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Pietersen’s showmanship hides a liking for the battle and a rare talent for winning matches

Sambit Bal at Lord's22-Jul-2007

Give Pietersen a stage and a challenge and he’ll be up to it © Getty Images
It is said that bowlers win matches but to watch Kevin Pietersen bat at the top of his game is to watch a match-winning batsman of rare pedigree. He has been accused, and one suspects always will be, of showmanship and a singular devotion to himself, but as long as he can produce match-turning innings as he did at Lord’s on the fourth day, his team-mates will be mad to complain.Pietersen could turn out to be the most unaesthetic of great batsmen. His game is not about balance, poise, economy of movement or grace. Though his movements are exaggerated, the word flourish cannot be applied to his batting in the manner it can be to Brian Lara. He crouches in his stance, bends his knees when the bowler begins his run and shuffles to off and middle at the point of delivery. Only Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Shivnarine Chanderpaul among the current batsmen are as hyperactive and as ungainly at the crease. But from that position he can manoeuvre the ball powerfully in all directions. Though the leg-side shovel remains his signature stroke, he has developed his batting sufficiently to hit boundaries all around the wicket.Not that he is a slouch between the wickets, but singles and twos are merely tactical options for Pietersen, whose game revolves around hitting boundaries. To state the obvious, boundaries keep the runs coming faster but Pietersen’s motives are far darker: he aims for subjugation. In depositing a good-length ball outside off behind midwicket, the message to the bowler is unambiguous: no length or line is safe. When Pietersen gets going, momentum shifts, the rhythm of the match changes; when he is at it for a long enough period, the match often turns in his team’s favour.England were in danger of being bowled out for under 200 today. The Indian bowlers did themselves credit in the morning session. The sun was shining and the conditions were not helpful to swing bowling as they were on the first three days but the Indian medium pacers stuck to a run-denying line, and RP Singh combined some sharp balls with the knack of picking up wickets to reduce England to 132 for five a few minutes before lunch. Considering that England had lost six for 26 in the first innings, India were in with a chance.As it happened, England lost their last five for 31. In between, though, Matt Prior stayed with Pietersen long enough after lunch for England to add 120 runs in 25 overs. Prior wasn’t a spectator, but the session after lunch bore Pietersen’s stamp. His game is based far more on calculation than on instinct and he picked his spots surgically. RP Singh was hit to cover and flicked to fine leg, Sreesanth was wristily despatched to midwicket and the hundred came with three emphatic hits in one over from Anil Kumble. The second, a straight six, took him from 93 to 99, and it spoke of a man with the confidence to live on the edge. It’s that ability to live on the edge and bring his best game to play when the match is on the line that has come to define Pietersen It’s that ability to live on the edge and bring his best game to play when the match is on the line that has come to define Pietersen. His first century came when a series – not just any series but the Ashes – was on the line. England had to bat out of their skins on the last day of the series to save the Oval Test and win back the Ashes and were five down at lunch. Pietersen ended up with 158 off 187 balls, which featured breathtaking strokes against Shane Warne and Brett Lee, Australia’s best bowlers in the match and in the series.His second hundred, 100 off 137 balls, came when England were in trouble in Faisalabad chasing Pakistan’s 462, and his fourth, 142 against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston came in a team score of 295. Muttiah Muralitharan dismissed him four times in the series, the last occasion precipitating a collapse that cost England the Test, but Pietersen dominated him otherwise, taking 134 runs off 158 balls he faced from him.In an age where batsmen resort to pretensions of playing a stroke while defending against spinners, Pietersen does it the old fashioned way, the bat distinctly in front of the pad. This makes for an interesting contest between him and Kumble. Pietersen is forever looking to come down the pitch against spinners but Kumble is not an easy bowler to come down to. And where Kumble is forever seeking to trap tentative batsmen lbw, Pietersen is unlikely to present his pad to him.At the end of the fourth day, the irony was hard to miss. Sachin Tendulkar, the slayer of spinners in his pomp and who famously, even if in jest, inscribed “Once in a blue moon, mate, never again” on the ball with which Monty Panesar had got him lbw the first time, fell the same way once again, his bat tucked behind his pad. It was only a couple of hours after Pietersen had dealt with Kumble, India’s greatest matchwinner, with a swagger.It’s early still to draw comparisons but this much can be said about Pietersen: give him a stage and give him a challenge and he’ll be up to it. Make no mistake about it, here’s greatness in the making.

