Heading into the weekend game against Manchester City, many Newcastle United fans were apprehensive. After all, Eddie Howe’s side have been out of sorts this season, and City rarely lose to the Tynesiders.

But Newcastle reminded the Premier League of their quality with an emphatic 2-1 win over Pep Guardiola’s outfit. United remain bogged down in 14th place, but only six points separate them and Aston Villa in the top four.

There were a few changes at St. James’ Park, and it underscored a wider shift at the club that could see a number of Howe’s mainstays move on in 2026.

The Newcastle stars who might be leaving in 2026

The midfield is the beating heart of Newcastle’s system. While Joelinton continues to look like the weak link, at the weekend he was back to his physical and rip-roaring best.

However, it’s difficult to imagine Newcastle would have claimed all three points had Lewis Hall and Tino Livramento not been reinstated on the defensive flanks. The young full-backs rewrite the tactical script, adding a new dimension and playing into Howe’s transitional emphasis.

This, of course, could spell the end for Kieran Trippier and Dan Burn, both of whom have deputised in the absence of the injured younger men this season. However, Newcastle are limited in their mobility and dynamism when the veterans start.

There is another member of Howe’s United backline whose future is somewhat uncertain too, and it’s far more concerning that this star’s level has dipped.

Newcastle mainstay is on borrowed time

When Newcastle signed Sven Botman in 2022, it was regarded as a coup for one of Europe’s most talented up-and-coming centre-backs.

He was a colossus across the 2022/23 campaign, steering Newcastle into the Champions League and being lauded for his “incredible impact” by pundit Leon Osman.

Commanding and cool-headed, Botman is the prototypical central defender for a side competing for trophies, with his calculated and accurate passing crucial for his side’s presence on the ball. As per FBref, he ranks among the top 13% of positional peers in England’s top flight for chances created per 90 (0.55).

However, injuries have since laid waste to the 25-year-old’s hopes of sustaining good form on Tyneside, and he now faces a fight to recover his place in the starting line-up, having been benched for the recent win in the Premier League.

Sven Botman – Premier League Career by Season

Season

Apps

Minutes

25/26

10

659′

24/25

8

415′

23/24

17

1,378′

22/23

36

3,129′

Data via Transfermarkt

Thiaw’s emergence as a top Premier League defender this season has coincided with Botman’s own struggles for fluency and strength in Howe’s system.

This is a centre-half whose attack on the English game after joining from Lille in 2022 was widely lauded. He was “a monster in his debut season”, according to reporter Charlie Bennett, who then acknowledged that the Netherlands international has since been “glued to the treatment table”.

As Thiaw goes from strength to strength, there is only so much leeway Botman can be afforded. Schar was immense in his place against Man City, but the 33-year-old is out of a deal at the end of the season.

After a solid start to the season, Botman’s form has slumped. Newcastle reporter Joel Brand even said he was “utterly embarrassing” during the loss at Brentford earlier this month.

Should he leave, Newcastle will need to search for a replacement, and that could lead to Botman falling down the pecking order and a far cry away from that pedestal he stood on before injuries gripped him.

Related Newcastle have already got a bigger talent than Barnes who's "like Mbappe"

Newcastle United have a bigger talent than Harvey Barnes in an 18-year-old who is similar to Kylian Mbappe.

Posts ByKelan Sarson Nov 24, 2025

Lionel Messi reportedly reached a complete agreement to rejoin Barcelona in 2023 and an official contract was drafted to welcome back their greatest legend, but the move never materialised. Messi left his boyhood club in 2021 as a free agent after spending almost two decades there. He then completed a high-profile free transfer to Paris Saint-Germain, where he spent two years before heading to Inter Miami in the United States.

• Messi didn't get proper goodbye

  The Argentine legend was prevented from saying his goodbyes on the field in Catalunya when announcing an emotional departure from the Liga giants in 2021 after his contract expired. With Barcelona unable to fund a contract extension at that point due to severe financial constraints, Messi left for Paris Saint-Germain as a free agent.

  His stint in the French capital lasted for two years and in between, he completed his lifelong dream of winning the World Cup with Argentina as he led La Albiceleste to their third title in Qatar.

