The 17-year-old made his maiden first-class century playing his third game, against Maharashtra in the Ranji Trophy

Vishal Dikshit18-Oct-2024The Bandra-Kurla Complex (BKC) isn’t like the rest of Mumbai. In a city where poverty and opulence co-exist without any tangible borders, the BKC is an upmarket commercial hub embellished with offices of multinational companies, high rises adorned by modern-day reflective glass, five-star hotels, upscale restaurants and lavish offices of some of the top banks of the country. Against the backdrop of a metro, its chaos and congestion, this place feels as if it was planted there like a drop-in pitch.And in the middle of this swanky complex stood a 17-year-old boy on Friday who was a bit different to everybody that was around him too. He had been toiling in the scorching sun for close to four hours, sweating to earn each and every run for his team, getting his whites dirty, and physically proving his worth surrounded by people much older – some twice his age.Ayush Mhatre’s face still has a boyish roundness to it. It was hard to miss when he took his helmet off after scoring his maiden century in only his third first-class game and held his arms aloft facing the Mumbai dressing room.Mhatre is the latest from Mumbai’s production line that rolls out promising youngsters ever ready to step up when the first-choice players are unavailable. Two years ago, when the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sarfaraz Khan were away for national duty for the last couple of seasons, a 17-year-old Musheer Khan made his Ranji Trophy debut. And now when Musheer is out injured after a car accident last month, another 17-year-old has stepped in in his place, almost like he was packed and ready in a warehouse in BKC.Mhatre embodies the struggle of the average Mumbaikar. To chase his cricket dreams, he has had to travel nearly 80 kilometers one way by train from Virar (outside Mumbai) to Churchgate (next to Wankhede Stadium) to access the famed and cricket coaches. He was always supported by his parents to pursue this dream, and it was his (maternal grandfather) and then his (father’s younger brother) who chaperoned him on his journey into the city so he could have it all.Mhatre took the game up when he was five, but it was at 15 that he really began to think that the runs he was piling up in school and club cricket could be done professionally. His personal highest score stands at 254 not out, in a private tournament, and he “gained a lot of confidence” in playing the Kalpesh Koli Under-16 tournament in Mumbai. By December 2023, he had made it to Mumbai’s Under-23 squad for the CK Nayudu Trophy and was also named in MCA’s Under-19 team of the year for 2023-24.Ayush Mhatre is unbeaten on 127 against Maharashtra•PTI At the start of this season, still in Class XII, Mhatre had an inkling that a Mumbai call-up was coming. He was asked to take part in the red-ball KSCA Thimmappiah Tournament, which several players use to tune up for the start of a new Ranji season. There, he smashed 173 against Gujarat and 52 in the next game opposite Andhra. He also started prepping for the challenges fast bowling could throw at him in first-class cricket by batting against plastic balls on tiles with Prashant Shetty, who has coached many Mumbai players including Prithvi Shaw and Jemimah Rodrigues. Eventually, when the call came for the Irani Cup clash against Rest of India, after Musheer had met with an accident, Mhatre was mentally ready.”I was surprised, but there was no pressure, I was excited,” he said on Friday.Mhatre scored 19 and 14 against the likes of Mukesh Kumar and Yash Dayal, and as soon as the Ranji Trophy season started, he took no time to register his maiden first-class half-century against Baroda, top-scoring with 52 on a spicy surface in Mumbai’s first innings when only one other team-mate crossed 30.On Friday, batting on his home turf, after Maharashtra had been bowled out for just 126, Mhatre saw off the new ball while Shaw and Hardik Tamore fell cheaply, and he stitched useful partnerships with his captain Ajinkya Rahane and Shreyas Iyer to power the score past 200.He reveres his Mumbai senior Rohit Sharma – also from the suburbs – for his trademark pulls and timing, and almost as a tribute to him, Mhatre pulled a short ball so handsomely towards the Bank of America building towering over the ground that the Mumbai dressing room erupted in applause. He seems comfortable off both the front and the back foot – the straight bat drives and the confident cuts showed as much. There was rarely a lull when he was at the crease, his strike rate hovering around 75 as he brought up a half-century off 63 balls and his century off 133 balls. Eighty of his 127 runs came on the off side.”The first hundred is always special,” he said after the day’s play. “I was confident which kept building in this innings.”Mhatre said Rahane coached him through a 99-run stand for the third wicket by setting “small targets of five runs at a time,” before he batted “calmly” with Iyer in an unbroken partnership of 97 as the field spread out and the baking sun made the pitch more batting friendly. Even at this nascent stage of his career, he understands he can’t get carried away even if he loves to attack.”I have to play with control, play according to what the situation demands, that’s what the team expects from me.”Mhatre has started with a bang, he has lived up to the promise he had shown in age-group cricket, and now he will want to stay true to the character of a promising Mumbai batter and really make it big.

