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It’s now a widely held opinion that the first point of call for Arsenal in the transfer window this summer should be a new striker.

In fact, it seems to be an opinion held by the club as well, with what feels like an endless steam of reports linking them to every prolific forward going.

However, the name that appears to be popping up more than any other at the moment is Viktor Gyokeres, who has been on fire for Sporting CP over the last two seasons, racking up 95 goals and 28 assists in just 100 appearances.

The Swedish marksman would undoubtedly improve the Gunners’ first team, but based on recent reports, the club may also be looking to smash their transfer record on another attacker, someone even more exciting than Gyokeres.

Arsenal's hunt for a new forward

Before getting to the star in question, it’s worth looking at some of the other exciting attackers linked with Arsenal in recent weeks, like Daizen Maeda and Rayan Cherki.

Transfer Focus

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

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The former is said to be available for around £25m in the summer, and while he might not be the most exciting name around, his unreal output of 33 goals and 12 assists in 49 games this season more than makes up for that.

If the club would prefer to shop in a top-five league, then £30m for Cherki wouldn’t be the worst idea, as in just 43 games for Lyon this year, the Frenchman has scored 12 goals and provided 19 assists.

However, for a player to truly be more exciting than Gyokeres, they need to have been performing at a top level for quite some time, like Rafael Leao.

According to a recent report from GIVEMESPORT, Arsenal are one of several teams interested in the AC Milan star.

The report has revealed that the Portuguese international has made it onto the North Londoners’ shortlist ahead of the summer and that new Sporting Director Andera Berta is a big fan of his.

However, on top of some stiff competition from the likes of Chelsea and Barcelona, there is a chance the Gunners would have to pay the player’s £150m release clause, which would blow their previous transfer record of £105m on Declan Rice out of the water.

With that said, if Arsenal can find a way to sign Leao this summer, they should do it, as he’d be an incredible asset to the team and an even more exciting acquisition than Gyokeres.

Why Leao is more exciting than Gyokeres

Okay, so the first thing to say here is that, in an ideal world, Arsenal would sign both of these players, and given the incredible number of goals Gyokeres is scoring, there is a strong argument that he is what they need more.

However, we are not here to argue about the most necessary transfer; we’re just considering who would be more exciting at the Emirates, and for our money, that would be Leao.

After all, what is it that really gets fans off their feet during a game of football? It’s moments of magic, technical brilliance and inventiveness, which the AC Milan star has in spades.

Fans want to see their star players take defenders on and win, which is exactly what they’d get from the former LOSC Lille star, as The Athletic’s Alex Barke’s claim that he’s “one of the best dribblers in the world” is more than backed up by the data.

According to FBref, the “world-class” winger, as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, sits in the top 5% of all attacking midfielders and wingers in Europe’s top five leagues for successful take-ons, the top 6% for carries into the penalty area and the top 7% for attempted take-ons, all per 90.

If that’s not enough to convince you that the 25-year-old would have the Emirates crowd in the palm of his hands, then perhaps the description of him being like an “early Thierry Henry” from former Milan coach Stefano Pioli will.

Finally, while we are focussing on what the Almada-born entertainer is capable of doing in the build-up to goals, he’s no slouch when it comes to output either.

Leao’s Milan record

Appearances

259

Minutes

17698′

Goals

70

Assists

62

Goal Involvements per Match

0.50

Minutes per Goal Involvement

134.07′

All Stats via Transfermarkt

In 259 appearances for Milan, totalling 17698 minutes, the 39-capped superstar has scored 70 goals and provided 62 assists, which comes out to a goal involvement every 1.96 games, or every 134.07 minutes, which is unreal across a six-season period.

Ultimately, Arsenal should be looking to sign Gyokeres and Leao this summer, but when it comes down to pure entertainment value and their ability to excite the fans, we reckon Leao has an edge.

Related A sensational Havertz upgrade: Arsenal join race to sign £100m PL star

The talented goalscorer would add another string to Arsenal’s bow.

