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Liverpool carry a wide sense of appeal to potential targets this summer, but they may now have a new obstacle to overcome in their pursuit of one of Europe’s hottest properties.

Liverpool look to bolster their ranks this summer

The Reds are nearly there in their quest to lift the Premier League title and there is now tangible evidence that Arne Slot could add some premium talent to his side over the next few months.

According to reports, Liverpool are leading the race to sign Bournemouth star Dean Huijsen, who has emerged as one of the world’s most in-demand young defenders following his excellent displays on the South Coast.

Following news that Virgil Van Dijk has signed a new contract at Anfield, any moves to strengthen a backline already rich on quality would likely go down well among their expectant fanbase.

Winning the top-flight is one thing, but staying at the top next term in the face of a renewed challenge from the elite of English football will be what sets Slot apart, so it is no surprise to see that the Reds also have Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike at the top of their wishlist.

Hugo Ekitike’s goalscoring record in 2024/25 – all competitions

Appearances

43

Goals

21

Assists

9

Eintracht Frankfurt’s Europa League exit at the hands of Tottenham Hotspur may dampen his desire to stay in Germany, though they remain in contention to seal Champions League qualification via the Bundesliga.

Either way, recent developments surrounding Liverpool’s interest have taken a sharp turn that may throw up an obstacle to any prospective deal.

Worth more than Huijsen: Slot has hit the jackpot on Liverpool "monster"

Liverpool hope to employ this star for many years to come.

ByAngus Sinclair Apr 18, 2025 Sky Sports: Eintracht Frankfurt raise Hugo Ekitike asking price

Per Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg, Eintracht Frankfurt have raised their asking price for Liverpool target Hugo Ekitike to £85.7 million, though he is still deemed ‘likely’ to leave the Bundesliga outfit this summer.

Chief executive Markus Krösche is thought to be behind the move, raising the price by about £17m to try and maximise his profitability following an excellent campaign for the ex-Paris Saint-Germain striker.

Demonstrating his lethal edge in front of goal, Ekitike has managed to place 40 of his 101 shots on target while featuring in the German top-flight and has also earned a non-penalty XG total of 17.20.

Liverpool are clearly big admirers of his talent and want to bring him to Anfield, but they won’t want to be caught in the trap of being held to ransom in negotiations.

FSG will likely have a cut-off point, though the fact Ekitike is still expected to leave may play into the Reds’ hands on this one.

Legspin has long been treated with suspicion in Bangladeshi cricket, but so far Rishad has shown the courage – with ball and bat – to break the mould

Mohammad Isam28-May-2024Legspin is treated like high-brow art in Bangladesh – far too complicated, far too sophisticated, far too expensive.Let’s take an average Dhaka club official. He runs a team in the Dhaka leagues, where all games are played in the 50-over format. He doesn’t want a bowler who will go for six runs an over. He would rather play a left-arm orthodox spinner. Or four.Dhaka leagues are the lifeblood of Bangladesh cricket, the professional structure where cricketers compete and earn. It also has a majority say in the BCB, with twelve directors on the board. Whatever happens in the Dhaka league is reflected across Bangladesh cricket.Among the (many) things that have held back Bangladesh cricket is this backward mindset about legspin. Big and small decision-makers are suspicious of it. As a result, only two genuine legspinners had played for Bangladesh between 1988 and the start of 2023. (Alok Kapali, a batting allrounder, took Bangladesh’s first Test hat-trick with his legspin – the most significant feat by someone bowling legspin in the country.)Related

• A Sri Lanka campaign that could have been an email

• Bangladesh 'finally have the legspinner' they have been craving

• Chief selector keeps faith in Bangladesh World Cup squad despite series loss to USA

• T20 World Cup 2024 FAQs: Timings, venues and more

• Shanto wants Mahmudullah and Shakib to 'spread their experience' around the team

