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Captain Dan Christian agreed the Hurricanes had been able to play with clear minds and full hearts given the weight of expectation heaped on the Scorchers by their formidable BBL record and home fixture

Daniel Brettig02-Feb-2018

“Who’s next? Who cares!” was the headline in Adelaide’s Advertiser newspaper when the South Australian capital’s football team, the Crows, unexpectedly beat Hawthorn in their first AFL final 25 years ago. A similar sentiment pervaded the Hobart Hurricanes after their stunning overthrow of Perth Scorchers’ Big Bash League hegemony on Thursday night.Given the fact the host venue for the final – either Adelaide Oval or Docklands Stadium in Melbourne – will be decided later on Friday, the Hurricanes elected to travel from Perth to Adelaide, getting the long flight out of the way, and wait and see. Though they wobbled into the semis off the back of three consecutive losses and relied on Melbourne Renegades beating Brisbane Heat to qualify, Daniel Christian said the Perth result had quickly raised Hobart’s sights. A first BBL title is one game away.”We might not be [underdogs] now that we’ve flogged the Scorchers,” Christian declared. “Either way we’re pretty confident. We’ve always been pretty confident in what we’ve got as a team. Even though we haven’t played that perfect game we’ve been pretty confident that we’ve got the guys to be able to put it together so whoever we play, the Renegades or the Strikers, I’m sure we’ll be right up for it.”Yesterday I would have said the Renegades [were more likely finalists] but now that Travis Head is back I think it’s probably a bit closer because the Renegades haven’t been affected too much by the Aussie selections, although they’ve lost Kane Richardson I suppose. But they played really well in Brisbane the other night so either way we are really looking forward to it.”Christian agreed the Hurricanes had been able to play with clear minds and full hearts given the weight of expectation heaped on the Scorchers by their formidable BBL record and home fixture in front of 52,960 parochial fans at the new stadium in Burswood. He said they had also been helped by the fact that Perth did not have a spinner, having lost Ashton Agar to Australian duty and then declined to pick James Muirhead.”We were just able to go out and play and not worry about the new stadium and the hoo-ha that came along with it,” Christian said. “Finals are pretty funny. You sort of come into them and you want to play that perfect game but it’s not often you get the opportunity to do it. Everything just fell our way because once the boys got used to the pace of the wicket the Scorchers didn’t have a spinner and Ashton Agar destroyed us in the last game, so once we got used to the pace, they just kept bringing in the same pace at us and once Matty Wade and Ben McDermott got used to that, they were pretty hard to stop.”We’ve been talking all year about putting together a close to perfect performance and that’s probably as close to perfect for us really. To get 210 and then bowl them out for 130-odd, that’s pretty awesome. We’ve batted well in most games this year and bowled well in patches but we haven’t really been able to do it for the full 20 overs of both disciplines so it was really pleasing.”The Scorchers captain Adam Voges, who announced his retirement from the BBL after the game, said the new stadium required the Perth team to learn better how to play it after years at the more open WACA Ground. “This will be our new home from now on,” he said, “but we have to learn to play this ground a lot better than we did tonight.”The Hurricanes, of course, now feel like there is a little patch of Tasmania out west, having made the venue their playground for a night. Christian said the pitch, a new generation drop-in much like that of Adelaide Oval, had been a pleasant surprise. “It is an absolutely fantastic stadium. It’s stunning and the crowd was great, the wicket was great,” he said. “I got the ball caught in the lights a couple of times, that’s the only issue with the footy lights running all the way around rather than the poles that you get at most stadiums, but apart from that it was fantastic.”Being a drop-in we didn’t think the wicket would be as good as it was. We thought it might be slower and a bit lower a bit like your Etihad, MCG kind of wicket. Particularly given that it’s so new, we thought it was going to be not quite as quick. It’s quite a big ground square, we’d heard the dimensions are similar to the MCG, which suits us really, bowling slower balls into the wicket and hard into the wicket and trying to make them hit square so we were pretty confident we had the right attack to be able to slow them down or at least try to get them out.”Like the stadium pitch, the Hurricanes proved far better than expected. The BBL finals come at you fast.

Steven Fletcher and Paul Mullin fired Wrexham to a crucial three points as they ran out 2-0 winners against AFC Wimbledon in League Two on Saturday.

