It is yet to be decided whether such provisions are for the next three years or until the end of the current rights cycle in 2031

Nagraj Gollapudi and Osman Samiuddin03-Dec-2024

The ICC has tentatively penciled in December 5 as a date for deciding the Champions Trophy 2025 venue•ICC/Getty Images

In a development that could potentially break the current deadlock over the upcoming Champions Trophy , the PCB has offered to consider a hybrid model but only if there is a concrete written agreement allowing Pakistan the same option when a global tournament is held in India.Although discussions are ongoing and the situation remains fluid, ESPNcricinfo understands the PCB put forward its proposal over the weekend in meetings with the ICC and BCCI in Dubai. In it, they called for an equitable and long-term agreement, stretching beyond the 2025 Champions Trophy, with reciprocal provisions for Pakistan to play outside of India during global events held there. It is yet to be decided whether such provisions are for the next three years or until the end of the current rights cycle in 2031.In this time, India are scheduled to host three global men’s tournaments – the 2026 T20 World Cup along with Sri Lanka (February), the 2029 Champions Trophy (October) and the 2031 World Cup along with Bangladesh (October-November) – as well as the women’s ODI World Cup in 2025. The co-hosted events provide a solution, though any India-Pakistan games will pose the same problem. And although it doesn’t come under ICC jurisdiction, the next Asia Cup – in October 2025 – is also scheduled to be played in India.Related

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“We will do whatever’s best for cricket,” Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chair, told reporters in Dubai on Sunday. “If we adopt any other formula [except hosting the tournament in Pakistan], it will be done on the basis of equality. The most important thing for Pakistan is its respect; everything else is secondary.”A one-sided arrangement is no longer acceptable. It cannot be the case that we continue to go to India, but they do not visit Pakistan. Whatever happens must be on the basis of equality.”While the BCCI remains tight-lipped, indications are it might not be willing to accept adopting a hybrid model for their tournaments. In either case, the ICC Board will reconvene and examine the PCB proposal before making a final decision on the Champions Trophy. And both PCB and BCCI will need to have that decision ratified by their individual governments. The ICC has tentatively penciled in December 5 as a date for that meeting.Options on the table for the tournament remain the same as they were when the board met briefly last week, otherwise – that the tournament will either be based on a hybrid model with India playing its games outside Pakistan; that the entire tournament is hosted in another country; or that the tournament goes ahead without India.In that meeting last week, it was decided to give the PCB time to hold separate negotiations with BCCI to find a resolution after the latter told ICC that the Indian government had denied permission for the Indian team to travel to Pakistan. Last Friday, a spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that “security concerns” meant India were unwilling to travel. “The BCCI has issued a statement so I would refer you to it,” said the spokesperson during a press briefing. “They have said there are security concerns there and therefore it is unlikely the team will be going there. Please do refer to the statement issued by the BCCI.”Where will the next India-Pakistan match be played?•CREIMAS

No such statement has been publicly issued by the BCCI. The PCB says it has still not received an official explanation citing the reasons for India’s inability to travel, though it has sought one from the moment the BCCI informed the ICC.Jay Shah to chair ICC meet on December 5Since the first ICC meeting, a significant change has taken place at the ICC. Jay Shah, who has been the BCCI secretary since 2019, took charge as ICC chair on December 1. Imran Khwaja, the ICC’s deputy chair, has been dealing with the Champions Trophy issue as an interim chair. But it could not be confirmed who the BCCI representative at the next ICC Board meeting will be.The meeting is widely thought to be on the Champions Trophy, although there was also a suggestion that it might be a courtesy call for Shah to ring in his tenure.With time running out – there are only 77 days to the start date of the event – the ICC finds itself in a spot of bother. It has not yet released the tournament schedule (normally put out 100 days from the event) nor announced the ticketing process which would facilitate fans to make travel arrangements for the eight-team event.

Jamie Carragher is one of the best-known Premier League pundits today, and during his playing career, was one of the best top-flight defenders around.

After progressing through Liverpool’s academy, Carragher would spend his entire career at Anfield, making 737 appearances for the Reds between 1996-2013.

Despite never winning the Premier League, the centre-back would lift two FA Cups, two League Cups, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup.