The two genuine legspinners were Wahidul Gani, who played a single ODI in 1988, and Jubair Hossain, who played ten international matches between 2014 and 2015. The former became a well-known coach. Jubair’s career is a snapshot of how Bangladesh have viewed legspin.In a time when legspin is so vital, especially in white-ball cricket, Bangladesh have been oblivious to what they have been missing out on. So last year, when Rishad Hossain made his T20I debut in a dead rubber against Ireland, no one thought much of it. Those who saw that game likely assumed that Chandika Hathurusinghe’s love for legspinners had prompted him to hand Rishad a debut. End of story.In the 12 months since, though, Rishad has made himself an automatic choice for Bangladesh in T20Is – a 6’3″ legspinner who can hit sixes with the bat from the lower order too. Plus, he is a gun fielder.He was one of the better performers in Bangladesh’s T20I series loss against USA last week. He may have taken only four wickets but finished the three games with an economy of 4.40, the best by a Bangladesh bowler in a bilateral series away from home.

“They don’t really trust legspinners in Bangladesh. They are more for left-arm spin, but the big man bowled beautifully today with a little bit of purchase.”Former Bangladesh coach Stuart Law after Rishad’s showing against Law’s current team, USA

“They don’t really trust legspinners in Bangladesh,” Stuart Law, the USA coach, said after the final T20I, where Rishad returned 1 for 7 from four overs. Law, importantly, was once coach of Bangladesh. “They are more for left-arm spin, but the big man bowled beautifully today with a little bit of purchase. You don’t have to turn it square. You need a little bit, enough to make it difficult.”

****

Rishad had built up to the USA series with small strides in New Zealand last year. He struck a 54-ball 87 and took three wickets in the tour match, prompting Hathurusinghe to hand him an ODI debut. He came home to play four matches for Comilla Victorians in this year’s BPL and picked up a four-wicket haul. He broke through against Sri Lanka. He bowled well in the T20Is, often using his height to dip the ball into the blockhole. There was not much room to get under the ball and slog him, so when the Sri Lankan batters tried too hard, he picked up big wickets.These were baby steps, but important ones.Rishad was growing in confidence, while captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was also being confident about using him more.”You need to have a bit of courage to bowl in international cricket,” Rishad told ESPNcricinfo shortly before he left Dhaka for Houston with the Bangladesh team for the T20 World Cup. “I want to play fearless cricket however long I play for Bangladesh.Rishad Hossain has shown he has batting chops to back up his bowling•AFP/Getty Images”Last year, when I was in New Zealand, I found out just how challenging international cricket can be. They are a big team. The conditions, weather, pitches, are all different from here. There was a lot to learn on that tour.”The other thing that worked in Rishad’s favour was a 30-ball 53 against Sri Lanka, which came with seven sixes, a Bangladesh record for most sixes in a T20I innings. Bangladesh batters, especially lower down the order, are not known for big hitting.”I just feel like hitting sixes when I have the bat in hand,” he said. “I have always batted this way, since my childhood. I loved batting with Mushfiq [Mushfiqur Rahim] in the third ODI [against Sri Lanka]. He is such a big player, and I was doing my thing at the other end. It felt amazing.” In that game, Rishad made the kind of fearless, match-winning impact he speaks of, hitting an unbeaten 18-ball 48 to take Bangladesh to a series win. It was the fastest 40-plus score by a Bangladesh batter from No. 8 or lower.Rishad aced his next challenge – back in the domestic setup – as well.

Rishad is from Nilphamari, a small town 356 kilometres north of Dhaka. It is a million miles away from the cricketing mainstream in the country. Yet cricket, particularly legspin, is all Rishad has thought about since he was 12.

Being a legspinner, Rishad wasn’t certain of getting matches in this season’s Dhaka Premier League. He switched from champions Abahani Limited to Shinepukur Cricket Club, a side whose only goal was survival. He took 23 wickets at 12.73 with one five-wicket haul and a couple of four-fors. Shinepukur made it to the Super League for the first time in their history.”I think both the DPL and the Zimbabwe series [five T20Is in May] went well for me,” he said. “Any achievement is good. I am happy to have contributed to my club team’s success in this season. It definitely helped that I was playing for Shinepukur.”

