Nottingham Forest have now agreed a deal to sign an “exceptional” defender, who was at the City Ground yesterday to finalise the move, it has been revealed.

Forest looking to strengthen squad amid Nuno "concern"

Nuno Espirito Santo has repeatedly made it clear that he wants to bring more new signings through the door before the upcoming transfer deadline, recently saying: “There are things that I myself cannot control. What I said is, and I had a long thought about it, is my concern for the squad,”

“These boys last season achieved something fantastic. If we as a club don’t help them in terms of numbers, in terms of quality and talent, everything will go.”

The need for more fresh faces was underlined yesterday, with Forest suffering a shock 3-0 defeat at home against West Ham United, which is unlikely to have done the manager any favours heading into clear-the-air talks with owner Evangelos Marinakis.

There is also well-known to be a rift between Nuno and Edu, with the two falling out over which players to bring to the City Ground this summer, but there is now one deal thought to be edging towards completion.

According to transfer expert Pete O’Rourke on X, Nottingham Forest have now agreed a deal to sign Linfield and Northern Ireland U21 defender Matthew Orr, who was at the City Ground to watch the clash against West Ham on Sunday and finalise the move.

At just 18-years-old, the youngster is likely to be one for the future, but he has already started to catch the eye for Linfield at senior level.

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ByTom Cunningham Aug 31, 2025 "Exceptional" Orr could become "top player"

Linfield midfielder and coach Chris Shields has been left very impressed by the Forest-bound defender in the past, saying: “I remember Matty training – he was a sleight kid then, so I had to do a double take when he came into senior training. I was questioning if it was the same person because he had filled out over a couple of years.

“He’s met everything head on and his skill level at one-on-one defending is one of the best I’ve seen. He’s exceptional.”

Shields is not the only person who has singled the Linfield starlet out for praise either, with manager David Healy saying: “Matthew is a great young talent with a lot of potential to develop into a top player. He has taken his opportunities and his dedication and hard work have paid off.”

Despite still being a teenager, Orr, who shares the same CAA Base agency as Chris Wood, has already established himself as a first-team regular for Linfield, making 37 first-team appearances, so he is clearly a top prospect, who could be capable of pushing for a starting spot at Forest within a couple of years’ time.

After a pretty miserable couple of weeks in which West Ham United lost games against Sunderland, Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers, there is finally reason to be optimistic about this season.

Yes, after weeks of stories about offers being made and rejected, Graham Potter has finally been handed his new midfield star in Mateus Fernandes.

The former Southampton ace cost the club in excess of £40m, but considering how well he played in his first Premier League season last year, that’s not bad value at all.

Moreover, if reports are to be believed, the Hammers are now keen to add another signing to the squad, someone Fernandes would love to play with.

West Ham target perfect teammate for Fernandes

While things aren’t looking great on the pitch at the moment, West Ham’s summer is starting to look like a decent one, at least from an incomings perspective.

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For example, in addition to Fernandes, the club have signed the likes of Kyle Walker-Peters, El Hadji Malick Diouf, and Soungoutou Magassa, who is should be announced before the team play Nottingham Forest tomorrow afternoon.

Moreover, the East Londoners appear keen to make further additions to the squad and are eyeing a move for someone who’d be a brilliant teammate for Fernandes.

At least that is according to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, who has claimed West Ham are interested in Quinten Timber.

The German journalist has revealed that the Hammers are now “exploring” a deal to sign the Netherlands international, who Feyenoord value at £25m, per reports from earlier this summer.

It could be a complicated transfer to get over the line, but given his quality, Timber would be more than worth it, especially as he’d be a great teammate for Fernandes.

Why Timber would be a great teammate for Fernandes

So, the first, and arguably one of the most important reasons Fernandes will love playing with Timber is his surprisingly decent level of output.

We say surprisingly decent for the simple fact that the Dutchman is primarily a central midfielder, but as his numbers from last season show, he is more than capable of producing goals and assists.