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• Wrexham were disappointing in first half
• Looked much better in the second period
• Fletcher and Mullin struck in important win

• TELL ME MORE

  It was a Jekyll and Hyde performance from the Red Dragons who were woeful and submissive in the first half but much more brave and imposing in the second period. After failing to register a single shot over the opening 45 minutes, they carved out a few quality chances after the break, culminating in Fletcher's decisive strike before Mullin smashed in the second.

  Although they were the better team from the start, Wimbledon had a hard time creating chances and were made to pay for their wastefulness when Wrexham came to life. Elliott Lee had the home team's first big chance but his shot was saved by the goalkeeper. It fell to Fletcher, who managed to get free and have another pop but he hit the bar.

  Wrexham built on their resurgence and, after Wimbledon saw another chance blocked, James McClean broke down the wing and fired a shot towards goal but couldn't beat the goalkeeper. Immediately afterwards, though, the Irish winger sent a corner kick straight to the back post where Fletcher was perfectly placed to knock it in from close range. And just eight minutes later, a McClean cross flew into the Wimbledon box and bounced off Jack Currie before landing perfectly for Mullin to blast in and double their lead.

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  THE MVP

  Wrexham forward Fletcher was a class act throughout. He kept digging in, trying to help create some danger in the second half and always in good positions around Wimbledon's box. It eventually paid off when the ball dropped perfectly to him and he was finally able to break the deadlock and send Wrexham on their way to victory.

• THE BIG LOSER

  Wimbledon forward Josh Davison capitalised on a mistake from Wrexham defender Ben Tozer and had the visitors' best chance of the entire game early in the second half. Wimbledon were on top throughout and desperate to capitalise on their dominance but unfortunately for the visitors, Davison smacked it wide and Wrexham went on to score 15 minutes later – a game-changing miss!

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• WHAT COMES NEXT?

  Wrexham are still two points behind League Two leaders Stockport County, who beat Walsall on the same day. They will attempt to keep the pressure on their rivals when Phil Parkinson's team take on Newport on January 20.

Fifties from openers Hamish Rutherford and Brad Wilson ensured Otago chased down 239 against Canterbury, and opened their Plunket Shield campaign with a seven-wicket victory at the Hagley Oval.The openers had added 162 runs before they were dismissed in a space of two overs on the third day, leaving the side with 47 runs to win on the final day. Captain Rob Nichol and Neil Broom – who had been left out from the New Zealand squad for the ongoing limited-overs series in India – then added 72 runs for the third wicket before Broom offered a return catch to offspinner Tim Johnston with his team four runs away from victory. Nichol and allrounder James Neesham – who had also been omitted for the India tour – then applied the finishing touches as Otago secured 17 points.The win, though, was set up by the bowlers, who dismissed Canterbury for 155 in the first innings and paved the way for a 61-run first-innings lead. Seamers Neil Wagner and Jacob Duffy made the early inroads and helped pin down Canterbury to 57 for 5. Michael Pollard’s 54 and contributions from the lower order then dragged the side past 150. Duffy returned three wickets while New Zealand internationals Wagner and Mark Craig picked up two wickets each.In response, Otago were reduced to 63 for 3 at stumps on the first day. Wagner, the nightwatchman, did not last long on the second, falling for 17. But Wilson ground out a fifty – he would go onto make another in the second dig – and was complemented by Neesham (38) and Craig (46) as Otago snatched the first-innings advantage.Canterbury fared better in their second innings, with 10 of their 11 batsmen entering double figures. However, among them, only one passed fifty with Brett Hampton punching 60 off 55 balls. Wagner and Craig led Otago’s bowling again, claiming seven wickets between them to bowl their opponents out for 299.Canterbury’s left-arm wristspinner Blake Coburn – who was playing his maiden first-class game – picked up two wickets in the second innings in addition to his three in the first, but it wasn’t enough for his side.

