Category Uncategorized

Leeds United are preparing to bid for a new midfielder as they look to bolster their ranks ahead of the new Championship season, it has been claimed.

Whites looking light in midfield

While the deal to sell Glen Kamara was a profitable one for Daniel Farke's side, they are yet to replace the Finland international. The 28-year-old midfielder completed a move to French side Stade Rennais earlier this summer in a deal worth 10m euros (£8m), helping Leeds record a profit on the reported £5m they shelled out in the summer of 2023 to bring him to Elland Road from Rangers.

But it has caused a problem given Kamara's usage last season, with the midfielder starting 33 of Leeds' 46 Championship games and all three of their subsequent playoff games. His natural replacement in the squad, teenage talent Archie Gray, has also been sold this summer with Tottenham pouncing to take him to north London.

It means that Leeds only have three recognised options to fill the double pivot role, with last season's options Illia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu boosted by the arrival of Joe Rothwell on loan from Bournemouth.

Given the desire to use two midfielders in every game, it feels as though Leeds are at least one midfield option short ahead of the Championship season kicking off in 10 days time, when Farke's side welcome Portsmouth to Elland Road. Now, they seem ready to move to sign another body in the middle of the park.

Leeds set to bid again for midfielder

That comes as HITC reveal that Leeds "are expected to make another offer" for impressive Bundesliga midfielder Dejan Ljubicic, who currently plies his trade with Koln.

The Whites have already seen one bid turned down to sign the midfielder this summer, believed to have been in the region of £3.3m, but are ready to return to ensure that they secure their man.

Ljubicic is down to the final 12 months of his £13,000 per week deal in Germany, and is yet to pen an extension in the Cathedral City, meaning that his side risk losing him for free in 12 months if they don't cash in this summer.

Latest Leeds transfer news: Farke eyes Norwich raid; PL trio after stars

Find the latest transfer reports involving Leeds United here as they look to bolster their squad over the summer.

By
Dan Emery

Jul 30, 2024

Relegated from the Bundesliga last season, they are not in a strong position despite being keen to keep hold of their man.

He was dubbed a "top Bundesliga player" by boss Timo Schultz last season, and has come in for plenty of praise previously. Indeed, former coach Goran Djuricin highlighted his ability to keep the ball and win it back: "Dejan brings dynamism to our game, loves to tackle and hardly makes any bad passes."

That will come as music to the ears of Leeds fans should they be able to get a deal over the line, with the midfielder potentially being the man to help them back into the Premier League this time around.

A significant update has emerged regarding Manchester United's pursuit of an "extraordinary" player this summer, courtesy of Fabrizio Romano.

Man Utd transfer news

Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS continue to work hard on new signings for the Red Devils as they look to add to the captures of Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro, who have come in from Bologna and Lille respectively.

Dani Olmo was one of the shining lights at Euro 2024 and United have been linked with a move for Spain's impressive attacking midfielder, potentially seeing him as someone who could link effectively with Zirkzee in the final third. However, there is interest from the likes of Manchester City, Liverpool and Barcelona, with the 26-year-old a wanted man.

Adrien Rabiot is now a free agent after bringing an end to his time at Juventus, and the Red Devils are once again believed to be battling rivals Liverpool for his signature. It has been claimed that the Merseysiders are leading the race to sign the Frenchman, though.

Erik ten Hag's side have also been backed to make a move for Netherlands and Paris Saint-Germain attacker Xavi Simons, who at 21, is a highly rated player with a big future in the game. Three assists came his way at the Euros, not to mention a superb strike against England in the semi-finals.

Big update on Man Utd signing "extraordinary" ace

Writing on X on Sunday, Romano claimed that Manchester United are still interested in signing Sofyan Amrabat this summer after having him on loan last season, but won't trigger his €20m (£16.8m) buy clause:

United supporters may be split when it comes to the club's interest in Amrabat, with the 27-year-old a player who helped Ten Hag's men win the FA Cup last season, playing 90 minutes in the final victory over City at the end of a testing season.

His effort levels and willing running were also evident during the 2022 World Cup as he reached the semi-finals with Morocco and was described as "extraordinary" by Luis Enrique.

