Chelsea now in contact to sign "powerful" £23m striker to replace Jackson

Chelsea have now made an approach to sign a “powerful” striker as a replacement for Nicolas Jackson, who could still exit Stamford Bridge this summer, despite a late twist.

Blues make approach for new striker as Jackson saga takes twist

All the indications were that Jackson was set to complete a loan move to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, but the Blues cancelled the deal before the Senagelese forward was able to complete a medical, given the recent injury to Liam Delap.

Enzo Maresca has confirmed that Delap could be set for a relatively lengthy spell on the sidelines due to a hamstring issue, saying: “Hopefully it’s not long, but this kind of case, this kind of injury, it always can be six, eight weeks.”

Understandably, Jackson is frustrated with the move not going through, having fallen down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, and there have even been recent reports suggesting the 24-year-old is now refusing to fly back to London from Munich.

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Enzo Maresca’s side are surprisingly not done with their incomings.

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As such, in a new update, David Ornstein has revealed that Chelsea would be willing to sanction a permanent departure before the transfer window closes, and they have now started running the rule over potential replacements.

Given a lack of loan options, permanent deals are being explored, with Ornstein revealing the Blues have now made an approach to sign Sporting CP striker Conrad Harder, having lodged an enquiry.

Harder is attracting widespread interest from across Europe, with RB Leipzig and AC Milan recently being named as potential suitors, and the Italian club reportedly even agreed a deal worth €27m (£23m) earlier this week.

However, it seems as though a move could be contingent on getting Jackson off the books, which could be difficult, given that Chelsea are only willing to sanction a permanent exit at this stage.

Harder would be risky signing for Chelsea

The 20-year-old is yet to prove himself in a major European league, having started his career at Nordsjaelland, before moving to Sporting, where he chipped in with a solid, if not spectacular, number of goals during the 2024-25 campaign.

Competition

Appearances

Goals

Liga Portugal

28

5

Taca de Portugal

7

5

Champions League

9

1

As such, the youngster could be a risky addition to Maresca’s squad, and the manager already has Delap on the books as an up-and-coming young striker, so there may be issues surrounding a lack of game time for one of the forwards at a later stage this season.

That’s not to say the Sporting starlet isn’t an exciting young striker, with scout Jacek Kulig praising him for his “powerful finishing”, while also claiming the Dane is a “counter-attacking threat”, who has a very good work-rate.

However, it would perhaps make more sense to hold onto the more established Jackson until the January transfer window, at which point Delap should have returned from his hamstring injury.

تعليق مثير للجدل من ماكمانامان على استبعاد محمد صلاح من تشكيل ليفربول أمام فرانكفورت

كشف ستيف ماكمانامان لاعب ليفربول وريال مدريد السابق، عن رأيه في استبعاد محمد صلاح من التشكيل الأساسي لمواجهة آينتراخت فرانكفورت، في الجولة الثالثة بمرحلة الدوري لدوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويجلس محمد صلاح على دكة بدلاء ليفربول، للمباراة الثانية على التوالي في دوري أبطال أوروبا، في رقم سلبي غير مسبوق للنجم المصري، وللمرة الأولى منذ انضمامه في عام 2017.

وقال ماكمانامان في تصريحات نشرتها “بي بي سي” البريطانية: “سيكون من المهم أكثر ألا يبدأ محمد صلاح أساسيًا أيضًا ضد برينتفورد يوم السبت المقبل”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. سلوت يبرر استبعاد محمد صلاح من تشكيل ليفربول أمام فرانكفورت

وأضاف: “من المهم أن يلعب هوجو إيكتيكي أساسيًا في تشكيل ليفربول، لأنه كان شعلة مضيئة، من المفترض أن يفوز الريدز اليوم إذا سارت الأمور على ما يرام، وسيكون غياب صلاح رسالة قوية إذا لم يلعب يوم السبت”.