Jos Buttler guided the chase with an unbeaten fifty•Getty Images

Lancashire kept their NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final hopes alive by brushing Worcestershire aside in their penultimate North Group game at Emirates Old Trafford, winning by seven wickets with 15 balls to spare.The lowly Rapids were stifled by spin as they posted only 127 for 8 on a pitch used for a Women’s Super League game earlier in the day. Lancashire’s quartet of spinners returned 4 for 66 from 13 overs combined, with in-form leggie Matt Parkinson the pick of them with 1 for 14 from four.Jos Buttler and Liam Livingstone then shared a third-wicket stand of 76 in eleven overs. Livingstone hit 36 off 37 balls without a boundary, while Buttler finished unbeaten on 52 off 40 with four fours and two sixes. Offspinner Arron Lilley struck twice and later hit a brisk 31.The Lightning move up a place to sixth with their fifth win. They have 13 points from as many games and host Birmingham Bears on Friday. They must win and hope other results go their way to qualify.Parkinson’s economy rate was much-talked about even before this game having returned 4 for 23 in defeat to Yorkshire last Friday. Here, he bowled Daryl Mitchell with a big-spinning leg break in his latest miserly spell.Of all bowlers who have bowled more than three overs in this season’s Blast, the 20-year-old’s economy rate of 5.78 runs per over is the best. He has 13 wickets from eight appearances.Left-armer Stephen Parry opened the bowling and struck in the seventh over to get Mitchell Santner caught at deep midwicket. Pakistan overseas seamer Junaid Khan also claimed two-for.Only captain and opener Joe Leach, who fell to a brilliant one-handed diving catch by Buttler off Ryan McLaren, and Brett D’Oliveira made it into the twenties for the Rapids, with 24 off 17 balls and 30 off 33 respectively.Josh Tongue got rid of Jordan Clark courtesy of a fine tumbling catch at short fine-leg by debutant Patrick Brown four balls into the Lightning chase.Lilley then hit three fours in a row off Tongue at the start of the fifth over to take his side to 34 for 1 and ahead on Duckworth Lewis Stern with rain threatening the Manchester area. He had hit five fours by the time he was trapped lbw by legspinner D’Oliveira as the score fell to 47 for 2 in the seventh.Livingstone and Buttler took the score to 68 for 2 after 10, and when the latter hit Alex Hepburn’s medium-pacers for six over long-on to take the score to 90 for 2 in the 14th, it was the first boundary in almost eight overs. The half-century stand came up off 45 balls in the next over before, with net run-rate in mind, the last 30 runs came in double quick time for the loss of only Livingstone.

Chelsea completing a deal to sign Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder Moises Caicedo is now at the "final stage", according to reliable journalist Rudy Galetti.

Is Moises Caicedo leaving Brighton?

Back in January, Brighton’s defensive midfielder was heavily linked with a move to Arsenal and he even penned an open letter on his social media channels confirming that he wanted to leave, but instead he ended up signing a new long-term contract until 2027, likely so that he could be sold for more during the summer.

The Ecuador international has recently been attracting significant interest from Mauricio Pochettino in SW6 with the Daily Mail claiming that the Blues have already seen a £60m opening offer rejected, but having seemingly since returned to the negotiating table, it appears that all financial roadblocks have been resolved.

The Stamford Bridge outfit will have a more healthy budget now that the likes of N’Golo Kante and Mateo Kovacic have been sold from their engine room, and the 21-year-old looks like he could be one of the central reinforcements making his way to London.

Are Chelsea signing Caicedo?

Taking to Twitter, Galetti revealed that Chelsea and Brighton are close to reaching a full agreement for the sale of Caicedo, with the player having already personally said yes to the giants in the Premier League. He wrote:

"Moises Caicedo, the talks between Chelsea and Brighton are entering in the final stage. Understand the 2 clubs agreed the fixed amount of the transfer (£75m) and now they are discussing the add-ons. Moises is keen to join CFC and he’s pushing for the move."

What could Caicedo bring to Stamford Bridge?

Chelsea and Pochettino will be aware that Caicedo is much stronger in the natural defensive midfield aspect of his game having recorded just one goal and assist in the top-flight last season, so he could bring an excellent layer of protection to the backline should he sign on the dotted line.

The Futbol Division client won 50 out of his 100 tackles during the previous campaign which was not only the highest-success rate but also the most made throughout the whole of his squad, via FBRef, alongside averaging 1.5 interceptions per game in the Premier League.

Brighton’s “Machine Man”, as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, would also add wonderful versatility to the manager’s ranks with his ability to operate higher up in central midfield and even at right-back alongside his usual role, and if possible, he would only excel further under the leadership of Pochettino.

Football as a sport is ever-increasing financially, but clubs are still shrewd in the transfer market, and this list will be showcasing just how shrewd the top clubs in Europe are when it comes to purchasing attackers.

For this list we will be working out each of the top 11 scorers across Europe this seasons Cost per goal, and ranking them based on least value to most value per goal, and some of these results will shock you.

