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After an undefeated Olympic run, the U.S. moved back to the top of the global rankings

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USWNT back on top in FIFA rankingsComes after Olympic GoldExperienced lowest ranking ever in JuneWHAT HAPPENED?

Winning Gold in Paris at the 2024 Olympic Games is now paying dividends in other ways for Emma Hayes' squad. FIFA announced Friday that the U.S. women's national team are now back at the top of its world rankings.

After dropping from third to fifth in June's edition of rankings – the lowest the U.S. have ever been since FIFA's introduction of the system – the USWNT are back at No. 1 for the first time in 12 months.

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Under the guidance of Hayes, who has only been in charge of the program since late May, the U.S. reclaimed the top spot in world rankings after a 1-0 victory over Brazil in the gold medal match in Paris.

With that came the team's fifth gold and seventh overall medal of the Olympic Games. The U.S. have not been ranked No. 1 by FIFA since June, 2023.

England's Lionesses have also moved to the No. 2 spot in the rankings, while FIFA World Cup-holders Spain dropped two spots into third.

DID YOU KNOW?

Host nation France dropped eight spots in the rankings, from second to 10th, the largest movement between any side in the rankings.

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The USWNT return to action this October, when they take on Iceland and Argentina in a pair of international friendlies.

Fifties from Finch and Warner set game up before Starc, spinners clinch 97-run victory

The Report by Firdose Moonda at Newlands26-Feb-2020South Africa failed to win a fourth successive home series and will go a full calendar year without a trophy since they beat Sri Lanka at home last March following defeat to Australia in the series finale in Cape Town. After choosing to field first, South Africa’s five-man attack leaked runs in the first half of Australia’s innings but it was their batting line-up that really let them down.Their chase was up before it had even properly begun when they reduced to 23 for 2 in the third over and 65 for 5 at the halfway stage. Australia needed just 5.3 more overs to wrap up their victory and condemn South Africa to their second-worst defeat in this format, five days after subjecting them to their worst.The visitors played a near-perfect game with half-centuries from David Warner and Aaron Finch, the top two run-scorers in the series, setting them up for a big score. After an opening stand of 120 in 11.3 overs, Australia would have been eyeing a total over 200 but a slowing surface and a more disciplined South African performance left them seven runs short. It was still more than enough for a South Africa side that has been light on batting throughout this series.With only six specialist batsmen in the side and none of them even reaching 100 runs in the series, South Africa’s lack of experience is obvious. Scratch below that and look at who has been responsible for their problems and their struggles against spin become clear. Ashton Agar and Adam Zampa lead the wicket-takers’ list and have tied South Africa down all series.Against spin, across the three matches, South Africa faced 129 balls, scored 125 runs and lost 13 wickets. That means spin has averaged 9.62 runs a wicket and has an economy rate of 5.81 runs per over.Current captain gone, former captain gone, game gone Much of this match seemed like something we had seen not too long ago (hint: in Johannesburg last Friday night when set South Africa a target of 197) but especially the third ball of South Africa’s reply.Quinton de Kock was beaten by late outswing from Mitchell Starc and bowled, exactly as he was on the third ball of South Africa’s innings at the Wanderers. Given that de Kock was the only batsmen to have scored more than 70 runs in the series, South African fans would have understandably assumed that was the end of their hopes in the chase. But for the die-harders that realisation may only have come two overs later, when Faf du Plessis tried to launch Starc over third man and sent his outside edge swirling to Zampa just inside the rope. At 23 for 3, with 171 to get from 17 overs, South Africa’s night was all but over.ZA-mpered But if you still weren’t quite sure of how far off the mark South Africa (aka ZA) were, then Zampa provided three more pointers before the halfway stage. He bowled Heinrich Klaasen, who got everything in his pre-meditated switch-hit right besides the ‘hit’ part and brought out a Dale Steyn-style chainsaw celebration. Then, he took a stunning catch low down sprinting in from third man to dismiss Rassie van der Dussen, who played two ramp shots in two balls and misjudged his placement.And finally, Zampa bowled Pite van Biljon, whose debut series has got worse as it progressed, with scores of 16, 7* and 1. South Africa were 65 for 5 after 10 overs, and needed 129 runs to win and 87 to avoid a record-defeat. Only the second of those was realistically achievable. Still, South Africa lost their last five wickets for nine runs and were comprehensively outplayed.A near-perfect powerplay Australia’s openers put on the best powerplay of the series, and their joint third-highest of all time as they stormed to 75 without loss in the first six overs. All of the four seamers South Africa tried in the opening exchange were equally profligate, going for 12 runs an over each with three leg byes making up the rest of that score.Finch and Warner struck eight fours and two sixes between them but their running between the wickets told the real story of their aggression. Both of them took off almost as soon as they had hit the ball, even if there was a fielder swooping in and they caught South Africa off guard. Their 14 singles, one two and one three may not have contributed as much as their boundaries but it signaled their intent. As a result, South Africa only bowled seven dot balls in the powerplay, the lowest ever.The comeback overs On cue, once the half-way stage of the innings had been reached, South Africa began the squeeze with Tabraiz Shamsi recovering from 18 runs off his first two overs, to only five off his third. Shamsi set South Africa up to make a breakthrough which came in the 12th over, bowled by Anrich Nortje.It started with Finch zipping through for a single and placing Warner on strike. Keen to keep things going, Warner cleared his front leg to try and launch the second ball over the off side but Nortje foxed him with a cutter and Warner was well beaten. That was enough to frustrate him and he was late on the pull off the next ball and well caught by David Miller, who was running backward from short midwicket.Finch faced the fourth ball and wanted a run when he hit to backward point but there wasn’t one. He was also frustrated and threw his hands at the fifth delivery but missed and ended the over with the single he wanted. Two runs came off that Nortje over, plus the wicket. ESPNcricinfo’s forecaster adjusted the total from 210 at the start of the over to 198 at the end and it proved to the catalyst for their comeback. Shamsi’s fourth over cost only four runs as he ended with an analysis of 4-0-25-1.Rabada vs Smith The first ball Kagiso Rabada bowled to Steve Smith in the series opener in Johannesburg was top-edged over third man for six as Australia’s former captain drew first blood in the rivalry which began with a shoulder brush two years ago. The first ball Rabada bowled to Smith in the finale was a slower-ball yorker which went through his legs and dismantled his stumps and the honours between the two would have been even.But replays showed Rabada had overstepped significantly and Smith, who was on six at the time, went to finish unbeaten on 30. It was clear who the real winner was.

