and that benefits the rest of the team. Okafor and Calvert-Lewin, coming up from the Championship, are a massive step up in quality for Leeds.

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He has been touted to be Leeds’ “breakout player” of the season.

ByCallum Kemp Oct 3, 2025

“They’re both international-calibre players, and their presence raises standards across the squad. Jack Harrison still has a role to play for Leeds. Calvert-Lewin may not be scoring as much as fans would like, but unless someone is hitting 40 goals a season, most forwards will face that criticism.

“Overall, they’re very happy with what they’ve seen so far. These players are influencing each other and the team positively, and they’ve been pretty impressive.”

One goal from five appearances for Calvert-Lewin probably doesn’t tell the full story. His enthusiasm, work rate and desire to lead the line efficiently has been an asset to Farke and has helped the Whites to pick up points over the last few weeks.

The England international looks somewhat revitalised after his spell at Everton came to and end, and supporters will hope he can start scoring regularly to offer the impact his general play deserves to yield.

If Arsenal are going to achieve what they want to achieve this season, their success is seemingly going to be built on a foundation of 2-0 wins.

Mikel Arteta’s team have enjoyed back-to-back victories by that scoreline this week, beating Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday, before downing West Ham on Saturday, with Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka the scorers.

The Hammers did not muster a single shot on target, ending the afternoon with a miserly xG of just 0.49, while the Gunners have now conceded just three goals in ten matches across all competitions; Dominik Szoboszlai, Erling Braut Håland and Nick Woltemade the only men to find the target against them to date.

Thus, Arteta’s team remain watertight at the back, but will be hoping for a little bit more at the other end of the pitch, so will their new centre-forward click into gear, and did they actually sell a home-grown version who has been starring in Europe since departing?

Viktor Gyökeres' mixed start to life at Arsenal

Fair to say, after arriving from Sporting Clube de Portugal for around £62m, Viktor Gyökeres did so with sky-high expectations.

Despite Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus’ array of qualities, Arsenal have not had a truly reliable goalscorer since the departure of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in January 2022, and Gyökeres’ tally of 97 goals in 102 games for Sporting speaks for itself.

Last month, at the Ballon d’Or ceremony, the Swedish international was awarded the Gerd Müller Trophy, given to the highest-scoring striker in European football, but he doesn’t quite look like a world beater just yet in red and white.

His statistics below underline his mixed start to life in North London.

As the table documents, in nine appearances, Gyökeres does have three goals to his name, but it could be more.

Viktor Gyökeres’ Arsenal statistics

Statistics

Gyökeres

Appearances

9

Minutes

733

Goals

3

Assists

Zero

Shots

18

Shots on target

7

Big chances missed

7

Expected goals

3.94

Chances created

6

Big chances created

Zero

Expected assists

0.5

Touches per 90

27.15

% of touches in box

26%

Average SofaScore rating

6.57

Stats via Squawka and SofaScore

His expected goals figure is almost four, while he has so far missed seven Opta-defined big chances across the Premier League and Champions League.

The numbers also show that the striker is offering almost nothing from a creation point of view, mustering just 27 touches per 90, of which more than a quarter come in the opposition’s penalty area.

Patience is required; Gyökeres is taking time to adapt to his new teammates, who are likewise still adapting to him.

However, did the Gunners sell their own home-grown Gyökeres for just £4m, a player who has been absolutely on fire since leaving?

Arsenal's home-grown Viktor Gyökeres

Back in 2021, Arsenal poached an 18-year-old by the name of Mika Biereth from Fulham, an event that would’ve passed most Gooners by, considering he never made a single first-team appearance for the club.

However, he was prolific in Premier League 2, scoring 11 times in 21 games, subsequently loaned out to RKC Waalwijk and then Motherwell, certainly catching the eye during his very brief spell at Fir Park, bagging six goals in 14 Premiership outings for the Steelmen.

His loan in North Lanarkshire was abruptly cut short, allowing him to move to Sturm Graz, first on loan and then permanently for £4m, really making his name in Austria.

