We finally seem to be at the end of the summer’s biggest saga so far, with Newcastle United’s pursuit of Hugo Ekitike seemingly ended by Liverpool. It was confirmed by journalist Julien Laurens that Eddie Howe’s side are ‘out of the race’ to sign the Frenchman.

Whilst that is a blow to the Magpies, with the striker seemingly set to move to the Reds now, it does increase the chances of Alexander Isak remaining at St James’ Park this season. Fabrizio Romano reported that Newcastle ‘insist’ on the fact that their first-choice striker is not available for sale this summer.

To help supplement Isak up front, it still seems as though the North East outfit will pursue a new number nine.

Newcastle’s new striker target

Whilst their move to sign Ekitike this summer failed to materialise, it still seems apparent that the Magpies wanted to sign a centre-forward this summer. Well, if the new reports to break are true, then that is still very much the case.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

A recent report from talkSPORT confirms the fact that Newcastle are after another number nine this summer, and claim they ‘are ready to join the race’ for Brentford forward Yoane Wissa.

Howe and the higher-ups at St James’ Park might see an opportunity to sign the DR Congo because he is ‘pushing to leave’ the Gtech Community Stadium this summer.

However, there is fierce competition for the 28-year-old. He is wanted by former manager Thomas Frank, now at Tottenham Hotspur, with Nottingham Forest also showing keen interest, and have even placed a bid of £25m. However, that fell way short of Brentford’s valuation, which is double that, at £50m.

Why Wissa would be a good signing

There are clear signs of major improvement in Wissa’s game, who continues to get better and better the more Premier League football he plays. Back in June, journalist Zach Lowy described the attacker as a “remarkable” forward.

In 137 English top-flight games for the Bees, he has amassed an impressive goal tally of 45 strikes, chipping in with 13 assists. He’s managed double-figure goal involvements in three of his four Premier League seasons, and has hit such a milestone simply for goals in the last two seasons.

The 2024/25 campaign saw Wissa explode and have the season of his career so far. In 35 Premier League games, the Brentford number 11 found the back of the net 19 times and registered five assists. It is easy to see why they want £50m for his signature this summer.

Simply from a goalscoring point of view, the Brentford attacker actually had a better campaign than Ekitike managed last season. Whilst the Frenchman, who plays for Eintracht Frankfurt, did contribute eight assists in 33 Bundesliga games, he was not as clinical as Wissa.

The 23-year-old, who was born in Reims, only bagged 15 league goals for Eintracht in the 2024/25 campaign, four fewer than the DR Congo striker managed.

On top of that, Wissa had a better goalscoring streak, bagging goals in four consecutive league games, whilst Ekitike’s best was three. There are certainly stats which back up the fact that Wissa is a more clinical striker than Ekitike.

Looking at the numbers on Squawka, he has a better conversion rate, with 27.54% compared to the Frenchman’s 17.24%, showing just how well he takes his chances, and has more non-penalty goals per game, with 0.6 as opposed to 0.5.

Shot accuracy

62.32%

55.17%

Conversion rate

27.54%

17.24%

Non-penalty goals

0.6

0.5

Goals from inside the box

0.6

0.6

Winnings goals

0.2

0.1

Although it is a shame that the Magpies have missed out on signing Ekitike, Wissa could be the perfect player to rotate with Isak.

The Swedish attacker scored 23 Premier League goals last term, so they need a clinical number nine to match his goalscoring form.

Thus, Wissa could be the dream signing for Howe’s side this season, to help take Newcastle to the next level and continue their rise up the Premier League table.