10 Kylian Mbappe: £5.34m cost per goal

Kylian Mbappe enjoyed a fantastic campaign for both club and country, notching up 29 goals for the Parisian outfit and having a stellar World Cup, bringing home the golden boot.

However he falls bottom of this list due to his eye-watering £155m transfer fee that Paris Saint Germain paid AS Monaco for his signature back in 2018.

9 Victor Osimhen: £2.5m cost per goal

Victor Osimhen was the talisman behind Napoli’s first Scudetto win in 33 years, with his 26 goals for the club earning him the Serie A golden boot.

The masked forward sits in 10th place on this list however, with his £65m move from French side Lille in the summer of 2020 leading to a cost per goal of £2.5 million, which I’m sure to Napoli was worth every penny.

8 Robert Lewandowski: £1.69 million cost per goal

Robert Lewandowski enjoyed a very successful first campaign in Spain, winning the La Liga title at the first time of asking, and producing 23 goals in 34 games.

The Polish international moved to Barcelona from Bayern Munich last summer for £38.7 million and therefore ended this campaign with a cost per goal of £1.69 million cost per goal, which is only good for ninth place on this list.

7 Erling Haaland: £1.41 million cost per goal

Erling Haaland is the winner of this seasons European golden boot, with his 36 goals this season six better than the runner-up could manage as the forward went on to win a historical treble in his first campaign with Manchester City.

Haaland sits eighth on this list however, with his £51 million transfer from Borussia Dortmund last summer leading to a cost per goal of £1.41 million.

6 Lautaro Martinez: £1.02 million cost per goal

Lautaro Martinez enjoyed a season of ups and downs, from winning the World Cup with Argentina to falling at the final hurdle in the Champions League final against Manchester City. The Argentine still performed on an individual level this campaign, recording 21 goals for Inter Milan.

The forwards £21.5 million move from Racing Club in Argentina back in 2018 results in a seventh place finish on this list, and a cost per goal of £1.02 million.

5 Jonathan David: £971k cost per goal

The young Canadian striker is the second of four Ligue 1 players to grace this list, with his 24 goals in 37 appearances an impressive return for the 23-year-old, which may result in him getting a transfer this summer.

David joined current club Lille from Belgian outfit Gent in the summer of 2020 for a fee of £23.3 million, and is the first player to have a cost per goal of below £1m, falling just under the cusp at £971,000 cost per goal.

4 Lois Openda: £486k cost per goal

Openda was one of the biggest surprise packages of the season, with his incredible goal scoring exploits helping fire RC Lens to Champions League football just 3 seasons after their promotion from Ligue 2.

The Belgian joined the French side from Vitesse last summer for a fee of £10.2 million and therefore ended with a cost per goal of £486k.

3 Alexandre Lacazette: £0 cost per goal

The first of three players to have a cost per goal of £0, Lacazette sits third due to scoring the least amount of goals compared to the others.

The 32-year-old produced a remarkable campaign on his return to boyhood club Lyon, scoring 27 goals in 35 appearances, the joint highest return he’s managed in his career and 23 more than he scored in his final season in the Premier League with Arsenal.

2 Enner Valencia: £0 cost per goal

Enner Valencia was thrust back into the minds of a lot of football fans following his brace on the opening game of World Cup 2022. In the Turkish division however, Valencia produced an incredible season, with 29 goals in just 31 games.

It is the highest goalscoring season the Ecuadorian legend has ever produced, and incredible value for Fenerbache who picked up the forward on a free transfer three seasons ago, but it’s only good enough for second on this list.

1 Harry Kane: £0 cost per goal

Topping the list is England captain and Tottenham Hotspur talisman Harry Kane, who recorded the joint highest goalscoring season of his career with 30 goals, but missed out on the golden boot to Haaland. It is the second time in his career where he has scored 30+ goals and missed out on the golden boot, with Mohamed Salah beating him to it in 2017/18.

The Spurs academy graduate has topped this list a number of time, but should he depart the club this summer, may well not top this list again.

