49ers Enterprises and new sporting director Adam Underwood have suffered a major blow as one of Leeds United’s top targets is now pushing other clubs to bid for him, according to a new report.

Leeds agree deal to sign Sean Longstaff

The Whites have already made four new additions ahead of the 2025/26 season, but that could soon be five. The Athletic’s David Orstein reported on Tuesday night that Leeds have agreed a deal in principle with Newcastle United to sign Sean Longstaff.

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Joe Nuttall

Jul 16, 2025

The midfielder is in the final 12 months of his contract at St James’ Park, and the Magpies have now agreed to sell him to Leeds for a deal worth £12 million plus £3 million in add-ons. The Championship title winners could be set to finalise the deal fairly soon, as Fabrizio Romano has reported that Newcastle have given Longstaff permission to undergo his Leeds medical after he agreed to the transfer way back in June.

Longstaff’s imminent arrival at Elland Road will see him battle the likes of Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev as Daniel Farke’s midfield options. Longstaff, who is the product of Newcastle’s academy, will bring vital Premier League experience to Leeds’ midfield, having played over 170 games in the Premier League, scoring 10 goals and recording nine assists.

Leeds target now pushing other clubs to bid

As the Whites close in on the signing of Longstaff, they are also in the market for a new striker, and they have now learnt the price tag of one of their key targets. According to CalcioStyle, Leeds have seen a bid worth 25 million euros (£21.6 million) rejected by Lecce to sign striker Nikola Krstovic.

The report adds that while Lecce have rejected Leeds’ bid, they have also gone back, stating that they want 40 million euros for their player, which is roughly £34 million. In a further blow to Leeds, Krstovic is said to be pushing to stay in Italy and is looking for big clubs to make an offer for him.

Leeds do have hope, as Lecce are open to selling the player, as they want to have cash to fund their transfer plans, but everything is on hold at the minute, as they try to find a replacement and Krstovic hopes for a move from a major Italian club.

Nikola Krstovic’s Lecce stats
Apps	74
Goals	19
Assists	7

It goes on to add that AS Roma are one team that are interested in signing the striker, but as things stand, their priority is to strengthen their midfield.

The 25-year-old, who has won 24 caps for Montenegro, has been at Lecce since 2023. In his first season at the club, he scored seven goals in 35 Serie A games, a tally that he was able to surpass last season with 11 goals and five assists in 37 league games.

Leeds United are looking to buck a trend in the Premier League this season and avoid relegation in their first season back in the top flight. The last six teams to get promoted have all gone straight back down, but after a strong season in 2024/25 and plenty of new signings, the Whites could rewrite the narrative.

Indeed, Daniel Farke’s side have already signed seven new players. They have added more Premier League experience to their squad in the form of Sean Longstaff, as well as defensive reinforcements by signing three defenders, including Jaka Bijol.

However, Leeds are not done yet, and seem keen to strengthen the squad further ahead of a huge campaign, with another top-flight star linked with a move.

Leeds’ next transfer target

There seems to be a clear emphasis on Farke signing Premier League-proven players to help supplement a squad that got 100 points last season. Signing Longstaff, a man with 171 top tier appearances, certainly ticks that box.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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Now, the Yorkshire side are looking to bring another man with top-flight experience to Elland Road, according to journalist Sebastien Vidal. They are said to be ‘keen’ on signing Manchester City and England under-21 star James McAtee this summer.

The Citizens’ valuation of the attacking midfielder is said to be around £40m, with Sky Sports reporting earlier in the window that Nottingham Forest had a £25m bid rejected.

With Forest also interested in signing the youngster, this will by no means be a straightforward deal for the Whites to do.

Why McAtee would be a good signing

Despite making fleeting appearances for boyhood club City last season, Salford-born McAtee left a real impression when he got his opportunity. Pep Guardiola even called him a “special” player after scoring a hat-trick against Salford City.

Indeed, the 22-year-old made just 27 appearances for the Citizens last season, accumulating just 936 minutes. He still managed to find the back of the net seven times, averaging a goal every 133 minutes.

The 22-year-old captained the England under-21 side to victory in this summer’s European Championships. He played all six games for Lee Carsley’s side, scoring once and grabbing two assists, setting up Omari Hutchinson in the final against Germany.

