Salah and Bernardo lead Premier League Team of the Week
The Liverpool star was back among the goals against Fulham, while Man City's midfielder is joined by a host of team-mates following derby victory
The Liverpool star was back among the goals against Fulham, while Man City's midfielder is joined by a host of team-mates following derby victory
The LA Galaxy and Atlanta United stars headline Goal's picks for Major League Soccer's team of the season for 2018
Stefan Frei | GK | Seattle SoundersThe Seattle Sounders had an up and down year, finishing with a strong second half, but one of the few constants was Frei, who was key to helping the club surrender the second-fewest goals in MLS. The 32-year-old's 1.03 goals-against average was second in the league to New York Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles. AdvertisementNew York Red BullsKemar Lawrence | LB | New York Red BullsThe Jamacian speedster enjoyed a career year, emerging as a lock-down defender at the left back position while continuing to be a threat in the attack. His importance to the Red Bulls' league-best defense was clear after his absence from the Red Bulls' Eastern Conference finals loss to Atlanta United.New York Red BullsAaron Long | CB | New York Red Bulls The MLS Defender of the Year was a steady and reliable force at the heart of the league's best defense. His passing out of the back was key to New York's success and he was often asked to shut down the opposing team's top threat. The 26-year-old also emerged as an attacking threat on set pieces, finishing with three goals and two assists.ENJOYED THIS STORY?
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Atlanta UnitedMichael Parkhurst | CB | Atlanta UnitedThe highest scoring team in the league gave up just 44 goals, fourth best in MLS, with the veteran defender a big part of their success. His reading of the game was crucial for a side that often left itself open to counterattacks, with his passing out of the back helping to spark the league's best attack.
The likes of Real Madrid, Manchester United and Aston Villa make the list of the top 20 most expensive wage bills
UEFA has revealed the top 20 clubs in Europe who pay the most in wages, and there are some surprising names on the list!
The likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and PSG are, of course, near the very top of the ranking, but the likes of Everton, Wolfsburg and, amazingly, Aston Villa also make the top 20.
Take a look at the list!
The newly-crowned league champions are the main force in the best XI this season, with Tottenham Hotspur well represented as well
Few people will be surprised to see Manchester City dominate the PFA Premier League Team of the Year by having five players named.
Kevin De Bruyne, David Silva, Sergio Aguero, Nicolas Otamendi and Kyle Walker are the five newly-crowned English champions included in the XI due to their impressive performances for a side sitting 16 points clear at the top of the table with four games to go.
Despite Pep Guardiola's team's dominance of the league, there are more star-studded names throughout the squad.
Tottenham Hotspur are the next best represented side as star striker Harry Kane takes the centre-forward role, with Christian Eriksen and Jan Vertonghen also included.
Although still sitting second and third in the league, Manchester United and Liverpool only have one star each in the squad, with David de Gea taking his place between the posts and 30-goal hero and PFA Player of the Year Mohamed Salah adding to a mouth-watering attack.
Amid their poor title defence, Chelsea also saw one player named in the side, with Marcos Alonso earning praise for his impressive work on the left side.
David de Gea | Manchester UnitedThe Spanish goalkeeper has been pivotal in keeping the Red Devils in the fight for second place, with some of his individual displays being enough to justify his inclusion in the squad alone.AdvertisementGettyKyle Walker | Manchester CityThe right-back has looked worth the £50 million investment City parted with to lure the England international from Tottenham Hotspur. He has been a big presence for Pep Guardiola's side and is expected to be even more important for his country at the World Cup.GettyJan Vertonghen | Tottenham HotspurThe Belgian centre-back remains a fan favourite at Spurs and a huge asset for Mauricio Pochettino's men. Christian Eriksen is the only other Tottenham player to have started as many Premier League games this term.ENJOYED THIS STORY?
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Getty ImagesNicolas Otamendi | Manchester CityThe Argentine's development under Pep Guardiola has earned him a great deal of praise recently and his progress has been recognised with a place alongside Vertonghen.
