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O Palmeiras partiu para o seu “plano B” na busca por um “camisa 5” na Argentina. Após ver Aníbal Moreno, do Racing-ARG, ficar cada vez mais longe, o Verdão abriu conversas com o Huracán-ARG para contratar Santiago Hezze. A informação foi publicada primeiramente pelo Nosso Palestra e confirmada pelo Lance!.

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+ Veja tabela e classificação do Brasileirão-2023 clicando aqui

Aos 21 anos, Hezze pinta como uma opção mais “barata” e menos complicada de negociar. Diferentemente do Racing, o Huracán não está na disputa da Libertadores, nem da Copa Sul-Americana, o que poderia facilitar a liberação do jogador.

+ Copo Stanley a partir de R$120,00. Bebida gelada nos 90′ de jogo do Verdão!

Conforme adiantado pelo Nosso Palestra, o Verdão planeja investir entre 4 e 5 milhões de dólares (entre R$ 19 milhões e R$ 23,7 milhões na cotação atual) para comprar 50% dos direitos de Hezze. O clube argentino tem 80% desses direitos e os 20% restantes pertencem ao jogador.

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Segundo apurado pela reportagem, se houve uma proposta oficial nessas condições, o Huracán não deve fazer muito esforço para segurar o jovem atleta, que já chegou a ser sondado por clubes europeus nesta janela de transferências. A agremiação argentina precisa fazer pelo menos duas vendas, e os principais ativos seriam o próprio Santiago Hezze e o atacante Juan Gauto, que está a caminho do Racing.

Hezze é um dos principais nomes de sua posição no país e já frequentou a seleção pré-Olímpica da Argentina. Por ser jovem, tem alto potencial de revenda, o que atrai o Verdão, que entende que em um futuro próximo pode lucrar em cima do investimento realizado.

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+ Palmeiras tem entraves além da questão financeira para tirar Aníbal Moreno do Racing

Apesar das conversas pelo plano B, o Palmeiras ainda não desistiu de Aníbal Moreno, do Racing-ARG. A última oferta palmeirense foi de 7,5 milhões de dólares (R$ 35,6 milhões na cotação atual), mas foi prontamente recusada pelos argentinos, que querem 10 milhões de dólares livres de impostos (R$ 47,4 milhões). Com prazo curto e o jogo duro por parte dos hermanos, o Alviverde vê o acordo distante neste momento.

O Verdão busca um substituto para Danilo desde janeiro, quando o volante foi vendido ao Nottingham Forest-ING. De lá para cá, o clube acumulou negociações e conversas frustradas. Wendel, do Zenit-RUS, Matheus Henrique, do Sassuolo-ITA e Walace, da Udinese-ITA foram alguns dos nomes que entraram no radar palmeirense, mas não chegaram como reforços.

Manchester City have now swooped in and submitted an opening offer for a Manchester United target, amid widespread interest from rival Premier League clubs.

Man City looking to get one over on their bitter rivals

There has undeniably been a power shift in Manchester since the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, with City breaking the record by winning three Premier League titles on the spin, and the gap between the two clubs was on show earlier this month.

Pep Guardiola’s side ran out emphatic 3-0 winners against Man United at the Etihad Stadium, with Erling Haaland bagging a brace after Phil Foden opened the scoring.

Not only have City often gotten the better of their rivals on the pitch in recent times, but they have also become a more attractive destination for new signings, with Gianluigi Donnarumma opting for a move to the Etihad, despite interest from Ruben Amorim’s side.

Earlier this week, it was also revealed the Blues have moved into pole position in the race for another key Man United target, Eintracht Frankfurt’s Nathaniel Brown, and they are now looking to beat their rivals to the signature of an up-and-coming prospect.

That is according to a report from Edinburgh News, which states Man City have now made an offer for Hearts midfielder Keir McMeekin, who has been attracting plenty of interest from Premier League clubs.

United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool have also expressed interest in signing the 15-year-old, who is currently weighing up his options, having travelled for talks with City and two other unnamed Premier League sides.

