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The team’s top run-getter in T20Is talks about making her debut as a 13-year-old, and juggling a radiography course with cricket

Firdose Moonda14-Jul-2022If Irish cricket had a royal family, Gaby Lewis’ would be it. Her father and grandfather played first-class cricket for Ireland between the 1960s and 1990s, her older sister, Robyn, played alongside her at the 2016 T20 World Cup, and last month, at 21, Lewis became Ireland’s youngest captain. Born and raised in the game, it’s almost all she knows.”My first memory is being down at my club in YMCA in Sandymount,” Lewis says. “I don’t have any memories of my grandfather playing, but I definitely have memories of my dad. I even played a few games with him and batted with him. And my mom coached us for a bit. I was always down at the club, me and my sister. We were just born into it.”Ireland are currently hosting Australia and Pakistan for a tri-series, and last month they had South Africa over for three ODIs and three T20Is. Ireland won one match in that series – a ten-run victory in the opening T20I in Dublin, in which Lewis top-scored with 52 off 38 balls. In the process, she went past Clare Shillington to become Ireland’s leading run-getter in women’s T20Is. She’s also their only century-maker in the format.Even though she’s so young, Lewis has already played international cricket for nearly eight years now, making her Ireland debut as a 13-year-old, in a T20I against South Africa in 2014.Related

Gaby Lewis to captain Ireland Women for South Africa series

Gaby Lewis leads from the front as Ireland secure upset win over SA

“It’s always been like that,” she says. “You’re used to playing against people older than you. Back then, cricket was quite small, and everyone who played cricket knew everyone else. It didn’t seem strange because other younger players like Lucy O’Reilly [who also made her debut at 13], who I was quite close to, had gone through it as well. I just absolutely loved it.”Lewis started off in the middle order but two years later was promoted to open the batting with Shillington, her club team-mate. And before she made her ODI debut, in 2016, Lewis had already featured in a T20 World Cup, getting a taste of playing against teams with fully professional set-ups and greater match experience than Ireland had. “I remember that I wasn’t scared because I’d batted with Claire before and she made it quite easy,” she says.”World Cups are the best tournaments to play in,” Lewis said. “You’re playing against high-quality opposition. Being from Ireland, we play against teams with a mixture of abilities. We have Qualifiers where we play against the likes of the European teams and then you can go to World Cups and play against the likes of Australia – there’s a huge gap.”By the time Lewis played her second World Cup, the 2018 T20 event in West Indies, she realised that cricket was growing and a professional expansion was on the horizon for her.”We were playing against teams where you know their players have had a career, and that’s what I knew I wanted. I thought it was only a matter of time before it would filter through the countries.”Lewis became Ireland’s youngest captain, at 21, when she led them in place of regular captain Laura Delany last month against South Africa•George Tewkesbury/Getty ImagesIt took another four years before professionalisation came to Ireland. In March this year, seven women’s cricketers were given full-time contracts and nine more, including Lewis, who is a student, got part-time deals.”I am studying radiography full-time,” she says. “I think it’s very important to study as a cricketer. There’s only so many hours you can train, especially when you are on tour. It’s important to plan for that time after cricket, and if I can work one day a week while I am playing cricket, I think it’s very important. I got into the course through my school exams and it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. It’s hugely important, especially on tour, to have something to take my mind off cricket.”Being a student-sportsperson comes with its own challenges, as Lewis discovered when the Women’s World Cup Qualifier in Zimbabwe last November was called off after the spread of the Omicron variant of Covid-19 in southern Africa. While packing to return home, Lewis put her study notes in her suitcase, which was mislaid in transit.It took the team almost five days to get home, via Oman, and their belongings were only returned to them two weeks later. “Oh, the stress, the stress! I didn’t think that putting my notes in my suitcase would end up like that,” Lewis says. “It’s a lesson learnt. Always carry your notes in your hand luggage. But it turned out okay – I passed the exam.”Although Lewis started off in the game as an allrounder, in the last four years, she has put away her legspin to focus more on her batting, and has also worked on the mental side of her game.”Over the last few years, I struggled with my bowling and that started to creep into my batting, so I just decided to park it [bowling] for the time being. I went through quite a hard patch a year and a half ago and worked with a psychologist about sticking to my routines and processes and trusting the game.”Lewis: “I love playing for Ireland, and I love the girls that I play with. Once we execute our skills and stick to our plans, I have no doubt we can win games. It won’t happen quickly and that’s fine”•Sam Barnes/Getty ImagesIn September 2019, Lewis scored only 21 runs in four matches in a T20 World Cup Qualifier, which was the worst of her bad patch. Since then, she has averaged nearly 40 in T20Is, with three 50-plus scores, including the century, and 51.14 in ODIs with four fifties.”I don’t have specific bowlers that I fear or that I enjoy,” she says. “With us as a nation, you play a variety of standards, so it’s important to focus on what we do and not so much the opposition we play. I just focus on the ball that’s coming down and how to react as opposed to who’s bowling it.”She’s been rewarded for her form with contracts in two franchise leagues – the Hundred and the Fairbreak Invitational, which has broadened her cricketing experience and allowed her to rub shoulders with different players. Lewis was her country’s only representative in the Women’s Hundred last year and one of three Irish players at the Fairbreak event this May.”The Hundred was brilliant,” she said. “It’s a great format of the game for people who don’t really know that much about cricket, especially people who don’t really have such high concentration levels. It simplifies the game. And the crowds they got – they are very lucky with the timing of it being just after Covid – so people went after work and it’s got that kind of vibe.”The Fairbreak competition was really nice to have everyone come together from different parts of the world and play together. It was a great opportunity for players to bowl to world-class players and know what it takes to take their cricket to the next level.”Despite cricket’s increasing franchising, she doesn’t see either tournament as having the same pride of place as the international game, especially for someone who has Irish cricket in her blood.”I love playing for Ireland and I love the girls that I play with. I can see a place for both,” she said. “There’s a lot of belief in our group. Once we execute our skills and stick to our plans, I have no doubt we can win games. We know it takes time. It won’t happen quickly, it’s a slow process and that’s fine.”

