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Glamorgan into semis as Surrey and Yorkshire take quarter-final spots

ECB Reporters Network12-Aug-2021Glamorgan fell to a four-run defeat in their final Royal London One-Day Cup clash with Yorkshire Vikings, but still managed to top Group 1 and bag a home semi-final on Monday.They were able to stay on top of the table despite their loss thanks to a superior net run rate over the eight pool matches. That put them ahead of Surrey and Yorkshire, who took the two quarter-final spots, with Surrey gaining a home tie.The Vikings posted 230, with an eighth wicket partnership of 84 between Jonathan Tattersall and Matthew Waite crucial in their total, while Glamorgan got off to a solid start with a stand of 121 for their first wicket between Hamish Rutherford (58) and Nick Selman.Selman eventually went on to make 92 and the home side were left with 11 to win off the final over. Matthew Waite restricted them to six runs and two more wickets fell to leave the Welsh country stranded on 226 for 8.Having won the toss Glamorgan did what they did to the Notts Outlaws at the weekend and put the Vikings in to bat. The visitors got off to a solid start and Will Fraine hit four boundaries on his way to a quickfire 25 before falling to a catch at the wicket by Tom Cullen off the ever-reliable Michael Hogan in the seventh over.The 50 came up in the 11th over before another paceman, James Weighill removed Will Luxton, who spooned a thick edge to Steve Reingold in the covers three overs later. The introduction of the off-spinner at the river end put a brake on scoring and when he bowled opener Harry Duke for 20 the Vikings were 70-3.It was another spinner, Steve Reingold, who made the next breakthrough in his first over. His first ball was swept to the boundary by Vikings skipper Gary Balance, but four balls later he got his revenge when he forced the left-hander onto his back foot and bowled him to make it 88 for 4 in the 20th over.The 100 came up with a four through mid-wicket by Hill in the first ball of the 26th over, only the third boundary in a very neat 11 over spell from the home bowling attack. Then James Cooke clean bowled George Hill with a ball that stayed low and had Matthew Revis caught behind with the next ball.Dom Bess foiled the hat-trick, but the Vikings were rocking a little at 121 for 6. The England spinner was then lucky to survive a steepling catch at deep mid on which Selman couldn’t quite deal with as Salter ended his quota of 10 overs with 1 for 34.Bess wasn’t able to make much of his reprieve as in the very next over he was trapped lbw by the returning Weighill. Jonathan Tattersall and Mattew Waite steadied the ship and took the score to 178 for 7 at the 40 over mark, Waite clearing the boundary rope with one shot back over the head of Reingold as their highly productive partnership went through the half-century mark.The pair steered their side through the 200 barrier in the 44th over before Billy Root took a brilliant catch on the boundary to remove Waite for 44 off Cooke and end a partnership that yielded 84 runs for the eighth wicket.Cooke ended his 10 over spell with 3 for 40, while Tattersall’s 50 came up off 58 balls and contained two boundaries. He succumbed to a catch by home skipper Kiran Carlson off the bowling of Hogan in the 47th over for 53.The Vikings closed their innings on 230 when Josh Sullivan holed out to Hogan off the bowling of Weighill eight ball short of their full allocation of 50 overs. There were 25 extras.Glamorgan’s slow, but solid start was finally ended when Ben Coad bowled Rutherford with the score on 121. The patient approach continued and with 10 overs to go Glamorgan still needed 58 runs to win. Hill then struck twice in the same over to send back Reingold and Carlson and the Vikings’ noose began to tighten.Selman then became Hill’s third victim when he was caught by Gary Balance for an excellent 92 and the home side were 187 for 4 still needing 44 runs off 41 balls to win. As wickets tumbled, and the run rate rose, so Glamorgan paid the price for their slow start.Hill ended as the most successful bowler for the Vikings, taking 3 for 49 in his 10 overs.

Liverpool boss Arne Slot has reacted to Manchester City tying Erling Haaland down to a ten-year deal by taking shots at three Premier League rivals.

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Haaland signs new deal at Man CitySlot talks about PL expenditureSays Man Utd and Chelsea spend more than CityFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

After months of speculation regarding Haaland's future at Manchester City, the eight-time English champions have tied the Norwegian down to a ten-year extension at the Etihad Stadium with wages reported to be close to £500,000 per week. Slot was asked for his thoughts on this spending at a press conference.