Hearts are eager to keep hold of the highly-rated youngster, having tabled an attractive contract offer of their own, but it remains to be seen whether he is willing to commit his future to the Scottish Premiership side.

"Creative" McMeekin is one for the future

Evidently, the Scottish youngster is still in the infancy of his career, but he is clearly held in high regard at club and international level, having already made his debut for the Scotland U17 side.

Journalist Joel Sked also rates the teenager very highly, describing him as a “creative” player, and “one of the most promising talents in the Hearts academy”, which explains the interest from a whole host of Premier League clubs.

Man City struck gold on "wonderful" talent worth more than Doku & Reijnders

Manchester City are reaping the rewards of Pep Guardiola’s faith in one rising star at the Etihad.

ByRobbie Walls Sep 21, 2025

At just 15, McMeekin is one for the future, but Man City should be well-placed to win the race for his signature, given that they are clearly still levels above their major rivals, as evidenced by the 3-0 victory earlier this month.

The Hearts ace may be some way off first-team level, but Guardiola is also keen on bringing in a central midfielder capable of making an instant impact, having identified Bayern Munich’s Aleksandar Pavlovic as a replacement for Rodri.

The Orange Cap table wears a different look, but there is no major change on the Purple Cap table after Prasidh Krishna got to the top spot on Saturday

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Apr-20251:13

Pujara: SKY put a lot of pressure on spinners

Orange Cap leaderboardVirat Kohli (RCB) became the third-ranked batter on the run-getters’ table when he was done for the day, the fifth batter to top 300 runs for the season, but Suryakumar Yadav (MI) got there later in the day, too, and went past Kohli to third spot.Kohli has been scoring consistently without setting the tournament on fire all this while, and has been there and thereabouts on the leaderboard. In the day game on Sunday, Kohli was faced with a moderate chase of 158 and led the way for his team as they pulled off a seven-wicket win.He scored 73 not out off 54 balls, and that has taken his tally for the season to 322 runs. For Kohli, it was the fourth half-century of the season, and he now averages a remarkable 64.40 – the highest for batters with over 150 runs and only behind Tim David’s 142.00 in the tournament overall. His strike rate of 140.00 is the poorest among the top five, though.Suryakumar then scored 68 not out off 30 balls as MI beat CSK by nine wickets to take his aggregate to 333, ending the weekend only behind Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) batter Nicholas Pooran (368 runs) and B Sai Sudharsan (365) of Gujarat Titans (GT). GT take on Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) on Monday, and Sai Sudharsan needs just four runs to take the Orange Cap.Behind Suryakumar and Kohli, also past the 300-run mark, are GT’s Jos Buttler (315) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (307) of Rajasthan Royals (RR). LSG’s Mitchell Marsh, for so long only behind Pooran and Sai Sudharsan, has fallen to No. 7 with 299 runs.7:26

Pujara: Kohli is the best when it comes to chases

Purple Cap leaderboardA number of bowlers who had a shot at getting close to GT’s table-topper Prasidh Krishna’s 14 wickets on Sunday, but none of them got a wicket. Noor Ahmad and Khaleel Ahmed of CSK, Josh Hazlewood (RCB) and MI captain Hardik Pandya went wicketless in their respective games, while Arshdeep Singh’s lone strike against RCB has now put him in the mix, but he is still some way away.Prasidh Krishna leads the table, followed by Delhi Capitals’ (DC) Kuldeep Yadav, Noor, Hazlewood and LSG’s Shardul Thakur at 12 wickets each, followed by the five bowlers with 11 wickets: GT duo R Sai Kishore and Mohammed Siraj, Hardik, Arshdeep and Khaleel.Highest batting strike ratesBest bowling economy ratesMost sixesBest bowling figures in a match

حذر لاعب نادي برشلونة الغريم التقليدي ريال مدريد قبل مواجهة الفريقين المرتقبة غدًا الأحد، ضمن قمة الجولة العاشرة من بطولة الدوري الإسباني للدرجة الأولى.

