After landing an early blow on North London rivals Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur’s week could reportedly get even better after a breakthrough in talks to sign a new midfield enforcer.

Tottenham seal pre-season derby victory

It may have been a pre-season game that took place many miles away from North London and one that featured a number of changes on the pitch, but Tottenham would have still enjoyed their victory over Arsenal. Coming courtesy of Pape Matar Sarr’s lobbed effort after David Raya and the Gunners’ midfield combined for a rare mistake, Thomas Frank has taken a big step towards getting fans onside.

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Defeating direct rivals two weeks out from the start of the season is enough to hand any side a boost, but Frank will particularly appreciate it at the start of his tenure.

​​​​​​​Now, his focus will be on ensuring that his side are ready to take such a victory into when it matters. And to help on that front, Spurs could yet turn back towards the transfer market.

Paratici holds talks with £207k-a-week star's camp about joining Tottenham

The Spurs advisor has reached out to his representatives.

2

By
Emilio Galantini

Jul 31, 2025

On that front, the North London club have already signed Mohammed Kudus and Mathys Tel on a permanent deal, but still have around a month to get any other deals over the line.

Just who arrives is the big question, however. With Heung-min Son potentially on his way to LAFC, Spurs will need to find a replacement for their captain and the goals that he provides.

It looked as though Yoane Wissa could be an option earlier in the window, before Newcastle United emerged as frontrunners and then Brentford blocked his exit altogether. Whether Spurs or Newcastle return to question that stance remains to be seen.

Instead, the Lilywhites have seemingly turned their focus towards reinforcing their midfield with a player already familiar with the Premier League.

Tottenham agree £26m total package for Palhinha

According to Sky Sports’ Florian Plettenberg, Tottenham have now fully agreed the details on Joao Palhinha’s loan move from Bayern Munich, which will cost around £26m if they decide to make it permanent, with just over £4m of that guaranteed spend as the loan fee. The Portugal international will undergo a medical and sign “as soon as possible”.

Although things haven’t quite worked out in Germany, it wasn’t so long ago that Palhinha was starring for Fulham in England’s top flight and a swift return could result in a return to his best form.

Full of praise for his midfielder, Fulham boss Marco Silva described Palhinha as “great” in 2022, before he eventually earned a move to Bayern Munich. Now on the way to one of his London rivals, Silva will have to watch on as the defensive midfielder adds some much needed bite at Tottenham.

Quite often, it is impossible to read too much into pre-season but, if Everton manager David Moyes has learnt one thing, it is that he requires more attacking difference makers.

Across seven pre-season friendlies, the Toffees won only once, beating EFL League One outfit Port Vale, scoring just six goals across these fixtures, most notably defeated 1-0 by Roma on Saturday, which somewhat damped the grand-opener of Hill Dickinson Stadium.

So, ahead of their Premier League opener, taking on newly-promoted Leeds United at Elland Road on Monday night, Moyes has already brought in some attacking reinforcements, but now has his sights set on even more.

Everton's need for goals and creativity

So far this summer, Everton have added striker Thierno Barry, arriving from Villarreal for a reported fee of £27m, and attacking midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who has joined from Chelsea for £25m, the pair having scored 11 and five goals for their former clubs respectively last season.

The signing all Evertonians are excited the most about, though, is the arrival of Jack Grealish, who has moved to Merseyside on a season-long loan from Manchester City, while there is an option to make the deal permanent for £50m.

Should that clause be activated, he would break Everton’s transfer record, currently held by Gylfi Sigurðsson.

So, given the huge sums of money involved, with Grealish currently earning £300k-per-week in wages too, albeit Man City will surely be subsidising a huge proportion of that, could the acquisition of a young talent prove to be the better signing?

Well, as reported by TEAMtalk, Everton are interested in signing Tyrique George from Chelsea, with alternatives to Southampton’s Tyler Dibling being considered on the right flank, having seen multiple bids rejected for the £50m teenager.

