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The tournament will soon be back in the Middle East after the success of Qatar 2022, with a host of different venues in line to stage games

Saudi Arabia has put forward a bold and exciting bid to host the 2034 FIFA World Cup.

With the tournament set to be hosted in North America in 2026, and then South America, Europe and Africa in 2030, Saudi Arabia aims to make history by becoming the first single country to host a 48-team FIFA World Cup in 2034.

Some of the stadiums already exist and will be refurbished; some are currently being built; and others are planned. The significant demand for more sports and entertainment facilities from a young, football obsessed population – not to mention the increasing number of major sports events being held Saudi Arabia both now and in the future – makes the hosting of a FIFA World Cup a natural target for a country quite literally building a new exciting future for itself.

Billed as one of the fastest and most exciting growth stories in world football, Goal runs you through every single stadium that is planned to potentially stage the 25th edition of FIFA World Cup, with the likes of Brazil, Argentina, England, Spain and France all likely to vie for the honour of lifting the biggest trophy in sport.

Bid bookKing Salman International Stadium (Riyadh)

The King Salman International Stadium is under construction and slated to be completed by 2029.

Once finished, it will be able to hold over 92,000 fans, making it the largest stadium in the country. It is currently scheduled to host the opening game and the FIFA World Cup Final, as well as matches in every round of the competition.

It will be built with sustainability in mind, and will anchor the Green Riyadh development masterplan.

Bid bookKing Fahad Sports City Stadium (Riyadh)

The King Fahad Sports City Stadium will be completed in 2026 and will be able to host over 70,000 fans.

It will have a remarkably eye-catching design, inspired by the traditional tents often found in Saudi Arabia.

The stadium will play host to games throughout the tournament, culminating with a semi-final in Riyadh.

Bid bookPrince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium (Riyadh)

The Prince Mohammed Bin Salman Stadium is scheduled to be completed in 2029.

It is perhaps one of the most futuristic designs for the tournament, boasting iridescent glass and shimmering metal, combining to create an almost-cyberpunk aesthetic.

The stadium will contain nearly 50,000 seats and will host multiple games through the group stages, the round of 32, the round of 16 and the third-place play-off.

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Bid bookNew Murabba Stadium (Riyadh)

The New Murabba Stadium will be completed by 2032.

The ground is inspired by the texture of the bark of the Acacia tree, which is native to Saudi Arabia.

The 46,000 seater stadium will host games throughout the group stage and the Round of 16.

England captain reflects on dramatic final one year on from lifting trophy at Lord’s