AdvertisementWHAT SLOT SAID

Slot said: "We know how good we have to be every single day to compete in this league. It is not only the club [City] you are referring to. Chelsea have also spent £1.2 billion and United have spent an incredible amount.

"Every team spends a lot of money over here, that's why it's such an interesting league to be part of. Some seasons this club [Liverpool] spends a bit more, the other season other clubs spend a bit more.

"That's what makes this league so intense and so difficult to win. But that's also the reason why we all want to be here, because you want to compete against the best, with the best. We are very happy with the team we have at the moment. We are still able to compete with all these teams that are spending an incredible amount of money."

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As Slot claimed, Chelsea, United and City are indeed the top three biggest spenders in the Premier League since Pep Guardiola switched to the Etihad in 2016. Chelsea have spent £2.04bn while both Manchester clubs have spent arond £1.5bn. Meanwhile, Liverpool have the smallest spend of the traditional top six with £940m.

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR SLOT?

Despite Liverpool's lack of spending in the summer, Slot has led the Reds to an early lead of the Premier League title race with City all but down for the count. Slot's side has seen a small blip over the last few weeks and as such, the Dutchman will be keen on improvement when they take on Brentford on Saturday, January 18.

Tottenham Hotspur technical director Johan Lange and the recruitment team are weighing up a potential move for “one of the most sought after talents in Europe right now”, coming after a very prolific 2023/2024 campaign for him.

Spurs' rumoured transfer plans for 2025

The Lilywhites have started this season in mixed fashion, with manager Ange Postecoglou’s tactics seriously questioned at points. Spurs most recently blew a two-goal lead to lose 3-2 at Brighton, and Postecoglou branded it the “worst” defeat since he took over as boss (via BBC Sport).

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The Premier League side have blown hot and cold. Before their humbling loss to Brighton at the Amex, Spurs were on a winning run of five games in a row across all competitions, thanks partly to the form of Wales winger Brennan Johnson.

If they’re going to challenge for major silverware, as Postecoglou eluded in an interview with Sky Sports before the start of this season, then Tottenham need to find a stretch of consistency akin to their bitter rivals Arsenal – who are set to be firmly in the mix for a title this year.

Tottenham vs West Ham

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Lange and chairman Daniel Levy brought in a host of new signings over the summer window, including £65 million striker Dominic Solanke, but more work could be needed on the squad before they emerge as genuine title challengers. However, Postecoglou is adamant that they can compete this year.

“It’s why I came here,” said Postecoglou on Tottenham challenging for trophies.

“I came here to try to win things. I think that should be our measure and if we fall short of that then we’ve fallen short and we need to be better. I don’t think there’s anything wrong with embracing that.

“It’s just the way I’m wired, I think it’s the way forward and you need to embrace that if you want to become a successful club and not shy away from it. If I said: ‘This is going to take three or four years,’ then yeah it would relieve pressure. But I don’t want to wait three or four years. This year’s an opportunity.”

Reports this week claim Tottenham are eyeing Javi Puado as an alternative to Son Heung-min, while it is also believed that Spurs are interested in signing FC Midtjylland forward Dario Osorio.

Both men would significantly bolster Postecoglou’s forward options, with another very exciting young target in Viktoria Plzen midfielder Pavel Sulc attracting their attention too.

Tottenham considering move for Pavel Sulc

According to The Boot Room, Tottenham are considering a move for Sulc, who has really impressed at Plzen in the last 12 months.

The 23-year-old, who is emerging as “one of the most sought after talents in Europe right now”, has entered Lange’s transfer radar as they weigh up a potential swoop. As well as Spurs, a host of other top sides in Man City, Aston Villa, Napoli, Atalanta, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen are all keeping tabs on the Czech Republic international.

Sulc also bagged an impressive 22 goals in all competitions last season, leaving little surprise that clubs are taking note of his exploits.

