One of the coolest feelings in sports has to be launching a baseball to the moon with the bases loaded in front of a ton of adoring fans. Tennessee freshman Levi Clark experienced that on Saturday when he crushed a go-ahead grand slam in the bottom of the eighth inning that led to the Vols' 7-3 win over Samford.
Clark did what most people would do in that situation: he watched the ball sail out of the park while very slowly making his way toward first base. The home plate ump wasn't a huge fan of that, as he quickly told Clark to get on his way.
First, here's the home run:
Here's a closer look at the ump quickly stepping in:
Not a huge deal but many fans wished the ump would have just let Clark enjoy the moment a little more before rounding the bases:
Mitchell Owen says he was more nervous with the ball than he was with the bat in his dream T20I debut against West Indies in Jamaica, revealing that his game plan in an unfamiliar role at No. 6 was no different to when he has dominated as a franchise opener.Owen, 23, joined Ricky Ponting and David Warner as the third Australian man to score a half-century on T20I debut, clubbing 50 off 27 balls to help Australia to a three-wicket win over West Indies in the opening match of a five-game series at Sabina Park.He earlier took his maiden T20I wicket in his first and only over, removing Shai Hope for 55 at a crucial moment in the innings which sparked a West Indies collapse of 6 for 30 that was critical in Australia’s win.Related
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Mitchell Owen, Cameron Green fifties put Australia 1-0 up
Owen admitted he was very nervous in his first over, especially after Shimron Hetmyer launched his first ball for six.”I thought I was on 36 off the over there when he smacked me for six first ball,” Owen said after the match. “But I was lucky Shai hit one up the shoot and got my first wicket. I was pretty nervous running in those first six balls, but nice to get it out of the way.”Owen’s innings with the bat was even more remarkable given it was his first half-century in T20 cricket batting in a middle-order position. He had earned his call-up to the Australia squad on the back of stunning returns as an opener in the most recent BBL where he made two centuries for Hobart Hurricanes. Prior to Sunday, in 16 career T20 innings batting from No. 3 to 8, he had scored just 174 runs at 14.50, with a strike-rate of 148.71 and a highest score of 34, and had only twice batted at No. 6.Owen said he was unperturbed by starting against spin with five men on the rope.”I honestly tried not to look at the field too much and just sort of react to each ball, which I think held me in good stead,” he said. “Obviously, it’s a little bit different, but I think my process, my game plan, wasn’t too different to opening the batting coming in at six. We had to strike at 10s or nines when I came out. So I still had to be nice and positive. If I took my time to sort of try and get into innings, I feel like I sort of dig myself a hole. So, yeah, just try and get after them from ball one.”With captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head likely to be Australia’s first-choice openers for T20 World Cup next year, and Matthew Short the first-choice back-up, the selectors were keen to trial Owen in the middle-order and will be delighted with the early returns.His fearlessness against spin would have pleased them most given Australia’s middle order has often been bogged down by left-arm spin and legspin through the middle stages in the past. Owen blasted three sixes in four balls off left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein in the 12th over. He also launched two sixes off Andre Russell and one off Alzarri Joseph.Owen combined beautifully with new No. 4 Cameron Green, who himself worked two twos of Gudakesh Motie in the middle phase before smashing him for a six and a boundary to go with the four other sixes he hammered off Joseph and Jason Holder. The pair added 80 off 40 balls after coming together at 78 for 4 in the ninth over.”It was a lot of fun,” Owen said. “It’s the first time I’ve been on the same side as Greeny. So it was nice to be out there with him and contribute to a pretty good partnership. We kept each other nice and calm and just stuck to our processes.”Mitchell Owen and Cameron Green put up a match-winning stand•Getty Images
Ben Dwarshuis, who starred with the ball in Australia’s win taking 4 for 36, told ESPN’s Around the Wicket that Owen’s batting is on a different planet at the moment.”I’ve been on the receiving end of this bowling to him over the past nine months, and he’s just in a different world at the moment,” Dwarshuis said. “I think anything that’s remotely missed the mark from a bowling point of view, he seems to clear the rope. You see zero fours and six sixes. I think that shows that he’s ultra aggressive and if you miss your line and length, he’s going to make you pay.”It capped a dream debut for Owen after he received his T20I cap from close friend and Hobart Hurricanes captain Nathan Ellis, with his parents and his partner at Sabina Park to watch it.”Really special,” Owen said. “He had some really nice words for me. I was obviously stoked to get the hat and stoked to have my parents over here. Obviously, it’s a bit of a messed up travel getting to the West Indies, but yeah, they’ve sacrificed a lot my whole life, and this trip’s only just another one. So super grateful that they got to experience that.”
