Kagiso Rabada had admitted to testing positive for recreational drug use and served a one-month ban as punishment, and now he has to return to the highest levels of cricket, where he has to face further consequences. He must clear the air – if that is required – with national team-mates, endure whatever the opposition decides to throw at him, and face down various media as he prepares for South Africa’s World Test Championship (WTC) final.All of these were assignments he was taking seriously, Rabada said in his first media interaction since the incident, as he left for London. “I think I owe it to them [to talk about what happened] – they’re my team-mates,” Rabada said of speaking to the squad about his suspension. “We’ve come from so far, you know, and to my closest people I owe it to them.”Look, this is not an ideal situation. I don’t need too many pats on the back here. I’m going to be joining with them again. I’ve already spoken to them and I guess we can do so in more detail when we get together for an extended amount of time.”Related

• The best of Rabada wasn't in the balls that got the wickets

• SA hope Rabada puts ban behind him as WTC final beckons

• Rabada serves suspension for recreational drug use

Rabada had flown home from IPL 2025 late in March for supposed “personal reasons”, before the facts of his misdemeanours were rolled out following his testing positive for a drug that was either cannabis, cocaine, heroin or ecstasy, as per the code of the South African Institute of Drug-Free Sport. He returned to India to play two further games for Gujarat Titans (GT) following the end of his suspension.Rabada did not disclose in public the circumstance that led to him taking the banned substance, but he had tested positive in January, during the SA20 league.”It led me to a bit of introspection about myself, and I took some time away from the game,” he said. “I think the biggest thing I took away from it is having gratitude for playing the game that we love. I’m just glad to be playing again… the process was handled really well.”Rabada admitting to the offence is understood to have led to him being handed a more lenient punishment.6:18

Was it right to term Rabada’s absence due to doping ban as ‘personal reasons’?

“The decision to come back early [from the IPL] was brilliant, and that’s a decision that I made,” Rabada said. “I could have tried to contest it and whatnot, but coming home was the best option, and I was in good hands. All the parties that were involved made the whole process smooth.”I think, as a player, and a man, people will have their different opinions. I can live with that.”Though he had issued a statement in which he’d apologised to fans, he said he was looking forward to just playing cricket for South Africa again.”As you would have seen in my statement there are some people who would have been disappointed. And to those people I’m deeply sorry,” Rabada said. “The people closest to me are the ones I felt I let down.”But life moves on. I’ll never be ‘Mr-I-Apologise’ too much. But I’ll never condone that action.”

Atlanta United goalkeeper and former USMNT stalwart Brad Guzan announced that he will retire following the conclusion of the 2025 MLS season. Guzan’s decision marks the end of a distinguished career that included 64 caps for the USMNT, a key role in Atlanta United’s formative years, and a significant tenure in both MLS and the English Premier League.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Career spanned two decades

  Guzan confirmed he will retire after the 2025 MLS season, closing a career spanning two decades. His announcement marks the end of a significant era for both Atlanta United and the USMNT, where Guzan was a steady presence in goal and a leader on and off the field. The American international’s statement, on social media, confirmed the news and thanked

  “21 years is a long time. I’m just a kid from Chicago who instantly knew this game was for me,” Guzan posted on his social media. “Today, as I prepare to hang up my gloves, I know this journey was never just about me. THANK YOU – TO EVERYONE.”

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• What Guzan posted

• Guzan’s career journey

  Guzan launched his professional career with Chivas USA in 2005, quickly establishing himself as a reliable goalkeeper in Major League Soccer. His performances earned him a move to England’s Aston Villa in 2008, where he spent over a decade, becoming a fan favorite and a consistent presence between the posts. 

  In 2017, Guzan returned to MLS as one of the first signings for the newly formed Atlanta United. His experience and composure were instrumental in stabilizing the team’s defense during its inaugural season. Guzan’s leadership contributed significantly to Atlanta United’s rapid ascent, culminating in the club’s MLS Cup victory in 2018.

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  What's next?

  As the 2025 MLS season draws to a close,  Guzan’s retirement signals the end of an era for both Atlanta United and the USMNT community. His contributions on and off the field have shaped the trajectory of American soccer domestically and internationally.