Posts ByJack Salveson Holmes May 15, 2025

His loyalty to the game, and to the people who win his respect and friendship, has been remarkable, and his writing has embodied something of that

Sambit Bal24-Feb-2025I was on another call when his name flashed on my phone, and instinct told me what it might be about. I have known Ian Chappell for about 25 years and he rarely calls. He usually emails, or if the matter is immediate, he will text. SMS was replaced by Whatsapp in recent years, but it would take something exceptional for him to call.Of course, it wouldn’t have been like him to not call about something like this. Email or a text just wouldn’t do.Before I called him back, I showed the missed-call notification to a colleague. This could be it, I told him. We had discussed the possibility a few times since Ian retired from broadcasting in 2022, but I nurtured the fond wish that he would carry on with the writing for as long as I was in this job.Related

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The time has come to put down the pen and pack away the computer

Ian Chappell never quit on people.I first interacted with him in the year 2000, when I worked for total-cricket.com, an ambitious digital venture that assembled a galaxy of international broadcasters to work for it. Ian wrote a weekly column for the site on Sundays, and his piece would be in the mailbox every Friday, without a typo, every paragraph neatly marked, the wordcount roughly the same each time, dateline on top, and “ATTENTION: Sambit Bal” just below.The venture ran into trouble after a while and only a skeletal version remained after most of us were relieved of our jobs. I soon moved on to wisden.com, which would become wisdencricinfo.com, and eventually espncricinfo.com. When I sought to enlist Ian to write, he declined politely. He couldn’t abandon the site he was writing for, more so when it was struggling. He remained the last and sole columnist for total-cricket till it wound up.Once he was in your corner, his loyalty was absolute and unflinching. I once interviewed the late Terry Jenner, the Australian legspinner, who played all of his nine Tests under Ian’s captaincy. A decade after his retirement, Jenner was imprisoned upon being convicted for a white-collar crime. The only team-mate to visit him in jail was Ian Chappell. Jenner remembered being embarrassed and overwhelmed.”Ian looked me in the eye,” said Jenner, who mentored Shane Warne, and would go on to become an advisor to the Australian Cricket Academy, “and said, ‘Once captain, always captain.'”Ian finally came on board a few years later, but there was one condition. He had also been approached by Clayton Murzello, the sports editor of , an afternoon paper in Mumbai, so we would have to share the column. We did and that continued for close to 20 years.Chappell in his Sydney home in 2006. “Writing has been a favoured task,” he wrote in his farewell column•Fairfax Media/Getty ImagesWe never spoke money. And till corporate norms mandated it, we didn’t even have a contract. He accepted whatever we could afford to pay then, and whatever we could raise it to in subsequent years. He would introduce me to people as “Boss”, and however much in jest those people might have taken it, it left me utterly embarrassed. Through these 20 years, whenever he was approached by another website for the odd article, he would either decline or seek permission from me, though no exclusivity clause was ever written, or implied, in our agreement.Over the years he also worked in our studios for our video analysis shows, and apart from his sharp insights and exemplary professionalism, what stood out was how he made everyone around him feel. Generous and warm, he tried to make sure he knew, and remembered, people by their first names, made sure he greeted everyone around him, and was always quick with a joke or a story. (And how vividly and with what relish he reeled them off.) The idea of equality wasn’t just a catchphrase but a way of life for him. Our crew looked forward to the days he was around.His writing – punchy, sharp, and anecdotal – stayed consistent to his beliefs and values. Non-partisan and non-parochial, he called it as he saw it. He had strong opinions and the backbone needed to express them without fear of consequences. People knew better than to try to sway him to toe the party line. It was impossible to win an argument with him, but you could disagree with him and retain his respect if he knew you came from an honest place.At the heart of his belief system was a deep love of the game, and he raised his voice to the point of repetition against everything that threatened its welfare in his eyes.As always, he knew when to stop. When I got on that call with him, he told me about a thing he had learnt from Richie Benaud: when it’s time to retire, you just know. Writing lasted the longest of his careers, but 50 years later was a good time to go. I didn’t try to talk him out of it. The game gives to everyone who comes in touch with it, and the most to the players who grace it, but Ian has more than settled his debts.I didn’t watch him play, but the idea of Ian Chappell – fierce competitor, beloved leader, and the very embodiment of Australianism as we knew it – was very much a part of my consciousness. You know what they say about meeting your heroes, but with Ian, there was never a chance of disappointment. As a cricketer and captain, he will always count among the greats, but the man I came to know is extraordinary. It’s been an honour, absolutely.