Carragher was once asked to name his best Premier League XI of all-time, however, he was excluded from naming Liverpool players, meaning the likes of Steven Gerrard, Mohamed Salah and Virgil van Dijk were banned from his team.

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ByCharlie Smith May 9, 2025 Jamie Carragher’s best Premier League XI without Liverpool stars 11 Peter Schmeichel Man Utd, Aston Villa, Man City

Instead of going with Chelsea’s Petr Cech or Arsenal’s David Seaman, Carragher selected Peter Schmeichel.

Arguably the best the Premier League has ever seen in between the sticks, Schmeichel won all five of his English titles at Old Trafford, but did represent Aston Villa and Manchester City later on in his career.

10 Gary Neville Man Utd

Carragher’s partner in crime as a pundit is Gary Neville, but the two battled it out on the pitch during their playing days.

A Manchester United legend, Neville and Carragher regularly butted heads at Old Trafford or Anfield, however, the Red Devils man is the most successful right-back of all time, winning eight Premier League titles.

9 Vincent Kompany Man City

Arguably one of Manchester City’s best value for money signings came in 2008 when Vincent Kompany joined for just £6m.

The Belgian played a key role in the Citizens’ recent dominance, captaining City to numerous titles. His leadership and world-class defensive ability was perfect for a number of superstar midfielders and attackers in front of him.

8 John Terry Chelsea

An iconic centre-back Carragher partnered with on occasions for England was Chelsea star John Terry.

The former Blues and Three Lions captain has gone down as one of the best central defenders the Premier League has ever seen, winning five titles, five FA Cups, three League Cups and a Champions League.

7 Denis Irwin Man Utd, Wolves

In a selection that might surprise some, Carragher decided to pick Denis Irwin over Ashley Cole at left-back.

A brilliant and arguably underrated full-back, Irwin went under the radar at Old Trafford, winning seven Premier League titles, capable of playing on either side under Sir Alex Ferguson.

6 Patrick Vieira Arsenal, Man City

Patrick Vieira was a no-nonsense midfielder who could do it all for Arsenal and captained the Gunners under Arsene Wenger.

The Frenchman’s box-to-box nature saw him become one of the most powerful midfielders the Premier League has seen, with Carragher knowing just how hard Vieira was to face.

5 Roy Keane Nottingham Forest, Man Utd

Now a partner of Carragher’s on The Stick to Football podcast, Roy Keane was a regular rival of Carragher’s during their playing days.

Known best for captaining a hugely successful Manchester United side, Keane’s leadership helped the Red Devils win seven titles in his 12 years at Old Trafford.

4 David Silva Man City

Finishing off the midfield is David Silva, with the Spaniard lifting four Premier League titles with Manchester City.

Silva’s world-class dribbling ability saw him contribute to more than 200 goals in 436 City games.

Games

436

Goals

77

Assists

136

Trophies

14

3 Thierry Henry Arsenal

Carragher knows just how good Thierry Henry was during his time in England with Arsenal, with the Frenchman scoring nine goals in 18 games against the Reds and Carragher. Now, the pair work together on CBS Sports alongside Micah Richards.

Henry was a huge part of the Gunners’ ‘Invincible’ side and scored 175 league goals in the Premier League in 258 appearances, lifting the title twice.

2 Alan Shearer Blackburn, Newcastle

The most prolific goalscorer in Premier League history is Alan Shearer, who won the title with Blackburn Rovers before going on to become Newcastle United’s record scorer over a 10-year period.

Shearer also won the Golden Boot in the 1994-95, 1995-96, and 1996-97 seasons, coming up against Carragher at Anfield in the latter years of his career.

MatériaMais Notícias

Em 2022, no Paulista sub-20, Breno marcou quatro gols no Botafogo-SP. Agora, além de se desafiar, também quer devolver todo o investimento dado pela Inter.

– Eu marquei quatro gols no campeonato passado, mas posso ir além, quero chegar em seis ou sete gols, além de ter boas atuações e alçar voos maiores e devolver todo investimento que o clube tem dado para mim – afirmou o defensor.

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O grupo da Inter de Bebedouro será com o Catanduva, Taquaritinga, América-SP, Francana e Batatais.

