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Celtic will once again have to worry about whether or not they will be able to keep hold of their top performers during the summer transfer window.

The Scottish giants have cashed in on many of their key players over the years; including the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Victor Wanyama, Odsonne Edouard, Moussa Dembele, and Kieran Tierney, among others.

Last year, Brendan Rodgers lost electric forward Jota to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad and central defender Carl Starfelt to Spanish side Celta Vigo.

The Northern Irish head coach is now at risk of seeing another Hoops sensation move on from Parkhead with speculation over the future of his star midfielder.

Celtic place new price tag on midfield magician

According to Spanish outlet AS, Celtic value Danish wizard Matt O'Riley at an eye-catching fee of €40m (£33.7m) amid interest from Atletico Madrid.

The report claims that Diego Simeone is looking to bolster his midfield options and the former MK Dons ace has emerged as an option for the LaLiga giants.

It states that Atletico would be prepared to offer €20m (£16.9m) to sign the left-footed talent, which is only half of what the Scottish side are asking for.

AS also relays a report from Danish publication Tipsbladet during the previous transfer window that claimed the Bhoys wanted €29m (£24.5m) for the exciting gem at the time.

This shows that Celtic's valuation of O'Riley has rocketed up by £9.2m over the last few months, which could make it difficult for Atletico to get a deal done – particularly if they are only willing to go as high as £16.9m.

It, therefore, remains to be seen whether or not any team will be prepared to splash out £33.7m to land the English-born playmaker this summer.

Celtic could hit the jackpot with Matt O'Riley

If the 23-year-old maestro is sold for a fee in that region then it would represent the Scottish giants hitting the jackpot on the former League One talent.

Celtic swooped to sign the attacking midfielder from MK Dons, called "immense" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, in January 2022 for a reported fee of £1.5m, which is significantly lower than the kind of price he could go for this summer.

Selling the Denmark international, who was not selected for a place in his country's Euros squad, for £33.7m would be a staggering profit of 2,146% on that initial £1.5m outlay, illustrating how much of a blinder the club played by bringing him to Parkhead in the first place.

Sofascore rating

7.91

1st

Goals

18

1st

Assists

13

1st

Big chances created

14

1st

Key passes per game

2.5

1st

As you can see in the table above, O'Riley was exceptional in the Scottish Premiership for the Bhoys during the 2023/24 campaign with his ability to make a big impact in the final third.

Kelleher signs, £8m star bought: What Rodgers' dream Celtic XI could be

A look at what the Hoops team could be next season if they have a successful summer transfer window.

ByDan Emery Jun 15, 2024

He showcased his quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals as the Atletico target led the way for the club in a host of key attacking metrics, which has led to the Hoops placing a new, stunning, valuation on his head.

Tottenham Hotspur secured a needed 2-0 victory over Brentford this afternoon to help ease the pressure on the shoulders of current manager Thomas Frank.

The win over Bees was the Lilywhites’ first in the Premier League since the win at Everton at the end of October – a run that lasted a total of five matches.

Goals from Xavi Simons and Richarlison secured all three points for the hosts, with such a result taking the side up to eighth place in England’s top-flight after 15 games.

Frank will no doubt be hoping such a result will kickstart his tenure in North London, especially after a stop-start period which has led to discontent being directed his way from the fans.

One player could well prove to be crucial over the next couple of months, especially if his showing at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this afternoon is anything to go by.

The stats behind Xavi Simons’ display against Brentford

After spending £52m on Simons’ signature during the summer window, many Spurs fans will no doubt have expected the attacking midfielder to make an immediate impact to life in England.

However, prior to the clash with Brentford today, he had failed to find the back of the net for his new side, but his 43rd-minute effort has finally broken such a spell at the 19th attempt.

The Dutch international also registered the assist for Richarlison’s strike in the 25th minute, with the youngster having a hand in both of the side’s efforts in North London.

Simons’ underlying stats from the triumph were just as impressive, with the midfielder completing 86% of the passes he attempted, with five of which going into the final third.

He also won three fouls, whilst also creating two chances for his teammates – in what was undoubtedly his best showing since his big-money transfer to the Premier League.

The fanbase will no doubt be hoping that the Dutchman can continue such form, but it didn’t stop another player from reaching similar levels this afternoon.

