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Nine new faces have already entered the Birmingham City camp this summer, with that number surely set to increase before September’s looming deadline.

It has gone somewhat quiet on the Blues transfer front after signings galore joined the building at breakneck speed, but another striker must surely be on Chris Davies’ shopping list now that Alfie May has officially sealed a move away to Huddersfield Town.

May would go on to fire home a devastating 17 goals for the Blues across 57 appearances, but the leap up to the Championship was presumably judged to be too much for the 32-year-old to adjust to.

Instead, Birmingham have managed to recuperate £1.2m by selling him on, with that money set to be put to good use in chasing after an immediate replacement.

The blow of May moving on has also been softened by Kyogo Furuhashi’s £10m arrival on the scene, which will also undoubtedly improve Birmingham’s firepower heading into the Championship.

Why Kyogo should be a big success at Birmingham

When looking at Kyogo’s well-travelled career to date, he has more hits on his resume than notable blunders.

In Japan, for both Vissel Kobe and FC Gifu – before embarking on a transformative Celtic move – Kyogo would show early signs of his blistering edge in front of goal, with a promising 66 strikes tallied up from 182 clashes.

That sturdy number would be amazingly eclipsed in Glasgow when leading the line for Celtic, with a whopping 85 strikes coming his way from 165 total contests.

He did then fall victim to a zero-goal stint at Rennes, but he will hope he can write that short stay off in France as a fluke on his otherwise sparkling CV.

More strikers entering the Blues camp will hopefully take the pressure off Kyogo’s shoulders to be Birmingham’s sole leading man, with these fresh arrivals to Davies’ side also potentially getting even more out of the Japanese gem.

One potential new purchase, in particular, has shown he is content with being an assist king, as much as he enjoys chipping in with a strike or two of his own.

Extraordinary Blues target could be a dream for Kyogo

May will be mainly remembered for his 17-goal heroics last season, but he also provided a healthy nine assists for the attacking bodies around him.

New Blues target Marvin Ducksch should be able to come in and fill this void effectively when looking at his standout Werder Bremen numbers, with Football League World reporting that Davies and Co. are close to landing the well-rounded German as an attacker who could fire them up to the Premier League.

Ducksch’s numbers by season for Bremen

Season

Games

Goals scored

Assists

24/25

36

9

11

23/24

34

13

10

22/23

35

12

9

21/22

29

20

10

Sourced by Transfermarkt

Whilst it’s clear from glancing at the table above that Ducksch shares Kyogo’s clinical nature with an explosive 54 strikes picked up across his last four campaigns for Bremen, he also has the added plus of being a creative machine on his side, with an impressive 40 assists next to his name.

Last season, in particular, saw the Dortmund-born attacker’s goalscoring exploits take a backseat for his unselfish nature to come to the forefront.

He produced 11 assists next to his nine goals, with his FBref numbers over the last year also seeing him come away with a noticeable 3.20 progressive passes on average per clash, enough to rank him in the top 7% of positionally similar players in Europe’s top five leagues.

Being this consistent creative spark for Bremen has even resulted in Ducksch being called up to the Germany national side, on top of the 31-year-old being hailed as “extraordinary” by teammate Mitchell Weiser for what he can provide.

All of this will be music to the ears of a poacher-like presence such as Kyogo, who has been donned as “exceptional” himself in the past for his finishing ability under pressure by ex-Hoops comrade Joe Hart.

The struggle here might well come in getting both the German and the £10m attacker in the same XI, owing to Davies’ regular 4-2-3-1 set-up, but this is a selection headache Davies won’t be dreading, as his attacking personnel is strengthened regardless.

Related Birmingham City could sign dream May replacement in "dynamite" £10m star

Birmingham City will want to replace Alfie May swiftly as this £10m star comes onto their agenda.

Posts ByKelan Sarson Jul 22, 2025

Celtic players are slowly starting to filter back in for pre-season, and they could be joined by yet another new addition sooner rather than later, according to reports.

Celtic's transfer state of play with pre-season already underway

Several Celtic stars were spotted being put through their paces at Lennoxtown earlier this week, and it is anticipated that the bulk of the main group will join before long, but who could accompany them from elsewhere over the coming weeks?

Kieran Tierney, Ross Doohan and Benjamin Nygren have already been announced. Fulham youngster Callum Osmand is set to follow the trio to Celtic and has already been spotted at their training base before being officially confirmed as a new asset.

With Greg Taylor out of contract and set to depart, Djurgarden left-back Keita Kosugi is the latest name on the Bhoys’ radar as they plot a replacement for the Scotland international.

Despite some swift moves to bolster their pool of talent, Chris Sutton believes Celtic should be doing more in the transfer market with the Champions League qualifiers around the corner.

