It was a mixed transfer window at West Ham United in the end, but things could have been so much different had they signed the attacking target that they set their sights on.

West Ham's transfer window in review

To say it was a slow start for the Hammers would be an understatement. It looked as though they were going to stand still entirely at one stage, opting to welcome just Callum Wilson and El Hadji Malick Diouf, until they finally returned to the transfer market late on and signed the likes of Mateus Fernandes.

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It could be that late flurry that sparks a much-needed turnaround under Graham Potter. Before their 3-0 victory against Nottingham Forest before the international break, the Hammers had lost all three of their first games, and had conceded 11 goals in the process. Pressure, as a result, was increasing on Potter.

The former Brighton manager would have breathed a greater sight of relief than anyone else involved at the City Ground, but West Ham must now kick on when they return to action.

Only time will tell whether late deals for Fernandes, Igor Julio and Soungoutou Magassa are enough to turn things around permanently at West Ham and save their transfer window, but Potter can no longer say that he wasn’t backed.

Up next for the Hammers after the international break is the visit of Tottenham Hotspur in a London derby. The Lilywhites have looked much-improved under Thomas Frank, although West Ham are no strangers to defeating their rivals and will be hoping to pick up where they left off against Forest.

It is, of course, the type of game that Aleksandar Mitrovic would have thrived in, but West Ham can thank one reason why he’s not lining up for Potter’s side after the summer transfer window.

West Ham made late Mitrovic offer

As reported by The Boot Room’s Graeme Bailey, West Ham made a late offer to sign Mitrovic after he was granted an exit from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. Alongside Leeds United, the Hammers were pushing to welcome the forward back to the Premier League to solve their attacking problems.

Ultimately, however, he opted against returning to English football as he didn’t want to tarnish the relationship that he has with Fulham, having spent five years at the West London club.

Once dubbed “outstanding” by Fulham boss Marco Silva, there’s no doubt that Mitrovic would have been an instant upgrade on West Ham’s current options.

Pat Cummins called it right at the toss and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) opted to bat first in the day game against Delhi Capitals (DC) in Vishakhapatnam. It was the first time in IPL 2025 that the captain winning the toss chose to bat.KL Rahul will be playing his first match in IPL 2025 after he missed DC’s opening encounter for the birth of his daughter. Sameer Rizvi made way for Rahul’s return in what was the only change for the home team.Cummins backed his batters to continue with their trend from last season – bat first, put up a big score and defend it successfully. With the sun baking down and expected to slow the pitch as the game goes on, SRH opted to bring in an extra spinner for a fast bowler. As a result, legspinner Zeeshan Ansari, who plays for Uttar Pradesh in the domestic circuit, came in for fast bowler Simarjeet Singh.Axar Patel said that he would also have batted first, given “ball does more in the second innings”. He backed his bowlers to be brave and resort to death bowling right from the start if need be.The square boundaries were 66m and 60m in Vishakhapatnam, with the straight hit being 73m. WV Raman, at the pitch report, said that spin could come into play as the game goes on because of the sun baking down.Sunrisers Hyderabad XI: 1 Travis Head, 2 Abhishek Sharma, 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 5 Heinrich Klaasen (wk), 6 Aniket Verma, 7 Abhinav Manohar, 8 Pat Cummins (capt), 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Shami, 11 Zeeshan Ansari
Impact Player options: Sachin Baby, Eshan Malinga, Simarjeet Singh, Adam Zampa, Wiaan MulderDelhi Capitals XI: 1 Faf du Plessis, 2 Jake Fraser-McGurk, 3 Abishek Porel, 4 KL Rahul (wk), 5 Axar Patel (capt), 6 Tristan Stubbs, 7 Vipraj Nigam, 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Mukesh KumarImpact Player options: Karun Nair, Ashutosh Sharma, Sameer Rizvi, Donovan Ferreira, Tripurna Vijay

Tottenham Hotspur kick-started their Champions League 2025/26 campaign with a narrow 1-0 victory over LaLiga outfit Villarreal in North London last night.

It wasn’t a vintage performance from Thomas Frank’s men, but it was a performance that got the job done and secured all three points in their opening encounter.

The Lilywhites will need to produce better displays going forward if they are to secure automatic qualification to the knockout stages of the competition.

