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New Zealand all but booked their place in the World Cup semi-final against India with a dominant five-wicket win – with 160 balls to spare – against Sri Lanka in Bengaluru. The result took them to ten points, and a net run rate (NRR) of 0.743, leaving Pakistan needing to beat England by 287 runs, while Afghanistan need an even more fantastical 438-run win over South Africa, if they are to surpass New Zealand’s NRR.If Pakistan were to chase, they would have no chance of qualifying.As for Sri Lanka, the margin of defeat against New Zealand left them languishing in ninth place, thus out of qualification for the 2025 Champions Trophy. They now need one of England or Bangladesh to suffer defeats – while Netherlands also need to lose to India – to the extent that their respective NRRs drop below Sri Lanka’s.New Zealand’s win was the product of an all-round performance with bat and ball. While the threat of rain in Bengaluru ultimately proved to be a red herring, winning the toss and putting Sri Lanka in seemed to be the most prudent way to ensure both an NRR-boosting victory as well as hedge against any rain interruptions and DLS interventions.And so it proved. Despite the loss of some late wickets, Sri Lanka’s total of 171 was comfortably dealt with, as Devon Conway, Rachin Ravindra and Daryl Mitchell all pitched in with forties.On a pitch that proved even better to bat on under lights, Ravindra and Conway put on 86 to break open the chase, before Mitchell’s 43 off just 31 balls rammed home the result. All three fell before the finish, but the win was never in doubt.Kusal Perera counterattacked for Sri Lanka amid plenty of early blows•AFP/Getty Images

That it was so easy in the end was down to a solid bowling effort and a haphazard outing with the bat for Sri Lanka. New Zealand shared the wickets around, with Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner and Ravindra picking up two apiece, though Trent Boult’s 3 for 37 was what had set his side up at the top of Sri Lanka’s innings – and earned him the Player-of-the-Match award.Such was New Zealand’s dominance that they won so comfortably despite dropping three catches. The first was of Kusal Perera without scoring, as Tom Latham grassed a straightforward caught behind. Latham got his shot at redemption a ball later though, with Pathum Nissanka nicking through for an even more simple chance.Kusal Mendis fell a few overs later, splicing a leading edge to deep third while looking to hit over midwicket, with Sadeera Samarawickrama following soon after edging through to Mitchell at first slip. Both those wickets were grabbed by the excellent Boult, taking him past 50 wickets in World Cups – he ended the game with that tally on 52.But even as wickets fell at one end, Perera functioned as a one-man army, finding boundaries all around the Chinnaswamy Stadium, and punishing New Zealand for that early drop. Two picked-up sixes over long-on off Tim Southee were the highlights of some belligerent ball striking, as he brought up his 50 off just 22 deliveries – the joint second-fastest by a Sri Lankan in ODI World Cups.Trent Boult went past 50 World Cup wickets•ICC/Getty Images

An over later, though, Charith Asalanka was adjudged lbw off Boult after a well-taken review, before Perera fell a few deliveries later, getting under a delivery from Ferguson that was not full enough to drive and slicing it to cover.Sri Lanka were in free fall at 70 for 5 in the tenth over, before Angelo Mathews and Dhananjaya de Silva put up mild resistance. Dhananjaya was reprieved too, courtesy Latham’s second drop of the game, a tough chance off Santner during that stand of 34. Santner’s guile, control and subtle variations in pace, however, were eventually too good for the pair.Mathews was the first to go in what might have been his last World Cup innings – perhaps even ODI innings – lunging forward at one that was floated up and then dipped. He failed to get to the pitch, and the bounce and turn did the rest, grazing the outside edge to Mitchell at slip. It was a similar story for Dhananjaya, after another flighted delivery with some added bounce found its way into Mitchell’s hands.Maheesh Theekshana batted for 91 deliveries•ICC/Getty Images

