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Tottenham Hotspur are seen as favourites to sign a marquee player this summer, giving new manager Thomas Frank a potential boost as the north Londoners seek to build upon their trophy-winning 2024/2025 campaign.

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Spurs could make him their latest marquee signing.

Posts 8 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 27, 2025

Frank has considerable shoes to fill after Ange Postecoglou ended the club’s long wait for a piece of major silverware.

Spurs’ historic 1-0 win against Man United in the Europa League final will live long in the memory, and while the Australian led Spurs to a torrid domestic campaign, breaking their record for most Premier League defeats in a single season (22), Postecoglou will go down in Lilywhites folklore as the manager who won their first European trophy since 1984.

Tottenham’s best-performing regulars in the Premier League – 2024/2025

Average match rating

Son Heung-min

7.00

James Maddison

6.98

Pedro Porro

6.95

Dominic Solanke

6.84

Dejan Kulusevski

6.83

via WhoScored

Postecoglou was also a popular figure among the players, with James Maddison, Pedro Porro and Lucas Bergvall among the squad members to speak out in public defence of their former manager.

Nevertheless, with the 59-year-old now gone, and linked with a surprise MLS move to Los Angeles FC, Frank must now steady the ship and regalvanize his new squad ahead of a vital campaign where they’ll be back in the Champions League.

Chairman Daniel Levy reportedly has every intention of backing his preferred candidate to replace Postecoglou, and Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze is widely rumoured to be one of their top attacking targets.

The England international’s 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions last season tell just half the story of Eze’s undoubted quality. The 26-year-old was a vocal point under Oliver Glasner throughout 2024/2025, bagging the winner against Man City in their 1-0 FA Cup final win over Pep Guardiola’s side – a result which ended Palace’s history-long wait for a major trophy.

It is little wonder there are suggestions that Tottenham are ready to pay Eze’s £68 million release clause, especially considering 2024/2025 may have been Son Heung-min’s last season at Spurs, as clubs in Saudi Arabia consider poaching the club legend after 10 years in N17.

Tottenham favourites to sign Eberechi Eze from Crystal Palace

The major worry for Levy is Arsenal’s concrete interest in Eze, and there is apparently every possibility that Mikel Arteta’s side could hijack Spurs’ pursuit of the former QPR sensation.

However, despite the stiff competition for his signature, journalist Graeme Bailey has told TBR Football that Tottenham are currently leading the race for Eze, and are the “most advanced” of every team in pursuit of the “wonderful player”.

“Eberechi Eze is expecting to leave Crystal Palace this summer, that is no secret,” said Bailey.

“He has a release clause and Steve Parish is open to taking installments to a certain degree but any agreement will need to be reached with Palace. Eze himself has made it clear he is open to options, and a host of Premier League clubs have made contact.

“As we have reported, the most advanced are Tottenham, and we are told the player would welcome a move.

“But Arsenal have indeed made enquiries as they see him as a potential option on their left – but same with Liverpool, Chelsea, Man United, Newcastle and Aston Villa – they have all made enquiries to some extent this year.”

With Newcastle United still chasing a deal to sign Anthony Elanga, Nottingham Forest have reportedly set their sights on signing a young Premier League gem who could replace the Swede.

Nottingham Forest battling to keep Elanga

Those in the Midlands managed to keep hold of Elanga last summer and that victory quickly paid dividends in an excellent season at the City Ground. The interest in the winger hasn’t gone away, however, and this time Newcastle have money to spend. The Magpies have already reportedly made an enquiry about signing the former Manchester United man and Forest face another fight to keep hold of one of their star players.

Elanga, himself, chose to remain coy when asked about his Nottingham Forest future whilst on international duty with Sweden recently, telling reporters: “There’s a lot of talk. I’m focusing on what I can do and my focus today was on the game. In football there are always rumors. The most important thing is that I focus on what I can control.”

After missing out on the Champions League even after a fantastic campaign, there may be some concern around the City Ground that Nuno Espirito Santo could lose his top players this summer.

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Nottingham Forest have now made an official bid to sign a player from the Championship.