Yankees general manager Brian Cashman has seen all the chatter online about him being “asleep on the job” this offseason since New York hasn’t made a big move yet. At least not the moves fans are really hoping for—like bringing back Cody Bellinger or signing Kyle Tucker, for example.

Cashman poked fun at himself by creating the “meme”—a word he hilariously pronounced incorrectly—when he participated in the Covenant House Sleep Out in New York on Thursday night. As he cuddled up on the ground in a sleeping bag, this is what he told reporters:

“You know this is a meme about how Brian Cashman’s asleep on the job and not doing his job, ‘cause I’ve seen that all over social media.”

Don’t worry, Yankees fans. Cashman also shared with reporters on Thursday that he’s making strides to figure out the moves the team wants to make this offseason. He’s already started conversations about Bellinger and Tucker, and he’s spoken with other teams about other moves. Apart from Tucker, he’s also started talks about bringing back Paul Goldschmidt and potentially acquiring Michael King and Kyle Schwarber this offseason. He’s not totally sleeping on the job.

Newcastle United are now only a day away from facing off against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, in a Premier League fixture that will both excite and stress out Magpies fans in equal measure.

Those wearing black and white making the short journey to Wearside for the Tyne-Wear Derby will feel uneasy about what they’ll see from their very up-and-down team, having had to make do with a late point last time out on the road versus Bayer Leverkusen.

The travelling Toon also doesn’t have a glowing record at the Stadium of Light, with their last success at Sunderland’s home ground coming all the way back in 2011, when a Ryan Taylor free-kick won the jubilant Magpies the tight 1-0 contest.

Looking at the bigger picture beyond this vital showdown, Newcastle also have the January transfer window to look forward to, as Eddie Howe and the Saudi PIF surely plan some major new signings to push his team away from their current mid-table position.

Newcastle's transfer latest

Heading into what will likely be a bumper mid-season window in the Premier League, Newcastle look to be on the hunt for some new options in central midfield.

