Wayne Rooney has sought to bring an end to his supposed feud with Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk. The Manchester United legend has found himself caught up in a war of words with the Netherlands international, with the pair coming face-to-face during an awkward television exchange after Van Dijk helped Liverpool to a Champions League win over Real Madrid.

Van Dijk's reaction to 'lazy criticism' from Rooney

Ahead of that game, with the Reds having endured a testing run in the 2025-26 campaign, Rooney suggested that Van Dijk is among those to have allowed lofty standards to slip in a Premier League title defence. He is not the only prominent figure at Anfield to fall into that category.

The commanding centre-half is, however, club captain on Merseyside and is expected to lead by example – calling in-house meetings if required in a bid to get to the bottom of why a run of six defeats in seven was allowed to happen.

Van Dijk responded to comments from ex-England captain Rooney by saying: "I didn't hear him last year. It doesn't hurt me. Just to come back to this particular player, obviously a legend, a big player of the game who inspired so many, I can say only positive things but I feel that comment is just I would say it's a bit of a lazy criticism."

AdvertisementAFPLiverpool captain sent out for post-match press duty

Rooney doubled down on his claims, only to then be confronted by Van Dijk after the Dutchman was sent out for post-match press duty with after Liverpool battled to a 1-0 victory over Real Madrid in European competition. He said when picking up a microphone next to Rooney, with team gatherings at Anfield being addressed: "It is easy to say now because we won twice in a row that it helped pretty well but in a world of chaos you have to try and stay calm and take perspective of things. In that meeting the time was October, so much football to be played, so many twists and turns that can happen and I think at times the noise was a lot (said with a small smile on his face). I think it is very important to put things in perspective, keep your head down and work and get out the situation because the quality we have, that is not the issue. It is about keep working and keep going."

Rooney responds to awkward exchange with Van Dijk

Rooney looked slightly uncomfortable when being faced with Van Dijk, but told his podcast for : "I thought he was good that night, and I had loads of people say, 'Oh, when he came up to you,' I think fair play to him for coming out. We didn’t know he was coming out. It was meant to be [Dominik] Szoboszlai, I think, to come to the table. But I think fair play to him, he came out and he put his point across.

"Listen, Virgil van Dijk over the last five, four years has been one of, if not, the best centre-backs in the world, and his performances have dipped over the last few weeks.

"I’ve had my opinion on that; he has his own, which you have to respect. But when you’re the Premier League champions, teams are coming for you, and when you don’t win one game, people ask questions. So, when you don’t win four games in a row, of course, there are questions of the captain. I think I said it a few weeks ago on here, what he should be and he will be doing is getting the players together.

"I think he said that he got the players together and took them for a meal or something, trying to bring that chemistry back, and that’s what I was saying he should be doing as a captain, and he’s done that. It certainly seemed to help in the Madrid game. He’s a fantastic player, but he hasn’t started the season great. You want to see good players playing well, and he performed well [against Real Madrid]. So, for him, I’m sure for Liverpool, he hopes that continues."

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Rooney added after being asked when it became apparent that Van Dijk would be joining him for an on-air discussion: "When he was there, and I think it's great. No disrespect to Szoboszlai, but I'd rather speak to Van Dijk."

He went on to say: "I think the issue is, when you don't play well and you're not winning games, as Premier League champions, everyone's going to have an opinion. And, of course, when you're not playing well or you're not winning games that opinion, they're going to look at why and give their thoughts why. Liverpool can use this in two different ways: they can let it affect them or they can use it to spur them on.

"You look at Man United over the last few years, the criticism that they've had. I played the game, I was captain of England, captain of Man United. I got criticised for for all kinds. That's part of being a top player. You have to deal with that. You have to accept it at times. Listen, I was unfair with my comments, I'd be the first to hold my hands up. Same way I did with Man United when I had a rant about them and then they won games, and I come back on that. If I was unfair, I'd be fair to hold my hands up."

