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While the mood around the club has dramatically improved following their Europa League win on Thursday night, Tottenham Hotspur have had to deal with plenty of problems this season.

The most significant has been the near-endless stream of injuries, which has made it impossible for Ange Postecoglou to field his first-choice defence for much of the campaign.

So, it’s not surprising to hear that Daniel Levy and Co are looking to add to their defensive ranks in the summer.

In fact, recent reports have touted a former Premier League player with a move to N17, a player who’s been compared to Cristian Romero.

Tottenham Hotspur transfer news

It looks like it will be a big summer for Spurs this year, so before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at a few of the club’s other targets, such as Oihan Sancet.

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 Athletic Bilbao monster will reportedly cost around £69m in the coming months, and while that is a lot, it might well be worth it, as in just 30 appearances, he has scored 17 goals and provided three assists, which comes out to a goal involvement every 1.30 games, almost exclusively from midfield.

An even more expensive signing could be Matheus Cunha, with reports from earlier this month claiming that the North Londoners would be willing to spend £75m to secure his services ahead of the chasing pack.

Again, it’s an enormous sum of money, but given the fact that the Brazilian international has scored 16 goals and provided four assists in 30 appearances this season, it might well be value for money.

However, as mentioned above, bringing in some more defensive cover appears to be one of the club’s priorities this summer, which helps explain their interest in Eric Garcia.

Yes, according to a recent report from Spain, Tottenham are interested in signing the former Manchester City gem, who is currently on loan with Girona, from Barcelona.

In fact, the report goes a step further, claiming that the Lilywhites are ready to make an offer of around €15m for the Spanish defender, which amounts to about £13m.

It could be a bargain for a relatively young centre-back who has plenty of experience playing at a high level, and he’s already won comparisons to Romero.

How Garcia compares to Romero

So, before getting into the other reasons Spurs might want to sign Garcia this summer, it’s worth exploring this comparison to Romero and where it comes from.

Well, in this instance, it stems from FBref, which looks at players in similar positions in Europe’s top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for each one and, in this instance, has concluded that the Argentine star is the fourth most similar centre-back to the Spaniard.

The best way to see where this comparison has come from is to look at the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, including, but not limited to, non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots on target, passes into the penalty area, live passes, goal-creating actions, tackles, blocks and more, all per 90.

Garcia & Romero

Statistics per 90

Garcia

Romero

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.16

0.14

Shots on Target

0.40

0.53

Passes into the Penalty Area

0.48

0.53

Live Passes

73.4

71.5

Goal-Creating Actions

0.32

0.26

Tackles

2.06

2.17

Blocks

1.35

1.18

Aerial Duel Win %

55.6%

60.6%

All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season

On top of winning comparisons to the World Cup-winning Lilywhites ace, the £99k-per-week “monster,” as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, also has some seriously impressive underlying numbers in his own right.

For example, FBref places him in the top 1% of centre-backs across Europe’s top five leagues for goals, goals plus assists, shots on target, non-penalty expected goals, penalties won and tackles in the middle third, the top 3% for long pass completion and passes into the final third, the top 5% for progressive passes and much more, all per 90.

Ultimately, even if he cost more than is being reported, Spurs would be smart to sign Garcia, so if they can get him for around £13m, then that would be a no-brainer, as he’d be an ideal backup for Romero and Micky van de Ven at the very least, if not a competitor for game time.

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On the way to the series win in SL, Nathan Lyon also became the third Australian to 550 Test wickets

Namooh Shah09-Feb-20254 – Australia have clean swept their opponents for the fourth time in a Test series in Asia where they have played at least two matches. The previous instance of that had come back in 2006, when they had beaten Bangladesh 2-0.5 – Number of Test wins by Australia in Galle is the most by a visiting team in Sri Lanka at any venue, going past Pakistan, who have four wins in Galle. Victory in the second Test against Sri Lanka, which concluded on Sunday, also gave Australia their first Test series win in the country since 2011.33 – Number of wins Australia have across the two cycles of the World Test Championship. That takes them past England, who have 32 wins.Related