If the Whites are able to sign McAtee this summer, he could prove to be a huge upgrade on their current number ten, Brenden Aaronson. The USA international played in every single one of Leeds’ games last season in the Championship, but struggled for consistency at times.

On the face of things, his numbers in the second tier last term were strong. He scored nine times and grabbed two assists in 46 games. Yet, spells of six, seven and eight games without a goal involvement were far from ideal for Farke’s side.

On top of that, McAtee has a far better record in the top flight. Aaronson has played one full season in the Premier League, bagging once and assisting three goals, featuring in 36 games and 2383 minutes.

In contrast, the Man City academy graduate has a full season of top-flight football under his belt from Sheffield United. In 30 games, or 1827 minutes, he scored three times and assisted the same number. He also bagged three goals for City in 15 games last term.

The numbers from FBref from their full seasons in the Premier League suggest that McAtee is an upgrade on Aaronson, too.

For example, he averaged 1.23 passes into the penalty area and 2.76 progressive carries per 90 minutes, compared to the American’s 0.61 passes into the penalty area and 1.63 progressive carries each game.

McAtee and Aaronson key stats compared

Stat (per 90)

McAtee

Aaronson

Goals and assists

0.3

0.15

Goals per shot on target

0.25

0.11

Passes into penalty area

1.23

0.61

Progressive carries

2.67

1,63

Take-ons completed

1.63

1.29

Tackles and interceptions

2.12

1.89

Stats from FBref

For a fee of around £40m, McAtee would be able to massively upgrade Leeds’ midfield. Whilst Aaronson has put in some good performances under Farke, the consistency with which the City star plays, and the impact he can have in such a short amount of time, stands out.

The 22-year-old could be Farke’s dream option to strengthen Leeds’ midfield and bring more Premier League quality to Elland Road.

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Posts ByDan Emery Jul 31, 2025

Lothar Matthaus says Florian Wirtz and Nick Woltemade's underwhelming Germany performances are a result of their recent Premier League transfers.

• Germany suffered shocking 2-0 defeat to Slovakia
• Wirtz and Woltemade received criticism
• Matthaus defends the duo after transfer upheaval

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Germany’s World Cup qualifying campaign kicked off with a disastrous display as Julian Nagelsmann's side couldn't handle a tactically sound Slovakian side, going down 2-0 last week. The disappointing performance drew significant backlash from fans and pundits alike, with many pointing fingers at individual players. The team did not inspire confidence in their fans at the start of the next game against Northern Ireland as they were booed off by fans at half-time as the teams went in level at 1-1.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  While Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann's tactical changes were in for scrutiny, players like Wirtz were singled out for costly individual errors, though the new Liverpool signing scored a crucial free-kick goal and extended Germany's lead against Northern Ireland, making amends for his previous performance. Woltemade, who recently joined Newcastle, was similarly targeted for not meeting the high expectations. Matthaus, though, has defended the two as he believes their new transfer moves may have had a role in their performances.

• WHAT MATTHAUS SAID

  In his column for Sky Sport, Germany legend Matthaus stepped in to defend the young players from the harsh criticism, saying: "It's a given in football that whistles sometimes target individual players. There's practically only top or bottom. But I'll defend Nick Woltemade and Florian Wirtz . The turmoil and the adjustment to a new environment, these things are affecting the players' minds. They still need time to adjust to the new situation. Wirtz wasn't present at all in the first half, but he scored the free kick to make it 3-1 in world-class fashion."

  Matthaus further added: "The German team has quality when all its players show what they're capable of. It starts at the back and ends at the front. Antonio Rudiger wasted a ball before the corner that led to the 1-1 draw. That's not something you do as a defender. Experienced players have to find other solutions."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR GERMANY?

  The German national team have been able to let off some steam with their 3-1 win against Northern Ireland but the campaign still has a long way to go. For now, they are three points behind leaders Slovakia.

Erling Haaland gave a classy pep talk to Moldova goalkeeper Cristian Avram after Norway scored 11 goals past him in a World Cup qualifying game. The Manchester City star scored five and provided an assist as Norway took a step closer to qualifying for the 2026 tournament. The Norwegian bagged his fifth international hat-trick and took his goals tally to 48 in 45 matches for Norway.

