Enzo Maresca has revealed Reece James' half-time substitution during Chelsea's 2-0 win away at Burnley was a planned switch. The Blues' skipper was replaced by fellow right back Malo Gusto, as the west London club prepare for a crucial week in their season. Maresca's men square off against Barcelona in the Champions League on Tuesday, before hosting rivals Arsenal next Sunday.
Tottenham boss Thomas Frank is apparently making plans for the possible arrival of Brentford forward Kevin Schade as new co-sporting director Fabio Paratici works on a deal behind-closed-doors.
The 23-year-old, who was signed by Frank in a £22 million deal from SC Freiburg just over two years ago, has gone on to seriously impress at the G-tech Community Stadium.
Schade initially joined on loan in January 2023, but after Brentford made his stay permanent, the German sought to repay their faith.
While he missed almost the entirety of his full debut campaign with a hip adductor injury, Schade fired back to full form and fitness in 2024/2025 — bagging 12 goals and three assists in all competitions under Frank whilst playing in every single Premier League match for them.
The former Bundesliga sensation is already off the mark and running for Keith Andrews’ new-look Brentford side this season too, and he’s now attracting serious attention from N17.
According to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg recently, Tottenham are among the teams keeping close tabs on Schade, and the Germany international is “one to watch” this season with his contract expiring in under three years.
Frank’s obvious tie with Schade from their time together at Brentford has also led to speculation that Spurs could try their luck at a January deal.
This is now backed up by an intriguing update via CaughtOffside and journalist Mark Brus, who shared what Frank has now got in mind for Schade at Tottenham.
What Frank has "already" planned for Schade at Tottenham
Quoting multiple sources of his, Brus claims that Frank has “already planned how he’d slot into the system” for Spurs, with another source reporting “Paratici is working behind the scenes” on a deal.
Another source adds that Tottenham see Schade as the “perfect profile” to come in and bolster Frank’s attacking options.
However, this all being said, the Bees are known to be stubborn negotiators and have placed a £48 million price tag on the forward’s head as we slowly enter 2026.
Frank, amid his wave of injury problems, still has Dejan Kulusevski and James Maddison yet to return, and once they come back, it’ll be difficult to see where Schade could fit in given their current wide options.
West Ham 0-2 Brentford
8.26
Brentford 3-2 Liverpool
8.00
Brentford 2-2 Chelsea
7.35
Brentford 1-0 Aston Villa
7.31
Brentford 3-1 Man United
7.03
via WhoScored
Wilson Odobert, Brennan Johnson, Mathys Tel, Xavi Simons and Mohammed Kudus also stand out among their crop right now, with Mikey Moore also to return from his loan spell at Rangers at the end of the season.
Spurs arguably have more pressing matters to deal with, like their potential need for a reliable striker.
Paratici and co-director Johan Lange have been linked with a move for Brentford’s Ivan Toney or Juventus star Dušan Vlahović amid the uncertainty surrounding Richarlison’s future and Dominic Solanke’s fitness woes.
That being said, if Frank is indeed already making plans to slot Schade into his Spurs setup, the Dane appears to be serious.
Liverpool are now reportedly readying a stunning £70m move to sign another key Newcastle United star not long after swooping in to sign Alexander Isak in the summer.
Those at Anfield were in a ruthless mood in the summer, but that ruthlessness is yet to show itself on the pitch. Liverpool have been inconsistent champions after transforming their squad and only just turned their fortunes around after six losses in seven games. Arne Slot will be hoping that midweek victory over Real Madrid is enough to get his side going again, however.
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With Manchester City up next, the Reds have the chance to end a much-needed week of wins in style, whilst also sending quite the statement. Slot knows a trip to the Etihad is rarely without its complications though, and has been full of praise for Pep Guardiola’s side in the build-up.