Chamika Karunaratne, making just his second appearance at this World Cup, did not fare any better, edging behind Ferguson. A swift end to the innings seemed imminent but Maheesh Theekshana, in partnerships with Dushmantha Chameera and Dilshan Madushanka, showed the resistance that was lacking throughout the rest of the innings.In facing 91 deliveries, Theekshana played more balls than all of Sri Lanka’s frontline batters combined. Even Madushanka’s 48 balls were more than what any other batter faced apart from Theekshana.Theekshana remained unbeaten on 38 – the second-highest scorer of the innings – as the ninth and tenth wicket stands, despite only contributing 58 runs, spanned 139 deliveries. Sri Lanka lost their eighth wicket in the 24th over, but it wasn’t until the 47th that New Zealand dismissed them, with Ravindra finding Madushanka’s edge for Latham to complete a sharp take.It took a while for New Zealand to get there, after winning their first four matches and then losing their next four, but this victory has all but ensured a fifth consecutive ODI World Cup semi-final.

MatériaMais Notícias

da betcris： O Fluminense oficializou a saída de Yago Felipe nesta quinta-feira (23) rumo ao Bahia. Em uma postagem divulgada em suas redes sociais, o Tricolor das Laranjeiras agradeceu ao jogador de 28 anos por sua passagem no clube. Além disso, divulgou um vídeo com lances do volante defendendo a camisa tricolor.

da betway： 160 jogos, identificação enorme e muita entrega por essas três cores. Obrigado por tudo, @YagoFelipe20! 🥰🇭🇺

📸 Marcelo Gonçalves/FFC pic.twitter.com/NFa1d7E6v3

— Fluminense F.C. (@FluminenseFC) February 23, 2023

“160 jogos, identificação enorme e muita entrega por essas três cores. Obrigado, Yago Felipe”, disse o clube nas redes.

No vídeo, Yago ainda foi definido como guerreiro.

Yago Felipe: Ｇ Ｕ Ｅ Ｒ Ｒ Ｅ Ｉ Ｒ Ｏ 💚❤️ pic.twitter.com/CleGyebDeV

— Fluminense F.C. (@FluminenseFC) February 23, 2023

Os direitos de Yago pertencem em 60% ao Fluminense e 40% ao Tombense, clube ligado ao empresário Eduardo Uram. O Bahia adquiriu 90% por cerca de R$ 10 milhões, de acordo com “O Globo”. O Fluminense deve ficar com R$ 4,8 milhões e manterá 10% dos direitos sobre Yago.

Despite defeat on Tuesday night, there’s still so much for Aston Villa to play for in the remaining months of the season.

In mid-week, Unai Emery’s team were hammered 4-1 by Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, meaning the Claret and Blue Army have won only one of their last seven in the Premier League, thereby slipping down to tenth.

Nevertheless, the Villans have reached the FA Cup fifth round for the first time since being runners-up a decade ago, welcoming Cardiff City to Villa Park on Friday night, before travelling to Jan Breydelstadion for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie against Club Brugge.

However, not so long ago, being in the Champions League and aiming to win domestic cups was a mere pipe dream for Villa supporters, personified by their former club-record signing, compared to one of the club’s best-ever Premier League strikers, who has completely fallen off the radar.

Christian Benteke's time at Aston Villa

Christian Benteke was only at Aston Villa for three seasons but made quite the impression in the Midlands, scoring some pivotal goals and making the club a huge return on their investment.

The Belgian, only 22-years-old at the time, arrived from Genk for a reported £7m on deadline day in the summer of 2012.

He would go on to score 49 goals in just 101 appearances in a claret and blue shirt, averaging a goal every 171 minutes, firing Villa to the FA Cup Final in 2015, as well as being a key figure as Tim Sherwood’s team avoided relegation that same season.

Hailed as “world-class” by another of his former managers Paul Lambert, Benteke remains one of only seven players to have scored 40+ goals for Villa in the Premier League.

Gabriel Agbonlahor

73

356

Ollie Watkins

71

206

Dwight Yorke

60

237

Dion Dublin

48

227

Juan Pablo Ángel

44

271

Christian Benteke

42

175

Gareth Barry

41

757

As the table shows, Benteke has, by far, the best minutes-per-goal ratio of any Villa forward in the Premier League-era, well apart from Jhon Durán, whose 12 goals came in just 1,214 minutes, which equates to a goal every 101 minutes.

Nevertheless, his prolific figures saw Benteke join Liverpool for £32.5m in 2015, later admitting his three years at Villa were “the best time” of his career, but the supposed heir to the Belgian’s throne didn’t quite live up to these high standards.