He explained: “Unless Celtic are going to start paying silly money, I’d imagine they may have to wait, perhaps even until the end of the window, for some of the key targets.

Celtic in talks to sell international defender for 7-figure loss

Is it the right time for him to leave?

1 ByHenry Jackson Jun 27, 2025

“But it still feels a little lacking to me at this precise point of proceedings and, at the very least, Rodgers will surely want the majority in his squad for the start of the domestic season.”

Managers will never be content with that they’ve got, there will always be an appetite for as many useful options as possible to offer cover across the pitch.

Either way, Sutton’s wish could now have been granted as Celtic are now on the brink of bringing in a talented central defender.

Celtic set to land Hayato Inamura with medical scheduled

According to Sponichi, Celtic are set to land defender Hayato Inamura from Albirex Niigata, and he will travel to Europe to undergo a medical before signing on the dotted line at Parkhead.

The 23-year-old took on his final fixture in current club colours against Machida Zelvia this weekend, and is set to become the ninth Japanese player to join the Hoops once his move is ratified.

Hayato Inamura’s record at Albirex Niigata

Appearances

35

Goals

1

Assists

2

Predominantly a central defender, Inamura is also capable of featuring at left-back and has two years left on his current deal at the Denka Big Swan Stadium. He is considered an impressive talent back home, evidenced by the fact he shares an agent with two of Japan’s top stars in Europe – £20m Arsenal man Takehiro Tomiyasu and Mainz star Kaishū Sano.

Enjoying a productive J League campaign, the Tokyo-born man has won 63 duels and 75% of his tackles and would likely arrive in Glasgow for a nominal fee, although the specifics on that front haven’t yet been confirmed.

Either way, Celtic appear primed to venture back into a market that has been a happy hunting ground in recent years, so there is every chance Inamura will become a shrewd addition with plenty of potential to develop.

It feels like the transfer all Liverpool fans are waiting to hear about is the club’s reported move for Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder Florian Wirtz.

The Premier League champions are yet to officially confirm that they have agreed a deal to sign the Germany international, but they are reportedly close to doing so.

The latest on Florian Wirtz to Liverpool

According to Fabrizio Romano, Wirtz is set to travel to England for his medical tests after he returns from his summer holiday, although it remains unclear as to exactly when that will be.

The reporter claims that Leverkusen and Liverpool have ‘sealed’ all documents for the transfer of the German midfield maestro, and that it is now a case of waiting for him to complete his medical tests before they can announce the deal.

This comes after Romano reported earlier this month that Arne Slot’s side have agreed a mammoth deal worth up to £127m, including add-ons, for the 22-year-old star.

Wirtz, who delivered 16 goals and 14 assists in all competitions for Leverkusen during the 2024/25 campaign, is set to become the club’s most-expensive signing of all time, eclipsing the £85m that they paid Benfica for Darwin Nunez in 2022.

The German midfielder may not be the only Liverpool signing this summer who breaks that record set by the Uruguay international’s arrival at Anfield, though, as the club are eyeing up another expensive attacker after Wirtz.

Liverpool eyeing move for £100m Premier League star

According to reports, as relayed by GOAL, FSG are not stopping with the Leverkusen star as the Premier League champions are considering a swoop to sign Newcastle United winger Anthony Gordon before the end of the summer transfer window.

The report claims that Liverpool are weighing up a move for the England international to bolster their options out wide, and that it could take a huge fee of £100m to snap him up from St. James’ Park.

Gordon, who spent time in Liverpool’s academy before eventually making his breakthrough at Everton, is being eyed up by the Reds because of uncertainty over the futures of Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz.

The report adds that Nunez is ‘certain’ to move on from Anfield, amid interest from Saudi Arabia, whilst Diaz is willing to explore his options, as Barcelona are interested in signing him.

Liverpool held talks with Newcastle in the summer of 2024 to discuss a deal for Gordon, but failed to get a deal over the line, and it looks as though they could hope that it is second time lucky this summer.

The 24-year-old star, who former teammate Charlie Cresswell claimed has “electric” pace, is a proven Premier League performer, with 150 appearances in the division to date, and could hit the ground running at Anfield as a new signing this summer.

Gordon’s ‘electric’ pace combined with Wirtz’s impressive creativity and passing quality could result in an exciting new-look attack for Slot in the 2025/26 campaign and beyond, if the club can get both of these deals over the line this summer.

Torres 2.0: Liverpool confident they can sign "the new Mbappe" for £84m

Liverpool are hoping to sign a new striker in the transfer market this summer.

2

By
Angus Sinclair

Jun 14, 2025

Chelsea have already made a couple of signings during the 2025 summer transfer window, and have confirmed the addition of midfielder Dario Essugo from Sporting CP. The most recent of those signings was Mamadou Sarr, the young French centre-back who joined from sister club Strasbourg of Ligue 1.