Biereth scored 23 times in just 47 appearances for die Schwoazn, averaging a goal every 156 minutes, helping them win a domestic double, as well as bagging three goals in four outings in the Conference League, before netting against Girona and Lille in the Champions League too. As the forward self-proclaimed in one interview, “like Haaland, all I really care about is scoring goals”. He’s like Gyokeres in that regard too.

Thus, back in January, Monaco moved quickly to sign the now 22-year-old for a reported fee of €15m (around £13m).

This quickly looked like a very shrewd investment because, in Ligue 1 last season, Biereth scored 13 times in just 16 appearances, including bagging hat-tricks against Auxerre, Nantes and Reims, firing les Monégasques to a third-place finish.

As a result of this form, Football Transfers estimate that the Danish international’s current market value is now around £23m, representing a 464% increase on what Arsenal sold him for.

The Gunners did pocket around £1m via a sell-on clause when the striker swapped Sturm Graz for the Principality, but could have earned so much more had they given Biereth a chance.

Admittedly, he has only scored once so far this season, on target during a 5-2 victory over Metz at Stade Louis II last month, so only time will tell if he was just a one-season wonder, or if this is a brief blip.

Nevertheless, given that Gyökeres is yet to be firing on all cylinders, perhaps Biereth would have been a more effective option to spearhead this Arsenal attack.

Related Not Saka or Rice: 8/10 monster is now looking like Arsenal's best player

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Posts 1 ByRobbie Walls Oct 4, 2025

Thomas Tuchel has done the bare minimum expected of him when he was appointed as England manager one year ago: Qualify for the 2026 World Cup. Tuchel has done it with minimal fuss, too, as the Three Lions have won all six of their competitive games to top their qualifying group with two games to spare. It has not always been pretty, but that will count for little once the tournament gets going next summer.

Tuchel's England's team has truly begun to take shape over the course of their past three matches, as they battered Serbia 5-0, swatted Wales aside with three early goals and then destroyed Latvia to clinch their place in December's group-stage draw.

Tuchel's reign will ultimately be judged on how England fare at the World Cup and it is difficult to gauge how that is likely to go until they meet top-level opponents. However, they certainly look like a team that could go deep in the United States, Mexico and Canada. 

The coach has also approached the England job through a very different lens to his predecessors, making moves that have not always been popular with the public or the media but that could make a real difference to his chances of doing what those who came immediately before him failed to do and leading the Three Lions to that long-awaited first trophy since 1966.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  'Teams win trophies'

  Tuchel's very first squad announcement back in March raised plenty of eyebrows. He brought Jordan Henderson back from the wilderness, gave Marcus Rashford a second chance four months after being cast aside by Manchester United and handed Dan Burn a first-ever call-up at the age of 32, as well as a debut to 18-year-old Myles Lewis-Skelly. With the benefit of hindsight, that now looks like the least controversial of his four squads.

  Star man Jude Bellingham was the most high-profile omission for October's games against Wales and Latvia, while Phil Foden and Jack Grealish were also left out despite their excellent club form. All three played at the last World Cup while two of them started the Euro 2024 final. For Tuchel, though, the most important thing was to reward the players who had been responsible for the most productive and enjoyable camp of his spell so far a month earlier, when his side destroyed Serbia in their best performance of his tenure.

  While many were aghast at the omissions of Foden, Bellingham and Grealish, as well as the the continued ignoring of Crystal Palace pass-master Adam Wharton, it was impossible to argue with Tuchel's reasoning when he declared: "We are trying to build a team. Teams win trophies, no one else."

  And Anthony Gordon talked up the team ethic that the German coach has built after starring in the thrashing of Latvia. "Every performance, the commitment and the vibes and the attitude, everyone's giving everything and you can see that on the pitch," the Newcastle winger said. "It's that togetherness. You see on the pitch we're fighting and giving absolutely everything for each other which can be difficult in an international environment, because lads are coming from everywhere and we don't see each other often. The manager and the staff have really honed in on creating that [togetherness] and it's paid off."

