Tottenham Hotspur have some painful attacking teething problems under Thomas Frank. Everything is relative, and there are variables at play, but the struggle to impress on the playmaking front is becoming an unwelcome narrative for the club this season.

But that aside, there is also the sense that purses may need to be pulled out for a new centre-forward in 2026. It feels like Richarlison’s days are numbered at number nine, and Dominic Solanke hasn’t fared all that well since his £55m move from Bournemouth last year, too often injured and too often unconvincing.

Both strikers are 28 years old, and while service has proved thin in recent months, Tottenham will need to consider their options in January.

There is another solution, of course. Randal Kolo Muani appears to have replaced Richarlison as Frank’s first-choice frontman, having started two games in a row in the Premier League.

But, unless a formula is discovered to support him, the Frenchman’s season-long loan spell is going to be a forgettable one.

Randal Kolo Muani's opportunity to shine

Tottenham have more than their share of issues at the moment. It’s an interesting one. They are more stable with Frank at the helm, competitive at the upper end of the Premier League and unbeaten on their return to the Champions League, three games in.

But we cannot ignore the depletion of creativity that has left things feeling rather pedestrian, and even with James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski sidelined since the start of the campaign and a distance away from returning, there is much to improve upon down N17.

Kolo Muani has not scored or assisted across his six outings in a Spurs shirt so far, and the 26-year-old may well feel somewhat aggrieved by the lack of service that came his way against Chelsea, taking only 16 touches across 76 minutes of action, creating a chance and getting stuck in but failing to unleash a single shot (as per Sofascore).

One content creator acknowledged the Les Bleus star for his exciting, progressive efforts when on the ball. However, such efforts were, as stated, few and far between, and he said it “must be absolutely horrible playing up front for this team”.

Premier League 25/26 – xG Leaders
Club	Goals Scored	xG
(1) Crystal Palace	13	18.2
(2) Man City	18	17.8
(3) Man United	15	17.5
(4) Chelsea	18	17.1
(5) Arsenal	18	16.9
(=5) Liverpool	18	16.9
(15) Tottenham	16	10.1
Data via FBref

Tottenham don’t create enough chances, and this is impeding Kolo Muani in his desire to get going in white. However, given that he’s only here for the season, it’s unlikely a permanent deal would be explored if things continue as they are.

Especially when the Lilywhites have an exciting up-and-comer making his way toward the surface.

The Spurs talent who could end Kolo Muani's stay

Tottenham have long boasted one of the most efficient production lines in Europe, and Mason Melia is set to make his way as the latest in this long line of hopefuls.

However, while the pathway from youth to professional football is long and treacherous, Melia is regarded as a rising star with the potential to nail down a place under Frank’s wing, with The Athletic’s Connor O’Neill saying he’s “easily the best young talent I have seen in the League of Ireland”.

The 18-year-old striker has already played 98 senior matches for St. Patrick’s Athletic, scoring 25 goals and registering eight assists. Across the 2024/25 campaign, he posted 14 goals and four assists. As a Republic of Ireland U21 international, he has bagged three goals from just four caps so far.

Both confident in front of goal and athletic enough to drive into the danger area himself, not reliant on his creative teammates, Melia could provide a tonic to Spurs’ current tactical pecadillos, lacking as they are in attack.

He is very young, of course, and could hardly be expected to waltz in and prove an instant upgrade on an established European star like Kolo Muani, but Harry Kane proved in the past that a young striker stands a chance of succeeding where senior peers fail.

Tottenham signed the teenager earlier in 2025 for a record-breaking £3m fee, making him the most expensive footballer to leave Ireland’s top flight. However, he has yet to wear the Spurs shirt in a professional capacity, having agreed to leave his homeland in January 2026.

St. Pat’s’ Young Player of the Year last season, he is widely regarded as one of the most exciting talents in Irish football, with his touch and speed and awareness in the final third all suggesting he has the bearing of a Premier League-level striker.

Given the paucity of reliable options in the final third at Tottenham right now, and with Richarlison among those slated to leave next year, Melia could find himself fast-tracked under Frank’s wing, earning regular opportunities in the first team and potentially even outperforming someone like Kolo Muani, who must continue adapting to the English game himself.

Tottenham might need to play the waiting game for now, but with Melia set to arrive in just a few months, he may find himself earning a string of opportunities before the end of the campaign.

And should he impress as if talent suggests is within his capacity, then it’s hardly out of the question to imagine that Melia could be leading the line in the not-too-distant future.

Not just Simons: Spurs dud is becoming one of their worst-ever signings

Tottenham Hotspur appear to have got it all wrong with the addition of one first-team member.

