Manchester United are reportedly inching towards recruiting rising Colombia star Cristian Orozco. The Red Devils have been looking to try and strengthen their midfield as Casemiro heads into the final years of his career, and academy product Kobbie Mainoo struggles to force his way into Ruben Amorim's plans. Now, they look set to sign the 17-year-old ahead of a switch next summer.

Man Utd near €1m transfer

According to Fabrizio Romano, United's next signing will be Orozco, who will be in England in the next few days to complete his Old Trafford move. He adds that the Red Devils will pay $1 million to Colombian side Fortaleza to join from June 2026. He will be able to link up with his new team then as he will have turned 18.

AdvertisementYoung recruitment drive from Man Utd

Ever since Sir Jim Ratcliffe bought a minority stake at United in early 2024, the club have shifted their transfer priorities towards signing younger players who might have a big sell-on value. And the pursuit of this teenage defensive midfielder is the latest example of that. In addition to the Colombia Under-17 international, United raided the South American market earlier this year for 18-year-old left-back Diego Leon, and in 2024, director of football Jason Wilcox was instrumental in securing the signing of Mali midfielder Sekou Kone. 

AFPRatcliffe's Man Utd challenge

One big downside of Ratcliffe's reign has been the widespread redundancies as the club bids to cut costs. Going forward, the INEOS owner has challenged the Red Devils to be as cost-effective as possible in order to ensure long-term success. 

"I'd rather find the next [Kylian] Mbappe than spend a fortune trying to buy success," Ratcliffe told The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club Podcast last year. "It's not that clever, is it, buying Mbappe, in a way? Anyone could figure that one out. Much more challenging is to find the next Mbappe or Jude Bellingham or the next Roy Keane."

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What comes next for Man Utd?

As this transfer heads towards its apparent conclusion, Ruben Amorim's side will look to bounce back from their disappointing 1-0 loss at home to Everton when they round off the month with a trip to Crystal Palace on Sunday. The visitors are five places behind the Eagles in 10th but could overtake the south London outfit by a point if they win at Selhurst Park this weekend.

Arsenal beat German champions Bayern Munich 3-1 on a night to remember in Europe, and one Gunners star absolutely stole the show with his performance.

Mikel Arteta’s side were handed one of their toughest tests on paper tonight against a Bayern side who are still unbeaten in the Bundesliga and one of the favourites to win the Champions League, but they were no match for the Premier League frontrunners in north London.

Jurrien Timber

7.7

Bukayo Saka

7.4

Riccardo Calafiori

7.4

Lennart Karl

7.4

Declan Rice

7.3

via WhoScored

Bayern had also won all but one of their matches in all competitions this season heading into their trip to the Emirates, with Arsenal handing Vincent Kompany’s side their first defeat of 2025/2026.

Second-half goals from Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli ended up firing Arsenal to victory in their heavyweight clash. Madueke, back after two months out with a knee injury, scored his first Gunners goal before fellow sub Martinelli pounced on a mistake from Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer to stretch Arsenal’s perfect record in the competition to five victories from five matches.

Earlier, Jurrien Timber had headed Arsenal into the lead and, with former Tottenham striker Harry Kane unable to add to the six goals he has scored at the Emirates, it was left to Bayern’s 17-year-old star Lennart Karl to grab the first goal Arsenal have conceded in the competition this season.

This glamour tie was arguably the least important of Premier League leaders Arsenal’s three matches this week, sandwiched between the 4-1 derby demolition of Spurs and Sunday’s trip to second-placed Chelsea.

Nevertheless, it is still one to revel in, and the result perhaps hands Arsenal the status of Europe’s best team right now.

While Timber, Madueke and Martinelli were the heroes on paper, it was a complete midfield performance by club-record signing Declan Rice, who absolutely bossed proceedings in the middle of the park with one of his best ever displays in red and white.

Ally McCoist hails 'out of this world' Declan Rice in Arsenal win

Covering the game for TNT Sports, commentator Ally McCoist repeatedly waxed lyrical about the England international — branding him Man of the Match for his “first class” outing against the Bavarians.

Rice was unlucky not to get on the scoresheet as well on 60 minutes, with the former West Ham captain storming down the left only for veteran keeper Manuel Neuer to deny him just reward for his imperious showing.

McCoist called Rice “magnificent” and “out of this world” for the run, which just about summed up what was a possessed performance from one of Arsenal’s leaders.

Tonight was a massive statement from Arsenal, who not only showed they can cut it against Europe’s toughest opponents, but also sent a very clear message that they’ve got absolutely zero intention of letting up.