Alan Gardner13-Jul-2020Much has changed about cricket, and the world in general, since this time last year. But for Eoin Morgan, one of the benefits of lockdown is that he has at last been able to sit down and watch back the 2019 World Cup final in all its harum-scarum grandeur – including the moment when he thought the game was lost.England’s World Cup win, a four-year project overseen from start to finish by Morgan, was the crowning achievement during a summer that promised to rejuvenate the game in the UK. The final was screened simultaneously on Sky and Channel 4 – the first time cricket had been free-to-air since 2005 – with more than 8 million viewers tuning in as England prevailed, by the barest of margins, in a dramatic Super Over finish against New Zealand.Morgan has subsequently had to get used an increased level of recognition in the street, posing for selfies and being regaled with individual anecdotes about watching the game. And while the ECB’s hopes of building on that success this summer have been severely impacted by the ongoing the coronavirus pandemic, England’s limited-overs captain remains convinced that legacy of that July day at Lord’s can “do wonders for the sport” in this country.ALSO READ: Plunkett: ‘I pride myself on breaking partnerships and taking wickets'”I think that the profile of the game has lifted quite substantially,” Morgan said. “Just going off the back of people coming up to me in the street or in a pub or a cafe. It is not just at home. When we go on holiday there will be someone who flicked over during the tennis or the Grand Prix or who heard someone shouting next door and wondered what they were watching. It was just a celebration of sport and people obviously love it when they win trophies. Cricket has certainly become higher profile and with that that’s how my life has changed. People recognise me more.”I think in life when you have to work harder for anything regardless of whether it’s a World Cup or a forward defensive, the harder you work the better it feels after. That’s human nature and that’s how I feel. But the dramatic nature of the day really does do wonders for sport. The final is actually, it’s bigger than cricket, and it’s actually propelled up as one of the highlights of a sporting day ever in British history. That will be around for a very long time so it was probably more satisfying that it will continue to be like that.”Having become a father in March, Morgan could be forgiven for not having much spare time on his hands – but admitted he had had multiple opportunities to relive the final during cricket’s enforced shutdown. Despite calmly marshalling his team through one of the most fraught days in the history of the English game, Morgan revealed there was one point when he briefly considered they were “dead and buried” as Ben Stokes attempted to drag New Zealand’s target within reach.”Obviously the last four months has been a bit of a challenge but that’s actually allowed me to watch the World Cup final – I’ve watched it three times now. And that’s allowed me time to sit back and actually enjoy it for the first time. I suppose I haven’t had it on DVD or computer from start to finish, full production, but now I have it I’ve watched it three times and it’s been an incredible day to sit back and watch. It’s still tense throughout the whole day every time I watch it back, the ebbs and flow of the game, is a privilege.”There’s only one [moment of doubt] for me and it probably came to me the second time I watched it. Jimmy Neesham’s bowling to Ben, he bowls a slower ball, Ben hits it down to long-on and I remember the ball being in the air and you can see the trajectory of the ball – and you full well know when you hit it up the hill you have to absolutely smoke it to hit it for six. And it’s gone high and not quite as long as he’d liked and for a minute I just thought ‘That’s it, it’s over, Ben’s out, we still need 15 an over’ – that’s when I thought for a split second we were dead and buried.”Fortunately for England, Trent Boult stepped on the boundary rope, before Stokes scrambled his side to a tie and Jofra Archer completed the resurrection from the final ball of an epic contest.Although Morgan subsequently took some time to consider his future, he opted to stay on in charge of England’s white-ball teams ahead of back-to-back T20 World Cups. The fate of this year’s competition, still scheduled to be held in Australia in October and November, remains undecided due to Covid-19 restrictions, but Morgan will return to action later this month in three ODIs against Ireland, followed by a T20I series against Pakistan later in the summer.With his 2019 winner’s medal now parked “on a shelf” at home, Morgan’s focus is on attaining another peak with England – though he admitted topping the country’s maiden 50-over World Cup win would be difficult.”There hasn’t been a team who have held T20 and 50-over World Cups so that would be a nice challenge,” he said. “But, realistically, probably out of the next two World Cups, winning one of them would be unbelievable. To win two would be a bigger achievement than winning the 50-over World Cup. Just because both of them are away from home and would favour Australia in Australia and India in India, so you would have to win both of them to top the 50-overs win.”

Glasgow Rangers have one game left to play before the official end to their 2023/24 campaign as they face their local rivals in the SFA Cup final on Saturday.

The Light Blues have the opportunity to secure a second domestic trophy of the season, having won the League Cup earlier this term, by winning the showpiece at Hampden Park this weekend.

Philippe Clement's side had beaten Aberdeen 1-0 at Hampden in the League Cup final, thanks to a goal from captain James Tavernier, and will be hoping for a similar result against Celtic in the SFA Cup.

The bulk of the Belgian head coach's focus will, therefore, be on this huge Old Firm clash to come on Saturday, and the trophy on offer alongside it, but the upcoming summer transfer window will also be in the back of his mind.

He has yet to have a summer window in charge of the club and it will, therefore, be his and head of recruitment Nils Koppen's first chance to make big changes to the playing squad ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

A new striker has now emerged as a possible target for the Light Blues to bolster their attack, and he could be a dream alternative to Lawrence Shankland.

Rangers keeping tabs on exciting young forward

According to the Daily Record, Rangers are keeping a close eye on Rapid Bucharest's exciting young centre-forward Albion Rrahmani ahead of the summer.

The report claims that the Scottish giants have been scouting the attacker closely but has not revealed whether or not they are prepared to move in with a firm offer for his services.

That came after Kosovan Football on X claimed last week that the Gers are 'keen' to bring the 23-year-old finisher to Ibrox ahead of next season, whilst they added that there had not been any official movement in the pursuit at that point.