Rooney maintains that his comments were fair, with it the role of a pundit to offer opinions that may not be universally well received, and he will be an interested observer on Sunday when Van Dijk and Liverpool head to the Etihad Stadium for a heavyweight showdown with old adversaries Manchester City.

حسم منتخب سوريا تأهله بشكل رسمي إلى بطولة كأس العرب 2025، على حساب نظيره جنوب السودان في مباراة الملحق المؤهل للبطولة، والتي أقيمت مساء اليوم، الثلاثاء.

وفاز المنتخب السوري على نظيره جنوب السودان بهدفين نظيفين، سجلهما محمد الحلاق ومحمود المواس في الدقيقتين 52 و59 من عمر اللقاء.

طالع.. فيديو | سوريا تهزم جنوب السودان بثنائية وتحجز مقعدها في كأس العرب 2025

وتقام بطولة كأس العرب 2025 خلال الفترة من 1 إلى 18 ديسمبر المقبل، بمشاركة 16 منتخبًا، وذلك في دولة قطر.

ومن المقرر أن يتواجد منتخب سوريا في المجموعة الأولى مع منتخبات قطر وتونس وفلسطين. مواعيد مباريات سوريا في كأس العرب 2025

الجولة الأولى – سوريا أمام تونس .. يوم الإثنين 1 ديسمبر، الثالثة عصرا بتوقيت القاهرة، الرابعة عصرا بتوقيت سوريا، الثانية ظهرا بتوقيت تونس.

الجولة الثانية – سوريا أمام قطر .. يوم الخميس 4 ديسمبر، السابعة مساء بتوقيت القاهرة، الثامنة بتوقيت قطر وسوريا.

الجولة الثالثة – سوريا أمام فلسطين .. يوم الأحد 7 ديسمبر، السابعة مساء بتوقيت القاهرة وفلسطين، الثامنة بتوقيت سوريا،

MatériaMais Notícias

Em processo de recuperação após realizar uma cirurgia no rim, Gerson retornou ao centro de treinamentos do Flamengo, mas deve perder o início da fase de grupos da Copa Libertadores.

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➡️ Tudo sobre o Mengão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Flamengo

O meia, que reassumiu a camisa 8 após a saída de Thiago Maia, foi submetido a uma pieloplastia para corrigir uma estenose no ureter. Segundo Bruno Benigno, urologista do Hospital Oswaldo Cruz, o tempo de recuperação é de, no mínimo, 45 dias.

– O prazo de recuperação depende da atividade física do atleta. Para atividades intensas, com risco de impacto, o tempo de recuperação varia de 45 dias a dois meses, dois meses e meio – revelou o profissional.

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Portanto, Gerson não estará à disposição da comissão técnica da equipe carioca para as primeiras partidas do torneio continental, que começa no dia 3 de abril.

Capitão do Flamengo de Tite, o meio-campista acumula seis gols e 12 assistências em 66 partidas desde que retornou à Gávea.

CONFIRA DETALHES DA CIRURGIA DE GERSON

Como funciona uma a cirurgia de pieloplastia?

– Pieloplastia é um procedimento cirúrgico que significa a reconstrução do sistema que drena a urina, filtrada pelo rim e tem que ser direcionada para o ureter, o tubo que liga o rim à bexiga. A pieloplastia trata o estreitamento deste canal. É uma reconstrução de um canal que está em formato de ampulheta.

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Ela pode ser feita de três formas, de forma aberta, tradicional, por cortes. Por cortes pela laparoscopia, através de furos, ou com laparoscopia robótica, um método mais moderno e preciso”.

Possíveis dificuldades no retorno às atividades

– 10 a 20% dos pacientes em casos congênitos apresentam casos leves, e o diagnóstico não é feito na infância, e o paciente descobre na fase adulta a estenose de JUP.