Haaland's pep talk to Moldova keeper revealedScored five goals past the custodianNorway humiliated Moldova 11-1Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

After one of the worst nights of his professional career, Avram revealed that he had a chat with Haaland, where the City striker gave him an inspiring pep talk. Haaland registered five goals in the match and an assist, while Thelo Aasgaard scored four. Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard and Felix Horn Myhre were also on target for Norway in an emphatic victory.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT HAALAND SAID

Speaking to , the goalkeeper said: "Hello, I'm the goalkeeper for Moldova and I conceded eleven goals. I spoke to Erling. He said, 'It’s not my fault,' and that he just had to keep trying to score because of the goal difference. I understand him. It's part of the game. He wanted to keep fighting."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Haaland took his international goals tally to 48 in 45 appearances for Norway. The quintet of strikes marked his personal best in international colours and the most by a European player in a World Cup qualifier since Hans Krankl’s six for Austria in 1977.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR HAALAND?

Haaland will now hope to translate his form from international football to his club as City prepare to face rivals Manchester United in the Premier League on Sunday.

The GoBubble app picks up and deletes comments with abusive words, as well as comments from bots advertising unrelated content

Firdose Moonda04-Nov-2024Cricket has concluded one of the biggest social media moderation trials in sport and found that almost a fifth of comments made on player or team social media pages are either harmful or generated by bots.The programme, which ran over the course of the recently completed Women’s T20 World Cup in the UAE, saw the ICC employ an AI tool created by tech company GoBubble to weed out online bullying. It analysed 1,495,149 social media comments across 60 player and eight team accounts and 271,100 of them, contained racism, sexism, homophobia and other kinds of abuse.All the monitored accounts were from players or teams who opted into the service, offered by the ICC as a way of making the game safer for players, especially in light of the increased attention on the women’s game.Earlier this year, ESPNcricinfo published a deep dive into social media harassment and found that abuse directed at female players, or the female partners of players is rampant, which makes the focus on women pertinent. And on Monday, the ICC’s next women’s FTP sees an expansion to 11 teams, from ten, more than 100 additional fixtures and dedicated windows for three leagues which will only increase attention and growth on the women’s game.Related

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“One of the objectives of the ICC is to look at ways in which we can inspire as many women and girls to play cricket as possible,” Finn Bradshaw, the ICC’s Head of Digital told ESPNcricinfo. “We heard the stories from a lot of women and girls, unfortunately, once they become a bit more public, the abuse that they get online can be really inhibiting.”The last thing you want is a teenage girl who’s got some talent and ability and then she sees what one of her heroes goes through on social media and thinks, ‘I can’t face that’. We know mental health is such a big thing across the world and social media can be terrible for mental health and so anything we can do to make that girl’s decision to play cricket easier, we want to do that.”The GoBubble tool works in two ways: by picking up words which are abusive, both in English and other languages, and also be personalised for particular players or teams, and by scanning for bots who are advertising unrelated content on pages.”There’s a whole range of words: swear words, slurs or insults but the best part about this software is that you can individualise it. If, for example, a player has had an unfortunate incident that’s specific to them in the past and people keep bringing it up, we can then make sure that those comments are hidden for them as well,” Bradshaw said. “There are a lot of bots selling things players or teams don’t want on your account, for example, cryptocurrency. It blocks that as well and cleans it all up which just means for the average fan, the social media experience is better.”

“That protection for me is very big because players get to share their life with the world without the fear of being judged or criticised, I am looking forward to seeing the changes, people just being free and players can just show the world who they really are.”Sinalo Jafta