– A projeção na Bezinha é jogar cada partida como uma final, isso que temos trabalhado durante as semanas. Queremos chegar na segunda fase e depois pensar em cada fase – afirmou.

– Eu evolui muito da temporada passada para essa. Vai ser minha primeira experiência como profissional. Eu evolui muito no quesito psicológico. Sempre fui técnico, mas tinha muitos altos e baixos – finalizouBreno.

Perhaps the only thing that could have stopped Anuj Rawat’s assault was the end of Delhi’s allotted overs. No matter which Uttar Pradesh bowler bowled at him in the death overs of the quarter-final of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy in Bengaluru, the ball either went to the boundary or pinged the objects that lay beyond it.Rawat rammed an unbeaten 73 off just 33 balls despite being on 9 from 10 at one stage. Six of his seven boundaries, and all five of his sixes, came from the 15th onwards. Delhi, who had 112 at the start of the 15th, finished with 193, before their bowlers restricted UP to 174 to book their place in the semi-final.The fun started when Rawat deposited Vineet Panwar for a four and six each, before taking Shivam Mavi for 23 runs in the 16th over. That featured a flick to fine leg and a loft over mid-off for four each, and two carbon-copy swivel-pull sixes over fine leg. Rawat brought up his half-century off 22 balls just after whipping Bhuvneshwar Kumar for six over deep square leg. He took three more boundaries off Bhuvneshwar, before ending the innings with a six off Mavi.In reply, UP’s chase hardly gained momentum. They managed only 18 in the first three overs, after which Priyam Garg decided to attack Simarjeet Singh. Garg lofted over Simarjeet’s head and ramped him over deep third for six each, before ending the over by going for four over cover. But Garg’s turned out to be a one-man effort, as UP slumped to 51 for 3 after seven overs.The loudest roar from the sparse crowd, though, was reserved for when Ayush Badoni had Nitish Rana caught at long-on. The two had come head to head earlier when Rana, bowling the third ball of the 13th over of Delhi’s innings, stopped short of delivering. Badoni then backed out of Rana’s next attempt, only for the bowler to get in the batter’s way after a single was taken when the delivery was finally bowled. The umpires had to intervene to prevent things from heating up too much.Badoni didn’t forget to give Rana a little send-off during UP’s chase, which only seemed to gather pace towards the end of the tenth over. Garg swatted and lofted Prince Yadav for four and six. He got to his fifty in the 11th over, in which Sameer Rizvi cut Suyash Sharma for four behind point.Next over, bowled by Simarjeet, Rizvi and Garg hit three boundaries off the first four legal balls. But Simarjeet got a return catch when Garg’s attempted pull resulted in a top edge – he fell having contributed 54 out of UP’s total of 104 at that stage. Rizvi scored a quick 26, but lacked long-term partners as Delhi’s bowlers kept chipping away.Bhuvneshwar, Mohsin Khan and Panwar provided some late entertainment by smashing five fours and two sixes between them. But the fact that UP needed their tailenders to do all this hitting to take them somewhat closer to Delhi’s total told the story of their batting on the day.

تحدثت تقارير إعلامية اليوم الخميس، عن احتمالية وجود بعض التعديلات الجديدة على نظام بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، والتي أقيمت في صورتها الجديدة لأول مرة هذا العام.

وتم تغيير نظام بطولة كأس العالم للأندية، حيث باتت المسابقة تلعب كل أربع سنوات حالها كحال بطولة كأس العالم للمنتخبات.

ولعبت النسخة الأولى من كأس العالم للأندية بنظامها الجديد في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، وبمشاركة 32 فريقًا، حيث حصل تشيلسي على البطولة.

تشيلسي توج بلقب كأس العالم للأندية في نسختها الجديدة، بعد انتصاره العريض على باريس سان جيرمان بثلاثة أهداف دون رد في المباراة النهائية.

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وذكرت صحيفة “الموندو ديبورتيفو”، أن الاتحاد الدولي لكرة القدم ”فيفا” يخطط لزيادة عدد الفرق المشاركة من بلد واحدة إلى ثلاث فرق بدلًا من فريقين، وذلك خلال نسخة كأس العالم للأندية المقبلة.

