Southampton are currently on the search for their next permanent head coach after they made the decision to part ways with Will Still earlier this month.

The former Lens boss only won two Championship matches during his time at St. Mary’s, and the club must, simply, find a manager who can bring a winning mentality back to Hampshire.

Southampton, as shown in the graphic above, have had a run of less-than-successful head coach appointments, which may not fill supporters with too much hope for the next one.

The latest on Southampton's managerial search

The Telegraph reports that former Wolverhampton Wanderers and Bournemouth manager Gary O’Neil is in pole position to land the job, having left Wolves last year.

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It states that he is the leading contender for the role at this moment in time, but that it is still early on in the process and there are other managers are in the frame.

The Telegraph adds that Michael Carrick, who is also out of a job, is a head coach who is being considered and could come into the running to replace Still in the coming days.

The former Middlesbrough boss, who was hailed as an “insanely talented coach” by former Boro player Lukas Engel, has been a free agent since the end of last season, and could be a dream alternative to O’Neil.

Why Southampton should hire Carrick over O'Neil

Parking any concerns about O’Neil’s Portsmouth ties to the side, given that he previously stated a desire to manage Pompey, the former Wolves boss has yet to show that he can coach a team to dominate and win games consistently.

As shown in the graphic in the post above, his Bournemouth and Wolves teams consistently conceded more chances than they created, and both clubs improved statistically after he left.

There should, therefore, be concerns about whether or not he is the right profile of coach to lead Southampton to promotion back to the Premier League as a side that needs to win consistently to gain promotion.

Carrick, meanwhile, has a proven track record of coaching a dominant team in the Championship, as well as taking over in a similar situation to the one that Saints find themselves in.

The English boss joined Boro after they had won two of their first 11 league games in the 2022/23 campaign and led them to a fourth-place finish, per Transfermarkt, whilst Southampton have won three of their 14 league matches this term.

League finish

8th

10th

xPTS (Expected league finish)

73 (5th)

71 (6th)

xG

69.5

67.4

xGA

55.0

56.4

xGD

+14.5

+11.3

As you can see in the table above, Carrick also coached expected play-off finishes in his two full seasons at Middlesbrough, but his squad did not deliver results that matched the performances.

Some may point to the fact that Boro are currently third in the Championship after his departure, but they are sixth for xPTS and have failed to win any of their last three games, per FotMob, which suggests that their fast start is slowing down to match their performance level.

Overall, Carrick could be a dream alternative to O’Neil because he does not have links to Portsmouth, he does have relevant Championship experience, and he has achieved a play-off finish after taking over a club in a similar position.

Whereas, O’Neil has never managed in the Championship and has lost 52 of his 100 games as a manager, per Transfermarkt, which shows that he has yet to prove himself as a coach who can deliver winning football.

Southampton manager update now shared on Tonda Eckert and full-time move

He’ll be in the St Mary’s dugout against Sheffield Wednesday.

ByCharlie Smith Nov 7, 2025

Taskin starred with the ball, Litton led the way with the bat, and comeback man Saif contributed a fine all-round display