Saad Shafqat on how Pakistan cricketers graced the county circuit and, in turn, gained from the english experience
Saad Shafqat29-Jun-2006
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On a perfect summer day in 1971, Zaheer Abbas took guard at Edgbaston and launched a reputation. Among those left breathless by his strokeplay were officials at Gloucestershire County Cricket Club, who had followed his form through the side games and soon found 274 reasons to offer him a contract. Zaheer did not know much about Gloucestershire except that it was out west, and had been the county of Wally Hammond and W.G. Grace. Apparently, that was good enough.His Pakistan team-mate Sadiq Mohammad was already at Gloucestershire and helped negotiate the details. Zaheer did not take to the county circuit right away but when he did, it was nothing short of phenomenal. In 1976, he went berserk and reeled off a century and double-century in the same match on three separate occasions. Gloucestershire shot up to the third spot in the Championship table, having languished second from bottom the previous season.Over 30 players from Pakistan have appeared in the County Championship. Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistan’s aristocratic inaugural captain, was the first, but the trend really picked up in the 1970s and the list includes many of Pakistan’s greatest names.It was natural for cricketers from Pakistan, as from elsewhere around the Test world, to be drawn to the English domestic season. The money was good, and if you enjoyed your cricket, England was the only place you could play in the summer months. It was also an intense education, clashing and competing with other players, some of whom like West Indians and South Africans, were legends. And there was the hallowed prestige of things English, which elevated county cricket and its larger context into a dream to which many aspired.The history of overseas stars in formal English cricket goes back to 1929, when Learie Constantine was brought in to the northern leagues. County cricket saw its first major overseas influx in the late 1960s, when foreign stars were invited to revive flagging interest (and falling gate receipts). Asif Iqbal at Kent and Majid Khan at Glamorgan were among this early wave, having impressed on Pakistan’s 1967 tour to England. They were part of a sizeable cohort that included the likes of Clive Lloyd, Lance Gibbs, Rohan Kanhai, Garry Sobers, Mike Procter and Barry Richards.
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You could argue that Pakistan’s golden age was born in the county game. Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, architects of Pakistan’s finest hours, were both hardened county products. Born and raised in Lahore, Imran finished high school in England and played for Oxford, Worcestershire and Sussex. He credits Sussex’s John Snow with teaching him the ropes. Miandad says were it not for England, Imran would not have become the cricketer that he did.Miandad himself, a self-made firebrand from Karachi’s combative cricket culture, sought the county experience to apply finishing touches. After an uncertain start at Sussex he found a home at Glamorgan and immediately connected with the fan base. In 1981, he had a bumper season and crowned it with the innings of a lifetime at Colchester, making 200 not out in the fourth innings on a minefield against seasoned spinners. Dickie Bird was one of the umpires and Graham Gooch the opposing captain; each would later glowingly recall that innings in their memoirs.The forum of county cricket has been a two-way street in which overseas players and English players have both benefited. For local cricketers, sharing the rigors of the circuit with celebrated icons from other countries, offered an unparalleled cricketing tutorial, and some of the stardust was bound to rub off. It is probably no coincidence that the distinguished county career of Wasim Akram at Lancashire was followed last year by the likes of ex-county team-mate Andrew Flintoff reverse-swinging his way to an England Ashes victory.One measure of how much Pakistan has gained from this relationship is their relative comfort with English conditions. They return this year not having lost a Test series there in a quarter of a century. Pakistan’s great failing, though, has been not taking the system’s core traditional values – discipline, rigour, and intensity – and bringing them into the cricket infrastructure at home, which remains sloppy and casual.Unsurprisingly, Pakistan’s recent international sides have appeared comically short on the basics. Erratic running between the wickets, playing away from the body or against the line, and that old bugbear, the suspect bowling action – these are all kinks that would have been worked out by a sound domestic set-up modeled after the best of the county program.
