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It was recently reported that Tonda Eckert is in pole position to be named the permanent Southampton manager after an impressive performance as the interim head coach.

The German tactician has won four of his five Championship games in the dugout, notably beating Charlton 5-1 away from home, but did lose 3-2 to Millwall last weekend.

It would be understandable if Sport Republic feel that Eckert has done enough in his interim spell in charge to earn the job on a permanent basis, but there is cause for concern with the former U21s boss.

Why Southampton should not appoint Tonda Eckert

The Saints are in a position, having just come down from the Premier League, where this may be their best chance to return to the top-flight before they have to cash in on more of their top talents with parachute payments dwindling.

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This means that it would be a big risk to appoint a permanent manager based on five games as a first-team manager in England, as he had never managed a game at any level in any country before this run of matches, per Transfermarkt.

It is hard, therefore, to judge whether the first four wins were a byproduct of a ‘manager bounce’ or if they were down to his coaching, as he does not have a managerial history to back up his credentials.

Southampton need to find their next Nigel Adkins, who joined from Scunthorpe United to lead Saints to promotion from League One and the Championship and left the club in 15th place in the Premier League in his only season in the top-flight.

Instead of appointing Eckert, Sport Republic could hire their own version of Adkins by making a move for reported target and free agent manager Michael Carrick.

Why Carrick could be Southampton's next Adkins

Like Adkins, Carrick would arrive at St. Mary’s with a wealth of experience in English football already under his belt, thanks to his time with Middlesbrough.

The former Saints boss had managed Scunthorpe for four seasons, including two in the Championship, and won promotion from League One on two occasions, before taking Southampton from League One to the Premier League.

Carrick, of course, will not have to get the club out of the third tier, thankfully, but he is an English manager who has the potential to be a brilliant appointment.

Matches

16

30

Wins

4

18

Draws

5

4

Losses

7

8

Points

17

58

Points per game

1.06

1.93

League position

18th

4th

One of the reasons why he could be a great hire for the Saints is that he has achieved success in the position that they currently find themselves in, as he took Boro from 18th to 4th in his first season with the club.

The former Manchester United midfielder then led Middlesbrough to 8th and 10th place finishes in the second tier, but they ranked 5th and 6th for Expected Points in those two seasons, per FotMob, which suggests that his coaching deserved higher league finishes than it got.

Carrick, who Tom Cleverley once claimed “oozes class” as a manager, is a proven Championship head coach who has shown, over three seasons, that he can coach a team to deliver play-off quality performances, which Eckert, through no fault of his own, does not have in his corner.

The ex-Boro boss also picked up seven points in two games as interim manager at Manchester United in the Premier League before his spell in the Championship, and played 481 games in the division as a player, per Transfermarkt.

This suggests that he could also be an appointment with the Premier League in mind, because of his experience at that level, whilst Eckert has never played, managed, or coached in that league.

Therefore, Carrick appears more likely to be Southampton’s next Adkins than Eckert is, because of both his proven quality in the Championship as a manager and his potential to be a successful Premier League boss.

Southampton can hire big Eckert upgrade with move for "world-class" manager

Southampton can hire an even better manager than Tonda Eckert by making a move for this free agent boss.

ByDan Emery Dec 2, 2025

This is why Sport Republic should consider pushing to appoint the English tactician as their next permanent manager, rather than giving the interim German boss the job on a permanent basis.

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Um velho conhecido vai voltar à Cidade Tricolor neste mês de dezembro. Trata-se do atacante Rafael Ratão, de 30 anos, que pertence ao Bahia e estava emprestado ao Cerezo Osaka, do Japão. Ele tem contrato com o clube baiano até dezembro de 2026, mas a diretoria não descarta uma nova negociação.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBahiaFrustração no fim do ano mostra que a régua elevou para o BahiaBahia08/12/2025Futebol NacionalBahia empresta promessa da base para o Santa CruzFutebol Nacional08/12/2025BahiaTorcida do Bahia elege Everton Ribeiro como craque e avalia campanha na Série ABahia09/12/2025

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A previsão é que Rafael Ratão desembarque no Brasil no dia 12 deste mês depois de uma boa passagem pelo Japão, com 23 gols em 44 jogos, sendo titular na grande maioria deles. Ele ainda foi o artilheiro do Cerezo Osaka na J-League (primeira divisão japonesa), com 18 bolas nas redes e três assistências em 36 jogos. Ainda há, inclusive, a possibilidade de Ratão estar na seleção do campeonato, já que foi eleito um dos 30 melhores atletas da liga. O resultado será divulgado nesta quinta-feira.

