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Setting their sights on a new target, Newcastle United have now reportedly joined the race to sign a Bundesliga forward who could arrive instead of Hugo Ekitike this summer.

Newcastle scout Ekitike alternative

Whilst it seems as though a fresh striker is the last thing that Newcastle need, the fact that Callum Wilson is currently on course to leave as a free agent this summer means that they could do with depth behind Alexander Isak.

It is also worth noting that the interest in signing Isak only looks likely to increase as the summer approaches, igniting a transfer window saga which may last until the very end.

Currently, Newcastle’s reported £160m valuation looks as though it could fend off any potential suitors, but if that does not prove to be the case then having added firepower from the bench will prove to be no bad thing.

More assists than Gordon: Newcastle plotting move to sign "terrific" star

He’s enjoying an excellent season.

ByTom Cunningham Mar 20, 2025

That said, the main name mentioned on that front has been Ekitike. The Magpies very nearly signed the Frenchman before he ultimately chose to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2021 and have now reportedly ignited their interest as he rediscovers his best form at Eintracht Frankfurt.

However, the forward isn’t the only Bundesliga star on their list of options. According to The Boot Room, Newcastle have now joined the race to sign Jonathan Burkardt from Mainz this summer after sending their scouts to watch the impressive goalscorer.

Like Ekitike, Burkardt has enjoyed an excellent season in the Bundesliga to earn his way onto Newcastle’s radar alongside the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur. Potentially left with a major decision to make when the transfer window opens, the German could be on his way to St James’ Park.

"Marksman" Burkardt is more clinical than Ekitike

Although Burkardt steals fewer headlines than Ekitike, he has been in more clinical form than the Frenchman in the Bundesliga this season – even matching a long-standing Mainz record by scoring 15 Bundesliga goals in a single campaign.

Becoming the first Mainz player to do so since Shinji Okazaki in the 2013/14 campaign, the 24-year-old could now follow the same path as the former Premier League forward, courtesy of Newcastle.

Starts

21

23

Goals

15

13

Assists

2

4

Expected Goals

10.9

17.5

Dubbed a “marksman” by OptaFranz after he scored his 15th goal of the season, Burkardt has been more ruthless than ever in front of goal this season – almost outperforming his xG by five goals.

In comparison, Ekitike has underperformed by over four goals, albeit whilst creating more than his Bundesliga counterpart. Two strikers who carry different traits, Newcastle must decide whether they want a clinical finisher or the more creative Ekitike.

When the summer arrives, the Magpies’ striker department will certainly be one to watch as Wilson departs, interest in Isak arrives and decisions are made over deals for Ekitike and Burkardt.

Turning their attention towards the summer transfer window, Aston Villa have now been given their answer in pursuit of signing one particular attacking reinforcement on a permanent basis.

Aston Villa receive fresh sale stance

Whilst Unai Emery’s side have struggled to maintain their push to finish inside the Premier League’s top four this season, they have at least enjoyed their European exploits and are gunning to shock the rest of the Champions League.

After thrashing Club Brugge, the Midlands club are set to square off against Paris Saint-Germain in what could see Emery get one over on his former club and reach the last four.

Once again it was Marco Asensio who stole the show, netting twice to score his sixth and seventh Aston Villa goal and continue what has been an impressive loan spell.

At times he has left the Villans with little choice but to consider his permanent arrival, so much so that they’ve now received their answer over that possibility. According to reports in Spain, PSG are now willing to sell Asensio for just €30m (£25m) this summer amid interest over a permanent deal from Aston Villa.

A multiple-time Champions League winner and someone who has already proved his quality in abundance at Villa Park, there’s every chance that Asensio could be among the bargains of the summer.

Stronger than McGinn: Aston Villa racing Real Madrid to sign "superb" teen

He’s one to watch…

By
Tom Cunningham

Mar 14, 2025

Those in the Midlands are already set to get a glimpse of what life without the Spaniard is like when they square off against PSG and he is unable to play against his parent club and they won’t want to see that glimpse become their reality.

"Special" Asensio has earned permanent move

If there were any doubts over Asensio’s ability to steal the headlines on the biggest stage after a mixed spell at PSG, then those have swiftly been put to bed at Aston Villa.

Scoring seven goals for Emery’s side to take his total to nine for the season at Villa and PSG combined, the 29-year-old has more than earned the chance to complete a permanent move this summer.

Earning plenty of praise as a result of his form, Andros Townsend told BBC Radio 5 Live’s Football Daily Podcast when asked about Asensio: “He is a special, special talent. He always has been. He struggled with a knee injury, which stopped him from being world class, but as we have seen since he has been at Villa, he is still a top, top player.”

Still within four points of the top four, if Aston Villa are to climb back into Champions League qualification then Asensio will no doubt be among the key players to play a crucial part.