West Ham United manager Graham Potter could be sacked by the Hammers very shortly, on one condition, with a potential timeline shared by one media source.

Graham Potter under growing pressure in east London

This time last year, David Moyes’ replacement, Julen Lopetegui, was in a very similar situation to Potter as critics and supporters alike called for the Spaniard to be axed following a poor start to 2024/2025.

Now, his successor, Potter, is facing the same pressure. Under the former Chelsea boss, West Ham have recorded their second-worst win percentage since the Premier League’s inception, with Avram Grant’s relegated side from 2010/2011 coming as the only Hammers team to fare worse.

Worst West Ham managers in the Premier League	Win percentage
9. Sam Allardyce	30.7%
10. Julen Lopetegui	30%
11. Gianfranco Zola	27.8%
12, Graham Potter	27.3%
13. Avram Grant	18.9%
via StatMuse

The east Londoners have also leaked goals left, right and centre — conceding more than any other top-flight outfit thus far — with Potter’s West Ham also looking extremely vulnerable when it comes to set pieces.

Potter did give himself some breathing room with an impressive 3-0 win away to Nottingham Forest, which turned out to be Nuno Espírito Santo’s final game in charge, and the Portuguese is now being linked to the West Ham job after leaving the City Ground.

As well as Nuno, ex-West Ham player Frank Lampard has been mentioned as a candidate to replace Potter, with other reports suggesting Ipswich’s Kieran McKenna was in attendance at the London Stadium during their 3-0 derby defeat to Spurs.

However, any hope of a blockbuster move for big-name serial winner José Mourinho is being quashed by the special one’s imminent move to Benfica, so if West Ham are to sack Potter, they’ll need to decide quickly and avoid the other best-possible free agents being snapped up by other clubs.

Taking that into account, West Ham chair David Sullivan is apparently keen to avoid another Lopetegui-style saga, amid a major concern he has behind-the-scenes.

When West Ham could sack Graham Potter and it may be imminent

That is according to Hammers News, who shared an update on Potter’s future via one of their sources.

The informant, as quoted by HN, reveals that West Ham could sack Potter if they lose to Crystal Palace this weekend.

The 50-year-old’s unceremonious departure would bring his stock down even further after he was sacked by Chelsea, with Potter’s stellar days growing Brighton into an established Premier League side far behind the tactician.

It would be hard to envisage Potter getting another immediate big job if he’s given a P45 after Saturday, but as we’ve seen with ex-West Ham hero Moyes, you can always bounce back in the long-term.

After another frustrating display in a Liverpool shirt, Chris Sutton took aim at Florian Wirtz as Federico Chiesa’s late strike could not rescue a point against Crystal Palace.

Crystal Palace 2-1 Liverpool: Eagles join late show

Somehow, some way, Liverpool thought they had done it again. It had been the late late show under Arne Slot and for the second time, it was Federico Chiesa who stepped from the bench to rescue the Reds, it seemed. He found the back of the net deep on in the second half and looked to have capped off an excellent week which started with two assists against Southampton in the Carabao Cup.

And then Palace decided to spark a late show of their own through Eddie Nketiah to hand Liverpool their first defeat of the season. It has been coming for some time, some will argue, and the Reds were beaten at their own game.

There’s no escaping that there were another warning signs for Liverpool, however, who were really testing just how long they could keep this up. The answer as far as Slot will be concerned would have been not much longer. The Dutchman would have been well aware that any repeat of his side’s performance in previous weeks could end in far worse results.

It’s also worth noting that it was once again almost an unexpected hero who emerged and not the big-money men. Alexander Isak had a couple of chances that he, at his best, should be scoring. Wirtz, meanwhile, struggled off the left and only showed some signs of life in the middle of the park in the second period. Once again, in truth, the German had an afternoon to forget.

It’s now six Premier League games without a goal or assist, with patience beginning to run out around those watching on. Those at Anfield know the talent that they’ve signed, but he will need to show more than glimpses of his talent sooner rather than later.

