Erling Haaland continued his incredible goalscoring form as Manchester City claimed a 2-0 victory over Everton on Saturday afternoon. The in-form striker netted a second-half brace as Pep Guardiola’s side closed the gap on title rivals Arsenal and Liverpool and stretched their unbeaten run to eight games in all competitions at the Etihad Stadium.

In a tight opening 45 minutes which saw City limited to a handful of half chances, Everton striker Beto had the best opportunity to break the deadlock but he was unable to convert for David Moyes’ men, who performed admirably in the first half.

However, City made the visitors pay after the interval, taking the lead through Haaland after the Norway international headed home from Nico O’Reilly’s cross. And the forward had a second just five minutes later when his low drive found its way past Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, taking his tally up to 11 goals in just eight league games.

Haaland almost had a hat-trick late on but he was thwarted by Pickford as City temporarily moved to the top of the Premier League table, before dropping down to second following Arsenal's tight 1-0 win over Fulham on Saturday evening. Fellow title contenders Liverpool host Manchester United at Anfield on Sunday.

GOAL rates City's players from the Etihad Stadium…

• AFP
  

  Goalkeeper & Defense

  Gianluigi Donnarumma (6/10):

  While Everton played well in spells, they were unable to test the Italian enough.

  Matheus Nunes (6/10):

  Neat and tidy in possession, he was a solid performer for the hosts.

  Ruben Dias (6/10):

  Set City on their way to breaking the deadlock with a forward burst before feeding Foden with a pass.

  Nathan Ake (6/10):

  Alongside Dias, he did a good job up against Everton's Beto.

  Nico O'Reilly (8/10):

  The young defender provided a lovely assist for Haaland's header.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Midfield

  Nico Gonzalez (7/10):

  As you would expect, he saw lots of the ball as City dominated possession.

  Tijjani Reijnders (5/10):

  Unable to stamp his authority in midfield, he was withdrawn early in the second half.

  Phil Foden (8/10):

  The midfielder pierced Everton's defence with a beautiful pass to O'Reilly, whose cross was buried by Haaland. He was also involved in the second goal, moving the ball out wide to Savinho.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Attack

  Savinho (7/10):

  The Brazilian recorded the assist for Haaland's second goal of the day.

  Erling Haaland (9/10):

  The striker scored his fifth and sixth career goals against Everton, continuing his rich vein of goalscoring form.

  Jeremy Doku (7/10):

  Looking to continue his fine form, the lively Belgium international was City's best player in the first half.

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• AFP
  

  Subs & Manager

  Bernardo Silva (6/10):

  Brought on in the second half, the captain injected energy into City's play.

  Oscar Bobb (6/10):

  He was involved in the build-up to City's second, finding Foden with a pass.

  Rayan Cherki (N/A):

  The summer signing made his return from injury, emerging from the bench late on.

  Mateo Kovacic (N/A):

  A late substitute, he didn't earn enough minutes to impress.

  Rico Lewis (N/A):

  Not on the pitch long enough to make an impact.

  Pep Guardiola (7/10):

  Whatever the manager said at half-time seemed to work, as City were much sharper after the break.

Celtic are back from the international break and find themselves preparing for a tough run of fixtures, including the start of their Europa League campaign under Brendan Rodgers.

The Irishman has spoken in frank fashion about the frustration he faced during the summer transfer window, claiming his side ‘weren’t ready’ for their Champions League playoff match against Kairat Almaty after the Parkhead hierarchy failed to push critical deals over the line.

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Nevertheless, the Bhoys brought in ten new players by the end of the market period before Kelechi Iheanacho was released from his Sevilla contract to sign as a free agent.

However, the lack of synergy between the Celtic board and Rodgers has been on show for all to see, and one of his lesser-spotted summer signings has now sent an intriguing social media message that may explain his own situation in a little more detail.