Bigger talent than Ekitike: Newcastle targeting £70m "menace of a striker"

Newcastle are on the hunt for a new striker amid the interest in Alexander Isak

ByJoe Nuttall Jul 16, 2025

Usman Khawaja’s half-century provided the highlight of a rain-affected second day in the Sheffield Shield clash between Queensland and New South Wales at Cricket Central in Sydney.Test opener Khawaja appeared immune to the form struggles plaguing those vying to partner him at the top for the Border-Gavaskar trophy, helping Queensland make headway in reply to NSW’s 239.Wet weather meant only one delivery was bowled across the final two sessions, with Queensland posting 96 for 2 by the time play was abandoned late on Saturday.Khawaja brought up his second first-class half-century for the summer with the second of his two sixes: a slog over long off from Tanveer Sangha.But his innings was not without controversy. NSW’s Ryan Hadley thought he’d caught Khawaja at fine leg from Sangha’s bowling about an hour into play, only for him to remain at the crease following consultation between the umpires. Khawaja, on 29 at the time, had earlier survived an lbw shout from Josh Hazlewood’s bowling.Hazlewood and Jack Edwards combined for six consecutive maiden overs to start the day before Matt Renshaw finally got Queensland running with a thick edge to the boundary.But out-of-favour Renshaw failed in his bid to reassert his Test credentials, trapped lbw by Sangha on 25 later in the first session.The wet conditions meant only one ball was bowled in a delayed second session but it could hardly have been a more crucial one for NSW.Khawaja edged Edwards to Ollie Davies in the slips as rain continued to fall, with the teams back in the pavilion before another delivery could be bowled.

Derby County have agreed a deal to complete the signing of a “fantastic” Premier League player this summer, according to reliable journalist John Percy.

Eustace continues to eye Derby signings

The new Championship season is getting closer all the time, with John Eustace’s Rams side kicking off their campaign with a trip to Stoke City on August 9th.

It has been a productive summer transfer window to date for Derby, with a host of new faces added to the squad, including striker Carlton Morris and centre-back Danny Batth, who have arrived from Luton Town and Blackburn Rovers respectively, adding quality at both ends of the pitch.

It’s now a case of the Rams putting some finishing touches to their summer business in the coming weeks, giving them the best chance as possible of improving on last season’s 19th-place finish.

Hull City defender John Egan has been mentioned as an option for Derby between now and the end of the window, but they reportedly face competition from Wrexham for his signature.

Derby agree deal to sign Liverpool player

According to Percy on X, Derby have now agreed a deal to sign Liverpool left-back Owen Beck on loan. The 22-year-old, valued at £10m in some reports, is very “keen” to play under Eustace again after time with Blackburn Rovers and will undergo a medical soon.

This is great news for Rams supporters, with Beck an exciting young player who shone in the Championship on loan at Blackburn with Eustace in charge last season, starting 21 matches and averaging 2.6 tackles and 2.5 clearances per game.

Owen Beck’s 2024/25 Championship stats	Total
Appearances	24
Starts	21
Minutes played	1874
Goals	1
Assists	0
Tackles per game	2.6
Clearances per game	2.5
Interceptions per game	0.8
Key passes per game	0.8

Meanwhile, the Welshman has played three times for Liverpool’s first team, which is no easy achievement, with former Reds Under-23s manager Barry Lewtas heaping praise on him in the past.

“I thought Owen was fantastic. The progress he has made over his time at the Academy, but certainly the last couple of years, is a credit to him with the work he puts in [and] how coachable he is because he listens and takes on board the information we give him. He has become a real consistent performer for us and in my opinion he was the standout player against Derby. In fairness to him I think those levels have been consistent for some time now so I’m really pleased for Owen and really pleased with him as well.”

Derby in transfer race with Wrexham to sign 32 y/o Championship defender

There’s serious competition for his signature…

By
Brett Worthington

Jul 16, 2025

The fact that Eustace already knows Beck’s game inside out has to be considered a big positive, too, meaning the Derby boss is bringing in a player who he firmly believes can hit the ground running. He should only get better over time, adding both defensive and attacking quality at left-back.

Glasgow Rangers dropped points for the second time in as many Scottish Premiership matches with a 1-1 draw at Ibrox against Dundee on Saturday.