BBC pundit Sutton was less forgiving than some too, slamming Wirtz for one moment against Palace.

Chris Sutton takes aim at Wirtz

Taking aim at Wirtz, Sutton was particularly shocked by the German’s struggle in front of goal. The former Bayer Leverkusen man did his record little good by missing a chance that he should have converted, ghosting in behind only to shove a close-range effort right at Dean Henderson.

It’s wake-up call for Liverpool. Slot’s side simply must improve. They remain top of the Premier League, but there are several problems for them to fix before they square off against Chelsea in their next league outing next weekend.

Whether that means a decision is coming for Slot regarding Wirtz is the award question that must be asked at Anfield.

MatériaMais Notícias

Nove meses e meio após romper o ligamento cruzado anterior do joelho direito, Gustavo Mosquito volta a ser relacionado pelo Corinthians. O camisa 19 estará à disposição de Luxemburgo para o duelo deste sábado (19), contra o Cruzeiro. Além disso, o atacante encaminhou sua renovação com o Timão até o meio de 2026.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFutebol LatinoEx-atacante do Corinthians, Boselli faz gol de artilheiro; assistaFutebol Latino18/08/2023CorinthiansCom multas milionárias, volantes assinam primeiro contrato profissional com o CorinthiansCorinthians18/08/2023CorinthiansRojas ganha ritmo e pede passagem no Corinthians; veja como Luxemburgo deve encaixar o paraguaioCorinthians17/08/2023

+ Renove o seu estoque de camisas do Timão com o cupom LANCEFUT 10% OFF

– Estou muito feliz! O Corinthians sempre quis que eu ficasse e eu também sempre quis ficar aqui. Amo muito este clube, amo muito estar aqui – disse o atleta em entrevista à Corinthians TV

Gustavo Mosquito possuía contrato com o Timão até dezembro de 2023, e o clube alvinegro havia encaminhado a extensão contratual com o atacante. No entanto, a situação estava “travada” pois o atacante de 25 anos desejava mudar seu staff.

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O atacante poderia assinar pré-contrato com qualquer outra equipe, e tanto o Botafogo quanto clubes do Oriente Médio sondaram a situação do atacante, como informado pelo Lance!. Contudo, o camisa 19 decidiu permanecer no Corinthians.

Na visão da diretoria, Gustavo Mosquito é jovem e pode ser útil no processo de rejuvenescimento corintiano iniciado por Luxemburgo, mas que deve ganhar força a partir do ano que vem, com a próxima gestão do clube, que passará por eleição presidencial no fim desta temporada.

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+ Veja tabela e simule os jogos do Timão no Brasileirão

A última aparição de Gustavo Mosquito com o manto do Timão foi no dia 26 de outubro da temporada passada, quando rompeu o ligamento cruzado anterior do joelho direito na derrota diante do Fluminense, na Neo Química Arena.

Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon and Ashton Turner all scored tons against Kent

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay 24-Jun-2025

Ashton Turner scores a century on Lancashire debut•Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images