Apesar dos números, o Bahia ainda não definiu se Rafael Ratão vai se reapresentar junto com o restante do grupo para a pré-temporada, a partir do dia 5 de janeiro, no CT Evaristo de Macedo. O clube cogita negociar o atleta novamente.

continua após a publicidadeA passagem de Ratão pelo Bahia

Contratado na segunda janela de transferências de 2023 junto ao Toulouse, da França, ele chegou para ser mais uma opção de versatilidade para o ataque, com possibilidade de jogar como um camisa 9 ou até mesmo ponta. Ratão, no entanto, teve dificuldades para conquistar a titularidade no time de Rogério Ceni e não convenceu a torcida do Bahia.

O jogador fez, ao todo, 54 partidas com a camisa tricolor, com dez gols marcados e quatro assistências.

➡️Frustração no fim do ano mostra que a régua elevou para o Bahia

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In their quest to win their first World Series title since 2008, the Phillies have been dealt a devastating blow.

Philadelphia pitcher Zach Wheeler will miss the rest of the season after being diagnosed with venous thoracic outlet syndrome, the team announced Saturday afternoon. Wheeler, 35, leads the National League in strikeouts (195) and WHIP (0.94); his 11.7 strikeouts per nine innings lead all of baseball.

"The recommendation is to undergo thoracic outlet decompression surgery in the coming weeks," the Phillies' statement said. "Details of the surgery are forthcoming."

Venous thoracic outlet syndrome is a rare blood-clotting disease; Wheeler successfully had one such clot removed on Monday. The three-time All-Star last pitched on Aug. 15, taking a no-decision in a five-inning outing in a 6–2 Philadelphia win over the Nationals.

The Phillies lead the Mets by six games in the NL East division, and are eying their second straight divisional crown.

The Guyana-based league is aiming to become a Champions League T20 replacement of sorts

