Category: 6. Sports

Pace legend Shoaib Akhtar questioned Mike Hesson’s credentials as a white-ball coach after Pakistan suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of West Indies on Tuesday, losing the three-match ODI series 1-2 as a result.

After winning the T20I leg of the tour of the Caribbean 2-1 under Salman Agha’s leadership, the Mohammed Rizwan-led side went 1-0 up in the three-match rubber, only for the hosts to fight back with a spirited chase and level the series.

Pakistan, however, suffered their
first ODI series loss against West indies in 34 years after getting bundled out for a paltry 92 while chasing a challenging target of 295, thanks to Shai Hope’s unbeaten 120 and pacer Jayden Seales’ 6/18.

‘Be thankful Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc weren’t here’: Akhtar

Akhtar, best known for being the fastest bowler in the history of the game, slammed Hesson for his “bad policies” that left the Pakistani players exposed on a seaming track.

“Mike Hesson is a good T20 coach, but I don’t know what qualities he has for ODIs. In this format, if you don’t play quality players, this is what will happen. Unless you field established all-rounders, batters, bowlers, and spinners, you won’t get a complete 50 overs. You can’t just scrape by in this format,” he added.

“This is the result of bad policies, not the players’ fault. Your players will always be exposed on seaming tracks. Now this rebuilding process has been given a new name, making a combination. Be thankful Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc weren’t here. Wherever such conditions exist, our players will be exposed,” the 50-year-old added.

Hesson had joined Pakistan as their white-ball coach in May after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided against continuing with Aaqib Javed, who had served as interim coach across formats until the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.

Also Read |
‘Mike Hesson should not act as Pakistan cricket’s father’: Ex-Pak cricketer slams NZ coach amid poor results

Hesson had previously coached the New Zealand team for six years from 2012 to 2018, helping the Black Caps come out of a slump early in his tenure and helping them finish runner-up in the 2015 ICC World Cup, which the Kiwis had co-hosted with Australia.

TBILISI (Georgia) – Nikola Kusturica’s FIBA debut has been as good as advertised.

The 16-year-old wing entered this year’s FIBA U16 EuroBasket as one of the top players in his age group due to his standout performances with Barcelona at invitational tournaments across Europe, and his play in Tbilisi has lived up to the lofty pre-tournament expectations.

Kusturica has emerged as a two-way force for Serbia; averaging 20.6 points and 7.0 rebounds per game while leading his team in scoring, steals, and blocks, being the key player for one of the top contenders remaining in the tournament.

In this Player Spotlight, we’ll look at Kusturica’s impressive showing at the U16s, his productivity in Tbilisi, and why, despite being early in his career, it’s easy to envision him as an NBA-level prospect.

Breakdown

The first thing that stands out about Kusturica is his elite physical tools for the position. He stands at 2.02m (6ft 7.5in) with tremendously long arms, yet moves and plays like a wing.

This size advantage has made him a constant mismatch in Tbilisi. He can’t be covered by smaller guards because he can simply overpower or shoot over them, so teams have tried defending him with bigger wings or forwards, which has proven to be tricky due to his combination of fluidity and speed with the ball in his hands.

This allows Kusturica to create drives almost at will. His first step is too quick for opposing wings and forwards to stay in front of, and he has been absolutely masterful at getting defenders off balance with dribble moves and pump fakes.

Once he finds those openings, he’s quick to attack them, generating a great level of momentum on his way to the rim. His long strides allow him to get to the basket in just a few steps, which allows him to pick up the ball early in his drives. This helps mitigate one of his concerns which is his lack of elite shiftiness in short areas, as he can get tangled up and lose the ball if he’s forced to dribble in traffic.

With his size, length, and the momentum he attacks the rim with, he’s difficult to stop as a finisher around the basket. His slight frame makes him vulnerable to get thrown off balance and make it difficult for him to convert tougher off-balance shots around the basket, but he compensates with his combination of extension, hang time and versatility as a finisher, being able to change positions and look for the open space to finish mid-air.

Kusturica has also shown impressive moments as a shooter during the tournament. The 16-year-old has been inconsistent in this area, as evidenced by him shooting 21.4 percent from three, but that low percentage can be partially attributed to the difficulty of the shots he takes. He rarely gets opportunities as a spot-up shooter, having to create his own shot off-the-dribble.

In those situations, Kusturica has shown impressive flashes of shotmaking in tough situations, whether it’s turnaround jumpers out of post-ups, or simply in pull-up jumpers in isolation, where he is able to create space with his ball-handling and footwork, and shoot over smaller defenders.

