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There are nerves in the air at Leeds United at the moment as the brand new Premier League season gets closer and closer by the day.

The newly promoted Whites have been very active in the transfer window so far, as seen in seven fresh faces joining Daniel Farke’s ranks this summer to date, but the German is still hesitant about his side’s top-flight acumen heading into the anxious opening run of matches.

In particular, the German is concerned about the options he has at his disposal up top, with both Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford out of his first-team plans.

Whilst adding in more depth up top looks to be crucial, Leeds wouldn’t say no to additions elsewhere, as a fresh midfielder is now also eyed up.

Leeds pushing for move for £100k p/w star

Before exploring further as to who Leeds could add to the midfield department, it’s clear that the Whites want more Premier League-capable striker options, and fast.

Beto, who Leeds were linked with earlier in the transfer window, has reportedly come back onto their shopping list as he weighs up moving away from Everton, with the Whites’ interest in Fulham ace Rodrigo Muniz also long-standing.

Away from the plethora of names filtering through in the centre-forward areas, Leeds have also been credited with interest in free agent midfielder Josh Brownhill, as per a new report by GIVEMESPORT.

The report further reveals that Everton is also trying to push through a deal for the ex-Clarets captain, but a tricky stumbling block has emerged for both parties.

The hurdle both sides will have to try and overcome is the spending power of MLS side Toronto FC, who are willing to offer the Manchester-born star a £100k-per-week deal to leave England behind for Canada.

It remains to be seen what Brownhill’s short-term future looks like, but if he does decide to relocate from Lancashire to Elland Road, over pastures new in Canada, he could be just what Leeds need in terms of an attacking outlet centrally, away from the more defensively sound members of the squad from the middle of the park.

Why Brownhill's addition could be perfect for Stach

Indeed, out of all the midfielders at Farke’s disposal, new £17.4m recruit Anton Stach is the most content with just sitting back and doing his defensive dirty work.

So much so, Stach can even line up as a centre-back if needed – as seen in his 16 career appearances from this part of the pitch – alongside the fact that the Whites number 18 singled out his “aggressive” nature as one key attribute to his game when speaking just after his move to Leeds had been confirmed.

Games played

30

42

Goals scored

1

18

Assists

2

6

Touches*

66.8

52.1

Shots*

1.2

1.6

Accurate passes*

41.9 (83%)

31.8 (82%)

Key passes*

0.9

1.2

Tackles*

2.2

1.5

Ball recoveries*

5.7

2.8

Total duels won*

5.6

3.4

The German’s aggressive approach on the pitch is certainly more evident when looking at the table above, with Stach greatly trumping Brownhill when it comes to tackles made, ball recoveries made, and total duels won per match last season in their respective leagues.

Having such a lively, fierce anchor in the side means Brownhill will be able to focus even more on his explosive attacking game at Elland Road, with the 29-year-old’s stunning output of 18 goals and six assists last season for Burnley clinching automatic promotion out of the Championship, alongside Farke’s title-winners.

With six goals and six assists already next to his name in the Premier League, too, both Brownhill and Stach could be components of a new-look midfield that just work alongside each other, as the EFL “superstar” – as he was once dubbed by former manager Lee Johnson – attempts to become a top-flight regular wearing Leeds white.

Of course, the £100k-per-week salary at Toronto might prove to be too tempting to turn down.

But, with steady teammates such as Stach next to him, Brownhill could shine as a gung-ho midfield presence up a division, as Leeds attempt to make survival less of a chore with entertaining displays.

Aston Villa in pole position to sign £35m Brazilian ahead of Man City and Leeds

The Villans desperately need to get moving this summer.

1 ByEmilio Galantini Aug 2, 2025

Liverpool owners FSG reportedly have a "strong relationship" with an "unbelievable" transfer target, according to an update from journalist Ben Jacobs.

Liverpool transfer news

The Reds are still basking in the glory of their EFL Cup triumph over Chelsea on Sunday afternoon, as a young side sealed glory at Wembley in memorable fashion.

Away from the on-field action, however, work is no doubt going on surrounding new signings in the summer transfer window, with Liverpool's next manager wanting to bring in players who can suit his style of play.