Indeed, the rumour mill has already suggested that PIF are keen on acquiring Tochukwu Nnadi from Zulte Waregem to bolster in the middle of the park, alongside also still being on high alert about a £30m move for AZ Alkmaar star Kees Smit.

On top of both Smit and Nnadi’s names floating about, reports from Spain are also now indicating that Newcastle have made Valencia’s Javi Guerra a standout target, as yet another midfielder catches their eye.

The report states that Guerra’s future in La Liga is up in the air after a disappointing season to date.

Still, that hasn’t stopped suitors from the Premier League, like Newcastle, from remaining keen, with it being alleged that the Toon have watched the Spaniard for many years now, ever since he exploded onto the senior scene at the Estadio Mestalla.

£22m is the alleged amount that could be enough for Carlos Corberan and Co. to part ways with the 22-year-old, with such a deal perhaps spelling the end for Jacob Ramsey already at St James’ Park, only a matter of months on from his £43m switch from Aston Villa.

How Guerra signing could end Ramsey's career

Eyebrows would surely have been raised when Ramsey entered through the door in the summer for such an extortionate amount.

He did have 28 goal contributions next to his name for the Villans before moving to Tyneside, but in the here and now, the Birmingham-born midfielder is looking like an expensive flop at St James’ Park, having failed to collect a single goal or assist from 12 outings to date.

To make matters worse for the below-par number 41, he was also at fault in Newcastle’s 2-1 win over Burnley earlier in the month for the Clarets being handed a lifeline late on, as his clumsy handball allowed Zian Flemming to score from the penalty spot.

On top of that, Ramsey would also only manage one weak effort at the away side’s goal, as his previous Villa spark was nowhere to be found.

If Guerra were to arrive in January, too, Ramsey would surely be even more fearful of his long-term career at the Toon, with the 22-year-old definitely a better bargain for Newcastle’s buck at the £22m price range, having been branded a “joy to watch” and a “versatile” performer at his Valencia peak by scout Jacek Kulig.

Games played

36

15

Goals scored

3

0

Assists

3

2

Touches*

49.8

42.0

Accurate passes*

28.0 (80%)

23.9 (79%)

Big chances created

6

3

Total duels won*

3.5

2.4

Much like Ramsey, Guerra – who Como scout Ben Mattinson also lauded as a “special player” – has been thrust into the pressures of the senior game from a very early age.

But, unlike his English counterpart, who has struggled this season to make an impact at Newcastle, the number eight has managed to still stand out for Valencia, as they fight near the bottom of La Liga, with two assists collected from 12 league encounters.

Moreover, with his very best last season seeing him average an energetic 4.7 ball recoveries per league contest, there really doesn’t seem to be room for Ramsey in Howe’s first team plans moving forward, if the new £22m recruit is preferred.

It could be seen as harsh to dismiss the 24-year-old so early into his playing days at the Toon, with the 5-foot-11 midfielder clearly once seen as a bright future talent at Villa Park.

But, Newcastle can’t wait around forever for Ramsey to come good, and with it clear that the Magpies want reinforcements here this January, Guerra might well prove to be an inspired pick-up.

Howe's "diamond" looks like another Guimaraes in the making at Newcastle

Eddie Howe has now found his next Bruno Guimaraes in the making in this Newcastle United youngster.

ByKelan Sarson 3 days ago

Labuschagne’s recall looks certain but debate remains about where in the order he will bat

Andrew McGlashan21-Oct-2025Steven Smith has revealed that Marnus Labuschagne told him before the season that he would be back in the Test side by the start of the Ashes.Though that decision has yet to be rubberstamped by the Australia selectors, Labuschagne is all-but certain to earn a recall having made two Sheffield Shield centuries in two matches – and four hundreds in five innings across the early domestic season – in a prolific return to form after being dropped in the West Indies earlier this year.”I sent him a message a couple of days ago saying how proud I was of him,” Smith said. “He’s just gone back and he’s got his fourth hundred in five hits. It’s a pretty big statement. He said to me at the start of the summer, he goes, ‘I’ll be in that Test team come the first [Ashes] Test’. He’s backed up his words, probably. He’s obviously not selected yet, [but] he’s done a lot of things right.”Related

