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Celtic have been circling Israeli midfielder Mohammed Abu Fani ahead of a potential summer move, according to Record Sport.

The Lowdown: Abu Fani’s career

Abu Fani has spent his entire professional career in his native country, where he currently plays for Israeli Premier League side Maccabi Haifa.

For the 2017/18 season, the midfielder was sent out on loan to second-tier outfit H. Ramat Gan, before returning and quickly heading straight back out to Hapoel Hadera, where he enjoyed two separate loan spells with the club.

All in all, the versatile midfielder has 18 goals and 11 assists in 182 club appearances.

The Latest: Hoops interested

According to a report by Record Sport, Celtic are keen to strengthen their squad further after their Premiership win and have identified Abu Fani as a potential arrival.

It is said that the Hoops are now circling the midfielder ahead of a potential summer switch.

As per Sport 5, Celtic will send scouts to watch Israel face Iceland and Albania in the UEFA Nations League, as they assess the 24-year-old before making a move.

The Verdict: Good signing for depth

Taking to Twitter, football analyst Julien San James has analysed the Israel international’s game, claiming that he has a ‘fearsome’ long-ball strike, and that he is ‘mobile and technical’ on the ball.

Following the departure of midfielder Nir Bitton, Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou needs to bring in a fresh face as a means of developing the squad’s depth, as the Glasgow side will look to make a push in next year’s UEFA Champions League.

Therefore, the Israeli’s arrival could prove useful for Celtic’s busy schedule next season, as rotation will be a key for success.

In other news: Alex McLeish makes Hoops transfer claim

Manchester United have discussed the idea of signing Villarreal centre-back Pau Torres along with Ajax defender Jurrien Timber, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The Lowdown: Torres profiled

Torres has progressed through Villarreal’s academy and has made 134 senior appearances for the La Liga side, 47 of which came during the 2021/22 campaign.

The Spain international, who was hailed as ‘sensational’ by his national team boss Luis Enrique, is at the peak of his powers, holding a career-high £45m Transfermarkt valuation. The 25-year-old is entering the final two years of his contract in the summer and holds a release clause in the region of €55m-€60m (£46.8m-£51m).

The Latest: United discussions

Romano took to Twitter on Monday lunchtime to share a transfer update from Old Trafford.

He said that, alongside Timber, Torres has also been ‘discussed internally’ by United chiefs and Erik ten Hag ahead of a possible move.

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The Verdict: Ten Hag’s priorities clear

Ten Hag is yet to add to his United squad since taking the reins, but it seems as if defensive reinforcements are top of his wish list, something which doesn’t exactly come as a major shock with the Red Devils conceding 57 times in 38 league games this season.

The Dutchman appears to pride himself on making his teams hard to beat at the back, with his Ajax side conceding just 19 goals in 34 league games in 2021/22. Therefore, potential swoops for Timber (who he knows well from Amsterdam) and Torres (who appears to be at the top of his game) could be wise first moves for the 52-year-old at Old Trafford.

In other news: Reliable journalist leaks Man Utd talks as Ten Hag now eyes ‘terrific’ Englishman

Wolves rounded off their 2021/22 Premier League season with a 3-1 defeat to Liverpool having taken the lead in the third minute through Pedro Neto.

Goals from Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson secured the comeback for the Reds as defeat condemned Wolves to a tenth place finish in the Premier League, having spent plenty of recent weeks in eighth.

Eyes were on Bruno Lage’s side to see whether or not they could play a part in the title race with their opponents in need of a victory as well as Manchester City dropping points against Aston Villa to be crowned Champions of England.

However, Pep Guardiola’s side sensationally scored three goals in five minutes to go from 2-0 down to 3-2 leaders as City secured a fourth Premier League title in five seasons.

Although Wolves couldn’t cause a shock at Anfield, it was, at times, a spirited performance from Lage’s men.

However, what has been a poor end to a decent campaign was rounded off with another defeat, with midfielder Joao Moutinho quiet on what could potentially be his final appearance for the West Midlands outfit.

The 35-year-old’s contract at Molineux is set to expire next month, although Lage has confirmed that the Portuguese veteran wants to stay at Wolves.

At Anfield, the midfielder lost all of his four attempted duels whilst losing possession nine times having made 52 touches, an average of once every 5.8 touches.

Moreover, Moutinho failed to make a single tackle as well as making just one interception and clearance whilst being dribbled past twice.

A decision now has to be made by the hierarchy at the West Midlands outfit regarding the future of the veteran with Lage undoubtedly keen to build on his first season in England and make Wolves genuine contenders for European football next term.

Whether or not that involves extending the midfielder’s contract will be a decision made by Jeff Shi and Fosun in the near future.

However, rounding off the campaign with one win in nine matches will certainly be a major disappointment for Wolves who will strive for improvement come August.