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3 – Australia’s win by nine wickets in the second Test against Sri Lanka was only the third instance of a visiting team winning a Test in Sri Lanka with nine or more wickets remaining. The last time it happened was in 2022, when too Australia had won in Galle.43.58 – Difference between the batting and bowling averages in the Test series against Sri Lanka for Australia. It is the highest for Australia in an away series of at least two matches. The next highest of 30.21 had come way back in 1949-50 in South Africa.5 – Steven Smith now has the joint-most Test wins by an Australian captain in Asia, equaling the record of Ricky Ponting.ESPNcricinfo Ltd24 – Number of Test hundreds by Smith in winning causes. He goes past Don Bradman and Matthew Hayden – 23 hundreds each – to become the player with the fourth-most Test centuries in victories. Only Ponting (30), Joe Root (25) and Steve Waugh (25) are ahead of him.200 – Catches taken by Smith is the most by an Australian fielder in Tests. With that, he equals Jacques Kallis, and is only behind Rahul Dravid (210), Root (207) and Mahela Jayawardene (205).553 – Number of Test wickets taken by Nathan Lyon after the completion of the second Test in Galle, where he took seven wickets. Lyon became the third Australian bowler to reach the landmark of 550 Test wickets, after Shane Warne (708) and Glenn McGrath (563). He also completed 150 wickets in Asia, which is the most by a non-Asian bowler there, having already started the series against Sri Lanka well clear of Shane Warne.

India fell short against Bangladesh, but Gill appeared to bat on a pitch different to the ones the others struggled so much on

S Sudarshanan16-Sep-20232:35

Gill: My dismissal was a miscalculation

What do you look at closely when you watch a batter? The bat swing? Hands and eyes? The transfer of body weight? The execution of the shot? The reaction of the batter after?With Shubman Gill, at times, it’s best to watch the feet. Like against Bangladesh on Friday evening at the Asia Cup. It was as much about his feet as anything else.If Shakib Al Hasan appeared to bat on a pitch different from the one the others did in the first innings, Gill took it to another level – or pitch, if you will – in the second.Related

Bangladesh weather Gill century for consolation win

While the other batters seemed to struggle against the turn on the slowish track, Gill was at home.When Suryakumar Yadav walked out at 94 for 4, Gill was on 57. He had hit six fours and one six at that point, the six over deep midwicket off Mahedi Hasan had brought up his half-century. This was after watching KL Rahul fall attempting a similar shot in the offspinner’s previous over.Against Mustafizur Rahman, Gill took a forward step and played a cover drive. And then off a fullish ball angling away, he went back and punched through backward point when one, perhaps, expected another front-foot drive. Against the spinners, he often went deep in the crease to cut the shortish or length balls and forced them to pitch it up. When they did, he stretched out to get to the ball and caressed it along the carpet.You could choose your music, and Gill’s feet would have been in sync.”On slow wickets, there are a lot of dot balls. Our chat as a batting group is to reduce dot balls and rotate strike,” Gill said later in the press conference, his 121 in 133 balls having gone in vain. “The track was slow and was taking turn, so taking singles is not easy, especially for new batters. The talk was about playing it late and close to the body.”On slow wickets, more runs are scored square of the wicket and less down the ground. So, the aim was to do that.”The feet played along.2:03

Uthappa: ‘You can see Gill’s evolution with this knock’

He slammed Mehidy Hasan Miraz for two sixes in an over before completing his century. The trademark roar-and-bow celebration followed but the job was far from done. It never got done. With the asking rate climbing to over nine for the final seven overs, Gill perished playing one shot too many. He slog-swept Mahedi over cow corner before holing out to long-off the next ball.”There’s so much adrenaline when you are batting, sometimes you miscalculate,” Gill said. “That was a miscalculation on my side. When you got out, you saw there was a lot of time left. If I had batted a bit normally or not that aggressively, we should have been able to get over the line. Fortunately, this was not the final for us. These are the kind of learnings that as a batsman you want to take and move forward.”For the second game in a row, India’s batters struggled against spin. Against Sri Lanka two nights ago, India found themselves in a web spun by Dunith Wellalage’s left-arm spin, when he took 5 for 40.Gill put it down as an “area we are looking to improve on”.”We had a camp in Bangalore before coming here and practised on similar surfaces,” he said. “The World Cup is such a long tournament, and as we go deep into the tournament, the wickets will get slower. It is not easy for batsmen coming in to rotate strike and minimise dot balls. That’s what as a batting unit and bowling group we are looking to overcome.”You’d say Gill, more than any other India batter, has overcome it already – 1025 runs from 17 innings this year, for an average of 68.33 and, not to forget, four centuries including a double, would suggest that.