Ele pode ter cólica renal, náusea, infecção urinária, vômito, formação de pedras no rim. Assim o paciente é direcionado para tratamento cirúrgico, que é a pieloplastia. Não existe medicação ou tratamento alternativo que faça a correção desta condição sem a necessidade de intervenção cirúrgica.

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Vote for the best individual Border-Gavaskar Trophy performance by an Indian in Australia since 2000

Shashank Kishore21-Oct-2024Update: This poll has ended. Sachin Tendulkar’s performance goes into the quarter-finals. Check the other polls here.ESPNcricinfo LtdSachin Tendulkar celebrates his double-century at the SCG in 2004•William West/AFP via Getty ImagesSachin Tendulkar – 241* & 60* in Sydney, 2004Match drawn, series drawn 1-1Sachin Tendulkar’s form with the series level 1-1 hadn’t been reassuring. His cover driving had caused three dismissals in the first three Tests, and he was determined not to fall for the bait at the SCG. His 241* in the first innings – his highest Test score at the time – was a remarkable example of his discipline and ability to find a way.Tendulkar did not play the cover drive, even when the Australian bowlers offered easy temptation, and entirely cut out a faulty part of his game. He batted for more than ten hours and helped India amass 705, shutting down Australia’s hopes of a series win. His unbeaten 60 off 89 balls in the second innings was compiled with more freedom, as India pushed towards a declaration. However, a setting a target of 443 left them with too little time to take ten wickets and achieve what would have been a historic series win.Watch the highlights of these performances on the Star Sports network at 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm IST, from October 22 onwards.Virender Sehwag saved the Adelaide Test for India in 2008•AFPVirender Sehwag – 63 & 151 in Adelaide, 2008 Match drawn, India lost the series 2-1After winning in Perth, India began the final Test in Adelaide 2-1 down and Virender Sehwag gave them a cracking start, his 63 off 90 balls laying the platform for a first-innings total of 526. But Australia responded with 563 and the visitors were under fire to save the game.Sehwag was in Australia only on his captain Anil Kumble’s insistence, and he wasn’t known to be a second-innings performer. He ended up batting for nearly six hours, doing un-Sehwag things like going an entire session without a boundary, and scored his 13th century – his first in the second innings of a Test. He went through his gears, ensuring runs came despite wickets falling, to put India’s lead well out of Australia’s reach. Sehwag finished on 151; the next highest score in India’s total of 269 for 7 declared was MS Dhoni’s 20.

Glasgow Rangers decided to part ways with head coach Russell Martin last month after a dismal start to the season, which saw them win five of 17 matches in all competitions.

The Light Blues endured a dismal time on the pitch for the majority of his tenure, losing more than they won and conceding more goals than they scored.

Along with that, several of the club’s signings in the summer transfer window failed to make much of an impact for the former Southampton manager, including Thelo Aasgaard.

Why Thelo Aasgard has not been a successful signing

The Norway international was signed on a permanent deal from Luton Town in the summer, but he was unable to provide a single goal or assist as an attacking midfielder for Martin.

Aasgaard’s only goal in 16 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues so far this season came against Dundee United in Stevie Smith’s match as the interim manager before Danny Rohl arrived at Ibrox.

Thelo Aasgaard’s Premiership season

Opponent

Manager

Goals + key passes

Hibernian

Danny Rohl

0 + 1

Kilmarnock

Danny Rohl

0 + 0

Dundee United

Stevie Smith

1 + 4

Falkirk

Russell Martin

0 + 0

Livingston

Russell Martin

0 + 0

Hearts

Russell Martin

0 + 1

Celtic

Russell Martin

0 + 0

St Mirren

Russell Martin

0 + 0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the English-born midfielder flopped under Martin in the Scottish Premiership, and has yet to produce the goods for Rohl.

The 23-year-old flop was then sent off against Celtic in the semi-final of the League Cup at Hampden Park on Sunday, as he continues to struggle at Ibrox.

