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New Rangers manager Russell Martin is willing to sell a “brilliant” player in the summer transfer window, according to a new transfer update.

Martin eyeing first signings as Rangers boss

The Martin era at Ibrox is officially underway, with the former Southampton boss hoping to bring plenty of success back to the club, having had to watch rivals Celtic dominate the Scottish Premiership over the past decade or so.

The 39-year-old is clearly extremely excited to get started, admitting as much soon after his confirmation as Rangers’ next manager: “It’s an incredible feeling. I’m really grateful to the board, to Patrick (Stewart), to Kevin (Thelwell), for their faith in me. It’s been a tough and rigorous process and it’s taken some time, but that’s what you expect when you want to be manager of a club of this stature, size and expectation. I’m desperate to get started and I’m excited about what’s to come.”

It’s now a case of Martin being backed in the transfer market, with the Englishman signing players who he sees as ideal for him, and Southampton midfielder Flynn Downes could reportedly be his first addition. He knows the player well from his spell in charge of Saints, and he could add quality in possession, having completed 90.8% of his passes in the Premier League in 2024/25.

That said, some current Gers players could depart before next season gets underway, and a key update has dropped regarding one individual.

Martin could sell McCauslandAccording toThe Daily Record,Ross McCausland's Rangers future is up in the airbecause Martin is considering listening to offers for him.It is stated that Championship side Cardiff City are the latest club to show an interest in signing him this summer, with the 22-year-old preferring to stay put at Ibrox.

It’s ruthless from Martin, should he dispatch of McCausland in the summer window, considering the Northern Irishman is a talented young player who has been lauded by Lee McCulloch in the past.

“McCausland was absolutely brilliant. Bubbly, has pace, technical first touch. Tremendous. Playing in this cauldron, given the magnitude of this game, he looked full of confidence. I think the fans really took to him. He really gave the stadium a lift.”

However, McCausland was limited to only four starts in the Scottish Premiership last season, suggesting he isn’t seen as a key man moving forward, so the club do have a big decision to make this summer.

Related The new Lundstram: Martin wants to make £18m star his first Rangers signing

As Russell Martin starts his overhaul of Rangers’ squad, could he sign a “class” midfielder in a deal reminiscent of John Lundstram’s move to Ibrox?

Posts ByBen Gray Jun 8, 2025

He only has two years remaining on his current deal, so time is running out before his price tag starts to drop, and if Martin feels like he is an expendable figure, moving him on now makes the most sense.

All of sudden, Manchester City’s season doesn’t look quite as cursed.

Indeed, Pep Guardiola’s men might not be picking up a Premier League title, but the bruised Citizens have at least managed to dress up their wounds somewhat, with an FA Cup final against Crystal Palace now on the horizon after a comfortable 2-0 victory over Nottingham Forest at Wembley.

In the end, City’s class and know-how won them the high-stakes affair, with a whole host of players sticking out on the big occasion.

Man City's top performers vs Forest

City were in control of the game from the moment Rico Lewis broke the deadlock after just two minutes, with Forest’s counter-attacking game disrupted by Lewis’ early opener.

Overall, the City academy product stood out at Wembley, away from just this crucial contribution, with the 20-year-old showing off his coolness throughout when only giving up possession six times from 36 accurate passes.

Likewise, the second goalscorer on the day in Josko Gvardiol was a calm performer throughout, with his header on the 51st minute mark amazingly his sixth strike of a mightily impressive individual campaign.

Away from the Croat and the Englishman stealing most of the headlines, the likes of Nico O’Reilly also impressed once more at Wembley, with one solo effort from the versatile number 75 nearly sending the City masses into raptures in the first half, as well as successfully winning eight duels.

But, there was another star performer who arguably put in his greatest performance of the season to send City to the FA Cup final…

Man City star put in his best performance of the season

Away from faces such as O’Reilly breaking into the first team picture recently, the City lineup to face Nuno Espirito Santo’s challengers was comprised of some well-known Etihad figures.

Mateo Kovacic certainly fits into this category, with the 30-year-old up to 85 appearances and counting for Guardiola’s men after dictating play centrally versus Forest.

Whilst the 110-time Croatia international had chipped in with seven goals and one assist in all competitions this season prior to this showdown, he hasn’t quite been as influential over one isolated contest like he was on Sunday, with City immediately in the driving seat in the game after the ex-Chelsea man teed up Lewis for the opener.