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• Getty
  

  No talent collection

  It was suggested to Tuchel that not including England's best players was 'radical', but he offered the perfect riposte: "For this moment, we stick with our choice and the radical statement is that we don’t collect the most talented players. We collect the guys who have the glue and cohesion to be the best team, because we need to arrive as the best team. We will arrive as underdogs at the World Cup because we haven’t won it for decades and we will play against teams who have repeatedly won it during that time. So we have to arrive as a team or we will have no chance."

  Tuchel said he was taking cues from one of the greatest sporting dynasties in modern history, the New England Patriots, who won six Super Bowls in the space of 19 years following the turn of the century.

  But there was another parallel much closer to home for him to learn from: The failure of England's so-called 'Golden Generation' of players that included David Beckham, Wayne Rooney, Frank Lampard, Steven Gerrard, Rio Ferdinand and John Terry. And the timing could not have been better from Tuchel's point of view, as Gerrard had just confessed in a podcast with Ferdinand how miserable he found the experience of playing for England.

• Getty
  

  Learning from past failures

  Gerrard, who was England's captain at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups as well as Euro 2012, never went beyond the quarter-finals at a major tournament, and admitted that he "hated" his experience with the national team. The Liverpool legend revealed that he spent most of his time alone in his room with nothing to do, feeling "low and down", and he conceded that he had almost no bond with the rest of the squad.

  "It was like I didn’t feel part of a team. I didn’t feel connected with my team-mates with England," he explained. "I think we were all egotistical losers. Why couldn’t we connect as England team-mates back then? And I think it was down to the culture within England. All in our rooms too much. We weren’t friendly or connected. We weren’t a team. We never at any stage became a real good strong team."

  For Tuchel, Gerrard's words were a gift, and he was delighted to expand on them in his press conference ahead of the Wales clash: "When I hear people talking about their titles in international football or their missed chances, I always hear the same song: we have been a team or we haven’t been a team. It is always the same song in international football. I also think it is the same headline in club football… If you stick together 24-7 for a nine-day period, and then as long as possible in America, you have to be a strong group."

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  Not afraid

  Sir Gareth Southgate is rightly credited for ensuring that playing for England was once more an enjoyable experience, and Gerrard said that the former coach was "underrated for how he connected with the England team". And yet by the end of his tenure, Southgate was making the same mistakes as his predecessors Sven-Goran Eriksson and Fabio Capello. 

  While Eriksson and Capello could not resist playing Gerrard and Lampard together despite their similarities, Southgate insisted on starting Bellingham and Foden in all seven games at Euro 2024. He also persisted with Harry Kane even though his captain clearly lacked sharpness after recently returning from a back injury. Despite making it to the final and only losing to Spain courtesy of a late goal, England rarely looked like a cohesive team on the pitch in Germany, as they rarely produced good play and repeatedly relied on individual moments of brilliance.

  Tuchel may well bring Foden or Bellingham back into the fold in time for the World Cup, especially if the Real Madrid midfielder returns to peak fitness after his spell out following shoulder surgery, and yet it matters not. The coach has already drawn a line between him and those who came before him by sending out a clear message that he is not afraid to drop anyone.

Under-fire Forest manager Ange Postecoglou launched into a passionate defence of his managerial career and believes he will never be accepted in England, despite his track-record of winning trophies. Postecoglou goes into Saturday's clash with Chelsea knowing another defeat could cost him his job, just weeks after taking over from the sacked Nuno Espirito Santo.

Clock ticking for Postecoglou

Postecoglou only took the helm at the City Ground last month and is currently winless after seven games, the worst start by a Forest manager in over a century, which has led to speculation about his job. This follows his departure from Tottenham where he won the Europa League in May, but was dismissed shortly after following Spurs’ 17th-place finish in the league – the club’s worst Premier League placing. But Ange sees it a different way and believes people’s minds are already made up on him, despite landing another piece of major silverware. He said: "I guess from my perspective, I just don't fit. Not (talking about) here. Just in general. If you look at it through the prism of: I'm a failed manager who is lucky to get this job – I know you're smirking at me and that's what's being said and I can find the print where that's being said – then of course it looks like this manager is under pressure. There is an alternative story. I came to the Premier League two years ago, I took over Tottenham – 'Spursy Tottenham'. I was told by the chairman at the time: 'This club has to win a trophy. We've tried to bring winners in, Jose (Mourinho) and Antonio (Conte) and it hasn't worked, we need something different.' I was slightly offended by that as I see myself as a winner."