Wolves are set for an exciting summer if reports are to be believed, with the Old Gold on the hunt for a forward ahead of the new season.

Wolves deal for Broja fell through in January

Wolves boss Gary O'Neil has done an excellent job in keeping his side well out of a relegation battle this season, steering them into the calm waters of Premier League midtable ahead of the final games of the season.

Pundit backs Wolves' potential free transfer for “terrific” striker

He could be just what Wolves need in attack this summer.

ByBen Browning Apr 18, 2024

But he hasn't had it all his own way, with injuries and a small squad leaving him handicapped and the 46 goals that Wolves have managed this season are one of the lowest in the division, one fewer than Luton and the same as Brentford.

O'Neil called for a striker to be signed in the January transfer window, but financial fair play issues meant that they couldn't get a deal over the line, with Chelsea attacker Armando Broja the man that they had set their sights on.

‌“Finances are an issue. I was speaking to Chelsea about Armando Broja for a lot of the day.‌ We couldn’t afford to do it financially.", O'Neil explained.

“We weren’t able to go to the places others were. And that’s the position. It’s the position the club said they were in when they spoke to me. I was hopeful that clearing some wages would enable me to act. It turns out that wages weren’t a problem, the fees were."

Wolves' frontline options 23/24

Player

Appearances

Pedro Neto

19

Matheus Cunha

27

Hwang-Hee Chan

23

Fabio Silva

8

Sasa Kalajdzic

11

Pablo Sarabia

25

Broja eventually joined Fulham on loan but has hardly featured given the excellent form of Rodrigo Muniz at Craven Cottage. Former boss Frank Lampard praised the Albanian during his stint at Stamford Bridge.

