Lyon wonderkid Malick Fofana was spotted training in a Marcus Rashford's Manchester United shirt sparking transfer speculation. The 19-year-old has been linked with Liverpool and Chelsea over a summer transfer, however, the Red Devils may now be put onto an alert following the wonderkid's Instagram story. After Lyon's relegation, it may now be easier to strike a deal for Fofana.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Lyon's Fofana linked with Chelsea and LiverpoolMalick Fofana spotted training in Man Utd shirtInstagram story puts Man Utd on transfer alertFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Manchester United fans have been left intrigued after Lyon winger Fofana was spotted wearing a United kit during off-season training. The young star shared an Instagram story featuring himself in the 2022-23 green third strip. This comes just one week after Alejandro Garnacho drew criticism for wearing an Aston Villa shirt with Rashford’s name on it.

Instagram (@malick_fofana7)

AdvertisementTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Fofana’s future is suddenly in the spotlight. With Lyon facing relegation to Ligue 2 due to financial irregularities, the club is expected to offload several players, and Fofana could be among them. Having impressed last season with 11 goals and five assists, the young winger is drawing interest from Premier League sides, including Liverpool and Chelsea, both of whom have already made a move for the Lyon star.

AFPDID YOU KNOW?

Manchester United fans may remember Fofana from their dramatic Europa League semi-final clash with Lyon. The winger tormented the Red Devils’ defence and won a penalty that helped the French side take the lead. Although United ran out 5-4 winners, Fofana made a lasting impression.

WHAT NEXT FOR FOFANA?

With Lyon needing to raise funds and Fofana’s stock on the rise, a summer exit looks likely with Liverpool and Chelsea pushing hard. Whether Manchester United make a formal move remains to be seen, but the Instagram post and Fofana’s previous impact at Old Trafford certainly won't go unnoticed by Ruben Amorim's side.

Glasgow Rangers’ 2024/25 is over following their Europa League defeat in midweek to Athletic Club at the quarter-final stage.

Having been knocked out of the Scottish Cup in February, plus the fact Celtic are runaway leaders of the Premiership, the final five league games will be dead rubbers for the Ibrox side.

While Philippe Clement was to blame for many reasons, the transfer activity, both in the summer and winter windows, has a lot to answer for regarding the club’s dismal campaign.

Out of all the arrivals to join the club this season, only a few have gained pass marks. Robin Propper could have made that list, yet he has endured a poor season.

Robin Propper's dismal season in numbers

The Dutch defender had played over 100 times for FC Twente, even captaining the side, before making the move to Ibrox last summer.

On the surface, it looked as though he could be a solid signing, especially given his age and the experience gained over his career.

Fast-forward nine months, and it couldn’t have gone any worse. Propper has failed to truly acclimatise to the physical nature of Scottish football, being regularly outpaced and outfought by opposition defenders. As he admitted himself, he “maybe underestimated” the quality of the Premiership.

In Europe, the centre-back has won just 44% of his aerial duels while losing possession 6.7 times per game, and overall, he hasn’t been the best of signings.

Metric (per 90)

Premiership

Europa League

Accurate passes

58.6

30.3

Tackles

1.6

0.8

Total duels won

5.6

2.5

Interceptions

0.9

1

Possession lost

8.7

6.7

Despite this, Propper – who was sent off against Athletic in the first-leg stalemate – may not even be the worst defensive signing Clement made this term. That honour could go to Rafael Fernandes, who, with every passing week, looks an extremely strange signing.

How Rafael Fernandes has performed for Rangers

A few winter arrivals were expected by the Ibrox faithful, but only Rafael Fernandes made the move to Rangers, much to the disappointment of the supporters.

The 22-year-old defender signed on an initial six-month loan deal, having the option to make it permanent, but given how little he has featured, this shouldn’t be exercised.

Indeed, the youngster has played a total of 91 competitive minutes for the Gers spread across four appearances.

His first start for the club came against Queen’s Park in the Scottish Cup, and it soon turned into a disaster. He lasted only 60 minutes as the Light Blues suffered a shock defeat.