There’s no doubt the Dane will ensure the side don’t replicate such a display, especially when the side travel to face Bodo Glimt in their next European outing at the end of the month.

However, if the side is to produce a better display in Norway, the manager will need to drop one player after his dismal showing against Marcelino Garcia’s men.

Why Richarlison needs to be dropped by Frank

While Richarlison has been a live wire for Spurs this campaign, netting two goals to date, his showing against Villarreal was arguably one of his worst in the new season.

The Brazilian was handed the responsibility of leading the line once again, but failed to produce a performance highlighting the trust put into him by boss Frank.

He only registered 23 touches during his 77-minute performance, completing just three passes in the process – subsequently failing to maintain possession for the Lilywhites.

The 28-year-old also failed to complete any of his attempted dribbles and failed to register a single effort on goal, further showcasing his lack of positive impact in the final third.

Richarlison’s dismal outing didn’t stop there, even picking up a yellow card for a late challenge on Juan Foyth – showing glimpses of his rash past, which has led to questions previously being asked about his attitude.

There’s no denying that the manager should drop him from his next starting eleven, but he shouldn’t be alone in being excluded after his recent showing in the Champions League.

The Spurs star who should be dropped alongside Richarlison

The start to the Frank reign at Spurs has been a positive one, with his side winning four of the first five competitive games he’s taken charge of in 2024/25.

Wins against Manchester City, Burnley and West Ham United were certainly more convincing, but the same can’t be said for the showing against the Spanish outfit last night.

The three points will be the most important aspect, but the manager will no doubt be concerned about his team’s lack of talent during the 1-0 triumph on home soil.

Richarlison was just one player who failed to deliver, but Djed Spence also fell into such a category despite his own recent rise to stardom in North London.

The full-back has started every game of Frank’s tenure, subsequently leading to the 25-year-old claiming his maiden England call-up during the recent international break.

However, his recent success is credit to the player, but his outing against Villarreal showed glimpses of arrogance – resulting in a debut Champions League performance to forget.

Spence featured for 69 minutes against the Spanish outfit, winning just one tackle and failing to make a single interception – falling way below the standards he’s set for himself.

Minutes played

69

Touches

52

Tackles won

1

Interceptions made

0

Possession lost

9x

Misplaced passes

6

Recoveries made

0

Match rating

5/10

He also lost possession nine times, misplacing six of his attempted passes, even registering just 52 touches of the ball – a tally fewer than that of goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, who managed 55.

As a result of his showing, Spence was handed a measly 5/10 match rating by Football London journalist Alasdair Gold – further highlighting his struggles in Europe’s biggest competition.

Such a showing will cast doubt over his position in the first-team squad, which could see Destiny Udogie handed a rare start in the Premier League this weekend.

The Englishman and Richarlison certainly endured evenings to forget last night, with Frank needing to try alternative solutions if he is to maintain the excellent start to life in the role.

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Kishan says the team was going for the record, after his unbeaten 106 got them to within two runs of the all-time highest IPL total

Shashank Kishore23-Mar-20252:46

Rapid fire: Are Kishan and SRH a perfect match?

Ishan Kishan said he picked up the phone quite soon after being bought by Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) for INR 11.25 crore (USD 1.34 million approx.) at the IPL 2025 mega auction. He wanted to know what it would be like to play for the IPL’s most explosive batting side.”I straightaway called Abhishek [Sharma] and asked, ‘what are you guys expecting, do I have to come and hit each and every ball?’ He was like, ‘on point, yeah, that is your job, you come here and you hit each and every ball, you just enjoy in this team.’ And that is the best part.Related

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“I could actually see, and I could actually feel it before we played this game,” Kishan said after his 106 not out off 47 set up SRH’s win against Rajasthan Royals. “It’s not that I got a hundred and I’m talking about it. But yeah, when I got here, the message was very clear. ‘If the ball is there, just go for it, have your fun, have your moment’ and that’s how I think we’re going to play the tournament. Even if we are in a very good phase, we would do the same thing each and every time.”Kishan’s century off 45 balls was the third-fastest by a Sunrisers batter after Travis Head (41 balls) and David Warner (43). His partnerships with Travis Head (85 off 38 balls) and Nitish Reddy (72 off 29 balls) helped Sunrisers post 286, two short of being the all-time record for the highest total in the IPL, which would have broken Sunrisers’ own record. They now have four of the top-five highest scores in the league’s history.”Someone came in the middle with a water bottle and said we need to cross this total [their record of 287],” Kishan said. “I was like, I did not know if there was a target set or something, but yeah, when you don’t achieve the goal, it’s something like you want to do it again. We did not do it today, so it’s good to have that target goal for us coming back. Some days [when] we get a good start, batters are set, we will try and definitely get a record total.”Ishan Kishan slammed what was his first IPL hundred•BCCI

