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Kieron Pollard joins Karachi Kings and Mohammad Amir goes to Quetta Gladiators

Sreshth Shah13-Dec-2023

Australia allrounder Daniel Sams and the South Africa duo of Reeza Hendricks and Lungi Ngidi are set to play their maiden PSL events after being picked up in the draft held on Wednesday in Lahore. Sams was a platinum pick by Karachi Kings, Hendricks was a gold pick by Multan Sultans while Ngidi the supplementary pick made by Peshawar Zalmi.Returning to the PSL will be South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen, who was selected by defending champions Lahore Qalandars in the platinum category alongside Fakhar Zaman. Qalandars also secured Sahibzada Farhan, the highest run-scorer from the 2023-24 National T20 Cup.Last year’s losing finalists Sultans topped up Hendricks’ addition by also selecting England batter Dawid Malan and England allrounder David Willey. Islamabad United stocked up on the English pair of Jordan Cox and Tymal Mills. Karachi Kings supplemented Sams’ selection by adding Kieron Pollard, Tim Seifert and Mohammad Nawaz.Joining Ngidi at Zalmi are Afghan wristspinner Noor Ahmad and the hard-hitting Asif Ali. Quetta Gladiators roped in the West Indies pair of Akeal Hosein and Sherfane Rutherford, while also selecting Mohammad Amir.The PSL 2024 draft had players being selected into six categories. They were platinum, diamond, gold, silver, emerging and supplementary. Teams had to fill three spots each in the platinum, diamond and gold categories. They then had to fill five in the silver and emerging categories, followed by two in the supplementary. A total of 485 overseas players had initially signed up to take part in the draft as the six PSL teams filled the gaps to complete their 18-player squads.Full squads:Lahore Qalandars – Shaheen Shah Afridi, Fakhar Zaman, Rassie van der Dussen (South Africa) (all Platinum), Haris Rauf (Brand Ambassador), David Wiese (Namibia) and Sahibzada Farhan (Wildcard) (all Diamond), Sikandar Raza (Zimbabwe), Abdullah Shafique, Zaman Khan (all Gold), Mirza Tahir Baig (Successful relegation request), Rashid Khan (Afghanistan), Mohammad Imran, Ahsan Bhatti, Dan Lawrence (England) (all Silver), Jahandad Khan, Syed Faridoun Mahmood (both Emerging), Shai Hope (West Indies) and Kamran Ghulam (both Supplementary)Islamabad United – Shadab Khan, Naseem Shah, Jordan Cox (Wildcard) (England) (all Platinum), Imad Wasim (Mentor), Azam Khan, Tymal Mills (England) (all Diamond), Faheem Ashraf (Brand Ambassador), Alex Hales (England), Colin Munro (New Zealand) (all Gold), Rumman Raees (Successful relegation request), Matthew Forde (West Indies), Salman Ali Agha, Qasim Akram, Shahab Khan (Silver), Hunain Shah, Ubaid Shah (both Emerging), Shamyl Hussain and Tom Curran (England) (both Supplementary).Multan Sultans – Mohammad Rizwan, Iftikhar Ahmed, David Willey (England) (all Platinum), Khushdil Shah, Usama Mir, Dawid Malan (England) (all Diamond), Abbas Afridi, Reeza Hendricks (South Africa), Reece Topley (England) (all Gold), Ihsanullah (Brand Ambassador), Tayyab Tahir, Shahnawaz Dahani, Mohammad Ali, Usman Khan (UAE) (all Silver), Faisal Akram, Yasir Khan (both Emerging), Chris Jordan (England) and Aftab Ibrahim (both Supplementary).Karachi Kings – Kieron Pollard (West Indies), Daniel Sams (Australia), Mohammad Nawaz (all Platinum), James Vince (England), Hasan Ali, Tim Seifert (New Zealand) (all Diamond), Shan Masood (Brand Ambassador), Shoaib Malik (Mentor), Tabraiz Shamsi (South Africa) (all Gold), Mir Hamza (Successful relegation request), Muhammad Akhlaq, Mohammad Amir Khan, Anwar Ali and Arafat Minhas (all Silver), Muhammad Irfan Khan, Sirajuddin (both Emerging), Saad Baig and Jamie Overton (England) (both Supplementary).Quetta Gladiators – Rilee Rossouw (South Africa), Sherfane Rutherford (West Indies), Mohammad Amir (Platinum), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Jason Roy (England), Wanindu Hasaranga (Sri Lanka) (all Diamond), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Brand Ambassador) Abrar Ahmed, Mohammad Hasnain (all Gold), Will Smeed (England), Saud Shakeel, Sajjad Ali Jnr, Usman Qadir, Omair Bin Yousuf (all Silver), Adil Naz, Khawaja Nafay (both Emerging), Akeal Hosein (West Indies) and Sohail Khan (both Supplementary).Peshawar Zalmi – Babar Azam, Rovman Powell (West Indies), Noor Ahmad (Afghanistan) (all Platinum), Saim Ayub, Tom Kohler-Cadmore (England), Asif Ali (all Diamond), Mohammad Haris (Brand Ambassador), Aamir Jamal, Naveen-ul-Haq (Afghanistan) (all Gold), Khurram Shahzad, Salman Irshad, Arif Yaqoob, Umair Afridi, Daniel Mousley (England) (Silver), Haseebullah, Mohammad Zeeshan (both Emerging), Lungi Ngidi (South Africa) and Mehran Mumtaz (both Supplementary).

