All posts by h716a5.icu

Thomas Frank’s appointment at Tottenham Hotspur has seen a new era begin at the football club, with the Dane tasked with taking the side to the next level under his guidance.

The 52-year-old has already formed numerous impressive partnerships across the first-team squad, with centre-backs Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero nailing their places down as regular starters.

The duo have started all but three league games together in 2025/26, with the pair no doubt playing a crucial role in the Lilywhites’ away record – which is the joint-best in the division at present.

Spurs’ latest fixture against PSG saw Frank unleash a midfield duo of Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray, an opportunity which both players took full advantage of, potentially making them the manager’s long-term pairing at the heart of the side.

However, the Dane will no doubt be wishing that he could rely upon a couple of players who set the Premier League alight during their period together in North London.

The success of Kane & Son’s partnership at Spurs

Back in the summer of 2015, Spurs completed the £23m signature of winger Heung-min Son from Bayer Leverkusen – subsequently arriving as an unknown quantity to many supporters.

Such a move came at around the same time as academy striker Harry Kane was making his mark in the first-team ranks after various loan spells across the Football League.

However, not many people could have foreseen the impact they would have alongside one another, with such a partnership being one of, if not, the best, in England’s top-flight.

The pair linked up for 47 goals between one another – the most of any duo in the division’s history – with many of which handing the fans memories to last a lifetime.

A two-year spell between 2020 and 2022 was by far and away their most successful, as the duo linked up on 21 separate occasions for goals – a simply staggering feat.

One game will no doubt stand out, as Kane registered all four assists for Son in the 5-2 demolition of Southampton back in 2020/21 – with such a record putting the Englishman joint-top for most assists in a single English league game.

However, in 2025, Frank is unable to rely upon either of the aforementioned talents, with both moving on to pastures new over the last two years – undoubtedly leaving a huge hole in the Lilywhites’ attack.

The Spurs duo who are becoming Frank’s own Son & Kane

During his time as a manager, Frank has not been alien to iconic duos at the top end of the pitch, with the Dane fortunate to work with multiple elite attackers at Brentford.

In the Championship years and the first few seasons in the Premier League, he was able to rely upon the likes of Ivan Toney and Bryan Mbeumo at the GTEC.

The pair scored 29 combined goals back in 2022/23, 11 goals shy of the tally produced by Kane and Son, but still managed to cement themselves as one of the division’s most threatening pairs.

In the present day, the Spurs boss has none of those players at his disposal in North London, but the Lilywhites hierarchy have handed him the opportunity to improve the options in his current squad.

He took full advantage during the summer window, splashing a reported £55m on the signature of winger Mohammed Kudus from fellow Premier League side West Ham United.

Such a fee will have raised eyebrows, but the Ghanaian international has already made an immediate impact in North London after his controversial transfer.

He’s already managed to register four assists in the Premier League to date, with such a tally putting him joint-top in the division alongside the likes of Jack Grealish and Yankuba Minteh.

The numbers produced by Kudus are similar to Son’s, leading to similarities being drawn due to their ability to create endless opportunities for their teammates in North London.

Their playstyles are also extremely similar, with both talents loving to take on their opponents, before cutting off their respective flanks and getting shots off on goal.

Games played

11

Goals & assists

5

Pass accuracy

87%

Successful crosses

1.8

Successful dribbles

3.3

Dribble success

48%

Chances created

1.5

Duels won

7.1

The other half of Frank’s duo at the top end of the pitch is made up by loanee Randal Kolo Muani, who joined the Lilywhites on a season-long loan from PSG.

The striker has often had to bide his time to regular minutes since his switch, as Richarlison has often been ahead of him in the pecking order, or he’s been sidelined with fitness issues.

However, his showing against his parent side on Wednesday night highlighted his impressive ability within the final third when given an opportunity to thrive.

The 26-year-old netted twice and registered an assist in the 5-3 defeat in the Champions League, but his clinical finishes certainly did show glimpses of what Kane produced in North London.

The pair, who earn a combined £300k-per-week at Spurs, will need time to gel and form a deadly partnership, but the early signs appear positive for the individuals.

If they can click together in the near future, there’s no reason why they can’t star together in the remainder of 2025/26 and potentially lead Frank to a successful first season at the helm.

Romero upgrade: Spurs "ready to make" £35m bid for "world-class" defender

Tottenham Hotspur look set to make a huge January move for a new centre-back.