One individual who has emerged as a shock candidate for the Reds is Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, with a move to Anfield something that would not go down well at all among Blues supporters. He is seen as an alternative to fellow target Goncalo Inacio.

Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi is also being looked at as a potential option in defence, and the England international could come in as a direct replacement for Joel Matip, who is likely to leave when his contract expires at the end of the season.

FSG have "very strong relationship" with Leeds sensation

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Jacobs claimed that FSG have a "strong relationship" with Leeds star and Liverpool target Archie Gray, even though he may remain at Elland Road for the time being due to a desire to develop his career organically.

"Some members of Liverpool's hierarchy have a very strong relationship with the Gray family. But it is clear, within that family, that the development of Archie Gray needs to be a patient one. The feeling from the player and the family is that Leeds is the right place for him at this moment in time. If anybody comes in for him in the summer, they're going to have to give a clear pathway and potentially find a short-term solution for minutes through a loan.

"It's unlikely, if Gray signs for a club like Liverpool in the summer, that he would be getting regular minutes. I think the player knows that and, at this stage, he is only really thinking about Leeds."

Gray has been linked with a move to Liverpool in the recent past, and this update adds real encouragement that a switch could happen in the future, even if that isn't as soon as this summer.

Appearances

32

Starts

30

Goals

1

Assists

2

Tackles per game

2.2

Dribbles per game

1.1

Pass completion rate

84%

At just 17 years of age, the Leeds starlet has a huge future in the game, and he has been a big part of an impressive season at Elland Road to date, starting 30 of his side's Championship matches and helping them sit second in the Championship.

Ali Maxwell of the Not The Top 20 podcast has called Gray "unbelievable", and his ability to play at right-back and in midfield draws instant comparisons with Liverpool superstar Trent Alexander-Arnold, with 22 appearances coming in the former in 2023/24.

The Liverpool star who outshone Virgil van Dijk in the Carabao Cup final

Although Van Dijk won the MOTM award in Sunday’s Carabao Cup final, one Liverpool player was just as good.

ByZak Anderton Feb 25, 2024

The long-term potential that the Englishman possesses means the Reds should do all they can to sign him, and the fact that FSG's relationship with him and his family is healthy can only be a good thing.

Kevin Roberts conceded that further revelations about the scandal 12 months ago would be damaging to the game