The other addition was Liam Delap, who made the move to Stamford Bridge from now relegated Ipswich Town. He cost the Blues £30m, the price of his relegation release clause at Portman Road, although BBC Sport say he will cost Chelsea £20m up front.

Delap, a European champion with England under-21 back in 2023, might not be the only player from that successful side to join the Blues this summer.

Chelsea chasing another English talent

Delap joins his fellow under-21 European Championship winner, Cole Palmer, in the Chelsea squad. It certainly fits the transfer policy we have seen from the Blues under Todd Boehly, to sign young talents who will have an impact now and in the future.

Transfer Focus

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

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The man who could join his former England teammates at Stamford Bridge is James Trafford. According to a report from The Telegraph, Chelsea could ‘enter the race’ for the Burnley goalkeeper, having kept a close eye on him ‘for more than a year’.

Indeed, the West London club do not go into the race for Trafford as favourites. Rather, they could end up hijacking the move, with fears at Newcastle United, who are ‘negotiating over the asking price’ with Clarets, that Chelsea could poach the goalkeeper.

Burnley have asked for £30m or more for the goalkeeper, a fee Chelsea would need to match to pull off the hijack.

Why Trafford would be a good signing

If Chelsea were to sign Trafford this summer, and poach him right from underneath Newcastle’s nose, he would join the club with a great reputation. It was a sensational 2024/25 campaign for the Burnley shotstopper, with football scout Antonio Mango calling him the “future England No1” based on those efforts.

Indeed, it was a magical season for Trafford, helping his Burnley side to promotion back to the Premier League at the first time of asking. In 45 Championship games, he conceded just 16 goals and kept 29 clean sheets.

Those numbers are ridiculous. It was a team effort, of course, with a strong defence in front of him, but certainly a large part of the defensive success was down to Trafford between the posts. He conceded an average of 0.36 goals per game across the season, as per FBref.

That is one of the many metrics in which Trafford ranked first amongst Championship goalkeepers last season. Another impressive stat is his save percentage, which was 84.5% last season.

FBref stats show that he stacks up well against Premier League goalkeepers, too. In 2024/25, Trafford conceded the least number of goals compared to top-flight shot stoppers who played at least 50% of games, kept double the amount of clean sheets and had the highest save percentage.

Trafford key stats & rank vs. PL/Championship goalkeepers

Stat

Trafford number

PL rank

Championship rank

Goals conceded

16

1st

1st

Goals conceded per game

0.36

1st

1st

Saves

85

14th

=13th

Save percentage

84.5%

1st

1st

Clean sheets

29

1st

1st

Stats from FBref

Equally too, there are a number of similarities between Trafford and Chelsea’s new number nine, Delap. Not only have they played alongside each other for England under-21s, but the pair also represented Manchester City’s academy alongside each other.

In all, they have played 21 games together, and it is certainly interesting that the pair have had such a similar career. After plenty of loans across the EFL, they each left City – joining Burnley and Ipswich for £19m and £20m, respectively – forged their own paths and made a real name for themselves, before potentially reconvening at Chelsea. It is quite the story.

On top of that, the Blues also pipped Newcastle to the signing of Delap. Back in May, it was reported by TEAMTalk that they had ‘showdown talks’ with the striker. However, Chelsea won the race to sign him, and they could well be set to repeat the feat with Trafford.

Paying £30m for a goalkeeper with the quality of Trafford seems like an easy decision for the West Londoners to make. This could be one of the sagas of the window, and one Chelsea will be hoping they can win.

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Posts 1 ByRoss Kilvington Jun 9, 2025

Liverpool have “made contact” with a rival Premier League attacker over a move to Anfield in the summer transfer window.

Liverpool in need of Nunez and Jota upgrade

The Reds are expected to have one of their busiest summers in years, with upgrades needed in various positions, despite their Premier League title win.

In attack, a new centre forward is badly needed, with neither Darwin Nunez nor Diogo Jota representing the solution in that area now. The former simply hasn’t kicked on enough in three seasons, while the latter is an injury-prone player who cannot seem to stay fit for a whole season.

Eintracht Frankfurt ace Hugo Ekitike has been linked with a move to Liverpool various times, and could stand out as the most exciting No.9 option this summer, especially considering Newcastle United look highly unlikely to allow Alexander Isak to leave.

Brighton attacker Joao Pedro has also been mentioned as an option for the Merseyside, as has Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz, who could potentially be used in a false nine role, even though it isn’t his most common position. Now, a big claim regarding the Reds signing another attacking player has emerged.