ESPNcricinfo’s writers on the ground make their predictions for the 2023 men’s Ashes

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2023Will Bazball work against Australia’s attack?Vish Ehantharajah: Against Pat Cummins? No. Against Mitchell Starc? Yes. Against Nathan Lyon? Don’t know. Basically, it’s a bit of a lottery given the diversity of the touring attack with regards to how hittable they are. What is for certain is these six weeks will test Bazball’s stamina. Playing without fear when you’re 2-0 down and getting slated by the nonbelievers, former agnostics and part-time punters tuning in because it’s an Ashes? Let’s find out.Alex Malcolm: It definitely will work for periods within Test matches and maybe even for entire Test matches. But it’s hard to picture that style of cricket keeping Australia’s attack under the thumb for all five Tests. The England-South Africa series of 2022 is probably the best guide: Australia’s attack is similar but superior to South Africa’s and South Africa won one of those three Tests by an innings… although they still lost the series.Andrew McGlashan: I mean, does anyone know? “You haven’t done it against Australia,” has been the common view and it is their biggest challenge not least because, unlike against South Africa last year, Australia also have the batting line-up to complement their strength with the ball. It’s difficult to see Australia being skittled too many times.Matt Roller: Even if England are unlikely to score at a run a ball, like they did in Pakistan, they will still put pressure on Australia’s bowlers when circumstances allow – particularly if Stokes’ desire for good pitches comes to pass. I expect England will collapse at least once, and the series will be determined by how they respond to that.Andrew Miller: Pay attention at the back. “Bazball” is not a synonym for witless slogging, it is about taking the field with an uncluttered, fear-free mindset, with licence to find the very best version of yourself, safe in the knowledge that there will be no dressing-room recriminations for failure. It will work better than England’s pathetic efforts in Australia 18 months ago, and for that reason, cricket is already the winner.WTC in the bag, Australia have their eyes set on the Ashes•Getty ImagesWhat will be the defining battle of the series?Ehantharajah: Cameron Green against Joe Root. The former with the ball, the latter with the bat specifically, though the other way around could be fun. But Green looks the absolute business. Should he get his length right, could be the kind of bowler that does not make it on the podium for dismissals in the series, but ends up with all the big names.He had Root twice in 2021-22, and is exactly the kind of medium-fast with surprising bounce the former England captain could nick to anyone in the cordon, either via a defensive edge or a misjudged dab to third man. What makes it all the more intriguing is that Green is probably the one the hosts batters will look to target in a bid to limit the rest period for Cummins and the other frontline quicks. And Root will be one of the main proponents of that aggression.Malcolm: As silly and simple as it sounds, catches win matches. The best fielding side will win. Both sides will bowl well enough to create 20 chances. Both batting line-ups, as talented as they are, will give chances. England’s Bazballers are actively seeking to hit the ball in the air. Travis Head plays the same way. Marnus Labuschagne and Stokes are two of the luckiest cricketers on the planet. If Steven Smith or Root gives a chance, you’d better take it, or you could be dropping the urn.McGlashan: This may seem a cop out, but it’s everything versus everything. Bazball has thrown so many conventions out of the window that’s it’s difficult to know where to start. If you are forced to drill down, let’s say the battle of the two captains: Stokes and Pat Cummins. Not, perhaps, purely from runs and wickets point of view, but how they lead their sides when the going gets tough. And, crucially, whether Stokes can stay on the park for five Tests.Roller: England’s batters against Lyon. Lyon’s Ashes record – 101 wickets at 29.42 – is excellent, but India have shown on consecutive tours to Australia that he can struggle when teams come after him. England’s middle order have often targeted spinners successfully over the past 12 months and will doubtless be lining Lyon up.Miller: It’s tempting to say “England versus Hubris”, but we’re already well past that stage … look, here comes Nemesis already! Australia’s awesome attack is no doubt the biggest challenge to England’s Bazballing batters yet, but with respect to Steve Waugh’s pot-stirring comments last week, Boult and Southee, Bumrah and Shami and Rabada and Nortje weren’t exactly slouches last summer either.Stokes celebrates a direct hit