Detroit Tigers ace lefthander Tarik Skubal cemented himself as the best pitcher in the American League by capturing his second consecutive Cy Young Award earlier in November. And yet, Skubal's name is popping up in trade rumors as MLB's hot stove heats up this winter.

Why?

Tigers‘s reported lowball extension offer to Skubal with free agency looming

Skubal, 29, will be a free agent at season‘s end in 2026. The Tigers, undoubtedly aware of the caliber of pitcher they possess and looking to get ahead of things, in November of 2024 made a contract extension offer to Skubal that his representation, bank-breaking agent Scott Boras, deemed "non-competitive." This past month, with Skubal's '26 free agency still looming and his price tag soaring ever higher on the heels of back-to-back Cy Young Award-winning campaigns, the Tigers reportedly made another offer to the ace lefthander, but the two sides weren't close. The apparent negotiations gulf between Skubal and the Tigers has opened the door to a trade.

Why a Skubal trade makes sense for the Tigers

Skubal has posted back-to-back seasons with a sub-3.00 ERA and 220-plus strikeouts with fewer than 40 walks in 190-plus innings. He's one of the last truly dominant aces in baseball in a bullpen-heavy era where the type starter isn't as prevalent as in past years. MLB has never seen a free agent pitcher command a contract at—or north of—$400 million.

There's every reason to believe that Skubal could become the first.

Represented by Boras, it's very likely that Skubal will hit free agency. Boras is fresh off of an offseason in which he helped Juan Soto land the richest contract for a position player in baseball history. For several million reasons, he'd love to see Skubal surpass Dodgers ace Yoshinobu Yamamoto's $325 million deal next winter, meaning that Boras clients would own the largest contracts among both position players and pitchers.

And while Boras told reporters he's "prepared to listen" to overtures from Tigers principal owner Chris Ilitch and president of baseball operations Scott Harris in terms of a pre-free agency Skubal contract, a deal seems unlikely to materialize before the star pitcher hits the open market, given the way Boras has traditionally done business. When you consider the Tigers‘ resources, it's reasonable to think that Skubal hitting the open market could spell doom for its chances of retaining the ace. Of the 12 teams that made the postseason in 2025, Detroit's payroll ranked ninth. The Tigers again project to have a payroll that ranks in the bottom half of the league's 30 teams. As great as Skubal is, would the Tigers be willing to allocate a hefty chunk of that payroll to one player?

Should Skubal walk in free agency in '26, Detroit would likely recoup a draft pick in terms of compensation.

That's where a trade potentially factors in.

Given how good he is, Skubal could command a massive haul of prospects as part of a trade return. After the 2025 trade deadline, Detroit's farm system checked in as the sixth-best in MLB.com's rankings. The Tigers boast four top-100 prospects, but none of them are pitchers. In fact, of the Tigers's top-10 prospects, just one of them is a pitcher. Perhaps the Tigers, already armed with one of baseball's youngest rosters, lean further into a youth movement, particularly on the pitching side, to capitalize on the potential loss of Skubal?

If so, there's an argument about the best time to trade Skubal would be. This winter, giving contending teams a potential alternative against the backdrop of a solid starting pitching free agent market that lacks a true ace? Or at the '26 trade deadline, giving the (hopefully) contending Tigers a chance to assess how its season is going, and, potentially convince Skubal to remain in Detroit without him testing the open market.

It's a bit of a precarious position for the Tigers front office. Such is the business of baseball.

From Ibrahima Konate winning the title with Liverpool, to William Saliba anchoring Arsenal's charge to the top of the table or Leny Yoro's big-money signing for Manchester United, French centre-backs have had a massive influence in the Premier League's recent history. Now, the race to sign Les Bleus' next great defender is on as the top clubs from England and beyond circle Tylel Tati.

Tati was an unknown even in France at the start of August, but he has quickly emerged as the country's most exciting young defender after making his full debut for Nantes aged 17 against Paris Saint-Germain on the opening day of the season. He hasn't looked back from there, starting 12 of Nantes' next 13 Ligue 1 matches as they aim to stave off the threat of relegation.

Tati is the latest talented youngster to come out of a Nantes academy where top players including Marcel Desailly, Lassana Diarra and Randal Kolo Muani all took their first steps. Standing at an imposing 6'2" while boasting strength and power that defies the norm for a player of his age, Tati also oozes technical quality. He is also a highly-coveted resource by nature of being a left-footed centre-back.

Tati's rapid rise has led to scouts from Europe's leading clubs, including Manchester United, PSG and Bayern Munich converging at the Stade de la Beaujoire for a closer look at him. With a bidding war set to commence soon, GOAL explains why Tati has set tongues wagging across the continent…

• Where it all began

  Tati was born in Champigny-sur-Marne on the outskirts of Paris on January 17, 2008, as the youngest of four children. His father, Sambou 'Bijou' Tati, is a huge figure in the local football scene in his hometown, having been the chairman of amateur club US Roissy-en-Brie for 20 years. Sambou used to dine out on the fact that he had coached Paul Pogba, but he has an even closer connection with the latest prodigy to emerge from the club. 