Liverpool make contact with Premier League attacker

According to Foot Mercato‘s Santi Aouna on X, Liverpool have made contact with Chelsea attacker Christopher Nkunku over a summer move to Anfield.

There would have to be question marks about Liverpool signing the £195,000-a-week Nkunku, considering he hasn’t exactly been a roaring success in a Chelsea shirt since arriving from RB Leipzig in 2023, only making nine starts in the Premier League this season.

Signing the 27-year-old would feel like a gamble by the Reds – one they don’t need to take – even though Thierry Henry has admitted he loves watching him play, and he has been lauded by former Chelsea and England centre-back Gary Cahill, who hailed him as a “very strong” player.

If Richard Hughes and Arne Slot truly feel that Nkunku is the best option to bring in this summer, they need to be trusted, but given his injury record and form at Chelsea, it would be a surprise if that was the case.

A better signing than Wirtz: Liverpool ramp up move for "the next Mbappe"

Liverpool’s primary goal this summer remains signing a new centre-forward.

ByAngus Sinclair May 16, 2025

Liverpool would be far wiser to look to sign Ekitike, who is five years his junior and seemingly on an upwards trajectory, following a great season for Frankfurt that has seen him score 15 goals in 30 Bundesliga starts.

Arsenal have done “more work” than any other suitors on a popular striker target, who new sporting director Andrea Berta is keen to sign, according to a new report.

Berta ready to put his imprint on Arsenal

Edu’s unexpected departure as Arsenal’s sporting director late last year sent shockwaves through the club, with many fans wondering how the club would move forward without the man partly responsible for the club’s resurgence in recent years.

Well, now they have the answer. On Sunday, Andrea Berta was confirmed as Arsenal’s new sporting director, ushering in an exciting new era at the Emirates Stadium.

Berta arrives in North London with a wealth of experience, having worked in technical roles for Italian sides Carpenedolo, Parma and Genoa and, most recently, Atlético Madrid, where he spent almost 12 years and played a major role in building the teams which won La Liga in both 2013/14 and 2020/21.

In his first interview following his appointing, Berta said that he can’t wait to help shape Arsenal’s future.

“I have watched with great interest the way Arsenal has evolved in recent years and I have admired the hard work that has gone into re-establishing the club as a major force in European football with a passionate following around the world,” he said.

“The club has great values and a rich history, and I am looking forward to playing my part in shaping a successful future with a great team. I cannot wait to get started in my new role and I am really looking forward to experiencing my first game at Emirates Stadium together with our supporters.”

Berta wants Cunha as Gunners begin work on signing

Having signed the likes of Antoine Griezmann, Rodri and Jan Oblak for Atleti over the years, Berta is now looking to get to work quickly at Arsenal, and reportedly already has his eye on a summer signing in the form of Wolverhampton Wanderers forward Matheus Cunha.

Described as “absolutely sensational” by former Manchester City star turned pundit Micah Richards, Cunha, who has been Wolves’ standout player this season, scoring 15 goals in all competitions, has been a target for Arsenal for some time, with the Gunners wanting him in January but being put off by Wolves’ £80 million asking price.

Ex-Arsenal star who's watched Cunha for years reveals trait Arteta loves

The Gunners could target the Wolves star…

ByTom Cunningham Mar 28, 2025

According to a new report from TEAMtalk, however, the Brazil international will be available for a much lower price in the summer, and Arsenal have done “more work” on signing Cunha than his other suitors. He is now “under serious consideration” by Berta.

The publication reports that the Gunners will face competition from Liverpool for the £90k per week star, with the Merseyside club having already been in contact to ask about the conditions of a deal for Cunha and whether he would be interested in a switch to Anfield.

Nottingham Forest are also reported to be plotting a bold move for the talented forward, and believe securing a Champions League spot would significantly boost their chances of sealing the deal.

Neither team has had a great year in the format and will look to make amends

Mohammad Isam15-Dec-2024West Indies will look to take the high from the 3-0 ODI series win in St Kitts into St Vincent where they now play three T20Is against Bangladesh. It is the fag end of the tour for the visitors, who would look to end their time in the West Indies with a win under their belt.Tour mood brings context to contestWest Indies crushed Bangladesh 3-0 in the ODIs after the visitors fought back to draw the Test series 1-1 in Jamaica earlier in the tour. The relationship between the two teams seems to have improved after some heated sledging in the Test series, but that wouldn’t stop them from thrashing out another highly-competitive three-match series.Both teams come into the matches with poor performances in T20Is recently. There will be mini-contests in the shortest format too, particularly between Jaker Ali and the West Indies fast bowlers.Related

