The milestones Kane Williamson crossed in his marathon innings of 251 at Seddon Park
ESPNcricinfo stats team04-Dec-20200 Number of higher Test scores by Kane Williamson. Williamson beat his best of 242 not out, which he made against Sri Lanka in 2015. This was Williamson’s third double-hundred and his second in the last two years. He made an unbeaten 200 against Bangladesh at the same venue last year.9 250-plus scores by New Zealand batsmen in Tests, including Williamson’s 251 in this match. Williamson is the eighth New Zealand batsman to hit 250 in a Test innings. Stephen Fleming is the only batsmen with two such scores.ESPNcricinfo Ltd142.14 Williamson’s average in his last ten innings at Seddon Park, Hamilton; he has four centuries in these innings – scores of 108*, 176, 200*, 104* and 251. In fact, his average of 88.42 at Hamilton is the highest for any New Zealand batsman at a venue where he has batted at least ten innings. Williamson has made 1238 runs from 17 innings with five hundreds and five fifties.259 Highest score by a New Zealand batsman against West Indies in Tests. Glenn Turner had made that score back in 1979 in Georgetown. Williamson’s 251 is the second highest and the fifth double-hundred by a New Zealand batsman against West Indies.624 Minutes batted by Williamson in his innings of 251. This is the second time Williamson has spent more than ten hours at the crease in a Test innings. He had batted for 623 minutes in his 242* against Sri Lanka. He is the only New Zealand batsman to have batted more than ten hours in an innings twice in his Test career (wherever minutes information is available).
He used to wake up to 5am alarms every year on December 26. Now he’s about to play his first MCG Test, confident Pakistan can end their run of Australian misery
Danyal Rasool21-Dec-2023Perhaps it was Saud Shakeel who gave birth to the Pakistan Way. It is difficult to think of another cricketer on whom the idea could be so pointedly based after looking at how Shakeel went about his business at home a year ago.”Before the Sri Lanka series started, I worked on batting with a more positive mindset,” Shakeel says. “And then I executed that in Sri Lanka.”Related
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Over what was a miserable winter for Pakistan last season, when they lost three Tests out of five and didn’t win a single one at home, Shakeel emerged as a significant positive in the middle order, with 580 runs in five Tests at 72.50.”When you play cricket, your main job is to perform for the team,” he says. “I don’t think of whether I’m new to the team or not. I just want to score runs that win matches for the team.”It was his strike rate of 41.66, though, that got more attention than his sparkling average. Shakeel’s stodgy grit was emblematic of a side that wasn’t just outplayed by two better sides at home, but, perhaps more unforgivably for Pakistan, was also out-styled. Pakistan were a dull, conservative watch over those six weeks, scrambling to save Test matches rather than looking to win them.Shakeel, at least, was doing it somewhat effectively, famously putting together an epic unpbeaten 125 that took more than eight hours and 341 balls to compile. While Pakistan just about managed to rescue that game against New Zealand – the final pair clinging on for 21 balls – how close they had come to winning it was equally noteworthy; when stumps on day five were called, Pakistan were just 15 runs from victory.Thereafter, the Pakistan Way began to emerge. Sequentially, it appeared to be less a cricketing philosophy than a passive-aggressive dig at Pakistan’s player of the season. Shakeel was told he was missing out on scoring opportunities, failing to put away bad deliveries even when the opportunities to do so with very little risk presented themselves. He understood he had the technical ability to go after the bowling more, and in Sri Lanka, he did just that. His strike rate through that series was an impressive 57.95, as he scored an unbeaten double-hundred and a half-century to help Pakistan win 2-0.It is unsurprising, then, that Shakeel can do a better job explaining the elusive Pakistan Way than just about anyone else who’s tried. “The Pakistan Way doesn’t mean you go out and start attacking like mad and only target boundaries,” he says. “The theory behind the Pakistan Way is to look at the situation and take the most positive route out of it. If the situation demands caution, the philosophy doesn’t prevent you from doing that. But always look for positive intent. If you look at my double-hundred in Sri Lanka, there were phases in that innings where I batted slowly, but I always looked for the positive option.”Shakeel added an extra gear to his batting on the tour of Sri Lanka•AFP/Getty ImagesWe’re at the MCG, a ground Shakeel holds special affinity for. When he was younger, he used to set a 5am alarm on December 26 every year, looking to catch the start of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. He has just finished a two-and-a-half hour training session at the nets across from the ground, testing his defensive block against pace and using his feet to spin. At one point, Pakistan spin-bowling coach Saeed Ajmal sent down a few deliveries, with Shakeel managing to look assured, something that eluded most cricketers in Ajmal’s heyday.Perhaps, though, that has to do with the conditions, too. “Whenever you come to Australia, it takes time to get used to conditions,” Shakeel says. “We played a practice match in Canberra but the conditions there weren’t the fast-bouncing pitches we got in Perth, so it took us time to get used to that. We’ve moved on from that now and are looking ahead, and getting more and more used