Aston Villa and Tottenham are looking to battle Liverpool to the signing of Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes, a report claims.
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Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contractual situation has become incredibly tedious in recent weeks, with the decibels rising among the Spanish press this week as Real Madrid look to swipe Liverpool’s homegrown superstar.
However, the 26-year-old hasn’t let such noise detract from his performances under Arne Slot’s wing, showcasing a tough defensive side unseen during his career under Jurgen Klopp while oozing class and style on the ball.
The pull of Santiago Bernabeu is strong, Europe’s palatial club ground being the hothouse for trophies and an illustrious career, but Trent is hardly scrounging for success within his boyhood outfit, for Slot’s tactics have put Liverpool in the driving seat for the Premier League title and a promising position in the Champions League too.
Regardless of whether the £180k-per-week talent stays or leaves, Liverpool appear keen to invest in a new full-back this year – though it might not be on the right-hand side.
At the backend of December, GIVEMESPORT reported that Liverpool are set to rival Manchester United for Antonee Robinson this year. The arch-rivals are both keen on a new left-back, and the Fulham ace has been among the finest players in the Premier League this season.
Robinson, 27, has started every top-flight fixture this term, captaining his squad regularly since December. Fulham value him as high as £50m and you’d have to admit that they are well within their right. He’s been brilliant and contracted until 2028 besides.
Liverpool know that they can present a more appealing career path than their beleaguered neighbours but United are invariably dangerous in the transfer market. With that in mind, FSG may hope that they opt for Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez instead, given that he has his sights set on Old Trafford.
Robinson would bring instantaneous results to a Reds side seeking the highest honours both domestically and on the continent. Andy Robertson has been a stalwart over so many years, but he’s simply not performing at his incredible one-time level.
At no disrespect to the Scotsman, Robinson is outstripping him on the pitch this year, but in fact, Fulham’s Duracell Bunny may even be operating at a floor above Alexander-Arnold too.
Years of dining at the elite table have established Liverpool’s wide defensive duo as the pre-eminent pairing. They have redefined the full-back role, in some ways, with tireless running and outstanding creativity serving as the life-juice of the Klopp era.
|
Most Assists in Premier League History (Defenders) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rank |
Player |
Apps |
Assists (per game) |
|
1. |
Trent Alexander-Arnold |
243 |
62 (0.26) |
|
2. |
Andy Robertson |
292 |
59 (0.20) |
|
3. |
Leighton Baines |
420 |
53 (0.13) |
|
4. |
Graeme Le Saux |
327 |
44 (0.13) |
|
5. |
Andy Hinchcliffe |
219 |
36 (0.16) |
|
Stats via Squawka |
|||
Both Robertson and Alexander-Arnold remain core parts of Liverpool’s first team – the latter still arguably the best full-back in the world – but that doesn’t mean he’s outperforming every single player across this current campaign.
Indeed, Robinson suffers from the affliction of not being part of a ‘big-six’ club. That sentence is facetious, of course, but there is a ring of truth there.
He’s so complete, so dynamic, so effective across different phases and – crucially for Slot’s system – wonderful on the ball, retaining with ease and picking out perfect passes. Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley has even gone as far as to describe him as “one of the best left-backs in the world.”
With seven assists from 19 Premier League matches this term, Robinson is behind only Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka in that chart. Moreover, he ranks highly across defensive metrics while providing a relentless ball-carrying output. What a skill set, balanced so finely across every required area.
Trent, while impressive this season, has failed to outrank Robinson across any of the above-listed statistics, as per FBref. Alexander-Arnold is the most talented and accomplished player by far, but Robinson is at his apex right now, performing at a higher level.
A closer look at the defensive numbers further illustrates this point. Liverpool’s number 66 has been much improved in the lower department this term, averaging 2.6 tackles per Premier League match while winning 51% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore.
Robinson, however, provides even more eye-catching statistics, for the USMNT international has chomped down on opponent with 2.8 tackles per game (Sofascore), also winning 58% of his total duels.
It’s admittedly harder to distinguish them given that the respective full-backs play different types of games, but for Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher at least, they are on the same platform all the same. Chalking down his mid-season predictions and ratings alongside Gary Neville, the Anfield icon paired the wide defenders in his updated Team of the Season.