Ruben Amorim insisted that Manchester United youngsters "will have space in our team" after stitching a comeback win against Hong Kong.

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• Man Utd sealed a 3-1 win over Hong Kong
• Chido Obi & Ayden Heaven were on the scoresheet
• Amorim impressed with the teenagers in his squad

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  United ended their post-season adventure in Asia on a high, staging a comeback to defeat Hong Kong 3-1 in their final exhibition match. Teenage striker Chido Obi grabbed the headlines with a pair of goals, before Ayden Heaven added a late third to seal the win. After a disappointing 1-0 loss to ASEAN All-Stars in Malaysia's capital, Kuala Lumpur, the result ensured that United concluded their financially lucrative Asian tour on a positive note, with promising glimpses into the club’s future.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Amorim was especially impressed with midfielder Jim Thwaites, who made an impact after coming off the bench. However, despite the positive display, the manager made it clear that performing well in friendlies is just one part of the development journey. The true test lies in whether these players can sustain their level and handle the demands of life in the Premier League.

• WHAT AMORIM SAID

  Speaking to the club media after the victory, Amorim said: "I really like the kids. I think Jimmy [Thwaites], in the last 15 minutes, as a midfielder, he wants to play. It doesn't matter how many minutes. These kind of young kids are really important. They will have space in our team."

  The biggest talking point, however, was Chido Obi’s clinical brace. Amorim commended the 19-year-old forward but was quick to remind that scoring goals is only part of the challenge.

  "Of course, it's a good feeling [for Obi to score twice] but he needs to continue to train really hard because the Premier League is a different world," he said. "We have to improve as a team but I'm really pleased with the kids. Ayden proved, in every game for the first team, he is ready to be an option. Of course, he has got to improve. It's important for us to control these kids, to show them to be a professional in Manchester United, it's really hard to maintain the level. He is starting and needs to continue."

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Although the tour has just wrapped, Amorim revealed his mind is already shifting towards next season’s preparations.

  "Of course, to spend time with my family," he said. "But, like I said in the press conference, I am ready to start the next one. We have a lot to do. A lot to prepare. We have to think of the squad and we are changing building. It needs to be that everything is ready for the new season."

Transfer fees are getting ridiculous nowadays, but you can still negotiate your way to a bargain in the market

Alexander Isak for £125 million. Florian Wirtz for £117m. Benjamin Sesko for £73m. Nick Woltemade for £69m. Bryan Mbeumo for £65m. Eberechi Eze for £60m. You get the idea – big money gets you big players.

That's the way the world's going. You generally have to open your wallet to find quality stars – but that's not the only way to get yourself a good deal. There's still room for a bargain here and there. Just because you have lots of cash doesn't mean you necessarily need to blow it all at one.

GOAL has ranked the 10 best value-for-money deals of the 2025 summer window, paying our dues to the teams who squeezed every penny in transfer talks:

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  10Gabri Veiga (Al-Ahli to Porto, £12m)

  If you cast your mind back to the 2023 summer transfer window, there was a certain Spanish playmaker who dominated the gossip columns. Fresh off a breakout season with Celta Vigo during which he scored 11 goals and provided four assists, Gabri Veiga was expected to join one of Europe's big boys. Barcelona and Chelsea were among the clubs tipped with an interest, which is why it was such a surprise when he opted to move to Saudi side Al-Ahli instead.

  After two seasons in the Middle East, Veiga, who is still only 23, is back in Europe after signing for Portuguese giants Porto at a snip £12m – just over £20m less that what Al-Ahli paid to Celta. With Benfica and Sporting CP dominating Liga Portugal in recent years, he's the sort of player who could help the Dragons become the dominant force in the country again.

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  9Rayan Cherki (Lyon to Manchester City, £32m)

  Sure, Rayan Cherki has endured a mixed start to his Manchester City career, but let's not judge him too quickly in that direction. After all, he's the sort of flair player that will take some time adjusting to the Premier League once he returns to full fitness in the coming months.

  Manchester City's rebuild saw them stump up an initial £32m to sign the French wizard from Lyon as they look to replace the genius of Kevin De Bruyne with a few players rather than like-for-like. The 22-year-old brings with him an ingenuity that has been missing in their recent plight, and his ability to strike a ball on either foot only adds to his unpredictable dribbling.