Daniel Brettig28-Mar-20194:42

Smith and Warner’s year in cricket wilderness

Kevin Roberts, the Cricket Australia chief executive, has called for anyone with evidence of the national team tampering with the ball prior to the Newlands Test to come forward. Roberts also conceded that further revelations about the scandal 12 months ago would be damaging to the game.Speaking at the Melbourne Press Club a year on from the Cape Town Test that saw Cameron Bancroft exposed for attempting to use sandpaper to tamper with the ball, as advised by David Warner and tacitly approved by Steven Smith, Roberts defended the swift investigation conducted by the former head of integrity Iain Roy. Roberts also responded to the former CA Board director Mark Taylor’s comments that the limitation of the probe to the Cape Town Test left a “grey area” around whether the Australians had tampered with the ball previously.”There’s no doubt that that would affect the way that cricket fans and the general public views cricket, that’s for sure,” Roberts said when asked whether further revelations would be damaging to cricket. “I suppose we’re dealing with the ‘what is’ rather than the ‘what ifs’. We could jump at shadows, we could react to innuendo. If facts come to light we’ll be addressing those, and if that means there’s issues for us in the short term because we do the right thing then so be it, because it’ll benefit the integrity and reputation of the sport that we love in the long term.”Plenty of questions remain unanswered, with CA caught between preserving reputations and trying to regain trust with the Australian public. Corporate confidentiality clauses have been a feature of settlements for former CA employees connected to the scandal, with the ex-assistant coach David Saker notable for his silence since he resigned his post with the national team at the end of the home Test summer. Saker is believed to be subject to a non-disclosure agreement that will expire after this year’s Ashes series in September.Warner and Smith, meanwhile, have been carefully managed in their comments on their way back to national representation after the bans, though it is believed that Warner in particular has been involved in discussions about writing an autobiography that would shed greater light on his part in the scandal and his role within the team.”All current and former employees, like any organisation, have confidentiality obligations,” Roberts said. “That’s not CA being heavy handed, I’m sure people in the room here have had a look at your own employment agreements and clauses in there so there’s nothing unusual about that. At the same time we don’t want to control or muzzle people in cricket.”The richness of debate in cricket is fantastic … we embrace that passion, we embrace that debate. I guess it’s a balance, we all need to respect our confidentiality obligations but we also need to ensure we’re being fair dinkum towards this notion that we want to enable and empower people in cricket rather than control. It’s not always simple to walk that fine line but it’s something we try to do.”Getty ImagesOn the subject of the investigation conducted over 48 hours between the Cape Town and Johannesburg Tests at the end of the South Africa series last year, Roberts pointed out that there was time pressure created by the need to field a team in the final match, without knowing how many players would be implicated. In contrast to earlier in the summer when he stated that the “thorough” investigation required no more probing, he called upon any member of the Australian cricket community with further evidence to come forward.”If they’ve got any concerns about ball tampering or any concerns about any integrity issue in the game, we’ve invited them to report that through our anonymous integrity hotline or through other means that are available to them,” Roberts said. “We haven’t had any such reports, so we won’t jump at shadows, but if anyone does report concerns about any integrity matter prior to ball tampering or whatever it may be, we’re serious about addressing that, and we have a process to address it.”We’re really serious about addressing any unresolved issues and we’re sincere in the way we’re going about that. So if there are any reports or allegations as opposed to innuendo, then we will investigate that thoroughly.”Certainly the investigation needed to be conducted swiftly, we needed to fulfil our commitment to field a team against South Africa the following week, and we didn’t know whether we’d need to fly 11 new players in to fill that team or no new players. The ultimate answer was somewhere in between. So the investigation was absolutely fit for purpose, but we haven’t rested on those laurels. We’ve made repeated and extensive invitations to anyone to report any integrity matters or concerns about ball tampering ever since.”Following a home summer that presented numerous challenges, not least heavy defeats to South Africa and India before some solace was taken from a pummelling of Sri Lanka, the ODI team under the captaincy of Aaron Finch has run into strong form and growing confidence in India, and the UAE against Pakistan. Roberts denied he was concerned that the returns of Smith and Warner to that team would destabilise what has been building, while also stating that he did not expect the team to be a collection of best mates.”Justin [Langer], the leadership of the Test team and the white-ball teams in the form of Tim [Paine] and Aaron, they’ve had just about a year and they’ve spent a long time together, a lot of time on the road, that’s a whole lot more intense than turning up to a radio station or an office to work with your colleagues,” he said. “A year of this rebuild and a year of doing that together in sport, is probably like three years in the business world or the media or some other world. So I’m not concerned but we are very focused on ensuring that positive momentum continues.”In any workplace we don’t need to be best mates with everyone that we work with. There needs to be a foundation of respect absolutely, and I think there’s growing respect there and we’ll continue to support the players with the right discussions and work those through. As to whether every player in the men’s team or women’s team is best mates with the rest of their team-mates, it’s not different to any other workplace where you’ll have some very close friendships, some cordial relationships and some that are a bit more challenging. But I don’t see it being beyond the realms of any other workplace.”

Ngidi tipped his hat to Dale Steyn, who didn’t play the opening ODI but is in the squad and seems to be embracing the mentor role envisioned by the coach