Meanwhile, the former Real Madrid star must hope that his teammates get the job done in his absence against PSG in the Champions League.

Neymar has issued a grovelling apology after his needless red card for a blatant handball proved costly in Santos' loss to Botafogo on Sunday.

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• Neymar issued apology after handball red card
• Brazil star claimed first yellow card could have been avoided
• Botafogo beat Santos 1-0 with late goal

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Neymar was sent off in the 76th minute after he picked up a second yellow card for punching the ball into the net. The Brazil icon's absence proved costly as Botafogo scored the winning goal 10 minutes later and secured a crucial three points in Brazil's Serie A.

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• WHAT NEYMAR SAID

  After the game, the 33-year-old attacker posted an apology on social media as he wrote: "Desperation of scoring sometimes causes us to commit mistakes… I want to apologise to my teammates and also to the fans! I made a mistake, forgive me!!! Today, if I didn't get sent off, I’m sure we could get the 3 points.. Congratulations to the team for today's game! Those 3 points can be put on my account!!!"

  IG:@neymarjr

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Neymar also claimed that he was wrongfully shown his first yellow card, thereby indicating that his sending off could have been avoided, as he added: "Note: second yellow has to be given, but the first one is the judge's drainage, I made a mistake and I'm already taking yellow… What a bad judge. That's just my opinion…please don't punish me anymore."

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Santos will be back in action in the Brazilian top division on June 13 as they take on Fortaleza away from home – but they will be without the suspended Neymar.

Manchester United will end the 2024-25 campaign without winning two Premier League matches in a row for the first time in history.

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• Man Utd make unwanted history
• Beaten 1-0 by Chelsea
• United remained winless in eight league matches

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• AFP
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  United's winless run in the Premier League extended to eight matches on Sunday, when they lost 1-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Marc Cucurella scored the only goal of the game in the 71st minute as Ruben Amorim's side suffered their 18th league defeat in the 2024-25 campaign.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  With the loss, the Red Devils also made unwanted history as for the first time, the club will end a season without stringing two wins in a row together in the Premier League. This is also the first time that United have gone through eight straight league matches without a win.

• AFP
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  While United's misery continued, this was a much-needed victory for Enzo Maresca's Blues, who are pushing for a top-five finish which will secure a Champions League slot for next season.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Amorim's side will now aim to end what has been a nightmare season with a trophy as they are all set to face Tottenham in the Europa League final on May 21.

Ruben Amorim will pay out of his own pocket for 30 members of his background staff and their families to attend the Europa League final.

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United won't provide free tickets to staffAmorim offers to pay for support team and familiesRed Devils face Tottenham in next week's finalFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

United's coaches, physios and support team were told they would have to pay for their own tickets for the clash in Bilbao, but reports that the manager has pledged to pay for his team and their families to attend the game to reward their contribution to the campaign. The report says the Portuguese told the club he would cover the costs so that each member, including low-paid staff, could take up to two guests.

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It was revealed this week that United will not offer free tickets to the final to staff and will instead offer a screening of the match along with two free drinks. United and Tottenham have been allocated 15,000 match tickets each, but Spurs will offer one free ticket to all of their 700 employees.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Red Devils have also opted against holding a bus parade of Manchester if they win the clash with their Premier League rivals and are reportedly set to host a barbecue instead.

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

Amorim's men take on Chelsea in the Premier League on Friday while Tottenham face Aston Villa on the same evening before the pair travel to Bilbao for the final on May 21.

Carlo Ancelotti has praised the ever-improving Arda Guler and said that he is going to be a "very important player" for Real Madrid in the future.

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Guler struggled for game time Ancelotti praises Real Madrid aceWill be "very important player"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Despite struggling for regular game time, Madrid boss Ancelotti has talked up the Turkish international's quality and claimed that one day he will be a "fantastic" central player. The Italian added that the 20-year-old has a huge amount of potential.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesWHAT ANCELOTTI SAID

He told reporters: "He has progressed very well. He has become more important. In the future he will have even more prominence. He is showing quality and he is having more continuity in the game. I think he’s going to be a fantastic central player, and not just a winger. For the future of Real Madrid he is going to be a very important player, because there are not many players of this profile in midfield."

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Guler has played 37 times for Madrid this season, scoring four goals and bagging eight assists. But just 13 of those have been starts, leading to speculation over a move this summer. But it seems Los Blancos want to keep the youngster, despite the mounting interest.

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

Guler, whose contract at Santiago Bernabeu runs until 2029, will hope to feature for Madrid at home to Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday.

Chelsea are now in constant contact over a potential move to sign another forward this month, however, the Blues target is keen to join rivals Arsenal.

Chelsea transfer latest

Chelsea are expected to be one of the Premier League’s busiest sides in the final days of the transfer window, with Enzo Maresca’s side still looking to do plenty of deals both in and out.