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast’s Where Are They Now series.

What happened to Aston Villa's next Christian Benteke

Following their promotion back to the Premier League in 2019, Aston Villa went big, spending a reported £140m on 12 new recruits.

The most expensive of those was Wesley, who arrived from Club Brugge for £22m, at the time a club-record.

The previous season, the Brazilian had scored 17 goals for the Belgian Blue-Blacks, on target home and away against Monaco in the Champions League, with Luke Hatfield of the Daily Express comparing him to Benteke, who’d also arrived from Belgium, stating ‘both bring a sizeable frame and exciting physical traits’.

Welsey did make a decent start to his Villa career, scoring six times during the first half of the season, earning him his senior international debut for Brazil against Argentina, only to rupture his anterior cruciate ligament during a 2-1 victory at Burnley on New Year’s Day.

From that moment on, his Villa career never recovered, spending 480 days on the sidelines, but barely featuring in claret and blue again, loaned back to Club Brugge for the following season.

So, let’s look at Wesley’s post-ACL injury career.

2020/21

Aston Villa

16

0

2021/22

Club Brugge & Internacional

1,187

2

2022/23

Levante

1,864

4

2023/24

Stoke City

873

0

2024/25

Fatih Karagümrük

1,964

14

As the table shows, Wesley’s career has never really recovered, Adam Cleary of Football League World describing his one-season stint at Stoke as ‘miserable’ and a ‘disaster’. That is until now.

Last summer, the hulking striker joined Fatih Karagümrük, who were relegated from the Turkish Süper Lig last season, for whom he has been on fire, scoring 14 goals, two more than current Villa star Morgan Rogers, making him the division’s leading scorer, with his team second, on course for automatic promotion.

Of course, the Turkish second-tier isn’t the highest level of football around, Football Data Base believes Fatih Karagümrük to be the 1,418th strongest team in the world, just below Reading and Portsmouth for context, but it’s great to see Wesley enjoying his best scoring season since that horrific injury at Turf Moor.

Aston Villa have already sold their own Mateta who's a "true monster"

Aston Villa may regret selling this star who’s shades of Mateta.

ByJoe Nuttall Feb 26, 2025

Arsenal are now “working hard” to convince a “world-class” player to join in the summer, with talks ongoing to gauge what it would take to get a deal over the line, according to ex-scout Mick Brown.

Gunners eyeing players with Champions League pedigree

The Gunners have almost certainly booked their place in the Champions League quarter-final after a 7-1 demolition of PSV Eindhoven away from home last night, and they are continuing to look at other players performing well in Europe’s elite competition this season.

After the arrival of new director of football Andrea Berta is confirmed, a bid could be made for Lille striker Jonathan David, who assisted Hakon Arnar Harldsson’s goal in the French side’s 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund yesterday.

Not only are the north Londoners keen on a striker, but they are also looking at strengthening in central midfield, and Atletico Madrid’s Pablo Barrios has now been identified as a potential alternative to Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi, amid interest from Real Madrid.

Arsenal now preparing £83m offer for "future legend" instead of Zubimendi

The Gunners are now assessing alternatives to Zubimendi, who is yet to fully agree a move to the Emirates Stadium.

ByDominic Lund Mar 5, 2025

Another midfielder Arsenal have been linked with is Bayern Munich’s Joshua Kimmich, and Brown has now dropped an update on their pursuit of the German in an interview with Football Insider.

“Arsenal have been working hard behind the scenes to reach an agreement with him. They’ve been speaking to his representatives to gauge what it would take to agree a deal.

“Now, they’ll be trying to convince him to join them rather than going elsewhere or staying at Bayern. Kimmich would bring a lot of experience to this Arsenal team and I think that’s what Mikel Arteta will be looking at – he’s won all there is to win.”

"World class" Kimmich could be a fantastic signing

Kimmich could be a versatile option for Arteta, having regularly featured at right-back and central-midfield throughout his career, and his ability going forward has been on show in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League this season.

The Germany international has already reached 10 assists in all competitions, and he ranks highly across a number of key attacking metrics over the past year, when compared to other midfielders.

