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Hansi Flick has outlined Barcelona’s transfer priorities for 2026, urging the club to reinforce three key positions as the squad’s shortcomings become impossible to ignore. The German coach has aligned with sporting director Deco on the need for a left-footed centre-back, a new winger and a long-term No.9, as Barca look to regain competitiveness after recent setbacks in La Liga and the Champions League.

• Flick maps out Barca’s rebuild after warning signs

  Barcelona’s 3-0 defeat to Chelsea in the Champions League served as a painful reminder of the squad’s limitations. Flick’s team looked disjointed, stretched and far from the level needed to compete with Europe’s elite, the latest in a string of results that exposed long-standing structural issues. It intensified the mood inside the club, where injuries, tactical imbalance and a lack of specialist profiles have derailed momentum. With the Blaugrana sitting behind Real Madrid in La Liga and still needing nine points to secure direct qualification for the Champions League last 16, internal pressure has grown on the sporting leadership to act decisively.

  Against this backdrop, Flick held talks with Deco and the committee responsible for squad planning. Together they agreed on three priority areas for next season: A left-footed centre-back, winger and centre-forward, according to .

  Of these, the central defender is considered the most urgent. Inigo Martinez’s late departure last summer removed the squad’s only natural left-footed centre-back and forced Pau Cubarsi into uncomfortable adaptations. Flick considers the absence of that profile one of the biggest tactical handicaps this season, especially with the team unable to control the offside line or build from the back as effectively without Martinez.

  Barca would like to address this already in January, but the club knows it is unlikely due to Financial Fair Play restrictions and a winter market that rarely offers specialist defenders of the required level. Still, the shortlist is clear: Goncalo Inacio, Jeison Murillo, Nico Schlotterbeck, Luis Benedetti and Marc Guehi – who becomes a free agent in June. The other areas will wait for summer, but Flick has made it clear that the spine of the squad needs strengthening if Barcelona are to compete again at the highest level.

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  Why Flick sees three new signings as essential

  This transfer plan underlines a broader truth about the Catalan giants' current project: Without structural reinforcements, the team cannot sustain the level required to challenge Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich or Premier League opposition. The centre-back situation is the most pressing, and both Flick and Deco agree that a natural left-footer is irreplaceable. Reports show Alessandro Bastoni and Schlotterbeck as the two ideal fits, with the Dortmund defender seen as more financially accessible due to a release clause of around €60 million. Bastoni would require complex negotiations with Inter.

  But Barca’s issues extend beyond defence. With Robert Lewandowski in the final year of his contract, and due to turn 38, the club knows a new striker must arrive. Julian Alvarez is admired internally, though Manchester City and Atletico Madrid’s positions complicate any pursuit. Harry Kane’s €65 million release clause also makes him a realistic option, while the club continues to explore alternatives such as Serhou Guirassy and Etta Eyong.

  A winger is also on the agenda, particularly a versatile profile who can play on both flanks. An option to buy Marcus Rashford for €30m exists should Manchester United make him available in the summer, but Barcelona will reassess his season before deciding. 

• Internal evaluations and financial realities

  Barcelona’s leadership believes the dip in form from players expected to be key, such as Dani Olmo, Jules Kounde, Cubarsi and Lamine Yamal is partly due to an unbalanced squad and over-reliance on youngsters. The project’s success cannot depend solely on youth players handling elite demands every week.

  Financial Fair Play continues to complicate the club’s flexibility, but president Joan Laporta and Deco view next summer as non-negotiable. Major investment is expected, with the board aware that delaying another season would risk falling even further behind Europe’s biggest clubs.

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  A decisive summer awaits

  The club's immediate focus remains on closing the gap in La Liga and securing Champions League progression, but much of the club’s planning has already shifted to 2026. Flick, Deco and Laporta are aligned on the need for three signings that reshape the defence, restore attacking threat and add depth in wide areas.

  All eyes will now be on January’s possibilities, however slim, and the decisive summer window that follows. Barca know the stakes: without a bold rebuild, the project risks stagnation. With the right additions, however, Flick believes the team can return to Europe’s elite far sooner than expected.