Centuries by Luke Wells, Josh Bohannon and Ashton Turner on debut have given Lancashire a chance of defeating Kent on the final day of the Rothesay County Championship match at Blackpool and thereby securing their first red-ball victory of the season.Replying to the visitors’ 374, Lancashire were 639 for 9 at the close after a day in which their batters savaged Daniel Bell-Drummond’s attack.Wells made 152, Bohannon 124 and Turner a career-best 154 on a day when their county amassed the highest total in matches between the sides.Lancashire will go into the final day with a lead of 265 and the decision facing stand-in skipper James Anderson is whether to declare overnight or club a few more runs before trying to force a win on a docile surface. The latter seems unlikely.In a first session slightly curtailed by a light shower, Lancashire added 105 runs in 30.5 overs for the loss of nightwatcher Tom Bailey, who had made 25 untroubled runs before he was lbw on the front foot to Joey Evison.Otherwise, the highlight of the morning was Wells reaching his third first-class century for Lancashire against Kent when he reverse-swept Jack Leaning to the third boundary. The Red Rose opener had faced 195 balls and hit twelve fours and a six.However, the first session proved to be merely the prelude to an even more severe assault on the Kent bowling in the next two sessions. After taking 24 balls to get off the mark, Josh Bohannon reached his fifty off a further 78 deliveries with an on-drive off Evison. In the next over Wells lost the ball when he walloped Matt Parkinson for a six over the wall at the South End to bring up his own 150.Next ball, however, the former Lancashire leg-spinner applied to balm to his wounded pride when Wells tried to repeat his previous stroke and was well caught by Wes Agar at long off for 152. That dismissal ended the opener’s enterprising 136-run stand with Bohannon and it left his side still 71 runs shy of Kent’s first innings total.Despite having made his runs in a minute short of six hours during which he hit 17 fours and three sixes, Wells’ dejection at his dismissal clearly suggested he thought he had missed a big opportunity to make an even bigger contribution. The cricket that followed supported that judgement.Ashton Turner joined Bohannon and the pair put on a further 174 runs either side of tea, with Turner making an immediate impact in his first innings for Lancashire, reaching his hundred off 117 balls with six fours and four sixes.Bohannon had earlier reached his century off 191 balls with a square cut off his old team mate Parkinson, having hit nine fours and three sixes but he was eventually caught by Agar off Jack Leaning’s off-spin for 124, having hit ten fours and four sixes in his 210-ball innings.Late in the day, Matty Hurst was bowled for 21 by Evison, who took his third wicket and finished with 3 for 61 from 21 overs on a day when he had plainly been the pick of the Kent attack.Eight overs before the close Turner was caught at long off by Leaning off Parkinson and Michael Jones fell to the same combination for 41, leaving the leg-spinner with figures 3 for 188 from 35 overs. Jaydn Denly took two late wickets.The problem now for Anderson and his bowlers is that this Stanley Park pitch still looks very flat and it will take all of Anderson’s wiles and a shrewd rotation of his bowlers to take ten wickets in one day, given that only 19 have fallen in the first three, five of today’s dismissed batsmen perishing to catches in the deep.

The international break is often met with groans across the Premier League, and for Chelsea, who are still grinning after their last-minute win against Liverpool last weekend, they might have wished to carry that form right over to the coming weeks.

However, the injury update on the Cole Palmer front has only added to the frustration, with the Blues talisman’s injury set to rule him out for another month, carrying into November. It’s worth we are merely 28 days away from the final international sojourn of the 2025 calendar.

But Enzo Maresca is fashioning a team of many parts, and Chelsea are no longer a one-trick pony. Signings have been made, and many have shown promising signs over the past several months.

Among them, Joao Pedro, who looks like a real star in the final third for the Londoners.

Joao Pedro's start to life at Chelsea

Pedro looked set for a move to Newcastle United this summer, but then Chelsea swept in and signed the Brazilian for £60m, ending his two-year stay on the south coast with Brighton & Hove Albion.

The 24-year-old is a versatile and hard-working forward who has been praised in the past as an “insane dribbler” by analyst Ben Mattinson. Sofascore note that he’s yet to miss a big chance in the Premier League, so everything’s there to suggest BlueCo have made a fine signing with this one.

With two goals and three assists from nine matches in all competitions this season, Pedro is settling nicely into Maresca’s system; though he will be eager to return to prolific form, having blanked across his past five games in all competitions.

Still, he’s playing well, and considering some of the figures thrown about this summer, with Liverpool breaking the British transfer record to sign Alexander Isak for £125m, this is actually a shrewd piece of business.

However, the Stamford Bridge side sealed a signature this summer who might be shrewder still.

Chelsea's jackpot signing

Many signings have been made at Chelsea since Todd Boehly first took a seat in the boardroom, but the initial £29m paid for Estevao Willian might be the pick of the big bunch.

He tapped home Chelsea’s winner against Liverpool on Sunday, and he oozes confidence and style when on the ball, 18 years old but at peace with the rigours and scrutiny of the Premier League.

Already at this nascent stage of his career, Estevao has cultivated a wealth of experience on the senior stage, and there’s a prolificness to his play that tells of a successful future at the highest level.