Celtic loanee Jahmai Simpson-Pusey sends cryptic Instagram message

Taking to Instagram, Celtic summer signing Jahmai Simpson-Pusey changed his profile picture on the platform to reflect a message that said ‘Delays teach patience, which prepares you for blessings’ after failing to make a first-team appearance since arriving on loan from Manchester City.

Becoming the Hoops’ eighth addition of the window, the 19-year-old has also been left out of the Bhoys’ Europa League squad by Rodgers alongside Callum Osmand, Shin Yamada and Hayato Inamura, causing some to question why he was acquired in the first place.

For now, Lennoxtown product Dane Murray appears to be ahead of Simpson-Pusey in the pecking order and is usually first in line to come off the bench when Rodgers decides to shuffle his backline around.

Regardless, there is a long season ahead for the reigning Scottish Premiership champions, and there is every chance that the England youth international could have a part to play as his loan club pursue another domestic treble.

What has Brendan Rodgers said about Jahmai Simpson-Pusey?

Shortly after his arrival in Glasgow was confirmed, Rodgers admitted to the press before his side defeated Aberdeen in August that Simpson-Pusey may be some way off featuring regularly due to his lack of a full-intensity pre-season.

He stated via Sky Sports: “He’s a little bit away in fairness to Jahmai. He’s been training with the small group at Manchester City and isn’t quite up to speed yet. You can see his quality straightaway and it’s just going to take a bit of time in terms of his fitness and the intensity.”

Clearly, Simpson-Pusey is a man with plenty of talent, given he claimed the Premier League 2 Player of the Season award last term and also made six appearances in the first-team under Pep Guardiola.

Now, he faces the challenge of nailing down a regular slot in Celtic’s backline, which may require persistence as the Manchester-born man looks to unseat the likes of Liam Scales, Cameron Carter-Vickers and Auston Trusty over the coming months.

Former Everton striker Wayne Rooney has revealed the best teammate he has during his time as a Blues player, with Pele even watching his debut at another club.

Rooney's love for Everton

For a while, Rooney’s reputation at Everton was damaged because of his decision to join Manchester United as a teenager, having emerged as the most exciting young player in the country.

The England legend returned to Goodison Park later in his career, however, which went down well, and he has revealed in the past how much it hurt to leave the Blues first time around.

“I knew before Euro 2004 that I was getting touted to other teams because Everton needed the money. Certain individuals were going in to other clubs saying, ‘Would you take Wayne Rooney for £30 million?’. I was heartbroken. I mean, I loved the club and wanted to play for Everton but once I found that out, I was devastated.

“To be honest, I would have left at some point – of course, I would have to better myself and go and win trophies – but I was devastated. So I thought, you know what? Okay. I was getting pushed to join Chelsea because they were offering the most money but I didn’t want to go. I wanted to go to Manchester United. It was less money for Everton but that’s where I wanted to play.”

Rooney revealed "best" ever Everton teammate

Speaking to Everton’s X account in the past, Rooney revealed that Thomas Gravesen is the best player he shared a pitch with for the Blues: “I would probably say that Thomas Gravesen is the best player I’ve played with.”

Gravesen is a choice that will likely be met positively by Everton fans, with the Dane a hugely popular player during his time at Goodison.

He possessed both technical ability on the ball and tenacity out of possession, and his quality is highlighted by the fact that he earned a move to Real Madrid in 2005.

In fact, Pele was even present to watch his debut at the Santiago Bernabeu, and legendary manager Fabio Capello heaped praise on him at the time.

“He has been playing very well in front of the Madrid defence and is also very effective at helping build their attacks. He is turning into a very important player for them, as Madrid had problems in that position before he arrived. They were all over the place there. Now, with his arrival, there is more balance to the team.”

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If Gravesen were asked the same question, Rooney could easily get his vote, considering he is among the greatest English footballers of his generation, and it’s just a shame that they didn’t spend longer together at Everton.