AdvertisementGetty Images SportDid final focus hamper league progress?

The Aussie boss has pointed to the many mitigating factors last season which worked against him and, ultimately, led to Spurs finishing in lowly 17th place. A clearly frustrated Postecoglou said: "If I have to explain why we finished 17th, it doesn't have to be too in-depth. Just look at the last five or six different team sheets in the league last year to see who I prioritised, who was on the bench and who I was playing. The last game against Brighton, the players were out for two days partying – which I sanctioned because I felt they deserved to. So we finished 17th, if people think that's a reflection of me and my coaching, then people are looking at it through the prism of: I just don't fit. So we get to the current space where there's a different story to tell that maybe I'm maybe not a failed manager who was lucky to get this job – but maybe I'm a manager where if given time, the story always ends the same. At all my previous clubs it ends the same: me with a trophy."

Postecoglou is feeling the heat at Forest

Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis will have a decision to make if he watches his side lose another game, but Postecoglou is doing his best to stay positive, despite the mounting issues. He said: "The flip side is I'm really still excited about the opportunity here. That's how I'm embracing it. I have a group of young players who are willing to change, that's the first thing. I'm heading down that road. The rest of it? I'm not going to waste my time or my energy worrying about that. Whether it's internal or external I couldn't care less. At the end of the day, I will do what I think is the right thing to do to bring success to this football club and that's what I'm focused on. Of course there's pressure. There's pressure anyway. So if we win on the weekend, the pressure is there. There's always pressure. There's a difference between pressure and saying that somebody should lose their job after five weeks. I mean, I only just found an apartment to move into, which may be a bad decision on my behalf. I should have stayed in temporary digs. That's how early it is. So there's a difference."

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Getty Images SportIs Ange relishing facing Chelsea?

There’s no respite for Postecoglou, as Forest host Chelsea this weekend, a team he lost to four times while manager of Tottenham. The Forest boss said: “It's always important to win the next game irrespective of what's happened previously. It's no different tomorrow. We're facing a very good opponent but we're here at home which is good and looking forward to the challenge of it. A good couple of weeks training with the guys who were with us here. We had a few on international duty but they came back in good condition and ready to play."

MatériaMais Notícias

O Dérbi deste domingo (3), entre Palmeiras e Corinthians, reserva um ingrediente mais do que especial já para o sempre quente clássico entre os dois maiores rivais do estado de São Paulo.

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+ Veja tabela e classificação do Brasileirão-2023 clicando aqui

Abel Ferreira encara Luxemburgo pela segunda vez no futebol brasileiro e pela primeira vez com Luxa comandando o Corinthians.

+ Copo Stanley a partir de R$120,00. Bebida gelada nos 90′ de jogo do Verdão!

Luxemburgo foi o último técnico a comandar o Verdão antes da chegada do português que vestiria verde para mudar para sempre os rumos da Sociedade Esportiva Palmeiras.

Apesar dos agradecimentos de Abel, que em 2021 disse que Luxemburgo teria deixado o Palmeiras bem em todas as competições para ele ter conquistado Libertadores e Copa do Brasil, na prática o trabalho de Luxemburgo deixou pouquíssimo legado para o português que fez milagre em tão pouco tempo de clube.

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Inclusive para muitos, a culpa pela falta de futebol do Palmeiras em 2020 era mais do elenco ‘acomodado’ do que do péssimo trabalho de Luxemburgo.

+ Acesso negado! Em semana de Dérbi, Palmeiras aumenta abismo para o Corinthians em Libertadores

Luxa dizia que não tinha time pra jogar bonito e se escondia em desculpas esfarrapadas por não conseguir explicar a tamanha bagunça do seu time em campo.