As for George, the report adds that RB Leipzig are also ‘keen’, while Chelsea are open to a sale at ‘the right price’, with the Blues’ teenager’s estimated transfer market value around £15m, as per Football Transfers.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

So, could he soon swap Stamford Bridge for Bramley-Moore Dock?

What Evertonians could expect from Tyrique George

George has been on Chelsea’s books since the age of eight, making his senior debut for the Blues a year ago against Servette in the Conference League play-off round, racking up 26 senior appearances across all competitions throughout the campaign.

He scored his first goal for the club against Legia Warszawa in April, opening his Premier League account at Craven Cottage against West London rivals Fulham a few days later, before also netting against Espérance Sportive de Tunis during Chelsea’s victorious Club World Cup campaign throughout the summer.

These performances saw him named Chelsea’s Academy Player of the Season for 2025, a prestigious accolade previously awarded to Dominic Solanke, Fikayo Tomori, Mason Mount, Reece James, Conor Gallagher, Billy Gilmour, Lewis Hall and other high-profile stars since its inception a decade ago.

Ben Mattinson was certainly impressed, labelling him a “monster”, believing there is “not enough hype” about how good he is, while then-teammate Noni Madueke asserted that George’s “talent is through the roof”, adding that he is “quick and skilful” and possesses “everything to be a fantastic winger”.

So, let’s analyse his statistics in last season’s Conference League, the competition in which the vast majority of his minutes came.

Minutes

765

5th

Goals

1

12th

Assists

2

5th

Expected assists

2.9

2nd

Shots

22

2nd

Key passes

14

2nd

Shot-creating actions

30

2nd

Big chances created

4

2nd

Attempted take-ons

25

2nd

Successful take-ons

14

2nd

Progressive carries

38

1st

Carries into the box

27

1st

Average SofaScore ranking

7.08

9th

As the table outlines, George was a key attacking contributor for Chelsea in the Conference League last season, ranking especially highly when it came to dribbling metrics, namely progressive carries, carries into the opposition’s penalty area and take-ons.

Thus, it is clear that George is an immensely talented teenager, one that could be available for a bargain price, given Chelsea’s constant desire to buy more and more attackers, currently chasing Alejandro Garnacho and Xavi Simons.

Everton could therefore be the team who benefit, potentially signing George at a bargain price, one that’ll prove to be their best signing of the summer in the medium to long term, even better than the arrival of Grealish.

The teenager is a player on the up and, in the right environment, could thrive, so is exactly the profile of player the Toffees need to be targeting, low cost and opportunistic, if they’re going to get back to challenging for major honours and European qualification.

Grealish, on the other hand, is a major risk, having contributed very little at Manchester City across the last two seasons, seeing a miserly 715 minutes of action in the Premier League last season, starting just seven times, scoring a solitary league goal.

Thus, while 29-year-old Grealish could have an impact in the immediate future, Everton are aiming to compete in the long-term under new owners, the Friedkins, and George, a decade his junior, could star at Bramley-Moore Dock for many seasons to come.

Better move than Grealish: Everton looking to sign "unstoppable" £17m CF

As Everton look to bolster their forward options, with Jack Grealish potentially on his way, the Toffees could also sign an “unstoppable” £17m striker

ByBen Gray Aug 11, 2025

The Classique clash between French giants Marseille and Paris Saint-Germain has been called off and postponed due to heavy rainfall. The much-awaited Ligue 1 fixture, featuring top stars like Mason Greenwood and Ousmane Dembele, was supposed to be held at the Velodrome on Sunday evening, but it has now been postponed to a later date due to severe weather conditions.

• Marseille vs PSG postponed

  The LFP has announced that the highly-anticipated Ligue 1 clash between Marseille and PSG has been postponed due to extreme weather conditions in and around the Velodrome. They told AFP, "The match has been postponed because there may be significant reservoirs with significant risks of urban runoff."