Litton to lead Bangladesh in West Indies T20I series

Keacy Carty gets maiden T20I call-up for Bangladesh series

Bangladesh’s quicks will also be expected to rise for one last time this year, to make 2024 worth remembering for the group.West Indies bring in more big gunsRovman Powell now takes over the West Indies side as their T20I captain from ODI skipper Shai Hope. The hosts have called up Keacy Carty for the first time in T20Is, while the likes of Brandon King, Johnson Charles and Evin Lewis will make up the top order. Then come Powell, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase and Justin Greaves completing the middle order.Akeal Hosein is available only for the first two games, before Jayden Seales, Bangladesh’s scourge all tour, returns to the side for the third T20I. Gudakesh Motie could be key, having also bashed an important knock in the third ODI, to give him confidence with the bat.Bangladesh look to improve ordinary T20 yearBangladesh will be smarting from the series defeat in St Kitts because they fancy themselves in ODIs. The shift to T20Is won’t inspire much confidence for them because they have had a sub-par year in the format, having suffered series defeats against Sri Lanka, USA and India. They have lost their last six matches in the format.Jaker Ali was Bangladesh’s best batter across the Tests and ODIs•Randy BrooksTherefore, appointing Litton Das as captain is a desperate move to freshen up the T20I side. Litton is going through a tough time in ODIs so it is important for him to revive his form.They will, however, hope that Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan and their find of the series – Jaker – continue their ODI form into the T20Is. Shamim Hossain comes with renewed reputation while Mahedi Hasan will battle for a place with Mehidy Hasan Miraz.The spinners, including Nasum Ahmed and Rishad Hossain, have a lot of work to do, especially after failing to take wickets in the middle overs in the one-dayers.They shored up their pace department on the eve of the series, adding fast bowler Nahid Rana to the squad.*What to expect from the St Vincent pitch and conditionsBangladesh have bittersweet memories of the Arnos Vale ground from earlier this year. They beat Netherlands and Nepal but crashed out of the T20 World Cup after the loss against Afghanistan. The pitches produced moderate first-innings totals during the World Cup and the spinners could become a vital cog if used smartly by the two captains. St Vincent may experience some rain, which is particularly in the forecast for the third T20I on December 19.*

And what is the largest difference between a team’s first-innings and second-innings scores in all first-class cricket?

