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Just about every contending team will have added a bullpen arm before the 6 p.m. ET trade deadline hits Thursday. Baseball, especially October baseball, is increasingly about bullpenning. Want to know how much differently postseason baseball is played from just a decade ago? Here you go:

The scarcity of starting pitchers who can win a postseason game, not just manage it by facing 18 batters or fewer, is what makes the deadline so fascinating. Swing-and-miss relievers are easy to find. Trading for an impact starter is much harder.

Last season, 11 starting pitchers were traded in the week before the deadline. Only four of them started a postseason game: Alex Cobb, Zach Eflin, Jack Flaherty and Frankie Montas. They combined for nine starts, with their teams going 4–5 in those games. Flaherty was a difference-maker for the world champion Dodgers. They went 3–2 when Flaherty started.

Many teams are looking for the next Flaherty, most likely the Cubs, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, Astros and Blue Jays. I’ll give them some help in the search.

Below you will find the top starting pitchers most likely to be traded. I include whether the likely price of acquisition is worth the trade and what the acquiring team needs to do to make the deal work .

Seth Lugo is off the board after signing an extension with Kansas City. I don’t believe it’s likely the Twins will trade Joe Ryan, or the Nationals will trade MacKenzie Gore. I am looking only at pitchers likely to start one of the first three games of a playoff series, so while Charlie Morton of the Orioles, Andrew Heaney of the Pirates and Adrian Houser of the White Sox are likely to get moved, I don’t put them in the top tier. Happy shopping.

MORE: MLB Trade Candidate Rankings and Deadline Predictions

Sandy Alcantara, Miami Marlins

Worth it? No.

The Fixes

1. Get the four-seam fastball higher

Alcantara throws his four-seamer about as often as the sinker. The four-seamer is a much bigger problem, especially when compared to his last full season. Like Spencer Strider, another post-surgery power pitcher, he doesn’t have that A+ top-rail heater yet. And when you miss slightly lower in the zone, those heaters get hit.

تمكن فريق ليدز يونايتد من تسجيل هدف أول في شباك نظيره مانشستر سيتي، في مباراتهما الجارية في الوقت الحالي، في بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز.

ويستضيف ملعب “الاتحاد” مباراة مانشستر سيتي وليدز يونايتد في الجولة الثالثة عشر من الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2025/26.

ونجح ليدز يونايتد في تسجيل هدف أول في شباك مانشستر سيتي، في الدقيقة 50 من عمر المباراة الجارية في الوقت الحالي.

جاء الهدف عن طريق كالفيرت لوين بعد خطأ فادح من ماتيوس نونيز، حيث فقد الكرة ومررها بطريقة خاطئة إلى لاعب ليدز، ليسجل الأخير الهدف الأول للضيوف.

Sweden boss Graham Potter shared an update on Dejan Kulusevski's injury as the Tottenham star continues a lengthy recovery. The 25-year-old has not played a minute under new Spurs manager Thomas Frank after suffering a right patella injury in May during a Premier League match against Crystal Palace. It was a blow that ruled him out of Tottenham’s Europa League final triumph over Manchester United.

Potter happy with Kulusevski's progress

Kulusevski underwent surgery shortly after the injury and has spent the past five months rehabbing, mostly away from the spotlight. But after Sweden’s 1-1 draw with Slovenia, Potter confirmed the midfielder is finally moving into the later stages of his recovery. 

"Dejan is taking steps forward. He was happy with where he is in his rehabilitation," Potter informed. "It’s in Tottenham’s hands, and his. But he was feeling good when I last spoke to him and I look forward to seeing him maybe at Christmas or around New Year."

Potter warned, however, that nothing is guaranteed: "There is a lot of football to be played until then. Nobody knows for sure what it will look like in March. That is the reality. But he is in a good place, and he was happy with his rehabilitation last time we spoke. Then he was ready to take the next step [in rehabilitation]. But there is no stress involved. He will do his rehab in a good way and if he does that, I am pretty sure we will see him on the pitch soon.”

His comments suggest that Sweden expect to have Kulusevski fit for March’s World Cup play-off against Ukraine. It is a fixture of enormous importance after the Scandinavians finished bottom of their qualifying group but earned a second chance via their Nations League performance. 