  "As club president and coach, I've seen a lot of players come through," he told . "Today, when I think that it's my son, wow… It warms my heart."

  Before joining his father's club, Tati honed his skills in his local town square, pitting himself against the older children. "Everyone wanted to have him on their team, which is no surprise if you know anything about his maturity and his will to win," added Sambou Tati.

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• The big break

  Tati spent time at the renowned youth academy of INF Clairefontaine, whose former students include Nicolas Anelka, Louis Saha, Thierry Henry and Kylian Mbappe. He experienced hip problems during his time there as a result of a growth spurt, though he still caught the eye of Nantes, who had been tracking him since he was 11 years old. 

  His passing ability and technique stood out to Nantes scout Mohamed Sadaoui, who invited Tati to a youth tournament. His Nantes colleagues were impressed with what they saw, and Tati was subsequently invited to play for them in a friendly. Twenty minutes into the game, a staff member told Sadaoui that he had to go and sign him. 

  Nantes were not the only team looking at Tati, who also attracted interest from PSG. But Tati took the mature decision to resist the glamour of Ligue 1's dominant force as he felt he would develop more quickly at Nantes and signed a trainee contract on his 13th birthday.

• Getty
  

  How it's going

  Tati began playing for Nantes' Under-17s team when he was still 15, and was then promoted to the reserve team at the back end of the 2024-25 season. He helped Nantes reach the final of the U19 Championnat, where they were beaten 2-1 by PSG, though the disappointment of failing to win a youth title did not last long as Tati had still managed to impress the first-team coaches, who invited him to spend pre-season training with them.

  Tati stood out in the pre-season campaign and was named in the starting XI for the first Ligue 1 game of the season, at home to PSG. The recently-crowned treble winners won 1-0, but Tati barely put a foot wrong, earning glowing reviews from the local and national press. said the teenager "was never in trouble" as he marked Goncalo Ramos out of the game ashe only time the Portugal forward got ahead of the debutant was when he caught offside.

  "He played a very good match, he's calm, focused, and at 17, that's not bad," said coach Luis Castro, who has only not selected Tati this season when he was nursing a minor injury. Tati's 13 starts make him the most-used player under the age of 18 in Europe's top five leagues, while his rise has also led to an embarrassing situation for 31-year-old Serbian defender Uros Radakovic, who was signed in the summer but has played just four games, all as a substitute, due to the teenager's consistent displays.

  In October Tati signed his first professional contract, tying him to Nantes until 2028 with the option to extend the agreement until 2030. But it is highly unlikely he will remain there that long. United, Arsenal, Bayern and Barcelona are just some of the clubs that have sent scouts to watch him in action, while PSG are tracking his progress too.

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• Biggest strengths

  Tati used to be a midfielder, which led to him acquiring an impressive passing range and technique on the ball. He is adept at playing out from the back, while his height gives him a big advantage when it comes to fending off opponents and winning duels. The fact he is naturally left-footed means he is even more valuable as it makes him equipped to playing in a back three, playing as an inverted full-back in a back four or simply as a traditional left-sided centre-back with a licence to push into midfield.

  "He is mature and remarkably composed in the face of adversity," Nantes' academy director Samuel Fenillat told newspaper"He’s an intelligent player with an excellent reading of the game. He’s always aware of his team-mates' movements. He’s a player who listens, who learns quickly."

  Nantes' reserve team coach Steephane Ziani, who coached Tati until the end of last season, added: "He's one of those modern defenders; he's tall and fast enough, but he knows his strengths and he's always focused."

From first-time captains to new venues, there’s plenty to look forward to

S Sudarshanan29-Sep-20252:06

Harmanpreet: ‘No pressure at all’ playing World Cup at home

There is an air of newness around the Women’s World Cup 2025.Harmanpreet Kaur and Alyssa Healy may now be synonymous as India and Australia captains, but this is their first ODI World Cup as captains – replacing the now-retired Mithali Raj and Meg Lanning, respectively. Nat Sciver-Brunt is only two series old as England’s skipper. Chamari Athapaththu will be playing her first 50-over ICC event in home conditions and Sri Lanka return to the competition after missing out in 2022.Off the field, the first cricket World Cup in Guwahati is less of a celebration. The city – and by extension the state of Assam, the gateway to north-east India – is mourning the loss of one of its own in singer Zubeen Garg, who passed away last week. Apart from his songs, he was known for his philanthropy.Durga Puja, a festival celebrated grandly in eastern India, has also been scaled down hugely. There won’t be the usual grand processions. For those living in Guwahati, the city itself feels very different. This is the unlikely backdrop for what promises to be a huge ICC event.Related