in training•Getty ImagesWhat will the series scoreline be?Ehantharajah: 2-2, with Australia winning the final Test at The Oval after Stokes offers a generous carrot to bring Bazball full circle. It will probably lead to some overly-rogue sort on GB News calling for his excommunication from the game/the island/the world. And those of us who say we love it will secretly hate it too.Malcolm: Who the hell knows? It could be 3-2 England or it could be 4-1 Australia. Splitting the difference would be 3-2 Australia.McGlashan: 3-2, but no idea which way. I can’t see there being a draw unless we lose two full days to rain in a Test, and even then Stokes will try to manufacture something.Roller: This is the strongest Australia side to tour since 2005 but England have not lost a home series of three or more Tests since Kevin Pietersen texted Morne Morkel over a decade ago. I’ll go for a repeat of four years ago: 2-2, with one improbable draw.Miller: If in doubt, go for 3-2 to England. It’s probably been the default prediction scoreline for the past 20 years of home Ashes series, but this time I genuinely believe it. England are allergic to draws, so not even four days of rain can guarantee they won’t engineer (and lose) a preposterous run-chase. But, seeing as Australia haven’t won the Ashes in England for 22 years and counting, this year of all the ultra-positive years doesn’t feel like being the exception.Will Root break his century drought against Australia?•Gareth Copley/Getty ImagesWho will be each team’s leading run-scorer?Ehantharajah: Labuschagne for Australia, simply because he has looked in great form for Glamorgan and even just going by his media engagements, a cricketer who craves control of his situation seems to have a better grasp of his game. And England’s Joe Root for England.Malcolm: Smith and Root. Hopefully, there will be some outstanding performances from some younger players but they are the safe and obvious bets given their incredible records.McGlashan: Root. Class and consistency will show through here against what is a very strong Australia attack although he’ll need to be on his guard against Scott Boland who dismissed him four times in 2021-22. And for Australia, Smith. Sorry, I know it’s boring, but he looked in the groove during the World Test Championship final. Matching the 774 runs he made four years ago will be a tall order, but he will want to leave a mark in what is likely his final Ashes tour.Roller: England’s greatest strength has been their middle-order batting and in Harry Brook, they have a generational talent who will put a lean IPL behind him with a prolific series. For Australia, Smith will extend his remarkable Ashes record.Miller: Root, back in the ranks for the first Ashes since 2015, with the Compton-Miller medal winking at him, and all that prep in the Rajasthan nets to fall back on. And Smith, obviously.Scott Boland, David Warner and Pat Cummins wait for their turns at a training session•Getty ImagesWho will be each team’s leading wicket-taker?Ehantharajah: As we saw in the WTC final, Boland is the kind of bowler who will bag loads in these conditions. And he occupies an interesting place in England’s psyche. While the 2021-22 Ashes feels like a million miles away in terms of how far England have come as a group, they were particularly beguiled by Boland’s seam. It supposedly comes out of the hand dead straight – straight enough to cause a bit of confusion, before basically jagging into or away from you. That momentary perplexity is a killer margin at this level, and is unlikely to have been rectified.
Meanwhile, Ollie Robinson is probably going top England’s wicket-taking charts and showing us that life beyond Jimmy and Broady won’t be as bad as we think.Malcolm: Cummins and Stuart Broad. Cummins has been Australia’s leading wicket-taker in the last two Ashes series. He and Lyon are likely to be the only Australian bowlers to play all five Tests and Cummins will probably end up with more scalps. It’s just a hunch, but given his durability and his success against Australia’s left-handers, Broad may play the most Tests of England’s attack and be the leading wicket-taker as a result.McGlashan: Robinson for England, providing he can play at least four of the five Tests which some of the other quicks may not manage. And Cummins for Australia, partly because he’s the mostly likely to play all five games – and he’s a pretty handy operator. Although keep an eye out for Lyon if the summer continues to be dry and warm.Roller: Everything depends on fitness for England, but Robinson should last the distance and is a constant threat, especially at home. Cummins has been Australia’s top wicket-taker for the last three Ashes series, and will make it four in a row this summer.Miller: Cummins and Robinson, not least because they’ll play all five Tests.