The Spurs player who looked like Bale against Brentford

Gareth Bale was a player who often managed to get the Spurs fans off their seats as a result of his performances on the pitch during his spell in North London.

The Welshman used to torment defenders with his relentless running and his ability to go either inside or outside when travelling with the ball on the right-flank.

However, since his big-money transfer to Real Madrid in the summer of 2013, the club have greatly lacked that presence and talent off such a wing in the final third.

Brennan Johnson was often filled the void in the last couple of years, even scoring 18 times last season, but he’s ultimately struggled to nail down the position as his own.

He’s since dropped further down the pecking order in the last few months since Frank’s arrival, especially after the Dane forked out a reported £55m for the signature of Mohammed Kudus.

The Ghanaian international has started all but one league game since his arrival, with the manager once again selecting him during the victory earlier this afternoon.

He once again took centre stage in the clash with the Bees and demonstrated why the manager has faith in him to provide the goods – arguably being just like Bale with such a display.

Kudus managed to complete five dribbles during the win – the most of any player on the pitch – taking his tally to 45 this season, the highest tally of any player in the division at present.

He also managed to complete two crosses, created two chances and completed 92% of his passes – reminiscent of the numbers Bale produced during his own spell at the club.

Minutes played

80

Touches

67

Passes completed

92%

Dribbles completed

5

Crosses completed

2

Chances created

2

Duels won

9

Aerials won

100%

The winger’s excellent display was further reflected in his tally of nine duels and 100% aerials won, with the forward managing to star even when not in possession of the ball.

As a result of his showing, the forward was handed an impressive 7/10 match rating by Football London, further showcasing his impressive display against Frank’s former side.

There’s no doubt the winger has made himself one of the first players on the teamsheet, with him and Simons potentially playing a key role at the club for many years to come.

Should he continue on his current path, there’s no reason why he can’t become as pivotal as Bale was at the club – potentially taking the club to new heights in the process.

Forget Simons: Spurs "liability" is now becoming the new Ndombele

This Tottenham star is flattering to deceive in spite of his immense talent.

ByAngus Sinclair 6 days ago

van der Merwe scores 76, de Lange 75 as Somerset look to bat once with visitors three down in reply

ECB Reporters' Network05-Jul-2021Josh Davey’s career best 75 not out helped Somerset dominate the second day of the LV=Insurance County Championship match with Leicestershire at Taunton.The Group Two leaders began by extending their first-innings score from a precarious 242 for 7 to 461 for 9 declared, Davey sharing century stands with Roelof van der Merwe, who scored 76, and Marchant de Lange, who reached 75.Then Somerset’s seamers got to work, reducing Leicestershire to 60 for 3 in reply. They closed a final session curtailed by rain on 95 for 3, with skipper Colin Ackermann unbeaten on 21.The day began under cloudy skies at the Cooper Associates County Ground, with van der Merwe on 18 and Davey 4. The former proved the aggressor, taking successive boundaries off Ben Mike as the total advanced to 272 for 7 before the second new ball was taken.It made little difference as van der Merwe moved confidently to fifty off 70 balls, with six fours and a six. He and Davey looked untroubled in extending their eighth-wicket partnership to 102.Ed Barnes eventually had van der Merwe caught at long-on to end an innings that had transformed Somerset’s prospects. But if Leicestershire thought their troubles were over, de Lange was about to prove them wrong. On no fewer than six occasions, the powerful South African swung from the hip to clear the ropes over mid-wicket. And all the time Davey was patiently accumulating to reach his first Championship half-century for Somerset off 144 balls.Roelof van der Merwe drives during his 76•Getty Images

It was 408 for 8 for lunch, by which time de Lange had reached a 38-ball fifty and the hosts were looking to bat only once in the game.They had progressed to 446 when de Lange was caught at long-on off Callum Parkinson. It remained for Davey to go past his previous best first-class score of 71, made for Middlesex on debut against Oxford University back in 2010. At the declaration, the Scotland one-day and T20 international, often an unsung hero of Somerset’s team, had faced 169 balls and hit 11 fours.All the momentum was with the home side and they maintained it before tea, claiming the wickets of Lewis Hill, Rishi Patel and Marcus Harris to leave their opponents 60 for 3.Skipper Craig Overton dropped Hill on 14 at third slip off Jack Brooks, but responded by pinning the opener lbw with the first ball of the following over.Brooks and Davey claimed a wicket apiece before Ackermann dug in, receiving solid support from Josh Inglis in an unbroken stand of 35.The action looked set to continue beyond 7pm to make up for overs lost on day one. But heavy rain set in and the umpires called play off shortly before 6pm.