  There are few Premier League players who can match Cherki when it comes to technical ability. Now, it's about whether he and Pep Guardiola can put his skill to good use.

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  8Cristhian Mosquera (Valencia to Arsenal, £12m)

  Alright, so we just said we shouldn't overreact to a few games into a new season, but holding your own away at Liverpool in place of William Saliba is a hard ask of any centre-back, let alone one who's only 21. That's enough of a reason to think that Cristhian Mosquera represents fantastic value for money.

  Amid Valencia's financial woes, Arsenal were able to muscle their way to the front of the queue and sign the versatile defender for an initial £12m. In this market, it's conceivable to make a significant profit on that even if performances don't live up to the hype.

  Regardless, Mosquera was solid in La Liga last season and with his profile, it's easy to see him further adapting to the rigours of the Premier League too. Whatever you say about Arsenal and their defensive nature nowadays, you have to give it to them that they know what they're doing.

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  7Pervis Estupinan (Brighton to AC Milan, £17m)

  It wasn't too long ago that Pervis Estupinan was in the conversation for one of the Premier League's best left-backs. Such is the value in Brighton's trading model that they decided to move him on for young blood this summer.

  The lucky team on the other end of the deal were AC Milan, who decided to accept an offer from Saudi outfit Al-Hilal for Theo Hernandez. In need of a top-quality replacement, they found Estupinan up for sale and were able to acquire him for £17m, immediately coming in as a standout left-back in Serie A.

  For the first time, the Rossoneri have an Ecuadorian in their ranks, and if he can replicate his performances from the Amex Stadium at San Siro, then he will easily win over the Rossoneri faithful.

Mumbai could only muster 144, a total that wasn’t anywhere close to enough

Alagappan Muthu30-Apr-20241:06

Jaffer: ‘LSG trust Naveen to bowl the tough overs’

Having lost more wickets (4) than they hit boundaries (3) in the powerplay, Mumbai Indians were always going to struggle. Four of the first six overs cost a run a ball or less. Two of the last four suffered the same fate. A total of 144 did not look like it would be enough and so it proved as Lucknow Super Giants secured victory with four wickets to spare and moved into third place on the points table. Really, the only thing that didn’t go according to plan for KL Rahul – well two things – was Mayank Yadav leaving the field early on the very night he returned from injury.Mohsin’s missilesThere is almost no relation between Mohsin Khan’s amble up to the crease and the ball that he sends down. At times, he gets big on the batter. Other times he gets swing that they aren’t expecting. He uses his height to great effect and must have incredible strength in his shoulder. It seems to be where he gets all his pace, which deceived pretty much everybody. He was producing a false shot roughly once every three deliveries.MI fined for slow over rate

MI captain Hardik Pandya was fined INR 24 lac as his team maintained a slow over rate for the second time during IPL 2024. The rest of the members of the playing XI, including the Impact Player, were each fined INR 6 lac or 25% of their respective match fees, whichever is lesser. A third such offence will result in Hardik being banned for one match.

Rohit Sharma spooned a ball that he saw as hittable straight into the hands of short cover. The MI batter threw his head back in utter disappointment. He was still thinking that should have gone for four. But instead he was the one gone for 4, on his birthday. Nehal Wadhera had cleared his front leg looking to go big. Except he was met with a searing yorker, dipping beneath his bat before he was ready for it and crashing into his stumps.Stoinis’ utilityMarcus Stoinis has a hundred in this tournament, batting at No. 3. He also occasionally opens the bowling for LSG. Imagine what India would do to have a player like that in their T20 squad?Someone who can bat up the order and give them two or three overs every game. Stoinis knows his limitations. He knows he doesn’t have a lot of pace, but that actually worked in his favour when was bowling to Suryakumar Yadav. The attempt to flick a boundary to fine leg ended up as a feather through to the keeper. It was brave of LSG, keeping Stoinis on for a second over, long after the swing from the new ball had disappeared, against one of the most dangerous batters in the world. But that was probably the plan – deny SKY the pace he likes – and it worked.Marcus Stoinis scored quickly on a tricky pitch•AFP/Getty ImagesMI fizzleThey lost Rohit and Suryakumar in back-to-back overs. They lost Tilak Varma and Hardik Pandya in back-to-back balls. MI were a sinking ship after just 5.2 overs. They could hit only three boundaries in the powerplay, the fewest this season. It was the perfect situation for Ravi Bishnoi to come in and dictate terms. He bowled four overs on the trot, giving away 28 runs and picking up Ishan Kishan’s wicket with a gorgeous googly, deceiving the left-hander as he went for a slog across the line and having him caught at short third. Wadhera tried his best from the other end, progressing from 9 off 15 to 13 off 20 to finally 46 off 41. Most of his runs came off Mayank (21 off 12, 2x4s, 2x6s)Stoinis’ warningBatting average almost 40, strike rate above 150, four wickets from 12 overs bowled, LSG have a cheat code and his name is Stoinis. This chase really got in gear when he pulled Gerald Coetzee for back-to-back boundaries in the third over. Until then the new ball was doing a fair bit and LSG’s focus was seeing that spell of play out. Rahul had dropped anchor (5 off 13, before finishing with 28 off 22). He was looking to his partner to make the play and he did. Big time.Stoinis came into this game with an average of 19 and strike rate of 128 against spin in IPL 2024. But he found Piyush Chawla and Mohammad Nabi just to his liking, taking them for a combined 29 off just 16 balls with four fours and a six. That ended up as necessary insurance because after the fall of his wicket, LSG needed 27 balls to score the remaining 30 runs, losing two wickets as well.