ويحل نادي برشلونة ضيفًا ثقيلًا على ريال مدريد غدًا الأحد على ملعب سانتياجو برنابيو، ضمن الجولة العاشرة من الدوري الإسباني، حيث يسعى البلوجرانا لتحقيق الانتصار.

ولا يوجد بديل لبرشلونة سوى الفوز على ريال مدريد، حيث يحتل البرسا المركز الثاني في ترتيب الدوري الإسباني وبفارق نقطتين فقط عن الفريق الملكي المتصدر.

وأكد مارك بيرنال، لاعب خط وسط نادي برشلونة، أنه لا يخشى مواجهة ريال مدريد، موضحًا أنه يعيش حلمًا بالفعل بتعافيه من إصابته في الرباط الصليبي.

بيرنال عانى الأمرين من إصابة على مستوى الرباط الصليبي جعلته يغيب عن الملاعب لمدة وصلت إلى عام تقريبًا، قبل أن يعود للعب مرة أخرى هذا الموسم.

طالع .. لابورتا: برشلونة لا يُقهر.. ولن نلعب دور الضحية بسبب تصرفات ريال مدريد

وقال بيرنال عن مواجهة ريال مدريد في تصريحات نقلتها صحيفة موندو ديبورتيفو: “برشلونة لا يخشى ريال مدريد، وسنذهب إلى هناك للفوز”.

وأضاف بيرنال البالغ من العمر 18 عامًا في حديثه: “في الحقيقة، نركز على أنفسنا، وعلى انتقاداتنا وعلى كيفية تعاملنا مع المباراة، وسنحاول الفوز بالمباراة”.

وعن التعافي من إصابته في الرباط الصليبي والعودة للعب اختتم بيرنال: “لقد انتقلت من حلم إلى واقع”.

بيرنال يعتبر من خريجي أكاديمية لاماسيا وقد تم تصعيده إلى الفريق الأول لبرشلونة خلال الموسم الماضي، حيث حصل على ثقة المدرب هانز فليك قبل أن يتعرض إلى الإصابة.

وجدد برشلونة عقد بيرنال إلى نهاية موسم 2030 المقبل وتم منحه القميص رقم 22، وذلك في إشارة كبيرة على إيمان النادي الإسباني بقدرات اللاعب الشاب.

Kolkata Knight Riders’ (KKR) Sunil Narine and Anrich Nortje’s bats failed the gauge test during the IPL 2025 game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Mullanpur on Tuesday.The Narine incident came first. Before KKR’s unsuccessful chase of PBKS’ 111, the bats of some of the KKR batters were checked by reserve umpire Saiyed Khalid outside the playing arena. Narine, the KKR opener, and Angkrish Raghuvanshi were standing together, and the thickest part of Narine’s bat wouldn’t pass through the gauge.Narine appeared to have a chat on the matter with Khalid, who also checked Raghuvanshi’s bat, which passed the test.Related

• The IPL's crackdown on oversized bats, explained

• 'As it is we are seeing such big sixes' – Mohit Sharma backs bat checks

• Umpires check players' bat size on the field during double-header

Narine, who had earlier returned 2 for 14 in his three overs, hit one four in his four-ball 5 in the chase. Raghuvanshi was KKR’s highest scorer with 37 from 28 balls.After KKR’s chase went downhill from a solid 62 for 2 in the eighth over, Nortje was out to bat as the last man, but the bat he went out with failed the test carried out by the on-field umpires Mohit Krishnadas and Saidharshan Kumar, according to TV commentators.The Nortje incident took place at the start of the 16th over of KKR’s innings. The game was paused as substitute Rahmanullah Gurbaz came out carrying spare bats for Nortje. The replacement bat passed the test, but Nortje did not get to use it as Andre Russell was bowled immediately after.This was Nortje’s first match of IPL 2025 as he made a much-awaited return from the back injury that he had suffered during the SA20. With the ball, he returned figures of 1 for 23 from his three overs.In the past, bat checks were carried out inside the dressing room but on Sunday, during the Rajasthan Royals (RR) vs Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) game and the Delhi Capitals (DC) vs Mumbai Indians (MI) game, the checks were being carried out on the field of play. According to the IPL playing conditions, the width of the bat face should not exceed 10.8cm, the thickness of the blade shouldn’t be more than 6.7cm, and the width of the edge of the bat cannot be more than 4.0cm. The length of the bat should not exceed 96.52cm.