Seven no-balls from Southern Punjab highlighted the ill-discipline in a bowling attack that never seriously threatened to defend 174

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Oct-2021
An ill-disciplined bowling performance from Southern Punjab saw Balochistan take full advantage, romping home by eight wickets to condemn Sohaib Maqsood’s side to their fifth straight defeat.Southern Punjab got off to the worst possible start, losing three wickets in the first four overs while managing little over a run a ball in that period. A quickfire half-century from Maqsood steadied the innings somewhat, but Umaid Asif and Junaid Khan continued to plug away, removing Hassan Khan and Khushdil Shah, among others, just when they began to look dangerous. Cameos from those two, however, and 25 off 12 from Aamer Yamin at the death helped take Southern Punjab to 174, something that appeared unlikely after the start SP had endured.However, it needed a bowling performance to match if SP were to hold Balochistan off for their first win, and they expressly didn’t get that. Among general sloppiness, there were seven no-balls – five from Dilbar Hussain in two overs that went for 35, and unlike SP’s struggles, Balochistan flew to 57 inside four overs. Abdul Bangalzai and Abdullah Shafique put on 84 for the first wicket, and, in effect, broke the back of the chase there and then. Bangalzai went on to score a half-century, while an unbeaten 35-ball 47 from Haris Sohail ensured SP were frozen out altogether. In the end, Balochistan’s ruthless batting display got them home with eight balls and eight wickets to spare, leaving SP staring elimination in the face.

Marcus Rashford sent his Manchester United team-mates a message in light of their win at Fulham and Ruben Amorim's latest dig to the exiled forward.

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Rashford left out of Man Utd's Fulham winAmorim aims brutal dig at wantaway starRed Devils man sends message to team-matesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Not long after United's 1-0 Premier League win at Fulham and head coach Amorim questioning Rashford's attitude again with a savage dig, the 27-year-old congratulated the squad on claiming all three points on Sunday.

AdvertisementWHAT MARCUS RASHFORD SAID

He wrote in an Instagram story: "Congratulations on the win," followed by the raising hands emoji.

InstagramTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Rashford has not played for United for six weeks now, is increasingly being criticised by Amorim, and continues to be linked with a transfer exit. For someone who has spent his whole career at the Red Devils, this is turning quite sour for the England international.

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While Amorim's United will prepare to face FCSB in the Europa League on Thursday, Rashford will hope to secure an Old Trafford exit before the transfer window shuts on February 3.

Leeds United could reportedly sign a Red Bull forward who may end up possibly replacing Patrick Bamford at Elland Road.

Bamford looking to quit Leeds in 2025

It has been a frustrating period for Bamford under Daniel Farke, with the striker falling behind both Mateo Joseph and Joel Piroe in the attacking pecking order during the 2024/25 season. During Farke’s first season in charge, Bamford suffered with a few injury problems but scored eight goals for Leeds as they reached the playoff final at Wembley.

His purple patch in front of goal came under Marcleo Bielsa where he scored 16 goals in the Championship title winning season and then 17 in the Premier League in 2020/21.

However, Bamford is now looking to quit Leeds in 2025, according to new reports, after growing frustrated with his playing time under Farke.

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The centre-forward, who is Leeds’ highest earner on £70,000-a-week, has around 18 months left to run on his Elland Road contract, and the 49ers Enterprises may have already identified a potential replacement for the 31-year-old.

Leeds linked with Red Bull forward

According to The Daily Mail, relayed by MOT Leeds News, Leeds is a landing spot for RB Salzburg forward Adam Daghim. Leeds now have a connection to the club through their links with Red Bull, however, Premier League sides Brentford and Leicester City are also linked with the 19-year-old.

The Whites appear to be a potential destination for Daghim, who was even linked with both Manchester United and Borussia Dortmund last month.

Pep Lijnders, who currently manages RB Salzburg, was full of praise for Daghim recently, saying via Football Transfers: “Adam has great potential. I don’t like to single out individual players but he has ability, he is quick, he is very committed and has a big heart. He works for the team.”

A Denmark youth international, Daghim can play as a right winger, left winger or as a centre-forward and is valued at €5m by Transfermarkt. The 6 foot 1 forward has just 18 months remaining on his Salzburg contract and has scored two senior goals in 16 appearances for his current employers.

Leeds "leader" ahead of schedule on knee injury recovery in boost for Farke

He could be back sooner than expected.

ByBen Browning Oct 17, 2024

Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig also likes what he sees in Daghim, listing his pace and acceleration, off-the-ball movement, pressing, technique and dribbling as his main strengths.

“It’s his trademark move. When Daghim sees an open space he can run into and his teammate with a ball, he instantly demands a pass. It often ends with a dangerous cross.

“Daghim has a great instinct and understanding of what’s happening on the pitch. He’s either ready to run to receive a long ball or close enough to speed up the action.