Advertisement

• Getty Images
  

  Homecoming almost went through in 2023

  According to , Messi expressed his desire to return to Barcelona for the first time in January 2023 when he got in touch with then-Blaugrana manager Xavi Hernandez. The former Barcelona team-mates enjoyed great success together as players, and Xavi believed that Messi's return to the team would further elevate the standard of the squad, which ultimately went on to win the 2022-23 La Liga title.

  Over the next few months, the duo kept in touch and constantly spoke to each other to make the homecoming happen. Xavi even spoke to Messi's father Jorge and informed club president Joan Laporta, who was excited at the prospect of Messi returning to the club. Xavi was also told by director of football Matheu Alemany that La Liga had given the nod to the transfer. 

• The sudden collapse in talks

  adds that everything was going as planned and the Catalan giants even drafted a two-year contract for Messi to sign as soon as he became a free agent in the summer of 2023. However, things drastically changed in April when Jorge Messi called Xavi with a devastating update: "They tell me it is not going to happen, that La Liga does not give the approval."

  Barcelona soon changed their stance as they understood that bringing back Messi wouldn't be financially feasible for them, while complying with La Liga player registration rules. Messi eventually grew tired of waiting and agreed to join Inter Miami instead.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Can Messi still comeback to Barcelona?

  There is no possibility of Messi rejoining Barcelona on a permanent basis, as he continues to chase the American dream in MLS with Inter Miami. He recently committed to a new three-year contract that will take him beyond his 40th birthday and through the 2028 season in the U.S.

  Barcelona have also distanced themselves from a loan move for Messi in the MLS offseason, with Laporta saying in a recent interview: "Leo Messi’s return as a player is something just not realistic. As of now, he has a contract with Inter Miami. The club is building a project for the present and future. It's complicated, and if you live in the past you hardly move forward."

  Messi will be back in action for the Herons on November 29 as they take on New York City FC in the Eastern Conference final. The 38-year-old is only two matches away from leading Miami to their maiden MLS Cup title.

India conquering Gabba, or the Ben Stokes one-man show at Headingley, or India felling Australia at Eden Gardens – which one is your pick?

ESPNcricinfo staff13-Jun-2025Update: This poll has ended. The IND-AUS 2001 Kolkata Test has been voted by fans as the greatest Test of the 21st century so far.India crush Australia’s dreams, Kolkata, 2001Australia had won the first Test of the series Steve Waugh had famously called the “final frontier” in Australia’s charge towards world domination. This, the second, started with Waugh winning the toss and choosing to bat. Batting last was going to be tough, after all. And they did everything right for the first two-and-a-bit days, scoring 445 and then bowling India out for 171 for a 274-run lead.Harbhajan Singh had picked up seven wickets – including a hat-trick – in that first innings, so Australia knew what they were risking when they enforced the follow-on. But how much of a risk was it? They were 274 ahead. How much would India score: 200? 300? 400? The answer was 657 for 7 declared. All courtesy one of the greatest partnerships in Test history, between VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid.They came together late on the third day, when India were 232 for 4, still behind. They batted, and they batted, and they batted, all the way into the final day. And Australia, ragged by then, had 384 to chase. In the time left, there wasn’t much hope of winning. But they could still draw it. Not with Harbhajan, again, and Sachin Tendulkar whipping up some magic. Harbhajan took six, taking his match tally to 13, while Tendulkar got three – including Shane Warne with a googly – and India were celebrating, at Eden Gardens, outside Eden Gardens, and everywhere they could.Stokes’ one-man show, Leeds, 2019England, 286 for 9 in a chase of 359. Against Australia. Against Cummins, Hazlewood, Lyon and James Pattinson. All over?But two men believed. One believed that he could smash the 63 runs that were left. The other that he could just hang in there, keep an eye on what the other man does. And between them, Ben Stokes and Jack Leach pulled off one of the great miracles in Test history.And to think that it had come after England had rolled over for 67 in the first innings.Australia took a lead of 112 and bolstered it with a second-innings total of 246 to set a steep target. Three-fifty-nine looked steeper when England went from 141 for 2 to 159 for 4, and then 245 for 4 to 286 for 9.Then Stokes and Leach came together. At the time, Stokes, the No. 5, was on 61. Off 174 balls. He then hit four fours and seven sixes, keeping Leach away from the strike as much as possible, before finishing it off with a flay through the covers off Cummins. Leach contributed 1 from 17 balls – the greatest ‘1’ in England’s Test history, perhaps?India conquer Gabba, Brisbane, 2021When Mayank Agarwal became the fifth India batter out, they were still 63 away from victory. Against Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon, on a fifth-day pitch, albeit in Brisbane, and Rishabh Pant as the only recognised batter left, it was Australia’s game to lose. But that’s what they did. As Pant, batting with Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur and Navdeep Saini – some of those, like some others in the series, not meant to be in India’s starting XI at all but forced to because of injuries – knocked off the runs. Pant’s 89 not out, included a six and nine fours, the last of which brought up victory, giving India a 2-1 series win.It didn’t look likely when Australia, opted to bat and took a 33-run first-innings lead. That feeling stayed as Australia then put up 294 in their second to set India a daunting 328 for the win. There was no Virat Kohli – as was the case after the first Test – and the batting, as the side on the whole, wore an inexperienced look.India pulled it off, though. First, Shubman Gill and Cheteshwar Pujara put up 114 runs for the second wicket, and it was game on. Ajinkya Rahane, the captain, scored a quick 24, but Agarwal fell cheaply, and then it was five down with a lot to get. Not for Pant, though, not on the day, and not for Washington, who chipped in with a 29-ball 22.