Next up, a fierce London derby awaits against Chelsea this weekend — a match which could send Arteta’s side nine points clear at the top of the table and cement their status as overwhelming title favourites.

Rice will be a massive part of that, and tonight shows just how vital he is in Arteta’s quest to end the club’s 22-year wait for a Premier League trophy.

Sky Sports reported on Monday that Celtic are closing in on the appointment of Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy as their successor to Brendan Rodgers in the dugout at Parkhead.

The Hoops are poised to make the French tactician their new permanent manager, which will end Martin O’Neill’s time in interim charge after he takes the next two matches.

With the January transfer window on the horizon, it will not be long before the incoming head coach will have the chance to bring his own players in to bolster the squad.

Celtic set to make move for new centre-forward

According to The Scottish Sun, Nancy is set to make a move for Columbus Crew centre-forward Wessam Abou Ali as one of his first transfer targets in January to add to his options at the top end of the pitch.

Transfer Focus

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

The report claims that the incoming Celtic manager views the Palestine international as a ‘perfect goalscoring machine’ and wants to reunite with him at Parkhead ahead of the second half of the 2025/26 campaign.

It adds, though, that Columbus Crew and Nancy only signed him in July from Egyptian giants Al Ahly for £5.7m, which means that the Hoops will have to pay a fee in excess of that as he has only been with the American side for a matter of months.

If the Scottish Premiership champions can seal a £6m+ deal for the MLS sensation in the January transfer window, it could end Johnny Kenny’s career at Parkhead.

How Abou Ali could end Kenny's Celtic career

Kenny has scored four goals in five matches under O’Neill, which is an impressive return, but he was subbed off at half-time in the 1-0 win over St Mirren in the Premiership last weekend.

The Ireland international has been playing as the main number nine due to an injury to first-choice number nine Kelechi Iheanacho, who is on his way back in the coming weeks.

This suggests that the arrival of a big-money centre-forward signing could put him third in the pecking order, behind Abou Ali and Iheanacho, when they are all fit and available, which may make him consider his short-term future in Glasgow.

Kenny has shown, with five goals this season, that he can be a capable goalscorer at this level. This means that he could find another club where he can play regularly and score goals consistently, if that does not continue at Parkhead.

Abou Ali has scored three goals in five matches for Nancy in the MLS for Columbus Crew since his move in the summer, after he scored three goals in three games at the Club World Cup.

2025/26

6 goals

5 goals

2024/25

15 goals

6 goals

2023/24

19 goals

13 goals

2022/23

10 goals

5 goals

As you can see in the table above, the Palestine international has outscored Kenny in each of the last four seasons in all competitions, which suggests that he would be a much better option for Nancy to call upon up front for Celtic.

Abou Ali was described as a “clinical” and “proven” goalscorer by Columbus Crew General Manager Issa Tall, and his statistics suggest that was an accurate description of his qualities.

The 26-year-old scored three goals from 0.75 xG in the MLS in the 2025 campaign and bagged three goals without missing a single ‘big chance’ at the Club World Cup, per Sofascore, which shows that he is a lethal finisher.

Therefore, the Columbus Crew centre-forward could be a fantastic signing who could lead the line impressively for the Hoops, whilst also potentially ending Kenny’s career at the club, as falling down the pecking order may force him to reconsider his future.

£1.5m Celtic flop has been an even bigger waste of time than Balikwisha

This Celtic flop has been an even worse signing than Michel-Ange Balikwisha for the Scottish giants.

1 ByDan Emery Nov 25, 2025

Celtic are keen to appoint a permanent successor to Martin O’Neill and now look to be well down the road in that regard, as fresh details over Wilfried Nancy’s arrival and potential backroom team emerge.

The Bhoys enjoyed a productive weekend of Scottish Premiership action, even if it was a little fortuitous, claiming a dramatic last-gasp victory over St Mirren before Heart of Midlothian lost out at Aberdeen to narrow the gap at the top of the table.

Four points separate the top two heading into a busy schedule, with Celtic holding the advantage of a crucial game in hand against Dundee United days after they collide with the Edinburgh side in a blockbuster clash at Parkhead in a couple of weeks.

From a position of real uncertainty, the Bhoys have edged their way back into title contention and will hope to capitalise as Hearts continue to falter, albeit O’Neill made it clear after their win in Paisley that he isn’t sure how much longer he will be in interim charge alongside Shaun Maloney.

He said: “There’s relief as much as anything else, but you enjoy winning football matches – that’s what it’s about. It keeps confidence alive as much as anything else and keeps momentum going.

