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Liverpool withheld a spirited showing from Fulham to advance to the Carabao Cup final at Craven Cottage, with the 1-1 draw enough after Marco Silva's side lost 2-1 in the reverse leg two weeks ago.

Jurgen Klopp made several alterations to the side that dismantled Bournemouth in the Premier League last weekend but Liverpool proved their ability to compete across multiple fronts with an energetic and positive display.

There might have been a bit of a storm to weather in the closing phase but fears were eased early on after Luis Diaz's strike provided his side with a two-goal cushion on aggregate.

Luis Diaz's game vs Fulham in numbers

Diaz has ebbed and flowed this season, with his lack of prolificness handing detractors some substance in their arguments that he is flattering to deceive, but the Colombian is a real menace down that left channel and proved his worth in a crucial contest.

As per Sofascore, Diaz was a veritable livewire on the Fulham pitch, and having opened the scoring after ten minutes, he completed 84% of his passes, made three key passes, succeeded with all three of his attempted dribbles, won ten duels and drew three fouls, a thorn in the sides of the host defenders.

The 27-year-old will be well aware that his numbers need to improve but he brings so much electricity to Klopp's team and produced a complete performance in attack against Fulham.

His goal, while taking a deflection and raising questions around Bernd Leno's failure to palm the ball away, was a nice way to cap a combative and enterprising effort, served by centre-back Jarell Quansah, who might just have been Liverpool's biggest winner from a joyous evening in the capital.

Jarell Quansah's performance vs Fulham

Quansah, aged 20, was plying his trade in League One with Bristol Rovers last season, now rising to the fore as one of Anfield's most exciting academy graduates in years.

Partnership Virgil van Dijk last night, the 6 foot 5 titan was composed and commanding in the backline and complemented his defensive efforts with the wonderful pass for Diaz to control and score from.

Taking 77 touches, Quansah completed 82% of his passes and succeeded with his one attempted dribble, though most impressively he made a whopping seven clearances to smash danger away from Caoimhin Kelleher's goal.

Liverpool World journalist Will Rooney certainly noticed the rising talent's display, handing him a healthy 8/10 match rating and writing: 'Excellent diagonal ball would provide the assist for Diaz's opener and he was solid throughout. Made one big block to keep out Palhinha in the closing stages.'

Praised for his "exceptional" display by The Athletic's James Pearce, Quansah looks every bit the established star in Klopp's system and his aerial delivery for Diaz's deflected strike means that he boasts a goal and three assists from just 16 senior outings for the Reds.

A tad unlucky to unwittingly divert the ball that handed Diop the equaliser, Quansah is showcasing his calibre as a high-class defensive prospect, and was crucial in ensuring that Liverpool move to the last stage of their bid for a first slice of silverware this season.

After an uninspiring 2-0 defeat on the road to West Ham United last weekend, Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United were in desperate need of a victory that would get the fans back on their side. Luckily, the Red Devils completed an incredible second-half comeback to claim a 3-2 win and an important three points.

At half-time, boos were ringing around Old Trafford after the hosts conceded two very soft and avoidable goals from set pieces in the 21st and 26th minute. At that point, it seemed that United were set to suffer their ninth defeat of the season in the Premier League.

Instead, the Red Devils won their tenth game of the season in the league and only their second in the last seven matches, which puts them in sixth place for the time being.

Man Utd’s stats vs Aston Villa

United started the game slowly and only registered one attempt at goal prior to Villa’s two goals, but the reaction to going two behind was far better than the one versus the Hammers. In the first half, the possession statistics were exactly even, yet most of the half consisted of the hosts attempting to breach the Villa highline, with Ten Hag’s team getting caught offside six times.

The boss clearly inspired the side during the interval, and they had the ball in the back of the net five minutes later through Alejandro Garnacho. Even though it was ruled out for offside, it lifted the crowd and gave the players belief. However, just before the hour mark, the Argentine did end United’s four-game goalless streak, and when the goal went in, it seemed only a matter of time before the second would arrive.

The Red Devil’s press was relentless, and they only had 41% of the ball in the second half, but United were on top. The 19-year-old grabbed his brace with 20 minutes to go, and Rasmus Hojlund scored his first Premier League goal to steal the victory. Overall, they only had six shots in the second half and scored three goals from an xG of 0.73, proving that Ten Hag’s side were clinical for the first time this season.

