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Lees records second century of the match in Durham’s successful rearguard action as Surrey go top of table

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay02-Jul-2025

Emilio Gay scored a stubborn century•Getty Images

Durham 362 (Lees 125, Robinson 79, Worrall 4-60) and 262 for 0 (Gay 156*, Lees 100*) f/o drew with Surrey 820 for 9 dec (Sibley 305, Lawrence 178, Jacks 119, Curran 108, Burns 55)Centuries from Emilio Gay and Alex Lees, in a superb unbroken opening partnership of 262, made sure of a comfortable Rothesay County Championship draw for Durham against Surrey on day four at the Kia Oval.Gay hit an unbeaten 156 while Lees followed up his first -innings 125 with 100 not out – reaching his second hundred of the match with what proved to be the last ball before hands were shaken at 5pm – and Durham’s successful rearguard action over the last seven sessions of the match owed much to the skill and stamina of their captain.His stand with Gay was a Durham partnership record against Surrey for any wicket, beating 183 by Will Smith and Scott Borthwick at Chester-le-Street in 2013.Durham began the day by initially turning their overnight 343 for 9 into a final first-innings total of 362, with an injured Ben Raine defying Surrey’s bowlers for a further 7.1 overs.They were helped by early morning rain that prevented any play until noon, while Surrey knew that the loss of 16 overs from the day’s allocation also took from them the possibility of having a second new ball available in a final hour.As it was, after Raine’s brave 19 and more resistance from his tailend partner Daniel Hogg, Durham were left with 70 overs to negotiate in their second innings when predictably asked to follow on – Surrey having amassed a mammoth 820 for 9 declared in their own first innings on a flat pitch.The draw, confirmed with Durham 262 without loss from 55.4 overs, was all but inevitable once Lees and Gay had seen off the new ball, as wickets have been desperately difficult to come by with an older and softer Kookaburra throughout this match.Surrey’s consolation is that the additional eight draw points, giving them 15 in all from the game, are enough to push them to the top of the Division One table for the first time this season – a single point in front of long-time Championship leaders Nottinghamshire.Seamer Raine, who suffered ligament damage in his left ankle on the opening day, had hobbled out at No. 11 to survive seven balls at the end of day three. When day four got under way it seemed as if Raine was moving a little more freely and his further defiance included three fours in a 32-ball effort ended when Will Jacks trapped him lbw.Lees sliced the first ball of Durham’s second innings just wide of gully for four and the bowler, Dan Worrall, was frustrated again when, on 5, the former England Test opener was beaten by a beauty that Surrey’s slip cordon initially thought might have taken a thin edge.Gay’s first scoring shot was also a streaky edge for four through the slips, off Matt Fisher, but soon the two left-handers had settled in and Rory Burns, Surrey’s captain, used six different bowlers in the first 14 overs of the innings – either side of lunch – in a vain effort to conjure up an early breakthrough.Surrey allrounder Sam Curran even aired some rarely-seen left-arm spin as the match meandered through its final overs after the tea interval, and the eight-over spell was tidy enough even if by then both Gay and Lees were content merely to see out time.It was Gay’s third hundred in Durham colours, since his move from Northamptonshire, and after reaching three figures from 98 balls he faced 172 in all, hitting 25 fours. Lees batted for 162 balls, striking 14 fours.

Scotland international Scott McTominay has moved to quell talk of him moving away from Napoli and returning to the Premier League or making a remarkable switch to Catalan giants Barcelona. McTominay has impressed in Naples since joining from Manchester United for £30 million ($39.6m) last summer, landing the Serie A title in his first season and becoming a cult hero.

• McTominay's Italian job 

  The rebirth of McTominay at Napoli has been nothing short of spectacular, casting him as the club's new icon. The Scotland international's sensational debut season saw him reinvented under boss Antonio Conte, transforming from a defensive midfielder into a potent, box-crashing raider. His 12 Serie A goals were instrumental in securing the Scudetto, a contribution so profound he was named the league's Most Valuable Player and even earned a Ballon d'Or nomination. Adored by the passionate Neapolitan faithful, who dubbed him 'McFratm' (McBrother), McTominay has found a perfect home where his tenacity is not just appreciated, but celebrated.