Kishan came into the IPL on the back of middling form in domestic cricket. His record in IPL 2024 wasn’t outstanding either – a solitary half-century in 14 innings for 320 runs. At Sunrisers, he was to play at No. 3, a slight deviation from his role as an opener at MI. Asked about the role change, Kishan said he got clarity from the captain and coach.”They keep it very simple, to be very honest,” Kishan said “Like Pat [Cummins], he keeps it very simple, he knows if the player likes to attack from the beginning, he just backs it up. It’s not like if you go in there and get out trying to hit, it adds up any pressure. That’s the best part for any youngster.”If you watched Aniket Verma playing his first game, at that moment he was not thinking about coming back not out. He just went for each and every ball, so that is the sort of confidence when you get from your support staff, or I would say captain, it makes a huge difference. And that is what something every player is looking up to, so I would say it helped us a lot.”Kishan’s roaring start at SRH comes after a tricky year for him. Last year at this time, just prior to the IPL, he had been stripped of his BCCI central contract for seemingly not prioritising domestic cricket. Asked how that affected him, Kishan said: “Whatever the situation was, I think I was never a person who was thinking about those bad moments. I was very much in the present, like what’s needed. Yeah, I need to perform, I need to do good for me, whatever I’ll do, it will help me end of the day. So I just planned to get all the negative thoughts out and just think about what’s ahead, like IPL was coming up.”So, yeah, I was just doing my hard work and, like I said to my loved ones, it was more about my family, the fans who were always there, the ones who are here supporting me today. Like I said, my brother was there. So it was just for them. Coming to SRH, playing in Hyderabad, the first game, setting up a good total for the team, so all together it was a very happy moment for me.”

Buttler and Shahrukh made 36 each, before Rashid and Tewatia exploded at the finish

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Apr-2025B Sai Sudharsan scored yet another half-century, this time 82 off 53 balls, and helped Gujarat Titans (GT) post a healthy 217 for 6 against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Ahmedabad. Speaking to the broadcaster at the innings break, he said it was a good total, given there had not been much dew until then.Earlier, after RR sent GT in, Jofra Archer once again gave his side an early breakthrough. In RR’s previous game, he had bowled Punjab Kings’ Priyansh Arya first ball. Tonight, he pegged back Shubman Gill’s off stump with the first ball of his second over.But Sai Sudharsan carried on with his sublime form. He ramped, scooped, drove and cut, and steered his side to 50 in 5.1 overs. At the end of the powerplay, he was batting on 39 off 22. Only Wriddhiman Saha (54 vs Lucknow Super Giants in 2023) has scored more runs for GT in an innings in that phase.Jos Buttler, who was welcomed to the crease with a nasty bouncer from Archer, also joined in after a slow start. He was on 12 off 13 at one point but hit four fours in his next six balls to move to 31 off 19.Maheesh Theekshana ended the 80-run second-wicket stand, off 47 balls, by trapping Buttler lbw. But M Shahrukh Khan smashed 36 off 20 to keep GT going.Sudharsan was dropped on 81 by Shubham Dubey off Archer but he could add only one more to his score. But Rahul Tewatia and Rashid Khan ensured GT ransacked 30 from the last two overs.

Leroy Sane’s surprise move to Galatasaray has drawn heavy criticism from Bayern Munich legend Oliver Kahn, who claimed the winger “doesn’t want to be a top player” despite having all the qualities to dominate at the highest level. The German international left Bayern this summer after five years, turning down a contract extension in favour of a new challenge in Turkey.