Abhimanyu Bose30-Aug-2025Taskin Ahmed, Saif Hassan and captain Litton Das played starring roles as Bangladesh eased to an eight-wicket win over Netherlands in the first T20I in Sylhet.Taskin took four wickets and Saif, playing his first T20I since October 2023, bagged his first two T20I wickets as Bangladesh restricted the visitors to 136 after asking them to bat. Saif completed his comeback with a quickfire cameo to support Litton’s brisk half-century as Bangladesh won with 6.3 overs to spare.Taskin keeps Netherlands quietMax O’Dowd started well for Netherlands, driving and flicking Shoriful Islam for three fours in the second over. He then launched Mahedi Hasan, who opened the bowling, for a six down the ground in the third.But Taskin struck with his first ball, getting O’Dowd to spoon a catch to cover off a leading edge.Netherlands managed just nine more runs from the 2.5 remaining overs in the powerplay, with their only boundary coming through another leading edge from Teja Nidamanuru that just evaded a leaping cover fielder.Then, Taskin struck again with the first ball of his second over, the eighth of the innings. Vikramjit Singh looked to switch gears and go down the ground, but could only pick out long-on.Saif ends Netherlands counterattackNidamanuru counterattacked, pulling Taskin for a six later in that over before squeezing one past short third for four. That began a stretch that brought Netherlands 27 runs off just 11 balls, before Saif nipped the counterattack in the bud with his maiden international wicket.Netherlands captain Scott Edwards tried to sweep the offspinner but couldn’t get distance on his shot, and Jaker Ali ran to his right to take a brilliant diving catch at long leg. Two balls later, Saif had Nidamanuru holing out to deep midwicket.Mustafizur Rahman got on the board when a short ball drew a top edge from Shariz Ahmad’s attempted pull to leave Netherlands five wickets down in the 13th over.Taskin picked up two more wickets in his remaining two overs, and Netherlands added just 52 to their score over their last eight overs.Saif Hassan struck twice in an over•BCBEmon starts strong, Litton continues the momentumParvez Hossain Emon got Bangladesh off to the perfect start with two fours and a six off the first three balls of the innings, from offspinner Aryan Dutt. He put away two shortish balls either side of point, and when Dutt went fuller, Emon slog-swept him over midwicket.Tanzid Hasan also started with a boundary, clipping Kyle Klein through backward square leg, but Dutt applied the brakes next over when he slid a quick one through Emon’s defences.Litton, however, ensured Bangladesh didn’t let the pressure build. In the fifth over, he drove Dutt through point before flicking him over midwicket next ball. In the last over of the powerplay, Litton crashed left-arm spinner Daniel Doram through the covers before launching him down the ground for his first six.Tanzid did a good job in a support role while Litton kept going after the bowling. He welcomed Shariz Ahmad with back-to-back boundaries in his first over, and punished Klein for straying onto his pads, whipping him fine on the leg side for another six.By the time Tanzid picked out long-on off a full toss in the tenth over, Bangladesh needed just 45 off 65 balls.Saif completes perfect comebackLitton brought up his 13th T20I half-century, off just 26 balls, in the 11th over. Then Saif, having got his eye in while scoring seven off nine balls, let loose, coming down the track to loft Tim Pringle over long-on.Saif then swung Paul van Meekeren into the leg side for a four before sealing the win with back-to-back sixes off Vikramjit in the 14th over.Litton contributed just 10 runs to an unbroken 46-run stand for the third wicket, with Saif finishing unbeaten on 36 off just 19 deliveries – a knock that will encourage the returning batter, whose career T20I strike rate jumped from 81.25 to 106.02after this match.

In this world nothing can be certain, except death, taxes, and Oval Invincibles winning the men’s Hundred. They have topped the group stage to qualify directly for the Lord’s final for three consecutive seasons, and each night has ended with Sam Billings lifting the golden ‘H’ trophy. After two tight finals, this was a demolition job.The Invincibles have relied on continuity as their greatest strength, and three of their usual suspects performed when it mattered: Will Jacks and Jordan Cox added 87 off 55 balls to underpin their total of 168, and the livewire Nathan Sowter derailed the chase with three wickets in his first seven balls. All three have been with them since inception; so too Billings and coach Tom Moody.They joined a select handful of teams to pull off a ‘three-peat’ in short-form leagues, and achieved it without breaking a sweat. If they have not quite lived up to their moniker, then Invincibles’ record across the last three seasons is still remarkable: 21 wins, one tie and only five defeats. In a format designed for unpredictability, they have become a winning machine.In fact, the Invincibles may have been too successful for their own good. The ECB are lining up a squad “reset” next year – in the style of the IPL’s mega-auction – as new investors arrive in the Hundred. It is designed to uphold the ‘any given Sunday’ philosophy at short-form cricket’s core; on any given Sunday in the men’s Hundred, however, the Invincibles are usually winning.Sam Billings parades the trophy after Oval Invincibles’ third Men’s Hundred title•Matt Lewis/ECB via Getty Images