Glasgow Rangers made two huge decisions on Monday as they announced that both CEO Patrick Stewart and sporting director Kevin Thelwell had been removed from their posts at Ibrox.

Chairman Andrew Cavenagh revealed to Sky Sports, in the post below, that the Gers need different people in those two leadership positions moving forward in order for the club to be successful.

The Rangers chief was careful not to throw mud at Stewart and Thelwell for their work at Ibrox, but suggested that it was down to their performance in their respective roles, as he stated that they still aligned with the overarching project.

Given that Russell Martin’s tenure lasted 17 matches and several summer signings do not look up to scratch, it is hard to disagree with the club’s decision to part ways with both of them, particularly Thelwell.

Looking at the list of summer signings in the graphic above, it is easier to pick out the players who have flopped or struggled than it is to pick out the successes from the summer transfer window.

The summer signing that Thelwell may go on to be infamous at Ibrox for is Youssef Chermiti, as he arrived from his former club Everton in a big-money deal.

Why Rangers should not have signed Youssef Chermiti

To preface this, supporters and those at the club will, of course, be hoping that the Portugal U21 international goes on to prove everyone wrong and becomes a consistent goalscorer for the Light Blues.

However, at this moment in time, it looks like a deal that the Scottish giants should not have done, particularly for the reported money that was involved in the move.

Thelwell signed Chermiti for Everton from Sporting in a deal worth up to £15m in the summer of 2023, but he did not score a single competitive goal for the Toffees in two years during his time in England.

Then, after moving to Rangers in April, the sporting director signed the centre-forward for a second time, splashing £8m to bring him to Ibrox, in the most expensive Gers deal since Tore Andre Flo joined for £12m in 2000.

It is fair for supporters to expect a player to make an immediate impact in Glasgow when signed for that kind of money, as Chermiti is the club’s most expensive player in 25 years, but that has not been the case.

The former Everton marksman has scored one goal in 13 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues, per Sofascore, which shows that the forward has failed to deliver much in the way of quality in the final third.

Starts

4

xG

1.29

Goals

0

Big chances missed

4

Big chances created

0

Assists

0

Pass accuracy

59%

Duel success rate

35%

As you can see in the table above, Chermiti has been incredibly underwhelming in the Europa League so far this season, failing to score from 1.29 xG after starting all four of his appearances in the competition.

The 21-year-old striker’s dismal form for the club so far suggests that Thelwell made a mistake when he signed the forward for £8m, because he has not made the kind of impact that Rangers should expect from such an expensive signing.

Chermiti, though, is not the only one of the summer signings you could argue that Thelwell should not have signed because of their performances in the 2025/26 campaign.

Chalkboard

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

The former Rangers sporting director swooped to bring in Jayden Meghoma on loan from Brentford to bolster Russell Martin’s full-back options, as the ex-Gers boss had worked with the youngster during their time together at Southampton.

Why Rangers should not have signed Jayden Meghoma

During the summer window, Thelwell decided to cash in on the two senior left-back options at Ibrox, selling Jefte to Palmeiras and Ridvan Yilmaz to Besiktas.

Whilst those respective sales were not horrendous decisions in isolation, this issue is that Meghoma was the only signing brought in to replace those two senior players.

4 Lads Had A Dream covered Ally McCoist’s claim that Rangers have “downgraded” across the pitch since last season, and referenced Meghoma in comparison to Jefte as one of the areas in which the team have failed to improve.

It is not the 19-year-old defender’s fault that he has been brought in to be a first-choice option for a team that is expected to win consistently and compete on the European stage, when his experience last season was playing 12 matches on loan at Preston in the English Championship.

Meghoma, unfortunately, does not look ready to be a first-choice left-back at this level at the moment, as evidenced by his statistics in comparison to Jefte’s at Scottish Premiership level.

Appearances

33

9

Key passes per game

1.0

0.7

Assists

4

1

Tackles + interceptions per game

3.3

3.3

Clearances per game

2.9

1.3

Duels won per game

5.5

4.0

Aerial duel success rate

57%

25%

Error led to shot or goal

1

2

As you can see in the table above, the Brazilian defender’s performances in the league last season were far more impressive than what the English teenager has produced in the division this term, offensively and defensively.