This shooting versatility, combined with a strong free-throw percentage for his age (82.9 percent so far), are positive indicators for his long-term development as a shooter.

The other aspect in which Kusturica has made a tremendous impact for Serbia is his defense. Despite being the team’s leading scorer, he doesn’t take plays off on the defensive side of the floor and has been able to contribute both as an on-ball and off-ball defender.

When he’s guarding opposing ball-handlers, Kusturica does a good job of staying low, in a defensive stance and moving his feet to contain penetration, cover drives, and contest shots both in the paint and at the three-point line. He shows really good mobility and footwork to stay in front of opponents, while his length helps him bother and alter shots all over the floor.

Kusturica, however, has been even better as a help defender. He can rotate from the corner to the paint to block shots from the weakside, acting as the last line of defense, and when defending the perimeter, he also creates events by getting in passing lanes and intercepting passes.

Outlook

Kusturica’s two-way production has propelled Serbia into the Semi-Finals in Tbilisi, where they will look to claim their first U16 title since 2007, and proved that his pre-tournament hype as one of the top players in the 2009 generation was 100 percent real.

It’s still early, but with the unique combination of size, multi-level scoring ability and defensive productivity he has shown at the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, it’s hard not to envision a very productive career for the Serbian national team and, eventually, the NBA on Kusurica’s path.

FIBA

LUANDA – MOÇÂMEDES (Angola) – On the day that Senegal fell to Egypt, South Sudan set the bar high and Angola sent a statement out, five players grabbed the limelight with astonishing individual performances.

This article highlights five individual performances that caught the eye of the most distracted fan.

Nuni Omot (SOUTH SUDAN)

Points – 16
Field-Goal – 4/7
Free- Throws – 6/6
Rebounds– 10
Assists – 5
Minutes played – 19:31
Efficiency – 30

In his second AfroBasket game, Olympian Nuni Omot led the Bright Stars of South Sudan to a 115-52 victory over Libya with an astonishing performance.

The 2023 Basketball Africa League (BAL) Most Valuable Player led by example, shooting 12-for-15, including 2-for-3 from deep, and finishing with 16 points. He also grabbed 10 rebounds to complete his double-double.

Omot had the highest efficiency rating of the day (30).

This display came just 48 hours after he shot 8-for-8 from the field and made all 11 of his free throws, finishing with 27 points in an 88-80 loss to Guinea.

On Thursday, Omot dominated against Libya in the opening three quarters. Due to their large lead, Coach Luol Deng rested most of his starters, including Omot, for the final ten minutes.

Ehab Amin (EGYPT)

Points – 19
Field-Goal – 7/15
Rebounds – 11
Assists – 5
Minutes played – 32:16
Efficiency – 26

Amin has been one of Egypt’s most impactful players for years. Two games into the 2025 AfroBasket, the former U16 and U18 AfroBasket MVP continues to lead the way for the Pharaohs.

On Thursday, facing a very familiar Senegal team, Amin dominated on both ends of the floor.

He finished with 19 points and 11 rebounds, his first double-double in the championship, and he created shooting opportunities for others, finishing with a game-high five assists.

Amin scored his first bucket on a fast break that gave Egypt a 10–9 lead five minutes into the game. He followed it up with a sky hook for a 15-13 Egypt lead later in the opening quarter.

Amin received an unsportsmanlike foul for fouling Ibrahim Faye, but his performance remained strong, finishing with an efficiency rating of 26, the second highest of the day.

Mohamed Taha Abdelraham (EGYPT)

Points – 22
Field-Goal – 9/14
Three-Point – 4-for-8
Rebounds – 3
Assists – 2
Minutes played – 27:11
Efficiency – 22

Mido, as he is commonly known, exposed Senegal’s vulnerable perimeter defense. He shot 4-for-8 from deep and finished with 22 points.

He exemplified how a strong start can inspire a player to greatness, opening the scoring with a drive. The Al Ittihad Alexandria shooting guard opened the scoring with a layup and finished the opening quarter with 11 points.

Despite Senegal’s defensive adjustments, Mido found ways to score.

After a two-point performance against Mali 48 hours earlier, Mido punished Senegal in a number of ways. He had an efficiency rating of 22.

Bruno Fernando (ANGOLA)

Points – 14
Field-Goal – 4/8
Rebounds – 14
Minutes played – 21:48
Efficiency – 17

Fernando, the first Angolan to play in the NBA, was immense for the 2025 AfroBasket hosts in a game they described as a must-win.