وأضافت أن هذا التعديل تم التفكير فيه، من أجل تجنب عدم مشاركة فرق كبيرة في البطولة أمثال برشلونة، ونابولي، وليفربول، وهو ما حدث في نسخة كأس العالم للأندية هذا العام.

فعلى الرغم من التصنيف العالي لـ ليفربول، إلا إنه لم يتمكن من المشاركة بسبب تواجد تشيلسي ومانشستر سيتي في البطولة كونهما بطل دوري أبطال أوروبا نسخة 2021 و2023.

وأوضحت أن تنفيذ خيار زيادة عدد الفرق المشاركة يبدو صعبًا، في ظل عدد الفرق المشاركة في نسخة كأس العالم المقبلة، والتي سوف تبلغ 32 فريقًا بالنظام الحالي.

وأردفت أن الفيفا يريد اعتماد خيار زيادة عدد الفرق المشاركة في كأس العالم للأندية إلى 48 فريقًا، وإقامتها كل عامين، بينما يعارض الاتحاد الأوروبي لكرة القدم ”يويفا” كلا المقترحين.

Sunderland’s long wait to bring Granit Xhaka to the Stadium of Light this summer now looks to be over.

Indeed, the whole saga to bring the Swiss international back to English shores has seemingly concluded, as the ex-Arsenal enforcer looks set to complete a medical imminently after landing in Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen.

For £17m, it could well be Sunderland’s most important signing of the summer in offering Regis Le Bris’ troops some much-needed Premier League experience.

However, although experience has been sought after in clinching the 32-year-old’s signature, the Black Cats will also look to the future when making other standout summer purchases, knowing the success they’ve had with starlets such as Chris Rigg.

Sunderland show strong interest in £38m talent

Of course, the Wearside outfit will also be prioritising more Premier League-ready captures, away from going all in on their young and hungry model.

Stefan Ortega is the next top-flight star on their radar, having impressed in spurts as Manchester City’s back-up goalkeeper, with a surprise move for Jamie Vardy also allegedly on the cards after he waved goodbye to Leicester City recently.

But, there has also been apt time for Sunderland to scout out some promising talents who could go on to the club’s next big thing, with Fiorentina’s 20-year-old centre-back Pietro Comuzzo catching the eye in this regard.

As per reports from Italian outlet Tuttomercatoweb, Sunderland, Manchester United, and Nottingham Forest are all showing a strong interest in the up-and-coming Italian, with no offers coming Fiorentina’s way, just yet.

It could cost Sunderland a substantial £38m to get the deal over the line, however. But, this might be a worthwhile investment to make, if he suddenly explodes into life in the Premier League, much like Rigg managed under Le Bris’ wing in the second tier.

Why Comuzzo could be Sunderland's next Rigg

Rigg had already amassed 25 first team appearances at the Stadium of Light before the Frenchman’s inspired appointment.

But, he would really come into his own under the watchful eye of the ex-Lorient manager, who has even been hailed as a “father figure” in his approach with youngsters, according to journalist Luke Entwistle.

In total, the exciting 18-year-old midfielder would make 47 appearances last season as Sunderland triumphantly secured promotion, with four goals and one assist also coming his way to play a pivotal part in his side’s whirlwind ascent back to the Premier League.

Knowing what their team has managed to achieve with Rigg in such a short space of time will make the Wearside masses even more eager to see what Comuzzo could achieve in his fresh environment, with the 20-year-old already in and around the senior Italy circles as an international, after looking way beyond his years in his native country last season, much like the teenage sensation.

Games played

33

Goals scored

1

Assists

0

Touches*

47.4

Accurate passes*

32.5 (86%)

Ball recoveries*

2.6

Total duels won*

3.6

Clean sheets

6

Comuzzo’s breakout campaign, which saw him collect a promising six clean sheets from 33 Serie A appearances, has led to him gaining many plaudits, with his former Fiorentina manager, Raffaele Palladino, hailing him as “extraordinary” for the maturity he displays when throwing himself into 3.6 duels on average in the testing terrain of the Italian top-flight.

That has further led to Palladino donning him a “soldier” for this resilience and energy, away from also being labelled as an “old-fashioned defender” by Italian scout Michele Fratini for his willingness to get stuck in, even as a 20-year-old still learning the ropes.