For example, in his 26 appearances last season, totalling 2054 minutes, the “extraordinary” midfielder, as dubbed by Mikel Arteta, scored six goals and provided one assist, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 3.71 games, or every 293.42 minutes.

Appearances

26

Minutes

2054′

Goals

6

Assists

1

Goal Involvements per Match

0.26

Minutes per Goal Involvement

293.42′

While those aren’t ground-breaking numbers, it will be reassuring for the Hammers’ new Portuguese manager to know that the responsibility of producing goal involvements won’t fall solely on his shoulders.

The next reason the Dutchman would be such a brilliant teammate for the Irons’ new ace is his experience and leadership.

Despite still being just 24 years old, the former Ajax prospect has made 105 appearances for Feyenoord and 33 for Utrecht, and has won five senior caps for the Netherlands.

Moreover, he’s also the captain of De Stadionclub, so, in addition to knowing he can contribute with goals and assists, the former Saints gem will be able to rely on the “superb” midfielder, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, for guidance and leadership.

Ultimately, Timber would be an excellent signing on his own, but by playing him alongside Fernandes, West Ham could maximise the potential of both.

Their new Rice: West Ham now exploring move for £17m star after Magassa

The combative star would be an excellent signing for Graham Potter and West Ham.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Aug 28, 2025

No way back for hosts after slump to 4 for 3, despite Hain’s 45

ESPNcricinfo staff31-May-2025Durham launched their Vitality Blast campaign with an impressive three-wicket victory over The Bears at Edgbaston.The Bears were 143 all out from exactly 20 overs after only Sam Hain (45 from 28 balls) came close to salvaging the innings from the wretched foundation of four for three. Durham bowled superbly as a unit with Jimmy Neesham taking three wickets and Callum Parkinson, Nathan Sowter and Ben Raine two apiece.Ollie Robinson (45, 36) and Graham Clark (40, 23) then lifted Durham to 147 for seven with 17 balls to spare to condemn The Bears to back-to-back defeats to start their campaign.Durham chose to bowl and started brilliantly as they reduced the Bears to four for three after 17 balls. Parkinson’s first over yielded just one run but two wickets as Alex Davies pulled to backward square leg and Tom Latham holed out to deep mid-wicket. Zak Foulkes added the wicket of Moeen Ali, caught at short fine leg.Hain and Ed Barnard (23, 18) cranked the innings into motion but Durham’s attack, skilfully juggled by skipper Alex Lees, prevented the big individual contribution that was required.Raine was brought on and yorked Barnard with his fourth ball. Sowter was brought back on and rattled Kai Smith’s off-stump through a defeated cut. Hain lifted Neesham to extra cover. Sowter removed George Garton, lbw reverse-sweeping.The lower order fiddled a few scrappy runs but the innings ended, when Danny Briggs lifted the final ball from Neesham to long on, in near silence. It was excellent work by Durham, not least New Zealand seamer Foulkes whose 4-0-18-1 gave him a happier memory of Edgbaston than his most recent experience there, a golden duck for the Bears in last season’s miserable Blast quarter-final defeat to Gloucestershire.The Bears badly needed early wickets and Barnard supplied two, forcing Lees to play on and having Colin Ackermann caught at cover. While Barnard’s first two overs cost just 12, however, the two from the other end, from Adam Sylvester and Moeen, leaked 32 to give Durham a rapid start. They reached 50 in the fifth over.Clark’s clean hitting concluded when he clipped Jake Lintott to mid-wicket. Raine and Neesham were bowled by Moeen going for big hits that were not needed but Robinson and former Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes sensibly took their side to the brink of victory with a stand of 24 in 17 balls.Robinson holed out to Briggs with six still needed but Rhodes saw his team to victory and hit the winning boundary, somewhat ironically against the club which consistently omitted him from their T20 side.

Trent Alexander-Arnold's return to fitness could not have come at a more important time for Real Madrid, following the loss of Dani Carvajal to injury. It comes just a week before Los Blancos are due to face Liverpool in the Champions League at Anfield, only five months after Alexander-Arnold decided to end a 20-year association with his boyhood team.

