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West Bromwich Albion had a serious overhaul this summer as a new dawn under Ryan Mason beckoned.

Indeed, various first-team regulars from their promotion near-miss all left the Hawthorns behind, whether that be John Swift and Grady Diangana exiting at the expiry of their contracts, or Darnell Furlong, Tom Fellows, and Torbjørn Heggem seeking out big moves away from the Baggies.

Heggem won the Championship side a whopping £10m when moving onto the Serie A with Bologna, with Mason then using this added cash to purchase sparkling new gems such as Aune Heggebo and Nathaniel Phillips.

Still, West Brom do look to be heading to another crucial summer in terms of who will be staying and leaving when 2026 rolls around, with some key first-team personnel yet to pen extended deals past June of that year, worrying the rookie boss.

West Brom's contract situation heading into 2026

Mason will be thinking long and hard about the futures of many of his camp, especially those who only have their contracts in play until next June.

Josh Maja will hope – despite his injury issues – that he will be putting pen to paper on an extension shortly.

He has fired home 14 goals to date for the West Midlands side, one of which came before the international break when he was reinstated into his new manager’s first-team plans against Norwich City. With goalscorers often hard to come by, the ex-Sunderland striker should be staying put.

On the contrary, despite bagging 17 Championship goals when fit, the plug must surely be pulled on Daryl Dike’s Baggies career soon – as his contract is also up in June.

The injury-prone American last featured for Mason’s men at the end of last season, way before the ex-Tottenham Hotspur coach was handed the Hawthorns gig.

Jed Wallace will also be fearful regarding his expiring deal next summer, despite still being the West Brom captain.

He has only been handed four league starts by his new manager and with only six starts under his belt last season, too, the 31-year-old might well be on serious borrowed time in attempting to stake a serious claim to remain.

There is another face that hasn’t been mentioned yet that will also be seen as being close to the exit door, despite once costing a big-money fee to be tempted to the Hawthorns.

West Brom "goalscorer" now on borrowed time at the Hawthorns

In recent memory, West Brom haven’t been known to splash the cash, even if their new Nordic recruit in Heggebo did cost a significant £4.7m to obtain during the hectic transfer window this summer.

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That feels like a small amount to fork out when you weigh up that deal next to Karlan Grant’s £15m arrival from Huddersfield Town in 2020.

At the time, Grant was seen as a hot commodity worthy of such a lavish fee, having fired a lethal 19 goals for the Terriers in second-tier action across the 2019/20 campaign.

Further hailed as a “natural goalscorer” by his former Huddersfield boss Jan Siewert, the world would have been expected of the London-born attacker to dazzle in his new surroundings at West Brom.

Unfortunately, away from flashes here and there of his goalscoring excellence, it’s largely been a hot-and-cold time for Grant in the West Midlands, with just one goal picked up during his debut season, starting his Baggies tale off on a wobbly footing.

He has since bounced back to resurrect his faltering playing days, with his ex-teammate in the aforementioned Furlong even lauding him as “unstoppable” on his day when powering home seven strikes last season.

But, he has been firmly put to one side under Mason currently, with no Championship minutes afforded to him since a 30-minute run-out against Portsmouth in August.

With a respectable 54-goal haul in the second tier to date, Grant will surely be considering his options away from the Baggies moving forward.

West Brom will no doubt want to sell on their former £15m buy for some sort of a fee when the transfer window reopens, over risking losing him for absolutely nothing, like the Diangana situation that transpired last summer.

West Brom have a "magical" academy star who is shades of Price & Fellows

West Bromwich Albion have a magical academy star who is shades of both Isaac Price and Tom Fellows.

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By
Kelan Sarson

Oct 14, 2025

Bayern Munich’s perfect start to the season continues with 13 wins in 13 games across all competitions, setting a new European record under Vincent Kompany. Yet, history could’ve looked very different. Schalke’s former sporting director Rouven Schroder has now revealed that before Kompany took charge of Burnley, talks were held for him to take the reins in Gelsenkirchen.

• From near miss to masterpiece – Kompany's Bayern on a rampage

  Bayern’s remarkable start under Kompany has stunned Europe. With 13 consecutive wins in all competitions to begin the 2025-26 season, Bayern equalled AC Milan’s 1992–93 European record for teams in the continent’s top five leagues. This flawless run, stretching across the Bundesliga, Champions League, DFB Pokal, and DFL-Supercup, has come with a staggering 47-9 goal differential, technically surpassing Milan’s own scoring stats from their historic streak.