Tuesday's MLB All-Star Game will feature a change that baseball fans have been longing to see.

The Automated Ball-Strike System will be in place for the Midsummer Classic as the league continues to test the system out before officially bringing it to MLB. And it seems that implementation may be just around the corner.

During a Monday appearance on , MLB commissioner Rob Manfred let slip that Tuesday's use of the ABS system will be a major test ahead of its potential introduction in MLB in 2026.

"This year the emails about bad balls and strike calls have gone up like crazy, because [fans] have now seen that you can do it better, and the sort of theme of the emails is 'What the hell are you waiting for?'" Manfred said.

"We're going to use [the ABS] tonight. It's been used in the minor leagues for several years and we tested it with big league guys in spring training last year. We're in a process directed at bringing it to the big leagues next year," he added.

Manfred made clear that while the league is hoping to implement the ABS in MLB by 2026, it fully intends to "preserve" the roles of umpires in games, and he even denounced the term "robot umpires" when discussing the Automated Ball-Strike System.

Paris Saint-Germain goalkeeper Lucas Chevalier has found himself in the eye of a storm as he is being accused of showing sympathy for a far-right political party in France after liking a post on Instagram. The 22-year-old shot-stopper insists it was an accident and says he’s “being portrayed as a fascist” as responded to the backlash.

Chavelier's like causes social media fury

Just hours before PSG’s clash with Lyon, Chevalier woke up to a media firestorm. A screenshot circulating on social media showed that the young goalkeeper had liked a post from former MP Julien Aubert, suggesting support for the National Rally, a far-right party long accused of xenophobia. Within minutes, social media was ablaze with fans accusing him of aligning with extremist politics, others defending him as a victim of cancel culture.

The controversy couldn’t have come at a worse time. Chevalier, still struggling to win over the Parisian crowd after replacing Gianluigi Donnarumma, found himself painted as a political symbol rather than an athlete. In a club defined by its multicultural identity, the backlash was immediate with supporters from the Collectif Ultras Paris, known for their anti-racist stance, condemned the act, while others called for his dismissal.

PSG’s management quickly sought to defuse the tension, focusing attention on the Lyon match. But the uproar had already shaken the dressing room and overshadowed the game itself.

AdvertisementAFP'It pisses me off' – Chevalier breaks his silence

At around 4 a.m., an exhausted and furious Chevalier took to Instagram to set the record straight.

“I saw what was being said about me regarding the fact that I liked a post on Instagram with a political stance, which I obviously don’t share,” he wrote. “ I'm not trying to convince you, but it's disheartening to know that by scrolling and unknowingly liking a post, you're informed that your image has been completely tarnished for an accidental action. It pisses me off. The damage is done, and the die is cast. You tried to portray me as a fascist, and it wasn't just me you targeted, but my entire family.”