****

Rishad is from Nilphamari, a small town 356 kilometres north of Dhaka. It is a million miles away from the cricketing mainstream in the country. Yet cricket, particularly legspin, is all Rishad has thought about since he was 12.”The day I first held a cricket ball in Nilphamari, I held it with the legspin grip. I always bowled legspin,” he said. “I didn’t understand it much. After I did well in school cricket, our district coach liked what he saw. I started playing for the district and divisional sides. I went to the Robi Spin Hunt, which is how I came to Dhaka.”The Robi Spin Hunt is the kind of talent-spotting exercise that was common until the mid-2010s. Rubel Hossain, for example, was spotted at one of these. Sohel Islam, a senior coach, remembers Rishad standing out among the many left-arm spinners and offspinners at the talent hunt.Rishad emerged from the Robi Spin Hunt, the kind of talent-spotting exercise that had produced the likes of Rubel Hossain before him•Getty Images”We conducted a spin bowlers’ hunt in 2016-17 where I first saw him,” Sohel said. “I picked him from the Rangpur region. We brought ten or 12 of them for practice to Dhaka. He then went back to Rangpur to play Under-19 cricket. I used to see him from time to time in those days.”His height helps him get bounce on wickets that don’t spin a lot. It probably doesn’t matter much on Bangladeshi wickets, where skiddy bowlers get more help. He was quite fit, but he couldn’t spin the ball early on. Coach Wahidul Gani and I worked on increasing the revs he put on the ball.”Rishad didn’t doubt that his primary skill alone – a legspinner in SLA land – would take him places. “When I reached the Under-19s, I realised that legspin, along with batting and fielding, will get me somewhere. I always believed in myself. I always told myself that I will use every opportunity in front of me. I cannot let go of any chance.”For a while, those opportunities were rare. After making his first-class debut in 2018, Rishad only played in tour matches against visiting sides. The BCB often doesn’t play left-arm spinners in these games so that visitors don’t get an idea of what’s coming in the main games. Legspin wasn’t going to be served to them in the international fixtures.He would also bowl a lot in the Bangladesh nets. Before the 2023-24 season, Rishad had played just three Dhaka Premier League matches, where teams make cautious choices in recruitment, preferring more economical bowlers. Survival in the league is a major factor in their decision-making. Shinepukur gave Rishad ten matches this season, true, but only after he had done well for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh will always benefit from the type of the bowler that Rishad is. I think it is a big deal that we have a wristspinner in the Bangladesh team. The team has to believe in him.Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud

Former Bangladesh captain Khaled Mahmud, seen as one of the most influential coaches in the country, said that he regretted not playing Rishad more at Abahani. It was, in fact, Mahmud’s suggestion to Rishad that he move to Shinepukur, a lesser side but one that gave him plenty of game time, which Mahmud had anticipated.”I think Rishad is a fantastic cricketer. He was unlucky not to play many matches,” Mahmud said. “He is a brilliant fielder. He can strike the ball in the death overs. We couldn’t take care of him [at Abahani]. We have the concept here that left-arm spinners have to be picked in the XI. I was always under pressure from the club [not to play Rishad]. I told him to play for Shinepukur, and thankfully he did well this season.”Left-arm spinners are good but legspinners are wicket-takers. Bangladesh will always benefit from the type of the bowler that Rishad is. The more he plays, [the more he will be] courageous and the more he will develop. I think it is a big deal that we have a wristspinner in the Bangladesh team. The team has to believe in him.”He is not the finished product yet. Sohel feels that Rishad has some natural advantages due to his higher point of release and his physical strength, but can add more strength to his bowling.”Rishad always had a strong build. I think a wristspinner has to be as strong as a fast bowler,” Sohel said. “There’s a lot of strength needed, particularly in terms of counter-rotation. He has a high-arm action, unlike traditional legspinners. I initially tried to keep his bounce and drop on the ball. I think there’s still room for improvement in his action. His head falls off [at the point of delivery]. If he corrects this, he will have better accuracy.”Coach Chandika Hathurusinghe has shown he is a fan of legspin across both his stints with Bangladesh•AFP/Getty ImagesSeeing the support from Hathurusinghe, Rishad should be in good hands. BCB has hired Mushtaq Ahmed, the Pakistan legspin legend, as their bowling consultant for the T20 World Cup, which should help Rishad more than ever.