Despite picking up his third foul in the third quarter, the Real Madrid power forward stepped up when Angola needed him most, and they prevailed 84-68.

He did it all on both ends of the floor, finishing with 14 points and 14 rebounds. He made up for his poor free-throw shooting (6 for 12) with his physicality, which doesn’t show up in game stats.

The 2016 U18 AfroBasket champion had a 17 efficiency rating, and the Angolans improved to 2–0 with one Group C game left.

Kur Nyok Kuath (SOUTH SUDAN)

Points – 12
Field-Goal – 5/5
Rebounds – 13
Assists – 3
Blocks – 3
Minutes played – 22:27
Efficiency – 27

Kuath made the most of his 22 minutes on the floor, registering his first double-double in the tournament as South Sudan overpowered Libya 115-52.

The 6-foot-10-inch center, who turned 27 two days earlier, entered the game replacing Wenyen Gabriel when South Sudan was on a scoring spree, leading 18-2 midway through the first quarter.

In his first action, he made one of two free throws before embarking on a dominant performance.

Libya’s defense could not contain Kuath, who shot 5-for-5 and finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Kuath had the second-highest efficiency rating on the team, at 27.

FIBA

Arsenal Women will take on Chelsea Women in the Barclays Women’s Super League on Saturday, November 8 at Emirates Stadium with kick off at 12:30pm (subject to change due to broadcast selections)

If you would like to join us at Emirates Stadium ticket information is avaliable below. 

Tickets for this match are included in the Arsenal Women Season Ticket and Six Game Bundle.

Sales Phases & Pricing 

This match will be a Category A fixture – pricing

Early Bird: Tuesday, August 26 at 2pm – Monday, September 1 at 11:59pm
General Sale: Tuesday, September 2 at 12am – 7 days prior to kick-off
Last Chance to Buy: 7 days prior to kick off through to half-time

There is a transaction limit of 15 tickets for this fixture.  

Ticket Exchange & Ticket Transfer

The Ticket Exchange and Ticket Transfer services will be live for this fixture once the fixture has been confirmed. Please be reminded of the seat utilisation policy for our seasonal members:

• Season Ticket Holders must utilise their seat 8/11 fixtures
• Six Game Bundle Members must utilise their seat 4/6 fixtures

Getting your tickets 

Arsenal Women Season Ticket Holders and Six Game Bundle Members will be able to access their digital ticket via our Ticket Hub once the match has been confirmed. 

Match-by-match ticket purchasers will receive their digital tickets via email from noreply@boxoffice.arsenal.co.uk closer to the date of the fixture. 

All confirmation emails will be sent from noreply@boxoffice.arsenal.co.uk once your transaction is complete.

Supporters will be able to view and download their tickets in our Ticket Hub once tickets have been fulfilled – more information.

Club Level +

We’re excited to introduce Club Level+, a new premium experience for Arsenal Women matches at Emirates Stadium. Designed to elevate your matchday, Club Level+ tickets are available in Blocks 41, 62, 63 & 84 and include:

Fan Choice

We are pleased to announce that we will participate in the Barclays Women’s Super League’s Fan Choice pilot for the 2025/26 season, which enables clubs to allow supporters to consume alcoholic beverages within view of the pitch during matches, including at their seats inside the stadium bowl. 

Our participation applies only to our WSL games at Emirates Stadium – WSL Alcohol Fan Choice Pilot FAQs

Alcohol Zones are listed below for our involvement in the pilot: 

Lower Tier: Blocks 4-19
Club Level: All Blocks excluding 50 & 51
Box Level: All Boxes 

All other sections of the stadium are alcohol-free zones. 

View our stadium map

Visiting Supporters

Chelsea Women supporters have been offered an away allocation in Blocks 20-23. Further information on away tickets will be provided.

Booking Information 

Single Sign-On: Please note you do not need to be a paying member to access our sale windows. However, you will need to ensure you have set up a free ticketing account. 

Group Discount: Supporters can purchase up to 15 tickets per transaction and a 15% discount is available for general admission and club level group bookings of six tickets or more. To take up this offer, use GROUP6 in the promotional code box when checking out.  

Disability Access
Supporters with disability access requirements can purchase tickets to this fixture by contacting our Disability Liaison Team on +44 (0)20 7619 5000 (option 2). 

Concessionary tickets
Supporters under 24 years old, seniors aged 66 or over on the day of the game and supporters with disability access requirements are eligible for concessionary tickets. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 and children must have their own ticket.  