Matt Roller27-Nov-2024The world is coming to Guyana. So says the marketing slogan of the inaugural Global Super League (GSL), an invitation-only, five-team T20 competition which started Tuesday night. Only lasting 11 days, the tournament is unusually brief, with a ten-match group stage followed by a floodlit, Friday-night final at Providence Stadium in Georgetown.It will be the first major T20 competition to unite teams from several different domestic and franchise leagues since the short-lived Abu Dhabi T20, and evokes the defunct Champions League (CLT20). The catch? None of the five teams – Hampshire, Lahore Qalandars, Rangpur Riders, Victoria, and hosts Guyana Amazon Warriors – are reigning champions at home.The wider context that explains the GSL’s existence is that Guyana is in the midst of an oil boom. Nine years ago, the US-based ExxonMobil discovered oil off the north coast, with reserves now estimated at the equivalent of 11 billion barrels; now, the International Monetary Fund ranks Guyana as the fastest-growing economy in the world – by far.The upshot is a tournament designed to reflect the country’s ambition. “Guyana is the place to be,” Clive Lloyd, the league’s chairman, says. “There are a lot of things in store here for cricket… I’m hoping that a lot more people will come to experience being in Guyana. There’s a lot to see and do, people are friendly, and the country is expanding.”It was Mohammad Irfan Ali, Guyana’s president, who first publicly floated the concept of the GSL in April, and he unveiled the trophy last week during Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s state visit. Bobby Ramroop, the owner of the Guyana Amazon Warriors franchise, is heavily involved in the new league, and ExxonMobil is the title sponsor.The Guyanese government is trying to position the country as a destination for sports tourism, and cricket is front and centre. It is investing heavily in the sector, with new facilities under construction. Lloyd expects that a second cricket venue may be ready to host games in the second season of GSL, most likely in the Berbice region.The GSL has faced criticism from climate activists as a “sportswashing vehicle” on account of its association with the oil giant. The league’s argument is that by promoting tourism to Guyana, it will help the country diversify its economy and enable it to be less reliant on finite natural resources.There is a significant prize pot of US$1 million for the winning team, and the hosts are clear favourites: they were runners-up in the recent CPL, have a strong historic record at home, and have the majority of their squad available. That includes Gudakesh Motie, who is playing in the GSL rather than West Indies’ ongoing Test series against Bangladesh.Guyana, the GSL hosts, made it to the CPL final this year, though they didn’t win•Getty ImagesThe other teams are missing key players: Lahore Qalandars are without their star names like Fakhar Zaman, Shaheen Afridi and Haris Rauf; Hampshire and Rangpur Riders have lost James Vince and Shakib Al Hasan respectively to the Abu Dhabi T10; and Victoria’s squad draws heavily on their Major League Cricket partnership with San Francisco Unicorns.Each side is permitted to field up to five overseas players in its XI, and teams have made short-term signings to fill gaps in their squads – including several English players, who are available during their winter. Darren Gough and Mickey Arthur are new coaches for Qalandars and Riders respectively. Arthur has also signed for the subsequent BPL.The aim of the first season is primarily to provide proof of concept, with ambitions for a bigger tournament in 2025. “They’re trying to get more teams involved,” Lloyd says. “The prize money is excellent: I’m sure that winning a million dollars is quite healthy… This first one is important to make sure that excited cricket is played, so people want to come back.”The ten IPL franchises are conspicuous by their absence, though Hampshire’s involvement came about as a result of their recent buy-out by GMR Group, the co-owners of Delhi Capitals. Lloyd believes an Indian team could be involved in the future: “I hope so. They have some exciting cricketers, and it’d be wonderful for them to come this far and display their talents.”The GSL’s existence will prompt debate about the case for relaunching the CLT20, which was mothballed a decade ago, when broadcasters lost interest. The franchise world has evolved significantly since with the emergence of the PSL, BPL, SA20, ILT20, MLC and the Hundred, and the “big three” boards held early discussions about the prospect earlier this year.In practice, the GSL is unlikely to evolve into a full-fledged Champions League: it is all about Guyana, and would not function without Amazon Warriors’ involvement. But Lloyd is confident that it will not be a flash in the pan: “I think it could be very successful. This could be something that lasts quite a while.”

Skipper calls on his England side to claim their own place in series pantheon on Australian soil

Vithushan Ehantharajah19-Nov-20251:17

Swann: Stokes most talented allrounder since Kallis

Ben Stokes wants to join the “lucky few captains” to return home with the Ashes and has called on his England side to create their own history in Australia.Friday’s opener in Perth will be the start of a mission to regain the urn for the first time since 2015. The task at hand is put into context by the 13-0 scoreline across the previous three tours, even with the Australians shorn of two of their stellar bowling attack with skipper Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood ruled out of the first match. They may also feature two debutants in fast bowler Brendan Doggett and opening batter Jake Weatherald.Sir Andrew Strauss was the last of five captains to succeed Down Under since the Second World War, overseeing the 3-1 success in 2010-11. Now 15 years on, Stokes is angling to not only join Strauss as the sixth but become only the second since Ray Illingworth to reclaim the Ashes from Australia. It would also be Stokes’ first win in a five-match series in four attempts, the first of which was a 2-2 draw in the 2023 home Ashes.Related