The same account relayed a claim from commentator and football director Arlind Sadiku in April that Rapid Bucharest would want a fee of up to €8m (£6.8m) to part ways with the striker, amid interest from Slavia Prague.

Koppen and Clement could now land a dream alternative to Shankland, who Football Insider reported in February is a summer target for the Gers, by landing a deal to sign the impressive youngster from the Romanian outfit.

The Hearts forward could be a fantastic addition to the squad but if they fail to land the Scotland international then Rrahmani would be a fantastic option instead.

Why Lawrence Shankland would be a good signing for Rangers

The experienced attacker, who was valued at around £3m in January, enjoyed a sublime 2023/24 campaign in the Scottish Premiership for the Jam Tarts.

He won the Premiership Player of the Year award thanks to his terrific goalscoring exploits for Steven Naismith's side throughout the season.

Shankland plundered an eye-catching 24 goals and four assists in 37 league matches for Hearts to earn himself the best player in the division crown.

Lawrence Shankland

18.36

24

+5.64

Kemar Roofe

1.48

1

-0.48

Danilo

6.68

4

-2.68

Sam Lammers

4.71

2

-2.71

Cyriel Dessers

21.72

16

-5.72

As you can see in the table above, the Scottish star achieved that tally without being blessed with the quality of chances that current Rangers striker Cyriel Dessers had in front of goal.

These statistics show that Clement has a crop of attackers who have been incredibly wasteful in front of goal, whilst Shankland has been incredibly clinical.

The 28-year-old striker outperformed his xG by almost six goals and only missed nine 'big chances' in total, which speaks to his sensational finishing quality in the Premiership.

Shankland, as you can see in the clip of his winner in the Edinburgh derby, also has the mentality and quality to step up in big matches, which is illustrated by his record against Old Firm sides.

The right-footed star has scored an eye-catching six goals in just ten appearances against Celtic in his career, to go along with five goals in 23 outings against Rangers – including one in three matches this term.

If the Light Blues fail to snap him up from their Premiership rivals, though, then Rrahmani could be an exciting dream alternative to the Jam Tarts captain.

Why Rangers should sign Albion Rrahmani

Firstly, the Rapid Bucharest striker is a young talent, at the age of 23, who has plenty of years left ahead of him to develop and grow and could, therefore, be a long-term signing for Rangers.

He is five years younger than Shankland and could offer more to the club moving forward, making him a good investment for the future, whilst also having the potential to make an impact in the short-term.

Rrahmani, who scout Ignacio Almada lauded as "ambidextrous", enjoyed a sublime season in the Superliga in Romania and could be a lethal addition to Clement's side if his performances can translate over to the Premiership.

The both-footed star racked up 17 goals in 25 league appearances for Rapid Bucharest and offered quality as a creator for his teammates, with 13 'big chances' created from a centre-forward position.

Appearances

37

25

Goals

24

17

Minutes per goal

136

125

Conversion rate

18%

22%

Assists

4

5

Big chances created

6

13

Key passes per game

1.4

2.0

As you can see in the table above, Rrahmani enjoyed a stronger season than Shankland at the top end of the pitch with fewer minutes per goal, a higher conversion rate, and significantly more impressive creative statistics.

Whilst they are both impressive finishers who have proven they can find the back of the net on a consistent basis, the Kosovo international has shown that he can consistently create for others – with seven more 'big chances' created in 12 fewer appearances than the Scotsman.

Clement must drop 4/10 Rangers man to unleash "tremendous" star

The Light Blues head coach should bring the experienced ace back into the starting lineup for the SFA Cup final.

ByDan Emery May 19, 2024

Therefore, Rrahmani could be a dream alternative to the Hearts captain as he has far more years ahead of him to develop and thrive in a Rangers shirt, whilst also having the potential, if his form translates over to Scottish football, to offer more as both a scorer and a creator of goals for Clement.

La Liga president Javier Tebas says most Premier League clubs believe Manchester City should be sanctioned over their 115 FFP charges.

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Man City allegedly breached FFP rulesHearing over 115 charges to begin on MondayPremier League clubs 'want City sanctioned'WHAT HAPPENED?