to conditions by the day. I haven’t got big runs in the first Test, but my intent was positive there. And that’s the mentality for us as a batting group, to go out there and play positive and attacking cricket.”Anyone who watched that first Test on a pitch that was – even by West Australian standards – exceptionally spicy will understand why Pakistan felt so strongly about the strip prepared for the four-day game in Canberra. While unseasonal rains and a historically flat surface in the capital meant Pakistan were never going to get the sort of authentic experience that awaited them in Perth, the one word every cricketer reverts to is “practice”.”It’s tricky to make the transition from Asia to Perth,” Shakeel a product of routine and method, says. “When I went to Sri Lanka, I had previously gone there on A tours. Unfortunately, I’ve never been to Australia or New Zealand on an A tour so it was quite new for me to adapt to conditions here. The quicker you adapt and the more practice you have, the easier to find it to perform. There was enough time to practice, if the pitches we practiced on weren’t quick enough. But unfortunately, that wasn’t the case.”I’d never played on a drop-in pitch before, [such as the one] in Perth. It takes one or two days to adjust. But as a professional cricketer, you have to adapt quickly so you’re able to perform. I learned a lot from that match.”And though he managed a modest 52 runs across the two innings, his tendency to get starts in every Test innings remained unabated. He scored 28 and 24, meaning he has not once been dismissed below 20, in a career spanning 15 Test innings. While doing so, he quietly surpassed Everton Weekes’ record of 14 innings, which had stood for 73 years.With that toughest test out of the way, Shakeel feels it might even be a blessing to have gone through that baptism of fire first up. The MCG is unlikely to carry the same spitting venom as Perth did even deep into the fourth day, and the surface most probably won’t break up quite as easily either. That means Australia’s seam attack might not be afforded quite as much assistance as they were at the Optus, with Nathan Lyon potentially finding it trickier to make his presence felt, too.”The practice today was really good. After we played Perth, the pitch here almost feels like Pakistan,” Shakeel says. “The matches in Melbourne, I’ve seen it’s not that hard to bat on. I’m really looking forward to this Test match. The boys are feeling good; it was a very healthy practice session and the players look in good nick. I think you’ll get the chance to see a complete turnaround, especially in this Melbourne Test.After the searing pace and bounce in Perth, Pakistan can expect more straightforward batting conditions in Melbourne•Getty Images”Our country and our fans always have high expectations of you. If you represent Pakistan, it doesn’t matter if you’re inexperienced or not; there are always expectations if you play for Pakistan. I back myself to perform well.”We will try our level best not to repeat mistakes. We did make mistakes in the bowling. The pitch was seaming very well on the first day. Our two inexperienced young bowlers tried hard but it takes time to adjust your lengths. So considering the quality of that pitch, we allowed too many runs to be scored, and found ourselves on the back foot there and then.”But Pakistan clearly felt the practice arrangements agreed to ahead of the tour were a little thin, a point crystallised by the 360-run battering Australia handed out to what looked like an undercooked Pakistan side in Perth. To that end, and with eight days between the first two Tests, the PCB asked for an additional tour game to be wedged in. That will take place at the Junction Oval in Melbourne on December 22 and 23 against a strong Victorian XI side. And while the Junction Oval also has a reputation for being among the flattest tracks in Australia, Pakistan want all the exposure to these conditions they can get.”When you come to Australia, you see they’ve got good experience and a quality bowling attack,” Shakeel says. “When you’re playing in their home conditions it becomes more of a mental challenge than a physical one. We’re aware of our record here but as a team we have to go out there and score runs.”Pakistan’s consecutive defeat tally in Australia now extends to 15 Tests spanning six series stretching back to 1999. As such, most of the players now trying to stem that tide have no reference point to look back upon; eight of the players in the Pakistan squad weren’t even born when Pakistan last won a Test in Australia. Shakeel wasn’t even three months old when it happened.As such, anything that gives Pakistan a straw to clutch at is welcome, and all Pakistan have at the moment is ancient history. The only two venues in this country they have won Tests at are Melbourne and Sydney, the site of the next two Test matches.”There are nerves before you go out to bat, of course,” Shakeel says. “But if I look at the vibe and the feel of the MCG, especially on Boxing Day, it’s special. It’s a very unique feeling and the excitement of this particular Test match is like none other. It’s a huge opportunity for us, still. No Pakistani side has won a series here, so if we perform well and win the series, as a player, think of how much growth that will afford a player throughout a career. So I just look at it as an opportunity.”The boy waking up to 5am alarms continues to dream. And while he’ll never have seen a result pan out his way over those cold winter mornings half a world away, he finds himself in a position to try and give the kids setting those early alarms next week a different experience. No one would want to sleep through that.