Former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Luis Figo has admitted that Nico Williams is "a gem and a bargain", wishing that he was as fast as the Spaniard.

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Figo full of praise for Nico WilliamsLabelled the Spaniard 'a gem and a bargain'Ballon d'Or winner wishes he had star's speedFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Former Barcelona and Real Madrid star Figo was full of praise for Williams, describing the Spaniard as "a gem" and labelling him to be "a bargain" at his release clause of €58 million (£49m/$67m) in today's market.

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Williams broke through Athletic Club's first team in the 2021-22 season. However, it was not before the 2024 Euro that he truly started counting amongst the world's deadliest wingers. The Pamplona-born forward was simply breathtaking for Spain down the left flank and played a major role in the nation's triumph at the tournament. Last season, he scored 11 goals in all competitions for Bilbao and is now expected to complete his move to Barcelona in July.

WHAT LUIS FIGO SAID

Speaking to , Figo said: "There are a lot of players I like. I'd definitely sign Nico Williams. He's a gem. And in the end, the price, considering what we're paying today, seems reasonable to me. Because of his quality and also because of his youth."

Figo further reflected on which quality of Williams he wish he could have had as a player. He added: "We're different players. He's a player I really like because of his position. I prefer the wingers where I've played. But I wasn't as fast as him; I wish I had been. I'm speaking from a market perspective, because for value and price, I think he's a bargain."

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR NICO WILLIAMS?

The 22-year-old is walking the extra mile to help Barcelona reach an agreement with Athletic Club, with Deco, the Catalans' sporting director, already confirming that the club is working on Williams' signing. However, Barca will not pay Williams' release clause until July.

Franchise says “the team is still under the process of review” after failing to make the playoffs in IPL 2023

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Jul-2023Royal Challengers Bangalore have not yet renewed their contracts with director of cricket operations Mike Hesson and head coach Sanjay Bangar following a sixth-place finish in IPL 2023, a development that could signal a major revamp at the franchise.The contracts are usually up for renewal around September, ESPNcricinfo has learned, but the franchise management is deliberating changes to its coaching staff. It could not be confirmed whether RCB have informed Hesson and Bangar, both of whom did not respond to a query from ESPNcricinfo.”Their contract with RCB is still intact,” RCB said in a statement. “The team is still under the process of review. We will come back if any announcement on the changes in the team.”Related