As Brandon Woodruff took the mound for the Brewers on Wednesday, he faced a different kind of pressure than on a typical start. Not the heat of building on the league's best record or their division lead over the Cubs, but the opportunity to win hundreds of thousands of free burgers for the people of Wisconsin from the chain George Webb.

George Webb, the founder of the beloved Wisconsin restaurant chain, would famously predict back when Milwaukee only had a minor league team that it would win 12 straight games, and was believed to have declared that if the local team won 12 consecutive games, they would give away free burgers. His son, Jim Webb, would later make the deal official in 1970.

The Brewers came to close to winning free burgers earlier this season when they had an 11-game winning streak from July 6 to July 21, but lost the 12th game 1–0 to the Mariners. They have won free burgers for fans twice, in 1987 and 2018.

With a third opportunity to win free burgers on the line, Woodruff delivered. The two-time All-Star pitched four scoreless innings as Milwaukee got off to a 6–0 lead. The Pirates made things interesting after Woodruff exited, putting up five runs in the fifth and sixth innings, but the Brewers offense responded with six more runs and won 12–5.

“It's awesome. I was telling my wife last night I was more nervous, I wanted to win the burgers for everybody in the stands, including myself," Woodruff told reporters after the game. "It was fun, it's a cool thing. You could tell the energy around today on a day game was a little bit more than usual. Seriously, I wanted to win those burgers bad.”

The Brewers and the fans can celebrate with their free burgers, which will be given out on a date the restaurant plans to announce on Thursday. They can also celebrate a team that not just came through on the free burgers, but holds a league-best 76–44 record as the final month of the season approaches. No team is playing better than the Brewers, who can set their sights on going after their first World Series title.

يفتقد فريق نادي بيراميدز لجهود لاعبه محمود زلاكا خلال مباراة بتروجت المقبلة في الدوري المصري بسبب الإيقاف.

وكان بيراميدز قد تمكن من الفوز على حساب كهرباء الإسماعيلية، بنتيجة 2-1، في اللقاء الذي جمع بينهما ضمن مؤجلات الجولة الثامنة من الدوري المصري.

طالع | ترتيب الدوري المصري بعد فوز بيراميدز على كهرباء الإسماعيلية

وتحصل زلاكا على بطاقة صفراء ثالثة خلال مباراة كهرباء الإسماعيلية التي جمعت بينهما أمس الأربعاء.