On the flip-side, there are limitations to Amrabat's game in terms of his technical quality – not a single goal or assist came his way for United in any competition this season, while he averaged 0.3 key passes per game in the Premier League – so you could argue that a higher calibre of player is needed.

Man Utd struck gold on "fabulous" star who's worth even more than Ugarte

Manchester United really have reaped the rewards of giving this star a chance to shine.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jul 22, 2024

If the Moroccan is signed strictly as a squad player, there would be sense behind the move, especially as he already knows the club well, but if United are to reach another level moving forward, superior midfielders need to arrive as well, coming in as key starters.

It's hard to think of a more important season for Arsenal in recent years than the one set to start in three weeks, as Mikel Arteta's men look to finally dethrone Manchester City from the top of the Premier League.

The North Londoners have developed into one of the best teams in Europe over the last few years, but to truly solidify their incredible ascent, they must end their two-decade title drought, and to do that, Edu Gaspar and Co need to recruit the right players over the coming months.

Riccardo Calafiori's long-awaited signing was finally confirmed yesterday, but the area most fans want to see strengthened is striker, and based on recent reports, they may soon get their wish.

For example, Victor Osimhen has once again been touted for a move to the Emirates following the breakdown in his move to Paris Saint-Germain, but another centre-forward has also been linked with the club, who would not only cost less but would also be a better signing.

Arsenal's striker search

According to a recent report from the Italian publication Corriere dello Sport, Arsenal have firmly reignited their interest in Sporting CP striker Viktor Gyökeres .

The report has claimed that while the Gunners have inquired about Osimhen's current situation, they are 'very focused on chasing the Swede from Sporting Lisbon'.

No price is mentioned in the story, but it has been widely reported that he has a €100m release clause in his £38k-per-week contract, which converts to about £84m. However, according to Fabrizio Romano via TEAMtalk, the Gunners would likely make an opening offer of around £60m.

Signing Gyökeres will cost Arsenal a lot of money this summer regardless of whether they pay the full release clause, but he will cost less than the £109m Osimhen is said to cost and, given his performances last season, would likely be a better signing anyway.

Why Gyökeres would be a better signing than Osimhen

Okay, aside from the price – which is a significant factor – there are a few reasons why Gyökeres would be a better signing than Osimhen for Arsenal, and the first is that he is in red-hot form.

For example, in 50 appearances last season, the "incredible" Swede, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, scored a whopping 43 goals and provided 15 assists for good measure, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 0.86 games.

In contrast, the Napoli ace scored 17 goals and provided four assists in 32 appearances, and while that is still impressive, it resulted in a worse average of a goal involvement every 1.52 games.

The second reason is similar to the first, but instead of looking at their raw output, we'll look at their underlying numbers, where the Sporting "powerhouse", as dubbed by data analyst Ben Mattinson, once again comes out on top.

For example, while the Nigerian international takes more shots, the former Coventry City ace comes out ahead in every other relevant metric, and by quite some way in a few, including non-penalty expected goals plus assists, actual non-penalty goals plus assists, progressive passes and carries, shots on target, shot and goal-creating actions, successful take-ons and even aerial duels won, all per 90.

Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists

0.82

0.66

Non-Penalty Goals + Assists

1.05

0.68

Progressive Passes

1.57

1.05

Progressive Carries

3.52

1.55

Shots

3.37

3.86

Shots on Target

1.64

1.63

Passing Accuracy

71.7%

66.9%

Shot-Creating Actions

4.08

2.45

Goal-Creating Actions

0.65

0.36

Successful Take-Ons

2.10

0.73

Aerial Duels Won

1.91

1.68

Finally, the last reason the Stockholm-born marksman would be the better signing is his availability. While he just underwent minor knee surgery, he has never missed a senior game through injury, whereas the former LOSC Lille star has missed a whopping 86 games across his career, and as they say, availability is the best ability.

Ultimately, while Osimhen might be the more recognisable name at the moment, Gyökeres has him comfortably beaten for output, underlying numbers, and availability, and while he does play in an easier league, that can't explain the extent to which he beats out the Napoli ace.