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• Getty Images
  

  Ambiguity over the new date for the Classique

  As per LFP rules, a Ligue 1 match postponed due to bad weather must be played the following day. However, as France are hosting the Ballon d'Or ceremony on Monday at the illustrious Theatre du Chatelet in Paris and PSG star Ousmane Dembele is being considered the favourite to win the Golden Ball, the French FA will now have to pick a fresh date for the Classique. 

• Dembele to face competition from Barcelona

  After a successful campaign with Luis Enrique's side, where the Frenchman won all major trophies, except for the Club World Cup, Dembele is naturally being tipped to win the Ballon d'Or on home soil. The French winger, however, will face stiff competition from Barcelona stars like Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.

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• AFP
  

  When will the Classique happen?

  While a revised date is yet to be finalised, the match could be postponed to a distant date. LFP will have to juggle Ligue 1, Champions League, and international break schedules to find a slot.

Club will host second World Cricket Connects symposium in June, following inaugural event last year

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jan-2025Jay Shah, the ICC chair and ex-secretary of the BCCI, has joined a new Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) advisory board, which will replace the club’s world cricket committee.Shah was a notable absentee when MCC staged the inaugural World Cricket Connects forum last year, which saw over 100 leading voices gather at Lord’s to discuss the state of the global game. But he is among 13 founding members of the new World Cricket Connects advisory board, which will be chaired by former MCC president Kumar Sangakkara.MCC announced on Thursday that the second World Cricket Connects forum will be staged on June 7 and 8, before Lord’s hosts the World Test Championship final. MCC chair Mark Nicholas said: “We are looking forward to welcoming many of the game’s most influential figures to debate the most important topics that dominate global cricket.”The new advisory board replaces the world cricket committee, which formed in 2006 and met for the final time last summer. Other founding members include Sourav Ganguly, Graeme Smith and Andrew Strauss, as well as England women’s captain Heather Knight and JioStar’s CEO (Sports), Sanjog Gupta.”An important step has been made in the forming of the World Cricket Connects Advisory Board,” Nicholas said. “We have assembled an impressive group of the best minds in cricket across several different areas relevant to our sport. I am delighted to be working with this experienced group and excited about what we can collectively achieve for the benefit of the global game.”The world cricket committee was an independent body which did not hold any formal power, but its recommendations have often been adopted by the ICC. These have included calls for a Decision Review System, the formation of a World Test Championship, the introduction of day-night Test cricket, and the use of a shot clock to improve slow over-rates,The new advisory board will meet virtually throughout the year, and in person after the symposium at Lord’s. MCC said: “This independent group will shape the annual World Cricket Connects agenda, help facilitate the event’s discussions and in turn maximise the opportunity for genuine impact on the health of the game.”World Cricket Connects advisory board members: Kumar Sangakkara (chair), Anurag Dahiya (ICC chief commercial officer), Chris Dehring (CWI CEO), Sourav Ganguly, Sanjog Gupta (JioStar CEO – Sports), Mel Jones, Heather Knight, Trudy Lindblade (Cricket Scotland CEO), Heath Mills (World Cricketers’ Association chair), Imtiaz Patel (Former SuperSport chair), Jay Shah, Graeme Smith, Andrew Strauss.

MatériaMais Notícias

Após a vitória sobre o Atlético-MG, que garantiu a classificação do Corinthians às quartas de final da Copa do Brasil, na última quarta-feira (31), o elenco da equipe alvinegra deve ser preservada no compromisso deste sábado (3), contra o América-MG, em Belo Horizonte, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. 

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Os titulares contra o Galo fizeram o segundo dia consecutivo de atividades regenerativas antes da viagem da delegação corintiana até a capital mineira. Assim, jogadores como Murillo, Matheus Bidu, Fausto Vera, Maycon, Renato Augusto, entre outros podem ser preservados do encontro diante do Coelho. 