Allrounders Wessly Madhevere and Brandon Mavuta have been banned from all cricket for four months by Zimbabwe Cricket for recreational drug use. They have also been fined 50% of their salaries for three months with effect from January 2024.Batter Kevin Kasuza, who played last of his seven Tests in 2021, has also been suspended from all cricket activities with immediate effect after he tested positive for a banned recreational drug during an in-house doping test last week.During an in-house dope test last month, Madhevere and Mavuta tested positive for a banned recreational drug in an out-of-competition case and were suspended immediately. They received the sanction following a hearing on last Wednesday when they admitted to charges of “breaching the ZC Employment Code of Conduct”,” a board release stated.Their rehabilitation will be overseen by ZC’s medical personnel and the duo has been ordered to train at the high performance programme. “In taking the decision, the Committee also considered some mitigating factors, with both players showing remorse and having already started working on withdrawing from the habit and getting their systems clean,” ZC said in a statement.Both Madhevere and Mavuta were part of the Zimbabwe side that faced Ireland in a home series in early December. Madhevere played all three T20Is while Mavuta played just the third T20I and the three ODIs after that. While Mavuta hasn’t played any competitive cricket since then, Madhevere featured for Mashonaland Eagles in the ongoing Logan Cup, Zimbabwe’s first-class competition.

تحدث فيديريكو فالفيردي، نجم نادي ريال مدريد، عن توليه دور قائد الفريق الملكي بدايًة من الموسم الجديد، وذلك عقب رحيل لوكا مودريتش عن صفوف النادي الإسباني.

مودريتش غادر ريال مدريد بعد نهاية عقده مع الفريق الملكي، حيث وقع مع نادي إي سي ميلان في صفقة انتقال حر.

وبات فالفيردي هو قائد ريال مدريد الثاني خلف داني كارفاخال، قائد الفريق الملكي الأول.

اقرأ أيضًا .. ريال مدريد يتخذ قرارًا مصيريًا بشأن جارسيا

وأكد فالفيردي في تصريحات اليوم الخميس، أنه متحمس بشكل كبير لارتداء شارة قيادة ريال مدريد، حيث قال: ”فخور بارتداء هذا القميص مجدداً وبأن أكون أحد قادة الفريق، إنه حلم كل طفل عندما يعشق كرة القدم، أحياناً يصعب عليّ تصديق أنني أحد قادة الفريق وأحد أهم عناصره”.

وأضاف فيدي: ”فخور بالعودة والتواجد مع ريال مدريد لموسم آخر، مرتدياً هذا القميص ومدافعاً عن هذا الشعار، بنفس الحماس الذي اعتدنا عليه كل عام للفوز بجميع الألقاب”.

وأوضح: ”نحن سعداء جداً بعودتنا للتدريبات، سنسعى للفوز بجميع الألقاب هذا العام، بينما أظهر زملائي في الفريق جديتهم في العمل بجد خلال فترة التوقف الماضية”.

وعن مدرب ريال مدريد، تشابي ألونسو، أردف: ”علينا أن نستغل كل تمرين على أكمل وجه، سواء في الفترة الصباحية أو المسائية، لنجمع طاقتنا ونركز على ما يريده المدرب منا”.