Statistic

Average per 90

Assists

0.28 (96th percentile)

Progressive passes

10.0 (99th percentile)

Shot-creating actions

5.07 (98th percentile)

Progressive carries

2.29 (89th percentile)

Combine the “world-class” midfielder’s talent on the front foot with his ability to fill in at right-back when required, as well as his proven track record of winning trophies, and Arsenal could have a fantastic signing this summer, should they win the race for his signature.

The only concern will be the fact Kimmich is now 30-years-old, and he is on very high wages with Bayern, raking in £310k-per-week, so the Gunners will need to be careful not to hand out a huge contract to a player who may not have re-sell value.

أكد فيل فودين صانع ألعاب مانشستر سيتي أنه غير متأكد من الدور الذي سيلعبه في تشكيل مانشستر سيتي تحت قيادة بيب جوارديولا الموسم المقبل.

وكان فودين قد قدم أداءً مميزًا الموسم قبل الماضي وحقق جائزة أفضل لاعب في الدوري الإنجليزي، حيث قاد مانشستر سيتي للبريميرليج الرابع على التوالي.

اقرأ أيضاً.. لاعب مانشستر سيتي يرفض اللعب تحت قيادة مورينيو

ويثير فيل فودين بسبب مرونته الجدل والتساؤلات حول المركز الذي سيعتمد عليه به بيب جوارديولا الموسم المقبل، في ظل المتغيرات التي حدثت هذا الصيف والصعوبات التي واجهها الإنجليزي الموهوب الموسم الماضي.

وفي مقابلة مع أكاديمية مانشستر سيتي، قال فودين: “لست متأكداً من مركزي وأين يراني جوارديولا الموسم الجديد، يمكنني اللعب في مراكز مختلفة ومركزي هو الجناح الأيمن لذا دعونا نرى ما سيحدث”.

وأضاف: “لست هنا لأكرر ما فعله دي بروين، نعرف جميعًا مدى روعته وما قدمه لنا، الأمر يتعلق ببذل قصارى جهدي والوصول للمستوى الذي فزت به بجائزة أفضل لاعب وأريد ذلك، لا يمكن سوى التدريب والعودة”.

وواصل عن عودة رودري: “سيستغرق الأمر بعض الوقت ليستعيد لياقته البدنية الكاملة، نظراً لطول مدة الإصابة، لكننا نعرف جميعاً ما يمكنه أن يقدمه، هو لاعب لا يقهر واللعب لجانبه أمر لا يصدق”.

واختتم عن رودري أيضًا بعد غيابه طوال الموسم الماضي: “إنه ببساطة يشعرك بالأمان، لا يفقد الكرة ويفعل كل شيء”.

Bairstow carting a protester back to the Grand Stand the only time an Englishman extolled domination