+ Vai dar Nuggets ou Heat? Saiba os times com mais títulos da NBA

Suspenso pelo terceiro cartão amarelo recebido no triunfo corintiano diante do Fluminense, no último fim de semana, o zagueiro Gil nem viajou para Minas Gerais. Caetano deve ser titular da posição ao lado de Bruno Méndez. 

continua após a publicidade

Diferentemente do que fez contra o Atlético-MG, o técnico Vanderlei Luxemburgo não deve escalar a sua equipe com três defensores, mas com uma linha de quatro, com dois laterais. Assim, o garoto Renato, de 19 anos, terá a sua primeira experiência entre os relacionados. Ele atua pela equipe sub-20 do Corinthians.

+ Todos os jogos do Brasileirão você encontra no Prime Video. Assine já e acompanhe os jogos do Timão

O volante Cantillo, que deve ser negociado na janela de transferências que vai abrir nas próximas semanas, treinou parcialmente com o elenco corintiano, mas ainda é baixa pois se recupera de um desconforto muscular em uma das coxas. Além dele, Paulinho também está fora da partida, pois ainda avalia uma entorse no joelho esquerdo sofrido no empate sem gols contra o Argentinos Juniors, em Buenos Aires, há duas semanas. 

continua após a publicidade

Assim, a provável escalação inicial do Corinthians contra o América-MG é: Cássio; Fagner, Bruno Méndez, Caetano e Fábio Santos; Roni, Giuliano, Matheus Araújo; Adson, Yuri Alberto (Felipe Augusto) e Wesley (Róger Guedes). 

+ Veja horários e todos os confrontos das próximas rodadas do Brasileirão

Confira abaixo a lista de relacionados para a partida: 

Goleiros: Carlos Miguel, Cássio e Matheus Donelli
Laterais: Fábio Santos, Fagner, Matheus Bidu e Rafael Ramos
Zagueiros: Bruno Méndez, Caetano, Murillo e Renato
Meio-campistas: Fausto Vera, Giuliano, Matheus Araújo, Maycon, Renato Augusto, Ruan Oliveira e Roni
Atacantes: Adson, Chrystian Barletta, Felipe Augusto, Pedro, Róger Guedes, Romero, Wesley e Yuri Alberto

Gary Neville has branded Arsenal a 'one-trick pony' under Mikel Arteta, questioning whether the Gunners truly believe they can win the Premier League. The Manchester United legend criticised Arsenal’s reliance on set pieces following their 1-1 draw with Manchester City, warning that without greater attacking spark, their title push could ultimately fall short.

Arsenal faltering in Premier League yet again

Arsenal needed a late Gabriel Martinelli equaliser to secure a point against Manchester City at the Emirates on Sunday. While the result kept them in the mix at the top, their blunt attacking display raised fresh doubts. Neville highlighted that Pep Guardiola’s tactical approach underlined how one-dimensional Arsenal can look when their set-piece threat is contained.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportNeville tears into Arsenal's struggles

Speaking about Arsenal’s style of play, Neville said: "I think the reason he [Guardiola] has done that is because he is recognising that Arsenal are a bit, you know, they're a one-trick pony. Set pieces are such a large percentage of their chances and goals that you end up in a situation where you just got to have big players in the box and a goalkeeper that punches."

On Arteta’s team selections: "My narrative with Arsenal was thinking, is he going to take the risk? And the team sheet comes through and I see that Trossard and Merino are on it. If you're making two substitutions at half time, it's not gone to plan and you know that the players you started with are not going to be able to win you the game in all circumstances, which is when they go a goal down."

On Arsenal’s belief: "You can't wait to win a league. Arsenal are not creating enough chances in these types of games. I've predicted Arsenal will win the league… but does the manager and the players really believe, number one, that they can win the league? Do they know how to win a league?"

Arsenal risk being forgotten if they dont win the PL

Arsenal’s title challenge has been built on defensive solidity and set-piece efficiency, but doubts remain over whether that approach is sustainable against elite rivals. Neville pointed to the wealth of attacking talent Arteta has at his disposal, questioning why the Gunners lack creativity in big matches. Without more fluency in open play, Arsenal risk being remembered as a side that fell short when it mattered most, as they have finished second in the Premier League title race for three straight seasons.