Sowter’s starring moment

The Invincibles’ core is built around England players with international experience, with a single exception. Sowter, a journeyman legspinner, wondered if his professional career was over when Middlesex released him three years ago but has become an unlikely linchpin in the Invincibles attack, and saved his best performance of the season for the biggest stage.The Rockets were 35 for 0 after 30 balls when Sowter came into the attack, with Tom Banton and Joe Root struggling for fluency. Ten balls later, they were 38 for 3: Root holed out to long-on, Rehan Ahmed missed a straight one to depart for second-ball duck, and Banton picked out long-off. Sowter celebrated each wicket with a huge roar, and added an excellent catch at deep backward square leg to his night’s work.Adam Zampa had flown in from Australia specifically for the final – a 20,000-mile round-trip for 20 balls – and finished with typically frugal figures of 1 for 21. But despite the wicket of David Willey, brilliantly stumped by Billings, he was ultimately upstaged by his legspin partner.

Jacks, Cox lay foundations

Jacks made a statement off the very first ball of the final, crunching Willey through mid-off for four, then slashed the third through the off-side ring to become the first man to score 1,000 runs for the Invincibles. His opening partner Tawanda Muyeye fell after three early boundaries, but his dismissal brought in the tournament’s leading run-scorer in Cox at No. 3.Cox has been in stunning form this month and was soon up and running with two rasping cuts. Jacks had a life on 28, plinking a full toss to midwicket which was deemed a no-ball on height, and was quick to make use of it, reverse-sweeping Rehan for four before launching him into the upper tier of the Grandstand.Cox belted Rehan for six more before toe-ending him behind, but Jacks sensed his chance to put his foot down. He eventually fell for 72 off 41 after another flurry of boundaries and while the Invincibles were uncharacteristically quiet at the death, adding 25 off the last 20, that only served to underline the quality of Jacks and Cox’s strokeplay.Will Jacks produced the defining innings of the final•Matt Lewis/ECB via Getty Images

Rockets misfortune

Is there a plague on the city of Nottingham? Andy Flower’s side have had no luck with injuries. With Adam Hose, Tom Alsop and Max Holden already out, they lost two seamers in the 24 hours before the final: first Sam Cook, who broke a thumb when Dan Lawrence smacked one back at him in the Eliminator; then Lockie Ferguson, whose hamstring went in the warm-ups.Dillon Pennington was called upon to make his debut at 20 minutes’ notice and he struck with his first ball, smiling wryly as Muyeye edged a short, wide one behind. His figures of 1 for 23 from 20 were the Rockets’ best, but their bad luck was not over: George Linde could not complete his allocation after damaging a digit while attempting a return catch off Cox.Marcus Stoinis did his best to keep the chase alive, belting five sixes in his innings of 64 off 38 balls, but the asking rate soared out of the Rockets’ control. They nominally needed 27 to win off the final ball, and Invincibles got their celebratory moment when Saqib Mahmood trapped him lbw to clinch their third straight title.

Celtic are currently searching for their next permanent head coach after they were rocked by the resignation of Brendan Rodgers last month.

The former Hoops boss decided to move on from Parkhead after a 3-1 defeat to Hearts that left his side eight points adrift of first place in the Scottish Premiership at the time.

As shown in the graphic above, the Northern Irish head coach enjoyed a largely successful second spell with the Glasgow giants, winning four trophies in two full seasons.

Martin O’Neill has been in interim charge of the Hoops since Rodgers moved on from Parkhead, and one manager who has been linked with the permanent role is Lee Carsley.