ويلتقي ليفربول خارج ملعبه أمام برينتفورد يوم السبت المقبل، في إطار منافسات الجولة التاسعة من الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

£70m Man Utd star unconvinced by Amorim talks and ready to leave in January

A Manchester United star is now ready to leave in the January transfer window, despite recently holding talks with manager Ruben Amorim.

Amorim under pressure amid discontent among players

There have been widespread reports suggesting that a number of Man United players aren’t totally convinced by Amorim’s three-at-the-back system, with insider Graeme Bailey recently revealing that INEOS are furious with the leaks.

Bailey said: “The club thought they had really stamped this out, they see it as totally destructive to what they are trying to do. United firmly believe they are building something, but they won’t and can’t allow internal discontent to impact on the club as a whole.”

Things have improved slightly as of late, with United picking up two home wins on the bounce in clashes with Burnley and Chelsea, but Amorim remains under pressure, and INEOS have already started identifying potential replacements.

Target

Club

Points per match (current job)

Oliver Glasner

Crystal Palace

1.76

Marco Silva

Fulham

1.60

Mauricio Pochettino

USMNT

1.83

Andoni Iraola

AFC Bournemouth

1.45

One player who is well-known to be unhappy at Old Trafford is Kobbie Mainoo, with it recently being revealed the midfielder has been pressuring INEOS to let him join Real Madrid in January, and there has now been a new update on his future.

According to a report from The Mirror, Mainoo recently held private talks with Amorim, during which the manager revealed the central midfielder is still a part of his plans, but he has clearly been left unconvinced by the discussions.

Indeed, following the talks, the United academy graduate is now ready to leave during the January transfer window, with a place in England’s 2026 World Cup squad on the line, as Thomas Tuchel is unwilling to select the youngster unless he receives regular game time.

The 20-year-old requested a loan move in the summer, having fallen down the pecking order at Old Trafford, and he has since been unable to force his way back into Amorim’s plans.

Amorim must start giving Mainoo more game time

In all honesty, it is no surprise the England international wants to leave, given that playing at a World Cup is many players’ ultimate dream, and he is currently at serious risk of not being selected for the Three Lions next summer.

"He was our best player" – Amorim told Man Utd star is "suffering" more than Bruno in new role

He’s yet to show his best form this season…

ByTom Cunningham Sep 24, 2025

The Stockport-born midfielder has made just three substitute appearances in the Premier League this season, most recently being snubbed at half-time against Chelsea, with Amorim opting to bring Manuel Ugarte on instead after Casemiro’s red card.

The £70m-rated maestro clearly has bags of ability, perhaps most memorably putting in a top performance against Manchester City in the 2024 FA Cup final, scoring the second goal in United’s 2-1 triumph.

As such, it is very strange that Amorim is so unwilling to give Mainoo consistent game time, and if the manager doesn’t start the 10-time England international regularly before the January transfer window, he is clearly willing to push for a move.

Man Utd now handed boost to sign "incredible" £100m England international

Manchester United have now reportedly received a boost in their potential efforts to sign an England international at the end of the season.

Rooney discusses Man Utd's decline

The Red Devils have made a disappointing start to the season, although victory away to Brentford on Saturday lunchtime would be a big step in the right direction, having won at home to Chelsea last weekend.

Ruben Amorim is trying to mastermind United’s return to the top of English football, and opening up to former teammate Rio Ferdinand, attacking legend Wayne Rooney has discussed when he felt the club was declining after decades of glory.

“I think that question I asked then, in 2010, it still hasn’t been answered, been addressed, from 2010. And I think fans have seen… I don’t think, if fans look back, they’d be like, you know what, he actually seen what was coming a little bit. And I don’t think it’s been fixed since 2010.

“We obviously won the league in 2013, but lots changed, obviously. Commercially, social media, everything changed. But I still think when we lost Ronaldo and Tevez, from that moment, we got Robin in, obviously, for a couple years, but from that moment the club has never had a group of forwards like that.”

Top-quality new signings will aid United in their quest to bring back the glory days, and a positive update has emerged regarding one transfer target.