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Getty Images SportArsenal need a change to win the title

Arteta will look for a stronger attacking display when Arsenal return to league action next weekend against Newcastle. The Gunners must show they can win matches through more than just set pieces if they are to outlast City. With pressure building, every team sheet and tactical call from Arteta will face even greater scrutiny.

Unai Emery will be praying that his Aston Villa team puts their slow Premier League start behind them when Crystal Palace comes to town.

After all, much like the Villans this summer, Crystal Palace have had to grow accustomed to the prospect of their top assets being poached by sides higher up the top-flight food chain, with Eberechi Eze now donning Arsenal red and white.

Thankfully, the West Midlands outfit still has Morgan Rogers available for selection – despite new interest in his services coming from Thomas Frank’s Tottenham Hotspur – with a hope he can kickstart his own individual season against the Eagles to steer Villa to a win.

Away from speculation about those who could exit Villa Park between now and September’s looming deadline, there is also a long list of faces that might well relocate to the claret and blue half of Birmingham shortly.

Aston Villa lodge bid for new midfielder

However, it does now look increasingly unlikely that Nicolas Jackson will be one of those faces pulling on a Villa strip.

Indeed, reports from Germany indicate that Bayern Munich has agreed a loan deal for the hit-and-miss Chelsea forward to move to Bundesliga giants, over sealing a return to work under his ex-Villarreal boss in Emery.

The early Premier League underperformers might well feel lady luck could be on their side more by trying to land Christopher Nkunku instead from the West London outfit, but there will also be competition from the German top-flight here as well, with Nkunku’s former side RB Leipzig keen on a reunion.

Villa have also been gifted the opportunity to land Adrien Rabiot to enhance their midfield personnel, with French outlet L’Equipe revealing that Emery and Co. have sent an offer for the wantaway Marseille ace, who is on thin ice at the Ligue 1 side owing to a bust-up.

Other sides, such as West Ham United, Galatasaray, and Inter Milan, are also among those to have lodged a proposal, with Villa hopeful they can get a statement deal over the line that is a far better late foray into the market than snapping up Nkunku or Jackson.

Why signing Rabiot is a better buy than Nkunku & Jackson

The argument in favour of both Nkunku and Jackson will be that they’ve at least been exposed to the intense pressures of the Premier League, with the Frenchman only ever plying his trade on faraway European shores, in contrast.

Yet, it’s been well-documented at this point how tricky both the ex-Leipzig attacker and his Senegalese counterpart have found it to be consistent in the English top-flight, with Nkunku only finding the back of the net a sheepish six times in league action from limited starts.

Jackson does have more credit in the bank, arguably, with the 24-year-old boasting a promising 24 goals in the Premier League to date, but it’s his staggering 43 big chances missed across his two top-flight seasons that will seriously worry Emery.

After all, if Rogers or Watkins were to both leave at the death, the Spaniard would certainly want instantly successful replacements, not unpolished projects who have struggled to regularly make an impact in the testing division.

PSG

227

24 + 17

Juventus

212

22 + 16

Marseille

32

10 + 6

Toulouse

13

1 + 3

Whereas, despite Rabiot never setting foot onto English soil, his consistent excellence in both Ligue 1 and Serie A should stand him in good stead to be an instant success story at Villa Park, with an outrageous collection of 23 trophies coming his way in Paris and Turin when being an important cog in the middle of the park.

He has even been dubbed “world-class” by French great David Trezeguet, with his efforts for Marseille last season – before his time at the club publicly unravelled – also showing off a star still performing at the peak of his powers, away from both Nkunku and Jackson flopping at Chelsea.

Nine goals and four assists would fall into Rabiot’s lap last campaign in Ligue 1 action, with his manager in Roberto De Zerbi, going as far as to herald the number 25 as an asset who “gives everything” for the cause.

With Boubacar Kamara now out of the Villa side owing to injury, adding in a composed midfielder such as Rabiot into the group could prove to be a very smart next buy.