Manchester United fans have reacted to another Emiliano Martinez mistake as the Aston Villa goalkeeper committed an error to gift Leeds the lead at Elland Road. The Argentina number one was heavily linked with a move away from Villa to Old Trafford over the summer, but United opted to instead pursue their interest in Belgian youngster Senne Lammens from Royal Antwerp.

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  Martinez spills high ball that results in Leeds goal

  Lammens has slotted into this United side seamlessly since usurping Altay Bayindir as first choice at Old Trafford. Indeed, United are now unbeaten in the five games the 23-year-old has started, which includes a memorable 2-1 win at rivals and defending Premier League champions Liverpool.

  Martinez, meanwhile, has struggled to match the heights of previous years. The 2022 World Cup winner failed to deal with a high ball after Gabriel Gudmundsson had got on the end of Sean Longstaff's free-kick to the back post.

  Anton Stach pressured the Villa goalkeeper before the ball fell to the feet of Lukas Nmecha, who had an easy finish to put Leeds ahead. After a VAR review, referee Robert Jones awarded what could prove a priceless goal for Leeds in their battle to beat the drop.

  On the VAR check, the Premier League Match Centre X account also posted: "The referee’s call of goal was checked and confirmed by VAR – with Gudmundsson in an onside position in the build-up. The VAR also checked the decision of no offside offence against Nmecha – with it deemed that he did not impact Martinez after Stach played the ball. Contact on Martinez prior to the goal was also deemed to not be a foul."

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• Fans revel in latest Martinez mistake

  United fans took to social media to revel in Martinez's gaffe, and are evidently thrilled they opted for Lammens instead of the former Arsenal shot-stopper.

  "Thank God we got Lammens instead of this 'Dibu' Martinez man. More like 'Di bum.'" @MannyUTFR posted.

  "Another Martinez howler, I was convinced United fans who wanted him in the summer didn’t watch him for one second last season" @RonaldoBrown_98 added.

  "Emi Martinez should never be in the chat for best GK in the world. He’s good for a honker a game" @jonnyupt posted, while @FidgeyCent said: "We dodged a missile in not signing Martinez, he’s so bad"

  "Rare weekly error from dibu Martinez" @tinscognito__ sarcastically said. A Leeds supporter, @Maverick2405, was critical of Martinez and they way he went down, writing: "Looks like Martinez has been assaulted judging by his reactions. What a helmet"

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  Martinez may yet leave in January

  Martinez has been heavily linked with a move away from Villa once more as the club consider whether to cash in on the Argentine. The 33-year-old has looked well below the standards expected of the West Midlands side, who travelled to Leeds on Sunday on a run of five wins in their last six league games.

  Italian giants Inter have been credited with an interest in Martinez as they consider a replacement for current number one Yann Sommer. The Swiss star was key as Inter progressed to the Champions League final, only to lose to PSG in Munich in May.

  Sommer's current contract expires at the end of the season and there have been no hint of talks about extending the 36-year-old's stay in Milan.

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• Villa see out November with games against Young Boys & Wolves

  Villa will hope for a positive result at Leeds as they gear up for a huge end to November. Unai Emery's side welcome Swiss side Young Boys to Villa Park in the Europa League next week as they look to make it four wins from five in European competition.

  They then face rivals Wolves on home turf to round off November. Villa have a decent recent home record against basement boys Wolves having won their last two welcomes of Rob Edwards' side.

  Wolves will make the short trip across the West Midlands on a six-game losing run following their 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace on Saturday in Edwards' first game at the Molineux helm.