Vithushan Ehantharajah28-Jun-2023An over into the opening day at Lord’s, two protestors from Just Stop Oil ran onto the field armed with orange paint powder. Their aim was to disperse as much of it as possible on the pitch, only to be halted in their tracks by Jonny Bairstow, Ben Stokes and David Warner. Honestly, could you think of three worse cricketers to be confronted by?Apart from Bairstow hot-footing it into the home dressing room to change out of a now stained white shirt, there was no real impediment on proceedings. The auxiliary pitch – sat two to the left of the main strip as you look out from the press box – did not have to be used. As it turned out, Bairstow’s carry of one of the protesters back to the Grand Stand from where he emerged was the only time an Englishman extolled domination on day one.Whatever debris on the field was removed with a petrol-fuelled blower, just to really hammer home the futility of the protest. A worthy one considering the debilitating effects of fossil fuels on the climate. But like many things we need to change about the world around us, there was a nagging sense it’s all too far gone. Even for believers, there’s enough doubt in the productivity of such acts to let the nuisance of inconvenience, however minor, prevail as the dominant emotion.”They have consistently shown complete disregard for the people who pay to attend events,” said CEO Guy Lavender in an MCC press release about the protest that dropped an hour later. A line far more instructive than he would have intended 24 hours after the institution had to confront a chastening from the Independent Commission for Equity in Cricket for being woefully out of step with “contemporary Britan”.Jonny Bairstow removes a ‘Just Stop Oil’ pitch invader from the field•Getty ImagesThe home of cricket is only a home for those who look a certain way and, principally, can afford the entry fee. A fee which MCC felt entitled those who can afford it to an uninterrupted day’s play without being reminded the ground’s main sponsor JP Morgan is the world’s worst fossil fuel financing bank.It also entitles them to, well, not watch the cricket. Just as celebrated as the members rushing for seats in the Pavilion before the start of play is the afternoon meander to the various greens of the Nursery Ground, Coronation and Harris Gardens. A point in the day when they think, you know, all this cricket is getting in the way of our conversing.On this occasion, you could understand the motivation of those punters, however strong their ties to this England team are. This was not good viewing, by any means. Overly full bowling at a worryingly docile pace. Nuts so nude you could see the birthmarks.No one in England garb looked like they really wanted to be there, save Josh Tongue in his second Test, which is damning in its own way. They had flunked the best conditions you could ever ask for at this ground. Even Stokes seemed to be devoid of the usual funk, fiddling intermittently when testing Travis Head out with the short ball, but otherwise sticking to by-the-book fields featured in many of the paintings adorning the walls of the closed-off Long Room.As England went through the back end of 83 overs of toil, they probably looked upon the now vacant spaces in the stands with some jealousy. If only they could saunter off and chill out, rather than pointlessly address Australia’s screw-turning.At another time, players would think nothing of it. They all know this is a ground those not really into cricket come to be seen at rather than actually do any seeing. But given all the success coming into this summer, all the Bazball buzz heading into an Ashes, even the way the Edgbaston opener played out day to day, something about these empty white seats created far more of a stain than any orange pigment.There was a sense of lost hope. Of a team who pride themselves on entertaining whether they win or lose, simply losing the thread of their most vaunted – and thus, most watched – series to date, in quite unwatchable fashion. Whether you watched all of the 339 runs and five wickets, or just the first session, you were left with the same mundane conclusions. Australia are quite good. England might not be as good as they thought.Related

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There is a point be made that this is the worst ground for this particular England Test side. It’s as much the pitch – devoid of meaningful bounce today from the Nursery End – as the tradition hanging over this joint, cruelly over-emphasising the grandeur of an Ashes to a group whose best cricket over the last year has come through not taking the game and their part in it too seriously.They also need those watching them to invest emotionally in what they do, which doesn’t happen here. Perhaps Wednesday was when they found out the hard way that this Lord’s crowd need a bit more than vibes and the wrong kind of jaunty hats to buy into what you’re selling. And it’s not so much the ones who wander off, more those who remain. They’ve seen far more than most, and they care not for golfing anecdotes other than their own.There’s no Hollies Stand or Western Terrace here. Other than the occasional sponsored brass band on the outfield, no instruments are allowed. All the beer snakes are killed at birth. Try and sneak in an extra can at your peril. Oh and revelry? Just try and get that past a thorough pat-down. Whatever noise to be made has to come from the middle, and but for the cracks off the middle of the bats of David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Head and Steve Smith (with plenty to come from him), England couldn’t produce the infectious music that has scored the last 14 months.Expect all or some of the above to get fashioned into some excuse behind closed doors, and pray to whoever you pray to it’s not uttered publicly. There has been enough talk for a life time. Six days into this series, England’s worst by some distance has an entire narrative they built shifting against them. Previous lauders are now doubters. Their most high-profile celebrators now their harshest critics.Now, only actions matter. And at a time when English cricket and the world at large step up to fight harder in unending battles for betterment, those on the field (who are meant to be there) now find themselves rallying in similar fashion. They must hope like hell these are not equally futile circumstances.