The goalkeeper went on to express his frustration at being reduced to a political caricature:

"I will never play the victim, but the lines have been crossed, and by a long shot. Furthermore, some people are using this to justify my mediocre sporting performances when they have absolutely no understanding of the goalkeeper position. It's the same people from the beginning, and they seem to enjoy it. Anyway. I wanted to apologise for the inconvenience caused, because ultimately, I am the one in charge. I have always tried to be a good person in my daily life and on the pitch, and I will continue to do so. I don't often speak out, but it was necessary today because the world we live in is tending to go haywire. 

"I truly never thought I'd one day have to explain myself about this completely ludicrous matter on social media."

Chevalier's post turns political outrage to racial tension

As the story spread, the backlash took an uglier turn. Chevalier faced personal insults online, with hate messages flooding his accounts. Paradoxically, the far-right politician Eric Ciotti came to his defence, denouncing “anti-white racism” and calling the attacks “unbearable.”

This unexpected endorsement only deepened the controversy further fuelling debates about double standards, political opportunism, and the toxic intersection between sport and ideology. The affair became less about football and more about France’s social fractures, exposing how athletes now operate in a space where neutrality itself is politicised.

Many fans, however, urged restraint. Prominent commentators reminded the public that “a like is not a manifesto,” and that intent matters. Yet in an era of screenshots and instant outrage, nuance often comes too late.

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AFPNight at Lyon gets worse for Chevalier

On the field, the night was no kinder to Chevalier. During PSG’s 3-2 win over Lyon, he was at fault for two goals. One from Afonso Moreira’s counterattack and another from Ainsley Maitland-Niles’s lob, mistakes that reignited doubts about his form. Despite making several key saves, his shaky performance only compounded the pressure.

Teammates like Lucas Hernandez publicly backed him, insisting that defensive lapses, not goalkeeping errors alone, were to blame. But the headlines had already shifted with Chevalier’s image crisis had become a defining subplot of PSG’s season.

Now, as PSG prepare for fixtures against Le Havre, Monaco, Rennes and Tottenham in the Champions League, Chevalier faces a test far greater than any he’s had between the posts. He must restore faith and not only in his ability as a goalkeeper but in his integrity as a professional.

Over a transformative year, India’s chosen one has learned to find joy in the struggle

Alagappan Muthu02-Nov-20240:47

Manjrekar: Gill’s innings showed he cares for Test cricket

He walked off with the bat trailing in his wake, scraping the turf. A slow climb up the Wankhede Stadium stairs took him into the dressing room. It was the last place he wanted to be in.Shubman Gill was playing the kind of innings that makes a top-order batter. It wasn’t perfect. It wasn’t scratchy. It wasn’t a hundred. It wasn’t easy. But it was so very necessary.Related

