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Glasgow Rangers sporting director Kevin Thelwell made a bold move during the summer transfer window when he swooped to sign Youssef Chermiti from his former club Everton.

The Light Blues paid £8m to sign the Portugal U21 international from the Premier League side, which is the highest fee they have paid for a player since the £12m move for Tore Andre Flo in 2000.

Because of that transfer fee, Chermiti’s performances for Rangers his season have been under the spotlight, and he has failed to justify the huge outlay as of yet.

Pundit Michael Stewart described his finishing as “so poor” against Celtic in the League Cup semi-final earlier this month. Fellow pundit Ally McCoist also noted on TNT Sport that the striker is “showing nothing” to prove he was worth the fee paid for him.

Chermiti has scored one goal in 13 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues this season, per Sofascore, which may be why pundits like Stewart and McCoist have been harsh on him.

However, the former Premier League flop is not the only summer signing who has struggled at the top end of the pitch this season, as Bojan Miovski has failed to live up to expectations.

Why Danny Rohl should drop Bojan Miovski

Danny Rohl should ruthlessly ditch the summer signing from Girona from the starting line-up because he struggled once again in the 3-0 win over Dundee last weekend in the Scottish Premiership.

The Macedonia international was handed the chance to led the line at Dens Park, but was removed by the German head coach at half-time after a dismal first-half display, with zero shots and two out of nine duels won, per Sofascore.

Miovski was signed from Girona for a fee of up to £4.2m and arrived with a big reputation in Scotland, thanks to his form for Aberdeen in the past, as shown in the graphic below.

However, pundit Charlie Mulgrew recently noted that there is more pressure on him at Ibrox. The ex-Celtic defender said: “When you play for Aberdeen, you can get away with not scoring for three or four weeks. At Rangers, you don’t get six or seven games to find your feet. You’re in the spotlight and you need to hit the ground running, and that’s why there are question marks around him.”

Miovski, who was described as “non-existent” by one Rangers podcaster, has struggled to deal with the pressure of leading the line for the Gers, as shown by his form this season.

Appearances

8

4

Goals

1

0

Minutes per goal

506

N/A

Big chances missed

3

1

Big chances created

0

0

Assists

0

0

Ground duel success rate

32%

44%

Aerial duel success rate

29%

17%

As you can see in the table above, the left-footed marksman has not offered much in the way of quality in front of goal or reliability out of possession in the Scottish Premiership or the Europa League.

Miovski should be in the prime years of his career at the age of 26, but his performances for the Scottish giants suggest that the opposite is true, as he has struggled badly in comparison to his previous form in the division, with just one league goal.

This is why Rohl should ditch him from the starting XI, and possibly even from the club in the January transfer window unless he can turn his form around in the next few weeks.

However, as aforementioned, Chermiti has also failed to impress since his £8m move from Everton, which is why the manager may need to get creative with his team selection.

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Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

With this in mind, Rohl should ruthlessly drop Miovski from the starting line-up by unleashing Mikey Moore in a brand-new role as a centre-forward at Ibrox.

Why Rangers should play Mikey Moore as a striker

Rangers signed the England youth international on a season-long loan from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer and he endured a difficult start to life at Ibrox.

The 18-year-old forward did not provide a goal or an assist in his first five outings in the Premiership, but he has registered a goal and an assist in his last four matches, per Sofascore, which shows that the youngster has been improving.

Moore started as a right-midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 against Dundee at Dens Park last weekend. However, it was by drifting into a central position that he created and scored his first goal of the season.

The teenage whiz looked far more comfortable playing quickly and directly in a central position through the build-up to this goal, which suggests that Rohl could get more out of him by playing the Spurs loanee in a new role.

In fact, his overall career statistics, for Spurs at first-team and academy level, indicate that he is more likely to deliver goals and assists when playing in a central position.