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“I’ve come here absolutely desperate to get home on that plane in January as one of the lucky few captains from England who have come here and been successful,” said Stokes. “Personally, I do understand how big a series this is but it’s not putting any more effort into this one than I have done any other series I’ve been captain.”Stokes, as he has done throughout his tenure as captain, is keen to shield his players from any unnecessary outside pressure. On Wednesday, for instance, he and head coach Brendon McCullum named a 12-man squad featuring Shoaib Bashir.It felt like the delaying of the inevitable all-pace attack England are keen to unleash at the Optus Stadium, with Mark Wood available for selection after suffering from a tight hamstring last week. England could of course draft from outside that dozen if, say, Wood suffers a setback between now and the start of the Test to maintain a five-quick set-up.A further example was Stokes’ response when asked if the squad needed to stay grounded rather than consider the sporting “immortality” that comes with winning an away Ashes series: “I can’t say we are going to be immortal because we all die, don’t we?”Ben Stokes and Joe Root train at Lilac Hill in Perth•Getty ImagesStokes, along with Wood, Joe Root, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, as the only previous Ashes tourists, have been clueing up the rest on what they should expect. But he ceded it would not be right if they did not let themselves feel the energy around the series, and indeed Perth, and confront the scale of what lies before them.”Everyone in the world, everyone in Australia, everyone in England knows how big this series is,” Stokes said. “If we were to come out and not accept that and go on that as just another series, then we’d only be lying to ourselves and lying to the fact of what this series is. In particular this team, for myself, Brendan and for Rob (Key) and facing what that feels like, looking it in the eyes, taking it on, not being afraid of the challenge that we have ahead of us.”We know it’s a huge task coming to Australia and everything that comes with that away from the field, on the field. It is a huge two-and-a-half months for us. Rather than playing it down and not really accepting this moment for what it is, I think maybe we would not really understand what the moment is. So yeah – putting it all out there, letting everyone know the expectations of what it’s going to be like in particular because we’ve got a squad here who have come in and are experiencing Australia for the first time.”

“I want to eke everything out of this body I can and I will do that in an England shirt.”Ben Stokes

Stokes himself will be making his return to action, having not played a competitive match since the fourth Test against India at Emirates Old Trafford. After taking a five-wicket haul and scoring a century in the first two innings, he suffered a grade three muscle tear in his right shoulder in the fourth innings of the match, ruling him out of the decider which India won to earn a 2-2 draw.The last four months have been used to not just recover from the injury – which did not require surgery – but reinforce his body and top-up his skills. Dedicating himself to rehab was easy enough, having already ruled himself out of The Hundred campaign with Northern Superchargers that followed the India series, and all-but retired from white-ball internationals.While rebuilding in the shadows – he did not post any updates on social media, as he had done when rehabbing from his two hamstring tears – he signed a two-year extension to his central contract, which takes him through to 2027’s home Ashes.”[It was] very easy,” said Stokes of the decision to commit to a further two years. “I want to eke everything out of this body I can and I will do that in an England shirt.”

Manchester United and England legend David Beckham cheekily trolled Premier League rivals Liverpool while browsing through football merchandise in an adidas shop. Beckham started his career at Old Trafford in 1992 and spent 11 seasons at United before heading to Real Madrid in 2003. He later played for LA Galaxy, AC Milan and Paris Saint-Germain before retiring in 2013. He recently received his knighthood.

Beckham cheekily trolls Liverpool

Beckham was spotted at an adidas store where he was looking at a rack full of caps, which consisted of hats for both Premier League giants Liverpool and United, side by side. The former England wide man picked up the first cap from the United row and placed it in front of the Liverpool row to hide the Reds' badge. He then cheekily said on camera: "That's a lot better". 

AdvertisementWatch the clipBeckham's opinion on Man Utd – 'There’s still a long way to go'

Beckham was recently quizzed by while in the Middle East as he was asked to share his opinion on the current United squad and their performance in the 2025-26 campaign thus far. The 50-year-old said: "I think there are signs of the manager turning things around. He has tweaked a few things and we are coming into a few better results. There’s still a long way to go and there has been a few games where we haven’t been playing as well. But I think we’ve got a good manager there and I think he is changing things slowly.”

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Getty Images SportBeckham to assist Amorim in Man Utd rebuilding

Ruben Amorim is reportedly planning to call on Red Devils legends Eric Cantona, David Beckham and four other club icons in a bid to take his squad rebuild to the next level. United endured a nightmare 2024-25 campaign but have shown signs of improvement in the first half of the new season and currently sit seventh in the Premier League table after winning six of their first 13 matches.