Jadeja, Ashwin run through New Zealand to hand India the advantage

Wankhede was a beautiful setting for it, with its capacity to be many things at once. It can be loud. Akash Deep flattening Tom Latham’s stumps just before tea on Saturday infused drama and intrigue into an atmosphere that is only supposed to contain nitrogen, oxygen, and trace amounts of other gases. It can be dead. Virat Kohli running himself out on Friday evening rendered the vocal cords of 18,724 people obsolete. It can be hostile. Earlier this year, it made Hardik Pandya want to cry.Mumbai woke up to a post-Diwali haze so thick that whole buildings were lost in it. Rishabh Pant decided he would do the same to the memories of India’s mini-collapse from the evening of day one, belting Ajaz Patel all around the park and preventing him from getting into any sort of rhythm. The runs were a bonus. The quickest fifty by an India batter against New Zealand in Test cricket was a bonus. The objective was to prevent the spinner from hitting the good-length area of a turning pitch.Step out, make room, go inside-out: just one example of Shubman Gill’s range against spin•BCCIGill wasn’t really at his best doing this. A habit of going at the ball with hard hands made him especially vulnerable on the front foot. If New Zealand could get him forward but deny him the half-volley, there was enough help on offer to expect a favourable outcome. Ajaz managed that in India’s 22nd over, the third of the morning session, but the bat-pad went to silly point and there was nobody there. Gill used to find himself in this situation a lot and his average against spin reflected it. Until the start of 2024, it was 33.33. After the first Test against England earlier this year, his place in the XI even came under threat.The ball after he had nearly landed in trouble against Ajaz, Gill showcased some of the gains he has made since that low point. He went down the track – he’s spoken about doing that to counter spin ever since he was a little boy – but there was a little bit more at play too. Something clever. Something that good batters try to do to put the pressure back on the bowler. He had shifted himself inside the line of the ball and made full use of the opportunity to free his arms. He did this and went inside-out over extra-cover for four.There were other examples of his evolution as well. A forward-press trigger movement. Softer hands while defending. A focus on strike rotation. Because boundaries are often just a reprieve, a second’s joy amid hours of struggle, in conditions offering at least four degrees of turn on average. That is Test cricket, and Gill is showing the capacity for it. He had to be woken up to these things after a dropped catch on 45, but when he was, he did everything he could to shut the bowler out. Sometimes he was successful. Sometimes he was not. He rolled with that. And in the end, he was pretty happy with where he ended up.”Yes, definitely it’s one of my better knocks that I have played in Test cricket,” Gill said at the press conference on Saturday, and explained how he has been trying to get better at playing spin.”I was injured in the first Test. Even leading up to that Test I didn’t really practice that much because of the injury. So, I didn’t get that much time in the nets. And before the Pune Test match, I got two net sessions, and I am the kind of person, I like to have long practice sessions so that I feel confident about it. So, just the conversation with the coach [Gautam Gambhir] was just having more repetitions on what I think is the best idea for me to be able to play spin.1:23

Manjrekar: The way Pant started against Ajaz was incredible

“Leading up to this Test match, [my training] was all about me working on the areas that I have worked before,” he said. “The England series that we played, I think when I was batting in that series, I was batting at my best against spinners and just to be able to go back into that mindset and what my positions were while playing spinners and that’s what I was trying to replicate before this match.”Since the start of this year, Gill has averaged 61.55 against spin.Having been anointed the chosen one, the future of India’s batting, the future captain, there had been a sense that things were coming easy to Gill; that the narrative being built around him was disproportionate to what was on his CV. He obviously has no control over that. He also can’t really avoid that. The best he can do is be ready for games like these where his team was behind and they went through a series of brain fades and then had to fight back. Because such times hit different.”I was just having fun,” Gill said. “Even if it was difficult, I was just enjoying the difficult moments because you don’t get to play that many Test matches and I just feel when I am batting there, if I would put too much pressure on myself then I am losing out on the fun of the art of batting and that’s what I was trying to do.”It was fun for Gill, and fun too, judging by its response, for the Wankhede.

MatériaMais Notícias

Antes da bola rolar no Campeonato Brasileiro, o Vasco terá uma chance para corrigir parte da rota. Mas de que maneira? A partir desta segunda-feira (1º) estão liberadas as transferências domésticas.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFora de CampoMacron tenta ‘convencer’ Payet a voltar para MarselhaFora de Campo31/03/2024VascoVasco tem conversas adiantadas para ter resort no interior do RioVasco31/03/2024VascoCrias do Vasco treinam entre os profissionais para criar casca e amadurecer em período sem jogosVasco29/03/2024

➡️ Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco

Para ir ao mercado, o Vasco precisa correr atrás de jogadores que disputaram campeonatos estaduais. É o que diz o Artigo 33, Parágrafo 3º, Alínea “C” do Regulamento Nacional de Registro e Transferências de Atletas de Futebol.

“É admitida a solicitação de transferência (…) caso seja comprovada (o) a rescisão por mútuo acordo ou o encerramento do contrato especial de trabalho desportivo (inclusive de empréstimo) com o clube anterior, ou a cessão temporária, ocorrida(o) entre os dias 01/04 a 19/04/2024, sendo que, nesses casos, a solicitação de transferência deve ser concluída no SNR até o dia 19/04/2024. O atleta em questão necessariamente deve ter participado do Campeonato Estadual de 2024.”

