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Eberechi Eze used to be referred to as ‘Snake Hips’ by his former team-mates due to his incredible dribbling ability and agility, according to ex-Queens Park Rangers colleague Nedum Onuoha. The playmaker, who has been capped 13 times by England, is now lighting up the Premier League and Champions League with Arsenal after completing a summer transfer from Crystal Palace.

How Eze got to QPR following teenage heartbreak

Eze is widely regarded as one of the top flight’s most gifted attackers, but he has had to work hard to put himself in this position. He was released by Arsenal, Fulham, Reading and Millwall as an academy player, before finding a loving home at QPR in the Championship. It was in west London where he rubbed shoulders with Onuoha for two seasons before the veteran defender headed to Major League Soccer to finish his career with Real Salt Lake.

AdvertisementWatch the clipReason behind Eze's nickname revealed

Speaking on the Full Time Therapy podcast, Onuoha revealed how he was wary of Eze’s talent even at a young age, and how he is thrilled for his former team-mate to be thriving on football’s biggest stages.

"We used to call him ‘Snake Hips’!" Onuoha said. "He would just come towards you, give you one of these [shoulder drops] and you always take the bait on one of them. The reason why lots of people who have played with him speak so highly of him is because he’s a really good guy and he loves football. Like I saw him after the FA Cup final, and he’s like, ‘I can’t believe it, I never thought I’d be here’. All this stuff. This is someone at 27 where, in theory, the love of the game could have very well left the chat a long time ago. He adores it, a really good person."

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Eze distraught after Arsenal rejection

Eze’s love of Arsenal made his release from the club as a teenager all the more heartbreaking. In a 2020 interview with , Eze said: "I was 13 [when I was released]. That was the worst one. I remember crying in my room for a solid week, my mum telling me that it’s going to be OK but not being able to get over it. Then I went to Fulham and I was finally starting to enjoy my football again. We played Arsenal a few months later but, when I went over to shake the academy manager’s hand, I started welling up. All the feelings came back."

Eze first joined QPR in 2016 and spent four years at Loftus Road before securing a Premier League move, joining Crystal Palace in the south of the capital city. It was at Palace where Eze made himself a household name in his home country, helping the Eagles up the table and eventually playing a starring role in their FA Cup triumph last season, securing the club’s first piece of major silverware.

Aston Villa have now been approached over the signing of a “dominant” defender, who they have tracked for quite some time, according to a report.

Villa keen on new defender after signing Guessand

After selling Jhon Duran in the January transfer window, Villa were a little light on options in the striker department, but Unai Emery now has both Ollie Watkins and Evann Guessand to choose from at centre-forward, with the ex-OGC Nice man arriving for £30m.

Consequently, Emery now want to turn his attentions to strengthening at the opposite end of the pitch, especially considering Pau Torres is attracting interest from elsewhere, with Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr recently being named as potential suitors.

It could be wise to cash-in on Torres this summer, given that the Villans are well-known to be treading a fine line when it comes to PSR, and Saudi teams are arguably more willing to pay over the odds, with Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez recently joining Al-Hilal for up to £56.6m.

Aston Villa make approach to sign £22m attacker, may submit bid within days

The Villans have now made contact over a deal for an “incredible” player.

By
Dominic Lund

Aug 10, 2025

Should Aston Villa sell the 28-year-old, it may be a smart move to bring in a younger centre-back, with greater re-sell value, and they have now been approached over the potential signing of Club Brugge defender Joel Ordonez.

That is according to a report from The Boot Room, which states Villa are being kept informed about Ordonez, alongside a whole host of their Premier League rivals, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur also named as potential suitors.

Emery’s side have been in contact over the highly-rated young defender for the past 12 months, but he is now closing in on a move to Marseille, which means they will need to move swiftly to hijack a deal, and it may take a bid of around €33m (£28m).

"Dominant" Ordonez could be fantastic signing for Villa

At just 21-years-old, the Brugge centre-back is still in the infancy of his career, but football talent scout Jacek Kulig believes he could go on to achieve great things, having likened the youngster to Real Madrid star Antonio Rüdiger.

Kulig describes the Ecuadorian as a “dominant” defender, which suggests he is strong in duels, but the starlet is also forward-thinking and very comfortable in possession of the ball, which is crucial for a modern-day centre-back.