ByBrett Worthington Jun 12, 2025

As ever, Evangelos Marinakis has already set his sights on incomings of his own, though. The Greek owner and Nottingham Forest have recently been linked with moves for the likes of Igor Jesus and Real Valladolid star Raul Moro. What’s more, the Tricky Trees are also reportedly interested in signing an impressive Premier League gem if Elanga chooses to leave the club in favour of Newcastle this summer.

Nottingham Forest assessing Oscar Bobb move

According to Football Insider’s Mick Brown, Marinakis is now assessing a Nottingham Forest move to sign Oscar Bobb from Manchester City this summer. The young winger returned from a lengthy spell on the sidelines towards the end of last season and will be desperate to get up to speed with some much-needed game time.

Brown, a former Premier League scout, told Football Insider: “A Premier League loan move is exactly what Bobb needs. After the injury he had, he has to prove to everybody that he is still capable at this level.

“It’s difficult to come back from something like that, he has some proving to do, but he has to be playing regularly to do it. If you take him out of that Man City side and put him in another Premier League team, a Crystal Palace or a Nottingham Forest, it will show where he’s at. Palace and Forest are both clubs I’ve heard are having a look at the deal.

The 21-year-old is a player who Pep Guardiola believes has “incredible potential”, but his short-term future could lie at the City Ground. It’s there that he could step into Elanga’s role and discover his best form following a frustrating injury setback.

Celtic romped to a 5-1 win over Aberdeen in their final away match of the Scottish Premiership campaign on Wednesday night, despite playing a much-changed side.

Brendan Rodgers opted to hand opportunities to several players in the comprehensive victory for the Hoops, including the likes of Viljami Sinisalo, Paulo Bernardo, Luke McCowan, Johnny Kenny, and Maik Nawrocki, among others.

Nawrocki made just his third appearance in the Premiership this season and scored the opening goal in the match with a fine header, and he made five clearances, two blocks, and two interceptions.

Rodgers was also quick to point out how well the Polish colossus performed in possession, as the boss said: “I thought he (Nawrocki) played through the lines really, really well, defended well, and obviously, he was very dangerous in the box.”

The former Legia Warsaw central defender was not the only rarely-seen star who caught the eye for the Northern Irish head coach, though, as Irish striker Johnny Kenny made his first senior start for the club and impressed against the Dons.

Why Johnny Kenny could be a future star for Celtic

The Celtic manager was “pleased” for the 21-year-old centre-forward after the reserve striker scored his first goal for the club with a fine header in the second half.

Rodgers said: “Johnny, we’re also pleased for because he works so hard, he is a natural goalscorer. I think when you see his movement for the goal, it’s so, so good and everyone was delighted for him.”

The young attacker did brilliantly to get across his man to redirect the header into the opposite corner from Luke McCowan’s cross to make it 4-1 on the night.

That was one of the five shots that Kenny managed against Aberdeen, which shows that he provided a constant threat in front of the opposition goal, whilst it was one of two shots on target for the forward.

The Celtic striker, who had only made six substitute appearances in the league prior to that game, had not made a single first-team appearance for the club prior to his return from Shamrock Rovers in January.

Kenny did, however, showcase his potential whilst on loan in his home country, with a return of 26 goals and eight assists in 76 matches for Shamrock Rovers in all competitions.

24/25 Conference League

Johnny Kenny

Appearances

6

xG

3.78

Goals

5

Big chances missed

1

Big chances created

1

Assists

1

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Irishman caught the eye in the Conference League during the first half of this season, scoring five goals in six matches, before his return to Celtic at the turn of the year.

Kenny is a young talent who has shown potential to shine in the future for the Hoops, given his performance against Aberdeen and his goalscoring record in Ireland, but he is also 22 this summer and potentially at a crossroads in his career, where he will have to decide whether it is worth fighting for a spot at Parkhead or going elsewhere to be guaranteed regular game time.

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Meanwhile, Celtic could unearth an even bigger talent than the 21-year-old Irishman by continuing to integrate 17-year-old Sean McArdle into the first-team.

Why Sean McArdle could be an even bigger talent than Johnny Kenny

It took Kenny until the age of 21 to make his senior bow for the Hoops. McArdle, on the other hand, has made his Scottish Premiership debut before turning 18.