A posição que o Vasco vai atacar no mercado já está definida. O Cruz-Maltino vai em busca de um volante. A posição é um pedido especial do técnico Ramón Díaz.

continua após a publicidade

Ao todo, o Vasco já desembolsou R$ 120,5 milhões e vai gastar ainda mais para se reforçar nesta temporada. Só em 2024, o Cruz-Maltino contratou nove jogadores – relembre aqui.

NOMES EM PAUTA
A princípio, o Vasco trabalha com dois nomes. Trata-se de Marlon Freitas, do Botafogo, e Caíque, do Juventude.

Marlon Freitas é a prioridade. No entanto, a negociação pelo volante alvinegro é extremamente complexa. O Vasco chegou a fazer contatos com o Botafogo, mas o rival pediu um valor alto.

continua após a publicidade

Já Caíque disputa a final do Campeonato Gaúcho e só vai definir o futuro após a decisão. O volante também é pretendido por outros clubes grandes do Brasil.

Tudo sobre

CaíqueFutebol NacionalMarlon FreitasVasco

Nottinghamshire wicketkeeper strikes his highest professional score in rain-affected match

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay05-Aug-2025Tom Moores smashed a career-best 148 from 93 balls as Notts Outlaws launched their Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign with a comfortable victory over Essex.It is the 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter’s highest score in senior cricket, eclipsing his first-class best of 106. He hit five sixes and 18 fours, sharing a 137-run sixth-wicket partnership with Daniel Sams (45 off 42) as the Outlaws recovered to 283 for 9, having been 41 for four inside the first hour thanks to Essex seamer Jamie Porter taking a List A career-best 4 for 29.Robin Das (46) and skipper Tom Westley (43) gave the Essex a solid start as they chased a revised target of 286 after squally showers had limited the home side to 46 overs in their innings, but from 101 for one they collapsed to 156 for 6, former Lincolnshire left-arm spinner Joe Pocklington taking 3 for 53 on his Outlaws debut, and despite an excellent unbeaten 46 from 41 balls (two sixes) from wicketkeeper Simon Fernandes, still fell for 234, seamer Rob Lord finishing with 3 for 30.After Westley won the toss and asked the home side to bat first in typical outground conditions at the John Fretwell Sports Complex, just outside Mansfield, Porter bowled his 10-over allocation in one spell to have Notts struggling.Having picked up a gift wicket when Outlaws skipper Haseeb Hameed chipped to mid-off, he found movement with the new ball to bowl Ben Slater and the 18-year-old debutant Sam Seecharan before Jack Haynes was caught behind off a thin edge.The hosts stumbled further to 74 for 5 as Lyndon James cut straight to cover, but with Porter bowled out, an Essex attack lacking Simon Harmer (on paternity leave) looked much less menacing.Moores was dropped at deep backward square on 21 off Noah Thain but responded by launching the same bowler over the same boundary for the first of his sixes in an innings that showcased his strengths square of the wicket. His first fifty came off 35 balls, his hundred from 69. His previous List A best had been 76 against Leicestershire in 2018, although this was only his 30th match in the format.Sams – available for Notts until he begins a Caribbean Premier League stint later this month – cleared the rope three times before top-edging to midwicket. Essex’s 19-year-old seamer Charlie Bennett, on his List A debut, recovered from a wobbly start to pick up the wickets of both Sams and Moores, who was eventually held at long-on.After losing Matt Critchley early, Essex looked well placed at 101 for 1 in the 16th over but after Das, who made a match-winning century for his county at Trent Bridge last summer, had miscued Lord to mid-on, Essex were never able to regain full momentum.Westley was well taken at short midwicket as Lord struck again, before 24-year-old Pocklington – handed a contract only this week after call-ups to The Hundred and Matt Montgomery’s move to Derbyshire left Notts with effectively no spinners – marked a memorable debut by bowling Luc Benkenstein, snaring Charlie Allison with a return catch and having Nick Browne caught behind off a botched reverse sweep.Lyndon James had Noah Thain and Bennett both caught at midwicket and Shane Snater caught behind as Essex – who have won just seven of 25 One-Day Cup fixtures since they reached the semi-finals in 2021 – were bowled out for 234.