“At this minute, I haven’t heard anything more. I would reckon I would probably be on the plane for Rotterdam and maybe not much longer. If the board announce a new manager in the couple of days, I will walk into the sunset.”

O’Neill looks likely to be in charge for Celtic’s trip to face Feyenoord on Thursday in the Europa League and could be in situ for their match against Hibernian on Sunday. However, it doesn’t look like he will be sticking around for long after that.

Viduka 2.0: Leeds plotting move for £21m star who's "built like a brick"

Leeds United are reportedly interested in signing a star who could be Mark Viduka 2.0 for the club.

ByDan Emery Nov 22, 2025 Wilfried Nancy set to add four new faces to Celtic backroom staff

Previously, it became clear that Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy is set to take over at Celtic after his side bowed out of the MLS Cup playoffs, though there has since been quiet over the details of his arrival.

Now, PLZ Soccer report that Nancy is set to begin his journey at Parkhead from the start of December, if not before then, with the Bhoys’ home clash against Dundee on the third day of the month likely to be his first game in charge.

Four of Nancy’s own staff are set to take on new roles in Glasgow over the next week, should their contracts be signed off, with Dermot Desmond sparing no expense making the new boss feel at home in the face of recent fan pressure. Kwame Ampadu is likely to be one of the new faces following his work alongside the 48-year-old in the United States.

Wilfried Nancy’s record at Columbus Crew

Matches

136

Wins

71

Draws

32

Losses

33

Trophies

MLS Cup (2024)

It remains to be seen whether Maloney will form part of the Frenchman’s backroom team after his sterling efforts during his period as interim assistant.

Celtic fans have had to wait nearly a month to find out the identity of their new permanent manager, though they will be relieved to see that the hunt for a new boss is finally nearing an end.

Arsenal are flying at the moment.

Mikel Arteta’s thumping 4-1 win in the North London Derby on Sunday has seen them go six points clear of second-place Chelsea at the top of the Premier League table and seven points clear of Manchester City.

It was an incredible team performance from the North Londoners, but even so, Eberechi Eze stood out, scoring the first hat-trick in the competition since Alan Sunderland in 1978.

The former Crystal Palace star has been an excellent signing for Arsenal, and now the club are being linked with someone who’d be a dream teammate for him.

Arsenal target dream teammate for Eze

Arsenal may have spent big in the summer, but perhaps due to them being in a great position domestically and in Europe, they are already being linked with some huge players ahead of the winter window.

Transfer Focus

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

Juventus’ sensationally talented Kenan Yıldız, for example, has been touted for an £88m move to the Emirates, as has the £120m Elliot Anderson.

However, the North Londoners are also looking at another goalscoring centre-forward, someone who’d be a dream signing for Eze.

At least, that is according to a recent report from Caught Offside, which claims Arsenal are one of several teams interested in Samu Aghehowa.

In fact, the report goes a step further, revealing that the Gunners are among the sides leading the race for his signature, even if Tottenham Hotspur are just marginally ahead.

However, on top of the competition, one of the hurdles the Premier League leaders will have to overcome to secure the Spaniard’s signature is the fact that it could take around €90m – £79m – to convince Porto to let him go.

Even so, given Samu’s ability, potential and goal record, this is a deal Arsenal should be fighting for, especially as he could be a dream signing for Eze.

Why Samu would be a dream signing for Eze

Now, while it is most certainly simplistic, it is also true that the primary reason Samu would be a dream signing for Eze, and by extension Arsenal, is the fact that he’s an output machine.

After all, whether he’s playing on the wing or in the ten, the former Crystal Palace star will want whoever is playing down the middle to be someone who can reliably score goals and even provide assists for him at times.

Fortunately, that sounds a lot like the Spaniard.

For example, in 44 appearances across all competitions last season, totalling 3,370 minutes, the 21-year-old racked up an impressive tally of 27 goals and three assists.

That comes out to a staggering average of a goal involvement every 1.46 games, or every 112.33 minutes.

Samu’s recent form
Season	24/25	25/26
Appearances	44	16
Minutes	3,370′	809′
Goals	27	6
Assists	3	1
Goal Involvements per Match	0.68	0.43
Minutes per Goal Involvement	112.33′	115.57′
Stats via Sofascore

He’s showing no signs of that being a hot streak either, as so far this season, the monstrous forward has chalked up six goals and one assist in 16 appearances, totalling 809 minutes.

In other words, he is currently averaging a goal involvement every 2.28 games, or more crucially, every 115.57 minutes.