Away from picking up that assist, Kovacic amassed his aforementioned 109 touches as a busy body in the middle of the pitch, alongside also registering five successful dribbles to constantly push his team forward to unsettle their opponents.

Whilst Kovacic would strut his stuff throughout as a confident performer, he would also roll up his sleeves when needed to battle against Forest, with seven total duels won in total proving his well-rounded game.

Subsequently, Manchester Evening journalist Simon Bajkowski would wax lyrical about the 30-year-old come the full-time whistle, stating that Kovacic was “barely a step out of place” across his 89 minutes on the Wembley turf, resulting in a high 9/10 rating being handed his way.

City will be gunning for another Wembley success when the FA Cup final occurs next month, knowing full well that another trophy being added to their glittering cabinet makes this campaign worthy of remembering for the positives, rather than any lingering blunders.

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Apr 26, 2025

Manchester United have now joined the race to sign an “excellent” goalkeeper, who could be brought in as a replacement for Andre Onana this summer, according to a report.

Major concern over Onana's Man Utd performances

Onana was the subject of heavy criticism prior to Man United’s recent Europa League clash against Lyon, with Nemanja Matic launching a scathing attack on the goalkeeper.

Unfortunately, the 29-year-old didn’t exactly manage to silence the critics at the Groupama Stadium, making a late blunder to gift Rayan Cherki an equalising goal, which means there is everything still to play for at Old Trafford on Thursday night.

After the poor display against Lyon, Onana was dropped from the squad for the trip to St. James’ Park, but Altay Bayindir didn’t exactly stake a claim for a regular starting spot, with the Red Devils succumbing to a 4-1 defeat against Newcastle United.

Man Utd and INEOS now looking to hijack Newcastle deal for £25m wide player

Man Utd have now joined their Premier League rivals in the race to sign an exciting attacker.

ByBrett Worthington Apr 14, 2025

As such, Ruben Amorim is now looking to bring in a new goalkeeper this summer, and Man Utd have joined the race for Anders goalkeeper Yahia Fofana, according to a report from The Boot Room.

Fofana’s performances this season have attracted the attention of a number of Premier League clubs, with Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Newcastle, Brentford and Nottingham Forest also making checks in recent weeks.

Previous reports have detailed that the Angers shot-stopper could be available for just £15m this summer, so Amorim may not have to break the bank if he chooses to pursue a deal.

"Excellent" Fofana could be Onana upgrade

It is clear Amorim is losing faith with Onana, and it is little wonder, given that the Cameroonian’s latest blunder could be costly in United’s Europa League campaign, while Bayindir also failed to impress against Newcastle.

Fofana’s performances this season indicate he could be an upgrade for United between the sticks, having been lauded as “excellent” by members of the media after putting in a solid display against Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.

Freelance scout Ben Mattinson has also praised the Ivorian, and believes the £15m fee Angers are set to hold out for “could be a bargain”.

The 24-year-old is yet to prove himself at the highest level, but his performances this season indicate he could be capable of making the step-up to a top club, and his availability for a low fee is an added bonus for United.

Pitching is hard. Just ask New Orleans Saints running back Alvin Kamara.

Kamara received the nod to toss the ceremonial first pitch Saturday afternoon ahead of the Chicago Cubs' matchup against the St. Louis Cardinals at Wrigley Field. His first attempt … didn't go well.

Kamara's initial pitch to Cubs mascot Clark bounced before it even hit the dirt in front of home plate. But instead of settling for a wild pitch in the scorebook, Kamara waited on the mound and urged Clark to get back in the catcher's crouch for another try.

The 29-year-old running back then reached back and fired a much better pitch—still a ball, outside, but with some velocity that reached Clark's glove with ease.

Now that's how you do it, 50 Cent.

Kamara, who will turn 30 years old this month, racked up 1,493 total yards in 14 games for the Saints last season. In 2025, he'll be tasked with leading the New Orleans offense that will likely have rookie Tyler Shough starting under center.

After seeing that first pitch attempt, the Saints' new-look coaching staff under Kellen Moore might want to keep the halfback pass play in the back of the playbook.