Tebas claims to have spoken to Premier League sides about the case awaiting City. The reigning English champions face 115 charges for allegedly breaching financial rules, and their rivals apparently believe they should be punished.

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The hearing into City's alleged breaches will begin on Monday. The charges range from withholding information about player wages to hiding the true source of their revenue. More importantly, possible punishments include points deductions, transfer bans and even expulsion from the top flight. And according to Tebas, Premier League clubs want City to be sanctioned.

WHAT TEBAS SAID

"I have spoken with many Premier League clubs and most of them understand that City should be sanctioned," Tebas said. The president did go on to recall that "they were once acquitted by the CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) for a formal matter."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MAN CITY?

While their lawyers will be preparing for the impending hearing, Pep Guardiola is preparing his side for Saturday's visit of Brentford.

New Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca has already held transfer talks with Stamford Bridge chiefs behind-the-scenes, and it is believed they have set sights on a Barcelona star as part of their summer plans.

Chelsea land Maresca as new manager to replace Pochettino

Just over a week has passed since Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali decided to part ways with Mauricio Pochettino, who left the club by mutual consent last Tuesday.

Maresca wants to make £75,000-per-week ace the heartbeat of Chelsea's team

The Italian has already got his preferred players in mind.

ByEmilio Galantini May 29, 2024

The process to hire Pochettino's replacement has gone fairly smoothly after they interviewed a succession of candidates, which included the likes of Kieran McKenna, Thomas Frank and Roberto De Zerbi.

However, despite the numerous quality alternatives, Chelsea landed on their favoured appointment in Maresca. Fabrizio Romano, sharing further detail in a Daily Briefing this week, also claims Maresca will be backed with five new summer signings.

"It’s a deal until 2029 and also with the option to extend it until 2030," wrote Romano.

"This shows Chelsea’s excitement about Maresca – their conversations over the weekend were super positive, and the Chelsea board decided to fly to Marbella to meet face to face with Maresca. They like his ideas and believe he’s a very positive coach – a dynamic, modern, young manager obsessed with possession football to control a game. I said last week when Chelsea were considering firing Mauricio Pochettino that this was the kind of manager they wanted, and here he is.

Leicester City 5-0 Southampton

Stoke City 0-5 Leicester City

Southampton 1-4 Leicester City

Blackburn 1-4 Leicester City

Leicester City 3-1 Norwich City

"It will be a busy summer for Chelsea, with around five signings, maybe less, maybe more, but for sure they are looking at goalkeepers, maybe or one or two centre-backs, and they’re also looking at central strikers and wingers. Chelsea will be busy, and Maresca will be involved.

"Of course, one signing is already agreed and that’s for talented Brazilian wonderkid Estevao Willian – everything is being reviewed and signed for this big signing for the future, who will join in 2025 from Palmeiras."

It will be interesting to see who Maresca and co opt to bring in next, with Chelsea talks already held over signing Tosin Adarabioyo as a free agent from Fulham.

It is believed they wish to bring in a new striker, goalkeeper, centre-back and left-back this summer, on top of Estevao, with The Standard making that claim and sharing news on a Barcelona star on their radar.

Maresca holds Chelsea transfer talks as they eye Ronald Araujo

As per the outlet, and journalist Nick Purewal, Maresca has already held transfer talks with Chelsea – discussing their summer plans and who they could look to bring in.

One target is believed to be Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo, who is rumoured to command an £85 million price tag and could significantly reinforce Maresca's back line if a move for Tosin falls through – with Newcastle also contending for the latter.

Chelsea have finally dropped their squad photo for the 2024-25 season after claims that the club has 40 players in the first team.

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Chelsea post squad photo for 2024-25Comes after claims Maresca has bloated squad29 players pictured posing for cameraWHAT HAPPENED?

Chelsea's squad is finally locked in after a busy summer filled with incomings and outgoings in west London. The Blues brought in 11 players in Enzo Maresca's first summer with as many departing Stamford Bridge. Those left have now been captured for the club's official photo with the season now in full swing.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Maresca had been in a constant battle with the media after pictures emerged of what looked like a crowded gym at Cobham in the summer but the former Leicester boss was adamant that his squad was no bigger than anyone else's. Now he has picture evidence that the Blues are no more bloated than every other team in the Premier League.