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Coube a Andrey Lopes devolver o mínimo de consciência tática para o Verdão. Assim, Abel Ferreira, desde que assumiu, já conseguiu explorar todo o potencial que o bom time alviverde tinha.

Com menos caixa de areia e o trabalho duro de quem não veio ao Brasil para passar férias, Abel recuperou importantes jogadores, mas também utilizou da base deixada por Luxa, principalmente Danilo, que subiu muito por causa do atual técnico alvinegro.

+ Ministério Público de São Paulo pede o adiamento de Corinthians x Palmeiras

Abel Ferreira igualou Luxemburgo neste ano, e com oito taças conquistadas, dividem a vice-liderança dos treinadores com mais títulos na história do Palmeiras.

Um representa o glorioso presente e um positivo futuro de um clube que jamais será o mesmo após a sua chegada, o outro, um passado também glorioso de quem vestiu verde lá em 1993 para tirar o Palmeiras da fila e nos dar o maior título da nossa história.

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Key wickets dent Gloucestershire’s hopes after pair of half-centuries

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay24-May-2025Gloucestershire 156 for 4 (Bancroft 60, Hammond 51) trail Northamptonshire 469 (Zaib 159, Sales 81, Harrison 63) by 313 runsNorthamptonshire leg-spinner Calvin Harrison followed up a career-best knock of 63 with two wickets to keep his side in control of their Rothesay County Championship clash against Gloucestershire at Wantage Road.Harrison, on loan from Nottinghamshire, shared a ninth-wicket partnership of 90 with Liam Guthrie as the home side posted a daunting total of 469, built around Saif Zaib’s career-high 159.Visiting captain Cameron Bancroft defied Northamptonshire with a gritty 60 – his first half-century in seven innings – while Miles Hammond hit a more pugnacious 51, but both fell shortly before stumps to leave Gloucestershire 156 for four, still 164 short of the follow-on target.Harrison finished the day with two for 40, with Luke Procter and Harry Conway picking up a wicket apiece.Resuming on 327 for six, Northamptonshire built steadily throughout the morning session, with Lewis McManus square cutting Matt Taylor to the boundary to take his stand with Zaib into three figures.Taylor had McManus caught behind for 43 in his next over, persuading the right-hander to nibble outside off stump, but Zaib soon progressed to 150 for the first time as the home side pocketed a third batting bonus point.They declined to attempt a swift dash for a fourth, particularly after Zaib’s marathon knock finally came to an end, slashing Archie Bailey to slip, but Harrison, who drove confidently on the off side – including an all-run four off Bailey – and Guthrie batted capably.Gloucestershire brought back Zaman Akhter, who had been wayward early on, for a second spell at the David Capel End and Guthrie immediately steered him to the long-on boundary, prompting them to switch to an all-spin attack leading up to lunch.That included the occasional off-breaks of Hammond, who continued after the interval but was soon targeted as Harrison, having passed his half-century, thumped him to the fence twice in quick succession.Fellow spinner Ollie Price made the breakthrough when Harrison reverse-swept him into the hands of backward point and, with Guthrie holing out for 33 in Graeme van Buuren’s next over, it was finally time for Gloucestershire’s openers to strap on their pads.There was an early scare for Bancroft, who dragged Guthrie onto his pad rather than the stumps, while Ben Charlesworth survived a hesitant inside edge off Conway in similar fashion.The pair appeared to have settled into their rhythm, but Procter’s consistent spell as first change brought rewards when he found the outside edge of Charlesworth’s bat and Ricardo Vasconcelos snapped up the chance at slip.However, Bancroft kept the scoreboard ticking along after tea, leg-glancing Conway to the rope and then flicking the seamer off his hips for four more while Ollie Price dropped anchor at the other end.Price had just begun to flex his muscles by sweeping Harrison for two boundaries and tried to turn the leg-spinner around the corner again – but Vasconcelos anticipated the shot and scurried around behind McManus to take the catch.New batter Hammond held firm and flourished against the spinners, scoring freely on both sides of the wicket to reach his fourth 50 of the campaign from 60 balls, sharing a stand of 80 with Bancroft.But Harrison returned to pin Hammond leg before and the skipper departed in the next over, caught down the leg side off Conway as Gloucestershire limped through to the close.