Rasmus Hojlund is relishing his impressive form for Napoli and the Denmark national team following the striker's departure from Manchester United. With six goals in his last five games for club and country, the Dane says his excellent run proves that "goals are like ketchup" as he celebrated his effort in a vital World Cup qualifying win against Greece.

• Hojlund in exhilarating form

  After a dismal 2024-25 campaign at United, where he scored 10 goals in 52 matches across all competitions and just managed four goals in the Premier League, Hojlund joined Napoli on loan this summer. Under Antonio Conte's mentorship, he has regained his previous form. In just six games in the new season, the Danish international has found the back of the net four times across the Serie A and the Champions League. Moreover, he has been regularly on the scoresheet for Denmark in the World Cup qualifiers. After scoring two goals against Belarus last week, he struck yet again in Denmark's 3-1 win over Greece on Sunday.

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• Ex-Man Utd striker basks in fine scoring run

  After the victory over Greece, Hojlund took to social media to express his feelings. He said: "A wise man once said: Goals are like ketchup. Once they come, they keep on coming."

• Will Hojlund stay at Napoli?

  Napoli reportedly have a €50 million (£43m/$58m) option to buy Hojlund at the end of the season and the ex-Atalanta star has suggested that he wants to stay in Italy beyond his loan spell. He has also earned praise from head coach Conte, who says he is proving his potential to be "a star". 

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• AFP
  

  Back to Serie A duty for Napoli

  Hojlund's Napoli will resume their domestic campaign on Saturday when they come up against Torino, and the 22-year-old will be expected to start and score yet again, as he did before and during the international break.

South Africa lost eight wickets for 80 runs, including three in an over to Rana as India defended 276