****

Bangladesh’s history with legspin is the downer in this story. It’s so discouraging that Hathurusinghe and Shanto have built a protective shield around Rishad, something they don’t usually do. They don’t talk him up too much. They don’t expose him in the death overs. They don’t want him in the media too often.Hathurusinghe will be acutely aware of the perils, given how hard he fought, largely unsuccessfully, for a legspinner in his last stint as Bangladesh coach. In his first few months in the job in 2014, he saw Jubair in the nets. He handed him a first-class debut for Bangladesh A against Zimbabwe A. A month later, Jubair made his Test debut against Zimbabwe. He took seven wickets in his third Test, prompting Hathurusinghe to push for his inclusion in Bangladesh’s squad for the 2015 ODI World Cup.Chief selector Faruque Ahmed rejected him, kicking off a long-running feud with Hathurusinghe. Domestic teams were also reluctant to pick Jubair.

Hathurusinghe and Shanto have built a protective shield around Rishad, something they don’t usually do. They don’t talk him up too much. They don’t expose him in the death overs. They don’t want him in the media too often.

When Jubair dismissed Virat Kohli with a googly in the Fatullah Test in 2015, it should have been the turning point in his career. Instead, a poor T20I debut against Zimbabwe later that year became his last international game. Jubair lost his mojo as opportunities dried up. He played a few seasons of the BPL but was reduced mostly to being a net bowler at the Shere Bangla National Stadium.Now that Rishad has reached a certain level, his first coach Sohel wants him to play freely, and not think too much about what’s going on around him. “I want him to bowl according to his ability. I want him to bat with his normal approach. This is how he should be playing. He doesn’t have to take a lot of responsibility of the team.”Rishad himself doesn’t want to think too far ahead either. “I don’t expect too much from the World Cup. I want to play to the best of my ability. The rest is up to Allah’s wishes. My personal goal is to play the second round [Super Eights], and then take stock of the situation.”In a crowded field of legspinners at this year’s T20 World Cup, it might be hard to stand out. Rishad, though, is already standing out, and has a chance to do more than just help Bangladesh at the World Cup – a good show, and who knows, a decent BPL and/or DPL team may even ask him for a trial.

No blood was spilt, no bones broken, no wickets taken. And still, the bowling was scarily good

Osman Samiuddin03-Jul-2022The over from hell began about half an hour before the close, the ground bathed in sunlight a shade of extreme troll: all day absent only to turn up when there’s barely an hour left. It was the 22nd over of an England innings that had begun nearly seven hours ago.Three breaks for rain meant Mohammed Shami was bowling his 11th consecutive over without undue strain. Shami is not the most famous Lala in cricket. But with his thinning hair and permanent air of a character who has accidentally strolled out from a Netflix series on the badlands of Uttar Pradesh, he is a very endearing one.The ten overs, split by rain into spells of one, two, four and three overs before this one had been both exemplary and an exemplar of Shami bowling. Only, somehow amplified. No water had crept onto the pitch but his balls were skimming off it as if off a body of water, and not clay and soil and grass.Related

Bumrah cameo and three-for make it India's day amid rain breaks

Classical Shami completes his evolution into champion bowler

Kohli: Shami among 'best three seamers in world at the moment'