It certainly does feel as if it would be a better investment than gambling on Nkunku or Jackson to come good, that’s for sure.

Aston Villa make approach for World Cup finalist who is available for move

The Villans could be set to do battle with other clubs…

BySean Markus Clifford Aug 25, 2025

Liverpool have been one of the most active clubs this transfer window with numerous high-profile incomings and outgoings. Arne Slot is using the momentum from his first Premier League trophy to build a formidable side.

Florian Wirtz, Jeremie Frimpong and Hugo Ekitike are some of the biggest names to have arrived at Anfield this summer. All three of them have found recent success in the Bundesliga and this is a league where recent recruitment from has paid off for Liverpool, with the likes of Dominic Szoboszlai and Ryan Gravenberch.

They’ve funded these big moves through a combination of on-field success, low spending in previous seasons and by letting go of some big-name players. Luis Diaz and Jarell Quansah have already left for Germany and now Darwin Nunez is set to move to Saudi Arabia and become the latest high-profile departure, while Harvey Elliott may not be far behind.

While most of Slot’s reign has gone the way Liverpool had hoped, they could be on the verge of losing a player they want to keep and one who is integral to the team.

Pérez targets Konate signing

According to reports in Spain, Real Madrid’s President, Florentino Pérez, has identified Ibrahima Konate as a key Real Madrid target next summer, when he is available as a free agent.

This is a strategy that Madrid have enacted in the past, as this summer they secured the signing of Trent Alexander-Arnold on a free after his Liverpool contract expired. Pérez’s hope will be to reunite the pair under the new Madrid manager, Xabi Alonso, so that they may rekindle their defensive connection.

Konate’s current contract sees him earn £70,000 a week, which is less than a third of what his defensive partner Virgil Van Dijk earns. Liverpool’s Director of Football, Richard Hughes, has attempted to rectify this wage disparity and has reportedly offered a new contract that Konate turned down. A report from The Times indicated that the defender wants around £200,000 a week.

Whilst there still seems to be some distance between the two parties’ preferred wages, French journalist Abdellah Boulma has indicated that talks are still ongoing with both Hughes and Konate open to working out a deal.

Konate's significance to Liverpool

There’s a reason both Real Madrid and Liverpool desperately want Konate in their squad for the start of the 2026 campaign – his presence on the pitch has a clear impact on results and defensive form.

Indeed, Liverpool win 10.6% more games when Konate features, over a 38-game season that will result in between an extra 8 and 12 points. The second major stat is that they conceed 0.24 fewer goals a game when Konate plays, 9.12 goals over a full Premier League season.

Based on their business in the last few windows and their on-field success, Liverpool clearly have more money to spend in order to bring in a Konate replacement if he did leave next summer. However, the difficulty that the club faces is in actually finding a player of high enough quality to replace him.

Graham Potter already has his work cut out to get a disgruntled West Ham United fanbase back on his side.

Two games down in the brand new Premier League season, and the Hammers find themselves in a miserable rock bottom position, having just shipped five goals to Potter’s ex-employers Chelsea in a humiliating 5-1 home defeat.

With just five wins from 21 games in charge now, the worry will be that the 50-year-old boss is already under significant pressure to turn matters around, or face the earliest boot of the season.

He will surely hope that more transfers in through the door can give him the best possible chance at hanging onto his job post, as the premature relegation candidates continue to be linked with a whole host of exciting names.

West Ham lodge £17.5m bid for new midfielder

The dark clouds hanging over proceedings at the London Stadium could be lifted by a positive incoming or two.

The basement side isare tipped to be in the race to land Raheem Sterling as he navigates a Chelsea exit this summer, while they are also deep in the battle to snap up promising AS Monaco midfielder Soungoutou Magassa, having even submitted a bid for his services.

Another bid has also been lodged by the Hammers to snap up Torino’s midfield ace Ivan Ilic, with Hammers News revealing that the same £17.5m package that was put forward for Magassa – before Nottingham Forest raced ahead of Potter and Co. for the 21-year-old – has now been placed on the table for the Serbian.