DID YOU KNOW?

Chelsea spent around £220million ($292.8m) on players this summer but made a lot of that back up through sales. From the 11 departures, the Blues raised over £150m ($199.6m).

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR CHELSEA?

With the summer transfer window closed until January, the focus has switched from Chelsea's strategy in the market to their antics on the pitch. So far it has been a mixed start for Maresca but he will be targetting three points against West Ham on Saturday.

Young England batsman talks about his unique drag-flick six-hitting technique

Sreshth Shah27-Aug-2020When Tom Banton first played the outrageous reverse-flick off his toes last year, many wondered how his wrists were so supple for him to pull that shot off. You look at the video below on repeat, and slowly realise it is reminiscent of Eoin Morgan, only right-handed, and there’s a reason for that.While Morgan spent his teenage years playing the Irish sport of hurling, Banton grew up playing field hockey, where flexible yet powerful wrists are vital for success. And his ability to play those 360-degree shots are part of some of the skills he transferred when he began taking cricket seriously.ALSO READ: McCullum: Gill will be ‘part of leadership group’ at KKR”I guess it probably comes from playing hockey,” Banton told . I was a drag-flicker and used to play reverse there quite often. My dad used to play hockey and I kind of followed his footsteps. I played hockey from three till about 17. I was 16 years old, when things were getting more serious and I had to pick one sport and that’s when I chose cricket.”

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A post shared by Kolkata Knight Riders (@kkriders) on Aug 6, 2020 at 9:10pm PDT

Morgan’s shadow continues to follow Banton in the IPL as they’ll be team-mates at Knight Riders, and the youngster only has praises for the man under whose captaincy he made his England debut. Although Morgan will not be his captain at Knight Riders, Banton knows Morgan will be the perfect team man for the two-time champions. Morgan returns for a second stint at Knight Riders, having been bought at the 2011 auction too.”He is an extremely positive person, no matter what,” Banton said of England’s ODI World Cup-winning captain. “It’s nice to have him in the team, as he bats for his team. I remember my first match for England, I got out playing a shot. He came up to me and said ‘you don’t need to change what you are currently doing.’ It was really nice to hear that.”ALSO READ: Banton among 20 players to watch out for in 2020sMorgan, though, is far from being only familiar face he will see at Knight Riders. While playing for Brisbane Heat at the 2019-20 BBL, he caught up with Knight Riders’ head coach Brendon McCullum on the day after the IPL auction where he was bought for INR 1 crore. Having one of his childhood idols is ‘cool’, according to Banton, as is the prospect of playing with three Indians he played a lot against at the Under-19 level.”I actually went out on dinner with him during the BBL, and also with Chris Lynn, our former KKR player, just the day after the auction,” Banton said. “Growing up, McCullum was someone I looked up to.”I am particularly excited to play alongside Andre Russell and Pat Cummins. I watched Andre last year, and he played really well. Learning from someone like him will be really cool. There are a few guys of my age – Shivam Mavi, Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shubman Gill – whom I have played against when I was younger.”Looking back, I remember the Indians were a lot better than all of us in the [2018 Under-19] World Cup. I look up to those guys even now, and I am still good friends with some of them. Playing alongside Shubman at KKR will be pretty nice and I am really looking forward to it.”Banton has usually been a wicketkeeper-batsman at the county level but now he sees himself switching into a batmsan-wicketkeeper in the long term instead. It’s a decision that makes sense as Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow perform that role for the national side and his Knight Riders captain Dinesh Karthik takes up the keeping duties in the IPL.”I would like to be reckoned as a batsman who has the wicketkeeping abilities as a second option,” Banton said. “I think this year, I wanted to focus a lot more on my batting. At the same time, I want to continue working on my keeping skills. It’s been tricky this year. This winter has been hectic and I didn’t really have the time to stop and think about what I really wanted to do.”Banton is a self-confessed IPL fanatic, having watched the tournament right from its early years, and it’s now time to live what he’s been “dreaming of since a very young age.” His game is built for the IPL, and with Knight Riders dropping Lynn from their squad, there might just be a spot in the top order for him.

