All posts by z3u9t.icu

If Leeds United are to collect a much-needed win on their travels next up in the Premier League away at Nottingham Forest, they will need to make sure they have packed their shooting boots.

Indeed, away from scoring three at Molineux back in September, Daniel Farke’s goal-shy Whites have regularly fired blanks on the road this season, with the 3-0 defeat handed to him last time out away at Brighton and Hove Albion only seeing the West Yorkshire outfit register a weak two shots on target.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin has definitely frustrated a large volume of his new supporters, already, by regularly spurning opportunities, with five big chances missed in the Premier League this season coming courtesy of the wasteful ex-Everton marksman.

With both Lukas Nmecha and Joel Piroe not exactly banging the door down to take Calvert-Lewin’s starting spot off him, either, Farke could soon be tempted to throw Harry Gray into the senior mix more regularly, as the teenage sensation continues to frighten Premier League 2 defences in West Yorkshire.

Why Harry Gray should be in the first team

Despite only being 17 years of age, Gray has already received some first-team chances here and there, to begin to live up to his well-known family name, which has also seen Archie Gray go on to be a £40m sale to Tottenham Hotspur.

Leeds will hope they can hold on to the blistering number 45 for far longer than they managed with his Premier League-bound brother, though, with Gray perhaps the long-term fix to all their goalscoring woes.

From only 25 games lining up for both the U18s and U21s, Gray has a ridiculous 15 goals next to his name, leading to the England U17 international already being dubbed as “one of England’s best young prospects” by analyst Ben Mattinson.

Of course, he does still have a very long way to go before he’s smashing goals home in the senior picture, with only one senior match under his belt to date.

But, do not be surprised if he’s handed more first-team chances very soon, having also recently penned a new long-term deal to stay put at his boyhood club, particularly if Calvert-Lewin continues to fluff his lines.

Amazingly, Gray isn’t the only goal machine being worked on at Thorp Arch at the moment, as another raw version of the 17-year-old is being brewed behind the scenes to excite Farke.

18-year-old Leeds star can rival Harry Gray

Leeds always seem to have a future talent ready on their conveyor belt, with the likes of Kalvin Phillips also homegrown, before he moved on to Manchester City.

The next starlet set for a big break at Elland Road could well be Lewis Pirie, with the 18-year-old situated in West Yorkshire ever since leaving former boyhood employers Aberdeen behind in 2023 for £200k, which is a wild fee to fork out for a rising star, especially one that was just 16 years of age at the time.

But, much like Gray, Pirie has been turning heads since a very tender age with his unbelievable goalscoring prowess to demand such an investment, with an insane 51 goals managed for club and country during the 2022/23 season, even seeing journalist James Marshment label the Scotsman as “one of the most in-demand young strikers around” when a move was clinched.

He has since slotted into the Leeds academy scene well, too, with his goalscoring promise for the U18s backing up his previous manager Jim Goodwin’s comments that he is a very “exciting” prospect.

Games played

33

Goals scored

7

Assists

1

Already, the five-time Scotland U17 international has fired home seven goals on the youth pitches in West Yorkshire, with three of those seven efforts coming during his first five breakneck outings for the U18s.

He is yet to get off the mark for the U21s, from just four appearances, but his continued rise up the ranks does bear similarities to Gray’s goal-laden ascent.

All this fresh blood excelling in attack away from the senior set-up will surely worry Calvert-Lewin when it comes to his long-term security, as the 28-year-old prays a purple patch comes his way soon, starting with a decisive strike against Forest on Saturday.

"Highly-rated" Leeds gem could now leave "on a free transfer in January"

Leeds United’s rising young goalkeeper could depart the club within the coming months.

ByJames O'Reilly Nov 5, 2025

Old Firm derbies are always occasions to savour, but this Sunday’s meeting could hardly be more jam-packed with narrative.

Prior to this year, both Rangers and Celtic had never previously changed managers in the same season, only for Glasgow’s big two to do so in the same month during a bonkers October.

Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation on Monday means, 20 years after departing, Martin O’Neill will be in charge of the Hoops while, in the opposition dugout at Hampden, this will be only Danny Röhl’s fourth game as Rangers boss.