“With his impressive pace and acceleration, it should be obvious that the Dane fits perfectly in the long-ball and counter-attack-based philosophy of Liefering. It’s also one of the reasons he’s the main goalscorer of the team.”

A move to Yorkshire could be one to watch in 2025 for Daghim, as will be Bamford’s future at Elland Road.

Gary Neville made a scathing assessment of Ruben Amorim's performance as Manchester United boss amid a torrid run of form.

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Neville slams Man Utd's performance under AmorimHas gotten worse since Ten Hag left Won two out of their last seven home matchesFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Following a poor start to the 2024/25 campaign, United parted ways with Erik ten Hag in October last year and brought in Ruben Amorim as his replacement from Sporting CP. The Portuguese coach came with an impressive resumé, having won the Liga Portugal title twice. The Red Devils hoped that the 39-year-old would change their fortunes, however, there has not been a major change in their performance, especially in the Premier League.

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Since Amorim took charge of the club, the team has played seven home games, and out of those matches, they have managed to win only twice. They have also lost three out of their last five league outings as they currently struggle at the 13th position on the league table. United legend and pundit Gary Neville has assessed the performance of the ex-Sporting CP coach as he boldly claimed that the situation was better under Ten Hag.

WHAT GARY NEVILLE SAID

Speaking on the , the ex-England defender said: "I thought it would get better when Ruben Amorim came in. I thought the enthusiasm and the new system, I thought they'd buy into it the players, and we'd see a bounce. We've seen the absolute opposite. It's got a lot worse and that's surprising.

"But there's going to be a lot more pain towards the end of the season and it is going to be damaging. They're obviously going to stick with Ruben Amorim, but the more you lose, the more difficult it is to convince the players of the idea. The idea that he talked about in the early days. You need the players to buy into it, but if they lose with it, and they keep getting criticised, the spotlight comes on them more and the fans are leaving unhappy."

He added: "You can't keep losing. It will depress the thoughts of the players, to the point whereby they'll lose faith with the idea. It'll damage the start of next season. He has to do something. He can't change his approach because he's died in a ditch on it. And rightly so. I think he's lost more games at Manchester United since he's come than he lost in the last 75 at Sporting."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

Amorim's side will be back in action on Friday night when they take on Leicester City in an FA Cup fourth-round clash.

Scotland’s top four sealed the chase with three overs to spare

Shashank Kishore21-Oct-2021Qualifying heartbreaks have been a recurring theme for Scotland at big events in the recent past. It happened at the 2016 T20 World Cup, it happened at the 2019 World Cup Qualifiers. But they turned it around in style on Thursday, not allowing a similar theme to recur at the 2021 T20 World Cup.They have now won three in three to make it to the Super 12s in the most emphatic fashion by beating Oman, whose off day with the bat made this a one-way traffic. Scotland now top Group B, and are bunched alongside India, Pakistan, New Zealand, Afghanistan and one of Namibia or Ireland in the next round.Watch highlights on ESPN+

If you are in the USA, watch the Oman vs Scotland highlights on ESPN+ here in English, and here in Hindi