  Under Kompany, Bayern have become the first German club in history to achieve this milestone. The Belgian’s tactical precision, calm authority, and focus on team culture have not only stabilised the club but positioned them among the favourites for this season’s Champions League title.

  However, this story could have taken a very different turn. As former Schalke sporting director Schroder revealed, he once held talks with Kompany over potentially taking charge at Schalke before the Belgian opted to move to England and join then Championship-side Burnley.

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  Schroder recalls talks with 'authentic' Kompany

  Schroder opened up about his early encounter with Kompany during the Belgian’s time at Anderlecht, when he tried to persuade him to join Schalke.

  "When he was at Anderlecht and we were looking for a coach at Schalke for the Bundesliga, I was simply tempted to talk to such a great player. He was also Manchester City captain. That was one of the best conversations you can have with a coach. A young, up-and-coming coach. The door opens; he's huge and superbly prepared," said the Borussia Monchengladbach sporting director.

  "When you meet him, you notice: He has an incredible authority, a lightness. He is authentic. He explained what was on his mind and what he wanted to do for the preparation and follow-up. He had an incredible number of sheets, a PowerPoint presentation that really showed: 'Here's someone who plays football with passion, trains, and leads the way'. And then there's this multilingualism. You felt something there."

  However, the 50-year-old wasn't able to get a second meeting in place as there were budgetary constraints.

  "It was ultimately due to his large staff. We didn't talk any further after that. It became clear relatively quickly that it wasn't financially feasible. It simply didn't fit into the budget. Several clubs were interested in him at the time. Whether we would have been awarded the contract is unclear," said Schroder.

• Burnley – the foundation of Kompany’s managerial rise

  After Schalke’s approach fell through, Kompany joined Burnley in 2022, a move that would shape his managerial identity. In his debut season, he led Burnley to a record-breaking Championship title, amassing 101 points, winning 29 of 46 matches, and securing promotion to the Premier League in emphatic style.

  His attacking philosophy, heavy on possession and positional play, revitalised a team that had been struggling financially and emotionally after relegation. This identity was something he didn't let go of even after Burnley's lowest club total of 24 points and 78 goals conceded in the 2023-24 season. Burnley became the first club since Leicester City in the 2013–14 season to surpass the 100-point barrier.

  Although the Premier League proved unforgiving – Burnley finished 19th and were relegated – Kompany’s approach earned him admiration across Europe. His charisma, clarity and commitment to progressive football didn’t go unnoticed. In summer 2024, Bayern Munich came calling, paying €12 million to bring him to the Allianz Arena.

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  Kompany’s Bayern rewrite the script

  In little over a year, Kompany has turned Bayern into a powerhouse reborn. Amid their 13-match winning streak, his calm leadership and modern footballing vision have reignited the club’s spirit. The transformation has been so profound that Bayern recently extended his contract until 2029, making him the first Bayern manager since 2010 to receive an early renewal.

  Under his guidance, Harry Kane has been in breathtaking form, breaking goal-scoring records and steering Bayern’s dominant attack with 20 goals and three assists to his name already this season that too in just 13 games.

With baseball all day, we all want to know who is going to crack one deep.

Lucky for you, I've canvassed the board for some advantageous matchups for hitters across Major League Baseball, including MVP candidate Gunnar Henderson of the Baltimore Orioles.

In addition to Henderson, I'm eyeing two other hitters that are in line ofr home runs, find out who below!

Best MLB Home Run Prop Bets, June 5

• Gunnar Henderson (+390)
• Jeimer Candelario (+420)
• Jake Cronenworth (+600)

Gunnar Henderson

Henderson is seeking his 20th home run of the season, and I love it to come on Wednesday.

Ranking in the 95th percentile or better in xSLG, average exit velocity and hard-hit percentage, per MLBStatcast. Henderson is rightfully inside of +400 to go deep against Jose Berrios, who has allowed hard contact on more than 44% of balls put in play, which is in the 18th percentile.

15 of his 19 homers have come against righties, and Berrios' looming regression due to hard contact makes Henderson a prime candidate to go deep on Wednesday.

Jeimer Candelario

Candelario is swinging a sweet bat at the moment, hitting .368 over his last 19 at bats with a home run while slugging .579. He draws a favorable matchup against Dakota Hudson of the Rockies at the hitter friendly Coors Field.