After that red card, Rohl should bring another player who flopped under Martin into the side, as Nedim Bajrami could be even better than the ex-Luton man.

Why Nedim Bajrami should be unleashed by Danny Rohl

The Albania international only played 195 minutes of football for the Scottish manager, per Sofascore, and made five appearances off the bench without managing a goal, an assist, or a key pass.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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Bajrami was described as “anonymous” in a game last season by content creator Stevie Clifford, and that is exactly what he was throughout Martin’s reign.

However, the former Sassuolo man did show signs of promise when given opportunities to impress in the Scottish Premiership and the Europa League by Philippe Clement and Barry Ferguson in the 2024/25 campaign.

Nedim Bajrami (24/25)

Premiership

Europa League

Starts

15

8

Goals

2

1

Key passes per game

1.0

1.3

Big chances created

4

6

Assists

1

0

Dribbles completed per game

1.0

1.5

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Bajrami created ten ‘big chances’ in 23 starts across both competitions, but was only rewarded with one assist for his creative efforts.

This suggests that he was let down by poor finishing from his teammates, rather than it being a lack of creativity on his part, which is why Rohl should provide him with a chance to show what he can do in Aasgaard’s place.

After the clash with Roma in the Europa League this evening, Rohl should bring Bajrami into the starting line-up for the match against Dundee on Sunday, as he has the potential to provide more creativity than Aasgaard has.

The Norway international has failed to create a single ‘big chance’ in 809 minutes this season, per Sofascore, whilst the Albanian star created 11 in 2,330 minutes in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign.

Related Rohl can unearth his own Osmand by finally unleashing Rangers' "Boy Wonder"

Danny Rohl can unearth his own Callum Osmand by unleashing this Rangers youngster.

Posts ByDan Emery Nov 4, 2025

This suggests that Rohl could unleash a more effective player than Aasgaard by bringing Bajrami into his XI to feature more prominently than he did under Martin, when he was completely anonymous due to his lack of game time.

Head coach Ben Sawyer and assistant coach Craig McMillan oversee ten New Zealand players including Jess Kerr, Brooke Halliday and Georgia Plimmer

Deivarayan Muthu10-Aug-2025New Zealand have ramped up their prep for the upcoming Women’s ODI World Cup in India and Sri Lanka with a two-week camp in spin-friendly conditions at the Chennai Super Kings Academy in Chennai.While a number of Black Caps, including Rachin Ravindra, have frequented the high-performance facility in the recent past, this is the White Ferns’ first specialised overseas camp and the timing of it has been “perfect,” according to head coach Ben Sawyer, who is overseeing ten New Zealand players in Chennai along with assistant coach Craig McMillan.”Yeah, 100% correct. It’s currently winter in New Zealand, there’s no cricket and we’re nearly two months out of the World Cup,” Sawyer told ESPNcricinfo. “So, to have that prep time in India, we’ve been able to bring seven contracted players and then three of our players of interest along. So, the girls that we think will play lots of cricket in India in the future as well. So yeah, it’s been an amazing experience so far.”Related

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Devine to retire from ODIs after the World Cup