Hosts put Division One leaders under pressure after amassing 664 before late Hameed wicket

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-May-2025

Centuries from Emilio Gay, Ollie Robinson and Graham Clark put Durham in a strong position on a record-breaking day in their Rothesay County Championship clash with Nottinghamshire.Gay and Robinson dominated the morning session as they pushed Durham beyond Nottinghamshire’s total, with Gay notching up a second consecutive home century. Robinson was then joined by Clark in the afternoon and the pair took the game to the Nottinghamshire bowling attack, with Clark picking up a second consecutive century and Robinson looked back to his best as he got his first hundred of the season.The hosts kept on going into the evening and broke the county’s record for the highest first-class total, but there was a bright spot for Nottinghamshire as Liam Patterson-White picked up his fifth first-class five-wicket haul and they eventually bowled Durham out for 664. Nottinghamshire reached close on 67 for 1, 190 runs behind the hosts.Clark has been a consistent performer for Durham this season, impressing with the bat on several occasions already. On the other hand, Gay and Robinson both had tricky starts, but their class showed to give their side a chance of a vital win on day four.Meanwhile, Nottinghamshire will be thinking about what could have been as Joe Clarke dropped both Gay and Robinson in the slip cordon in the early stages of their knocks.Resuming on 320 for 4, Gay and Robinson were the unbeaten pair in place and they were looking to get Durham into a lead as soon as possible. Robinson picked up where he left off as he played a lovely punch for four early on, but he was dropped by Clarke on 35 as the Durham man edged a Mohammad Abbas delivery but the slip fielder dropped one for the second time in the innings.Gay played a beautiful shot through midwicket for four, while Robinson reached his half-century from 75 balls.Gay brought up his second century of the season in style as he cut a Rob Lord delivery to the boundary, while Robinson smashed a Patterson-White delivery down the ground for six.Gay’s excellent innings came to an end as Patterson-White bowled him for 104 while attempting a reverse sweep, but that brought the in-form Clark to the crease and he smashed Lyndon James for two boundaries in an over to take his side into the lead. Clark passed fifty in quick time, with it coming from 56 deliveries, and another milestone came soon after as Robinson got his century from 141 balls with a lovely boundary through third.Robinson then made the most of a short ball from Patterson-White as he heaved one over the leg-side boundary for six, but the Durham keeper’s fabulous innings came to an end at 141 when a leading edge from a James delivery was caught by Freddie McCann at backward point.Wickets came like buses for the visitors as England’s Brydon Carse was bowled by the resilient Patterson-White without troubling the scorers.Clark was agonisingly left on 99 not out at tea, but he reached his second century of the season in the first over after tea and he took his side over the 600 mark. The runs continued to flow for Clark and George Drissell, but Clark handed Patterson-White a fourth wicket of the day as he chopped on for 121.But they kept on going, with Ben Raine getting the single that gave Durham their record first-class total, but he became Patterson-White’s fifth victim when he departed for 10. Drissell smashed one down the ground for six as the lead stretched past 250, but the Durham innings came to an end when Codi Yusuf was run out, with the lead at 257.First innings double centurion Haseeb Hameed picked up an early boundary as the league leaders kicked off their second innings, while Ben Slater got off the mark with a nice shot through the covers. Just before close, Carse got the vital wicket of Hameed for 13 with a beauty which dismantled the Nottinghamshire captain’s off stump, but Slater, who has looked in good touch, and nightwatcher Rob Lord saw Nottinghamshire to close without further loss.

“It’s that tiny bit around ‘okay, how do we improve our intent through those middle overs’,” says Katey Martin