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During the first ODI against India, Labuschagne spoke about some of his struggles having come from getting “too deep” into his technique and “trying to be too perfect”, which echoes advice Smith had given him.”We’ve all been there [dropped] at some point in our careers and it’s difficult to hear it,” Smith said. “But I think he knew he probably wasn’t batting as well as he had been over probably four years ago when he was scoring a mountain of runs.”I think my advice to him was ‘stop thinking so technically, just go and play the game; watch the ball and react’. I think he’s been doing that really beautifully and he’s played so nicely.”While Labuschagne’s return looks certain, a significant question remains about where he bats in the order amid the ongoing debate around who opens alongside Usman Khawaja with Sam Konstas’ challenges continuing. Labuschagne was promoted to the top in the World Test Championship final against South Africa and there remains a realistic chance he will be asked to do it again.Steven Smith has been prolific since returning to No. 4•Associated PressA large part of the final decision may revolve around how many overs the selectors are confident in Cameron Green getting through and whether Beau Webster’s bowling is also required.”He can open, as we saw in the Test championship final,” Smith said. “He can bat three. He’s versatile. We’ll see where it all stands when the team gets picked. I mean, it’s not too different to batting three, to be honest. He could be in first ball. So, it’s essentially the same thing.”I don’t think he needs to change anything if that’s the case. Just play the game, play how he has been, and see the ball hit it, and trust his instincts.”Smith, who had a four-Test stint as opener in early 2024 before returning to No. 4 last season where he averaged 53.27 against India and Sri Lanka, may also become part of the batting-order debate over whether he returns to No. 3.”I’m not too fussed, to be honest,” Smith said. “I’m happy kind of wherever. But, yeah, we’ll see what happens when the team’s picked where we’ll talk to the coaches and Patty [Cummins] and see where everyone fits in best, I suppose, and keep it as simple as that.”Sam Konstas is struggling to retain his Test place•Getty ImagesWith regards Konstas, who has made 4, 14, 0 and 53 in his four Shield innings of the season having scored a century for Australia A in India last month, Smith said there was a balance to strike for young players between overloading them with advice and allowing them to problem solve.”He’s obviously going through a bit of a period right now where he’s trying to figure out how he wants to play,” he said. “I think at times you’ve got to let these young players figure it out for themselves and find the way that they want to play. I think back to when I was young, I had to figure it out.”There were people that I could speak to, but ultimately you’re the one out in the middle playing. It’s your career and you need to figure out how you want to go about it. He’s so young, he’s got plenty of time to figure out how he wants to go.”From what I’ve seen, he’s got so much time as a batter when he’s facing fast bowling. That’s something you can’t really teach, so that’s a good starting point. Then there’s a few things that he has to obviously work on, but he’s a bright talent as we’ve seen and he’s got a bright future.”

Manchester City moved to within two points of Arsenal at the top of the Premier League, until they play on Wednesday night, with a thrilling 5-4 win over Fulham.

Supporters of their title rivals may have turned off the game when Phil Foden made it 3-0 before half-time, expecting a simple victory for Pep Guardiola’s side, but the Cityzens made hard work of their three points in the end.

Some questionable game management and defensive work from City almost led to them drawing the match, and there are several players who may not be too pleased with their own contributions to the result.

Ranking Man City's worst performers against Fulham

Whilst the likes of Erling Haaland, Tiijani Rijnders, and Phil Foden shone at Craven Cottage, some of Guardiola’s players failed to deliver quality displays on Tuesday night.

Gianluigi Donnarumma was one of those players. The Italy number one conceded four goals from five shots on target against him, letting in 1.95 more goals than expected, per Sofascore.

Full-back Matheus Nunes also failed to put in a convincing performance. The Portuguese defender was dribbled past twice, per Sofascore, and found defending the likes of Alex Iwobi, Samuel Chukwueze, and Kevin a bit too difficult at times.