"He’s a very nice, very good lad and a very talented young boy. He’s fast, strong, has a real eye for goal and he’s a very, very good young player so I’m very aware of his strengths in a Southampton team playing very well."

What next for Wolves?

Now, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has shed light on what the summer may hold for Wolves, and has claimed that while Broja is still very much appreciated at Molineux, other striker targets may well present themselves ahead of the new season and it may well once more depend on finances. Speaking to GiveMeSport, Romano expects Wolves to be "busy" for a striker in an exciting claim.

This could come as music to the ears of Wolves fans, with Molineux having been crying out for a striker since Raul Jimenez's unfortunate head injury saw his career grind to a halt in the midlands.

Though it may not be Broja that they eventually sign, given O'Neil's ability to get a tune out of Wolves' squad this season, there will be confidence that a striker will only serve to see them fly up the table, and maybe even challenge for a European spot next season.

Crystal Palace are reportedly closing in on their first signing of the Oliver Glasner era as they look to land a free agent ahead of the new season.

Palace thriving under Oliver Glasner

The arrival of the Austrian manager at Selhurst Park has coincided with a major upturn in form and performances.

The Eagles have strung together four games without defeat for the first time since April 2023, and have pulled well clear of any potential relegation trouble in the Premier League, with 10 points gained in recent weeks taking Palace to 40 and mathematically safe for another season.

Palace to move for "extraordinary" 51k-p/w star Glasner worked with before

The new Eagles boss is said to be keen on a reunion.

ByBen Browning May 1, 2024

There is renewed hope at Selhurst Park after a stagnant period under Roy Hodgson, as detailed by BBC commentator John Southall.

"There is a lot to like about Crystal Palace at the moment," said Southall following Palace's 2-0 win against Newcastle United.

"Oliver Glasner's impact and ideas are starting to take shape and no more so than on Jean-Philippe Mateta."

"This is a player who scored just two goals last season and now has seven in seven games. He is transformed."

"It is three wins from three and there is a belief here now. You can feel it."

But the summer transfer window will have to back up the good work being done on the pitch, especially given the uncertainty around the likes of Marc Guehi, Eberechi Eze and Michael Olise.

Palace closing in on first signing

Now, according to reports from Scotland, Crystal Palace could be about to land their first signing of what could be an exciting summer.

That comes in the form of West Ham defender Ben Johnson, who is out of contract at the London Stadium this summer and has not been offered fresh terms in east London.

The 24-year-old has been a bit-part player for David Moyes this season, making just four Premier League starts.

Part of his problem is his versatility. Though ostensibly a right-back, across his career to date he has played at left-back, across the midfield and even at centre-back, making settling in a favoured position more difficult.

Position

Games played

Right-back

24

Left-back

7

Centre-back

4

Left-midfield

8

Right-midfield

5

Now set to leave West Ham this summer as part of wholesale changes at the London Stadium, the Daily Record reports that he is set to snub Scottish giants Rangers in favour of a move to south Londoners Palace.

It is also claimed that the defender is 'almost certainly' Selhurst Park-bound in what would be the first addition of Glasner's reign, with Johnson "on the verge of committing to Palace".

Johnson has been hailed by West Ham coach Stuart Pearce in the past, for his on and off-pitch demeanour.

"He's a wonderful professional to deal with and work with. We're very proud to have him out of our academy system as well, which is a real plus for us, especially with the connection to this club with the academy," Pearce explained.

"I think he's just developing and getting better and better, and like with all young players, the more game time they have, the better they'll get, so I am delighted for the boy."

The Eagles have already added Daniel Munoz to their ranks in recent months, but remain light at full-back with Tyrick Mitchell the only recognised left-back and both Joel Ward and Nathaniel Clyne well into their 30s on the opposite flank.

The addition of Johnson could prove a savvy way to plug both gaps.

The agent of Napoli striker Victor Osimhen appears to have denied suggestions the striker is edging towards joining Al-Ahli and the Saudi Pro League.