ESPNcricinfo staff05-May-20252:04

Rayudu: KKR have to sort out their middle order and bowling changes

The win over the already-eliminated Rajasthan Royals (RR) on Sunday afternoon at Eden Gardens made it the first instance of Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) winning two games in a row in IPL 2025. Throw in the no-result against Punjab Kings (PBKS), and they have now got five points in three games, and they are contenders to make the playoffs. But some things are not yet as smooth as they would like them to be and, as Ambati Rayudu says, “they have to really sort that middle order out”. And that’s not all.On Sunday, it came down to Andre Russell making the most of an entry point he has always asked for but rarely been given, and Rinku Singh doing Rinku Singh things, which he hasn’t always been able to do this season. That added up to KKR losing only two wickets after the eighth over, Russell getting to bat from the 13th over, and Rinku getting six don’t-think-just-hit balls at the end. It worked well.But “that middle period, they really need to sharpen up, they need to step up if they have to compete against the big teams that are doing well this season,” Rayudu said on ESPNcricinfo Time Out. “If they have to win the championship again, they have to really sort that middle order out.”Related

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On Sunday, Venkatesh Iyer and Ramandeep Singh, both out of form, were pushed down to allow Russell and Rinku to have a go. Is that a plan KKR will turn to again to make the most of the middle overs while batting?And what about the middle overs with the ball?Russell has eight wickets at an average of 20.12 from 11 matches, but has actually bowled in only seven of them, a total of 13.3 overs. He can be expensive – his economy rate this season is 11.92 – but, as Rayudu pointed out, he can take wickets.”In terms of their bowling changes, they have to be better. I don’t know why Russell hasn’t bowled today [he did, the 19th over of RR’s chase, conceding 11],” Rayudu said. “Russell is a wicket-taker. Even if he goes for runs, when you are 75 for 5 [RR were 71 for 5 in the chase in the eighth over], you want to get somebody in there who can get you those wickets.”He’s always been a wicket-taker. So I think that’s one area where [Ajinkya] Rahane has to seriously look at.”0:55

Martin: Russell was banking on taking on the pace bowlers

Katey Martin, Rayudu’s co-panelist on the programme, agreed. “When you’re 75 for 5, you go ‘how do we get one more wicket here’ and the impact player is probably going to come in and then it’s Jofra Archer,” she said. “So it’s just that tipping point of getting your team ahead in terms of defending a total.”The fact of the matter is they found a way to win and obviously it’s must-win to the end, but the teams that can find a way to win from any situation and scrap and fight give themselves the best chance. And ideally, they would have liked to have been further points ahead. But they found a way to win, and I think that can give confidence.”And if it’s that tiny bit around ‘okay, how do we improve our intent through those middle overs’, they can get there clicking knowing they’ve got match-winners throughout – that we talked about at the start – then they might sneak through.”KKR next play bottom-placed Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at home on Wednesday, followed by games against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), another poorly performing team, and high-flying Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) to round things off. The last two games are away fixtures.

Newcastle United fell to their third Premier League defeat of the season this afternoon, with Danny Welbeck’s double securing a 2-1 win for Brighton & Hove Albion.

Eddie Howe’s side must have thought they secured a point after Nick Woltemade netted his fourth goal in just five league outings after his summer arrival from Stuttgart.

However, it wasn’t meant to be, as the aforementioned star’s effort was in vain after Welbeck’s goal secured Fabian Hurzeler’s side all three points at the AMEX.

The Magpies now sit in the bottom half of the table at present, with just two wins to their name – needing a huge reaction in the coming games to get their campaign back on track.

Such a result will likely leave the manager bitterly disappointed, but more so, the failure to impress of numerous players who were handed chances to impress from the off.

Newcastle’s disappointing performers against Brighton

Despite being under fire for his lack of impact of late, Howe decided to stick with Brazilian international Joelinton as part of his three-man midfield.

However, his showing against the Seagulls was a hugely disappointing one, with the 29-year-old subsequently being withdrawn from the contest at the break.

He failed to create any chances for his teammates despite completing 21 passes, whilst also losing 100% of the aerial battles that he entered on the South Coast.

Joelinton wasn’t alone in failing to deliver against Hurzeler’s men, with full-back Dan Burn unable to help the Magpies secure all three points against his former employers.

The 33-year-old only managed to win four of the 14 duels he entered during his 90-minute performance, subsequently being dribbled past twice by former Newcastle star Yankuba Minteh.