تلقى المجلس الأعلى لتنظيم الإعلام برئاسة المهندس خالد عبد العزيز، شكوى رسمية من نادي الزمالك للألعاب الرياضية ضد مجلة النادي الأهلي، وذلك على خلفية ما نُشر في عددها الصادر بتاريخ 30 أكتوبر الجاري.

وجاء في شكوى نادي الزمالك أن المواد المنشورة في العدد المذكور تضمنت مخالفات للضوابط والمعايير المهنية والأكواد الإعلامية التي أصدرها المجلس الأعلى لتنظيم الإعلام، معتبرًا أن ما ورد يمثل تجاوزًا يستوجب التحقيق والمساءلة.

طالع أيضًا | “خطوة كبيرة عليه”.. شوبير يُعلق على تعيين أحمد عبد الرؤوف مديرًا فنيًا لـ الزمالك

من جانبه، قرر المجلس إحالة الشكوى إلى لجنة الشكاوى برئاسة الإعلامي عصام الأمير، وكيل المجلس، وذلك لبحث ما ورد في الشكوى ودراسة محتواها بشكل تفصيلي.

ومن المنتظر أن تقوم اللجنة بفحص الموضوع واتخاذ الإجراءات اللازمة وفقًا للوائح المنظمة وضوابط العمل الإعلامي المعمول بها داخل المجلس، تمهيدًا لرفع توصياتها إلى الجهة المختصة لاتخاذ القرار النهائي.

وفي سياق آخر، يلتقي الزمالك وطلائع الجيش، اليوم الأحد، في الجولة الثالثة عشر من مسابقة الدوري المصري الممتاز، على ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي، فيما يواجه الأهلي نظيره المصري البورسعيدي على ملعب الجيش ببرج العرب.

After an impressive start in the Premier League, Sunderland now reportedly face the threat of losing one of their star players amid fresh interest from rivals Aston Villa.

Le Bris: Sunderland have to be "adaptable" against Forest

Without a defeat in three Premier League games, Sunderland sit as high as seventh and now have the opportunity to extend Ange Postecoglou’s winless start at Nottingham Forest. Victory could even take the Black Cats to as high as second in the Premier League if a number of results go their way, but Regis Le Bris is well aware that Forest will not be a simple game despite recent form.

After last weekend’s 1-1 draw against Aston Villa, in which summer signing Reinildo received a red card, there’s certainly plenty to think about for the Sunderland boss.

As far as promoted sides are concerned, it’s worth noting that those in Wearside as well as Leeds United and Burnley have enjoyed a refreshingly solid start as they look to become the first sides in six to secure safety in their first season back in the top flight.

A number of players have particularly stood out at the Stadium of Light so far this season, with new signings such as Nordi Mukiele already settling in well. Meanwhile, those who were already at the club have also made the step up with unexpected ease. But what that has done is hand Sunderland a potential transfer dilemma.

Aston Villa interested in signing Wilson Isidor

As reported by Football Insider, Aston Villa now want to sign Wilson Isidor after the Sunderland forward impressed against them last weekend. The forward equalised in clinical fashion to make it three goals in three Premier League games at the Stadium of Light.

It’s the type of form that was always likely to attract suitors, but also the type that has seen Sunderland slap a £35m price-tag on their talented forward. If Villa want to steal in and sign the Black Cats star, it simply won’t come cheap.

Villa’s interest in a clincial forward like Isidor should come as no surprise. Unai Emery’s side have scored just one goal all season, which came against Sunderland last time out, and Ollie Watkins only extended his goal drought by missing a penalty in the Europa League this week.

Sunderland star Habib Diarra injury return date, how many games he'll miss

A blow for the Black Cats…

By
Tom Cunningham

Sep 23, 2025

The Midlands club are crying out for more firepower and it could come at the expense of Sunderland, who would be feeling the full effect of the Premier League’s ruthless streak.