Statistic	Average per 90 (past year)
Passes attempted	66.15 (87th percentile)
Pass completion %	91.6% (95th percentile)
Progressive passes	5.31 (94th percentile)

Despite his age, the Ecuador international already has a plethora of experience at first-team level, making 84 appearances for Club Brugge, including 12 in the Champions League last season, which suggests he may now be ready to test himself in the Premier League.

As such, it would certainly be exciting if Aston Villa were to pursue a late move for Ordonez, but they would have to move swiftly, given that Marseille are closing in on a deal.

Shahbaz Ahmed waged a battle with the bat in a tall chase but ran out of partners in the end

Himanshu Agrawal11-Dec-2024It was a tale of two birthday boys in Bengaluru. Baroda’s left-arm quick Lukman Meriwala celebrated by nabbing three top-order wickets in the same over, before Bengal allrounder Shahbaz Ahmed kept his side alive with a half-century in the chase of 173. Shahbaz ran out of partners though, and Baroda beat Bengal by 41 runs to book their place in the semi-finals of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.Bengal were off to a steady start with 28 runs on the board after three overs, before Meriwala’s dream over. He had Karan Lal chopping on for 6, trapped Sudip Kumar Gharami lbw for 2, and took a stunning return catch to dismiss Writtick Chatterjee for a duck.Next over, Atit Sheth added to the damage by having a dangerous-looking Abishek Porel caught at mid-on for 22 off 13 balls. That is when Shahbaz walked out at No. 6, and joined hands with Ritwik Roy Chowdhury. Despite being 31 for 4 in a tall chase, Chowdhury and Shahbaz counterattacked by cracking four boundaries and a six off the first nine balls of their partnership.Shahbaz then swung Sheth for six and also drove him for a boundary in the eighth over, while Chowdhury whacked Hardik Pandya for six over fine leg in the tenth. But next ball, Hardik had Chowdhury caught behind, leaving Bengal at 88 for 5 at the halfway stage, and Shahbaz with too much to do. Although Shahbaz kept losing partners, he smacked 55 off 36 balls with three fours and four sixes before falling to Sheth in the 18th over.The base for Baroda’s total of 172 was laid by their openers Shashwat Rawat and Abhimanyusingh Rajput. They had taken their time to settle in on a slow pitch, with Rajput riding his luck in the powerplay. First, he was dropped on 4 by Chowdhury off Mohammed Shami in the opening over of the game (Shami would finish with the expensive figures of 4-0-43-2). Then, with Rajput on 16, Bengal’s review for a not-out on-field call for lbw off Kanishk Seth returned umpire’s call.Rajput and Rawat upped the rate with 50 runs on the board after the powerplay and all ten wickets intact. Shahbaz was slashed over extra cover for four and reverse swept for six. In the eighth over, Rajput swat-pulled Saksham Choudhary for six over long-on, before Rawat heaved and Rajput slapped Shahbaz for six and four more.Their stand ended on 90 in the tenth over, and that started a phase where Baroda lost 4 for 23 within five overs. But handy cameos from Shivalik Sharma (24 off 17), Bhanu Pania (17 off 11) and Vishnu Solanki (16* off 7) ensured Baroda posted 51 in the last four overs. In the end, the 172 they took their side to proved more than enough.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola now wants to sign an “ice cool” player, amid concerns over the performances of a current starter, according to a report.

On paper, Man City should have been no match for Al-Hilal, and they certainly had the better of their opponents, creating more chances and having over double the amount of shots on target throughout the match.

However, the Blues ultimately ended up crashing out of the Club World Cup after a shock 4-3 defeat, with Al-Hilal goalkeeper Yassine Bounou putting in a phenomenal performance, making eight saves from inside the box to keep Guardiola’s side at bay.

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The City boss refused to be too critical of his players in the wake of the result, while also singling out Bounou for praise, saying:“It is a pity. We have been on incredible journey together and were in a good place. The vibe was really good. I cannot thank the players enough for training and playing how they have been.

“But it was a difficult game. The margins were minimal. We created a lot and (Yassine) Bounou made incredible saves but we were so open.”

However, behind-the-scenes, Guardiola is still planning to make some changes to his squad, with a report from Spain revealing the Man City manager has made it clear that he wants to sign Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

With Ederson not the player he once was, having lost consistency in his performances, there is a desire to bring in a new goalkeeper, and Guardiola believes Ter Stegen could be an ideal fit, believing that he has the qualities to succeed in the Premier League.