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Osimhen's agent goes publicStriker doesn't want Al-AhliChelsea remain in with chanceWHAT HAPPENED?

In the wake of news reports that Osimhen is the subject of interest from Al-Ahli, with Napoli seemingly close to agreeing a fee with the Saudi Pro League club, agent Roberto Calenda took to , formerly , to offer the player's side of things. Calenda suggested Osimhen's ambition is to remain in Europe.

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Calenda's comments don't refute Napoli negotiating a fee with Al-Ahli, reported to be worth in excess of €65 million (£55m/$73m). But it was already known that Osimhen hadn't agreed to personal terms, with the agent appearing to now confirm that his client won't accept the proposal, regardless of what the clubs have said to each other.

WHAT ROBERTO CALENDA SAID

Calenda wrote: "Osimhen is a Napoli player, with a contract recently renewed with mutual satisfaction. He made history and when there were major offers (also this year) we always accepted the club's decisions. As I said, it is not a package to be shipped far away to make room for new prophets. Victor was elected African footballer of the year, eighth at the Ballon d'Or, he still has so much to do in Europe. There is need respect and balance."

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It serves to keep the door open for Chelsea, who have been tracking Osimhen for the past couple of years. Enzo Maresca has confirmed the Blues would still like another striker, despite 11 new arrivals already this summer, but they have just four days to do a deal before the transfer window closes until January.

Tournament was most-watched edition ever, with a cumulative global average audience of 1.6 billion viewers

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Mar-2020Last summer’s World Cup generated almost £350 million (US$448 million) for the UK economy, according to the findings of an economic impact and benefits analysis commissioned by the ICC.The 2019 tournament, which culminated in an extraordinary tied final between England, the eventual champions, and New Zealand, was the most-watched edition of the tournament ever, with a cumulative global average audience of 1.6 billion viewers.As previously reported, a combined total of 8 million viewers in the UK watched the final on Sky’s platforms and Channel 4, making it the most-watched cricket event in the country since the 2005 Ashes. Global digital video content netted over 4.6 billion views for the seven-week event.But according to figures released by the Sports Consultancy, the economic impact of the tournament was every bit as telling as the TV figures. The study took into account the additional money spent in the UK by event organisers and visitors, as well as business-to-business and broader consumer spending.

ICC announce a £350m+ boost to the UK economy as a result of #CWC19 – a figure worthy of putting on the side of a bus, don't you think? pic.twitter.com/C2Pu6oaEQQ

— ESPNcricinfo (@ESPNcricinfo) March 3, 2020

London attracted the most direct economic impact of almost £65 million (US$83 million), with the semi-final venues, Manchester and Birmingham, attracting a direct economic impact of £36.3 million (US$46.5 million) and £29.7 million (US$38 million) respectively.”The ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 was an outstanding success across all measures, which is further underlined by this report and the significant contribution of GBP 350 million it has brought to the UK economy,” ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney said. “This makes it one of the biggest sporting events in the UK in recent history.”ICC events provide a wonderful platform to connect more deeply with a diverse audience of hundreds of millions of fans and to aggregate audiences like never before even in our increasingly fragmented world.”The rise of cricket tourism is clearly demonstrated with almost 20% of attendees coming from overseas and a total of 85% of ticket buyers coming from out of town, with cricket fans increasingly prepared to travel to support their team. We expect this trend to continue to rise as the Asian subcontinent continues rapid economic growth.”The ICC has recently opened up a tendering process for the 2023-2031 cycle of global events, and Sawhney emphasised the “social, cultural and economic” benefits of hosting such tournaments.”We are currently in the process of getting expressions of interest from our Members to host future events post 2023 as part of our ambitions to grow the game globally. This report clearly demonstrates staging ICC events not only provides our host countries with the opportunity to showcase the very best they have to offer to an enormous global audience they are also a major global driver for social, cultural and economic impact.”