It was the 15th straight win for Australia in ODI World Cups, while South Africa registered their lowest ODI total against Australia

Namooh Shah25-Oct-2025

Alana King ran through South Africa•Getty Images

15 – Consecutive wins for Australia at the Women’s World Cup since their defeat against India in the 2017 semi-final. They have equalled their own record of 15 straight wins across the 1997 and 2000 editions, which was ended by New Zealand in the final of the 2000 edition.97 – South Africa’s lowest total against Australia in women’s ODIs. Their previous lowest was 105 in Adelaide in 2024.24 – Overs in which South Africa were bowled out in Indore, the fourth-shortest innings in women’s ODI World Cups. South Africa feature three times in the top four entries, which includes the 69 all out in 20.4 overs in their first game against England in this tournament.Related

There are legspinners, and there is Alana King

King's majestic seven-for sets up semi-final with India

7 for 18 – Alana King’s bowling figures on Saturday against South Africa are the first seven-for in the history of the women’s ODI World Cups, breaking a long-standing record of 6 for 10 by Jackie Lord of New Zealand in 1982.King’s returns were also the best for an Australian in women’s ODIs. She is the third Australia bowler to take a seven-for in women’s ODIs after Shelley Nitschke and Ellyse Perry.21 – Balls King took to complete her second ODI five-for. This is the fastest recorded five-for in women ODIs, breaking the record of Ireland’s Aimee Maguire, who did so in 23 balls against England in 2024.39 – Wickets by both Marizanne Kapp and Megan Schutt in ODI World Cups, the joint-second most in the tournament history, equaling Lyn Fullston and only behind Jhulan Goswami with 43 wickets.

Pakistan unravelled after Babar fell on the fourth morning, all down to a plan Harmer had in memory from a county game back in 2019

Danyal Rasool23-Oct-2025While Pakistan preferred to keep their lead left-arm spinner away from the left-handers during South Africa’s last-wicket stand, the visitors had no such qualms about spinning the ball into the batter. With Pakistan having put up late resistance on the third evening after a bruising day, they began the fourth with Babar Azam, one shy of a half-century, along with Mohammad Rizwan in the middle. Faced with two right-handers , Aiden Markram gave the ball to offspinner Simon Harmer.Harmer began the fourth morning with 996 first-class wickets. He’d bowled to just about everyone in every situation over his 16-year first-class career. That included Babar when he had a stint with Somerset in 2019, and remembered what had discomfited the Pakistan batter.”I just felt it was probably more dangerous for him and made him less comfortable when I was bowling from around the wicket,” Harmer said after South Africa’s eight-wicket win in Rawalpindi.There were more game-specific considerations, too. Pakistan had erased South Africa’s lead by now, and were mindful of the value of runs. South Africa knew they could not pack the close field with more men. “In the subcontinent, as an offspinner to a right-hander, you’ve got a lot of turn from outside the line of the stumps,” Harmer said. “So batters can easily take modes of dismissal away. We were obviously very mindful of the lead. We didn’t want it to get away from us. We were trying to attack and not leak runs. So you can’t carry extra catchers around the bat.Related

• Rabada: South Africa 'a young team that wants to do the dirty work'

• Mahmood bemoans another Pakistan collapse: 'This is not acceptable'

• South Africa prove they can win with spin on the subcontinent

• Stats – First-class Harmer enters elite wicket-takers' club

• Harmer's six-for helps South Africa ease to series-levelling win

“I felt that the ball from that end specifically was spinning from straight. So if I came around the wicket and if they didn’t want to score square, it kept the stumps in play, whereas from over the wicket they could get outside the line.”It also made it trickier for Babar to get himself onto the front foot off any length. Babar clipped the second ball of the day off the back foot into the onside to get to 50. But when Harmer pitched it slightly further up, he still went back. The ball kept low, hitting him beneath the knee roll.With Harmer starting around off, there was enough room to land the ball on middle and spin away from Babar’s bat without deviating too far out of the line of the stumps. Babar reviewed, but the DRS returned three reds. It was the 29th ball Harmer had bowled to Babar around the wicket this Test, conceding nearly a run fewer per over from that angle than from over the wicket.Pakistan’s offspinner Sajid Khan, meanwhile, does not enjoy the same comfort coming around the wicket to the right-hander. He had by far his most subdued series since Pakistan’s turn to spin tracks, taking six wickets across the two Tests and just 1 for 134 in Rawalpindi. Against right-handers, he went around the wicket for just seven balls all Test, and 11 all series. Pitted against Harmer’s experience, Sajid’s ideas for creating opportunities looked rather pedestrian.Babar’s dismissal, though, was only the beginning of a near-perfect day for Harmer. He went on to take six in the innings, getting to 1000 first-class wickets along the way. But it was all unlocked thanks to a little memory holed away from a game in Chelmsford in the late English summer, deployed to clinical effect in the early Pakistani winter.