Left wing (19)

4

6

Attacking midfield (10)

6

4

Centre-forward (7)

11

4

Right wing (10)

1

0

Left midfield (1)

0

1

Right midfield (1)

1

0

As you can see in the table above, Moore has scored 17 goals and provided eight assists in 17 starts as a striker or as an attacking midfielder, whulst his numbers as a winger, on either flank, are not as impressive.

With this in mind, the English attacker could thrive if unleashed as the striker in the team ahead of Miovski and Chermiti, given his goal at Dens Park and his record for Spurs at youth level.

Danilo played as the number ten against Dundee, behind Miovski, and the Brazilian could interchange roles with Moore as a fluid front two in that 4-2-3-1 system, with both players capable of switching between striker and attacking midfield throughout matches.

That could cause problems for opposition defenders, who could get confused about who to step out to or who to mark, and create some interesting dynamics in the final third when Rangers are building attacks.

Rohl can unearth bigger talent than Gassama in £3.5m Rangers flop

Danny Rohl could unearth a bigger talent than Djeidi Gassama in this Rangers flop.

ByDan Emery Nov 15, 2025

Therefore, Rohl should ruthlessly drop Miovski from the starting line-up in order to unleash Moore in this new role, as it could be an exciting tactical change for the Light Blues.

Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl lost for the second time in as many matches in charge of the club in the Europa League against Roma on Thursday night.

The Italian giants came to Ibrox and won 2-0 under the lights, thanks to two first-half strikes, to make it three defeats in five matches for the new Light Blues boss.

It is hard to blame the former Sheffield Wednesday tactician for that dismal start to his career at the club, though, as he has had a tough run of fixtures, including this clash with Roma and a League Cup semi-final against Celtic.

Rohl has inherited a team that struggled badly under former manager Russell Martin, who only won five matches in all competitions during his time in Glasgow.

However, the German boss does have a chance to make it three wins out of three in the Scottish Premiership when his side travel to play Dundee away from home on Sunday.

With that match in mind, the Ibrox head coach must ruthlessly ditch centre-forward Youssef Chermiti from the starting line-up after an underwhelming performance on Thursday night.

Why Youssef Chermiti should be dropped by Rangers

The £8m summer signing from Everton has now produced one goal and one assist in 12 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues in the 2025/26 campaign.

His goal, as shown in the clip above, was aided by some fairly questionable goalkeeping, and his assist was a simple pass to Danilo, who took a brilliant touch and scored from the edge of the box.

The Portugal U21 international has not provided enough quality in the final third to justify his price tag, yet, and his performance against Roma did little to convince supporters that he has been a good addition to the squad.

Roma had Artem Dovbyk leading the line for them at Ibrox and the gulf in class between the Ukraine international and Chermiti in their respective displays was staggering.

Whilst the Serie A marksman, who scored 17 goals for Roma last season (Sofascore), provided the perfect foil for his team to build attacks from, Rangers could not rely on Chermiti to bring others into play.

Minutes

73

86

Big chances missed

1

0

Passes completed

8

19

Pass accuracy

67%

100%

Key passes

0

4

Assists

0

1

Possession lost

8x

5x

As you can see in the table above, Dovbyk was almost perfect in possession and created four chances for his team on the night, including one for the second goal, whilst the Gers striker did not create any chances for his side and was a bit loose with his passes.

The former Everton forward also struggled in the 3-1 loss to Celtic at Hampden Park on Sunday. Pundit Michael Stewart bemoaned his “poor” finishing after the attacker spurned two huge opportunities to find the back of the net in the first half.

Therefore, Rohl should drop him from the starting line-up to take on Dundee in the Premiership on Sunday and unleash Danilo, who has scored in each of his last two appearances in the Premiership under the German head coach.

Chermiti is not the only underperforming Rangers player who should lose his place in the starting XI for that trip to Dundee before the international break, though.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

The former Bayern Munich and Southampton assistant manager should also ruthlessly ditch left-sided defender Jayden Meghoma from the side, after another disappointing showing.