Trevoh Chalobah has returned from loan at Crystal Palace to help fill their gap in defence, but that could push Axel Disasi out of the club in the next few days, while Renato Veiga is on the verge of joining Juventus on loan and Ben Chilwell has been expected to leave all winter but is yet to depart.

Further forward, Carney Chukwuemeka is free to leave the club, while Cesare Casadei could also follow him with the Blues believed to be in talks to send the Italian back to Serie A permanently.

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But it is in attack that most speculation has arisen this month. Christopher Nkunku is still seemingly open to an exit and Chelsea have been exploring opportunities to sign a new forward using the Frenchman as a makeweight, with his name mentioned in discussions to sign both Mathys Tel and also Alejandro Garnacho.

In the case of the former, it is reported that Tel is not considering Chelsea as a viable option this month despite not playing a minute in any of Bayern Munich’s last three outings.

Meanwhile, Garnacho could well be linked to Nkunku, with Manchester United interested in the Frenchman should the Argentine move to west London. Now though, the Blues are thought to be making a late move to try and beat Arsenal to one of their attacking targets.

Chelsea in constant contact with striker's agent

That is according to a report from TEAMtalk, who claim that Chelsea are “in constant contact” with the agent of RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko and could yet attempt to make a move this week.

Sesko’s future has been widely speculated about this month, but Leipzig boss Marco Rose insisted he plans to keep his striker at the club until at least the summer.

Asked about his plans to keep Sesko, Rose simply responded “Yes, that’s still the case!”. However, the forward, who has been dubbed a “special player” at Leipzig, remains in the headlines amid suggestions that he has a £70m price tag on his head as things stand.

Benjamin Sesko in the Bundesliga 24/25

Appearances

18

Goals

8

Assists

2

Minutes per goal contribution

129

He reportedly is keen on a move to Arsenal and has picked the Gunners as his next destination, but TEAMtalk suggest that Chelsea are doing their bit to convince him to move to west London instead, with the club “in constant contact with the agents” of Sesko, and having hosted them at Stamford Bridge recently.

It is added that “Chelsea are considering a bid for Sesko before the end of the January window” as they look to bolster their frontline, with Liam Delap another forward that they hold an interest in.

A deal seems unlikely though, with Sesko still having four and a half years left to run on his £92,000 a week deal in Leipzig and the German side unlikely to want to lose one of their key men this close to the transfer deadline. For all the same reasons that Arsenal are seemingly unlikely to land the Slovenian this month, Chelsea may have to wait until the summer.

Northamptonshire 353 for 7 (Rickelton 95, Procter 78, Young 61) lead Gloucestershire 317 (Bracey 79, Dent 54, Higgins 50) by 36 runsRyan Rickelton fell five short of a century as Northamptonshire built a first-innings lead over Gloucestershire on the second day of the LV= Insurance County Championship match at Cheltenham College.The 26-year-old member of South Africa’s Test squad, already with two Championship hundreds under his belt in his first three games for Northants, hit 13 fours and a six in helping them post 353 for seven in reply to Gloucestershire’s 317.Luke Procter contributed 78 and skipper Will Young 61, while left-arm spinner Zafar Gohar clamed four for 93 from 31 overs.Overcast conditions offered encouragement to the home seam attack when Northants began the day on 30 without loss.With 16 runs added, Emilio Gay pushed half forward to a delivery from David Payne and fell lbw for 15.But that was as good as it got for Gloucestershire as Young and Rickelton settled in to enjoy full value for their shots on the parched College Ground outfield.There were plenty of sweetly-timed drives from both Test players, Young moving to a 109-ball half-century with a straight six off Zafar.The New Zealander had also struck 10 crisp fours and it was a major surprise when he fell just before lunch, caught behind pushing forward to Zafar with the score on 132.Three runs were added before lunch was taken at 135 for two, from 40 overs, with Rickelton unbeaten on 42.The in-form left-hander went to fifty off 90 balls, with eight fours, at the start of the afternoon session and celebrated by sweeping a six over deep square off Zafar.It proved a frustrating session for Gloucestershire’s bowlers. Procter had to battle for his runs and on 32 edged Ryan Higgins between wicketkeeper James Bracey and a wide first slip.Rickelton was given a life on 88, driving a wide ball from Higgins to short cover where Miles Hammond spilled a chance he would have expected to take.It looked likely to prove an expensive miss when the century stand between Rickelton and Procter was brought up in 34.3 overs.But, with his score on 95 and the total 245, Rickelton got a touch to a leg side delivery from Zafar and Bracey took an excellent catch to his right standing up to the stumps.Rickelton departed having taken his run tally in seven Championship innings for Northants to 471 at an average of 78.5.Tea was taken immediately, with Northants 72 behind and still having seven wickets in hand. On the resumption, Procter reached his half-century, having faced 116 deliveries and hit 7 fours.Tom Taylor could make only a single before falling leg before to Zafar to make it 257 for four. The second new ball was then taken and accounted for Rob Keogh, caught and bowled by Zak Chappell off a leading edge for 13.Gloucestershire looked back in the game when Procter was bowled by Tom Price to end a 170-ball innings featuring 10 fours, with Northants still 18 runs behind.But Lewis McManus put the visitors in front with a glorious cover driven four off Price and then swept Zafar for six on his return to the attack.With a fourth batting point in the bag, McManus became Zafar’s fourth victim, bowled sweeping for a useful 29. James Sales was unbeaten on 21 at stumps, with his side 36 runs ahead.