The latest on Lee Carsley to Celtic

It was recently reported that the Scottish giants are eyeing up the England U21 head coach as a potential replacement for Rodgers in the coming weeks.

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Celtic are said to be long-term admirers of the Irish tactician, who has won two U21 European Championship titles, and that he is one of the names under contention for the job.

However, it was also claimed that Carsley is not one of the frontrunners for the vacant position at this moment in time, which does not suggest that he is likely to arrive in Glasgow in the next few days.

The Hoops board, however, should push to bring the England U21 boss to Parkhead because he could unearth the club’s own version of Chelsea superstar Cole Palmer.

Celtic have their own Cole Palmer in the making

One of Carsley’s biggest selling points is that he has worked with and developed some of England’s finest talents. Per Transfermarkt, he has coached Cole Palmer, Jadon Sancho, Noni Madueke, Phil Foden, Morgan Gibbs-White, and Conor Gallagher. Just to name a few.

Palmer delivered five goals and five assists in 17 matches as an attacking midfield player for the head coach at England U21 level, per Transfermarkt, and he has scored 45 goals in 101 games for Chelsea so far.

Celtic could unearth their own version of the England international in Arne Engels, who could take his game to the next level under Carsley, who was hailed as “refreshing” by midfielder Declan Rice

The England U21 manager typically plays a 4-2-3-1 system, per Transfermarkt, rather than a 4-3-3, which would allow the Belgium international to push on and play as a number ten, providing him with more opportunities to showcase his quality in the final third.

Engels, with ten goals and 13 assists in 52 matches, showed glimpses of his attacking quality in the 2024/25 campaign for Celtic, but he has yet to find the back of the net in the current campaign.

xG

10.05

Top 1%

Goals

9

Top 4%

Shots on target

19

Top 5%

xA

8.46

Top 1%

Assists

6

Top 7%

Chances created

57

Top 3%

Stats via FotMob

As you can see in the table above, the former Augsburg central midfielder excelled among his positional peers as an attacking force in the Scottish Premiership last season.

These statistics suggest that Engels can provide a regular threat at the top end of the pitch as an outstanding contributor, just as Palmer has for Chelsea, with 45 goals and 29 assists in 101 matches, per Transfermarkt.

Engels, who assisted the winning goal against Sturm Graz in the clip above, has the potential to thrive as a natural number ten in Carsley’s 4-2-3-1 set-up.

He is also a young player, aged 22, who has time ahead of him to develop and improve, which is the profile of player that the manager has been used to working with throughout his time with England’s U21s.

Better than Ange: Celtic reach out to hire "tactically unbeatable" manager

Celtic are moving ahead with their pursuit of a new manager after Brendan Rodgers’ resignation.

2 ByMatt Dawson Nov 1, 2025

Therefore, appointing Carsley, who has shown that he can win trophies with England’s youth team, could help them to turn Engels into their own version of Cole Palmer in the number ten position, because of his attacking potential.

When pitcher Roki Sasaki announced he would sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers Friday, baseball fans were predictably peeved. Three months after winning the World Series, the Dodgers appear poised to dominate for the foreseeable future.

However, there's a difference between a mere vulgar display of power and a signing that actually breaks MLB rules—and according to a baseball official, the Sasaki signing was not the latter.

"According to a league official, MLB conducted an investigation prior to authorizing Sasaki’s posting to 'ensure the protocol agreement had been followed,'" Jack Harris of wrote Saturday.

That would mean making sure that Sasaki had not agreed to a handshake deal with Los Angeles or any other team.

"Another person with knowledge of the situation, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said the league interviewed 'numerous parties' in its probe, but found no evidence to substantiate" rumors of an informal deal, Harris wrote.

The Dodgers may be innocent of any wrongdoing, but that will do little to assuage 29 fanbases envious of one of world sport's few true modern juggernauts.

The Chicago Cubs made their biggest splash of the offseason so far on Friday, trading for Houston Astros outfielder Kyle Tucker, one of the best bats available on the market this offseason.