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Never mind that four of the five venues haven’t hosted a women’s game in recent years, the eight teams will vie for record prize money – a sum (USD 13.8 million) that is higher than what was at stake at the 2023 Men’s ODI World Cup (USD 10 million). With the subcontinent hosting a Women’s ODI World Cup after 12 years, the level of competition is also expected to be higher. The WBBL has existed for close to a decade now, but this is the first time the effects of the various leagues such as the WPL and the Hundred will be seen.For instance, Sri Lanka beat India for only the third time in ODIs earlier this year. India, on their part, beat Australia for the first time at home and ended their 13-match winning streak.Chamari Athapaththu wants an Asian team to lift the trophy•AFP/Getty Images”We are playing in the subcontinent and that’s a good advantage for us,” Athapaththu said on the eve of the World Cup-opener against India. “But if we take too much pressure and think too much about this, we can’t play our best cricket.”From days of sparsely filled stadiums to endless demands for tickets, Harmanpreet has witnessed it all in her career. She has also suffered heartbreak in front of close to 90,000 people at the 2020 T20 World Cup final in Melbourne. With the DY Patil ground in Mumbai, that attracted close to 50,000 people during the WPL, pencilled in to host the final of this World Cup, she has a chance to be on the other side of the equation in what could be her last 50-over World Cup.”Firstly, earlier five fielders used to be outside, now there are four,” Harmanpreet joked when asked about the changes in women’s cricket over the last decade. “Besides that, we are playing in bigger stadiums – the last time we played at the CCI [Brabourne stadium in Mumbai]. The stadiums are packed every time we play. Apart from that, we also see a lot of 300-plus scores, which was not normal earlier. I could go on about it all night.”The exponential growth of the women’s game has everybody buzzing. “I want to see some Asian team lift the trophy,” Athapaththu said, “Maybe Sri Lanka, maybe India, maybe Pakistan, maybe Bangladesh. Every time Australia, England and New Zealand have been dominant. In Asia, cricket is like a second religion; it’s a privilege to play on home soil. So I want an Asian team to win.”India and Sri Lanka’s game at the ACA Stadium on Tuesday could well be the start of something new.

Eighteen Tests into his tenure, a world-class attack and a promising batting group haven’t yet translated into results, and questions may grow louder if India lose this series

Karthik Krishnaswamy19-Nov-20253:11

‘Gambhir should be doing much better with the players at his disposal’

We win as a team, we lose as a team.It’s a line Gautam Gambhir uses often in his press conferences, usually in reply to questions highlighting individual success or failure. It’s not about the individual. That’s another pet Gambhir line.It might be time, though, to talk about one individual in his group: Gambhir himself.India’s defeat to South Africa at Eden Gardens was their fourth home loss under Gambhir. He has presided over as many home losses, in just over a year, as his three immediate predecessors as head coach – Rahul Dravid, Ravi Shastri (over two stints, including one as team director) and Anil Kumble – did in a decade.Related

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• Kolkata minefield: Bavuma stands tall, Washington stands longer

India have won four home Tests under Gambhir – two against Bangladesh, two against West Indies. They presently have a 0-4 home record against New Zealand and South Africa. Overall, home and away, it’s 7-9.It isn’t pretty.There are mitigating factors at play. Gambhir took charge of a team in transition, and the retirements of R Ashwin, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma happened under his watch. Each of the home defeats has come on tricky surfaces where small turns of fortune were often decisive and often went against India. Kolkata hinged on many such moments, including the toss – India also lost the toss in Pune and Mumbai against New Zealand – and an injury that restricted Shubman Gill, their captain and key middle-order batter, to facing just three balls in the match. That India lost by only 30 runs in these circumstances suggested they weren’t all that far from winning.But that, in effect, has been India’s issue right through the Gambhir era. This is not the team of MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher, which lost 4-0 in England and 4-0 in Australia and 2-1 at home to England. That was a team with a transitioning batting line-up and, more crucially, a wayward, inexperienced attack that was seldom able to keep any opposition under pressure for long periods.Gambhir’s team is not that team. The bowling group is world-class, full of experience, variety and wicket-taking skill. The batting is strong and deep and has shown little sign of missing Kohli or Rohit – though India would love to be able to bring one of them in if Gill misses the Guwahati Test, as they try and work out how to manage a surfeit of left-handed options. The tour of England this summer showed just how prolific India’s young batters can be when the conditions aren’t loaded against them.1:18

Is the pressure mounting on Gambhir, the red-ball coach?