The only sign that a career had ended was a guard of honour at the start of play

Mohammad Isam11-Jul-2021Mahmudullah’s final day of Test cricket was an intriguing one.At the start of play, he was given a guard of honour by his team-mates. He even led them out onto the field. But from then on he just faded into the background.He didn’t take a catch. He wasn’t needed to bowl any overs. He was just there, experiencing the last highs of a gruelling format as Bangladesh completed a fine victory over Zimbabwe.Mahmudullah has been on a bit of a roller coaster ride this series. Called up as an emergency replacement. Batting at No. 8. Making his highest Test score (150). Retiring mid-way through the game. And walking into the sunset with a Player-of-the-Match award. All of that merits some sort of noise. Except there was none.Related

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In the presentation ceremony, Mahmudullah came up, collected his prize, spoke about his innings and went back. No mention of a career coming to an end. Just a strange silence.Bangladesh’s captain Mominul Haque had a tougher gig while addressing the post-match press conference. He was bombarded with questions about his team-mate’s retirement, to which, once again there was silence.But eventually the “I can’t comment” turned into a long-winded reply about dedicating the victory to Mahmudullah.”It is his personal decision,” Haque said. “It is difficult for me to comment on it. Anyone can take a personal decision.”We thought that if that’s how it is for him, we would dedicate the win to him. I heard that he won his debut Test as well, so he has now won his last match as well. If that’s how it is, although I don’t know.”The questions wouldn’t stop. The press wanted this silence broken. Finally when Haque was asked to describe Mahmudullah’s last day in Test cricket was, the emotions came out.”As a young captain, I am supposed to feel bad,” he said. “If I don’t feel bad, it is unusual.”Mahmudullah announced his retirement to his team-mates after the end of the third day’s play. As much as the decision was shocking, it was the timing that took everyone by surprise. Cricketers don’t usually quit in the middle of a match.The news sparked strong rebuke from BCB president Nazmul Hassan who, in an interview to said Mahmudullah’s decision was “unusual”, “unacceptable” and based on “emotion”. He also accused the 35-year old of going back on his word – specifically those on a form that the BCB had provided to its players to determine their availability for each of the three formats.Hassan’s anger has been the only non-wishy-washy response to the matter of a Test career ending. Even Mahmudullah hasn’t said a word in public. This, despite coming on a video shot by the BCB on the day he told his team-mates of his decision.ESPNcricinfo understands that the BCB has sent instructions to the touring party not to speak publicly about Mahmudullah’s retirement.Bangladesh’s cricketers have a bumpy history when it comes to retirement. Aminul Islam, the former captain who made a century in their inaugural Test, never formally announced his retirement. The exits of Akram Khan, Khaled Mashud and Khaled Mahmud were all uneasy as well. Javed Omar retired in 2014, seven years after his last international match, apparently carrying disappointment with the selectors’ treatment at the time of his axing.Mashrafe Mortaza, who led Bangladesh to 50 ODI wins in a celebrated captaincy stint, is still in limbo. He had a public fallout with the BCB over the timing of his retirement and since then he just hasn’t been picked to play.Mahmudullah meanwhile will continue to be in Zimbabwe. He is in the ODI side and leads the T20I team.

Dodgers pitcher Alex Vesia's infant daughter Sterling died during the World Series, he announced in a Friday afternoon Instagram post.

"Our beautiful daughter went to heaven Sunday, October 26th. There are no words to describe the pain we’re going through but we hold her in our hearts and cherish every second we had with her," Vesia wrote.

Vesia, 29, missed the World Series after pitching twice in the National League Championship Series due to what Los Angeles described at the time as a personal family matter. During the Series, both the Dodgers and Blue Jays expressed support for the pitcher.

In his post, Vesia went out of his way to thank both teams for their support—as well as baseball fans around the world.

"Thank you Dodger Nation, Blue Jays organization and all baseball fans for your love and support. We have seen ALL your messages, comments and posts. It’s brought us so much comfort.”

West Ham have reached out to the agents of a player who has the same representatives as Kyle Walker-Peters, with Nuno Espírito Santo’s side weighing up a January move.

West Ham's rumoured transfer plans for January

The Hammers are preparing for a crucial January window as Nuno looks to address the club’s alarming goal-scoring struggles with a significant striker signing.

Given Niclas Fullkrug is poised for the exit door next month, this could be absolutely vital to their hopes of remaining in the Premier League.

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The German forward has been a real disappointment since his arrival in 2024, which has been marred by constant spells on the sidelines through injury, and he’s failed to score a single league goal since West Ham’s 2-2 draw at home to Bournemouth in April.

Callum Wilson has filled the void brilliantly as of late, bagging three strikes in his last three games, but the Englishman’s own torrid injury history means West Ham need an alternative.

According to some reports, West Ham are in pole position to sign Union Saint-Gilloise striker Promise David in January, with the club having already made contact.

The towering 6 foot 5 forward has netted 62 goals over the past three seasons and represents exactly the type of young, powerful striker Nuno has reportedly identified as essential.