Each delivery looked fuller and straighter and normally this would make them more hittable, but with Shami they aren’t anymore where they once were. There was swing, there was seam, there were times when those descriptions felt interchangeable. By a manual count, Shami beat both edges, or hit both edges 14 times in those ten overs.There was a ball from hell to poor Zak Crawley, the first after the first rain break. The caveat to Crawley’s summer of torment is that he has been the victim of some ferociously good balls, mostly from Trent Boult. As this one bent away from the angle into him, for once missing the edge, Crawley may have considered he was due that luck. Rishabh Pant got lucky too, his face almost rearranged by the late wobble.No wickets though because as much as Shami is known by the wickets he has taken – over 200 and counting, at a strike rate that is in the all-time top 10 – he is also known by the many wickets that he hasn’t taken, or rather, that he’s come within millimetres of taking. It is an odd reputation to acquire in this day and age when no claim is untested by data and over as long a career as of 60 Tests.It is the kind of thing you might hear about some forgotten bowler from the 1960s who never really made it or didn’t play long enough or who, if there had been greater accounting and less romanticism, it turned out wasn’t that unlucky after all. Plenty of numbers bear this out in Shami though.One of Shami’s more endearing traits is how lightly he wears his ill-luck, how little it seemingly takes from his energy.Jasprit Bumrah needs no luck to complement his genius but because life needs its own balance, Shami’s misfortune was credited to him. Crawley fell in the over after this ball from hell: bowled Bumrah, spooked Shami. Shami looked slightly more threatening; Bumrah had the three-fer.Shami’s efforts earned him the scalp of Jack Leach, a wicket fully deserved but a victim completely unworthy•PA Images via Getty ImagesBall one of the over from hell snaked in late, right through Joe Root’s attempted drive. It wasn’t the wrong ball to be driving at, it was the wrong bowler: this wasn’t New Zealand anymore. Ball two was straighter, shorter and bounced more than Root expected, hitting the bat handle sharply. In any other over, this would be the best ball. In this over, it would eventually be forgotten.Root lives off his late dabs and glides between third man and point. It is a release shot as well as a prolific one. Ball three was, in line and length, there to be late dabbed. It jagged back in so sharply Root was cut in half and beaten on the inside edge.By ball four, Root had been worked into a frenzy. He shuffled out to the ball, not necessarily for the purpose of scoring runs but more to kill the lbw he feared was coming. He did get struck on the pad, India did review it – Bumrah’s one mis-step as captain – but Root had calculated well. By coming out, the leg-before was gone.Ball five and more inswing. In a summer of Tim Southee, Boult and James Anderson, Shami’s inswing has already won; and he has been here only for one Test and has only bowled 13 overs before the third day. This one hit Root on the thigh pad, and invaluably, got him off strike.Root is the world’s best Test batter at the moment, but this was a weird, skittish innings. A hot take would be that it was too Bazball, trying to get bat on everything, attacking when caution made more sense. Three balls in a row from Shami – split by the last rain break – Root tried to drive balls that were very wide and full. Twice he hit air. Off the last, in no control, he edged over the cordon for four.Mohammed Shami knows it was a close shave against Joe Root•Getty ImagesA more considered view might see that the bowling, and Shami in particular, was so relentless that it drew Root into constant indiscretion. He shuffled, he walked out, he tried to manufacture shots and none of it worked. There was no getting away from this, not least because the breaks kept Shami and Bumrah fresh.Because he could or maybe because it was the plan, Shami beat Jonny Bairstow on the outside edge off the last ball of this over from hell. The recalibration of line, seam position and release was immediate and near-perfect. Over.No blood was spilt, no bones broken, no wickets taken. Scars though, not least upon this bold new world of England’s. What happens when the bowling is this good? Also, a microcosm of Shami’s career, all the near-misses and dropped catches, the close leaves and the missed reviews. Cricket is a game of infinitesimal margins, and rarely can that have been better articulated than it was through this over.Root fell the next over, bowled Mohammed Siraj, worked over Shami. Bairstow was millimetres from getting bowled in Shami’s next over and Jack Leach was dropped. Shami soon got Leach, a wicket fully deserved but a victim completely unworthy.