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  Scotland star's 'exit' plan

  Speculation regarding McTominay’s future has grown louder in recent weeks, including claims he is attracting interest from top European clubs, including Barca, Tottenham and Newcastle, potentially leading to a summer 2026 exit. Reports suggest McTominay is considering a Premier League return due to feeling 'suffocated' by the intense fan attention in Naples. However, sources and McTominay's camp have since denied this and Napoli are planning to offer him a contract extension to secure his future. 

  According to a report, Barcelona are considering a surprise move for the 28-year-old, who previously played for Man Utd, and is on a three-man shortlist for Hansi Flick's team alongside Aston Villa's Amadou Onana and a La Masia graduate. A potential transfer could see McTominay reunited with former teammate Marcus Rashford, who is currently on loan at Barca and is hoping to make his move permanent. The report also states that while the January transfer window is ruled out, a summer switch is possible. 

• McTominay settled in Naples

  But while the rumours swirl around regarding McTominay, those close to him and the player himself have moved to pour cold water on any speculation regarding him leaving. Speaking to , McTominay said: "I’m really happy in Naples." And a source close to the player has added: "Scott loves the city, the club and the fans. He feels really good here."

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  McTominay eyeing second Scudetto

  Napoli sit top of the pile in Serie A yet again, although they are level on points with high-flying Roma. McTominay was a crucial figure again at the weekend as the Partonopei secured a huge victory over Inter, opening up a six-point gap to the dangerous Nerazzurri.

  During the summer, McTominay spoke with the about his time so far in Italy, he said: "The people in Naples are incredible, they're so passionate and everywhere you go there are people who say 'Forza Napoli' and they want to speak to you and have a conversation and that inspires you every time you go on the pitch because they care. It's different, a totally different way of life over there – the way you eat, the way you live and all that. It gives you more mental strength. I've always lived very close to my mum, so I could go whenever I wanted. Whereas now I live 1,500 miles away so I can't just go home and see my mum, my family, my sister and my kids so it's different, but in life you sometimes have to take yourself out of your comfort zone and I've always prided myself on that. I would never want to be in my comfort zone, and if I can go away anywhere and establish myself and do well, why not? Who's to stop me doing that?"

Mitchell Starc has decided against flying back to India for the remainder of IPL 2025 for Delhi Capitals (DC). AAP understands that a week after being part of the match that was abandoned in Dharamsala – and will be replayed – Starc has told the franchise that he wouldn’t be finishing the league. Donovan Ferreira, who played one game this season, will also not be returning.The update means that Starc will have a clear runway into the World Test Championship (WTC) final, avoiding the possibility of playing T20s in India a week before the match. Starc is DC’s highest wicket-taker so far in the season with 14 wickets in 11 matches at 26.14.There is still no confirmation on whether Faf du Plessis would be returning to DC, while Tristan Stubbs has confirmed his return, but only for the rest of the league phase, after which he would be leaving for the WTC final.DC have also signed Mustafizur Rahman as a replacement for Jake Fraser-McGurk, who isn’t returning to India. However, there is a bit of uncertainty over Mustafizur’s participation, since the BCB has stated that it hadn’t been approached for a non-objection certificate for the cricketer, who is in Sharjah currently to play in a T20I series against UAE.Of the other Australians at the IPL, Pat Cummins and Travis Head are both returning to India to link up with Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH), who are out of the running for the playoffs and finish their engagements for the season on May 25, which will give both players enough time to prepare for the WTC final.Josh Hazlewood will assess a niggling shoulder injury before determining whether to go back to Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) for their title tilt. Josh Inglis has, meanwhile, held off a decision on his plans to return for Punjab Kings (PBKS), while Mitchell Marsh will be back for Lucknow Super Giants (LSG).

Fair to say, this season has not gone quite to plan for Glasgow Rangers and in particular, new Gers boss Russell Martin.

Last time out, Rangers played out statistically the most boring Glasgow derby of all time, the two fierce rivals accumulating a combined xG of just 0.31 at Ibrox.

This means, for the first time since 1983, the Light Blues have failed to win any of their opening four fixtures in a Premiership campaign, having previously played out 1-1 draws with Motherwell, Dundee and then St Mirren.

Scoring goals has certainly proved to be one of the many key issues Martin has faced as Rangers boss, with a lot of attacking talent departing Govan this summer, but could one of his summer signings ultimately solve this issue and turn out to be the new Václav Černý?