Why Danny Rohl should drop Jayden Meghoma for Rangers

Rohl should drop the defender from the team after he decided to withdraw him from the game at half-time in order to change formation and move Max Aarons to left-back.

The Rangers head coach opted to move away from a 3-4-2-1 formation to chase the game with a 4-3-3, which meant that Aarons moved from right wing-back to left-back and James Tavernier moved from right centre-back to right-back.

Rohl deciding to move Aarons, who is a right-footed right-back, over to left-back instead of moving Meghoma back into a left-back position in a back four suggests that he was less-than-pleased with the Brentford loanee’s contributions in the first half.

Minutes

45

Pass accuracy

79%

Key passes

0

Successful dribbles

0/1

Tackles won

0

Interceptions

0

Ground duels won

0/2

Aerial duels won

0/0

As you can see in the table above, it is easy to understand why the manager may not have been too impressed by the wing-back’s first-half showing, as the 19-year-old flop failed to win a single duel.

Meghoma offered very little to the team in or out of possession in the opening 45 minutes, with no key passes, dribbles, tackles, interceptions, or duels won for the Scottish giants.

The Scotsman handed the youngster a player rating of 4/10 for his performance against Roma and wrote that he looked ‘out of his depth’ as an ‘untested’ youngster, which is hard to disagree with, given Rohl’s decision to withdraw him at half-time and his dismal statistics.

After the 3-1 loss to Celtic in the League Cup last weekend, Football FanCast suggested that the left-back may be on borrowed time in the starting XI because he was caught out defensively for the opening goal from Johnny Kenny, as shown in the clip below.

Meghoma was also caught out aerially from a set-piece in the 3-0 defeat to Brann in Rohl’s first match in charge, when he allowed Jacob Lungi Sorensen to get the run on him to score from a free-kick.

The teenage defender, who has won 25% of his aerial duels in the Premiership (Sofascore), has not proven that he can be a reliable option for the Light Blues at this moment in time, and the change at half-time on Thursday suggests that the manager trusts Aarons ahead of him in a back four.

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ByDominic Lund Nov 5, 2025

Therefore, Rohl should ruthlessly ditch Meghoma and Chermiti in order to unleash Aarons at left-back in a back four and Danilo up front against Dundee on Sunday.

Play had to be halted for three minutes after a 5.5 magnitude earthquake caused severe tremors in parts of Bangladesh and India in the morning session of the third day of the ongoing second Test between Bangladesh and Ireland in Dhaka.There was immediate panic in the stands as the jolts were felt, and the players and umpires gathered near the pitch. Both dressing rooms emptied at around 10.38am (10.08am in India). The small crowd looked for open areas to escape to. Some went out of the stadium while others tried to get close to the ground. The media centre, a five-storey building at the north end of the stadium, also emptied quickly as people tried to go out to safe spaces.While there was some confusion about the magnitude of the earthquake, local media in Bangladesh has reported that it was recorded at 5.5 on the Richter scale, with the epicentre in Madhabdi, a municipality around 40 kilometres east of Dhaka. There have been reports of at least two damaged buildings in the capital city but no confirmed reports of casualties.”I have been personally involved in in a couple of earthquakes,” Ireland coach Heinrich Malan said after the day’s play. “I have lived in New Zealand for a while. It’s never a nice feeling. You are trying to understand what is happening at the minute around you. But also you have to think about some bigger impacts, about where the earthquake obviously struck, and hopefully that’s not too bad. Everything stood still for a couple of minutes, and we got back to business. We are just thinking and hoping that there wasn’t too much damage done. We will obviously find out about what that happens as we go.”Reports from Kolkata, across the border from Bangladesh in India’s West Bengal, said tremors were felt there too, as was the case in Guwahati, the venue of the second Test between India and South Africa from Saturday, and in other parts of northeastern India.Play resumed in the Dhaka Test after the pause, with Ireland losing two more wickets in the first session to go to lunch on the third day at 211 for 7 in reply to Bangladesh’s 476.

If Chelsea’s draw against Arsenal showed them at their best, the last week of results has shown them at their worst.

