"I have been banging the drum for Reece James for years," Joe Cole told BT viewers after James' Man of the Match display against Juventus in a thumping Champions League victory in November 2021.

"I remember coming back and training with the team after being in America. I was blown away by his technical ability. Especially for such a big, strong, athletic lad. His touch is velvet, he makes the right pass, and takes the right decisions.

"When he gets in front of goal it is like your top, top strikers' level of composure and technique."

But the 23-year-old has struggled with injuries during the last couple of seasons. Many of their supporters have attributed the Blues' winter slump in 2021-22 to James' absence from their January and February fixtures.

And, after picking up an injury against AC Milan in October, Chelsea have again suffered a seasonal decline in their form that's left them lying in mid-table.

This was only exacerbated when, after returning for the Christmas match against Bournemouth, James left the field after just 52 minutes and faces another spell on the sidelines.

The England defender has missed a third of the games in his career so far through injury, meaning the Blues have often needed to cope without him.

This got us thinking; do Chelsea perform better when James is playing or when he isn't? You'd think it'd be an open-and-shut case, with the England international adding a different dimension to the Chelsea side, both under Thomas Tuchel and Graham Potter.

But the numbers don't necessarily show this. We've compared Chelsea's record, in all competitions, with and without Reece James in the starting line-up since the start of the 2020-21 season.

With Reece James starting:

Played: 76
Won: 38
Drawn: 21
Lost: 17

Goals for: 123
Goals per game: 1.65
Goals against: 72
Goals against per game: 0.95

Points per game: 1.78

Win rate: 50.0%
Loss rate: 22.4%

Without James starting:

Played: 69
Won: 45
Drawn: 15
Lost: 10

Goals for: 123
Goals per game: 1.78
Goals against: 46
Goals against per game: 0.66

Points per game: 2.17
Win rate: 65.2%
Loss rate: 14.5%

Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne has announced his decision to leave the club at the end of the 2024-25 season. The Belgian midfield maestro joined the Blue side of Manchester in 2015 and went on to mark a glittering 10-year career with the club, winning numerous personal and team accolades.

Fewest games needed to reach 100 Premier League assists:

◉ 237 - Kevin De Bruyne
◎ 293 - Cesc Fàbregas
◎ 367 - Ryan Giggs
◎ 445 - Wayne Rooney
◎ 559 - Frank Lampard

KDBrilliant. ™️ pic.twitter.com/lV9CZBOgWG

— Squawka (@Squawka) April 4, 2025

The 33-year-old midfielder has accumulated a total of 118 assists in his Premier League career across two spells with Manchester City and Chelsea, having tallied 280 appearances.

However, Kevin De Bruyne is the fastest player to register 100 assists in the Premier League, having played the fewest games among the footballers who have reached this milestone.

Here are the footballers who needed the fewest games to reach 100 Premier League assists.

Fewest games to reach 100 Premier League assists

237 - Kevin De Bruyne*

Kevin de Bruyne reached the 100-assist milestone in the Premier League in just 237 games, leaving behind some legendary figures who made it to this mark.

City's legendary midfielder registered his 100th assist in the competition on 8 April 2023 in Man City's 4-1 away win against Southampton. He also became the fifth player to bag a hundred assists in Premier League history.

Kevin De Bruyne reaches 100 assists in the Premier League.

No player has done it in fewer games (237) 🎁 pic.twitter.com/zLR9vuEmAU

— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 8, 2023

De Bruyne has a total of 118 assists in his Premier League career, spanning 280 games for Chelsea and Manchester City, which is also the second-most PL assists of all time.

Read Also | Most Premier League Assists in a Season

293 - Cesc Fabregas

Cesc Fabregas, the Spanish midfield wizard, bagged a total of 111 assists across his 350 appearances for Arsenal and Chelsea in the Premier League.

Fabregas, now retired, earned his 100th Premier League assist on 31 December 2016, in his 293rd appearance in Chelsea's 4–2 home victory over Stoke City.

Febregas is also the third player on the list who has the most assists in Premier League history, while 70 of these came at Arsenal, with the other 41 coming in a Chelsea shirt.

367 - Ryan Giggs

Ryan Giggs, the legendary Manchester United winger, tops the list for the most assists in Premier League history with a staggering 162 assists in 632 appearances, which is also the third-most PL appearances in history.

The Welsh legend took 367 games to reach the 100-assist milestone, having spent almost 25 years at Old Trafford before retiring in 2014.

Giggs is also the most decorated footballer in English football history, winning a record 34 trophies with Manchester United.

445 - Wayne Rooney

Wayne Rooney is another Manchester United legend who made it to this list, having bagged a total of 103 assists in the Premier League in 491 appearances across Manchester United and Everton.