Soft-tissue injury rates shot up in German football after post-Covid resumption

Matt Roller25-May-2020Fast bowlers need to build up their workloads “as sensibly as possible” in order to help mitigate increased injury risk as they look to return from a prolonged period of rest, according to Surrey’s lead physiotherapist.Plans are being drawn up around the world for players to return to training after an enforced break from the game, and Alex Tysoe told ESPNcricinfo that building up progressively will be vital for seamers in order to avoid the “undesirable” injury scenario seen in Germany’s Bundesliga.A report by sports scientist Joel Mason found that injury rates shot up from 0.27 per game to 0.88 in the first weekend of top-flight football in Germany for two months, with soft-tissue injuries particularly prevalent as teams rushed back to the pitch. Tysoe said that fast bowlers needed to find a sensible balance as they prepare to return to cricket.ALSO READ: ECB handed discretion over move to stage two training by government”There’s a lot about elite sport and the Covid situation which is not ideal, and we’re possibly seeing the effects of a sustained lockdown on football” he said. “You’ll have seen in the Bundesliga, there were a reported six soft-tissue injuries in the first eight games, which is an unusually high number for that league and sport.”Bowling is a lot more difficult to facilitate during this period because players haven’t been able to use their local clubs or outdoor facilities. We know from a research point of view that one of the ways to mitigate the risk of a sharp rise in workload is to try and improve the individual’s relative strength, and then all you can do is be sensible when you get back into things: increase people’s bowling workloads as fast as possible but as sensibly as possible too.”Tysoe is a co-author of a recent paper published in the which examined bowling loads and injuries for 49 fast bowlers at six different counties, and some of the conclusions drawn are relevant to the ongoing crisis.The study was primarily methodological, exploring the ability of ‘differential loads’ to predict injury risk compared to the widely-used ‘acute-chronic workload ratio’ method, but also demonstrated that large week-to-week increases in bowling loads and bowling after a long period without are associated with the possibility of heightened injury risks.”A simple analogy is that if you’re flying a plane, you have to consider the throttle, the level of the nose, and keeping your wings level on the horizon,” Tysoe said. “If you can keep all those within certain ranges, then your plane is much more likely to have a nice smooth journey; if you move the nose up and down, the wings left and right, and you’re messing around with the throttle, it’ll be a bumpy ride. It’s about getting up to cruising height nice and smoothly and staying there.”It’s similar in the case of fast bowlers: it’s about making sure that they’re not doing too much, too soon, relative to the last 42 days, that on a week-to-week basis they’re not adding to what they’re doing too quickly, and that if they do have a break it’s not for too long. What we want now is to have a nice smooth take-off, to get back to that analogy, where we’re getting bowlers to take off reasonably quickly while doing it as safely as possible.”Surrey’s lead physiotherapist Alex Tysoe•PA Images via Getty ImagesTysoe has been at The Oval in the past week, overseeing Sam Curran and Amar Virdi’s first few sessions back bowling, and said that things had gone “really smoothly”. Eighteen England bowlers are now back in individual training, with a seven-week run-in between their return and the planned first West Indies Test on July 8.The ECB’s performance director Mo Bobat has previously said that the schedule for this summer is likely to be “pretty brutal”, and that it may be necessary to rotate fast bowlers in order to reduce injury risks. Seamers have been bowling around six overs each per session and will gradually build up over the coming weeks.”A lot of work went into drawing up the protocols with the ECB, and then implementing all of the logistics,” Tyose said. “The important thing is that the players are safe, and that they can still have some quality training – otherwise there’s no point doing it. The ECB have been brilliant throughout the process, and we’re looking forward to seeing how things progress.”ALSO READ: How are cricketers keeping fit in lockdown?Surrey are one of two counties, along with Lancashire, not to have furloughed players during the lockdown, meaning the squad have been checked in on regularly. The club have run weekly Zoom yoga sessions to help increase the squad’s mobility, and Tysoe is hopeful that if a county season is possible later in the summer, players “are not going to take too long to turn around at all”.”We’re satisfied that they’re in as good a position as they could be at the moment. When we do get the green light to get back in and know when fixtures are, we’re in a position where we’re comfortable we can get them turned around in a relatively quick period of time.”For the fast bowlers, they can’t bowl in the nets or outside but we can mimic those movements with medicine balls to make sure soft tissues are used to repeatedly producing those powerful, dynamic movements.”One of the things we can’t do is influence the bone density of the spine. Pete Alway, who did a PhD with the ECB, did his research on spinal density of fast bowlers, and we now know that there’s nothing that can strengthen the spine for bowling better than bowling itself. You lose spine density pretty quickly when you stop bowling, and predictably it can take you longer to build that up: we need to be mindful of building them back up sensibly.”