Gio Reyna has opened up about the controversy that marred his 2022 World Cup, reflecting on his fallout with then-U.S. manager Gregg Berhalter and the lessons learned from that turbulent period. The U.S. international admitted he would handle certain moments differently if given the chance but insisted he shouldn’t shoulder all the blame for what unfolded.

AFP'That’s really what it stemmed from'

Reyna spoke in depth about the events that unfolded during the 2022 World Cup, acknowledging that frustration over his limited role under then-manager Gregg Berhalter ultimately sparked the tension between them.

“At the end of the day, I was just upset that, you know, I wasn’t really playing,” Reyna said to . “I was playing at Dortmund. I thought that I wanted to play at the World Cup, and ultimately, in the end, I didn’t do that, and that’s really what it stemmed from.”

“I guess the frustration and the disappointment was just wanting to play and help my country. It’s so far removed now and so far in the past, I don’t even really want to talk about it anymore.”

Reyna admitted he would approach things differently if given another chance, but maintained that the situation was not solely his or his family’s fault.

“Maybe in certain ways, but I’m not just going to sort of sit here and take all the blame for something that was made out to be completely my fault, which I believe it wasn’t, and also my family’s, too,” he said.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportPochettino's message to Reyna

Now at Borussia Moenchengladbach, the 22-year-old is focused on rebuilding his form and proving to Mauricio Pochettino that he belongs in the 2026 World Cup squad.

“I do obviously think about [the World Cup] pretty often as it’s somewhere where I need and want to be,” Reyna said.  “But I try to focus daily here, stay present here, work here every day, and hopefully believe everything will fall into place.”

He also said Pochettino stressed the need to get consistent playing time in order to return to national team duty. 

“I think Pochettino was very clear with saying, ‘You need to play, perform and then if you do that then you have a good chance to come in again,’” Reyna revealed. “It’s all on me now.”

Despite the move to Gladbach, Reyna has had similar struggles for playing time at the German club. Die Fohlen sit dead last in the Bundesliga, and the American has played just 122 in four matches so far. 

GettyDealing with injuries

Injuries have impacted Reyna throughout his career, and they've played a role in his limited action this season. The midfielder revealed he is trying to take a more proactive approach with his fitness. He described developing a more collaborative relationship with athletic coaches and implementing new strategies to handle the mental challenges that accompany repeated injuries.

“I’ve learned a lot about my body,” Reyna said. “The first 24 to 48 hours are always going to suck. There’s no way around that. What I’ve learned now is, after those one or two days where [there’s] obviously a lot of pain, a lot of downtime, down energy, you just have to get on with it. You have to kick on, you have to really just attack the rehab.”

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Getty Images SportLooking ahead

The November international break will be Reyna’s final chance to earn USMNT minutes in 2025, with friendlies against Paraguay and Uruguay on the schedule.

Inter Milan are one of Italy’s most successful clubs in history and lifted the Serie A title as recently as 2024.

In the 2025/26 season, the Nerazzurri have an annual payroll of €139,700,000, with the average player earning €4.8m per season. But who earns what at the San Siro? Every Inter player in the first-team squad has been ranked in order from highest to lowest in terms of wages for the 2025/2026 season, with the help of Capology.

Disclaimer – only the club and the players themselves truly know their wages, so take each of these figures as you will.