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Hesson came on board in August 2019 following a revamp of the coaching staff after their last-placed finish that year, while Bangar began his tenure ahead of the 2022 season, after Simon Katich parted ways with the franchise.Under Hesson, RCB finished fourth in the league in 2020 and lost the Eliminator to Sunrisers Hyderabad; third in 2021 and lost the Eliminator to Kolkata Knight Riders; fourth in IPL 2022 before winning the Eliminator and then losing Qualifier 2 to Rajasthan Royals; and failed to qualify for the playoffs in IPL 2023.RCB have made it to three IPL finals – in 2009 , 2011 and 2016 – but are yet to win an IPL title.RCB could become the second franchise to make changes to its team management since IPL 2023, after Lucknow Super Giants replaced Andy Flower with Justin Langer as their head coach.If RCB part ways with Hesson, it could also mean a revamp of the support staff of the RCB women’s team. Hesson was also director of cricket for the team during the inaugural Women’s Premier League, where they finished fourth among five teams, with two wins and six losses.

“Hopefully he doesn’t give too many secrets away to the Aussies,” Stuart Broad jokes

Matt Roller06-Jun-2023Australia hope to become the first team since England in 2010-11 to win an away Ashes series this summer, and have ramped up their attempts to do so by adding Andy Flower – the mastermind of that success – to their backroom staff.Flower, a three-time Ashes-winning coach with England, has joined the Australia squad on a consultancy basis ahead of this week’s World Test Championship final at The Oval.He is not expected to be involved in the build-up to the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston on June 16, but ESPNcricinfo understands that he will return to the set-up during the latter stages of the Ashes – most likely before the third Test at Headingley starts from July 6.”It’s great to see Andy sharing his experiences of Test match cricket and playing in England,” Stuart Broad, the England seamer, told ESPNcricinfo. “He was a fantastic coach for England for many years and someone who taught me a huge amount about the game in his years as head coach.”I was very lucky to win Ashes series under him and become the best team in the world under him… I owe a lot of the traits I have as a cricketer to Andy Flower. Hopefully he doesn’t give too many secrets away to the Aussies…”Broad: Flower was “a fantastic coach for England for many years”•PA Images via Getty Images

Pat Cummins, Australia’s captain, said that Australia were “lucky to have someone as experienced as Andy” in their camp heading into a busy two-month period in the UK, which will see them play six Tests in eight weeks.”[He brings] experience over here, first of all,” Cummins said, “and knows these conditions really well. Hopefully he knows the opposition, so if he can give us one little bit of insight into playing in England that we haven’t thought about then it’s worth it.”I think Andrew [McDonald] has worked with him quite a bit, and you’ve seen us over the years bring in different people at different times. We’re pretty lucky to have someone as experienced as Andy.”Related

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Flower coached England from 2009-14, a stint which included four Ashes series. He emerged victorious in his first three of those – in 2009, 2010-11 and 2013 – before stepping down after his side was whitewashed in Australia in 2013-14.He spent the following five years working in the ECB’s pathways, overseeing the England Lions set-up, and has since launched a successful career as a head coach in various franchise leagues around the world.That has included the Hundred, where Flower coached Trent Rockets to the title last summer. Intriguingly, since teams in the Hundred are run centrally rather than by private investors, Flower’s Rockets contract means he is still on the ECB’s payroll.

Real Madrid can still reportedly hijack Arsenal's seemingly nailed-on transfer for Martin Zubimendi.

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Arsenal are firm favourites to sign ZubimendiReal Madrid also hold an interest in the player The midfielder is yet to make a final decisionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

According to Arsenal’s ambitious move for Zubimendi is suddenly in doubt, with Madrid now emerging as a potential last-minute suitor. The Gunners reportedly secured a verbal agreement with the 26-year-old and are ready to activate his €60 million (£51m/$68m) release clause. A formal announcement was believed to be the only thing left pending. But recent developments suggest the situation might not be as secure as once thought.

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Although most signs point toward a move to North London, Cope’s sources from the Basque region suggest the midfielder has yet to make a definitive call. However, with Luka Modric set to depart, Los Blancos are looking to bolster their midfield, and Zubimendi’s profile fits the bill. Cope adds that if Madrid were to fully commit to signing him, the Spanish international would likely favour a move to the Santiago Bernabeu.

DID YOU KNOW?