Tottenham are finally looking to "fill the void" left by club legend Harry Kane's departure to Bayern Munich as they target a new striker. Kane left his boyhood club in the summer of 2023 in search of a new challenge as he joined the Bundesliga giants for a record fee. The England international has enjoyed a purple patch since moving to Germany and also won his maiden trophy of his career when Bayern lifted the Bundesliga title in 2025.
Tottenham yet to replace Kane
Tottenham have not yet filled the gaping hole left in their attack when Kane exited for Bayern in 2023. They did sign a few attacking players, with Dominic Solanke joining the club last year, while Randal Kolo Muani was signed on loan from Paris Saint-Germain in the last transfer window. In between they also lost Heung-min as another Spurs legend exited Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after his contract expired in the summer. Thomas Frank also has Richarlison in his ranks but the Premier League side have not found an ideal replacement for the England captain, who used to score for fun during his time in north London.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportSpurs eye move for nine-goal striker
In a search for a prolific scorer, Spurs are ready to explore the transfer market once the January window opens. According to , the English side are keen on signing FC Porto star Samu Aghehowa. The youngster is widely considered to be one of the brightest prospects in Europe. Aghehowa enjoyed a stellar debut campaign in Portugal last season as he scored 27 goals across all competitions and provided three assists. In the 2025-26 campaign, the 21-year-old has scored nine goals in 15 appearances in all competitions.
In Frank's system – a manager who has a reputation for nurturing quality forwards, as he did at Brentford with Ivan Toney and Ollie Watkins – Aghehowa is considered to be a perfect fit and someone who can end their attacking woes as Spurs finally look to replace Kane in their frontline.
Chelsea in race to sign Aghehowa
Earlier this month, reported that Chelsea are also keen on signing the striker and will provide Tottenham with fierce competition to secure the youngster's transfer. The Blues were linked with a move for the Spanish hitman in the summer of 2024 and had even agreed to pay £35 million ($44m) to secure his transfer, but the move collapsed at the last moment after Aghehowa failed his medical test, after sustaining an ankle injury. The youngster returned to Atletico Madrid before being shipped off to Porto, where he has thrived.
The report further added that former Chelsea manager and current Porto president Andre Villas-Boas is ready to sanction a move for Aghehowa. His current deal at the Liga Portugal side runs until 2029 and has a €100 million (£88m/$116m) release clause. However, Villas-Boas could let him leave for €80m (£70m/$92m) as he considers it to be an "irresistible deal". The report also claims that Porto are ready to sell the striker in the upcoming January transfer window due to financial pressure, and the club believes that is is well covered in the centre-forward position and feels that the management will be able to find a suitable replacement for Aghehowa within the roster.
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Getty Images SportSpurs' nightmare in north London derby
Frank's side suffered a shocking 4-1 loss at the hands of eternal rivals Arsenal on Sunday as they slipped down the Premier League table. Eberechi Eze, who was also linked with a move to Spurs in the summer before Arsenal hijacked the move, scored a brilliant hat-trick.
The Spurs boss was understandably unhappy at the end of the game as he said: "That [lack of creativity] has been an ongoing theme that we are working hard to improve. It doesn't look good today or against Chelsea. We need to keep working on it. There were a lot of things in this game we need to do better. We are four months into it and they are further in their journey as a team and that was very obvious today. Of course, there will be noise. We played against our biggest rivals and we lost badly. But we keep noise out and we focus. I know this tam is very competitive. I know this team is competitive and we showed that against Man City and PSG. Of course, it looks bad today and it was not good enough."
West Ham manager Nuno Espirito Santo has already made some very interesting decisions since arriving at Rush Green last month.