Firdose Moonda29-Apr-2025India defended 276 – their third highest-score against South Africa – in dramatic fashion to record successive wins in the Sri Lanka tri-series. South Africa were fairly comfortable on 170 for 2 after 33 overs chasing 277 and Tazmin Brits had scored her third ODI hundred and was anchoring their effort. With the required run-rate a touch above six an over, Brits retired hurt with cramp and that sent South Africa into freefall. They lost eight wickets for 80 runs, including three in an over to Sneh Rana, who finished with career-best figures of 5 for 43, and fell short by 15 runs.Brits’ need to leave the field to seek medical assessment was one reason South Africa lost their tri-series opener but there were several others. Pratika Rawal’s 78 – her fifth successive fifty-plus score in the format which also made her the fastest to 500 runs in ODIs – set India up well and twin 41s from Harmanpreet Kaur and Jemimah Rodrigues and a 14-ball 24 from Richa Ghosh helped India score 82 runs in the last ten overs. Their total was helped to balloon beyond South Africa’s reach thanks to 13 wides they sent down. India, for comparison, only bowled two wides and a no-ball.Overall, India’s ground fielding was sharper, though they put down three catches which included Brits’ twice, and their spinners controlled the middle period well. Rana and Deepti Sharma conceded 83 runs between them in their 20 overs while Shree Charani bowled ten overs with figures of 1 for 51.After India cruised past Sri Lanka in the series opener, they were challenged by a South African side who have not played together for more than four months and looked rusty, especially against Smiriti Mandhana and Rawal. The pair put on 83 for the opening stand, with Mandhana initially taking most of the strike and playing the aggressor role while Rawal eased herself in. South Africa started to rein them in and gave away no boundaries between the tenth and 18th over – by which point they had used five different bowlers – and then brought Annerie Dercksen on to try and get a breakthrough.She benefited from the pressure her colleagues had created. After delivering two wides in her first four balls, Dercksen went short, down leg, Mandhana followed and gloved the chance to Karabo Meso, who took her first ODI catch. Dercksen’s over was still poor as she conceded 19 runs, including five wides and the six over deep mid-wicket that got Rawal to fifty.Tazmin Brits scored a brisk hundred•SLCRawal was given a life when she was on 71 and flicked Masabata Klaas to deep square leg, where Chloe Tryon ran to her right to get to the ball but could not hold on. South Africa then thought they had run Harleen Deol out off the next ball when Meso flicked the bail off and Deol seemed short of her ground but the third umpire disagreed. Just as South Africa may have wondered where another wicket would come from, Mlaba ended their frustration with a double strike. In the 31st over, she bowled Rawal with a beauty that dipped and turned past the outside edge to hit offstump and in the 33rd, drew Deol forward to bowl her with a full ball.Harmanpreet, batting for the first time in ODIs this year, should have been caught at deep cover when she sliced Nadine de Klerk to Lara Goodall but was put down on 4. Despite the miss, South Africa squeezed hard and India were unable to find the boundary for ten overs, until Dercksen returned. She continued to struggle with her lengths and conceded 17 off her second over as India entered the final ten on 195 for 3.Rodrigues and Harmanpreet’s stand grew to fifty and Rodrigues was playing her shots but when she tried to scoop Klaas over fine leg, only managed to find Ayabonga Khaka at 45. Ghosh played an aggressive cameo and scored 24 runs off the 14 balls she faced and India plundered 82 runs in the last ten overs, including nine fours and a six.By the time South Africa got to the last ten overs of their innings, they needed 81 runs and had seven wickets in hand. Brits had retired by then in what has been called extreme heat even by Colombo standards but would have felt she’d set her team-mates up well. She dominated the 140-run opening stand with Laura Wolvaardt – South Africa’s second-highest for the first wicket – and scored 90 runs off 93 balls to Wolvaardt’s 43 off 75. Brits was also put down twice, on 51 by Deepti off her own bowling and 67 by Harmanpreet at mid-off. Deepti was eventually rewarded when Wolvaardt was hit on the pads as she tried to work her into the legside and given out lbw which allowed India to start to claw their way back.Goodall, playing in place of the injured Anneke Bosch, played all around a Rana arm ball and was bowled but with Brits still there, South Africa seemed in control. She reached her hundred off the 103rd ball she faced and then blasted two fours in the same over but after the second, could not continue. Her partner at the time was 17-year old Meso, who suddenly found herself with a big job.Meso was on 7 off 17 balls when she tried to hit Arundhati Reddy through the off-side but played on which brought the experienced pair of Sune Luus and Tryon together. The required run-rate had climbed over seven. Luus was dropped in the 41st over when she gave Reddy a knee-height chance in her follow through but then holed out to deep mid-wicket in the next over. South Africa needed 70 off 50 balls. Tryon and Dercksen got that down to 41 off 30 before Tryon chipped Rana to midwicket in her penultimate over. Rana’s last over was the one South Africa had to survive.Instead, de Klerk was bowled trying to sweep off the second ball, Dercksen mistimed a slog sweep to deep square leg and Brits came out again only to hand Rana a return catch and end South Africa’s hopes. They went from 249 for 5 to 252 for 8 and had no recognised batters left. Their last two batters were run-out as India sealed the win with four balls to spare and cemented themselves at the top of the points table.

Bayern Munich are reportedly planning a surprise move for Nottingham Forest defender Murillo as they look to strengthen their backline next summer. The Brazilian centre-back was a big part of Forest's success last season as the club secured a spot in European competition for the first time in 30 years after finishing seventh in the Premier League.