The English football legend achieved his 100th Premier League assist on November 6, 2016, during Man United's 3-1 away victory against Swansea City, his 445th PL appearance. He had two assists in the match, both for Zlatan Ibrahimović, with the first of these being his milestone 100th assist in the league.

Swansea 1-3 Manchester United. Goals from Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic seals a crucial win for the reds. #MUFC

Highlights of the game! pic.twitter.com/AFpPUiIraO

— David. (@Rooney_esque) November 6, 2016

Interestingly, that first assist for Ibrahimović also marked the 25,000th goal scored in Premier League history.

559 - Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard, the legendary midfielder for Chelsea, reached the 100-assist landmark in 559 appearances in the Premier League. The milestone assist came in Chelsea's memorable 7-1 victory at home against Aston Villa on March 27, 2010.

ON THIS DAY in 2010, Frank Lampard hit four goals in Chelsea 7-1 Aston Villa http://t.co/L0yofsU2cq pic.twitter.com/vY3mpFQe3q

— Premier League (@premierleague) March 27, 2014

Lampard had a total of 102 assists in PL in a total of 609 appearances, having spent different spells across Chelsea, Manchester City, and West Ham United.

Remarkably, he is the only midfielder to have scored over 150 goals and provided over 100 assists in Premier League history.

(*the only active player on this list. The stats are accurate as of 5 April 2025)

Laliga clubs regularly own some of the biggest names in the world of football. Many of their top stars have come from abroad, often moving from the Premier League to La Liga. However, some superstars were not so successful in Laliga after the transfers. 
Trent Alexander Arnold is more likely to be the next biggest football transfer from the Premier League to Laliga. 
Discover the 10 biggest football transfers from the Premier League to Laliga, featuring players like Eden Hazard, and Phillipe Coutinho and legends like Luis Suarez and Cristiano Ronaldo.

10 biggest football transfers from Premier League to La Liga:  

10. Conor Gallagher | Chelsea to Atletico Madrid | €35 million:

Conor Gallagher was one of the key players for Chelsea in his final season. He is a Chelsea academy player, despite being an academy graduate of Chelsea, the Blues sold him to the Laliga side Atletico Madrid for €35 million and became one of the players with the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga.

He has seemed a perfect fit for Diego Simeone’s managed side, though he has rotated with other midfielders. Gallagher scored an important Champions League goal against Real Madrid, during a round of 16 match in which Atletico was heartbreakingly beaten on penalties.

9. Ferran Torres | Manchester City to FC Barcelona | €46 million:

FC Barcelona paid €46 million to Ferran Torres from Manchester City in 2022. But he was never able to prove his worth in FC Barcelona, he was one of the failed yet one the biggest transfers from the Premier League to Laliga.

The winger had never scored more than 10 goals in a single campaign for the La Liga giants. Torres played 145 games at Barcelona and has started almost exactly half (73), which shows the coaches he has played under have been aware that he cannot impact games.

8. Raphinha | Leeds United to FC Barcelona | €50 million:

Raphinha was not a major signing for FC Barcelona, yet among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. In the first season, Raphinha scored 14 goals and contributed in 15 goals. However, in the 2024/25 season, Raphinha found his lost form under Hansi Flick as he scored 27 goals and delivered 20 assists. Now the Brazilian winger is one of the players who is getting Ballon d'Or shouts in 2025.

7. Diego Costa | Chelsea to Atletico Madrid | €57 million:

Costa played for Atletico Madrid on a few different occasions. He had already left once before coming back in 2010 by the time he moved to Chelsea in 2014, and four years later, he was back, with Atletico Madrid paying €57 million for him.

Diego Costa was one of the players also among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. In his final season before leaving for the Premier League, Costa scored 36 goals, and in three seasons at Stamford Bridge, he scored 59 goals and 21 assists. The Spanish forward 81 games in four seasons after his return but scored just 19 goals in that time.

6. Luis Suarez | Liverpool to FC Barcelona | €75 million:

Barcelona had seen enough from Suarez in just two and a half seasons at Liverpool to sign him for an initially reported fee of £75million. That he’d move onto bigger things was unsurprising after notching 31 goals and 13 assists in his final season in the Premier League.

Luis Suarez was one of the key players also among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. The Uruguayan forward scored 195 goals and assisted 113 in 283 games, in his second season at Barca, scoring a remarkable 40 La Liga goals, along with 18 assists. Across all competitions that season, Suarez scored 54 goals and assisted 24.

5. Julian Alvarez | Manchester City to Atletico Madrid | €80 million:

One of the most recent players to the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga, Julian Alvarez moved to Manchester City for Atletico Madrid in the summer transfer window of the 2024 season. He already has 23 goals and five assists this season, including eight direct goal contributions in the Champions League. So far, the move looks a positive one for Alvarez.