AND in other news: Great news: Huge Wolves transfer development emerges; supporters will be ecstatic

Wolverhampton Wanderers look set to miss out on a permanent deal for Barcelona-loanee Francisco Trincao this summer.

What’s the word?

That is according to a journalist in Portugal, who claims that the 22-year-old winger has already decided his next move.

Taking to Twitter, the following statement was issued: “Sporting’s priority target, Trincão has already given the “yes” to being directed again by Rúben Amorim, with whom he worked at SC Braga. It is the ideal replacement for Sarabia. Talks for a 1-year loan are moving in a positive way – salary issues with Barcelona still need to be settled.”

The latest report echos the word ‘rebuild’ even louder around the Molineux, with Trincao yet another name who will leave at the end of the summer. Another face constantly linked with the exit door is Ruben Neves and it’s still uncertain whether he’ll be in the Midlands next term.

Wolves had an option to buy Trincao for around £25m, though Lage has not executed this and now it looks as though Sporting CP will seal a reunion between former Braga duo Ruben Amorim and Trincao.

Lage surely fuming

Having managed just three returns in the form of goals and assist across 27 Premier League games, Trincao has endured a rocky time at Wolves for the most part, but in fairness has shown glimpses of the quality that we saw in his final season at Braga, where he bagged goals and assists in 27 games.

His recent goal against Chelsea was one of these positive displays, though they have been few and far between for a player previously described as “magic.”

With the latest news around Trincao’s loan spell faltering to become permanent, Lage has a rebuild on his hands and this departure could add yet further complication.

In an ideal world, the Old Gold boss may have hoped for a straight swap deal between Adama and the £19.8m-rated Trincao, though, just like the option to buy, this is now not viable.

In this case, Lage will surely be kicking himself for his indecisiveness around a player who could have flourished next season, after taking this season to settle into what is such a fast-paced and physical league.

Tactically, it weakens the side, with a lack of inverted options at the right wing position, leaving just Pedro Neto as the only left-footed winger in the side. That’s a piece of news that will surely be gutting to Lage and his coaching staff.

In other news: Wolves now plot bid for “flourishing” £20m gem, he’s better than Moutinho 

Former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie believes the Hoops will make at least four new signings for the first XI in the summer transfer window.

The Lowdown: Busy summer ahead

Ange Postecoglou’s men may have sealed Scottish Premiership glory this season, regaining the title from rivals Rangers, but attention is immediately turning to 2022/23.

New signings will be required in order to take this Celtic side to the next level, allowing them to compete in the Champions League, rather than exit the competition in a meek fashion.

The money should be available to bring in new faces with a £40m+ windfall expected from qualification to Europe’s elite competition, so it promises to be an exciting summer window.

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The Latest: Four signings predicted

Speaking to Football Insider, McAvennie, reacting to news of a deal being close for Mohanad Jeahze, claimed he thinks at least three more players will come in to the starting line-up, although he didn’t rule out the idea of even more signings being made:

“New players have to come in, that’s for sure. We have a pretty good squad at the moment but we saw how stretched it got when we were playing in Europe.

“It will be even harder in the Champions League next season as well so new players will have to come in.

“I think four players, around that number, hopefully more. Four players who can challenge for a starting spot or of that quality to start every week.

“We are getting that money so hopefully Ange gets a bit to spend. I’m sure he will because he has worked wonders with this squad.”

The Verdict: Sign them up, Ange

In Cameron Carter-Vickers and Jota, Celtic have two loanees who immediately need to be signed permanently, given the impact they have made this season.

The pair made 52 league appearances between them, with the former a rock at the heart of the defence and the latter chipping in with nine goals and ten assists.

Away from Jeahze, Carter-Vickers and Jota, it is then vital that other new faces arrive at Parkhead, though, adding quality and freshness to the squad, ahead of what is hopefully another glorious campaign next time around.

In other news, Celtic are believed to be ‘desperate’ to sign one player this summer. Read more here.

Crystal Palace will be without senior midfielder James McArthur for their Premier League trip to Aston Villa this afternoon.

What’s the latest?

The Scotsman missed last weekend’s 1-0 win over Watford with a knock and Eagles boss Patrick Vieira has confirmed that the 34-year-old will be absent once again as the south London outfit make the trip to the West Midlands.

As quoted by football.london on Friday night, the Frenchman said: “We had a couple of injuries this week. But again, we will have to wait until tomorrow to see if they will be okay.

“Macca we know is not going to be part of the squad because he didn’t start training with the squad yet. Then the rest of them will have to wait until tomorrow (Saturday) to see if they will take part in training in the morning or not.”

Vieira will be gutted

While perhaps not Palace’s most talented midfielder, McArthur is a reliable asset for the Eagles and his experience is invaluable.

