Liverpool are in advanced talks to sign a 19-year-old speedster who’s even quicker than Mohamed Salah, according to reports.

Saudi still eyeing Salah move

When Salah finally ended any rumours by signing a two-year contract extension at Liverpool last season, it looked as though that would be that. Anfield’s Egyptian King looked destined to steal the headlines for at least another couple of years and perhaps even retire in Merseyside.

Things haven’t gone quite as smooth sailing since that new deal, however. Having been dropped by Arne Slot in Liverpool’s victory over West Ham United, serious questions have been asked about Salah’s place in Liverpool’s best side as they look to return to their most clinical form. And, as such, rumours surrounding his future have once again emerged.

This time last season, Salah was arguably the best player in the world. He was leading Liverpool’s shock title charge. One year on, though, he’s arguably becoming more disposable at Anfield than ever before.

Slot will be hoping that a recent blip is not the beginning of a steep decline, but it is something that Michael Edwards and Richard Hughes are already preparing for.

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Arne Slot is still under pressure.

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The Anfield chiefs already smashed their transfer record twice in the summer to reshape their attack around Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz. Whilst neither have been at their best quite as yet, their arrivals were sign of things to come.

Now, ahead of 2026, Liverpool are reportedly in pole position to sign Yan Diomande and add to their frontline once again.

Liverpool in advanced talks to sign Yan Diomande

According to Sky Sports’ Sacha Tavolieri, Liverpool are now in advanced talks to sign Diomande, forcing Barcelona to retreat in the race to sign the RB Leipzig winger.

Battling alongside Tottenham, the Reds could land their next top speedster in the new year. To put into context just how quick Diomande is, the Leipzig star has clocked a top speed of 35.98 KM/H in the Bundesliga season, which betters Salah’s 33.7 KM/H speed in the Premier League this time last year.

What’s more, only Oliver Burke has recorded a quicker speed than Diomande this season, showcasing exactly why he’s found himself on Liverpool’s radar.

As Leipzig’s managing director, Marcel Schafer, reiterated though, the winger is not just all about speed. The 19-year-old star is also a fine finisher with four goals so far this season and is an excellent dribbler.

In pole position for his signature, Liverpool should push on and secure Diomande’s arrival when 2026 arrives.

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The 2026 IPL auction will take place on December 16 in Abu Dhabi. This will be the third successive year when the IPL auction is being held overseas. The 2024 auction in Dubai was the first time it was held overseas. The two-day mega auction for the 2025 season was held in Jeddah in November 2024.Like all mini auctions, the 2026 edition, too, will be a day-long exercise. Franchises have to first sort the list of players they want to release and retain from their 2025 squads, by 3pm IST on November 15. After that they will be sent a registered pool of players to shortlist. That long list will then be pruned for IPL to finalise the auction pool.The trading window, which opened after the 2025 season, will continue until a week before the auction and then resume to go on until a month prior to the IPL start date in 2026. The 10 franchises cannot trade a player who will be bought at the 2026 auction.So far there have been four confirmed trades among five teams. That includes the most high-profile player swap in IPL history which involved five-time champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) getting Indian wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson from Rajasthan Royals, who have traded in the allrounder pair of Ravindra Jadeja and Sam Curran.On Thursday, Mumbai Indians, also five-time champions, procured India allrounder Shardul Thakur and Sherfane Rutherford in all-cash deals from Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) for INR 2 crore and Gujarat Titans (GT) for INR 2.60 crore, respectively. In a separate trade, LSG got Arjun Tendulkar at his base price of INR 30 lakh from MI.The tentative window for IPL 2026 is March 15 to May 31.