1 ByEthan Lamb Nov 28, 2025

Nitish Kumar Reddy complained of back stiffness which has impacted his recovery and mobility; Shivam Dube is in the XI for the first T20I

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2025Fast-bowling allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy’s return to action has been set back by neck spasms, which has “impacted his recovery and mobility”, according to a BCCI update on Wednesday morning.Reddy, 22, had sustained a left quadriceps injury during the second ODI against Australia on October 23. He missed the following ODI in Sydney, which India won by nine wickets to cut down the series margin to 2-1.India are already without their premier allrounder Hardik Pandya, who is recovering from a quadriceps injury of his own. Without Hardik, India have looked unbalanced, but the good news for them is that Shivam Dube, the other seam-bowling allrounder in the touring party, is fit and was picked in the XI for the first T20I in Canberra after being sidelined from the opening round of the Ranji Trophy with back stiffness.Reddy has had a difficult time with injuries, especially this year. In July, he had been ruled out of the fourth and fifth Tests in England with a knee injury. He had suffered the injury while training in the gym before hurting his quadriceps in Australia.He has played 15 internationals for India so far, since making his debut in the Perth Test in November 2024.In the first T20I in Canberra, India picked three spinners in Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy and Axar Patel, sticking to their successful template from the Asia Cup, which they won in late September.

A former Barcelona midfielder has urged Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes to join the Catalan giants amid positional restrictions under Ruben Amorim at Old Trafford. The Portugal international has been deployed in a restricted role at the centre of the park alongside Casemiro in Amorim's starting lineup this season, instead of playing a part in a more attacking area of the pitch.

Fernandes' change in role at Man Utd

Fernandes was the only shining light at United's worst campaign in the Premier League's history last season. The Portuguese midfielder was the team's best performer and highest scorer with 19 goals and as many assists in 57 matches across all competitions. 

Despite a stellar campaign, Amorim decided to experiment with Fernandes' role in the team as in the current campaign, he has been placed in a two-man central midfield role alongside Casemiro. With the arrivals of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo in the summer and Mason Mount's revival, Fernandes has been forced to play in a more defensive position this season, mostly in a 3-4-2-1 system. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportFernandes told to join Barcelona

Speaking to , former Barcelona and Spain midfielder Gaizka Mendieta said: "Look at Ilkay Gundogan. He came to Barca also in his thirties, so in terms of age, not too much to worry about if Bruno Fernandes wants the move. Talent-wise, he has all the time that he needs for a player to succeed in La Liga. It's obviously about how he feels about it. He's obviously the captain at Man Utd. Maybe the fact that he's not playing in a position where he would prefer could influence him. I cannot see why he couldn’t go to La Liga, to Barca, especially. 

"Again, I think players love those challenges, different countries, different leagues, winning trophies in different leagues, and I'm sure it crossed his mind many times. But again, it's about ambition, it's about his situation there. In the same way I would love to see Vinicius Junior in the Premier League, I would love to see Fernandes in La Liga. Barcelona fans would love him, 100%. His character, both talent-wise and personality-wise."

Fernandes linked with move to Saudi league

Saudi Pro League clubs have shown interest in Fernandes for a long time now, although interest in the midfielder was fended off in the last window, with United’s club captain making no push for an exit from Old Trafford. He is tied to a contract through to 2027 that includes the option for a further 12-month extension.

Amid his transfer links to the Middle East, United have been told that they should not ignore any transfer offers from the Saudi Pro League. Former Red Devils star Wes Brown – speaking in association with – told GOAL: "I think he will be. Regardless of what happens with Bruno, I know that he would really love to stay. At the same time, if stupid offers get brought in, what can you do? He’s getting to that age now where he still wants to be part of it, but you can’t just dismiss everything because that’s not how the world works. I don’t think anyone would take it too personally if that did happen. 

"He’s done everything he can to try and help the team. At some point it will come to that crunch if someone comes in – probably talking Saudi with that money. If that happens again, whatever happens you can’t blame Bruno. You have to accept that he did right by what he needed to do and then move on again. You need a player with that same energy. That’s what people don’t get – the same energy. Sometimes my mates say ‘he does this, he does that’, which is because sometimes nobody else is doing anything! He’s trying to do something. People don’t understand that and get it, which is fine. But he is definitely a player that you need, or need someone like that. Not necessarily to replace, but in the same category. If he was to go, it would be a big miss."