Who would make it to your all-time Chennai Super Kings XI?

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Apr-2020Wouldn’t it be fun to pick an all-time Chennai Super Kings’ XI, based on player stats for the franchise? We’ve picked ours, now it’s your turn to participate in choosing the readers’ XI.

Batsmen

Allrounders and bowlers

Rahul Dravid playing the lead as India beat Australia in Adelaide back in 2003 or Rangana Herath battling aches and pains to conquer India in Galle in 2015?

ESPNcricinfo staff22-May-2025Update: This poll has ended. The AUS-IND 2003 Adelaide Test moves into the quarter-finals.Dravid conquers Adelaide – Adelaide 2003It was Kolkata 2001 all over again, except the support act took over the lead role this time.Instead of 445, Australia scored 556 batting first here, with Ricky Ponting hitting 242 at a strike rate of 68.75. But unlike their 171 in Kolkata, India scored 523, keeping the match on an even keel, and it was the Rahul Dravid-VVS Laxman partnership for the fifth wicket, worth 303 runs, that made it possible. Here, Dravid scored 233 from No. 3, and Laxman 148 from No. 6. Their batting positions another change from Kolkata.Australia’s second innings was a letdown; all they got was 196, setting India 230 to win, and the star of the show, which gave India the upper hand, was Ajit Agarkar, whose 6 for 41 thwarted Australia.Dravid had scored that many in the first innings alone, but this time he only had to make 72, hitting the winning runs when he cut Stuart MacGill through the off-side infield. It remains one of India’s great victories in Australia, achieved at a time when they didn’t come as often as they have since.Herath chokes India – Galle, 2015
In the opening match of the series in Galle, India needed only 153 to win with nine wickets in hand at the start of the fourth day. A rearguard by Dinesh Chandimal, who followed up his 59 in the first innings with a 162 not out in the second, had given Sri Lanka a second-innings total of 367, and set India a target of 176 – they had taken a sizeable first-innings lead.The in-transition Sri Lanka turned to their veteran Rangana Herath, who was struggling with sore knees and a dodgy back. And Sri Lanka made the target look much bigger than what it was as they choked the life out of India’s chase.They made India work hard for every run on a turning pitch, and India couldn’t get past the then 37-year old Herath and young offspinner Tharindu Kaushal, as they folded for their lowest total against Sri Lanka. The only form of resistance after Shikhar Dhawan fell for 28 came from Ajinkya Rahane, who made 36 and was the penultimate man to fall with India at 102 for 9. India could add only ten more as they folded for 112.Herath finished with 7 for 48, as Sri Lanka won by 63 runs in a memorable start to Kumar Sangakkara’s farewell series.

The New York Mets were holding onto a late lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers during the eighth inning of Thursday's game, but a brutal defensive mishap led to the Dodgers tying the game up.

With runners on the corners and one out, Andy Pages hit a ground ball to third base, which was fielded cleanly by Brett Baty. Dodgers catcher Will Smith, who was the runner on third, took off towards home plate. Baty attempted to make a play at the plate and threw the ball to Mets catcher Francisco Alvarez, but the throw was in the dirt, causing the ball to deflect into the air. Reed Garrett, who was on the mound for New York, managed to catch the ball in mid-air, but when he attempted to tag out Smith, he collided with Alvarez who was still searching for the ball.

Mayhem.

Have a look at the bonkers defensive miscue from the Mets:

The multiple mishaps by New York's defense enabled Smith to score the tying run, and things got even worse from there.

A few batters later, Los Angeles outfielder Michael Conforto, who previously played for the Mets, drove in the go-ahead run with an RBI single to make it a 6–5 game. Dodgers reliever Tanner Scott was able to close things out in the ninth inning, capping off the comeback home win.

