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Chelsea sought to bolster their options at the top end of the pitch when they splashed out £30m to sign Liam Delap from Ipswich Town in the summer transfer window.

The England U21 international scored 12 goals in the Premier League for the Tractor Boys in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore, and seemed to be an exciting addition to Enzo Maresca’s squad.

Unfortunately, as shown in the graphic above, Delap has flopped for the Blues since his big-money move to Stamford Bridge, with no goal contributions so far.

The 22-year-old centre-forward is yet to prove that he has what it takes to lead the line as the main number nine for a team that is competing at the top end of the Premier League.

Chelsea eyeing move for new number nine

It is interesting, therefore, that a fresh report has emerged suggesting that the club are interested in adding another striker to their squad next month.

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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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According to Gazzetta dello Sport, via Football365, Chelsea have sent scouts to watch Bologna centre-forward Santiago Castro ahead of the upcoming January transfer window.

The report claims that the Blues are one of a number of Premier League sides keeping tabs on the 21-year-old striker, with Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa also keen on the attacker.

It adds that Chelsea have already made contact with the Bologna star’s representatives to discuss a possible deal, in hope of laying the groundwork for a move to be officially completed in January.

Gazzetta dello Sport also reveals that the Serie A side want a fee of up to £44m to let go of their centre-forward, and it remains to be seen whether or not the Blues are prepared to pay that price.

Why Chelsea should sign Santiago Castro

The Club World Cup champions should push to get a deal over the line for Castro when the January transfer window officially opens for business because he could come in as a perfect replacement for Delap.

As aforementioned, it is not working out for the Englishman at Stamford Bridge and bringing in a new striker could allow the club to send the 22-year-old out on loan for the second half of the campaign, in the hope that he can regain his confidence in front of goal.

Whilst Delap has struggled in the 2025/26 campaign, Castro has caught the eye with his performances for Bologna in Italy, scoring a late winner in the Coppa Italia just a few weeks ago, as shown in the clip below.

The 21-year-old marksman, who is a year younger than Delap, has outperformed the Chelsea number nine at league level with his performances in the Serie A for Bologna so far this term.

25/26 season

Delap (Premier League)

Castro (Serie A)

Appearances

9

14

xG

0.82

2.78

Goals

0

4

Goals per game

0.0

0.3

Big chances created

0

2

Assists

0

1

Duels won per game

2.3

3.0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Argentine starlet has been directly involved in five goals in the Serie A, whilst outperforming his xG by 1.22 in 14 appearances.

Castro was described as a “complete no.9” and a “constant threat” by analyst and Como scout Ben Mattinson at the time of his move to Bologna, which is backed up by his statistics in the Italian top-flight since the start of the 2024/25 campaign.

Last season, per Sofascore, the £44m-rated talent scored eight goals from 7.63 xG and provided four assists, whilst he won 3.5 duels per game for his side.

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These statistics show that he has the quality to finish chances at an efficient rate, outperforming his xG this season and last term, on top of being a creator for his teammates and a strong duel winner in the centre-forward position.

Whether or not he can translate those performances over to the Premier League remains to be seen, but his output in a Bologna shirt at the age of 21 suggests that he is an exciting and promising young number nine who could be an excellent addition to the squad.

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And, based on their respesctive statistics at league level in the 2025/26 campaign, Castro could come in as a perfect replacement for Delap, who could be sent out on loan as a result of a new striker coming through the door next month.

ScorecardDay 2
Bulletin – Australia ahead on difficult track
Verdict – About mood and confidence
Australian View – Born to ride
Quotes – ‘The key is to bang it into the track’- Gillespie
Roving Reporter – Dancing the day away
Day 1
Bulletin – Damp start to the Mumbai Test
Verdict – The not-so-great cover-up
Quotes – ‘Right decision about offering the light’ – Buchanan
Roving Reporter – The ABC of cricket
Preview package
Preview – Playing for pride
News – Warne out of Mumbai Test
Quotes – ‘We’re not going to rest any players’ – Ponting
News – Ponting fit for Mumbai Test
Roving Reporter – The day before
News – Ganguly out of Mumbai Test
News – Four new players in Indian squad
Selection analysis – The need for nurture