Bruno Fernandes’ game in numbers

Despite Garnacho scoring a brace and being handed a 9/10 rating by Samuel Luckhurst of the Manchester Evening News, Bruno Fernandes was one of the best on the field, with his performance going under the radar – despite only earning a 6/10 match rating from Luckhurst.

The Portuguese midfielder created three chances, which was the most in the game, but he did lose possession 25 times, slightly more than you would hope for but understandable given his role to create. The table below sums up Fernandes’ game in numbers.

Touches

75

Chances created

3

Shots

2

Recoveries

5

Tackles won

3/3 (100%)

Although he didn’t register a goal contribution, the captain was instrumental in the build-up and for each goal, acting as the connector between midfield and attack. He tackled Douglas Luiz and played Marcus Rashford through on goal for the first, drifted out wide and made the cross that led to the second, and took the corner that Hojlund scored from.

While it may have understandably been the youthful duo of Garnacho and Hojlund who stole the headlines for getting on the scoresheet, it was Fernandes who was arguably something of a saviour for Ten Hag due to his performance in the centre of the park.

Having gone four games without a win, the Dutchman needed his captain to step up – and boy did he.

Ollie Palmer says his “ultimate goal” would be to retire at Wrexham, but the experienced striker is not ruling out a move to MLS.

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• Striker joined Red Dragons in 2022
• Hoping to earn a contract extension
• Open to stateside switch if needs be

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 32-year-old frontman answered a transfer call from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney in January 2022 when he stepped out of League One with AFC Wimbledon to join a then-National League project in North Wales. Palmer has taken in over 100 appearances for the Red Dragons since then and scored 41 goals.

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• WHAT PALMER SAID

  Palmer is tied to a contract until 2025 and would relish the opportunity to sign an extension. He is, however, aware that he may be put in a position where an American dream could be chased. Palmer has told the : “I will speak the truth, complete facts, because that’s how I always answer my questions. I’d love to play for Wrexham until the end of my career, that would be my ultimate goal. But the honest reality is that it’s growing at such a fast pace and the aim is to get into the Premier League, and there is no time to be sentimental. So my aim is to be there for as long as possible and to deliver the club success. I’ll do that for as long as I’m wanted to. Failing that, because everything does come to an end, I’d love to play in America.”

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Palmer has been spending time in the States enjoying a promotion party in Las Vegas and attending the Met Gala in New York. When it was put to him that he could end up in the Big Apple, rather than follow Manchester United legend David Beckham to Miami alongside Lionel Messi and Co, Palmer added: “He’s [Beckham] bringing much better players over than me, that’s for sure! If I get let go from Wrexham, I’ll see you at the Red Bulls!”

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• WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Phil Parkinson has Palmer in his plans for now, alongside fellow forwards such as Paul Mullin and Steven Fletcher. There has been talk of Wrexham making a move for ex-England international Jamie Vardy, which may require somebody to move on, but Palmer is hoping to make his mark back in the third tier before mulling over any new challenge.

Amnesty International put in a cheeky response to Jurgen Klopp's rant after the Liverpool boss called for intervention over "criminal" fixture list.

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• Klopp fumed over PL fixture list
• Went on a rant against TNT Sports over 12:30 pm kick-offs
• Amnesty chipped in with a hilarious reply to the German

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  In a passionate rant ahead of Liverpool's clash against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield, Klopp voiced his frustration over the scheduling decisions made by broadcasters. The focus of his ire was the disproportionate number of early kick-offs, particularly the 12.30 pm Saturday slot, which Liverpool have frequently been allocated, despite their mid-week European League commitments.

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• Getty
  

  WHAT AMNESTY SAID

  Klopp's unconventional call for intervention from Amnesty International to address the fixture congestion dilemma drew an unexpected response from the human rights organisation. Taking to Twitter, Amnesty humorously wrote: "Hi Jurgen, Maybe next year. We're a bit busy at the moment. But, feel free to donate to us in the meantime. Thanks."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Liverpool have seen a slump in their recent domestic form winning just one of their last five Premier League matches. Currently occupying the third position in the league standings with 75 points, Klopp's side trails league leaders Arsenal by five points and second-placed Manchester City by four, with the latter holding a game in hand.