Ranking Man City’s worst performers vs Fulham

Rank

Player

1

Bernardo Silva

2

Matheus Nunes

3

Gianluigi Donnarumma

4

Nico O’Reilly

5

Savinho

The same was true of Nico O’Reilly, who lost ten of his 15 duels and was dribbled past once, on the other flank, whilst at the other end of the pitch, Savinho struggled off the bench, wasting several chances to counter and put the game to bed late on.

It was Bernardo Silva, though, who was arguably the worst performer on the night for the Cityzens, which is why Guardiola should ruthlessly drop him from the side.

Why Pep Guardiola should drop Bernardo Silva

The Portuguese central midfielder should be put on the bench for the clash with Sunderland at The Etihad on Saturday after an underwhelming display against Fulham.

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Commentating for Sky Sports, former Premier League striker Chris Sutton described Bernardo’s flicked clearance that fell for Samuel Chukwueze to score his first goal of the game as “careless”.

A few minutes after that comment, Sutton added that he could not understand why the Portugal international was still on the pitch because he “doesn’t have the legs” that he once did, and that Fulham had “run around” him.

Those comments from the Premier League title winner are backed up by the fact that Bernardo failed to complete three of his four attempted tackles on the night, per Sofascore, which shows that he was a yard off the pace when attempting to challenge Fulham players.

Bernardo also struggled to get up the pitch to influence matters in the final third, with no key passes or ‘big chances’ created from 69 touches of the ball, albeit that was not as important on a night where City scored five goals by the 54th minute.

Vs Fulham

Nunes

Bernardo

Minutes

90

90

Tackles won

3/5

1/4

Duels won

9/13

7/11

Ball recoveries

3

2

Pass accuracy

83%

86%

Key passes

1

0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the experienced midfielder was even worse than Nunes, who won more tackles, more duels, and made more ball recoveries, whilst also making more key passes.

Bernardo did well in moments towards the end of the match with his ability to retain possession and calm the play down, but it was partially down to his struggles out of possession and defensively that City were in a position where they had to manage the game in the final minutes.

The left-footed star is, of course, still an important player for Guardiola, having started nine league games this season, but the clash with the Black Cats is one that he should be dropped for after this disappointing showing.

Guardiola could provide Rico Lewis with a chance to play in the middle of the park or play Lewis at right-back and bring Nunes back into his natural role in midfield to see if he can improve on his own underwhelming performance.

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A game on the bench for Bernardo could, also, keep him fresh ahead of the big match against Real Madrid in the Champions League next week, which is another reason why this could be a good move by the Spanish head coach at the weekend.

Aaron Judge said a lot without speaking a word during a live batting practice session at the New York Yankees' spring training site in Tampa, Fla., on Wednesday.

Facing fellow teammate and 2024 American League Rookie of the Year Luis Gil, Judge, the reigning AL MVP, took a patient approach, watching two offerings from the Yankees starting pitcher go by without swinging his bat.

That was not good enough for someone, presumably a fan, watching though, as the individual in question could be heard loudly yelling, "Swing the bat!" before the third pitch.

Well, Judge heard that loud and clear and responded perfectly, as he proceeded to crush the next pitch.

Here's video of the moment, courtesy of Bryan Hoch of MLB.com.

Judge enters the '25 season on the heels of one of the greatest seasons by a right-handed power hitter in MLB history. In 158 games played, Judge posted a .322/.458/.701 slash line with 58 home runs, 144 RBI, 133 walks, and 122 runs scored while helping to lead the Yankees to the club's first AL pennant since '09.

If the above video is any indication, Judge looks to be in midseason form.

Cristiano Ronaldo is officially a billionaire.

The Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which ranks the world’s richest people based on their net worth, has included the Real Madrid legend for the first time, revealing his net worth – which includes career earnings, investments and endorsements – has now reached $1.4bn (£1.04bn).

The 40 year-old Portugal star is widely regarded as one of the greatest footballers and goalscorers of all time, and has earned lucrative contracts throughout his career with Manchester United, Madrid, Juventus and Al-Nassr.

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He also has endorsement deals with global companies such as Nike and Armani, as well as his own CR7 brand that sells clothing and fragrances worldwide.

Ronaldo’s contract in Saudi Arabia makes him the highest-paid player in football history, taking home an estimated $400m (£298m) from the two-year deal he signed this year.