Seam-bowling allrounder Jess Kerr, opening batter Georgia Plimmer and Brooke Halliday, who had scored 38 off 28 balls in the T20 World Cup final last year, which New Zealand won, are among the seven contracted players on tour while Izzy Sharp, Flora Devonshire and Emma McLeod have been included as emerging players.After the Chennai camp, New Zealand’s players and staff will return home and will likely head to Dubai to play one-dayers against England in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup, which will kick off on September 30. Sawyer believes that exposure to stifling conditions in Chennai and Dubai will tune up New Zealand’s players for similar conditions that may face during the ODI World Cup.”Yeah, it’s hugely beneficial and even more so this year because just with the FTP cycle, we’ve had no official matches since February,” Sawyer said. “So to get these three one-day games in Chennai, to get two or three games in Dubai against England, a really strong opposition, will be great and then we also get the two World Cup warm-up games. So that’s seven or eight games we’re going to get in similar conditions. Yeah, that’s just huge for us.”Jess Kerr runs in to bowl during New Zealand’s time at the Super Kings Academy•Super Kings AcademyNew Zealand’s team management is also leaning on inputs from High Performance Sport New Zealand and Dr Kirsty Fairbairn, an experienced dietitian who has worked with both the White Ferns and Black Ferns (the women’s rugby team), to look after their players in subcontinent conditions.”We’ve actually tried to train really hard the last five days and I guess in a way not to recover, try to just do it naturally and let your bodies adapt to the conditions,” Sawyer said. “And now we’re playing the three games, we’ll try and recover really well.”But yeah, we’ve actually tried to expose ourselves as much to the heat as we can. So, we’ve had some really good help from High Performance Sport New Zealand and a guy that helped with the Tokyo Olympics and how they dealt with the heat. He’s basically told us that the week here and then the week in Dubai are probably perfect timings for the World Cup.”The presence of India internationals such as Asha Sobhana and D Hemalatha, Tamil Nadu’s teenage prodigy G Kamalini, who had won WPL 2025 with Mumbai Indians, and Swiss international Meghna Rajan has added a competitive edge to the camp. Asha castled Polly Inglis on Saturday and tested other New Zealand batters with her loopy legbreaks and wrong’uns on a sluggish surface.”Getting balls to face in New Zealand during the winter is really difficult,” Sawyer said. “We’ve had WPL players come down to bowl to us and Asha from RCB is with us here in the camp and it’s been great for our girls to chat to her and learn about these conditions.”

“It’s hugely beneficial and even more so this year because just with the FTP cycle, we’ve had no official matches since February. So to get these three one-day games in Chennai, to get two or three games in Dubai against England, a really strong opposition, will be great and then we also get the two World Cup warm-up games.”Head coach Ben Sawyer outlines New Zealand’s roadmap to the World Cup

Just a few days into the camp, Sawyer is impressed with the positive approach of the New Zealand batters against spin.”I think Izzy Sharp is a great example today,” Sawyer said. “She made 80. She played a lot off the back foot, but then was able to get really close into the pitch of the ball. And Sri (Sriram Krishnamurthy, former NZC pathway coach who is now CSK academy’s head coach) was great the other day, gave us a bit of a masterclass in playing spin.”And it was great to see Izzy use her feet today and get down the wicket really quickly. Maddy Green’s a great player. She did it her way [with sweeps and reverse-sweeps], she did it in a different way to Izzy, but both were successful and that’s what we’ve spoken about.”While this group is sweating it out in Chennai, Suzie Bates had posted a career-best 163 for Durham last month and Sophie Devine and Amelia Kerr are currently playing in the Hundred. It’s still winter in New Zealand, but the team management has ensured that their players won’t rock up cold at the World Cup.”You can see we brought a lot of younger players because the likes of Sophie, Suzie and Lea Tahuhu have been here before and Sophie is at the Hundred,” Sawyer said. “Paul Wiseman is with our spinners in Lincoln and a few of our quicks are working with Graeme [Alridge] in various locations. So, everyone’s getting what they need. Some players are actually doing a few sessions in heat chambers back home. I think we’re doing as much as we can to prepare for the conditions [at the World Cup].”