Steven Lynch23-May-2023I read that Brian Booth, who died last week, also played hockey for Australia at the Olympics. Are there any other Test cricketers who have done this? asked Craig Franklin from Australia
Brian Booth, who sadly died last week aged 89, seems to have been one of those rare cricketers who was universally admired. “A truly great human,” said his former team-mate Kerry O’Keeffe. “Strong claims to captain Aust ‘best blokes’ Test eleven.” Booth played the first of his 29 Tests in England in 1961, and led Australia twice during his final series, the 1965-66 Ashes. He scored five Test hundreds (and a 98). Before his international cricket career started, he had been part of the Australian field hockey squad for the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, and played in some of the later matches.Booth is one of six Test cricketers who also competed at the Olympics. The first was the Essex fast bowler Claude Buckenham, who was part of the Great Britain football team that won the gold medal in Paris in 1900; he played four Tests in South Africa in 1909-10, taking seven wickets in the first in Johannesburg.Another Essex player, Johnny Douglas, won the middleweight boxing gold medal at the 1908 Olympics in London. He went on to play 23 Tests for England between 1911-12 and 1924-25, captaining in most of them. At around the same time, the Somerset batter Jack MacBryan played one Test against South Africa in 1924 (famously not batting or bowling at Old Trafford) after being part of the gold-medal-winning British hockey team in Antwerp in 1920. The New Zealander Keith Thomson had a very busy time in 1968: after playing two Tests against India, he was part of the national hockey squad for the Mexico Olympics. Like Booth, he died in 2023.Coming more up to date, Sunette Viljoen played one Test and 17 ODIs for the South African women’s team, before concentrating on athletics: she competed in all four Olympic Games between 2004 and 2016, winning the silver medal in the javelin in the last, in Rio de Janeiro. Suzie Bates was part of the New Zealand basketball team at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and also appeared in 291 white-ball cricket internationals, many as captain – but she never played a Test match.At the weekend Glamorgan made 737 in their second innings, having been skittled for 123 in the first. Is the difference between the innings a record? asked Joe Jervis from England
In a remarkable turnaround, Glamorgan scored 614 more runs in the second innings of their recent County Championship match against Sussex in Hove than in the first. This is indeed a record difference between two completed innings by one side in a first-class match, beating 591 by Karachi Blues (111 and 702 for 7) against United Bank in Karachi in 2016-17.The Test record is 551, by Pakistan (106 and 657 for 8 declared) against West Indies in Bridgetown in 1957-58, in the match in which Hanif Mohammad scored 337 in 970 minutes. There are two other cases of 551 in first-class cricket, by Barbados (175 and 726 for 7 declared) against Trinidad in Bridgetown in 1926-27, and Middlesex (83 and 634 for 7 declared) against Essex in Chelmsford in 1983.Glamorgan’s 737 was their second-highest total, exceeded only by last year’s 795 for 5 declared in Leicester. There have been just four higher second-innings totals in all first-class cricket, the highest being New South Wales’s 770 against South Australia in Adelaide in 1920-21.I was intrigued by last week’s question regarding England players with an X in their surname. How many Pakistan cricketers have names containing a Q? asked Sanjeev Kulkarni from India
There are rather more than the five England Xs when we investigate Pakistan Qs. There are 37 Test players from Pakistan whose names are usually rendered on scorecards with a Q; there are at least four others whose full names also include a Q (for example, the full name of the recent Test batter Yasir Hameed is Yasir Hameed Qureshi).I won’t list all the Q players, but a reasonable Test team can be fielded: for starters, try Sadiq Mohammad, Imam-ul-Haq, Abdul Razzaq, Mushtaq Mohammad, Inzamam-ul-Haq, Asif Iqbal, Abdul Qadir, Zulqarnain, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis and Aqib Javed. Their match would have to be reported by Pakistan’s most durable cricket journalist, Qamar Ahmed. Pride of place, however, should perhaps go to the 1980s seamer Tahir Naqqash, who has two Qs in his name.Chris Martin collected 36 ducks and had a high score of 12 in his Test batting career•William West/AFPChris Martin took 233 wickets and scored 123 runs in his Test career. Is this negative difference of 110 the largest for a Test career? asked Elamaran Perumal from the United States
The New Zealand seamer (and hapless batter) Chris Martin collected 36 ducks in a 71-Test career that brought him just 123 runs to go with those 233 wickets. You’re right in thinking that 110 is the biggest negative difference between runs and wickets in a Test career: next comes the Indian legspin genius Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, with 242 wickets and 167 runs (a difference of -75). Old-time bowlers Jack Saunders of Australia (79 wickets, 39 runs) and England’s Bill Bowes (68 and 28) both had a difference of minus 40.The recent Pakistan seamer Aizaz Cheema had a big negative ratio: 20 wickets, but just one run. The 1930s England legspinner Charles “Father” Marriott and the recent South African seamer Mfuneko “Chewing” Ngam both took 11 Test wickets, but scored no runs at all.Regarding last week’s question about someone spending ten balls on nought in an IPL game, didn’t Dwayne Smith once get off the mark from his 12th ball? asked Rajesh Verma from India
You’re right that the normally attacking West Indian Dwayne Smith spent 11 balls on nought (eight of them, including a first-over maiden, sent down by slow left-armer Shahbaz Nadeem) for Chennai Super Kings against Delhi Daredevils in Raipur in 2015. However, last week’s question specifically asked about IPL chases, so the answers given were correct for teams batting second.Smith’s 11 balls is the most taken to get off the mark in either innings of an IPL match, but someone else has spent even longer on nought: Nayan Doshi faced 13 balls for Rajasthan Royals against Kochi Tuskers in Indore in 2011, being dismissed for a duck by the 13th.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Risking an early end to his career, the fast bowler declined knee surgery to play through the 1993 Ashes series