India have competed on at least an even footing in pretty much every Test against strong opposition during Gambhir’s tenure, home and away. They have won Test matches with key players unavailable. They won in Perth with a team featuring two debutants, one batter with just one previous Test cap, and another with just three. They won at Edgbaston and The Oval without their talisman Jasprit Bumrah.And so many of their losses, like Kolkata, have left long trails of what-ifs.The frustrating thing for an India fan is that the what-ifs aren’t just moments that weren’t in anyone’s control. So many of them, instead, concern decisions of selection and strategy that the team management made after careful deliberation.Take the consistent selection of three allrounders in India’s XIs, which, in theory, gives them batting depth until No. 8 as well as six bowling options. It’s one thing to pick such a team in India, where Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel are legitimate wicket-taking bowlers. To pick Jadeja, Washington and either Nitish Kumar Reddy or Shardul Thakur in Australia and England, at the cost of a fourth frontline wicket-taker, is an entirely different matter.It’s led India to lose control of Test matches from balanced or dominant positions, with the lack of wicket-taking depth haunting them at crucial stages at the MCG, the SCG, Headingley and Lord’s.India have lost four Tests at home under Gautam Gambhir•Getty ImagesIt’s also led to India overbowling their strike bowlers. A direct line can be drawn from India’s selections in Australia to the recurrence of Bumrah’s back issues at the end of that tour, and from there to his rationed appearances in England, which in turn, in concert with India’s stubborn insistence on playing three allrounders, led to Mohammed Siraj taking on a superhuman workload on that tour.The decision to enforce the follow-on against West Indies on a lifeless Delhi pitch last month also seemed consistent with this team management’s tendency to not worry about bowler workloads unless – as in the case of Bumrah in England – they’re forced to.The other strategy decision India have consistently made under Gambhir concerns their choice of home pitches. Every India head coach in recent times has turned to extreme pitches at some point or another when strong opponents have visited, but where defeats on such pitches often led his predecessors to rethink this approach, they have only made Gambhir double down.Now it’s usually a good thing to not let results sway your convictions. Gambhir’s obstinacy, in that sense, is commendable, and any statistician will tell you that four Test matches is too small a sample to prove or disprove his stated reason for wanting pitches with sharp, early turn – that they minimise toss advantage.

Eighteen Tests into his tenure, Gambhir has a record that does no justice to the players at his disposal. There is no indication that his position is under any threat, particularly given his fine white-ball record. Questions, however, might get asked if India lose this series against South Africa.

It can be said with a little more certainty, however, that extremely bowler-friendly pitches tend to narrow the skill gap between the stronger and weaker attack in those conditions. India were undoubtedly the attack with more quality, depth and experience of Indian conditions during their series against New Zealand last year. And while Simon Harmer was the best bowler on either side in Kolkata, India still had the better attack, collectively, for the conditions.Over a longer Test match, where seamers and spinners have to come back again and again and maintain their control and intensity over all those spells, which attack would you bet on? The one with Bumrah, Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Jadeja, Washington and Axar or the one with Marco Jansen, Wiaan Mulder, Corbin Bosch, Harmer and Keshav Maharaj? If India’s main wicket threats on a typical first-innings Indian pitch – Bumrah, Kuldeep and Jadeja – are all out of the attack, they would still be able to call on bowlers who would keep a lid on the scoring and keep batters in a state of high vigilance. The same wouldn’t necessarily be true of South Africa, even if you could swap in Kagiso Rabada for Bosch.Why play on minefields then?The answer to this may well be the same as the answer to the allrounders-instead-of-frontline-bowlers question: a lack of belief, a constant underestimation of the talent India have at their disposal.As useful as their batting depth was in England, it probably did not make up for their lack of wicket-taking edge at crucial moments, and India’s top order showed, even in their first series without Kohli and Rohit, that they did not need that extra security. And while India’s spinners can be unplayable on square turners, they can be a consistent threat on normal pitches too.All this almost seems obvious from the outside, but all of us with that outside perspective have little, if anything, at stake. Gambhir is right in the thick of it, and every win and loss goes on his CV. Being in that position can sometimes lead you to question if the resources you have are good enough, and to reach for seeming failsafes that guarantee nothing and come with hidden costs.Eighteen Tests into his tenure, Gambhir has a record that does no justice to the players at his disposal. There is no indication that his position is under any threat, particularly given his fine white-ball record. Questions, however, might get asked if India lose this series and leave themselves with a treacherous route to the World Test Championship final. It might be in his best interests, then, to start showing a little more trust in the quality of his players, and worry a little less about unseen dangers.

England went from a position of strength to a calamitous eight-wicket defeat on day two

Tristan Lavalette22-Nov-2025

Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne embrace after Head’s thrilling 69-ball hundred•Getty Images

In the span of five madcap hours at Perth Stadium, England went from a position of strength to crashing to a calamitous eight-wicket defeat as the first Ashes Test remarkably finished inside two days.Somehow topping a 19-wicket opening day, Australia turned the series-opener on its head with quicks Scott Boland and Mitchell Starc, who finished with 10 wickets for the match, tearing through a ham-fisted England batting effort in the middle session.Needing 205 runs for victory, makeshift opener Travis Head plundered 123 off 83 balls as Australia chased down the total in just 28.2 overs. They scored at more than seven runs an over, with recalled No. 3 Marnus Labuschagne finishing unbeaten on 51 from 49 balls.Skipper Steven Smith hit the winning run to trigger scenes of jubilation for an Australian team that was staring down the barrel earlier in the day.Related

