After months of misery and poor performances, there are now reasons for West Ham United to feel somewhat hopeful.

Yes, it’s still going to be a tough season for the East Londoners, but Nuno Espírito Santo got it spot on against Newcastle United and secured his first win with the club.

Moreover, several standout performers demonstrated they are ready for the fight, such as Freddie Potts.

The academy graduate was incredible and has to be a regular starter from this point onwards, even if that means it’s the end of the line for another West Ham ace.

The West Ham duds who need to be sold

While the win over Newcastle has certainly helped morale around the club, there remain more than a few players West Ham need to shift as soon as possible.

Fortunately, it appears that at least one of them is set to leave, with reports emerging that Niclas Füllkrug has his heart set on returning to Germany in January.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker has been a complete flop in East London, having scored just three goals and provided two assists in 27 appearances.

Appearances

20

7

Minutes

877′

385′

Goals

3

0

Assists

2

0

Goal Involvements per Match

0.25

0.00

Minutes per Goal Involvement

175.4′

N/A

Someone who at least had a reasonably decent first season with the club, but needs to be sold nonetheless, is James Ward-Prowse.

The former Southampton captain was a constant problem in the middle of the park while Graham Potter was in the dugout, as he lacked the physicality and pace for the defensive side of the game and became increasingly ineffective going forward.

Moreover, with Nuno now freezing him out of the squad, selling him in January would be best for his own career.

Finally, although it may seem a bit early, it is likely in the club’s best interest to sell Mads Hermanssen before his value declines further.

The Danish shot-stopper might have looked good at Leicester City, but was woeful at the start of the season and miles off the level Alphons Areola is at today.

With all that said, there is one more player who might have been able to stay at West Ham were it not for Potts’ impressive display against Newcastle.

The West Ham ace whose time is up

While there were excellent performances across the pitch on Saturday, it would be fair to say Potts was one of the best players for West Ham.

Chalkboard

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

The academy gem played with his heart on his sleeve, adding some real dynamism and power to the midfield, but at the same time, showed some real technical quality.

It was the sort of display that should see him start every game for the foreseeable future.

However, if he is to do that, and the likes of Mateus Fernandes and Lucas Paqueta are to play a major role this year, while Soungoutou Magassa is on the bench, the club need to trim their midfield options.

This, unfortunatly for him, leads to Andy Irving.

Unlike his teammates, the once-capped Scotsman doesn’t really bring any standout qualities to the team.He is not an overly technical player, and as fans have seen over the last few weeks, he is not nearly physical enough for the Premier League.

In fact, he started in the loss to Brentford last month, and in the aftermath, Jamie Carragher described the Hammers as “one of the slowest teams I’ve seen in Premier League history!”

Then, against Leeds when he was once again tasked with running the midfield, journalist Jordan Rushworth described him as a “National League standard” midfielder, adding that he “gets walked past every time an opposition midfielder has the ball.”

Ultimately, while that might be a step too far, it has become increasingly clear that Irving is not at the level to play for West Ham.

Therefore, with Potts now unignorable, the club should look to sell the Scotsman as soon as possible.

Tottenham receive response after contact to sign West Ham's Jarrod Bowen

Spurs are looking to raid their London rivals for another forward, having signed Mohammed Kudus in the summer.

ByDominic Lund Nov 4, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

O Campeonato Gaúcho de 2024 se inicia neste sábado (20), e 12 equipes disputam o título estadual, com destaque para Grêmio e Internacional. O Lance! traz os detalhes da competição, como o regulamento, onde assistir aos jogos, como chegam os principais times e muito mais.

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➡️ Siga o Lance! no WhatsApp e acompanhe em tempo real as principais notícias do esporte

📋FORMATO E REGULAMENTO
A fase inicial da competição segue tendo o mesmo formato, com as 12 equipes se enfrentando apenas em um turno, em disputa de pontos corridos. A grande mudança em relação aos anos anteriores está na forma de classificação: os clubes aprovaram o aumento de vagas na etapa eliminatória de quatro para oito. Os dois últimos serão rebaixados para a Série A2.

Nas quartas de final, os confrontos em jogo único serão definidos da seguinte forma:

✅ 1º colocado geral x 8º colocado geral
✅ 2º colocado geral x 7º colocado geral
✅ 3º colocado geral x 6º colocado geral
✅ 4º colocado geral x 5º colocado geral

Os quatro melhores classificados, nesta fase, terão o mando de campo a seu favor e poderão jogar pelo empate para garantir uma vaga na semifinal. Também foi acordado que o VAR só estará presente no mata-mata.