Daniel Brettig02-Feb-2021Imagine a fast bowler in 2020, halfway through an Ashes tour, facing the fact that a degenerative knee problem was likely to contribute to an early end to their career unless they went home to face surgery. In this day and age of sports science and data-driven decisions, it would barely be a debate – off to Heathrow.Twenty-seven years ago, Merv Hughes faced just such a dilemma in the midst of an Ashes campaign where he was the manful spearhead of an Australian attack that, while blessed with the abundant talents of a young Shane Warne, was also down to its final four bowlers for long stretches of a tour that began in April and stretched into early September. Fortunately for Australia, but damagingly for the remainder of Hughes’ playing days, he says now that never considered accepting the offer of an early flight home and the attendant career-lengthening rehab.At the end of the third Test, Hughes had knee trouble as well as a groin strain, and spent nine days on his own in London with the team physio Errol Alcott, working assiduously to improve his fitness in order to play the final three Tests. When the knee began playing up again over the final two Tests, putting Hughes in agony when he climbed stairs and forcing him into a limp whenever he wasn’t actually bowling, team-mates began to realise the cost. Hughes had, in the words of his biographer Patrick Keane, “given more than anyone had a right to expect.”It was not as though Hughes’ early exit from the series could not be covered: the likes of Jo Angel, Damien Fleming and Joe Scuderi were all in England at the time to play league cricket, and Mike Whitney was working as both a commentator for Channel Nine and a more-than-occasional net bowler to the tourists. Hughes, though, was committed to leading the bowling attack and paying back his captain Allan Border for the faith he had shown in him over the years before.Perhaps only Ryan Harris since then has come close to the extremes Hughes went through in carrying his troublesome knee through the six Tests, scooping 31 wickets and playing a huge hand in a 4-1 series victory. Undoubtedly, Hughes paid a personal price for his commitment to the team and the tour, playing only two more Tests thereafter, in South Africa the following year. This selflessness was key to why Hughes was an integral part of the Australian side of the Border era, and a worthy inductee to the Australian Cricket Hall of Fame.”I had a bit of knee trouble, I think it was made out to be a lot worse than it actually was,” Hughes said, self-effacingly, on Tuesday. “Errol Alcott was the team physio and I trusted every word he said, he was one of my best mates when I played to be honest, but when he said you’re going to have a little bit of pain but it’s not going to get any worse, that’s where it was. I had the option to go home, yes, halfway through it, and if I had to make the same decision again I wouldn’t change it. To be on that tour from start to finish was very rewarding.Bowling with a bad knee, Merv Hughes took 31 wickets to help Australia claim a 4-1 Ashes victory in 1993•Getty Images”I think ’94 in South Africa was reward for contribution to Australian cricket. I thank the Australian selectors for that. But I’d come off an injury, there were some young guys coming through and I was very fortunate to get on that tour and by the end of that tour you had blokes like Glenn McGrath and Paul Reiffel coming through, and when they’re 10 years younger, the writing’s on the wall. Ultimately I don’t think things would’ve changed – probably the only thing that may have changed is I may have played a few more years of first-class cricket, but that didn’t eventuate.”The guys coming through were putting pressure on the old fella in the team and the old fella in the team couldn’t cope that well.”Repeatedly over his time in the Australian side, Hughes came through with big performances and big wickets, particularly in Ashes series and over several increasingly competitive bouts with the great West Indies teams of the period. After an initial phase when Hughes’ qualities were doubted by some, his quirky hat-trick over three overs at the WACA in 1988, and then heroic match figures of 13 for 217 either side of Geoff Lawson having his jaw broken by Curtly Ambrose, dispelled all reservations about whether there was real substance beneath his caricature moustache and beer belly.The crowds loved Hughes’ caricature moustache and his on-field antics, but there was genuine cricketing substance to go with it•Patrick Eagar/Getty Images”That’s where you really get measured, isn’t it, you don’t get measured by doing well against weaker teams,” Hughes said. “So to come up against that West Indies team having lost the first Test match … it was a great personal achievement but I think we lost that Test match by about 200 runs [169 runs], so the disappointment of the loss of the Test match overrode the emotion of a great personal achievement.”But the hat-trick, you try to explain to people that you didn’t know you were on a hat-trick, and people look you and go ‘mate, a hat-trick’s three wickets in three balls’, I know that, but when it’s over three overs, over two days and two innings and Tim May takes a wicket in between your first and second wicket, you tend to lose it. Plus with the emotion about Geoff Lawson being hit late on the day when we went back into bowling on the third day, to bowl for 20 minutes, I think you’re going to get fired up as a fast bowler anyway.”When you’ve seen one of your team-mates being hit, there’s just a little bit of extra spice to it. The eight-for was against a very good side, but ultimately if Geoff Lawson hadn’t been injured, I probably would’ve bowled half the overs and if you bowl half the overs you take half the wickets.”A spray of invective at the third of his hat-trick victims, Gordon Greenidge, was an example of the aggressive and often ugly way in which Hughes expressed himself on the field, the archetypal angry fast bowler who would use the short ball and his vocabulary to get under an opponent’s skin. Between these tendencies and constant battles with his waistline – at one point he infamously stomped on and shattered a new set of scales when asked to weigh himself – Hughes was a cricketer of his time, but with determination and courage to stand up in any era.Hughes, Dean Jones and David Boon were among the core group of players who revived Australia’s fortunes under Allan Border•Graham Chadwick/PA PhotosHughes drew immense personal satisfaction from the fact that the Australian team was constantly improving during his time in it, from the depths of the mid-1980s when the rebel tours of Apartheid South Africa had stripped the national cricket system of many of its established players, to the time when Hughes played his last Test in 1994 as part of an XI about to finally topple the West Indies and become the world’s best the following year. Later a national selector, Hughes has remained a consistent presence whether through tour groups or occasional commentary.”It was a tough time and people talk about that ’85 rebel tour to South Africa, and that came on top of just rebuilding from World Series Cricket in the late ’70s, so as Australia started to get back on their feet, that rebel tour came along,” Hughes said. “Fortunately for Australia Allan Border was appointed captain, Bob Simpson look over as coach and Laurie Sawle was appointed chairman of selectors. Those three blokes deserve a lot of credit for where Australian cricket got to.”They had a game plan and it was short-term pain for long-term gain and they picked a heap of young blokes and identified some young talent, picked a couple of guys who had the reputation of being tough and uncompromising and they had that senior core of players that led the way. The thing I look back on most satisfied with is that I played in an ever-improving Australian team. We didn’t quite get to the top of the tree when I was playing, but I look back at it with great satisfaction that we pushed the West Indies.”We pushed them in ’91 and the thing I probably hold closest is I think we were the first team to beat the West Indies in Antigua. They hadn’t lost in Antigua, it was Viv Richards’ last Test match on his home ground, and we got up and had a win there. I firmly believe at that stage was when we as a collective group of Australian players started to think we could match it with the West Indies.”As for what team-mates thought of Hughes, the following words from Steve Waugh of his efforts in England in 1993 are a fitting summary of both admiration and occasional exasperation. “He didn’t use his brain at all because it was all heart and that cost him in the long run,” Waugh told Keane in . “It put an end to his career in my opinion. I think he thought that ‘every Test I miss is one I can never play again’ and we were on a huge winning roll and he wanted to be part of it.”