Barca would be willing to sanction a departure if a good offer comes their way, as the La Liga side are looking to reduce their wage bill, and the German rakes in a sizeable £105k-a-week.

"Ice cool" Ter Stegen has track record of success

The 33-year-old has won 20 major honours throughout a glittering career, having been an important player for Barcelona over a number of years, making a total of 422 appearances for the Spanish side.

That experience at the top level could be very useful for a Man City side which needs to start winning again, having endured a rare trophyless season during the 2024-25 campaign.

The “ice cool” goalkeeper is also comfortable in possession of the ball, which could make him a good fit in a Guardiola system, with counterpart Thibaut Courtois describing the Barca shot-stopper as the “best in the game” with his feet.

Ter Stegen could be a fantastic signing for Man City, but there may be some concerns over the fact the goalkeeper is already 33-years-old, making him two years older than Ederson, which indicates he is unlikely to be a long-term replacement for the Brazilian.

Liverpool find themselves in the hunt for reinforcements and could look to swoop under the nose of rivals Everton to land an attacking target, according to a report.

Liverpool set to trigger more business after Kerkez announcement

After Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz were confirmed by the Reds, Milos Kerkez is also now set to join in a £40 million move from Bournemouth. The Hungary international joins Arne Slot’s revolution and signs on after weeks of negotiations by all parties to find agreement, as confirmed by Fabrizio Romano.

Moving on, Liverpool have turned their attention to Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi and an agreement over personal terms is said to be close as he enters the final year of his contract at Selhurst Park.

Talking up a potential deal, Keith Wyness believes Guehi moving to the red half of Merseyside would suit all parties as Oliver Glasner will be keen to cash in before losing the England international on a free becomes a distinct possibility.

He stated: “It would be a no-brainer for them (Liverpool) if they can get hold of him, and all the noises coming out of the Marc Guehi camp are that he’s keen to go.

“I think it’s a fantastic deal. I think Palace also recognise that I think he’s got just another year left on his contract. So they’d like to cash in as well. All parties could be very happy.”

While Liverpool’s summer business is bubbling away, they could now bid for a midfielder who has already been firmly on the radar of their closest rivals.

Liverpool could hijack Everton to sign Merlin Rohl

According to reports in Germany via Sport Witness, Liverpool could move for SC Freiburg midfielder Merlin Rohl this summer despite Everton having already made two bids to sign the Germany Under-21 international in January.

Newcastle United and Crystal Palace are also in the frame to sign the Berlin-born star, who registered a solitary assist in 20 appearances over the course of last season.

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Labelled “very dangerous” by Antonio Di Salvo, Rohl managed to create nine chances in action for Freiburg on Bundesliga duty and also completed 12 dribbles despite suffering a ligament tear that limited his scope to make a lasting impact.

Nevertheless, he is now back fit and firing and has even scored at the UEFA Under-21 European Championships in a 3-2 win for Germany against Italy.

Admittedly, Liverpool have strong competition for places currently in the middle of the park, though it would be intriguing to see who could make way if Rohl were to arrive at Anfield, potentially at the expense of arch-rivals Everton.

In what would be the ultimate statement of intent from INEOS, Manchester United are now eyeing a shock move to hijack a Champions League megastar ahead of Arsenal after Real Madrid lowered their asking price.

Who Man Utd could target after Bryan Mbeumo

After launching a fresh bid worth more than £60m to sign Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, all signs a pointing towards success for Manchester United in their chase to sign the winger. In another big money deal, the Red Devils look increasingly likely to welcome their second attacking reinforcement of the summer following Matheus Cunha.

It always needed to be a big summer at Old Trafford, however, and INEOS may not be done after Mbeumo. Sir Jim Ratcliffe and his team have also set their sights on improvements in goal, in midfield and further attacking additions to round off an excellent summer of business.

On the goalkeeper front, the main name mentioned in recent weeks has been Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. The Midlands club have PSR troubles hanging over their head and will likely need to sell a player before the June 30 deadline – potentially allowing United to take full advantage.

Meanwhile, when it comes to midfielders it is Ardon Jashari who has found himself among recent headlines. The Belgian Pro League’s Player of the Season has reportedly attracted the interest of United, who could land an instant upgrade on Casemiro.

It’s going forward that INEOS could save their best work once again though, with reports now suggesting that United may yet hijack Arsenal’s move to sign a Real Madrid megastar.