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As semifinais e as finais, por outro lado, contarão com partidas de ida e volta, sem critérios de gol fora de casa. Caso haja empate no placar agregado, a decisão será nos pênaltis. Em ambos, o mandante do segundo jogo será o clube que teve melhor campanha geral, somando partidas da fase inicial e do mata-mata.

📅 CALENDÁRIO
Primeira fase: 20 de janeiro a 3 de março
Quartas de final: 9 de março
Semifinal: 16 e 23 de março
Final: 31 de março e 7 de abril

🏆 TIMES PARTICIPANTES
⚽ EC Avenida
⚽ Brasil de Pelotas
⚽ Caxias do Sul
⚽ Grêmio
⚽ Guarany de Bagé
⚽ Internacional
⚽ Juventude
⚽ Novo Hamburgo
⚽ FC Santa Cruz
⚽ EC São José
⚽ EC São Luiz
⚽ Ypiranga

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📺 ONDE ASSISTIR AOS JOGOS
RBS TV (Globo): uma partida por rodada em TV aberta
SporTV: 13 jogos da primeira fase, dois confrontos das quartas de final e jogos da semifinal e da decisão
Premiere: todos os jogos de Grêmio, Internacional e Juventude na fase inicial, e todos os jogos do mata-mata
GZH e ge.globo: 40 jogos em meio digital, com equipe de transmissão do Grupo RBS

👕 COMO CHEGAM OS GRANDES?

GRÊMIO 🔵⚫⚪
O Tricolor é o atual hexacampeão da competição, e chega para o Campeonato Gaúcho com expectativas positivas. A manutenção de Renato Gaúcho é um ponto que mantém a confiança em dia, mas a saída de Luis Suárez pode preocupar. Até o momento, a diretoria ainda não conseguiu trazer uma peça de reposição próxima ao nível do craque uruguaio.

INTERNACIONAL 🔴🔴🔴
Sonhando em findar um jejum incômodo de oito anos sem vencer a competição, o Colorado teve uma janela melhor do que a do Grêmio, trazendo nomes de peso como Lucas Alario, Hyoran e Rafael Santos Borré. Nomes como Enner Valencia, Alan Patrick e Rochet também trazem um peso maior ao objetivo, que está mais próximo de ser concretizado do que nos anos anteriores.

👀 PARA FICAR DE OLHO
Sonhando em surpreender, o Juventude apresentou qualidade suficiente para voltar à primeira divisão do futebol nacional, e aposta no “vovô garoto” Nenê, que renovou até o fim de 2024. O Caxias do Sul, atual vice-campeão, é outro que pode mostrar futebol para bater de frente com os maiores do estado.

Tudo sobre

Campeonato GaúchoGrêmioInternacional

Unsurprisingly, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi were recently named as the world’s two highest-paid footballers by Forbes, and the two legendary forwards have amassed mind-boggling net worths across their careers.

Ronaldo recently became the first current player to achieve billionaire status, having earned £1.04bn through wages, endorsements, investments and sponsorship deals, while Messi has managed to amass a stunning €598m (£527m), given long-term deals with Adidas, Apple, and Konami.

Such numbers are perhaps to be expected, given that the former La Liga stars, who are widely regarded as the two best players of all-time, have won a combined 13 Ballon d’Ors between them, but a player who had a more modest career, at least in comparison, has managed to make over double their combined net worth.

Ex-Man Utd star Louis Saha's net worth revealed

As reported by Manchester Evening News, Louis Saha has managed to build up a whopping £4.3bn fortune since retiring from football following a brief spell with Lazio back in 2013, accumulating his wealth after founding his sports company AxisStars.

The platform, which connects athletes and entertainers with trusted companies, was founded not long after Saha called time on his career, and it has clearly been hugely successful, given the vast riches the former Manchester United star has been able to amass.

Although the Frenchman did not reach the dizzy heights of the likes of Ronaldo and Messi, he also had a career to be proud of, scoring 84 Premier League goals across spells with Fulham, Man United, Tottenham Hotspur, Newcastle United, Everton and Sunderland.

The 20-time France international was also named among Everton’s greatest strikers in the Premier League era, courtesy of scoring 34 goals in 115 matches across all competitions for the Toffees.