Smriti Mandhana’s unbeaten 42-ball 63 against Pakistan in the Commonwealth Games has taken her one spot up to third in the women’s T20I rankings for batters.Mandhana’s power-packed half-century helped her go past Sophie Devine into the top three, and within two rating points of Beth Mooney, who is placed second. Meg Lanningis top of the pile.Related

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Mandhana has been No. 3 on the T20I batters’ list previously as well – first in 2019 and more recently in October last year.The rankings were updated after six T20Is at the Commonwealth Games. Suzie Bates, on the back of her 91 not out off 64 balls against South Africa, jumped two slots, leapfrogging Alyssa Healy and Chamari Athapaththu to move to sixth place.Harmanpreet Kaur, who scored a half-century in the CWG opener against Australia, moved four places to 14th position.Ashleigh Gardner, the Australia allrounder, was one of the biggest gainers, moving in all three T20I lists. Her match-winning 52 not out in the opening game against India propelled her five places to 11th on the batters’ list. She then shone with the ball against Barbados, returning 2 for 6 in a crushing nine-wicket win that saw her jump from 45th to 26th on the bowlers’ list. Gardner also moved to a career-best third on the allrounders’ rankings – a jump of four places.On the bowlers’ table, Jess Jonassen, who returned 4 for 22 against India, moved up two spots to fourth position, with Sophie Ecclestone still in the lead.Megan Schutt and Amelia Kerr have moved up one spot each to seventh and eighth respectively. Hayley Matthews is the lone new face in the top ten of the bowlers’ rankings, replacing Ayabonga Khaka.

Lasith Malinga, the former fast bowler and captain, has been appointed Sri Lanka’s bowling strategy coach for the white-ball leg of the team’s home series against Australia, which gets underway on June 7 in Colombo.”Malinga, during the tour, will support Sri Lanka’s bowlers, providing tactical insight and technical expertise to help the on-field execution of strategic plans,” SLC said via a press release.Malinga had held a similar role when Sri Lanka visited Australia for a five-match T20I series in February this year. While Sri Lanka lost 4-1, the bowlers did manage to keep a lid on the scoring to an extent. The highest total that Australia could manage across five games was 164 for 6.Related

• Near full-strength Australia brace for trial by spin as Sri Lanka search for formula

• Sri Lanka call up Matheesha Pathirana, Nuwanidu Fernando for T20I series against Australia

• Malinga appointed Sri Lanka's bowling strategy coach for Australia tour

• Malinga named Rajasthan Royals' fast-bowling coach for IPL 2022

“Sri Lanka Cricket is confident that Malinga’s vast experience and renowned death-bowling expertise, especially in the T20 format, will help the team immensely going into this all-important series,” the release added.Malinga, one of the greatest limited-overs fast bowlers Sri Lanka has produced, retired from all forms of the game in 2021. He was the leading wicket-taker in T20Is at the time with a tally of 107 in 84 outings, before being overtaken by Shakib Al Hasan.Malinga served as bowling mentor of Mumbai Indians, back in IPL 2018, and more recently, was Rajasthan Royals’ fast-bowling coach, in 2022. The Sanju Samson-led Royals reached the final of the tournament for the first time since winning the trophy in 2008 but lost to Gujarat Titans by seven wickets. Through the course of the season, several Royals players, including the likes of Trent Boult, praised Malinga for his ability to simplify the art of T20 bowling.Sri Lanka will host Australia for three T20Is, five ODIs and three Tests. Cricket Australia had been monitoring the ongoing unrest in the island, sparked by an economic crisis, but they were always confident the tour would go ahead as planned.Sri Lanka’s Matheesha Pathirana and Nuwanidu Fernando earned maiden call-ups for the T20I series, while there was no place in the team for allrounder Dhananajaya de Silva or wicketkeeper batters Dinesh Chandimal and Niroshan Dickwella, all of whom played a key role during Sri Lanka’s 1-0 win in the two-Test series in Bangladesh last month.Pathirana, 19, earned a call-up on the back of an impressive stint with Chennai Super Kings, in the IPL. While he played only three matches, his unorthodox action turned a lot of heads.