Man Utd eyeing shock Rodrygo hijack

As reported by Caught Offside, Manchester United are now eyeing a shock move to sign Rodrygo from Real Madrid this summer in what would see them hijack Arsenal’s pursuit.

It looks as though the Brazilan’s Real Madrid departure is a realistic possibility this summer as he continues to be overshadowed by the work of Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham.

Arsenal are chasing his signature, which will now cost around €85m (£73m) following Madrid’s price drop from €110m (£94m), but United’s interest could now complicate things for the Gunners.

It would be some statement if INEOS managed to beat Arsenal to Rodrygo’s signature, albeit an expensive statement at that. Not only would United be spending another £73m to secure his signature, but the Madrid man also currently earns around £10.5m-a-year at the Bernabeu to form what would be Ratcliffe’s biggest deal yet.

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Previously described as a “special” player by former manager Carlo Ancelotti, there’s a strong argument to be made that Rodrygo would be worth every penny of that £10.5m-a-year contract.

The talented winger may be an afterthought at Madrid at times, but there’s no denying that he’d instantly become the biggest star at Ruben Amorim’s disposal if he joined Manchester United this summer.

Every year, the top goalscorer in the Premier League has the honour of taking home the Golden Boot.

Despite goals being the ultimate currency in football, the winner of this particular accolade does not point towards top-flight success. Indeed, in 2023, Erling Haaland became the first player in 10 years to put a Premier League winners’ medal alongside his Golden Boot.

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2024/25 saw Mohamed Salah take home a fourth Golden Boot, something only Thierry Henry has done in the Premier League era. Pre-1992, Jimmy Greaves (6) and Derby County forward Steve Bloomer (5) are the only other players to be the English top tier’s top scorer four times or more.

So, who have been the previous winners, who has won the award the most times, and who has done it with the most goals? All that information and more can be found here.

Here is a list of every Premier League Golden Boot winner, alongside a detailed look at the most recent recipients of the award, including the best goal from their winning seasons.

Season

Player

Club(s)

Goals

1992/93

Teddy Sheringham

Nottingham Forest, Tottenham

22

1993/94

Andy Cole

Newcastle

34

1994/95

Alan Shearer

Blackburn

34

1995/96

Alan Shearer

Blackburn

31

1996/97

Alan Shearer

Newcastle

25

1997/98

Chris Sutton, Dion Dublin, Michael Owen

Blackburn, Coventry, Liverpool

18

1998/99

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, Michael Owen, Dwight Yorke

Leeds, Liverpool, Man Utd

18

1999/00

Kevin Phillips

Sunderland

30

2000/01

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink

Chelsea

23

2001/02

Thierry Henry

Arsenal

24

2002/03

Ruud van Nistelrooy

Man Utd

25

2003/04

Thierry Henry

Arsenal

30

2004/05

Thierry Henry

Arsenal

25

2005/06

Thierry Henry

Arsenal

27

2006/07

Didier Drogba

Chelsea

20

2007/08

Cristiano Ronaldo

Man Utd

31

2008/09

Nicolas Anelka

Chelsea

19

2009/10

Didier Drogba

Chelsea

29

2010/11

Carlos Tevez, Dimitar Berbatov

Man City, Man Utd

20

2011/12

Robin van Persie

Arsenal

30

2012/13

Robin van Persie

Man Utd

26

2013/14

Luis Suarez

Liverpool

31

2014/15

Sergio Aguero

Man City

26

2015/16

Harry Kane

Tottenham

25

2016/17

Harry Kane

Tottenham

29

2017/18

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

32

2018/19

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah

Arsenal, Liverpool

22

2019/20

Jamie Vardy

Leicester

23

2020/21

Harry Kane

Tottenham

23

2021/22

Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min

Liverpool, Tottenham

23

2022/23

Erling Haaland

Man City

36

2023/24

Erling Haaland

Man City

27

2024/25

Mohamed Salah

Liverpool

29

Robin van Persie (Arsenal & Man Utd) 2011/12 (30 goals), 2012/13 (26 goals)

Dutchman Robin van Persie picked up each of his two Golden Boots in consecutive years, distinctively doing so for two different clubs: Arsenal and Manchester United.

He hit 30 in the 2011/12 season for the Gunners, emulating Thierry Henry in the process. But after his strikes were only enough to steer Arsenal to third that year, he arrived at rivals Manchester United the following summer keen to add team honours to his collection.

His move was vindicated when his 26 goals secured United what is still their most recent league title to date.