All the key numbers from the first day of the England vs India Test at Trent Bridge

Sampath Bandarupalli04-Aug-2021183 England’s total at Trent Bridge, the second-lowest by them in the first innings of a home Test series since 1950. Their lowest in this period came when they began the five-match Test series against West Indies in 2000 with 179 all out at Edgbaston.ESPNcricinfo Ltd3 Instances of England getting bowled out for 183 or lower after electing to bat first at home since 2000. They posted 85 all out against Ireland at Lord’s in 2019 and 102 all out against Australia at Headingley in 2009.1 England registered their lowest first-innings total in a home Test against India. Their previous lowest total was 198 all out, which was also in Trent Bridge, in 2007.7 All out totals under 200 for England against India in 2021. Only twice have they managed to cross the 200-run mark across nine innings against India this year. India has not dismissed any other opponent more often below 200 in a calendar year.4 Instances of Indian pacers picking up ten wickets in a Test innings in England, including the latest effort. Three of those four occasions came at Trent Bridge, all since 2014.45 Runs added by England after the fall of the fourth wicket on Wednesday. These are the second-fewest runs England have scored for their last six wickets in a home Test innings against India. Their lowest was 43 runs in the first innings of the Lord’s Test in 2007.4 Ducks in England’s first innings, the joint-most for them in a Test innings against India. Four England batters also got dismissed without scoring a run in the Ahmedabad Test earlier this year.

Juan Soto would like to see Pete Alonso back in a Mets uniform next season.

Speaking with reporters at the MLB Awards in Las Vegas, Soto addressed the fact that Alonso is hitting free agency this offseason after opting out of a one-year, $24 million contract option with the Mets.

“I hope nothing but the best and I’m excited to see where he’s going to end up,” Soto said [via the Mike Puma]. “He’s one of the best power hitters in this generation. I really enjoyed my moment with him in a Mets uniform and I hope we can have more times to come.

“We can have fun together.”

Soto and Alonso did indeed have fun in the lineup in their first season together in New York. Soto shook off a slow start to the 2025 campaign and finished the year batting .263/.396/.525 with 43 homers, 105 RBIs and a career-high 38 stolen bases.

Alonso played all 162 games for a second straight year and batted .272/.347/.524 with a career-high 41 doubles and 38 home runs. He ranked in the top five percent of all MLB hitters in average exit velocity, barrel percentage and hard-hit percentage.

Alonso was also a free agent last offseason. When he didn’t find the long-term contract he was looking for on the open market, he signed a two-year, $54 million contract to return to the Mets with the aim to perform well, opt out of ‘25 and hit free agency again. One year later, MLB Trade Rumors predicts he’ll sign a four-year contract worth $110 million this offseason.

RELATED: Pete Alonso Destinations: Best Landing Spots for Mets Star in Free Agency

The Mets and their $342 million payroll missed out on a playoff berth by one game this past season thanks in large part to an eight-game losing streak in September. Soto is looking to right that wrong in 2026, and he’s hoping Alonso will be back in the heart of the Mets’ order along with him.

أعلن نادي ريال مدريد إصابة لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بعد فترة بسيطة من عودته للملاعب مرة أخرى.