Liverpool are also aiming for three-straight clean sheets in what would represent their recent turnaround from initial defensive vulnerability. Achieving that up against one of, if not the best striker in the world in Erling Haaland would give that back four all the confidence they need.
That said, even after recent clean sheets, there are still problems for the Reds to address within their backline and one of those problems is finding a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk.
Liverpool now readying Botman move
According to reports in Spain, Liverpool and FSG are now readying a move for Sven Botman worth as much as €80m (£70m) in 2026. Just one summer after breaking their transfer record to sign Isak, those at Anfield have set their sights on the Dutch centre-back in an attempt to solve their defensive problems.
Whilst the immediate thought may be that Botman would replace Ibrahima Konate, who is on course to leave as a free agent next summer, he may actually replace Van Dijk in the long-term. WhoScored went as far as to say that the 25-year-old is the next Van Dijk during his time at Lille and his time in the Premier League has only added further credit to that statement.
PL stats P90 25/26
Van Dijk
Botman
Minutes
900
552
Progressive Passes
6.30
3.11
Tackles Won
0.40
0.49
Successful Aerial Duels
4.70
2.79
As impressive as Botman is, however, the stats highlight the task that Liverpool have on their hands. Replacing Van Dijk is their very own mission impossible. Botman would bring Premier League experience and his ability in possession is still of a high standard, but that still may not be enough to fill the void left behind by the Liverpool captain.
Slot just found the new Gini Wijnaldum in "special" Liverpool star
Premier League teams have been urged to exploit a weak link in Thomas Frank’s starting eleven at Tottenham.
Tottenham edge out Leeds United in 2-1 win
The Lilywhites, once again, were forced to display real grit as Spurs battled their way to a 2-1 win away at Leeds United in today’s early kick-off.
Goals from Mathys Tel, who was given the starting nod over Richarlison, and summer signing Mohammed Kudus edged Leeds out, despite Daniel Farke’s side battling to the last second on a very rainy afternoon at Elland Road.
Mohammed Kudus
8.4
Mathys Tel
7.8
Noah Okafor
7.0
Sean Longstaff
7.0
Jayden Bogle
6.8
via WhoScored
Noah Okafor did make the game level before half-time, but Kudus’ deflected first ever goal for Tottenham gifted Frank’s side a hard-fought three points.
The Ghanaian’s Man of the Match display helped Spurs become the first team to beat Leeds on home turf in a league game for over a year — putting their disappointing draw against Bodo/Glimt in the Arctic Circle firmly behind them.
An ever-present in Spurs’ team ever since his £17 million move from Empoli in 2023, goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, also made crucial saves in Yorkshire.
Vicario thwarted Dominic Calvert-Lewin from making it 2-1 just after half-time with a left-footed stop before denying Leeds again in the very last minutes, but the shot-stopper was left in no-mans-land when ex-Spurs defender Joe Rodon missed a gaping chance early in the first half.
The Italy international started his Lilywhites career impressively under Ange Postecoglou, putting in some excellent performances and pulling off match-winning saves since then, but Vicario has attracted criticism for his handling of crosses into the box.
Premier League rivals urged to expose Guglielmo Vicario at Tottenham
Former Newcastle and Crystal Palace midfielder Darren Ambrose, speaking to talkSPORT earlier this week, is convinced that Vicario has been “found out” because of this and has urged Premier League rivals to take advantage.
There were flashes of this issue from Vicario against Leeds, especially with Rodon’s opportunity as a result of the 28-year-old’s failure to deal with an incoming ball.
However, Tottenham’s goalkeeping coaches can always work on the keeper’s lack of confidence right now when it comes to claims.
The former Serie A keeper is still quite young in goalkeeping terms, and while there is still room for improvement, ex-teammate Fraser Forster piled praise on Vicario’s work ethic to get better behind-the-scenes.
This season feels like a do-or-die for Mikel Arteta and Arsenal.
The Spaniard has done a brilliant job of taking the club from mid-table mediocrity to perennial title challengers in five years, but he now needs to get the team over the finishing line.
