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If Leeds United end up getting rid of an under-fire Daniel Farke in the near future, they will need to heed a lesson of years gone by.

As was seen after Marcelo Bielsa’s exit – who lifted the Championship title aloft much like the German – the grass isn’t always greener when you dismiss an under-pressure manager in the Premier League.

Indeed, a flurry of managers in the form of Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce all didn’t work, which culminated in relegation.

The West Yorkshire giants would then land Farke to pick up the pieces, but even he will know he is on thin ice now regarding his job security, with four defeats picked up in the Premier League from his last five league clashes.

Leeds hang just one point above the dreaded drop zone, with Farke’s atrocious record in the top division of just nine wins from 60 matches, not doing a lot to raise spirits.

He hasn’t been helped, arguably, by some unconvincing transfers coming through the door in the summer, with Leeds splashing out £98m on some hit-and-miss purchases.

Where Perri ranks among Leeds' recent signings

The West Yorkshire outfit’s spending power was somewhat pushed to the background when weighed up next to fellow promoted side Sunderland, who sit eight points better off than Leeds, owing to £162m being forked out.

Still, Leeds have managed to steal some headlines with their own notable business, with Noah Okafor already two goals down donning his new white strip, after leaving AC Milan behind for a fresh adventure in the Premier League.

In much the same vein as Sunderland landed Premier League experience centrally with Granit Xhaka, Leeds also went down the shrewd, top-flight-calibre route themselves when acquiring Sean Longstaff’s services, with journalist Daniel Storey even going as far as to hail the capture of the Newcastle-born star for just £12m as “one of the best signings in the Premier League”.

Unfortunately, though, as Leeds have grown accustomed to over recent years when landing duds such as Luis Sinisterra and Rasmus Kristensen, they have also fallen victim to some underwhelming signings from the summer just gone, with Lucas Perri – in particular – sticking out as a costly blunder already in between the sticks.

Even the most casual observer of the Championship last season would have known that Leeds were far from satisfied with the amount of errors Illan Meslier was making in goal, during a crunch promotion run-in, with pundit Adrian Clarke stating last season that the error-prone Frenchman “has to go” if Premier League action was back on the menu.

The Championship title-winners listened to Clarke’s advice, with all signs pointing in the direction that picking up Meslier’s replacement in Perri for £13.9m from Lyon was a smart use of money, considering Meslier’s fellow compatriot had an encouraging ten Ligue 1 clean sheets under his belt when making the switch to England.

Unfortunately, though, under the intense heat of being near the foot of the Premier League, Perri has largely crumbled, with moments of “superb” goalkeeping, for which he was praised by journalist Graham Smyth after clawing away a goal-bound effort against Nottingham Forest, often then met with moments of Meslier-like indecision.

Consequently, Perri has now let in a concerning 12 strikes from six Premier League games, among other worrying numbers, with the outstanding ‘keeper they thought they’d obtained from Lyon yet to come to the forefront.

Purchased for a steep £13.9m, this is an almighty concern that he doesn’t look all that much of a notable upgrade on his former Lorient counterpart, with former Leeds player Jon Newsome even coming out after the crushing 3-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest to state that Perri looks like a “waste of funds”.

Journalist Adonis Storr has also been openly critical of Perri by stating that he always “parries straight to opponents”, which led the Tricky Trees to have a field day against the ropey Brazilian.

If Perri remains this unconvincing in goal in the long run, Leeds will find it hard to beat the drop, with one of his defensive teammates at the City Ground also in with a worrying shout to be one of the Whites’ worst bits of business from their recent bumpy Premier League history.

Leeds dud fast becoming one of their worst signings

In Perri’s defence, at least he has two clean sheets next to his name to have something to smile about.

On the contrary, fellow summer arrival Jaka Bijol is yet to collect a Premier League clean sheet from his limited opportunities in Farke’s first team mix, having been branded as “monstrous” centre-back by Como scout Ben Mattinson when plying his trade for Udinese.

Winning 4.8 duels won on average last season per Serie A clash, the hope would have been that Bijol would instantly get up to speed with the high intensity of the Premier League and be the gritty warrior Leeds need to comfortably survive.