Southampton are now eyeing Russell Martin as a replacement for Will Still, who was dismissed on Sunday night, but there could be competition for his signature from their Championship rivals.

After being relegated from the Premier League last season, the Saints were expected to mount a promotion push, but it has been nothing short of a terrible start to the campaign, having taken just 12 points from their opening 13 matches.

The 2-0 defeat at home to Preston North End was the final straw for Sport Republic, who relieved Still of his duties on Saturday, and Under-21s head coach Tonda Eckert has now emerged as a contender for the first-team manager’s job.

It would be a gamble to appoint Eckert, however, given that he is just 32-years-old and yet to prove himself at senior level, and an external appointment is also being considered…

Southampton eyeing Russell Martin to replace Will Still

According to journalist Alan Nixon (via GiveMeSport) Southampton are now eyeing former manager Martin as a replacement for Still, with the 39-year-old on standby for a swift return to management, having recently been dismissed by Scottish giants Rangers.

The Saints are not the only Championship club that hold an interest, however, with it being revealed that Norwich City are also considering the Englishman, given that there are doubts over Liam Manning’s future.

The Brighton-born manager is available without any compensation, which means he is an appealing option for the two Championship clubs, who could do battle for his services.

In truth, the former Rangers manager’s spell at Ibrox was a complete disaster, being sacked after just 17 games in charge, making him the shortest-serving permanent boss in the Scottish side’s history.

That said, the “exciting” manager, as hailed by analyst John Walker, could still be a good appointment for Southampton, considering the work he did at St. Mary’s previously, guiding them to promotion in the play-off final in the 2023-24 campaign.

The ex-Swansea City boss, who prefers to implement a 4-3-3 system, is also very experienced at Championship level, having taken charge of 138 second tier matches.

Games

138

Wins

60

Draws

34

Losses

44

Points per match

1.55

That said, it would arguably be a backwards step to appoint Martin, given that he was sacked by the Saints less than one year ago, after being unable to make the step-up to the Premier League, with his side losing 13 of their opening 16 Premier League games.

Southampton plotting move for James Ward-Prowse in January He's been told to leave: Southampton now plotting move to sign £30m PL star

The Saints could pull off an impressive move.

ByTom Cunningham Oct 2, 2025

تحدث محمد النني، لاعب نادي الجزيرة الإماراتي ومنتخب مصر الثاني، عن استعداداته للمشاركة في بطولة كأس العرب 2025.

ويستعد منتخب مصر الثاني، تحت قيادة حلمي طولان، للمشاركة في البطولة التي ستُقام في قطر وتنطلق بعد أيام قليلة.

ونقل مراسل بطولات تصريحات محمد النني خلال مران المنتخب، حيث قال: “هدفنا إسعاد جماهير مصر، نحن ذاهبون إلى البطولة ونحن جاهزون”.

طالع.. هاني أبو ريدة يدعم منتخب مصر الثاني قبل كأس العرب

وأضاف: “هؤلاء اللاعبون يضحون بالكثير من أجل المنتخب، لدينا حلم وهدف واحد وهو التتويج بالبطولة”.

واختتم: “سعيد لأنني صنعت الفارق مع المنتخب في الأولمبياد، وأتمنى أن يتحقق ذلك مع المنتخب في البطولة العربية”.

The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their recent struggles Tuesday night with an ugly 10-7 loss at home to the Minnesota Twins. It was their 11th loss in their last 14 games and one ugly play in the top of the seventh inning summed up how things have been going for them lately.

The Twins had the bases loaded with one out when Royce Lewis hit a slow grounder up the first base line. Dodgers reliever Edgardo Henriquez ran over and scooped up the ball and then turned a made a horrible throw to first.