AdvertisementTraining footage sparks optimism

During the international break, Spurs defender Destiny Udogie posted footage showing Kulusevski back on the grass at a warm-weather camp in the Middle East. The video delighted supporters, but Tottenham’s medical staff remain determined not to accelerate his schedule. Frank stated in September that he hoped to have the Swede back "before the end of the year" but refused to specify an exact return date.

"Instead of putting an exact month on it – October, November, December – I just want him back as quickly as possible," he said. "The medical guys and Kulusevski are working really hard on that. So, it's not tomorrow, but hopefully not too far away."

When further pushed, whether Kulusevski will be available at the start of the new year, he added: "Yes, there's a good chance of that."

In September, Kulusevski surprised fans by sharing an unfiltered photograph from his operation, showing surgeons holding his kneecap open. He accompanied it with a cryptic caption: “Warning for sensitive content. Thank God it happened so I could see it clear.”

Despite the graphic nature of the post, his tone during an interview with was noticeably optimistic.

"The status is great. I wake up every day with the same hunger," he said. "I will be back in the very, very near future. If everything goes according to plan, I’m confident I’ll be back in two to three months."

Spurs’ injury list continues to grow

Tottenham’s attacking options have been severely reduced in recent months. Alongside Kulusevski and Dominic Solanke, playmaker James Maddison is also out with a knee injury, while deadline-day loan signing Randal Kolo Muani fractured his jaw against Manchester United and remains uncertain. Solanke has managed just three competitive appearances for Tottenham this season, last featuring in the 2-0 win at Manchester City in August. Although Frank reassured supporters the injury was "not serious", Solanke later underwent a "small procedure" and has been out ever since.

Solanke told "It’s been very difficult. At first, I didn’t think I would be out for too long but we didn’t really understand the extent of the injury. I was trying to get back as quickly as I could but it didn’t happen, so I had to have surgery. Since then, I have been working to get back. I’m not putting a timeline on it because I’ve been telling everyone ‘I’m going to be back soon’ for the last few months. I’m taking it day by day but hopefully I won’t be much longer."

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Getty Images SportMassive test at Arsenal looms

Spurs sit fifth in the Premier League with 18 points from 11 matches. They travel next to the Emirates to face top-of-the-table Arsenal on Sunday, trailing Mikel Arteta’s side by four points. Victory would boost their Champions League ambitions and, more importantly, hand them the bragging rights of north London.

Newcastle United confidently got back to winning ways against Athletic Club in the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Whenever Eddie Howe’s downbeat Magpies have needed a confidence boost, they have relied on Europe’s elite competition so far this season, with three wins from four in the Champions League now, a far cry from their Premier League form, where they have registered only three wins from ten clashes.

The 2-0 victory that was comfortably picked up against Ernesto Valverde’s visitors would have also been a great morale booster for both Dan Burn and Joelinton, with the under-fire pair amongst the goals to steer Howe’s men to another mid-week victory on Europe’s grandest stage.

Burn & Joelinton's Champions League revival

Safe to say, neither player in question were in the good books at St. James’ Park against West Ham United.

Combined, the Blyth-born centre-back and the Brazilian would only win four of their 11 duels at the London Stadium, with Alan Shearer’s comments that the overall team performance against the Hammers was “lethargic” stemming somewhat from the declining duo’s half-hearted showings.

Yet, this time around, Burn certainly got the Shearer seal of approval when he headed home a thumping effort to gift the Toon a 1-0 lead.

On top of getting the ball rolling on Tyneside, the 6-foot-7 warrior would also come away from the 2-0 win with seven duels won and four ball recoveries, with the star his side has relied on over the years to be physical and valiant back at the forefront against the visitors from Bilbao.

Joelinton also looked back to his intimidating best when he fired home the game-clinching second for the Magpies, with the number 7 shaking off any recent signs of decay, too, when winning his own high tally of four duels.

Yet, while it is encouraging that both Newcastle stalwarts put in significantly improved performances, the worry will be that they will just revert to putting in sub-standard displays when the bread and butter of the Premier League returns.

The same is unlikely to be said of their Player of the Season so far.