After all, he cost even more than Perri to obtain at the £15m mark, with only Anton Stach and the aforementioned Okafor costing more this summer at £17.4m and £18m, respectively.

While Stach has that sweetly struck free-kick against Wolverhampton Wanderers to hold onto, and his Swiss counterpart has those two Premier League strikes also in his favour, Bijol’s start to life in England has been strangely stop-start.

Indeed, the Slovenian centre-back has only managed to line up for three Premier League clashes to date this season, with many wondering whether Leeds had made an almighty error splashing the cash on Bijol, only for him to warm the substitutes bench behind Pascal Struijk.

However, Farke might well have been better placed to leave the shoddy number 15 on the bench for the foreseeable future, when analysing his disastrous Premier League appearances so far, as Bijol was caught ball-watching for Forest’s decisive match-winner on Sunday afternoon.

Perri is hardly loving life under scrutiny at Elland Road, knowing he now has an out-of-sorts Bijol in front of him, with Leeds last keeping a clean sheet in league action when Struijk partnered Joe Rodon, and the Slovenian was left rooted to the bench.

At their current rate, with 20 goals already leaked, Leeds could be on their way to conceding even more goals than the 78 strikes they gave up during the 2022/23 season when relegation was on the cards.

That same season, Leeds had to put up with a weak Robin Koch in defence, who once cost £12m from Freiburg in another shambolic defensive purchase.

At his current downward slope, Bijol is likely to be remembered more for being a Koch-like blunder than a bright spark like Okafor, with the Slovenian having to buck his ideas up soon, or be viewed as £18m that was rashly chucked away.

Thankfully, he does have time on his side to rewrite his Leeds narrative, as Perri and Bijol hope the slide can be eventually arrested, with or without the manager that brought them to this country remaining in the dug-out.

Fewer touches than Perri: Farke must ditch Leeds flop who's Meslier 2.0

Daniel Farke has a new Illan Meslier figure to worry about at Leeds United.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 10, 2025

Teams to play three T20Is and three ODIs, starting four days after the Asia Cup final

ESPNcricinfo staff24-Aug-2025

Afghanistan will host Bangladesh for six white-ball matches in the UAE in October, shortly after the conclusion of the Asia Cup on September 28.The T20Is are on October 2, 3 and 5 in Sharjah while the ODIs are on October 8, 11 and 14 in Abu Dhabi.ESPNcricinfo understands the Bangladesh squad could stay back in the UAE after the Asia Cup to play the bilateral series. Both teams are part of Group B in the Asia Cup, along with Sri Lanka and Hong Kong, and play each other on September 16 in Abu Dhabi. Only the top two teams from each group will progress to the Super Fours stage of the tournament. India, Oman, Pakistan and UAE are in Group A.The Afghanistan-Bangladesh bilateral series is the second part of what was supposed to be an all-format tour in July 2024, comprising two Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is. The schedule was revised to include only white-ball matches while that series, due to be played in Greater Noida in India, was postponed due to weather conditions and Bangladesh’s packed schedule.The two teams have a rivalry brewing. Bangladesh and Afghanistan have played four bilateral ODI series, with the head-to-head record level at 2-2. Bangladesh won in 2016 and 2022, while Afghanistan won the two most recent series in 2023 and 2024. It’s level in bilateral T20I series too, with Afghanistan winning in 2018, Bangladesh in 2023, and a tied series in 2022.

The UAE’s ILT20 has cut team salary caps by 20% after avoiding a direct clash with South Africa’s SA20 in the 2025-26 season. Each team will be permitted to spend up to US$2 million on player salaries this season, after a wage cap of US$2.5 million in the first three editions of the league.ESPNcricinfo has learned that there is a belief among the six franchises that they have overspent on wages, and that many top players will still play in the league for slightly lower salaries thanks to a clearer window this year.The ILT20 will shift forward this season, running from December 2 until January 4, and will only briefly clash with the SA20. The two leagues have competed directly against one another for talent in their first three seasons, and ILT20 chief executive David White said a key reason to move is to enable the league to “access a bigger pool of players”.Related