Estevao’s Career by Position

Position

Apps

Goals (assists)

Right winger

63

23 (12)

Attacking midfield

11

2 (2)

Centre-forward

3

2 (1)

Data via Transfermarkt

After all, the aforementioned Mattinson has provided his take, saying the Brazil international might even be a “future Ballon d’Or winner”, such is his quality.

For Brazil, he is performing at a prodigious rate. Only yesterday across the globe did he bag twice as Carlo Ancelotti’s Seleção side thrashed South Korea 5-0.

Given the potential growth both financially and on the field, Chelsea chiefs must be delighted that they won the race, especially since Chelsea beat off vested competition from Barcelona and Real Madrid to seal the youth’s signature in 2024, ahead of his arrival from Palmeiras several months ago.

Is the sky the limit? It might just be. Estevao is the real deal; he has scored and assisted in the Premier League already.

In hindsight, this might prove to be the signing of the summer. Liverpool landed a world-class striker in Isak, but they paid a staggering sum. Isak, 26, has yet to get going at Anfield, one goal and one assist across six games.

Estevao matches that, and he’s playing with verve and gusto. He’s playing like the superstar in the making that Chelsea know they have landed.

Related Estevao 2.0: Chelsea let one of "the best young wingers in Europe" leave for £0

The incredible former Chelsea talent could end up being as good as Estevao.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes Oct 10, 2025

Celtic full-back Colby Donovan is the current poster boy for the pathway from the B team to the first-team at Parkhead with his emergence this season.

Injuries to Alistair Johnston and Anthony Ralston convinced Brendan Rodgers to bring the 19-year-old right-back into the senior squad to fill in for several matches.

The Scotland U21 international started against Kilmarnock, Partick Thistle, Red Star Belgrade, and Braga before being left out of the matchday squad for the 3-2 win over Motherwell last time out.

Whilst he may not have been too pleased with dropping out of the squad last weekend in the Scottish Premiership, Donovan was delighted after he made his full European debut against Red Star Belgrade.

His appearances across all competitions in the 2025/26 campaign do show that Rodgers is prepared to bring through young players if they are ready and there is a space in the team to play them.

One position that the head coach could look to fill by utilising the B team is the number six position, as he starts to look to life beyond captain Callum McGregor.

Why Celtic may need to replace Callum McGregor

At the age of 32, the former Scotland international is not yet at the retirement stage or the point where Celtic have to worry about him becoming unplayable.

However, there have been some concerning performances at the start of this season that suggest that the veteran central midfielder’s influence on the team may be waning.

The left-footed star has never been the most powerful or intense player out of possession, due to his relaxed and composed nature in the number six position, but that has worked to his detriment this season.

Appearances

35

7

Goals

8

0

Assists

3

0

Ground duel success rate

54%

46%

Fouls committed

0.4

1.6

Fouls won

0.6

0.4

As you can see in the table above, McGregor’s physical output is down in comparison to the 2024/25 campaign in the Premiership, losing the majority of his ground duels and committing four times as many fouls per match on average.

This suggests that the captain has been a little off the pace in the league this term, as opposition players have been sharper than him to win duels and force him into committing fouls on them, whilst he has not provided as much of a threat in front of goal at the other end of the pitch.

The Scottish midfielder has also lost 64% of his duels in the first two outings in the Europa League, per Sofascore, losing 62% of his ground duels and 100% of his aerial battles.

With this in mind, Rodgers may start to think about what life will look like once McGregor is not a guaranteed starter, whilst also considering adding competition for his place.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

One option could be to look to the academy to find a long-term replacement for the captain, as well as competition for his position in the short-term.

19-year-old Jude Bonnar, who is on loan at Ayr United, may be a player supporters would earmark as a McGregor successor from the youth team, but he has played on the wing and as an attack-minded midfielder, which may not suit the number six role.

The Celtic youngster who could replace Callum McGregor

Samuel Isiguzo, unlike Bonnar, has experience playing as a defender and as a central midfielder, per Transfermarkt, which may put him in a better place to develop into a holding midfielder or the Hoops.The 18-year-old star is typically deployed in a central midfield position, where McGregor plays, and has caught the eye in the early stages of the 2025/26 campaign.