MORE: Dodgers fan makes sweet catch on Ohtani's HR

How bad was it? The ball ended up bouncing off the wall in deep right field, which allowed three runs to score and sent Lewis all the way to third base.

This was something straight out of a Little League game:

The Dodgers are still in first place in the NL West with a 59-43 record but they haven't been able to get out of their own way lately.

“Tonight, it just wasn’t pretty,” manager Dave Roberts told reporters after the game. “When you’re walking guys and the defense is spotty and things like that, it wasn’t a good one.”

It certainly wasn't.

Everton have battled their way out of relegation-threatened status in the Premier League.

After several years of low-table fortunes, things have changed, with David Moyes lifting Goodison Park on its swansong up to a mid-table finish last season.

Now, he’s targeting an ambitious push for Europe, with the signings made across the summer propping up these ambitions.

At the forefront is Jack Grealish, and he is back in contention to play this weekend as the Toffees welcome Tottenham Hotspur to the Hill Dickinson, having missed last weekend’s defeat at Manchester City due to ineligibility.

Jack Grealish could be the game-changer

Grealish joined Everton from Man City on loan this summer, having fallen by the wayside across the past couple of years in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

He’s back. Four August assists served Grealish the Premier League Player of the Month award, and he’s maintained a talismanic presence, lifting the spirits and the belief of his teammates.

If Everton surpass expectations this summer, expect the plaudits to rain down at the 30-year-old’s feet.

His playmaking quality was sorely missed last weekend, but he can play once again, and it’s a good thing too, for Tottenham have many high-level players and have improved defensively since Thomas Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou this summer.

Grealish can’t do it alone, but luckily, Moyes has another talented midfielder who could share the load and maybe even outperform his senior peer on the afternoon.

The Everton star who could outshine Grealish

Last season, Tyler Dibling emerged as one of the brightest teenagers in the Premier League, and there was a swarm of interest in his signature. Everton won the race, signing the 19-year-old in a £42m deal.

However, he has only featured four times in the top flight this term, hooked at half-time on his sole start against Crystal Palace.

In fairness, this was a poor display, but for a teenage talent performing in new territory to flatter to deceive during such a scenario is hardly unheard of.

Tyler Dibling – Stats vs Palace

Match Stats

#

Minutes played

45′

Goals

0

Assists

0

Shots (on target)

0 (0)

Accurate passes

6/7 (86%)

Chances created

0

Dribbles

0/3

Tackles

1

Duels won

3/10

Data via Sofascore

There’s a real player in there, to be sure, with Dibling having already been on Tottenham’s radar, Spurs having pushed for a deal this summer before Everton won the race.

As per FBref, he ranks among the top 17% of positional peers for pass completion, the top 20% for successful take-ons and the top 26% for tackles per 90, with this robust array of skills leading the data-driven platform to list Iliman Ndiaye as one of his most comparable players.

But there’s no denying more is needed after a slow start on Merseyside. Luckily, Dibling has all the talent in the world, and Moyes needs only to bring his confidence and balance in this new team to the fore.

And his match sharpness will have improved after two winning performances with England U19s this month. He drew praise for his performances, with data scientist Michael Green hailing the youngster for being “incredibly positive with every action”.

With Grealish sure to slot back into that left-sided berth, the competition for places is thick, but Dibling could use this chance as a springboard, having endured a testing start to his Everton career, no doubt about that.

His speed and technical quality and athleticism suggest he has what it takes to shine the brightest for Moyes’ Everton side, and there’s no doubt that this is a “world-class talent”, as has been said by his former youth coach Andy Goldie, having thrived in an abject Southampton side.

Should Dibling make an impact against Frank’s Tottenham, who lack fluency in attack right now, all eyes will be on him. In this, he could outshine the ever-impressive Grealish.

Related Not Keane: Moyes can fix Branthwaite blow by unleashing Everton "revelation"

Everton’s star centre-back has suffered a complication in his injury recovery.

Posts ByAngus Sinclair Oct 21, 2025