Everton have conducted some questionable business in the transfer market in recent years, signing multiple players who have failed to make any impact at the club.

Allan joined the Toffees from Napoli for £21m before struggling to prove any sort of worth for his hefty fee, before departing the club for a minimal fee just a few years after his move to Merseyside.

The club spent more than £60m on new additions during the 2019/20 season, with players such as Ben Godfrey also joining the club for a fee in the region of £25m – with the defender now a regular, in an unnatural right-back role.

However, the club also purchased another talent who had huge expectations upon his move to Goodison Park but has looked a shadow of his former self in recent months and has been struggling to make an impact in the final third under boss Sean Dyche.

Abdoulaye Doucoure's stats during his time at Everton

Midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure arrived at Goodison back in the summer of 2020, with the club signing him from Watford on a £20m deal after the Hornets suffered relegation back to the Championship.

He's been a consistent figure for the club under numerous managers, as the Toffees have frequently battled against relegation since his move to Goodison.

The Malian featured 29 times in the Premier League during his first season on Merseyside, as he helped the club achieve a tenth-place finish under experienced boss Carlo Ancelotti.

Despite not being known for his goalscoring ability, he's often contributed with some crucial goals for the club since his big-money move, including the decisive goal on the final day of 2022/23, where he fired home against Bournemouth to secure the club's Premier League status for another season.

Dyche's arrival in January 2023 has allowed the 31-year-old to operate in a more advanced role, as the number ten behind the striker – a decision that would allow the Malian to add a different dimension to the Toffees' forward line.

He's scored 11 goals over the last two campaigns, including six during 2023/24 – but he's failed to find the back of the net in any of his last 14 matches dating back to early December.

How much Abdoulaye Doucoure earns at Everton

According to Spotrac, midfielder Doucoure earns a whopping £130k-per-week, a figure that makes him the club's highest-paid player, ahead of striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin and talented youngster Jarrad Branthwaite – who rake in £100k-per-week and £15k-per-week, respectively.

Abdoulaye Doucoure

£130k-p/w

Jordan Pickford

£125k-p/w

Andre Gomes

£112k-p/w

James Tarkowski

£100k-p/w

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

£100k-p/w

Jarrad Branthwaite

£15k-p/w

His weekly wage sees him pocket £6.7m a year at Goodison, with Doucoure taking home £26.8m in wages alone upon the conclusion of the current season – a staggering amount.

The Malian has undoubtedly been a success during his time at the club, but given his attacking role, his recent goalscoring form has been a concern, with the 31-year-old looking like a shadow of his former self – Liverpool Echo's Chris Beesley writing that he is 'still labouring to recapture his early season form', following the recent draw with Luton Town.

However, with his big-money contract expiring at the end of next season, this summer could be the last chance the club have to recoup some of his £20m fee before he's allowed to enter pre-contract talks with sides outside the Premier League.

Everton could find new Calvert-Lewin partner in exciting academy star

This 17-year-old prospect could have a fruitful future ahead at Everton.

ByAngus Sinclair May 7, 2024

Harry Kane may benefit from having a strike partner alongside him, says Emile Heskey, but England’s captain “hasn’t lost the ability to score goals”.

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Prolific frontman has rewritten history booksTakes great pride in skippering his countryRemains one of the best No.9s in the businessWHAT HAPPENED?

The prolific Bayern Munich frontman has found the target on 66 occasions for his country through 98 appearances. Nobody has got close to matching that return, with Kane continuing to raise the bar of individual excellence.