South Africa are 51 for 2 and need to pull off the second-highest successful chase in Pakistan to win the Lahore Test

Firdose Moonda14-Oct-2025Pakistan are eight wickets away from ending South Africa’s ten-match winning streak in Test cricket after asking them to complete the highest successful chase in Lahore and second-highest in Pakistan. A target of 277 looks far away with the visitors 51 for 2 at stumps on the third day.In a match that has played to script, Pakistan won the toss, batted first, took a 109-run innings lead and scored quickly in their second go to leave South Africa in a battle for survival. Spinners have been the key protagonists, led by Senuran Muthusamy who finished with career-best match figures of 11 for 174, including a second five-for. Muthusamy’s haul is the fourth-best by a South African spinner but that is unlikely to be enough to help them win the game.Instead, it is Noman Ali who will take the headlines after picking up his fifth successive Test five-for earlier in the day and, adding to that haul, two second-innings wickets as well to set Pakistan on their way.The day began with South Africa’s first innings still standing. There were four wickets left and Sajid Khan took one of them when Muthusamy edged him to slip, where Salman Agha claimed a sharp catch.With the score 228 for 7, Tony de Zorzi had a decision to make. He was 81 overnight. A swing across the line for four against Sajid and a strike over long-off for six against Noman made it clear what his plans were going to be. De Zorzi reverse-swept Noman for a single to bring up a hard-fought hundred, which was the second of his Test career and second in the subcontinent.Tony de Zorzi brought up his second Test century•Getty Images

With the second new ball looming, de Zorzi sought to be as aggressive as possible but it was his undoing. He advanced on Noman and swung hard but only got the ball as far as Shaheen Shah Afridi on the long-on boundary to give Noman a five-for. South Africa made it to the second new ball, Pakistan took it and gave it to their spinners, and it took Noman eight balls to strike. Prenalen Subrayen tried to defend but got an edge and Agha was in action again to take another good catch at slip. Noman finished with 6 for 112.With a first innings lead of 109, Pakistan could afford early losses and risky strokeplay. Imam-ul-Haq was the first to fall when he shimmied down the pitch to drive Simon Harmer through the offside but he missed the ball as it turned away from him and was stumped for 0.Kagiso Rabada caused significant problems in a superb new-ball spell. He found Abdullah Shafique’s edge three times but the ball went for four on each occasion and also beat Shan Masood with a peach that just missed off stump. The pressure Rabada created brought rewards at the other end. Harmer got a second when Masood was stuck on the back foot trying to cut a delivery that angled in and hit on the pad. Babar Azam survived an lbw review before lunch off Rabada when he was hit high on the back leg and Markram was convinced to send it upstairs. The ball would have bounced over the stumps.Babar continued to live dangerously after the break. He top-edged a sweep off Harmer but it went over leg slip. Shafique hit Muthusamy high over mid-off but Wiaan Mulder couldn’t take the catch over his left shoulder. Eventually, Babar settled down and was willing to show a little more patience than his peers.He scored just nine runs off the first 26 balls he faced and was getting his eye in when he watched Shafique hand Muthusamy a thigh-high caught and bowled dismissal. In Muthusamy’s next over, Babar came down the pitch to hit him through mid-on and assert his authority.Senuran Muthusamy finished with the fourth-best match figures by a South African spinner•Getty Images

Saud Shakeel, on a pair, survived a South African review for lbw off Muthusamy as UltraEdge picked up an under-edge but had to wait seven balls before he scored. He swept Muthusamy behind square for his first runs of the match. Pakistan grew more aggressive as Babar hit Muthusamy over his head, past midwicket and through third for a trio of boundaries in the same over to enter the forties.The adoring home crowd were denied a Babar fifty when Rabada got one to nip back into him and hit his back pad. He was given out lbw and reviewed, unsuccessfully. Then, just before tea, Shakeel tried to clear midwicket but hit the ball to Tristan Stubbs at deep square leg to leave Pakistan 150 for 5.Things happened quickly after the break as Pakistan lost their next five wickets for 17 runs in an overall collapse of 7 for 48 from Babar’s dismissal. Mohammad Rizwan was bowled by Harmer, who ripped one in between the bat-pad gap. Afridi was promoted to No. 8 and reverse-swept Muthusamy to backward point and then Muthusamy picked up his tenth when he bowled Agha with a tossed-up delivery that beat his swipe.Any delight South Africa took from a strong bowling performance was soon eclipsed by the dread of how their own line-up would fare in the second innings. Noman soon provided the answer. Markram, frustrated with his 3 off 10, cleared his front leg to try and hoick Noman leg side but missed and was bowled. Then, Mulder, for the second time in the game, played a poor stroke, albeit that this was more of a non-shot. He shaped to cut, backed out and edged Noman to slip and Agha’s safe hands made no mistake.Ryan Rickelton and de Zorzi saw out the day but not without some nervy moments. Rickelton was on 26 when he jabbed Noman to Shafique at short leg but the ball was hit quickly and Shafique could not hold on. De Zorzi survived an lbw shout in the penultimate over after he moved well outside off stump and Pakistan considered reviewing against Rickelton off the last ball but he too had made sure to get outside the line of the stumps.