Nuno axes West Ham players as new London Stadium era begins
The Portuguse’s most noteworthy squad reshuffle has been the complete, and rather public, omission of Graham Potter’s vice-captain James Ward-Prowse.
Nuno already has a history of axing Ward-Prowse, having cut his Nottingham Forest loan spell short last season, and since the new West Ham manager’s arrival, history has repeated itself.
The 30-year-old was a surprise absentee from Nuno’s first West Ham matchday squad against Everton and didn’t get called up for Arsenal either, with reports suggesting that Ward-Prowse has been told he can find a new club in January.
Ex-Hammers scout Mick Brown theorised last week that Nuno prefers his midfielders to be more aggressive, energetic and combative to add more steel to the engine room, and Ward-Prowse simply doesn’t fit the bill despite his threat from dead ball situations.
Sunderland 3-0 West Ham
West Ham 1-5 Chelsea
Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham
West Ham 0-3 Tottenham
West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace
Everton 1-1 West Ham
Arsenal 2-0 West Ham
Defender Jean-Clair Todibo was absent from West Ham’s squad to face Everton too, which was believed to be down to illness, but the tactician confirmed that he trained alongside Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the build up to their trip to Arsenal.
Unlike Wan-Bissaka, who went straight back into the starting eleven after missing their Merseyside clash, Todibo was still nowhere to be seen against Arsenal despite his availability.
It will be interesting to see if he’s called upon against Brentford this weekend, but after an underwhelming spell in East London so far, Todibo could well be flirting with Nuno’s axe as well.
Goalkeeper Mads Hermansen has also been dropped to the bench recently, with Nuno preferring Alphonse Areola as his number one shot-stopper so far, despite Potter starting the Dane in West Ham’s first four Premier League games.
Pundit "worried" for Mads Hermansen at West Ham
As relayed by Tipsbladet, former Denmark goalkeeper and Viaplay expert, Peter Kjaer, has expressed his concern about the 25-year-old’s situation — which he calls a crying shame for Hermansen’s country.
The former Leicester City star, who signed for around £20 million in the summer, faces a battle for game time ahead of Areola, and his lack of minutes could stunt the keeper’s development.
“I’ve actually been worried too. I think it was a good move,” he said.
“It was actually one that I had predicted would happen because I think things fit together well.
“They had a coach at the time in Graham Potter who wanted to play football, and we know Mads Hermansen as a goalkeeper who is good with his feet. So, it looked like a match made in heaven, but things happen in football that you can’t know in advance, and it has also happened that they have lost a lot of football matches and have changed managers.
“Now we have a completely new situation, where a new manager has come in, who, by the way, was a goalkeeper in his own career.”
Kjaer expanded by predicting that Nuno won’t be changing his number one any time soon, in what could be a major worry for Hermansen, with the 2026 World Cup looming and Denmark in pole position to qualify automatically from their group.
“I am not sure that you just change the goalkeeper,” he concluded.
“It is a real shame for Mads Hermansen, and it is a shame on behalf of Denmark that Hermansen has now come a little further from playing time at West Ham than he was when he arrived, because the situation has developed as it has.”
There have been plenty of lows and not very many highs for the Colorado Rockies this season, but when things do go their way, they're not afraid to celebrate the small victories.
The Rockies picked up their 13th win of the season on Thursday afternoon, staging a dramatic comeback against the San Francisco Giants to secure a walk-off, 8–7 win. It was Colorado's first walk-off win of the campaign, and the team was deservedly fired up in the aftermath.
The Rockies were trailing 7–5 heading into the bottom of the ninth, but they managed to get some runners on base against Randy Rodriguez, who surrendered a pair of hits and two walks. With runners on second and third in a 7–6 game, Orlando Arcia laced a line drive to left field that scored the game-tying run in Thairo Estrada and the game-winning run in Ryan McMahon.
Arcia was delighted after delivering the walk-off hit, and his teammates rushed out into the infield to celebrate his late heroics. Colorado's outfielders could be seen emptying the cooler over his head moments later.
Arcia was only acquired by the Rockies on May 28, but it hasn't taken him long to make an impact.
Colorado improved to 13-55 on the year with the win, and put an end to a seven-game San Francisco win streak in the process.