The Scotsman has made 20 league appearances this term and had started back-to-back matches for the first time since November prior to last weekend.

Moreover, he got the assist for Wilfried Zaha’s late winner against Southampton in his last appearance and had been in excellent form, averaging Sofascore match ratings above 7/10 in his last three appearances.

Granted, Vieira is blessed with some decent midfield options, such as player of the season Conor Gallagher, but the 45-year-old will be keen to have as many of his key players available as possible.

There will certainly be a concern amongst the Palace faithful that the injury will keep the 34-year-old out for the remaining three matches of the campaign, with McArthur set to leave Selhurst Park at the end of the season with his contract expiring next month.

Having made the move to the capital from Wigan Athletic in 2014, the midfielder has been a loyal servant for eight years and will certainly be keen to play for the Eagles at least one more time.

Unfortunately, what is for sure is that McArthur will miss the trip to Villa Park, which will surely leave Vieira gutted.

AND in other news – Imagine him & Guehi: CPFC can save millions with 18 y/o starlet who’s “full of energy”

Zimbabwe could score only 242 runs, their fifth-lowest aggregate in men’s Test matches where they have been bowled out twice

Sampath Bandarupalli09-Aug-2025An innings and 359 runs New Zealand’s margin of victory against Zimbabwe in the second Test in Bulawayo is the third-biggest win for any team in Test cricket, and the biggest for New Zealand. England won by innings and 579 runs against Australia in 1938 at The Oval, while Australia beat South Africa by innings and 360 runs in Johannesburg in 2002.New Zealand’s previous biggest innings win was by 301 runs against Zimbabwe in 2012 in Napier, which also happened to be the previous biggest defeat for Zimbabwe.ESPNcricinfo Ltd181.41 Difference between New Zealand’s batting average (192.66) and bowling average (11.25) over the last three days. Only seven teams have won a men’s Test match with a higher difference in the averages of their batters and bowlers.Only once before have New Zealand won a Test match with a difference of 100 between their batting and bowling averages – 110.10 against Sri Lanka in 2023 in Wellington.Related

New Zealand script their biggest win after Foulkes and Co flatten Zimbabwe

242 Zimbabwe’s aggregate runs in Bulawayo is their fifth-lowest in a Test match where they have been bowled out twice. It is also their second-lowest at home, behind the 158 runs they made against New Zealand in Harare in 2005.9 for 75 Zakary Foulkes’ match figures, the best for a bowler on Test debut for New Zealand. Only Will O’Rourke had taken nine wickets on debut for New Zealand previously, 9 for 93 against South Africa in Hamilton in 2024.Zakary Foulkes picked the best-ever figures for a New Zealand bowler on Test debut•Zimbabwe CricketFoulkes’ match average of 8.33 is the second-best for any bowler with four-plus wicket hauls in both innings on Test debut. Clarrie Grimmett averaged 7.45 on his debut against England in Sydney in 1925, where he bagged 11 for 82.3 Instances of three batters recording 150-plus scores in the same Test innings, including Devon Conway (153), Henry Nicholls (150*) and Rachin Ravindra (165*) in Bulawayo.Len Hutton (365), Maurice Leyland (187) and Joe Hardstaff (169*) for England against Australia in 1938 at The Oval were the first such trio, while India’s Sunil Gavaskar (176), Mohammad Azharuddin (199) and Kapil Dev (163) replicated it against Sri Lanka in Kanpur in 1986.5 Instances of fast bowlers taking all 20 wickets in a Test match for New Zealand, away from home. The last of the previous four was against India at Southampton in the World Test Championship final in 2021.601 for 3 New Zealand’s first-innings total was their highest in Test cricket against Zimbabwe, surpassing the 582 for 4 in 2016, also in Bulawayo. New Zealand have topped the 600-mark on 12 occasions so far, and their effort against Zimbabwe was their first since the 612 for 9 against Pakistan in 2022.288.80 Nicholls’ batting average while scoring a hundred in Test cricket. Among batters with at least ten hundreds, only Andy Flower (340) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (319.83) average more than Nicholls while scoring a hundred.

Chelsea’s opening goal in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Sunday should have been disallowed under IFAB Law 11.

Arsenal unable to take all three points against ten-man Chelsea

With Moises Caicedo being shown a straight red card after fouling Mikel Merino in the first half, the Gunners would’ve been expecting to pick up what could be a crucial three points at Stamford Bridge, but the hosts refused to lie down.

In fact, Trevoh Chalobah opened the scoring for Enzo Maresca’s side just after half-time, although the north Londoners were ultimately able to come away with a point, as Mikel Merino was able to level things up just over ten minutes later.