Best goal: It has to be the one that helped seal the title for United, as Van Persie sumptuously smashed home Wayne Rooney’s cross-field ball against Aston Villa.

Luis Suarez (Liverpool) 2013/14 (31 goals)

While the 2013/14 campaign ended in heartbreak for Liverpool, it was a record-breaking year for Luis Suarez.

Despite entering the season under the cloud of a recent (but not his last) biting incident, not to mention a heavily publicised and failed move to Arsenal, he equalled the Premier League record set by Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007/08 with 31 goals.

The Reds may have ended as runners-up that year, but Suarez would move on to better things off the back of this campaign, winning the Champions League with Barcelona 12 months later.

Best goal: Smashing the ball over a hapless John Ruddy from 40 yards (before scoring three more against Norwich City).

Sergio Aguero (Man City) 2014/15 (26 goals)

It may be something of a surprise to note that Sergio Aguero only took home one Golden Boot – particularly in a year when Manchester City did not win the title.

But he saw off the challenges of Harry Kane and Diego Costa to comfortably claim the top scorer award amid a disappointing defence of City’s Premier League crown.

Best goal: While his best strikes came in other seasons, his superbly curled effort against Spurs capped a marvellous afternoon as he scored all four goals.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Arsenal) 2018/19 (22 goals)

One of three different winners in this particular year, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang managed to take home a Golden Boot in his first full season at Arsenal.

The Gunners fell short in their pursuit of a Champions League place, but the Gabon ace was often on hand to help their cause, with two strikes against Burnley on the final day sealing his place in the top-flight history books.

Best goal: His equaliser in the north London derby proved what a clinical finisher he could be, even from range.

Sadio Mane (Liverpool) 2018/19 (22 goals)

The second of the three winners in 2018/19 was Sadio Mane, who picked up his only Golden Boot during his time at Liverpool.

Often seen working prolifically alongside Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, Mane was at his best while that Liverpool trio tore almost every Premier League defence to shreds.

Best goal: His backheel against Watford was unlike anything we have seen before or since (at 2:12 in the video below).

Jamie Vardy (Leicester) 2019/20 (23 goals)

Although his best season will undoubtedly have been amid Leicester City’s title win in 2015/16, Jamie Vardy was far from the peak of his powers.

He continued to terrorise defences up and down the country, and got the Golden Boot that his goalscoring exploits deserved by scoring 23 times in the 2019/20 campaign.

We’ll never know how the curtailed season due to the pandemic affected things, with Leicester’s form tailing off as they missed out on a top-four place. Vardy scored four times post-restart to edge ahead of Aubameyang and Danny Ings, his closest competitors.

Best goal: A simply superb strike lofted over Bournemouth’s Aaron Ramsdale early in the campaign.

Harry Kane (Tottenham) 2015/16 (25 goals), 2016/17 (29 goals), 2020/21 (23 goals)

Had he played in another era, Harry Kane may well have had twice the amount of Golden Boots he ended up with, but three while playing for a Tottenham Hotspur side who seldom challenged for the title itself is not bad going.

That said, they came closest to the title in two of Kane’s Golden Boot seasons, with back-to-back gongs coming his way after the Lilywhites secured finishes of 3rd and 2nd in the 2015/16 and 2016/17 campaigns respectively.

With only Alan Shearer ahead of him in terms of all-time goals, it is difficult to understate Kane’s success in the Premier League, but there’s no doubt he’d have swapped a Golden Boot or two for a trophy with his beloved Spurs.

Best goal: A classic strike to put Spurs 2-1 up against Arsenal all but killed off the Gunners’ title hopes as both teams chased Leicester down.

Son Heung-min (Tottenham) 2021/22 (23 goals)

While Harry Kane got most of the plaudits during their time together at Spurs, Son Heung-min finally got one over on his teammate by not only beating his personal tally for the season, but everyone else’s, too (well, bar Salah).

Tottenham flourished that season, particularly after Antonio Conte arrived in north London, as they secured Champions League football on the final day – with Son grabbing two goals to draw level with Liverpool’s Egyptian.

No doubt an accolade worthy of the South Korean’s efforts in Tottenham colours, he has continued to lead by example as Spurs captain following Kane’s exit.

Best goal: Son has made the outside-the-box curler something of a trademark, and his effort against Leicester in May 2022 is certainly one of his finest.