There wasn’t much turn or bounce in the game where India toiled over 200 overs straight, following their decision to enforce the follow-on
Karthik Krishnaswamy13-Oct-20253:50
Washington Sundar: ‘Important to not chase the result’
If the Chennai defeat to England in 2021 made India switch from flat home pitches that took turn in the second innings to square turners, the shock 3-0 reverse to New Zealand last year made them rethink the latter strategy.During the ongoing two-Test series against West Indies, India have stated their desire to play on balanced pitches that give batters the chance of scoring big runs, particularly in the first innings.The plan worked out perfectly in the first Test against West Indies in Ahmedabad, where India rushed to an innings win in three days, but it may have hit a bit of a snag in Delhi, where India are poised to take the series 2-0 going into day five, but only after their bowlers slogged for nearly 200 overs — all in one go following their decision to enforce the follow-on — to bowl West Indies out twice.Related
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Could this prompt another rethink? India allrounder Washington Sundar isn’t thinking about all that; for now he’s happy to experience the variety of challenges that different venues throw up.”It’s quite different in different venues, isn’t it?” he said in his press conference at the end of day four. “This I would say is a typical Delhi wicket, where there’s not much bounce, and obviously there wasn’t a lot of turn on offer in this game. But yeah, different venues play quite differently, and that’s the beauty of this format in particular.India were on the field for over 200 overs in Delhi after enforcing the follow-on against West Indies•Associated Press”We play in a lot of different conditions, be it home or away, and obviously all those conditions and the opposition challenge our skillsets, and that’s the beauty of this format. We keep going. We try and assess what’s really required in those conditions and really be on top of a game and do something special for the team.”India’s spin trio of Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and Washington bowled 143.5 overs across the two West Indies innings, and picked up 13 wickets between them.”On this kind of a wicket you just need to be patient and try and hit those [good] areas more consistently, and that’s the only challenge,” Washington said. “It’s good to be bowling long spells, and it’s very heartening to have actually taken 20 wickets on a wicket like this. All of the bowlers bowled really well, even the fast bowlers bowled their heart out every single spell, so it’s very heartening.”John Campbell and Shai Hope led West Indies’ fight in their follow-on innings, scoring centuries and putting on 177 for the third wicket. Washington praised them for settling into their partnership by taking calculated risks to spread the field.
“On this kind of a wicket you just need to be patient and try and hit those [good] areas more consistently, and that’s the only challenge. It’s good to be bowling long spells, and it’s very heartening to have actually taken 20 wickets on a wicket like this.”Washington Sundar
“Honestly, Campbell and Hope played really well,” Washington said. “They took their chances, and once the field was spread out they were really sensible with their game as well.”India, Washington felt, were well-prepared for spending long hours on the field, having played their last Test series in England, where all five Tests went into the fifth day. “The England series definitely made us understand what it actually feels like to be on the field for five days, because even in England we fielded for about 180-200 overs every game, so this definitely isn’t something very new to us.”2:43
Chopra: Credit to West Indies for pushing India into day five
Since his return to the Test team during the New Zealand series last year, Washington has often played as one of three allrounders in India’s line-up. This has meant he’s ended up playing more of a batting-heavy role in some games and a bowling-heavy role in others; in this series, he’s only got to bat once so far in three innings, with India declaring after he had faced 13 balls in that one innings.”It’s just been a blessing, honestly,” Washington said. “To be an allrounder is really heartening, because you’re always in the game, either with the ball or bat, and you have a great opportunity with both skillsets to make an impact for the team and eventually win the game for the team. I’ve got to thank god for all the skills he’s blessed me with.”In Test cricket it’s better to have as many allrounders [as possible], because if you go back and see, most of the teams who have dominated Test cricket for many years, I think they’ve had good-quality allrounders in their line-up, and I’d say we’ve got some really quality allrounders in our team as well.”While this is not necessarily true of the West Indies teams that dominated world cricket in the 1970s and 80s or the Australia team of the 2000s, it is certainly true of the India sides that won every home series they played from 2013 until the loss to New Zealand last year, with spin-bowling allrounders Jadeja, R Ashwin and later Axar Patel and Washington himself adding depth and heft to both the bowling and batting.Starting their fourth-innings pursuit of 121 late on Monday evening, India began as if they were looking to end the game on day four itself, with Yashasvi Jaiswal hitting two fours in the first over before falling in the second while attempting a big hit down the ground. They knuckled down thereafter to ensure no other wicket fell, with KL Rahul and B Sai Sudharsan putting on an unbroken 54 to take India into day five needing a further 58 runs to win.”A lot of you all also would have liked it if the game got over today,” Washington joked to the assembled mediapersons. “Jaiswal did his best — on another day he would have definitely finished [it] today.”
