Manchester City won’t be winning the Premier League title for the fifth season in a row after yet another league defeat over the weekend, this time to high-flying Nottingham Forest.

Pep Guardiola has never quite endured a campaign like this one, although he did make a few signings in January that could see the club return to their best next term.

Omar Marmoush, Nico Gonzalez, Vitor Reis and Abdukodir Khusanov all arrived at the Etihad, with City spending close to £190m in the process.

Combined with their current crop of young talent, the club could be set for another wonderful era with some rising stars…

Man City's best rising stars

The January signings have added some much-needed quality to a stagnant City side which could give them a boost between now and the end of the season.

Rico Lewis is certainly proving his worth at the club, making 36 appearances in all competitions this term, and he looks like the perfect replacement for Kyle Walker at right-back.

Savinho has proved his worth countless times since joining from Troyes last summer. The Brazilian has registered 11 goal contributions in what has been a solid debut campaign but still needs to take himself to the next level, adding more goals to his game.

Elsewhere, James McAtee finally looks ready to take his game on, scoring six goals in just 21 matches for the club. He may soon be replaced by 19-year-old new signing Claudio Echeverri, though, who looks like one of the hottest talents to come out of South America in recent years.

That being said, could it be the signing of Abdukodir Khusanov that goes on to become the finest youngster at the club?

Why Abdukodir Khusanov could become world-class at Man City

After a dismal few months, Guardiola knew some freshness was needed in order to give his squad a boost heading into the second half of the season.

With Manuel Akanji and John Stones suffering from injury problems, bolstering the defence was crucial. Reis is certainly someone who could become a key player for the club in the future.

In the meantime, it is Khusanov who has slotted into the City backline with ease, overcoming a rocky debut against Chelsea.

No doubt proud of his development, the 21-year-old became the first Uzbekistan-born player to feature in the Premier League, costing the club £33.5m from French side Lens.

Since that first outing against Enzo Maresca’s men, judging by his performances, he could very well turn out to be one of Guardiola’s most important signings for City.

Chalkboard

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

The centre-back had only made 31 appearances for the Ligue 1 side before City pounced and secured his signature during the transfer window, but his quality was obvious.

During the first half of the season in the French top flight, the youngster ranked in the top 1% for interceptions (2.4) and in the top 17% for aerials won (2.49) per 90 when compared to his positional peers.

Khusanov’s PL stats for Man City (Per 90)
Accurate passes	59.6
Tackles	1
Interceptions	0.6
Total duels won	2.2
Ball recoveries	4.8
Clearances	4.2
Via Sofascore

Since joining City, Khusanov has played seven times, scoring against Leyton Orient in the FA Cup and he looks the part at the heart of the club’s defence.

Writer Alex Barker wrote on X that Khusanov’s physicality is “frightening” and, despite being aged only 21 and featuring in five Premier League games, the Uzbeki international has managed to showcase his talents already.

Across these five top-flight matches, the former Lens starlet has averaged a 92% pass success rate, along with recovering 4.8 balls, making one tackle and winning 57% of his aerial duels per game for City. To put those numbers into context, William Saliba has won 61% of his aerial duels and completed 94% of his passes. Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk has succeeded with 92% of his passes and won a whopping 71% of his aerial duels.

Thus, you can clearly see that Khusanov is on the right path and has made an impressive start to life in England. Now, the next few weeks will allow him to play without too much pressure, especially as the league title will elude the club for the first time since 2020.

This could give Khusanov a chance to continually impress, which could make a huge difference to the club for the 2025/26 campaign.

There is no doubt that the 21-year-old could turn into one of the finest defenders in the world, especially if he continues his recent meteoric rise.

Outclassed by Gibbs-White: Pep must now finally axe 5/10 Man City star

Man City were beaten by Forest in a huge game

By
Joe Nuttall

Mar 8, 2025

Liverpool have completed their second summer signing with the capture of goalkeeper Armin Pecsi from Puskas Akademia.