The final international break of the year has finally come to an end, and Chelsea are back in Premier League action.

Enzo Maresca’s side resume their campaign with a trip to newly promoted Burnley, in what could be something of a banana skin fixture.

What will make things even more difficult for the West Londoners is their ever-growing injury list, which has decimated their backline.

However, arguably more concerning than that, Cole Palmer has picked up another knock, although there is someone in the squad who could stand in for him, and no, it’s not Estevao.

The latest on Cole Palmer

After an impressive Club World Cup campaign and strong pre-season performances, it felt like Palmer was set for another exceptional year in West London.

Chalkboard

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

However, after playing the first game against Crystal Palace, he missed the next two due to a groin problem, and while he returned for the following couple of matches, he was again forced off against Manchester United with another groin problem.

The Englishman hasn’t featured for the side since then, although it did look like he would be back in the squad after the international break.

However, it would appear Maresca and Co can’t catch a break this season, as reports yesterday morning revealed that the former Manchester City prospect had broken his toe in an accident at home.

In his press conference a few hours later, the manager confirmed the injury and said his star player “is not available for this week and next week.”

That means that, on top of today’s game, the 23-year-old is definitely going to miss the Champions League clash with Barcelona and the London derby with Arsenal.

It’s undoubtedly a massive blow for Chelsea, but the silver lining is that, alongside Estevao, they have another young talent who could step in for Palmer.

Chelsea's Palmer replacement

While Estevao should start on the right for the upcoming games, Maresca could get some of what Palmer would provide in the ten by starting Facundo Buonanotte there.

Now, before the pitchforks and torches come out, nobody is arguing that the Argentine is as good a player as the Englishman; that would be absurd.

However, he is a highly talented young player who, based on his performances last season and what those in the know say about him, could replicate the 23-year-old’s capabilities.

For example, despite playing for a truly poor Leicester City side last season and being just 19 at the start of it, he was able to put in some impressive performances.

In 35 appearances, totalling 1701 minutes, the attacking midfielder, whom talent scout Jacek Kulig dubbed “one of the most exciting South American talents to have moved to Europe in recent years,” scored six goals and provided three assists.

Appearances

31

2

2

Goals

5

1

0

Assists

2

1

0

Goal Involvements per Match

0.22

1.00

0.00

That comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 3.88 games, or every 189 minutes, which is not a bad rate of return considering the circumstances.

Moreover, the promising ace with a “left foot made of gold,” per Jacek Kulig, has also earned comparisons to some Argentine football legends.

For example, Premier League great Carlos Tevez told the press that the youngster “reminds me of Messi” a few years ago.

Finally, away from the numbers and appraisals, when the twice-capped international was in full flow last season, he looked like the sort of mercurial talent who, with the proper coaching and chance, could create game-winning moments for his side.

Ultimately, while he isn’t on the level of Palmer at the moment, Buonanotte is an undeniably talented youngster, and for the next few games, could provide cover for the Englishman.

Forget Delap: 18-year-old star is destined to be Chelsea's future number 9

The incredible youngster will be a superstar for England and Chelsea.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 21, 2025