On top of being a forward who’d be able to reliably finish the chances created for him, the former Atletico Madrid gem is also a battering ram of a player.

Standing at 6 foot 4, the four-capped international, whom journalist Zach Lowy described as “one of the best STs in Europe,” is not someone who’d struggle with the physical nature of the Premier League.

If anything, he’d thrive in it and be able to use his impressive stature to bully opposition defenders and create opportunities for himself and his teammates.

Finally, despite being such an imposing figure, he has demonstrated an impressive level of agility and movement through a few seriously impressive strikes.

Ultimately, while the fee is high, Samu is a goalscoring machine who would not only improve Arteta’s squad but also potentially help Eze’s goal and assist tallies explode.

Therefore, Arsenal should do what they can to sign him in January, before another side, like Spurs, gets to him first.

Forget Eze: Arsenal's "cult hero" is becoming Arteta's new Odegaard instead

The incredible Arsenal ace has been in fine form this season and is starting to become Arteta’s new Odegaard.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Nov 25, 2025

A three-day session in January with Pravin Amre helped him fine-tune his technique and be more balanced while responding to different types of deliveries

Nagraj Gollapudi02-Jun-20251:53

Moody: Shreyas identified key moments to go into the fifth gear

Since his last-minute inclusion in the first match of the home ODI series against England in February, Shreyas Iyer has been playing match-winning, as well as impact, innings both for India and, in the past two months, in IPL 2025 where he is captain of Punjab Kings. The latest example of that came on Sunday evening in Ahmedabad, where Iyer batted like a man possessed: his undefeated 87 helped PBKS make only their second IPL final, and the first since 2014. It was a remarkable effort as Iyer responded under pressure to bring down five-time champions Mumbai Indians.Iyer was the second-highest run-scorer in both the England ODIs as well as the Champions Trophy, and is now sixth among the leading run-makers in IPL 2025. His success is not by accident.About a week prior to the first ODI against England, played in Nagpur on February 6, Iyer had a three-day session in his hometown of Mumbai with former India batter Pravin Amre, who has been his long-term coach, since when he was 12. The primary focus, Amre said, was to tinker with the basic set-up in Iyer’s stance and make him more balanced to respond to any type of delivery.Related

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“His issue was his base. His back [right] leg was collapsing in his trigger movement,” Amre told ESPNcricinfo in April.As a result of the leg collapsing, Amre pointed out, the head followed automatically, and Iyer lost his balance. What would also end up happening was that his right heel would be dragging outside leg stump and, with his head falling away, Iyer was vulnerable to all threats including failing to play the short delivery well.The challenge, though, was how to adapt to the new technique Amre was suggesting: how could he change something that had been lodged in his muscle memory?Amre assured Iyer that the purpose was not to “disturb” his overall technique, but it was to “add” something that would enhance his batting.”I had to undo that [the set-up]. The word I used was correction. I told him I’m correcting you to get you in better position, so that you get a better feel with the bat while playing the strokes.”While the general impression from outside is that Iyer had opened up his batting stance, allowing him to better tackle the shorter ball, which has been his Achilles heel forever, Amre said that the change was not recent. It was about a year ago when Iyer moved from a side-on to a more open stance. Amre said that had allowed Iyer to watch the ball better and with the tweaked stance, it allowed Iyer to stand tall and respond confidently. “Previously the ball was dominating him; now he can dominate the ball.”2:46

Iyer vs Hazlewood the match-up to watch out?

The best examples of the success of the January work with Amre were the successive sixes Iyer hit off Jofra Archer in the Nagpur ODI. Jos Buttler stood at short leg, so Iyer was aware of the short-ball plan. But when Archer pitched on a hard length on the fifth-stump line, Iyer quickly got in line to pull the ball high over deep midwicket. Next ball, Archer ramped up the pace to nearly 143kph, but it was once again wide outside the stump, so Iyer moved closer to it and, on raised toes, cut hard over the deep-third boundary.Probably because of the new set-up, one distinct change between the 2024 and 2025 IPL seasons is that Iyer is now playing the ball later, especially against fuller and good-length deliveries. According to HawkEye data, his average interception point with the ball in 2024 was 1.65m in front of the stumps. This year, it is 1.50m.During the January sessions, Iyer also fine-tuned his backlift. Unlike the traditional backlift, where the bat comes straight down, Iyer’s bat is now coming down more from the direction of gully. Amre said it was similar to the loop used to hit a forehand in tennis, essentially to derive more power. While it is still work in progress, over the last few months Iyer has dealt with the short ball in white-ball cricket more effectively, including in the IPL, as the numbers below show.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”That is why now you can see he hits the short ball more powerfully.”Amre, who was with Delhi Capitals (DC) until IPL 2024 for nearly a decade, has seen Iyer from his pre-teen years, and has coached him at his academy at Shivaji Park. It was Amre who had convinced the DC thinktank to recruit Iyer as he felt the Mumbai batter, uncapped then in the IPL, could become a long-term player for the franchise. Iyer did lead DC from halfway through the 2018 season and paired successfully with then head coach Ricky Ponting to take the franchise into the playoffs in 2019 and then the final in 2020.During his time as coach at Seattle Orcas in MLC in 2023, Amre noticed how baseball players derived maximum power with a static base. He felt he could utilise some of those observations in his work with Iyer.2:24