Amad Diallo paid a heartfelt tribute to the loyal Manchester United supporters before hosting Tottenham as he summed up his season so far in one word.

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Amad finally finding his feet at Old TraffordTen Hag has started him six times in eight matchesWon the club's Player of the Month award for AugustFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Diallo gained widespread recognition during the previous campaign when his memorable performance in the FA Cup quarter-final saw him net the game-winning goal against Liverpool. That victory cemented his place in the hearts of the Old Trafford crowd, and he has since been building on that momentum.

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With Brazilian winger Antony struggling to maintain form, Amad has emerged as the preferred choice for Erik ten Hag on the right flank. He has started in six of Manchester United's first eight matches across all competitions and was also awarded the club's Player of the Month gong for his contributions in August.

WHAT AMAD SAID

When asked to define his season so far in one word, Amad chose to say: "Happy."

The Player of the Month award meant a lot to Diallo, and he made sure to acknowledge the supporters who have backed him during difficult times.

He added: "I’m so happy to start like this and I want to step up and continue like this until the end of the season. I’m in a good moment. I’m confident and the Player of the Month, I was so happy to have it. As I said before, I want to step up and continue like this. The fans give me a lot of love and I want to thank them for the love and for giving me confidence. Even when I was not playing, they wanted to give me confidence, to give me the love and to bring me the energy. I’m so happy to have the fans with the team and I want to thank them again.”

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR AMAD?

As United prepare for key fixtures, including a Premier League match against Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday followed by a Europa League tie against Porto, Amad is geared up to continue his rich vein of form to inspire the Red Devils to success in England and Europe.

With it now confirmed that Erik ten Hag will remain as Manchester United boss, Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s on-field rebuild can now begin.

After last season, improvements are needed across the squad, and plenty of new faces will arrive.

The centre-back position has been highlighted as a priority to reinforce, while the Red Devils will also look to add to their midfield, but it’s the centre-forward role that needs backup.

Rasmus Hojlund was pushed to his limits last season due to the lack of rotation options, which means a new attacker could arrive through the doors of Old Trafford this summer.

Man Utd want a new striker

As per a report from German outlet BILD via SportsWitness, Man Utd are interested in signing Maximilian Beier.

It’s mentioned that the Red Devils have made a move for the centre forward, having ‘asked what the terms would be’ for his signature.

The German reportedly has a £27.5m release clause in his contract at Hoffenheim, which makes him a steal for many clubs.

However, unfortunately for United, they will face competition from other Premier League clubs for Beier’s signature, including Liverpool and Nottingham Forest, as well as Bayer Leverkusen.

Why Beier would be a great signing for Man Utd

This time last year, Beier was playing his football in the German second tier for Hannover, but fast forward to today, and he’s one of the most promising prospects in the Bundesliga.

Maximilian Beier in action for Hoffenheim.

The 21-year-old started the 2023/24 campaign on the bench, but after a couple of impressive substitute cameos, he became irreplaceable.

The Hoffenheim gem has even worked his way into the Germany squad for the upcoming European Championships, which just proves how influential he was over the season.

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ByStephan Georgiou Jun 8, 2024

Over 29 Bundesliga starts, Beier scored an impressive 16 goals and provided one assists, which is certainly a great return considering it was his breakthrough year.

Goals

0.60

0.42

xG

0.42

0.32

Shots

3.05

1.58

Goals/shot

0.20

0.26

Progressive passes received

8.33

4.63

Progressive carries

2.27

1.50

Successful take-ons

1.23

0.75

Touches (Att third)

18.78

12.39

As you can see, Beier even outperformed Hojlund last season on quite a few fronts, which proves he has the potential to become an excellent addition.

Firstly, the German is clearly an “exceptional” goalscorer, as he was dubbed by football scout Antonio Mango, with his goals per game being superior to Hojlund’s.

That said, both strikers are definitely excellent finishers who are often clinical when provided a chance, as shown by their overperformance of xG and goals-to-shot ratio.

However, the main difference is that Beier was far more impactful than Hojlund due to his overall game being slightly more developed, particularly with his back-to-goal.