On transfer deadline day, Liverpool’s bid for Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi fell through.
The Reds and their sporting director Richard Hughes had done all that they could, but Arne Slot was steadfast in his confidence in his pre-existing defensive options.
However, that was before Giovanni Leoni was forced off against Southampton, on his Reds debut, having ruptured his ACL. Now he will spend the majority of the season recovering.
How Liverpool will replace Leoni
Liverpool signed Leoni from Parma in Serie A for an initial £26m fee in August. The 18-year-old had scarcely been on the senior stage in his homeland, but he had shown enough promise for a swarm of suitors to buzz overhead, and it was Liverpool who were victorious in claiming their quarry.
Leoni has been developing within the Anfield ranks over the past month, piecing together his skillset and role and on-field personality in Slot’s system.
For the young Italian to have been withdrawn in such visible agony and dismay on his first appearance for the Merseysiders was sad to see. He had impressed against Southampton, having played most of the match and looked a cut above his partner Joe Gomez, who has played little football recently and who will now be expected to raise his game as he covers Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate.
Minutes played
81′
Touches
102
Accurate passes
88/91 (97%)
Possession lost
3x
Tackles
1
Interceptions
3
Clearances
6
Ground duels won
1/2
Aerial duels won
3/3
Liverpool’s options at the back are suddenly sparse, and Slot may need to turn toward the academy to plug a potential gap, handing Amara Nallo more responsibility.
Nallo could be the Leoni replacement
Nallo, 18, is right at the start of his Liverpool career, and already he has made his senior debut under Slot’s wing.
Nallo
However, that one ended somewhat unceremoniously, with the teenager sent off during Liverpool’s 2-1 defeat to Girona in the Champions League in January 2025.
Slot said Nallo “will learn” from his mistake, but there’s no question that it marks a blemish on an otherwise impressive highlight reel at this starting stage of his career.
Indeed, Nallo had previously been hailed by West Ham coach Carlton Cole as being a “Rolls-Royce of a centre-back”, physical, commanding and calm on the ball. These traits are inherent, and they could be guided toward something worthy of a regular role in Slot’s squad, given time.
Time, in this instance, isn’t on Nallo’s time; or rather, the young defender must now prepare for a potential hike in importance, with rotation limited after Leoni’s injury.
Liverpool centre-back Giovanni Leoni
Nallo’s two-footedness suggests he could be the perfect replacement, in fairness, able to replace Van Dijk when need be or operate from the right side.
Poached from West Ham United as a youth, Nallo has already racked up 52 appearances for Liverpool’s development sides – on top of that senior bow – and he could now be ready to take the plunge and feature regularly in the place where Leoni was set to stand.
After all, Slot has already handed the youngster his professional debut, and entrusting him with opportunities this season is hardly out of the question.
Not Isak: Liverpool have wildcard Ekitike replacement & he's "prolific"
Liverpool have a talented young striker who could be a wildcard replacement for Hugo Ekitike.
Mikel Arteta believes Eberechi Eze still has plenty more to bring to Arsenal’s attacking play after watching him score his first goal for the club in Wednesday’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Port Vale.
Eze struck just eight minutes into the match at Vale Park but, despite that early strike, Arsenal struggled to create clear opportunities against their League One hosts, not killing the game off until substitute Leandro Trossard struck in the 86th minute.