Robinson might turn 28 at the start of the 2025/26 campaign but he’s hardly doomed to deteriorate any time soon. His stock has been sky-high this season and it owes testament to the incremental progress that he has forged across so many years. Not all of them bore fruits.
Athletic, adept on the ball and fierce without it, he’s arguably been the best full-back in the Premier League this season. As far as the stats go, he’s outperformed Liverpool’s imperious right-back.
FSG must cash in on Liverpool flop who's earning more than Gakpo & Diaz
This Liverpool star’s days could well be numbered…
By
Angus Sinclair
Jan 3, 2025
Ruben Amorim was asked about Manchester United's interest in Matheus Cunha as Wolves look to take advantage of goal-shy Red Devils.
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The path back to the India side from injury has had a series of obstacles along the way, but Mohammed Shami is trying to navigate through them in time for the start of the World T20
Arun Venugopal in Kolkata10-Mar-2016The setting wasn’t as low-key as Mohammed Shami might have probably imagined. This was a warm-up game and yet there were at least 25,000 people at the Eden Gardens. There were several thousand more claps, whistles and screams until palms and throats gave in.This is also his home ground, a city where he made a memorable Test debut in Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell series. But there wasn’t anything about Shami on Thursday that betrayed nerves although some amount of nervous excitement would have only seemed reasonable.A spell of 4-0-30-2 against a batting line-up featuring Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Marlon Samuels is impressive in itself but its worth is multiplied when you place it against the backdrop of what he has gone through.Shami has over the last few weeks strived to go from 80-85% fit to being fully ready. It is learnt that he bowled to the India Women’s team at the NCA nets in Bangalore to assist in their preparations for the Women’s World T20, apart from playing matches with other men’s teams where specific situations – like bowling at the death, defending a particular total or opening the attack – would be recreated.But Shami would be the first person to insist on telling false dawns apart from real ones, especially after what has happened to him over the last two months. After all, the new year had begun well for Shami. He was nearly as thrilled about flaunting his suit as being on the flight to Australia with the rest of his mates. You couldn’t grudge his just deserts. This was a man who had, after a promising beginning, spent close to a year in pain, uncertainty and the sheer frustration of his knee coming in the way of playing at the highest level.But this new silver lining would soon be gobbled up by gloomy grey clouds as Shami’s return to India was advanced by an injury to the hamstring. It’s hard to surmise what he must have felt. Roughly as excruciating would be the analogy of a man being robbed soon after earning his wages.While on one hand Shami’s inner demons must have been multiplying, the team management too would have had a tough call to make. He wasn’t a part of the Asia Cup squad as well after being deemed to have not recovered sufficiently. But that Shami was picked for the World T20 was as much a leap of faith as an educated gamble; MS Dhoni & co. him. Period.Dhoni has never been shy about his admiration for Shami’s ability to provide thrust with the new ball and finish well at the death. Bouncers, made-to-order yorkers, Shami has always delivered what his captain wanted. His return to action has only added to the considerable gains that India have made recently.