The venue will host a Test after a gap of two years © Cricinfo Ltd

Test cricket returns to the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo, the venue famous for holding the world record Test total of 952 for 6 by Sri Lanka, when it hosts the first Test of the three-match series against Bangladesh next month. The series, which also includes three ODIs, gets underway on June 25.The stadium is currently the property of Sri Lanka Cricket who have signed a 33-year lease and acquired the premises. It has hosted only two Tests in ten years, the last one coincidentally against Bangladesh, in 2005.The Asgiriya Stadium in Kandy was originally scheduled to host the first Test but poor ground conditions prompted a change in schedule, and it will now host the third Test starting July 11. The Saravanamuttu Stadium will host the second Test from July 3.Bangladesh are due to arrive in Colombo on June 17 and wind off their tour on July 26.Itinerary
June 17 – Arrival
June 20-22 – Warm-up match at Colts
June 25-29 – 1st Test, Colombo (R. Premadasa Stadium)
July 3-7 – 2nd Test, Colombo (Saravanamuttu Stadium)
July 11-15 – 3rd Test, Kandy
July 18 – One-day warm-up match, Colombo (NCC)
July 20 – 1st ODI, Colombo (Saravanamuttu Stadium)
July 22 – 2nd ODI, Colombo (R Premadasa Stadium)
July 24 – 3rd ODI, Colombo (R Premadasa Stadium)

The Supreme Court today restrained Doordarshan from downlinking the live feed of the upcoming India-West Indies Test and ODI matches, the exclusive telecast rights of which are with TEN Sports.TEN Sports had filed a petition seeking stay of the government guidelines making it mandatory for sports channels to share feed of sporting events of national importance with Prasar Bharti.A bench headed by Justice Ashok Bhan directed that Prasar Bharti should not take any coercive step or action for obtaining the live feed of the matches.TEN Sports had challenged the Bombay High Court order of December 21, 2005. The matter pending before the high court was later transferred to the Supreme Court. The private channel contended that if the matches were telecast on Doordarshan it would suffer huge losses.Earlier, the court had allowed live telecast of India-Pakistan ODIs on Doordarshan after TEN Sports and Prasar Bharti reached an agreement that the latter would deposit a sum of Rs 15 crore in court.However, the bench justified the previous decision saying that “matches of an Indo-Pak series are different from the others … For West Indies, many people may not be interested.”

2nd day
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAfter declaring at 458 for 8, led by Zander de Bruyn’s 134, the Titans and a few diehard SuperSport Park supporters were given a lesson in aggressive batting with Davey Jacobs’s excellent 149 off 134 balls, sending the ball to the boundary on 21 occasions and clearing it a further five times. His dominance with the bat was evident when Gerhardus Liebenberg contributed only 22 to their century partnership, while Boeta Dippenaar contributed 31 to the second-wicket hundred stand. Dippenaar will continue on day three with 34 on the board.2nd day
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAt Kingsmead, after dismissing JP Duminy for 112, the Dolphins made quick work of the tail to restrict WPBOL to 346. Mfuneko Ngam, having spent most of the day on the physiotherapist’s table, returned to take two wickets with the 16 balls he bowled on day two. Shaun Pollock finished with four while Lance Klusener, Johann Louw and Ngam took two each. Dolphins struggled to 133 for five before Pollock (52*) and Hashim Amla (106) recovered the innings to 236 for six. A lot of hard work remains for the Dolphins to save the game.2nd day
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA concerted batting effort from the Lions, scoring 375 with Werner Coetsee undefeated on 70, made way for their bowlers who also got in on the act as the Warriors faltered with very little fight to be struggling at 134 for seven when bad light brought an end to their misery. In trouble at 46 for four, Mark Boucher and Pieter Strydom put up some token resistance but wickets fell at constant intervals to leave them floundering at the end of the day. With very little batting to come Strydom will have to dig deep to get his team back into the game.