Newcastle star looks like their Player of the Season already

There are a couple of names that spring to mind to be in the running to be an early contender for Newcastle’s player of the season prize.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Nick Woltemade has instantly hit the ground running with four Premier League goals after a bumper £65m move from Stuttgart. Yet, he was quiet during the 2-0 win, with only one shot on goal and nine accurate passes next to his name.

Sandro Tonali is also very much at the top of the Newcastle list when looking at who has stood out this season, but it was surely expected that the Italian would be classy again this campaign, having once been noted as a possible £100m player for the future on Tyneside.

On the contrary, while Magpies fans would have been excited this summer that more centre-back depth had been sought after, nobody would have quite been anticipating the instant success Malick Thiaw would find in his new location, after leaving AC Milan behind.

Indeed, Thiaw has already been described as an “incredible bit of business” by Sky Sports’ Keith Downie, and for good reason, too, as the £35m spent on his services this summer continues to look like a very wise investment.

In the Premier League this season, the German has looked unfazed by whatever new challenge awaits him, with an 87% pass accuracy, on top of him winning a rock-solid 4.9 duels per game.

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

0

Touches

89

Accurate passes

67/75 (87%)

Successful dribbles

1/1

Interceptions

1

Clearances

6

Blocked shots

2

Ball recoveries

5

Total duels won

10/12

He continued his near faultless start to life in England with yet another composed showing on Wednesday night, with an impressive six clearances and five ball recoveries amassed when doing his defensive basics flawlessly.

Winning ten duels, too, which eclipsed Burn’s own sturdy haul on the night, while registering a high 67 passes, the hope will be that the 6-foot-4 fan favourite only gets better with time, having already made a compelling enough argument to be one of Newcastle’s candidates for Player of the Season, just 13 games into his Tyneside stay.

Thiaw spoke of his desire to be taken to the “next level” under Howe’s guidance when joining in the summer, after a stop-start time in Italy, with the first steps he’s made at St James’ Park showing off a star that’s already bloomed into a guaranteed starter.

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It was another night to forget for Celtic on the European stage as they were condemned to another defeat by SC Braga, but it was VAR that stole the biggest headlines.

Rodgers admits he must find Celtic "solution"

Whilst Rangers’ struggles have taken much of the focus in Scotland this season, Celtic are quietly enduring a frustrating season of their own by their standards. The Bhoys haven’t won in three games and now sit second in the Scottish Premiership courtesy of a surprisingly quick start from Hearts, with things not getting much better on the European stage.

Playing host to Braga in their first home game of the Europa League campaign, Celtic were put to the sword and found themselves behind in the first-half courtesy of Ricardo Horta’s effort from range, before Gabri Martinez sealed the three points from the bench in the 85th minute.

After another disappointing evening, Brendan Rodgers admitted that he must find a “solution” to his side’s current problems.

It’s not just Celtic’s performance that the manager will be frustrated by, though. It was also an interesting night in the VAR room, with the officials deciding to rule Kelechi Iheanacho’s goal out to deny Celtic their equaliser in controversial fashion.

The Nigerian has been in excellent form since arriving in Scotland, but had his best moment yet chalked off in a decision that has left Celtic and Rodgers fuming.

VAR audio exposes why Iheanacho had goal ruled out

The VAR audio, shared by commentator Jamie Lyall, exposed why officials denied Celtic an equaliser. Lyall said: “Officials are saying there is a clear brush of the left arm somewhere in the footage.”

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Now, this is where things begin to get controversial. In the replay of the goal, it’s difficult to spot just where this “clear brush of the arm” is that the VAR officials have spotted. The more that the moment is replayed, the more it seems as though Celtic have every right to be frustrated.

Rodgers had his say on the moment after the game, telling reporters: “I can’t understand why the referee isn’t asked to go and have a look at it.

“Even if you look at it once, twice, and I’m assuming the guys in the VAR will have watched it more than that, because of the time it took, there’s absolutely no way from every angle you look at that he’s touched it. It’s hit his face, he’s gone on and finished it really, really well.”

A loaded Saturday of baseball is ahead of us, and we got you covered with all the action all day long.

Below, you'll find our favorite bets for Saturday's card that features a stud pitcher hiding in plain sight. Pablo Lopez had a slow start to 2023, but is starting to finally find his form as we hit the halfway point for the surging Twins. Can Lopez keep it up in a measuring stick matchup against the Mariners? I'm banking on it.