By
Ethan Lamb

Nov 3, 2025

It is still only October, and it already feels as if the wheels have come off at West Ham United.

The East Londoners are currently in the relegation zone and only being kept off the bottom of the table by an even worse Wolverhampton Wanderers side.

Worse yet, any of the positivity that came from the draw away to Everton in Nuno Espírito Santo’s first game has all but vanished thanks to three consecutive defeats.

Therefore, if the Portuguese coach is to save the Hammer’s Premier League status this season, he needs to make some changes to the team as soon as possible, such as dropping someone who looks miles off the pace.

Changes that Nuno has to make to West Ham

Given the dire situation West Ham currently find themselves in, Nuno has to make some dramatic changes to the team for the next game, and that starts at the back.

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Both Jean-Clair Todibo and Max Kilman must come out of the team, as even though the other options are less than ideal, they have a chance of being better than the Frenchman and Englishman, who have been diabolical for a few games now.

Then, with Ollie Scarles recovering from his dislocated shoulder, the manager should move Kyle Walker-Peters to that right wing-back role if he insists on keeping the shape he used against Leeds on the weekend.

Moreover, while he’s been a brilliant servant to the club, Tomáš Souček now offers little to nothing when he starts, and therefore, he should be dropped to the bench for the far more dynamic and promising Soungoutou Magassa.

Moving on to the attack, and the experiment of player Lucas Paqueta up top has to come to an end.

Paqueta vs Leeds

Minutes

94′

Expected Goals

0.09

Goals

0

Expected Assists

0.10

Assists

0

Shots on Target

1

Touches

83

Crosses (Accurate)

4 (0)

Accurate Passes

45/62 (73%)

All Stats via Sofascore

Yes, Callum Wilson is not of the standard either, but by playing the team’s most creative player as a false nine, the chance creation from deep is practically non-existent.

Ideally, Nuno should revert to a four at the back system and play the Brazilian in attacking midfield.

Last but not least, another change should be made in the middle of the park: the removal of a player who is miles off being the standard required to play for West Ham.

The West Ham ace who must be dropped

He isn’t the number one problem at West Ham this season, but it has become increasingly clear that Andrew Irving is nowhere near good enough to play for the club and should therefore be dropped.

It might sound harsh, but it’s an opinion shared by journalist Jordan Rushworth, who described the Scotsman as a “National League standard” midfielder, adding that he “gets walked past every time an opposition midfielder has the ball.”

Unfortunately for the Edinburgh-born ace, his statistics from the game at Elland Road only back up such a brutal assessment.

Irving vs Leeds

Minutes

64′

Expected Assists

0.01

Key Passes

0

Shots

0

Crosses (Accurate)

1 (0)

Touches

48

Lost Possession

7

Duels (Won)

5 (1)

Dribbled Past

1

All Stats via Sofascore

For example, in his 64 minutes of inaction, he amassed an expected assists figure of just 0.01, failed to make a single key pass, didn’t take any shots, misplaced 100% of his crosses, took 48 touches, lost the ball seven times, lost four of five duels and was dribbled past once.

It’s not just his technical weaknesses that are a problem for the Irons, though, but also his complete lack of any real physicality.

He’s not strong enough on or off the ball and lacks any real athleticism or explosiveness, which in the modern Premier League is a massive problem, and one highlighted by Jamie Carragher after the Brentford loss, when he described the Hammers as “one of the slowest teams I’ve seen in Premier League history!”

Therefore, regardless of the formation he wants to play, Nuno simply has to take Irving out of the starting lineup from now on, especially when he has better options to choose from.

For example, while he can still be a little rash, respected analyst Ben Mattinson has described Magassa as someone blessed with “pure athleticism.”

Moreover, he’s still relatively inexperienced at this level, but Freddie Potts can get around the pitch far easier than the Scotsman, and as Mattinson says, is blessed with an impressive “passing range and powerful carrying” ability.

Ultimately, while there are plenty of changes that need to happen at West Ham, one of the big ones is the removal of Iriving in favour of a far more dynamic and promising alternative.

Related Worse than Summerville: Nuno must drop 3/10 West Ham flop who's "the worst"

West Ham’s woes continued as they were defeated by Leeds United in the Premier League.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Oct 25, 2025

Paul Skenes was looking like his usual dominant self on the mound during the Pittsburgh Pirates' Sunday showdown against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Skenes racked up eight strikeouts throughout the first four innings, including a particularly devastating punch-out against Adrian Del Castillo in the fourth inning. The Diamondbacks' designated hitter stood absolutely no chance against a nasty 86-mph sweeper from Skenes that broke across the entire plate.