Carvajal medical report revealed

On Tuesday, Real Madrid gave an official statement confirming that Carvajal has had knee surgery – he had earlier been "diagnosed with a loose joint in his right knee" following tests that had taken place on Monday. He didn't start El Clasico against Barcelona and felt discomfort after coming on.

"Our captain, Dani Carvajal, underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his right knee today," it read. "The operation was performed by Dr. Manuel Leyes under the supervision of Real Madrid's Medical Services. Carvajal will begin recovery work in the coming days."

While there is no timeframe from the club on his return, early estimates suggest the right-back could be sidelined for most of the rest of the calendar while he recovers. It suggests he could be back in action at some point in December, or perhaps even after Real Madrid are back from Spain's winter break in early January.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesBoost for Alexander-Arnold ahead of Anfield return

Alexander-Arnold was struck down by a hamstring injury just five minutes into last month's Champions League win over Marseille, but was back in the matchday squad for Sunday's Barcelona clash for the first time since then. He didn't get on the pitch, with Carvajal going on to grab headlines for the way he angrily confronted Lamine Yamal at the final whistle, accusing the teenager of running his mouth in the build-up. But it points to a return to fitness, at least, for someone who hasn't naturally flourished since joining the club in June.

The former Liverpool defender was forced to share game time with Carvajal prior to getting injured, getting the nod against Osasuna and Mallorca but having to make do with late substitute appearances when Madrid faced Real Oviedo and Real Sociedad. Marseille was the next match after Real Sociedad, so it made sense for Trent to return to Xabi Alonso's XI, only for him to get injured straightaway.

But with Carvajal competition for the place now not a factor for the foreseeable future, Alexander-Arnold suddenly has a great chance of starting against Liverpool. There is no other senior recognised right-back in the first-team squad, although midfielder Federico Valverde has often filled in when needed – as was the case against Barcelona – and would be an option if Alexander-Arnold is viewed to be short on match fitness.

Liverpool's poor form without homegrown right-back

For Real Madrid, this feels like a good time to play what was, on paper at the time the league phase draw was conducted, their hardest fixture. While Alonso's side have won five straight games across all competitions since a surprisingly heavy defeat to city rivals Atletico a month ago, Liverpool have five of their last six outings – including four in a row in the Premier League to slide down the table.

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AFPHostile reception for Alexander-Arnold

Whether he starts at Anfield or not, Alexander-Arnold could find himself in for a hostile reception from the fans who used to consider him one of their own. Trent's decision to run down his Liverpool contract, ensuring the Reds could only command a negligible transfer fee due to the uniqueness of the mini-transfer window before the summer's Club World Cup, did not sit well with supporters. Alexander-Arnold was audibly booed by some Liverpool fans in the final weeks of last season and openly accused of betraying the club with homemade signs displayed in the area around Anfield. When he did eventually reach his last game for Liverpool, Alexander-Arnold was more warmly received inside the stadium, but that feeling may not last if he is lining up for an opponent he seemingly considered to be a bigger club.

India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav had a successful hernia surgery in Munich, Germany and is currently in recovery.Suryakumar was last seen at IPL 2025, where he was a crucial part of Mumbai Indians’ run into the playoffs. The 34-year-old middle-order batter set a new world record for consecutive 25-plus scores (16). On the back of that, he finished with a total of 717 runs, the highest by a non-opener in IPL and the highest by an MI batter in a single season.India’s immediate assignments are the ongoing Test tour of England, which carries on until August 4. Then they shift focus to a white-ball tour of Bangladesh, which contains three ODIs and three T20Is. Suryakumar isn’t a regular for India in 50-overs cricket – he hasn’t played the format since the 2023 World Cup final. Given this schedule, he had some free time on his hands to complete the surgery and his recovery before he takes charge of the T20 line-up in Chattogram on August 26.