Sinalo Jafta, the South Africa wicketkeeper-batter, was one of the players who revealed her struggles with online abuse and has been the face of the ICC’s initiative. Before the introduction of this service, Jafta entrusted a friend or family member with the task of going through her social media accounts and deleting any abusive comments or messages.She recognised that not all players would do the same but now that they can rely on an AI tool, she hopes they will be more comfortable sharing content. “That protection for me is very big because players get to share their life with the world without the fear of being judged or criticised,” she said in an ICC release. “I am looking forward to seeing the changes, people just being free and players can just show the world who they really are.”Ultimately, both Jafta and the ICC want to encourage positive social media use to inspire the next generation of players. “For players who are comfortable with social media, we love to work with them and find ways to showcase their personality to the fans because fandom starts with the player,” Bradshaw said. “A young kid falls in love with a player and it’s usually not just about whether they can hit a six, it’s about their personality and something the child sees reflected in that player.”Social media is amazing for that and for the players who are comfortable doing that, it’s an amazing tool. And we want to make sure that experience is as enjoyable for the player as it can be.”Currently, women’s players can sign up for the service until the end of 2025 and the ICC is looking at making it available for male players as well. “We wanted to do a trial and to see how it goes and we will produce a report,” Bradshaw said. “Then we’ll see if there’s demand for this from the male players.”

KL Rahul, the Lucknow Super Giants captain since IPL 2022, is unlikely to be retained by the franchise and is set to enter the upcoming mega auction ahead of the 2025 season.Will Rahul be among LSG’s retained players? Does he not want to stay with the team? Will they keep him but not make him captain? These were some of the questions raised ever since LSG finished seventh in IPL 2024, after making the playoffs in their first two seasons.Rahul is LSG’s top-scorer across three seasons. He was the second highest run-scorer in IPL 2022 with 616 runs, before missing the second half of the 2023 season with an injury, but was once again LSG’s top-scorer in 2024 with 520 runs. However, while the volume of Rahul’s runs has always been high, his strike rate – which was 136.12 in IPL 2024 – has often come under scrutiny, especially as the league has seen much higher scoring rates in the last two seasons.After LSG suffered a crushing defeat against Sunrisers Hyderabad last season, LSG owner Sanjeev Goenka was seen talking to Rahul animatedly on the field. Goenka’s exchange with Rahul, which was seen on television, led to speculation over Rahul’s future on the outside though the LSG owner is believed to have told the team that while he was disappointed by the manner of defeat against SRH, his chat with Rahul was amicable.Related

• IPL retention: How many players can a team keep? And at what cost?

• LSG set to retain Pooran, Mayank and Bishnoi for IPL 2025

• LSG owner tags KL Rahul 'family', but gives little indication of team's retention plans

• IPL retentions – Tom Moody predicts the teams' choices

• IPL retention FAQs: What is the modified RTM rule? Has the auction purse increased?

At an event in Kolkata in August to announce former India fast bowler Zaheer Khan as LSG’s mentor, Goenka called Rahul “family” though he remained non-committal on player retention.It is understood that during a meeting with LSG’s owners recently Rahul had not committed to accepting if a retention offer was made. ESPNcricinfo has learned that a final decision will be taken in a few days.October 31 is the deadline by when the ten franchises need to submit their lists of retained players to the IPL. The teams have been allowed to retain up to six players ahead of the mega auction before the 2025 season, of which a maximum of five can be capped internationals.

علق أيمن يونس، لاعب الزمالك السابق، على تقدم الأهلي على نظيره حرس الحدود 2-1، في الشوط الأول من اللقاء المقام في الدوري المصري.

ويلتقي الأهلي مع حرس الحدود، على أرضية استاد الكلية الحربية، في إطار لقاءات الجولة الثامنة من الدوري المصري.

طالع| فيديو | تريزيجيه يسجل هدف الأهلي الثاني أمام حرس الحدود

وقال أيمن يونس لقناة أون سبورت: “المباراة ممكن تصبح أفضل من ذلك، لكن الكيميا بين لاعبي الأهلي ليست موجودة، تنقصه الجماعية”.

وتابع: “هدف جراديشار رائع على الطريقة الإنجليزية، وفي هدف حرس الحدود لا أعرف كيف محمد هاني يدافع على الخط ولاعب الحرس هو الذي اقتحم قلب الملعب؟”.

واختتم: “هاني كان عليه أن يخرج الكرة خارج الملعب، لكن عرضية جيدة ومحمد حمدي سجل هدفًا، المباراة مليئة بالأخطاء الفنية، حرس الحدود المسافات عنده كبيرة ولا يُجيد الضغط ويمنح الأهلي الأفضلية”.

Nottingham Forest are planning to bring in more fresh faces at the City Ground and could now be at an advantage in their pursuit of a renowned midfielder with Premier League experience.