4. Cristiano Ronaldo | Manchester United to Real Madrid | €80 million:

Cristiano Ronaldo was undoubtedly the best move from the Premier League to La Liga in history. He broke new ground with a transfer worth approximately £80million from Manchester United. The previous world-record transfer was Zinedine Zidane to Real Madrid, which had stood for eight years.

Ronaldo was one of the most devastating forwards in the world for his entire spell at Real Madrid, scoring 450 goals and assisting 131 in 438 games. Ronaldo is the most successful and among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. He won the Ballon d’Or in 2013, 2014, 2016, and 2017 while he was a Real Madrid player.

3. Gareth Bale | Tottenham Hotspurs to Real Madrid | €85 million:

At the time of his transfer to Real Madrid for approximately £85million, Bale’s was a world-record move. Gareth Bale was among the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga.  

Bale would win five Champions Leagues with Real, as well as three La Liga titles, among many other honors. Throughout seven seasons, he scored 106 goals and assisted 67 times.

2. Eden Hazard | Chelsea to Real Madrid | €130 million:

Eden Hazard was one of the failed transfers yet and second-placed in the list of the biggest football transfers from the Premier League to La Liga. That he never played 20 La Liga games in a single season, showed how much Hazard struggled, and he retired at just 32 years of age, having played just 10 games in his final season. The Belgian failed to match that single-season total in 76 games across his entire Real Madrid career.

1. Phillipe Coutinho | Liverpool to FC Barcelona | €142 million:

The biggest football transfer from the Premier League to La Liga, Barcelona spent an astonishing £142million to sign the midfielder from Liverpool. At Liverpool, he had become an iconic figure, having a direct hand in 97 goals in 201 games.

 After 13 direct goal contributions in his first 18 La Liga games, Coutinho slowed with only seven contributions in the 32 games he played in the season. The Brazilian left for Aston Villa, after only 39 goal contributions in 106 games at Barcelona.

Let us know your thoughts via our Twitter, moreover, you can follow us on Twitter for all the updates. Join our Telegram and WhatsApp channels to get all the news and scorelines.

Liverpool FC is reportedly on the verge of arranging Darwin Nunez's departure from Anfield this summer if the Saudi Arabian revives its interest in the striker.

The Uruguayan striker had moved to the Reds from Portuguese giants Benfica in a deal worth up to £85 million back in the summer transfer window of 2022.

With a struggling season continuing for him at the Merseyside club, Nunez is believed to be out of new coach Arne Slot's plans and will look to rejuvenate his career in the Gulf.

Nunez may leave Liverpool in the upcoming transfer window

Nunez's Liverpool career has been affected by difficulties, as he has found it hard to establish himself in the club throughout his early years.

In his three years at the Merseyside club, he has scored 40 goals in 136 games across all competitions, but this season has been the most disappointing so far for the 25-year-old, as he has scored just seven times across all competitions.

With the direction of new head coach Arne Slot, Nunez has found himself out of favor, another contributing factor to speculation about his future. 

🗞️ Liverpool are reportedly expecting major transfer offers from clubs in the Saudi Pro League for Darwin Nunez this summer.

(Source: @caughtoffside) pic.twitter.com/Zo5DqYSj6m

— Anything Liverpool (@AnythingLFC_) March 28, 2025

Renowned Football Transfer journalist Duncan Castles broke the news on the latest episode of 'The Transfers Podcast' that Liverpool would accept a big Saudi Arabian offer and would be willing to urge Nunez to leave if they come back for him. Castles stated:

Liverpool would be happy if the Saudis came in and would encourage a move for Nunez. They would like to get some kind of significant return on the initial €75 million that they paid Benfica three years ago.

“From the Saudi perspective, [Nunez] still has that ability to be a name within the Saudi game and to deliver goals with his physicality. Interestingly, I’m told that his girlfriend, Lorena Manas, who is the ex-wife of former Barcelona player Aleix Vidal, has been working with agents to explore opportunities elsewhere.

“So it looks like this is both sides pushing against the same door with Nunez, or at least Nunez’s partner, encouraging him to look for a move and Liverpool happy to sell the player with a strong, affluent potential buyer in Saudi Arabia.

Interestingly, it had been hinted that Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr had made a substantial annual deal of €35 million towards Nunez back in January, having already made an offer of £58 million for the forward.

According to reports, Nunez's girlfriend, Lorena Manas, has also been working closely with agents to look into possible transfers in mutual consent, implying a joint pressure for a potential move.

UEFA has assigned an Ethics and disciplinary inspector to the actions of Kylian Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Antonio Rudiger, and Dani Ceballos after Real Madrid's dramatic win in the penalty shoot-out over Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match on March 12.