Isiguzo, who can play in defence, as a wide midfielder, or as a central midfielder, has scored five goals and provided one assist in 16 appearances in all competitions for the academy this term, per Transfermarkt.

The teenage talent, who scored four goals in 13 outings in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, has shown that he has a knack for scoring goals from a midfield position, as McGregor did last season with his eight-goal haul in the Premiership.

Isiguzo, who was praised for his “dangerous” play by journalist Josh McCafferty, could also be the heir to McGregor’s position in the team because of his leadership skills.

The 18-year-old starlet has captained the B team in 13 of his 16 appearances this season, which shows that he is a respected leader at youth level who can lead by example and rally the troops, as the current first-team captain does.

Of course, there is a difference between captaining a youth team in front of a small crowd, if any crowd at all, and captaining Celtic on European nights with thousands of fans in attendance, but it does show that Isiguzo has the leadership potential.

With Bonnar out on loan and potentially suiting a number eight role more, the Scottish youngster could be the player to look to give McGregor some competition for his place this season.

Academy graduates used

2

3

Academy graduate appearances

5

4

Academy graduate starts

0

0

Academy graduate minutes

90

25

As you can see in the table above, Rodgers has not given loads of opportunities to young players in recent seasons, but Donovan’s emergence in recent weeks shows that the manager is not completely against bringing through academy talent.

Therefore, Isiguzo could be an interesting player to watch out for in the coming months if the Hoops end up in a position where they feel that McGregor needs a rest, as the B team star could step in as a natural replacement.

Forget Tounekti: Celtic's "exciting" star could become their new Kuhn

Celtic may be brewing their next version of Nicolas Kuhn in this winger, and it is not Sebastian Tounekti.

ByDan Emery Oct 7, 2025

It hasn’t been the start to the season that Arne Slot might have hoped for at Liverpool, with a shaky start, albeit a winning start, now preceding a three-match losing run that has accentuated the flaws running through the squad.

But adversity is there to be overcome in football, and the Premier League champions have so much quality and confidence in themselves. Teething problems after a summer spending spree are to be expected, and now the onus is on returning to action after the October international break with fresh impetus and focus.

Chelsea struck late to win against the Reds on Sunday, but there’s no hiding from the lack of attacking coherence in the second half. Some fans were confused by Slot’s decision to keep Federico Chiesa on the bench.

Slot must use Federico Chiesa

Last summer, Liverpool’s only addition, purchased from Juventus for a cut-price £12.5m fee. The versatile forward has long been highly regarded for his technical quality and potency in the final third, but injuries have eaten away at his one-time prodigious potential.

But he scarcely played last year, with fitness problems and criticisms from Slot keeping him on the fringes. Excluded from Liverpool’s pre-season tour across the pond, Chiesa’s time on Merseyside looked to have wrapped up.

And yet he stayed, and yet he now plays a big role at Liverpool, one of the most dangerous and effective attacking threats across the opening months of the season.

Hugo Ekitike

10

5 (1)

Mohamed Salah

10

3 (3)

Federico Chiesa

6

2 (2)

Cody Gakpo

10

2 (2)

Alexander Isak

6

1 (1)

Rio Ngumoha

5

1 (0)

This revival is nice to see. Will it last? Slot continues to be hesitant in giving Chiesa a star role, and given that Mohamed Salah’s eventual departure will warrant a big-money replacement, Chiesa might find his renaissance is short-lived.

Because Rio Ngumoha has already disrupted FSG’s transfer plans, and his rise to the top could come at the expense of the Italian’s game time.

Rio Ngumoha could end Chiesa's Liverpool career

Liverpool poached Ngumoha from Chelsea in 2024, and what a coup it is turning out to be. John Terry knew it, saying he was “gutted” to watch the electric winger leave for a Premier League rival.

But Chelsea’s loss is Liverpool’s gain. The 17-year-old Ngumoha showed flashes last season, starting for the seniors in the FA Cup against Accrington Stanley, and now he has raised his game under Slot’s wing, having featured five times already.