Man United’s Joshua Zirkzee has emerged as another top target, with West Ham identifying the £36.5 million forward as a potential replacement for Fullkrug.

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The Al-Ahli striker is fielding enquiries ahead of January.

ByEmilio Galantini Nov 29, 2025

Insider ExWHUemployee has also claimed that, beyond the addition of a new striker, Nuno’s side are looking at signing a new defender and midfielder in January as well.

West Ham hold talks with Tiago Gabriel's camp ahead of January

Only bottom-side Wolves have conceded more top-flight goals than the east Londoners so far this term, so their leaky backline certainly needs to be addressed.

West Ham could reignite talks over a deal for Toulouse defender Charlie Cresswell, who they came very close to signing in the summer (ExWHUemployee), but Lecce sensation Tiago Gabriel is also attracting their attention.

That is according to INews and journalist Pete Hall, who report that West Ham have made contact with Gabriel’s agents ahead of a potential January move.

The Portugal Under-21 international has impressed in Serie A, so much so that Juventus and Brentford have also held discussions with his camp about a winter transfer.

As things stand, Juve are believed to be the frontrunners for Gabriel as they look to find cover for Gleison Bremer, but West Ham may have a secret weapon.

This is because Gabriel is represented by CAA Base, the same agency that Walker-Peters employs, so the Irons seemingly enjoy a productive relationship with them already.

According to inews, the 20-year-old is currently valued at around £20 million, with Lecce looking to make a seismic profit on the £1.5 million they signed him for last January.

Birmingham City have now reportedly sent scouts to watch an impressive teenage talent as they look to battle Crystal Palace for his signature.

Birmingham looking to bounce back after "disappointing" Saints defeat

It’s been a solid return for Birmingham in the Championship so far this season. The Blues sit eighth, despite falling to a frustrating 3-1 defeat against Southampton, and could move into the play-off places with victory over Queens Park Rangers this weekend.

Manager Chris Davies will be desperate for a better performance than in midweek, having told reporters at full-time: “It’s a disappointing result for us. We lost the game in that first 20 minutes, we weren’t strong enough, we weren’t quick enough onto the ball, and paid the price with two soft goals from our point of view.

“They weren’t hard goals to score from their point of view and that gave us a real mountain to climb at a difficult away venue. After that I thought there was a lot of good, a lot of territory, we had our own chances and we managed to get back into it at 2-1.

“If we keep it there then it’s all on to finish the game and get something out of it but to concede the third goal on the break away puts us in another difficult position.

“From our point of view it was about having urgency and aggression to start the game, but unfortunately we didn’t have that. We had a few moments defensively where we weren’t strong enough, they got shots off far too easily. We have to learn from this one very quickly and move on.”

Davies’ disappointment highlights just how high the expectations are at St. Andrew’s and those expectations could be backed up by Birmingham’s ambition to sign talented teen Adam Brennan in 2026.

Birmingham sends scouts to watch Brennan

According to Football Insider, Birmingham are now battling Crystal Palace to sign Brennan from Republic of Ireland side UCD. The Blues’ scouts were spotted watching the 18-year-old in action and they could now make their move when 2026 arrives.

It’s not just Palace and Birmingham interested, however. Both Hull City and Wrexham are also interested in the teenager, who could yet be lured in by the red carpet in Wales.

There’s a big decision to make for the attacking midfielder and Birmingham should be hoping that their Premier League ambitions at least put them ahead of their Championship rivals.

Whilst Brennan is one for the future, beating Crystal Palace to his signature would certainly send an impressive statement from St. Andrew’s.

Paul Scholes has shared details on how Manchester United have treated club legends at Old Trafford in what he described as a “very different” club under INEOS.

The Old Trafford legend retired in 2013 and has since watched on as both a pundit and fan as the Red Devils continue to struggle. Whilst his generation stole headline after headline by winning Premier League title after Premier League title, current stars are simply hoping to take United back into the top four.

Mbeumo upgrade: INEOS want to sign "best player in the world" for Man Utd

Manchester United could be about to target another elite-level talent for Ruben Amorim in the months ahead.

ByEthan Lamb Nov 25, 2025

There’s no doubt that Ruben Amorim would love to have a player of Scholes’ calibre these days. Where there was a big occasion, there was so often a big moment from the legendary midfielder.

Legends don’t get much bigger than Scholes at Old Trafford, but as Nicky Butt revealed, the Red Devils haven’t always treated their former players well in recent years.

Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, Butt revealed: “I’ve had an email saying ‘you’re having your ticket taken off you’. So I rang them up and said can I speak to somebody about this please? And they go ‘who am I speaking to please?’, and I go Nicky Butt and they go, ‘OK, well who’s that?’”