The Light Blues were held to a 1-1 draw by Motherwell on the opening day of the league campaign, and now have two points to show after two games and are already four points off the top of the table.

Russell Martin will not be happy with the way his team have started the season, and may want more signings to bolster his squad before the end of the summer transfer window to ensure that they are in the best place to kick on and get more points on the board.

Rangers closing in on new defender

The Light Blues are putting plenty of work in behind the scenes to add to the manager’s options across the park, and are reportedly on course to bring in a new defender.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

According to Rangers Review, as relayed by IbroxNews, the Scottish giants are closing in on a deal to sign Real Betis centre-back Nobel Mendy for a fee of £2m.

The report claims that the 20-year-old defender, who typically plays on the left side of the defence, has his heart set on a move to Ibrox, which now appears to be coming to fruition.

It adds that the left-footed defender is poised to put pen to paper on a four-year contract at Ibrox, with an option to extend by a further year, and that his arrival will mean that Ben Davies, Clinton Nsiala, and Leon King are all free to move on.

Why Mendy could be a good signing for Rangers

The Real Betis youngster, who spent most of last season with the B team, could be a shrewd addition to the squad as a talented young player who needs regular game time, much like when the club plucked Mikel Arteta away from Barcelona B.

Back in 2002, the Light Blues signed the Spanish midfielder from Barcelona B after he failed to make a single first-team appearance for the Catalan giants, although he did have two loan spells at PSG.

Arteta failed to make the breakthrough in the first-team in Spain, but then went on to score 14 goals in 65 games for Rangers. He also won the domestic treble in his first year at the club, per Transfermarkt.

This shows that the Spaniard, who moved to Real Sociedad in 2004 before going on to play for Everton and Arsenal most notably, was a big success with what he achieved at Ibrox despite arriving as a player from a B team in Spain.

Appearances

2

13

Starts

1

12

Pass accuracy

87%

85%

Ball recoveries per game

3.5

7.9

Clearances per game

4.5

2.0

Duel success rate

100%

41%

As you can see in the table above, Mendy spent the majority of last season with Real Betis B, starting just one match in LaLiga, which shows that he did not quite make the grade there.

His failure to make a breakthrough as a regular starter for Real Betis does not mean that he is a bad player, though, as evidenced by the success that Arteta had at Ibrox after his move from Barcelona B.

Writer and analyst Kai Watson described Mendy as a “powerful” player with “athletic” qualities, similar to Nasser Djiga, which makes it seem like the Gers are signing a mobile and combative young central defender.

However, it is hard to make predictions on how he will perform for the Gers because, as aforementioned, the majority of his performances have come at B team level, and it remains to be seen how he will adapt to senior football at Ibrox.

Big Danilo upgrade: Rangers make "lethal" £5m gem one of their top targets

Rangers have made this striker one of their top transfer targets, and he would be a big upgrade on Danilo.

ByDan Emery Aug 8, 2025

The Light Blues can, though, look to the masterclass that they once played by snapping Arteta up when he failed to make the grade in LaLiga, and know that they may have found their next version of the current Arsenal manager in Mendy, who is another young talent with the potential to develop and enjoy success in Glasgow.

As Everton get their pre-season underway, The Friedkin Group are reportedly preparing a £35m proposal to welcome another key reinforcement for David Moyes and his side.

Everton commence Hill Dickinson era

A new era is officially underway at Everton after they squared off against Port Vale in their first-ever game at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. In many ways it was, of course, an insignificant game. But it will have its place in history and so will Carlos Alcaraz for scoring the first-ever goal for Everton men’s at their impressive new ground.

After sealing a 2-1 victory against their latest pre-season opponents, Everton will now travel to the USA to take part in the Premier League Summer Series. It’s there that they will square off against Bournemouth, West Ham United and Manchester United in three tough tests to hand them a glimpse of what could be to come next season.

It’s not just pre-season that those in Merseyside should be concerning themselves with between now and next season, however. There’s also still plenty of work to be done on the transfer front.