Man Utd boosted in pursuit of England international

Speaking to The United Stand [via The Peoples Person], journalist Ben Jacobs claimed that Manchester United target Adam Wharton has a “gentlemen’s agreement” to leave Crystal Palace next season.

“My understanding with Wharton is there’s kind of a gentleman’s agreement in place allowing him to leave Crystal Palace next summer, so that’s clearly going to be one to watch.

“At this stage it is simply wait and see; you’re not going to get the answers to January this early, but there is concrete possibility that if the right name becomes available, Manchester United will add a senior midfielder this season, and as I said before, it could be two midfielders.

“There’s other names that could be available mid-season if Manchester United have the funds from potentially a Kobbie Mainoo exit; we’ll have to wait and see what transpires.”

The £100m-rated Wharton is exactly the type of player United used to sign with relative ease, in terms of being a highly-rated young homegrown player with a massive future.

The 21-year-old is a fantastic prospect, playing with so much maturity in front of the defence, possessing technical quality, but also a strong defensive brain.

Man Utd now expected to make £60m offer for "physical beast" in January

The Red Devils are showing the strongest interest in a defender, with a bid planned for the upcoming transfer window.

ByDominic Lund Sep 25, 2025

Former Palace teammate Eberechi Eze has hailed Wharton as an “incredible” player and United should be viewing him as the perfect long-term replacement for Casemiro.

Problems aplenty for SRH as rampant Mumbai come to town

After starting slowly with one win in their first five, Mumbai have bounced back in style, and a victory on Wednesday will take them to third

Ekanth22-Apr-20252:02

Knight: SRH more than capable of adjusting to different conditions

Big picture: Lots to lose for SRH, lots to win for MIMixed results were an inherent risk with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) approaching batting like they have nothing to lose. It was polarising, but playing like that nearly won them IPL 2024. They won five of their first seven games last year; in IPL 2025 it’s been the opposite.The template for their success has been for Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma to get off to a flier. Them falling for low scores in that attempt was meant to happen at some point or the other. The issue, as was magnified in the last game – against the same opponents – was that the openers got stuck at times.In a way, that’s worse than getting out for low scores as the top-order batters end up using more balls, which is the pitfall of conservative batting, the style that SRH deliberately tried to avoid. The facts that Nitish Kumar Reddy averages 21 and that Heinrich Klaasen’s highest score so far this season is 35 have cascaded the effects of poor starts.Their bowling has had little to show amid all this. Mohammed Shami is averaging 52.20 and Pat Cummins 36 so far. Their spinners have taken the least wickets, and have the worst economy across teams this season.Related

Dropping catching standards in IPL – repeat offenders, biggest beneficiaries, and more