Since then, Fernandes has started only one more game – against Aberdeen last week – and it doesn’t look like he will feature much in the closing weeks.

Across his three league outings, Fernandes won just 25% of his total duels contested, along with committing one foul per game and making zero tackles each match.

He hasn’t exactly had many chances to make an impact at the club, but even when he has been on the pitch, Fernandes hasn’t done himself many favours, that’s for sure.

It was a weird signing in the first place, and when the season finishes, Rangers should say thanks before allowing him to return to Lille.

Rangers trio worth £5m to leave Ibrox after Athletic Bilbao defeat

Barry Ferguson’s side crashed out of Europe on Thursday.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 19, 2025

Hazlewood back into the top ten in T20I rankings while Scholtz, Erasmus of Namibia dazzle too

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Feb-2024Joe Root’s first century in England’s ongoing tour of India has lifted the batter to No. 3, while Yashasvi Jaiswal’s consistent scores have taken him to No. 12 on ICC’s rankings for Test batters.Root’s unbeaten 122 in the fourth Test, his first major contribution with the bat this series, lifted him two places and into the top three. His exploits as an offspinner have also moved him up to No. 4 among Test allrounders.For Jaiswal, now only two shy of the top ten, the rise has been meteoric. He started the Test series at No. 69 in the rankings, but in a matter of weeks, his 655 runs at an average of 93.57 in eight innings has seen him jump 57 steps to 12th. The batters’ rankings are still led by New Zealand’s Kane Williamson, with Australia’s Steven Smith at No. 2.Full rankings tables

Click here for the full team rankings

Click here for the full player rankings

In the Test bowling rankings, world No. 2 R Ashwin has closed the distance between him and World No. 1 Jasprit Bumrah to only 21 rating points. After missing parts of the Rajkot Test for personal reasons, Ashwin took a second-innings five-wicket haul in Ranchi to set up India’s victory. Bumrah was rested. Behind the pair are Kagiso Rabada at third, with the Australian duo of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood to follow.Australians surge in T20IsHazlewood’s spell of 4-1-12-1 in Auckland against New Zealand has taken him six places up to No. 7 on the rankings for T20I bowlers. He is now the only Australian in the top 10 of the T20I bowling rankings, with England spinner Adil Rashid leading the way followed by the Sri Lankan pair of Wanindu Hasaranga and Maheesh Theekshana.Travis Head and Tim David have also gained positions among T20I batters. Head’s scores of 24, 45 and 33 elevated him 18 places up to 19th. Tim David’s 10-ball 31 in Australia’s final-ball win in the opening game of the series now sees him at a career-best 22nd. Suryakumar Yadav, Phil Salt and Mohammad Rizwan still hold the top three spots.Scholtz makes history for NamibiaBernard Scholtz’s six-wicket haul across two games at the League 2 tri-series in Nepal has taken him to 11th among ODI bowlers, a record high for Namibia. Scholtz’s slow left-arm orthodox spin earned him 4 for 31 against Nepal and 2 for 15 against Netherlands.Scholtz’s captain Gerhard Erasmus, meanwhile, is tied at No. 8 among ODI allrounders alongside Glenn Maxwell of Australia. Erasmus struck 52 against Nepal and took 3 for 33 against Netherlands to zoom eight places up and into the top ten.

On a sluggish surface, the Karnataka batsman looks good to add another century to his scores of 99 and 166 not out in the first Duleep Trophy outing