During that time, the former striker scored what was the fastest goal in FA Cup final history at the time, until the record was broken by ex-Man City star Ilkay Gundogan, who found the back of the net after just 11 seconds in the 2023 final against United.

However, what the 47-year-old has gone on to achieve post-football is arguably even more impressive, having amassed a higher net worth than the vast majority of former players, albeit his riches still pale in comparison to that of Leicester City flop Faiq Bolkiah.

That said, rather than being born into wealth, Saha is well-known to come from a working-class background, with his mother a nurse and his father an aircraft mechanic, meaning money was tight growing up, which makes the former Everton man’s unbelievable success even more impressive.

Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler stunned by footballers' wages Celebrity Traitors star Joe Marler stunned by footballers' wages

Marler was more surprised than at Jonathan Ross’ traitor reveal.

ByBen Goodwin Nov 3, 2025

تحدث خالد العوضي مدير النشاط الرياضي بالنادي الأهلي، عن أزمة مباراة الاتحاد السكندري، بنهائي دوري المرتبط لكرة السلة التي كان مقرر إقامتها مساء الإثنين.

وانسحب فريق الاتحاد من مواجهة الأهلي، اعتراضًا على خروج الجماهير من المدرجات وذلك بعد قرار الاتحاد المصري لكرة السلة، عقب الاشتباكات التي حدثت في مباراة الشباب بين فريق الأهلي والاتحاد التي أقيمت في الخامسة مساءً.

طالع | الأهلي يتوج بدوري المرتبط لكرة السلة بعد انسحاب الاتحاد السكندري

وقال العوضي خلال تصريحات عبر قناة “إم بي سي مصر 2″، لبرنامج “الكورة مع فايق”: “فريق الأهلي تواجد في أرض الملعب حتى صافرة النهاية، نشكر إدارة الاتحاد، وما حدث يعد انسحابا ويعتبر فوزا رسميا لنا بالبطولة”.

وأضاف: “أرض الملعب لا تخصنا، الأهلي كان ملتزمًا بكل قرارت اتحاد السلة، ولد صغير ناشىء هو السبب فيما حدث، أتمنى اتحاد السلة يأخذ قرارا حتى لا يتكرر الأمر”.

وأتم: “نحن مع الاتحاد المصري قلبًا وقالبًا، طول عمره الأهلي يكون مثالًا مع النظام ونحن مع النظام”.

Leeds United are hoping to convince Raheem Sterling to move to Elland Road in the January transfer window, with a move now in the works.

With Wilfried Gnonto’s future up in the air ahead of the upcoming transfer window, the Whites are looking to bring in a new forward, and the need to bolster their attacking options has been exacerbated by the slow start the likes of Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have made.

The summer signings have scored just two goals between them from open play in the Premier League this season, with Daniel Farke’s side the joint-second lowest scorers in the top flight, having found the back of the net just 10 times in their opening 11 games.

Chance creation in general has also been an issue for the 2024-25 Championship winners, most recently recording an xG of just 0.69 in the 3-1 defeat at Nottingham Forest, which suggests they may need to bring in a new attacker capable of picking out the likes of Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha in dangerous areas.

How Leeds are hoping to convince Raheem Sterling to move to Elland Road this January

According to a report from SportsBoom, Leeds are preparing a move for Chelsea outcast Sterling ahead of the January transfer window, with Enzo Maresca making it clear the 30-year-old doesn’t have a future at Stamford Bridge.

The Whites are set to battle Crystal Palace for the forward’s signature, but they are hoping the prospect of receiving regular first-team football will convince the Englishman to move to Elland Road.

The Blues are willing to pay part of the winger’s wages in order to get him off the books, given that he is yet to make a Premier League appearance this season, having become part of Maresca’s ‘bomb squad’.

It would be a risk for the 49ers to sign the former Manchester City man, given that he may be very rusty after spending such a long time on the sidelines, but his previous exploits in the Premier League suggest it could be worth launching an ambitious move.

The Kingston-born winger has a whopping 123 Premier League goals to his name, having been a major part of Guardiola’s all-conquering Man City side, with perhaps his best years coming from 2017-18 to 2021-22.

Raheem Sterling’s attacking record by season

Premier League appearances

Goal contributions

2017-18

33

30

2018-19

34

27

2019-20

33

24

2020-21

31

18

2021-22

30

19

The £325k-a-week Chelsea man has also been described as “absolutely outstanding” by Paul Merson during his time with the Blues, suggesting he could still have more to give in the Premier League.