“He just wanted to go out on the park and play. He has really worked hard all this while; coming back from a knee injury is not easy for anyone, not just a bowler.”Rohit Sharma on Mohammed Shami’s return at Eden Gardens
After India had set West Indies 186 to win in Thursday’s World T20 warm-up, he went about rolling out his bouncers and yorkers, not always achieving the desired results but nevertheless persistent in his attempts. For instance, the short-pitched stuff didn’t quite work on this flat, easy-paced surface as Gayle demonstrated with a pull, one of his two boundaries off Shami.After gong for nine runs in his first over, he began his second with a short ball outside off to Marlon Samuels and got away with a single. The next delivery was quick and had Johnson Charles stuck on his crease. Shami had closed in on his sweet spot. His third ball wasn’t exactly a yorker but was fast and full. Charles’ attempt to back away and carve him over cover only resulted in a caught behind. Shami, however, erred with his last two deliveries, going too full and too short on either occasion, and Samuels cashed in with two fours.By the time Shami returned in the 16th over West Indies had lost eight batsmen and were down for the count. He stuck to a length that was slightly shorter of a full length and attacked the stumps. One such delivery had Ashley Nurse charging out of the crease and scooping the ball to deep point.Shami finished with 2-0-11-1 in his second spell. There was no sign of restricted movement or controlled operation. His run-up was easy and the momentum generated by the smoothly-swinging non-bowling arm contributed to his rhythm. Rohit Sharma paid tribute to Shami’s performance, and said he managed to do what he intended to.”He just wanted to go out on the park and play. For a bowler to not play for so long it’s never easy,” Rohit said after the match. “So he just wanted to go out and feel the conditions and feel the atmosphere, and feel [the joy of] wearing the India jersey again. He has really worked hard all this while; coming back from a knee injury is not easy for anyone, not just a bowler. But he really worked hard and looking at [the fact that] he is playing his first game he did pretty well.”He bowled bouncers, yorkers, slower ones, that’s what we expect from him. The last game he played for India, till then he did pretty well for us. He was one of the main bowlers for us and expectations will be there from him, no doubt about it.”Dhoni has recently pointed to the happy dilemma he would face should Shami be fit, with Jasprit Bumrah sealing the other paceman’s slot. Shami would then have to compete with Ashish Nehra for the second seamer’s position and there is a possibility he might not find himself in the playing XI straightaway.But for now he is unlikely to entertain such worries and would rather focus on dialing up the momentum in India’s last warm-up match against South Africa in Mumbai on Saturday. Shami sure knows a thing or two about the value of taking baby steps.
Liverpool, despite sitting top of the Premier League, top of the Champions League and advancing into the final four of the Carabao Cup, are still awaiting some much-needed news on the contract front.
Barring one slip-up against Nottingham Forest, Arne Slot’s Liverpool side have been unstoppable so far this season and look on course for what they hope to be the first of many historic campaigns under the Dutchman. The quality within their squad and even outside of their strongest side was on full show once again against Southampton, as a much-changed Liverpool side sent the Saints packing in the Carabao Cup.
Amid such a successful season so far, however, a darkening contract cloud has continuously threatened to rain down on the Reds’ campaign and disrupt what would be the ultimate first season without club legend Jurgen Klopp.
As things stand, Mohamed Salah, Virgil van Dijk and Trent Alexander-Arnold are all set to leave as free agents at the end of the campaign. And whilst reports have been more positive regarding Salah and Van Dijk’s Anfield futures, those in Merseyside are still facing a nervous wait for good news on all three.
Slot was let down by 103-touch Liverpool man after 5/10 Southampton display
Liverpool made it through to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup after a 2-1 win against Southampton.
By
Ethan Lamb
Dec 19, 2024
According to Caught Offside, FSG and Liverpool have now offered Alexander-Arnold a contract worth £7.1m more per year than his current Anfield deal, which is worth a reported £9.4m-a-year.
As per Caught Offside, the talented right-back has been offered a deal worth €20m-a-year (£16.5m-a-year) in the hope that he will finally put pen to paper and end any concerns over his future.
Even after such an offer, however, Liverpool are still reportedly unsure whether he will be tempted into joining European giants Real Madrid, who are planning a January meeting with the right-back to discuss a potential summer move.
In the middle of a title race and in their first season of what they will hope to be an era full of success under Slot, Liverpool need to get their answers from Alexander-Arnold, Van Dijk and Salah before their contract talks dominate the headlines and distract away from their pursuit of glory. The last thing any dressing room needs is an unanswered question on the future of a star player, let alone three.
The case of Alexander-Arnold seems particularly uncertain, but he too must come to a decision sooner rather than later. Either he stays put at Liverpool and becomes one of the highest-earners at the club before cementing his legacy as a true Anfield great, or he chooses the life of a Galactico and the chance to create undeniable history. It’s quite the choice, to say the least.
As for Liverpool, they must at least plan for the worst. The likes of Jeremie Frimpong have already been mentioned in recent weeks and the Reds must be prepared to make their move for the Bayer Leverkusen man or, indeed, an alternative option to replace Alexander-Arnold at the end of the season.
Altay Bayindir sent out a message to Manchester United fans after a nightmare Premier League debut against Newcastle United.