He will look to continue his upward trajectory on Wearside, with Comuzzo already one season down in a taxing top-flight environment.

This breakout offering in Florence has even seen him be shortlisted for the 2025 Golden Boy award, as he aims to become the next top starlet at the Stadium of Light in a similar vein to Rigg and other notable names before the 18-year-old.

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Manchester United have now made contact over a deal for a “decisive” forward, who is attracting widespread interest after a fantastic 2024/25 campaign, according to a report.

Man Utd eyeing new forward amid Garnacho uncertainty

Marcus Rashford officially completed to Barcelona on Wednesday, and the England international is unlikely to be the only Man United forward on the move this summer, amid major doubts over Alejandro Garnacho’s future at Old Trafford.

Earlier this month, it was widely reported that Garnacho had informed the United hierarchy that he wants to leave in the current window, and there is plenty of interest in the Aston Villa international, who is eager to remain in the Premier League.

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That is according to transfer expert Graeme Bailey, who said: “Alejandro Garnacho wants to stay in England, and there are only so many options. Chelsea, we know, like him, whilst Tottenham have maintained contact.

“But Aston Villa have emerged as an option, I am told the player has done his homework on the possibility of working with Unai Emery, and he has heard good things.”

Despite already adding Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo to his ranks this summer, Ruben Amorim may want to bring in a new winger if Garnacho does depart this summer, and a new target has now entered the frame.

That is according to a report from Italy (via Sport Witness), which reveals that Man United have now made contact over a deal for Bologna’s Riccardo Orsolini, who is attracting widespread interest after an impressive 2024-25 campaign.

The Italian club are thought to be holding out for a fee of €50m (£43m), meaning a deal would be on the expensive side, and his current employers are hoping Orsolini commits to a new contract, with a new deal currently being worked on.

As such, it remains to be seen whether the Red Devils are able to tempt Bologna into a sale.

"Decisive" Orsolini impressing in the Serie A

The 2024-25 campaign will live long in Bologna fans’ memory, given that they lifted the Italian Cup, and the Italian forward was one of the driving forces behind their success, picking up 22 goal contributions in all competitions.

Competition	Appearances	Goals	Assists
Serie A	30	15	5
Italian Cup	4	2	0

Bologna manager Vincenzo Italiano was also full of praise for the Italy international last season, saying: “He has this ability to be solid, decisive, incisive, and there are not many with those characteristics. Having him is a big deal for us.”

As such, Orsolini could be an exciting addition to Amorim’s squad, although it would be a gamble to shell out £43m on the forward, given that he is unproven in the Premier League and Champions League.

Birmingham City would surely jot down this summer transfer window as a resounding success.

Chris Davies’ Blues have continued to flex their muscles after emphatically securing promotion out of League One, as seen in 11 brand new signings joining the building so far, with £10m solely splashed out on the potent services of ex-Celtic striker Kyogo Furuhashi.

Splashing this excessive amount on Kyogo to join hasn’t stopped them from adding in more lethal attackers, however, as Marvin Ducksch now attempts to make a name for himself in England, after becoming well-known as a goalscoring menace with Werder Bremen.

Ducksch's reputation at Bremen

With Jay Stansfield also at their disposal, Birmingham have quite the attacking arsenal as they prepare to be in and around the promotion spots in the Championship come next May.

This unbelievable attacking firepower was on full show last time out in the second-tier, as both the aforementioned Stansfield – and reserve figure Lyndon Dykes – scored late on to secure a dramatic 2-1 victory on the road at Blackburn Rovers.

Ducksch is quite the steal too – even if he was nowhere to be found at Ewood Park – when you weigh up his blistering exploits in the Bundesliga and beyond, with a ridiculous 220 goals coming his way from 459 appearances up and down the various German leagues.

With 110 assists also next to his name, it’s clear that the Dortmund-born star will be a team player for the cause, with Davies hopeful his new number 33 will soon be fit and firing, despite a delayed start to injury.

Of course, there will be a worry in the air about whether their new £1.7m recruit will be able to show off this same clinical edge in the hustle and bustle of the Championship, with Ducksch only ever plying his trade in his native Germany, before this daring next step.