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Head’s cavalier batting gave England a taste of their own medicine, as he reached his ton off 69 balls – the equal third fastest by an Australian in Tests. England’s all-out pace attack, so ferocious just 24 hours earlier, appeared shell-shocked as Head continually flayed wayward bowling through the off-side much to the delight of many in the 49,983 crowd.Head opened the batting after Usman Khawaja had been continually off the ground in England’s innings due to back spasms. He had previously opened the innings for Australia eight times, but all had been in South Asia.Head clearly enjoyed his promotion and helped ease the pressure on debutant Jake Weatherald, who fell for a second-ball duck in the first innings. Weatherald was able to play himself in and unfurled several attractive strokes of his own before falling on 23 to a short ball from Brydon Carse.Head was unstoppable and fearless, taking on the short-pitched bowling from Mark Wood, while he also bludgeoned Ben Stokes for four boundaries off an over. Head’s century was met with mighty applause from the Australian fans, but his own celebration was fairly low-key although punctuated by several steely fistbumps.He finally holed out with Australia needing just 13 runs to win, but the result had long been a formality.Scott Boland picked up three wickets in the space of 11 balls•Getty ImagesIt was an astonishing turn of events after England were 65 for 1 in their second innings, with a lead of 105, before Boland triggered a collapse with the tourists losing 4-11 in 19 balls.England lost 9-99 during the second session that may ultimately haunt them in their quest to regain the Ashes. Four of England’s top six nicked off, while Joe Root completed a double failure after inside edging Starc, having attempted an extravagant drive.The pressure had been on Boland after he was collared in England’s first innings, finishing with 0-62 from 10 overs. He pulled back his length in the second innings and had Ben Duckett caught at second slip to end his 65-run stand with Ollie Pope – the biggest partnership to that point of the match.Boland then had Pope and Harry Brook edging behind the wicket in his next over as he displayed the type of inimitable rhythm that has propelled him to scythe through numerous batting line-ups over the years.Starc had been unable to consistently summon his top speed, backing up so quickly after recording his career best figures of 7-58 in England’s first innings. Sensing the shift in momentum, Smith wisely brought Starc back on and he responded by knocking over Root before continuing his domination of Stokes.Starc decked a menacing delivery away from Stokes, whose outside edge flew to second slip as he fell to his nemesis for the 11th time in Tests. Jamie Smith, who had been dropped by Khawaja at slip early in his innings, fell caught behind off a short ball from Brendan Doggett after an interminable review overturned the original not out decision.Mitchell Starc roars after claiming Ben Stokes for his 10th wicket of the match•Getty ImagesThere was little resistance from England, evoking many such collapses on Australian soil over the years, until Carse and Gus Atkinson counterattacked for a 47-run partnership. They took advantage of Australia resorting to a short-ball tactic in the only bright spot for England in a miserable session.But the short-ball strategy finally paid off as Doggett wrapped up the innings and finished with five wickets in his Test debut.In what felt like an eternity ago, England had started the second day in the ascendency. Under overcast skies, Australia resumed on 123 for 9 and were still reeling from England’s sustained pressure that blew them away on day one. But Doggett and Nathan Lyon did manage to hang around for 26 minutes, whittling the deficit by nine runs.Wood bowled too short and was unable to muster the same hostility he produced on day one marked by a ferocious delivery that battered the helmet of Cameron Green.Stokes turned to Carse who claimed his third wicket by dismissing Lyon in the gully as England claimed a 40-run advantage on the first innings even though Australia batted 12.3 overs longer.After tearing through England’s tail in the first innings, Starc entered on a hat-trick and charged into Zak Crawley who he dismissed for a duck on the sixth ball of the match.Crawley could only last five balls after spooning an attempted drive to Starc, who showcased extraordinary athleticism to stick out his left-hand and pluck a return catch.Sharfuddoula, the third umpire, had a long look but Starc’s fingers were underneath the ball as Crawley walked off having made a pair. There will be much focus on Crawley’s haste in driving on the up, a risky proposition against the new ball in Perth.Crawley’s wicket meant that for the first time in Test cricket the opening partnership did not score a run in each of the first three innings.Starc was on a roll and conjuring menacing swing with the new ball, but Duckett and Pope survived the onslaught, frustrating Australia with proactive running between the wickets. Much like England’s first innings, Starc was playing a lone hand with Boland continuing to be expensive with 15 runs off his first three overs.Boland started to get his tail up in his second spell and beat the bat of Pope on numerous occasions as England ended the session well placed. But Boland’s luck soon changed as the series-opener dramatically turned on its head.

One European club is now ready to launch a move to sign a big-money Liverpool star in 2026, despite facing competition from the Saudi Pro League.

Slot expects "aggressive" Leeds vs Liverpool

Despite Wednesday night’s timid draw against Sunderland at Anfield, Arne Slot was in good spirits ahead of Liverpool’s next game against Leeds United this weekend. The Reds will be looking to stretch their mini-unbeaten run to three games in the same week, but must also get back to winning ways after Wednesday.

On paper, a trip to newly-promoted Leeds looks routine and once upon a time it was exactly that for the Reds. Those days, for the time being, are gone, however, and the Premier League champions are now set to square off against a side who could physically outmatch them once again.

Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Slot admitted that he expects to face an “aggressive” Leeds side: “Yesterday I looked at Leeds v Chelsea and I thought I saw a Liverpool game; Chelsea conceding a set-piece and for the third goal making a big, big error where they conceded a goal from. [It was] very difficult for them.

“Either Leeds went very aggressive to one-v-one or they went to a low block and it was really hard to create chances. It’s not only difficult for us, that playing style, it’s difficult for many teams – including us.”

It’s been the story of Liverpool’s season so far. Whenever they’ve encountered physicality, the Premier League champions have simply been bullied.

Something had to change and that has seen Mohamed Salah sacrificed. The struggling Egyptian has not started either of Liverpool’s last two games and reports suggest he could yet leave the club in 2026.

Galatasaray ready to launch Salah bid

According to reports in Spain, Galatasaray are now ready to launch their bid to sign Salah next year. The Turkish giants are looking to take full advantage of the winger’s situation and will reportedly aim to beat clubs in Saudi Arabia to his signature.

Whether Liverpool are willing to sell Salah remains to be seen, though. The Anfield icon only signed a new two-year deal last season, which is set to expire in 2027, but they must ask themselves if he is now past the peak of his powers.

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Former centre-back, turned Sky Sports pundit, Jamie Carragher certainly believes that’s the case, recently saying: “The catalyst for Liverpool at the very start of the run in 2018 with Jürgen Klopp was Alisson, Van Dijk and Salah.

“Alisson’s injured a lot now, he doesn’t play so much. But you watch Van Dijk now, not the same player, and Mo Salah looks like his legs have gone.”

The 33-year-old will be desperate to prove Carragher wrong and make his £21m-a-year contract worthwhile even if that is to be from the bench following Slot’s recent ruthlessness.

Huge Gakpo upgrade: £70m "superstar" now keen to join Liverpool in January

Tottenham Hotspur’s unbeaten run across all competitions has now extended to three games across all competitions after Tuesday’s Champions League win over Slavia Prague.

The Lilywhites claimed a superb 3-0 victory in Europe after penalties from Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons and an own goal from opposition defender David Zima.

Thomas Frank looks to have finally found a winning formula, as seen in recent weeks, after previously failing to win in any five matches, four of which came in the Premier League.

Some may argue that the Dane is starting to get the best out of his current playing squad, with a period of adaptation evidently needed after his summer appointment.

However, despite the three-goal triumph in North London last night, the manager will no doubt have seen some glaring flaws that will need correcting in the weeks ahead.

Spurs's biggest underperformers against Slavia Prague

After starting each of the last four games on the substitutes bench, winger Wilson Odobert was handed the chance to start from the off against Slavia Prague.

However, the Frenchman struggled to make the desired impact, as seen by his tally of 86% duels lost, leading to his withdrawal in the 76th minute of the clash.

Other figures, such as zero dribbles completed and two big chances missed in the final third, also highlight his lack of positive impact despite Frank’s faith shown in the youngster.

He wasn’t alone in struggling to deliver during the win, with Pedro Porro unable to produce the regular attacking quality the fanbase have become accustomed to in recent years.

The Spaniard only managed to complete one of his five attempted crosses, whilst completing just 66% of the passes he attempted – largely being ineffective when in possession.

He also failed to win any tackles against the Czech side, whilst failing to complete any of his attempted dribbles – showcasing his lack of quality at both ends of the pitch in North London.

Spurs star needs to be dropped after Slavia Prague

Spurs have spent heavily over the last couple of years to try and be competitive in the Premier League and try and compete for titles under Frank in the years ahead.

In the recent summer alone, the Lilywhites hierarchy backed the manager with over £120m worth of funds to make an immediate impact during his first year at the helm.

Xavi Simons was just one of the additions made by the hierarchy during the off-season, but he’s struggled to make an impact across various competitions in recent months.

He went 17 games without a goal until last week, but the Dutch star has started to find his feet – as seen by his tally of two goals in his last two games for the Lilywhites.

The same can’t be said for striker Richarlison, who has constantly struggled for consistency after his own £50m transfer from Everton back in the summer of 2022.

The Brazilian international has been Frank’s starting centre forward for the majority of 2025/26 to date, subsequently managing to net a total of seven goals across all competitions.

Whilst such a tally may seem respectable, he’s often gone missing in major moments this campaign, as seen against Slavia Prague in the meeting on Tuesday.

He was once again handed a start at the top end of the pitch, but he was unable to provide the goods in front of goal and was subsequently replaced in the 68th minute.

Richarlison was only able to register a measly tally of 22 touches, a tally fewer than goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who managed 50 – showcasing his lack of impact in North London.

Minutes played

68

Touches

22

Passes completed

9

Possession lost

7x

Big chances missed

1

Aerials won

50%

Passes into final third

1

Fouls committed

2

He also only managed to complete nine passes and lost possession on seven separate occasions, further highlighting his lack of positive impact during the Champions League clash.

The Brazilian also missed one big chance in front of goal and won just 50% of his aerial battles, often struggling to provide the focal point Frank has massively craved.