Nottingham Forest look to press ahead after Dan Ndoye capture

Last week, Nottingham Forest’s capture of Dan Ndoye became the latest part of an excellent few days for the club after Morgan Gibbs-White’s contract renewal, signalling Evangelos Marinakis’ ambition to push the East Midlands club in the right direction.

Speaking on the Shut Up and Show More Football podcast, BBC Nottingham’s Colin Fray believes Ndoye will bring ‘bags of pace’ to the Tricky Trees after Anthony Elanga’s departure.

He stated: “I think this was their big target in terms of replacing Elanga. When he left, there really is no substitution for pace, especially when he’s got end product with it, but Dan Ndoye has bags and bags of pace as well so it does seem to be a direct replacement.

“(I’m) excited to see him, a big signing for Forest and one they were desperate to get over the line, and I don’t think it will be the last, I think they’ll be busy between now and the end of the transfer window.”

With Nuno Espirito Santo set to remain busy, contact has been made by Nottingham Forest to sign Douglas Luiz from Juventus. Labelled “underrated” by Paul Merson during his stint with Aston Villa, the Brazil international is aiming to put a frustrating year at the Old Lady behind him by seeking a swift exit.

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ByDominic Lund Jul 31, 2025

Inter Milan star Mehdi Taremi could also move to the City Ground as irons in the fire continue to burn, and there could now be a definitive sign of who their next arrival could be over the next few weeks.

Douglas Luiz expected to complete Nottingham Forest move

According to reports in Italy via Sport Witness, there is an ‘expectation’ Juventus midfielder Luiz will sign for Nottingham Forest despite a difference in the formula both clubs want to initiate to seal a deal.

Personal terms have already been agreed on a five-year contract worth £2.18 million a year, though the Turin outfit want an obligation for the Tricky Trees to buy the Brazilian for £34.8 million, while Forest are set on a loan deal with a purchase option.

Douglas Luiz’s Premier League record

Appearances

175

Goals

20

Assists

18

Still, Nottingham Forest want to pay just over £26 million in the event of a permanent transfer for the man in question, signifying that there is a gap in valuation that needs to be resolved. Luiz currently earns around £139,000 per week at Juventus.

Reports state there is an ‘expectation’ the proposed deal will eventually go through due to Juventus needing funds to bankroll their pursuit of Sporting Lisbon midfielder Morten Hjulmand.

Complications are still at play and work is to be done before everything is tied up. Now, it remains to be seen if Nottingham Forest can come to a club-to-club agreement on a purchase fee.

Glasgow Rangers supporters were hit with a surprise on Saturday when it was revealed that the club had pulled out of a deal to sign versatile defender Nobel Mendy.

RangersReview reported that the Light Blues have pulled out of a £2m deal to sign the Real Betis centre-back, who can also play at left-back, after discussions collapsed in recent days.

The 20-year-old titan had looked set for a move to Ibrox to bolster Russell Martin’s options at the back, but is now set to remain at Real Betis, or move elsewhere before the end of the summer transfer window.

Why Rangers may have dodged a blunder with Nobel Mendy

Pulling out of a move for the Senegalese defender may turn out to be a blunder dodged by the Gers, as there is little evidence to suggest that he would have been a significant signing for the club.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Whilst Mendy, who is only 20, may turn out to be a fantastic player in the future, and could have turned out to be a quality addition for Rangers, there is little in the here and now to suggest that he would have hit the ground running.

The versatile defender has only played six senior games for Real Betis. He also struggled for the B team in the 2024/25 campaign, losing 59% of his duels across 13 league games for the reserve side, per Sofascore.

Rangers could forget about Mendy by swooping for a player who is more likely to make an immediate impact at Ibrox this season – Kassoum Ouattara.

Why Rangers should sign Kassoum Ouattara

The Light Blues have been linked with loan interest in the Monaco left-back, who is valued at £13m by his club, and they should be pushing to get a deal done for the 20-year-old star.

Despite being the same age as Mendy, Ouattara has played 55 times at senior level, including 33 times for Monaco, per Transfermarkt, and is more established in first-team football.