Offer ready: Arsenal target perfect Saka rival in "extraordinary" £42m ace

The incredible winger would be a level-raiser for the Gunners.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jul 29, 2024

Therefore, Edu and Co should do what they can to bring the Swedish international to the Emirates this summer, as with him up top, Arsenal might finally end their two-decade title drought.

Rangers are closing in on another new signing at Ibrox, it has been reported, with Philippe Clement about to be handed an attacking ace this summer.

Clement plotting major Rangers changes

Booed off at half-time in their most recent pre-season match, a 2-1 defeat to League One Birmingham City, Rangers look well short of mounting another Scottish Premiership title challenge as things stand.

Quizzed afterwards on potential new additions, the Rangers boss admitted he expected fresh faces between now and the Scottish Premiership getting back underway but refused to be drawn on specifics.

Clement said: "I'm confident of that [new signings] because everyone is working hard for that. There's a good possibility, but no guarantees. There has to be a signature from three sides – the player, the other team and from us. It's working every day with the players who are available to make them better and to give them experience in pre-season of course. Because of the Euros everything starts slower. You see that with several teams where nothing has happened yet.

Instead, attention has been focused on outgoings, with Connor Goldson missing the pre-season defeat in an attempt to seal a move away from Ibrox, while Todd Cantwell has handed in a transfer request on two occasions and is now set to be axed from the squad.

Another set to leave is striker Sam Lammers, who Clement admitted was not in his plans after spending the second half of the season on loan at FC Utrecht.

"He has been training with the second team because it was really clear he doesn't fit in the plans for this season, we were clear about that a few months ago. We cannot train with a squad of 50, we're above 30 for the moment. Sam is getting closer and closer to have a good solution and make a transfer."

But there is one incoming that could have plenty at Ibrox feeling excited.

Winger on verge of Rangers move

That comes with Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg claiming that Rangers are advancing over a loan move for Czech winger Vaclav Cerny, with the 26-year-old "on the verge" of moving to Ibrox from Wolfsburg. The right-winger only signed for the German outfit last season, penning a four-year contract worth £26,000-a-week.

But he started just 12 Bundesliga games and returned only four goals across his first season with Wolfsburg, which has seemingly seen him deemed surplus to requirements for the upcoming campaign.

Related Once worth £40m: Rangers could cash in on Ibrox ace worth 4x more than Hagi

Philippe Clement could soon be about to cash in on two players who could make the club a profit

Posts ByRoss Kilvington Jul 24, 2024

And Rangers have pounced on the ex-FC Twente man, with a season-long loan seemingly in the pipeline for the winger. Though he struggled at Wolfsburg, his talent is clear with the winger grabbing 13 goals and 11 assists in his final season for Twente, while he has also managed six goals in 17 international appearances.

Vaclav Cerny's career to date

Club

Appearances

Goals and assists

VFL Wolfsburg

25

6

FC Twente

78

43

Utrecht

16

0

Ajax

29

10

Cerny has been dubbed a possible "brilliant" signing for Rangers in the media, being compared to Arjen Robben, while his ability to cut in on his left foot and find the corner was picked up by the official UEFA account too, who tweeted two of his "brilliant" strikes.

He could also be an early favourite with Rangers fans after it emerged that he had already scored a late winner against Celtic, while playing for Ajax in 2015, to knock them out of the Europa League in the process.

Given his international pedigree with the Czech Republic and clear prodigious talent when fit and available, he could prove an excellent addition to Clement's ranks.