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  TNT Sports also took a dig at Klopp, mocking his disdain for early kick-off, with a witty tweet.

The ICC said the judgement was “binding and non-appealable”

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Nov-2018

The PCB’s attempts to claim damages worth USD 63 million from the BCCI have met with what is now a final failure: the ICC’s Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) rejected the PCB’s claim that the BCCI’s failure to honour an agreement to play bilateral series in 2014 and 2015 was a legal breach.The three-person DRC said the claim “must fail” because the agreement signed between the boards carried a “moral obligation” but not a legal one.That will not be the PCB’s only defeat. As is the norm in arbitration cases such as this, the party that loses the case usually ends up paying the costs for the proceedings, and the BCCI confirmed that it would seek legal costs from the PCB. “After hearing the evidence and arguments of the parties over three days in Dubai, the Dispute Panel by its award published today has rejected all of the PCB’s contentions and accepted the BCCI’s case inter alia on the ground that the BCCI Letter was non-binding and merely expressed an intention to play,” the BCCI said in a statement. “The BCCI wholeheartedly welcomes the decision of the Dispute Panel. The BCCI will now move the Dispute Panel to recover its legal cost from the PCB.”In a brief initial response, the PCB said it noted the DRC decision with “regret” and “disappointment.” The PCB also said it would “determine its future course of action” after consultations with its members, but the ICC made it clear that the DRC’s judgement was “binding and non-appealable”.The panel, comprising Michael Beloff, Jan Paulsson and Dr Annabelle Bennett, conducted hearings between October 1-3 with several officials from both boards as well as senior ICC officials attending. The central question the DRC had to consider was whether the BCCI had indeed breached the agreement to play seven bilateral series between 2014 and 2023. Two of those “designated” tours were to be home series hosted by Pakistan scheduled for November 2014 and December 2015, both of which did not take place, and for which the PCB claimed damages.Ultimately, the case hinged on how the DRC viewed the agreement the two boards signed on April 9, 2014 – an agreement, incidentally, signed in the chaotic days of the Big Three governance reforms. The PCB’s contention was that it was legally binding, an argument which, at various points in its 26-page judgment, the DRC appeared to think was sustainable; the BCCI argued that it was not and that it was only one step in a process that would lead to bilateral tours.That letter was signed by Sanjay Patel, then BCCI secretary, and Najam Sethi, who was the PCB chairman in 2014. That draft agreement was a result of PCB’s conditional support of Big Three governance changes (the Big-Three model was eventually reversed by the ICC).The DRC quickly concluded that both boards were at “cross purposes”. The BCCI said the agreement was the first step which involved boards proposing dates, followed by a second step where member boards agreed to an FTP schedule for the commercial cycle 2015-23, and a final step involving member boards entering into bilateral FTP agreements in accordance with that schedule.The PCB, however, considered the April letter to be, “in itself”, legally binding, and “any subsequent FTP Agreement to be no more than a formality, ‘a routine matter’, as Mr Sethi for the PCB put it in his oral evidence.”However, it would not have helped the PCB’s case that they sent the BCCI a draft long-form FTP agreement in June 2014, which was never signed, but which could imply that the PCB itself recognised the need for further steps after the April letter. And in an internal PCB board meeting, members were told that an MoU had been agreed but that a “legally binding agreement will subsequently be signed” – the implication again that the April agreement was not so.The DRC rejected the PCB’s claim that the April letter was a “quid pro quo” for its support to the Big Three’s attempts to overhaul the ICC’s governance and financial structures. The DRC pointed out that it was not the BCCI, but in fact, Cricket Australia and the ECB that had told the PCB they would not sign FTP agreements if the PCB did not agree to the Big Three model.But the complexities of the matter were apparent in the judgment, with the DRC rejecting the BCCI argument that the April letter was “uncertain and incomplete” and “therefore could not be contractually binding.” It was “a difficult argument to sustain (and one which the Panel rejects) for various reasons including BCCI approving bilateral tours without FTP agreements.”Their conclusion, eventually, fell against the PCB’s claims on a line of argument raised by the current ICC chairman, Shashank Manohar. The April 9 agreement, according to the DRC, was at most a “letter of intent”. If seen through a “microscope” the DRC said the PCB argument that the letter was a binding agreement “burns bright.” But if a “telescope is deployed”, and a broader take is considered, the argument is “extinguished.””In the Panel’s view, the reasonable observer apprised of all the facts would conclude that the April Letter was no more than a declaration of intent, albeit an intent sincerely held by the BCCI (and of course by the PCB) at most, as Mr [Shashank] Manohar (President of the BCCI from October 2015 to May 2016) put it, creating a “moral obligation” but not a legal one. Context trumps text.”