The 27-year-old is set to make around $18 million via arbitration this year before hitting free agency for the first time in 2025. A former Gold Glove and Silver Slugger winner, Tucker will demand an impressive contract if and when he hits the market. The new Cubs star was asked Tuesday whether he would entertain extension talks with the Cubs instead of becoming a free agent next offseason, and he wouldn't totally rule it out.

"I'm always open to talks, see where it leads," Tucker said. I'm always open to that, you never know what the future's going to hold. In terms of that, kinda just see how things progress throughout the next however long and see where it leads us, but I'm always open for talks and negotiations and just kinda seeing where that leads. Definitely Chicago's a great city to play in, a great city just in general, so I'm open to anything."

Tucker went on to praise Cubs fans based on his brief Wrigley Field experience with the Astros last season.

"I'm excited. Last year was the first time I played in Wrigley Field, throughout my big league career at least. Those fans love their Cubs. … Now obviously I get to experience it from the home side, really get to experience the love that the city and the fans show their Cubs, and excited to get out there and start playing in front of them and showing what I can do to help them.

"I don't think I could have gone to a much better organization than the Cubs."

After seeing the deal that Juan Soto signed this offseason, Tucker will almost certainly play out the end of his contract this season. However, if Chicago makes an incredibly lucrative offer, as Tucker said, you never know what might happen.

Tucker hit hit .289/.408/.585 with 23 home runs and 49 RBIs in 78 games with Houston last season.

As far as Sri Lanka are concerned, they are defending champions at this year’s Asia Cup. The case they are making is that the ODI version of the Asia Cup – which India last won in 2023 – is a different tournament entirely.The tournament alternates between the two white-ball formats based on which World Cup is around the corner. In 2023, it was the 50-over World Cup. In 2025, it is the T20 World Cup. And as far as the T20I version of the Asia Cup goes, Sri Lanka are the most-recent victors, having taken the title in 2022.”Mentally, the fact that we are defending champions is a really good thing,” Sri Lanka captain Charith Asalanka said ahead of his team’s first Asia Cup game, against Bangladesh on Saturday. “It was a lot of these players that played in that last tournament here [in UAE] as well. We know that because we are champions we can go far. The players are using that as motivation.”Related

• Familiar foes Bangladesh and Sri Lanka meet in high-stakes contest

• Hridoy hits back at critics as Bangladesh opt for safety over speed

• Why are Sri Lanka and Bangladesh so poor at T20I batting?

• Hasaranga fit for Sri Lanka's Asia Cup campaign

At home, both Sri Lanka and Bangladesh tend to play on slower tracks not especially suited to batting. But Asalanka expected the Abu Dhabi surface to be different.”When you’re rating these conditions with other venues in the UAE, I think Abu Dhabi is the best pitch for batters. Once the ball gets softer it’s much easier to bat here, and the outfield is very nice. Every batsman wants to play in Abu Dhabi.”Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are very familiar with each other, having played three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests since the start of the year. Sri Lanka won the ODI and the Test series but Bangladesh took the T20I series.

The doom and gloom currently engulfing Leeds United is strong.

At Elland Road this season, the Whites have looked like a competent Premier League outfit, in all fairness, as was showcased in their 2-1 win over West Ham United to close out October.

But, Daniel Farke and Co cannot rely on their home form all season long to keep them away from the dreaded relegation spaces, with their away record an abysmal read at the moment.

Only three of Leeds’ 11 points so far this season have been picked up on their disappointing travels, with all of their defeats on the road also seeing the top-flight newcomers offer up very little in an attacking capacity.

The 3-0 loss last time out at Brighton and Hove Albion was an alarming reminder of the gulf in quality between Leeds and the likes of Fabian Hurzeler’s Seagulls, with Leeds reduced to a relegation-fodder state at the Amex.