Without actually saying that India were denied the wicket of Tim Paine in a close run-out appeal on the opening day of the Boxing Day Test, Jasprit Bumrah has said that it is “unfortunate” that neutral umpires can’t travel for Tests. However, he was quick to add that it wasn’t something he or his team focused on.Replays on this run-out appeal showed contrasting evidence. One angle showed Paine’s bat on the crease when Rishabh Pant broke the stumps while the angle from the other side showed Paine’s bat might have slid over the line. The third umpire Paul Wilson was heard saying he didn’t have any evidence to conclude that Paine’s bat was “on the wrong side of the line”, and ruled him not-out.While Wilson was making the decision, the teams got to watch the replays on the big screen at the MCG. A couple of Indian fielders raised their finger to gesture “out” when the replays were shown. Captain Ajinkya Rahane was also seen having a chat with the on-field umpires.At the press conference, Bumrah was asked if he, in the context of this appeal, agreed with West Indies Test captain Jason Holder’s recent sentiment that if players were travelling for Tests, neutral umpires could too.”Look, these are the things that we can’t control,” Bumrah said. “I understand that the situations are difficult and all of these things are out of our hands. I try to not focus on things that we can’t control but yeah it is unfortunate that the umpires are not allowed to travel. But it is something that I don’t have any power of changing. We try to focus on things that we can change. That is the only thing our team is focusing on. If a decision goes our way or if it doesn’t, we have to look forward and we focus on the next ball.”Bumrah didn’t expressly say, though, that he thought Paine was out or if a neutral umpire would have ruled in India’s favour. After the recent tour of New Zealand, Holder had raised this question, especially in the light of T20I captain Kieron Pollard’s discontent with the umpiring.”The umpiring, Polly [Pollard] for sure had a few question marks over the umpiring in the T20 series. But look, I try to be as far down the line. What I would say about the umpiring, or the situation of the umpires, is that if we can travel and do a quarantine, I don’t see why an opposing (overseas) umpire can’t travel and do the quarantine,” Holder said at the end of the tour.

Everton are looking into potential replacements for defender Jarrad Branthwaite ahead of the centre-back's potential exit this summer.

Everton transfer rumours

Despite their points deduction, Everton were able to stave off relegation from the Premier League this past season, finishing 15th in the league and 14 points clear of 18th-placed Luton Town. Sean Dyche must now turn his attention to the summer transfer window, where he will no doubt be keen to improve his squad and take a step closer to returning the Toffees to the top half of the table.

Everton can finally replace Coleman by signing £5m assist machine

The defender has produced some excellent attacking numbers in 2023/24.

By
Ethan Lamb

Jun 14, 2024

In a bid to improve their squad, Everton are said to be one of a number of Premier League clubs interested in signing Hoffenheim forward Jacob Bruun Larsen this summer. The Merseysiders are also close to signing Ceiran Loney from Partick Thistle this summer and are believed to be willing to pay €20m (£17m) to sign former Arsenal midfielder Matteo Guendouzi.

Elsewhere, Everton are thought to have joined Italian giants Juventus and Napoli in plotting a move for Nice midfielder Khephren Thuram, who has previously attracted interest from Merseyside rivals Liverpool.

Everton eye Jarrad Branthwaite replacements

At present, however, Everton's priority is likely to be signing an adequate replacement for Jarrad Branthwaite should he leave Goodison Park in the coming months. It was reported this week that Manchester United have agreed terms with the Englishman over a contract worth between £150-160k a week, with the Toffees wanting to secure around £65m in order to part ways with their star centre-back.

Should Branthwaite indeed move on, which seems likely this summer, those in a position of power at Goodison Park face the unenviable task of signing a replacement for the 21-year-old.

Now, HITC has outlined some potential replacements for Branthwaite, with Manchester United and Sweden centre-back Victor Lindelof named as a potential option. The Swede, who currently earns £120,000 a week, has shown patches of quality since his move to Old Trafford and was labelled as "technically brilliant" by teammate Harry Maguire this past season.

"Victor [Lindelof] is technically brilliant," Maguire said. "You’ve seen over the years that he’s a great footballer. I’m really pleased for him, he was brilliant today. Set plays are a big part of the game and today we won from the second phase of a set play. We’ve improved this year because, in my time at this club, we haven’t been good enough at attacking set plays."

However, the 29-year-old made just 19 Premier League appearances across 2023/24, and with Branthwaite potentially going the other way, HITC suggests Lindelof may decide it is time for him to leave the Red Devils, who are thought to be open to allowing a sale.

Away from Lindelof, the aforementioned report claims Hull City’s Jacob Greaves is also of interest to Everton as they eye up replacements for Branthwaite. The 23-year-old made 43 appearances for Hull last term as they narrowly missed out on a Championship play-off place.

Wolverhampton Wanderers are still sweating over Pedro Neto's future at the club but last summer's exodus has placed Molineux in a good position in regard to profit and sustainability.