Erling Haaland (Man City) 2022/23 (36 goals), 2023/24 (27 goals)

There are few superlatives left to describe Erling Haaland, not least after he arrived in the Premier League by smashing record after record and winning everything in sight with Manchester City.

With such an impressive goalscoring record at Borussia Dortmund (86 goals in 89) preceding him, he would’ve been expected to be right amongst the goals after his switch to City.

The Norwegian not only ended up with the Golden Boot and the PFA Player of the Year award in his first season, but he did so by reaching a record 36 goals – averaging over a goal a game in the Premier League, proving he is truly one of a kind.

Understandably, he wasn’t quite able to reach those standards again, but with some time out injured during the most recent campaign, he still put in another solid return of 27, with a late-season four-goal blitz steering him clear of Chelsea’s Cole Palmer.

With another Premier League title and Golden Boot in the bag, Haaland seems far from finished…

Best goal: While he makes finishing look easy, Haaland’s acrobatic effort against Southampton in 2022/23 (at 4:04 below) was arguably the pick of the bunch during his first season at City.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) 2017/18 (32 goals), 2018/19 (22 goals), 2021/22 (23 goals), 2024/25 (29 goals)

One of the greatest Premier League goalscorers in recent times, Mohamed Salah had no problems re-adapting to the English top flight after returning as a Liverpool player in 2017.

His first season back saw him notch a Premier League record of 32 goals for the Anfield club, becoming the second African player (after Didier Drogba) to sit top of the goalscoring charts.

In 2019, he shared the award with two fellow Africans in Aubameyang and teammate Mane, before tying for the award once more in 2022.

He won it outright again in the 2024/25 season as he steered Liverpool to a second league title since joining, picking up awards for the most goals and assists, as well as the Player of the Season award, to go along with the Premier League trophy.

Best goal: There are plenty to choose from, but we’ve gone for his rocket against Chelsea in the 2018/19 season, which made even Martin Tyler sound rather excited (at 1:59 for those in a hurry).

England international and former star Kalvin Phillips is reportedly interested in a move to Leeds United, who sealed their return to the Premier League on Bank Holiday Monday.

Leeds back in the big time

After a two-season hiatus from the Premier League, Leeds United sealed their return to English football’s top flight this week. Having thrashed Stoke City 6-0, Leeds then watched on as Sheffield United failed to beat Burnley in the afternoon kick-off, losing 2-1 at Turf Moor. That result confirmed the Blades’ place in the play-offs and, at the same time, ensured automatic promotion for both Leeds and Burnley.

Unsurprisingly, the promotion sparked widespread celebrations across the city, with thousands of fans gathering outside Elland Road to revel in the moment.

The players joined in the celebrations too, popping bottles of champagne and belting out the traditional chant: “We are going up!”

Speaking after the full-time whistle, Leeds defender Joe Rodon told the Yorkshire Evening Post: “For me it hasn’t sunk in yet. I don’t think it will until the end of the season, but I’m just delighted for everyone involved with the club, the fans and what it means to them. It’s what everyone has worked for all season and I’m buzzing.”

Skipper Ethan Ampadu added: “It’s amazing. If you look at the scenes here, as it was after the final whistle, just pure excitement. Within ourselves we’ve got another target, so we can enjoy this now, but we’ve got another target we want to achieve. But right now, it’s very good.”

Phillips wants Leeds return

Just a day before Leeds’ promotion to the Premier League was confirmed, Football Insider reported that Kalvin Phillips is now interested in a sensational return to Elland Road on the assumption they would indeed go up.

Phillips, a product of the Leeds academy, made his name with the Whites before securing a £45 million move to Manchester City in the summer of 2022.

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Since then, however, the England international’s career has been on a steady decline. Despite earning over £20 million in wages thanks to his big move, Phillips failed to establish himself at the Etihad. Underwhelming loan spells at West Ham United and Ipswich Town followed, where he again struggled to make an impact, and City are now braced to accept a huge loss on the fee they paid.

Football Insider claims the 29-year-old is pushing for a return to Leeds in a bid to revive his career. He also reportedly hopes that a move back to Elland Road can reignite his chances of an England recall, having not featured for the Three Lions since 2023, before which he racked up 31 caps.

Speaking about Phillips’ potential return to Leeds, former Manchester United and Blackburn chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider: “To me, he’s a Leeds United player, he suits the club and he’s comfortable playing there, the fans love him and he feels at home there.