Leeds certainly need a spark from somewhere, having struggled to create chances as of late, and Sterling could be a fantastic signing if he is able to rediscover his best form.

Raheem Sterling has been named as one of the best wingers in Premier League history 20 Best Wingers in Premier League History

Where does Mohamed Salah rank in the greatest Premier League wide men?

ByCharlie Smith May 23, 2025

Manchester City coach Pep Guardiola has refused to rule out a future return to Barcelona, stressing that the club has given him everything both as a player and as a coach. However, the former Barcelona manager believes that younger coaches will emerge who will be eager to take on the job, just as excited as he was in his time.

• Guardiola's glittering career at Barcelona as player and coach

  Guardiola’s story at Barcelona is marked by two remarkable chapters that highlight his influence as both a player and a coach. As a player, he came through La Masia and became the key midfielder in Johan Cruyff’s Dream Team. Playing as a deep lying playmaker, he controlled the tempo, kept the ball moving, and started attacks with calmness and intelligence. His sharp reading of the game and understanding of space made him the ideal player for Cruyff’s style. During his years at the club, he won six La Liga titles, the 1992 European Cup and several domestic trophies.

  When he stepped into the first team coach role in 2008, Guardiola took Barcelona to a new level. He improved the club’s positional play, brought in intense pressing, and moved Lionel Messi into the false nine role, which changed modern attacking football. He also trusted young players, giving opportunities to Sergio Busquets and Pedro who became important parts of the team. In four seasons, he won 14 trophies, including two Champions League titles and three La Liga titles, and left a style of football that still guides Barcelona and influences the world game.

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• Getty Images
  

  Guardiola refuses to rule out a return to Barcelona

  In an interview to Spanish outlet , Guardiola emphasised that the club have given him everything both as a player and as a coach and for this reason he refuses to rule out a return to Barcelona. “I am not ruling out Barca,” he said.

  However, he also noted that there are younger coaches who would feel the same excitement he once did about taking the job. “Life is about stages and right now there are surely young coaches who have the same excitement I had for them at that time,” he added.

• Barca face upheaval as election nears

  Barcelona are heading toward a pivotal presidential election in 2026, scheduled to take place between March and May, with Joan Laporta set to seek re-election. His main challenger will be Victor Font, who has returned to the political scene with a renewed campaign and a strong message of reform. Font has gained significant momentum after receiving public backing from Xavi Hernandez. The former Barcelona coach attended Font’s campaign launch alongside several club dignitaries and ex-players, signalling a clear divide within the Barcelona community.

  Font has openly criticised Laporta’s administration, accusing the club of hiding €80 million (£67m/$87m) in financial losses and questioning the transparency of the board’s decisions. He has also taken aim at Laporta’s handling of the Camp Nou renovation, particularly the decision to award the project’s renewal to Turkish company Limak despite strong internal disagreement and concerns raised by members of the club’s management.

  With Laporta defending his legacy and Font positioning himself as the candidate of structural change, Barcelona’s 2026 elections are shaping up to be a contest that could shape the long-term sporting and financial direction of the club.

  Guardiola weighed in on the elections believing that opposition to Laporta highlights a strong democratic system when he said “‘That's why Barça is the biggest club in the world. We can do this here.”

  He added “Barca is a living club; everyone has their say. Everyone wants to be its president, play for it and manage it.”

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• AFP
  

  Guardiola hits 1,000 milestone

  Since leaving Barcelona, Guardiola has gone on to manage German giants Bayern Munich and English club City, where he remains to this day. City’s 3–0 win over Liverpool marked his 1,000th match as a manager. The 54-year-old former Barcelona and Spain midfielder has won 716 of those games, collecting numerous honours at every club he has coached.

  When asked to pick which game he remembers the most, Guardiola said: “I don't know which one to choose… From my time at Barca, there's the 2-6 at Madrid in the first league. There's also the second Champions League final [3-1 win vs Manchester United].

  “With City, I'd go for the semi-final against Madrid at home, which was the high point of this decade.”

  City are set to take on Newcastle United when club football resumes after the international break, while Hansi Flick's team will finally play their first game at Camp Nou in over two years when they take on Athletic Club.

Beloved analyst John Kruk was going through it during the Philadelphia Phillies' 3–1 win over the Colorado Rockies in the series finale Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.