This season, Gary O'Neil triumphed in instilling his philosophy in testing circumstances and tearing through the upper echelon of the Premier League to avoid relegation comfortably.

But much hinges on the owners and their investment plans this summer, with Neto and perhaps one or two others likely to sit at the heartland of transfer speculation. Moreover, compounding the problem, Old Gold supporters were left disconcerted by a steep hike in ticket pricing. A burst of positivity, it could be argued, is paramount.

Luckily, O'Neil is committed to improving his first team this summer and is pushing Wolves to fight rivals for an exciting Premier League star.

Wolves eyeing Premier League star

According to reports relayed by Yorkshire Post, Wolves are one of four top-flight teams set to make bids for Arsenal's Eddie Nketiah, with Fulham – who would be willing to pay £30m for the centre-forward – Wolves and Crystal Palace also in the mix.

Arsenal are fighting to secure the signature of RB Leipzig striker Benjamin Sesko in a £55m deal, which would surely see the Englishman's intermittent opportunities limited further.

Mikel Arteta is a big fan of the 25-year-old but will reluctantly let him leave, and with O'Neil searching for firepower up front, this might just be the perfect move to make, though Wolves would need to match Fulham's prospective offer.

Eddie Nketiah's style of play

Once described as a "monster" by journalist Aaron Catterson-Reid, Nketiah has completed 168 appearances, scoring 38 goals, for Arsenal after graduating from the youth academy, enjoying a successful but fleeting loan spell with Leeds United and even earning his first international cap for England.

This season, however, despite netting a brilliant hat-trick against Sheffield United in October in the Premier League, the 5 foot 9 striker was restricted to just six substitute displays onward from February, clearly not included at the heart of Arteta's ambitious plans.

Nketiah had also netted in two of Arsenal's opening three top-flight fixtures but as Kai Havertz went from strength to strength so too did the Nketiah's match action suffer diminishment. With Sesko fiercely pursued and Gabriel Jesus vying for a place at No. 9, Wolves' target is clearly heading toward the exit in north London.

But Wolves want his signature for a reason. As per FBref, Nketiah ranks among the top 9% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90 and the top 12% for pass completion, highlighting his strength as a frontal focal point and his ball-playing skill.

The £100k-per-week star is blessed with natural athletic prowess and all the tools to succeed as the leading man at a Premier League team, and while Wolves have been widely reported to be closing in on a move for Southampton's Che Adams, who is out of contract at St. Mary's this month, signing a player of Nketiah's ilk would be a major win.

Nketiah could lead the line for years to come at Molineux, providing O'Neil with a reliable goal threat to avoid the dreaded drop zone and instead tear through the division and toward the upper end.

Why Wolves are interested in Eddie Nketiah

There's perhaps a tacit outward air at Molineux that suggests Neto is going to leave this summer. The Portugal winger still has three years on his current deal but £60m is no small sum and sharp strategic transfer moves could make such an influx of cash worthwhile.

But of course, Nketiah is not a winger, and thus would not be a direct replacement for Neto, should he leave. Instead, the Gunners ace could find himself taking Matheus Cunha's role in the Old Gold first team, with the Brazilian attracting attention after his resounding 2023/24 campaign.

As per The Mirror, Manchester United are hot on the £60m-rated Cunha's trail and are even prepared to double his £60k-per-week salary. It's early days but if Sir Jim Ratcliffe's nosing-around turns into concrete interest, it might be hard for Wolves to turn the lucrative suitor away.

And there is no point denying that it would feel like a detrimental blow. Cunha has been positively magnificent this season, raising his game considerably and now ranking among the top 10% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 12% for progressive passes, the top 5% for progressive carries, the top 3% for successful take-ons and the top 14% for tackles per 90.

Matches played

17

32

Matches started

12

29

Goals

2

12

Assists

0

7

G/A rate

0.12

0.59

Pass completion

76%

82%

Big chances created

1

7

Shots per game

1.5

2.3

Key passes per game

0.4

0.9

Dribbles per game

1.5 (76%)

2.0 (51%)

Duels won per game

3.6 (41%)

5.0 (43%)

He's been pretty good, and while there are myriad benefits to partnering Nketiah with the Brazilian, O'Neil's transfer target is technically proficient and is mutable in his playing style, capable of adopting a dynamic role that, yes, focusses on his goalscoring but also incorporates creativity and enhances team synergy.