Strangely, though, Leeds have pulled off some memorable bits of business this summer that have stuck out amid all the hopelessness, with Noah Okafor already up to two goals at his new employers, as the Whites are usually prone to a transfer clanger or two.

Ranking Leeds' transfer business in recent history

Switzerland international, Okafor, has already been described as a “class difference-maker” by Leeds content creator Oscar Marrio for his goal-laden displays in West Yorkshire.

Successfully completing five dribbles against the rampant Seagulls, too, it will be interesting to see if the Whites can avoid the drop, courtesy of the risky £18m acquisition bombing down the flanks.

The likes of Sean Longstaff and Anton Stach have also stood out in midfield, after joining from Newcastle United and Hoffenheim respectively, with the energy that Okafor offers in spades also visible in this new duo.

Two Premier League strikes have also already been put away by the ex-Magpies star, and his Croat counterpart, with Longstaff even being labelled as “one of the best signings in the Premier League” this summer by journalist Daniel Storey.

Often, comments about Leeds’ recent purchases haven’t always been so complimentary, with the Whites’ summer business heading into 2022/23 – which ended in a pitiful Premier League relegation – sticking out as being full of blunders.

Luis Sinisterra certainly stands out as being a transfer deal gone wrong, with the £21m winger billed as an “animal” by ex-teammate Juan Cuadrado on this entry to England, only for the Colombian to score a weak five goals in the Premier League donning Leeds white, during what was an injury-ravaged stint.

The likes of Rasmus Kristensen, Tyler Adams, and many more around this same time period aren’t remembered fondly, either, as they all left the Leeds train at the earliest possible opportunity, after relegation was confirmed.

Another name that springs to mind is Helder Costa. Costing £12m to obtain under the great Marcelo Bielsa, he then only made an unmemorable 23 Premier League appearances in West Yorkshire.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin will be praying that he’s not recounted in the same dismissive manner down the line, as the ex-Everton marksman continues to struggle to find his goalscoring groove at Elland Road.

The former England international does have the bonus that he was acquired on a free transfer, so he doesn’t have a weighty Sinisterra-like price tag hanging above his head.

Still, with only one goal coming his way so far this season, he isn’t immune to pelters, with ex-Premier League scout Bryan King even stating recently that he isn’t the “right striker fit” for Leeds if they desperately crave goals to stave off the drop.

It’s too early to judge whether he’s an outright flop, though, but the early signs are concerning. He isn’t alone in being deemed a shaky summer signing, however.

Leeds flop could be seen as one of their worst signings

Heading into top-flight action this season, it was clear Leeds needed to successfully find a long-term replacement for Illan Meslier.

The Frenchman was so error-prone last campaign that £400k recruit Karl Darlow had to be thrown in for the latter matches of the campaign, so their promotion charge wasn’t sabotaged.

Unfortunately, Lucas Perri’s £13.9m arrival this summer from Lyon hasn’t instantly eased the goalkeeping nerves that plagued their Championship promotion story.

The Brazilian stopper joined the building having been branded as an “outstanding” shot-stopper by South American football expert Nathan Joyes, having collected a promising ten clean sheets last season in Ligue 1 action.

He started life in England with two clean sheets collected from his first three Premier League clashes, too, but he has looked worryingly ropey when Leeds have been under the cosh.

In particular, his showing away at Brighton would see journalist Adam Pope criticise the 27-year-old for the amount of “unnecessary” decisions he was making with the ball at his feet that just ramped up more pressure on the all-at-sea defenders on the South Coast.

Games played

5

Goals conceded overall

9

Goals conceded*

1.8

Saves

9

Goals prevented

-0.48

Accurate passes*

18.8 (53%)

The table above doesn’t lie, either, when looking at Pope’s comments, with Perri only managing to accurately complete 53% of his passes so far this season, as the likes of Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson were then put under far more strain than necessary at the Amex.