The pitch started on the outside and ended up running well inside on Del Castillo who whiffed on the pitch badly for his second strikeout of the game. Have a look:

Simply unhittable stuff from Skenes, who had some of his best stuff on the mound on Sunday, and received some rare early run support from the Pirates lineup, who tagged Zac Gallen for three runs early on.

Prospects of a result are slim with one day remaining and a lead of 73

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay31-Jul-2025

Haseeb Hameed drives during his double-century•Getty Images

Nottinghamshire 511 for 6 (Haseeb 208, James 72, Haynes 70) lead Somerset 438 (Rew 166, Abell 156, Abbas 3-60) by 73 runs Haseeb Hameed made a superb double-hundred but his Nottinghamshire side’s chance of denying Surrey a fourth consecutive Division One title are receding with their Rothesay County Championship contest with Somerset almost certain to end in a draw.With half-centuries from Jack Haynes (70) and Lyndon James (72), Nottinghamshire finished day three at 511 for six in their first innings for a lead of 73. Yet the combination of a dead pitch and the Kookaburra ball seems to have left no realistic route to a positive result on the final day.They began this round – the 11th of the 14 – a point behind Surrey but the latter’s victory against Durham at Chester-le-Street puts clear daylight between them and the chasing pack, although Nottinghamshire still have to go to the Kia Oval in September. Somerset, in third place, arguably need nothing less than a win here to maintain their outside chance.Unless Nottinghamshire can rapidly extend their lead to a couple of hundred on the final morning, and then bowl out Somerset, which seems highly improbable, all four of Nottinghamshire’s matches using the Kookaburra ball will have ended in stalemate.Somerset’s verdict on the conditions was made evident by skipper Lewis Gregory’s decision not to bother with the second new ball, spinner Archie Vaughan bowling the final delivery of the day with a ball that was 151 overs old.Hameed’s 208 – which ended, to his misfortune, when he was run out responding to a team-mate’s call – takes his tally for the season to 1,108 as the leading runscorer in the Rothesay County Championship.A day that will not stay long in the memory began with Nottinghamshire cutting 82 runs from an overnight deficit of 249 and losing one wicket when Joe Clarke chipped Gregory to short midwicket for 42.The afternoon was a little more entertaining, mainly for Craig Overton assuming the role of pantomime villain in his efforts to unseat Hameed, largely by bowling a legside line, often banging the ball in short.Frustrated when the Nottinghamshire skipper was almost out on 137 immediately after lunch – edging wide enough for wicketkeeper James Rew to reach the ball with his fingertips but not catch it – Overton had metaphorical steam emerging from his ears when Hameed’s failed attempt to pull him on 152 ended with the opener desperately trying to kick the ball away from his stumps as it dropped over his shoulder.Hameed survived again. He had gone past 150 in an innings for the fourth time in his career and appeared as temperamentally unflappable as ever.Amid all this, his counterpart Gregory appeared to have decided that taking the second new ball would aid only the batting side in providing more pace on to the bat from a pitch that itself had none to offer.Nonetheless, the fourth wicket partnership of Hameed and Haynes were able to achieve enough acceleration to claim three batting bonus points within the 110-over specified time, giving them five from the match to Somerset’s four, Haynes then becoming the sole casualty of the afternoon, his dismissal to Gregory almost a duplicate of Clarke’s.They had added 123, and with James, a double centurion himself only last week, now at the other end, Hameed might have envisaged another profitable alliance as Nottinghamshire sought to end the day with the upper hand.In the event, after lifting Vaughan gloriously over long-off to complete his third career double-ton with a 23rd four to go with two earlier sixes, Hameed was soon gone, although through no fault of his own, run out brilliantly by the combination of Tom Lammonby and Rew after James had called him through for a single to extra cover.James played nicely again, adding 88 with Liam Patterson-White for the sixth wicket before he was caught on the midwicket boundary.

The ace Sri Lankan spinner was a consultant for New Zealand on their subcontinent tours this season

Interview by Andrew Fidel Fernando15-Nov-2024Rangana Herath, the most successful left-arm bowler ever, was spin consultant in New Zealand’s set up when two left-arm spinners, Ajaz Patel and Mitchell Santner, played big roles in the 3-0 whitewash of India this month. Herath spoke about his experience on working with the bowlers on this history-making tour.Before New Zealand went to India, they had two losses in Sri Lanka. Let’s talk about what that was like.
I was very impressed by their team environment. When you lose, you tend to talk a lot about mistakes. But in this team, what we talked most about was what we learned, how we adjusted to conditions, and how to take the good things we did to India. That’s what we did after the series defeat in Sri Lanka. Although we lost, there weren’t many players who were that upset. I think there’s a lot to learn from that.Everyone – the coaches and the players – were on the same page. Rather than looking too big-picture, everyone was engaged with the match situation at hand and looking to find the best solution to the problem in front of them.Related