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But county cricket, too, is no longer the institution it once was. In the 1980s, when England’s cricket fortunes began to slide, overseas players in counties were reduced out of concern that promising English players were facing limited opportunities to emerge. A series of strategic appraisals – the Palmer Report, the Murray Report, the MacLaurin proposals – were undertaken with the hope of making the County Championship a more energetic nursery to feed the England international side. Introduction of four-day matches, innings limited to 100 overs with a single ball; and two-tier models, were some of the other ideas thrashed about and eventually implemented.If you ask players like Zaheer or Miandad, they remain puzzled by all the hand-wringing. England’s team saw better days when there were four overseas players per club than when there were one or two. Fewer overseas players means fewer masters to play against and learn from. The logic seems clear enough – you’ll learn more at a university that hires the brightest faculty in the world, than at one that keeps them out. But it’s cricket logic versus administrative logic, and that’s an old divide.Whether the tinkering has worked has been endlessly debated – in itself a tell-tale sign that it has probably not. A plentiful supply of international cricket has necessarily diluted the brand, as it has for domestic competitions across the world. Short-term contracts are devaluing the enterprise, making the foreign recruit seem more like a carpetbagger than the accomplished professional who used to have an enduring relationship with the club and its community.Sponsorship, television rights, and the rampant appetite of an increasingly frenzied public have forever transformed the circumstances of the game. Time and cricket have moved on, and one feels that the heyday of the County Championship with its robust English flavour and lavish international seasonings may have permanently receded.
| Player | County | |
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| Khalid Ibadullah | Warwickshire | |
| Abdul Hafeez Kardar | Warwickshire | |
| Khan Mohammad | Somerset | |
| Majid Khan | Glamorgan | |
| Asif Iqbal | Kent | |
| Pervez Mir | Derbyshire, Glamorgan | |
| Sarfraz Nawaz | Northamptonshire | |
| Mushtaq Mohammad | Northamptonshire | |
| Zaheer Abbas | Gloucestershire | |
| Sadiq Mohammad | Essex, Gloucestershire | |
| Intikhab Alam | Surrey | |
| Wasim Akram | Hampshire, Lancashire | |
| Waqar Younis | Glamorgan, Surrey | |
| Azhar Mahmood | Surrey | |
| Abdul Razzaq | Middlesex | |
| Danish Kaneria | Essex | |
| Salim Malik | Essex | |
| Mushtaq Ahmed | Somerset, Surrey, Sussex | |
| Javed Miandad | Glamorgan, Sussex | |
| Younis Khan | Nottinghamshire | |
| Younis Ahmed | Glamorgan, Surrey, Worcestershire | |
| Aamer Sohail | Somerset | |
| Imran Khan | Sussex, Worcestershire | |
| Mohammad Sami | Kent | |
| Mohammad Akram | Essex, Northamptonshire, Surrey, Sussex | |
| Shoaib Akhtar | Durham Somerset, Worcestershire | |
| Mohammad Asif | Leicestershire | |
| Shahid Afridi | Leicestershire | |
| Rana Naved-ul-Hasan | Herefordshire, Sussex | |
| Aaqib Javed | Hampshire | |
| Yasir Arafat | Durham, Sussex | |
| Saqlain Mushtaq | Surrey | |
| Shoaib Malik | Gloucestershire |
Leeds United have a huge summer ahead of them in the coming months, needing to build a side capable of surviving the drop in the Premier League throughout 2025/26.
The Whites will be attempting to do something which no side has managed in the last two seasons, in maintaining their top-flight status after securing promotion from the Championship.
Southampton, Ipswich Town, Leicester City, Luton Town, Burnley, and Sheffield United have all tried and failed, handing Daniel Farke a huge task to prevent the club from being added to such a list.
The German has already had questions asked about his future at Elland Road, with the Whites manager potentially being replaced before the start of the next campaign.
Regardless of the situation, the foundations have already been laid for the summer window, with numerous players already linked with a summer switch to Yorkshire.
An update on Leeds’ hunt for new signings this summer
Over the last few weeks, rumours have emerged over Leeds making a potential move for Newcastle United’s midfielder Sean Longstaff, but could face huge competition from other top-flight sides for his signature.
Everton have been named as the latest side to enter the race for his services, with the Magpies only demanding a £10m fee to part ways with the 27-year-old.
His experience in the division could be vital for the Whites’ chances of securing survival next season, potentially being joined by Augsburg goalkeeper Finn Dahmen, if recent reports are to be believed.