Enzo Maresca’s side were just six points off the Premier League leaders after their match against them, but a defeat away to Leeds United and a draw away to Bournemouth now sees them eight points adrift and in fifth place.

It’s been a frustrating week for the Blues and one that has shown that, for all their talent, they are still vulnerable and have more than a few week links.

In fact, one of those weak links could be Chelsea’s biggest liability since Tiémoué Bakayoko.

Tiémoué Bakayoko's Chelsea career

In the 16/17 season, AS Moncao shocked the world by mounting a surprising and successful title charge, their first to end in glory for well over a decade.

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That side was full of incredible players who’d go on to have glittering careers, like Kylian Mbappé, Bernardo Silva and Fabinho.

However, instead of signing any of them, Chelsea opted to splash north of £40m on Bakayoko, who, to be fair to the club, did look like a star in the making at the time.

Unfortunately, once he arrived in England, it was clear that he was anything but.

The Frenchman made 43 appearances across the 17/18 season, but very rarely, if ever, looked convincing, be that in possession or out of it.

The midfielder’s most notable performance in Blue just so happened to also be his worst, when, against Watford in February 2018, he was sent off just 30 minutes into the game.

In all, while he was once a hugely promising midfielder, Bakayoko is now known as a flop in England.

Following a slew of loans, he joined Lorient in 2023 before moving to PAOK last summer, and is now without a club at just 31 years old.

Unfortunately for Maresca, he might now have Chelsea’s biggest liability since the Frenchman in his current squad.

Chelsea's biggest liability since Bakayoko

Now, there are a few players Chelsea need to sell as soon as possible, but if you were to ask fans who in the first team needs to go first, most would likely land on Tosin Adarabioyo.

The Blues signed the Englishman for free after his contract with Fulham expired last summer, and while he has been a useful stand-in at times, it has become increasingly clear this season that he’s a problem.

For example, in the last five games he has started, the West Londoners have conceded 11 goals and won just two, drawing one and losing the other two.

Moreover, while the entire backline should be held to account for some of those goals, the 28-year-old has made some high-profile and almost comical mistakes.

Against Leeds United, for example, Dominic Calvert-Lewin only scored his goal because the Englishman lost control of the ball within the Blues’ penalty area.

It was a mistake Chelsea fan and content creator Tom Overend branded “utterly embarrassing”, and while that might sound harsh, it’s hard to dispute.

Tosin vs Leeds

Minutes

96′

Tackles

1

Ground Duels (Won)

4 (1)

Fouls

2

Errors Leading to a Goal

1

Touches

121

Shots

1

Key Passes

0

Expected G+As

0.07

All Stats via Sofascore

It’s not just the eye-test where the defender fails, either: according to FBref, he ranks in the top 43% of centre-backs in Europe’s top five leagues for tackles won and in the bottom 4% of dribblers tackled, all per 90.

In other words, he’s not proactive enough at the back, and even when he is, he isn’t very effective.

Ultimately, it’s clear that Tosin is not good enough to play for Chelsea, and therefore, the club should look to move him on as soon as possible, for everyone’s sake.

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The Detroit Tigers are moving on to the American League Division Series.

Detroit went on the road and topped the Cleveland Guardians 2-1 in a tightly contested wild-card series. On Thursday, the Tigers secured a 6-3 win thanks to an excellent effort from five pitchers and some timely hitting that eluded them in Game 1 and Game 2.

After an epic collapse to end the season that cost them the AL Central, Detroit rebounded and will now face the top-seeded Seattle Mariners in the ALDS.

What follows are three takeaways from their big win in Game 3.

Jack Flaherty Earned His Rotation Spot

Jack Flaherty led the American League in losses this season, going 8-15 with a 4.64 ERA and a 1.28 WHIP. Detroit lost eight of his last 10 starts, the last two of which came against Cleveland. On Thursday, he stepped up and largely locked down the Guardians.