Václav Černý's importance at Rangers

Last season, across 58 matches in all competitions, Rangers scored a total of 115 goals.

Well, their top three scorers, namely Cyriel Dessers, Cerny and Hamza Igamane, contributed 63 of these goals (55%), but the trio have all departed during the summer.

Dessers was sold to Panathinaikos for £3.5m on deadline day, Igamane joined Lille for around £10.4m a few days earlier, while Černý did not return, following the expiration of his loan from Wolfsburg.

Instead, the Czechia international joined Beşiktaş for around £6m, but, considering the İstanbul-based giants failed to qualify for the league phase of any European competition, while Rangers are back in the Europa League, supporters may feel aggrieved that he isn’t heading back to Ibrox.

The table below underlines Černý’s importance last season.

Goals

18

2nd

Assists

6

4th

UEL goals

6

1st

Shots

136

1st

Big chances created

9

4th

Shot-creating actions

42

1st

Goal-creating actions

5

2nd

Progressive carries

40

1st

Key passes

14

2nd

Average SofaScore rating

7.40

2nd

As the table documents, Černý was a pivotal figure at Rangers last season, his six goals in the Europa League particularly noteworthy.

The 27-year-old took his tally to eight international goals on Friday night, bagging the second as Czechia beat Montenegro 2-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Podgorica, but could Rangers have unearthed a winger with even greater potential?

Rangers' Václav Černý​​​​​​​ upgrade

In a season that has so far produced very little for Rangers fans to cheer, the form of Djeidi Gassama has certainly been something to get excited about.

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The 22-year-old arrived in Glasgow for a reported fee of £2.2m, joining from crisis club Sheffield Wednesday, who are being completely run into the ground by wantaway owner Dejphon Chansiri, thereby sanctioning a fire sale of all the Owls’ assets.

Thus, it appears as though Rangers have taken advantage of the disastrous situation at Hillsborough and snapped up a bargain.

When he first arrived, manager Martin labelled Gassama “exciting”, adding that he will get fans “on the edge of their seats”, asserting that “he is on an upward trajectory… we look forward to seeing him in action.”

Well, the 21-year-old certainly made a good first impression, scoring four times during the early rounds of Champions League qualifying.

He spectacularly netted on his debut against Panathinaikos, also on target during the return leg in Athens eight nights later, before bagging a brace when Viktoria Plzeň was vanquished 3-0 at Ibrox in the third qualifying round.

As already outlined, what made Černý’s contribution so outstanding was his end product in European competition, something Gassama has already shown signs of being able to replicate.

In the Europa League league phase, the Gers will face: Genk (H), Sturm Graz (A), Brann (A), Roma (H), Braga (H), Ferencváros (A), Ludogorets Razgrad (H) and then Porto (A) on the final matchday.

Even when considering Rangers’ horrendous start to the season, there are certainly some winnable fixtures in that bunch so, if they’re to match last season’s run to the quarter-finals, or even better it, Gassama will be key to the Light Blues’ hopes.

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Leeds United are plotting for the January transfer window and could now look to sign a young talent who recently got the better of a Real Madrid superstar.

Leeds United move on after summer transfer window

Among supporters of the Elland Road club, there is a feeling that more may have been done by Daniel Farke and company in the final days of the window to land signings, albeit that is not the way things transpired.

Speaking to Football Insider, Pete O’Rourke has explained why Leeds missed out on a late move to sign Manor Solomon after he ended up at Villarreal amid interest in his services.

He stated: “There’s always competition for these players’ signatures. Manor Solomon, Palace tried to sign him but he’s gone to Villarreal, he’s got Champions League football – Leeds can’t offer that right now. Obviously, Palace had money in their pockets to spend following the sale of Eberechi Eze, and the chance of European football as well.

“There’s no regrets from Daniel Farke – he will now move on and work with what he’s got, to try and ensure that Leeds are well-placed come the January window.”

Despite the window being closed, Leeds are plotting a move to sign free agent Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after he was released from Besiktas, and he would potentially ease their midfield issues after injuries to Ao Tanaka and Ethan Ampadu.

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Manchester City youngster Nico O’Reilly is also on the Whites’ radar, though reports suggest it may be difficult to entice him away from the Etihad Stadium in January.