• ILT20: Powell, Ghazanfar retained; Hales, Livingstone among new signings

• ILT20 to move to December-January window for 2025-26 season

• Leagues like ILT20 'not good for the game' – Graeme Smith

The league is also expected to move to an auction model for the 2025-26 season, after relying on direct signings in its first three years. ESPNcricinfo has learned that an auction is due to take place in September, with franchises in the process of working through their retentions in the meantime. Teams will still be permitted to spend an additional US$250,000 on additional ‘wildcard’ signings.The ILT20’s business model relies heavily on a long-term TV deal with Zee TV, the Indian broadcaster, and the league has been criticised for its low minimum requirement of only two local UAE players in each playing XI. Dubai Capitals are the defending champions, after Gulf Giants (2023) and MI Emirates (2024) won the first two titles.The ILT20’s decision to trim the wage cap could provide an indirect boost to the Big Bash League [BBL] ahead of its upcoming draft. The BBL has struggled to retain its leading overseas players in recent years, who have either left for the UAE before the knockout stages or skipped the league altogether, but will hope that the ILT20’s cost-cutting plays in its favour.

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O técnico Mano Menezes quer colher o fruto dos elencos que monta. Por isso que o contrato com o Corinthians foi firmado até dezembro de 2025, mesmo com a atual administração se encerrando neste ano. 

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Em 2014, o treinador foi contratado para fazer um processo de reformulação no elenco corintiano, mas não permaneceu na temporada seguinte, justamente por conta de uma mudança de gestão, com Mario Gobbi saindo e Roberto de Andrade entrando. 

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– Quando eu voltei, na segunda vez, fizemos um ano de trabalho e quando estávamos alinhavando algumas coisas eu prometi entregar uma nova equipe montada até o fim do ano, e conseguimos. Quando o time estava ficando pronto, veio a eleição e a opção justa, correta, de escolher com quem vai trabalhar. Mas para quem monta o elenco é ruim, porque sai na hora de usufruir – destacou o treinador na sua apresentação, que ocorreu nesta sexta-feira (29). 

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Mas não foi só no Timão que Mano sofreu com o desligamento após contribuir na montagem do elenco. No Internacional, clube em que ele dirigia até junho deste ano, o técnico esteve na avaliação do mercado para ser assertivo na janela de transferências do meio deste ano, mas foi demitido durante o período de mercado, enquanto o Colorado anunciou nome importantes para a sequência da temporada, entre eles o artilheiro equatoriano Enner Valencia. 

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Eduardo Coudet assumiu a equipe gaúcha no lugar de Mano e está na semifinal da Conmebol Libertadores. 

– Esse ano, trabalho, time montado, me expus, tomei porrada. Na janela do meio do ano chegaram três jogadores de seleção e o trabalho tá aí – completou o treinador.

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+ Veja tabela do Campeonato Brasileiro-2023 clicando aqui

Mano Menezes já teve o nome publicado no Boletim Informativo Diário, da CBF, e está liberado para comandar a equipe alvinegra já neste sábado (30), quando o Corinthians enfrenta o São Paulo, no estádio do Morumbi, pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. Na terça-feira (3) ele terá pela frente o compromisso mais importante do Timão nesta temporada: o jogo de volta da semifinal da Conmebol Sul-Americana, contra o Fortaleza, na Arena Castelão, na capital cearense. 

Paris Saint-Germain boss Luis Enrique has launched a passionate defence of new goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier after a tough start to his career in the French capital. The stopper arrived from Lille in a big-money move in the summer, replacing former No.1 Gianluigi Donnarumma, but has come under scrutiny for his performances so far for the Ligue 1 champions and current Champions League holders.

• Chevalier comes under fire after PSG move

  PSG's decision to replace Donnarumma with Chevalier in the summer caused plenty of headlines, with the Ligue 1 champions warned their new signing would not be able to match the Italy international's level. Chevalier has faced more criticism after an underwhelming start to life in the French capital and came under fire for his performance last time out in a 3-3 draw against Strasbourg.