A source to : "Throughout his own career, Ruben always loved when former players and legends of the clubs he played for would interact with the team — sharing knowledge, stories, and advice about what it means to represent the club. Coming from Benfica, he understands what real pressure feels like and how to use it to grow — as a man, a player, and now as a leader. He believes these exchanges can help the players make the most of their time at United, both on and off the pitch."

Leeds United’s stance on recalling Joe Gelhardt from Hull City in January has now been revealed.

Gelhardt starring at Hull on loan from Leeds

The Whites have been struggling in front of goal in the Premier League this season, with only bottom of the table Wolves scoring fewer than Daniel Farke’s side.

The 49ers Enterprises arguably failed to bolster the final third as well as they should’ve, with free transfers Lukas Nmecha and Dominic Calvert-Lewin joined by Noah Okafor as Leeds’ only attacking additions.

They did decide to loan out Gelhardt to Hull once again, and the 23-year-old has been in fine form for the Tigers in the second tier.

In 15 Championship games, Gelhardt has already scored seven goals and provided two assists, coming in for praise from manager Sergej Jakirovic.

“When I watched him in last season’s games, I begged Mr Chairman (Acun Ilicali) to bring him back here.

“He likes playing here and he wanted to come back here. He has a completely different profile to the players we have. He has the quality to play in a number of positions and is able to pass, shoot and has speed, which is special.

“He’s 23 years old and maybe he can reach the Premier League. But, right now, he’s made the difference.”

As a result of Gelhardt’s form, there has been speculation over a potential recall in the New Year to help Leeds in their Premier League survival push.

The forward played his part in the 2021/22 season as a teenager to help the Whites remain in the top flight, scoring a memorable winner against Norwich City and providing a late equaliser for Pascal Struijk against Brighton in the penultimate league fixture.

Hull want Harry Gray

However, according to TEAMtalk, ‘Leeds have no plans to bring Gelhardt back to Elland Road’ in the New Year.

The Whites are happy for the forward to remain with Hull until the end of the season and Gelhardt’s form could help the 49ers sell him for £4m, which would result in a 300% profit following his move from Wigan in 2020.

As well as keeping hold of Gelhardt, Hull also have their eyes on a potential loan move for Harry Gray after the Leeds teenager penned his first professional contract in Yorkshire.

Gray, 17, is yet to feature under Farke in 25/26 after being handed his debut on the same day Leeds won promotion to the Premier League. He’s also being eyed by Charlton Athletic, Derby County and Swansea City.

Leeds are considering allowing Gray to leave for the second half of the season so he can get regular senior game time, but when it comes to Gelhardt, don’t expect to see him in a Leeds shirt in the New Year.

Academy star who's never played a senior minute for Leeds could replace Bijol

أستأنف برشلونة تدريباته استعداداً لمواجهة ريال بيتيس، غداً على ملعب لاكارتوخا ضمن منافسات الجولة السادسة من الدوري الاسباني لكرة القدم.

وأفادت صحيفة “سبورت” الإسبانية بأن فيرمين لوبيز وفرينكي دي يونج واصلا تدريباتهما صباح الجمعة في مدينة خوان جامبر الرياضية مع بقية زملائهما.

ومن المتوقع أن يعتمد هانز فليك مدرب برشلونة على ثنائي الفريق ضد ريال بيتيس وسيكونا في قائمة المباراة إلى جانب بيدري ورافينها اللذين تدربا أيضاً بشكل طبيعي.

أقرأ أيضاً.. شلوتربيك يحسم اختياره بين الانتقال إلى برشلونة أو ريال مدريد في الصيف

وعاد نجما برشلونة لأداء التدريبات الجماعية أمس الخميس وأستأنفا عملهما أيضاً صباح الجمعة، ومن المتوقع أن يحصلا على التصريح الطبي غداً.

وكان فرينكي دي يونج قد غاب عن آخر ثلاث مباريات لبرشلونة ضد أتلتيك بلباو بسبب الإيقاف وضد ألافيس وأتلتيكو بسبب الحمى ورغم استمرار معاناته من الأعراض لكنه تدرب بشكل طبيعي.