Praised for his "incredible impact" and as a "beast" by his Arsenal manager, Nketiah is of course aware of his bit-part place in the Emirates machine, and given that he is now entering the prime of his career, surely he should prioritise playing time. His hat-trick this season emphasises the importance of finding a place to properly showcase his skills.

Wolves eye move for "exciting" Ait-Nouri replacement

Wolves may need to sign a replacement for Rayan Ait-Nouri this summer

ByRoss Kilvington Jun 3, 2024

At Wolves, he would not only find a platform to impress but a launchpad to rise to a position of prominence in the Premier League. If Cunha leaves, he will be a worthy successor.

Nathan Coulter-Nile might be in line to make the playing XI after missing the first game through injury

Saurabh Somani22-Sep-2020Big pictureBefore IPL 2020 began, Mumbai Indians were everyone’s favourites, and with good reason. A batting order that had four or five players capable of changing a match, a bowling attack that married striking ability with parsimony, great depth, and possibly the best think-tank in the business. All of that still holds true, but the opening game loss against Chennai Super Kings showed up some cracks in the team. It also showed the effects of little to no cricket for a majority of the players, with uncharacteristic sloppiness in the field, and errors while batting.Are they cracks Kolkata Knight Riders can exploit successfully? They certainly have the tools to do so, and as the franchise that start the latest in this IPL, they will have had a chance to suss the conditions in the UAE well.However, one of the issues Mumbai have is a quick thinning of the batting order after No. 7, which could conceivably be a problem for the Knight Riders too. The injury to Nathan Coulter-Nile affects Mumbai’s batting depth, and though he trained with the team on Tuesday, whether plays on Wednesday remains to be seen. For the Knight Riders, the batting order almost takes the form of a bell curve, thanks to possibly the competition’s most power-packed middle order in Eoin Morgan, Dinesh Karthik and Andre Russell.Mumbai’s bowling is potent, and one off-day against the Super Kings wouldn’t warrant grave changes, unless it’s for fitness reasons. The Knight Riders will be hoping that Sunil Narine is good for four overs. He was very effective when he bowled in the CPL, but he played as often as he didn’t in the competition. The Knight Riders have had a couple of promising quicks in their ranks for what seems like ages, without having them fit. But both Kamlesh Nagarkoti and Shivam Mavi enter this season free of injury worries, and you would imagine at least one of them will be in the starting XI.In the news If Coulter-Nile is fit, he will most likely replace James Pattinson in the Mumbai XI. Pattinson had a reasonable outing against the Super Kings, bowling quick and getting a couple of hits lower down the order, but Coulter-Nile’s all-round ability is likely to swing things his way. Bowling at the death in T20 cricket requires a different set of skills than almost anything else, and Trent Boult reckons it’s “the biggest challenge in the game”. That challenge only gets bigger when the batsmen you’re bowling to are Russell and company.Likely XIsKolkata Knight Riders: 1 Shubman Gill, 2. Sunil Narine, 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Dinesh Karthik (capt, wk), 6 Andre Russell, 7 Rahul Tripathi/Rinku Singh, 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Kamlesh Nagarkoti, 11 Prasidh KrishnaMumbai Indians: 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Suryakumar Yadav, 4 Saurabh Tiwary, 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Krunal Pandya, 8 James Pattinson/Nathan Coulter-Nile, 9 Rahul Chahar, 10 Trent Boult, 11 Jasprit BumrahKolkata Knight Riders will hope Sunil Narine can get through his four overs•BCCI