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Ajaz triggers late India slide after Jadeja five-for keeps New Zealand to 235

India and England cannot sweep themselves out of trouble in Tests

In that second match in Sri Lanka, Glenn Phillips was the only spinner who took wickets – three. How did that tour affect the spinners?
When you go to Galle, some teams might think: “The pitch turns there, so the spinners have to do everything.” But this team didn’t have that mindset. They trusted their skill and put the emphasis on how accurate they needed to be. Sometimes spinners put unwanted pressure on themselves when they see a turning pitch. It was all about accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. Whether it spins or not, that’s really important. But we did talk about things like angles of attack, and release positions, and how you’d vary them. But mostly we talked about accuracy.What kind of advice did you have as they went to India?
So already there was an emphasis on accuracy. But one thing we knew was that India batters are quite aggressive in their approach. So the thinking for the spinners was around how to be smart when that happens. On the tactical front, what we talked about was how to set those in-out fields that close off the attacking options for batters.Did you look at each batter and plan fields?
Whether it’s a batting-friendly field or a bowling-friendly one, the first 20 to 24 balls is going to be tough for a batter. It’s hard to discern the pace of the pitch, and sometimes you don’t know what is happening. So the main thing we planned was around those 20 balls and employing the right fields during that period. For each batter we made some minor changes to our overall strategy. That was what a lot of the talk going into India was about.”That’s what happens when you put the ball in the right spot”: Ajaz Patel got Shubman Gill bowled with one that went on straight on day three in Mumbai•AFP/Getty ImagesIn the Bengaluru Test you didn’t need the spinners at all. In the second innings, because of the nature of the pitch, were the spinners asked to operate as holding bowlers?
No. Because we had batted and scored 400-odd and by then the pitch was helping spinners a bit. Again, the talk was about putting close-in fielders and shutting off those boundary options.Ajaz Patel got two wickets and those were very important. He got [Yashasvi] Jaiswal, and that was key because he is a batter who attacks a lot. He comes forward and what we saw was, his strength was hitting over mid-off and mid-on. We talked to Ajaz about how to change up his line and his pace, and he did that perfectly. [Patel had Jaiswal stumped for 35.] Then he also got Rohit bowled off the edge. And then Glenn Phillips got Virat Kohli’s wicket. So although the spinners didn’t run through the team, they got them a really important start.When you went to Pune and saw that pitch, what did you talk about?
We saw very quickly that it was going to turn and that we needed to play three spinners. Everyone was on the same page about that again.Mitchell Santner hadn’t been very successful in Sri Lanka, What did you think of his bowling at that point?
I think he had mostly played white-ball cricket for the past few months, and because of that, he was bowling white-ball lengths. When the pitch turns, you need to bowl fuller. Although Santner wasn’t bowling short, on these kinds of pitches he becomes more effective when he pitches it up a bit more.But then the biggest difference between Galle and Pune was that he varied his pace in Pune. That meant he had more leeway with his lengths and he could pitch it up or bowl it slightly shorter, and both could be effective. He understood the pitch really well.The Bengaluru Test was played on a seamers’ track but New Zealand’s spinners had their say in the second innings. Glenn Phillips got Virat Kohli to nick one behind•Idrees Mohammed/AFP/Getty ImagesFrom the time he started, I thought, “He’s going to bowl well here.” It’s hard to predict someone getting five or more wickets. But he was impressive from the outset in that game [with 13 wickets].Did a lot of the spinners’ plans work out against India’s batters, or was it more about building pressure?
I think we built a lot of pressure with spin. When batters have that attacking mindset, the fields that were set by Ajaz and Santner were really good. The bowlers take ownership of those fields and the captain and others are aware of what the plan is.What did you see as the strengths of each of New Zealand’s main spinners – Santner, Patel and Phillips?