ومن جانب آخر فقد تدرب أيضاً الحارس الألماني مارك تير شتيجن والذي عاد لأداء المران بشكل طبيعي تحت قيادة هانز فليك، بينما غاب أراوخو ولم يتم رؤيته في مدينة خوان جامبر الرياضية صباح اليوم.

Sunderland fans need to soak up their side’s unbelievable story in the Premier League while they still can.

Of course, it would be monumental for the Black Cats to pull off an unexpected top-four finish on their return to the top-flight, but also, it’s potentially a tad unrealistic to expect them to be competing for a spot around the Champions League table all season long.

Fans of the Wearside giants wouldn’t be turning their noses up at safety, after all, having seen their beloved team be in the doldrums all the way down in League One, once upon a time.

But, after a mightily impressive five wins have now been collected from their opening nine league games, expectations have arguably shifted, with a comfortable mid-table finish – come the end of the gruelling 38-game marathon – not the craziest shout.

Regis Le Bris will just have to hope the bubble doesn’t burst anytime soon, as a possibly challenging January transfer window now comes into view.

Latest on Wilson Isidor's future

This is one major drawback to your success story being constantly in the limelight, as other suitors now attempt to poach your best talents from you.

Sunderland will have to stay strong, therefore, during what will be a likely hectic January window, with Football Insider recently revealing that scouts from several top clubs are tracking Le Bris’ main marksman in Wilson Isidor.

This comes after the composed Frenchman fired home his fourth Premier League strike of the season already, away at Chelsea last time out.

All this speculation surrounding Isidor’s future isn’t completely new, though, with reports back in September stating that Aston Villa were looking at the ex-Zenit St Petersburg attacker as another option up top, with a £35m price tag also rumoured.

With Villa struggling at the moment to get a tune out of Ollie Watkins, it isn’t the wildest suggestion to say that they could put their money where their mouth is and go after the Black Cats’ four-goal hero shortly, with Isidor being noted as looking “very comfortable” in the Premier League by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley directly after his side’s fantastic Stamford Bridge away day.

Sunderland’s other striker options
Striker	Games this season	Goals + Assists
Brian Brobbey	4	0 + 1
Eliezer Mayenda	6	1 + 0
Sourced by Transfermarkt

Sunderland aren’t overflowing with striker options if Isidor does depart, with Brian Brobbey – who cost a hefty £17.3m from Ajax this summer – yet to get off the mark for his new employers, away from putting his brute strength to good use against Chelsea to assist Chemsdine Talbi’s late winner.

Moreover, Eliezer Mayenda has somewhat faded into the background after a promising Championship campaign, as Sunderland now potentially prepares to go after this new striker, in a sensational January switch, to ease any Isidor-based worries.

Sunderland plot move for new striker

Even if the 6-foot-1 focal point were to remain put, Sunderland might be looking at adding depth to their centre-forward department, anyway.

Based on reports from Football Insider, the Black Cats could soon be welcoming back a familiar face to the Stadium of Light in the form of Chelsea hotshot Marc Guiu, who experienced an extremely short-lived three-game loan stint on Wearside earlier this campaign.

The £50k-per-week attacker would, unfortunately, be recalled, owing to injury issues depleting Enzo Maresca’s options in the striker spot.

Now, however, new reports suggest that a loan move for the Spaniard to return to Le Bris’ ranks might well be on the cards, as a spectacular return is plotted.

It will be interesting to see if the Blues do allow for Guiu to return to the North, considering the former Barcelona youngster has come back to Stamford Bridge and made quite the impression, with Maresca stating that the much-talked-about 19-year-old is “absolutely” in his first team plans, after bagging a Chelsea goal in the Champions League versus Ajax.

It could even be boldly argued that Guiu is a bigger talent than his Villa-linked counterpart, as the Spain U21 international now attempts to potentially set the Premier League alight, if a return to the Black Cats is signed off on.

How Guiu compares to Isidor

Initially, this might seem like a slightly naive take, considering Isidor is being tipped to move away from the Stadium of Light for £35m, after collecting four Premier League goals.