Do Arsenal lack attacking firepower?

The arrival of Viktor Gyökeres this summer was supposed to end the Gunners’ search for a centre-forward but, so far, the Swede has scored just four Premier League goals, with supporters yet to be truly convinced by their new number nine.

The Swede, as well as Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Ødegaard, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz are all likely to remain sidelined ahead of Sunday’s North London derby, meaning Mikel Merino will continue as the makeshift centre-forward.

So, could Mikel Arteta and Andrea Berta address this issue in January by targeting “one of the best strikers in Europe”?

Arsenal searching for more attacking firepower

The January transfer window is often a quiet one for Arsenal, albeit they have pulled off some memorable winter signings down the years.

Nacho Monreal, Theo Walcott, Emmanuel Adebayor, Leandro Trossard and Andrey Arshavin all arrived in various Januarys, as did current club captain Ødegaard, albeit the most exciting mid-season addition surely remains Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, who joined from Borussia Dortmund for £56m in January 2018.

So now, in a deal that would be very reminiscent, reports in Spain claim that Arsenal are ‘seriously considering’ a January move for another Dortmund centre-forward, this time Serhou Guirassy.

They claim that the Guinea international has a €50m release clause (around £44m) in his contract, making him an attractive proposition for any potential suitors, including Arsenal.

Transfer Focus

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

Former national team head coach Kaba Diawara is the only Guinean to ever feature for Arsenal, scoring zero goals in 14 appearances in 1999, infamously hitting the woodwork with pretty much every shot he took, so Guirassy would certainly surpass that legacy, should he swap North Rhine-Westphalia for North London.

How Serhou Guirassy would repeat Aubameyang's success

When Aubameyang joined Arsenal, he was 28 years old and had just scored 141 goals in 213 appearances for Borussia Dortmund, winning the previous season’s DFB-Pokal, scoring the winning penalty against Eintracht Frankfurt in the final at Olympiastadion.

Once at Arsenal, the Gabonese international netted 92 times in 163 outings, sharing the Premier League golden boot in 2018/19, while only five players have ever scored more goals for the Gunners in the competition.

For those wondering, this quintet are: Thierry Henry, Ian Wright, Robin van Persie, Dennis Bergkamp and Olivier Giroud.

Now 36, Aubameyang is proving that goal-scoring instincts never fade, having netted six times for Olympique de Marseille already this season, most recently breaking the deadlock during Friday night’s 5-1 demolition of Nice, having also scored when les Phocéens crushed Ajax 4-0 at Stade Vélodrome in the Champions League in September.

So, with Gyökers earning mixed reviews, Arsenal might just lack a striker with that killer instinct, but could that be Guirassy?

Well, let’s compare his and Aubameyang’s time at Borussia Dortmund to see if he would be able to replicate the ex-Gunners star’s career?

As the table documents, Guirassy’s form last season is remarkably similar to that of Aubameyang during his final campaign with die Schwarzgelben.

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The current Dortmund centre-forward scored two fewer goals than peak Aubameyang, albeit he did net 13 times in last season’s Champions League, thereby picking up the competition’s golden boot.

Other numbers that are similar are the pair’s shots per 90, shooting accuracy and the percentage of their touches that come in the opposition’s penalty area, while the duo both missed more than 30 Opta-defined big chances, which, statistically speaking, is a lot!