Iyer on Ponting: ‘I’ve never seen his emotions go up and down’

“Without momentum, the baseball hitters generate great power and the ball goes far. One factor is they work more on the core muscles,” Amre said. “With Shreyas, I wanted him to get optimum power behind his strokes, specifically against spinners, so he could clear the boundary.”To strengthen the core, Amre got Iyer to hit against weighted balls, also known as sandballs, which can weigh between 150-350 grams – as compared to the 163-gram limit set by the MCC for cricket balls – and are harder to hit far. But with practice, batters start to get the power and can hit through the line of the ball farther with faster hand-speed.According to Amre, to enhance the power-hitting ability, he told Iyer to imagine Kieron Pollard was standing at long-on, and the challenge was to clear him. Pollard was among the best fielders in those hot zones where he could intercept boundaries using his height as well as his highly athletic body. “The idea was to help Shreyas in not being afraid to hit over Pollard despite him being the world’s best fielder.”Amre sees himself as a craftsman who will continue to chisel at his work, in this case Iyer, to make him a better batter. And the reason he knows he is doing the right thing is because of what Iyer told him at the end of the January sessions. “I was very happy when Shreyas said, ‘Sir, now I can take on anybody’.”

Saved for the Lord’s Test with a long break on this tour, Bumrah took his 15th five-wicket haul on the second day to make his place on the honour’s board

Sidharth Monga11-Jul-2025

Jasprit Bumrah picked up his first five-for at Lord’s•Getty Images

Jasprit Bumrah’s favourite phrase is “money in the bank”. Not sure he follows professional wrestling, but in WWE, “Money In The Bank” is a briefcase that contains a contract entitling the holder to a title shot anytime, anywhere. So the champion could have just survived an hour-long Iron Man and you could cash in at that moment and beat him.Bumrah walks around with the air of a man carrying an invisible briefcase that guarantees wickets anytime, anywhere. Or he has the air of a man who knows he is a genius fast bowler.In Bumrah’s world, money in the bank is days when he bowls well without results. He believes the results will show up sooner or later. Unlike Money In The Bank in WWE, which can be cashed in anytime, money in the bank in cricket depends on various elements not in a bowler’s control: luck, batter’s intent and conditions, to name a few.Related

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Bumrah respects the occasional disconnect between effort and outcome in cricket and bides his time. He hardly goes searching because he believes he deserves more wickets in a certain spell or on a certain day. He doesn’t risk releasing pressure and ruining it for the bowlers who follow.His body, though, is beginning to test his patience. There is this whole unfortunate scenario in the aftermath of his back stress reaction at the start of the year. He is playing only three of the five Tests in this series. There has been too much focus on “will he, won’t he”. It is not the kind of attention he wants.Bumrah has not been pleased with all of it. His demeanour has been a little testy, only a little. There have been suggestions he wanted to play at Lord’s, and so did not play at Edgbaston despite India trailing 1-0 in the series and having more than a week off before that Test. The matches he plays and misses is not his call alone but that of the team in discussion with him.Jasprit Bumrah picked up his first five-for at Lord’s•Getty ImagesAs India won without Bumrah at Edgbaston, two curious but eventually shallow bits of stats did the rounds: Mohammed Siraj’s bowling average improves from 33 to 26 in his absence, India’s win percentage goes up from 40 to 70.It is in this context that the first day of money in the bank at Lord’s becomes a little curious. Bumrah started it by drawing an edge with the first ball he bowled to Ben Duckett only to see it not carry. He swung the ball bewitchingly late, paired it with nip off the pitch, and made a few batters look incredibly silly. He induced a false shot once every three deliveries, sprayed the ball a little on a few occasions, and ended with just one wicket in 18 overs. You wondered if he took this day with the same equanimity and considered it more money in the bank.A teaser of what was to follow was seen late on day one when Bumrah went for the mightiest of tricks in fast bowling: swing one way, seam the other way, and hit the top of off. It is arguable whether it is physically possible for batters to react to this kind of movement. Mostly they hope the ball misses the stumps. The beauty of that Harry Brook dismissal was that Bumrah had tried each end without luck. He then went back to the end with lower bounce, and bowled the exact length needed to hit top of off, which had shortened by a metre since the first session. That is the extent of how soft the balls are going.2:43