Below, you'll find our favorite bets for Saturday's MLB card.

Best MLB Bets Today, June 29thMets ML (+110) vs. AstrosRoyals ML (-110) vs. GuardiansTwins ML (-120) vs. MarinersAstros vs. Mets Astros Prediction and Pick

The Mets should be able to stay hot against the Astros, who are top five in the big leagues against left handed pitching. 

Southpaw Framber Valdez has struggled to stay healthy this season and pitch to his Cy Young expectation. Valdez has a fourth percentile hard-hit percentage and has lost his ability to find his strikeout prowess, right at the big league average. 

Ride the streaking Mets.

Guardians vs. Royals Prediction and Pick

The Royals, one of the best home teams in baseball, have arguably its best pitcher on the mound in Cole Ragans. Ragans is the superior pitcher with a nasty fastball that strikes out nearly 30% of the batters he has faced this season, and will have the Royals’ bats playing at home to back him up. 

Kansas City is the second best hitting team at home this season, a big reason why the club is 29-15 on the year at Kauffman Stadium. It also helps that the team gets to face Tanner Bibee, who has had a weak fastball and a high flyball rate that can cause issues at Kauffan stadium.

I’ll take the home team in a matchup that is lined like a coin flip. 

Twins vs. Mariners Prediction and Pick

Twins’ starter Pablo Lopez continues to erase a slow start to the season, and his underlying metrics make him a worthwhile bet against a Mariners team that is only hitting .210 in the month of June, the lowest in the big leagues. 

Lopez has been a victim of poor variance, his 3.27 xERA is far lower than his 5.11 ERA with an elite strikeout rate of 27%. 

I’m counting on the Twins’ starter to roll through the overrated Seattle lineup. 

Meanwhile, I'm happy to fade Bryce Miller, the Mariners starter on Saturday night. Miller has a 3.90 ERA that is supported by a 4.34 xERA. I'm confident the Twins, who are third in OPS this month, can knock around the regression bound Miller.

Glasgow Rangers have decided that they will not wield their axe to part ways with Russell Martin this early into his tenure after the 2-0 defeat to Hearts on Saturday.

A brace from Lawrence Shankland condemned the Light Blues to their first loss in the Scottish Premiership this season, after they had drawn their first four matches.

RangersReview journalist Chris Jack has reported that the manager has the support of the board, for now, and that there are no plans to hold talks over his position at Ibrox.

Why Russell Martin is under pressure at Rangers

Four points from five matches is the worst start to a top-flight season by the Light Blues in 47 years, which is part of the reason why the head coach’s position is under pressure.

The former Southampton manager’s style of play is also yet to resonate with supporters, who have seen just three goals in five league games with the possession-heavy style.

Crashing out of the Champions League qualifiers with a 9-1 loss to Club Brugge on aggregate did little to help Martin’s relationship with the fanbase, as some supporters decided to call for him to be sacked after the 6-0 defeat in the second leg.

However, the team’s problems on the pitch this season are not solely Martin or the coaching staff’s fault. The players have to take some accountability for the performances, as Nasser Djiga has been as much of a problem as the manager.

Why Nasser Djiga has been a problem for Rangers this season

The Wolverhampton Wanderers loanee made an impressive start to life at Ibrox in the 2-0 win over Panathinaikos in the Champions League, helping his team to keep a clean sheet with four out of five duels won, per Sofascore.

Unfortunately, that performance was not a sign of things to come from the Burkina Faso international. Instead, the Premier League loanee has been too much of a liability in recent weeks.

There have been too many questionable lapses in concentration defensively. Michael Stewart criticised the defender’s failure to get back and help his teammates out defensively against Alloa.

Stewart said: “He has not helped his team out one little bit. He was lying on the ground as if he had been pole-axed, and whether it’s a foul or not, he needs to get back and help his team out. They were left short of numbers at the back, brutally exposed, and he’s on the ground rolling about.”

As you can see in the clip above, Djiga also had a nightmare in the opening minutes of the first leg against Club Brugge, as he inexplicably allowed their forward to race clear through on goal.

As you can see in the table above, the Light Blues have conceded 16 goals in the ten matches that he has played for the club to date, which is a woeful defensive record.