They bowl three different lengths between them. Ajaz isn’t very tall – he and I are about the same height. He tries to toss the ball up over the batter’s eyeline and bowl a little fuller – between 4 and 4.5 metres from the stumps.Santner because of his height has the option to bowl a greater variety of lengths, on that pitch in Pune especially.Glenn has his own rhythm. He gets to the crease quickly, and because he bowls a lot of white-ball lengths, he knows how to set a field to that as well. We stressed that they should stick to their strengths. Glenn had a lot of protection. It wasn’t quite a one-day field, but he had more protection than the others.Going into the last innings of that Pune match, India needed 359. How did you approach that?
We thought that it was a big target for them to chase, so we had a lot of confidence, especially because our spinners had bowled well in the first innings. My experience is that even 200 is a big total in a fourth innings, so we were confident.Mitchell Santner was “bowling white-ball lengths” going into the India series, but he soon fixed that and ended up with 13 wickets in the Pune Test•Ishara S Kodikara/AFP/Getty ImagesAgain, Santner and Ajaz varied their pace well. I think that was the difference between New Zealand’s bowlers and India’s.Ajaz didn’t get a lot of wickets in this match, though it was a helpful pitch. What do you think was the reason for that?
On any surface, not everyone is going to get wickets. Ajaz is the main spinner in this team, but sometimes when someone [else] is getting wickets, you have to change your approach also. Sometimes when one bowler is getting wickets, the other person builds pressure. I think Ajaz is someone who looks at what role he has to play in any situation. He’s got a lot of knowledge about cricket, and I think he adapted his game to what he needed to do at the time. At the time the attacking option was Mitchell Santner, and there was understanding there.Going into the third Test, New Zealand had already won the series. There must have been some serious confidence in the team going to the Wankhede?
A lot of players who play Test cricket want to win a Test in India. As someone who played for Sri Lanka I had that dream too, but I wasn’t able to get there. The New Zealand players were also like that. After we won the second match, they never got overconfident. It was more about it being a fresh start, and that this was a new surface, and that we had to adapt again. That was the mindset and that was fantastic. There was no guarantee about winning that third one as well.Ajaz got a lot of wickets in the third Test. Talk us through his first spell.
Ajaz is super interesting, because in the previous Test he’d played at the Wankhede, he’d taken all ten wickets in the first innings, and four wickets in the second. The difference between the previous pitches and this one is that on the Wankhede, you have the red soil, and when it turns there, it turns very sharply. Ajaz has a lot of revolutions on the ball, and so almost all his balls were very effective. Because he tosses it up, he especially gets that very sharp turn.In the last innings India had to get 147. You’ve defended a lot of low scores yourself. What did you say to the bowlers?
I had been talking to them in general about the fourth innings being incredibly tough for batters. Even when we had had to chase 107 in the fourth innings in the first match, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja had made it difficult. So we talked about 147 being a big score to chase. The emphasis was again on accuracy and relying on the help from the surface, which was turning.”Ajaz has a lot of revolutions on the ball, and so almost all his balls were very effective. Because he tosses it up, he especially gets that very sharp turn,” Herath says of New Zealand’s lead spinner in the series•Surjeet Yadav/Associated PressAfter Matt Henry got Rohit out, Ajaz was getting big turn, but he bowled Shubman Gill with one that didn’t turn – that’s what happens when you put the ball in the right spot. We had the trust that the pitch would do the rest if we did the right things.Ajaz is in many ways a similar player to you. What did you speak to him about?
A lot of our talk was about how to be effective whether or not the pitch offers turn – how to adjust your angles of attack, how to change your release positions, how to bowl well, even in New Zealand. All the spinners in this group had an open mind, and that came out of them already having a lot of trust in their skills.What was the feeling like in the dressing room when those wickets were falling?
I was in the dressing room and downstairs during that period, and when Rishabh Pant was batting well, I also did have a doubt about whether they could win.But winning 3-0 was a huge joy. It was like when I was playing and we beat Australia 3-0 [in Sri Lanka in 2016]. It’s something that happens very rarely.Did you learn anything from being part of this series?
Players were very accountable in this environment. When things went wrong, players accepted responsibility and they looked for solutions. That was really impressive. As a coach, being part of an environment like that was really valuable. It was a boon to my coaching career as well.