Despite the showings from the aforementioned duo, one other first-team member produced an afternoon to forget, with Howe desperately needing to take action.

The Newcastle star who needs to be dropped after Brighton

After the sale of Alexander Isak during the summer window, it was vital Newcastle invested well into the squad to avoid a drop off in the Premier League standings.

As previously mentioned, Woltemade has hit the ground running for the Magpies, already looking like the club’s most threatening option within the final third.

The opposite end of the pitch also received hefty investment, with Malick Thiaw joining in a £40m deal from AC Milan – subsequently cementing his place in the starting eleven in recent weeks.

However, fellow summer addition Anthony Elanga has struggled to produce the type of displays that saw the hierarchy fork out a fee in the region of £55m for his services.

The Swede has failed to score or assist in any of his ten outings across all competitions, with his showing against the Seagulls highlighting his lack of impact to date.

He was named in the starting eleven for the clash against Hurzeler’s men this afternoon, but once again failed to match the faith shown in him by his manager, Howe.

Like Joelinton, Elanga was hooked at half-time due to his lack of impact, with his underlying figures showcasing how dismal he was during the Magpies’ latest defeat.

Minutes played

45

Touches

20

Passes completed

12

Crosses completed

0

Dribbles completed

0

Duels won

50%

Dribbled past

1

Match rating

4/10

He failed to complete any of the dribbles or crosses that he attempted, with only one of his attempted passes being made into the final third of the pitch.

Elanga also came out on top in just 50% of all the duels he contested, even being unable to create any chances for his teammates during his 45-minute outing.

To further highlight his lack of impact, he only achieved a total of 20 touches, a tally lower than that of goalkeeper Nick Pope, who achieved a total of 40.

As a result of his performance, Elanga was handed a measly 4/10 match rating by Newcastle World journalist Jordan Cronin – further showcasing his lack of impact.

Given his display, Howe desperately needs to get the winger firing, which should see the 23-year-old being dropped to the substitutes’ bench in the coming matches.

His mammoth price tag has certainly increased the pressure on his shoulders, but time needs to be handed his way to allow the attacker to adapt to the demands in the North East.

Newcastle are brewing the homegrown Elanga in 18-year-old "huge talent"

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Joe Root says guilt at not being able to support Jos Buttler during his captaincy is driving the 34-year-old to continue in limited-overs cricket under Harry Brook. On Sunday, Root became England’s leading ODI runscorer, a feat capped with a career-best 166 not out to chase down a target of 309 in the second ODI against West Indies in Cardiff, sealing a series win in the process. It follows his ascension to the top of the English Test charts last October, when he moved beyond Sir Alastair Cook’s tally of 12,742 in the first Test of the Pakistan tour.Upon reaching 42, Root passed the previous highest of 6,957 achieved by Eoin Morgan. As impressive as Morgan’s runscoring exploits were, his captaincy was legacy-defining, overseeing a white-ball revolution that sent England to the top of rankings, capped off by winning the 50-over World Cup in 2019.Root, England’s top-scorer at that tournament with 556 runs, was a vital cog in Morgan’s machine. However, with priorities shifting, particularly in the final years of his own Test captaincy, he found himself playing less and less 50-over cricket. Even without the Test captaincy during Buttler’s tenure, Root ended up playing just 25 of a possible 47 ODIs.That included the dismal 2023 World Cup campaign, and an equally poor Champions Trophy earlier this year, which ended in Buttler’s resignation. Those tournaments sandwiched a 2024 in which Root played no white-ball cricket for his country.Now, with eight ODIs under his belt in 2025, and an 18th hundred in the bag, he is back to being at one with the format. And he admits his renewed drive comes from wanting to support Brook in the way he felt he had not with Buttler.Related