ويخوض ريال مدريد مباراة قوية أمام نظيره أتلتيك بلباو ضمن منافسات الجولة الـ 19 المقدمة من بطولة الدوري الإسباني “لا ليجا”، غدًا الأربعاء.

وأصدر النادي الإسباني بيانًا بشأن إصابة فيرلاند ميندي، الظهير الأيسر للفريق الأول لكرة القدم، لكنه لم يحدد مدة تعافيه.

وجاء البيان على النحو التالي عبر الموقع الرسمي للنادي الإسباني: “بعد الفحوصات التي أجريت اليوم للاعبنا فيرلاند ميندي من قبل الخدمات الطبية لريال مدريد، تم تشخيص إصابته بإصابة عضلية في العضلة ذات الرأسين الفخذية بساقه اليمنى، وسيخضع لفحص طبي لمتابعة تعافيه”.

اقرأ أيضًا | تشابي ألونسو: تسجيل الأهداف ليس حكرًا على مبابي.. وهذا رأيي في اعتزال لاعب برشلونة

لكن صحيفة “آس” الإسبانية كشفت أن مدة غياب ميندي ستتراوح بين ثلاثة أسابيع أي أنه لن يعود في سنة 2025.

وكان ميندي قد عاد بعد غياب دام سبعة أشهر، وخاض مباراتين مع الفريق أمام إلتشي وأولمبياكوس وأبلى بلاءً حسنًا لكن سُرعان ما أصيب مرة أخرى.

وأفادت الصحيفة الإسبانية أنه في أفضل الأحوال سيعود للمشاركة في المباراة الأخيرة ضد إشبيلية بعد 18 يومًا لكن هذا السيناريو مستبعد جدًا، وبالنظر إلى تاريخه، يرى النادي أنه من الأفضل له التعافي بهدوء لتجنب تكرار هذا الوضع الذي لا ينتهي.

Arsenal have been riding the crest of a wave under Mikel Arteta’s tutelage, but this is the season that needs to see silverware returned to the Emirates Stadium.

Not since 2020, when Arteta took the loose reins after Unai Emery’s dismissal, have the Gunners lifted a trophy, and for all the incredible improvements that have been made since this new era began, the cabinet could do with a fresh adornment – perhaps the Premier League title?

Sporting director Andrea Berta has dovetailed into Arteta’s project this year and strengthened the Gunners with some talented additions. However, a few stragglers have emerged in north London, and they may need to be shipped on next year to continue the development of this elite outfit.

The Arsenal players Arteta needs to move on

Arsenal’s diligence is reflected by their contractual situations: no first-team player will find their deal is up at the end of the season. However, there are several who need to be shipped on regardless in 2026.

Gabriel Jesus, for example, impressed on his return from injury in midweek, coming off the bench against Club Brugge. Into the penultimate year of his contract, the 28-year-old has recently attracted interest from AC Milan.

Though Arsenal have undergone an incredible defensive transformation in recent years, the frontline still leaves something to be desired. Viktor Gyokeres, who arrived last summer for £64m, was picked as the solution, but he’s yet to bring it all together.

Arteta, for what it’s worth, remains steadfast in his belief that Gyokeres, a signing fuelled by Berta’s vision, will hit his prolific stride in the Premier League, but as the Gunners continue to go from strength to strength and challenge for the biggest prizes.

However, there’s another prominent face in the squad who may be enduring more vocal criticism for his performances, and it’s a situation that offers shades of former midfielder Granit Xhaka’s departure from the Emirates.

Arsenal's new Granit Xhaka

Xhaka has been a revelation in Sunderland’s midfield this season. When Arsenal sold the Swiss international to Bayer Leverkusen in 2023, few expected to see his face in the Premier League again, but he has been described as a “genius” buy for the Black Cats by Sky Sports’ Don Goodman.

The 33-year-old left Arsenal on a high, but his time in north London wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows, having been stripped of the captaincy by Emery in 2019.