Hemant Brar in Alur30-Aug-2019″Take some rest in between, you have to bowl 75 overs on this pitch,” India Green’s Ishan Porel, sitting on a thick pile of covers outside the fine-leg boundary, shouted to Rahul Chahar.Chahar had bowled only one over up until then, but Porel knew the pitch didn’t have much in it for fast bowlers. Earlier, after bowling the first over of India Red’s innings, Ankit Rajpoot could be heard telling himself, rather sarcastically, that it was going to be fun bowling on that surface.While the second-day pitch during the Duleep Trophy game had hardly anything in it for fast bowlers, batsmen too seemed to be struggling to force the pace. The ball wasn’t coming on, and the overnight rain had meant that even the good shots didn’t fetch their full value because of a sluggish outfield.On a slow day when nothing seemed to be moving, Karun Nair carried on with his good form and took another step forward on the road back to India’s Test side. By the end of the day, his unbeaten 73 had taken India Red to 140 for 2.In response to India Green’s first-innings total of 440, India Red were 12 for no loss in the ninth over when a glute strain forced Abhimanyu Easwaran to retire hurt. In came Nair and it seemed everything had changed magically. The ball started coming on much better, the outfield appeared to have become quicker but only for Nair, who batted as if he was just resuming from his unbeaten 166 in the last game.ALSO READ: ‘Can’t keep throwing away starts’ – Karun Nair digs deep to make it countNair consistently found the boundary with his drives, punches and flicks against the seamers. Against spinners, he used his feet to either go to the pitch of the ball and loft down the ground, or go back and cut square of the wicket. Every shot appeared to come from the middle the bat; the timing was crisp. As a result, he raced to his fifty off just 58 balls with the help of nine fours.For India Red, Dharmendrasinh Jadeja was the only bowler to make an impact. With little help from the pitch, the left-arm spinner varied his pace and length to reap rewards.Priyank Panchal, who had laboured to 31 off 76 balls, went for a booming drive against Jadeja but the ball dipped on him to take the outside edge. Dhruv Shorey at first slip made no mistake.Ankit Kalsi, who had scores of 106 and 64 in the last game, too found it difficult to get going. While trying to cut Jadeja, he ended up edging the ball on to the wicketkeeper’s pads with Shorey keeping his calm to complete a juggling catch off the deflection.But Jadeja too appeared helpless against Nair. The batsman collected 18 runs off the 25 balls he faced from Jadeja, including a lofted shot over mid-off for four. By the time bad light forced stumps, Nair had galloped to 77 off 106, with a second successive century in sight.”He [Nair] likes to use his feet against spinners, so my focus was to vary my length and pace,” Jadeja said after the day’s play. “I prefer when batsmen go for the attack because it gives more opportunities to get them out.”But on Friday, whatever challenges Jadeja threw at Nair, he was up to it. Moreover, with chairman of selectors MSK Prasad in attendance, Nair had added motivation to do well.In the morning, Jadeja’s 37 with the bat and had his 51-run sixth-wicket stand with Akshay Wadkar had helped India Green cross 400. But once Jadeja was out, the incoming batsmen didn’t last long and India Green lost their last five wickets for just 35 runs. Akshay Wakhare was the most successful bowler for India Red, finishing with figures of 5 for 103.”The target was to score at least 550,” Jadeja said. “When Wadker and I were batting, the thinking was to stretch as much as possible. But after I got out, two more wickets fell quickly and that pulled us back.”Jadeja will have a chance to make amends on Saturday, this time with the ball. With India Red still trailing by 300, if he can dismiss Nair and a couple of others early on, India Green might have a foot in the final by the end of the third day.

Real Madrid are considering a future move for Manchester City star Rodri as they miss out on long-term target Martin Zubimendi.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Zubimendi deal nearly done with Arsenal
• Rodri seen as possible long-term target for Madrid
• Spaniard's contract with Man City ends in 2027

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  According to , Madrid appear to have lost the race for Zubimendi, who is on the verge of joining Arsenal. Despite late efforts to convince the player, the Gunners are relaxed and confident, having agreed to pay his €60 million (£50m/$69m) release clause and offering a significantly higher salary. With the deal nearly finalised, Los Blancos have started exploring alternatives.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The club is now weighing whether to stick with their current crop, including Eduardo Camavinga, Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde or look at big targets for the future. One standout option is Rodri, but any move would be delayed until 2026, when he enters the final year of his City contract, making a potential deal more affordable.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  The 2024 Ballon d’Or winner has become one of the best players in world football. He played a pivotal role in City’s treble-winning 2022-23 season, scoring the only goal in the Champions League final against Inter. Despite not being a flashy player, his consistency and tactical intelligence have drawn comparisons to legendary midfielders like Sergio Busquets and Xabi Alonso.