Fortunately, even with the absurd number of injuries they’re already facing, the Gunners now have a squad full to bursting with brilliant players, like Eberechi Eze, who could help them win the Premier League or Champions League.
Interestingly, though, while Arsenal should be delighted to have the Crystal Palace star on the books, one of their former players is currently performing just like him.
The problems Eze solves for Arsenal
Now, while there are undoubtedly other things he brings to the table, there are two main ways Eze can help Arsenal, and they are somewhat interlinked.
Firstly, the Gunners ended last season with 17 fewer goals scored than champions Liverpool, and therefore needed to go out and sign a serious attacking threat in the summer, like the former Palace star.
For example, in 43 appearances last season, totalling 3,303 minutes, the England international scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists.
Appearances
43
Minutes
3303′
Goals
14
Assists
11
Goal Involvements per Match
0.58
Minutes per Goal Involvement
132.12′
That means he averaged a goal involvement every 1.72 games, or every 132.12 minutes, and the fact that he was able to do so in a mid-table side is even more encouraging.
This links to the other main way in which the Greenwich-born star could help the Gunners: his positional versatility.
On top of being proven in the number ten role, the former QPR gem is more than capable of playing off the left.
Not only will this give Arteta more tactical flexibility in games, but it also means the 27-year-old will be able to provide genuine competition for Gabriel Martinelli and Martin Odegaard, two players who underperformed last year.
In all, Eze looks like an excellent signing for Arsenal, even though a player sold by the club years ago is starting to resemble the £68m man.
The former Arsenal star playing like Eze
It would be fair to say that Arsenal do not have the best track record when it comes to selling, often due to them selling a player for way less than their worth.
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That isn’t actually the case in this instance, as former Hale Ender Alex Iwobi was sold to Everton in 2019 for a hefty fee of around £35m.
The Nigerian wasn’t a bad player for the Gunners, far from it, but he wasn’t ever spectacular, and so when the Toffees made an offer like that for someone who’d amassed a tally of 39 goal involvements in 149 games, it was probably the right decision to let him go.
While he played a big role on Merseyside, the versatile international was eventually sold to Fulham for around £22m in the summer of 2023, and it would be accurate to say he’s been at his best with the Cottagers.
In fact, since moving to Craven Cottage, the former Gunners ace has scored 16 goals and provided ten assists in 83 appearances, totalling 6118 minutes.
Appearances
149
140
83
Goals
15
9
16
Assists
24
16
10
Goal Involvements per Match
0.26
0.17
0.31
Yet, despite putting in consistently good performances for the West Londoners and already racking up three goal involvements in five league games this season, some consider him to be overlooked, with journalist Daniel Storey going as far as calling him “one of the most underrated midfielders in the country.”
With that said, what makes him like Eze?
Well, the first similarity the Nigerian shares with the Gunners ace is his positional versatility, as he’s just as comfortable playing on the wing as he is in midfield.
Second, he is also becoming a greater goal threat for his side, racking up 15 goal involvements in the league last season and just seven the year before.
Finally, like the North Londoners’ new star, he is also capable of making things happen, both through his brilliant close control and ability to deliver a pinpoint-accurate cross into the penalty area.
Ultimately, Arsenal did the right thing in selling Iwobi when they did, but it’s also true that the Fulham star is playing incredibly well at the moment, and looking a bit like Eze in the process.
Arsenal had Lewis-Skelly 2.0 in Hale End "monster", then he left for £0
The talented Hale Ender looked like he was going to be a star for Arsenal.
ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 25, 2025
Lionel Messi was rested for Argentina’s friendly against Venezuela, a 1-0 win, at Hard Rock Stadium on Friday, keeping alive the possibility he could feature for Inter Miami against Atlanta United on Saturday. Earlier in the day, head coach Javier Mascherano said Messi’s availability would depend on whether he played against Venezuela, noting that Argentina would make the final decision.