His latest performance did little to change the narrative because Shankland got the run across him to score the first goal for Hearts in the match, and the Wolves loanee was substituted at half-time.

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As is also the case with Martin, not every problem or defensive problem has been Djiga’s fault this season, but both the manager and the centre-back have to be accountable for the consistently poor defensive displays up to this point.

Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel were at the crease, again, as Rajasthan Royals failed to close out a game they should have

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-20253:09

Rayudu: RR panicked under pressure

For the second game in a row, Rajasthan Royals (RR) failed to close a chase out.Three days ago, against Delhi Capitals (DC), RR needed 23 runs off the last 12 deliveries, with seven wickets standing. But the match ended in a tie, and RR lost the Super Over. While chasing 181 against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Jaipur on Saturday, RR required 25 runs from 18 balls, and had eight wickets in hand. Yet, they lost by two runs.After the latest reversal, RR’s stand-in captain Riyan Parag said such results were “really kind of hard to process”. “I don’t know what we did wrong. I felt we were in the game probably till the 18th over and 19th over, actually,” Parag said at the post-match presentation. “But yeah, I don’t know.”Related

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Avesh Khan wins a Russian roulette of yorkers at the death

With three overs to go against LSG, RR had two set batters at the crease. Yashasvi Jaiswal was batting on 74, and Parag on 38. But the 18th over from Avesh Khan began with Jaiswal bowled by a yorker, and ended with Parag trapped lbw by another yorker, as he looked to scoop but missed. In the last over, against Avesh again, Shimron Hetmyer and Dhruv Jurel could score only six runs out of the nine required.Did Jaiswal and Parag falling at a critical time make the big difference?”I think it’s something along those lines,” Parag said. “I blame myself for this. I probably should have finished it in the 19th over. But then, I don’t know if that was a bad decision for myself. I mean, we [have] just got to put one game together collectively for 40 overs. Only then can we expect a win.”But Parag also pointed to the one big over with the ball – the last – for taking the target beyond RR. The experienced Sandeep Sharma was taken for 27 runs in that over, with Abdul Samad smashing him for four sixes. That took LSG to 180.”I think we did really well [with the ball]. The last over was unfortunate,” he said. “I kind of thought we would stop them at like 165, [or] 170 max. The last over was unfortunate. Sandy is trusted. I think he just had one bad game, and Abdul Samad batted really well. So I thought we were like probably 20 runs over par [or] 15 runs over par. But we should have chased that down.”This was RR’s fourth loss in a row, and left them at eighth on the points table. They have won just two games out of eight so far, and head into their next match, an away fixture against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) on April 24, after a five-day break.

The lack of Premier League football might be a drag, but West Ham United fans were at least able to watch Jarrod Bowen on Tuesday night.

The sensationally talented winger didn’t feature in the drab 2-0 win over Andorra, but he did come off the bench in the 5-0 demolition of Serbia.

It was the Hammers star’s 17th cap for the country, and while that’s a great achievement, plenty would argue his talent and form suggest he should have plenty more under his belt.

The Englishman has been one of the Irons’ best players for years now, but he might have some welcome competition in the shape of an academy gem pretty soon.

Bowen's West Ham career

Bowen joined West Ham in January 2020 from Hull City for a fairly hefty fee – for a Championship player – of £20m.

While it’s easy to forget today, the then 23-year-old wasn’t an instant hit in East London, scoring just a single goal and providing four assists in his 13 appearances that season.

However, we started to see the player we recognise today the following season, as he bolstered his return to eight goals and six assists and, from that point on, was one of the club’s key players.

Undoubtedly, the 28-year-old’s best moment for the Hammers came in the 2023 Conference League final, in which he scored the match-winning goal in the 90th minute to hand the club their first European trophy.

In all, the Leominster-born monster has made 242 appearances for West Ham, totalling 19251 minutes, in which he’s scored 75 goals and provided 52 assists.

That means the legend in the making has managed to average a goal involvement every 1.90 games, or every 151.58 minutes since making the move to the London Stadium over five years ago.

With all that said, it’s certainly encouraging that the academy might be about to provide the club with their own homegrown version of Bowen.

West Ham's homegrown Bowen

West Ham have a proud history of developing some seriously top talent, and the latest star to come out of their academy may just be Elisha Sowunmi.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast’s In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

The 18-year-old prospect joined the club at the under-9s level and put pen to paper on his first professional contract earlier this summer.