As a result of his showing, the striker was handed a measly 6/10 match rating by Football London’s Alasdair Gold, further showcasing his struggles in North London.

After such a showing, Frank must certainly be left with no choice but to drop the forward and hand the likes of Mathys Tel and Randal Kolo Muani the chance to stake their claim for the number nine role.

Richarlison has no doubt been a decent option for Spurs over the last couple of years, but it’s becoming increasingly evident week on week that he’s not at the level needed for success.

Frank's new Mbeumo: Paratici set to make Spurs bid to sign "world-class" CF

Tottenham Hotspur could be about to land a new talisman in the upcoming January window.

ByEthan Lamb 3 days ago

Mumbai registered their fifth win; Bengal lost 9 for 38 to be bowled out for 96 against Puducherry

ESPNcricinfo staff06-Dec-2025

Sanju Samson fought a lone battle by scoring 73* off 56 balls as Kerala limped to 119 against Andhra in Lucknow. But KS Bharat killed the chase by smashing a rapid 53 off 28 balls, and taking his side to victory with seven wickets and eight overs to spare. Samson, who is likely to open the batting for India against South Africa if Shubman Gill isn’t fit, carried his bat after opening the innings and losing one partner after another.Kerala were 79 for 7 in the 17th over, with the highest partnership until then being 17 for the seventh wicket. But Samson got enough support from No. 9 Biju Narayanan to add an unbeaten 40, as Kerala huffed and puffed to a small total. The next highest score after Samson’s was MD Nidheesh’s 13, and Bharat ensured there was no contest, having smashed his fifty within the first nine overs. Ashwin Hebbar (27) and Pyla Avinash (20) also played their parts to hand Andhra their fifth win in six games.Vyshak, Padikkal star but Saurashtra win thrillerVijaykumar Vyshak got 3 for 28, and nearly sealed the game with bat in hand. However, Karnataka lost to Saurashtra by one run in a thrilling finish in Ahmedabad. Chasing 179, Karnataka were reduced to 49 for 3 in the seventh over, before Devdutt Padikkal and Ravichandran Smaran added 54. Ankur Panwar got Padikkal for 66 to break the stand, and Karnataka lost their way again. Vyshak and Shreyas Gopal took it all the way during their tenth-wicket partnership, but couldn’t take their side past the finish line.Earlier, Vyshak broke a 55-run opening stand for Saurashtra. Contributions from Siddhant Rana (42), Vishvaraj Jadeja (40), Harvik Desai (28) and Jay Gohil (27) helped Saurashtra to 178. They were 76 for 1 after seven overs and looked set for a bigger total, slowing down later even though Rana and Gohil added 66 for the fourth wicket. In the end, the total turned out to be just enough.File photo: Shardul Thakur got 3 for 19•BCCI

Shardul, Mhatre and Rahane shine for MumbaiShardul Thakur took three of the four wickets to fall in the powerplay as Mumbai eased their way past Chhattisgarh in Lucknow. Mumbai captain’s 3 for 19, alongside two wickets each for Suryansh Shedge, Atharva Ankolekar and Tushar Deshpande, bowled Chhattisgarh out for 121 after Mumbai opted to bowl first.Chhattisgarh were 59 for 7 at the start of the tenth over, having also lost Shashank Singh for 10. Shubham Agarwal and Mayank Yadav added 38 for the eighth wicket, but Shedge struck in back-to-back overs to halt Chhattisgarh’s brief recovery.Ayush Mhatre and Ajinkya Rahane then lay the foundation for the 122 chase by adding 82 for the first wicket. Agarwal got Rahane for 40 in 28 deliveries to break the stand, but by then, Mumbai were well on track for their fifth win in the group stages. Agarwal also dismissed Siddhesh Lad for 5, but Mhatre remained unbeaten on 69 off 49 balls, which included five sixes. Mumbai eventually won with eight wickets and 25 balls remaining.Jayant trumps Shami as Puducherry thrash BengalBengal suffered a collapse of 9 for 38 to be bowled out for 96 in pursuit of 178 against Puducherry in Hyderabad. Offspinner Jayant Yadav bagged 4 for 28, which included the wicket Karan Lal, who top-scored with 40. The collapse started when Abhimanyu Easwaran was run out for 12, with no Bengal batter from Nos. 4-11 getting into double-figures.The win was set up by Puducherry’s captain Aman Khan, who smashed five fours and seven sixes in his 74 off 40 balls. Aman added 68 for the third wicket with Jashwanth Shreeram, who scored 45 off 34. Their stand was broken by Mohammed Shami, who, after getting Shreeram in the 15th over, also dismissed Aman in the 19th. Shami finished with 3 for 34, following up 4 for 13 in the previous game against Services.