Sai Sudharsan upstages Pooran to become the new Orange Cap table-topper

Rohit stays true to himself to keep the doubts away

Teams face up to home truths in first half of IPL 2025

Mumbai Indians (MI) are perfectly placed in all of this. They built their success in the last decade by starting slow and catching up as the season progressed. They had one win after five games this season, before a hat-trick of wins lifted them to the sixth spot; one more on Wednesday will take them up to third. They lost their first three games away from home but handed Delhi Capitals (DC) their first loss of the season with a remarkable comeback win.Trent Boult has not only swung the new ball but also used his variations early on. Jasprit Bumrah is finding his rhythm after injury, but unlike most mortals, is doing it much quicker and with a lot more control. Reverse swing coming back into fold due to the use of saliva is helpful.That might be necessary in Hyderabad, which is unlikely to assist the bowlers like the slow Wankhede pitch in the previous match. What they do have, under Hardik Pandya and experienced bowlers, is the ability to suss out the conditions early and try out multiple plans.Form GuideSunrisers Hyderabad LWLLL (last five matches, most recent first)
Mumbai Indians WWWLLIn the spotlight: Nitish Kumar Reddy and Mitchell SantnerMI’s turnaround win against DC was set up by Mitchell Santner dismissing Karun Nair with a jaffa that pitched around middle and off and clipped top of off. That was a shortish ball at 90ks. But he can also loop a ball at 77ks, draw a batter forward and have him stumped, like he did to Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Shaik Rasheed. His ability to bowl defensively or aggressively on demand makes him a more conditions-agnostic fingerspinner than most others.Nitish Kumar Reddy has had a sharp dip in form. He has scored 131 runs at an average of 21.33 and a strike rate of 113.91 in seven games. He hasn’t bowled yet either. SRH probably need a batter who can bat long, but Reddy hasn’t been successful in doing that so far.The return of Jasprit Bumrah has made Mumbai that much more formidable•AFP/Getty ImagesTeam news and likely XIIsSRH brought in Rahul Chahar as their impact player in the last game based on conditions. They also left out Abhinav Manohar upon batting first. They might need to bring back Manohar or perhaps introduce Atharva Taide to strengthen their line-up.Sunrisers Hyderabad: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Aniket Verma, 7 Abhinav Manohar/Atharva Taide, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Zeeshan Ansari, 12 Eshan Malinga/Wiaan MulderMumbai Indians (MI) are unlikely to make a change given their success in the last game given all players remain fit. They are also well balanced with seven bowling options, Will Jacks included, and seven specialist batters and Santner, who is handy at No. 8.Mumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Ryan Rickelton (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Tilak Varma, 5 Hardik Pandya (capt), 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Mitchell Santner, 9 Deepak Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit Bumrah, 12 Ashwani KumarThe big questionPitch and ConditionsThe pitch at Hyderabad is likely to be a belter not just because that’s generally the case but also because SRH’s batters need to turn a corner. There have been four scores of 240-plus this season in eight innings so far, so expect a lot of runs. It’s going to be a warm evening after a hot day, where the max temperature is forecast to be 38° celsius in Hyderabad.Sunrisers will be looking for more from Pat Cummins in the remaining games•BCCIStats and Trivia Hyderabad as a ground has the highest strike-rate amongst batters and also the place where most sixes have been hit this season. MI’s batters averaged 28.50 and scored at a run rate of 8.60 in their first four games, but those numbers have shot up to 36.04 and 10.25 respectively in the last four. MI’s run-rate of 10.51 in the middle overs since April 7 is the best among all teams. Quotes”It’s just a game but emotional playing at my home-ground. So I just want to do my basics right and do well for the team.”
Tilak Varma on playing for an away team in Hyderabad

Arshdeep moves into top three on IPL 2025 Purple Cap table after PBKS vs LSG

Purple Cap table

Arshdeep Singh’s superb spell against LSG has taken him to third place on the Purple Cap table. He registered figures of 3 for 16 from his four overs to help PBKS seal a 37-run win in Dharamsala, and now has 16 wickets in ten bowling innings this season.Gujarat Titans’ (GT) Prasidh Krishna continues to lead the table with 19 wickets from ten innings, while Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB) Josh Hazlewood is second with 18 wickets from the same number of outings.There are two other players on 16 wickets along with Arshdeep – Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) Noor Ahmad and Mumbai Indians’ (MI) Trent Boult. But Arshdeep remains above them because of his superior average and economy rate.Another player to move up the Purple Cap table after the double-header was KKR’s Varun Chakravarthy, who is now on 15 wickets following his 2 for 32 against RR.

Orange Cap table

While the top three on the Orange Cap leaderboard remain unchanged from Saturday, there’s a new name in fourth position. RR opener Yashasvi Jaiswal has moved to just behind the top three with 473 runs from 12 innings following his 34 off 21 balls against KKR.RCB’s Virat Kohli leads the list with 505 runs from 11 innings, and GT’s B Sai Sudharsan is second, just one run behind Kohli from one fewer innings. MI’s Suryakumar Yadav is at No. 3 with 475 runs.Another player to have made some gains is PBKS opener Prabhsimran Singh, who went past Nicholas Pooran to move to No. 7. His 91 off 48 balls took his tally to 437 runs in 11 games. LSG’s Pooran, who was on top of the batting charts for the best part of in the first half of the tournament, has fallen behind after average returns in the last few games and is now at No. 8.Jos Buttler (GT, 470 runs), Shubman Gill (GT, 465 runs) are fifth and sixth on this table, respectively.You can also take a look at what ESPNcricinfo MVP table looks like at this stage.Here are some other IPL 2025 tables.