• Sane’s Galatasaray switch questioned by Bayern great

  Sane opted to leave the Bavarians at the end of his contract negotiations, ending a five-year spell in which he scored 61 goals and provided 55 assists in over 220 appearances. Despite interest from other European clubs, he rejected several offers to join Galatasaray, citing the atmosphere at Rams Park as decisive. His choice, however, has not gone down well with the former Bayern figure.

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  Kahn: Sane has everything, absolutely everything

  Speaking to , the former Bayern goalkeeper expressed disbelief at the winger's decision, insisting he has all the natural gifts to be an elite player.

  "When you see him, what qualities he has – in training, on the pitch, his speed, his style of football, his dribbling, even his finishing when he's focused: The boy has everything, absolutely everything, you need to become a truly top player," said Kahn

  The German stressed that the biggest question around Sane isn’t his ability, but his mentality and desire to consistently reach the very top.

  "If he doesn't want that, then it's his decision, then his career will just follow a little differently, and now he has to make sure he finds his place at Galatasaray. If I don't come today, I'll come tomorrow – that's just his character, often with his entire body language."

• Bayern forced into transfer reshuffle

  The 29-year-old's exit left Die Roten short of experience out wide, prompting the German giants to splash €75 million (£65m/$87m) on Liverpool’s Luis Diaz. While Galatasaray have enjoyed a flawless start to the Super Lig, winning all seven games, Sane himself has struggled to settle. With just one goal and three assists in eight starts across competitions, his output has fallen short of expectations.

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  Next steps for Sane in Istanbul

  Sane remained on the bench during Galatasaray’s Champions League victory over Liverpool. However, with a crucial clash against Besiktas up next, the German international will be eager to break into the starting XI and prove that his move to Turkey was not a step down from European football’s elite stage.

It was the end of an era last week when Tottenham Hotspur officially confirmed that Daniel Levy would be stepping down as chairman after more than 24 years at the helm.

The highlight of his tenure at the football club arguably came earlier this year when Ange Postecoglou led the club to the Europa League trophy, beating Manchester United 1-0 in the final.

Away from results, as much as supporters may not want to hear about it, Levy also made significant progress on the financial side of the club during his time as chairman.

Football finance expert Kieran Maguire recently claimed that he ran the club “very efficiently” and noted that Spurs make ten times as much in revenue as they did when he arrived in March 2001.

As you can see in the post above, Tottenham were the most profitable ‘big six’ club in the Premier League over the past 24 to 25 years, and one of only three of those six teams to be profitable at all.

Whilst there may be some criticism over some of the signings made by Levy, including the likes of Tanguy Ndombele and Davinson Sanchez, the ex-Spurs supremo also made some terrific signings.

Some of Daniel Levy's best Tottenham signings

Gareth Bale is the first name that comes to mind when thinking about his best signings for Tottenham, given what he went on to achieve after joining.

Spurs reportedly paid a fee of £10m to sign the Welsh wizard from Southampton in the summer of 2007, after he registered 11 assists in the Championship for the Saints, per Transfermarkt.

Bale went on to establish himself as a superstar in North London with 30 goals and 17 assists in his last two Premier League seasons, per Transfermarkt, before his world-record £85m move to Real Madrid in 2013.

Heung-min Son, who captained the club to the Europa League trophy earlier this year, is also another one of the most impressive signings Levy made for Spurs.

Tottenham signed the South Korea international from German side Bayer Leverkusen in 2015 for a fee of £22m, after he had scored 29 goals in 87 appearances for the German side, per Transfermarkt.

As you can see in the table above, the former Spurs captain provided a consistent threat at the top end of the pitch as a goalscorer throughout his ten years in North London.

Son was a brilliant signing, therefore, because he was an incredible servant for the club for a decade, and captained the team to a major trophy this year.

Bale and Son were phenomenal signings for Spurs by Levy for slightly different reasons, as the former earned the club a huge profit and the latter delivered huge success for the team on the pitch by winning a trophy.

Levy’s best signing during his time at the club may not be Bale or Son, though, because that award may go to the deal that brought Dele Alli to North London.

Chalkboard

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

Football is an incredibly subjective sport and a lot of supporters like to have their say on who the club should target and sign to bolster the squad based on their own views.

The deal to sign Bale, who had just delivered 11 assists in the second tier for a fairly big club like Southampton, and the deal to sign Son, who had scored 29 goals in Germany already, were ones that fans could have pointed out and asked for.