Sussex 297 for 3 (Tear 159, Haines 76) beat Northamptonshire 295 for 8 (Sales 98, van der Merwe 59) by seven wicketsScottish international Charlie Tear blazed a record-breaking maiden List A hundred as Sussex Sharks raced to their second Metro Bank One Day Cup victory in three days, chasing down Northamptonshire Steelbacks’ 295 for 8 in style with seven wickets and 19 balls to spare.Tear served up a barrage of boundaries all around Wantage Road, smashing 23 fours and two sixes in his spectacular 159 off just 146 balls – the highest ever individual score for Sussex against Northamptonshire in List A cricket. He shared a devastating opening stand of 216 off 202 balls with Tom Haines (76 off 81 balls) – Sussex’s highest List A partnership for any wicket against Northamptonshire.It was a day to forget for the Steelbacks with the ball, the bowling often wayward and with multiple errors in the field.With the bat, James Sales narrowly failed to post another ton after his century in Northamptonshire’s victory over Durham on Friday, but his 98 off 96 balls was the backbone of their innings.He shared a stand of 115 off 104 balls for the fourth wicket with Stuart van der Merwe who looked at home on debut despite being dropped at slip first ball. His 59 off 60 balls was a proactive, confident innings full of invention.But with just 50 coming in the powerplay and Sales failing to kick on in the final overs, Northamptonshire’s total looked well below par. Danny Lamb finished with two wickets, but spinner Jack Carson’s miserly six-over spell deserved special mention.Earlier Luke Procter (36) and Aadi Sharma (38) gave Northamptonshire a solid if unspectacular platform of 73 for the first wicket in 13.3 overs. Sharma swept Carson straight to Archie Lenham at backward-square before Procter, who passed 1,000 List A runs, fell soon afterwards, giving leg-spinner Lenham a comfortable return catch.Carson bowled 16 dot balls in 17 deliveries, conceding just one run, his initial six-over spell bringing one wicket for just 13 runs.Northamptonshire attacked at the other end instead, targeting Lenham, Sales cutting for four and smashing over long-on.Tim Robinson fell quickly in identical fashion to Sharma, sweeping round the corner to Lenham in spinner Bertie Foreman’s first over. Foreman then nearly had van der Merwe first ball but Haines shelled a straightforward chance at slip, the ball running away for four. Unfazed, van der Merwe drove the unlucky bowler through the covers and began to accumulate.Sales swept Carson over midwicket while van der Merwe sent one over extra cover for six. He scooped Lamb for four before sweeping Foreman to reach 50.Even though van der Merwe upper cut to third where Lenham held an excellent tumbling catch, a big Northamptonshire total looked assured. Sales twice crunched Foreman through extra cover and moved into the eighties in style, smashing Lenham straight into the top tier of the Turner Stand.But Sussex did well to contain as Sales grew becalmed, scoring just 21 in the final 10 overs.New batter George Bartlett counterattacked after being dropped at extra cover, hitting Lenham straight for six and taking three boundaries off a Crocombe over.His luck ran out when he was run out for a quickfire 28 off 18 balls, Fynn Hudson-Prentice deflecting the ball onto the stumps in his follow-through. It sparked a mini collapse, Northamptonshire losing four wickets in 19 balls. Lewis McManus and Dom Leech were bowled by Lamb and Hudson-Prentice respectively before Sales was agonisingly caught at cover.In stark contrast, Sussex’s powerplay saw a wave of boundaries producing 80 runs.Tear was in full command. He played some textbook drives, cuts and clips off his legs, but also attacked, pulling anything short and smashing over long-on before a beautiful straight drive took him to 50. Haines too started to find the ropes even if he was fortunate to gather a six via a top-edge.Indian legspinner Yuzvendra Chahal and debutant pace bowler Ben Whitehouse briefly stemmed the flow of runs, the youngster conceding just two off his first over. But the scoring was relentless. Haines whipped one through the on-side to bring up Sussex’s 100 off 85 balls, while Tear deposited Chahal over long-on.Tear continued to gather runs all around the wicket, a cover drive off Chahal bringing up his century off exactly 100 balls. He pulled Whitehouse ferociously for four more and crunched him down the ground before tucking into a Dom Leech over which leaked 18 runs, including a straight six to bring up the 200 partnership.Northamptonshire finally made the breakthrough in the 34th over when Haines hooked Whitehouse to the sweeper on the legside boundary. Tear motored on past 150, reaching the milestone by swatting Leech over midwicket for six. His innings ended with the finishing line in sight, caught at backward point off Leech. Tom Clark made 34 before he was bowled by Bartlett with five needed, John Simpson hitting six to wrap up the win.