After the Melbourne defeat, the Australia captain bluntly admitted that the team has been unable to fill the hole left by the duo

Daniel Brettig in Melbourne30-Dec-20182:10

#AskChapelli: Smith and Warner would’ve made a difference

In the shadows of a defeat that left the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Indian hands, Australia’s captain Tim Paine made his bluntest admission that the national team is in dire need of Steven Smith and David Warner to return from their Newlands-scandal bans to fill the gaping hole they have left in the batting order.That gulf was something ruthlessly exposed by India on an MCG pitch that required methodical, consistent cricket beyond the home side’s means, underlining the fact that next to all the noise and hand-wringing about whether or not Smith and Warner can be reintegrated successfully, the cold and unavoidable calculation is that Cricket Australia and Paine’s team quite simply have no choice but to do so.While there are other questions in Paine’s mind, about wider systemic issues in Australian cricket that he has discussed with the players’ association, and also about the preparation of pitches for international cricket that do not suit his team’s preferred exploitation of pace and bounce they saw in Perth in particular, he had no qualms about admitting that Smith and Warner could not be adequately replaced for the hosts to compete with the likes of Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara.ALSO READ: Warner reintegration unchanged by Smith, Bancroft words”I think that’s pretty clear. I think if you took Pujara and Virat out of India’s side I think you’d have the same conversation,” Paine said in Melbourne. “If you’ve got world-class players that aren’t in your team, are they going to add to our team? I think they will. So while at the moment it’s challenging and everyone’s frustrated, it is what it is.4:04

‘There are holes in India’s batting as well’ – Paine

“Everyone is working as hard as they possibly can and we’re getting guys who are getting experience of high-pressure situations in Test cricket and learning on the job. At times you’re going to get inconsistency from guys that are in that situation. The silver lining is that we have got world-class players that are available soon to come back into this side and clearly when they do it will make a huge difference.”The level of noise around Smith, Warner and the third banned player Cameron Bancroft enveloped the Australian team on Boxing Day, and though Paine said the distraction had not been significant, he was adamant that the conversation around the trio needed to move on from recriminations for Cape Town to detail on their returns. “I’m sure guys went home that night and listened to them and had their own thoughts on it but it certainly wasn’t discussed during play,” Paine said. “What’s happened has happened.”We’re getting towards the end when those guys are coming back. That’s what the conversation should be around now. It’s all been out there. People have had their say and the guys have nearly finished their bans and done their time so I think it’s time we started focusing on the fact they’re coming back and from that there are real positives.”Into the eighth year of the Big Bash League, Australia’s players, coaches and selectors are into the familiar jumble between Test squads and an unrelenting parallel T20 schedule that has seen the dropped batsman Peter Handscomb go off to play for Melbourne Stars before returning to the squad, while Peter Siddle will do likewise for Adelaide Strikers on New Year’s Eve and then return to long-form duty ahead of the SCG Test from January 3. Paine said discussions with the Australian Cricketers Association were ongoing, though it must be noted that the players’ union already had a higher degree of input into this season’s schedule via a standing committee shared with CA that was part of the 2017 MoU negotiation.ALSO READ: Australia’s MCG meltdown the best PR for Smith and Warner”It’s out of our control. As players our job is to play cricket and turn up where we are supposed to turn up. We don’t do the programming and can’t help it at this stage,” Paine said. “We’re having conversations with the ACA on how we can do it better down the track and Cricket Australia and the ACA will work through that. At the moment you can’t use change of format as an excuse. We’re not playing well enough under pressure when it matters – that’s a fact whether it’s Twenty20, one-day cricket or Test cricket. It’s happening through all three formats at the moment.Steven Smith and Tim Paine react in the field•Getty Images”It’s modern day cricket, you’ve got to be able to switch between formats, do it really quickly and we’ve got some players who aren’t available and because of that some guys are getting an opportunity before they would have.”There’s been a hell of a lot of talk about our batting and our top six, but we’ve seen if we can get Virat and Pujara out there’s some holes in the opposition batting as well. We’ve just got to be able to score enough runs to give our bowling attack a chance to line them up. We’re not scoring a lot of runs but I don’t think India are [either] and part of the reason for that is both attacks are really good as well.”Paine reserved perhaps his sharpest words in the wake of the Melbourne defeat for a general critique of pitches in Australia. “We prefer to see wickets that have got a bit of bounce and carry on it,” Paine told ABC Radio. “Our strength in Australia is our pace and it’s very rare you go to India and get a green wicket, and it’s been disappointing at times we’ve produced wickets that have played into their hands a little bit, albeit they’ve outplayed us in these conditions anyway.”The wicket was always going to be a bit of a grind. it was going to be slow and at times that can expose a bit of a gap between sides – but i just think you have to give India credit. they won the toss, batted really well and kept us out there [in the field] for two days. After that we were behind the 8-ball and it’s pretty hard to come back from that. i just think plain and simply we were outplayed and India deserved to win this Test.”The Melbourne Cricket Club’s chief executive Stuart Fox rounded off a week in which the MCG surface was heavily criticised on days one and two before the game began to move more quickly, reiterating that longer term plans to dig up the central concrete base for drop-in pitches, replacing them with a pylon system favoured in Adelaide and Perth, was going ahead regardless of the result and whatever pitch rating is subsequently determined by the match referee Andy Pycroft.”Really we just reflect on day one,” Fox told SEN Radio. “We don’t know why [it was so dull], we’ll do a lot of work over the coming weeks to work out why, but rest assured we’re in a probably three to five year programme. Work started last year and we’re going to aggressively make changes in coming years. The message is it takes time, you can’t just rebuild a pitch and a number of pitches and have them ready for next year.”As it is for the MCG pitch, so it must be for Australian cricket’s batting stocks, though the returns of Smith and Warner will provide short-term relief.