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His long wait for major honours is well documented, with that barren run extended when suffering defeat in the Euro 2024 final. Questions were asked of Kane’s role at that tournament, with the 31-year-old either looking isolated up top by himself or dropping too deep in an effort to get involved in build-up play.

WHAT HESKEY SAID

Former England forward Heskey has told of trying to bring the best out of Kane, while having no concerns regarding his value to the collective cause: “To change our formations and structures to just suit Kane would be a big decision, and he’s still effective in what they do now if you look at his record. Kane understood England’s system under Gareth Southgate, he's a fantastic player and is England’s record goal scorer, and he hasn’t lost his ability to score goals.

“It's very difficult at times when you're not getting the touch of the ball as a forward. You want to go hunting for it to try and make something happen to contribute to the game. I think playing someone up front with him could allow for a different structure and would allow him to go wandering a bit more. However, the reality with Kane is that he’s a number nine. He needs to stay at number nine, as high up as possible, and allow his team-mates to get the ball into him at the right time to do his job, scoring goals and winning England games, which he is still doing now.”

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Kane – who hit 44 goals for Bayern last season, earning him the European Golden Shoe – has already been back on target at club level in 2024-25. He is now hoping to retain captaincy and starting duties for England as they prepare to open another UEFA Nations League campaign against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.

Glasgow Rangers have one more chance at glory this season as they play in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday in a bid to win a domestic cup double.

The last time they managed this feat was during the 2007/08 campaign. Philippe Clement may be looking to add to his trophy collection at Ibrox this weekend, although the Belgian is also planning ahead for the summer transfer window.

Might the Light Blues be close to securing their first signing?

Rangers transfer news

According to the Scottish Sun, Rangers are closing in on a move to secure highly rated South African youngster Relebohile Mofokeng, beating the likes of Wolverhampton Wanderers, Red Bull Salzburg and Al-Ahly to his signature.

The 19-year-old would be Clement’s first piece of business done this summer and, hopefully, this is just the start of many, as a major rebuild at Ibrox is clearly required.

The youngster may not be a marquee name, yet neither was Mohamed Diomande prior to his arrival in Glasgow and the midfield already looks like a wonderful piece of business.

This newfound strategy of signing promising youngsters who have the potential to develop into excellent first-team players could begin to pay dividends next season if the 50-year-old could work his magic.

Mofokeng isn’t the finished article, far from it, but he could replace Abdallah Sima and save the Light Blues money in the process.

Why Relebohile Mofokeng would be a good signing

There were a few rumours regarding the Gers trying to sign Sima on a permanent deal after a season which saw the winger score 16 goals in all competitions.

This move will cost the club a pretty penny, however. Given that Clement may need to move people on before splashing the cash, perhaps a move for Mofokeng would be the wisest option in order to add some depth to his wide areas.

Metric

Europa League

Premiership

Goals

3

11

Assists

0

2

Big chances created

0

2

Key passes per game

1

0.8

Successful dribbles per game

1.8

1.2

Via Sofascore

The South African typically operates on the left wing and has shown plenty of promise during the embryonic stages of his career thus far.

In just 38 senior matches, the teenager has scored five times and registered seven assists, while The Rangers Journal founder Kai Watson hailed Mofokeng for being an “exciting prospect” who loves taking on defenders.

He may only be a slender 5 foot 3, but this gives him a lower centre of gravity than most players, allowing him to exude his sinuous qualities down the flank.

These types of signings are always a gamble, but it appears Clement may not have much of a choice, having to be diligent with his transfer dealings this summer so he does not overspend.

Mofokeng could be an interesting addition to the squad. There is no doubt the youngster has demonstrated plenty of potential in South Africa. Can he make the step up in Scotland, however? The game tends to be fairly physical so it'll be a challenge.

Only time will tell if he passes the test but Clement may need a replacement for Sima and is going about things the right way as he seeks to build a successful player-trading model at Ibrox.

Rangers could reclaim the title by signing 31-goal star

The Light Blues must pursue a swoop for the prolific marksman this summer.

ByDan Emery May 19, 2024