  Former goalkeeper Lionel Charbonnier told : "He doesn't have the charisma at the moment. He's not doing enough. He didn't do his job. On the first goal, I thought at first that it was a complicated header, and after analysing it, he's moving back. He shouldn't move back, he should move forward. He's on a back foot, so he dives back and that's a no-go.

  "On the second goal, he tried to stretch his leg out, his studs got caught in the turf. For me, for the moment, the suit is too big for Chevalier. You put it with his performances at Lille, he doesn't concede the two goals. He's very small. When you look at him, you get the impression that the goal is huge."

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  Luis Enrique leaps to Chevalier's defence

  PSG boss Luis Enrique has been quick to defend his goalkeeper. The former Barcelona manager was asked about his stopper ahead of PSG's Champions League clash with Bayer Leverkusen and says he's more than satisfied with his new recruit. 

  "It's the same every year, I'm very happy with your feelings. I'm very happy with Lucas Chevalier! For me he's one of the best options or THE best option. I'm very happy with his performances. And when we recruit a player, we think over a long period of time," he told reporters.

  "And what I can say about Lucas Chevalier is that I like his personality, his level as player. We are very confident that he will be very important to the team for many years to come.  That is the confidence we have in our player, and especially for me, when I see Lucas Chevalier's performance during these matches, I see what I want to see. And for me, that is enough."

• 'You killed Donnarumma' – Luis Enrique hits out at media

  Luis Enrique also criticised the media for their treatment of Chevalier and Donnarumma. The PSG boss says Donnarumma had to put up with harsh media criticism during his time at the club but admitted it's part of the job at a club like PSG.

  "He has personality, he showed it and he still shows it in training and in matches. What I like… I think you don't remember for how many years you criticized Gigio Donnarumma. I remember perfectly!" he added.

  "The last four years, you killed him. You killed Gigio Donnarumma sportingly. So please… even when I wasn't the coach of Paris Saint-Germain. I felt all the time that you criticised Gigio Donnarumma. When you are a goalkeeper of a club like Paris Saint-Germain, you have to learn to live with that."

  Donnarumma proved pivotal to PSG's run to Champions League glory last and, having already won the Men's Yashin Trophy at the 2025 Ballon d'Or ceremony, is hot favourite to also be named Best Men's Goalkeeper at the equivalent Best FIFA Football Awards. Manchester City saw PSG's surprise willingness to move on from the giant Italian stopper as an opportunity they couldn't turn miss.

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  PSG aiming to stay perfect

  PSG have made a perfect start to the defence of their Champions League trophy by beating Barcelona and Atalanta. The defending champions return to action on Tuesday against Bayer Leverkusen in Germany.

يرى المدير الفني لفريق ليفربول، آرني سلوت، أنهم لا يستطيعون التتويج بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز حال قيامهم بشيء محدد في المباريات التي يلعبونها.

ويستعد ليفربول لخوض مباراة مهمة مساء يوم الأحد ضد نظيره مانشستر يونايتد، في الجولة الثامنة من الدوري الإنجليزي على ملعب “الأنفيلد”.

وقال سلوت، في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “ليفربول إيكو” الإنجليزية: “أعتقد أن أسلوب اللعب القائم على الكرات الطويلة والتمريرات الثانية ليس أسلوب لعب أي فريق فاز بالدوري في السنوات العشر أو الخمس عشرة أو العشرين الماضية”.

وأضاف: “إذا كنت تريد الفوز بالدوري، فلن تتمكن من ذلك بهذا الأسلوب، من وجهة نظري، لكنه حل عادل جدًا للعب ضد مانشستر سيتي، أو ليفربول، أو آرسنال، أو تشيلسي، أو كل هذه الفرق الكبرى بهذا الأسلوب”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. فيديو | هازارد يختار لاعب تشيلسي كـ مراوغ أفضل من محمد صلاح

وواصل: “ولكنني لا أرى ذلك الأسلوب في أي فريق أوروبي يفوز بالدوري، ليس بايرن ميونخ، ولا برشلونة، ولا ريال مدريد، ولا ليفربول، ولا مانشستر سيتي، لكنه أسلوب لعب تراه يحدث كثيرًا ضد مانشستر سيتي”.