Concerns at the Emirates are understandable, especially in light of a similar episode last summer. Liverpool, confident they had tied up a deal for Zubimendi and prepared to meet his buyout clause, were blindsided when the player ultimately opted to remain at Real Sociedad. That unexpected twist serves as a cautionary tale for Arsenal, who are now facing renewed competition at the eleventh hour.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

Madrid's new manager, Xabi Alonso’s be pivotal in this developing story could be pivotal. The former Spanish international is believed to have recommended Zubimendi as one of his ideal midfield signings for Madrid. If the club decides to act on Alonso’s suggestion, they have the financial and sporting weight to unsettle Arsenal’s plans.

MatériaMais Notícias

Com a bola rolando no Campeonato Brasileiro da Série C, três jogos foram disputados neste sábado, todos válidos pela 16ª rodada. Entre os destaques, as vitórias do São José, que foi ao G8, além do ABC que, por conta do triunfo sobre o Floresta, assumiu a vice-liderança. Confira abaixo o resumo:

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>Aplicativo de resultados do LANCE! está disponível na versão iOS

São José-RS 2×1 Botafogo-SP

No primeiro jogo do dia, São José e Botafogo-SP deram o ‘start’ na rodada no estádio Francisco Novelletto, em Porto Alegre. E os donos da casa se deram melhor. Saindo na frente ainda na etapa inicial com Crystopher, os visitantes, minutos depois, empataram comBruno Michel, mas Sillas, já na etapa final, deu números finais em 2 a 1 com um bonito gol de bicicleta.

Com o resultado, o time gaúcho chegou aos 23 pontos, pulando para a 8ª colocação, enquanto a equipe de Ribeirão Preto, por conta do revés, estacionou na 7ª posição com os mesmos 23 pontos.

Atlético-CE 3×1 Manaus

Em situações opostas na competição, Atlético-CE e Manaus entraram em campo no estádio Domingão, em Horizonte. Ainda na etapa inicial, Yuri Tanque abriu a contagem para os mandantes, vendo Guilherme Pira deixar tudo igual, mas Ryan colocou a Águia em vantagem novamente fechando em 2 a 1. Na etapa complementar, Ryan deu números finais fechando a conta em 3 a 1.

Com o resultado, a equipe de Fortaleza chegou aos 16 pontos, porém mantendo-se no Z4 na 17ª posição, enquanto o time amazonense, por conta do revés, caiu para o 12º lugar com seus 21 pontos.

ABC 2×0 Floresta

Buscando a vice-liderança, o ABC sabia que não teria vida fácil sobre o Floresta, no estádio Frasqueirão, em Natal. Mas o time local se deu bem. Com dois gols de Henan, um na primeira etapa, e o outro na segunda, o Elefante garantiu novo triunfo, agora por 2 a 0, para festa da torcida.

Com o resultado, a equipe potiguar chegou aos 27 pontos, pulando para a 2ª posição, mas que terá que secar seus rivais para manter-se. Já o Verdão, por conta do revés, acabou ficando na 16ª colocação com seus 16 pontos, podendo entrar no Z4 já que Ferroviário, Campinense e Brasil de Pelotas ainda jogarão na rodada.

Sequência da rodada:

24/07:
Altos x Campinense
Ferroviário x Vitória
Botafogo-PB x Remo
Brasil de Pelotas x Aparecidense

25/07:
Paysandu x Figueirense
Mirassol x Confiança
Volta Redonda x Ypiranga-RS

With Chelsea’s heavy spending under Todd Boehly after his takeover back in 2022, it was always unlikely that every signing would be a success, with numerous of the American’s additions not going as he would’ve planned.

Raheem Sterling was one of his first big-money signings, moving in a £45m deal from Manchester City back in the summer of 2022 with expectations of transforming the club’s forward line.

However, the move for the experienced England international has been nothing short of a disaster, scoring just 19 times in 81 appearances, becoming the club’s highest-paid player at one stage.

Robert Sanchez is just another addition who’s failed to reach the levels expected after his move from Brighton, proving to be a constant source of errors as seen against Manchester City a couple of weeks ago.

The same can’t be said for one player who’s massively caught the eye in the Premier League for the Blues, looking to be worth every penny of the fee splashed out for his signature.