The teenage talent has come off the bench in the last two matches, since the club were confirmed as champions of the division, as Rodgers has decided that he is ready to play in the first-team.

McArdle made his debut against Hibernian at Parkhead last week before coming on for the final nine minutes against Aberdeen away from home on Wednesday night.

The 17-year-old Scottish ace was praised by Rodgers after his debut, as the head coach said: “I like him, he’s got decent legs, he’s got a nice football brain, left-sided, he’s got culture when he plays, and now he’s got the best role models you can have in some of the players that we have here, like Callum and these guys, to learn from.”

Vs Aberdeen

Sean McArdle

Minutes

9

Passes completed

11/12

Shots

1

Shots on target

1

Chances created

1

Dribbles completed

1/1

Duels won

1/1

Possession lost

1x

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, McArdle followed up on that praise by delivering an impressive cameo off the bench against Aberdeen, completing 92% of his chances and showing a few nice touches, creating one chance in the process.

After that display, Rodgers praised the teenager once again: “Yes, I liked him when he came on. I like the young players, and any player that you play for Celtic, you have to have personality. And you could see at 17, he comes into the game, he takes the ball, he passes the ball. He’s got a wee edge to him as well that I like.”

The manager was not the only person impressed by McArdle, though, as teammate and experienced midfielder McCowan described him as a “great” player.

This shows that he has gained respect from the manager and at least one of the senior players in the first-team with his performances in training and in Premiership matches, despite being just 17.

McArdle, who scored five goals in 25 Lowland League games this season, could, therefore, be an even bigger talent than Kenny because he has already made more progress than the Irishman did at his age.

Kenny is five years older than the Scottish midfielder and only made his Premiership debut for Celtic at the start of this year, whilst the teenager has played twice in the division already and could establish himself as a regular in the coming years, potentially before he gets to the age the Irish striker is at now.

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To make his breakthrough at such a young age, whilst earning plaudits from Rodgers and McCowan, speaks to his potential and suggests that he could be a future star for the Hoops for many years to come if he continues his progression.

A Bundesliga side are “ready” to sign a Rangers star valued at more than £20m this summer, according to a new update.

Rangers exit Europa League as worrying 49ers takeover update shared

The Gers’ hopes of winning the Europa League came to an end on Thursday evening after a 2-0 defeat to Athletic Club. Rangers were hoping that they’d be returning to Bilbao at the end of May for the final, however, goals in either half from Oihan Sanchet and Nico Williams ensured it would be Athletic Club taking on Man Utd in the semi finals.

For those at Ibrox, attention will soon turn to the 2025/26 season, especially as they currently trail Celtic at the top of the Scottish Premiership by 15 points.

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The 49ers Enterprises are currently in the process of completing an Ibrox takeover, however, ex-Aberdeen CEO Keith Wyness has heard that the American investors aren’t aware of how passionate Rangers fans are and are viewing the deal as a “business transaction”.

“I’m hearing some very interesting things from my sources at Rangers this week. They’re saying that the 49ers are looking at this like a business transaction, they don’t really get what they’re going into – in terms of the fans, the sectarian situation and the religious connotations.

“The Rangers fanbase have a massive passion. It’s alright to see it occasionally, but you’ve really got to live in it and get to know it if you’re going to invest like this. It’s an unusual beast and it’s very powerful. What I’m hearing is that the 49ers don’t quite understand that side of it.”

One of the first tasks for the 49ers will be to appoint a new permanent manager, however, they could also lose a number of players.

Recently, Hamza Igamane has been linked with a move away from Glasgow, with Marseille making a serious move. Meanwhile, Leon Balogun is unlikely to be offered a new Rangers contract and looks set to leave for free.

Borussia Monchengladbach “ready” to sign Rangers star Raskin

Now, according to journalist Sacha Tavolieri, relayed by Sport Witness, Bundesliga outfit Borussia Monchengladbach are “ready” to sign Rangers star Nicolas Raskin this summer.

Those in Glasgow have recently valued Raskin at more than £20m, and according to Tavolieri, Monchengladbach are prepared to swoop.