ويحل بيراميدز ضيفا على نظيره بتروجت في الثامنة من مساء السبت المقبل على استاد بتروسبورت في المباراة المؤجلة من الجولة العاشرة لبطولة الدوري.

MatériaMais Notícias

De volta ao futebol profissional do Rio de Janeiro, o Niteroiense FC recebeu proposta de R$ 1 milhão para se tornar SAF. A oferta foi feita por uma empresa esportiva privada que tem interesse em investir no clube da Região Metropolitana do Rio.

continua após a publicidade

– Recebemos essa oferta e ficamos lisonjeados, já que ela ocorreu logo depois do nosso retorno ao futebol. Após conversa com o nosso presidente em exercício, André Luiz, chegamos a uma conclusão que o momento não é o ideal. Temos metas ousadas com vendas de jogadores e patrocínios que podem superar esse valor ainda esse ano – garantiu o gestor do clube, Maicon Vilela.

Fundado em 1913, o Niteroiense conta com o meio-campista Bruno Gallo, ex-Vasco, no elenco que vai disputar a Série C, equivalente à quinta divisão do Campeonato Carioca.

continua após a publicidade

The Minnesota Twins fired manager Rocco Baldelli one day after the MLB 2025 season ended. The Twins' season came to an end on Sunday after going 70-92.

Minnesota's president of baseball operations Derek Falvey released a statement on the organization's decision to part ways with Baldelli after seven seasons.

"This game is ultimately measured by results, and over the past two seasons we did not reach the goals we set," Falvey said. “After discussions with ownership, we determined that this is the right moment for a change in voice and direction. This decision is not a reflection of Rocco's effort or leadership. It reflects where we are as an organization and the belief that a different voice is needed to help us move forward."

The past two seasons in particular finished with the Twins placing fourth in the AL Central. It's definitely not the outcome a team would want back-to-back.

Baldelli finishes his Twins tenure with a 527-505 overall record. Although Minnesota missed the postseason this year, he did take the team to three playoff appearances, posting a 3-8 record overall.

At age 44, Baldelli's first and only managerial role in MLB was with the Twins, so his future will now be up in the air. We'll see if another MLB team picks him up for a manager position or if he transitions to a new role on a team.

Leeds United return to action in the Premier League this weekend after the international break with a clash against Aston Villa at Elland Road on Sunday.

The Whites have lost their last two matches in the top-flight, conceding six goals in the process, and their most recent outing was a 3-1 defeat to Nottingham Forest before the break.

Whilst this shows that there needs to be improvement on the defensive side of the game, Daniel Farke also needs to find a way to get more out of his players at the top end of the pitch.

The Championship champions have only scored 11 goals in their 11 Premier League games so far this season, with several members of the squad underperforming in front of goal.

As you can see in the table above, too many of the team’s top attackers have underperformed against their xG in the top-flight, which shows that Farke does not have many reliable finishers.

With the January transfer window around five weeks away from opening for business, the Whites may already be starting to think about what they could do to improve their attack.

Why Leeds need to sign a winger in January

The West Yorkshire-based outfit need to go out and sign another wide option in the January window to bolster their options on the flank, because they have not had enough productivity in those positions this season.

As aforementioned, the Whites have only scored 11 times in 11 Premier League games, which shows that goalscoring is a clear area for improvement, and their lack of goals from wide players has been one of the causes of that particular struggle.

As you can see in the table above, Noah Okafor is the only winger in the squad who has scored more than one league goal for the club this season, despite December being just over a week away.

The Switzerland international, who scored goals against Wolves and Spurs, has been the only wide attacker who has carried a fairly consistent threat at the top end of the pitch.

Farke will surely be frustrated with the lack of output from the majority of his wide options, which is why the club need to go out and splash the cash on a new option in those two positions at the turn of the year.

Leeds backed to sign Premier League forward

On that very topic, a former scout has backed the Premier League strugglers to sign one of their former players when the January transfer window opens for business.

Former Tottenham scout Bryan King has suggested that a move to Elland Road could be on the cards for Manor Solomon if Spurs decide to recall him from his loan spell with Villarreal.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Speaking to MOTLeedsNews, King said: “If he (Solomon) isn’t going to stay at Villarreal, then I could certainly see him being sold in January. He definitely won’t get a game for Tottenham, there’s three or four people in front of him in his position.