‘Don’t want to be fined for making statements about ball change’

On the second morning, Bumrah repeated the trick twice from the bouncier Nursery End with the second new ball. He made the length adjustment again. To Ben Stokes, he went slightly closer on the release from around the wicket. To Joe Root, he swung the ball away a lot, pitched it up, then found seam movement against that angle; it would have just missed off but the inside edge took it on to uproot middle stump.With three swipes of genius, he ripped out the heart of England’s batting. Then came the ball change, which resulted in a quiet period with the replacement ball. He came back after lunch, went closer on the release to Jofra Archer, got awayswing and then seam back in, and hit the stumps three-fourths of the way up.Patient as Bumrah is, this five-for – his 15th in 47 Tests – had a bit of “I’m cashing in” than relying on circumstances to change while he keeps bowling good length and line. He still hit the good length with 54% of his deliveries but went into the 6-7metre band 30% of the time, which is slightly high for him. Perhaps he was just a little impatient. Perhaps he wanted to hit the stumps more often: eight times in 18 overs on day one to seven times in nine overs on day two.The attention will remain on Bumrah. Whatever the result at Lord’s, as the fourth Test in Manchester approaches, people will start asking which of the remaining matches he will play. And if it is 2-2 after Old Trafford, and he’s already played three Tests, there will be questions about whether he should push himself and play the finale. There is no way around it. The good thing is, Bumrah still has plenty of money in the bank, and not the WWE version, which you lose when you cash it in for a title shot.

Stobo the first injury replacement under CA’s new trial rule after Abbott split the webbing on his right hand while fielding in his follow through

Alex Malcolm15-Oct-2025

Sean Abbott was the first man subbed out for an injury in Shield cricket•Getty Images

New South Wales seamer Sean Abbott became the first player to be subbed out of a Sheffield Shield match for an injury other than concussion under Cricket Australia’s new trial rule after he split the webbing in his right hand while fielding a ball off his own bowling on the opening day against Victoria at the Junction Oval in Melbourne.Charlie Stobo was subbed in as the first-ever injury replacement player under the new rule that is being trialed across the first five rounds of the 2025-26 Sheffield Shield competition.Abbott, who is among the contenders to be part of Australia’s extended Ashes squad if Pat Cummins is ruled out of the early part of the series, split the webbing in his right hand while stopping a firmly struck straight drive from Victoria batter Peter Handscomb in the 43rd over of the opening day.Related

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Labuschagne dropped from Australia ODI squad, Renshaw earns call-up

Abbott left the ground immediately, and team-mate Ryan Hadley completed the over. After being assessed in the rooms, New South Wales made an application to the match referee to have Abbott replaced by another bowler and that request was immediately granted.Stobo bowled his first over of the match immediately after tea having warmed up during the interval.Handscomb is not a fan of the new rule which CA hope will provide insights for the ICC who are considering subs for international cricket.”Not really,” he said after play on Wednesday. “I think first-class cricket and Test cricket is a game of attrition. And if you pick a team and then you can just sub a bloke out halfway through, it takes that factor away.”This is a bloody hard game for four days, and you’ve got to keep backing up and fronting up and doing everything. So I’m all aboard the concussion sub. I think that’s a really good rule. But injuries are part of the game. I think unfortunately, you just kind of have to deal with them and they haven’t.”New South Wales fast bowler Liam Hatcher didn’t mind the new rule. “I’d much rather have Stobes in than be a man down, especially when you get a flat wicket and stuff that’s out of your control like that,” he said. “Yeah, I don’t mind it.”As part of the new rule, Victoria also now have the opportunity to make a tactical substitution of one like-for-like bowler if they feel they need to but can only do so before stumps on day two of the match.”That’s an interesting one, because we’ve got one free hit basically,” Handscomb said. “A bowler gets to bowl his heart out and then we can sub them out if we want to. But we’ve obviously gone into this game under the assumption that we’re going to use just the 11 players and everyone’s ready to go. We know how we can rotate our bowlers through.”We’ve got four seamers and a spinner. Unless something really drastic happens, I’m not sure we’ll be using it and we’ll just be backing in the guys that we picked first up.”The injury to Abbott is untimely. He had missed out on Australia’s ODI squad to face India in part to give him the chance to play a rare first-class game to press his Ashes case before being part of Australia’s T20I squad.As part of the injury substitution rule, Abbott has to undergo a mandatory 12-day non-playing period from the start of day three of the match he was subbed out of, which is October 17, before being allowed to play again. It means he would still be available for Australia’s first T20I against India in Canberra on October 29 provided his hand has recovered in time. But if he was not in the T20I squad he would not have been eligible to play in New South Wales’ next Shield game against Queensland which starts at the Gabba on October 28.”He’s got a few stitches in it, but I think he’s fine,” Hatcher said.Abbott had bowled very impressively in the first session on day one at the Junction Oval in seam-friendly conditions. He picked up the wicket of Victoria opener Harry Dixon caught behind. He also ruffled Handscomb with some hostile short balls with one gloved over the keeper and another glancing off his shoulder and helmet.