One of the incidents being examined is a gesture of Antonio Rudiger's cut-throat celebrations towards the Atletico Madrid's fan base. Meanwhile, some video footage is circulating on social media, showing that Mbappe is making a gesture of groin-squeezing during the triumph celebrations. If the investigations lead to charges and a guilty sentence, the players could face disciplinary actions in the form of suspension, fines, or both.

UEFA's Statement:

🚨 UEFA announce they have opened an investigation into celebrations of Rüdiger, Ceballos, Mbappé and Vinicius Jr after the Real Madrid vs Atlético game at the Metropolitano. pic.twitter.com/Ni4D54i71P

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 27, 2025

A UEFA Ethics and Disciplinary Inspector has been appointed to investigate allegations of indecent conduct by Real Madrid CF players (Antonio Rüdiger, Kylian Mbappé, Daniel Ceballos Fernández, and Vinicius Junior) during the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 match between Club Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid CF on 12 March 2025.

What would Real Madrid's planning be?

Real Madrid will eagerly await UEFA's final statement, as a ban for Vinicius, Rudiger, Ceballos, and Mbappe could significantly impact their preparations for the tie against Arteta. They will face the Gunners on April 8 in the Emirates Stadium, with the return fixture a week later in Santiago Bernabeu.

Previous Incidents:

An example of similar behavior in the past led to financial fines and suspensions, setting an example that could influence UEFA’s decision on the current case.  Last summer, during Euro 2024, England midfielder Jude Bellingham was fined 30,000 euros and handed a one-match suspended ban for a groin-squeezing gesture after scoring a late equalizer in England’s 2-1 win over Slovakia in the tournament’s Round of 16.

Another example occurred in 2019 when Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone received a 20,000 euro fine for a similar act after his team scored against Juventus in the UEFA Champions League.

Let us know your thoughts via our Twitter, moreover, you can follow us on Twitter for all the updates. Join our Telegram and WhatsApp channels to get all the news and scorelines.

Bayern Munich's Canadian left-back Alphonso Davies will miss six months due to a torn ACL, ending his season. The left-back suffered the injury during Canada's 2-1 victory over the United States of America last weekend. As a result, he was replaced after just 12 minutes. Even though the players and coaching staff seemed initially upbeat. It appears that the problem is more serious than previously.

The Club revealed that Davies will now be sidelined for at least six months due to a tear in his right knee's cruciate ligament. This conclusion was made after tests on the issue were conducted in Munich on Wednesday. He is scheduled for surgery, on Wednesday.

Dayot Upamecano will be out for an extended period.

Fight your way back quickly, Upa! 🍀

🔗 https://t.co/ZM2SZfWqRY pic.twitter.com/N3r0B3GfcD

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) March 26, 2025

Bayern Munich, who continue to be in the running for the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League this season were depressed by the news. The team will also need to address Dayot Upamecano's absence for several weeks due to left knee soreness.  So, Alphonso Davies' news is not the only issue for the Bavarians from the international break.

🚨 Bayern confirm Alphonso Davies has suffered ACL injury and he will be out for 6 months.

Dayot Upamecano will also be sidelined for several weeks with loose joints in his left knee. pic.twitter.com/Iai9gdgs9X

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 26, 2025

Alphonso Davies would not participate in the UEFA Champions League or the FIFA Club World Cup this summer. Vincent Kompany, the head coach of Bayern Munich, is disappointed by the news, as his team is trying for both the German title and the European cup this season.

Alphonso Davies has suffered an ACL tear.

Get well soon, Phonzy! We are all with you! ❤️

🔗 https://t.co/ZM2SZfWqRY pic.twitter.com/wGUafP5G8a

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) March 26, 2025

Alphonso Davies has been a consistent member of the Bayern Munich team, this season. In 30 games across all the competitions, he contributed three goals including two assists. With eight games remaining in the Bundesliga title race, Bayern Munich led Bayer Leverkusen by six points. Next Month, the German giant will play Inter Milan in a crucial UEFA Champions League quarterfinal match.

Sporting Director Max Eberl on the injuries to Alphonso Davies and Dayot Upamecano. 💬

🔗 https://t.co/ZM2SZfWqRY pic.twitter.com/lws2CffBFY

— FC Bayern (@FCBayernEN) March 26, 2025

The Bavarians have been hit with a massive setback as they will miss Alphonso Davies for the remainder season, which means Vincent Kompany will have to play his alternative. Alphonso Davies has been impressive for the Bavarians under Vincent Kompany. His presence was significant for the team in the matches, helping them maintain their lead at the top of the table and keeping their UEFA Champions League aspiring alive.