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Three books on the master commentator and Australia captain offer you the wisdom of Benaud
Paul Edwards20-Dec-2015Sometimes it is wise to succumb to temptation. Asked to review three books that celebrate the life of Richie Benaud, this cricket writer is itching to respond in the pithy style of the great man himself:And now he has. Not a word wasted there, and potential readers can get on with the business of ordering.Yet even sitting at a desk, one intuits the late Benaud’s distaste for hyperbole. If you must, Benaud might say, but can we please dispose of this idea? Before long, Benaud’s list of truly great men and women is produced and one recalls his dismissal of the idea that Shane Warne getting out for 99 might be labelled “a tragedy”. Words are not candyfloss.All of which illustrate one of the beguiling paradoxes of Benaud’s career – that while no one in cricket was more easily or frequently impersonated, there was still nobody like him.All three of these books are anthologies and each has plenty to commend it. The ideal stocking-filler is probably , edited by Rob Smyth, which does not suffer in the least from being confined to extracts from the but might have benefited from the inclusion of a contents page. A particular strength of Smyth’s book is that the last third of it includes a season-by-season chronicle of Benaud’s career, but we also have a host of tributes to his skill as a commentator and his shrewd assessments of his countrymen. For example, there is this from the 1973 on Dennis Lillee:
“Though he looks flamboyant in action on the field, Lillee is essentially a man of simple character, preferring a king-size steak to the more spicy continental dishes, and the occasional glass of beer to the magnum of champagne… On the field, a man who shows an obvious dislike to batsmen, he is of equable temperament once the day’s play is over, and the only thing he is prepared to dislike in cricket at the moment is the type of field set for him in one-day fixtures on the England tour.”
, seems on first glance to be a slighter book, one that can easily be placed in the coffee-table category. But it is not so. For one thing, the photographs have been well-chosen and are superbly reproduced. For those of us currently thinking about how the camera supplies a different history of the game, they provide a wonderful chronicle of Benaud’s career from the multifaceted springtime of Worcester in 1953 to the not-too-grand elder statesman speaking alongside a statue of himself at the Sydney Cricket Ground in 2008.Some of the writing is very fine, too. Consider this from AG (Johnny) Moyes:
“No slow bowler can reach the top of the hill – it is a difficult upward climb – without much planning, perseverance and hard work. There is no proper pathway to success except through blood, sweat and tears, for the spinner must learn to take a hiding without giving ground. Purposefulness, endurance and brains are prime necessities. Benaud has these qualities, and that is why he finally emerged from the clouds into the sunshine of rich and continued success. He is without doubt one the most gifted slow bowlers in cricket’s long history.”
For some of us, Richie Benaud was always there, a soundtrack to our cricketing lives. Shrewd, articulate, wise, he was the perfect antithesis of RC Robertson-Glasgow’s one-way critic. He was commentating when we fell for the game and he policed our love with astute observations.As the cricketing world spins ever more rapidly we will wonder what he might have said about it all. Richie himself might observe that there are other commentators and we should listen to them. He might also add that it might not be such a bad idea if we made up our own minds a little more. Quite true, but when we need to be reminded of Benaud’s unique voice we will have these three fine anthologies and his own books on our shelves. Marvellous, indeed.Benaud in Wisden
Edited by Rob Smyth
Wisden
198 pages, £10.99Remembering Richie
Richie Benaud and friends
Hodder and Stoughton
334 pages, £20Those Summers of Cricket – Richie Benaud 1930-2015
Hardie Grant
185 pages, £20
Ireland show improved batting performance led by Adair, McBrine and Tector