His perceived lack of discipline often led to him being scapegoated, and in a different scenario with a few similarities, the same could now be said of Martin Odegaard, who is Arteta’s proud £30m skipper but has come under fire for his performances.

Odegaard has been unlucky in recent years, missing chunks of the past few seasons, and some suggest he could be more positive on the ball, though statistics do rank favourably for the 26-year-old in that regard.

As per FBref, the Norwegian “wizard”, as dubbed by footballer Babayele Sodade, ranks among the top 5% of midfielders across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for goal involvements, the top 3% for progressive passes, the top 2% for progressive carries, the top 2% for shot-creating actions and the top 1% for through balls per 90.

However, he’s not exempt from criticism. Former Arsenal striker Jeremie Aliadiere said “it will be tough to choose between” Odegaard and Eberechi Eze going forward, with the skipper not guaranteed a spot just because he wears the armband.

The former Crystal Palace talisman is growing into his skin since his summer move to the club, and should the £240k-per-week Odegaard begin to make trips to the bench, criticism is not going to disappear.

Bigger problem than Gyokeres: Arteta must bin Arsenal's new Aubameyang

Arsenal could have another Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang situation developing this season…

By
Robbie Walls

2 days ago

If there's one phrase to sum up the first week of the 2025 MLB season it's "torpedo bats," the slightly different shaped pieces of wood that have taken the league by storm. To the surprise of no one, Anthony Volpe was the main catalyst of this craze and the makers of the bats are starting to see a windfall.

Volpe, who is using the torpedo bat, has four hits through the first five games of the season and they were all home runs. Michael Kay told a short story about the bats during a YES broadcast over the weekend and it's basically all anyone has talked about since.

According to The Athletic, the bats are flying off the shelves.

An earlier story in said that bat makers were charging between $199 and $239 for the bats to the general public. No doubt a small price to pay to hit like a big leaguer.

Of course, as Front Office Sports points out:

On top of that, since published the piece on the torpedo bat craze Tuesday the Yankees are 0-2 and have struck out 30 times in those two games. Though Volpe did hit another home run in each of the losses.

Also returning for the three-match series in Harare were Brad Evans and Tadiwanashe Marumani

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Sep-2025Brendan Taylor, Zimbabwe’s veteran wicketkeeper-batter, is back in their T20I squad, more than three years after he last played in the format. Taylor, who returned from a three-and-a-half-year ICC ban in August, was named in Zimbabwe’s 16-man squad for the upcoming series against Sri Lanka. The other notable inclusion in the squad was Sean Williams, who is back in the T20I fold after more than a year.Taylor had been banned from all cricket in January 2022, for failing to report an approach from alleged corruptors without delay. With the ban ending earlier this year, Taylor subsequently returned to the international fold in the Bulawayo Test against New Zealand, before playing the ODI series against Sri Lanka last month. Taylor’s last T20I, though, was in April 2021, against Pakistan in Harare.Williams, meanwhile, had previously played a T20I in May 2024, and he’s set for a comeback into the format ahead of the Africa regional qualifiers later this month for the T20 World Cup in 2026. Zimbabwe will be competing in the tournament alongside Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, Tanzania and Uganda, with two World Cup spots on the line.Zimbabwe had missed out on qualifying for the T20 World Cup 2024 despite 20 teams participating in the tournament, as they couldn’t finish in the top two of the Africa Region Qualifier after suffering losses against Namibia and Uganda.Among other changes for the T20Is against Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe left out Newman Nyamhuri, Wessly Madhevere, Vincent Masekesa and Tafadzwa Tsiga from the squad that played the tri-series against South Africa and New Zealand in July. Apart from Taylor and Williams, those back in the squad were fast bowler Brad Evans and top-order batter Tadiwanashe Marumani.Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka have so far faced each other in only six T20Is, the last of which was in January 2024. Sri Lanka had won the three-match series after Zimbabwe levelled it with victory in the second match.Zimbabwe’s T20I squad vs Sri LankaSikandar Raza (capt), Brian Bennett, Ryan Burl, Brad Evans, Trevor Gwandu, Clive Madande, Tinotenda Maposa, Tadiwanashe Marumani, Wellington Masakadza, Tony Munyonga, Tashinga Musekiwa, Blessing Muzarabani, Dion Myers, Richard Ngarava, Brendan Taylor (wk), Sean Williams