• AFP
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  La Liga giants Madrid are expected to closely monitor Rodri’s situation at City, especially after the 2025 Club World Cup. If the Spaniard doesn't renew his contract by 2026, Madrid could try to secure a cut-price deal.

da poker： Manchester United are still alive in their quest to obtain Champions League football and could now have an opportunity to land one of Europe’s most talked about playmakers, per reports.

Manchester United look to boost summer budget

da prosport bet： Despite a fairly dismal domestic campaign, the Red Devils could still wheel away with a place in the Champions League league phase next season should they claim the Europa League crown later this month.

After a storming victory over Athletic Club last Thursday, Manchester United have one foot in the final and will look to build on their three-goal advantage next week at Old Trafford.

Should they prevail, Ruben Amorim would then be tasked with a money-spinning winner-takes-all clash against either Tottenham Hotspur or Bodo/Glimt, with the former looking the more likely to progress to the showpiece occasion.

Financially, Manchester United could make around £85.8 million from winning the Europa League, factoring in subsequent Champions League qualification. Unsurprisingly, this could give INEOS a much-needed leg-up in the market, so Viktor Gyokeres and Matheus Cunha could join the Red Devils from Sporting and Wolverhampton Wanderers, respectively, if all goes to plan.

Manchester United’s remaining fixtures in all competitions

Brentford (A)

Premier League

Athletic Club (H)

Europa League semi-final second leg

West Ham United (H)

Premier League

Chelsea (A)

Premier League

Aston Villa (H)

Premier League

*Potential Europa League final appearance on 21/05/2025

Talks have been held over Manchester United signing Jonathan Tah on a free transfer once his contract at Bayer Leverkusen expires, though there is further interest in his services from Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

Fundamentally, it remains to be seen how Amorim’s squad takes shape. Plenty of individuals could be moved on, but how you supplement their departures is what counts. Now, Manchester United have found out that they can sign one of the top playmakers in all of Europe’s top-five leagues if he is made the star man at Old Trafford.

Manchester United given demands by Lyon's Rayan Cherki

Per reports in Spain, Manchester United could see Rayan Cherki arrive from Lyon this summer if he is given a ‘leading role’ in their line-up moving forward under Amorim. The France Under-21 international would be open to a new challenge at the end of this season and it is said that negotiations could intensify over the next few months that may see him end up at Old Trafford.

Related Perfect for Cunha: Man Utd in advanced talks to sign "world-class" talent

Manchester United have wasted no time in targeting reinforcements, with a deal edging closer for one star.

Posts ByEthan Lamb May 2, 2025

Earning adulation for his entertaining displays, Cherki has registered 12 goals and 19 assists in 41 appearances across all competitions this season for Lyon. Creating 68 chances on Ligue 1 duty, the 21-year-old has shot to prominence as one of Europe’s maverick inventive forces and now looks destined to take the next step in his career at one of the elite.

Now, Manchester United need to make sure they can give him assurances on first-team action, which may be the factor that helps any deal over the line.

There’s no stopping Amazon Warriors, while Patriots script a remarkable turnaround to get into the playoffs