Abishek Porel is currently the second-highest run-getter for Delhi Capitals (DC) in IPL 2025 behind KL Rahul. He hasn’t reached there – 225 runs in eight innings – with big, crushing-the-opposition knocks, but regular, crucial contributions at the top of the order. And those have been coming because “I know my game and the support staff knows my game,” Porel says. The team knows what it can get from Porel and he knows what he can give the team.The season started with a two-ball duck for Porel, one of four players – Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Tristan Stubbs the others – retained by DC ahead of the last auction. Porel said he was “feeling the pressure”, but the big men in the backroom, coach Hemang Badani, mentor Kevin Pietersen, captain Axar and others made him pick himself up, and “I am getting the results”.”I am enjoying myself, enjoying every innings I play,” Porel said at a press conference after DC beat Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Lucknow on Tuesday night for their sixth win in eight games this season. “I am trying to find ways to get better each time I bat. I talk a lot with Hemang sir and KP at training, trying to figure out what I can work on to do better. What I do in training, I bring to the matches.Related
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“Pitches keep changing, but I know my game and the support staff knows my game, what I can do and can’t do. They always ask me to be free, bat with freedom, not worry about other things. They say they are with me at all times. I had a couple of bad outings, scored a zero in the first game, and was feeling the pressure, so they all backed me: ‘We are with you, don’t worry.’ KP backed me, Hemang sir backed me, the captain backed me, KL [Rahul] always backs me, he reminded me, ‘You did well against LSG [Rahul’s former team] last year].’ It motivates me.”Kuldeep keeps telling me, ‘You are a very good batsman, you have great timing.’ This is very important for a player. Even if you don’t back yourself, these people are always backing me. This motivates me to play with freedom and play to my strengths, and I am getting the results.”There has been just one other failure for Porel this season: a run-a-ball 7 against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). Apart from that, he has scored 34* in 18 balls vs Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), 33 in 20 vs Chennai Super Kings (CSK), 33 in 25 vs Mumbai Indians (MI), 49 in 37 vs Rajasthan Royals (RR) and 18 in nine balls vs Gujarat Titans (GT), before scoring 51 in 36 balls to give DC exactly the start they needed against LSG. The last four games have been as opener, as DC have tried to find a fix in the absence of the injured Faf du Plessis and the out-of-touch Jake Fraser-McGurk, with Karun Nair going out with Porel at the top.Porel has gone at a strike rate of 146.10 this season. Not earth-shattering, but DC have got what they want from him after he had given them 327 runs in 14 matches last season, scoring at a strike rate of 159.51.And though higher honours might be some way away, Porel has reason to dream, short term as well as long term. “The plan for the future is obviously to play for India, play for the national team for many years,” he said. “But right now, what matters more to me is the IPL trophy; how we can do better, how I can contribute to making DC IPL champions.”
أفتتح بيدري لاعب خط وسط برشلونة التسجيل لفريقه أمام جيرونا، خلال اللقاء الذي يجري حاليًا ضمن منافسات الدوري الإسباني.
ويحتل برشلونة المركز الثاني في جدول ترتيب الدوري الإسباني برصيد 19 نقطة خلال 8 مباريات، حيث فاز في 6 مباريات وخسر مباراة وتعادل مثلها.
ويحتل جيرونا المركز السابع برصيد 6 نقاط خلال 8 مباريات، حيث حقق الفريق الكتالوني انتصارًا واحدًا وتعادل في 3 مباريات وخسر 4.
اقرأ أيضًا.. “المحبوب”.. ميسي يتلقى تكريمًا خاصًا من جماهير برشلونة
وفي الدقيقة 12 استلم بيدري الكرة من جناح برشلونة لامين يامال ليمر أمام مدافعي جيرونا ويحرز الهدف بطريقة رائعة.