  • Highest batting strike rates
  • Best bowling economy rates
  • Most sixes
  • Best bowling figures in a match

Ethan Nwaneri the 'star of the show' and Jamie Gittens scores a beauty as England Under-21s earn impressive win in Moldova

Ethan Nwaneri produced a scintillating performance to help England Under-21s secure an impressive 4-0 victory over Moldova in a European Championship qualifier. The Arsenal attacking midfielder recorded two assists on the night, including setting up a stunning effort from Chelsea winger Jamie Gittens, as the Three Lions maintained their perfect record in qualifying after two matches.

Nwaneri sets up Gittens' stunning first-half strike

Operating with plenty of freedom as a number 10, Nwaneri played a crucial role as England broke the deadlock after 28 minutes. The 18-year-old attracted two Moldova players as he made a brilliant run before offloading the ball to Gittens, who cut inside and found the bottom corner with a fantastic strike. It was Gittens’ first U21s goal since scoring in his side’s 7-0 thrashing of Luxembourg back in March 2024.

AdvertisementArsenal youngster plays key role in England's next two goals

And Nwaneri picked up where he left off after the half-time interval, playing a delightful pass through to Manchester City striker Divin Mubama who doubled England’s lead after 68 minutes. Nwaneri was involved yet again moments later as another clever through ball found Fulham midfielder Josh King, who was brought down inside the area for a penalty. Mubama was given the responsibility for the spot-kick and he coolly slotted the ball home to make it 3-0 to the visitors, who then added a fourth late on through City defender Rico Lewis.

Getty Images SportVictory over Moldova sees England maintain perfect record

The victory over Moldova ensured England kept up their perfect record in qualification for the European Championship, having beaten Kazakhstan U21s 2-0 in their opening fixture in September. Lee Carsley’s side briefly topped Group D following the win over Moldova but the 2-2 draw between the Republic of Ireland and Slovakia saw both sides move above them. They have played one game more than England, however.

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Nwaneri hoping England form leads to more Arsenal minutes

Nwaneri will be hoping his fine form during the international break will help him secure more first-team minutes at Arsenal. The youngster has found opportunities hard to come by in 2025-26, having been an unused substitute in five of Arsenal’s 10 fixtures in all competitions this season. However, with Martin Odegaard having sustained a knee injury in the Gunners’ 2-0 Premier League victory over West Ham before the international break, manager Mikel Arteta will be considering who is best placed to replace his captain when his side return to action against Fulham on Saturday, 18 October. And Nwaneri has done his chances no harm after starring in a midfield role in England U21s’ win over Moldova, with many believing he is better when deployed in the middle of the park rather than out wide.