George Hill steers hosts on shortened day with both dressing rooms eyeing Hampshire result

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Sep-2025Yorkshire 465 for 9 (Hill 88, Raine 4-79, Ghafari 4-114) lead Durham 346 (Raine 101, White 5-69) by 119 runsYorkshire are closing in on Division One survival in the Rothesay County Championship, but Durham are not quite sure of the size of their task heading into day four at Headingley.Should Hampshire – 148 for 9 chasing 181 to beat Surrey at the Utilita Bowl – lose, seventh-placed Yorkshire would be safe no matter the result here in this season finale. Second-bottom Durham would need a draw to be safe.Should Hampshire win – they are eighth in the table – Yorkshire would need to draw here, which they are very well placed to do. But Durham would need a miracle victory to get out of trouble.Yorkshire, replying to a first-innings 346 all out, started a weather-affected day on 314 for 5 and advanced to 465 for 9 in the 51 overs possible, with George Hill compiling a skilful season’s best 88.It’s difficult to see how Durham can win, so they desperately need Surrey to do so down on the south coast.Bad light interrupted play on three occasions at Headingley, with the bulk of the evening lost. No play was possible beyond 3.25pm.Hill impressively supplemented Indian batter Mayank Agarwal’s superb 175 on day two with his fourth fifty of a season which has seen him excel with the ball. His seamers have accounted for 47 Championship wickets.He shared in half-century stands with fellow allrounders Matthew Revis and Jordan Thompson, the latter contributing an unbeaten 44.The morning session was a relatively quiet affair, with Yorkshire advancing to 365 for 7. Ben Raine, who has been excellent with 4 for 71 from 33 overs added to his first-innings century, and Matthew Potts struck for Durham.Raine broke a sixth-wicket stand of 50 between Revis, 38, and Hill. Revis, crowned Yorkshire’s members’ player of the year at the end of day two here, was trapped lbw by an in-ducker before Dom Bess pulled Potts to deep backward square-leg.Hill was a calming presence for Yorkshire as they stretched their lead. In all, he hit 14 fours in 175 balls. Thompson was more expansive, whipping Will Rhodes over deep midwicket for six.Hill moved to a fifty off 105 balls shortly before the hosts reached 400 for 7 in the early stages of the afternoon. By this stage, Yorkshire led by 54 and Durham’s need for wickets was becoming more desperate.Hill did fall short of what would have been his season’s first century when bowled trying to attack the legspin of Afghanistan’s Shafiqullah Ghafari. But Yorkshire’s lead was 97 at 443 for 8.Hill and Thompson had shared an eighth-wicket 86, the latter allrounder playing his last match before a winter move to Warwickshire.Matt Milnes edged to slip to hand Ghafari a fourth wicket before the third bad light stoppage at 3.25pm was the last. With the players off the field at that stage, Durham’s dressing room would have been buoyed by news from Southampton.Yorkshire will head into day four in a much more relaxed state given their strong performance here. Durham, on the other hand, will be on tenterhooks not quite knowing the size or shape of their task in hand.

Former Southampton manager Russell Martin is “still in contention” for what would be a stunning return to St Mary’s.

Though Southampton endured a dismal 2024/25 Premier League campaign, they were still expected to be strong contenders for an immediate promotion from the Championship. Having established himself with Reims and Lens in Ligue 1, Will Still was appointed as Saints manager in the summer.

Despite his obvious potential as a coach, Still was unable to make things click during what was his first job in English football. After winning just two matches out of 13 in the second tier, Still was sacked by the club who, at the time, were 21st in the league following three successive defeats.

Working as interim boss of the Saints, Tonda Eckert won his first game in charge against Queens Park Rangers. Having been called up temporarily from the Under-21s, Eckert has made a good start to his time in charge as Southampton pursue a permanent successor to Still.

Now, reports have indicated that Southampton, who are eight points adrift of the top six, could look to bring a former manager back to the club.

Martin to return to Southampton?

According to Football Insider’s Pete O’Rourke, Martin is “still held in high regard at Southampton and has admirers in the boardroom”.

Taking over the Saints in 2023 after managing MK Dons and Swansea City, Martin guided Southampton to the Premier League via the Championship play-offs.

Wedded to his patient, possession-based brand of football, Martin was sacked by the club in December 2024, in a season that saw the club become the first Premier League side to be condemned to relegation with as many as seven games remaining.

Martin was, in turn, hired by Rangers in the summer of 2025, going onto endure a terrible tenure in charge that lasted for just 123 days. Amongst other reported options, including Frank Lampard and Mark Robins, Martin’s current status as a free agent may mean he is more inclined to take the job.

Football Insider have reported that, whilst Martin being hired by Southampton would be “a surprise, his return has not been ruled out,” as the club do not blame him for the season that they endured in the top flight.

Having been called “unbelievable” by Flynn Downes, who Martin brought to Southampton, the 39-year-old has certainly proven himself at Southampton in the past. Given their current predicament and how badly Martin’s tenure at Rangers went, though, it remains to be seen whether Southampton push further for a reunion.

"Very intelligent" coach interested in Southampton job

Celtic head into the final international break of the year off the back of a 4-0 win over Kilmarnock at Parkhead under Martin O’Neill in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.

The interim head coach has won both of his league games in charge of the club by a 4-0 scoreline, and those two results have left the Hoops seven points behind Hearts in the table, with a game in hand.

Celtic now have an international break to assess their managerial situation after Brendan Rodgers tendered his resignation last month, following a 3-1 defeat to the league leaders.

The Hoops may decide to go with a longer-term option in their bid to overtake Hearts and claim the Premiership title once again, rather than allowing O’Neill to see out the remainder of the season.