It was reported by BILD via Sport Witness that the Whites are keen on a move for the 27-year-old this summer, looking to cement his place as number one under Farke.
It also states that no asking price has yet been set for his services, but that he could be open to a move to the Premier League to further his career at the top level.
Why Leeds’ target could be Farke’s next Tanaka
The 2024/25 season has been a hugely successful one for Leeds, ending their stay in the Championship, but also landing key talents such as Ao Tanaka in the process.
The Japanese international joined from Fortuna Düsseldorf last summer for a reported £3.5m fee, cementing himself as a key player in Farke’s starting eleven throughout the last few months.
He’s managed to rack up 44 appearances across all competitions, notching six combined goals and assists – even being named in the Championship Team of the Season.
Such a deal has been one of the club’s best in recent years, playing a pivotal role in their success and hopefully taking the Premier League by storm after his debut year in Yorkshire.
However, the manager could be about to land his next version of the star this summer in the form of Dahmen, who could follow in Tanaka’s footsteps by joining the Whites from a German side.
If he manages to get anywhere near the level of the Japanese star, he will be a fan favourite in no time, potentially playing a vital role in their chances of staying up.
The German has excelled in recent months, making 16 appearances, keeping nine clean sheets and conceding just ten goals during such a period – leading to journalist Christian Pohlmann labelling him as “extraordinary”.
Games played
16
Clean sheets
9
Goals conceded
10
Save percentage
85%
Saves made
3.5
Errors leading to goals
0
Pass accuracy
68%
His staggering numbers don’t stop there, saving 85% of the efforts that he’s faced this campaign, averaging 3.5 saves per 90 – handing Farke that added solidity he needs at the back.
Dahmen has also not made a single error leading to a goal, and is more than capable of playing out from the back, 68% of the passes he’s attempted throughout 2024/25.
Whilst it’s unclear how much a deal for the shot-stopper would set the club back this summer, the stats he’s produced are incredible, certainly bolstering the ranks at Elland Road.
Their dealings with landing players from Germany in recent months have been successful, as seen with Tanaka, which could lead to Dahmen being the next star to make the switch to England.
Bad news for Byram: Leeds want to sign "outstanding" £34k-per-week star
Leeds are reportedly interested in signing a Premier League defender, and it is bad news for Sam Byram.
ByDan Emery May 1, 2025
Southampton could be set to lose one of their loanees for good, with a fresh report revealing that they have received an enquiry regarding his services.
Southampton's strikers options
The Championship side had Che Adams, Adam Armstrong and Sekou Mara as their natural options at centre-forward before the summer transfer window opened, but that didn’t stop the hierarchy from wanting to bolster their ranks even further.
Following a lengthy battle, Russell Martin’s side secured the services of Sunderland’s former striker Ross Stewart before the deadline, meaning that the boss could get rid of any existing squad members that he knew he wasn’t going to use over his new signing.
One of those was Paul Onuachu, who put pen to paper on a season-long loan with Turkish Super Lig outfit Trabzonspor, and it’s fair to say that the 29-year-old has made an exceptional start to his temporary spell on the road at the Papara Park.
The Nigeria international has firmly established himself as Abdullah Avci’s overall best-performing player so far this season with a match rating of 7.28 (WhoScored – Trabzonspor statistics), and this impressive form has caught the eye of another mystery club overseas.
Paul Onuachu attracting interest overseas
According to Turkish outlet Fotospor (via The Real EFL), Paul Onuachu is gaining attention from Turkey. Trabzonspor are "not currently exploring a permanent deal" for the attacker despite his positive start, but his displays have been taken note of by one other unnamed club in the same league.
The Southampton star's loan club had made contact to discover the price of a move but were made aware that another secret admirer had also made an enquiry, so it's likely that chiefs will want to sanction his sale next summer.
Whilst Onuachu has failed to get off the mark at Southampton, he’s got straight up and running for Trabzonspor with five contributions, four goals and one assist, to his name in seven appearances (Transfermarkt -Onuachu statistics), form which has seen him hailed a “top finisher” by journalistJosh Bunting.