Santos have been dealt a huge blow, as Neymar has been ruled out for the rest of the year with a knee injury. Santos, who are languishing in the Brazilian Serie A relegation zone, will miss their star forward at a very crucial juncture in the season. Neymar's return to his boyhood club has not gone to plan because the 33-year-old has been constantly rocked by injuries throughout the year.

• Neymar's injury crisis worsens

  Neymar spent nearly one and a half years on the sidelines at Al-Hilal after rupturing his ACL while playing for Brazil in September 2023. His much-hyped move from Paris Saint-Germain to the Saudi Pro League turned into a nightmare and he finally left the Middle East in January 2025 to return to his boyhood club Santos.

  The plan was to elevate Santos' status upon their return to the top division in Brazilian football. At the same time, the Selecao star would get some much-needed game time to regain his match fitness and form to make a comeback to the national team. However, things did not go as planned. While Neymar has scored seven goals in 25 appearances across all competitions, he has been out injured repeatedly during his second spell at Santos. The forward's constant injury setbacks have also delayed his comeback to the Brazil national team and with only one international break left in March before the 2026 World Cup kicks off, he is facing a race against time to prove himself to Carlo Ancelotti.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Neymar's latest injury setback

  After holding Internacional to a 1-1 draw on Monday without the Brazilian forward, Santos boss Vojvoda told reporters about Neymar's latest setback: "The plan is for him to be in the match against Sport. I have to talk to him, I'm not in his physical presence and I will respect Neymar's decisions. But his commitment is to be there, he always wants to be there. Before the Mirassol game, he felt discomfort in his knee. He also felt it during the game. The following day, he was experiencing significant discomfort in that knee. We know we have games every three days. With travel, we'll arrive in Santos tomorrow afternoon… He's a player we need for all three rounds and he'll help us. He's our leader on the field. He'll be there. He felt he wouldn't be able to meet the demands of today's game."

• Neymar out of action for rest of 2025

  Now, reports that Neymar suffered a meniscus injury in his left knee, which will keep him out of action for the remainder of the year. It all started during his last appearance against Mirassol, when the 33-year-old went down in pain after trying to dribble past a defender. Although Neymar completed the full 90 minutes in the game, it raised doubts over his condition, which has now been confirmed as a serious injury. 

  The injury comes as a huge blow for Santos, who have only three matches left in the 2025-26 campaign and are still struggling in the relegation zone. 

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  Neymar's participation in World Cup uncertain

  At this point, it is very difficult to predict whether Neymar will be able to participate in his fourth World Cup in North America next year. He is out of action for the rest of 2025 and there will be hardly any action for him in the New Year, as the new Brazilian football season only kicks off in late March. His only option may be to head back to Europe to get game time ahead of the World Cup.

  Without playing enough matches, it is unlikely that Ancelotti will call him up to the national team, although the Italian remains hopeful that Neymar will return to top condition soon. Ancelotti said during Brazil's November camp: "Neymar is on the list of players who can go to the World Cup. He has six months to make the final list. Neymar has recovered, but he needs to show performance. When the Brazilian league ends, he’ll have some vacation time, and then he must show his quality and physical condition again." 

  The Selecao boss also offered some words of advice for the Brazilian great, as he added: "The truth is that soccer today asks for many things, not just talent. Also, physical condition, intensity. Hopefully, Neymar can be at his best level. He needs to play more centrally, not as a winger. Wingers in today’s soccer are players you need to help also defensively. When you play a little bit more inside the defensive work is much less than if you play as a winger."