Hemant Brar01-Oct-2019Patriots turn it around, Amazon Warriors maintain winning streak
After losing four out of their first five games of the season and looking down for the count, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots bounced back to register four wins in their next five matches to become the second team after Guyana Amazon Warriors to qualify for the playoffs.Patriots captain Carlos Brathwaite, who triggered the turnaround with an all-round performance in a Super Over win against Trinbago Knight Riders last week, was again the star of a last-ball win against Barbados Tridents. Chasing 150, Tridents were cruising at one stage but Brathwaite’s three quick wickets had them stumbling from 85 for 2 to 99 for 7. Raymon Reifer took the game to the last over but with two required from the final delivery, Dominic Drakes bowled Harry Gurney to seal the game.ALSO READ: Khary Pierre – Trinbago Knight Riders’ master of thriftTridents themselves qualified for the playoffs on Sunday as Harry Gurney and Hayden Walsh Jr helped them defend 141 against St Lucia Zouks. Their victory also ensured Knight Riders a top-four spot.Warriors, meanwhile, stretched their winning streak to eight games – a new CPL record – and booked a top-of-the-table finish with two games still in hand.On the other end, Chris Gayle’s homecoming didn’t prove auspicious for Jamaica Tallawahs as the two-time champions failed to make it to the top four for the first time in the seven years of the CPL.Fastest CPL fifty and the Pollard-Holder send-offs
During the Tridents v Knight Riders game, JP Duminy put on a show with the bat, the ball and in the field as Tridents snapped their eight-match losing streak in home games. Building on a 110-run opening stand between Johnson Charles and Jonathan Carter, Duminy raced away to the fastest CPL fifty – off 15 balls – breaking Evan Lewis record – 17 balls – set earlier this season. During his 20-ball 65, Duminy smashed seven sixes and four fours.JP Duminy dispatches one over deep midwicket•Getty ImagesBut he wasn’t done yet. During Knight Riders’ innings, his brilliant running catch – he sprinted from long-off to complete the catch at long-on – sent a dangerous-looking Colin Munro back. Then he picked up the last two Knight Riders wickets to cap a perfect outing.During the same match, the two captains – Kieron Pollard and Jason Holder – were involved in a dramatic sequence of send-offs. It started with Pollard dismissing Holder during the first innings and escorting him till the boundary line. Holder then returned the favour when he caught Pollard near the long-off boundary and ran all the way to third man to see off the batsman. However, a hug after the game suggested there was no hard feelings between West Indies’ new ODI team captain and his predecessor.Batsman of the week
Warriors’ Brandon King continued his good form with an unbeaten 81 off 59 balls against Zouks. Chasing 162, King played the anchor’s role when his opening partner Chandrapaul Hemraj was going at it and took to attack only in the second half of the chase. Having reached to 32 in as many balls, he struck three sixes and a four in his next five balls to shatter Zouks’ hopes.With scores of 12, 81*, 51*, 59 and 49 in his last five innings, King propelled his tally to 287 runs (average 47.83, strike rate 142.78), and is now third on the run-charts.Bowler of the week
After Sandeep Lamichhane left for the national duty, USA international Walsh stepped up for Tridents and returned figures of 5 for 19 – the third-best in CPL history – in Duminy game. At one stage, he had figures of 2-0-4-4, including a three-wicket over. The legspinner not only overcame the dewy conditions but also a star-studded batting line-up. His scalps included Denesh Ramdin, Pollard, Jimmy Neesham and Darren Bravo.In the next game, Walsh got 2 for 37 against Patriots before causing another collapse against Zouks, picking up 4 for 26 that included another three-wicket over. Despite playing only five games, he is currently the leading wicket-taker in the tournament with 15 scalps at an average of 9.80 and a strike rate of 7.8.

MatériaMais Notícias

da bet sport： A diretoria do Corinthians não voltou a conversar com o estafe de Róger Machado neste domingo (30). A rejeição ao nome do treinador fez com que o departamento de futebol do clube alvinegro desse alguns passos para trás na negociação que foi aberta horas antes do clássico contra o Palmeiras, realizado no último sábado (29).