🔥 بيدري يفتتح التسجيل لبرشلونة بهدف رائع!#الدوري_الإسباني #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/Tg3e27Rqre — beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) October 18, 2025
وكان هانز فليك مدرب برشلونة قد دخل لقاء اليوم بتشكيل مكون من: “تشيزني، كوندي، إريك جارسيا، كوبارسي، بالدي، كاسادو، فرينكي دي يونج، بيدري، لامين يامال، راشفورد، توني فرنانديز”.
MatériaMais Notícias
Palmeiras e Fortaleza se enfrentam nesta quarta-feira (17), às 19h, no Allianz Parque, pelo jogo de ida das oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil. Será o primeiro duelo entre essas equipes pela competição nacional. Ambas terão de lidar com desfalques importantes em seus times titulares, mas apostam no trabalho de longo prazo para suprirem as ausências.
continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasPalmeirasTécnico do Palmeiras, Abel Ferreira é absolvido pelo STJD e está livre de punição no BrasileirãoPalmeiras16/05/2023PalmeirasOLHAR DO PORCO: Castiga eles, Baixola! Dudu reencontra adversário do seu último gol pelo Palmeiras no Allianz ParquePalmeiras16/05/2023PalmeirasMarcos Rocha inicia transição, e Palmeiras segue preparação para pegar o Fortaleza na Copa do Brasil; veja provável timePalmeiras16/05/2023
+ Veja tabela da Copa do Brasil-2023 clicando aqui
Por parte do Verdão, Abel Ferreira já tem precisado trabalhar com as ausências há algumas partidas. Para esta quarta, o técnico não poderá contar com os titulares Marcos Rocha (lesão muscular), Murilo (cirurgia no ombro) e Artur (não pode jogar a Copa do Brasil, pois já atuou pelo Bragantino). Mayke e Luan serão os substitutos no setor defensivo, mas no ataque a dúvida ficará até momentos antes do duelo. Endrick, Flaco López, Rafael Navarro e até Breno Lopes concorrem a essa vaga. Por outro lado, Piquerez e Zé Rafael retornam ao time após suspensão.
A situação não é muito diferente pelos lados do Fortaleza de Juan Pablo Vojvoda. Invicto no Brasileirão assim como o Alviverde, o time cearense tem uma lista enorme de desfalques para o jogo. No entanto, é possível que pelo menos duas dessas baixas possam estar em campo nesta quarta: Thiago Galhardo e Moisés, que são dúvidas. Já os demais não devem mesmo estar disponíveis para o técnico argentino. Mas há também notícias boas. O zagueiro Brítez, que estava suspenso no Brasileirão, retorna para a equipe titular diante do Palmeiras.
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+OLHAR DO PORCO: Sem Artur, Abel tem diversas opções para escalar o Palmeiras diante do Fortaleza
Veja todas as informações da partida:
PALMEIRAS x FORTALEZA
Local: Allianz Parque, em São Paulo (SP)
Data e hora: 17/5/2023, às 19h (de Brasília)
Árbitro: Wagner do Nascimento Magalhães (Fifa-RJ)
Assistentes: Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Correa (Fifa-RJ) e Luiz Claudio Regazone
VAR: Rodrigo Nunes de Sá (VAR-Fifa-RJ)
Onde assistir: SporTV, Premiere e em tempo real no LANCE!
PALMEIRAS: Weverton; Mayke, Gustavo Gómez, Luan e Piquerez; Zé Rafael, Gabriel Menino e Raphael Veiga; Dudu, Rony e Endrick (Flaco López ou Rafael Navarro). Técnico: Abel Ferreira.
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Desfalques: Artur (não pode jogar a Copa do Brasil), Giovani (Seleção sub-20), Murilo (cirurgia no ombro direito), Marcos Rocha (transição física) e Atuesta (cirurgia no joelho direito)
Pendurados: não tem
FORTALEZA: João Ricardo; Tinga, Brítez, Titi, Pacheco; Caio Alexandre, Lucas Sasha, Hércules; Calebe (Thiago Galhardo), Romarinho (Moisés) e Lucero. Técnico: Juan Pablo Vojvoda.