Booking with Children  
Children under 14 years of age must be accompanied by an adult aged 18 and all babies and children are required to have their own ticket. Furthermore, children aged 3 and under are not permitted to sit in the following rows:
•    Lower Tier – Rows 1-20 
•    Club Level –  Row 1 
•    Upper Tier –  Row 1 

We recommend that young children do not sit in the first two rows due to restricted views and buggies are not permitted at Emirates Stadium. 
 
Should you have any queries, please contact our Supporter Services team on 020 7619 5000 or fill in our enquiry form.

Stay up to date with Arsenal Women

Two-time Olympic medallist Manu Bhaker will lead India’s charge at the Asian Shooting Championship 2025, which starts at the Shymkent Shooting Plaza in Kazakhstan from Saturday and runs till August 30.

Live streaming of the Asian Shooting Championship 2025 will be available in India.

Organised by the Asian Shooting Confederation, the 2025 Asian Shooting Championship is the 16th edition of the continental showpiece.

As many as 734 shooters from 28 countries will compete in Kazakhstan. India has sent the largest contingent, comprising 164 shooters across senior and junior events.

The Indian senior shooting squad for the Asian competition comprise 35 members competing for medals in 15 events. Indian shooters will also compete in the junior events.

Manu Bhaker will compete in both the women’s 10m air pistol and 25m pistol events. She was a part of the women’s 25m pistol team that won silver in the last Asian Shooting Championship in the Republic of Korea in 2023.

The Indian shooter, following up after an incredible Paris 2024 campaign which saw her bag two Olympic medals, has had a muted 2025 season with a 10m pistol silver medal at the Lima leg of the ISSF World Cup as her best accomplishment this year.

Olympians Raiza Dhillon (women’s skeet), Anjum Moudgil (women’s 50m rifle 3 positions), Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions), Sift Kaur Samra (women’s 50m rifle 3 positions), Rudrankksh Patil (men’s 10m air rifle) and Kynan Chenai (men’s Trap) will also be seen in action.

Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar won the men’s 50m rifle 3 positions event in the last edition of the Asian Shooting Championships.

Kynan Chenai also bagged a medal in the last continental shooting showpiece after winning silver in the trap team event.

India finished third after securing a total of 19 medals, including six gold, eight silver and five bronze at the Asian Shooting Championships in 2023.

Where to watch Asian Shooting Championship 2025 live in India

Live streaming of the Asian Shooting Championship 2025 will be available on the ISSF YouTube channel. Only finals will be live streamed. There will be no live telecast of the event on any TV channel in India.

Asian Shooting Championship 2025: Indian shooting squad

Men

• 10m Air Rifle: Arjun Babuta, Kiran Ankush Jadhav, Parth Rakesh Mane, Smit Moradiya, Rudrankksh Patil, Akhil Sheoran, Chain Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
• 50m Rifle 3 Positions: Babu Singh Panwar, Kiran Ankush Jadhav, Akhil Sheoran, Chain Singh, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar
• 50m Rifle Prone: Goldi Gurjar, Akash Kumar Ravidas, Samarvir Singh, Surya Deep Singh
• 10m Air Pistol: Anmol Jain, Aditya Malra, Amit Sharma, Saurabh Chaudhary, Inder Singh Suruchi, Varun Tomar
• 25m Rapid Fire Pistol: Anish Anish, Neeraj Kumar, Bhavesh Shekhawat, Pradeep Singh Shekhawat, Adarsh Singh
• 25m Standard Pistol: Amanpreet Singh, Harsh Gupta, Udhayveer Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh
• 25m Centre Fire Pistol: Amanpreet Singh, Ankur Goel, Rajkanwar Singh Sandhu, Gurgaven Singh Sidhu, Gurpreet Singh
• 50m Pistol: Ram Babu, Amanpreet Singh, Vikram Jagannath Shinde, Ravinder Singh, Yogesh Kumar
• Trap: Kynan Chenai, Lakshay Lakshay, Vivaan Kapoor, Bhowneesh Mendiratta, Fahd Sultan
• Skeet: Angad Vir Singh Bajwa, Bhavtegh Singh Gill, Anant Jeet Singh Naruka, Abhay Singh Sekhon
• Double Trap: Harshvardhan Kaviya, Ankur Mittal, Shaikh Mohsin, Bhanu Pratap Singh