Tottenham Hotspur crashed out of the League Cup on Wednesday night when they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.

Although it was a difficult away match against the defending champions of the competition, there was an opportunity for Thomas Frank to provide some young players with an opportunity to impress.

The Danish tactician had the likes of James Roswell, Luca Gunter, and Dane Scarlett on the bench, but did not hand a single minute to an academy graduate on the night.

Meanwhile, their local rivals, Arsenal, started four academy graduates in their 2-0 win over Brighton, with Max Dowman starting on the wing at the age of 15.

Tottenham's most valuable former academy players

Bringing through academy talent can save the club millions of pounds, as a young star emerging from the U21s prevents any need to buy a player in their position.

How much would it have cost to sign Kane, who scored 280 goals for Spurs, in his prime? Transfermarkt suggests his value peaked at £132m, which illustrates how beneficial it can be to provide young players with an opportunity to shine.

Harry Kane

£66m

Noni Madueke

£44m

Troy Parrott

£14m

Mikey Moore

£14m

Kyle Walker-Peters

£13m

As you can see in the table above, there are not too many valuable players who have come through the Spurs academy and gone on to establish themselves at the elite level.

Madueke is the other most notable example, other than Kane, and he did not play a single game for Tottenham at first-team level before his moves to Chelsea and Arsenal.

Frank, now, can help Spurs to find their next big academy graduate by making Luca Williams-Barnett his own Max Dowman this season.

Why Williams-Barnett can be Tottenham's own Dowman

The Tottenham youngster is not quite as young as the Arsenal forward, as he turned 17 at the start of October, but he is still an incredibly young and promising talent.

In The Pipeline

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

Williams-Barnett, who was dubbed “special” by U23 scout Antonio Mango, played eight minutes off the bench against Doncaster in the League Cup earlier this season, but Spurs were already 2-0 up against the League One outfit when he came on.

A real show of faith in academy talent is to put them in difficult situations and positions to see how they fare; 15-year-old Dowman starting against Premier League side Brighton in the League Cup for Arsenal on Wednesday, for example.

Williams-Barnett, per Transfermarkt, has scored eight goals and provided seven assists in 11 games in all competitions for the U21s this season.

Meanwhile, Micky van de Ven and Richarlison are the top goalscorers in the first-team at Premier League level, per Sofascore, with three goals each.

Williams-Barnett, who analyst Ben Mattinson claimed “scores bangers”, also plundered 20 goals and 12 assists in 23 matches in all competitions at academy level in the 2024/25 campaign, per Sofascore.

These statistics show that the 17-year-old attacking midfielder, who can play centrally or out wide, has the potential to deliver goals and assists for the first-team if he can carry his performances over to senior level, which may be needed given that Van de Ven is their joint-top scorer in the Premier League.

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However, it is down to Frank to unearth his talent by unleashing him in the senior side this season, as Mikel Arteta has done with Dowman, to throw him in at the deep end and see if his ability allows him to swim.

India and Pakistan are in Group A with Oman and UAE; Group B has Bangladesh, Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong

Danyal Rasool26-Jul-2025 • Updated on 02-Aug-2025India and Pakistan are pitted against each other in Group A at the 2025 men’s Asia Cup, set to be held in the UAE from September 9 to September 28. Their group-stage meeting will be on September 14 in Dubai*, with two more potential games between them should both reach the final. Dubai, where the final will also be played, will host 11 games while Abu Dhabi will host eight fixtures.Last week, the dates for the 17th edition of the tournament were announced by Asian Cricket Council (ACC) president and PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi. Keeping in mind the T20 World Cup, the tournament will be played in the T20I format and, for the very first time, will feature eight teams, a bump of two from the previous edition.