وتابع: ”انضم إلينا لاعبين جدد وخضنا بطولة كأس العالم للأندية قبل بداية الموسم الجديد، لكننا نفتقر أيضاً إلى بعض الأمور وسنعمل على حلها، سنحاول نكون أكثر اتحادًا في الدفاع والهجوم هذا ما نعمل على تحسينه حالياً”.

واختتم: ”نعمل بجد على الضغط والتماسك والاستحواذ على الكرة، والتعرف على بعضنا البعض بشكل أفضل، وسوف نصل إلى أفضل شكل خلال الفترة المقبلة”.

Around 13,000 saw Southern Brave beat London Spirit in the women’s Hundred before the men’s match was abandoned after just 26 deliveries

Valkerie Baynes08-Aug-2023

It was hard to know what was more of a farce. The poor groundsman seeing his neat pile of sawdust obliterated as he tried unsuccessfully to lift the rope being towed round the Lord’s outfield to soak up moisture left by another rain shower over it, or this season trying to pass itself off as “summer”.For the majority of a 13,000-strong crowd who saw Southern Brave Women defeat their London Spirit opposition and then stayed on through an hour-and-a-half stoppage for persistent drizzle and the subsequent mop-up, there didn’t seem anything farcical about a match reduced to 50 balls per side. The fact they were set to see any more play was testament to the superpowers of drainage at Lord’s and its ground staff, allowing the show to go on – momentarily. That was until rain intervened again, this time for good (or bad, if you’re a cricket fan).Dan Worrall had Devon Conway caught-and-bowled for a three-ball duck on the seventh ball of the match but only five more balls were possible before the rain which had hung around all day and delayed the start of the women’s match by an hour returned, at which point Brave were 11 for 1.At the resumption, the powerplay was revised to 13 balls per side, meaning Brave had just two balls left of theirs and James Vince made the most of them with back-to-back fours behind square leg and through the covers off Jordan Thompson. A short time later, Vince thrashed Matt Critchley over wide long-on for six as the Brave batters set about doing what they could to make up for a start in which they thought they’d have double the time.Liam Dawson slowed things up innings and delivery-wise, conceding just three runs off his first set of five, which included the wicket of Finn Allen, holing out to Zak Crawley, who fell theatrically backwards as he pouched a straightforward catch in the deep. No sooner was Dawson out of the action, he was back in it – taking a sliding catch at full stretch to remove Vince. Immediately the rain started to fall again however, the heaviest it had all day, with Brave having scored 34 runs off 26 balls for the loss of three wickets.At that point, the fans started filing out, credit to them for believing for so long. The match was abandoned shortly afterwards.

USMNT forward Haji Wright has left the U.S. camp and will return to his club after picking up an injury

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• Haji Wright has left USMNT camp with Achilles injury
• Will return to Coventry City for further examination
• Leaves U.S. manager Pochettino shorthanded at forward

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The U.S. were dealt a significant injury blow this weekend, with Haji Wright picking up an Achilles injury that will rule him out for the remainder of the Gold Cup, the USMNT announced. Wright missed the second fixture of the U.S.'s Gold Cup campaign, but was expected to be a key fixture in Mauricio Pochettino's squad for the remainder of the tournament.

  "It’s sad. He’s a very good guy and added a lot of quality in the group as a different option," Pochettino said in Saturday's pregame press conference. "He's a player that can play different positions in attack. Yes, a sad situation, sad for him, sad for the team, yeah, but I think we need to prioritize his process of recovery. A sad moment, but we need to be looking forward and try to accept the reality and keep being strong."

  Wright will now return to his club team Coventry City for further evaluation.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Wright figured to be a valuable option in multiple positions for Pochettino at the tournament. The Coventry man can play either on the left or through the middle of a front three – although he didn't start the first game of the campaign. The 27-year-old made his presence felt in the Americans' Gold Cup opener as he scored after being subbed in the team's 5-0 win.

  Pochettino revealed Wright had arrived to the U.S. camp with pain in his Achilles.

  “For Haji. He already arrived with some problems with the Achilles," the manager said. "We could not fix the problem with the pain. That is why we made the decision we had to make”

  Per Gold Cup tournament rules, Wright cannot be replaced on the roster.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  Wright has impressed for Coventry of late, becoming a key man for the He has scored 31 goals in all competitions across the last two seasons, leading Coventry to an FA Cup semifinal in 2024 and a Premier League promotion push last season.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WRIGHT AND USMNT?