To lessen that worry, perhaps, Davies and Co. could still be prepared to explore a move for this EFL-ready marksman before deadline day comes around.

Why Che Adams would be an upgrade in Ducksch

Birmingham fans are always kept on their toes when it comes to who their side is looking to bring in.

Ducksch signing for the club was only ever made public knowledge after the Blues lost out on the coveted signature of Chuba Akpom, meaning there must surely be other transfer targets tucked up the second-tier side’s sleeve.

Che Adams might well be one name they have at their back of their head, still, with Football League World revealing earlier this week that Birmingham still held an interest in their former attacker, right up until Ducksch putting pen to paper on a move.

He likely wouldn’t come cheap, considering his £13m market valuation, as per Football Transfers, but if Davies wants a last-minute roll of the dice that enables him to win a Championship-calibre attacker, going back in for the ex-Southampton forward could be an ingenious late move.

Adams vs Ducksch – 24/25 League stats

Stat (per game)

Adams

Ducksch

Games

36

32

Goals

9

8

xG

8.92

10.11

Goal frequency

295min

304min

Goals per game

0.3

0.3

Big chances missed

13

11

Goal conversion

14%

11%

Sourced by Sofascore

After all, if Adams is capable of picking up from where he last left off in the second tier with Birmingham, he would surely be more of an immediate rip-roaring success than Ducksch, with a deadly 22 league strikes registered across his final Blues season.

Even last term, as indicated in the table above, he shone in his debut campaign for Torino, having outscored his German counterpart concerning league goals, while totalling 14 goals and assists in all competitions.

The Scotland international also dazzled during his last campaign at Championship level, too, with the “terrific” – as he was once labelled by Scottish legend Ally McCoist – forward’s electric 15 strikes helping the South Coast side clinch promotion.

With the upward trajectory Birmingham look to be on, Adams might well feel he can secure another promotion if he returns to St. Andrew’s imminently, as his goalscoring magic potentially rips up the Championship once more.

Ducksch will also likely chip in with the goals to try and make back-to-back promotions an unbelievable reality, but he could be unfortunately moved to the background if the ex-Blues youngster does return home to be Davies’ leading man up top.

Further lauded as being “amazing” by former Saints boss Russell Martin to work with, landing the services of Adams would really show the rest of the division how serious Birmingham believes they can jump up to the Premier League.

It does feel like a tall order to pull off so deep into the window, but never rule out the audacious from happening at St. Andrew’s.

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Brazil were left furious after being beaten 1-0 by Bolivia in World Cup qualifying in a controversial game played at altitude in El Alto.

• Brazil lose 1-0 to Bolivia
• Beaten by controversial penalty
• CBF president furious afterwards

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Carlo Ancelotti's side ended their worst ever World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 defeat to Bolivia. The Selecao had already qualified for next summer's tournament in North America, Mexico and Canada, meaning the Brazil boss selected a much-changed team. However, Brazil struggled throughout and were beaten by a single goal in the first half, scored from the penalty spot by Miguelito following a foul by Bruno Guimarães.

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• (C)Getty images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Brazil were not at all happy with the defeat or the decision to play the game at altitude. CBF president Samir Xaud was heavily critical of the match officials in the wake of the surprise defeat and took aim at a range of targets after the full-time whistle.

• WHAT CBF PRESIDENT SAID

  He told TNT Sports: "A real mess today. It's not what we expect for world football or South American football. What we want is to make it even bigger. With this kind of attitude, especially at altitude, it's difficult to play football, especially against 14 men. I hope CONMEBOL takes action, precisely because we have everything recorded. This can't happen. This is absurd.

  "What happened here today is sad. We came to play soccer, and what we saw was a bad game. Even at this altitude of 4,000 meters, we played against the referees, the police, and the ball boys, taking the balls off the field and putting them on the field."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Brazil have endured their worst World Cup qualifying campaign. (52% success rate). However, their second worst campaign (56% in 2002) ended with their last World Cup title.

As Nottingham Forest prepare for a first European campaign since 1995/96, will they make any more signings before the transfer window slams shut on 1 September?