Bayern target new centre-back signing

According to ’s 'Bayern Insider' podcast, the Bundesliga champions are in the market for a new defender with Dayot Upamecano's future uncertain and Kim Min-jae likely to be sold next summer. This has prompted Bayern to search for a new centre-back, with Murillo emerging as their latest target. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportChelsea also eyeing the Brazilian

Signing the 23-year-old, however, will not be straightforward. His contract with Nottingham Forest runs until 2029, with no release clause. The English side are under no pressure to sell, and with Chelsea also showing interest ahead of the January window, it won't be easy for the Bundesliga giants to pull off a deal.

Still, Forest’s poor start to the season might change things. The team currently sit 17th in the Premier League with just one win, and the mood around the club has been tense. Nuno Espirito Santo was sacked after falling out with owner Evangelos Marinakis, and new boss Ange Postecoglou is already under pressure after failing to win any of his first six games in charge.

Other names on Bayern’s shortlist

Murillo isn’t Bayern’s only option. Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is still regarded as their top target, especially after his move to Liverpool collapsed on deadline day. However, the Palace captain is also being chased by other top clubs, including Real Madrid and Manchester City. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund’s Nico Schlotterbeck is another name mentioned in discussions. 

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GettyWhat's next for Murillo

For now, Murillo’s focus remains on helping Forest turn things around. But if results don’t improve, a January move might tempt him, especially with interest growing from Europe’s biggest clubs. Whether he ends up alongside Harry Kane in Munich or somewhere else, the Brazilian’s future looks set for a big leap.

It is fair to say that Celtic need to improve their options at the top end of the pitch before the summer transfer window officially comes to a close this evening.

The Hoops have failed to score a goal in three of their last four matches in all competitions, including in both legs of their Champions League play-off loss to Kairat on penalties.

TEAMtalk reports that Celtic are closing in on a deal to sign Anderlecht centre-forward Kasper Dolberg in an attempt to improve the options at Brendan Rodgers’ disposal in the final third.

Celtic confident of deal for winger

The Denmark international may not be the only attacking addition to come through the door before the end of the summer transfer window tonight, though.

Transfer Focus

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

According to TEAMtalk’s report, Celtic are confident that they will win the race to seal a deadline day deal for Crystal Palace forward Jesurun Rak-Sakyi.

The outlet claims that the Scottish Premiership giants are in a battle with Rangers and Leicester City to sign the left-footed star on loan for the season.

It adds that Celtic feel they are well-positioned to win the race because of the regular first-team football and European matches that they can offer the 22-year-old starlet, who has been described as “devastating” by U23 scout Antonio Mango.

What Rak-Sakyi would bring to Celtic

The English winger would provide a real goal threat from the right flank to finally replace what they lost when Nicolas Kuhn completed a move to Como earlier this summer.

Celtic have struggled for goals in the early parts of the season and the signings of Dolberg and Rak-Sakyi, if they can get them over the line, would go a long way to solving their issues in that department.

Rak-Sakyi spent last season on loan at Sheffield United in the Championship, and previously impressed on loan at Charlton in League One in England.

Appearances

43

34

Starts

40

22

Goals

15

7

Minutes per goal

233

248

Big chances created

5

3

Key passes per game

1.3

0.9

Assists

8

2

As you can see in the table above, the Palace youngster has scored 22 goals in his last 62 league starts in the Championship and League One combined, which shows that he can provide a regular source of goals when picked week-in-week-out.

Dolberg, meanwhile, has scored three goals in six matches this season and plundered 19 goals in 40 games in the 2024/25 campaign for Anderlecht, per Sofascore, as the main number nine for the Belgian side, showing that he is in-form and could hit the ground running in Glasgow.

This means that, in Dolberg and Rak-Sakyi, Celtic appear to be closing in on two new signings who could add a spark to what has been a dull attacking set-up at Parkhead so far this season.

Of course, it is now down to the club to ensure that they can get these deals done before the deadline to avoid missing out on the huge boost to their attack that this duo could provide them with.