Liam Brickhill30-Sep-2018

Lungi Ngidi roars after dismissing Upul Tharanga•AFP

A balance between bat and ball is generally held to be the defining trait of a good cricket pitch. But sometimes difficult conditions can make for thoroughly absorbing cricket, as was the case when Zimbabwe made a fist of their defence of a paltry 117 in the opening ODI of their series against South Africa. Both teams were surprised by the bounce on offer, and for Man of the Match Lungi Ngidi bowling on a pitch with some venom in it was “a lot of fun”.”The wicket was a different one,” Ngidi said. “It was a lot of fun bowling out there today. It was a bit uneven. But as we saw how Heinrich Klaasen batted, if it’s a good ball let it go, and then put away the bad ones. It was a challenge for everyone. Driving was difficult, depending on the length. If you pitched it too full, it was really easy to hit, but if you did hit that good length it was really difficult to drive.”Ngidi, who is South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs this year with 21 scalps, provided the first breakthrough in the morning when he had Solomon Mire caught in the slips for a three-ball duck – the first of five Zimbabwe batsmen to fall behind the wicket. Looking to get the most out of the pitch, Ngidi’s variations of seam, cut and pace brought him two more wickets, including that of eventual top-scorer Elton Chigumbura to end Zimbabwe’s innings. Ngidi tipped his hat to Dale Steyn, who didn’t play the opening ODI but is in the squad and seems to be embracing the mentor role envisioned by coach Ottis Gibson, for some helpful advice about which variations to use.”Dale is very helpful,” he said. “He’s our most experienced bowler. And he also gave me a few tips when we were out there: maybe try a few cross-seam balls, maybe the odd slower one. It really does help having Dale in the system, and in the team. There are all sorts of ideas to bounce off him.”Zimbabwe, meanwhile, were left ruing what might have been, had they been able to squeeze a few more runs out of their top order. Captain Hamilton Masakadza reckoned that 180 might have been a defendable score for his own bowlers, and Zimbabwe’s medium-pace was arguably even better suited to the conditions than South Africa’s quicker options.”We just didn’t put enough runs on the board,” Masakadza said. “The wicket played a little differently to what we expected, but even after having adjusted we still didn’t bat for long enough. We needed at least another 50 or 60 to really make a game of it. One-eighty to 200 would have been really competitive.”[The pitch] was sometimes slow, and sometimes bounced a little more than expected. A lot of guys got hit on the shoulder of the bat and on the gloves. But having said that, we still should have been able to adjust. As international cricketers, you come across things like that and you should be able to adjust and make use of the conditions you get.”But the guys showed a bit of character trying to defend 118. We bowled well up front and guys really came out firing.”

The players have been asked to play in the Super50, perform and push for a recall, following meetings between the board and the players’ agent in Trinidad

Colin Benjamin24-Jul-2018

Kieron Pollard high fives Sunil Narine•AFP

A return to the West Indies ODI team is a distinct possibility for the Bravo brothers, Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard, following discussions between the players and Cricket West Indies (CWI). The development could potentially pave the way for the players to be involved in the 2019 World Cup.The development has been aided by a board decision to move their next domestic 50-over competition to October this year, instead of February 2019 – a switch that means there will be minimal clash between the Super50 and the various domestic Twenty20 leagues Caribbean stars are such an integral part of.The players have been asked to play in the Super50, perform and push for a recall.”The overall message to Pollard, the Bravo brothers and Narine was ‘come and play in the Super50 Cup’, so that Courtney [Browne, chairman of selectors] and his selection panel will have all the players in system playing,” Johnny Grave, board CEO, told ESPNcricinfo.”This will not only increase the standard and hopefully give the panel a headache but will help our selectors better gauge and assess our young players if they’re scoring runs against Dwayne Bravo or Sunil in the final overs or getting Darren [Bravo] and Pollard out.”Browne told ESPNcricinfo he was looking forward to seeing the players in action. “It’s a very important tournament for us in preparation for the World Cup. People that want to put their names in the hat for consideration would need to play Super50 and perform.”Although far from resolved, this would represent a distinct thaw in the relationship between the board and players in what has been a difficult year. It began with Narine, Pollard and Darren Bravo choosing the PSL over helping West Indies in their World Cup Qualifiers, a decision that left Grave and CWI “hugely disappointed”.Matters escalated in April when the Bravo brothers, Pollard and Narine claimed they were denied an opportunity to help the Caribbean after being ignored for a Hurricane Relief charity game between West Indies and a World XI side.Dwayne Bravo embraces Sunil Narine after the latter dismissed Kamran Akmal•Getty Images