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“I played a huge amount of cricket with Jos and almost felt guilty that I wasn’t there for him throughout a lot of his tenure,” Root said.”And now that there’s more chances and more opportunities to play ODI cricket, I want to be involved in that. I want play as much as I can for England and, if I’m going make the team better, then absolutely want to be there and involved in, in trying to do that.”Whether that’s helping in and around practice with the younger players as a senior bat, and sharing and expressing my experience with them to try and speed up their processes and their learnings. But also out on the field, I feel like I’ve still got a lot to give and there’s a lot more runs in there. Hopefully knocks like that show that.”Hopefully, this can be a team that is quite consistent and sticks together for a long period of time and we can start building something as a group together. It’s what we did really well leading up to that 2019 World Cup. I don’t think that counts for nothing.”Naturally, Brook was full of praise for Root, whose unbeaten 166 eclipsed the 146 for 7 that the rest of the team (plus extras) managed between them. It confirmed a first series victory as captain for the 26-year-old, achieved ahead of Tuesday’s third and final ODI at the Kia Oval. It also eases qualifying automatically for 2027’s ODI World Cup.Root was similarly full of praise for his new skipper, particularly his work in the field to restrict West Indies to 308 all out. However, he could not resist a familiar jibe at his Yorkshire teammate’s expense.”He’s still an idiot,” joked Root. “As much as he’s an idiot – and I can say that because I’ve known him forever – he’s very cricket intelligent. He might not always be the most intelligent away from cricket, but he understands the game exceptionally well and that’s why he’s so consistent as a batter. I think that’s what will make him a really good leader as well.”You saw today, he might see the game slightly differently and he might do things differently, but it asks different questions of a batter. There was a phase in the game today where we had quite unusual fields, but they found it hard to rotate. It built pressure, it led to wickets and we ended up bowling them out.”

India are scheduled to play three ODIs and three T20Is in Bangladesh

Mohammad Isam30-Jun-2025

BCB president Aminul Islam has said the BCCI is yet to confirm India’s tour of Bangladesh in August. The BCCI, according to him, was going to take a decision on the tour after discussions with the Indian government.”I have already spoken to the BCCI. Discussions have been positive,” Aminul said at a press conference in Dhaka following a six-hour meeting of the BCB’s board of directors. “We remain hopeful. It is scheduled [next month] but they are waiting for some decisions from the government.”Related

India to tour Bangladesh for three ODIs and three T20Is in August

He said the BCCI had told the BCB that India would tour Bangladesh during the next available window if they don’t come in August. There was no reason given as to why the uncertainty has arisen around the tour.”The discussions are ongoing. If for some reason they can’t come [in August], they will come at the next available window. We are hopeful of playing in this window. I can’t say much apart from the fact that they are very professional and cooperative.”In April, the BCB had announced the schedule for India’s tour of Bangladesh: three ODIs on August 17, 20 and 23, followed by T20Is on August 26, 29 and 31. The matches were to be held in Mirpur and Chattogram.

Leeds United finally scored a goal from open play in the Premier League in their exciting 3-1 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers away from home on Saturday.

The Whites had only scored one goal, a penalty against Everton, in their opening four matches of the top-flight campaign, which created concerns over the attacking quality within the group.

Daniel Farke’s side hit back at the critics with three goals in the first half at the Molineux, two coming from open play, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach, and Noah Okafor all got themselves on the scoresheet.

Stach’s goal was the pick of the bunch. The summer signing from Hoffenheim’s belting free-kick into the top corner was a beautiful goal, and he followed that up with an assist for Okafor’s strike.

That win does not put all concerns over the quality of the squad to bed, though, firstly because Wolves have lost all five of their matches in the division and appear to be one of the weaker teams in the league.

Secondly, because there are still some players in the team who are yet to reach lift-off in the Premier League, Brenden Aaronson is one of them.

Why Brenden Aaronson needs to step up for Leeds

To his credit, the USA international is a hard-working player who will always put in a shift and leave everything on the pitch with his relentless pressing and desire to win possession back.

Unfortunately, though, Aaronson’s lack of physicality often means that his hard work goes unrewarded at Premier League level, because opposition players are faster and stronger than him.