A new independent assessment of cricket in England and Wales says that “genuine progress” has been made in the sport’s bid to address its long-standing issues of inclusion and equity – but adds that further work is needed in several areas, including at senior leadership level.The State of Equity in Cricket Report, published by Sport Structures, had been commissioned by the ECB as a follow-up to the damning 2023 report by the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket (ICEC), which found that racism, classism, sexism and elitism were “widespread” in the sport.That original report had concluded with 44 recommendations to the ECB, one of which was to publish a “full State of Equity Report every three years”. This latest document, 53 pages long, has been delivered a year ahead of schedule, with Richard Gould, the ECB chief executive, stating that it was intended to “hold us to account” as cricket seeks to become the most inclusive team sport in England and Wales.”Cricket is not yet where it aspires to be, but the tone has changed,” Kate Percival, Sport Structures’ CEO, said in a statement. “Inclusion is now seen as central to the game’s health and future.”The report outlined several “notable areas of progress”, including improved access to talent pathways, and a doubling of the number of women’s and girl’s teams since 2021, backed up by significant increases in the number of professional women’s players and their pay.The establishment of a new independent Cricket Regulator, ring-fenced from the rest of the ECB, was also noted in the report, along with a £50 million investment in facilities since 2023, particularly in urban areas including two all-weather cricket domes in Bradford and Darwen.However, despite improved representation at board level – with female non-executives at 37% compared to 11% in 2019, and 18% ethnically diverse non-executives compared to 5% in 2019 – the report stated that “further action” was required at senior level, with a particular lack of Black representation.Dame Sarah Storey is the only female chair at a first-class county•Lancashire CCC

Dame Sarah Storey, who is currently interim chair at Lancashire, remains the only female chair at any of the 18 first-class counties, while the resignation of Essex chair Anu Mohindru – who was found to have lied on his CV – means the ethnic diversity among county chairs and chief executives remains at 6%.Coaching course data showed that more diversity is required in the Specialist programme which feeds the professional game, while Disability cricket requires “deeper integration” within county and club systems. The recreational game, meanwhile, requires further “capacity and expertise” to deal with discrimination issues, although a newly-formed Recreational Discipline Panel of independent experts is in place to hear the most serious and complex cases.”The State of Equity in Cricket Report holds us to account in relation to our ambitions to become the most inclusive team sport,” Gould said. “It shows us some areas of excellent work and progress, as well as where we need to go further.”The extensive work to open up the talent pathway to young people from every background is a great example of the changes that can be made when cricketing organisations join forces to break down barriers and deliver systemic change.”We know there is still a great deal of work to do, and a number of areas where more action is needed to address structural issues. We said from the start there could be no quick fix, but we committed to delivering meaningful and lasting change, and that will remain our absolute focus in the months and years ahead as we build on the progress we are setting out today.”

Newcastle United could be boosted by the unexpected return of a sidelined star sooner than first thought, according to reports.

Howe: "individual errors" hurt Newcastle

It’s not often that Eddie Howe is publicly critical of his Newcastle side, but even he couldn’t hide his frustration after the Magpies saw their lead wiped away by Tottenham Hotspur at the death. It was yet another late goal and yet more points dropped from a winning position for those in Tyneside, who rarely do things the easy way these days.

Howe admitted that “individual errors” hurt Newcastle against Spurs just when they thought they did enough to secure all three points against Thomas Frank’s side.

Fewer passes than Ramsdale: Howe must drop 6/10 Newcastle star after Spurs

Newcastle United were denied another Premier League win by Tottenham Hotspur last night.

By
Ethan Lamb

Dec 3, 2025

The former Bournemouth boss told reporters: “I think it’s definitely a failing, you can’t sit here and go, I can’t sit here and go, everything’s okay in that respect, it’s happened too many times this season, that doesn’t mean we can’t figure it out and put it right very quickly.

“Today’s really a set piece, it’s a moment and those moments happen in football, they’ve been on the other end of it at times and individual errors usually from set plays hurt you and that’s what happened.”

Tottenham will feel as though their late winner was justified, however, after Newcastle were controversially awarded a penalty, which Anthony Gordon converted in the second-half.

Jamie Redknapp demanded “consistency” from the referees at full-time and Howe has every right to demand the same from his players. In a packed December full of fixtures, the Newcastle boss will be relieved to hear the latest update on Yoane Wissa’s long-awaited return from injury.

Craig Hope shares unexpected Yoane Wissa return date

According to the Daily Mail’s Craig Hope, Wissa could now make a shock return for Newcastle this weekend and take a place on Howe’s bench against Burnley. The forward recently took part in a training ground game, but it remained uncertain when he would finally make his debut for the club.

The summer signing endured a disastrous start to life at St James’ Park when he was injured not long after arriving. Now, he could get the chance to finally make his mark just when Newcastle need him most.

Dubbed “remarkable” by former Brentford boss Thomas Frank last season, it will certainly be interesting to see how Wissa is used in Tyneside.

Record signing Nick Woltemade has enjoyed such an excellent start, but will undoubtedly have a fight to keep hold of his place now that his competition is nearing a return. Whether Howe sticks or twists, there’s no denying that Wissa’s return will be a major boost.

Howe must finally bin 5/10 Newcastle dud who was "very sloppy" vs Spurs