Even then, however, Grave had spoken of meeting with the players after the IPL to discuss futures, meetings which have now taken place. This breakthrough of sorts continues Graves’ policy of building bridges with disaffected players. Last year’s amnesty resulted in Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels returning to the team, Andre Russell’s recent selection into a West Indies squad, improved player contracts and now this olive branch.”Jimmy Adams [director cricket operations] and I met with Dwayne, Darren, Pollard and Narine’s agent in Trinidad,” Grave said. “We met with them individually because they all have different circumstances. I would describe the meetings as positive, as everyone was looking to the future rather than the past.”We talked through our entire schedule, not just now and to the 2019 World Cup, but also through all the matches and tours scheduled up to the World T20 in Australia 2020.”We asked the players individually to take time to consider the requirements of Cricket West Indies, where we are going with the teams and how we are looking for prepare for international series.”We have asked them to send us in writing a summary of their reflections confirming their availability and commitment to play for the Windies in different formats of the game.”The scheduling switch of the Super50, Grave said, wasn’t aimed at getting the quartet to play but the result of a holistic reviw of the domestic system.”We changed the contractual year to start July 1st, so that the off-season would be April-June when we would do new contracts, appraisals and renewals, while players in the system can do their core conditioning work, as well as obviously have a break”, Grave explained.”So now we start contracts in July and go almost straight into CPL. Hence in the review it just made sense to continue with white-ball cricket by having the Super50 in November with October to prepare for the change in format.”Only because we are hosting the ICC Women’s World T20 in the Caribbean it meant moving the Super50 to October for this year.”That switch has coincided with the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) moving to January, instead of its November slot. Grave said CWI had discussions with BCB on the matter, as West Indies are due to tour Bangladesh in November.”It has transpired that the only league we will be clashing with this year is the Afghanistan League but you are always going to clash with some T20 league whenever you schedule it,” Grave said. “But it has potentially fallen at a good time as we used to clash with both the Big Bash and Pakistan Super League.”We had discussions with BCB [Bangladesh Cricket Board] around when the BPL would be as we are touring them in November. We were very clear to them our Super50 was in October and it would be less disruptive for us if the BPL was played in January.”That’s probably the only tactical thing we have done with our schedules to assist players in having this window available to play for us in the Super50.”

Rub of the green, invisible heroes, plants in rival teams… is it too early to say ?

Sidharth Monga26-May-2022Forget the role clarity. Never mind the death bowling of Harshal Patel and death batting of Dinesh Karthik. Leave aside Wanindu Hasaranga in the middle overs. If you are a Royal Challengers Bangalore fan and believe in signs, you are probably already playing “” at wedding celebrations. For it looks destined right now that this is Royal Challengers’ year. You probably know more signs than us, but here are a few that are staring us right in the face.If you haven’t noticed these, you either don’t follow IPL or are just trying to be a hipster by following only teams that have no connect with the geographical units they claim to represent: Rajasthan Royals or Punjab Kings or whatever their name was last week or Delhi Capitals.

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Watch live coverage of Rajasthan Royals vs Royal Challengers Bangalore on ESPN+ in English or in Hindi

DRSYou probably get nightmares of the marginal calls gone against your team or that erroneous short run that you believe ended up costing you a playoffs spot, but this year the rub of the green has been on Royal Challengers’ side. Remember the second ball Karthik faced in the Eliminator? Looked gone for a duck. Not given. Saved by an umpire’s call on the review.Who will forget Rishabh Pant, so trigger happy on most days with DRS requests, being conservative in a match that Royal Challengers desperately needed Mumbai Indians to win against Capitals?All these marginal calls are going against Royal Challengers’ rivals elsewhere. Capitals’ Rovman Powell not getting the no-ball, for example. Gujarat Titans’ Matthew Wade hitting the leather off the ball only for Ultra Edge to not show a sound signature. With some luck, we might even have a year when Royal Challengers don’t demand for an aspect of decision-making to be taken away from the umpires.Related

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• Patidar, Rahul and their different high-wire acts