Arteta expecting more from Arsenal signing Eze
But Eze’s goal – his first since he returned to the club in a £60million move from Crystal Palace – already looked like being enough for Arsenal on a night when the 27-year-old was the brightest of Arsenal’s attacking players.
Eze, on £9.3m a year at the Emirates, started on the left of Arsenal’s attack for this match but has already lined up in a number of different positions for Arteta in his five appearances to date.
Arsenal spent the summer looking to add greater depth to the squad as they aim to compete on multiple fronts this term and that showed on the team sheet here as Arteta made nine changes from Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City but still fielded a strong side.
Kepa Arrizabalaga made his debut in goal, Christian Norgaard got a first start in midfield and Bukayo Saka clocked up an hour as he returns from a hamstring injury, with Arteta saying he now had a number of decisions to make ahead of Sunday’s trip to Newcastle.
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“What we need to do… is generate the performances that we want with the players that haven’t really played together, with a completely different midfield than they’ve played together before, with a front line that is different as well,” he said.
“Max [Dowman] came in as well and connect(ed) immediately with the team. It’s a lot of positives to take from the game. That’s exactly what we want, that they’re giving us and me those headaches because that means that they are so connected with the team, that they really want to help the team. Everybody will play a lot of minutes.”
Rajat Patidar, the Royal Challengers Bengaluru captain, chose to bowl after winning the toss against Delhi Capitals at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in IPL 2025. He expected the pitch to remain good to bat on through both innings, and was confident of his team’s ability to chase a target.RCB were forced to make one change to their side, with a fever ruling out the opener Phil Salt. This meant they handed the England allrounder Jacob Bethell an IPL debut. It remained to be seen where Bethell, who bats left-handed and bowls left-arm orthodox spin, would bat, and whether he would take Salt’s place at the top of the order alongside local boy Virat Kohli.DC welcomed back Faf du Plessis for the first time since he suffered a groin injury in the reverse fixture between these sides in Bengaluru on April 10. With du Plessis coming in for Ashutosh Sharma, DC had four overseas players in their XI again, after naming just three in their last match against Lucknow Super Giants. Ashutosh, however, could come in as an Impact Player if DC need him to bat, given their batting-first XI already has six bowling options.The winner of this contest will become the first side to get to 14 points this season.Delhi Capitals batting-first XI: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Abishek Porel, 3 Karun Nair, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Axar Patel (capt), 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Vipraj Nigam, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Dushmantha Chameera, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Mukesh Kumar.DC’s Impact Player options: Ashutosh Sharma, Mohit Sharma, Jake Fraser-McGurk, Madhav Tiwari, Tripurana Vijay.Royal Challengers Bengaluru bowling-first XI: 1 Virat Kohli, 2 Jacob Bethell, 3 Rajat Patidar (capt), 4 Romario Shepherd, 5 Jitesh Sharma (wk), 6 Tim David, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Suyash Sharma, 10 Josh Hazlewood, 11 Yash Dayal.RCB’s Impact Player options: Devdutt Padikkal, Rasikh Salam, Manoj Bhandage, Liam Livingstone, Swapnil Singh.
خرج خافيير تيباس، رئيس رابطة الدوري الإسباني، عن صمته وانفجر غضبًا بعد إلغاء مباراة برشلونة وفياريال والتي كانت ستلعب في نهاية هذا العام ببطولة الدوري في أمريكا.
وكان من المفترض أن تقام مباراة برشلونة وفياريال في ولاية ميامي بالولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، بدلًا من لعبها على ملعب لا سيراميكا.
لكن بعد اعتراضات كبيرة من جميع أندية الدوري الإسباني على لعب هذه المباراة خارج إسبانيا، أصدرت رابطة الدوري قرارًا بإلغاء لقاء برشلونة وفياريال والتراجع عن فكرة لعب المباراة في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، بعد التشاور مع الشركة المنظمة للحدث.