These statistics back up the claim that Rangers have “downgraded” by selling Jefte to sign Meghoma on loan, which adds more fuel to the fire surrounding the criticism of Thelwell’s summer recruitment.

Like Chermiti, it seems like Meghoma has been signed to fill a role that he is not ready to fill at this point in his development. They are both young players who have time to develop and improve, but neither of them look ready to be key players for Danny Rohl in the present.

Therefore, the signing of Meghoma was one of Thelwell’s worst clangers of the summer, alongside Chermiti, because he has failed to adequately replace Jefte at left-back, and it remains to be seen if either of them will end up being good enough this season.

Thelwell signing is a bigger waste of time than Chermiti & Miovski at Rangers

This Glasgow Rangers flop is a bigger waste of time this season than both Bojan Miovski and Youssef Chermiti.

ByDan Emery Nov 24, 2025

Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández is attracting serious interest from Real Madrid, with manager Xabi Alonso urging Los Blancos to strike a deal.

Real Madrid eye 2026 deal for Chelsea star Enzo Fernández

It’s approaching three years since Enzo Maresca’s side broke the British transfer record by signing Fernandez in a deal worth £107 million, and while Alexander Isak’s move to Liverpool has since smashed that fee, the midfielder remains one of Chelsea’s most expensive ever buys.

Chelsea’s most expensive signings of all time
Rank	Player	Fee	Signed from	Year
1	Moises Caicedo	£115m	Brighton	2023
2	Enzo Fernández	£107m	Benfica	2023
3	Romelu Lukaku	£97.5m	Inter	2021
4=	Kepa Arrizabalaga	£71m	Athletic Club	2018
4=	Kai Havertz	£71m	Bayer Leverkusen	2020
Click here to see the rest…

The £180,000-per-week star endured a very difficult first year at Stamford Bridge, failing to justify his mammoth price tag whilst even getting involved in a racism scandal in 2024, but he’s since been rejuvenated by Maresca.

The Italian shocked on-lookers by naming Fernandez as a captain just one month after his racism debacle with the Argentina national team. However, the 24-year-old repaid Maresca’s faith by becoming one of the linchpins of his engine room.

Since Maresca’s appointment, Chelsea’s tactical setup has played to Fernandez’s strengths, allowing him more freedom to influence the game in a more advanced role while also allowing him to maintain some defensive responsibilities.

This new place in the team has elevated his performances, and amid Fernandez’s surge in form, reports are seriously linking Real with a keen interest in signing the ex-Benfica star.

Some sources have suggested that Chelsea could be open to a part-exchange deal involving Fernandez and Fede Valverde, but a new report from Spain has made the Blues’ demands crystal clear.

Chelsea set mammoth price tag for Enzo Fernández amid Real Madrid interest

It is now believed that Real’s interest has intensified, with Alonso personally telling the La Liga giants to pursue Fernandez in a bid to upgrade his midfield.

However, Chelsea have placed a £100 million price tag on Fernandez, so if Real want to open talks, they could have to make him the Londoners’ biggest-ever sale.

Chelsea’s most expensive sales of all time
Rank	Player	Fee	Sold to	Year
1	Eden Hazard	£89m	Real Madrid	2019
2	Kai Havertz	£65m	Arsenal	2023
3	Oscar	£60m	Shanghai SIPG	2017
4	Álvaro Morata	£58.3m	Atlético Madrid	2020
5	Diego Costa	£57m	Atlético Madrid	2017

Sky Sports pundit Micah Richards best summed up Fernandez’s newly-found importance to Chelsea, praising him as a “leader” in the squad who has a “little bit of everything” after yet another great performance against Liverpool just prior to the international break.

He would now be difficult to replace, and Chelsea will hope that Fernandez’s knee problem isn’t too serious after he was forced to withdraw from international duty.

Texoma FC rejects the idea of “self-relegation,” yet their drop to USL League Two and surprise second club have pushed them into an unexpected multi-club future.

The phrase Ben Watson keeps hearing is “self-relegation.” 

He can’t stand it. The owner of the now former-USL League Two club Texoma FC insists that his team, which announced it was moving down a division on Oct. 28, is not an early version of the promotion-relegation model soon to come to USL. 