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

Getty Images SportAmorim's update on Fernandes' injury

The 31-year-old suffered a late injury scare during United's comeback victory over Crystal Palace last weekend. However, Amorim eased concerns after the game, as he told TNT Sports: "It was a kick. I was shouting at him, we made a substitution in the end. He needed to talk to the bench but he said it was just a kick so everything is okay."

Fernandes is likely to return to action in the club's upcoming Premier League game against West Ham on Thursday at Old Trafford. 

The Cincinnati Reds fell to 20-22 on the season after getting shutout by the Houston Astros on Sunday. It seems some fans are growing frustrated with the team's offensive inconsistencies.

Chief among those is college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit. The 55-year-old is a big Reds fan, and he took to social media with a harsh message for the organization after Sunday's 6–0 defeat.

"SO predictable. Another year and another year of inconsistent hitting. Same thing for last 12 years––season essentially over in early May. How can a team NOT HIT for TWELVE YEARS?!?!??? Feel bad for Tito. One of best managers in our lifetime––even HE can’t turn this franchise around. Just doomed," wrote Herbstreit on X, formerly Twitter.

It's been a rough month of May for Cincinnati. The Reds have started the month with three series losses against the Washington Nationals, Atlanta Braves and Houston Astros. The team is 4-7 in May and have been held to one or fewer runs in five of their 11 games this month.

Herbstreit made clear that the decades-long mediocrity of the team's offense was a major point of frustration among fans.

Thus far into the 2025 campaign, the Reds rank 13th in MLB with 42 home runs and have scored the eighth most runs (198) in the league. While they're not hitting quite as well as some of the most potent offenses, such as the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs, they've not been quite as poor as Herbstreit's rant would let on.

Luke McCowan says Celtic need to show their character in Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup final against St Mirren at Hampden Park.

Wilfried Nancy became the first Hoops manager to lose his opening two matches when Italian giants Roma won 3-0 at Parkhead in the Europa League on Thursday night, which followed on from a 2-1 home defeat to leaders Hearts in the William Hill Premiership last weekend.

Celtic fans, some of whom booed at the end of the defeat by Roma, are approaching the final against the Buddies with more nerves than they would have done before the Frenchman took over from interim bosses Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney, who in turn had taken over from Brendan Rodgers.

McCowan calls for players and fans to stick together

McCowan, the 28-year-old midfielder, who joined from Dundee in August 2024, called for unity and a demonstration of the traits that have made the Parkhead club so successful in recent times.

He said: “I can’t really talk for the fans, but we are fully bought-in. We need to buy-in, it’s kind of non-negotiable.

“We need to back everyone in this building, regardless of who’s been playing well, who’s not.

“We are a team and we need to back each other through the good and the bad because everybody’s all high-fives and cuddles when we are winning but this team doesn’t go through two or three bad results and this is where the true characters are shown.

Worse than Engels: Nancy must drop Celtic flop who looks awful in new role

Wilfried Nancy must drop this Celtic flop who was even worse than Arne Engels in the 3-0 defeat to Roma.

ByDan Emery 3 days ago

“So we need just to be together and I know I’ve said so many times, stick together.

“It’s when you go through bad spells – personally I’ve done it with Dundee and Ayr – then we just need to kind of have that same attitude of work hard, move on to the next game.

“The games are coming thick and fast in this period and it’s a good thing that if you get one win it can propel you to get a few hopefully and we just need to start with that on Sunday.

“We just need to get on top of it again.”

The offspinner will not be available for the remainder of the home summer nor New Zealand’s title defence at the 2026 T20 World Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Dec-2025Eden Carson, the 24-year-old New Zealand offspinner, will undergo surgery on her right elbow on Thursday and is expected to require six months of rehabilitation before returning to play.Carson picked up a partial ligament rupture in the elbow during New Zealand’s training camp in Dubai ahead of the women’s ODI World Cup earlier this year and managed the injury through the tournament. She played all seven of her team’s league games, and picked up two wickets at an economy rate of 5.60 in 35.4 overs of bowling.”The recovery timeline means she will not be available for the remainder of the home summer nor New Zealand’s title defence at the 2026 T20 World Cup,” New Zealand Cricket said in a statement.Related

Carson – NZ's reel sensation who clicked at the biggest stage

With the injury affecting her bowling arm, head coach Ben Sawyer said the team had opted for surgery to prioritise her long-term future.”We’re all really gutted for Eden,” Sawyer said. “The team has a big six months ahead and I know how difficult it was for her to make the decision to go through with the surgery now, but I fully support it.”It’ll obviously be a huge loss for the team not having Eden available, especially for the T20 World Cup where she played a big role for us last year. At just 24, she’s still got a long career ahead, so it’s important we look forward and prioritise getting her back on the park and fully fit.”When New Zealand won the T20 World Cup in October 2024 in Dubai, Carson had picked up nine wickets in six bowling innings at an economy rate of 6.39.New Zealand will host Zimbabwe in February and March 2026 for three T20Is and three ODIs across Hamilton, Wellington and Dunedin.