اقرأ أيضًا.. قرار مفاجئ من الدوري الإسباني بشأن إقامة مباراة برشلونة وفياريال في ميامي
ويرى تيباس عبر حسابه الرسمي في “تويتر”، أن هناك من يسعون لتدمير كرة القدم في إسبانيا في دلالة واضحة على مهاجمة ريال مدريد الغريم التقليدي لبرشلونة، موضحًا أن إلغاء لعب المباراة في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية هو فرصة مهدرة لتحسين كرة القدم الإسبانية.
ريال مدريد اعترض وبشدة على إقامة المباراة في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، وأبدى نجوم الميرنجي أمثال داني كارفاخال، وتيبو كورتوا، غضبهم من لعب المواجهة خارج إسبانيا.
وقال تيباس: ”اليوم، أضاعت كرة القدم الإسبانية فرصةً للمضي قدمًا وإبراز نفسها للعالم وتعزيز مستقبلها”.
وأضاف: ”التقاليد الحقيقية لكرة القدم الأوروبية تتعرض إلى التهديد من قبل المؤسسات التي تديرها، وهي المحرك الحقيقي لصناعة كرة القدم في أوروبا وسط سذاجة وسلبية الحكومة في معظم بلاد أوروبا الذين يفشلون في التمييز بين ما هو غير مهم وما هو جوهري”.
وأوضح: ”ينادون بنزاهة المنافسة من قِبل أولئك الذين قضوا سنوات في التشكيك في تلك النزاهة ذاتها وضغطوا على الحكام والقادة، وبنوا روايات محرفة، أو استخدموا الضغط السياسي والإعلامي كأداة رياضية”.
وأردف: ”هناك آخرون فعلوا ذلك، ربما عن غير قصد وبحسن نية وانجروا إلى نقاشات حول معلومات سبق تناولها في عام 2018، حيث كانت تلك المعلومات المزعومة التي كانت بحوزتهم آنذاك وما زالت بحوزتهم الآن، مجرد ذريعة لقتل المشروع”.
وتابع تيباس: ”أود أن أشكر فياريال برشلونة على التزامهما في المشاركة في مشروع سعى فقط إلى نمو وتطوير بطولتنا، لم يفكروا في أنفسهم بل كانوا يفكرون بالجميع”.
وواصل: ”ستواصل رابطة الدوري الإسباني العمل بكل جدية وإصرار، لضمان بقاء كرة القدم الإسبانية تنافسية في وجه من يسعون إلى تدميرها، ولكن دائمًا باحترام جذورها وضمان استدامتها”.
واختتم تيباس في حديثه: ”تستحق كرة القدم الإسبانية أن تنظر إلى المستقبل بطموح لا بخوف، سنواصل المحاولة وهذه المرة كنا قريبين جدًا من هدفنا”.
After months of stories, reports, and rumours, silly season is finally coming to an end, and West Ham United haven’t done half bad.
Fans were understandably worried for a period, but a late flurry, which has seen the arrivals of Mateus Fernandes and Soungoutou Magassa, has given them reason to be optimistic.
Moreover, following his celebration against Nottingham Forest, it now looks like Lucas Paqueta will be staying in East London for a little while longer.
One superstar who is moving today is Alexander Isak, and while he’s not coming to the London Stadium, West Ham have been linked with a striker who’s won comparisons to him.
West Ham target Isak-esque goalscorer
According to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, West Ham are now interested in Victor Boniface.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The report has revealed that the Hammers are considering a late move for the Bayer Leverkusen star, who remains on the market following his failed medical with AC Milan earlier this summer.
The Italian side were set to sign the Nigerian striker in a deal that would have seen them pay a €5m loan fee and then a €24m buy clause, which comes to around £25m in total.
There is certainly some risk in signing Boniface, but he has proven himself to be a lethal striker in the past and has even been compared to Isak.