وأردف: “ترى كرات طويلة، تكتل دفاعي، كرات طويلة أخرى ثم تراجع بعد نجاحهم، هذا ما نراه كثيرًا في الوقت الحالي ضدنا”.

واستمر: “طريقة التفوق على تلك الخطة هي لحظة مميزة، كما حدث كثيرًا في النصف الأول من الموسم الماضي، أو من خلال ركلات ثابتة مثلما حدث في النصف الثاني، لم نحقق كلا الأمرين بالقدر الذي تمنيته، ولكن مع ذلك نحن لا زلنا الفريق الذي صنع أكبر عدد من الأهداف من اللعب المفتوح”.

وشدد: “اللعب المفتوح أمر إيجابي، ولكن ما هو غير إيجابي هو أننا استقبلنا تسعة أهداف، أربعة منها من الكرات الثابتة”.

Cole Palmer reportedly missed Chelsea's latest training session amid concerns about a troublesome groin problem. The England international has had an injury-hit start to the season, with the 23-year-old missing games against West Ham and Fulham due to this issue. The England international limped off in the Blues' 2-1 loss to Manchester United and it seems a spell on the sidelines beckons.

• Palmer has injury-disrupted season for Chelsea

  The former Manchester City man only came back from this injury in the 2-2 draw at Brentford on September 13, but was forced off after 21 minutes in the defeat at United last weekend. He also sat out the Blues' 2-1 Carabao Cup win over Lincoln City in midweek, raising fears he could be unavailable for a while. And according to , Palmer missed Chelsea's open training session on Thursday.

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  Maresca calls on team to thrive without Palmer

  Former Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino previously challenged his squad to prove they are not "Cole Palmer FC" ahead of a clash with Arsenal. They would lose that game 5-0, with Palmer missing out due to illness. The England ace has 58 goal contributions in 98 Premier League appearances and is vital to Chelsea's success.

  While head coach Maresca admits they are a better side with Palmer in it, they need to find solutions when he isn't around. 

  He toldlast week: "We need him, no doubt. With Cole we are a better team. But when Cole is not available we need to find solutions and ways to win games. We did it against West Ham and Fulham. We were close against Brentford."

• Chelsea need to 'protect' Palmer

  The former Leicester City manager stressed the importance of not rushing Palmer back before he is ready, particularly after a long summer that included the Club World Cup and a shortened pre-season.

  Maresca said, "We need to protect Cole for sure, 100%. Not only Cole, in my personal view, because as I said now, because of the Club World Cup or because we never stop, we need to manage and protect different players," Maresca explained, also referencing Moises Caicedo and Joao Pedro."

  He added: "The solution with Cole, I don't know, now we have a meeting with the medical staff and we decide the best solution for him. But it's also a kind of injury that is not like black and white. It's an injury that someday you can be better. It's not that you have pain and tomorrow will disappear. Sometimes you can be better, sometimes you can be worse. That's why we need to manage day by day."

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  When will Palmer return for Chelsea?

  Maresca is yet to give any clear indication as to when Chelsea's attacking talisman will be fit and ready once again. The west London outfit face Brighton in the Premier League on Saturday in a battle between sixth and 14th, respectively, before continuing their Champions League campaign at home to Benfica next Tuesday. Finally, the Blues have a crunch clash with defending champions and current unbeaten league leaders Liverpool on October 4, in what is their final game before the latest international break. It remains to be seen when Palmer will be available once more.

West Bromwich Albion could be set for a dramatic finish to the window and have now put forward a loan bid for a talented attacker who could bolster their wide areas.

West Brom earn impressive victory at Stoke City

Continuing their impressive league start, the Baggies earned a valuable 1-0 victory over Stoke City to move second in the EFL Championship standings courtesy of a Nat Phillips effort early on in proceedings.

Ryan Mason has bred some early optimism that a positive campaign could be on the horizon at the Hawthorns, and sought to lavish praise on West Brom’s match-winner for his solid defensive display at the bet365 Stadium.

He stated: “Obviously he scored the winner but probably more importantly, in our defensive box as well. He was outstanding, the sort of performance you get when you bring in a man ready to compete.