The French whiz may not seem like an obvious alternative, given that he plays at left-back mainly instead of centre-back, but the Gers could allow Emmanuel Fernandez and John Souttar to battle it out for a place next to Nasser Djiga, and bring Ouattara in to cover the left-back role that Mendy would have offered cover in.

xA*

0.29

0.11

Chances created*

1.38

1.14

Successful crosses*

1.62

1.00

Cross accuracy

41.2%

28.3%

Assists*

0.23

0.13

Dribbles completed*

1.15

1.17

As you can see in the table above, the Monaco talent’s output in Ligue 1 last season even suggests that he could be an upgrade on the departing Jefte, who is set to sign for Palmeiras, from an offensive perspective.

Ouattara, who writer Kai Watson described as a “very offensive” full-back, could excite supporters with his front-footed performances at left-back, as he is clearly a defender who likes to get forward to put crosses and passes into the final third to create chances for his teammates.

The £13m-rated talent may make more sense for what Rangers need in their backline, with Ridvan Yilmaz out of the picture and Jefte set to depart, than Mendy would, which is why it could make more sense to pursue the Monaco starlet.

So instead of signing a centre-back who could play left-back, in Mendy, the Gers could sign a talented left-back, who may have the potential to cover at left centre-back should Martin decide he would suit that role.

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This is why Rangers could forget all about this collapsed deal for Mendy because the signing of Ouattara could make more sense for the team, and make a greater impact on the pitch.

Klaasen and Bosch resist in stiff run-chase, but can’t prevent historic series result