It’s not the first time that Man United have cut former players off, either. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS reportedly cut an annual £40,000 charity donation to the Association of Former Manchester United Players last December in a controversial decision.

INEOS then went and spent over £120m on reinforcements in the summer transfer window to add insult to injury for those former players.

Now, Scholes has shared a problem that he’s had with the club to follow on from Butt’s admission and INEOS’ decision to end United’s charity donation.

Scholes shares disappointment at "very different" Man Utd

Also speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football, Scholes admitted that he has to use ticket touts for some Man United games after running out of season tickets to use.

Some would argue that the midfielder’s goal against Barcelona should have been enough to ensure free entry for life, let alone his 11 Premier League titles and two Champions League wins, but his struggles beg a greater question.

If a club legend is struggling to attend games, then how much are the fans struggling? The last thing that INEOS need is to potentially shut their own fans out, and that includes the likes of Scholes and Butt.

Man Utd surge into race against Liverpool and Arsenal to sign £123m superstar

Shohei Ohtani wrapped up an eventful 2024 with perhaps his best announcement yet—he and his wife, Mamiko, are expecting a baby. Ohtani took to Instagram and posted a picture that included his dog, Decoy, a sonogram, baby onesie and baby shoes to share the exciting news.

"Can’t wait for the little rookie to join our family soon!" Ohtani wrote on Instagram.

In a list from Ohtani in high school that went viral earlier this year, Ohtani had written that he wanted to get married and win the World Series by the age of 26, and have his first child by the age of 28. At age 30, Ohtani's plans might have taken a little longer than he anticipated, but he now wraps up 2024 married with his first World Series trophy and a baby on the way.

In his first season with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2024, Ohtani became the first player to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases, won MVP for a third time and won the World Series in his first postseason appearance. In his personal life, Ohtani revealed he was married—much to the surprise of his coach and teammates—last winter during spring training. This winter, Ohtani has shared that his family is adding a baby.

What a year, Ohtani.

Sussex lose third game in a row to dent qualification chances

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jul-2025James Vince hit the turbo button to smoke 98 not out to beat Sussex Sharks and put Hampshire Hawks on course for the Men’s Vitality Blast quarter-finals.Captain Vince led from the front in a magnificent 49-ball knock to chase down 168 and secure a third straight Hawks victory – and only failed to reach figures by hitting the winning runs with a four rather than a six.James Fuller supported with three wickets before Joe Weatherley partnered up for 62 – and 43 himself – as Hampshire found form at the right time of the competition.They now have seven wins – the traditional benchmark for qualification – while Sussex have stalled. They have lost their last three matches.Vince has blown hot and cold in the Blast, with three half-centuries but plenty of single-figure scores. This was a boiling day for him.The second ball he faced flew over the square ropes, with two more joining it to go with 12 other boundaries – it was vintage Vince, punishing anything that wasn’t an A-class delivery.A record 12-ball half-century looked temporarily on before settling for 19 balls, and from there he found a rhythm to tick off the runs quickly and risk-free.Toby Albert put 54 on with him at the top before frustrating himself with a pull to midwicket and Danny Lamb snuck one past Tom Prest. But in-form Weatherley provided the firmest support, while also plundering a quartet of sixes to make sure there was no pressure on the chase and Vince.He fell for 43, and Hilton Cartwright followed before Fuller helped Vince to get over the line.Sussex’s innings came in three acts. The cagey start, the run-frenzied middle and then the run drought at the death.Having chosen the bat, neither side could get an advantage in what felt like an ‘eight-pointer’ match due to their positions in the table and their closeness to qualifying.The Sharks probably edged the powerplay with a six off the last ball taking them to 51 for 1 – with Daniel Hughes been and gone after cutting to cover.That maximum sparked Tom Clark and George Thomas into life as they whacked 63 in the following six-and-a-half overs. Clark’s pair of sixes off Benny Howell was the apex of the innings, as the duo ran hard and piled the pressure onto the hosts.But both departed in the 13th over, Fuller dislodging each of them to spark a slow down – with only 60 runs coming from the last eight overs.Scott Currie repeated Fuller’s trick by seeing off Tom Alsop and James Coles in the 16th over, before only conceding four runs in the 18th over.Chris Wood also only went for four runs in the following over with two more wickets – the latter of which a controversial boundary catch which caused a fracas at the interval – as Hampshire took control.The visitors snared 15 runs from the last to take them to 167 for 7. But it was far from enough as Hampshire won with 16 balls to spare.