“He did well at Leeds; he was a key part of their team that got promoted. I would have thought he’d be a very good option for Leeds. They haven’t exactly set the Premier League alight, and it looks as though they need more options.”

If Solomon, who has only started one LaLiga match with Villarreal, does get recalled in January, Leeds should pursue a deal to bring the forward back to West Yorkshire.

Why Leeds should sign Manor Solomon

The Whites should push to land another deal for the Israel international because he could arrive at Elland Road in the winter window as a huge upgrade on Brenden Aaronson.

As aforementioned, the USA international has produced one goal and one assist in the Premier League so far this season, as the first-choice right wing option, due to the change in formation that took away his favoured number ten role.

Solomon, meanwhile, has one goal and one assist in LaLiga, despite playing just four matches, and delivered three assists in his one appearance in the Copa del Rey, per Sofascore.

On top of providing more quality for Villarreal than Aaronson has for Leeds in all competitions this season, the right-footed winger also outperformed the American in the Championship last season.

The former Fulham attacker, of course, spent the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Elland Road from Spurs and caught the eye with his consistent performances at the top end of the pitch.

As you can see in the table above, the Spurs loanee offered significantly more to the team at the top end of the pitch than Aaronson did in the second tier last term, with more goals from less xG and more than twice as many ‘big chances’ created.

Solomon, who was hailed by former Leeds boss Neil Redfearn for being an “unplayable” star who is “like tackling smoke” for defenders, has proven that he can excel in front of goal in a Farke team, even more so than the USA international.

The Villarreal forward also has experience in the Premier League, with Fulham and Spurs, which means that it would not be a culture shock for him to be thrown into the division in the second half of the campaign.

Raphinha repeat: 49ers keen on signing "generational" £79m star for Leeds

Leeds United are lining up a January swoop for a star who could be as exciting a signing as Raphinha once was.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 18, 2025

Therefore, Leeds should explore the possibility of a reunion with Solomon because he could be an ideal signing to upgrade on Aaronson on the wing in the January window.

Tickets for the Guwahati semi-final are priced at INR 100 while those for the Navi Mumbai game are priced at INR 150

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2025

The sale of tickets for the semi-finals of the Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 will start from 6pm IST on October 11, the ICC has announced. Google Pay users have an exclusive two-day pre-sale window before the general sale goes live at 7pm IST on October 13.The release stated that tickets are available for the first semi-final on September 29 in Guwahati. The first semi-final will be played at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo if Pakistan qualify. In that case, there will be a 100% refund for fans who had booked tickets in Guwahati. The chances of Pakistan’s qualification are slim with them losing each of their first three games, including one against Bangladesh.The tickets for the first semi-final are priced at INR 100 while those for the second semi-final at DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai are priced at INR 150. The Navi Mumbai stadium has attracted big crowds for women’s games in the recent past.Tickets for the India vs Australia match in Visakhapatnam on October 12 and for the India vs England game on October 19 in Indore have already been sold out. Tickets for India vs New Zealand on October 23 and India vs Bangladesh on October 26 are close to being sold out as well.The tournament opener had seen 22,843 spectators, the highest for a league stage game for any ICC women’s competition. The previous record was an attendance of 15,935 in Dubai for the India vs Pakistan match at the Women’s T20 World Cup last year.

He has been one of cricket’s most laidback vibes for years but in leadership is revealing some of his more intense, driven, and occasionally unforgiving forms

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Jun-2025″Most teams sort of become an image of their captain, right?” These were the thoughts of Brendon McCullum, who over a 21-year career in international cricket has perhaps shaped the tenor of Test-match cricket more than any other single figure this century.Right now, this Sri Lanka Test team is being crafted by Dhananjaya de Silva. And his cricketing DNA and his vision for where the team could go are all over the enterprise. The team, increasingly, is becoming a reflection.For starters, there is an emphasis on utility. How many skills can you bring to the table is a primary question. De Silva frequently fields at slip himself, is the kind of captain who finds reasons to bowl his offspin, has just launched himself up the order to No. 4, and cannot stand letting a game drift. If wickets are not forthcoming, there is a new field in place, a new angle of attack he encourages, a fresh problem he puts in front of the batter to solve. There is, you sense, no play that he doesn’t want to be part of.Related