Celtic set to make move for managerial target

In fact, a fresh report suggests that the Scottish giants are making moves to bring in a new head coach to take O’Neill’s place and replace Rodgers at Parkhead.

Manager Focus

Who are the greatest coaches in the land? Football FanCast’s Manager Focus series aims to reveal all.

According to TEAMtalk, Celtic are set to make a formal approach to appoint Bodo/Glimt manager Kjetil Knutsen as their next permanent boss this season.

The report claims that the Hoops are ready to make a move for the Norwegian tactician after they learned that he is keen on taking a step up in his career, and that a move to the club would match his ambitions, because of their budget and European football.

TEAMtalk adds that his contract at Bodo/Glimt is due to expire in January, meaning that compensation now would be minimal, but it does not reveal whether or not he would want to see out the final two games of the Eliteserien season.

Why Celtic should appoint Kjetil Knutsen

The Hoops should appoint the Norwegian boss, who Johan Mjällby claimed would be the “perfect fit”, because he could come in and crush Hearts with his track record of winning titles.

Knutsen’s Bodo/Glimt side are currently one point behind Viking in the Eliteserien with two matches left to play, and they have won the title in four of the last five full seasons.

2025

28

64 (2nd)

2024

30

62 (1st)

2023

30

70 (1st)

2022

30

60 (2nd)

2021

30

63 (1st)

2020

30

81 (1st)

As you can see in the table above, the Celtic target knows what it takes to win domestic leagues and to coach a team to achieve success on a consistent basis, which is exactly what the Hoops will be looking for in their next head coach.

The Scottish giants are currently seven points behind Hearts, but that could be four if they win their game in hand, and there is still plenty of football left to be played before the end of the season.

Bodo/Glimt had never won the Eliteserien before Knutsen took charge of the club, and now they are serial winners who have dominated the league for the past five or six years.

Celtic would be hiring a proven winner who can lead a team to glory, even in difficult circumstances, given that his club had never won a league title before his arrival, which is why he could be the dream appointment to crush Hearts this season.

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Therefore, the Bodo/Glimt tactician could be the perfect man to come in and win the league title for the Hoops, despite the position they find themselves in, because of his impressive track record when it comes to winning league titles.

Leeds United will surely already have one eye on the January transfer window as they desperately try to climb out of their relegation mess in the Premier League.

Indeed, Daniel Farke’s men are only one point shy of dropping into the bottom three positions at this moment in time, with some transfers through the door potentially transformative when it comes to their current dismal fortunes.

After all, the West Yorkshire outfit have splashed the cash with some vigour previously in the Premier League in the frantic January window, having once forked out a jaw-dropping £35.5m on Georginio Rutter mid-way through the 2022/23 season.

Back then, it didn’t save the Whites from the relegation trap door. But, Leeds could well fancy another statement move in this fashion to try and make survival a reality, with Ivan Toney audaciously on their shopping list…

Leeds' interest in Toney

If Leeds are in the hunt for a proven Premier League goalscorer that can put away goals by the bucket-load, Toney will surely be very high up their list.

Before moving to the Middle East with Al-Ahli, the clinical 29-year-old had managed to bag 36 Premier League goals for Brentford from 85 total clashes, leading to Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher hailing him as “one of the best attacking players” in the entire daunting division.

It’s not the greatest shock to read, therefore, that a raft of top-flight clubs are now interested in pursuing Toney’s signature, owing to the 6-foot-1 marksman wanting to return to English soil to maximise his international opportunities under Thomas Tuchel, ahead of the approaching World Cup next year.

Leeds had been noted as an interested party, alongside the likes of Everton and Tottenham Hotspur, but it looks as if the financials involved with the statement deal could stop the Whites dead in their tracks – according to an update from TEAMtalk – with Toney earning a staggering £400k-per-week pay-packet in the Saudi Pro League.

This will be a gutting development, considering Leeds have just three away goals all season long.

But, they could forget all about their Toney heartbreak by finally bumping up a free-flowing goalscorer from the U21 ranks to the first team picture.

Leeds can forget Toney by unleashing "one of England's best prospects"

Instead of forking out millions on both a combined transfer fee and wage costs for Toney, Leeds could finally give one of their own a go in the Premier League.

After all, Leeds have a glittering track record when previously gambling on homegrown prodigies coming good, with both Kalvin Phillips and Archie Gray springing to mind, instantly.

Could Harry Gray be the next notable name who lives up to his Thorp Arch hype?

Already, the U21s goal machine has been labelled as “one of England’s best young prospects” by Como scout Ben Mattinson, alongside being dubbed the “real deal” in front of goal at just 17 years of age by Mattinson.