Why Dele Alli was Daniel Levy's best signing for Tottenham

Dele was an even better signing than Bale and Son for Spurs because of the nature of the deal, given the price tag, where he came from, and what he went on to achieve.

Levy swooped to sign the attacking midfielder from League One side MK Dons for a fee of £5m at the start of 2015. This was a bold move by the Spurs chief because he had only played League One football up to that point.

He also became the first player MK Dons ever sold to a Premier League team for more than £1m, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he was not coming from a team, like Southampton, with a rich history of developing young talent.

The teenage talent had scored 24 goals and provided ten assists in 88 games for the League One team, fewer goals than Son managed for Leverkusen and fewer assists than Bale produced for the Saints, but made the step up to the Premier League in the 2015/16 campaign and hit the ground running.

Alli scored ten goals and provided eight assists in 33 games in the top-flight in the 2015/16 season, which was a remarkable achievement given that he came straight from the third tier.

He won the PFA Young Player of the Year award in both of his first two seasons with Spurs, becoming one of a select few to have won the award twice, and provided consistent quality on the pitch for several years.

As you can see in the table above, Alli provided goals, assists, and positional flexibility for Spurs throughout his time at the club, with 67 goals and 59 assists in total.

Alli, who was described as a “pure wonderkid” by talent scout Jacek Kulig looking back on his form for MK Dons, may not have had a picture book ending to his career at Spurs, signing for Everton on a free transfer in 2022, but there is no doubt that he was an incredible signing for the club.

The England international was Levy’s best piece of business during his time at the club because of how obscure the signing was, given the league he was playing in and MK Dons’ lacklustre history when it comes to selling young talent.

It was a risky move by the chairman and one that paid off almost immediately on the pitch, as evidenced by his PFA awards, and that is why Levy can look back on that signing as his best piece of work.

Tottenham's most expensive signings of all time

A detailed look at Spurs’ 10 most expensive signings of all time.

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Charlie Smith

Sep 5, 2025

Spain and Como midfielder Jesus Rodriguez praised Barcelona teenager Lamine Yamal as “the best player in the world” after joining the national team setup. Speaking about his development under Cesc Fabregas and adapting between Serie A and La Liga, the 19-year-old said Yamal’s talent in training surprised him and called him a “role model” for young players.

• From Como to Spain’s senior squad

  Rodriguez addressed the press at Ciudad del Futbol after being called up to Spain’s senior squad for the upcoming World Cup qualifying matches. “The reception has been exceptional,” said the Como midfielder. “Alvaro [Morata] helped me a lot with the group. He told me he’ll keep working to get his next opportunity. He’s a role model.”

  Rodriguez admitted it took time to believe his call-up was real. “It was hard for me to believe I’d be here, but I took it calmly and quietly. What I did was keep working and hope for the second opportunity to come.”

  He also spoke about the leap from club football to the national setup, where his interaction with Barcelona’s Yamal left a deep impression.

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  Rodriguez claims Lamine Yamal is the best in the world

  Rodriguez described Yamal as the most impressive player he has trained with. The Spaniard further explains how training with him makes you want to improve yourself and your game.

  “He's the player who has surprised me the most. He's very capable in training. For me, he's the best player in the world; he'll surely achieve many things. I always try to learn as much as possible from him. He's a role model,” he said.

• Rise of Rodriguez from Betis to Como

  A product of Real Betis' youth academy, Rodriguez was signed by Como this summer after just one year featuring for Betis' first-team, in which he played 44 games, scoring five goals and registering four assists. The 19-year-old winger has started seven games for the Serie A side, scoring two goals and two assists across all competitions.

  “The truth is that La Liga changes a lot. It’s more tactical, more about touch. Italy is more defensive, more physical,” he explained when asked about the differences between the leagues. “I’ll adapt and keep improving. I hope to reach my best level there soon.”

  The player says it's the Como manager's trust in him and that he has been given the freedom to express himself on the pitch that he's got the national team call-up.

  "He's an incredible coach, very approachable. Cesc told me to make myself known, to be bold. That's why they called me, and if I do what I do here, I'll have a chance to keep coming back.”