Manchester City regularly cast the net to try and acquire upcoming talent and Pep Guardiola now looks to have an exciting prospect in his sights at the Etihad Stadium, according to a report.

Manchester City transfer updates…

Manchester City are never far away when it comes to conversations surrounding top players potentially moving to the cream of the crop in English football, with Guardiola known to have a keen eye for talent. This summer, Jeremy Doku, Matheus Nunes, Josko Gvardiol and Mateo Kovacic were all brought to the Etihad Stadium and it is fair to say that all have made some form of tangible impact for the Premier League champions when called upon, albeit to varying degrees.

Nevertheless, further surgery to the Cityzens' squad is likely in January as they aim to once again compete on multiple fronts for silverware. According to reports in Spain via Sport Witness, Girona loanee Savinho is attracting interest from La Liga giants Barcelona; however, Manchester City will be given priority if they wish to sign the 19-year-old, whose parent club is Ligue 2 outfit Troyes.

Of course, both Troyes and Girona are involved with the City Football Group, which, in turn, allows Manchester City to monitor a vast network of players from around the globe as they look to maximise their reach and appeal toward young stars. Despite this, the Sky Blues also have enormous influence in the wider market and sent scouts to watch Napoli superstar Khvicha Kvaratskhelia during Georgia's 3-1 defeat away to Spain in EURO 2024 qualifying, as per 90min.

Now, a fresh claim has indicated that Manchester City are now well in the running to sign a talented young star from the other side of the world.

Manchester City's next five fixtures – all competitions

Competition

Opponent

Venue

Premier League

Liverpool (H)

Etihad Stadium

Champions League

RB Leipzig (H)

Etihad Stadium

Premier League

Tottenham Hotspur (H)

Etihad Stadium

Premier League

Aston Villa (A)

Villa Park

Premier League

Luton Town (A)

Kenilworth Road

Manchester City keen on Matheus Reis

According to a report from Calciomercato, Manchester City are in the hunt to sign Fluminense's young striker Matheus Reis, who is attracting interest from a whole host of clubs alongside both Mexico and Brazil's international sides, with both keen to get him onboard.

At club level, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool are also keen on the 16-year-old, who is compared to both Gabriel Jesus and Marcos Leonardo in the copy. Reis is said to have a €50 million (£44 million) release clause inserted into his current contract at Brazilian giants Fluminense.