Transfer Focus

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

In stark contrast, Guiu is yet to fire home a single Premier League strike situated in West London.

But, Isidor is very much prone to a no-show here and there in attack, too, with a mammoth 20 big chances missed last season in the Championship.

Consequently, his insane tally of four strikes, despite averaging just 12.8 touches of the ball per Premier League clash, is very unlikely to be sustainable in the long run.

Whereas, all of Guiu’s numbers to date in the senior game point in the direction that he could become even more lethal if given extended runs in a first-team setting, with the 19-year-old already being branded a “nightmare” for defenders to deal with by talent scout Jacek Kulig, irrespective of him only lining up for 30 senior games across his fledgling career.

The Granollers-born starlet has also been able to find the back of the net in some very intimidating environments, with the Blues’ number 38 already managing to score in the Champions League for both Barca and Chelsea, even if he still cuts a wide-eyed presence.

Guiu’s overall career numbers
Club played for	Games	Goals + Assists
Chelsea	20	7 + 0
Barca Atletic	17	6 + 4
Barca Youth League	8	2 + 0
Barcelona	7	2 + 0
Sunderland	3	1 + 0
Sourced by Transfermarkt

The table above only reinforces Guiu’s “exceptional” goalscoring ability – as he was once also lauded by former youth coach Albert Capellas – with Guiu even managing to fire home one solitary effort for Sunderland earlier in the season, before he saw his spell come to a sharp close.

Nine goals on the books of both Chelsea and Barca at a senior level will also encourage the Black Cats even more as they prepare to go back in for their ex-loanee, with a confidence that he could step up and be Sunderland’s main man if needed, having never looked fazed by any of the hurdles that have disrupted his journey so far.

There is also so much room for Guiu to grow and learn, with Le Bris perhaps the perfect manager to get more out of the exciting Spaniard in the short term, having garnered a “meticulous” reputation as a head coach, as noted by one of his ex-players in Matteo Guendouzi.

Moreover, the former Lorient boss also played a pivotal role in Jobe Bellingham exploding into life more on Wearside and eventually joining Borussia Dortmund, with Guiu perhaps dreaming of a similar rise, which is kick-started by working under Le Bris again.

On the contrary, Isidor could well have peaked already as an effective poacher in the Premier League, as Sunderland now works out the best possible contingency plan if their much-loved number 18 does leave imminently, with everything pointing to Guiu rejoining the ranks being a smart next move.

Forget Xhaka: £9.5m “colossus” is Sunderland’s best signing under Le Bris

Sunderland could now have found their best signing since Regis Le Bris joined the building in this £9.5m warrior.

By
Kelan Sarson

Oct 28, 2025

Owner Ali Tareen says he would “rather lose the team standing on my feet than run it from my knees”

Danyal Rasool25-Nov-2025

“The Sultans have always meant more to me than just numbers” – owner Ali Tareen•PCB

Multan Sultans owner Ali Tareen has announced he will not renew his ownership of the PSL franchise. In a statement on social media, Tareen said he was bidding farewell to the franchise he has owned for seven years.In doing so he appeared to take a parting shot at PSL management, saying he would “rather lose the team standing on my feet than run it from my knees”. That was in keeping with an ongoing dispute with the league, as well as hinting at differences that seem to have built up with the other owners”Being part of this team has been one of the greatest honours of my life,” Tareen’s statement said. “Despite the financial losses year on year, I never once thought about walking away. The Sultans have always meant more to me than just numbers. And I have always been willing to go as far as needed to protect it.”The statement, posted soon after the five other franchises formally confirmed that they had decided to renew ownership of their respective teams, throws a spanner into the works of the 11th edition of the PSL. The tournament is already set to expand to eight teams, which means two new owners. If the PSL and Tareen fail to strike a deal, as now seems increasingly inevitable, the PCB will have to hunt for a third.Tareen’s statement represents the low point of a relationship that has been deteriorating for the best part of a year. During this time, Tareen has stepped up his criticism of the PSL management, which he accused of a lack of transparency and vision.