• Stats: Patidar's big-match hundred

They are dropping your match-winnersBoth Rajat Patidar and Karthik were dropped when the partnership was hardly past 10: in the end they end up with 92 in 41 balls.Also before we let Pant go, he dropped Karthik on five in the league game against Royal Challengers only for Karthik to score 66 off 34 that buried Capitals.Speaking of match-winnersShouldn’t they be Faf du Plessis, Glenn Maxwell and Virat Kohli? Between them, Maxwell and Kohli have played three innings of 40 or more at a strike rate above 140. du Plessis last had such a big impact on May 8. It’s the others who have been carrying them. You would think with two matches remaining the big three are due according to the law of averages.He’s won it with Mumbai. He’s won it with SRH. He’s won it with CSK. This year, Karn Sharma is with RCB. Should we say more?•BCCIWhat are the odds?Patidar was supposed to be getting married during this IPL. It was only an injury to young Luvnith Sisodia – an event so unremarkable that the IPL release doesn’t even mention what injury – that brought Patidar in as replacement after Royal Challengers had let him go. He spent more than 20 days on the bench, and came in only when others played them out of contention. Now he won you the Eliminator with his first century in T20 cricket.Plants in rival teamsIf Patidar is an example of a lost soul finding its way back, another lost soul helped them from the outside. Tim David was part of Royal Challengers last year but they made not a single bid for him at the auction table this year. Only for David to score 34 off 11 in Mumbai’s final league match to make sure Capitals finished below Royal Challengers.The invisible heroStarting 2016, only Mumbai have been able win the IPL without Karn Sharma in their squad even though Karn has played only four matches in the playoffs. That’s four titles in four playoff matches, one with Sunrisers Hyderabad, one with Mumbai, two with Chennai Super Kings. In one of the title runs, he didn’t play a single game.If you think all of Royal Challengers’ calls at the auction table have worked only in a circuitous way, you have another thing coming. They managed themselves a steal deal this year: Karn Sharma at the base price of INR 50 lakh.The captainThe last time a team won the IPL from outside the top two, it was an overseas captain leading them. du Plessis is the only overseas captain in the playoffs this year. Okay now we are taking it too far but you get the drift.

Wrexham are considering a move for former Liverpool and Leicester goalkeeper Danny Ward, who will become a free agent at the end of June.

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• Wrexham plotting Ward move
• Red Dragons targeting Premier League experience
• 31-year-old came through their academy

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Wrexham are in talks with Wales goalkeeper Danny Ward over a free transfer this summer, according to . The 31-year-old will be a free agent once his contract with Leicester expires at the end of June and he is said to be in early negotiations with the Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney-owned club.

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ward played a reserve role for Leicester as they were relegated back to the Championship, with Mads Hermansen playing in 27 of their Premier League fixtures and Jakub Stolarczyk also favoured. The former Liverpool stopper came through the youth ranks at Wrexham but didn't make a first-team appearance before signing for the Reds in 2012.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Wrexham want Premier League experience and quality as they prepare to play in the Championship after three successive promotions. The likes of Ben Davies, Danny Ings and Tom Cairney have all been linked with moves to the Racecourse Ground in recent weeks, but no new players have arrived in north-east Wales yet.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

  Wrexham will continue plotting summer additions to their squad and are still hopeful of signing Tottenham defender Davies, despite the Welshman having a 12-month contract extension option triggered by the north London side.

With the Champions Trophy only eight months away, India’s ODI selections from here on will have to be geared towards the larger picture