Hudson is struggling this season, posting a 5.02 ERA that balloons at home to a 7.43 ERA in five starts while allowing two home runs.

Candelario is slugging .444 against righties, far higher than his .397 mark against lefties while mashing six of his seven homers against righties, I'll back him in a good spot on Wednesday afternoon in Colorado.

Jake Cronenworth

A lefty batter, Cronenworth is a dangerous hitter against right handed pitching, mashing all of his eight home runs against that side while slugging .528. He is a disciplined hitter who is barreling up nearly nine percent of balls in play, which is in the 63rd percentile.

With the wind blowing out at Angel Stadium at about eight miles per hour, and a soft-tossing Jose Soriano set to start for the Halos, I like Cronenworth to crack his ninth dinger of the year.

There was a bit of concern among some sections of the fanbase heading into this season because Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke does not have an impressive record in the Premier League.

He was relegated with Norwich City in the 2019/20 campaign before being sacked during his second attempt at managing in the division in the 2021/22 season with the Canaries.

However, the West Yorkshire outfit have picked up eight points from six matches in the Premier League this season, losing just two of their games, in what has been a very solid start to the campaign.

Farke’s side have been competitive in every game barring the 5-0 loss to Arsenal, who are title challengers, and were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth on Saturday.

In that 2-2 draw with the Cherries, Leeds supporters were provided with a reminder of where the club went wrong the last time they were in the top-flight.

Tyler Adams lined up in central midfielder for the away side at Elland Road, a few years on from when he failed to replace Kalvin Phillips under Jesse Marsch.

Why Tyler Adams was a poor replacement for Kalvin Phillips

The Whites sold Phillips to Manchester City in the summer of 2022 after the England international had helped the team to stay in the Premier League for two years.

Jesse Marsch and Victor Orta decided to bring Adams in from RB Leipzig for a fee of £20m to replace what they had lost in the middle of the park, but he was a poor replacement for the Yorkshire-born star.

Adams offered bite in the middle of the park, averaging 5.2 tackles and interceptions per game (per Sofascore), in the Premier League for the Whites, which shows that he was combative and got around the pitch to disrupt the opposition.

The USA international, however, did not showcase the quality on the ball that made Phillips so special to Marcelo Bielsa and Marsch in his two seasons in the top-flight with the West Yorkshire outfit. That lack of quality played a part in the team’s relegation to the Championship in the 2022/23 campaign.

As you can see in the table above, Adams did not offer anywhere near as much to the team in possession as Phillips did at his best, losing the ball more frequently whilst creating way less.

These statistics show that Orta and Marsch failed in their attempts to replace Phillips in midfield in the summer of 2022, and the Whites were relegated from the Premier League, in part, because of that. Of course, losing Raphinha from that team did not help matters.

Fast-forward to the present day, Leeds look competitive in the middle of the park thanks to the recruitment work that was done in that area of the pitch during the summer transfer window.

German giant Anton Stach has caught the eye, having scored a stunning free-kick against Wolverhampton Wanderers, since his £17m move from Hoffenheim.

However, it is another Leeds United central midfielder who has emerged as Farke’s own version of Kalvin Phillips at Elland Road in the Premier League this season.

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Sean Longstaff joined the club from Premier League rivals Newcastle United for £12m to bolster their options in the middle of the park, and he has been an excellent addition on current evidence.

Why Sean Longstaff may be the new Kalvin Phillips

The English midfield star may be the new Phillips at Elland Road because, unlike Tyler Adams, he has the defensive and technical qualities to be a well-rounded and influential presence in and out of possession for Leeds.

Longstaff really announced himself to the Elland Road supporters, of course, with his strike in the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth in the Premier League on Saturday, finding the corner with an excellent strike, as shown in the clip below.

It has been his all-round play in midfield that has impressed the most, though, as Longstaff has also averaged 3.8 tackles and interceptions per game in the league for the Whites this season, per Sofascore.

That is 1.2 more tackles and interceptions per match than Stach has managed in midfield in the top-flight. This suggests that the former Newcastle man is closer to Phillips, from a defensive perspective, than the 6 foot 4 German is, as he covers plenty of ground to disrupt opposition attacks.

Longstaff, who was tipped to be an “unbelievable” player by Alan Shearer, has the quality on and off the ball to help Leeds in all phases. He can sit and be compact to stop teams playing through the Whites, but he can also play a killer pass in the final third when needed to spark attacks or break down low blocks.