Key group-stage matches

Ban v SL, Sept 13, Abu Dhabi
Ind v Pak, Sept 14, Dubai
Ban v Afg, Sept 16, Abu Dhabi
SL vs Afg, Sept 18, Abu Dhabi

Apart from India and Pakistan, Group A includes Oman and hosts UAE. Group B has Afghanistan and Hong Kong, who kickstart the tournament in Abu Dhabi on September 9, alongside Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.The top two teams from each group will move on to another four-team group for the second stage, with the top two teams of that group proceeding to the final on September 28.The venue and dates for the tournament were finalised at the ACC’s annual general meeting in Dhaka last Thursday, where the Asia Cup was one of the key points on the members’ agenda. The fate of the tournament had briefly been thrown into uncertainty following the India-Pakistan military skirmish in May. After the AGM in Dhaka, Naqvi had addressed a press conference about the imminent notification of the Asia Cup dates, though he had stopped short of confirming specific details at the time.The India-Pakistan fixture is, by far, the most financially lucrative fixture in the Asia Cup. The format of the tournament and the placement in the same group make at least two India-Pakistan matches likely, the second on September 21 – also in Dubai – if it happens. It also leaves open the possibility of a third meeting in the final in Dubai on September 28. There has, however, never been an India-Pakistan final in the Asia Cup.India are the official hosts of the tournament, but, after an agreement between the BCCI and the PCB earlier this year, tournaments held in India or Pakistan will see a neutral venue provided for the other side for a three-year period. The agreement came about ahead of the Champions Trophy held in Pakistan earlier this year. India played all their games, including the one against hosts Pakistan, in Dubai. The final, which India qualified for and won, was also held in Dubai.India are the defending champions, having beaten Sri Lanka in the final of the previous edition in 2023. Sri Lanka won the previous T20I edition, beating Pakistan in the final in 2022.*1700 GMT, Aug 2: The news story was updated after the ACC released the detailed schedule

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad are also in the West Zone squad

Edited PTI copy01-Aug-2025

Shardul Thakur is one of seven Mumbai players in the West Zone squad•PA Photos/Getty Images

India and Mumbai allrounder Shardul Thakur has been named the West Zone captain for the 2025-26 Duleep Trophy, starting on August 28.The 15-member squad includes India opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, and middle-order batters Sarfaraz Khan and Shreyas Iyer. A total of seven Mumbai players have been named in the team.Ruturaj Gaikwad is among the 15, while Saurashtra’s Harvik Desai and Maharashtra’s Saurabh Nawale are the wicketkeepers.There was no place for Cheteshwar Pujara or Ajinkya Rahane in the West Zone squad.Earlier in the week, South Zone had also named their squad with Tilak Verma as captain. East Zone have also named their squad, to be led by Ishan Kishan, with Mohammed Shami in the mix.The six-team Duleep Trophy is returning to the zonal format, with squads picked by the zonal selectors, and the tournament will start the 2025-26 domestic season. Last season, the tournament had four teams – India A, B, C and D – that were picked by the national selectors.South Zone were the winners when the Duleep Trophy was held in the zonal format in 2023-24.West Zone squadShardul Thakur (capt, Mumbai), Yashasvi Jaiswal (Mumbai), Aarya Desai (Gujarat), Harvik Desai (wk, Saurashtra), Shreyas Iyer (Mumbai), Sarfaraz Khan (Mumbai), Ruturaj Gaikwad (Maharashtra), Jaymeet Patel (Gujarat), Manan Hingrajia (Gujarat), Saurabh Nawale (wk, Gujarat), Shams Mulani (Mumbai), Tanush Kotian (Mumbai), Dharmendrasinh Jadeja (Saurashtra), Tushar Deshpande (Mumbai), Arzan Nagwaswala (Gujarat)