It’s not hard to see why the Hammers were keen to tie him down, as he’s come on leaps and bounds in the junior sides and had a campaign to remember last season.

For example, in 25 appearances totalling just 2081 minutes, the promising talent put the ball in the back of the net 14 times and provided two assists to boot.

That means he was able to maintain an average of a goal involvement every 1.56 games, or every 130.06 and suggests he could be a real goal threat when he progresses to the first team, like Bowen.

Appearances

25

Minutes

2081′

Goals

14

Assists

2

Goal Involvements per Match

0.64

Minutes per Goal Involvement

130.06′

However, that isn’t the only trait he shares with the 28-year-old, as he’s also incredibly versatile, having played all over the pitch from attacking midfield to up top and off the right, which is now considered his primary role.

It should be said that the step-up to senior football is massive, and it may take a few years before fans see him on a regular basis, but as academy manager Kenny Brown points out, “he has all the talent in the world.”

Ultimately, Bowen is without question West Ham’s best player and probably will remain so for at least a few more years, but keep an eye out for Sowunmi – he looks like the real deal.

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ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 9, 2025

It is over between Newcastle United and Alexander Isak. The Sweden international will reportedly move to Liverpool in the final hours of the window, getting the move he has desired the whole summer.

It leaves the Magpies in need of a new centre-forward, and the likes of Nicolas Jackson of Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers star Jorgen Strand Larsen are two of their options.

However, in the final throes of the window, Eddie Howe’s side could target another option.

Newcastle’s latest centre-forward target

Despite moves for Jackson and Strand Larsen being a possibility, TBR Football reports that the Magpies have ‘had discussions’ to sign Paris Saint-Germain and France international striker Randal Kolo Muani.

Transfer Focus

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

The French champions want a loan deal with an obligation to buy the player at this late stage. It was reported that a fee of £50m could be the fee Luis Enrique’s side ask for.

Newcastle’s top-flight rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, are also linked.

Why Kolo Muani would be a good signing

Despite struggling for regular minutes at PSG last term, Kolo Muani impressed on a loan spell at Juventus. His form for the Old Lady helped to raise his stock again after a tough time in Paris, after once being described as a “diamond” by football scout Antonio Mango.

Last term, the Frenchman, who is from Bondy, the same area as Kylian Mbappe, shone for the Serie A giants. In 22 appearances for the club, he found the back of the net ten times and assisted three goals. He also scored twice for PSG in minimal game time.

Kolo Muani shot to world fame after a successful 2022 World Cup campaign for France. Of course, Les Bleus fell just short of retaining their title after losing to Argentina in the final, but the striker, who donned the number 12 shirt for that competition, scored in the semi-final against Morocco and assisted in the final.

Well, there is certainly a case to be made that the Frenchman would be a better addition than both Strand Larsen and Jackson. The Wolves striker did outscore him last season, with 13 goals, but played almost double the number of games.

As for Chelsea striker Jackson, who saw a late loan move to Bayern Munich called off, he had similar success to Kolo Muani.

The Senegal star bagged 13 goals and assisted six for the Blues, but again, played far more than the 2022 World Cup star.

In terms of their minutes per goal ratio last season, Jackson averaged a goal every 224 minutes in the Premier League for Chelsea.

As for Strand Larsen, he scored one goal every 186 minutes on average in the English top flight. Both are higher than Kolo Muani’s tally of 151 minutes per goal, for both Juve and PSG.

Other underlying numbers suggest that Newcastle should prioritise the signing of Kolo Muani. For example, he is a better chance creator, averaging 1.3 key passes each game compared to 0.73 for Strand Larsen and 1.13 for Jackson per 90 minutes.

Goals

0.59

0.49

0.4

Goals per shot on target

0.42

0.42

0.29

Key passes

1.3

0.73

1.13

Take-ons completed

1.48

0.28

0.73

Ball recoveries

2.43

1.46

1.94

This is not a deal that would harm Newcastle financially this summer, given it would be a loan move with an obligation to buy next summer. Given Kolo Muani’s clinical nature in front of goal and how he brings others into the game, it is easy to see why this would be the best option for the Magpies.

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