Celtic loanee Adam Idah continued his fine start to life in Glasgow with his fantastic Old Firm strike in the Scottish Premiership match on Sunday.
The Ireland international took his tally to six goals in nine league appearances for the Hoops, since his move on loan from Norwich City on deadline day at the start of February.
Idah has chipped in with six goals and two assists in nine Premiership games, despite only starting four of those outings, which shows that he has hit the ground running in Scotland.
However, Celtic do not have an option to make the deal permanent in the summer and this means that they may need to look elsewhere beyond this season to find their heir to Kyogo Furuhashi, who has struggled at times this term.
Adam Idah
Brendan Rodgers, though, could find a homegrown long-term replacement for the Japan international in the form of B team star Daniel Cummings, who has been on fire in front of goal.
Kyogo Furuhashi's struggles this season
The 29-year-old marksman failed to find the back of the net against Rangers in the Old Firm clash on Sunday and has now only scored one goal in his last six games.
Kyogo has scored ten goals in 32 league appearances for the Hoops so far this season, which is a return of one strike every 3.2 games on average, and has been very wasteful with the chances that have been created for him.
Kyogo Furuhashi
-4.59
Daizen Maeda
-3.05
James Forrest
-1.76
Reo Hatate
-1.63
Hyeon-gyu Oh
-1.35
As you can see in the table above, no Celtic player has underperformed their xG by more than the Japanese striker, who has only scored ten goals from an xG of 14.59.
The experienced attacker has missed a staggering 20 'big chances' in the Premiership this term, and Rodgers could dip into the academy in pre-season later this year to unearth a potential heir to Kyogo's place in the team.
Daniel Cummings' electric academy performances
The 17-year-old starlet, who turns 18 this month, has been on fire in the Lowland League so far this season for the B team, having made his breakthrough at that level during the 2022/23 campaign.
Cummings scored three goals in ten appearances in the division last term, despite only playing 231 minutes of action, and has been a regular this year.
The teenage sensation, who has scored one goal in three games for Scotland's U17s, has fired in 12 goals in 16 Lowland League outings for the young Hoops – in 1,062 minutes.
Kyogo Furuhashi
This means that the talented marksman, who could emerge as Kyogo's long-term heir, has plundered 15 goals in 1,293 minutes of action in the Lowland League since the start of last season.
That is a return of one goal every 86.2 minutes on average – better than a goal per 90 – whilst the Japanese forward has scored once every 213 minutes in the Premiership for Celtic.
This suggests that the potential is there for the 17-year-old star to eventually become a first-team option for Rodgers, if he can translate that impressive form over to the senior squad.
It is down to the manager, however, to provide him with that opportunity to shine and Idah returning to Norwich at the end of his loan could open the door for Cummings to state his case for a place in the side next season.
Manchester United have struggled for consistency this season, with only an FA Cup and a top-four spot up for grabs.
Although change has been occurring behind the scenes, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is keen for the squad to push for those goals, with some players and staff jobs under inspection.
However, there are new aims from an off-field perspective, with incoming CEO Omar Berrada being set the challenge of managing player wages.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at a player who’s cost the club millions despite barely stepping foot on the pitch.
Tom Heaton’s salary
Tom Heaton joined Man United from Aston Villa on a free transfer after the end of the 2020/21 season, with the experienced shot-stopper signed by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as a backup to David De Gea and Dean Henderson.
The England keeper was third choice in between the sticks, and seeing as the position is hardly rotated, his involvement over the years has been far from frequent.
According to Capology, the "outstanding" Heaton, as per creator Liam canning," is currently earning 45k-per-week, which is £5k less than Alejandro Garnacho and just over four times more than young Kobbie Mainoo.
This means that the 37-year-old will have cost the club around £7m in wages over his three year contract, which is set to expire this summer.
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ByTom Lever Feb 29, 2024 What Heaton earns compared to other PL back-up goalkeepers
De Gea had been the number one keeper at Old Trafford for the past decade, but in the summer, United decided to let the Spaniard leave on a free, as Erik ten Hag looked to complete an overhaul of the department.
Due to the exit of De Gea and Henderson moving to Crystal Palace, Heaton enjoyed his best spell in a United shirt, playing four games in pre-season and even captaining the side against Athletic Club.
However, the Dutch boss brought in last season’s Champions League runner-up, Andre Onana, to be the new number one while also signing Altay Bayindir to be his backup, which has meant Heaton hasn't been seen on the pitch since.