  There is no timeline for Wright's return to play. The U.S. conclude their Gold Cup group stage against Haiti on Sunday.

Newcastle United are monitoring a “special” record-breaking international forward who idolises Neymar, according to a new report.

Newcastle veteran's nightmare season continues

Odysseas Vlachodimos has played just one game for Newcastle United since completing a £20 million move to St. James’ Park from Nottingham Forest last summer – with the Greek behind both Nick Pope and Martin Dubravka in the pecking order on Tyneside.

The 30-year-old, however, had remained a regular for his national team, having started all six of Greece’s Nations League group matches, keeping four clean sheets to help Ivan Jovanovic’s side to win five.

That run between the sticks came to an end at the weekend, though, as Vlachodimos was dropped for Greece’s play-off fixture against Scotland, with Jovanovic instead naming Olympiakos’ Konstantinos Tzolakis in his place.

While no doubt frustrating for Vlachodimos, the decision proved to be the right one as Greece ran out as comprehensive 3-0 winners at Hampden Park to seal their promotion to Nations League Group A and sink Scotland down to Group B.

"Incredible" £15.6m-a-year star open to signing for Newcastle this summer

He could be an exciting addition for Eddie Howe.

2 ByHenry Jackson Mar 21, 2025

Speaking after the game, former Scotland defender Willie Miller was full of praise for the Greeks’ performance.

“Sometimes the opposition are just better than you and the Greeks were better. Sorely disappointing, a great performance from Greece and a poor one from Scotland,” he said, according to BBC Sport. “Greece were just a better side, we had no answer for them. We had no creativity and no threat, we didn’t make it difficult at all for Greece.”

Newcastle monitoring Vlachodimos' teammate

Among those on the scoresheet for Greece in their 3-0 win over Scotland was teenager Konstantinos Karetsas, who recently switched his international allegiance from Belgium to represent the Azure & White. Karetsas scored his side’s second on the night, firing beautifully into the top corner from just inside the Scotland box.

At just 17 years of age, his goal saw him become the youngest player ever to score a competitive goal for the Greek national team.

According to TBR Football chief correspondent Graeme Bailey, Newcastle are among a number of clubs who are currently keeping tabs on Karetsas. Bailey reports that representatives from Newcastle, Manchester United and Liverpool were all in attendance to watch the young attacking midfielder in action against Scotland.

When not playing for Greece, Karetsas plays for Racing Genk in the Belgian Pro League, for whom he’s scored two goals and provided four assists in 30 games this season. The Belgian-born star, who, according to BBC Sport, idolises Brazil legends Neymar and Ronaldinho, was described as “pretty special” by former Scotland winger Pat Nevin after his standout performance across two legs against the Tartan Army.

Greek journalist Stephen Kountourou, meanwhile, has hailed him as one of world football’s future stars: “We had to fight tooth and nail with the Belgian FA to stop him representing them and that was seen as a big coup for Greek football, because Karetsas is rated not just as a potentially decent talented player but as one of the big players for the future in international football.”

Former Manchester United star Jesse Lingard claims people didn't have his 'best interests at heart' when he signed for Nottingham Forest in 2022.

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Lingard opens up on failed Forest moveClaims it wasn't his decisionNow enjoying life in South KoreaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Lingard joined the then newly-promoted club at the end of his Manchester United contract in 2022, despite interest in his services from West Ham, who he had enjoyed a successful loan spell with in the 2020-21 campaign. And the former England international has now opened up on where things went wrong that summer.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT LINGARD SAID

Lingard told: "The Forest deal, when we were going through that – and I don't want to go into too much detail – but I wasn't in control of anything at that time. I basically didn't have a choice. I knew what I wanted to do, I knew what offer was on the table from West Ham and what was on offer from Forest – there was a place I'd have preferred to go. But people have their own say and at the time I didn't really feel like I could voice my opinion. Now I can see people didn't have my best interests [at heart]. But obviously West Ham didn't happen. I went to Forest."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Lingard played just 20 times for the Midlands club, scoring two goals and creating two more in his one season at the City Ground. He has since moved on to FC Seoul, where he says he has "found peace" having made "100% the right choice".

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AFPWHAT NEXT FOR LINGARD?

Lingard, whose deal with the South Korean club ends in November, said of his future: "Other possibilities are out there – of course you are going to think about it. We are only human. We will see what happens when the transfer window opens."