As you can see in the table above, the £12m signing’s statistics in and out of possession so far this season make him very comparable to Phillips in his best season in the Premier League under Bielsa in the 2020/21 campaign.

1.3 key passes per game for Longstaff shows that he has a creative side to his game, whilst his assist for Joe Rodon on Saturday came from a corner, and that means that he adds value in the final third as well as being a combative and defensively strong operator.

Signing a player with bags of Premier League experience has turned out to be an incredibly shrewd move by the Whites, as he has been able to hit the ground running since his move to Elland Road.

He may not have been the most exciting signing when he arrived at the club in the summer transfer window, but Longstaff may well turn out to be the club’s next version of Kalvin Phillips.

Not just Longstaff: 7/10 Leeds star is now completely undroppable for Farke

Leeds drew 2-2 at home to Bournemouth on Saturday and this star made himself undroppable.

By
Joe Nuttall

Sep 28, 2025

Jordan Henderson has backed “world-class” Liverpool to rediscover their form after helping Brentford inflict another defeat on his former club. The England international played a crucial role as his side secured a 3-2 victory which stretched the Reds’ losing run in the Premier League to four games, with Bees trio Dango Ouattara, Kevin Schade and Igor Thiago doing the damage.

• Henderson produces another fine performance in Liverpool win

  Henderson continued his fine form in 2025-26 with an impressive display against Liverpool on Saturday evening. After joining Keith Andrews’ side on a free transfer in the summer, the 35-year-old produced another brilliant performance to help his team secure all three points at the Gtech Community Stadium. Brentford forwards Ouattara, Schade and Thiago were all on the scoresheet for the hosts, with Liverpool unable to find an equaliser after goals from Milos Kerkez and Mohamed Salah.

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  Midfielder backs his former club to rediscover early-season form

  Liverpool have now suffered four straight defeats in the league, and five losses in their last six games in all competitions, after coming unstuck against an in-form Brentford side who are currently 10th in the table and just two points behind Arne Slot’s men. The Merseysiders have also lost to Crystal Palace, Galatasaray, Chelsea and Manchester United during their worrying run, but while questions are now being asked of their title credentials, Henderson has backed his former paymasters to recapture the form which saw them win their first seven games this season.

• Henderson insists Liverpool are still 'world-class' despite recent losses

  Speaking to after the Brentford game, Henderson said: “Liverpool are a world-class team with world-class players. You look all over the pitch, there's not much to go at, they're all quality players. I don't really see a weakness in the team.

  "Yes, I know there's been results of late that haven't been great for them but, for me, they're still top players and a top, top team and it's just a matter of time before they get in a rhythm and get going.

  "I think there's been a lot of reasons why they haven't hit the heights from last year but they're still a world-class team and wherever you look on the pitch there's to players, so it's always going to be difficult.

  “But the [Brentford] lads dug deep, stuck together and caused some problems on the counter.

  "I thought from start to finish we stuck together. We knew it would be difficult at times. The way we defended together, the way we stayed composed on the ball and try to, rather than just kick it forward at times, it's trying to play the long ball in behind to someone running in, like Dams (Mikkel Damsgaard) did for Kev (Schade) on the second goal.

  "And [Igor] Thiago was a threat all night and he’s been like that all season to be fair. We've got a lot of good players on the counter-attack with the front three. We've got people like Dams, Yarmo (Yehor Yarmolyuk) and the centre-halves who can pick passes as well.

  "Overall, I think it was a really good performance and we deserved the win in the end."

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  England international likened Liverpool departure to a 'break-up'

  Saturday’s clash was the first time Henderson had faced Liverpool following his departure in 2023. After joining the club from Sunderland in 2011, the midfielder spent 12 seasons at Anfield before his heavily-criticised move to Saudi Pro League side Al-Ettifaq. Henderson made just 19 appearances in the Middle East before switching to Ajax in January 2024, featuring 57 times before leaving in the summer.

  Reflecting on his Liverpool exit, Henderson said earlier this month: "Timing, with everything in hindsight, yes – maybe I would have made different decisions. But at the time that's how I felt and the decision I made was for many different reasons and only I know them reasons.

  "I am not going to lie, over the past couple of years I have had some tough moments. It felt like a break-up when I left Liverpool. Of course I'm not perfect and I've made mistakes in the past. Of course I will have throughout my career.

  "But all I've ever tried to do is the right thing.”