This is proved by the Bundesliga star receiving almost double the number of progressive passes as United’s 21-year-old, while his touches in the attacking third, successful take-ons, and progressive carries are also higher, demonstrating that he is a multi-faceted forward.

Furthermore, the right-footed ace played mainly as a centre forward, but he also excelled on the left and as an attacking midfielder, which means there’s the potential for him to play alongside the United number 11.

Overall, it’s clear that Beier did outperform Hojlund last season, but together, they could give United one of the most promising and frightening attacks in the Premier League.

What Man Utd's dream XI could look like after £230m spending spree

Marcus Rashford doesn’t make the best eleven.

1 ByTom Lever Jun 7, 2024

Performance, and not age, will determine Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami’s future, says Arati Vaidya

Annesha Ghosh26-Sep-2020Neetu David, the new chairperson of selectors for India Women, expects picking squads for the upcoming Women’s T20 Challenge to be “a challenging first assignment” given that the Covid-19 pandemic has left players with little to no training. But she backed several “exciting India prospects” to make a mark in the three-team competition, to be played in the UAE from November 1 to 10.Her colleague Arati Vaidya, meanwhile, feels that when it comes to veterans Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami, performance and not age, would determine selection.”These are, of course, unprecedented times; the pandemic has made any cricket close to impossible in India at the moment,” David told ESPNcricinfo soon after news of the appointment of the panel was made public. “It’s not an ideal pre-tournament situation for any team, in any sport, in any country, so when it comes to selecting the squads for the Women’s T20 Challenge, it’s going to be a challenging first assignment of sorts, but it’s not impossible to pick promising lesser-known players.ALSO READ: What’s next for India women?”We are awaiting guidelines from the BCCI on how the board expects us to proceed. The players are mentally ready and eager to get back on the field, they have been training in their respective towns. And having known and played with some of my fellow selectors in this panel, and also given Mithu Mukherjee has formerly been a national selector, we are looking forward to working as a team and introducing new players from our current domestic pool, who we think are exciting India prospects. They have the potential to do well in the T20 Challenge.”David was hopeful that the new selection panel would be able to build on the work of the previous panel – India finished as runners-up in the 2017 ODI World Cup and the T20 World Cup earlier this earlier during their tenure. With two World Cups and a Commonwealth Games slated for 2022, much of the new committee’s focus would be on putting together squads that take the next step – win a World Cup.”We do well up to the final, but have not been able to get over the final hurdle yet – that’s something we need to find a solution to,” David said. “We are looking to work on the mental resilience and temperament aspect of our upcoming squads, and we’ll work with the board, coaches, players and captains to make sure that we put systems in place that helps us overcome that final barrier. We will look to go one better in the next major events.”

Whether it’s Mithali or Jhulan or any other experienced player in our national or domestic mix, we will try to make sure that the performance of players alone is what dictates the look of the squadsArati Vaidya

While David spoke of becoming world champions in senior cricket, Vaidya expressed hope that India would do well in age-group global tournaments going forward too.”The more new talent we unearth, the better the health of the national team and domestic cricket will be,” she told ESPNcricinfo. “I can tell you that the age-group players we have at the moment, we can surely be in the final of the [inaugural] Under-19 World Cup for girls – whether it goes ahead on schedule next year or is postponed.”My career as a match referee has helped me get a glimpse of many uncapped players, and from what I have seen, I am hopeful we will do well, and if other things fall into place, we might even win the title. India doesn’t lack talent; it’s just that more systems need to be put in to place to unearth and nurture those talents. As a selection committee, we will, therefore, try to get the best talent we can from all zones.”Raj and Goswami are now both past 37, and retired from T20Is, but Vaidya wanted to take their age out of the equation when discussing their futures with the national team.”Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami’s contribution will remain matchless, and to this day they remain key performers in the ODI team,” Vaidya said. “Personally, my view is only performance – not age or how long they’ve played – should determine whether or not a player warrants a place in the side.”Whenever they choose to call it a day, it’s their call, and yes, someone or the other will take up their places in the coming years when they bow out of the game, but to us ensuring the right blend of youth and experience will be key. So whether it’s Mithali or Jhulan or any other experienced player in our national or domestic mix, we will try to make sure that the performance of players alone is what dictates the look of the squads.”