Three grounds – Eden Park, Auckland; Seddon Park, Hamilton and Westpac Stadium, Wellington – will host the first day-night matches in the Plunket Shield

Andrew McGlashan05-Mar-2017New Zealand will join the floodlit first-class era when the latest round of Plunket Shield matches begins on Monday. Fixtures will be played under lights with a pink ball at Eden Park in Auckland, Seddon Park in Hamilton, and the Westpac Stadium in Wellington – the latter becoming New Zealand’s newest first-class venue.New Zealand’s domestic first-class game is reasonably late to join the floodlit fray. There had been plans to stage a round of the Plunket Shield under lights last year but those fell through due to issues with the lighting in Napier. Seddon Park has previously hosted a New Zealand inter-squad practice game before their day-night Test against Australia in Adelaide and a minor association match last year.The Eden Park match will take on particular significance because the ground is slated to host a day-night Test against England next March. There had been talks of hosting South Africa for a floodlit Test this season, but the delay in scheduling a round of first-class matches held that back.The Westpac Stadium is being used because the Basin Reserve, Wellington Firebirds’ main home ground and the Test venue in the city, does not have floodlights, while the main ground at Eden Park has not staged a domestic first-class match since 2005. The outer oval is normally used for Plunket Shield matches.New Zealand were part of the first day-night Test, against Australia in Adelaide, although they had to be offered reciprocal deals for future matches against Australia to be willing to accept. The game lasted three days on a well-grassed surface – designed to protect the pink ball – and was deemed a significant success. There have since been three further floodlit Tests: between Pakistan and West Indies in Dubai, Australia and South Africa in Adelaide, and Australia and Pakistan in Brisbane.Mike Hesson, the New Zealand coach, believes that day-night Test cricket has a long-term future in the game, although in a limited capacity. “It’s going to happen, it won’t be all the time, but the odd day-night Test is exciting and brings in a different skill set,” he said. “We’ve had an experience with it and there are some nuances; so if our first-class guys can get some experience in it before playing Tests, then great.”It remains to be seen whether New Zealand is a suitable location for day-night Tests, given that the long daylight hours in the summer and a cooler climate than Australia could make evening viewing an uncomfortable spectator experience. These are similar to questions faced by English cricket, which enters the day-night Test era in August.Auckland and Hamilton, generally the warmest centres in the country, are probably the most suitable option (especially given the current problems in Napier). Eden Park has not hosted a Test since India’s visit in 2014 and only one other, against England, since 2006 when NZC opted to move the longer-format to smaller boutique venues.To ensure a longer term for Test cricket in Auckland, discussions are currently underway on building a new venue in the Western Springs area of the city or developing the smaller outer oval at Eden Park into an international-standard ground.If the Test next year is rubber-stamped as a day-night fixture, it will be England’s third under lights following their first against West Indies, at Edgbaston in August, and an Ashes Test at Adelaide in November.

Liverpool hope that no successor to Jurgen Klopp will be required any time soon, but who could take the reins at Anfield when the German moves on?

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Reds boss under contract until 2026He will leave Anfield at some stageTough task for whoever comes nextDEAL OR NO DEAL?

As things stand, the Premier League and Champions League-winning head coach on Merseyside is under contract until the summer of 2026. He continues to be linked with the German national team job every time that position becomes available, but has offered no indication that he will be jumping ship before his current terms come to a close.

Advertisement(C)GettyImagesANYTHING TO WORRY ABOUT?

Quizzed by GOAL on whether the German links are anything to worry about, former Reds striker Emile Heskey – speaking on behalf of – said: “It will always be a cause for concern because when you are a coach – any coach, especially one that has won what he has, tells you that they are not interested in what we would consider the pinnacle of coaching their national team, they are lying. You earn your stripes at this level and then you really want to pit your wits against the best players and work with the best from that nation. At this moment in time he’s probably happy where he is, but surely that’s got to be in the back of his mind – that one day he wants to manage the national team.”

WHO’S NEXT?

Asked if he has seen anybody that appears to be a potential Liverpool manager of the future, with Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi considered by some to sit in that bracket, Heskey said: “That one is very interesting. I haven’t though. There was a bit thing for Stevie to be that next one. You never know, but I can’t see it at this moment in time. Xabi Alonso? He’s doing really well, so you never know with that. I haven’t seen anyone that really sticks out and you think ‘that’s the manager, that’s the next one’. And they probably haven’t seen that manager that is going to be the next Jurgen. It’s going to be tough. You look at what’s happening down the road [at Manchester United], they haven’t got it right regarding who is going to be the next Sir Alex Ferguson – how long ago was that?”

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Getty ImagesDO THEY FIT THE BILL?