Four memorable India-Australia knockout matches from past Women’s World Cups

Srinidhi Ramanujam29-Oct-20252017 semi-final, DerbyRain, a wet outfield, and fire from Harmanpreet Kaur. She blasted an unbeaten 171 off 115 balls, transforming women’s cricket in India. She walked in with India tottering at 35 for 2 and walked out with Australia in ruins. The first fifty was measured, the next two were mayhem: off 26 balls, then 17. In all, she launched seven sixes and even a mid-pitch mix-up with Deepti Sharma and a flying helmet couldn’t deter her focus. By the time India reached 281 for 4, Harmanpreet had rewritten what Indian batting could look like. Australia fought back through Elyse Villani and Alex Blackwell, but Deepti’s final strike ended the resistance. On that rain-soaked English evening, Harmanpreet’s innings wasn’t just brilliant. It was a statement, and Derby remains India’s only win over Australia in a knockout game in the Women’s World Cup.Australia win a home World Cup in front of a record crowd•Getty Images2020 final, MelbourneIn front of 86,174 roaring fans at the MCG, India played their first T20 World Cup final, but Australia steamrolled them. Alyssa Healy slammed the fastest fifty in any ICC final, with audacious drives and towering sixes. Beth Mooney proved the perfect foil, rotating the strike and punishing the loose balls during her unbeaten 78, as Australia posted 184 for 4. In response, India, hurt by injuries and quick strikes, folded for 99 in 19.1 overs. Australia’s brilliance with bat, ball, and in the field was too much for India.Ashleigh Gardner sparkled with both ball and bat in the 2023 T20 World Cup semi-final in Cape Town•AFP/Getty Images2023 semi-final, Cape TownIndia came agonisingly close to toppling Australia, but ended up falling short by six runs in their chase of 173. Harmanpreet Kaur battled illness and shared a crucial 69-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Jemimah Rodrigues. Harmanpreet’s freak run-out, with her bat stuck in the pitch, triggered a slide, however, and Australia closed out the match. Australia’s innings had been driven by Meg Lanning, Mooney, and Ashleigh Gardner, who made an electric cameo.Mithali Raj leads India onto the field for their first World Cup final•Getty Images2005 final, CenturionA 22-year-old Mithali Raj led India into uncharted territory: their first-ever Women’s World Cup final. Karen Rolton, though, crushed their dreams, scoring an unbeaten 107 off 128 balls and taking Australia to 215 for 4. India’s chase then unravelled – they suffered four run-outs – and they were eventually bundled out for 117. Australia won their fifth ODI World Cup title, while for India just being there was historic – a young captain, a team of trailblazers, and the promise of what could be.

Sam Whiteman struck a century for Western Australia but the home side paced their chase perfectly on the final day

AAP07-Dec-2025Victoria secured a memorable Sheffield Shield victory over Western Australia, pulling off a tricky run chase of 195 late in the final session at the MCG.Unheralded opener Blake Macdonald posted his maiden first-class century to guide Victoria home by six wickets in the final minutes of day four on Sunday.Related

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The 27-year-old, who grew up in Canberra and played for New South Wales before moving to Melbourne, capped off a breakout Shield performance to finish unbeaten on 109 off only 116 balls.Macdonald also top-scored with 79 in Victoria’s first innings of 255 to comfortably claim player of the match honours.Victoria fell into early trouble in their chase at 46 fir 3 when captain Peter Handscomb was knocked over for a duck. But Macdonald combined with Australia white-ball batter Matt Short for a 137-run stand to steer Victoria to their fifth win from six Shield matches this season.With time against them going into tea at 99 for 3, Victoria scored at five runs an over to motor to the target and avoid a draw. Going into the BBL break, they are well clear on top of the ladder and in the box seat to qualify for the final.It was only Macdonald’s second Shield match for the season, since he was dropped after scoring 45 and 30 against South Australia in October. He was averaging 26.23 with a top score of 61 in seven Shield matches before this game.Earlier, an outstanding century from captain Sam Whiteman appeared to go a long way towards helping Western Australia avoid defeat.After slumping to 52 for 4, still trailing Victoria on day three, WA were on track for a heavy defeat. But with rain halting Victoria’s charge on Saturday, Whiteman stepped up to score his 17th first-class century early on the final day.Whiteman fell for 103, while valuable contributions from veteran Hilton Cartwright (43), allrounder Aaron Hardie (33) and wicketkeeper Joel Curtis (28) helped WA to 255.Victoria seamer Sam Elliott worked tirelessly as he enjoyed one of the best games of his first-class career.It was a forgettable return to Shield cricket for Mitchell Marsh, with the Australia white-ball star making only 4 and 9. Marsh had been hoping to press his case for a Test recall, with Australia considering using him for shock value at the top of the order in the Ashes.WA will remain on the bottom of the ladder until at least the Shield’s resumption in February, virtually already out of contention for the final with four matches remaining.