Babar Azam and Mohammad Rizwan have not been selected in Pakistan’s T20I squad for the upcoming Asia Cup in the UAE. Fakhar Zaman, who suffered a hamstring injury in the first week of August, has recovered and is part of the side.Salman Agha will lead the 17-member squad, which will also participate in the tri-series against UAE and Afghanistan in the lead-up to the Asia Cup.Babar last played a T20I in December 2024. In PSL 2025, he scored 288 runs in ten innings for Peshawar Zalmi. It included knocks of 56*, 53* and 94 but his overall strike rate was 128.57. He was part of the recent ODI series against West Indies where he had scores of 47, 0 and 9.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Rizwan, like Babar, has not been part of Pakistan’s recent T20I squads for the home and subsequent away series against Bangladesh, followed by the T20Is in the West Indies. He made 53 in the opening game of the ODI series against West Indies, followed by scores of 16 and 0.Pakistan head coach Mike Hesson said Babar had been challenged with improving his T20 game. I think it’s really harsh to challenge a player on their form on three games,” he said at a press conference. “Babar played nicely in the first ODI but missed out on the next two. There’s no doubt Babar’s been asked to improve in some areas around taking on spin and in terms of his strike rate. Those are things he’s working really hard on.”But at the moment, the players we have have done exceptionally well. Sahibzada Farhan has played six games and won three Player of the Match awards. A player like Babar has an opportunity to play in the BBL and show he’s improving in those areas in T20s. He’s too good a player not to consider.”Shaheen Afridi, who had also found himself out of favour in T20 cricket of late, retained his place for the tri-series and the Asia Cup, though Naseem Shah missed out once again. Naseem is currently in action in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL).Lahore Qalandars fast bowler Salman Mirza, who was Pakistan’s leading wicket-taker with eight against Bangladesh in the away T20I series, was included in the side. Ahmed Daniyal, who also impressed briefly, though was not part of the squad. Both specialist wristspinners – Abrar Ahmed and Sufiyan Muqeem, kept their place.The squad is something of an amalgamation of the sides that have played T20I cricket under Hesson in the three T20I series over the summer. The recent ODI series – which Pakistan lost 2-1 in the Caribbean – appears not to have influenced decision making either way. Hesson said he intended to stick to the aggressive top-heavy approach he has championed in the format, and repeated that Pakistan’s game was suited to such a style.”We were challenged with three different surfaces [in each of the three series]” Hesson said. “In Lahore, the surfaces were flat and the batting excelled. We went to Bangladesh where they were incredibly challenging and low-scoring games. Our top order sets the game up. All the games we won the top order performed really well. The third game in the West Indies, our openers put on 140 [138]. We need that at a run rate that gets us ahead of the game. T20 is all about setting the game up and being ahead of the game all the time in case you get yourself out. From a batting point of view we’ve got a line-up that can continue to do that.”The tri-series in the UAE between the hosts, Afghanistan and Pakistan will serve as a warm-up to the T20 Asia Cup, which will begin on September 9. Pakistan have never won the T20 version of that tournament; they reached the final when it was last played in 2022.

Pakistan squad for the UAE tri-series and Asia Cup

Salman Agha (capt), Abrar Ahmed, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Hasan Nawaz, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris (wk), Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim, Sahibzada Farhan, Saim Ayub, Salman Mirza, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Sufiyan Muqeem

Stats highlights from DC’s first win against CSK at Chepauk since 2010

Sampath Bandarupalli05-Apr-20252:46

Jaffer: ‘If top order doesn’t fire, CSK shut shop early’

2010 – Delhi Capitals (DC) defeated Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at Chepauk for the first time since their six-wicket win in 2010. The Delhi franchise won the first two matches against CSK at this venue in 2008 and 2010 but had lost seven in a row before Saturday.The seven-match winning streak for CSK against this opponent in Chennai is the joint-second-longest for any team against an opponent at a particular venue in the IPL. CSK’s eight-match winning streak against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) at Chepauk is the longest, which also came to a halt earlier this season.10 – CSK have failed to chase a target of 180-plus in their last ten attempts, dating back to 2020. Three teams have had a longer streak of failing to chase 180-plus targets in the IPL – 15 by Punjab Kings (2015 to 2021), 12 by RCB (2019 to 2023) and 11 by Sunrisers Hyderabad (2020 to 2023).Related

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KL Rahul shines as DC outclass CSK in Chennai