Reis is yet to make a senior appearance in his fledgling career; however, he has been capped nine times by Brazil's Under-17 side, registering a solitary goal against Uruguay Under-17's (Reis statistics – Transfermarkt).

Looking ahead, it will be intriguing to see if Manchester City can land Reis amid stiff competition for his services and turn him into a potential star of the future at the Etihad Stadium.

Tottenham Hotspur have enjoyed a remarkable start to the 2023/24 Premier League campaign after they made the decision to appoint Ange Postecoglou as their head coach at the end of last season.

The Australian boss arrived from Scottish giants Celtic and has hit the ground running in English football by making his Spurs team exciting to watch and effective on the pitch. A win against Chelsea on Monday night will take his side back to the top of the table and two points clear of reigning champions Manchester City after 11 matches.

Despite their incredible form, Postecoglou may still look to the January transfer window in order to bolster his team's chances of achieving success in the second half of the term.

Spurs transfer news – Kyogo Furuhashi

One player the Tottenham tactician is reportedly eyeing up is Hoops star Kyogo Furuhashi, who was one of the shining lights in his successful Bhoys side in Scotland. According to Alan Nixon of The Sun, the Spurs boss has sent scouts to watch the Japan international in action this season ahead of the January window.

The report claims that he has sent his people on scouting missions to watch the talented forward throughout the 2023/24, whilst top scout Ian Broomfield was recently sent to take in a number of matches north of the border; including ones that featured Celtic, Aberdeen, and Rangers.

However, there is no mention of whether or not Postecoglou is willing to swoop in to secure Kyogo's services in January or how much the Hoops would demand for his signature if they did.

Easy to see why Spurs like "special" Kyogo

The Japanese finisher, who was once hailed as "quite special" by former Celtic forward John Hartson, has been in phenomenal form for his club since the start of last season.

He has plundered seven goals in 15 matches in all competitions so far this term, which has included two strikes in three Champions League outings.

Meanwhile, only South Korea international Heung-min Son (eight) has scored more than three Premier League goals so far this season for Postecoglou's team.

During the 2022/23 campaign, Kyogo racked up an eye-catching 34 goals in 50 appearances across all competitions, and 27 of those came in the Scottish Premiership, alongside five assists for his teammates.

Whereas, Harry Kane (30) was the only Spurs player with more than ten top-flight strikes throughout last season, which suggests that the club have lacked multiple significant goalscoring threats over the last 18 months or so.

There is no guarantee that the Celtic star will be able to directly translate his performances and goalscoring record over to English football but his form for the Scottish giants provides a taste of what he could offer the side in 2024.

It is now down to Postecoglou and Daniel Levy to decide whether or not they want to push ahead and make a formal approach for his services during the January transfer window in order to add him to the group alongside the likes of Son, James Maddison, and Richarlison at the top end of the pitch.

Glasgow Rangers finally gave a convincing performance at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership as Philippe Clement’s reign started with a bang.

Hibernian were the visitors and having gone undefeated under new manager Nick Montgomery, the tie had the makings of a potential banana skin for the new manager, yet this was avoided as the Light Blues strolled to a comfortable 4-0 win and a new era in Glasgow has begun.

The Belgian will hope that this result gives the players a much-needed confidence boost and with a European tie against Sparta Prague to come on Thursday evening, a chance to build momentum will come around rather swiftly.

The 49-year-old tactician looked like the most qualified person for the role following Michael Beale’s sacking and with a debut win banked, his priority should now be to get a tune out of the current crop of players and enable them to showcase their true talents.

Cyriel Dessers enjoyed a decent game against Hibs, getting on the scoresheet while making three key passes, and he could soon be revitalised under Clement as the season goes on.

Danilo and Todd Cantwell also returned from their recent injury woes, and they will both be dying to showcase their vast talents under the new manager.

One name who will also be keen on stepping up to the plate is that of Sam Lammers, who has failed to really woo the Gers support, despite having wonderful technical ability.

Has Sam Lammers been a good signing for Rangers?

With Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, and Scott Arfield all leaving the club once their contracts expired at the end of last season, Beale knew he had to add some much-needed quality and depth to his attacking options.