Arsenal have built an outrageously talented squad over the last five years or so, one capable of winning the Premier League and Champions League.

However, for all the incredible stars Mikel Arteta has signed over the seasons, from Declan Rice to David Raya, it would be fair to say his most important player remains Bukayo Saka.

The Hale Ender has transformed from an academy prospect into a world-class forward, and the fact that he produced his 100th league goal involvement on his 200th appearance at the weekend is a testament to that.

So, it’s incredibly exciting to see that the club are producing another academy talent who looks destined to become someone of Saka-level importance in the years to come.

Saka's academy career

Saka joined Arsenal in the Arsenal academy set-up at seven years old, after spending some time with Watford.

Chalkboard

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

The youngster’s first game for the Gunners’ U18 side came in a 4-1 loss to Fulham’s U18s in August 2017, and while he failed to make much of an impact in that game, he did end that season with eight goals and four assists in 22 games.

The following season started with the “future legend,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, continuing to play for the U18s while also making appearances for the U23s.

However, while he was used in the FA Youth Cup at the turn of the year, and the final of the U18s Premier League, it was increasingly clear that the young dynamo was too good to stay in that age group, and so the U21s became where he spent most of his time.

In all, the Ealing-born gem made 24 appearances for the U23s across 18/19, in which he scored six goals and provided nine assists, but something else happened that season: he made his first-team debut.

Former manager Unai Emery gave him a chance off the bench in a Europa League clash with Ukrainian side Vorskla Poltava in November, and then started him at home against Qarabağ FK a month later.

With him now featuring for the senior side, he would make his final appearances in junior football the following season, playing a single game against Everton in late August for the U23s.

In all, Saka produced 37 goal involvements in 53 appearances for the junior sides before establishing himself as Arsenal’s most important player over the following years, and now it looks like Hale End has produced someone else capable of doing the same.

Arsenal's future Saka

While last season saw Ethan Nwaneri and Myles Lewis-Skelly make it into the first-team, the Hale Ender set to become as crucial as Saka is someone even younger: Max Dowman.

It feels like the 15-year-old is the most talked-about youth prospect Arsenal have had in a generation or more, and it’s not just coming from supporters.

For example, at the start of last season, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig went as far as to claim the teenager was the “most exciting prospect” he had seen “since Lamine Yamal”, and considering the Spaniard’s absurd ability, that is an astounding thing to say.

As if that wasn’t enough, you also had senior professionals waxing lyrical about the youngster, with Rice labelling him “the best 15-year-old in the country.”

Finally, away from players and scouts, Hale End expert Will Balsam probably had the boldest opinion of the lot, arguing that the Chelmsford-born gem is “one of the greatest footballing brains that’s ever come through Hale End.”

As if that wasn’t enough, he also claimed that he’s “the biggest talent in England,” a statement supported by his statistics for the youth sides last season.

For example, in just 23 appearances, totalling 1945 minutes, he scored 19 times and provided five assists, which comes out to an average of 1.04 goal involvements per match, or one every 81.04 minutes.

Finally, what makes it really feel like he could become as big a star for the first team as Saka has is that in his few senior appearances, he has looked incredible, most notably against Leeds United at home and Newcastle United in pre-season.

Ultimately, there is still a long way to go for Dowman, but as things stand, he looks destined to become a world-beater for Arsenal.

Arsenal can fix Odegaard blow by starting their "best attacker" in new role

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