Real Madrid came from behind but were unable to get over the line in a frustrating 1-1 draw with a well-drilled Girona. Kylian Mbappe's second half penalty cancelled out a well-worked opener from the La Liga strugglers, yet Madrid couldn't find a second – and stay one point off the top in La Liga in another twist to the title race.

Madrid probed for opportunities early on, but were left rather exposed on the break. Thibaut Courtois responded, though, producing a couple of good saves to keep the visitors level. Los Blancos thought they had taken the lead when Mbappe slotted home, but his goal was correctly chalked off when VAR determined there was a handball in the build-up. The visitors were then made to pay for a major defensive lapse. Girona were allowed to work the ball down the right, before Azzedine Ounahi swept one past Courtois from the top of the box after a well-timed feed from Viktor Tsigankov. 

Los Blancos had their chances to start the second half. They had the ball in the net again on the hour mark, but saw it ruled out again after Vinicius Junior was in an offside position when he poked home. Madrid got their equalizer from the spot after 65 minutes. Vinicius scampered around his man and was brought down inside the box. Mbappe coolly tucked the penalty into the bottom corner to ease Xabi Alonso's nerves on the touchline. Madrid came close numerous times after. Vinicius missed a couple narrowly. Mbappe was denied from close range. 

But there was never a second. Girona were resilient at the back, and Madrid lacked a crucial bit of quality needed to put the game away. This can be considered nothing other than a chance to go top wasted, with Barcelona holding the initiative at the La Liga summit. 

GOAL rates Real Madrid's players from Estadio Montivili…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Thibaut Courtois (7/10):

  Made a few silly saves. Could do nothing about the goal. Denied a second. 

  Trent Alexander-Arnold (6/10):

  A very Trent performance. Did some ridiculous things with the ball but failed to track his man on the goal.  

  Eder Militao (7/10):

  A composed performance on his return to the side. Good on the ball and effective in the air. 

  Antonio Rudiger (6/10):

  First appearance since late August, and he was a little mixed. Solid on the ball but a little slow to react – and handed Girona a good chance as a result. 

  Fran Garcia (6/10):

  A surprise to see him start at left back. Scampered up and down the left but his final ball was lacking. 

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  Midfield

  Aurelien Tchouameni (5/10):

  Offered plenty of control at the base of midfield, but didn't get across to track the runner on Girona's opener. 

  Jude Bellingham (8/10):

  Dropped a little deeper and did plenty of dirty work in the first half. Pushed up more in the second. Madrid's most consistent performer throughout. 

  Federico Valverde(6/10):

  Full of legs and industry, clean on the ball, but rather stripped of his attacking nous in this role. 

  Arda Guler (5/10):

  Used in a No.10 role in the opening exchanges, but saw his influence wane. Removed at the break. It's been a tough few games.

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  Attack

  Kylian Mbappe (7/10):

  Unfortunate to have a goal ruled out for an unlucky handball. Buried his penalty with ease. Not his most involved game, but got on the scoresheet, regardless. 

  Vinicius Jr (8/10):

  Won the penalty thanks to a lovely bit of skill. Put a couple of others narrowly wide. Very good without being at his scintillating best. 

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  Subs & Manager

  Eduardo Camavinga (7/10):

  Introduced at the break and gave Madrid some much-needed energy and balance in midfield. Seriously impressive thus far this year. 

  Rodrygo (6/10):

  A late introduction as Madrid chased a winner. Barely involved. 

  Alvaro Carreras (N/A):

  No time to make an impact. 