From wild training techniques to celebrating the joint-hosts, this one's a classic World Cup ad

• adidas
  

  From New York to Mexico: A journey of pure football madness

  The story kicks off in Manhattan, where Trinity Rodman takes centre stage at a bustling newsstand. Each front page reports on the world’s top footballers breaking training traditions ahead of next summer’s showpiece. Then comes Florian Wirtz, the German prodigy, who enters a training ground on the orders of Julian Nagelsmann. He aims to toughen up for the World Cup by taking on Canadian ice hockey players and Mexican luchadores. 

  Next, the film cuts south to a dusty Western saloon in the American heartland. Here enters Lamine Yamal, Spain’s teenage wonderkid, who shows immense composure as he juggles a ball atop a mechanical bull. His effortless control draws a proud nod from Aitana Bonmatí, who is Spain’s midfield maestro. 

  Then, the scene changes again, from cowboy boots to bowling shoes. In a neon-lit bowling alley, Lionel Messi steps up in a new Argentina kit, calm as ever, as Rodrigo De Paul looks on. The Argentine genius rolls strike after strike with an adidas football. His precision on the bowling lanes mirrors the perfection he’ll aim for on the pitch next summer.

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• Watch the adidas World Cup ad

• adidas
  

  adidas unveils spectacular kit collection

  As the official supplier of the tournament’s match ball, TRIONDA, and the creator of jerseys for over 22 national teams, adidas celebrates a partnership with the World Cup stretching back more than 50 years. Beyond the viral film, adidas has already revealed its largest-ever World Cup home kit collection. Argentina’s traditional sky-blue stripes shimmer with heritage, while Germany’s new kit embraces a bold diamond-and-chevron design inspired by the patterns of their 1994 and 2014 World Cup-winning shirt. It will be their final adidas World Cup kit before their long-standing partnership ends in 2027, when they switch to Nike after a staggering 70-year relationship with the brand. 

  adidas World Cup 2026 kitsBuy now 

  With the 2026 World Cup set to stretch across the USA, Canada, and Mexico, adidas has engineered each shirt for the continent’s extreme climates. Using next-generation CLIMACOOL+ technology, the kits feature body-mapped ventilation zones that regulate heat and moisture as they aim to keep players cool. Beyond Europe, bold new kits have been launched for Algeria, Belgium, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Hungary, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine, the UAE, and Venezuela. 

  Sam Handy, GM of Adidas Football, said: "The national kit is the symbol of a nation’s togetherness and pride. As teams step onto the world stage at the biggest World Cup we have ever seen, they carry the hopes of a whole new generation of fans, while representing those who have come before them. A World Cup is about creating moments that transcend the stadium, so we’ve engineered the designs as an honour to each nation’s roots but also to celebrate an era where every fan, everywhere, is part of the story."

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• adidas
  

  A classic Argentina kit returns for 2026 World Cup

  Messi’s Argentina have already booked their tickets to North America. Their jersey remains a masterpiece of simplicity with sky blue and white stripes dominating the threads. The year 1896 is inscribed on the collar, honouring the foundation of the Argentine Football Association. The reigning world champions will aim to do what only Brazil managed back in 1958 and 1962, to win back-to-back World Cups. And with Messi expected to still lead the charge, few would bet against them.

  Thomas Mace, vice-president of design at Adidas Football, said: "Designing our jersey roster for the FIFA World Cup 2026 has been about honouring each nation’s unique identity while pushing the boundaries of innovation and performance. Every jersey tells a story – blending cultural heritage with modern aesthetics – and is built using our most advanced technologies to keep players cool and comfortable on football’s biggest stage. From the bold visual details to the shapeshifting lenticular logo and innovative ventilation features, this collection represents the future of football jersey design."