Darren Gough insists he never gave up hope of earning a recall to England’s one-day side, and has now set his sights on completing the double of 200 wickets in both forms of the game.”I’m just looking forward to being back among the lads again,” Gough told the Essex website, after being named in England’s squad for the seven-match series against West Indies that follows the Tests. “I just want to play international cricket again, because I think I still have a lot to offer. You never give up hope. As long as I’m fit then I still believe I am good enough.”Gough’s future had been in doubt when he was omitted from the one-day squad for the pre-Christmas trips to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, but after sizing up their options the selectors realised there was no substitute for experience. “They looked at other players,” said Gough, “but I guess it’s flattering that they have come back to me for the West Indies series.”He went on: “If some of the youngsters can follow my lead in practice then I believe that will help them in the long run – that’s one of the reasons why they want me around the team. But from a selfish point of view I want to get 12 wickets to reach 200 [in one-day internationals].”Joining Gough in the one-day squad is Steve Harmison, whose stunning form in the Jamaica and Trinidad Tests virtually guaranteed his inclusion. He hopes to be able to make an impact this time around, after a stuttering start to his one-day career in Australia last winter, where he infamously bowled seven wides in an over in a warm-up match in Lilac Hill.”It would be nice to get rid of what happened in Australia and prove I can play one-day cricket,” he said. “But I’m going to take one step at a time and hopefully things will go as well as the Test matches.”

HOBART, Feb 27 AAP – South Australia lost two early wickets in its attempt to chase Tasmania’s first innings tally of 285 at stumps on day one of the Pura Cup match at Bellerive Oval today.The visitors ended day one on two for 17 from eight overs and are desperate for an outright victory to stay in contention for the final.But fast-bowler Gerard Denton had other ideas, dispatching Redbacks’ openers Shane Deitz (5) and David Fitzgerald (9) in successive overs for figures of two for nine.Allrounder Dan Marsh earlier proved the Tigers’ saviour, delivering an innings-topping 111 runs after coming to the crease with the home team wallowing on four for 66 in 21.2 overs.Marsh withstood the Redbacks’ consistent attack to take his fifth domestic first-class century in 186 minutes off 156 balls before being clean bowled by Ben Johnson.The 29-year-old’s partnership with Sean Clingeleffer (44) yielded 96 runs.SA strike bowler Paul Rofe was also a top performer, taking five for 62 in 22 overs including the prize scalp of Tigers’ skipper and opener Jamie Cox for 22.After winning the toss, Cox reached the 10,000-run tally in domestic first-class cricket before falling LBW to Rofe.Starting out just 10 runs shy, Cox joined Australian World Cup batsman Darren Lehmann (11,095) and former South Australian batsman Jamie Siddons (10,643) on the milestone.Cox later said rumours he planned to retire – floated in a television interview last week – were untrue.”I really still feel quite good,” he said.”All year I have managed to get to 20 or 30 very easily.”I feel I can play certainly another three or four years, form permitting.”He described Marsh’s form today as “outstanding”.Languishing on the bottom of the Cup ladder, the Tigers started the day plagued by injury.Already down Damien Wright and Ben Oliver, the home team suffered a further blow this morning when paceman Adam Griffith failed a fitness test on a calf strain and left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty was ruled out after lacerating his left knee during warm-up exercises.

Warwickshire took up the challenge thrown down by the Notts captain – Darren Bicknell – when left-hander David Hemp blazed 105 off 101 balls to set up a positive finish to the CricInfo Championship game at Edgbaston.Bicknell reclaimed the Notts captaincy when Jason Gallian, in his first Championship match of the season following knee surgery, suffered a broken knuckle that may keep him out for the rest of the season when batting against Vasbert Drakes.Bicknell promptly declared Notts’ innings at 350-6 – 23 behind, after Greg Blewett, Usman Afzaal and Kevin Pietersen had all fallen with centuries within sight.This put the onus on Warwickshire and, after losing two early wickets, they came good with a stand of 163 in 28 overs between Hemp and Nick Knight.Hemp hit two sixes and 17 fours before his middle stump was flattened by Greg Smith. But Knight stayed unbeaten on 74 as Warwickshire reached 214-3 – 237 runs ahead.