  Gonzalo Garcia (N/A):

  No time to make an impact. 

  Xabi Alonso (5/10):

  Rotated a bit, making changes at left back and centre-back. His side were a bit lacklustre, though, and unconvincing at both ends. 

Celtic’s wait for a European away win is over.

On Thursday night, despite falling behind inside 11 minutes, the Hoops fought back to beat Feyenoord 3-1 at De Kuip; Yang Hyun-jun, Reo Hatate and Benjamin Nygren the scorers on a famous night in Rotterdam.

Before this, the Celts had failed to win any of their last 16 European fixtures on the road, dating back four years.

In fact, since reaching the UEFA Cup Final under Martin O’Neill in 2003, they have won only six times on the continent, excluding qualifiers, enjoying wins over Spartak Moskva, Anderlecht, Rosenborg, Lazio, Ferencváros and now Feyenoord across the last 22 seasons.

In terms of this season, the victory propels the Celts up to 21st in the gigantic Europa League table, a major boost to their hopes of reaching the knockout stages, with games against Roma, Bologna and then Utrecht still to come.

So, which Celtic star looked like an £100m player during this win at De Kuip?

Celtic's new manager latest

Since returning to the club on an interim basis, O’Neill could hardly have done much better.

He has won three Premiership matches out of three, ousted Rangers in the League Cup semi-finals and now claimed a memorable European victory in the Netherlands; the shellacking against Midtjylland in Herning the only blot on his copybook.

Nevertheless, for how much longer will he remain in interim charge?

Well, the 73 year old, alongside Shaun Maloney, will still be at the helm for Sunday’s clash with Hibernian at Easter Road, but could that be the final game of their tenure?

That’s because, according to widespread reports, the club are now in advanced talks with Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy, with some optimistic that the Frenchman could be in place in time for next Wednesday’s clash with Dundee.

Considering they take on current Premiership leaders Hearts and then the side top of Serie A Roma thereafter, the board will be desperate to get Nancy in as quickly as possible.

Assuming the Frenchman was watching Thursday’s win over Feyenoord, potentially while enjoying some Thanksgiving food in Ohio, one player in particular surely will have caught his eye.

Celtic's best player vs Feyenoord

Towards the end of Brendan Rodgers’ tenure, Reo Hatate found himself no longer a guaranteed starter, only on the bench for the Europa League home defeat to Braga, before not getting on at all during a dismal goalless draw with Hibs in September.

Nevertheless, having been made a key figure under O’Neill, he was the star of the show in Rotterdam.

Hatate spectacularly set up Yang’s equaliser before, soon after, coolly slotting home the second, rolling the ball into an unguarded net from long-range after some trademark closing down by Daizen Maeda forced Timon Wellenreuther into a catastrophic error.

Overall, the midfield maestro completed 89% of his passes, took two shots, created one big chance and registered nine ball recoveries, underlining that he was everywhere.

After a 3-3 draw with Rangers at Ibrox last year, Brendan Rodgers asserted that Hatate “gives it away too much for my liking”, labelling him “sloppy’, a sign of his decline in form and importance.

Now though, he is playing at a comparable level to Enzo Fernandez, according to FBref, who note that the players are statistically and stylistically similar among those in their position across Europe.

That is a sign of Hatate’s recent revival, not least with Fernandez having not too long ago been signed by Chelsea for a fee of around £107m from Benfica.

Such a comparison is no unwarranted either, with Hatate arguably putting in his best performance of the season against Feyenoord, while operating in a Fernandez-esque, more advanced midfield berth

Hatate – last 365 days

Stats

Hatate

Non-penalty Goals

0.13

Assists

0.26

Shot-creating actions

2.31

Pass completion

83%

Progressive passes

4.31

Progressive carries

1.16

Successful take-ons

0.77

Tackles

1.28

Interceptions

0.51

via FBref

Meantime, the Japanese star is proving just what a goal threat he is in Europe too, scoring against both Midtjylland and Feyenoord, also registering an assist at De Kuip this week.

Given how impressive Hatate has been since first arriving at Parkhead almost four years ago, it is frankly a surprise that a Premier League club has not come in and poached him.

Celtic supporters will hope that remains the case, with the 28-year-old likely to be a central, undroppable figure when Nancy does finally arrive.

Related As good as Hatate: Celtic flop showed he can be "world class" under Nancy

Celtic beat Feyenoord 3-1 at De Kuip in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday, and one player showed his “world class’ potential, as good as Reo Hatate.

Posts ByBen Gray Nov 28, 2025