Scotland strike early
Pressure can do strange things. Jatinder Singh, who smashed the ball with abandon in the first two games to make 73* and 40, was run out trying to steal a single to mid-on, off the second ball of the match. Once Aqib Ilyas, his opening partner, turned his back on him, Jatinder had nowhere to go. In the second over, Safyaan Sharif benefited from hitting the hard length as Kashyap Prajapati was rushed into a pull he was in no position to play as he skewed a simple catch to mid-off. At 13 for 2 in the third over, it was a nightmare of a start for Oman.Ilyas counters before holing out
Trying to make amends for the run-out gaffe, Ilyas began by flicking Brad Wheal over fine leg off the fifth ball of the match and continued to take the attack to the other bowlers. He picked boundaries off the pads and straight down the ground, accounting for 29 of Oman’s 37 runs in the powerplay. It wasn’t all blemish free for Scotland, though. First, Chris Greaves overran the ball to concede a boundary to a slog sweep in the ninth over off Ilyas. Two balls later, Wheal mistimed his jump at short fine leg to reprieve Ilyas on 36. But even before Scotland began to wonder if it had cost them, Ilyas would pick out long-off to give Michael Leask a wicket off his third delivery, in the 10th over.Zeeshan rides his luck
Maqsood began slowly and tried to rebuild the innings by nudging the ball into the gaps. His first sign of going big, however, nearly resulted in a wicket as he mistimed a Greaves full toss to deep square leg in the 14th over, only to find out it was a waist-high no-ball. He had another reprieve in the next over when Sharif, the bowler, and Coetzer, running to his left from cover, briefly froze in trying to catch a skier. By the time Coetzer attempted the catch, he was late, and the catch was grassed.Coetzer then had three full stumps in view to effect a direct hit at the bowler’s end but missed that as well. On 14 then, he kept the runs ticking to score 34, even as wickets continued to fall around him that meant Oman didn’t get the finishing kick. Eventually, Maqsood would hole out to sweeper cover to give Josh Davey his second wicket. Oman were bowled out of the last ball of their innings for 122.Munsey, Coetzer begin wellGeorge Munsey came out playing shots: cutting short balls, reverse sweeping tossed up deliveries and punching the hard length through cover. And in trying to play one shot too many, he was out pulling one straight to deep square leg in the fifth over. The pulsating start allowed Coetzer to settle in, but once Oman struck, he stepped up to end the powerplay with a stunning inside-out hit into the stands over deep cover. In the next over, he biffed a short ball into the hospitality area over deep midwicket. The rush of shots had a deflating effect on Oman as Scotland had raced away to 58 for 1 in seven overs.Then came a bit of a slowdown after Coetzer’s fall, and just as Oman were beginning to claw back through their spinners, their fielding let them down. The in-form Richie Berrington sliced a slog to point off Maqsood’s left-arm spin, as Ilyas misjudged a catch by rushing in a tad early. It would have been 82 for 3 then, but Berrington broke the shackles soon after by launching two massive sixes downtown in the next over. Scotland moved past 100, the asking rate came down to below four an over and Oman were to soon be deflated. Berrington hammered the final nail for Oman by muscling a six over deep midwicket as Scotland added a famous chapter to their cricket history.

After spending four weeks with Punjab Kings in the UAE, Markram feels conditions are easiest for batting in Abu Dhabi, and most difficult in Sharjah

Firdose Moonda11-Oct-2021South Africa’s batters will experience the best and the worst of run-scoring conditions in the UAE at the T20 World Cup, according to Aiden Markram. After spending the last four weeks with Punjab Kings in the UAE for the IPL, Markram has decided that conditions are easiest for batting in Abu Dhabi, and most difficult in Sharjah, but still tough across the venues.”Each ground was different. That was something I didn’t expect; I thought it would be quite generic. But each ground had its own set of challenges,” Markram said. “The pitches weren’t the easiest to bat on, but as the batter gets in he can still take the game away from the opposition. It’s tougher for newer batters coming in. Sharjah was probably the toughest batting wicket out of the three here, and Abu Dhabi was probably the nicest to bat on.”South Africa open the Super 12 stage of the competition against Australia in Abu Dhabi before moving to Dubai to play West Indies and then to Sharjah and back to Abu Dhabi, for two games against qualifiers, and conclude the pool stage against England in Sharjah. Though South Africa are entering the tournament on the back of three successive T20I series wins, only one of those – against West Indies in June – was against opposition they will face in this event.They have also lost to both Australia and England (twice) in T20I series in the Mark Boucher era and have historically tripped against both those teams in major tournaments. But Markram isn’t dwelling too much on all that. “We’re not bringing too much baggage into this World Cup. Everyone here is pretty free-spirited and not too fazed about being at a World Cup, in a good way. Everyone’s very calm so far,” he said.But there are ghosts around this squad. Eight of them – nine if you include reserve Andile Phehlukwayo – were part of the 2019 50-over World Cup, where South Africa turned in their worst major tournament result and were the first team to be eliminated.Aiden Markram played in the middle order for Punjab Kings in IPL 2021•BCCI”Obviously we’ll try not to make the same mistakes that we did in 2019, but this is a different format and completely different conditions, and we’ve got a completely different side,” Markram said. “We haven’t had too many chats about that World Cup. In 2019, when conditions didn’t suit our plans, we almost didn’t have other plans to fall back on. That’s been addressed, and we’ve got a way of cricket we’d like to play against each team.”But if conditions on the day don’t allow for that we have to be smarter and have another plan to fall back on. Having the skill set to trust in that change of plan has been important. Over the last 12 to 18 months the team have up-skilled themselves. That’s probably the biggest thing we can take from the 2019 World Cup.”Markram is one of the best examples of that. Since the 2019 World Cup, he has shown marked improvement against spin, had his best tour of the subcontinent when South Africa toured Pakistan earlier this year, has established himself in white-ball cricket and earned his first IPL deal, which taught him about batting in a different position in the shortest format. “It was a great experience. I was in a less familiar role and it was nice to be exposed to that at a high standard of cricket, and to learn on the job,” Markram said.