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  Rodriguez is eager to seize the opportunity

  The Como midfielder is determined to make an impact in Spain’s senior squad and catch the eye of coach de la Fuente. “I always give it my all. I imagine he’ll like me because I’ve been doing things well. I always try to repay the trust he’s placed in me,” said the 19-year-old.

  With Yamal sidelined by injury, Rodriguez sees a chance to establish himself and is focused on performing at his best in training and matches, hoping to secure future call-ups and grow within the national setup.

In an interview with Sky Sports in August, Everton manager David Moyes said, “you have to keep trying to evolve”.

The Scotsman’s desire to shape his Toffees team into a dynamic force is an ambitious one, but he’s shown since replacing Sean Dyche in January that he has what it takes to lift Everton back into the limelight after years toiling away in the bottom half of the Premier League table.

The objective last term was one of survival, but Moyes’ Everton quickly found form and steered away from the relegation fodder. Some might have feared that it would be more of the same this year, purple patch done and dusted, but careful navigation through a tricky summer transfer window has placed the club in sixth place with four games behind them.

Early days, of course, but the signs are certainly promising, with Jack Grealish and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall among those to have sparked career revivals after leaving ‘Big Six’ clubs during the off-season.

Goalscoring problems persist

Everton have a new degree of creativity about them, with the season’s early readings suggesting they have been among the most efficient playmakers in the Premier League so far. However, they’ve missed six big chances, with Beto in particular culpable for some shoddy finishing.

Man United

4

7.9

Chelsea

9

7.7

Man City

5

7.6

Brighton

4

6.6

Everton

5

6.3

The Bissau-Guinean striker blows hot and cold, and though he scored against Wolves last month, he lacks the danger he projected on Everton’s rivals during that fine run of form last season.

Grealish isn’t a goalscorer, not really, while Iliman Ndiaye cannot be expected to carry his side in the final third across the duration of the campaign.

What Everton need is a new forward capable of leading the line over the coming years, marrying technical quality and innate shooting skills with a predatory hunger when facing the goalkeeper.

Someone like Richarlison. It’s been three years since Farhad Moshiri sold the Brazilian maverick to Tottenham Hotspur in a £60m deal, good business given his injury problems and inability to recapture that Goodison Park form in the capital.

But Richarlison, 28, remains one of the most threatening players in the Premier League, and Moyes was actually interested in re-signing the star to Everton this summer, ultimately going in a different direction.

That direction led to Thierno Barry, who is certainly unrefined and yet to stamp his authority on the English game, but then unquestionably boasts the talent and profile to rise up as Moyes’ own version of Richarlison.

Why Everton signed Thierno Barry

We are over a month into the 2025/26 season, and Barry has been used in a rotation role so far at Everton. The 22-year-old joined from Villarreal in a £27m deal in the summer, replacing Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the end of his contract.

He’s featured in each of Everton’s four Premier League matches so far, though he’s only started during the win over Wolves and was hooked shortly after the hour mark.

The integration process was always going to be one of stops and starts, but in this French forward, Moyes has landed a 6 foot 5 powerhouse with pace and potential to become an elite striker of the ball.

Last season in La Liga, he scored 11 goals and assisted four more across 35 games, starting only 25 times and creating seven big chances besides. Having won 67% of his aerial battles, you can see why Moyes was so enamoured, but his ability to drive forward with strong strides points toward that aforementioned evolution over at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, steering away from the target-man days of DCL.

Thierry Henry likes what he sees, with Barry’s movement and ability to draw defenders away intelligently, akin to Richarlison when he was in his Everton prime.

Richarlison spent four years on Merseyside, and he scored 53 goals and assisted 15 more across 152 appearances in total. Be it on the left flank or as the Blues’ number nine, the Brazil international was a force to be reckoned with.

Likewise, Barry has spent time coming off the left wing, with the right footer’s protean attacking ability lending itself to such a role. In this way, Moyes might find he can weave Beto and Barry into the same recipe. The new recruit, after all, showcased his creative capacity in La Liga last year.

In fact, Barry has actually scored eight goals from only 14 appearances out on the left wing, so he clearly has the natural sense in the final third to break the netting from any angle.

Could he reach Richarlison’s Everton level? That is not for us to know at this stage. But the Spurs man was once tipped by Carlo Ancelotti to become “one of the top strikers in Europe”, and Barry’s similar build and profile suggest he could take it one step further on Merseyside, in a team which is shaping up to challenge for places at the top end of the Premier League table.