Nevertheless, Guirassy’s form at Westfalenstadion​​​​​​​ led to Germany’s all-time record appearance holder Lothar Matthäus asserting that he has become “one of the best strikers in Europe”, underlining how highly rated he is by regular Bundesliga observers.

Thus, should Guirassy arrive at Arsenal in January, he would undeniably have a massive impact, one that could fire Arteta’s team to that elusive first Premier League title in 22 years.

Rice & Merino hybrid: Berta now exploring Arsenal move for £70m "monster"

Declan Rice & Mikel Merino remain two of Arsenal’s most important players, so is Andrea Berta now targeting a monster hybrid of of the two worth £70m?

By
Ben Gray

Nov 21, 2025

What must it be like to bowl fast in Tests for a non-Big Three nation? Just ask Asitha and Vishwa

Andrew Fidel Fernando25-Jun-2025If you are a seam bowler specialising in Tests, and hail from a non Big-Three nation, as Asitha Fernando and Vishwa Fernando do, you are charting one of the most difficult and least-rewarding courses in international cricket.Most difficult, because fast bowlers must put their own bodies on the altar of this sport in far more profound ways than batters, spinners, or even wicketkeepers. With every delivery there is the steaming in from dozens of metres away, the ridiculous force that goes through the front leg at the point of delivery, the shoulders, spines, obliques, groins, glutes, calves, feet, all being required to contribute some power to the occasion, and a follow-through that must be navigated safely. If any one of these sectors of your body is even slightly injured, it incapacitates a seam bowler more than similar injuries do for batters or spinners.Related