• Sri Lanka focusing on better scoring rate, bowling more maidens this WTC cycle

• Dhananjaya de Silva: SL missed 'big chance' to make WTC final

• Hit the deck, break a neck, still no cheque: the quiet sacrifice of SL's red-ball quicks

• Kusal Mendis counterattack balloons Sri Lanka's lead before Bangladesh collapse

It follows that this Sri Lanka XI for the Colombo Test has two spin-bowling allrounders, an opener and a No. 3 who can potentially keep wicket (Lahiru Udara stood in for 38.4 overs as Kusal Mendis was unavailable through injury). Then there is one frontline bowler who can bowl with either arm and can bat a bit, one top-order batter who bowls a bit with either arm, a left-arm seamer, a right-arm seamer, and a spin bowler who is frequently happy to strap the pads on and produce a brave showing as nightwatcher.This is, essentially, a team of generalists. If you’re going to specialise, buddy, you better be damn good at that one thing. The three single-discipline players – Pathum Nissanka, Vishwa Fernando and Asitha Fernando – have all acquitted themselves nicely in this match. It’s worth mentioning on Asitha and Vishwa’s behalf that de Silva has insisted that more seam bowlers play home Tests for Sri Lanka, despite having been blooded in a team that found seam bowling at home essentially redundant in the late 2010s.De Silva himself has not been in especially good batting form, but he has found ways to be central to Sri Lanka’s progress in this series. He has also been visibly more of a general than he has previously been. On day three, he took two vital wickets, pinning form batter Najmul Hossain Shanto in front of the stumps soon after having Mominul Haque caught at slip. He also dismissed Mominul in the first innings.De Silva began this WTC cycle by laying out to his team how intently he wanted them to get to the final•AFP/Getty ImagesDe Silva’s bowling is not especially menacing – he doesn’t get the kind of drift or the ragging turn, or possess the subtleties that might make him a wicket-taking option on flatter tracks. But on pitches that give him a little to work with – left-armers’ footmarks, a little dryness underneath the surface, a tackiness off the deck – he can find ways to strike. He already has more Test wickets than Angelo Mathews or Tillakaratne Dilshan, the Sri Lanka players he can be most readily compared to.This is the first World Test Championship [WTC] cycle he is in charge of from the beginning, so he seems especially intent on putting his mark on what he sees as a trophy campaign. Although for captains such as Ben Stokes, “there was nothing wrong with Test cricket before” the WTC, for the likes of de Silva, it has become a cycle to build an entire team identity around. In the first two Tests of this cycle, there have been three debutants. Milan Rathnayake, another allrounder, may not have been elevated to international cricket as he has had de Silva not been a key decision-maker.De Silva himself had revealed that he told his team how close they had been to the last WTC final, and how intently he wanted them to get to that final in this cycle. Kamindu Mendis, Sri Lanka’s best Test batter of the last 18 months, affirmed that that was a major driver.”We were close in the last two cycles,” Kamindu said. “In the one just past, we actually had a big opportunity. Honestly, our team plan is built around the WTC. We’re trying to correct the mistakes of the last two cycles. This time, we’ve got a good start. If we keep going like this, I think we can achieve what we are aiming for.”Aesthetically, de Silva has been one of cricket’s most laidback vibes for years. He plays in a long-sleeved jersey with a popped half-collar. His drives are pure. His pulls are languid. Even the sweeps have grace. The sleeve tattoo on his arm has a floral design. In nine years of international cricket, there have never been angry de Silva moments. There have been plenty of chill ones.This is a cricketer comfortable with the softer parts of his personality, but who, in leadership, is now revealing some of his more intense, driven, and occasionally unforgiving forms. If he is fashioning this Test team like a knife-maker hones an edge, he may soon quite clearly see his own image looking back at him.