His goalscoring numbers certainly back up all this wild hype, with a hope that Gray – who has a lethal seven goals from just nine games this season – can soon enter into the Whites’ senior mix and be as equally unerring, with Toney’s failed move pushed to one side comfortably, in the process.

25/26

9

7 + 2

24/25

8

3 + 0

23/24

11

8 + 0

It’s not even the boldest claim in the world to suggest that Gray could make waves in the senior game very shortly, with one senior appearance already under his belt.

Journalist Alan Nixon has suggested, though, that the 17-year-old hotshot will be subject to interest from the likes of Derby County and Hull City in January over a loan move, which would be very beneficial to his future development, much like Toney started to make strides in the senior game himself with a string of EFL loan stints.

Still, at some point in the near future, do not rule out Gray becoming Farke’s leading man in attack, with Leeds’ continued goal-shy performances perhaps seeing the German unleash the teenager into the men’s ranks in the New Year, over chucking him out to the Rams or the Tigers temporarily.

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Pakistan had gone to great lengths to take pace and seam movement out of the picture but Seales still found a way

Danyal Rasool17-Jan-2025Jayden Seales knew the deck, quite literally, was stacked against him. Pakistan had spent the last few days working on that deck to make it so, erecting a protective greenhouse and attempting to warm up the Multan surface in frigid conditions using wedding-style heaters. The idea was to dry the pitch out and help the spinners get turn early on. With the 23-year-old the only opposition fast bowler, it would have felt, to him, as if the whole move was simply Operation Stop Jayden Seales.Well, it failed. There’s only so much that can be done when the temperature drops into single digits, and fog encircled the stadium, forcing the game to start four hours late. Seales knew his window to strike was narrow, and he had little time to waste.”We saw from the training sessions that the ball did a little bit when it was new,” he told a press conference after the end of day’s play. “For me, I needed to try and get the best out of the new ball and put the ball in the right areas. And with the cooler conditions this afternoon, it did a bit and it worked out for us.”Related

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Seales had more of an active role in making sure it worked out than he takes credit for. With spin operating right from the outset at the other end, he landed the ball on hard lengths, his height and pace making sure to extract enough bounce. But it was also his guile with the wrists that guaranteed seam movement, particularly in the dismissals of Kamran Ghulam and Babar Azam.Having already dispatched the debutant Mohammad Hurraira, he was shaping it away from Ghulam when he was driven through the off side for four, and when the next one landed around a similar line, Ghulam felt secure enough to shoulder arms. But this one seamed back in and smashed into Ghulam’s thigh, with HawkEye confirming it would have clipped the bails.”I just wanted to build pressure,” he said. “As a fast bowler in Asian countries, you tend to want to make a big impact and you want to do well for the team. Spin obviously dominates in these conditions. So as a fast bowler, I always wanted to get a wicket or be in the game and it so happened that I got the wickets for the team today.”But the dismissal to remove Babar required a delivery to match the quality of the batter, and Seales rose to the challenge. Babar came into this innings, with three successive Test half-centuries amid murmurs he may be returning to form. But before his spell ended, Seales ensured he bowled the delivery to give Pakistan one more bloody punch and leave them staggering.

“As a fast bowler, I always wanted to get a wicket or be in the game and it so happened that I got the wickets for the team today.”Seales after the opening day

He landed it on a length as Babar prepared to get in line and defend. Ball-tracking showed the trajectory was sending it right to the middle of his bat, but he got it to land perfectly on the seam to nip away ever so slightly, and take the outside edge.”I figured that he was watching my hand a bit, so I just tried to deceive him and it so happened that paid off. I think as a bowling unit, we did really well and we’ve just got to back it up again tomorrow. I think going forward in the game the spinners will come into the game a lot more. It may reverse-swing at some point, but I still think that the spinners may dominate in this game moving forward.”But Seales has happy memories against Pakistan, and having long odds against him doesn’t faze him much. It was against this opposition four years ago as a teenager playing his third Test that he secured his breakout performance in Jamaica, taking eight wickets before holding his nerve in a thrilling tenth-wicket stand to secure his side a one-wicket win. He was named the Player of the Match.While he knows his tactics may need to change here, his mentality evidently has not. “I don’t really think of it as pressure or anything like that [being the sole seamer]. For me as a player, [it’s] coming into the game a lot more and lifting my hand up for the team and just trying to do our job every time I’m called upon.”In international cricket, you expect the players to be good and you have to back yourself and match up with players skill for skill and who is the better man on the day will win. And it so happened that today I was the man for the team.”Seales may undersell himself, but, more importantly for West Indies, he finds a way to over-deliver. And in conditions tailor-made to shut him out, few could argue he has not done exactly that.