During a commercial break in the middle of the fourth inning, Kruk was dealing with an issue on his computer. To the delight of baseball fans everywhere, his frustrations leaked onto the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast.

"Ah, this damn thing," Kruk said on the microphone before getting a friendly reminder from play-by-play announcer Tom McCarthy that they were live on the air.

"Well, in between innings I'm toying with this MLB thing, and man, is it just winning," Kruk said. "… It says I can't get emails on that email."

McCarthy then went on to suggest Kruk tries to reset his email password.

"When I try to reset the password, I put in a new one and it doesn't do anything. … I might have to meet with [Phillies VP of marketing] Mike [Harris] on Saturday."

It's not entirely clear what "the MLB thing" is that Kruk was struggling with, and he never gave an update about his journey trying to reset a password. But the Phillies are officially aware with the situation.

Password struggles aside, the 2025 season has been kind to Philadelphia so far. With two series in the books, the Phillies sit in first place in the NL East with a 5–1 record.

Philadelphia returns to the field Friday to begin a three-game weekend series against the undefeated Los Angeles Dodgers.

The Minnesota Twins honored their six-time MLB All-Star and 2009 American League MVP Joe Mauer with a statue outside of Target Field in Minneapolis on Sunday.

Mauer, 41, is a St. Paul native and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2024 as a first-ballot entry. Now, he's enshrined in his city, steps outside of the Twins' ballpark.

“To think I’m bronzed here at Target Field in Minnesota, it means more to me than you guys will ever know,” Mauer said to a crowd as he stood beside his new statue Sunday via MLB.com. “Obviously it was a big summer last year, going into Cooperstown—that was just an unbelievable experience. But to see myself here, this isn’t going to be moving for a long time. Here in my home state of Minnesota, I was always proud to put on this uniform, to play for this club, and to go out there and try to win every night with my teammates. So this just means the world to me.”

In a heartwarming moment, the statue was unveiled to the large crowd by Mauer's children:

And the statue is extremely well done, too:

Before the Twins played the Detroit Tigers on Sunday, Mauer threw out the ceremonial first pitch to his longtime former teammate Justin Morneau, another Twins legend.

Mauer's signature No. 7 was retired by the Twins in 2019, one year after he retired following 15 MLB seasons, all in his home state of Minnesota. Now, he's forever commemorated right outside of Target Field.

The Premier League is back, and it’s a massive weekend for Arsenal.

On the one hand, title rivals Manchester City have to play away to Newcastle United; on the other, they host bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur.

Moreover, while Mikel Arteta has usually gotten the better of the Lilywhites, he’ll have to make do with defensive stalwart Gabriel Magalhaes.

With that said, the Gunners should still come out with all three points, especially if Arteta drops Eberechi Eze for one of his most important players.

Why Eze should be dropped

So, the first thing to make clear is that Eze is an outrageously talented footballer who will undoubtedly play a large part in Arsenal’s season as the year goes on.

Chalkboard

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

However, it would be fair to say that what is equally true is that he’s yet to show his full breathtaking ability in red and white, and therefore, should probably drop to the bench in this vital game.

After all, while he has racked up two goals and three assists for the team, he has just one goal involvement in the last six league games, and can, at times, go missing.

Now, if this were last season, there would be a solid argument for moving him out to the left, but Leandro Trossard has rolled back the years and is, frankly, undroppable.

So far, the Belgian has racked up eight goal involvements for the North Londoners, of which three have come in the last four league games.

Therefore, the former Crystal Palace star might be best served coming off the bench late into the game, as his ability to produce moments of magic is second to none.

Then, in his place, Arteta should bring one of the club’s best players back into the lineup, someone who has been compared to Dennis Bergkamp.

The Arsenal star who should replace Eze

While it would be a surprising move, Arteta should look to play Martin Odegaard instead of Eze tomorrow afternoon.

Now, before the pitchforks and torches come out, this is predicated on the Norwegian being fit enough to start.

However, considering he was training with the first team earlier in the week and the manager was rather vague about his status, it feels like he might be.

Moreover, it’s not as if the Spaniard doesn’t have a track record of suddenly bringing players straight back into the side.

With all that said, why should the 26-year-old come back into the side for this game?

Well, beyond him being the captain and this being a heated derby, he adds an element of control and metronomic understanding to the midfield that Eze doesn’t.