The 29-year-old allowed one run on three hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking two. He was wild, throwing only 43 of his 74 pitches for strikes, but he managed to limit the damage. A George Valera double opened the fourth inning, and Jose Ramirez singled to drive him in, tying the game at 1-1. He worked his way out of it. After getting two outs in the bottom of the fifth, he walked C.J. Kayfus and was relieved by Kyle Finnegan.

He left in a 1-1 game and didn't finish five innings, so he was ineligible for the win, but he put Detroit in position to come out ahead. He's earned his postseason rotation spot.

Detroit Can Get Timely Hits

In the first two games of the series, the Tigers were 2-23 with runners in scoring position, including going 1-15 in a 6-1 loss in Game 2. Their bats woke up in Game 3 as they went 5-12, including three straight singles with runners in scoring position in the seventh inning.

Riley Greene, Spencer Torkelson, and Wenceel Perez came through when they had to, giving Detroit a 6-1 lead and some breathing room. Catcher Dillon Dingler, who grew up in Ohio rooting for the Guardians, also came up big. His two-out home run in the top of the sixth put the Tigers up 2-1. They never trailed again.

The Tigers can hit in the clutch, they just needed to get some confidence back. Once they did, it was contagious.

Cleveland Didn't Have Enough Offense

Yes, the Guardians' late-season run was remarkable and even inspiring. Unfortunately, it wasn't sustainable.

On the season, Cleveland's wRC+ of 87 ranked 28th in all of baseball, ahead of only the Pittsburgh Pirates and Colorado Rockies. Guardians hitters generated 13.2 fWAR, which ranked 25th, and their wxOBA of .299 was dead last. Eventually, that was going to catch up with them.

In the three games of the series, Cleveland's hitters slashed .178/.253/.322 for a woeful OPS of .575. They did have three home runs and eight RBIs, but also struck out 24 times with nine walks. Something has to change.

The Guardians brought up Chas DeLauter for the postseason in a move to juice the team's lineup, while top prospect and former No. 1 overall pick Travis Bazzana is at Triple A. While Bazzana struggled a bit at that level, it wouldn't surprise me if Cleveland had him at second base to start the 2026 campaign.

The defeat, despite Mohammad Rizwan’s battling unbeaten 60 off 41 balls, left St Kitts and Nevis Patriots at No. 5 on the points table

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Aug-2025Tabraiz Shamsi was tough to score off, and earned himself two opportunities to show off his familiar shoe-phone celebration. Despite his 2 for 17, however, St Lucia Kings had a big chase on their hands in their CPL 2025 game against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots – 178. That Kings got there with 18 balls and seven wickets in hand was down to their openers Tim Seifert and Johnson Charles. 115 runs between them, in just 62 balls, made the chase a canter.Just five runs came off the first over of the chase, bowled by Kyle Mayers. Charles took off after that, against Naseem Shah, and kept going. Kings got 13 off the second over, then 18 off the third, and 21 off the fifth, and finished the powerplay with 72 on the board. Seifert, who was slow to start with – having scored only a run-a-ball 15 by the fourth over – was now batting as quickly as Charles. It was all looking rather ominous for Patriots.Waqar Salamkheil got them the breakthrough – the wicket of Charles for a 17-ball 47 – in the seventh over, but with Ackeem Auguste, the hero of Kings’ previous match, for company, Seifert didn’t let the advantage slip.Auguste and Seifert added 60 for the second wicket, with Auguste contributing 29 in 20 balls. Though Seifert fell in the 15th over for a 45-ball 68, his opening blast had left Kings with very few to get with a lot of time.Johnson Charles smashed 47 in just 17 balls•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / GettyRoston Chase (15*) and Tim David (16*) finished things off by the end of the 17th over.Earlier, after Patriots had been asked to bat by David Wiese at Kings’ home ground, the momentum they would have wanted never quite come. Theirs wasn’t a bad powerplay however, with Andre Fletcher especially showing enterprise as Patriots got to 57 for 1 after six overs.The brakes were applied soon after that, as Shamsi got Fletcher to miscue and attempted heave out of the stadium only to sky the ball to Charles behind the stumps. For his efforts, Shamsi was later named the Player of the Match.The fightback came from Mohammad Rizwan, batting at No. 3, who scored 60 not out in 41 balls, and put together partnerships of 71 in 52 balls with Mayers (27 in 25) and an unbroken 37 in 20 balls with Jason Holder (21* in 14). Still, neither Rizwan nor Mayers could score at the sort of rate Patriots would have wanted on a pitch that, as the outcome suggests, was good for scoring.The win took Kings to the top of the table with eight points from six games, while Patriots are now in fifth position with four points from seven games.