Nevertheless, bolstering the engine room will be important to their survival prospects in the Premier League, and a more realistic target has now been identified following his recent exploits.

Leeds United want to sign West Bromwich Albion star Isaac Price

According to EFL Analysis, Leeds are keen to sign West Bromwich Albion midfielder Isaac Price, who is also wanted by the likes of Burnley, Brentford, Crystal Palace and Fulham.

Of course, his exploits for Northern Ireland against Germany in World Cup qualifying have earned widespread attention. The 21-year-old gave Real Madrid’s Antonio Rudiger a torrid evening, winning more duels and tackles up against the German and getting him booked, while his stunning volley to equalise against a high-profile opponent was worth the entrance fee alone.

At club level, Price has registered three goals and two assists in five appearances across all competitions this term with the Baggies, establishing himself as a regular on the scoresheet due to his box-crashing tendencies.

After offering Rudiger a tough outing, Leeds appear to have taken notice of his displays and could look to tempt him away from the Hawthorns while he is in reach.

He is still recovering from an ankle injury picked up in January and remains a doubt for the white-ball tour of New Zealand after the Champions Trophy

Danyal Rasool07-Feb-2025

Saim Ayub scored two centuries in his last three ODIs•AFP/Getty Images

Pakistan opening batter Saim Ayub has been confirmed out for at least another five weeks owing to injury; he continues his rehabilitation from the ankle injury he sustained in South Africa in January. It further confirms that he will not be available for the Champions Trophy, which runs until March 9, and the extent of his involvement in Pakistan’s white-ball series in New Zealand after that remains uncertain.A PCB statement said Ayub was “progressing well in his right ankle fracture injury”. He remains in England, where he will complete the remainder of his rehabilitation, and has been ruled out for 10 weeks from the time of his injury, which he picked up while fielding in the second Test against South Africa in Cape Town five weeks ago.Ayub had to be stretchered off the pitch in just the seventh over of the match, when Ryan Rickelton edged a delivery through the slips, sending Ayub off on a chase to deep third alongside Aamer Jamal. Jamal pulled it back in as Ayub stood poised to be the relay fielder, but lost his balance and twisted his ankle. He went down immediately and appeared in anguish holding the lower part of his leg as the physio rushed on.Related

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Despite prolonged treatment outside the boundary line, Ayub was unable to put any weight on his right ankle, and appeared to be in tears as he was placed on to a stretcher and taken off. He was later seen on crutches in the medical booth.The PCB initially said he would be ruled out for six weeks, which offered some hope of his availability for the Champions Trophy, which Pakistan host. Last week the board announced the squad for the tournament, with Ayub absent from it.A week after the Champions Trophy final, Pakistan embark upon an eight-match white-ball tour of New Zealand, playing five T20Is and three ODIs between 16 March and 5 April. The Pakistan Super League starts on 8 April.

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India will go from their 0-3 defeat to New Zealand to Australia in a couple of weeks’ time and they will face that challenge without the aid of any practice matches. This was their choice. They’ve scrapped a game they were supposed to play against India A at the WACA in favour of centre-wicket training with India A. This means the first game of any kind they will play during the Border-Gavaskar series is the opening Test match in Perth.India took this decision before the whitewash happened on Sunday and the captain Rohit Sharma explained why. “Look, you know, rather than practice match, we planned a very match simulation kind of a thing with India A,” he said. “I think sometimes when you play that practice match, we’re travelling with a squad of 19 players and it was only three days that were allotted to us. And I don’t know how much workload we can get done in those three days in terms of getting everyone prepared.”So we, as a management as well, we feel that rather than having that, the match simulation where the batters can spend more time in the middle, batting in the middle, and then the bowlers as well can bowl a lot of balls, so that is something that, we as a team feel more comfortable doing rather than playing a practice game because game time is not a problem. All of us have been playing a lot of cricket. So it’s just about spending time in the middle.”Related