“In T20 cricket, results come down to the last three overs if not the last ball. It was good to be exposed to that [at the IPL], because I’m sure games are going to go to the wire at the World Cup.”Aiden Markram

For South Africa, Markram has batted in the top three in nine out of 13 T20I innings, for Punjab Kings, he was at No. 4 or 5 five times in six innings. He found the main challenge of batting in the middle-order to be finding the balance between building an innings and taking on a finishing role. “Guys who consistently finish games well in terms of high strike rates and the ability to find the boundary having just walked to the crease is something I’ve got a new appreciation for,” Markram said. “Because if you walk in and a team is 30 for 3, and you need to build a partnership to get to something that’s half-defendable. Neither of those roles are easy.”Neither was the pressure of a tournament like the IPL. Punjab Kings finished sixth on the points table, after losing eight matches – three in this half of the competition. They also won three matches in this half and four of their six games were decided in the last over. “All our games were close. We would have liked to get over the line more times than we did,” Markram said, indicating that the experience would come in handy ahead of the T20 World Cup.”In T20 cricket, at a World Cup or domestic or international series, results come down to the last three overs if not the last ball. It was good to be exposed to that, because I’m sure games are going to go to the wire at the World Cup. It’s about dealing with that pressure in the moment when two to three balls could change the whole outcome of the game.”

Turning their attention back towards the transfer market following an excellent start in the Premier League, Nottingham Forest are now reportedly battling West Ham United to sign a South American gem.

Nottingham Forest transfer news

Those in the Midlands signed well in the summer, welcoming the likes of Nikola Milenkovic, Ramon Sosa and Jota Silva – all of which have enjoyed solid starts to life at the City Ground. Those reinforcements have culminated in a near-perfect start for Nuno Espirito Santo’s side, whose only defeat came at the hands of Fulham and after an excellent run which included victory over Liverpool at Anfield.

Nottingham Forest struck gold selling ace who's now worth £21m less

Forest certainly made the right call in offloading him.

ByEthan Lamb Oct 17, 2024

Now, Espirito Santo’s side will be looking to extend their solid start to beyond the international break and towards the festive period, starting against struggling Crystal Palace on Monday night. Up to 10th and just two points shy of the European places, it’s not absurd to suggest that those at the City Ground are currently on course to cause quite the shock by the time May and the end of the campaign arrives.

It’s then that they will likely turn their attention back towards the transfer market and perhaps welcoming a South American star. According to Graeme Bailey for The Boot Room, Nottingham Forest are now battling West Ham to sign Rayan, who Vasco de Gama are ready to sell for as little as £8.5m when 2025 arrives.

The 18-year-old right-winger has impressed in Brazil and could now follow in the footsteps of several stars who completed similar moves from South America. That of course includes both Carlos Miguel and Murillo, with the former only arriving in the summer transfer window to hand Espirito Santo welcomed depth on the shot-stopping front.

Whilst at 18 years old, Rayan is unlikely to compete for a starting place, his development should certainly be one to watch, whether it takes place in Brazil, at Nottingham Forest or West Ham.

"Physical" Rayan is one to watch

Still young, Rayan is already making his mark on first-team football at Vasco de Gama, having scored twice and assisted once for the senior side in a promising 2024. That glimpse of quality in an otherwise struggling Vasco side has put the winger firmly on Forest’s radar, who could land what may prove to be the ultimate bargain at just £8.5m in 2025.

Rayan has earned plenty of fans throughout his rise in Brazil, including South American football expert Nathan Joyes, who described the winger as a “phycial, bulldozing forward” who has “similar qualities to Taiwo Awoniyi”.

Battling against West Ham, Forest will hope to get one over on their Premier League rivals by signing a star for the future in the form of Rayan in 2025.