Valkerie Baynes03-Jun-2023Four balls was all it took… four balls and more than two sessions as Ireland’s batters put on a dogged display to take their Test against England into a third evening – just – when making it to tea had looked like a sturdy ambition.Josh Tongue’s five-wicket haul on Test debut put his name on the Lord’s honours board and the hosts on the brink of victory and Zak Crawley struck three fours off the first four balls of the innings to overhaul the 11-run target.Droll predictions abounded overnight about how long England’s golf-loving players would need before booking their tee times and the fact that England were forced to bat again was down a 163-run partnership between Mark Adair and Andy McBrine after Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker had laid the foundation with a fifty stand that signalled an improved Ireland batting performance compared to the first innings.McBrine kicked on after Adair’s dismissal but was stranded on 86 when Stuart Broad bowled Graham Hume with the eighth ball after tea to end Ireland’s second innings, 10 runs in front.England claimed three wickets in the morning session, including one for Tongue, which left him just one shy of the five-for to neatly cap a great week for the Worcestershire seamer. He was drafted into the squad for this match as injury cover for James Anderson and Ollie Robinson and retained his place alongside them in a 16-man squad for the first two Ashes Tests, unveiled on the stroke of lunch.It wasn’t until shortly before the scheduled tea break and with a ball that was 79 overs old that he sealed a spot on the joint honours board, as Tongue had fellow debutant Fionn Hand out edging a length ball just outside off stump to Crawley at slip.England took the second new ball after 81 overs and handed it straight to Tongue, but McBrine and Hume stood firm to go to tea unbeaten on 85 and 9 respectively with Ireland four runs ahead.With opener James McCollum playing no further part in the match after retiring hurt with a badly twisted ankle he sustained while batting on Friday evening, Ireland were effectively effectively 162 for 7 during the morning session. Scans showed no fracture, but McCollum suffered suspected ligament damage and was resigned to watching from the sidelines in a moon boot.Tector and Tucker had batted well the previous evening and comfortably navigated the first half hour on Saturday, adding 29 runs to Ireland’s overnight 97 for 3. But then Jack Leach entered the attack and struck second ball as Tucker attempted to sweep and succeeded only dragging the ball back onto the stumps with his glove to end an assured innings on 44 and a fifth-wicket stand worth 63.Joe Root came on and saw his fifth delivery muscled for six by Curtis Campher. Then Tongue, who had taken all three of Ireland’s second-innings wickets the previous day, returned to action and went for back-to-back fours by Campher, the first a well-drilled cover drive and the second a complete miscue through mid-on.Tector brought up a deserved half-century driving through mid-off and running two but Tongue had him out with his next ball, a short, wide delivery which Tector sent straight to backward point where Harry Brook juggled momentarily before holding on.In the next over, Root invited Campher to sweep and the ball sailed through to Ben Stokes at short fine leg, a dismissal notable for Stokes’ wince as he clutched his troublesome left knee and hobbled after completing the catch.Adair took 15 off one Root over as lunch approached, including a six over deep midwicket to take Ireland past the 200-mark and an authoritative sweep through backward square leg for four. By the time Adair reached his fifty by guiding a short ball from Broad over the keeper’s head for four, he had scored just one run to the off side. He tucked the next neatly to the rope through fine leg before threading a third boundary in a row behind gully.McBrine brought up his fifty with a reverse-sweep off Leach for four and the duo reached their 150 partnership off just 155 balls. Matthew Potts removed Adair, caught behind for 88 off just 76 balls after failing to put more than a light touch on an attempted upper cut. Potts’ relief was palpable as he collapsed into Stokes’ arms to celebrate, perhaps not so much because England had broken Ireland’s record partnership in Tests given the hosts’ still-dominant position, but that he had finally added to his two wickets from Ireland’s first innings after toiling hard through 17 overs of their second.Stokes still appears to be in a race against time to fulfil his ambitions of playing as an allrounder against Australia, although he said after the match that he felt fine. In any case, Tongue stepped in to claim his fifth after going wicketless in Ireland’s first innings, when Broad took a five-wicket haul.When Hume struck a second four on the trot off Root to put Ireland in front by one run, the crowd let out a huge cheer. Even when Broad claimed the final wicket, they couldn’t say they hadn’t been treated to a much fuller day than anticipated and witnessed a batting display Ireland will surely have wished they’d produced on the first day.