Brendon McCullum, England’s head coach, says his team have “no excuses” after crashing to a 2-1 series defeat with back-to-back losses in Multan and Rawalpindi, but admits he was surprised it took Pakistan until the second Test to prepare the sort of spinning pitches that have been his team’s undoing on recent tours of the subcontinent.Pakistan had been left with no place to hide after England’s ruthless victory on a flat deck in the first Test in Multan, where they powered past a seemingly impressive first-innings 556 to post 823 for 7 declared, the fourth-highest Test total in history, with Harry Brook setting up their innings win with a career-best 317.But, after changing their selection panel and tailoring the subsequent surfaces with the use of heaters and industrial fans, Pakistan transformed their fortunes, with spinners Sajid Khan and Noman Ali sharing 39 of England’s next 40 wickets, as their opponents mustered just 814 runs across their final four innings of the series.Not only is the result a stark turnaround from England’s 3-0 win in Pakistan two years ago, it comes in the wake of their 4-1 loss in India in February, meaning that England have now gone from winning four in a row under Stokes and McCullum in Asia, to losing six of their last seven, and by comprehensive margins.Related

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“That’s life,” McCullum told Sky Sports after England’s nine-wicket defeat. “We obviously coughed up the opportunity to win the series. We did some good stuff throughout, and we leave ultimately disappointed, but also very much complimentary of how Pakistan played. But we know within ourselves that we’ve had an opportunity to have been better than that and we’re a little bit disappointed about that.”Credit to Pakistan, the way that those two spinners bowled was superb,” McCullum said, after Noman and Sajid had combined to rout England for 112 in their second innings in Rawalpindi.”I thought they varied the pace beautifully. Noman from one end, taking pace off most of the time with the occasional fast one, and Sajid flipping that around and putting pace on with the occasional slow one. I thought was great partnership bowling. And our guys weren’t able to sustain the pressure, unfortunately.”Asked if he was comfortable with the extreme measures that Pakistan had taken to bring their spinners into the series, including the seemingly unprecedented reuse of the first-Test pitch in Multan, and the raking of the Rawalpindi surface to exacerbate the turn on offer, McCullum said he welcomed the initiative they had shown.”I kind of like it to be honest,” he said. “They were brave enough to make decisions on their personnel, and they were brave enough to make decisions on the surfaces that they wanted to play on.”When teams come to England, ideally we play on the surfaces that we’re more accustomed to, which allow our strengths to really flourish and maybe paper over some of the weaknesses as well, which every team naturally has.”I’m a little bit surprised it’s taken Pakistan as long as it has. Because when you go to Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, the ball is always going to turn. What we had here a couple of years ago, or in that first Test match, where it was pretty flat, was a different challenge. It’ll be interesting to see over the next couple of years whether they persist with these types of services, but certainly there are no excuses from our point of view. We had our chances, and we ran second.”Despite remaining magnanimous, McCullum acknowledged that the series defeat would increase the scrutiny on his team. Ollie Pope and Zak Crawley were notably short of answers in the more extreme conditions, while Brook managed a top score of 26 in his final four innings of the tour, having racked up four centuries and a fifty in his previous six in Pakistan.England were thoroughly outplayed in spinning conditions in Multan and Rawalpindi•Getty Images

“It’s pretty much the same batting group that came here two years ago, and were outstanding in these conditions, and it’s the same batting group that put on 800 in the first Test match,” McCullum said. “As the conditions changed, we were presented with different challenges and we weren’t quite able to adapt to those challenges. And that’s a missed opportunity.”I have no doubt, and the skipper has no doubt, that our batting group that we’ve now had together for the best part of 18 months is the best that we’ve got,” he added. “We’re very confident, we’ve just got to make sure we keep allowing guys to develop them and keep becoming the players that they want to become, and will benefit from that.”The focus will also fall on England’s spinners, particularly Shoaib Bashir and Jack Leach, whose direct counterparts Sajid and Noman exploited the conditions with significantly more success in the final two Tests. Bashir, whose selection for the India tour had been on the basis of his natural attributes, rather than any proven record in first-class cricket, has now bowled more overs in Tests in 2024 than any other player, but his series haul of nine wickets at 49.66 pales compared to Sajid’s 19 at 21.10.”[Sajid and Noman] were brilliant in the way they bowled together, and they challenged in different methods with the paces that they used,” McCullum said. “Could we have been better? Yeah, of course, right? Anytime you lose a Test or lose a series, you’ve got to have that period of reflection. And we’ll do that, and say, right, next time we’re presented with conditions similar to that, how will we respond? What do we need to do? Do we need to vary our pace more? Do we need to adjust our tactics more? That’s natural, right? It’s no difference to when a batsman gets out.”You’re always trying to improve, but you’ve got to be really careful that you’re not seeking perfection, because it doesn’t exist in an inconsistent game. The game we play is going to come with periods where it’s not going how you want it to, but you’ve still got to hold firm.”We will be confronted with spinning conditions at some stage in the future, and we hope that some of the lessons, good and bad that we’ve had throughout this series, will give us a bit more of a base to be able to be successful.”