Instead, Watson asserts, Texoma saw where the soccer landscape in Texas was going and simply realigned. The reality is perhaps a little more complex. But whatever your interpretation may be – strategic realignment or a noble sort of demotion – Texoma is now an amateur club in USL League Two. 

And in addition, Watson has unveiled a second team altogether. He now owns “Rodeo SC” which is set to debut in 2027. It’s in a new city, Celina – a 30-minute drive down the road from his current side. It operates in a fresh market, with a different vibe altogether. 

Somehow, accidentally, Watson and his fellow investors have fallen into what is effectively multi-club ownership in USL. 

“We were the first ones to do what we did. So we've definitely pioneered it. But I would say, yeah, it's unique in nature, because you have a League One team that has a League Two affiliate, but they're not in the same market,” Watson told GOAL.

• Texoma FC
  

  'Thinking pro-rel'

  This is a complicated thing that requires balance. Texoma struggled in their first season of play. Their potential as a long-term investment – and that’s what soccer clubs are – is limited. But they can also be part of a multi-club system in North Texas, Watson argued. 

  “It's two completely different identities, two different communities that really can latch on to that community club feel, but they still can feed to the same place,” Watson said. 

  His solution, then, is to keep Texoma chugging along in its current market, and also establish a bigger club in a bigger area – with a more distinct identity – that can push for genuine relevance as promotion and relegation come into the fold. 

  “I think it's safe to say all the clubs in the USL are thinking pro-rel route. All of us know it's coming. We're all making moves to figure out how we realign, or how we position ourselves long term to be successful,” Watson said. 

  More broadly, the hope is that it can all be one ecosystem. Watson’s vision is that of shared academies, a talent pool that both teams can dip into, and, at its best, a fully fleshed-out system that can allow a duo of franchises to thrive.

Advertisement

• Chris Linscott
  

  'USL League One was too high of a league for us'

  It is worth, first, acknowledging that Texoma, in its inaugural season of existence, simply failed to hit the heights that the owners expected. On the pitch, the product wasn’t great. They finished 12th in the league, just six points off the bottom. 

  And off the field, things were perhaps just a little miscalculated. Texoma is based in Sherman, Texas, a city with few sporting credentials and a population of just over 50,000 (it is admittedly rising). Attendance was poor. They had the third-lowest average in the league, with just over 1,200 routinely showing up to games. At one point, they had just 216 fans in the stands (although that was after a number of rain delays in mid-July). 

  Even those in the stands knew that there was something wrong. 

  “I actually felt that from pretty early on in the season that USL League One was too high of a league for us,” Richard McKibbin, a regular attendee at games, told GOAL. “I’m realistic. I saw the crowds that we were getting in Sherman and knew that the long-term viability of a professional team in Sherman was questionable at best.” 

  More broadly, though, Texoma had one glaring problem: the market could not sustain a soccer team. Watson had to accept that. 

  “I think we realigned to fit the community better. The Texoma community is a smaller market. It fits extremely well with the USL League Two,” Watson said. 

  Texoma's owners had known that harsh reality for a few months before they announced anything. For six months, they were seriously looking at new markets for a fresh franchise, while admitting that their current team wouldn’t be in USL League One for long. 

  “You look at a club like Portland Hearts of Pine. We were the same year as them, Year 1 to Year 1.. You're like, they're doing something right. So from our shoes, we look at it and go, 'Okay, well, what can we do to create something that people want to be a part of?'” Watson said.

• IMAGN
  

  Fall festivals and high school football games

  Their solution has been a new brand in a new city. Watson studied the market extensively once he knew that Texoma wasn’t going to sustain a professional team long term. He found that the most successful USL clubs come in places with a distinct culture, a market looking for a sports team, and, long term, the potential to build a stadium. 

  “We spent about six, seven months in season, working through ‘Does this make sense? Are the city leaders interested? Is there a long-term potential here to build a venue?’ All those conversations took place,” Watson said. 

  Celina, Texas, is, mathematically, a better market. Right now, it’s roughly the same size as Sherman by population. But it’s also a 30-minute drive away, and part of the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. Eight years ago, 7,000 people lived there. City leaders are preparing for a boom that will leave the city with around 300,000 – such is the rapidly expanding population of the Dallas area. And in those numbers, Watson sees potential. 