Assim, Vanderlei Luxemburgo voltou à mesa da diretoria corintiana. Muitas pessoas no entorno do presidente Duílio Alves argumentam que Luxa seria o profissional ideal para o momento corintiano, por conta da experiência, currículo e comando de vestiário. O mandatário do Timão e o gerente de futebol Alessandro Nunes, no entanto, ainda estão bastante reticentes quanto à opção e querem mais tempo para pensar em alguma alternativa diferente. Eles concordam que o perfil de Luxemburgo corresponde ao que ele deseja, mas estão reticentes por conta do histórico recente dos trabalhos do profissional.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansTécnico diz que jogadoras do Corinthians foram ameaçadas após manifestaçõesCorinthians30/04/2023Fora de Campo‘Time entregue, desmotivado e ruim’, dispara apresentador sobre o CorinthiansFora de Campo30/04/2023CorinthiansCorinthians fez contato com esposa de Tite, mas proposta de time europeu foi crucial para o ‘não’ do técnicoCorinthians30/04/2023

da stake casino：
+Róger Guedes e Paulinho são os melhores na derrota do Corinthians no Dérbi

O departamento de futebol corintiano quer tempo para buscar alguma opção no mercado que venha com o máximo possível de aprovação. Tite e Mano Menezes eram as primeiras opções, por conta do prestígio que possuem por parte da torcida, devido aos títulos entre 2008 e 2015, mas ambos negaram as investidas corintianas.

A fim de uma alternativa, técnicos estrangeiros estão sendo considerados. A opção era descartada no primeiro momento, por conta da preocupação do clube alvinegro com a parte financeira, mas após a recusa de Mano Menezes houve consultas a profissionais ‘gringos’. A avaliação, no entanto, é que até mesmo aqueles que estão disponíveis no mercado estariam cobrando caro para trabalhar no futebol brasileiro. Além de receberem os seus salários em moeda internacional, o que aumentaria o gasto.

Sem definição em relação ao novo treinador, o Corinthians segue dirigido por Danilo Andrade, que originalmente comanda o sub-20 corintiano. Até mesmo se o Timão contratar um técnico até terça-feira (2), será o ex-meio-campista quem dirigirá a equipe no duelo contra o Independiente del Valle, do Equador, pela Libertadores.

Chelsea have now joined the race to sign a £43m striker, who is also being targeted by a number of other Premier League clubs, according to a report.

Blues making moves to sign new attackers

As we edge closer to the summer transfer window, the Blues have started to step up their pursuit of new forwards, having now opened talks to sign Athletic Bilbao winger Nico Williams, amid the uncertainty surrounding Noni Madueke and Jadon Sancho’s futures.

Madueke has emerged as a target for AC Milan, with the Italian club lodging a £33m bid for the England international, while there have been widespread reports that Sancho could be sent back to Manchester United, if Enzo Maresca’s side pay a £5m fee.

Not only are the west Londoners keen on strengthening out wide, but they are also well-known to be interested in a new striker, and Jon Obi Mikel recently revealed Napoli’s Victor Osimhen “really wants” to move to Stamford Bridge this summer.

Chelsea willing to bid £60m+ for "extraordinary" star who is ready to move

Enzo Maresca is looking to take advantage of his situation this summer.

1

By
Sean Markus Clifford

Mar 23, 2025

Other options include Premier League stars Joao Pedro and Liam Delap, with a pre-summer bid for the Englishman believed to be in the works.

There is no shortage of strikers on the shortlist, but Chelsea have now joined the race for another forward, with a report from Viola News revealing they are now closely monitoring Fiorentina’s Moise Kean, who is a subject of interest for several English clubs.

Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa are also in the race for Kean, who has a €52m (£43m) release clause in his contract with the Italian club, which is starting to look like a bargain fee.

The Italian recently bagged two goals for his national side against Germany, which has thrust his name back into the spotlight, and there is a feeling £43m could be way below his actual value.

"King of kings" Kean impressing for club and country

The Italy international made a real statement by scoring a brace against Germany on Sunday evening, and he has also been extremely impressive at club level this season, picking up 20 goals and three assists in all competitions.

The former Everton man is showing real signs of development this season, with football writer Mina Rzouki claiming “his performances just keep getting better”, while also dubbing the 25-year-old the “king of kings”.

It looks like the striker’s career could finally be taking off, having been inconsistent in the past, failing to adapt to life in England during his time with the Toffees, while also struggling to regularly provide goals for Juventus over the past three seasons.