Yorkshire Phoenix maintained their challenge for the National League Division One title with a comfortable six-wicket victory over Northamptonshire Steelbacks at Wantage Road.Paceman Matthew Hoggard (5-30) and Darren Gough (3-19) both celebrated their selection in England’s Test squad for the winter with outstanding bowling stints as the home side, who opted to bat first, were skittled for just 109.And Yorkshire survived the early loss of Victor Craven and Michael Vaughan to reach their target, and record their eighth win of the campaign, with 14.3 overs to spare.Northants were unable to recover after Hoggard and Gough removed key batsmen Mal Loye, Matthew Hayden and David Sales in successive overs with the new ball.They slumped further to 22-5 before Graeme Swann (25) offered some token resistance, and some measure of respectability was achieved thanks to Kevin Innes (27 not out) and Darren Cousins (18) who posted 40 in 15 overs for the ninth wicket.But it was another stunning effort from Yorkshire’s bowlers who had dismissed Lancashire Lightning for 68 and Leicestershire Foxes for 53 in their two previous National League outings.Needing early wickets to stay in the game, Northants saw their hopes rise briefly as Craven drove Tony Penberthy to mid-off and Darren Cousins knocked off Michael Vaughan’s off stump.But Yorkshire nerves were steadied by acting-skipper Darren Lehmann (37) and Anthony McGrath (36 not out) as Hayden’s men suffered their first defeat in eight matches in all competitions.

Post Tour Rehab Advice and Protocols
-L ACL deficient knee, subluxation episode Perth Test vs Australia Jan ’08
-MRI and investigation with sports physician at that time. Mx plan instigated
-Full reassessment with Dr David Young (orthopaedic surgeon) in Melbourne Feb ’08. Confirmed his availability to return to cricket (see full report in clinical notes).
-Plan post Australia tour will be on emphasis of strengthening and stability without high impact activity.
-Must have min 2 weeks (ideally 3) break from cricket and excessive loaded activities.
-Emphasis on x-training (swimming, cycling, water running)
-Maintenance of stability program, balance exercises and gluteal retraining
Things to Watch-pain posterior knee
-obvious swelling and persistence of swelling
-morning stiffness+
-fielding positions (straighter approach and attack to the ball, care on turning etc)
-Instability. Another episode of subluxation and giving way = Surgical Intervention required
– L great toe
-stress # through distal phalanx great toe (left), secondary to shape of phalanx
-significant healing/callous formation already evident (Dr. David Young, Dr. Michael Johnson, Dr. Soni). See full reports and scans in clinical notes
-min 2 – 3 weeks rest from bowling and running post tour. No compromise on this instruction
-allow pain to subside and full healing of # to complete.
-Strength and focus on core stability, gluteal strength, quadriceps strength and hamstring/hip flexor flexibility
R forefinger acute tendon sheath inflammation
– continue with anti-inflammatory techniques (NSAIDS, Ice, Co-Bahn, gel STM etc) until resolved
-L hamstring tendon enthesopathy (Dx. Dr David Young)
-Will require min 2 weeks rest from bowling and running post tour
-To avoid long distance running, running on inclines etc,br>-Continue with deep Tr Friction Rx to area, hamstring release STM, neural stretches etc
-To continue to monitor condition.
-Once this condition starts to impede his ability to bowl then surgical intervention will need to be considered (see full report, Dr David Young in clinical notes)
-R adductor tendonosis (? enthesopathy) with deep hip flexor involvement
-Requires min 2 weeks rest post tour from aggravating (pain inducing) activities
-Must not allow this condition to settle into ‘chronic phase’ otherwise may take further 2 weeks to control
-Once pain settles then commencement of deep release massage therapy to region, flexibility for R hip region incl adductors and flexors
-Once pain free then recommence basic strength training to adductors initially in water then with band resistance
-requires min 2 weeks break from competitive cricket to concentrate on conditioning
-main focus areas are to be low back, sides and shoulder strength/stability
-L ankle instability
-Emphasis on continual strength/stability and proprioceptive rehab of L ankle as well as ongoing glut med strengthening
-R shoulder and scapular stability maintenance program ++
-? requires cortisone injection into R DIP forefinger. # 2004, now sensitive+ and requires some form of intervention to alleviate sensitivity from recent knocks
-R hand 4th finger DIP severe sprain ? # 2nd final vs Australia 5th March
-Will need to be x-rayed on return to India and treatment avenue pursued