How Boniface compares to Isak
While there are some obvious similarities between Boniface and Isak, from their positions to their age range and ability to run in behind players, it goes deeper than that.
According to FBref, the Swedish goalscorer has been the third most similar forward to the Nigerian in Europe’s top-five leagues across the last 365 days.
You can gain a better understanding of how this conclusion was reached by taking a look under the hood, at the underlying numbers in which they rank closely.
Boniface & Isak
Statistics per 90
Boniface
Isak
Non-Penalty Expected G+As
0.73
0.70
Non-Penalty G+As
0.80
0.82
Progressive Carries
2.32
2.71
Shots on Target
1.52
1.34
Shot-Creating Actions
2.86
3.01
Carries into the Penalty Area
1.34
1.41
Successful Take-On
1.34
1.37
All Stats via FBref for the 24/25 League Season
In this instance, that includes metrics such as actual and expected non-penalty goals plus assists, shot-creating actions, carries into the penalty area, successful take-ons and more, all per 90.
In other words, the 24-year-old is a serious goal threat and not just that, but someone who can drag the ball into dangerous areas on his own when needed.
Victor Boniface for Bayer Leverkusen.
However, while having so many statistical similarities to someone as unbelievably talented as Isak is more than encouraging, all that matters for a forward is scoring goals, and thankfully, he has no issue doing so.
For example, in 62 appearances for Leverkusen, totalling 3496 minutes, the “absolute monster” of a striker, as dubbed by respected analyst Ben Mattinson, has scored 32 goals and provided 12 assists.
That means he’s averaged a goal involvement every 1.40 games, or every 79.45 minutes, since joining the German outfit, which is a world-class rate of return.
Ultimately, even though there is an element of risk in the deal, West Ham should do what they can to bring in Boniface before the window shuts at 7pm.
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We are just one week into the Premier League season, and Arsenal already have a significant injury setback.
News broke yesterday afternoon that, after only just recovering from his hamstring injury that ruled him out of half of last season, Kai Havertz is out with a knee problem.
It’s not clear what the specific injury is, but it looks like the German will be out of action for some time, which is not what Mikel Arteta needs with a trip to Liverpool coming up.
However, there is some good news for the Arsenal faithful, as the club are being linked with an international star who could be the manager’s next Havertz.
Arsenal target their next Havertz
It has been an interesting summer for Arsenal so far this year, as just a few weeks ago, following Viktor Gyokeres’ arrival, spirits were high.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
However, the sentiment in the fanbase took a nosedive this morning, mainly down to the news that Eberechi Eze looked almost certain to be heading to rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Unsurprisingly, this mood was not helped by the Havertz update, although Arsenal have acted quickly to give supporters something to look forward to with the Gunners incredibly hijacking Spurs’ bid to sign Eze, now agreeing a move themselves.
Eze hasn’t been the only Premier League attacker on the club’s radar. According to a recent report from the Sun, which has claimed Arsenal are still very interested in Morgan Rogers.
The report has revealed that the Gunners are now ‘weighing up a dramatic swoop’ for the Aston Villa star, who is valued at around £80m.
It goes on to claim that while the North Londoners were already keeping tabs on the Englishman, the injury to Havertz has only ‘increased the likelihood’ that the club will go back into the market.
It’s a lot of money to spend on one player, but Rogers is an outrageously talented player and would be more than worth it, especially as he could be Arteta’s new Havertz.
How Rogers would be Arteta's new Havertz
So, the first thing to say is that, yes, Rogers and Havertz have not played in the same position over the last couple of seasons.
However, while that is not the primary basis of this comparison, there are a few other similarities that suggest the Englishman could be Arteta’s new version of the German.
For example, while we are on the topic of positions, they both share the trait of being versatile and playing where their managers want them to.
In the case of the Villa star, he’s spent much of his time at the club moving between attacking midfield and both wings and has even spent a little bit of time up top, which might come in handy at the moment.
The former Chelsea ace, on the other hand, has primarily spent time leading the line, but was originally a left eight when he arrived in North London, and even spent some time on the right last season.