“That’s why he’s struggled since the move away, so a return would make a lot of sense. We’ve seen similar before with Wilfried Zaha at Crystal Palace, some players suit certain clubs, they get the backing from the fans and it allows them to perform beyond their usual standard.”

Oliver Glasner’s Crystal Palace have largely been in excellent form since the start of 2025, only losing three times in their last 11 Premier League matches, keeping eight clean sheets in all competitions this calendar year and earning themselves a spot in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley.

The Eagles didn’t start the campaign at 100mph. After losing the likes of Michael Olise and Joachim Anderson in the summer, Palace had to reassemble their tools, find ways to recruit and replace those players and then begin to build.

After the first ten matches of the season, Palace found themselves 17th, only picking up seven points in that time.

But due to their excellent form since then, Palace now find themselves in mid-table in the Premier League, with the top seven not too far out of reach.

So why did it take a while at the start of the season, and how much did Glasner’s side miss Olise?

Michael Olise's creative burden

Olise was sold to Bayern Munich in the summer, joining the German giants for a fee of around £50m. Since joining Bayern, Olise has been in sublime form, making 43 appearances, scoring 13 goals, and providing 16 assists.

But, the Frenchman was key in his time at Palace, making 90 appearances in his three years at the club, netting 16 times, providing 25 assists and totaling 5,782 minutes played.

Having Olise on the right and Eberechi Eze on the left made it tough for teams to contain the Eagles, with the duo often combining to create chances out of nothing.

With Olise gone, more focus being solely on Eze and a right-hand side that had to be re-invented, it was always going to take some time to find the best way to replace the French wingers’ presence.

That being said, Glasner has certainly found a way to do it.

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Glasner's "spectacular" duo have replaced Olise

Crystal Palace signed Ismaila Sarr from Marseille in the summer, joining for a fee of around £12.6m. The 27-year-old was the clear signing destined to take the spot of Olise on that right-hand side, but the difference in overall quality is clear, and therefore, a new dynamic on that side would be needed.

Daniel Munoz, working in tandem with Sarr on the right, has been Glasner’s key weapon to replacing Olise’s output, with both players proving to be very direct, making clever runs in behind and stretching play for their teammates. This right side has proven to be a key outlet for Palace this season.

Goals

0.17

0.29

Assists

0.14

0.11

xG

0.15

0.33

xAG

0.14

0.26

Progressive Carries

1.51

2.52

Progressive Passes

2.44

2.91

Shots Total

1.04

1.93

Key Passes

1.22

1.41

Passes into Pen Area

0.72

1.41

Shot-Creating Actions

2.29

3.85

Successful Take-Ons

0.61

0.60

When looking at the pair’s underlying metrics this season, you can see how their combined effort has helped to replace the French star, both getting forward and getting shots off, both putting balls into the box, chipping in with output and contributing in build up.

Munoz was described as “spectacular” by Jefferson Lerma and that is certainly one way to describe the pair down that right-hand side, working in tandem to attack in a direct fashion and create chances for the team.

Whilst Olise will never fully be replaceable, losing a world-class talent is always tough to replace, even more so when you are a mid-table Premier League side.

Therefore, Palace fans must be fairly happy with their right-side rebrand, with Glasner proving he can make it work.

Contact made: Crystal Palace make move to sign "Pique-esque" £5m defender

The Eagles have made an approach for a defender, who is also attracting interest from West Ham United.

ByDominic Lund Apr 10, 2025

The Railways left-arm spinner survived the inaugural WPL season, came back improved and knocked over some of the biggest international names in this year’s tournament