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But while the goalscoring machine is now hundreds of millions ahead of rival Lionel Messi, he does not rank first when it comes to net worth amongst active footballers.

Brunei prince is world's richest footballer

The richest player in the world is Faiq Bolkiah, a winger for the Brunei national team and Ratchaburi FC, a Thai football club.

Bolkiah is the nephew of Hassanal Bolkiah, the current Sultan of Brunei, and his net worth is believed to be around $20bn (£15bn), despite receiving a monthly salary of just $2,900 from his club.

Boasting over 250,000 followers on his Insatgram page, Bolkiah unsurprisingly lives a lavish life away from the pitch, trying his hand at modelling and reportedly owning a pet tiger, while his father is thought to own in excess of 2,000 cars.

Born in Los Angeles, USA, the 27 year-old was raised in the United Kingdom, and began his footballing career at A.F.C Newbury, in Berkshire. A winger by trade, he joined the famous Southampton academy in 2009, where he spent four years and played alongside the likes of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Luke Shaw and James-Ward Prowse.

Bolkiah signed a two-year youth contract at Chelsea in 2014 after an unsuccessful trial at Arsenal, but after failing to break through in West London eventually landed at Leicester City, where he penned his first professional deal at the age of 17 and lived in a converted hotel.

Despite spending four years with the Foxes, Bolkiah never made a first team appearance, but did play five times in the UEFA Youth League in the 2015/16 season, registering an assist in a 2-1 defeat to Club Brugge.

With a breakthrough into senior football difficult to come by in England, he joined Portuguese side Marítimo in 2020, a move he later he admitted was a mistake: “Marítimo said to me, ‘You’ll come here, you’ll play’, so I said, ‘I just want to be here for a year. The main thing for me is I want to play.’ Obviously, that didn’t happen.

“I definitely regret moving there. I feel like there was a lot of politics to do with it as well, why Marítimo wanted me. I didn’t feel like they were being fully honest.”

Bolkiah then moved to Asia in 2021 to join Thai outfit Chonburi, where he spent two years before the switch to his current club, Ratchaburi. They are third in the Thai League 1, the top flight of the Thai football league system, but Bolkiah has played just 35 minutes so far this season.

He has also scored once in six caps for his national side of Brunei, but has not featured for them since 2018.

أسفر الاجتماع الفني الخاص بمباراة الزمالك وبيراميدز المقرر إقامتها غدًا الخميس على استاد آل نهيان في أبوظبي ضمن نصف نهائي كأس السوبر المصري، عن اعتماد الأطقم الرسمية للفريقين وترتيبات اللقاء النهائية.

وسيرتدي الزمالك زيه الأساسي المكوَّن من القميص الأبيض والشورت الأبيض، بينما يظهر حارس مرمى الفريق بالزي البنفسجي الكامل، في المقابل، يخوض بيراميدز اللقاء بزيه الكامل باللون الأسود، فيما سيرتدي حارسه الزي البرتقالي.

وحضر الاجتماع الفني من جانب الزمالك كلٌّ من محمد حسن تيتو المدير الإداري، وحمزة عبد الوهاب مدير شؤون اللاعبين، وباسم زيادة مسؤول العلاقات العامة، ومحمد حسني مسؤول المهمات.

طالع أيضًا | حكم مباراة الزمالك وبيراميدز في كأس السوبر المصري

وخلال الاجتماع، تم التأكيد على اللجوء مباشرة إلى ركلات الترجيح في حال انتهاء الوقت الأصلي للمباراة بالتعادل، دون اللجوء إلى أشواط إضافية، وفقًا للوائح البطولة.

كما أوضح مسؤولو لجنة الحكام أن قانون التبديل السادس المرتبط بحالات الارتجاج الدماغي (ضربات الرأس) لن يُطبق في البطولة، نظرًا لعدم اعتماد تطبيقه حتى الآن في البطولات المحلية المصرية، بسبب اشتراطات طبية محددة تتعلق بالبروتوكولات المعتمدة للارتجاج، وبذلك سيُسمح لكل فريق بإجراء خمسة تبديلات فقط على ثلاث فترات توقف خلال زمن المباراة.