Cole Palmer’s stats for Chelsea since joining

After looking as though he was set for a loan move to Burnley, Chelsea decided to fork out £40m for the signature of Manchester City winger Cole Palmer in the summer of 2023.

Not many people would’ve known what to expect from the youngster, but it’s safe to say he’s exceeded beyond the wildest imagination of any supporter – being the go-to man for action in front of goal over the last two seasons.

The 22-year-old registered 25 goals and 15 assists during his debut season in West London, the most of any player, helping secure the club a place in the Europa Conference League.

This season, the talented star has continued his trend of being the star man in attacking areas under Enzo Maresca, notching 14 goals and six assists in his 27 appearances – helping the club challenge for a Champions League spot.

Despite his superb form since his move, he still earns a whole heap less than one player who pockets a small fortune whilst providing little to no positive impact for the Blues.

The player who earns more than Palmer at Chelsea

After joining the club for a reported £71.6m in the summer of 2018, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga arrived with high expectations of being a star for Chelsea after costing a world-record sum for a player in his position.

In total, he’s made 163 appearances for the club since his arrival, before joining Real Madrid on loan last summer for the 2023/24 campaign – before linking up with Andoni Iraola’s Bournemouth side on loan for the entirety of this season.

He’s made 17 appearances for the Cherries in their unexpected push for a European spot, keeping five clean sheets – averaging 3.7 saves per 90 down on the South Coast in 2024/25.

However, the 30-year-old still remains a Blues player after only leaving on a temporary basis, having 18 months left on his current deal as things stand.

Despite his impressive form away from the club, Maresca should look to permanently sell the Spaniard in the summer, especially when taking his extortionate earnings into account.

According to Capology, Kepa earns a mammoth £150k-per-week, which sees him take home £7.8m a year – earning a whopping £39m in wages alone during his time at the club, not including loan spells away from the club.

When coupled with his hefty transfer fee, he’s cost the club a staggering £111m, a huge waste of money given his lack of impact, with his last impression undoubtedly being his penalty shootout antics which have seen him refuse to be substituted whilst also missing a crucial spot-kick.

Kepa, who’s previously been dubbed “shocking” by one social media star, also earns more than current first-team star Palmer, who only earns £130k-per-week despite his impressive form, with the goalkeeper currently earning £20k-per-week more.

Given the amount spent on the shot-stopper, there’s no denying that the club need to part ways with him this summer, as he heads into the final year of his contract.

Undoubtedly, the goalkeeping situation is still an issue for Maresca, but Kepa simply isn’t the answer, needing to offload him to raise funds and invest in a new number one ahead of 2025/26.

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Christopher Nkunku’s career at Chelsea could be ended by the talented youngster.

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Dan Emery

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Australia’s captain returned to the field in the evening session and could still bowl on the final day

Alex Malcolm03-Dec-2022There are concerns over the fitness of Australia captain Pat Cummins after he failed to take the field for the start of the fourth innings on day four of the first Test against West Indies in Perth due to right quadricep soreness.Cummins bowled 20.2 overs in West Indies first innings across days two and three to claim figures of 3 for 34 including his 200th Test scalp.But when Australia declared at lunch on day four following Marnus Labuschagne’s second century of the match, Cummins failed to take the field after lunch.”Pat Cummins is experiencing some mild right-sided quadriceps soreness,” a CA spokesperson said. “He will continue to be monitored by team medical staff and his availability to bowl in the second innings will be assessed on an ongoing basis. Steve Smith will captain the side while Cummins is off the field.”Related