The USMNT Transfer Notebook tracks American player movements, with latest developments for those in the U.S. national team pool

The clock is ticking on transfers in both MLS and Europe, with the end of August marking a crucial period for the U.S. men’s national team. Several players face uncertain club futures, or need significant moves, to cement their place in Mauricio Pochettino’s World Cup plans.

In Italy, Yunus Musah's status continues to swing like a pendulum. Last week, it was reported he would stay at Milan, but now it appears both Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are aggressively moving to acquire the talented midfielder, who has struggled for consistency in Serie A. 

Josh Sargent is off to a torrid start, scoring in his first two games of the season. Yet, Norwich manager Liam Manning stressed that the striker could still be on the move. In MLS, Max Arfsten has been linked with a move all summer and it appears Real Salt Lake's talented youngster, Zavier Gozo, is drawing interest from a Belgian giant. 

GOAL tracks all of the American player movements in the USMNT Transfer Notebook, a recurring feature covering the latest developments for those in the U.S. national team pool.

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowGetty ImagesPremier League clubs face off for Musah?

Will he stay or go? That's seemingly been the question for months with Musah, a player with plenty of potential who has struggled to find a fit in AC Milan. Though Musah appeared to be set to stay after a strong preseason, Nottingham Forest emerged as a strong contender to sign the American, with the Athletic reporting the two clubs opened talks over a move. 

Things took another turn on Tuesday. Forest reportedly wasn't willing to reach Milan's $40 million valuation, offering $35.1 million. That could open the door for another club to emerge in Crystal Palace, according to journalist Ciro Venerato. Musah's is Forest's No. 1 target, but they are already looking at alternatives if Milan aren't willing to accept their bid.  

There are positives and negatives with both reported bids, as Forest clearly values Musah but had struggles integrating another American, Gio Reyna, two years ago. Palace features another USMNT star in Chris Richards, but already has a strong midfield with Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada.

Will it be London or Nottingham or potentially Naples? Time will tell.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportNorwich preparing for Sargent's exit?

Sargent is arguably the hottest striker in the U.S. national team pool, scoring in both of Norwich's opening games. Despite Sargent wearing the captain's armband in the opener, Canaries boss Manning admitted the 25-year-old could still be on the move. 

"I think the best practice is to be proactive with the work you do… With the interest, you’d be mad to not do anything behind the scenes to be prepared. So, of course, we want him to stay, but we have to be prepared if it doesn’t happen," the manager said. 

While Sargent turned down a move to Wolfsburg earlier, he continues to be linked with other moves – including to Burnley and Leeds earlier this summer.

Getty Images SportAnother American to Belgium?

In June, it was reported that Belgian side Genk were monitoring RSL teenager Zavier Gozo. Yet speculation suggests that they aren't the only club who are watching the U.S. youth international, who scored at the weekend for Real Salt Lake against the New York Red Bulls.

Gozo, 18, has been a breakout star alongside Diego Luna in the first team, and is expected to compete for a spot at the U20 World Cup this September. 

“I don't really think about that," he said of a possible transfer. "I'm just focused on the season right now and getting as many wins as we can, making the playoffs. And then, you know, the offseason, we'll see."

Getty Images SportArfsten gives green light to Middlesbrough

The emerging wingback has been the subject of a transfer tug of war between Toulouse and Middlesbrough, but if reports out of England are to be believed, the Crew star has given a clear indication of his preference. 

The Northern Echo is reporting Arfsten wants to go with Boro and has asked for a transfer from Columbus. 

The sticking point remains price, as the English club's bid of $3 million was rejected by the MLS side – who insist they want to keep the 24-year-old until the end of the season.

If the deal goes through, it could be a promising for Arfsten, as manager Rob Edwards likes playing a system with attacking wingbacks, and currently features fellow USMNT midfielder Aidan Morris.

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