Having come close to taking his side over the line in Sunrisers’ last match, Samad proves that he is “worth the investment” with a last-ball six
ESPNcricinfo staff08-May-20232:13
Moody: Samad reminds me of a young Yusuf Pathan
A last-ball six to overhaul a target of 215 and keep Sunrisers Hyderabad’s play-off hopes alive could be “the turning point” in Abdul Samad’s young career, according to his ex-coach Tom Moody.Samad is only 21 but is already in his fourth IPL season, and has found himself in and out of the Sunrisers team this year. By his own admission, he “got lucky” when Sandeep Sharma’s overstep on what should have been the last ball of the game granted him a second chance, but he took full advantage in drilling the free hit back over his head for six to clinch a win for his side.Related
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Thirty-one games into his IPL career, Samad is averaging just 18.63 but has scored his runs at a strike rate of 136.67. He is also among a rare group of players who have hit more sixes (21) than fours (20) in the league – a statistic which underlines his power.”What Abdul Samad has got as a young, emerging player is a rare ability to hit the ball out of the ground,” Moody, who worked with Samad in 2021 and 2022, said on ESPNcricinfo’s show. “He reminds me of a young Yusuf Pathan. He’s got that strength, power, and it’s a very hard role to play.”I hope that it gives the management and the franchise confidence that they have got the right person, because that is the hardest part. Forget about the player having confidence, you need the organisation – wherever you are – to have confidence in you, and I think if you look at his erratic selection over the last two years, I think that hopefully this is the turning point for him.”Samad was unable to get Sunrisers over the line in their narrow defeat to Kolkata Knight Riders on Thursday night, falling in the final over of the game for 21 off 18 balls. Hemang Badani, Sunrisers’ batting coach, said that Samad had taken responsibility for the defeat and “stayed strong” in the aftermath.2:31
Hemang Badani: ‘The win will give confidence to players like Samad’
“Let me start off by saying I have to give full marks to Samad,” Badani said, “because he was the first one to come up to me after the previous game and said, ‘I should have finished the game.'”He took ownership of it, and said with nine off six balls, more often than not, batters in the middle would finish games for their side, and he didn’t finish it and he was a little unhappy about it. He had a similar instance with the game against Mumbai [Indians]; that again was a game that he felt he could have finished.”And he was hurting, to be honest. He was hurting. He was like, ‘I’ve been around with SRH, this is my third [fourth] year, I’m a retained player and I really want to make it count. I really want to try and show them that I am worth your time and I am worth the investment.’ I think he’s ensured that he’s stayed strong.”Samad hardly reacted after his winning shot, which Moody said fitted his character. “He’s not charging off with his bat in the air; he’s a very humble, quietly-spoken guy,” he said.”But behind all that is someone that works extremely hard at his craft and is constantly trying to improve on his game in a role that is exceptionally hard to play. More often than not, you see your mature players playing in those roles, not a 21-year-old.”Abdul Samad’s 21, and we are judging him on his history as a 21-year-old. Let’s judge him on his history when he’s 28, and then make judgement on whether he’s consistent in one of the hardest roles to play.”Badani, meanwhile, said that Samad – and Sunrisers – would take confidence from their victory, which still leaves them in ninth place but with the points table incredibly tight.”It’s a great win, because it gives us momentum,” he said. “It will obviously give us confidence. It will obviously give a lot of belief for guys like Samad, because Samad would have felt that he missed out a couple of times.”To have done it here, the next time he comes in to bat, the next time he’s in a situation like this, he’ll be a lot more different to what he was in the past.”
Sanjay Manjrekar looks ahead to two key aspects for India in the forthcoming Tests against South Africa – Virat Kohli’s leadership style, and Cheteshwar Pujara’s role
ESPNcricinfo staff02-Nov-2015Having gone down in the T20 and ODI series, India will be keen to assert their superiority in the Tests. It will be Virat Kohli’s first home series as captain against a team that has built a formidable reputation on the road. Among the batsmen, Cheteshwar Pujara will be keen to build on his triumphant return to the playing XI in the third Test in Sri Lanka, where he made a century. Former India batsman Sanjay Manjrekar says he will be watching these two aspects closely over the course of the matches‘Kohli willing to change plans if they don’t work’
Sanjay Manjrekar believes India will see a more mature side to Virat Kohli as he grows into the role of a captain. According to Manjrekar, Kohli is patient but also adaptable and willing to change his original plans if they don’t work – a good sign for a leader.2:47
Manjrekar: We will see a more mature Kohli
The challenges facing Pujara
Manjrekar says that Cheteshwar Pujara’s switch to a wider batting stance, as seen on the recent Sri Lanka tour, is a surprising change for a batsman whose style is built on strong defensive technique and mental toughness. Manjrekar examines the positives and negatives of the change and the challenges Pujara will face against South Africa’s attack.2:48
‘Pujara’s change in technique surprising’