Moreover, Perri has the worst save percentage among the 21 goalkeepers to have played five or more games so far this season in the Premier League, with nine efforts being hammered past the new Leeds number one, despite only facing 18 total shots.

Amazingly, Leeds might well have just been better sticking it out with their trusty second-in-command from last season in Darlow, with the experienced Welshman managing to make 13 saves across his own span of five Premier League encounters.

At £13.9m, Perri is yet to live up to his high transfer fee, with the highly praised Longstaff even coming into the building for a lower fee himself, at the £12m range.

Even Meslier would come away from his 2022/23 efforts in the top-flight with a higher accurate pass percentage average next to his name, with a worry now that Leeds have forked out significant wads of cash on a ‘keeper who isn’t a noticeable upgrade on what they already had.

The same could be said about Calvert-Lewin, arguably, – if you remove talk of transfer fees – with golden-boot winning Joel Piroe up top now frozen out completely, despite collecting a blistering 19 strikes on the way to promotion being clinched.

Thankfully, Calvert-Lewin’s woes in front of goal have been regularly bailed out already by the likes of Okafor stepping up to the mark as a far more impactful new addition.

In between the sticks, though, it’s harder to go under the radar for your mistakes and errors, with a worry that more unconvincing performances from the £13.9m ‘keeper to come could result in Leeds hurtling straight back down to the second tier.

This would be a gigantic disappointment, with Perri once judged as a clean slate in goal, who could break away from the shoddy days of Meslier.

Leeds star was "indispensable" to Farke, now he's as droppable as Aaronson

This Leeds United star who was once dubbed as a necessary cog is now struggling in the Premier League.

ByKelan Sarson Nov 5, 2025

Long gone are the days when Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah would tear the Premier League to shreds at Liverpool.

Staggeringly, from 197 games together at Anfield, the long-feared trio would combine for a devastating 338 goals, with Virgil Van Dijk once describing them together in action as a “scary” prospect to defend against.

Now, it’s very much a work in progress in attack for Arne Slot’s men, with both Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz remaining goalless in Premier League action since joining.

On top of that, fellow summer recruit Hugo Ekitike has largely blown hot and cold on Merseyside, with no league strikes next to his name from his last five clashes.

Last summer also saw a lot of change in attack in outgoings, with the wasteful Darwin Nunez finally put out of his Anfield misery. But, away from the heavily scapegoated South American, the Reds also waved goodbye to loyal servant Luis Diaz, who is now excelling at Bayern Munich, to Liverpool’s ongoing distaste.

Diaz's electric form at Bayern

Next to the memorable frustrations regularly served up by Nunez, Diaz’s starring role at Liverpool when he was still there could be viewed as slipping under the radar, somewhat.

Yet, Diaz was still labelled as a “very special” talent at Anfield by Jurgen Klopp for good reason, with the one-time Premier League title winner collecting a standout 41 goals and 23 assists from 148 appearances at Anfield.

Before he was moved on to the Bundesliga, he also chipped in with his most fruitful top-flight season in England, tallying up 13 goals.

That same clinical edge has clearly followed him to Bavaria, with Diaz already up to a bumper 11 goals and five assists in his new shade of red from just 17 clashes.

Worryingly, Isak, Wirtz, and Ekitike only have 11 goal contributions between them back in England, with the Colombian winger proving to be a stroke of genius signing for Vincent Kompany’s men at the £65.5m range.

To add insult to injury, all three of those Liverpool underperformers mentioned cost far more to obtain, with the 28-year-old already being hailed as a star who “delivers week in, week out” by his new manager.

Thankfully, Slot and Co could be brewing a homegrown iteration of their former attacker.

Liverpool's homegrown Luis Diaz

One of Diaz’s strong points when still situated at Anfield was his ability to line up all along the forward positions, with the malleable Colombian managing to bag eight strikes from 16 appearances as an out-and-out centre-forward, away from regularly completing his duties as a left winger.