Strategy punt The Knight Riders’ powerhouse trio of Morgan, Russell and Karthik have excellent records against Boult and Jasprit Bumrah. Karthik has taken 50 runs off 23 balls he has faced from Bumrah without being dismissed. Russell has scored 49 off 33, being dismissed once. Against Boult, the trio’s combined record is 82 runs off 43 balls, with three dismissals. If these three batsmen are batting at the death, they could take a heavy toll on Mumbai’s bowlers. A possibly counter-intuitive strategy for Mumbai could be to look at only keeping the runs down at the start without looking for wickets – thus delaying the entry of these three and not giving them time to get set at the death. Narine’s record as a batsman against Mumbai isn’t too great. He has only 32 runs in eight innings, at less than a run-a-ball. The extra pace Mumbai have been able to call on during most seasons is perhaps part of the reason. The Knight Riders have indicated Narine will partner Shubman Gill at the top of the order for them, but in light of his record against Mumbai, perhaps Narine could bat lower down. They do have an option in Rahul Tripathi to partner Gill at the top. Russell is destructive against any bowling, but relatively speaking, quick and short bowling has had him in more trouble than other types. In IPL 2019, his strike rate (155) and balls per boundary (4.0) against the short ball were the lowest he had for pace bowlers. He simply slaughtered length balls, back of length balls, fuller ones and full tosses. So bowling pace into his body might be the way to go, as soon as he comes in to bat.Stats that matter The Knight Riders and Mumbai have the most lopsided head-to-head record in IPL history. Mumbai have won 19 of their 25 matches, with the Knight Riders victorious only six times. Mumbai’s win percentage of 76 is the best among any two teams in the IPL. However, the only time the two teams met in Abu Dhabi, the Knight Riders won, back in 2014. Mumbai, in fact, are on a six-match losing streak in the UAE, having lost five out of five in the country in 2014 to go with their opening game loss this year. This will be Kieron Pollard’s 150th match in the IPL.ALSO SEE: KKR vs MI live score 23rd September 2020

Aston Villa look to be closing in on their first signing of the 2024 summer transfer window.

Aston Villa transfer rumours

Villa ended the 2023/24 Premier League campaign in impressive fashion, securing a Champions League berth ahead of the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham and Chelsea. However, Unai Emery now has the unenviable task of ensuring his squad is ready to compete with some of Europe's biggest clubs come the start of next season.

Related Aston Villa now also want to sign powerful new striker likened to Drogba

Villa aren’t messing around after the move for Ross Barkley.

Posts ByCharlie Smith May 23, 2024

While Villa have plenty of quality already on their books, they will likely need to add a few new names to their ranks this summer in order to strengthen their squad. And though the 2024 summer window is not yet open, the Midlands outfit have already been linked with a number of fresh faces.

It was claimed earlier this week that Aston Villa have made a €15m (£12.8m) to sign Marcos Acuna, with Sevilla sporting director Victor Orta already on the hunt for a replacement. Elsewhere, Villa have reportedly registered an interest in Girona's Viktor Tsygankov, who has been valued at €28m (£24m) by the La Liga high-fliers after growing interest in his services.

Moreover, Aston Villa are said to be keen on signing young Ghana striker Aziz Musibau from Dreams FC. Musibau is just 17 years of age, with Dreams wanting just £1.2m for his services. Now in the Champions League, Villa are also seemingly looking to flex their new financial power and compete with the Premier League's biggest clubs as it has been reported that the Villains have joined Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City in registering an interest in Paris Saint-Germain's Xavi Simons.

Aston Villa transfer to sign £30k-p/w player is "done"

While Villa fans would no doubt love to see all of the aforementioned stars make the move to Villa Park this summer, one player is already very close to signing.

Alan Nixon reported earlier this week that Aston Villa had offered 30-year-old Ross Barkley, who currently earns £30,000-a-week, a three-year contract and now, Sky Sports and talkSPORT reporter Dan Bardell has revealed that the deal could be confirmed by the club in the coming days.

“That deal’s done. He’s coming," Bardell said to Aston Villa News. “I’ve heard from three reliable sources that it is done. I’d expect that to be done maybe over the weekend.“

Barkley was once one of the most promising young talents in English football before his career fell by the wayside on the back of a transfer to Chelsea. However, the midfielder has reinvigorated himself on the back of a free transfer to Luton Town last August. Barkley scored five and assisted six for the Hatters in 2023/24, with his showings earning him high praise from one of his teammates.

During an appearance on talkSPORT back in December, Barkley’s Luton teammate Andros Townsend heaped praise on him, making a comparison with World Cup winner Maradona.