If the Tampa Bay Rays were disoriented by their forced exile from their Tropicana Field home this offseason, they haven't shown it.

The Rays are 50–47 and 1.5 games out of the American League's final wild-card spot at the All-Star break, despite currently occupying George M. Steinbrenner Field in Tampa—the New York Yankees' 11,000-seat spring-training home. That's because Hurricane Milton destroyed large parts of Tropicana Field's roof in October.

On Tuesday, commissioner Rob Manfred was asked a question that has suddenly become very pertinent: where will Tampa Bay play home games if it makes the playoffs this year? According to Manfred, the Rays have the green light to host them at Steinbrenner Field.

"Our rule has always been that people play in their home stadiums during the World Series. And I’m not of a mind to change that rule," Manfred told reporters via , presumably ignoring the pandemic-shortened 2020 season. "I understand it’s a unique situation. It’s different, but that’s where they’re playing. That’s where they’re going to play their games."

Tampa Bay is seeking its sixth postseason berth in the past seven seasons, and its seventh winning season in the past eight years.

Liverpool attacker Mohamed Salah has been offered an eye-watering amount of money to leave Anfield, it has been claimed.

Salah has been alarmingly out of form by his world-class standards, but he returned to somewhere near his best on Saturday evening, opening the scoring in the Reds’ 2-0 win at home to Aston Villa in the Premier League.

It was a special night for the 33-year-old, who became just the third player in Liverpool’s history to score 250 goals for the club, joining Ian Rush and Roger Hunt in the process. Speaking after the Villa game, he admitted his delight at achieving such a great feat.

“It’s very important. We had a few losses in the Premier League and Champions League but I’m glad we start to come back on track now. It’s a good plus before very important games against [Real] Madrid and City. It’s a very important win for us. It’s a great feeling to score goals and win trophies for such a big club. It’s something I don’t take for granted. I’m so proud and so happy about that achievement.”

For Salah, it’s now a case of kicking on and returning to the form everyone knows he can achieve on a consistent basis, inspiring Liverpool’s changes in fortunes this season. He is contracted at Anfield until the summer of 2027, but now a shock exit rumour has emerged.

Liverpool legend Salah offered £132m-a-year to leave

According to a huge report from Spain, an unnamed club have offered Salah £132m per year in wages in order to tempt him away from Liverpool.

Mo Salah’s reported offer to leave Liverpool
Per year	£132m
Per month	£11m
Per week	£2.5m
Per day	£361,000
Per hour	£15,000

It would be a huge surprise and shame to see Salah leave Liverpool before his recently-signed new deal expires, even though he clearly hasn’t been at his best of late.

He was much-improved against Villa, and remains a hugely influential figure for the Reds, with Arne Slot waxing lyrical over his star attacker after the game.

“It is almost unbelievable if you score 250 goals, let alone 250 goals for one club. You don’t see that much in football any more. Apart from the goal he had a very good performance. When we had to play long, we mainly played to him and he held the ball and the team could come to him. What I liked was that he also helped the team defensively as well.”

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Salah is now undoubtedly one of the greatest players in Liverpool’s history, and while such a huge amount of money could turn the head of any player, the hope is that he wants to spend as long at Anfield as possible.

Where does Mo Salah rank among Liverpool's highest-earning players?