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Liverpool secure second summer signingKeeper Pecsi joins from Puskas AkademiaTargets Kerkez and Wirtz will have to waitFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Liverpool have confirmed the signature of the 20-year-old keeper from the Hungarian top-flight side, without stating how long the contract is. He is the Reds' second summer signing after recruiting Jeremie Frimpong from Bayer Leverkusen last month.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Liverpool are trying to sign Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz and Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez, among others, but now they have strengthened in between the sticks. According to Fabrizio Romano, Pecsi is part of a 'long-term' project, and this is a 'record' sale for Akademia.

DID YOU KNOW?

Pecsi moves to Liverpool after a successful season with Akademia, where he featured 30 times and led them to a second-placed finish in the league. He is also a nominee for the prestigious 2025 Golden Boy award.

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Pecsi is unlikely to go straight into Liverpool's first-team but will have long-term desires of getting ahead of fellow stoppers Alisson and Giorgi Mamardashvili in the Reds' goal.

The CAC also added Shyama Shaw to the women’s senior selection panel

Shashank Kishore19-Jun-2023

File photo: Former Karnataka players Thilak Naidu with Rahul Dravid in 2012•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Thilak Naidu, the former Karnataka wicketkeeper and Ranji Trophy winner, has been named the chairperson of BCCI’s junior selection committee (men). He fills the position left vacant by S Sharath, who was elevated to the senior men’s selection panel in January this year.The rest of the panel, comprising Ranadeb Bose (East Zone), Harvinder Singh Sodhi (North), Pathik Patel (West) and Krishen Mohan (Central) remains the same. The first task for Naidu’s panel will be to identify a pool of players and prepare them in the run-up to the Under-19 World Cup to be held in Sri Lanka early next year.ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the Cricket Advisory Committee (CAC) comprising Sulakhana Naik, Ashok Malhotra and Jatin Paranjape, formerly a national selector himself, lent weightage to Naidu’s candidature owing to his experience and body of work since his retirement in 2012.Naidu’s first-class career saw 93 matches in which he took 220 catches and effected 18 stumpings. He was also an aggressive lower-order batter, making 4386 run at 34.80, including eight centuries. Naidu chaired Karnataka’s junior selection panel from 2013-16 and was also part of the senior selection committee in 2015-16.The CAC also named Shyama Shaw as part of the women’s senior selection committee. The former allrounder represented India in three Tests and five ODIs in the mid-1990s and has since served in various administrative capacities, most notably as a Bengal selector for two terms. She replaces Mithu Mukherjee in the panel.Shaw joins the panel chaired by former India left-arm spinner Neetu David. Also in the committee are Arati Vaidya, Kalpana Venkatachar and Renu Margarate. Their immediate task will be to pick the India ODI and T20I squads for the limited-overs tour of Bangladesh in July, the team’s first international assignment since the T20 World Cup in South Africa in February.The announcement of the selection panel is likely to be followed by the appointment of a full-time head coach, for which the BCCI had invited applications in May.ESPNcricinfo has learnt the board was keen on appointing Gary Kirsten for the top job. However, Kirsten* confirmed he hadn’t been approached. Among those in contention are Amol Muzumdar, the former Mumbai captain, and Hrishikesh Kanitkar, the former India allrounder and current interim head coach. The search for a “big international name” is believed to be one of the reasons for the delay in appointment.It’s understood Charlotte Edwards hadn’t thrown her hat into the ring until recently; it couldn’t be confirmed if that stand has changed. The World Cup-winning former England captain is currently head coach of Mumbai Indians in the Women’s Premier League.The new coach is likely to be given a two-year term to begin with, especially because there are two ICC events – the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2024 and the 50-over World Cup in India in 2025 – within this period.0900GMT The story has been updated with Gary Kirsten’s response.

Perhaps with replacing Mohamed Salah in mind, Liverpool have now reportedly set their sights on signing the Egyptian’s greatest rival to win the 2025 Ballon d’Or this summer.

Liverpool eye new forwards as Diaz, Jota and Nunez disappoint

Arne Slot’s debut campaign has gone so well at Anfield that the natural expectancy was that they would, one way or another, find a way past Paris Saint-Germain. For the first time in the Dutchman’s Liverpool career, however, his side’s weaknesses were laid bare up against a PSG side who are simply more complete under Luis Enrique these days.

Not just Nunez: Liverpool star who lost the ball every 3 mins let Slot down

Liverpool exit the Champions League in the last 16 after losing to Paris Saint-Germain on penalties.