“He was mature and led by example but Chris alongside him was outstanding as well. He’s had one training session and a performance like that makes me very happy.”

While Toby Collyer impresses behind the scenes, it remains to be seen if the Baggies will dip into the transfer market before the close of play, and who could be next to walk through the door after Chris Mepham’s arrival from Bournemouth.

Building on positive momentum by striking while the iron is hot will be at the top of West Brom’s agenda ahead of Monday’s deadline, where incomings and outgoing are expected to freshen things up for the bulk of a long campaign.

Now, Mason could be about to put that into practice as his side court a star who has previously been bought for a sizeable amount due to his potential.

West Brom submit late loan bid for Samuel Iling-Junior

According to The Express & Star, West Brom have submitted a late loan bid for Aston Villa star Samuel Iling-Junior and retain optimism that they can sign the England Under-21 international before the deadline passes.

Capable of featuring out wide or at wing-back, the 21-year-old spent time on loan at Bologna and Middlesbrough last season, registering three goals and two assists in 32 appearances.

West Brom gem fans have barely seen is wowing Ryan Mason behind the scenes

The Baggies have beaten over a dozen Championship clubs to an exciting talent.

ByCallum Kemp Aug 22, 2025

Brought to the West Midlands for over £14 million in 2024, Iling-Junior won 69 duels in the Championship last term, per Fotmob, and appears to have been identified as an alternative to Tom Fellows after the latter joined Southampton.

Seeking reinforcements to strengthen their promotion bid, West Brom could offer the youngster a platform to fulfil his undoubted potential, though it remains to be seen whether he would be utilised as a defender or in a more advanced role should an agreement be found.

It is fair to say that there was a fair bit of excitement among supporters when Glasgow Rangers finally confirmed the signing of Djeidi Gassama on a permanent deal earlier this month.

The Light Blues swooped to sign him from Sheffield Wednesday to bolster Russell Martin’s options at the top end of the pitch, and he was an exciting addition off the back of his form last term.

Gassama scored seven goals and created three ‘big chances’ in the Championship for Sheffield Wednesday, despite them not being in contention to gain promotion from the division.

He ranked within the top 14% of his positional peers in the league for goals (seven) and in the top 23% for chances created (38), which shows that he excelled as both a scorer and a creator of goals from the left wing.

These statistics show why fans were so excited to see him in action for the first time when Panathinaikos arrived at Ibrox for the first leg of the second round Champions League qualifier on Tuesday night.

How Djeidi Gassama could be a success for Rangers this season

The 21-year-old forward came on for the last 15 minutes of the win over the Greek side and immediately showed that supporters were right to be excited by the prospect of seeing him play in the flesh.

Gassama made an almost instant impact by cutting in from the left flank to fire a brilliant shot past Dragowski to put Rangers 2-0 up on the night.

That particular was not his only impressive contribution off the bench, though, as the winger also played a beautiful pass with the outside of his foot to send Nicolas Raskin through in the left channel, but the Belgian midfielder was unable to create a chance out of it.

As you can see in the table above, Gassama completed two dribbles, won all of his duels, and scored with his only shot in just 15 minutes of football off the bench for the Light Blues on Tuesday.

He could be a huge success for the Scottish giants this season as a direct and skillful left winger who can cut inside onto his favoured right foot to deliver goals, and hopefully assists, on a regular basis.

Gassama is currently valued at £1.7m by Transfermarkt and the Light Blues reportedly agreed a fee in the region of £2.2m to sign him from Sheffield Wednesday, which shows that he is not a mega-money signing.

However, at the age of 21, the French starlet could develop into a mega-money player for Rangers if he can start to produce quality in the final third on a regular basis.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

Although he did not feature against Panathinaikos, Jefte could play a key role in Gassama’s development as a potential left-back option to play behind him on the left flank.

Rangers have hit the jackpot with the talented young Brazilian defender, who has had one season at Ibrox so far, and he could be a future star for the club alongside Gassama.

Rangers have hit the jackpot with Jefte

Jefte signed for the Scottish giants from Fluminense on a permanent deal in the summer of 2024, and Transfermarkt valued the youngster at a price of just £693k at the time of the move.