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Cummins returned to the field after 36 overs off, halfway through the last session of day four, with Australia coach Andrew McDonald explaining that he could be available to bowl on the final day.”Clearly he has to wait his time now, he’ll have to do that on the field until he’s able to bowl again,” McDonald told . “[He’ll bowl] probably sometime tomorrow. We’ll try to line that up with the second new ball. We’re sort of managing and respecting the fact that he has a quad complaint. Clearly, the game at the moment, his bowling would be valuable out there so we’re going to get him out there and assess him at the end of the day.”It’s only a minor niggle. We can manage it. Clearly, we’ve got a long summer ahead but this game is most important.”Australia’s selectors did have a loose plan in place as to how they would manage their fast bowlers across five back-to-back Tests this summer with a massive Test workload ahead in 2023, including tours of India and England.The resting of some individuals is a possibility. The selectors’ management plan was entirely dependent on how much Australia’s quicks would bowl and the types of surfaces they would bowl on, with only a four-day break between the Perth and Adelaide Tests against West Indies before breaks of just five, four and four days ahead of each of the three Tests against South Africa.Scott Boland, who currently averages 9.55 in Test cricket, is the reserve quick in the squad while Michael Neser and Mark Steketee are likely the next in line. Cummins missed last year’s Adelaide Test against England after being a Covid close contact on the eve of the game. Jhye Richardson played on that occasion but won’t be considered this season due to various injury niggles.”It’s a short turnaround [to Adelaide] and that’s clearly in our decision-making as well,” McDonald said. “Ideally if Pat doesn’t have to bowl again in this Test match that’s great but at the moment the West Indies are playing really, really well so we’ll be put to a decision early tomorrow.”Meanwhile, West Indies have suffered an injury of their own with Kemar Roach limping off the field following his seventh over Australia’s second innings. West Indies confirmed he was being sent for a scan on his left thigh on Saturday afternoon. The uncapped 27-year-old Marquino Mindley has been called into the squad and will arrive in Adelaide on Monday.Kyle Mayers also didn’t bowl in the second innings due to a strain in his right shoulder, but he did field and came out to bat late in the day. They have already lost Nkrumah Bonner after he was subbed out of the game with concussion on day three following a blow to the head while batting.

Glasgow Rangers were left embarrassed as Philippe Clement’s men exited the SFA Cup at the fifth round stage with a 1-0 defeat to Championship side Queen’s Park on Sunday.

The Light Blues were booted out of the competition by the second-tier side, thanks to a brilliant second-half goal from Sebastian Drozd, who dribbled inside the box before slotting past Liam Kelly.

Clement’s side will now have to either overcome a 13-point gap to Celtic to win the Scottish Premiership or win the Europa League to avoid ending the season without any silverware.

The Light Blues did have the chance to give themselves a lifeline in the dying embers of added time, though, after Cyriel Dessers was pushed to the floor in the box, which presented captain James Tavernier with a chance from the spot.

James Tavernier's miss against Queen's Park

He has netted 69 penalties in his career and had only missed 18 prior to his kick of the ball on Sunday, although five of those misses came in the 2023/24 campaign.

Queen’s Park

Missed

Ross County

Scored

Dundee

Scored

Kilmarnock

Missed

Ross County

Scored

Celtic

Scored

Hibernian

Missed

Hibernian

Missed

Motherwell

Scored

St Johnstone

Scored

VAR confirmed the penalty and Tavernier put the ball down, ready to take his kick, only for the referee to pause the process again for VAR to do another check of the attacking phase of play, which disrupted the right-back’s run-up.

The English full-back finally stepped up to take his penalty and produced a tame effort at a good height for Will Ferie, down to his left, to make the save.

Tavernier’s weak effort, ultimately, spoiled any chance for Rangers to get back into the match to go on and progress through to the next round.

Performance in Numbers

However, the former Newcastle United defender was far from the only poor performer for the Light Blues, as Brazilian left-back Jefte was just as bad as his captain.

Jefte cost Rangers a potential trophy

The summer signing may just have cost Clement a chance at winning any silverware this season, due to the difficulty of winning the Europa League or closing a 13-point gap on Celtic, due to his error for the Queen’s Park winner.

Jefte stood up Drozd when the ball dropped to the winger at the back post and he was stuck on his heels as the forward dribbled past him with ease in the box, which then allowed him a free shot to bury an effort past Kelly.

Glasgow World awarded the left-footed flop a player rating of 2/10 and lamented his poor defending for the goal, as well as his lack of quality at the top end of the pitch when pushing forward to put crosses into the box.