Moreover, on top of leading the press, the former Real Madrid wonderkid can play a sensationally weighted pass in behind a defence, which is what he was starting to do again before his recent injury.

It’s this ability to see a chance before most other players and act on it that led former Arsenal star Ray Parlour to describe the Drammen-born ace as “very similar” to the legendary Bergkamp.

The 67-capped Norwegian obviously isn’t on the same level as the Invincible, but that is something he shares with him.

Finally, even though he had a poor campaign last season, the former dynamic difference-maker still has an excellent record, producing 81 goal involvements in 205 appearances.

Ultimately, so long as he’s fit enough to start, Arteta should replace Eze with Odegaard for Arsenal’s game on Sunday.

Arsenal handed another injury doubt for Tottenham clash after twist and Gabriel blow

It could see the recall of an exciting talent.

By
Emilio Galantini

Nov 21, 2025

Nottingham Forest have begun to see an excellent upturn in their form since Sean Dyche took over the club. He’s won three from his first six games, including Saturday’s exceptional 3-0 win over Liverpool at Anfield. It has certainly been a positive start to his tenure.

Indeed, there have been some excellent individual performances since the Englishman became the Forest manager. Morgan Gibbs-White has been one of the standouts, with three goals in his last three Premier League games. The likes of Nicolo Savona and Igor Jesus have also been in impressive form.

With his side in excellent form, Dyche could well turn to the transfer market as he looks to add more quality to the Forest squad.

The latest on Nottingham Forest's transfer plans

It seems like the East Midlands side are looking to add depth in midfield. Reports in the past few days suggest they are plotting a move for talented Belgian midfielder Nathan De Cat, although the likes of Bayern Munich are challengers for the 17-year-old’s signature.

Transfer Focus

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

However, if that move does not materialise, Forest are also considering Everton midfielder and former loanee James Garner.

According to a report from Football Insider, the club are “looking at him” and could make a move, with his contract up in 18 months.

However, this will not be an easy deal to do. There are a host of Premier League clubs interested in the former Manchester United man, with Newcastle United, Aston Villa and West Ham United all keeping tabs.

As for the price, he could cost upwards of £20m, according to a report in mid-November.

Why Garner would be a good signing for Forest

24-year-old Garner has been pivotal for the Toffees this season. He has excelled as a full-back and in the middle of the park, with Everton gaffer David Moyes relying on that versatility several times this season.

Indeed, Garner has played 11 times in the Premier League, operating in different areas of the pitch. He’s played three games as a left-back, scoring a thunderbolt in one of those, seven times in the heart of the midfield, and once at right-back.

Of course, a move to Forest would see Garner return to the club. He played a historic part during his first stint, a loan from Man United.

He played 69 times in Garribaldi Red, scoring and assisting 18 times, and helping Forest return to the Premier League. Statman Dave described him as a “special” player during his time at the club.

If Garner was to make a move back to the City Ground, and Dyche utilised him in midfield, he might well form a strong partnership with Gibbs-White. Unsurprisingly, the England international is a key player under Forest’s new boss.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers midfielder has been in excellent form under Dyche, with the third of his three goals in the top flight coming last weekend at Anfield. However, he has been a consistent performer in Garibaldi Red his whole time at the club.

He’s recently brought up his 50th goal contribution for the club, and has 22 goals and 31 assists in 135 games. Gibbs-White excels as a number 10, but there are times when he needs to play deeper to help Forest out defensively.

The signing of Garner, however, could change that. The Everton man is someone who could play with Gibbs-White in midfield and take some of the defensive responsibility off the Forest number 10. His defensive numbers are impressive, averaging four tackles and interceptions per game this season, for example.

Defensive 3rd tackles won

1.36

Top 11%

Interceptions

1.45

Top 11%

Clearances

2.73

​​​​​​​Top 9%

Blocks

1.64

Top 19%

This sort of defensive nous could make Gibbs-White unplayable for Dyche’s side. With a player like Garner behind him, and Elliot Anderson of course, it might mean he is less shackled defensively, thus being able to be more effective going forward.

This midfield dynamic could hugely benefit Forest, and make them a more potent team in attack. In this market, £20m is a nominal fee for a player who knows the club and can benefit the side.

Not Zinchenko: Dyche could now drop “incredible” Nottingham Forest star

Sean Dyche could ditch this Nottingham Forest star alongside Oleksandr Zinchenko for his Premier League return.

ByKelan Sarson Oct 26, 2025