For example, the USNMT star has not won a single aerial duel in the division so far, across five appearances, per Sofascore, and he has already been dribbled past six times, ranking in the bottom 6% of wingers in the league in that statistic, per FotMob.

Aaronson showed flashes of quality in the Championship last season, scoring nine goals and providing two assists in 46 matches, but he has yet to prove that he is good enough for the Premier League.

His performances when the West Yorkshire outfit were last in the big time do not help the idea that he is not up to scratch at this level, as he was not up to the task in the 2022/23 campaign.

As you can see in the table above, Aaronson hugely underperformed in front of goal and lost the majority of his duels on the deck and in the air in that season, as Leeds were relegated from the Premier League.

This is why the 24-year-old attacker has to step up in the present day and start to show that he can deliver goals and assists on a regular basis, having failed to provide any goal contributions in five league games so far this term.

The lack of quality provided by Aaronson at the top end of the pitch should enhance the feeling of regret that the club should have for cashing in on a player who has gone on to be even better than the former RB Salzburg star.

Leeds had Polish attacking midfielder Mateusz Bogusz on their books before they decided to cash in on him in March 2023, for a fee of £874k, per Transfermarkt.

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What the versatile forward has achieved since moving on from Elland Road suggests that the Whites had a mare by allowing him to move on for a fee that was less than £1m.

Why Leeds United should have kept Mateusz Bogusz

Bogusz only played three times for the first-team, starting two of those matches, at Leeds before his move to LAFC in 2023, which means that the midfield star did not get many opportunities to shine in West Yorkshire.

The Poland international’s transfer to the MLS provided him with the chance to play regular football and showcase his quality at the top end of the pitch week-in-week-out, and he grasped that chance with both hands.

Bogusz, who was hailed as a “dangerous” player by reporter Greg Beacham, scored 24 goals and provided 19 assists in 90 matches for LAFC in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he provided goals and assists on a regular basis.

The 24-year-old star, who is the same age as Aaronson, proved that he could produce consistent performances in the final third, mostly playing as an attacking midfielder for the American outfit.

As you can see in the table above, Bogusz’s performances in the MLS during the 2024 season were more impressive, particularly from a goalscoring perspective, than Aaronson’s were in the Championship for Farke’s dominant side.

These statistics suggest that the Whites would have been better off with the Poland international in the number ten position, because he could have offered more quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals at the top end of the pitch.

As well as missing out on a quality player, Leeds also missed out on a bigger payday. Cruz Azul swooped in to sign the attacking midfielder for a fee of £7.4m in January of this year, which is significantly more than the £874k that the Whites raked in for his services in 2023.

At the time of writing (23/09/2025), Bogusz is valued at £6.5m by Transfermarkt after a return of two goals and seven assists in 32 outings for the Mexican side. This means that his value has soared by 644% from the £874k that he was sold for less than three years ago.

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Therefore, Leeds must regret cashing in on Bogusz for multiple reasons, because he would be an upgrade on one of the club’s current attackers, Aaronson, and because they missed out on millions.

Dominic Solanke was again absent from training ahead of Tottenham’s trip to Norway to face Bodo/Glimt.

Solanke last played for Spurs on August 23 against Manchester City and, even though he recently returned to training after a troublesome ankle injury disrupted his pre-season, he was conspicuous by his absence on Monday morning in Enfield.

Tottenham boss Thomas Frank played down concerns over Solanke’s fitness on Friday ahead of the visit of Wolves, but with the England forward not able to feature in open training before the club fly to Bodo for Tuesday’s Champions League clash, the squad are short of attacking options.

Paris St Germain loanee Randal Kolo Muani was also absence as he deals with a dead leg, but Ben Davies did take part in the session after a minor knee issue.

Summer recruit Kota Takai also featured after a plantar fascia problem in recent months and Yves Bissouma was back.

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Bissouma has not played for Tottenham this season after he was dropped from the Super Cup squad for being late on multiple occasions. He then suffered a knee injury in training days later.