25 – The run margin of CSK’s defeat on Saturday. Only four teams have suffered a heavier loss despite losing only five or fewer wickets in 20 overs while chasing a target of 200 or less in the IPL.2018 – Previous instance of CSK chasing down a target of 180 or more runs in the IPL – against Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in Pune, where they hunted down 180 with eight wickets in hand. CSK had a win-loss record of 9-9 while chasing 180-plus targets until that point.ESPNcricinfo Ltd9.2 – Overs batted by Vijay Shankar and MS Dhoni during their sixth-wicket stand. It is the second-longest unbeaten partnership to end up on the losing side in an IPL chase, behind the 9.4 overs of partnership by Kedar Jadhav and Saurabh Tiwary in 2015. The duo added 91 runs for Delhi Daredevils’ fifth wicket against SRH but fell seven runs short of the 164-run chase.84* – The 84-run unbroken stand between Vijay and Dhoni is the highest for CSK in the IPL for the sixth wicket or lower.120.74 – Strike rate of the CSK’s top three batters in 180-plus chases since 2020. It is by far the lowest among all ten teams, with the next worst being 139.09 by SRH. CSK’s top order averages 17.86 in the 180-plus chases since 2020, also the lowest.20.23 – Percentage of Dhoni’s runs in CSK’s wins since the start of IPL 2023. In this period, Dhoni has batted 13 times in the wins and scored 69 runs at an average of 13.80, but in defeats, he has 272 runs in 14 innings, at an average of 90.66.

Newcastle United will be hoping for a smoother January transfer window than the one they experienced in the summer. Eddie Howe’s side were embroiled in several sagas, including Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool, which was the talk of the entire transfer window.

They did make some pretty big signings, too. Malick Thiaw joined the club from AC Milan and has gone on to become a key player for Howe’s side.

They also managed to replace Isak with Nick Woltemade, who has impressed in the four months he has been at St. James’ Park, following his club-record £69m switch.

It seems as though the Magpies are lining up some more moves with the next window around the corner.

Newcastle’s latest transfer target

The Magpies are already linked with a couple of midfield targets. Former academy star Elliot Anderson is one man on their shopping list, as is ex-Manchester United and Napoli man Scott McTominay.

Transfer Focus

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

However, according to a recent report from The Athletic, there is another midfielder on their list of targets.

That man is Stuttgart star Bilal El Khannouss, and the report explains he is a player whom the higher-ups at St. James’ Park have already held ‘internal conversations’ about in recent weeks.

This would not necessarily be an easy deal for the North Eastern giants to complete.

The Moroccan star only joined the Bundesliga side on loan this summer from Leicester City. However, he has a buy option in the deal, which may add complications.

As for a price, El Khannouss’ buy clause is worth £21m, so the Magpies may well have to pay a similar fee.

Why El Khannouss would be a good signing

Adding a player with the attacking quality of El Khannouss to their squad would certainly enhance the final third quality that Howe has at his disposal.

As football scout Antonio Mango said, the 21-year-old is a “magician” on the ball.

Indeed, he has shone for German outfit Stuttgart this season. In just 16 appearances across all competitions for the club, he’s managed to score five times and assist four, operating as a number ten.

In the top flight of Germany, the attacker has five goals and assists in ten games.

Let’s not forget that the former Leicester star shone for the Foxes in the Premier League last season. In a tough campaign for the club in which they got relegated, he grabbed five top-flight goal involvements, including this sublime strike against Tottenham Hotspur.

The attacking midfielder’s stats from the Bundesliga season so far show the sort of quality he can add to Newcastle’s attack.

For example, he’s averaging 6.52 progressive passes and 2.81 key passes per 90 minutes, which both rank him in the top 5% of attackers.

Key passes

2.81

95th

Passes into final third

4.5

95th

Passes into penalty box

1.8

85th

Progressive passes

6.52

95th

Shot-creating actions

4.5

85th

This signing certainly has shades of the addition of Woltemade this summer.

As El Khannouss is doing now, the German striker shone in what proved to be his solitary season at Stuttgart and impressed with 18 goals and three assists in just 36 appearances for the Bundesliga side.

Since moving to the North East of England, Woltemade has continued that good form.

He already has seven goals to his name in that famous Black and White shirt, with his most recent effort being this exquisite chip against Everton last weekend.

It is easy to see how the potential move for El Khannouss has shades of the Woltemade deal. It seems like the Moroccan star will also spend just one season at the club, and Newcastle could well be his destination.

That is certainly one parallel, but the form which both players have, or did, showcase in the Bundesliga is another interesting dynamic.

Newcastle bought Woltemade based on his sensational 2024/25 campaign, and it feels as though that was some of the logic behind signing the Morocco international too.

If they do only have to pay £21m, that is an extraordinarily cheap fee for a player who could instantly improve their attacking quality.

Outscoring Woltemade: Newcastle preparing move for one of the PL's best strikers

He’s been in excellent form.

ByTom Cunningham Dec 3, 2025