The German has overseen back-to-back Premiership wins this week, beating Kilmarnock at Ibrox and then Hibs at Easter Road on Wednesday, and would truly get supporters onside with victory in this weekend’s semi-final, thereby facing either St Mirren or Motherwell in the final on 14 December.

If Röhl is going to lead the Gers to victory, he must make changes to his team victorious in Leith in mid-week, leaving out an underwhelming summer signing once compared to Neymar.

Youssef Chermiti's start to life at Rangers

Fair to say, when Rangers signed Youssef Chermiti from Everton for £8m on deadline day, potentially rising to £10m with add-ons, a few eyebrows were raised.

This makes the Portuguese under-21 international the second-most expensive signing in the club’s history, behind Tore André Flo, surpassing Ryan Kent’s post-liquidation record of £7.5m.

This is despite the fact that, during two seasons at Everton, Chermiti failed to score a single goal, making 24 appearances for the Toffees, albeit these did total a miserly 295 minutes.

The 21-year-old then scored his first senior goal for anyone since May 2023 by bagging the clinching third against Kilmarnock at Ibrox last Sunday.

This earned him the start in Edinburgh on Wednesday, but he did not impress, touching the ball only 33 times, losing possession on 13 occasions and mustering only one shot, as per Sofascore, even if his good work to set up Danilo’s goal, substituted with 13 minutes to go and replaced by Bojan Miovski.

Nevertheless, Chermiti has simply not shown enough to suggest he can cause Celtic’s back-line problems atop Mount Florida, meaning he should begin Sunday’s game among the substitutes.

He isn’t the only member of the Rangers forward line who needs to be replaced, however…

Rangers' Neymar-esque star yet to shine

When Mikey Moore arrived at Rangers this summer, he did so with a massive reputation.

Then-manager Russell Martin praised an “outstanding young player”, sporting director Kevin Thelwell asserted that he will “enhance our attacking unit”, while Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout labelled the “absolute top talent” as “the English Neymar”.

However, he is yet to live up to these sky-high expectations, as the table below documents.

Minutes

603

17th

Goals

Zero

15th

Assists

2

6th

Shots

10

6th

Shots on target

2

10th

Accurate passes per 90

10.5

15th

Key passes per 90

0.4

11th

Successful dribbles per 90

0.5

8th

Big chances created

Zero

9th

Average rating

6.55

15th

As the table documents, Moore is yet to make much of an impact in Glasgow, still awaiting his first goal for the club, while his two assists came against Alloa in the League Cup and Dundee United when Steven Smith was in caretaker charge a fortnight ago.

The Englishman is renowned for his creativity, dribbling and flair by those who follow Tottenham’s youth teams, but he hasn’t showcased much of that north of the border to date.

Having been introduced at half time last weekend, Moore started for the first time under Röhl in mid-week, but did not grasp this opportunity.

He registered just 39 touches in 65 minutes, completing two out of two dribbles and forcing Hibs goalkeeper Raphael Sallinger into a save, but creating no chances for others, failing to link up very much with Danilo or Chermiti, thereby replaced by Thelo Aasgaard shortly after the hour mark in Edinburgh.

As a result, former Rangers midfielder Andy Halliday asserted “Moore hasn’t shown me anything that tells me that Rangers should be developing a young Spurs player rather than developing their own”.

Thus, given the importance of Sunday’s Glasgow derby, Röhl surely has better options at his disposal.

Djeidi Gassama’s five goals for the club to date will surely earn him a spot in the starting line-up, while both Oliver Antman, who has missed the last two matches due to illness, and the aforementioned Aasgaard have shown more promise since arriving.

Chalkboard

Thus, it would frankly be a surprise if either Chermiti or Moore were lining up to take on Celtic come 2 o’clock on Sunday afternoon, given that Rangers stand a better chance of victory with alternatives spearheading their attack.

Chermiti upgrade: Rohl readying Rangers approach for "dangerous" £1m gem

As Danny Röhl seeks to strengthen his Rangers attacking options, should they sign a £1m rated gem who’s better than Youssef Chermiti?

Oct 31, 2025