1

Lautaro Martinez

€320,577

€16,670,000

2

Nicolo Barella

€231,538

€12,040,000

3

Hakan Calhanoglu

€213,654

€11,110,000

4

Alessandro Bastoni

€195,962

€10,190,000

5

Manuel Akanji

€178,077

€9,260,000

6

Piotr Zielinski

€160,192

€8,330,000

7

Marcus Thuram

€147,885

€7,690,000

8

Federico Dimarco

€142,500

€7,410,000

9

Stefan de Vrij

€135,385

€7,040,000

10

Davide Frattesi

€99,808

€5,190,000

11

Denzel Dumfries

€98,654

€5,130,000

12

Henrikh Mkhitaryan

€93,654

€4,870,000

13

Luis Enrique

€89,308

€4,630,000

=14

Ange-Yoan Bonny

€71,154

€3,700,000

=14

Andy Diouf

€71,154

€3,700,000

=16

Yann Sommer

€61,731

€3,210,000

=16

Matteo Darmian

€61,731

€3,210,000

18

Carlos Augusto

€54,231

€2,820,000

=19

Josep Martinez

€53,462

€2,780,000

=19

Francesco Acerbi

€53,462

€2,780,000

=19

Josep Martinez

€53,462

€2,780,000

=19

Petar Sucic

€53,462

€2,780,000

24

Yann Aurel Bisseck

€36,923

€1,920,000

25

Francesco Pio Esposito

€35,577

€1,850,000

26

Tomas Palacios

€21,346

€1,110,000

27

Raffaele Di Gennaro

€5,385

€280,000

Here's a detailed look at Inter's top 10 earners… 10 Davide Frattesi €99,808 per week

Midfielder Davide Frattesi scored an iconic Champions League winner against Barcelona during Inter’s route to the final in 2025.

He made his transfer from Sassuolo permanent in 2024 and is under contract until 2028.

9 Stefan de Vrij €135,385 per week

Experienced centre-back Stefan de Vrij has now played more games for Inter than any of his previous clubs, having joined in 2018.

Formerly of Feyenoord and Lazio, the Dutchman signed his latest Inter deal in 2023. However, he is currently set to be out of contract in 2026.

8 Federico Dimarco €142,500 per week

Academy graduate Federico Dimarco is arguably one of the best left-wing backs in Europe right now.

However, it hasn’t been plain sailing for Dimarco, who has had spells with Ascoli, Empoli, Sion, Parma and Hellas Verona before starring with Inter.

7 Marcus Thuram €147,885 per week

Inter were able to offer Marcus Thuram an eye-catching €7.69m per-year salary in 2023 after the forward became a free agent.

Thuram left Borussia Monchengladbach and has impressed at the San Siro since joining Inter, with his deal not expiring until 2028.

6 Piotr Zielinski €160,192 per week

Another free agent brought in at the San Siro was midfielder Piotr Zielinski, who left rivals Napoli in the summer of 2024.

The Poland international had spent eight years with the Partenopei and four years with Udinese, so has plenty of experience in Serie A – something Inter will hope to benefit from until 2028.

5 Manuel Akanji €178,077 per week

Inter Milan signed Manuel Akanji on loan from Manchester City on deadline day in the summer of 2025 and have the option to make a move permanent in 2026.

The Swiss defender will collect €9.2m in wages during the 2025/26 season from the Italian giants.

4 Alessandro Bastoni €195,962 per week

Alessandro Bastoni was signed as a teenager back in 2017, arriving from Atalanta in a deal worth more than €30m.

In recent years, the Italy international has established himself as one of the best centre-backs in Europe, and luckily for Inter, he signed a five-year deal in 2023.

3 Hakan Calhanoglu €213,654 per week

Midfielder Hakan Calhanoglu swapped city rivals Milan for Inter in 2021 after leaving the former as a free agent.

HIs controversial move didn’t go down well with Rossoneri supporters, but Inter are the ones who have benefited from having the experienced Turkey international on their books, with his current deal running until 2027.

2 Nicolo Barella €231,538 per week

Italy international Nicolo Barella joined Inter on loan with an obligation to buy from Cagliari back in 2019 and has been an ever-present figure since then.

He has scored more than 20 goals and provided over 60 assists in blue and black, justifying his €230k per week wage. Barella’s deal doesn’t expire until 2029.

1 Lautaro Martinez €320,577 per week

Comfortably Inter’s highest-paid player is striker Lautaro Martinez, who signed his latest €16.67m per year deal in 2024 to end speculation of a move away.

The Argentinian, now the club captain, has been with Inter since 2018 and has won seven major honours with the Italian giants.