The Reds have plenty of exciting young stars in their academy right now, chiefly fellow winger Rio Ngumoha but he’s not the focus this time around.

Indeed, another teenager by the name of Keyrol Figueroa is now beginning to make a strong impression on the youth staff.

Like Diaz, he has interchanged between wing and striker duties for Liverpool U21s this season effortlessly, with his “instinctive” nature in front of goal – as it was described by Liverpool academy reporter Lewis Bower – also seeing him score goals and pick up assists aplenty.

CF

20

8 + 3

RW

6

3 + 2

LW

2

1 + 0

RM

1

0

While he has predominantly found most of his joy on youth pitches comes from leading the line, with a clinical eight goals powered home from 20 games in that role, Figueroa has also not looked out of place whatsoever on either flank, much like Diaz in his Anfield prime. To put those numbers into perspective, it’s more goals than Ngumoha has bagged at the same level, having beaten the goalkeeper on just two occasions in nine U21 fixtures.

He will also want to give a disappointing Isak a run for his money down the line, with a deadly hat-trick bagged against Everton U21s last month no doubt making him an even more popular figure in youth circles in the red half of Merseyside, away from being an adaptable figure.

It would be wild to throw Figueroa into the first team imminently, considering he is just 19 years of age and is only used to the comforts of youth football.

But, if he continues as he is now, it will surely only be a matter of time before he is unleashed, having also been described as a “ruthless” finisher of chances by his U21 boss in Rob Page.

Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp also hailed Diaz as having a similarly impressive “eye for goal” during his Liverpool playing days, as Slot and Co now hope Figueroa can be as lively in the first team picture as the Colombian down the line.

New Trent: Liverpool star is "one of the most underrated players in England"

Slot could find a shrewd solution to Liverpool’s problems in this talent.

ByAngus Sinclair Nov 17, 2025

Manchester United hold “concrete interest” in signing Scott McTominay, with the midfielder also being targeted by Barcelona, and Napoli’s stance on sanctioning a move has now been revealed.

Man United have set out to sign a new central midfielder in 2026, and Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson has now emerged as a major target, having registered their interest in signing the England international earlier this week.

With Anderson becoming as an important player for both club and country, however, it is likely to take a huge bid to get a deal over the line, and Forest are set to hold out for a fee of around £100m – £120m.

It remains to be seen whether the Red Devils would be willing to smash their existing transfer record to sign the 23-year-old, but if INEOS deem the deal to be too expensive, there could be a much more affordable alternative option.

Man Utd now hold "concrete interest" in Scott McTominay

Indeed, Anderson is not the only British midfielder being targeted by Man United, with a Caught Offside source revealing they hold “concrete interest” in signing Napoli star McTominay, with the Scot really kicking on since leaving Old Trafford.

It could take a bid of at least €50m (£44m) to tempt the Italian club into a sale, although it is also feasible they will be unwilling to sanction a departure at all, having not even set an asking price, given the midfielder’s importance to Antonio Conte’s side.

The 28-year-old is happy at the Italian club, meaning it is unlikely he will agitate for a move, but there is certainly no shortage of top clubs lining up to get a deal done, with Barcelona, Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United also being named as potential suitors.

Lauded as “sensational” by broadcaster David Tanner, the Scotland international has taken his career to the next level since making the move to the Serie A, playing a major role in Napoli winning the 2024-25 league title.

The Lancaster-born midfielder had the most prolific season of his career in front of goal, finding the back of the net 12 times in 34 games, while also providing six assists, and the United academy graduate already has two Champions League goals to his name this season.

That said, it could perhaps be viewed as a step backwards to re-sign their former player, given that he never managed to reach similar heights during his time at Old Trafford, regularly receiving criticism for his performances.

As such, Ruben Amorim may be better off focusing on alternative targets, and there is certainly no shortage of exciting options, with the likes of Anderson, Carlos Baleba, Javi Guerra and Alex Scott all on the shortlist.

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