Women

• 10m Air Rifle: Mehuli Ghosh, Arya Borse, Sonam Uttam Maskar, Anjum Moudgil, Ananya Naidu, Elavenil Valarivan
• 50m Rifle 3 Positions: Aadhya Agrawal, Ashi Chouksey, Mehuli Ghosh, Anjum Moudgil, Shriyanka Sadangi, Sift Kaur Samra
• 50m Rifle Prone: Manini Kaushik, Vidarsa Kochalumkal Vinod, Sift Kaur Samra, Surabhi Bharadwaj Rapole, Tejaswini Sawant
• 10m Air Pistol: Manu Bhaker, Esha Singh, Palak Palak, Surbhi Rao, Inder Singh Suruchi
• 25m Pistol: Manu Bhaker, Simranpreet Kaur Brar, Abhidnya Ashok Patil, Rahi Sarnobat, Esha Singh
• Trap: Aashima Ahlawat, Neeru Neeru, Preeti Rajak
• Skeet: Maheshwari Chauhan, Raiza Dhillon, Rashmmi Rathore, Ganemat Sekhon
• Double Trap: Anushka Singh Bhati, Yeshaya Hafiz Contractor, Rajkuwar Pranil Ingle

Mixed Team

• 10m Air Rifle: Arjun Babuta, Mehuli Ghosh, Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil, Elavenil Valarivan
• 10m Air Pistol: Saurabh Chaudhary, Manu Bhaker, Aditya Malra, Palak Palak, Inder Singh Suruchi
• Trap: Kynan Chenai, Lakshay Lakshay, Aashima Ahlawat, Neeru Neeru
• Skeet: Bhavtegh Singh Gill, Abhay Singh Sekhon, Raiza Dhillon, Ganemat Sekhon

Asian Shooting Championship 2025 shooting schedule

August 18, Monday

• Men’s 10m air pistol – 12:15 PM

August 19, Tuesday

• Women’s 10m air pistol – 12:15 PM

August 20, Wednesday

• 10m air pistol mixed team – 11:30 AM

August 21, Thursday

August 23, Saturday

• 10m air rifle mixed team – 11:30 AM

August 24, Sunday

August 25, Monday

• Women’s 25m pistol – 12:45 PM

August 26, Tuesday

• Women’s 50m rifle 3 positions – 12:45 PM

August 27, Wednesday

• Women’s 50m rifle prone – 1:30 PM

August 28, Thursday

August 29, Friday

• Men’s 25m centre fire pistol – 12:15 PM

• Women’s 50m rifle prone – 1:30 PM

• Trap mixed team – 2:00 PM

• Double trap men – 2:00 PM

• Trap men – 3:30 PM

• Double trap women – 3:00 PM

• Skeet women – 5:00 PM

• Trap women – 5:00 PM

• Skeet mixed team – 5:30 PM

• Skeet men – 6:30 PM

August 30, Saturday

• 10m moving target men – 1:30 PM

• 10m moving target women – 2:15 PM

• 10m moving target mixed team – 3:00 PM

• 50m moving target men – 2:30 PM

• 50m moving target women – 3:30 PM

• 50m moving target mixed team – 4:30 PM

In addition to his Premier League contribution last season, Colwill played a major role as a substitute in the Conference League final and during the Club World Cup as the Blues won their first two major trophies under the current ownership.

His presence is key tactically, more than defensively but, crucially, Maresca believes that Colwill is his best central defender at build-up play from the back.

“When we build, we build with Levi in the middle,” said Maresca.

“Last year we played 64 games and we played all 64 games with either Levi or Tosin [Adarabioyo in the middle].

“Now Levi is out. The only other one that he can do that job well is Tosin. But we have Premier League, Champions League, with these kind of players.

“The rest, they can adapt. [Jorrel] Hato is a new one, he never played as the guy in the middle last season [with Ajax], so it’s not about being a central defender.

“Yes, [he is a] central defender but can he do that? It’s different. Also we have players that unfortunately, like Wes [Fofana] or Benoit [Badiashile], they have in this moment some [injury] problems.

“And this is the reason why I said that the club knows exactly what I think about central defenders.”

Josh Acheampong and Trevoh Chalobah having been trialled in Colwill’s role in wins over Bayer Leverkusen and AC Milan during a short two-week pre-season.

Chelsea are known to admire Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi – who is is a target for champions Liverpool – but they are currently planning to strengthen their attacking options in the final two weeks of the transfer window, amid talks with Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho and RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons.