So far, Brazilian duo Igor Jesus and Jair Cunha have arrived from Botafogo, Angus Gunn will be the new back-up goalkeeper and Dan Ndoye has joined from Bologna, the winger costing a reported fee of £35m.

However, having sold Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £55m, Nuno Espírito Santo will still want to add attacking talent to his squad this month, so do the Garibaldi Reds lead the chase to sign a highly-rated young talent?

Nottingham Forest's pursuit of a new winger

As Forest search for a new wide-attacker, it was reported by David Ornstein of The Athletic earlier this week that they’d had a £35m bid rejected by Ipswich Town for Omari Hutchinson.

Transfer Focus

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

The England under-21 international only made his move to Portman Road permanent from Chelsea 12 months ago, costing a reported £22m, so the Tractor Boys are demanding a higher fee.

With Brentford also interested, seeking a replacement for Bryan Mbeumo, journalist Graeme Bailey believes that a possible transfer tug-of-war could see Hutchinson move for in excess of £40m.

Thus, as Forest turn their attention to other targets, Football Insider’s Keith Wyness reports that they are in a ‘stronger position’ to sign James McAtee from Manchester City, valued at around £30m by the Sky Blues.

The report notes that a £25m bid was rejected earlier this summer, although Wyness believes a higher offer should see the deal finalised, with Pep Guardiola keen to move him on this summer.

Jordan Campbell of The Athletic notes that it is ‘expected’ that McAtee will be on the move this summer following a lack of first-team opportunities at the Etihad, so could he soon swap Man City for the City Ground?

What James McAtee would bring to Nottingham Forest

McAtee joined Manchester City at the age of 11, making his senior debut against Wycombe Wanderers in an EFL Cup tie four years ago.

He first truly caught the eye during a two-season loan spell at Sheffield United, making 75 appearances for the Blades, including 30 in the Premier League, scoring 14 goals and registering eight assists.

Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout was certainly impressed, labelling him a “top talent”, adding that he is a “highly technical… advanced playmaker”, who possesses “electric pace” and “exceptional” creativity.

He then returned to Man City for the 2024/25 campaign, with manager Pep Guardiola noting that the youngster is “intelligent”, but used him very infrequently, with the table below documenting his frustrating year.

Appearances

27

Minutes

936

Starts

9

Goals

7

Apps 15 mins or fewer

10

PL starts

3

UCL starts

Zero

Times unused substitute

25

As the table outlines, despite scoring seven goals in all competitions, including bagging an FA Cup hat-trick against Salford City, McAtee started just nine times all year, allowed to represent England at the under-21 Euros in Slovakia earlier this summer, rather than being involved at the Club World Cup.

Thus, back in January, James Ducker of the Telegraph reported that the ‘frustrated’ McAtee was pushing for a move to Bayer Leverkusen, only for Guardiola to refuse to sanction a sale, but surely the 22-year-old will move on this month.

The key question for Nottingham Forest supporters remains: would McAtee be a better signing than Hutchinson?

Well, let’s compare the duo to answer that question.

Appearances

75

82

Minutes

4,316

5,167

Goals

14

14

Assists

8

8

All statistics below are on a per-90 basis:

Expected goals

0.23

0.15

Expected assists

0.18

0.16

Progressive passes

3.29

3.01

Progressive carries

3.34

4.58

Goal-creating actions

0.31

0.32

Chances created

1.3

1.1

Big chances created

10

13

Big chances missed

4

6

Take-on success %

41.4%

39.8%

Touches

37

44

Worth stating first and foremost that the two timeframes chosen see both players spending the first season at a Championship club who were promoted, before representing the same side as they endured a miserable relegation from the Premier League, making the comparison as fair as possible.

With that in mind, remarkably, the pair scored the exact same number of goals and registered exactly the same number of assists, with Hutchinson doing so in around 850 more minutes on the pitch.

Their statistics are generally similar across the board when it comes to underlying metrics too, with McAtee coming out on top for progressive passes and chances created, while Hutchinson is the superior dribbler.

Given Sheffield United’s style of play, McAtee saw seven fewer touches per game, thereby afforded fewer opportunities to show his quality, making his number all the more impressive.

Thus, if a deal for Hutchinson becomes prohibitively expensive, the out-of-favour Man City youngster would surely be an excellent addition for Forest.

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