Friedkin reportedly want to splash out as much as £150m this summer, having already welcomed Thierno Barry, Mark Travers and Alcaraz to kick things off.

Eyeing a replacement for Abdoulaye Doucoure, as well as another midfielder, plus a new right-back and right-winger, Everton have already reportedly set their sights on the likes of Douglas Luiz and James McAtee.

The latter would be a particularly impressive signing, given how he still starred for Manchester City last season even in the face of little game time. The last time that City sold such a prospect, it was Chelsea who benefited and Cole Palmer who thrived. Now, the Toffees could be next in line.

Before then, though, Friedkin are seemingly planning to turn their focus towards an impressive La Liga star.

Everton preparing Takefusa Kubo offer

According to reports in Spain, Everton are now preparing a formal €40m (£35m) offer to sign Takefusa Kubo from Real Sociedad this summer. The Japan international has enjoyed a standout spell at Sociedad at times in the last three years, having swapped Real Madrid for the chance to become the star that he is today in 2022.

He's a dream for Barry: Everton open talks to sign £50m "superstar"

Everton initiate talks to sign LaLiga star in bold bid to strengthen attack

ByWill Miller Jul 23, 2025

Now, the Premier League could be calling and Everton could yet make an impressive statement. Once a Liverpool target, Kubo may come back to haunt those at Anfield at the opposite end of Merseyside next season.

Previously dubbed “amazing” for his form by scout Jacek Kulig, Kubo is still just 24 years old and still has plenty more to come. There’s no doubt that he’d also be an instant upgrade on Jack Harrison.

Minutes

2,372

2,076

Goals

5

1

Assists

0

0

Key Passes

45

33

Alongside Barry, Kubo’s arrival would continue the much-needed attacking changes taking place at Everton this summer, as they step into a new era at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Sri Lanka lost their last six wickets for 67 runs and face a 221-run deficit, which threatens to get out of hand

Firdose Moonda07-Dec-2024

Dane Paterson completed his first five-for in Test cricket•AFP/Getty Images

Stumps South Africa 358 and 191 for 3 (Markram 55, Bavuma 48*, Stubbs 36*, Jayasuriya 2-75) lead Sri Lanka 328 (Nissanka 89, Kamindu 48, Mathews 44, Chandimal 44, Paterson 5-71, Maharaj 2-65, Jansen 2-100) by 221 runsTemba Bavuma and Tristan Stubbs shared an unbroken fourth-wicket stand of 82 and South Africa pulled away from Sri Lanka on the third day at St George’s Park. They extended their lead to 221 after taking a slim 30-run advantage from the first innings, having bowling Sri Lanka out for 328 earlier in the day.South Africa’s strong performance came on the back of Dane Paterson’s first Test five-for and Aiden Markram half-century, which set up their second innings. Bavuma is two runs away from a fourth successive fifty-plus score in the series, in which he has already collected more than 300 runs. Despite not playing any competitive cricket for two months before this series as he recovered from an elbow injury, Bavuma is seeing the ball better than anyone else and has added a more aggressive style to his strokeplay.Related

Nissanka 2.0 – quiet, disciplined, and just a little greedy

Verreynne explodes before SA turn on the slow burn

Ten wickets fell on the third day – the most in the Test so far – but conditions were still well suited to batting under blue skies. Sri Lanka’s seam attack still found some movement and there was also a hint of turn for Prabath Jayasuriya, which will likely please South Africa more than their visitors. With the surface expected to start deteriorating in dry conditions from day four, Keshav Maharaj could come into play later on. Before that, Sri Lanka will look for seven wickets with the knowledge that the highest successful chase at this ground is 271, and that South Africa are 50 runs away from that mark. But they will take heart from the glimpses of spin, especially as it has already brought some success.Sri Lanka’s first threat came through spin when Jayasuriya foxed Tony de Zorzi with one that curved through the bat-pad gap as he looked to drive and ended a 55-run first-wicket stand. De Zorzi’s series ended with a disappointing total of 40 runs from four innings, having come into it on the back of registering 177 in Bangladesh.Aiden Markram made 55 off 75 balls•Associated Press