Kelly and Carter to lead New Zealand A in Bangladesh

The tour comprises three one-day games and two four-dayers

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Apr-2025

Nick Kelly was among the debutants against Pakistan•Getty Images

Nick Kelly and Joe Carter will captain New Zealand A on their upcoming tour of Bangladesh with the squad also featuring recent debutants Rhys Mariu and Muhammad Abbas.Kelly will lead the one-day side which will be play three 50-over matches before handing over to Carter for the two four-day games.Kelly, Mariu and Abbas all made their debuts against Pakistan in the series which finished earlier this month. Allrounder Abbas was particularly eye-catching with the fastest ODI fifty on debut from 24 balls. Kelly and Mariu were the two leading run-scorers in the Plunket Shield.Carter, 32, impressed on New Zealand A’s last visit to the subcontinent, in India during 2022, averaging 60.40 and scoring two centuries, including a career-best 197.Wicketkeeper Mitch Hay, who made an unbeaten 99 against Pakistan in Hamilton, is part of the squad alongside allrounder Josh Clarkson.The pace attack also features players with international experience in Zak Foulkes and Ben Lister. Legspinner Adi Ashok, who was in the squad against Pakistan having previously played in 2023, has also been included.”For several players it will be their first time experiencing subcontinent conditions, which will be a great challenge and opportunity to further their skillsets,” Bob Carter, who will coach the side, said.The one-day games take place on May 5, 7 and 10 in Sylhet followed by the first four-game from May 14-17 at the same venue before the second takes place in Dhaka from May 21-24.New Zealand A squad vs Bangladesh AMuhammad Abbas, Adi Ashok, Matt Boyle, Joe Carter (red-ball captain), Kristian Clarke, Josh Clarkson, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Mitch Hay, Curtis Heaphy, Nick Kelly (white-ball captain), Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Rhys Mariu, Dale Phillips

Martin can save his job by benching Aasgaard for Rangers' "best player"

After yet another dismal result on Saturday, the pressure has only intensified further on Glasgow Rangers manager Russell Martin.

At the weekend, the Gers suffered their first Premiership defeat of the season, beaten 2-0 by Heart of Midlothian; the Jambos’ securing a first victory at Ibrox since 2014.

However, having drawn their previous four league matches, this is the Light Blues’ worst start to a season since 1978, sat tenth in the table, not forgetting the fact that they were embarrassingly hammered 9-1 on aggregate by Club Brugge in the Champions League play-offs too.

Speaking on Sky Sports News shortly after full-time, Rangers legend Kris Boyd labelled it “terrible” and “embarrassing”, noting that Hearts supporters started signing “you’re getting sacked in the morning”, only for Rangers supporters to join in.

The Gers’ next fixture is Saturday evening’s League Cup quarter-final against in-form Hibernian so, for Martin to save his job, he simply must reintegrate the club’s “best player” ahead of that huge tie.

That, however, might involved dropping Thelo Aasgaard.

What Thelo Aasgaard should bring to Rangers

Few enjoyed a more productive international break than Aasgaard who, after coming off the bench in the 64th minute on Tuesday, scored four times as Norway crushed Moldova 11-1 in a World Cup qualifier in Oslo.

This means the Merseyside-born Norwegian has now netted five goals in just three international caps, opening his account on debut in the reverse fixture in Chișinău earlier this year.

Over the summer, the 23-year-old joined Rangers for £3.5m from Luton Town, following their relegation to EFL League One, just six months after moving to the Hatters from Wigan for around £3m.

At the time of his arrival in Glasgow, Kai Watson was certainly excited, noting that his “stock has massively risen” in recent months, labelling him a “technical dribbler”, believing he can play as an attacking midfielder or out-wide.

Well, Rangers supporters are yet to see very much of that so far, yet to register either a goal or an assist in six appearances for the club.

Against Hearts on Saturday, Aasgaard touched the ball 67 times, only defenders James Tavernier (106) and John Souttar (103) accumulated more, but he did very little with it, completing just 77% of his passes, losing possession on 16 occasions, the second most of any Rangers player.

After the match, he was confronted by angry supporters in the car park, repeatedly saying “I understand, I understand”, but should Aasgaard be the man taken out of the team against Hibs, because it would allow Rangers’ “best player” to return?

Rangers' "best player" can save Martin

Last season, during a generally miserable campaign, Nicolas Raskin was a rare shining light, thereby named the club’s player of the year and players’ player of the year at the end of the season awards.

The table below emphasises his importance.

Raskin 2024/25 stats

Statistics

Raskin

Rangers rank

Minutes

3,591

3rd

Goals

5

5th

Assists

11

1st

Shots

53

7th

Shots on target

23

5th

Completed passes

392

1st

Key passes

12

4th

Passes into final 3rd

41

1st

Progressive passes

37

3rd

Shot-creating actions

20

4th

Tackles

44

1st

Interceptions

40

3rd

Ball recoveries

89

1st

Touches

639

1st

Note: stats are Premiership and UEL only.