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 16th (NB: this is not necessarily Ben Fisher’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 16th

Home and away kits

Prospects

Wolves surely crave a campaign where relegation is off the menu. After a nightmarish start to last season, they turned to Vítor Pereira to pick up the pieces and the Portuguese reversed the direction of travel, in effect ensuring survival by mid-March. Wolves proved they could win without Matheus Cunha when the Brazilian missed four games through suspension in the spring and have retained André and João Gomes, a menacing pair of midfielders, but there will be pressure on Jørgen Strand Larsen to repeat an impressive first season in which he contributed 14 goals.

The squad appears undercooked after another round of headline departures, with Cunha and Rayan Aït-Nouri who, combined, contributed to 59% of their 54 goals last season, departing for Manchester; Aït-Nouri played more minutes than any other Wolves player and of the five who played the most, three have left: Aït-Nouri, Cunha and Nélson Semedo. Fringe players have departed but Pereira wants a right-wing back to replace Semedo, the club captain who turned down a new contract in favour of a move to Fenerbahce, plus a striker and a midfielder. Wolves need the powerful Colombia winger Jhon Arias, a standout performer for Fluminense at the Club World Cup, to have an immediate impact.

The mood surrounding the club is subdued, with supporters frustrated at the owner, Fosun, owing to a perceived lack of ambition heading into their eighth consecutive season in the top tier. A winless pre-season served to exacerbate concerns that they will at best stand still, and now Newcastle have Strand Larsen on their bottomless striker shortlist. The death of Diogo Jota, an integral part of the most successful period in the club’s recent history, also hit hard, with one member of the backroom staff attending Jota’s wedding and his funeral 13 days later. Wolves will pay tribute to Jota before their game against Manchester City on Saturday, a visit that will bring the return of Aït-Nouri and provide Pereira an indicator of how much work there is to do.

How they finished in the past five seasons

The manager

Hoisting Wolves clear of trouble means Pereira has plenty of credit and he further endeared himself to supporters by mixing with them in the city-centre Wetherspoon’s. His “first the points, then the pints” mantra ended up on a banner at Molineux. Pereira is 57 – only David Moyes is older – and his Premier League opportunity was a long time in the making. He previously had job offers from Arsenal, Everton, Crystal Palace and arch-rivals West Brom. Now Pereira believes he is ready to prove why he is among the best managers in the division. “If I’m in the right place to challenge myself, I can do magic,” he said.

Off-field picture

Wolves announced a five-man “football leadership team” in June, led by the director of football, Domenico Teti, who has reunited with Pereira, with whom he worked at the Saudi Arabian club Al-Shabab. Teti replaced Matt Hobbs, the sporting director, who was influential in recruitment. The finances are broadly thought to be healthy after another summer of high-profile sales. The chair, Jeff Shi, has confirmed he would like to redevelop the Steve Bull Stand – the oldest at Molineux. “The next plan is to try to change a bit there and build more areas for hospitality for more business clients to come and enjoy there,” said Shi.

Last season’s results

Star signing

Wolves hope Fer López, who in joining from Celta Vigo has followed a path trodden by Strand Larsen, will be their next gem. The 21-year-old attacking midfielder, a £19.5m buy, has shown plenty of promise despite only seven starts in La Liga last season. Perhaps it should be no surprise López, tracked by Wolves for several years, appears to have settled quickly; in 2018, aged 14, the Madrid-born player lived in Suffolk for three months, boarding at a private school near Stowmarket, and he trained with Norwich, until they told him he was too small, and with Bacton United 89 in Suffolk.

Stepping up

There is excitement around Mateus Mané, who this summer signed his first professional contract after being formally promoted to Pereira’s squad. The England youth international, who made his Premier League debut against Brighton in May after training with the senior group towards the end of last season, has in effect been fast-tracked into the first team, bypassing the under-21s after registering seven goals and four assists for the under-18s last season. The Portugal-born forward, 18 next month, joined Wolves from non-league Rochdale 18 months ago. He is eligible for Portugal and England and has made seven appearances for the latter’s under-18s. A Next Generation pick last year.

A big season for …

Ki-Jana Hoever, named after the former NFL player Ki-Jana Carter, has not featured in a competitive game for Wolves since March 2022 but the Dutchman is primed to begin the season at right-wingback. Hoever, who has spent the previous four seasons on loan, most recently at Auxerre, seized his opportunity in pre-season, impressing Pereira. The overriding sense earlier this summer was that Hoever’s days were numbered but Pereira has given the former Liverpool defender another chance. “I’m trying to do my best to take it,” he said last month. “I hope I can be important for the club.” Sasa Kalajdzic, the 6ft 7in striker, could add to his 14 appearances in old gold after several serious injuries.