Speaking after the game, Maresca made it clear he had no problem with Caicedo being given his marching orders, although he did question why Tottenham Hotspur’s Rodrigo Bentancur was not sent off for a similar challenge last month.

However, Mikel Arteta may have complaints of his own, with VAR being accused of going “completely blind” and missing Enzo Fernandez in an offside position during Chalobah’s opening goal.

IFAB’s Law 11 describes offside offences, and Fernandez’s position battling against Cristhian Mosquera certainly meets the criteria for ‘interfering with an opponent’.

A player in an offside position at the moment the ball is played or touched* by a team-mate is only penalised on becoming involved in active play by:

interfering with play by playing or touching a ball passed or touched by a team-mate or interfering with an opponent by: preventing an opponent from playing or being able to play the ball by clearly obstructing the opponent’s line of vision or challenging an opponent for the ball or clearly attempting to play a ball which is close when this action impacts on an opponent or making an obvious action which clearly impacts on the ability of an opponent to play the ball

However, the goal stood and Maresca’s side managed to hold out for a draw, despite having ten men for most of the game, so Arteta arguably has a right to feel aggrieved the Gunners were unable to extend their lead at the top.

Arsenal should have taken three points regardless

Although there is a case to be made that Chalobah’s goal should’ve been ruled out, Arsenal will be kicking themselves, given that Caicedo’s early red card presented them with a golden opportunity to pick up a victory.

Arteta concurs that it was two points dropped, saying after the game: “I think overall it’s been a really positive week because the difficulty was immense.

“But I have this flavour that today we should have and we could have won the game and we haven’t. That’s a learning point from it.”

Arteta must drop 4/10 Arsenal star who lost every single duel vs Chelsea

Arsenal were not at their free-flowing best as they drew with Chelsea.

ByMatt Dawson Dec 1, 2025

That said, the north Londoners shouldn’t be too disheartened, as getting a point at Stamford Bridge is still a good result, and they have a healthy lead at the top of the Premier League table, currently sitting five points clear of Man City.

Shohei Ohtani belted his first home run of the season Wednesday in Tokyo, but it came with some controversy as the announcers, and even Ohtani, weren't sure it should have been a home run after the umpires reviewed it.

Ohtani, who had 54 dingers last season, crushed a ball to right center in the fifth inning of the Dodgers-Cubs game in Japan. At first it looked like it hit off the top of the wall and would be a double, but then umpires quickly motioned that it was a home run. They then reviewed the play and a fan was seen getting a hand on the ball.

Here's how that played out:

Here's how the review process went:

That did look like it might not have made it over the wall if it wasn't for the fan. But it was indeed ruled a home run and it looks like Ohtani is ready for another huge season.

The sum is significantly less than the R815 million from last year

Firdose Moonda20-Sep-2025Cricket South Africa has reported a profit for a second successive financial year after three previous years of losses at their AGM on Saturday. They announced a profit of R238 million (approx US$13.7 million), significantly less than the R815 million from last year (approx US$ 45.6 million) but substantial after a season in which their only profitable incoming tour was four T20Is against India.Last summer, CSA also hosted Sri Lanka and Pakistan, which are typically loss-making series, but generated revenue from a combination of broadcast income, ICC disbursements and the addition of seven new sponsors.They also boasted increased interest in South African cricket with viewership of matches at one billion in 107 countries, earning CSA R707 million (approx US$40 million). The rest of their income was derived from R378 million in ICC distributions (approx US$21 million) and R125 million in sponsorships (approx US$7.2 million). Income from the SA20 was not itemised in this year’s report.Their biggest expense was the running of professional cricket including players salaries, hosting matches and upkeep of facilities which amounted to R1.3 billion (approx US$75 million). CSA maintains reserves of R1.42 billion (approx US$82 million) which their integrated report said will “provide a stable foundation for the future.”The report also included details of the country’s stadiums, which are being upgraded for the 2027 World Cup. Among the more notable developments so far is that The Wanderers and SuperSport Park have new high-definition LED floodlights while George’s Park has refurbished seating and a new scoreboard.Drop-in pitches are also still in development around the country. “The upcoming 2027 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup represents an extraordinary opportunity to showcase the best of South African cricket. Preparations are already well underway,” Pearl Maphoshe, chairperson of the board of directors, said in a statement. “This tournament must be more than a sporting event. We are focused on ensuring it leaves a meaningful legacy through infrastructure improvements, youth development, environmental accountability and shared national pride.”With 2027 preparations underway, South Africa do not host any Tests this summer but will begin their World Test Championship (WTC) title defence on a full tour to Pakistan next month. That will be followed by an all-format tour of India before the SA20 kicks off on Boxing Day. The only men’s international cricket this summer will be five T20Is against West Indies in January-February 2026. In the absence of any Test fixtures, the mace will be taken on a country-wide trophy tour next week.