Essex 295 for 2 (Walter 158, Elgar 111*) trail Somerset 433 (Goldsworthy 100, Overton 60, Porter 3-66, Bennett 3-73) by 138 runsPaul Walter exerted total mastery over Somerset’s flagging bowlers as his highest first-class score of 158 eased Essex closer to safety in Division One of the Rothesay County Championship.The left-hander was barely troubled as he combined perfect timing with seeing everything clearly and early while spraying the ball around Chelmsford with an air of supreme confidence. For much of his 167-ball innings he outscored his opening partner, the former South Africa captain Dean Elgar, two to one as the first-wicket pair compiled a stand of 277 in 61 overs. At the close Essex were 295 for 2.Elgar, too, reached a second century of the season but was content to play second fiddle while Walter pulled, drove and flicked with nonchalant ease 21 fours and three sixes. Elgar contributed 16 fours and a six in his unbeaten 212-ball 111.Somerset’s first-innings 433 had looked formidable until Essex made mincemeat of it in an emphatic response. That Somerset had achieved as many as they did was latterly down to Lewis Goldsworthy’s four-hour and 21-minute century that took 193 balls. He was last man out, a third wicket on debut for seamer Charlie Bennett, who finished with 3 for 73.When it was their turn, Somerset struggled to get any response out of a docile pitch and had tried seven bowlers to no avail by the 29th over. They spent two sessions literally chasing shadows on a sunny autumn day.Essex survived two overs before lunch and immediately afterwards Elgar punched back-to-back drives past mid-off for fours off Craig Overton. It set the tone for the rest of the day as they rattled along at above four-and-a-half runs an over.Walter was the most aggressive from the start, at one point lofting Archie Vaughan straight down the ground for four and cutting Lewis Gregory for another to reach a 54-ball fifty. An off-drive for his 13th boundary took Essex to three-figures in only 21 overs.Walter motored along at more than double the rate of his fellow left-hander. His dominance was summed up when he launched Jack Leach for six over long-off and next ball rocked on to his back foot to drive the spinner through the covers for four.When Walter reached his century from exactly 100 balls just before tea, having plundered 16 fours, Elgar was stuck on 49 from 10 balls more. It took Elgar a further dozen balls after tea to reach his fifty, courtesy of an angled shot backward of square off Kasey Aldridge and celebrated by lofting Vaughan straight back over the bowler’s head for six. Walter could not resist following suit and bounced down the wicket in the same over for another maximum.Walter’s third six, pulling Leach over square leg, took him past his previous highest score. His 150 took 154 balls, while Elgar’s 54th first-class century was reached in 184 balls.Walter eventually departed seven overs from stumps to a stupendous tumbling catch at midwicket by Goldsworthy off Overton, who also accounted for nightwatchman Simon Harmer before the close.To emphasis the unresponsiveness of the hybrid wicket, it took Essex an hour and three-quarters to winkle out the last four Somerset wickets while conceding a further 94 runs. Overton recorded a second successive fifty, and a third of the season, from the 54th ball he faced. But he fell to a ball in Harmer’s first over of the day that spun past his outstretched leg and bowled him between bat and pad after a partnership with Goldsworthy worth 98 in 20 overs.Another bowling change prefaced another wicket when Leach nibbled at one from Bennett to provide substitute wicketkeeper Simon Fernandes with a fourth catch. Gregory swept Harmer for six during a brief appearance but attempted a repeat next ball and top-edged to short fine leg.Goldsworthy made it to three-figures just in time, pushing a quick single off Harmer, but departed two balls later when he swung Bennett to deep square leg.

Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and head coach Chandrakant Pandit have parted ways as part of a support-staff rejig in the wake of a disappointing IPL 2025, where they finished eighth on the points table.Signed on the back of his domestic success as head coach of Madhya Pradesh, Pandit was with KKR for three seasons. The highlight of his stint was the franchise’s title win in 2024 after a ten-year gap.”Mr. Chandrakant Pandit has decided to explore new opportunities and will not continue as head coach of Kolkata Knight Riders,” the franchise said in a statement. “We are thankful for his invaluable contributions – including leading KKR to the IPL championship in 2024 and helping build a strong, resilient squad. His leadership and discipline left a lasting impact on the team.”Pandit was appointed KKR head coach in August 2022, taking over from Brendon McCullum. After an underwhelming maiden season in 2023, where KKR finished seventh, Pandit was at the helm when the franchise won their third IPL title in 2024. After Gambhir went on to take up the role as head coach of the Indian team in July last year, Pandit marshalled KKR for IPL 2025 along with mentor Dwayne Bravo and bowling coach Bharat Arun.