Vishal Dikshit22-Apr-2024Tanuja Kanwar was alone at home in Himachal Pradesh one afternoon in February 2023, at the time of the inaugural WPL auction. As soon as she flipped her phone on to watch it live, Kanwar was flooded with calls from well-wishers.”I couldn’t watch my own bidding,” Kanwar says with a laugh. “I kept cutting those calls, but people kept calling me back and I couldn’t watch the auction properly. I thought call . [Let me answer one of these calls because these people are not going to let me watch it otherwise].” I came to know I had been bought by Gujarat Giants. I asked how much for, and I was told Rs 50 lakh [US$ 60,500 approximately].”To put it in perspective, that figure was a lot more than what international stars like Heather Knight, Hayley Matthews and Dane van Niekerk fetched, and it matched the sum Jess Jonassen went for.The WPL deal was the latest in Kanwar’s surge in Indian cricket, which has coincided with her move from her home team Himachal Pradesh to Railways in 2020. Railways are a powerhouse in women’s cricket in India – they have produced players like Mithali Raj, Neetu David, Nooshin Al Khadeer, who have won them the Senior Women’s One Day Trophy 15 times in 17 editions, and the Senior Women’s T20 trophy several times too, last in 2022-23.Kanwar’s reward at the auction was an endorsement of her consistent domestic performances. Barely a week before the 2023 auction she had starred with 3 for 26 for Railways in the One Day Trophy final to finish the tournament with 18 wickets while averaging 11.16 and conceding just 2.43 runs an over. Earlier in the season she had taken 3 for 18 in the domestic T20 final in November 2022.”It’s a very big thing to play for Railways because most of the players there have played for India,” Kanwar says. “Playing and competing with them teaches you a lot, like how to handle pressure situations and how to play at the highest level. I’ve learnt a lot in these three years there.”What might have also worked in Kanwar’s favour was that the Railways coach, Al Khadeer, who was brought on board by Gujarat Giants as their bowling coach, sat at the auction table along with Raj. A former offspinner, Al Khadeer had coached Kanwar at Railways and would play a pivotal role for the left-arm spinner at Giants as well.”Whenever I feel I need some advice for my bowling, I consult her,” Kanwar says of Al Khadeer. “Or if it’s about how to bowl to which batter, she’s the one I go to.”Having played with Kanwar for Railways, stand-in Gujarat Giants captain Sneh Rana (left) knew how best to use the spinner in her inaugural WPL season•BCCIBeing the main left-arm spinner in the Giants squad, Kanwar featured in all eight of their games in 2023, and she was often given the ball by then captain Sneh Rana – also a senior team-mate at Railways – whenever there were two right-hand batters at the crease, including in the powerplay.Kanwar picked up five wickets in all, but what stood out was her temperament on the big stage and her economy rate of 8.85, the third best in a team that had leaked plenty of runs.Kanwar idolised Yuvraj Singh in her childhood, and her dream is to eventually play for India, but coming home from the WPL she realised her limited skills were not enough to get her closer to that dream.”Last year in the WPL I used to panic a little bit if I would leak runs, but since then I have learnt that even if I go for runs, I have to make a comeback in the next over – if I get it – and try to get that player out,” she says. “I try to boost myself and prepare myself mentally that I must do better in the next over.”Last year I learnt a lot at the WPL about varying your pace, what to bowl in what kind of situation. When I went back home, I worked a lot on myself on these things.”A variation she came up with to fox batters was to bowl a lot slower and from well behind the crease. That meant the trajectory would not be all that different but it would give the batters the impression that it was going to land in their arc.”Nooshin was someone who told me that I needed to work on my slower variation,” Kanwar says. “Earlier I used to bowl a normal slower delivery but that used to come nicely onto the bat. But when I bowl it from behind the crease, it lands before the good-length area. The batter doesn’t get the ball in the slot because the length is pulled back. I worked on this a lot in the last year, which is why I was able to execute it nicely this [WPL] and pick wickets with it.”This variation landed her some big fish in 2024, including Sophie Devine, Matthews, Shafali Verma and Annabel Sutherland.Devine was someone Kanwar was particularly targeting this season because the hard-hitting batter had whacked her for a 25-run over last season. Kanwar was ready with her riposte a year later. Devine was on the charge when Royal Challengers Bangalore were chasing 200 and at one point when she stepped out for a big swing, Kanwar bowled a slower one at 68.9kph from well behind the crease. Devine was deceived by the length, missed her heave and lost her off stump.”Last year she had really smashed me,” Kanwar says with a laugh. “So when we returned for this WPL, I was talking to [Lea] Tahuhu, her friend and New Zealand team-mate [who played for Giants in 2024]. I was telling her how Devine had whacked me last time and she said, ‘Yeah, I know!’ I told Tahuhu that this time I’m going to get her [Devine]. And then I actually dismissed her and I was really happy because of what had happened last year.”

Dangerous Devine departs

Tanuja Kanwer with the timber strike

Richa Ghosh joins Ellyse Perry in the middle as #RCB need 104 off 42!

Live https://t.co/W8mqrR94WB#TATAWPL | #GGvRCB pic.twitter.com/CI7JFC6ntt

— Women's Premier League (WPL) (@wplt20) March 6, 2024