“Honestly, they’ve been some of the best midfield performances I’ve seen in my career,” he said. "It’s just unbelievable – the calmness, the ability to get the ball off the back four and knock it past some of the world’s best midfielders without a care in the world.

“We saw yesterday against Man City, Maradona was in the midfield to set up our goal – honestly, it’s been a joy to watch. In a way he’s given confidence to the rest of the players around him, including myself. Just that calmness to take the ball under pressure, it’s such an underrated skill. He’s been absolutely incredible and he’s been an absolute joy to play with, but a joy to watch as well.”

Josh Hazlewood is among Australia’s multi-format players who could face a difficult balancing act over the next few months as they negotiate the various challenges of touring in the current Covid-19 climate and how it may impact their preparation for the home international season.With the limited-overs tour of England looking increasingly likely to take place in September there is then the probability of an IPL filling the gap of the soon-to-be-postponed T20 World Cup which will overlap significantly with the start of the Australian summer.Under the current border restrictions players returning or coming to Australia would need to quarantine for two weeks. The Test summer is currently due to start with the one-off match against Afghanistan on November 21 in Perth, which would appear an unworkable time frame for any players involved until the latter stages of the IPL’s proposed period, ahead of the series against India from December 3.ALSO READ: Australians who could have IPL-state cricket clashHazlewood, who is part of the enlarged 26-man training squad that was named last week, has an IPL deal with Chennai Super Kings and will also be expected to be part of the Test attack. CA has previously recalled players from the IPL to prepare for international duty and among the Australians with deals Pat Cummins, Steven Smith and David Warner would also be Test certainties. Hazlewood is confident that he would be ready for Test cricket with as little as one Sheffield Shield outing, but said it would be vital for players, especially fast bowlers, to be able to train while undergoing quarantine.”As long as we can train during that period it will be okay, it’s if we come back and we can’t train during that two-week period,” he said. “We’ve built these loads up as fast bowlers then two weeks really hurts us coming into a summer of Test cricket.”As far as red-ball ball cricket goes I feel I only need one, maximum two games, to get ready for a Test. There have been summers where we’ve come from a white-ball tour and only played one [red-ball game] and it’s been fine. Everyone is a bit different, some guys need a bit more bowling and some less but we’ll try to get that balance right.”Hazlewood admitted the prospect of the IPL taking place creates some “tough” decisions for those with deals, but believes the benefits of the tournament outweigh the negatives of missing domestic cricket in Australia.Josh Hazlewood brings out the elbow bump after taking a wicket•Getty Images

“There are a few things to fall into place yet but the IPL is such a huge part of the year for a lot of players and probably the strongest T20 competition in the world, up there with the Big Bash, and you learn a lot about how to play your T20 cricket and how to play in those conditions,” he said. “You’ve seen guys come out of it much better players so there’s a lot of positives to it, so if that takes a few games off us playing for New South Wales in the build-up to the international summer that’s a tough call, [and] probably comes back to the individual.”ALSO READ: Australia’s limited-overs training squad: hopes of a recall, and an eye to the futureHazlewood has been back bowling at New South Wales’ pre-season for about five weeks and believes the enforced break has been a benefit for the quicks. With the England tour now on the cards he expects more restrictions to be placed on what players can do ahead of the trip to reduce the risk of catching Covid-19. Melbourne is currently under another lockdown, although Victoria-based players can still train, while cases are rising in New South Wales.The current England-West Indies series has provided the template for what biosecure cricket will look like, with the high-profile breach made by Jofra Archer showing how seriously protocols are being taken.”Jofra is one example and there’s been examples in the AFL and NRL, just by hugging a mate in the crowd you miss a week,” Hazlewood said. “Got to keep those strict lines in place to have the sport go ahead so we’ll learn from that mistake.”There was also the less serious mishap of Dom Sibley accidentally applying saliva to the ball during the fourth day’s play at Old Trafford in contravention of the new playing conditions. It led to the umpires cleaning the ball with a disinfectant wipe before play could continue. Hazlewood has been trying to train himself for the new processes but said it takes time to break habits.”It’s a pretty natural habit… it’s just such a reaction to see a spot on the ball that needs fixing and you go and put some saliva on. You’ve been doing it since five years old so it will take a while to break the habit but obviously conscious of it on the field.”