1 ByAngus Sinclair Mar 12, 2025

It was fairly fitting that arguably Europe’s best two sides needed penalties to decide what was a two-legged tie filled to the brim with world class quality and in many ways it summed up Darwin Nunez’s Liverpool career that he was the one who blinked first.

Between Diogo Jota’s frantic yet ineffective performance, Luis Diaz’s mixed display and Nunez’s own frustrating cameo, it became clearer than ever that the Reds need an attacking boost this summer, especially if Salah departs as a free agent.

If that is to be the case – and a disastrous one at that – then those at Anfield must pursue the signature of the Egyptian’s Ballon d’Or rival this summer, having already reportedly set their sights on his potential arrival.

According to Caught Offside, Liverpool are now eyeing a summer swoop to sign Raphinha from Barcelona in a move that would instantly ease their Salah blow and revive their frontline.

Unlike this time last year, however, Barcelona are unlikely to part ways with Brazilian at the first chance they get. In fact, they’re likely to deny any offer at all for the winger’s signature, given how he has exploded into life to become one of Europe’s most lethal players in the current campaign – scoring 27 goals in all competitions.

"Special" Raphinha one of few who could replace Salah

When Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes go searching for a player capable of guaranteeing 20-plus goals a season whilst also taking up the role of main creator, they will struggle to find an extensive list of players able to come close to the levels that Salah has consistently shown. However, if they turn that search towards Spain they may just find one of a select few stars beginning to show similar traits.

Goals

13

27

Assists

7

17

Expected Goals

14.4

22

Key Passes

74

68

Although the numbers show just how unbelievable Salah’s season has been, Raphinha has been no slouch either and remains the Liverpool star’s greatest Ballon d’Or rival – especially after advancing in the Champions League.

At 28 years old, the former Leeds United winger is finally at the absolute peak of his powers and earning deserved praise from Hansi Flick as a result. The Barcelona boss told reporters earlier this season: “He has good dynamics with the ball and he has had an extraordinary match.

“His offensive and defensive dynamics, and his good technique, are something special. I have never had a player like him and he helps us a lot.”

Explosive batter riding a new wave into his Ashes debut

Vithushan Ehantharajah14-Jun-2023Of the players arriving into this Ashes riding the crest of England’s nu-wave, Harry Brook is probably at its very peak. Which explains the confidence he has in stating the faster Australia bowl, the quicker they will get sent to the boundary.”Obviously they might have a little bit of extra pace, but if they bowl quicker it tends to go to the boundary quicker,” he said, when asked about the arsenal of the visiting quicks. They will be the best and sharpest he has faced so far. And he doesn’t seem all that bothered by them at all.All to a man speak of belief and a love of being where they are and doing what they are doing. But few wear it as proudly as Brook. The 24-year-old has tangible proof of just how highly he is regarded in the England set-up.That the return of 2022’s Bazball totem Jonny Bairstow meant losing Ben Foakes, a reliable performer and certainly a superior wicketkeeper, was a testament to how the Yorkshire wunderkind has made the position his own. Seven caps in, 818 runs, four centuries, averaging 81.80 and striking at 99.03 – in a free-wheeling group, he is non-negotiable.Related