Aston Villa are now considering a January move for a “fantastic” Champions League player, but they will have to shell out a huge fee to get a deal over the line.

Villa looking to boost push for Europe by strengthening in January

Villa have surged up the Premier League table in recent weeks, courtesy of winning seven of their last eight matches, although there have been some suggestions that their current run of form could end soon, given that they have been defying xG.

The Villans’ 16 goals this season have come from an xG of just 11.88 xG, and they have been relying on players scoring from outside the box, with Boubacar Kamara the most recent example, firing home from distance in the 1-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Regardless of how they’ve managed to win games, Unai Emery’s side have placed themselves very much in contention to qualify for Europe yet again, and they are now looking to strengthen in January to bolster their chances.

That is according to a report from Leonino (via Sport Witness), which states Aston Villa are now considering a January bid for Sporting CP defender Ousmane Diomande, but they may have to break the bank, with the Portuguese club demanding his €80m (£70m) release clause is paid in full.

Sporting have been struggling to tie Diomande down to a new contract, with his current deal set to expire in 2027, which could open the door for a move to Villa Park. However, several Premier League clubs are in the race for his signature, including Crystal Palace.

With Sporting unwilling to listen to winter bids, Villa may have to wait until the summer to pursue the centre-back, unless they trigger the release clause, although it is unclear how feasible that would be, given their well-documented PSR issues.

"Fantastic" Diomande could be exciting long-term addition for Villa

The 21-year-old, who is represented by the same agency as Harvey Elliott, is at the right age to be a long-term success at Villa Park, and he impressed right across the 2024-25 campaign, as highlighted by scout Jacek Kulig.

A modern defender, the Ivorian, who has made three Champions League appearances this season, is very comfortable in possession of the ball, as showcased by his performance across some key statistics over the past year, while the youngster also has a keen eye for goal.

Ousmane Diomande’s key statistics

Average per 90 (past year)

Non-penalty goals

0.09 (88th percentile)

Passes attempted

67.57 (90th percentile)

Pass completion %

92.7% (98th percentile)

That said, Villa have one of the best defences in the Premier League, having conceded just 11 goals, so there is no pressing need to sign a centre-back, and it may be better to wait until next summer to sign Diomande, at which point Sporting’s asking price will hopefully drop.

The building blocks of a formidable T20 side are coming together with some big names still to slot in

Andrew McGlashan29-Jul-20250:42

Dwarshuis makes early breakthroughs for Australia

Australia’s build towards next year’s T20 World Cup could not have got off to a better start with the 5-0 sweep over West Indies in which several players staked claims for permanent spots in the team, leaving some potentially big calls for the selectors in the coming months.Cameron Green was player-of-the-series for his performances at No. 4, looking the ideal make-up for a role that can be required to play in various ways depending on the start. Meanwhile, Mitchell Owen made an immediate impact in the middle-order, having been challenged to develop his game away from the opening slot that has brought him considerable T20 league success.Tim David produced the performance of the series with his record-breaking 37-ball hundred, batting higher than has often been the case at No. 5, while Josh Inglis settled in at No. 3. With the ball, it’s difficult to see how Nathan Ellis does now not command a full-time place in the XI while Ben Dwarshuis had a productive series.Related

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• 'Not much will change' – Owen plans to bring his T20 approach to ODI cricket

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“Depth is a privilege to have, and hopefully we can keep building on that,” Australia T20I captain, Mitchell Marsh said. “We saw a lot of guys come in: Mitch Owen, I thought Cam Green was fantastic, Nathan Ellis, again, was outstanding. Everyone played their part. It’s going to be a good challenge for us, but we certainly will welcome a few blokes back in.”Travis Head and Josh Hazlewood are expected to return for the series against South Africa which begins in Darwin on August 10, as could Matt Short if he has recovered from the side strain he picked up early in the West Indies tour. Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc will, however, continue to rest ahead of the home summer, so the major calls around the make-up of the pace attack will wait a bit longer.