England'sEberechiEzecelebrates scoring their third goal with England's Morgan Rogers
The other key similarity is that, if this transfer goes through at the price reported, it would be another massive signing from a fellow Premier League side, and one that is challenging the European places.
Finally, both players are now full internationals, and while the former Bayer Leverkusen player has far more senior caps to his name, that would be expected given the age gap.
With all that said, there is another massive reason why Arsenal should be doing all they can to sign the former Middlesbrough gem: his output.
For example, in his 54 appearances across all competitions last season, totalling 4496 minutes, the Halesowen-born “machine,” as dubbed by The Athletic’s Jacob, scored 14 goals and provided 16 assists.
Appearances
54
Minutes
4496′
Goals
14
Assists
16
Goal Involvements per Match
0.55
Minutes per Goal Involvement
149.86′
That means the often “unstoppable” midfielder, as dubbed by former Liverpool defender turned pundit Jamie Carragher, was able to average a goal involvement every 1.8 games, or every 149.86 minutes.
Having that sort of output in this team could be the difference between another second-place finish and glory.
Ultimately, even before the injury to Havertz, Arsenal should have gone all out to sign Rogers, but now we know the German will be out for some time, the club should be solely focused on bringing the Villa star to the Emirates.
Fabrizio Romano: Arsenal could move for "interesting" target in £43m star
The Gunners have a potential late-window opportunity.
Tottenham Hotspur also have their eyes on other players amid their widely reported negotiations for Crystal Palace star Eberechi Eze and Man City’s Savinho, with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy looking to back Thomas Frank over this final stretch of the window.
Following the departure of club legend Son Heung-min to LAFC, 10 years after he joined from Bayer Leverkusen, the north Londoners are now in need of a replacement – prompting them to open talks with City over a deal for Savinho.
The player’s agent, Frederico Moraes, told reporter Jorge Nicola earlier this week that Spurs have seen their opening £42 million bid for the rejected out of hand – with Pep Guardiola’s side valuing him closer to the £70 million mark.
Nevertheless, while there is a significant gap in valuation right now, the consensus is that Tottenham will keep pushing for the 21-year-old, as Frank is reliably believed to be a major admirer of Savinho and actively pushing for him.
Then, of course, there’s Eze. The 27-year-old’s 14 goals and 11 assists in all competitions last term are glossed over only by his historic FA Cup final-winning strike against City at Wembley, gifting Palace supporters their first ever major trophy to shout about.
Tottenham are in formal talks with Palace over a deal for Eze as they look to fill the gaping creative void left by James Maddison, with the Spurs playmaker expected to miss most of 2025/2026 after rupturing his ACL in pre-season.
That being said, Sky Sports reporter Michael Bridge is among the reliable media sources to report that Levy does have alternatives in mind if a deal can’t be done, and Spurs also reportedly want to sign another centre-back.
Their transfer plans stretch beyond just Eze and Savinho, with Barcelona star Dani Olmo now thought to be on their radar too.
Tottenham now preparing £60 million for Barcelona's Dani Olmo
According to reports out of Spain, the 27-year-old former RB Leipzig star has found his way on to Tottenham’s target list.
FC Barcelona's DaniOlmocelebrates
It is believed that Tottenham are preparing a £60 million offer for Olmo, but given he plays an identical role to Eze, this could likely be a fallback plan from Levy in case a move for their top target goes nowhere.
In any case, the similarities in age, price and position, not to mention Barca’s need to sell so they can register new players, means a move for Olmo could be seen as a pretty realistic one.
Spurs were, after all, once ready to splash £60m on Morgan Gibbs-White in their bid to sign a new playmaker, so a move for the Spain international surely cannot be ruled out.
Called an “outstanding” player by Julian Nagelsmann, Olmo racked up an impressive 12 goals and seven assists in total across 39 appearances last season for the La Liga champions – including strikes against Inter Milan in the Champions League and a brace in the Catalan derby.