Paris Saint-Germain manager Luis Enrique has expressed his frustration after seeing his side held to a stalemate by Athletic Club at San Mames. The Spaniard claimed the French champions "deserved the victory" but were denied by an "incredible" Man of the Match performance from goalkeeper Unai Simon.

PSG frustrated in Bilbao

The Parisians arrived in Bilbao knowing that three points were crucial to their ambitions of securing automatic qualification for the round of 16. In the hostile cauldron of San Mames, the Ligue 1 giants produced a dominant attacking display, carving out numerous clear-cut opportunities against the Basque outfit. However, they found an impenetrable object in their path in the form of Spanish international goalkeeper Simon.

The Athletic Club shot-stopper produced a string of world-class saves to keep the visitors at bay, frustrating the likes of Bradley Barcola and Senny Mayulu throughout a frantic 90 minutes as the French side made 18 attempts on goal though only five hit the target. The result leaves PSG still searching for the points required to cement their status in the top eight of the league phase standings, a reality that somewhat irked their manager during his post-match media duties.

AdvertisementAFPDenied by the Man of the Match

Speaking to the press after the whistle, Luis Enrique was quick to point out the statistical anomaly of the match. For the PSG boss, the fact that the opposing goalkeeper was named the standout performer was irrefutable proof that his tactical plan had worked, even if the scoreboard did not reflect it.

"It happened like that because goalkeeper Unai Simon was incredible, he was designated man of the match and that means we deserved the victory, I think," Luis Enrique stated. "Without a doubt, Athletic's game was of a very high level. They could have won because they had a few chances too. But on the balance, we deserved to win it.

"It's a shame because we have to win because Unai Simon was incredible, we need more points to finish in the top eight." 

Despite the irritation regarding the result, Luis Enrique remained complimentary about the spectacle. The intensity of the match, driven by the ferocious pressing of Ernesto Valverde's side and the raucous Basque crowd, provided a true Champions League test.

"No frustration, I think it was a very intense match, we did the job, they pressed a lot," Luis Enrique said. "We created a lot of chances but Unai Simon was on the pitch and the atmosphere was incredible."

He also refused to criticise his forward line, despite their inability to find the back of the net.

"All the forwards showed a good level, they created a lot of chances to score a goal."

Eyes on the January window

With the Champions League group phase reaching its climax and the domestic season intensifying, attention is also turning to the upcoming January transfer window. While the immediate focus was on the dropped points in Bilbao, Luis Enrique was asked about potential reinforcements to help convert these dominant displays into victories.

According to reports from RMC Sport, the manager remains open to strengthening his squad, provided the right opportunities arise. While he maintained that his current squad is of a very high standard—making it difficult to find players who can genuinely improve the starting XI—he did not rule out activity if the market presents a solution to their occasional lack of ruthlessness.

"We are always open to improving the team," he noted.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

AFPWhat comes next?

For now, PSG must regroup. The performance in Bilbao proved they can create chances against top-tier opposition in hostile environments, but as Luis Enrique bluntly noted, as long as goalkeepers like Unai Simon are in "incredible" form, playing well is not always enough to secure the points needed for European glory. The chase for the top eight goes down to the wire.

PSG have 13 points with two games left to play, which come against Sporting CP and Newcastle in January. They are already sure of a play-off spot, at least, but the Spanish coach will be determined to ensure his side avoid the extra two matches by picking up the required points next month.

An analysis of the trends formed in IPL 2025

Shubh Agarwal05-Jun-202514:45

IPL 2025: Do both Pandya brothers get picked in the team of the tournament?