Markram, his opening partner, fared better despite edging Asitha Fernando’s second delivery. The chance fell short of second slip. Markram looked increasingly confident as his innings grew but never fully comfortable. He approached fifty when he slashed at a short, wide Vishwa delivery and edged past gully for four and got there with a gorgeous cover drive which re-asserted his control. Importantly for him, it was his first fifty in 12 completed innings across formats. He only lasted six more balls before he edged a flashing cover drive off Vishwa and was caught one-handed by a diving Kusal Mendis, whose powers of anticipation were on full display.Ryan Rickelton started with the same watchfulness as his first innings but could not continue to another century. He missed a Jayasuriya ball that skidded on to hit him in front of middle stump and had to go for 24.Stubbs and Bavuma, who reunited after notching up second-innings hundreds in Durban, absorbed pressure for the next eight overs. Only 13 runs were scored. Sri Lanka reviewed an lbw shout against Stubbs off Asitha when Stubbs left a ball that seemed to be going down leg. Ball-tracking confirmed that that was the case. Bavuma edged Kumara through the vacant slip area for his first boundary but then he pulled Jayasuriya in front of square and launched him over long-off, both times for six. Stubbs, as expected, was the more adventurous partner and played his shots even as the day grew long. A moment of fortune favoured Stubbs in the third-last over of the day as he attempted a reverse scoop and bottom-edged it between Mendis and first slip.Tristan Stubbs wasn’t afraid of reverse scooping late in the day•Associated Press

Things went South Africa’s way almost from the get-go when Marco Jansen broke things open with the old ball in the 10th over of the morning. He got a delivery to kick up off the surface to a well-set Angelo Mathews, who gloved as he tried to fend it off. Kyle Verreynne took the catch in front of his face.After conceding just 24 runs in the first 13 overs of the day, South Africa took the new ball as soon as it became available and it brought immediate reward. Kamindu Mendis, who had earlier been put down by de Zorzi at short leg, nicked off third ball as Jansen got extra bounce. Jansen then rapped Kusal Mendis on the glove first up and could have had him out twice in the space of four overs.Kusal offered his first chance off the third ball he faced, when he was unsure about leaving a ball down leg and got bat on it. Verreynne had to dive full stretch to his left and got fingertips on it but will likely mark that down as a tough ask. The next opportunity was more straightforward. Kusal got a thick outside edge to first slip but Markam, at second, dived across David Bedingham and dropped it. Kusal then sent a healthy edge to the right of Stubbs at gully off Paterson, who took over from Jansen and would go on to have the last say.Dane Paterson took three wickets in the 89th over•AFP/Getty Images

After bowling two excellent spells on the second day, Paterson continued to find late movement and maintained tight lines, and he reaped the benefits. Dhananjaya de Silva edged the first ball of his second over, where matters hit fast-forward. Two balls later, Kusal left a delivery that nipped back into him and dislodged the bails, and two after that, Lahiru Kumara was stunningly caught by Jansen’s outstretched left hand at gully. Sri Lanka went from a reasonably comfortable 297 for 5 to 298 for 8, and South Africa were 60 runs ahead.Jayasuriya ate into that lead with three well-placed fours to drag the innings into the second session where Paterson continued in search of a five-for. He thought he had it when he hit Jayasuriya on the full on the pad and convinced Bavuma to review but ball-tracking returned an umpire’s call verdict on leg stump.In his next over, Paterson got a regulation dismissal when Vishwa Fernando edged him to Verreynne. A pumped-up Paterson brought out the baby-cradle celebration for his newborn child. Five balls later, Jayasuriya stepped far out of his crease to a tossed-up ball from Maharaj, and was stumped. Sri Lanka’s innings ended 25 minutes into the second session, with South Africa 30 runs in the lead.