The report does state there is no concrete update on whether Ilic would welcome a move to East London, but he is seen as an alternative to the in-demand Magassa.

The 24-year-old might actually be deemed as the better option to pursue, with Potter perhaps winning another Tomas Soucek-style figure by landing the impressive Serbia international.

How Ilic can become Potter's new Soucek

Soucek might well have been subject to interest from the likes of Everton and Leeds United earlier in the transfer window, but it looks as if the towering midfield presence will remain at West Ham, even as they likely prepare for a tough battle against the drop.

Coming in at 247 games now for the Hammers, it would have been a real shame if the long-standing servant decided he had enough this summer, with a stunning 41 goals and 13 assists also on his side, away from completing his usual forceful midfield duties.

Losing such a much-loved body would have been disastrous, therefore, but Potter will feel more at ease with his midfield options – away from relying on Soucek – if he can snap up Ilic just in time before September’s cut-off, with his well-rounded game drawing some similarities to the Czech icon.

Indeed, from 68 games for current employers Torino, Ilic has displayed a similar strength to Soucek in chipping with goals and assists, with seven strikes and six assists tallied up from those clashes.

Ilic in Serie A vs Soucek in PL

Stat

Ilic

Soucek

Games played

136

196

Games started

106

181

Goals scored

9

36

Assists

10

9

Sourced by Transfermarkt

His former Slavia Prague counterpart does have the boost of scoring 27 more career strikes for West Ham, compared to Ilic’s lesser nine goals in the Serie A, but the correlations between the two don’t end here.

When the 24-year-old was at the peak of his powers in the Italian top-flight, he would forcefully win duels for fun, as seen in his average of 4.6 won per Serie A clash during the 2021/22 campaign for Hellas Verona.

Soucek won five per game last season during 30 Premier League contests, with the duo together perhaps giving the Hammers some well-needed grit centrally to toughen up after a disastrous run of defeats, on top of also being able to offer the likes of Niclas Fullkrug and Jarrod Bowen further up the pitch a helping hand.

After all, football analyst Ben Mattinson has previously heralded Ilic as a “complete” midfielder, while also further waxing lyrical about how “underrated” of a presence he is, strutting his stuff in Serie A.

Soucek has also been showered with the same level of praise, having been once lauded as having “absolutely everything” you need in a midfielder by ex-Irons player David Connolly back in 2021.

Potter will hope he has uncovered this next Soucek by Ilic entering through the door, with the Serbian also being another feel-good presence to steer the club away from relegation doom.

Related West Ham submit opening offer to sign "exciting" 6'2 Alvarez replacement

The Hammers have made their first move…

Posts ByTom Cunningham Aug 23, 2025

Karun Nair on Friday broke the world record for most List A runs without being dismissed, while guiding Vidarbha to an eight-wicket victory over Uttar Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.Nair, who smashed 112, set a new record of 542 runs without being dismissed, going past former New Zealand allrounder James Franklin, who in 2010 had managed a streak of 527 runs without getting out. Other prominent names in the list are: Joshua van Heerden (512), Fakhar Zaman (455) and Taufeeq Umar (422).The knock was his fourth hundred of the season – and third on the trot – as he helped Vidarbha overhaul UP’s 307 for 8 in just 47.2 overs. Nair’s unbeaten streak began on December 23, when he first blasted 112 off 108 balls against Jammu & Kashmir. He followed it up with an unbeaten 44 in a small chase against Chhattisgarh. He then made a season-high 168 not out against Chandigarh, helping Vidarbha chase down 316 in 48 overs, before finishing 2024 with another unbeaten ton – 111* against Tamil Nadu.On Friday, Vidarbha ended at 313 for 2 as Yash Rathod also made an unbeaten 138 off 140 balls. He and Karun shared a massive 228-run stand for the second wicket.The victory also enabled Vidarbha to position themselves comfortably as the top team in Group D with 20 points from five games ahead of second placed Tamil Nadu (14) and UP (14), who are on third.