  “We know this community has grown. We know it's a great place. We really like the city leadership, and so all these things kind of allude to this can be a successful franchise,” Watson said. 

  There’s also already a sporting culture in Celina (albeit with a different kind of football). They pack the stands for high school football games. And people just gather for pretty much anything. 

  "They do a lot of downtown things where 15-25,000 people will show up in a day to one event. Their high school football games are sold out. We went to their homecoming game the other day, and they had to bring in extra bleachers to the stadium,” Watson said.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  'They're going to dress up in overalls'

  They are already calling themselves the “Rodeo Clowns.” Within 24 hours of announcing the brand, Rodeo SC had their first three supporters. 

  “They're going to dress up in overalls and a cowboy hat, and they're gonna have the full thing. When you start to hear it, you're like, ‘that is the most Texan American thing you can ever think of’,” Watson said. 

  They were sold on the vision immediately. The name is a slightly dorky thing, but also an homage to the West. This is a place of cattle and rodeos and cowboys. The Jerry Jones-owned NFL team nearby – the clue is in name – became one of the biggest brands on earth by leaning into where they’re from. Rodeo SC are doing the same. 

  “Texas has a lot of rodeo heritage, and Celina is known for the Longhorn cattle. It's got a whole identity around that side. We're like, man, we could lean into this. We could create this concept where it's fun, almost gimmicky, but, like, obviously, it's still football,” Watson said. 

  It works on multiple levels. The first, of course, is the uniqueness. But the second is the idea of entertainment associated with the name. Soccer franchises can no longer be only about the game on the field – or what happens in 90 minutes. Rodeo SC, then, are about the matchday experience. While some have backed away from their roots and just put out a team, Watson wants to lean into theirs – to a fault. 

  “The cool part is, if you come in town from Maine, or you come in from Washington, Florida – wherever you're coming from, even internationally – you're gonna come and go, ‘I want to experience Texas.’ We want you to leave and go, 'yes, that was Texas', and that's Rodeo Soccer Club,” Watson said.

The Australia fast bowler has endured an injury-hit career and may not play at all this season

Andrew McGlashan25-Oct-2025Fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck has admitted she is “shattered” to have been ruled out of the upcoming WBBL season for Melbourne Renegades after a slower-than-expected recovery from the shoulder injury she suffered at last year’s T20 World Cup.Vlaeminck, 26, is one of the quickest bowlers in the world but has had an injury-hit career, making just 29 international appearances since her debut in 2018. Her latest setback came when she dislocated her right shoulder diving in the outfield early in Australia’s opening game against Pakistan in the UAE.The WBBL, which starts on November 9, had been earmarked as a potential comeback for Vlaeminck but her shoulder has not responded well to an increase in bowling workload over the last month. It means that she will miss her fourth consecutive WBBL having not featured in the competition since joining Renegades in 2022.Related

Vlaeminck dislocates shoulder on T20 World Cup return

Vlaeminck ruled out of the WBBL with shoulder injury

Voll and Flintoff handed Australia central contracts

“I’m obviously a little bit shattered about missing out,” Vlaeminck told reporters in Sydney. “Unfortunately my shoulder’s just not loving bowling at the moment, so there’s not much I can do about that. I think we were hoping that my shoulder would probably respond a little bit better to bowling than it has.”We lined up Big Bash to be that sort of end point. We sat pretty nice there [at] that year mark, and just in the last four weeks trying to ramp that up it just hasn’t responded the way we sort of thought it would.”We got to a space where I pulled the pin. I probably didn’t feel confident enough to be able to actually perform if I got out for the Renegades. It’s one thing to get out on the pitch and be back playing, but you actually have to sort of back yourself in to be able to perform and do well for a team, which I didn’t feel like I was going to be able to do.”Vlaeminck’s list of injuries includes two dislocations of her left shoulder and stress fractures of the foot. Prior to her international debut she had undergone two ACL reconstructions. However, she has tried not to bemoan her bad fortune and Cricket Australia retained her on their central contracts list earlier this year.”I think you always go there initially, but I don’t think it’s overly helpful being in that space,” she said. “I just like to consider myself pretty lucky that Cricket Australia have stuck by me throughout this whole thing.”I’ve got heaps of support and hopefully over the next four to six weeks I’ll be able to continue to work on it and see how we go for the back end of the season.”Australian Women’s physiotherapist Kate Beerworth said: “Tayla’s recovery has been impacted by ongoing limitations, restricting her ability to progess her bowling and work through the end stages of her return to play plan. We’ll continue to work with Tayla, the Melbourne Renegades and Cricket Victoria to support her through this next phase.”