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“There was a lot of talk of me opening the batting – thank god I’m not doing that,” laughed Brook, perhaps remembering a 10-game stint for Yorkshire across 2018 and 2019 in which he averaged 14.94 at the top of the order.”I was never asked. It gives me a lot of confidence knowing that I’m going to be batting five and they back me batting there.”To have established himself so early and in such fashion – after picking up a T20 World Cup winners’ medal, he then toured Pakistan and New Zealand, scoring more runs in nine innings than any in Test history – speaks to a high base level of self-regard dovetailing with undoubted ability. The drive to get to this level has been evident throughout, and the enthusiasm to replicate the exploits of the England stars of 2005 – a fond series for him, albeit on DVD years after given he was six at the time – is clear. Some of his mates will be on hand in the Hollies, and will no doubt toast Brook’s Ashes debut repeatedly throughout the day.This Test, however, is the first with a sense of responsibility around Brook, even if the McCullum-Stokes ethos is geared towards quashing anything that promotes caution. That he feels part of it all is in some way an acceptance of those expectations.”It’s a dream come true to be involved in my first Ashes,” said Brook. “Growing up I was watching some of these players who are still playing, against the best in the world and the best Australians. I’m looking forward to it.”I feel like I’m more part of the team now. Obviously as a deputy you don’t quite feel like you’re meant to be there if you know what I mean. So to have been contributing and gain a few match-winning performances this winter has meant the world and I feel a big part of the team now.”Harry Brook launches a drive down the ground•Getty ImagesThat Bairstow is behind him offers him license to go even harder, if that is possible. And with Moeen Ali behind the keeper-batter, Brook is excited by the prospect of seeing how a blockbuster lower-middle-order can perform out in the middle.”It’s a long batting line-up, that’s for sure. There’s a lot of T20 experience in there and lads batting with the tail tend to go harder and hit as many runs in a short period of time. To have them boys batting at seven and eight is ridiculous really.”That Brook has never faced Australia – the match at last year’s World Cup was rained off – puts a little bit extra on this. There is no doubt he will be the subject of a lot of their attention. The numbers – what he’s posted and his age – have put a target on his back, and he will not be lost for people to talk to when batting as the visitors look to disrupt his flow.There is no doubt the man will be willing to go toe-to-toe and give a bit back. He is certainly aiming to carry on his domineering ways out in the middle, even against the best attack in the world right now. And especially against one of the modern era’s premiere off-spinners in Nathan Lyon.”If I get a good ball I’m going to try and survive against that good ball, and if he bowls me a bad ball I’ll try and hit it for four or six. So it’s not necessarily I’m going to come after him and try and hit every ball for six. I’m going to respect the bowler and whatever he bowls and if it is a bad ball I’ll try and hit it for six.”

To put it diplomatically, there have been some real negatives to this season for Tottenham Hotspur, but at least a few positives.

You can take your pick when it comes to the former, from lacklustre form to persistent injuries and a souring atmosphere at home and away.

However, when it comes to the latter, it really boils down to how well a number of the club’s young talents have adapted to first-team football, from summer signings Lucas Bergvall and Archie Gray to academy gem Mikey Moore.

The good news is that another batch of talented youngsters could make their competitive first-team debuts next season, including one academy star who might just be the club’s own Cole Palmer.

The Spurs youngsters who could breakthrough next season

So, before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at a couple of other talented prospects who could finally make their competitive debut for the club next season, starting with Ashley Phillips.

The 19-year-old centre-back has spent the season on loan with Championship side Stoke City this year, and despite it being his first full campaign in the second tier, he’s been an essential member of the first team.

Across all competitions, the former Blackburn Rovers gem, whom Tony Mowbray said was “going to be a mega footballer” one day, has made 31 appearances for the Potters, and, most impressively, each one has been a start.

From defence to midfield now, and the next prospect who could play some games under Ange Postecoglou next season is Tyrese Hall.

The 19-year-old ace, who “has a really big future at Tottenham” according to Spurs expert John Wenham, has been enjoying a great season in the club’s U21 side this year.

In just 20 appearances, in which he’s played all over the place, the London-born dynamo has scored six goals and provided four assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every other game.

On top of that, he’s now a part of the England U19 camp, but even so, he is not the most exciting player in the club’s academy; that title belongs to someone even younger, someone who could be the Lilywhites’ own Palmer.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Spurs' own Palmer

He may be out of form at the moment, but Palmer is unquestionably one of the most exciting English talents around, and that’s what people could be saying about Luca Williams-Barnett in a few years.

The 16-year-old might still be a relative unknown to the wider footballing public, but he most certainly is not for those who follow academy football.

The incredible youngster, whom analyst Ben Mattinson described as “a name to keep an eye on,” has the potential to be the club’s version of the Chelsea ace for a few reasons.

The first is that, like the England international, he’s a lean-mean-goalscoring-machine.

In just 24 appearances for the U18s, totalling 1887 minutes, the unreal talent has scored 20 goals and provided ten assists.

Williams-Barnett’s record for the U18s
Appearances	24
Minutes	1887′
Goals	20
Assists	10
Goal Involvements per Match	1.25
Minutes per Goal Involvement	62.9′
All Stats via Transfermarkt

In other words, he’s averaging 1.25 goal involvements every game, or one every 62.9 minutes, and while he’s still young, that is the sort of form that could force Postecoglou to hand him some first-team minutes next season.