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India A are already on site and have played a four-day game against Australia A in Mackay. That squad includes members who are part of the Test squad as well and several other leading performers in first-class cricket. So Rohit is hopeful of getting reasonably good prep, especially now with the shift from practice match to match simulation.”If a batter gets out, he has to sit in the dugout for the whole day, you know, and he doesn’t get too much of batting done,” Rohit said. “Whereas in match simulation kind of a thing, you know, the batters can go out and play 50-70 balls and then if you feel that he’s had enough, we can retire him out and then get someone else in. So that is the plan.”We want to maximise this three-day slot that we’ve got and I feel this is the best way to do it where the batters can have a lot of time in the middle and the bowlers at the same time can get their workload in terms of getting the number of balls bowled in the middle. So that was the idea and we will be.”I think we’ll be training at WACA, which is as close to Optus where you have that bounce and carry. So hopefully we can use those three days perfectly and maximise how much ever we can from our point of view.”The five Tests in Australia now assume even greater importance because India will need to win four of them to make it to the WTC final next year. They may have to start the series without Rohit, who mentioned that he “wasn’t too sure if I’ll be going to [Perth]. But let’s see. Fingers crossed.”

Liverpool are believed to be targeting a new player who is similar in style to a recent Arsenal signing once they wrap up the signature of Hugo Ekitike, according to transfer expert Graeme Bailey.

Liverpool closing in on Ekitike

The Reds are closing in on the addition of Hugo Ekitike from Eintracht Frankfurt, and it is seemingly a matter of time until he is confirmed as the Premier League champions’ latest signing for an initial fee of £69m.

That doesn’t mean that Liverpool are done yet, however, with Arne Slot and his players departing for their tour of Asia, ahead of one pre-season game apiece in Hong Kong and Japan, against AC Milan and Yokohama FM respectively.

While Newcastle United are remaining stubborn in their efforts to keep hold of Alexander Isak this summer, the Reds are still making it clear that they would like to sign the Swede, even though they have already broken the British transfer record for Florian Wirtz.

While attacking reinforcements are the order of the day for Liverpool currently, it looks as though their focus will move elsewhere as the window goes on, with funds available to spend and depth required in certain areas.

Liverpool want Mosquera-like signing

Speaking to The Boot Room, Bailey claimed that Liverpool will target a new centre-back this summer – one who is similar to imminent Arsenal signing Cristhian Mosquera, having shown an interest in him.

“Liverpool are not finished even with Ekitike, far from it. Even with Ekitike and Wirtz, they want more in the last third but they are happy with how things are going. Nunez and Diaz leaving will free up space, and, if as expected they both depart, expect to see another wide forward too, if not another central option.

“That aside, they are still working on a central defender – irrespective of the Konate situation. They did like (Cristhian) Mosquera before Arsenal launched their bid for him. I believe they will sign someone of similar stature to him – someone who can learn from Van Dijk and Konate.”

Bringing in a central defender is vital for Liverpool, especially following Jarell Quansah’s move to Bayer Leverkusen, and former Valencia man Mosquera would have been a strong option, having been lauded as “elite” by analyst Harvey Diamonds.

Crystal Palace captain Marc Guehi arguably stands out as the best choice for Liverpool currently, amid links with him this summer, with the England international knowing the Premier League extremely well and still a relatively young player.

Guehi vs. Mosquera in league action 24/25

Guehi

Mosquera

Appearances

34

37

Starts

34

37

Minutes played

3060

3320

Clearances per game

4.6

3.3

Aerial duel wins per game

2.0

1.1

Tackles per game

1.8

1.5

Pass completion rate

84.1%

91.2%

Goals

3

1

Assists

2

0

Admittedly, he would be an expensive signing, with the Eagles demanding big money for a prized asset, but he could be an ideal alternative to Mosquera.

Celtic have been busy throughout the summer transfer window as they set about trying to improve the squad that Brendan Rodgers has to work with next season.

There has been plenty of business done already, with the likes of Benjamin Nygren, Kieran Tierney, Ross Doohan, Callum Osmand, and Hayato Inamura all arriving at Parkhead.

However, the £1.7m that they have reportedly paid to sign Nygren is the biggest fee that has been spent, which means that they have yet to reinvest much of the reported £16.5m that Como have spent on Nicolas Kuhn.

Scottish broadcaster Hugh Keevins recently offered his thoughts on the window, writing: ‘Why don’t we just buy somebody terrific? Corporate negligence would be not re-investing the money for the betterment of the team. Celtic can’t afford to mis-manage this transfer window. They’re so good at it that if they fell out of the transfer window they’d go up.’

Last summer, Celtic made sure that they reinvested the money that they got for Matt O’Riley with a club-record deal for Arne Engels, who has turned out to be an excellent signing for the club.