All statistics courtesy of FBref

As the table documents, Raskin ranked in the top five for pretty much every metric we could find last season, ranging from goals, assists and chances created, as well as passing, touches and defensive statistics, including tackles and ball recoveries.

Thus, one would assume a new manager would want to make the Belgian international a central pillar of their team, but Martin has had other ideas.

Across Rangers’ 12 matches this season, Raskin has started six, come off the bench in three and not even been among the substitutes for the other three, including the Old Firm as well as Saturday’s defeat to Hearts.

It has been widely reported that the midfielder and the manager have had a falling out, with Martin claiming this has been “resolved”, but this didn’t appear to be the case as Raskin watched on bereft from the director’s box at the weekend, with presenter Darrell Currie mystified as to how they can leave “their best player in the stand”.

Instead, Martin started Mohamed Diomandé, Connor Barron and the aforementioned Aasgaard as his midfield three, but fair to say they were ineffective.

A week ago, Raskin was on target during Belgium’s 6-0 demolition of Kazakhstan in a World Cup qualifier at Stade Constant Vanden Stock, completing a midfield trio alongside Youri Tielemans and Kevin De Bruyne, which isn’t bad, is it?

This has only made Rangers supporters even more irate, exclaiming if he’s good enough to start for Belgium, surely he should be starting for his club, so if Martin harbours any hopes of turning things around, he simply must reintegrate his star man ahead of Aasgaard.

Martin must not play 6/10 Rangers duo together for Miovski's sake

Russell Martin must not play these two Rangers players together for Bojan Miovski’s sake.

By
Dan Emery

Sep 13, 2025

DC bowl with Porel out; no Chahal for PBKS

Karun Nair was back in Delhi Capitals’ XI, while Sediqullah Atal made his debut

ESPNcricinfo staff24-May-20253:40

Kumble: Young Indian players key in PBKS’ success

Faf du Plessis stood in as captain for Delhi Capitals (DC) for the second game in a row, and opted to bowl in their final game of the season, against Punjab Kings (PBKS). DC’s regular captain Axar Patel had missed their previous match, against Mumbai Indians three days back, due to a flu, and continued to remain out of action.Du Plessis said at the toss that they were playing an extra batter in Karun Nair, with Abishek Porel dropped, and KL Rahul once again starting on the bench in their bowling-first XI. Tristan Stubbs will slot in as wicketkeeper in Porel’s place. DC also handed an IPL debut to Afghanistan’s opening batter Sediqullah Atal, with Dushmantha Chameera making way.PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer, meanwhile, wants his side to build on the momentum even as they are already into the playoffs. PBKS have won three games in a row going back to when the IPL hadn’t been disrupted, and had last played six days back, when they beat Rajasthan Royals in Jaipur itself.PBKS played the returning Josh Inglis and Marcus Stoinis in their batting-first XI, as they replaced Mitchell Owen and Xavier Bartlett from the side that beat RR.Victory over DC will push PBKS up to 19 points, and with that, the No. 1 spot in the points table.PBKS bat-first XI: 1 Prabhsimran Singh, 2 Priyansh Arya, 3 Josh Inglis (wk), 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt), 5 Nehal Wadhera, 6 Shashank Singh, 7 Marcus Stoinis, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Azmatullah Omarzai, 10 Harpreet Brar, 11 Arshdeep SinghImpact Subs: Pravin Dubey, Suryansh Shedge, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Xavier Bartlett, Kyle JamiesonDC bowl-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis (capt), 2 Sediqullah Atal, 3 Karun Nair, 4 Sameer Rizvi, 5 Tristan Stubbs (wk), 6 Ashutosh Sharma, 7 Vipraj Nigam, 8 Kuldeep Yadav, 9 Mohit Sharma, 10 Mustafizur Rahman, 11 Mukesh KumarImpact Subs: KL Rahul, Manvanth Kumar, Tripurna Vijay, Ajay Mandal, Darshan Nalkande

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