He doesn’t state if Rangers are willing to do business, however, Raskin himself recently admitted his desire to “compete at a big club” ahead of the 2026 World Cup.

Nicolas Raskin’s Rangers stats

Games

90

Goals

3

Assists

10

Yellow cards

15

“I’ve been here for two and a half years. It’s gone very well for me, especially this season. You have to see what the club wants, what comes on the table, and try to do the best for everyone. As a footballer, you always want to look ahead and see what you can do better.

“If you want to give yourself the best chance of playing in an international competition, you have to be able to compete at a big club. But the goal isn’t to go to a club where you’ll play less and lose that advantage of playing every week. It’s a balancing act that needs to be found.”

A move away from Ibrox could therefore be one to keep an eye on for the Belgium international.

And what is the lowest score successfully defended in a T20I?

Steven Lynch18-Jun-2024What’s the lowest score successfully defended in an uninterrupted T20 match? asked Brian Matthews from England
The lowest total that was enough to win a seniormen’s T20 game in which both sides had the full 20 overs at their disposal is 78, by Himachal Pradesh in a Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy match in Rohtak in India in 2013: they then bowled Services out for 77 to win by one run. The previous record was set in the same competition in 2010 in Vadodara, Maharashtra were bowled out for 81, but then skittled a Saurashtra side including Cheteshwar Pujara, who had just made his Test debut, for 67.The men’s T20 international record was set in Lagos in October 2021: Nigeria made only 90, but skittled Sierra Leone for 71. In Kingston in February 2014, West Indies managed only 96 for 9 in their 20 overs, but restricted Ireland to 85 for eight.When India (119) restricted Pakistan (113 for 7) to win in New York last week, they equalled the record for the lowest total successfully defended in the T20 World Cup, set by Sri Lanka (119) when they defeated New Zealand (60) in Chattogram in March 2014. But a new record was set the day after India’s exciting win, also at Nassau County in New York, when South Africa (113 for 6) beat Bangladesh (109 for 7).Namibia’s David Wiese both batted and bowled in the Super Over after their T20 World Cup tie against Oman. Has this happened before? asked Matthew Behan from England
Namibia’s 39-year-old allrounder David Wiese scored 13 of his side’s 21 runs in the Super Over after their T20 World Cup match against Oman in Bridgetown on June 2 was tied at 109 apiece. He then returned to the bowling crease, ensuring victory by conceding only four runs from the first five balls, before the last delivery went for six.I couldn’t instantly remember any similar occurrences, but actually there have been three, one of them in an earlier T20 World Cup: in Pallekele in October 2012, West Indies’ Marlon Samuels conceded 17 runs from the Super Over against New Zealand, but then helped Chris Gayle collect the winning runs.The other instances were by Shahid Afridi for Pakistan against England in Sharjah in November 2015, and Singapore’s captain Janak Prakash against Bahrain in Bangi (Malaysia) in December 2022.There’s also one case in an ODI: in Harare in 2023, Logan van Beek of the Netherlands smashed 30 off Jason Holder in the super over, then grabbed the ball and took two for eight.England reached their target against Oman the other day in 3.1 overs. Was this the quickest victory in a T20I? asked David Northall from England
England overhauled Oman’s modest total of 47 in Antigua the other day in just 3.1 overs, helped when Phil Salt smashed the first two deliveries of their innings for six (he was then out, for 12 in three balls).This was the quickest victory by a Test-playing nation in a T20I, beating the five overs it took Sri Lanka to overhaul the Netherlands’ total of 39 in the World Cup in Chattogram in March 2014. Bangladesh also reached their target in five overs against Pakistan in the bronze-medal match at the Asian Games in Hangzhou (China) last October , but that had been reduced by rain to a five-over match.There have been nine quicker wins by non-Test nations in T20I, including one by Oman (in 2.5 overs against the Philippines in Al Amerat in February 2022). The quickest of all came in Cartagena in February 2023: after bowling the Isle of Man out for 10 (with six ducks), Spain reached their target in just two legal deliveries. After George Burrows started with a no-ball, Awais Ahmed hit the next two for six.England chased down the target of 47 against Oman in 19 balls, the quickest victory by a Test-playing nation in T20Is•Getty ImagesI believe Sunil Gavaskar scored the most Test runs as an opener. Does he also have the highest average when opening? asked Milind Chandrasekharan from India
Sunil Gavaskar did hold the record for most Test runs by an opener for many years, but he was eventually overtaken by England’s Alastair Cook, who passed Gavaskar’s 9607 runs in July 2016, and finished with 11,845 from the top of the order. The South African Graeme Smith is third with 9030.Gavaskar averaged 50.40 when opening, a remarkable effort considering how much of his career was against the fearsome West Indian pacemen of the time. Of batters who opened at least 20 times in Tests, only 16 have averaged 50 or more. That includes current players in Usman Khawaja (54.03) and Rohit Sharma (50.03).Highest of all – and the only man who averaged more than 57 when opening – is England’s Herbert Sutcliffe, who averaged 61.10 while scoring 4522 runs as an opener in 54 Tests between 1924 and 1935.Next comes the South African Bruce Mitchell with 56.90, just ahead of two famous Englishmen in Len Hutton (56.47) and Jack Hobbs (56.37).Further to the recent question about bowlers taking the first nine wickets in a Test innings, there was another near miss in Pakistan in 2000, when Saqlain Mushtaq took the first eight wickets to fall, only to be denied a shot at all ten by a declaration. Are there any other cases like this? asked R Jayanth from India
The match you’re talking about was the first Test of England’s 2000-01 tour of Pakistan, which ended with a famous victory in the twilight in the third Test in Karachi. But a few weeks earlier, in Lahore, England had ground their way to 480 for 8, with offspinner Saqlain Mushtaq taking all eight wickets to fall (he finished with figures of 74-20-164-8). Wasim Akram and Mushtaq Ahmed were among his wicketless colleagues. I don’t think it was a case of England’s captain Nasser Hussain declaring to deny Saqlain a shot at glory: he closed the innings at lunch on the third day, after 800 minutes and 196 overs (Bazball it was not).There are no other instances of a bowler taking the only eight wickets to fall in a Test innings, or even all seven. When New Zealand made 200 for 6 against South Africa in Wellington in 2011-12, the tall fast bowler Morne Morkel finished with 6 for 23.Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