Worse than Nygren: Rodgers must drop Celtic flop who "offered little"

Celtic must drop their flop who was even worse than Benjamin Nygren against Rangers.

ByDan Emery Aug 31, 2025

It was the Ballon d’Or ceremony last night, but it was an underwhelming show from an Arsenal perspective – at least the men’s team.

Unlike last year, when four players from the club made it into the final 30, there was only one representative for the Gunners on the list last night: Declan Rice.

However, with the team’s development and the club’s long-term ambitions, there may well be more stars who make that list in the coming seasons.

Moreover, there is even a certain talent within the squad who could end up being Arsenal’s first winner of the award, and no, we aren’t talking about the incredible Bukayo Saka.

Arsenal stars at the Ballon d'Or

So to find the first Arsenal player to feature on a final Ballon d’Or list, we have to go back to 1979, when Liam Brady was nominated and finished seventh after helping the club win the FA Cup and becoming the first foreign player to win the PFA Players’ Player of the Year.

Things really began to pick up in the 1990s, with David Seaman, Marc Overmars, and Kanu all picking up won nomination each, while Dennis Bergkamp finished fourth in 1997 and eighth the following year.

Moving into the 2000s, we get to the man most would consider to be the Gunners’ greatest ever player: Thierry Henry.

Unsurprisingly, then, the Frenchman was a regular feature on Ballon d’Or lists during his pomp.

In fact, the multiple Premier League winner would feature on every list from 2000 to 2007 and came closest to winning the whole thing in 2003 when he finished second to Pavel Nedved.

Moreover, while the Juventus star was a brilliant player, many still believe it should have been the Les Ulis-born superstar who won the award that year.

It would be Cesc Fàbregas who’d be the club’s best representative in the competition when Henry left, earning five nominations between 2007 and 2011 before leaving for Barcelona himself.

Since 2012, only ten players have been nominated for the Gunners in the final, with four of those coming last year and two the year before.

In other words, Arsenal are finally starting to see their players recognised by the rest of the world again, and we have a feeling they may also have a future winner in their midst, and no, we are not talking about Saka.

Arsenal's future Ballon d'Or winner

So, it should be said that, given his performances over the last few years and the fact he still put up 26 goal involvements in an injury-riddled campaign last season, there is every chance Saka could find himself holding the Ballon d’Or one day.

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However, in this instance, the potential future winner we’re thinking of is none other than Max Dowman.

Yes, while it’s still absurdly early in the teenager’s career to be talking about such things, it remains true that it feels as if the sky is the limit for what he could achieve in the game.

After all, it’s hard to think of a 15-year-old ever being as highly rated as he is in the Premier League, and on top of that, he’s been compared to Lamine Yamal, who many predict to win at least one Ballon d’Or in his career.

For example, respected talent scout Jacek Kulig has made the bold claim that he is the “most exciting prospect” he has seen “since Lamine Yamal.”

It’s not hard to see why Kulig would say such a thing when you take a look at the Hale Ender’s numbers from last season.

In just 23 appearances across a number of youth teams, totalling 1945 minutes, he scored 19 times and provided five assists for good measure.

Dowman in 24/25

Appearances

23

Minutes

1945′

Goals

19

Assists

5

Goal Involvements per Match

1.04

Minutes per Goal Involvement

81.04′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

In other words, the “ridiculous” phenomenon, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, averaged 1.04 goal involvements per match, or one every 81.04 minutes.

Moreover, he has already made several appearances for the first team, including two competitive ones, in which he earned an assist for winning a penalty when Leeds United couldn’t stop him without fouling him.

Finally, Arteta and Co. decided to include him in the Champions League squad this year, so if he makes an appearance before the turn of the year, he’ll be the youngest player to ever grace the competition – not even Yamal had that record.

Ultimately, while it is really too early to be talking about things like this, it genuinely feels like Arsenal have a world-class superstar in the making in Dowman, and therefore someone who could one day win the Ballon d’Or.

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Posts 1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Sep 23, 2025