Desfalques: Bernardo Schappo e Alix Vinícius (não podem jogar a Copa do Brasil), Ceballos (suspenso), Pedro Rocha (cirurgia no joelho), Marcelo Benevenuto (lesão muscular) e Fernando Miguel (lesão no joelho).
Dúvidas: Moisés (trauma no pé) e Thiago Galhardo (pubalgia)
Pendurados: não tem
Tudo sobre
Copa do BrasilFortalezaPalmeiras
MatériaMais Notícias
O Palmeiras conseguiu mais uma vitória de virada nesta temporada. Desta vez a vítima foi o Cerro Porteño, derrotado por 2 a 1, no Morumbi, pela segunda rodada da fase de grupos da Libertadores. Apesar do resultado, há pontos a serem corrigido e levados em consideração, como Dudu destacou em entrevista na zona mista do estádio logo após o duelo desta quinta-feira. Para ele, o Verdão entrou “mole” no jogo e espera que isso sirva de lição para os próximos compromissos do time.
> Veja tabela e classificação da Libertadores-2023 clicando aqui
Com participação direta no primeiro gol do Alviverde, Dudu foi o único jogador da equipe a conversar com os jornalistas na zona mista. Ele não escondeu o descontentamento geral do elenco com a atuação da primeira etapa em que, segundo ele, o Cerro atropelou. No ponto de vista do camisa 7, faltou o Palmeiras competir, algo que não é possível faltar em uma Libertadores.
+ Assine o Star+ por apenas R$32,90 por mês e acompanhe o Verdão na Libertadores quando e onde quiser!
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-Acho que no primeiro tempo não foi a nossa equipe, entrou muito mole, não competiu, não fez aquilo que a gente tinha combinado na preleção. A gente sabe que Libertadores, se a gente entrar e não competir, os adversários vão passar por cima, vão atropelar. Foi o que o Cerro fez no primeiro tempo. No segundo tempo eu acho que a gente competiu, a gente fez o nosso jogo e conseguiu o resultado, a virada. No primeiro tempo não foi legal e no segundo tempo a gente conseguiu a virada, que se a gente não consegue essa virada, a gente iria se complicar muito na Libertadores.
> ASSISTA: melhores momentos da vitória do Palmeiras sobre o Cerro Porteño pela Liberta
Como Dudu disse acima, uma derrota nesta quinta-feira poderia complicar bastante a vida do Verdão na competição continental. Além de se manter com zero pontos, aumentaria o saldo de gols negativo na tabela. Para ele, isso teve um peso para o time logo após sofrer o gol tão cedo.
-No primeiro tempo a gente não conseguiu competir, no segundo a gente conseguiu rodar a bola, conseguiu tocar. A gente levou um gol muito cedo, às vezes bateu um pouco de desespero por a gente não ter pontuado na primeira rodada, mas a gente está de parabéns pelo segundo tempo.
Por fim, Dudu fez questão de dizer que o Palmeiras deve tomar essa atuação do primeiro tempo como lição para os próximos compromissos da equipe na temporada, como o deste domingo, às 16h, diante do Vasco, no Maracanã, pela segunda rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro.
-Agora é ter tranquilidade, descansar, trabalhar, para a gente fazer um bom jogo no domingo, contra o Vasco, e que sirva de lição para a gente não entrar como a gente entrou no primeiro tempo.
O Palmeiras é o último colocado do Grupo C da Libertadores com três pontos, mesma pontuação dos demais rivais. A diferença é que o Verdão segue com um gol de saldo negativo. Pelo torneio continental, o Alviverde volta a campo no dia 3 de maio, em Guayaquil, contra o Barcelona-EQU.
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