There have already been four successful chases of 200-plus targets in 2022. Is this a golden age for fourth-innings pursuits?

S Rajesh20-Jun-2022Twice in two Tests in the current series against New Zealand, England were set challenging fourth-innings targets to chase down: 277 at Lord’s, and 299 at Trent Bridge. On each occasion they had a centurion – a serene Joe Root at Lord’s and scintillating Jonny Bairstow at Trent Bridge – as they romped home with plenty (five wickets) to spare.Add South Africa’s feats against India earlier this year, when they chased down 240 in Johannesburg and 212 in Cape Town, and there have been four significant fourth-innings batting performances in less than six months in 2022. And we haven’t even mentioned Pakistan’s epic-fourth innings response to a target of 506 in Karachi three months ago, when they gave Australia an almighty scare before finally settling for a draw with a score of 443 for 7.Four successful run-chases in a relatively short timespan give rise to a few questions: are these targets being hunted down more often now than in the past? Has fourth-innings batting generally become easier over the last few years? Let the numbers tell the story.ESPNcricinfo LtdTo start with, there have only been four other years when 200-plus targets have been chased down more often: five times in 2006, six times each in 1998 and 2003, and seven times in 2008. With half a year to go, 2022 has a decent chance of challenging that all-time record. Since the start of 2019, there have been 12 successful 200-plus chases; in the six-year period from 2013 to 2018, it had only happened seven times.However, these fourth-innings wins only highlight the success stories, without looking at the number of opportunities teams have had to chase such targets. To know the success rate in these situations, you’d also have to know the number of times teams have been set such targets, in the last few years and earlier.In 2022, there have been 14 instances when teams have been asked to chase 200 or more; the targets have ranged from 212, for South Africa against India in Cape Town, to 506 for Pakistan against Australia. As mentioned earlier, four of those chases have been successful, six have ended in defeats, and the remaining four have been draws. Four out of 14 gives a success percentage of 28.6. That is a huge improvement from 2021 (three out of 24) and from 2018 (zero out of 29).