• How captain Dhananjaya is turning Sri Lanka into an image of himself

• Nissanka 146*, Chandimal 93 put Sri Lanka in control

• Dinusha, seamers make it Sri Lanka's day in rain-hit Colombo

Let’s take Lahiru Kumara as one example. He was the highest wicket-taker against Bangladesh in the away Test series last year, claiming 11 dismissals at an average of 12.63. The man had not played a single international since his last Test in early February, but had played most of a season of domestic cricket since then, and had been in good shape to make an impact on this home series against Bangladesh. But a week out, he busted a hamstring while fielding at training, and was ruled out of the series. He doesn’t get picked in many international white-ball XIs, so this injury will be taking a pretty serious playing opportunity out of his hands. And with a further 11 months before the next Sri Lanka Test is to be played, he has to show substantial willpower to stay in the game till then.(Side note: Lankan seam-bowling hamstrings in the last two decades have had artists’ temperaments. They are capable of jaw-dropping wonders like Dhammika Prasad’s spell on the fourth evening at Headingley, or Lasith Malinga’s rip-snorters. But if hamstrings had ears or lovers, Lankan fast bowling hamstrings are the type that would cut off their own appendages, or fall apart completely after a break up. They are sublime as part of a creative flow state, but absolutely never to be relied upon.)Asitha Fernando toiled hard on a surface not suited to his style•Sri Lanka CricketLeast-rewarding because, three league stints in a year (they don’t even really have to be the fancy leagues) will probably net you more money, for way less work. Plus, you know, the promotional dinners, and the parties. Non Big-Three Test cricket tends not to have a lot of parties. Why train your body to bowl 15-20 overs a day, when you can focus on being at peak performance for four?Matheesha Pathirana, as another example, is very likely the fastest bowler Sri Lanka has ever produced. But at this stage, seems unlikely to ever to play a Test. Chennai Super Kings’ scouts got to him before the Sri Lankan cricket system really had, and CSK have genuinely played a role in developing that talent, and have essentially called dibs. Not to put too fine a point on it, but if at the end of his career, Pathirana is remembered most for his IPL exploits, he will probably have earned more money by several orders of magnitude than he would if his career ends with Sri Lanka performances being the highlight.So pretty soon, it starts to feel like bowling 15-20 overs a day in Test cricket is like getting a several-year loan to buy a reliable Toyota for your family, only for some Crypto kid to pull up next to you at the colour-light in their fully paid-for Bugatti.Cricket slavishly follows the money now, rather than any other kind of value, and yet the likes of Asitha and Vishwa are still out here doing Test cricket justice by bringing everything they have to it. Asitha has bowling figures like 0 for 110, and 0 for 77 on his record, and yet somehow his work has never felt like “toil”. The word implies a physical limpness that Asitha has simply not allowed to enter his cricketing consciousness.Vishwa Fernando struck twice on the first day•Sri Lanka CricketHe may be a limited bowler in terms of height, pace, and skill, but to watch him operate in Tests is to watch naked and more-or-less relentless ambition. He took 2 for 43 on day one, on an SSC track not especially suited to his bowling (it was a bit slow for a seamer who tends to skid it on). He had had Anamul Haque dropped before he eventually took that wicket in his second over. Late in the day, he got one to pitch on a length, seam away, and hit the top of Nayeem Hasan’s off stump. He was pumped. But then he usually is.Vishwa, meanwhile, has always had the more laidback temperament. His mode of operation has been swing and seam, and he wiled his way through day one, less physically domineering than Asitha, but no less relentless, no less intense in the challenges he poses to batters. He moved it a little into the left-handers early on, but the seam movement had disappeared by the time a ball in the channel drew Najmul Hossain Shanto’s outside edge. Vishwa, a less-than-six-feet medium-pace bowler, will point to the bouncer he bowled the previous ball as a perfect set-up delivery to the wicket-taking one. You could doubt that explanation, but there’s no doubting figures of 2 for 35 off 16 overs – that economy rate being 2.18. There is almost no scorecard in the world in which those are not good figures.Sri Lankan Test seam bowling doesn’t necessarily have so rich a tradition, only three of their quicks (Chaminda Vaas, Malinga, and Suranga Lakmal) have ever taken more than 100 Test wickets. But as Test cricket appears to be winding down in several of its markets, it feels like Asitha and Vishwa are now partakers of a separate, global club of Test bowlers, who have trained their bodies to bowl 15-20 overs a day, and find themselves less valued than bowlers who send down only four.In this group, there are players such as Chris Martin, who took 233 Test wickets for New Zealand and was taking university courses (presumably to broaden job opportunities) well into his 30s, while sharing a dressing room with the likes of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor – each IPL millionaires. Others like Kemar Roach, owner of one of the most vicious inswingers in world cricket, has watched other careers take off into the T20 league stratosphere, while his remained moored to a middling West Indies Test side. Mohammad Abbas, Neil Wagner, Ebadot Hossain, Vernon Philander, Blessing Muzarabani – all these bowlers belong to this genre.Chris Martin leads a pack of Test fast bowlers who are valued lesser than T20 ones•Associated PressFor many in the non Big-Three sphere, it has begun to feel as if the publicity gained from “Saving Test Cricket” has become more profitable than the saving of Test cricket. This is why Bazball is able to equate the health of this format to scoring at between 4 and 4.5 per over, for example, while England has not hosted Bangladesh in the last 14 years, or Zimbabwe in more than 20 until the current summer. Australia have, in previous administrative eras, been hesitant tourists to South Asia. India’s modern top players play roughly half their Tests against the other Big Three teams. Jasprit Bumrah has played 59% of his 46 Tests against Australia and England.Still, what is happening at the SSC is Test cricket too, at least under current definitions. And increasingly Test cricket feels like a concept divorced from merit. Two of the three World Test Championship winners are sides with ailing Test programmes. Cricket has no serious will to fix that.The likes of Asitha and Vishwa will never have the chance to develop their Test-bowling skills as much as bowlers from nations that have stronger cricketing economies do. These are the margins of Test cricket that are most at-risk. If Asitha and Vishwa don’t make it, then who is going to inspire the next generation of Lankan red-ball bowlers?But at least in 2025, these two are still here, still putting their bodies through the seam-bowling rigours, and still taking important wickets. Test cricket is lucky to still have them.