Jefte has created 22 chances and registered two assists in 22 appearances in the Scottish Premiership this season, which shows that he does have the ability to provide good deliveries into the box, but the Brazilian did not create anything of note in the defeat to Queen’s Park.

Overall, the 21-year-old defender was just as bad as Tavernier, due to his poor defending for the match-winning goal, and his mistake may well have just massively contributed to Rangers potentially ending this season without any silverware.

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At the age of 21, hopefully, Jefte will learn from moments like that and eventually develop into the kind of defender Rangers can rely on in moments like that, rather than being a defensively liability, as he was on Sunday.

In the last few days of the January window, Everton will be hunting for any additions to their squad that suit the playing philosophy and give David Moyes the best chance at guiding his group away from the relegation zone, currently sitting 16th in the Premier League, seven points above of 18th place Wolves.

The Toffees are averaging the lowest possession numbers in the division, with 39.4% possession per game, focusing less on keeping the ball with short-circuit passing, and instead looking to hit teams on the break, using their carrying power. Everton are averaging 19.0 take-on attempts per 90, completing 8.50 take-ons per 90, ranking in the top half of the division for these metrics.

With the likes of Ipswich and Wolves completing business sitting below them in the table, Everton will be wary and want to complete business of their own in order to equip the squad accordingly for the second half of the season.

Latest Everton transfer news

According to TEAMtalk journalist Harry Watkinson, it is understood Chelsea midfielder, Carney Chukwuemeka is open to joining Everton on loan. The two clubs are still engaged in talks regarding Armando Broja’s future, as well as the prospect of other Chelsea players moving to Goodison Park in his place – the former Aston Villa starlet among them.

Transfer Focus

Expand Collapse

As per Watkinson, West Ham are interested too, with the youngster said to also be open to joining the Hammers on loan.

Chukwuemeka has, of course, worked with Graham Potter before at Chelsea, which could give West Ham the upper hand should both teams go for the young midfielder. However, Everton could steal a march by moving first, convincing the Englishman with a key role in the team.

The 21-year-old has only managed five appearances this season under Enzo Maresca, totalling just 130 minutes played, starting on just one occasion. Chukwuemeka’s lack of minutes could present a brilliant opportunity late in the window for Premier League sides to swoop in and take him on loan.

The potential Chukwuemeka & Hamza Igamane partnership

Another player being heavily linked with a move to Everton this month is Rangers centre-forward, Hamza Igamane, who has made 27 appearances so far this campaign, scoring 13 goals, providing three assists and totaling 1,550 minutes played.

Igamane, again, fits into the Everton philosophy as mentioned earlier, looking to be direct on the counter-attack, drive with the ball positively when possession is regained and cause the opposition problems in as few actions as possible.

Chukwuemeka (2022/23) vs Igamane comparison

Stats (per 90 mins)

Chukwuemeka

Igamane

Goals + Assists

0.00

0.95

Progressive Carries

5.38

1.61

Progressive Passes

5.90

2.90

Shots Total

1.22

4.24

Goals/Shot

0.00

0.19

Key Passes

2.05

2.26

Shot-Creating Actions

4.10

3.87

Successful Take-Ons

1.54

2.26

Aerial Duels Won

0.26

3.55

Stats taken from FBref

When comparing the two players’ metrics, you can see both players have creative qualities, making plenty of key passes, driving with the ball, taking on their man and looking to be direct and affect the game.

Chukwuemeka has been labelled an “artist” by Chelsea legend, Marcel Desailly, stating he admires the way the midfielder uses the ball. His teammate at Stamford Bridge, Noni Madueke, has also praised the 21-year-old as “underrated”, while speaking about how it is a nightmare to get the ball off of him.

Everton already have Iliman Ndiaye, who is a nightmare to get the ball from, they could be adding Igamane, who has that similar direct and physical prowess.

If they could blend that with an “absolute 10/10 talent” like Chukwuemeka – as hailed by Jacek Kulig – who has similar qualities and could fit into Moyes’ counter-attacking system, it could make Everton a force to be reckoned with on the break.

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Posts 1 ByDominic Lund Jan 30, 2025