Whoever Liverpool look to bring in next, Klopp’s successor will be expected to play a certain brand of football that is both pleasing on the eye and positive in terms of results. Heskey, who took in 223 appearances for the Reds between 1999 and 2004, added: “I think that’s the key thing – playing the Liverpool way. Jurgen has really bought into that and taken it to another level because the standards they are producing now are very high. The technical, tactical, fitness levels are very high and it takes a special coach to get it to that level. Who’s going to take it to the next level?”

Leeds United are considering FC Lorient boss Regis Le Bris as a candidate to be their new manager, according to an intriguing new update.

Who are Leeds' manager targets?

The search to be the Whites' next man in the Elland Road dugout is ongoing, with a host of name already being thrown into the mix in recent days.

Steven Gerrard and Brendan Rodgers are both seen as contenders to come in and turn Leeds' fortunes around, having been sacked by Aston Villa and Leicester City earlier this season, while current West Brom boss Carlos Corberan is also seen as a potential option.

It has been a rocky time of things at the club over the past 12 months or so, with three managers losing their jobs in the space of one season, as well as off-field matters being dominated by 49ers Enterprises' potential takeover.

Now, a new name has been chucked into the hat when it comes to Leeds' next manager, with the individual in question not as big a name as some of those mentioned.

Could Le Bris be Whites' next boss?

According to Le Telegramme [via Sport Witness], Le Bris has emerged as a target for the Whites, as they look to fill the void left by Sam Allardyce, who parted ways with the club last week. Having taken charge of Lorient last year, he performed impressive with them, guiding them to a 10th-place finish in Ligue 1.

The 47-year-old is "already rousing interest" from both Leeds and OGC Nice, and he is "being ambitious" on a personal level, with a move away from Lorient possibly appealing to him, following some new claims regarding his future:

"There are discussions at the moment… I really want to take advantage of the moment in relation to everything that we have been through and close the season in the best possible way. Then we will think about the future in the next few days."

Le Bris may be a relative unknown to some of those who don't follow Ligue 1 closely, but he is being considered an option for a reason, and could be an interesting appointment.

He is a manager who focuses on a direct style of play, rather than a possession-based one, with the idea to get the ball into the penalty area as soon as possible. They do keep the ball from deep, however, in order to tempt opponents into pressing them, so it could make for exciting football at Elland Road.

Whether Leeds decide to go for Le Bris over a bigger name remains to be seen, but it is encouraging to see them thinking outside the box.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has claimed there is now a "concrete chance" Tottenham Hotspur will hire Arne Slot as their new manager.

What are the latest Spurs manager rumours?

Since Antonio Conte left, Spurs have been linked with a number of men who could come in and replace the Italian this summer.

Indeed, the likes of Julian Nagelsmann, Luis Enrique, Brendan Rodgers, and Vincent Kompany have all been touted in the media.

However, it appears that 44-year-old Feyenoord boss Slot is steadily becoming a more and more realistic option for the North London outfit.

Indeed, while speaking about the latest managerial situation on his YouTube channel, Romano revealed that Spurs are holding "internal conversations" about the coach and he is also set to speak to his club soon about a possible exit too.

He explained (1:44): “Also to update on the Tottenham job, because Daniel Levy is still looking for a new director, and then he will go for the new manager.

"But internal conversations, as I told you, are taking place Arne Slot, Feyenoord manager. Really appreciated entirely Tottenham, so he's a concrete chance for the Tottenham job.

"And with Arne Slot, there will be conversations also in a direct way between Slot and Feyenoord this week to understand the potential conditions and the potential compensation needed for him to go to Premier League."

What has Arne Slot said about Spurs?

Pubically at least, Slot has remained coy about his chances of leaving, telling Dutch media on the weekend (via Evening Standard): "We're here for next Sunday's game. I'm not here to talk about my future. That could mean that English journalists are leaving with their tails between their legs."

While adding: "I’m under a huge magnifying glass in everything I say about this subject. So I choose to say as little as possible again … when it comes to new clubs there’s a huge scale in every word I use, so I try not to talk about it until I can say something about it."

But if he is set for "direct" conversations with Feyenoord behind the scenes about compensation and other things like that, as Romano claims, then it does sound as though he is genuinely considering the job.

Of course, though, Spurs are reportedly looking to hire a new sporting director first, so a move for Slot may be put on ice for a brief while as Daniel Levy finds a successor to Fabio Paratici.