Sunderland are pushing ahead with even more exciting signings ahead of the brand-new Premier League season getting underway.
This time around, it looks as if the Black Cats have won the coveted signature of Armand Lauriente for a fee around the £17m ballpark, after the 26-year-old attacker amassed a blistering 18 strikes for Sassuolo in Serie B last season. Can he shine now in a similarly frightening manner in the English top-flight?
That remains to be seen, with the Black Cats now targeting some defensive reinforcements after splashing more cash on the forward areas, with one notable Premier League-experienced centre-back on Regis Le Bris and Co.’s agenda.
Sunderland submit offer for £10m star
Every new day brings about a fresh rumour involving Sunderland, with multiple centre-back targets on the ever-expanding shopping list.
Indeed, Lille powerhouse Bafodé Diakité is reportedly on the Black Cats’ radar, but a hefty £35m price tag above the promising Frenchman’s head might well put the newly promoted side off, regardless of their lavish spending to date.
Instead, they might well travel down the cheaper route to bolster at the back, with Turkish outlet Takvim reporting that Sunderland, alongside Burnley and Leeds United, have made bids to pick up former Aston Villa titan Diego Carlos.
The outlet claims that all three sides have ‘knocked’ on Fenerbahce’s door with offers to sign the central defender on loan for the 2024/25 campaign.
It is reported that his current side are open to allowing the 32-year-old defender to leave Turkey this summer, with initial offers coming in on a loan basis. However, the Super Lig giants will only entertain an offer if a mandatory buy option is also included, having forked out £10m for Carlos just this January.
Whilst he might not be a first-team regular in Turkey, Carlos should be able to come into the growing Sunderland group and offer lots of experience and quality to their maiden Premier League voyage, making him a better potential signing than Lauriente in the process.
Why Carlos could be a better signing than Lauriente
After all, there is no guarantee, despite his 18-goal heroics in Serie B last season, that Lauriente instantly makes an impact in Le Bris’ first team on his arrival in England.
When glancing at the Frenchman’s options up top, he already has the likes of Simon Adingra to choose from down the left wing, who could well get the first team nod over Lauriente, owing to his eight strikes in the Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Armand Lauriente in action for Sassuolo.
Moreover, there is also Enzo Le Fee on the left channel, who dazzled Championship defences last season, alongside Romaine Mundle, who will be eager to succeed in the Premier League, having once been discarded by Tottenham Hotspur, meaning the 26-year-old winger will have his work cut out for him to come in and suddenly leave a mark.
On the contrary, Carlos – with his 40 top-flight experiences in the top division with the Villans – will feel he has more of a chance right away at pushing into Le Bris’ XI, with his career numbers in the tough league previously showing him to be a nice mixture of both Daniel Ballard’s calmness on the ball, alongside possessing Luke O’Nien’s well-known grit.
Carlos’ PL numbers for Villa
Stat
Carlos
Games played
40
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Passes completed
2078 (88%)
Duels won
83
Clean sheets
6
Stats by the Premier League
Looking at the table above, it’s clear that the Brazilian prides himself on being a smooth operator from the back, with 2078 accurate passes managed across his Villa stint, which left him with an 88% accurate pass completion percentage overall. Last season in the EFL, Ballard finished his season with the exact same percentage.
Therefore, the pair together could well be an intimidating duo for Premier League attackers to come to terms with, with his 83 duels won overall also gaining him a reputation for being “imposing”, as he was labelled by football journalist Mat Kendrick when still situated at Villa Park.
Aston Villa'sDiegoCarlosduring the warm up
With his time at Sevilla also seeing him compete in the Champions League, alongside claims from football journalist David Ornstein that he was “the best defender in Spain”, this does feel like it could be a steal at around the £10m price mark.
On the contrary, with Lauriente only notching up 12 more career strikes for Sassuolo away from his breakout 24/25 offering, there will be a worry he’s an expensive misfire, as opposed to a gamble that works out.
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