:Indian batters on top
The dominance of Indian batters was one of the most prominent aspects of IPL 2025. Not only did they score over 16000 runs, they also achieved that at a 150-plus strike rate – both were firsts for Indian batters in an IPL season. Their average of 29.76 is also the highest in a season.ESPNcricinfo LtdWhat makes it more noteworthy is the contribution from the uncapped batters. As many as nine uncapped Indian batters scored over 250 runs. The 2023 and 2024 seasons had six uncapped batters each doing so, which was the previous record.Related

Big scores, big chases, big aggregates – the IPL 2025 runathon

IPL 2025: Kohli, Bumrah, Iyer headline ESPNcricinfo's team of the tournament

Arya, Prabhsimran, Suryavanshi and Rathi make ESPNcricinfo's IPL 2025 Uncapped XII

IPL 2025 showed the might of the uncapped Indian batter

Prabhsimran Singh became only the second uncapped Indian batter to accumulate over 500 runs in a season, after Yashasvi Jaiswal in 2023. Prabhsimran’s opening partner, Priyansh Arya, scored over 450 runs in his debut season. The 14-year-old IPL debutant Vaibhav Suryavanshi broke the record for the youngest batter to score a T20 hundred.Most impressively, the uncapped batters stood their ground against bowlers with international experience. There were 10 entries of an uncapped batter scoring over 20 runs against international bowlers at a strike rate of over 200 without getting out, the most in a season.This pattern played a vital role in deciding the top four sides. Delhi Capitals’ (DC) two home wins came in Vishakhapatnam; in five matches in Delhi, they lost four and won a Super Over to garner two points from a tied game against Rajasthan Royals (RR). Chennai Super Kings won only one of their six matches in Chepauk. In total, seven of the 10 teams lost more than 50% of their home matches.Bowling offspin against left-handers as a match-up did not prove effective this season. Left-handed batters faced only 25.54% of offspin, the lowest in a season. In this match-up, they conceded 8.87 runs per over, only the third IPL season when they went at more than eight per over against left-handers, after 2008 (8.50) and 2018 (8.26).ESPNcricinfo LtdWhere were the close games?
IPL 2025 was a season that the faint-hearted would have enjoyed without many complications, as there were only a few nailbiters. While the 200-plus run chases were exciting to watch, five of them were finished as contests before the start of the final over. None of the 37 successful chases went to the last ball. Only six matches were decided with a margin of less than 10 runs. Throughout the season, only four matches were effectively alive on the final delivery, including the Super Over contest between DC and RR.ESPNcricinfo LtdOverall, only 21.13% of matches were close (with the margin under 10 runs or less than six balls to spare having less than three wickets in hand in a successful run chase). Only 2011 had fewer close games – 20.83%.Even the playoff qualification was quite straightforward, with the top four decided after the 63rd league game. That is seven matches before the league stage was over, the earliest the top four have been confirmed in a season.

Veteran reliever David Robertson is signing with the Philadelphia Phillies, according to a report from Ken Rosenthal of

Robertson, who turned 40 earlier this year, conducted a workout for multiple teams on Saturday in Providence, R.I. The workout yielded a deal for the rest of the season with Philadelphia that will pay him $6.22 million (prorated from $16 million) according to Mark Feisand of MLB.com.

Robertson has not pitched this season, but spent 2024 with the Texas Rangers, where he posted a 3.00 ERA with 99 strikeouts and 27 walks. This will be Robertson's 17th MLB season and his third stint in Philadelphia.

Robertson is hoping to help stabilize a contending Phillies club that ranks 23rd in the major leagues in bullpen ERA.

The Colorado Rockies have found wins hard to come by during the 2025 MLB season. A lot of the time, it's due to their own shortcomings or lapses in judgement.

They managed to escape with a win on Sunday against the Arizona Diamondbacks, 6–5, but they came dangerously close to throwing the game away. Juan Mejia was on the mound looking to secure the first save of his career, and he managed to do so, though in no ordinary fashion.

With two men out and runners on second and third, Mejia got Ketel Marte to hit a pop up in the infield. Rather than let his teammates make a play on the ball, Mejia took off from the mound and bolted towards first base to attempt to field the fly ball. Not expecting his pitcher to be in the area, Rockies first baseman Warming Bernabel also chased down the ball and ended up running straight through Mejia like a safety flattening an unsuspecting wide receiver.

Fortunately, Mejia was able to hold onto the ball despite taking the full brunt of a hit from his teammate. He remained on the ground for a few seconds before getting to his feet with a grin on his face and celebrating with his teammates.

His teammates shared a good laugh over the play in the aftermath, though they may have been wearing plenty different expressions on their faces had the game-winning run crossed the plate as a result of Mejia's unnecessary defensive efforts.

That's how you end a game, Rockies style.