While his previous spell in England will be a concern, it is exciting news that Chelsea are in the race for Kean, and if he is able to maintain his current levels of performance, £43m could prove to be a bargain fee.

Last night’s Champions League semi-final against Paris Saint-Germain was a game to forget for Arsenal fans.

While Mikel Arteta’s side are still just about in the tie, they were incredibly disappointing against the French Champions, and failed to show any of the grit and determination that saw them get past Real Madrid earlier this month.

There were lacklustre performances across the pitch from the hosts, but arguably the most underwhelming starter was Martin Odegaard, who picked up a 4/10 match rating from the Independent’s Jamie Braidwood and amassed a combined expected goal plus assists figure of just 0.08, which is unacceptable from the team’s supposed chief creator.

So, fans should be excited about recent reports that have linked the club to one of the most exciting players in Europe, someone who could be a massive Odegaard upgrade.

Arsenal could sign £30m Odegaard upgrade

Before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other midfield talents linked with a move to Arsenal ahead of the summer transfer window, such as Oihan Sancet.

Transfer Focus

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

The Athletic Bilbao ace was touted for a move to the Emirates earlier this month, and it’s not hard to understand why he’d interest the club, as in just 32 appearances this season, he’s scored 17 goals and provided three assists.

In what would be a summer-defining move, the Gunners have also been linked with Bayer Leverkusen star Florian Wirtz this month.

The German international has already racked up a sensational haul of 15 goals and 13 assists in just 42 games for the reigning champions of Germany, although, with a reported price tag of at least £111m, this feels like more of a pipe dream than a realistic transfer, unlike stories around Rayan Cherki.

Yes, according to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in signing the French phenom, including Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Aston Villa and more.

While the level of competition is far from ideal, the good news is that this wouldn’t be a particularly expensive transfer to get done, with the report claiming that Lyon value their star at up to €35m, which is about £30m.

It could be a complicated deal to get over the line, but given Cherki’s immense ability and potential, it is one worth fighting for, especially as he could be the perfect Odegaard upgrade.

How Cherki compares to Odegaard

So, the first thing to say is that while Cherki has primarily played off the right this season, his most played position across his whole career is attacking midfield, and with Bukayo Saka currently Arsenal’s best player, the Frenchman would almost certainly join the club to play in the middle of the park.

Therefore, his primary competitor for game time would be Odegaard, but how do the pair stack up against one another?

Well, when it comes to their pure output, it’s hardly fair to call it a competition, as the Lyon gem comes out miles ahead.

For example, in just 41 appearances, totalling 2894 minutes, the 21-year-old has scored 12 goals and provided 19 assists, which comes out to a sensational average of a goal involvement every 1.32 games or every 93.35 minutes.

In contrast, the Gunners’ captain has scored five goals and provided ten assists in 40 appearances, totalling 3072 minutes, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 2.66 games, or every 204.8 minutes.

Things don’t get any better for the Norwegian international when we take a look under the hood at their underlying numbers either.

For example, in practically every metric, the “future Ballon d’Or winner,” as dubbed by The Athletic’s Alex Barker, comes out on top.

Delving into the other stats, Cherki also comes out on top in metrics such as progressive carries, shot and goal-creating actions and more, all per 90 minutes.

Progressive Passes

9.31

10.2

Progressive Carries

4.17

3.48

Key Passes

3.33

2.47

Shot-Creating Actions

6.23

4.95

Goal-Creating Actions

0.93

0.57

Ball Recoveries

3.92

3.79

Finally, the Lyon-born dynamo is ambipedal, meaning he can use both feet, so he’d be able to effect play across the entire frontline from the attacking midfield role, which in turn could see Gabriel Martinelli get better service out on the left.

Ultimately, Cherki is younger, has better underlying numbers, is an output machine and has the added benefit of being able to use both feet, so if Arsenal have the opportunity to sign him this summer, they should, as he’d be an incredible Odegaard upgrade.

£21m star who agreed to join Arsenal last year teases potential 2025 move

He’s refused to rule out a summer switch.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 29, 2025