The veteran's lack of involvement this season has kept his total competitive appearances to three since 2021, making only two starts, both in the EFL Cup last season. This equates to over £2m earned per appearance and approximately £3.5m per start.
Caoimhin Kelleher
£10k
Djordje Petrovic
£25k
Altay Bayindir
£35k
Tom Heaton
£45k
Stefan Ortega
£55k
As can be seen in the table above, when compared to other second-choice keepers in the Premier League – bearing in mind that Heaton is third-choice – he is far from the highest earner, but he’s also not exactly the lowest either.
Furthermore, the likes of Ortega, Kelleher, and Petrovic all play important roles for their team, with them featuring in nine, 17, and 17 games, respectively. Even Bayindir earns less than Heaton, which could be looked at as a positive due to the fact that United seem to be working on reducing player wages, which is certainly a step forward.
Wage Burners
Football FanCast's Wage Burners series explores the salaries of the modern-day game.
Overall, Heaton hasn’t really offered much to warrant a £45k-per-week contract, but in fairness, he’s not really been handed an opportunity to prove his worth.
Wolverhampton Wanderers' 2-1 win over Fulham in the Premier League saw them maintain their excellent form of 2024.
Despite losing to Newcastle United the weekend prior, the Old Gold have now only lost three games in all competitions this year so far and Gary O’Neil has his team extremely well-drilled.
The former Bournemouth manager has transformed their fortunes from a team who looked like they were being dragged into a relegation fight last season, to a side who are challenging for a top-half finish in the league this term.
Wolves manager Gary O'Neil celebrates a Premier League win.
Much of this is down to an attacking improvement. Last season, the Molineux side scored just 31 goals in the top flight – the lowest in the entire division – while so far, during 2023/24, they have found the back of the net on 42 occasions, and there are still ten matches to be played.
Hwang Hee-Chan and Matheus Cunha have been O’Neil’s main threats in front of goal, with the duo scoring 11 times each in all competitions and having not one, but two players who are capable of putting matches beyond the opposition have been crucial in their revival.
Another player who has returned to form this term is Pedro Neto, with the Portuguese winger proving to be one of their finest players under O’Neil.
Pedro Neto’s season in numbers for Wolves
Last season, the 23-year-old suffered a serious ankle injury in October which ruled him out of action for five months, meaning he missed the 2022 World Cup.
Across the whole campaign, Neto managed to score once along with grabbing one assist in 21 competitions for the club as they struggled without him.
Goals
2
Assists
9
Key passes per game
2
Big chances created
7
Successful dribbles per game
1.9
Shots on target per game
0.6
Via Sofascore
A solid pre-season ensured he began the current season in the best possible shape. O’Neil was soon rewarded as Neto registered seven assists and a goal in just ten Premier League matches, before suffering a hamstring injury which meant he missed nine league matches.
Since recovering from that setback, the former Lazio gem has scored a further two goals and chipped in with four assists to take his tally to 14 goal contributions – three goals and 11 assists – this season.
It has been a wonderful season for the youngster and his place in Portugal’s Euro 2024 squad must surely be guaranteed.
Wolves forward Pedro Neto in Premier League action.
Not only that, but the winger currently ranks third among his teammates for goals and assists (11) in the top flight, along with ranking second for shots per game (1.8), third for big chances created (7) and first for key passes per game (two), demonstrating how effective he has been in the final third.
Neto, Hwang, and Cunha currently find themselves all injured and could miss several matches. If only there was a striker who the team could currently call on who has outscored Neto this term, yet was sold by Bruno Lage in the summer of 2022. Patrick Cutrone, anyone?
How much Wolves signed Patrick Cutrone for
Following an impressive seventh placed finish in their first full season back in the top flight during the 2018/19 season, Nuno Espírito Santo was on the lookout for players who could vastly improve his squad.
AC Milan striker Patrick Cutrone was earmarked as a main target and Nuno eventually got his man, securing the player for a transfer fee in the region of £23m, a staggering sum.
Former Wolves striker Patrick Cutrone.
27 goals in 90 appearances for Milan was an impressive strike rate, especially for a player so young, and it looked like the move could turn out to be an impressive piece of business.
Patrick Cutrone’s statistics at Wolves
The Italian scored just three times for the Old Gold during the first half of the 2019/20 campaign as he struggled to settle in properly at the club.
He was subsequently sent out on loan to Fiorentina, netting five times, before returning to Wolves in January 2021.