Firdose Moonda22-Dec-2024Pakistan 308 for 9 (Ayub 101, Rizwan 53, Babar 52) beat South Africa 271 (Klaasen 81, Bosch 40*, Muqeem 4-52) by 36 runs (DLS)South Africa were blanked for the first time in a bilateral ODI series at home after losing by 36 runs to Pakistan in a rain-affected game at the Wanderers. Saim Ayub starred with bat and ball by scoring a second hundred in the series and with figures of 1 for 34. Debutant wristpinner Sufiyan Muqeem took 4 for 52 to again ask questions of South Africa’s ability against spin.The loss means South Africa have won only one out of three ODI series this year, after also losing to Afghanistan in Sharjah, and two out of six ODI series under white-ball coach Rob Walter, who took over in February 2023. Pakistan, on the other hand, completed a fifth successive bilateral series win after beating New Zealand, Afghanistan, Australia and Zimbabwe.Ayub has enjoyed a stunning summer in South Africa so far. He scored 98 not out in the T20I in Centurion and 109 in Paarl, and then anchored a strong Pakistan effort at the Wanderers, with 101. He also shared in a 114-run second-wicket stand with Babar Azam and a 93-run third-wicket partnership with Mohammad Rizwan to give Pakistan the perfect platform. Both Babar and Rizwan brought up half-centuries as well. Pakistan had mini-collapses either side of Salman Agha and Tayyab Tahir’s sixth-wicket stand of 74 off 47 balls which pushed their total above 300. Their template of slow starts and explosive finishes continued to work well for them while South Africa’s top-order batting concerns continued.Heinrich Klaasen was the only batter to score a half-century, and he did it in all three matches. He was also the leading run-scorer in the series with an average of 88.00 but had no support from anyone else until Corbin Bosch’s 44-ball 40, on debut at No.8, kept South Africa in the chase.After opting to bowl first in overcast conditions, South Africa were unable to maximise their chances, despite Kagiso Rabada beating the edge several times early on, and then struggled with their disciplines later on. Bjorn Fortuin and Aiden Markam bowled 13 overs of spin between them at a collective economy of 5.6 to the over but the seamers were costly. Marco Jansen’s nine overs cost 58 runs while Bosch and Kwena Maphaka, in his second ODI and first on his home ground, bowled 15 overs between them for 119 runs and picked up a wicket apiece.Things started well for South Africa when Abdullah Shafique edged Rabada to second slip to register his third successive duck of the series. All Shafique’s dismissals have come nicking off, which South Africa will remember ahead of next week’s Test. Play only continued for another 17 deliveries before rain kept the players off the field for an hour and a quarter.Heinrich Klaasen fought for South Africa with a hard-hitting fifty•AFP/Getty ImagesPakistan could have lost Babar 14 balls after the restart, when he cut Jansen to point. Fortuin leapt to his right but got his hands in the wrong position and dropped the chance. Babar was on 10, and would take some time to get into his rhythm. Instead, It was Ayub who took South Africa on with two drives off a Rabada over in the “v” and then two pull shots off Jansen to end the Powerplay with Pakistan on 42 for 1.Maphaka was expensive in his first spell which lasted only two overs and cost 17 runs but Bosch immediately showed his potential with deliveries above 140kph. Ayub inside-edged one of his deliveries onto his box but no major damage was done and he brought up 50 off 54 balls. Maphaka returned from the other end and initially Babar had the better of him but the 18-year old had the final say. He hit Babar on the bottom hand and then tempted him with a short ball that Babar sent straight to David Miller and short mid-wicket. This year will be the first since Babar made his debut in 2015 that he will not score an ODI hundred.Pakistan were 115 for 2 after 23 overs and added only six runs in the next three overs as Fortuin led the squeeze. The pressure was released when Ayub smoked Maphaka through the covers, fine leg and long-off in an 18-run over. Runs kept coming in boundaries for Ayub and he hit four fours and a six in the next seven balls to gallop into the 90s. He reached his century off 91 balls, in the 34th over, with Pakistan 199 for 2.Ayub became Bosch’s first international wicket when he gloved him down leg to Klaasen but left them in a good position. By then, Rizwan was on 45 off 44 balls and joined by big-hitting Kamran Ghulam. He could not repeat his antics from Newlands, where he smashed a 32-ball 63, but tried. He sliced Fortuin high above cover and was caught by Temba Bavuma.Rizwan got to 50 off 48 balls but then top-edged Fortuin to short third to give him a second. Fortuin was one of two bowlers to deliver 10 overs and finished with 2 for 56. Rabada was the other and struck late in his final spell when he removed Salman and Shaheen Shah Afridi in successive deliveries to take 3 for 56. South Africa took four wickets in five balls for five runs to prevent some big-hitting from being fruitful at the end but Salman and Tayyab had already done major damage. They hit five fours and three sixes in their time together.Pakistan’s innings was delayed by 15 minutes and interrupted by rain after 3.1 overs. The 75-minute break meant the match was reduced to 47 overs a side. Pakistan were 10 for 1 when the rain began and South Africa’s target was adjusted, so they had to chase 308. At 212 for 7, it looked like that was only mathematical but Bosch’s 40 and run-a-ball stands of 38 and 21 for the eighth and ninth wickets kept them in it. They were bowled out for 271 in 42 overs.It was always going to be a tough chase but South Africa’s reply started strongly and they were 24 after three overs before Bavuma played Naseem Shah to Ayub at point. This is the second time in the series Bavuma has taken his right hand off the handle as he played a shot, which may concern South Africa ahead of the Tests. Bavuma has only just regained fitness after a left elbow injury.Tony de Zorzi looked dangerous on the drive and the pull but was bounced out by Afridi. Aiden Markram and Rassie van der Dussen took South Africa to 15 overs on 80 for 2 before Markram gifted his wicket to Muqeem’s first ball. Markram hit a filthy short ball straight to deep mid-wicket to leave South Africa in trouble even before enough overs had been bowled to call it a game.Klaasen walked in to light rain and the DLS par score of 136 in 20 overs hanging over him and got to work. He took on Muqeem, who bowled too flat and too short, but van der Dussen’s dismissal on the penultimate ball of the 20th over pegged South Africa back. Van der Dussen was out lbw to Mohammad Hasnain for 35, making it his 10th completed innings without an ODI half-century.David Miller might have been South Africa’s last hope but Rizwan anticipated his lap-sweep off Ayub and was ready to take the catch at a leg slip position. South Africa were 123 for 5 and not even Klaasen’s lone hand could get them over the line. He reached fifty off 29 balls, smashed Afridi for four fours in an over and 10 runs off three balls in his next over before hitting him to deep square leg and all but ending South Africa’s fight. Bosch proved his worth as a lower-order hitter but ran out of partners to bat out the overs. Rabada and Maphaka were dismissed in successive balls to give Muqeem his four-fer and South Africa many questions ahead of the Champions Trophy.