Arun Venugopal15-Oct-2016When Jayant Yadav turned up to bat during India’s net session at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala on Friday, he had a distinguished pair of non-regular bowlers bowling to him. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli, bowling offbreaks, were amusing themselves by servicing a group of lower-order batsmen that included Amit Mishra and Umesh Yadav. There was some good-natured teasing of Jayant’s batting as Dhoni and Kohli bantered with the rookie.Jayant is one of the newbies picked for the first three ODIs with the established bowlers rested. Ajinkya Rahane said the arrival of these players was “energising”. Jayant is the only member in the squad without any international experience; he is not one of the 31 players who have played ODIs for India since the 2015 World Cup. He is, in fact, the only player who returned from the Zimbabwe tour in June without featuring in a single game.But Jayant’s is not a one-off situation. Only seven players have featured in 12 or more of the 19 ODIs India have played since April 2015. More than 10 players on the fringes have played at different points, particularly during the two limited-overs tours to Zimbabwe in 2015 and 2016 when many senior players sat out. The likes of Kedar Jadhav and Faiz Fazal would invariably make way for the bigger names once a more high-profile series began. There have also been injuries at different points, a reason for the high turnover of personnel. These patterns point to a larger issue; India’s ODI game has been in limbo for some time now, something that is easy to overlook because of their recent golden run in Test matches.India have lost nine of their last 19 ODIs since April 2015. While these numbers may not tell you much, consider this: India have lost three of their last five ODI series – against Bangladesh, South Africa and Australia – with their only wins coming against Zimbabwe. That they start the five-ODI series against New Zealand on almost equal footing despite playing at home and having swept the Tests tells you the story. India have only eight ODIs from now till the Champions Trophy – while New Zealand will play almost three times as many matches – to resolve some longstanding problems. With Dhoni almost certain to lead the team into the Champions Trophy, these ODIs present a timely opportunity to sort out the kinks.Take the case of his seemingly unending search for the seam-bowling allrounder. After trying Stuart Binny and Rishi Dhawan with varying degrees of success in recent times, Dhoni seemed to have found in Hardik Pandya a third seamer who could biff the ball in the lower order. But with Pandya’s form tapering off in the IPL, the selectors overlooked him for the Zimbabwe series. Now, despite not stacking up attractive numbers in India A’s tour of Australia, the selectors have reverted to taking a punt on Pandya in recognition of the pressing need for a seam-bowling allrounder, particularly in English conditions for the Champions Trophy.Another factor that would have bothered Dhoni is Suresh Raina’s slipping form since the 2015 World Cup. When Raina was at the top of his game, Dhoni could not only turn to him for middle-order insurance, but also use him as the fifth or sixth bowler. While Raina has been recalled without many runs to show in recent times, should he click, it will offer Dhoni the comfort of returning to a proven success formula.One of the more successful auditions in recent times has been that of Manish Pandey; he has not done much wrong since his hundred in Sydney. He has none of Raina’s bowling abilities, but with his attacking batting and fielding skills, he makes a good case for a middle-order spot. There is also Axar Patel, who is a much improved lower-order striker apart from being a niggardly bowler, as he demonstrated for India A against Australia recently. In Ravindra Jadeja’s absence, he has another opportunity to show why he can mimic the Saurashtra spinner’s role.Crucially for Dhoni, he now has Anil Kumble – who is into his first ODI series as coach – to lean on for tactical advice. With Kumble known to be a keen-eyed strategist, there could be a departure, even if just slightly, from the more gut-driven methods Dhoni had adopted in the past. No matter what Rahane or his team-mates say, India cannot afford to look at this series only for what it is. With bigger stakes looming in the form of the Champions Trophy, selection of personnel cannot be a one-off, and will have to be geared towards a larger and a more concrete game plan.

Sheffield United really did flex their muscles during the winter transfer window with a mammoth seven new signings entering the building.

Three of those fresh recruits joined right at the death on deadline day too, with left-field faces Christian Nwachukwu and Jefferson Caceres relocating to England from Bulgaria and Peru respectively, alongside forgotten Crystal Palace centre-back Rob Holding joining on loan.

The last of those new arrivals could signal the end of this Blades stalwart’s concrete space in the XI, as Chris Wilder now goes about tinkering with his side..

The Sheffield United player who could be axed after Holding's arrival

This would be a harsh alteration to make, but Holding’s arrival on the scene could displace United captain Jack Robinson in the starting lineup moving forward.

After all, despite wearing the captain’s armband with pride when selected, the ex-Liverpool man has only started 17 of his side’s 30 Championship contests this season, meaning they would be able to survive without him regularly playing in the heart of defence.

When he has been fit, however, Robinson has been a consistent performer for the Blades over the years, with seven strikes next to his name from 140 games, alongside also being a brave battler at the back.

This campaign so far, Robinson has also won 4.9 duels per league contest when starring alongside his equally formidable partner in Anel Ahmedhodžić, with Wilder once even labelling the former Reds youth product as “excellent”.

But, the 57-year-old will be well aware that Holding wouldn’t have chosen to join the Blades on loan if he didn’t think regular minutes were going to come his way, with Wilder succeeding in the past few games with some last-minute alterations that could give him the confidence to boldly start the Palace outcast straight away.