The Milwaukee Brewers, the No. 1 team in baseball, received some unfortunate news on Sunday ahead of the final week of the regular season. Star pitcher Brandon Woodruff landed on the 15-day injured list with a right lat strain.

The IL designation goes back to Sept. 18, meaning Woodruff would first become available for the Brewers in the NLDS when that starts up on Saturday, Oct. 4. That would likely be the Brewers' expected first game in the postseason anyway as they will get a bye in the wild-card series as long as they hold onto the top spot.

It's been an injury-riddled 2025 season for the two-time All-Star. After missing the entire 2024 season while recovering from right shoulder surgery, Woodruff didn't make his 2025 debut until July 6. In May, he paused his rehab minor league assignment with an ankle injury. Then, when he was in the midst of his rehabilitation minor league return in June, he was hit on the elbow by a line drive, which in turn kept him out for another month.

Through 12 starts this season, Woodruff posted a 3.20 ERA over 64.2 innings pitched. He has 83 strikeouts and had 23 earned runs against him.

Trinity Rodman has received a contract offer from DC Power of the Gainbridge Super League that reportedly exceeds what the Washington Spirit or the NWSL can match. The U.S. forward’s contract with the Spirit expires next month, and negotiations over an extension have stalled. NWSL Commissioner Jessica Berman has stressed her league will fight to keep the American star.

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  Substantial contract offer

  Multiple outlets report that Rodman’s representatives have spoken directly with Berman while also holding discussions with European clubs. According to , they are evaluating an offer from DC Power that exceeds what the Spirit can provide under the league’s salary cap. Negotiations have reached an impasse because NWSL teams are unable to match offers from clubs operating outside the cap structure.

  Berman stressed in her NWSL Final presser on Thursday that the league hopes to retain the star forward. 

  "We want Trinity in the NWSL, and we will fight for her," she said. 

  Rodman has more than delivered during her time in NWSL, scoring 23 goals. The 23-year-old is also reportedly drawing interest from European clubs. 

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  Salary cap debate intensifies amid competition

  The situation highlights a key structural difference between the two leagues. The Super League, sanctioned as a Division I competition and operated by the USL, does not use a salary cap or player draft, giving clubs full control over roster building and allowing all players to become free agents when their contracts expire.

  That stands in contrast with the NWSL’s hard salary cap – set at $3.3 million per team for 2026 and not expected to reach $5 million until 2030 under the current CBA – which limits how much clubs can offer in contract negotiations. Berman defended the NWSL's use of a salary cap and pointed to the league's growth in its current number. 

  "The NWSL has raised the salary cap tremendously in the last four seasons, almost quadrupled in the last four years," she said. 

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  Rodman decision represents watershed moment

  The outcome of Rodman’s contract negotiations is expected to influence future deals for top American players. In recent years, several high-profile U.S. players have moved abroad – including Alyssa Thompson to Chelsea, as well as Naomi Girma and Lindsey Horan – and Rodman now represents one of the most closely watched cases.

  Unlike those players, Rodman has a domestic alternative capable of outbidding her current league. The Spirit and DC Power share facilities owned by D.C. United, and the Power also share ownership ties with the MLS club, creating an unusual scenario in which Rodman could remain in the same market while moving to a different league.

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  Championship match outcome precedes decisive offseason

  Rodman will first focus on leading the Washington Spirit in Saturday's NWSL Championship in San Jose before making any decisions about her future. 

Patriots have lost six of their last eight matches and are in fifth position, while Knight Riders have extended their lead at the top

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2025Kieron Pollard and Nicholas Pooran’s whirlwind half-centuries helped Trinbago Knight Riders extend their dominance at the top of the points table with a 12-run win against St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in Tarouba on Monday.Sent in, Knight Riders found themselves in early trouble, reduced to 27 for 2 in the fifth over and then 78 for 3 in the 11th. But Pollard and Pooran launched a massive counterattack, adding 90 runs in 8.1 overs to take them to 179 for 6. Patriots started the chase strongly, but soon withered away with seamer Nathan Edward picking up 3 for 30 in 3.2 overs and Mohammad Amir returning 2 for 29.