His dribbling and directness have been met by promising physical growth that has not yet finished.

Ngumoha will continue to be guided through adolescence, but the coaches are very much aware they have a prodigy on their hands, with the lad’s long-time youth coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst saying, “I don’t say it lightly, he is one of the best academy talents I have come across, and I have seen some top players become superstars.”

The composure and awareness to find space and score against Newcastle in August tells of the potential, and though he predominantly plays off the left flank, Ngumoha’s bearing is such that he could play across the frontline, an art mastered by teammate Chiesa.

Chiesa, 28 this month, will play a big part at Liverpool this season, but it’s difficult to see him reach the highest level in Slot’s squad. This, however, couldn’t be further away from Ngumoha’s pathway, for the “frightening” talent – as said by reporter Lewis Bower – is viewed as a one-of-a-kind prospect.

It’s crazy to think that Ngumoha only turned 17 in August, four days after firing the winner into Nick Pope’s net. The best, surely, is still to come from this one, and as he develops into a Premier League starter, and hopes of Chiesa establishing himself in an even bigger role at Liverpool are likely to come to nought, sad as that may be.

Better than Guehi: Liverpool dreaming of signing "best U21 player in the PL"

Liverpool may need to dip back into the transfer market in 2026 after a disjointed start to the season.

ByAngus Sinclair Oct 8, 2025

Nottingham Forest are preparing for their Europa League campaign and may now have been given a triple boost as they gear up to take on Real Betis on Wednesday.

Nottingham Forest show solidity after chaotic Ange Postecoglou induction

Ange Postecoglou isn’t someone who fails to entertain, and his side have shown excitement and vulnerability in equal measure over the first three matches of his tenure at the City Ground.

Following a 3-0 defeat to Arsenal, his side began to show some of their offensive prowess against Swansea City last midweek, albeit the Tricky Trees were knocked out of the EFL Cup in extraordinary fashion after surrendering a two-goal lead.

After two defeats, Turf Moor was never an easy place to go as Burnley look to stabilise themselves in the Premier League. Nevertheless, Nottingham Forest put in a performance that has bred some optimism among supporters of what could be to come.

Fundamentally, Postecoglou’s emphasis on performance is something he believes can breed results. The Tricky Trees took on 17 shots and bossed proceedings with 63% possession against Scott Parker’s men, indicating that improvement is slowly seeping into his group of players as they work within his system.

Murillo could return for Nottingham Forest’s trip to face Real Betis on Wednesday, offering another encouraging crumb of comfort as things slowly start to come together for the Australian boss.

Evidently, his reign at the club is a work in progress and results may not come imminently. Still, the former Celtic boss won the Europa League last season with Nottingham Forest, so it is fair to say he knows how to get a result in continental competition.

Heading into the beginning of their European campaign, there could be another boost in store for the East Midlands-based outfit if developments elsewhere are to stand.

Isco could miss Real Betis vs Nottingham Forest

According to reports in Spain via Sport Witness, Real Betis playmaker Isco could be ruled out of facing Nottingham Forest on Wednesday after missing training on Monday.

The four-time Champions League winner has been absent since August and may be joined by Nelson Deossa and Pablo García after the pair also sat on the sidelines while their teammates prepare to face Premier League opposition.

Not just Luiz: Ange must now start "menacing" Nottingham Forest sensation

Ange Postecoglou will be hunting for his first win as Nottingham Forest boss against Burnley this afternoon.

By
Ethan Lamb

Sep 20, 2025

La Liga outfit Betis sit sixth in the Spanish top-flight after six matches and claimed an impressive 3-1 victory over Real Sociedad last Friday, earning an extended rest period ahead of opening their Europa League account.

Boasting plenty of familiar faces, such as Antony, Giovani Lo Celso and Hector Bellerin, they have plenty of stars who have enjoyed distinguished careers in England.

Regardless, Isco is one of the finest playmakers in Europe when fully fit, meaning his absence would elevate Nottingham Forest’s chances of claiming something at Estadio Benito Villamarín.