Chris Wilder's success changing the Sheffield United lineup

Indeed, United’s last win away at Derby County saw Wilder throw both Harry Clarke and Hamza Choudhury straight into the first-team fold for their debuts.

On top of that, both Ben Brereton Diaz and Tom Cannon remained in attack at Pride Park fresh off playing just one game prior for their new employers, only for all these surprise calls to pay off come full-time.

Minutes played

78

62

90

90

Goals scored

0

1

0

0

Assists

1

0

0

0

Touches

19

27

64

60

Accurate passes

8/12 (67%)

16/19 (84%)

34/43 (79%)

27/33 (82%)

Successful dribbles

1/3

1/2

3/3

0/0

Total duels won

1/6

1/7

8/12

7/12

Looking at the table above, it’s clear from the numbers put in by the quartet that all four fresh faces left their mark on the 1-0 win, with both Cannon and Brereton Diaz combining well for the only strike of the day.

Whilst the new attacking pair showed off their prowess in front of goal, both Choudhury and Clarke showed off their dogged natures in helping their team grind out a hard-fought victory on the road with 15 combined duels won.

Therefore, it’s not completely out of the question that the Blades boss would gamble on introducing Holding straight into the first team fold, with the loan defender one figure who could be a capable performer at the level when up to full speed glancing at his 92 career Premier League appearances.

Holding will need to fight hard to secure a starting spot for good, however, with Robinson a rock at the back Wilder can rely on.

Worth even more than Cannon: Sheffield United have hit gold on £30k-p/w gem

Sheffield United already have some top talents in the building away from any new signings.

ByKelan Sarson Feb 2, 2025

Chelsea are in active talks to seal their first signing of 2025, as BlueCo and Todd Boehly set their sights on a versatile forward for manager Enzo Maresca.

Chelsea target new forward as Christopher Nkunku eyes January exit

The west Londoners could be forced to push for a Christopher Nkunku replacement pretty soon, as the Frenchman is reliably believed to have agreed personal terms on a switch to Bayern Munich.

Sky Sports react as Chelsea target striker who can bag "40 goals a season"

The west Londoners have made contact.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jan 16, 2025

Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg has reported that Nkunku is Bayern’s top target for the winter, and the 27-year-old has reached a verbal agreement on his potential contract at the Allianz Area. The Bavarians are also looking to snap him up for Vincent Kompany as soon as possible.

Credible media sources closer to home indicate that Chelsea will push for a Nkunku replacement if the striker does depart, leacing to their widely reported interest in one of Bayern’s young stars in Mathys Tel, who has struggled for game time under Kompany.

Chelsea’s next Premier League fixtures	Date
Wolverhampton Wanderers (home)	January 20
Man City (away)	January 25
West Ham (away)	February 3
Brighton (away)	February 14
Aston Villa (home)	February 22

That being said, a Sky panelist claimed earlier this week that it will be very difficult for Chelsea to get Tel out of Bayern, and their sporting director Christoph Freund has attempted to pour cold water over the prospect of him leaving before February 3.

“He is a very important player for us,” said Freund. “He’s a great talent. Our clear goal is for Mathys to make his breakthrough with us.

“We are very happy with our squad, both quality and quantity wise. Of course, if a player is unhappy, we can talk about it. But the clear plan with Mathys is for him to make his breakthrough here.”

Chelsea have made another approach to Liam Delap’s agents as an alternative option to succeed Nkunku (Simon Phillips), while Bundesliga insider Christian Falk of Sport Bild now claims they’re actively pursuing Borussia Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi.

Chelsea in talks to sign Karim Adeyemi for this summer

The German was sporadically linked with Chelsea in the build up to January, and Falk says that the 22-year-old remains a serious transfer target for them.

According to the reliable reporter, Chelsea are in talks to sign Adeyemi right now, but there is a catch, as this would be for the summer and he wouldn’t arrive this month.

Adeyemi boasts 10 goal contributions from 11 appearances in all competitions (five goals, five assists),including a hat-trick in the Champions League, and can play anywhere across the front three, even as a centre-forward. Other reports have stated he could cost up to £30 million, with his deal expiring in just over two years.