The Owerri native, who pockets £34k-per-week (Trabzonspor salaries), is also currently averaging 2.3 shots per league game (WhoScored – Onuachu statistics), highlighting his constant desire to hit the back of the net even if the end product isn’t always there.
Headed attempts
Holding onto the ball
Finishing
Defensive contribution
Aerial duels
(Data via WhoScored)
Standing at 6 foot 7, the colossus is the ideal target man, recording 4.4 aerial wins per match in the Super Lig with his physical presence posing a real threat to the opposition’s defence, making him a handful to deal with.
Therefore, Southampton permanently selling him next summer could be somewhat of a mistake because he's proven what he's capable of achieving if given a consistent run of games, so he deserves to be handed the opportunity to showcase his talents upon his return.
Southampton have developed a reputation for being a fantastic place for players to progress their careers and seal bigger moves elsewhere over the years.
Who are Southampton's record sales?
Many players have passed through the halls at St. Mary's on their way to some of the biggest clubs in Europe after being picked up by the Saints at the start of their respective careers.
Virgil van Dijk
£72.7m
Romeo Lavia
£53.3m
Sadio Mane
£35.4m
Luke Shaw
£32.2m
Tino Livramento
£31.9m
Fees via Transfermarkt.
These are the top five biggest sales in the club's history to date and there have been a number of talents who have been sold for significant fees below that after honing their skills on the south coast.
One player whom Southampton hit the jackpot with was English winger Nathan Tella, who recently departed Russell Martin's side during the summer transfer window.
How much did Southampton sign Tella for?
The Saints snapped the talented wizard up on a free transfer from then-fellow Premier League side Arsenal after the top-six club opted against handing him a new contract.
He did not do enough to earn an extension with the Gunners ahead of the 2017/18 campaign which allowed Southampton to secure his services for £0.
Norwich City, who have also built a reputation for developing young talents like Max Aarons, Ben Godfrey Emi Buendia, and James Maddison, invited the 17-year-old prospect to train with the Norfolk-based side but he decided to make the move to the south coast instead.
Tella had only scored one goal in nine U18 league matches for Arsenal during the 2016/17 season but scored one goal in one game on trial with the Canaries before eventually ending up with Southampton.
The exciting forward went on to enjoy an impressive spell at U21 level with the Saints as he produced 12 goals and seven assists in 46 appearances.
His form for the academy side led to him making his Premier League debut against, ironically, Norwich during the 2019/20 campaign.
However, Tella found it difficult to deliver consistently impressive performances in the top flight over the following two seasons as Ralph Hasenhuttl offered him plenty of opportunities to impress.
He averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.54 across 18 Premier League outings throughout the 2020/21 season as he contributed with just one goal and one assist from out wide.
The young prospect followed that up with an average Sofascore rating of 6.39 over 14 league matches the following campaign, which included ten starts, as the former Arsenal prodigy failed to deliver a single goal and produced one assist.
Tella ranked 25th out of 25 players in the Southampton squad with that dismal Sofascore rating, which shows that he was one of the team's worst performers that term, if not the worst.
How many goals did Tella score for Burnley?
His poor form at Premier League level for Hasenhuttl's side led to a season-long loan move to Burnley in the Championship in 2022, which is where the English hotshot was able to thrive.
Tella caught the eye with his goalscoring prowess for the Clarets as he ended the campaign with 17 league goals to his name, to go along with five assists and an average Sofascore rating of 6.82.
Vincent Kompany, who described the talented phenom as a "raw diamond", got the best out of the Saints loanee and helped him to become one of the best players in the division.
The 24-year-old's fantastic performances were recognised by his peers as he made it into the PFA Championship Team of the Year for the 2022/23 campaign. This means that the other players in the league voted him as one of the most impressive attackers at that level, illustrating how successful his time at Turf Moor was.
His sublime form for Burnley was also reflected in his market value. At the time of his move to Kompany's side, FootballTransfers rated his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at just €2.7m (£2.3m).
This soared to a whopping xTV of €10m (£8.6m) by May of this year due to his displays for the Championship title-winners, skyrocketing by a whopping 270% within the space of less than 12 months.