The second reason he could become the club’s version of the former Manchester City prospect is that he, too, is positionally versatile.

For example, while his primary position is attacking midfield, he’s played in left-midfield, left and right-wing and even up top, which helps to explain Wenham’s description of him as a “cheat-code.”

Ultimately, Spurs might be having a terrible season this year, but the future is looking incredibly bright, and Williams-Barnett could make it even more so next season.

Their very own Saka: Spurs plotting bid to sign £50m "monster" from PL club

The talented winger would make Spurs a more dangerous team.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Mar 26, 2025

The opener was originally set to play two first-class games as well, but was forced to miss them due to a visa delay

Shashank Kishore31-Jul-2023

Prithvi Shaw will be the fifth Indian player to feature in the county circuit in England•AFP/Getty Images

India batter Prithvi Shaw is set for his maiden stint in the English county circuit after formalising a deal with Northamptonshire for the upcoming One-Day Cup, which is set to run from August 1 to September 16.Shaw arrived in the UK on Sunday and will feature in his first game this Friday, against Gloucestershire, in Cheltenham. Shaw was earlier in line to play two four-day County Championship fixtures as well, but was forced to miss them due to a delay in securing a visa.”It’s a great opportunity for me and I’m really thankfully to Northamptonshire for giving me this chance to express myself here,” Shaw was quoted as saying in a media release. “It’s going to be amazing I think and I’m really looking forward to it.”Related

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Shaw has a formidable record in List A cricket. He averages 52.54 across 53 innings that have brought him 2627 runs. These include eight hundreds and 11 half-centuries, with a highest of 227 not out in February 2021.Shaw is currently out of favour as far as national selection goes, having been ignored for the West Indies T20Is as well as India’s Asian Games squad. He last played for India on the tour of Sri Lanka in July 2021, and was most-recently part of the squad earlier this year for the T20Is at home against New Zealand. That was followed by a disappointing IPL 2023, during which he was dropped midway through the competition.He was most recently in action in India’s season-opening first-class competition, the Duleep Trophy, where he made one half-century in four innings. Shaw was subsequently permitted to miss the Deodhar Trophy, the zonal 50-over competition, to allow him to play in England.”The goal for me wherever I play is about the team,” Shaw said. “So winning games for Northamptonshire is the first goal for this season and then it’s about scoring as many runs as I can, I just want to give 100%.”John Sadler, Northamptonshire’s head coach, hopes a hungry Shaw, who is “coming over with a point to prove”, will lend “high class” to the team.”He’s coming over with a point to prove and to enhance his own game. He’s had some pressure on his shoulders for some time living up to the expectation of his career so far, he’s probably fallen off the radar a little but he’s very, very hungry to come and get himself back to his very best and get back into the India team.”Shaw is the fifth Indian to feature in the county circuit in England this year after Cheteshwar Pujara (Sussex), Ajinkya Rahane (Leicestershire), Arshdeep Singh (Kent) and Navdeep Saini (Worcestershire).There was a possibility of a sixth signing, with India allrounder Vijay Shankar potentially lining up a gig with Kent as a replacement for Arshdeep, who will join the Indian team in the Caribbean for the T20I series. However, the deal is believed to have fallen through due to visa issues. Shankar is currently playing league cricket in Chennai.

Just five days after announcing his retirement from all forms of cricket on social media, Manoj Tiwary has reversed his decision, saying that the original decision had been an “emotional” one, and that he will “come out of retirement and play for Bengal for one more year”.Seated with Cricket Association of Bengal president Snehasish Ganguly at a press meet at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Tuesday, Tiwary said, “Raj [Ganguly] convinced me to continue playing [in the Ranji Trophy] for one more year and I should leave while on the field. So I thought about it. I spoke to my wife, and she convinced me too.”She reminded me that I was the captain when Bengal reached the Ranji Trophy final last year. And then Raj spoke to me, I thought about it and decided to come back. A lot of fans also wrote to me and asked me to reconsider my decision.”There was no proper reason for the retirement announcement, Tiwary said, adding that it had been made when he “had gone blank”.