Arsenal suffered a devastating 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa at Villa Park on Saturday lunchtime, surrendering their five-point lead atop the Premier League table in dramatic fashion.

Emiliano Buendia’s stoppage-time winner completed a remarkable comeback for Unai Emery’s side, dealing a significant blow to the Gunners’ title aspirations.

Matty Cash gave Villa a deserved first-half lead with a thunderous finish at the back post in the 36th minute, capitalizing on Arsenal’s struggles to contain the hosts’ energetic pressing.

The right-back’s half-volley from a deflected cross caught David Raya off guard, sending Villa Park into raptures and rewarding the home side’s dominant opening period.

Mikel Arteta responded decisively at the interval, introducing Leandro Trossard and Viktor Gyokeres for the ineffective Eberechi Eze and Mikel Merino.

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It would be a head turner.

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The Belgian substitute made an immediate impact just seven minutes into the second half, converting a rebound after Emiliano Martínez could only parry Bukayo Saka’s initial effort. Trossard’s poacher’s instinct at the back post hauled Arsenal level and appeared to shift momentum decisively in the visitors’ favour.

Arsenal dominated possession throughout the second period, creating numerous opportunities to snatch victory. Noni Madueke struck the side netting late on when well-positioned, while Declan Rice orchestrated attacks from deep despite struggling with the calf complaint that troubled him against Brentford midweek.

However, Villa refused to surrender tamely.

Emery’s tactical substitution proved inspired as Buendia replaced Matty Cash in the 85th minute, pushing the hosts into a more aggressive attacking shape with Lamare Bogarde dropping to right-back.

The Argentinian playmaker delivered the decisive intervention deep into stoppage time, reacting quickest to a loose ball inside Arsenal’s penalty area and firing home to secure all three points.

The defeat represents Arsenal’s second loss of the campaign and ends their 18-match unbeaten run across all competitions. More significantly, it allows Man City the opportunity to reduce the gap at the summit to just two points, should they defeat Sunderland later today.

Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal – best players

Match Rating

Emiliano Martínez

7.8

Declan Rice

7.7

Matty Cash

7.5

Boubacar Kamara

7.5

Martin Odegaard

7.2

via WhoScored

For Villa, the victory extends their remarkable home form to just one defeat in their last 25 league matches at Villa Park, maintaining their challenge for Champions League qualification while sitting third in the table.

It also begs the question, are Emery’s men now genuine title contenders?

Stuart Pearce says Youri Tielemans stole the show against Arsenal

With that debate now set to rumble on, former England defender Stuart Pearce has picked out one Villa star to thank for an absolutely incredible afternoon for Emery in the Midlands.

Commenting on the game for talkSPORT, Pearce named his Player of the Match — £150,000-per-week midfielder Youri Tielemans.

The Belgian international apparently stole the show against Arsenal, with Pearce calling his display in the engine room ‘outstanding’.

Tielemans, who is out of contract in 2027, has just made a firm case to the Villa hierarchy when it comes to his long-term future.

The 28-year-old returned to full fitness fairly recently after missing six league games with a calf problem and was left out of the starting eleven for Villa’s thrilling 4-3 win at Brighton.

Emery’s decision to start Tielemans today was a masterful decision, and that performance will give the player huge confidence ahead of Villa’s trips to FC Basel and West Ham.

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