ويواصل فريق الزمالك استعداداته الجادة لمواجهة بيراميدز، غدًا الخميس، في موقعة ينتظرها عشاق الكرة المصرية، حيث يسعى الفريقان لخطف بطاقة التأهل إلى نهائي السوبر المصري وسط أجواء جماهيرية مميزة في العاصمة الإماراتية أبوظبي.

While promotion has already allowed for Leeds United’s many new signings this summer to thrive, the step-up to the Premier League will also have solidified who is deadwood at Elland Road moving forward.

Indeed, with Noah Okafor continuing to impress with another top-flight strike against Tottenham Hotspur, you can’t help but fear for Jack Harrison’s long-term future as another option down the wings, considering the 28-year-old has just 130 minutes of league action so far this season under his belt.

Moreover, the nail looks to firmly be in Illan Meslier’s Leeds coffin, with Lucas Perri’s injury not handing him a redemption arc in between the sticks, as Karl Darlow is preferred to the error-prone Frenchman by Daniel Farke.

It’s been a disappointing fall from grace for the ex-Lorient stopper, who has never been able to recover from some costly moments last campaign that nearly derailed his side’s promotion mission.

How Illan Meslier became a villain at Elland Road

Originally added to the Elland Road camp when Marcelo Bielsa was still manager, Meslier has now notched up 214 games for the club, becoming something of a stalwart over a number of years.

Throw two Championship titles into the mix, and it’s clear that the 25-year-old hasn’t always been looked down upon as an accident waiting to happen in goal for the West Yorkshire outfit.

During 2023/24, Farke went as far as to label Meslier as “the best goalkeeper in the league.” How times change.

This outrageous showering of praise all unravelled rather quickly, however, when Meslier inexplicably gave up that goal away at fellow promotion winners Sunderland last October, with TalkSPORT commentator Mark Wilson branding the gaffe as one that “will live with him forever.”

It must have knocked his confidence, as another two errors directly led to efforts beating him across his full 39-game campaign, with Farke then dropping the shaky ‘keeper for his side’s final seven matches in the tense promotion run-in, despite his previous outlandish comments.

Meslier has yet to return to the first-team fold since being axed, and with his contract up next summer, it does appear as if the 25-year-old is on borrowed time now as a regular fixture at Elland Road.

He isn’t the only member of the promoted squad who could be falling victim to the step-up in quality, however, with another forgotten face facing the chop.

Leeds graduate is in danger under Farke

Meslier might well be considered lucky that he wasn’t shifted on during the summer, with the potential for the Frenchman to now be moved on this coming January, as Rangers reportedly circle for his services.

As it happens, Sam Byram didn’t hold any concerns during the summer that he was going to be let go, though, with an announcement coming in July that a one-year contract extension had been handed to the experienced defender, which was justified after being utilised as a worthwhile utility figure last campaign by Farke.

The 32-year-old only made 16 starts all season long, but he bowed out from these minimal moments in the first-team with five big chances created as a menace from the full-back spot, on top of also picking up six clean sheets. This ability to slot in and do a competent job at a moment’s notice would lead to his manager hailing him as “so important” as he can play “wherever I need him.”

Despite possessing this versatility up his sleeve, his minutes have become even sparser this season to date, with the likes of Gabriel Gudmundsson coming in to bolster the left-back personnel, effectively leaving the ex-West Ham United defender permanently on the periphery.

25/26

2

78

24/25

39

1617

23/24

36

2251

As is visible from the table above, it’s clear that Farke is relying less on Byram now to get him out of some sticky selection issues, with just a 71-minute run-out afforded to the number 25 in the Premier League so far this season.

This is the price the likes of Byram and Meslier have to, unfortunately, pay as their side strives for more success up a level, with flashier signings more cut out for the intensity of the top-flight preferred over them.

Having amassed 221 appearances for Leeds over two spells, next summer might well spell the end for Byram in West Yorkshire, unless he miraculously proves himself in the first team picture shortly.

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