Why Arne Engels has been worth the money for Celtic

The Scottish Premiership champions reportedly splashed out a club-record fee of £11m to sign the Belgium international from Bundesliga side Augsburg ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

It was a statement signing for Celtic because they were willing to spend big money to bring in a top-quality player to bolster their squad, and he proved his worth on the pitch.

The 21-year-old central midfielder ended his first season in Scottish football with a haul of 10 goals and 13 assists in 52 appearances in all competitions, which shows that he provided quality as both a scorer and a creator of goals.

His £11m price tag naturally created plenty of hype around him ahead of last season, given the money involved and the prospect of his potential to deliver on the pitch, and he lived up to it.

The midfield maestro’s performances in the Champions League, as Celtic reached the play-off round, also showed that they signed a player who can perform at the very top level.

xAG

0.25

Top 7%

Assists

0.37

Top 6%

Shot-creating actions

3.11

Top 29%

Key passes

2.24

Top 6%

Percentage of dribblers tackled

71.4%

Top 9%

Tackles made

2.49

Top 28%

Passes blocked

1.12

Top 27%

As you can see in the table above, Engels stacked up well against his positional peers in several key offensive and defensive metrics, which shows that he provided an impressive box-to-box presence in the middle of the park for the Hoops.

His overall output in front of goal and his performances in the Champions League show that he lived up to the hype as a top-class performer for Celtic, which is why there may not be too many complaints about the fee paid for him at this point.

Celtic, however, may not have to spend a record transfer fee, or any transfer fee, to secure this summer’s version of their deal to bring Engels to the club.

Instead, Brendan Rodgers could land a high-profile free agent who could arrive at Parkhead with the same level of fanfare that the move to sign the Belgian whiz was met with.

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Earlier this month, CaughtOffside named the Hoops as one of a number of clubs, including Manchester United and Newcastle United, interested in a deal to sign Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a free transfer.

The former England international left Everton at the end of last month and the report claimed that he is set to demand £100k-per-week in wages, which is why it could still be an expensive deal for Celtic despite the lack of a transfer fee.

Why Calvert-Lewin could be this summer's Engels for Celtic

Snapping up the 28-year-old striker would be this summer’s Engels signing for Rodgers because it would involve committing a huge amount of money to a marquee addition, albeit in wages rather than a transfer fee.

The likes of Newcastle, who are in the Champions League, and Manchester United, one of the biggest clubs in the world, being interested in Calvert-Lewin illustrates the quality he possesses and shows why the forward would likely join Celtic to much fanfare if they were to win the race for his signature.

In the 2024/25 campaign, the experienced striker only scored three goals in 26 appearances in the Premier League for the Toffees, as he found himself on the bench behind Beto.

However, Calvert-Lewin has scored 57 goals in 279 games in the English top-flight, including a 16-goal haul in the 2020/21 season, which shows that he is a proven Premier League goalscorer who could provide huge quality in front of goal in Scottish football.

Take Adam Idah as a relevant example. The Ireland international scored one goal in 29 games for Norwich in the Premier League, yet he has plundered 21 goals in 50 outings in the Scottish Premiership.

Now imagine the kind of numbers that a proven Premier League goalscorer could put up as Celtic’s main number nine next season. It is an exciting prospect and one that could generate a lot of fanfare, should the club win the race for Calvert-Lewin.

Richarlison comparing the forward to the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo does not help to temper excitement. The Brazilian attacker once said: “He must be a nightmare to play against and he has an incredible leap on him like Cristiano Ronaldo.”

Calvert-Lewin may leap like Ronaldo but he does not appear to have the durability of the Portuguese legend, as he has suffered from too many injuries in recent seasons.

24/25

2

15

23/24

3

6

22/23

4

29

21/22

2

33

20/21

2

5

As you can see in the table above, the former England international struggled in the 2021/22 and 2022/23 campaigns in particular, but also missed 15 games last season.

This means that Celtic will have to way up the risk versus the reward in this transfer race because there is the potential for him to be a prolific, marquee, striker signing and this summer’s Engels, but there is also the risk that may not be available enough to make a significant impact.

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Given the potential upside, this is one that Rodgers should be pushing the club to get over the line if there is a realistic chance of getting it done.