How much did Southampton sell Tella for?
The Saints opted to cash in on Tella whilst his stock was high as they decided to sell him to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen for a reported fee of £20m this summer.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano revealed how much the total package could end up being worth to Southampton and added that they have a sell-on clause that could net the club another payday in the future if he moves on again.
This came after the 24-year-old whiz enjoyed a strong start to the 2023/24 campaign with Martin's side. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.30 across three Championship appearances as the talented maestro scored one goal and provided one assist from out wide.
The £20m-rated ace did initially think that his assist was a goal, as shown in the video above, as his strike from distance against Sheffield Wednesday on the opening day deflected in off his teammate Adam Armstrong's head.
Tella, who made 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game for the Saints this term, currently holds the fourth-highest average Sofascore rating within the squad, although only five matches have been played so far.
He has only made one appearance for Bayer Leverkusen since making the switch to Germany, which came as a substitute in a 5-1 Bundesliga win over Darmstadt last week.
Southampton will now be hoping that the English forward is able to rip up the German top flight in the same way that he excelled for Burnley. Such an eventuality could ensure that he makes another big-money switch and earns them even more money thanks to their sell-on clause.
However, even if the former Arsenal prospect ends up being a flop for Leverkusen, there is no doubt that the Saints hit the jackpot by snapping him up for free in 2017.
The club turned a free agent academy signing into a £20m sale within the space of seven years and they deserve immense credit, as do Burnley and Kompany for their role in his development, for that outstanding piece of business.
An update has emerged on Southampton and their attempts to bolster the playing squad before the summer transfer window slams shut on Friday.
What's the latest Southampton transfer news?
c is looking to add a seventh new signing to the group on top of Shea Charles, Flynn Downes Ryan Manning, Ryan Fraser, Mason Holgate, and Joe Lumley.
According to Football Scotland, the Saints are interested in a deal to sign Aberdeen centre-forward Bojan Miovski to improve their attacking options.
The report claims that the Scottish Premiership side are now braced for offers for their star striker as Martin is a big fan of him and is pushing the club to make a move for the left-footed marksman, who he also wanted to sign for Swansea during his time in Wales.
It states that it would take a fee of at least £4m to secure his services and that the ongoing negotiations with Everton over a possible deal for Che Adams could open the door for the 24-year-old gem to arrive at St. Mary's.
How good is Bojan Miovski?
The Dons number nine has been in sublime form for the Scottish outfit since he joined the club ahead of the 2022/23 campaign and the talented dynamo could be a perfect replacement for the outgoing Adams.
So far this season, the Scotland international has plundered three goals in three Championship matches for the Saints. However, he has not been a prolific striker throughout his time on the south coast as the 27-year-old attacker scored 25 goals and assisted 14 in 124 Premier League appearances for the club before their relegation earlier this year.
His impressive start to life in the second tier with the Saints does, however, suggest that the ex-Birmingham City star has the potential to be a reliable scoring option for Martin this season.
Therefore, Southampton must bring in a proven scorer who can provide a significant attacking threat on a regular basis to replace Adams if he does move on to Everton, or elsewhere, before the deadline passes on Friday.
Miovski's time at Aberdeen so far indicates that he would be a dream signing for the Saints to bolster their frontline. Last season, the exciting marksman racked up 18 goals and three assists in 42 appearances, which included 16 goals in 37 Scottish Premiership outings for his club.
No current Southampton player managed more than five Premier League goals last term, which illustrates how impressive the North Macedonia international's displays were for Aberdeen – albeit at a different level of football.
The 24-year-old hotshot has started the current campaign in blistering fashion with three goals and one assist in four matches in all competitions, which means that he has been directly involved in a goal every single game on average so far.
Miovski, whose movement was hailed as "fantastic" by ex-boss Jim Goodwin, is a man in form who is seemingly full of confidence in front of goal based on his goal return over the last 12 months or so, which is why he could be a perfect replacement for Adams to make up for the goals that Martin's team would lose if the Scottish ace moves on.
Jesse Lingard's long wait for a return to football may be over as the former Manchester United star has been linked with a move to South Korea.
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