Then 20 years old, the full-back came over to Scotland in a team with high expectations and had a fairly inconsistent first season at the club, which should be expected given the circumstances, with his age and lack of experience in the country.

Writer Kai Watson described the left-footed ace as a “polarising figure” among the fanbase, and that may be because of his inconsistency on the pitch, as some fans may not want to be as patient with players as others.

However, Rangers do have a very exciting talent on their hands, despite Max Aarons being picked ahead of him on Tuesday, as his performances were good enough to attract interest from Premier League giants, and now world champions, Chelsea in January.

As you can see in the post from journalist Chris Jack above, Chelsea went as far as to make contact with the player’s agents at the start of this year to discuss a possible move, which illustrates how impressive his form for Rangers had been up to that point.

Jefte made 52 appearances in all competitions in the 2024/25 campaign, which was vital learning for the 21-year-old talent, and he will now be hoping to kick on this season.

As you can see in the table above, the Brazilian whiz ranked highly in a host of key defensive and offensive metrics in the Scottish Premiership, particularly when it came to making tackles and interceptions.

His form for Rangers led to his Transfermarkt value soaring up to £3.4m at the time of writing, which means that his valuation has jumped up by a whopping 391% and is now above Gassama’s £1.7m valuation.

This suggests that the Light Blues have hit the jackpot with the young defender because they picked him up at a fairly low value, of under £1m, last summer, and he has already soared in value to become a multi-million pound asset for the club.

At the age of 21, and with clubs like Chelsea eyeing him up, Jefte may only get better from here if Martin can work with him on the training pitch to improve and develop in the months and years to come.

Outshone by Curtis: Martin must axe "non-existent" Rangers dud after UCL

This Rangers flop just showed exactly why the club must replace him in the summer transfer window.

By
Dan Emery

Jul 23, 2025

Therefore, Rangers supporters have very good reason to be excited about the future of the club’s left flank moving forward, as Jefte and Gassama are both incredibly promising 21-year-old talents who could be stars at Ibrox.

Sikandar Raza became the country’s first T20I centurion, reaching the mark in 33 balls

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Oct-2024

Zimbabwe shattered the record for the highest total in T20 cricket on Wednesday when they ran up 344 for 4 against Gambia in the men’s T20 World Cup Africa sub-regional qualifier tournament. Sikandar Raza spearheaded the effort with a century – Zimbabwe’s first one ever in the format – off just 33 balls. He eventually finished unbeaten on 133, with 15 sixes. His team-mates hit 12 more to set that record as well. Until now, Nepal had been the holders of the highest total (314) and the most sixes hit in an innings (26). Gambia in return were bundled out for 54 as Zimbabwe also posted the biggest-ever win (in terms of runs) in T20s.The Ruaraka Sports Club Ground in Nairobi witnessed history on Wednesday with Zimbabwe showing great intent right from the first ball they faced. They brought up fifty in 3.2 overs. Tadiwanashe Marumani brought his up quicker, in just 13 balls. The team hundred was up before the powerplay was done and from there on it was an exercise of how far they could send the ball into the stands. There were 57 boundaries in the innings overall – which is also a T20 record – with four Zimbabwe batters contributing fifty-plus scores – another record. Brian Bennett made 50 of 26 and Clive Mandande got to 53 off 17 by hitting the final ball of the innings for six.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Raza, though, was the star of the show. He came into bat at the end of the seventh over, after the fielding restrictions had been relaxed, but it made no difference. He struck the third ball he faced for six and went on a run-scoring spree that made him the owner of the second-fastest century in T20I cricket. His 33-ball effort equalled Jan Nicol Loftie-Eaton’s, for Namibia against Nepal in February 2024.Related

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Gambia, which is the smallest country in continental Africa, located to the west, could do very little to stop the run flow. Musa Jorbateh conceded the most runs by a bowler in a T20, his four overs going for 93. He was one of five bowlers to go for over 50 runs or more in their spell. The team is still looking for its first win in the Africa sub-regional qualifier so far, having given walkovers to their opponents Rwanda and Seychelles in the first two games, while Zimbabwe have already picked up four from four.