MLB's playoff races are heating up as the regular season nears its final week. Every game matters and, as baseball fans know, magic numbers start to matter. But what the heck is a magic number and where did the term originate?

What is a magic number in MLB?

A magic number is the combination of wins a given team needs and losses by its closest competitor to mathematically clinch a goal, whether it be a playoff spot, division title or wild card spot. There are two ways a given team's magic number can decrease. Each win for a given team decreases the magic number by one. Each loss by a given team's closest competitor also decreases the magic number by one. Should a given team's closest competitor change—for instance, the second place team is surpassed by another team—the magic number will also adjust.

With the formula below, a magic number determines how close a given team is to clinching its given goal.

Games remaining +1 – (losses by second place team – losses by first place team)

Where did the term magic number first originate?

The term magic number dates back to 1947, when it was used in an article published on Sept. 12 in . Discussing the pennant race between the Yankees and Red Sox, the author wrote, "The Yankees reduced the magic number to four. That is the combination of games the Yankees must win or the Red Sox must lose in order to insure the flag for the Yankees."

Back then, a team simply needed to finish first in the American or National League to win the pennant and earn the right to play in the World Series. Magic numbers were a lot simpler to calculate back then! But the term stuck as MLB drastically changed its route to the World Series over the years, and has become a key reference point for broadcasters, pundits and fans as they follow the postseason races to the conclusion of the regular season.

In a statement, Smriti Mandhana says “it’s time to move forward”

ESPNcricinfo staff07-Dec-2025India batter Smriti Mandhana has confirmed that her wedding has been “called off”. She and music composer Palash Muchhal were scheduled to marry on November 23, but it was initially postponed after Mandhana’s father was hospitalised.Mandhana appealed for privacy in her statement on Instagram. “Over the past few weeks there has been plenty of speculation around my life and I feel it is important for me to speak out at this time,” she wrote in her post. “I am a very private person and I would like to keep it that way but I need to clarify that the wedding is called off.”I would like to close this matter here and implore all of you to do the same. I request you to please respect the privacy of both families at this time and allow us the space to process and move on at our own pace.”I believe there is a higher purpose driving us all and for me that has always been representing my country at the highest level,” she wrote. “I hope to continue to play and win trophies for India for as long as possible and that is where my focus will forever be.”She concluded her statement by saying, “It’s time to move forward.”Mandhana was the second-highest run-scorer during India’s successful campaign in the recent women’s ODI World Cup, with 434 runs at an average of 54.25.Her next assignment is the five-T20I series against Sri Lanka at home from December 21 to 30, after which she will lead Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the 2026 WPL from January 9. RCB play the opening game of the season against Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai.

MatériaMais Notícias

da betway： Uma rodada entre o “céu e o inferno” para o Botafogo. Após o empate em 2 a 2 com o Juventude, o time comandado por Luís Castro caiu duas posições na classificação do Brasileirão, mas aumentou a distância para o Z4.

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da jogodeouro： +Fala, Doente! LANCE! estreia podcast do Botafogo nesta terça-feira

O Glorioso terminou a rodada com 27 pontos e ocupando a 14ª posição. O clube foi ultrapassado por Goiás e Fortaleza, que venceram, respectivamente, Atlético-MG e Corinthians.

Ao mesmo tempo, nenhum dos times que está abaixo do Glorioso venceu na rodada, o que fez a distância para a zona de rebaixamento aumentar. O Avaí, primeiro time na degola, foi derrotado pelo Internacional.

A distância para o time catarinense aumentou de três para quatro pontos – 27 contra 23. Coritiba (22), Atlético-GO (22) e Juventude (17) completam o Z4.

O Botafogo enfrenta o Flamengo às 18h do próximo domingo no Estádio Nilton Santos, em jogo válido pela 24ª rodada. Se vencer, a equipe chega a 30 pontos e pode alcançar até a 11ª colocação. Em caso de empate, o máximo a ser alcançado é o 13º lugar. Com uma derrota, o time pode terminar em 16º, apenas uma posição acima do Z4.