Hailed for his “menacing” profile by talent scout Antonio Mango, Barry hasn’t yet alerted the wider Premier League audience to his presence, but he’s got all the tools to succeed in this division, and if he continues to develop his mobility and refine his presence in the final third, he might just prove to be Everton’s next version of a modern hero in Richarlison.

A budding expertise in stretching lines and making a nuisance of himself, Barry is evidence that Everton are developing into a new state under Moyes’ tutelage, and that, while the 62-year-old remains rooted in his pragmatic principles, he is eager to shape this side into something new.

For now, Beto continues to serve as Everton’s first-choice striker, but as Barry sharpens his tools, that could soon change.

Watch out Grealish: Everton brewing teen star who outscored Ndiaye in 24/25

Everton’s youth academy is ready to reveal the latest homegrown hero.

ByAngus Sinclair Sep 19, 2025

Rob Yates makes 41 as Yorkshire fail to make most of England stars’ availability

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay04-May-2025Warwickshire completed a level-headed chase of 185 on day three to beat Yorkshire by five wickets at Headingley, securing their second Rothesay County Championship victory of the season.The Bears started the day on 15 without loss, and openers Rob Yates and Alex Davies contributed 41 and 31 respectively. However, they reached lunch with a 20-point haul by no means secure at 109 for four, needing 76 more.But they were able to move into the top three places in the Division One table midway through the afternoon tea thanks to first-class debutant Zen Malik, who finished 49 not out off 73 balls, including a pulled six off George Hill to win it.While Warwickshire won their second game in four at the start of this season, Yorkshire have now lost two from four and are in the top flight’s bottom three.The hosts will be mightily frustrated at the fact they were unable to capitalise on the one-game availability of England batting duo Harry Brook and Joe Root. The latter’s second-innings 90 was their best score in four innings.However, consistently, they just didn’t bowl well enough on a grassy pitch offering significant assistance for the bowlers. Overseas Australian debutant Jordan Buckingham, for example, went at more than seven runs an over across the two innings on his debut, striking only twice.And the Bears were deserved winners, backing up last month’s one-wicket success at Durham.While they didn’t dominate this fixture, they were on top for much of it and were able to capitalise on winning an important toss and bowling Yorkshire out for 205 on day one.Their new-ball seamer Ethan Bamber excelled with match figures of nine for 107. Australian Test all-rounder Beau Webster should also be credited for an excellent 85 in the first innings, which secured what proved to be a decisive 48-run lead for the visitors.Captain Davies started positively this morning. Of the seven boundaries he hit in his 31, three of them came off one Hill over. Two were clipped through the leg-side and the other handsomely driven through the covers.However, he was bowled through the gate by a beauty of an in-swinger from Ben Coad, losing his off and middle stumps in the process as the score fell to 45 for one in the 13th over – the day’s 10th.Buckingham then had Hamza Shaikh caught behind at 60 for two, immediately before a 10-minute rain delay, and Yates and Dan Mousley fell to New Zealand quick Ben Sears and Jordan Thompson respectively to boost Yorkshire before lunch.Left-handed Yates had been more reserved than his opening partner Davies, though by no means becalmed.He pulled Buckingham for four through midwicket and clipped Thompson through the same region for a couple of boundaries in as many overs as the score reached 85 for two, 100 more needed for the visitors.There would have been some nerves in the away dressing room when Yates was undone by extra bounce from Sears and edged a looping catch to Root at first slip before, at the start of the morning’s final over, Thompson uprooted Mousley’s off-stump – 109 for four in the 30th over.Though, those nerves wouldn’t have been around for long given how settled 27-year-old Malik looked in a fifth-wicket partnership of 59 with Ed Barnard.Right-hander Malik was strong on both sides of the wicket, and when he beautifully drove Thompson for four straight of mid-on to move into the thirties, Warwickshire were 136 for four needing 49 more.All-rounder Barnard, meanwhile, had an excellent game with three wickets in each innings, 41 with the bat first time around and then 37 to help get them over the line.With the Bears closing in, he even nonchalantly ramped Sears for six over third but edged the same bowler behind with 17 needed. It was a purely consolatory strike.