Lammers was identified as a target, yet with his goalscoring record rather poor, it was clear Beale was looking at utilising the Dutchman just behind the strikers rather than as a centre-forward.

Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, the 26-year-old dud had scored just six goals across 76 matches, and it was hardly a goal return that was going to satisfy the masses at Ibrox.

Beale clearly was not deterred by this and secured his signature from Atalanta for a fee in the region of £3m and on the surface, this was a lot for someone with such a poor record in the final third.

This has not improved since joining the Light Blues either, as he has scored just once in 17 matches so far during the 2023/24 season.

Even when you take his lack of goals out of the equation, the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward – who was part of the side that defeated Rangers in the 2022 Europa League final – has failed to stand out.

Indeed, he has failed to create a big chance in the Premiership so far, while ranking third across the squad for big chances missed (three) and ranks in a lowly 15th spot for key passes per game (0.6), suggesting that he is not contributing across other metrics either.

Unless Clement can give him a major confidence boost in the coming weeks, Lammers may go down as yet another summer signing who has failed to live up to expectations and these are ultimately what Beale was judged on along with the poor results.

With so many attacking players departing Glasgow over the summer, Beale looks to have made a mistake when buying Lammers, especially as one teenager who left the club currently has more goals than him this season – Robbie Ure.

What happened to Robbie Ure?

The 19-year-old striker emerged through the academy at the club and began to make waves for the B team during the 2021/22 campaign, scoring twice in the UEFA Youth League and he built on this platform last season, becoming a key goal-scoring threat for the B side.

He continued his wonderful form in the Youth League which included another three goals scored and he impressed in the tie against Napoli youth, with Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie stating Ure was a “standout” for the team.

By this point, he had already featured for the senior side, making his debut against Queen of the South in a League Cup in August under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.

He certainly took the opportunity with both hands as he scored less than ten minutes into his first ever appearance for the Light Blues, and it looked as though he was a player who could develop into an excellent centre-forward.

He even drew praise from Arfield, who lauded the youngster as “magic” during a post-match interview, and it would have given him a wonderful confidence boost.

Ure even managed to play twice in the Premiership that season and hopes were high that he could kick on over the summer.

With his contract expiring, the Gers offered him a new deal but the 19-year-old wanted to depart the Ibrox side and go after new challenges, and following a trial at AZ Alkmaar he eventually ended up signing for Belgian side Anderlecht in what looks like a decent move for the talented striker.

Youngsters to leave Rangers this summer

Age

Robbie Ure

19

Tony Weston

20

Lewis Mackinnon

20

Charlie Lindsay

20

Via Rangers

He has joined the setup at RCSA Futures, which is their B team, and they play in the Belgian second tier, yet it gives Ure the chance to experience first-team football on a regular basis rather than warm the bench at Rangers.

He has started off rather well too, finding the back of the net twice across just three matches and if he keeps this sort of form up, he may just be given an opportunity in the senior side before the end of the season.

Although not the immediate answer to Beale’s problems, Ure has scored more goals than Lammers this season, in far fewer appearances too, and perhaps integrating him more into the first team would have been a wise move.

It looks as though the Ibrox side have fumbled badly on this one, especially if he goes on to make a name for himself on the continent.

Lammers will surely embrace the chance of a fresh start under Clement, yet Ure is currently outscoring the Dutchman across the current campaign and the ceiling is high for the young sensation, which means that there is work to be done before the former Gers youngster can be forgotten.

Imad Wasim will be returning to Pakistan to train with the national side ahead of the Asia Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Aug-2018Jamaica Tallawahs have snapped up New Zealand allrounder Colin de Grandhomme as a replacement for Imad Wasim. Imad, who played six games for Tallawahs this season, will be returning to Pakistan to train with the national side ahead of the Asia Cup which is scheduled in September.De Grandhomme, who has played 38 limited-overs games for New Zealand, has been a regular on the franchise T20 circuit, with 2699 runs, at a strike rate of 167.43, and 61 wickets in 164 T20 games. He played for Royal Challengers Bangalore in this year’s IPL, scoring 131 runs in nine games at a strike rate of 155.95 and picking up two wickets. More recently, he scored 254 runs for Birmingham Bears in the Vitality Blast, at a strike rate of 170.46, while also picking up five wickets in 14 games.Tallawahs are currently third in the points table, having won three of their five matches so far.