Further loan spells at Valencia and Empoli between then and May 2022 meant Cutrone only played 28 matches for the Old Gold during his three years at Molineux, and when FC Como came calling in the summer of 2022, Lage sold him on in order to get the striker off his wage bill.
Patrick Cutrone
Since returning to Italy, the centre-forward has enjoyed a much better time of things, and he would have eased the Cunha blow O’Neil has suffered recently.
What Patrick Cutrone is doing now
Last season, the 26-year-old scored nine goals in 35 matches for the Serie B outfit – managed by none other than Cesc Fabregas – but he has already improved on this during the current campaign.
Indeed, Cutrone has hit double figures (ten) for goals, having played just 23 times in the league for Como, and he has outscored Neto this season by seven.
While he failed to display his true talents following his move from Milan, Cutrone appears to have found his feet back in his homeland and there is no doubt he has rediscovered his scoring touch.
Cunha is likely to be out until after the international break at the end of this month, leaving O’Neil short of options to lead the line.
Where Are They Now
Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.
So far during 2023/24, not only does Cutrone rank first among his teammates for goals and assists in Serie B (12), but the former Wolves' frontman also ranks first for shots per game (3.3) and first for scoring frequency (a goal every 187 minutes), proving his worth in the Italian second tier for Como.
Still only 26, Cutrone has plenty of years left. Did Lage perhaps move him on too swiftly back in 2022? The Old Gold went on to sign Diego Costa and Sasa Kalajdzic following his departure which says they didn't learn from their lessons up top.
Wolves striker Diego Costa.
Kalajdzic did suffer a terrible injury on his first start for the club, while Costa managed to net just once for the Molineux side in 25 matches.
Would Cutrone have done worse had he been given another full season to fully demonstrate his goal-scoring abilities?
The supporters will never know, but at this moment in time, they could do with a player who is finding the net as often as he is to cover Cunha and Hwang, who will miss the next few matches.
Wolves flop was meant to "replace Jimenez", but was worse than Cutrone
Wolves had a player who was going to replace Jimenez but ended up scoring zero goals for the club
Head coach Simon Katich impressed with timing the batsmen showed after months of downtime
Shashank Kishore29-Aug-2020Virat Kohli said that his first net session in five months “went much better than expected” after Royal Challengers Bangalore’s first training session on Friday in the UAE. The team trained in batches and Kohli was part of the first set of players who underwent a full session at the ICC Academy.”[It went] much better than expected, to be honest,” Kohli told royalchallengers.com. “I was pretty scared. I hadn’t picked up a bat for five months, but yeah it came out better than I thought, to be honest. I’ve trained quite a bit during lockdown, so I’m feeling quite fit and that helps.”Because the body is light and you react better, I feel like I have more time on the ball. That’s a big plus. Otherwise you come heavier into the season, the body isn’t moving as much, and it starts playing on mind, but yeah, as I said it went much better than I expected.”On Wednesday, head coach Simon Katich had underlined how the conditions could bring spin into the equation quite early in the season. And after a full session, Kohli was particularly pleased with how the spinners fared. While Yuzvendra Chahal remains the only frontline spinner, Royal Challengers have a number of spin bowling all-rounders in Moeen Ali, Pawan Negi, Washington Sundar and Shahbaz Ahmed.”The spinners looked pretty good for day one, they pitched the ball in consistent areas for long enough,” Kohli said. “Shahbaz was good, Washy was very good, I saw Chahal bowl well too. The seamers went through their motions a little bit. All in all, a decent start to our camp.”ALSO READ: RCB will show faith in youngsters and local players, says KatichMeanwhile, Katich seemed pleased with the level the players were at on the opening day of the camp. In particular, he was impressed with the timing the batsmen showed.”Considering the conditions and considering it was their first hit for a while, all of them were outstanding,” Katich said. “A lot of them had nearly an hour in the nets in very hot conditions, credit to them for being able to do that. We’re impressed with what they’re all being able to do. The timing was great to watch.”For Hesson, who is in charge of Royal Challengers for the first time, like Katich, the first outing was an opportunity to have a look at many of the players, and not “necessarily judge” them yet.”To be fair, it was a good chance for us to observe them rather than necessarily giving them too many instructions,” he explained. “So just getting to know what they’re working on and making sure they’re doing with purpose, but also not being too harsh on themselves.”The fact is some of them hadn’t even batted for many months. So not a judging day, just a day for them to go out and get through the first session as Katto said, they did it superbly.”