Manchester City are now considering a move for Bayer Leverkusen's Florian Wirtz to replace Riyad Mahrez, with Pep Guardiola believed to be a huge fan of the winger, according to a recent report from Football Transfers.

What's the latest Man City transfer news?

With Riyad Mahrez recently leaving to join Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli, Guardiola is tasked with bringing in a replacement, and there have now been reports that a move for Michael Olise is a real possibility.

Although Chelsea have made an approach for Olise, a move to the Etihad Stadium is now believed to be "very probable", with the winger seemingly emerging as a key target to fill the void left in the squad after Mahrez's departure.

However, the Sky Blues do have some other players in mind, with transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently confirming that Rennes winger Jeremy Doku is "on the list" of targets to replace Mahrez.

Wirtz has also been a long-term target for the Citizens, with 90min claiming they had reignited their interest back in March, and according to a report from Football Transfers, they could now step up their pursuit of the Bayer Leverkusen winger.

The German is being eyed as an heir to Mahrez, with Guardiola said to be a huge admirer of his technical ability and potential.

Negotiating a deal for the 20-year-old may prove to be tricky, however, as Bayer Leverkusen have already sold Moussa Diaby during this transfer window, while Edmond Tapsoba is potentially heading to Tottenham.

With the futures of Jonathan Tah and Jeremie Frimpong also uncertain, the price for the youngster may be significantly inflated, but the Bundesliga club are willing to part with him for the right price.

One potential boost for City is that the player himself is open to a move, which could make negotiating personal terms much easier should a suitable fee be agreed with Leverkusen.

How good is Florian Wirtz?

There are indications the Germany international could be capable of going right to the very top, with football talent scout Jacek Kulig hailing him as "one of the world's biggest talents", in light of the impact he made after returning from injury last season.

The Pulheim-born youngster made a significant contribution for Leverkusen after showing the resilience to come back from a long-term lay-off, registering four goals and eight assists for the German side in all competitions.

Given that he has averaged 58.61 passes per 90 in the past year, placing him in the 96th percentile compared to his positional peers, the starlet could be a perfect fit for a Guardiola system, and he is already showing signs he could surpass Mahrez.

The attacker is a far better dribbler of the ball than his potential predecessor, placing in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons, with the Algeria international ranking in the 35th, while he has also averaged more shot-creating actions.

Wirtz has exhibited that he is more than capable of being a fantastic long-term replacement for Mahrez, and it is exciting news that Man City are in the race for his signature.

Tottenham Hotspur are more 'likely' to replace Harry Kane with a striker they can develop over the coming years at Hotspur Way, according to journalist Paul Brown.

Is Harry Kane leaving Tottenham Hotspur and who could step into his shoes in N17?

According to Sky Sports, negotiations are continuing between Bayern Munich and Tottenham after the German giants saw their 'final' bid of €100 million [£86 million], including add-ons, rejected for England international Kane and now it remains to be seen what their next move will be.

Kane had just one year left on his £200k-a-week contract at Spurs and is believed to want a quick resolution to his future as his wife is expecting to give birth to another child and is unable to travel due to being heavily pregnant.

Despite his future at Tottenham being unclear, Kane hit the back of the net four times in the Lilywhites' recent 5-1 pre-season victory over Shakhtar Donetsk in north London, prompting chants of 'we want you to stay' by the home support, as per BBC Sport.

The Daily Mail claim that Kane has set a deadline of this Sunday when Spurs will take on Brentford in their opening match of the 2023/24 Premier League campaign for Bayern Munich to complete a deal, or he will commit his future to his current employers for a further year.

Potential replacements for Kane have been another matter on everyone's lips and it is said that Nottingham Forest forward Brennan Johnson, Genk striker Gift Orban and Bayern Munich youngster Mathys Tel are on a three-man shortlist of up-and-coming attackers who could succeed the 30-year-old in N17, as per the same outlet.

Although, the striker is expecting to stay at Spurs, so it remains to be seen as to what will happen.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Brown thinks that Spurs could look to sign a 'project' striker to work with for the coming years as an alternative to Kane.

In conversation, Brown also touched on the Lilywhites' interest in Nigerian striker Orban, though he doesn't believe that the 21-year-old would represent an exciting acquisition.

He stated: "Yeah, nobody is going to be getting too excited if they see that as a straight replacement for Kane, I don't think it would be.

"I think it's more likely that they sign more of a project striker. Someone they can develop and work with and that perhaps that role is rotated or maybe even they switch the system without Kane and try to play with more than one forward."

Who else have Tottenham Hotspur looked at this window?

According to Football Insider, Tottenham could be set to announce a minimum of six more additions this summer as Ange Postecoglou looks to alter the fabric of the side he inherited earlier this year upon arrival from Scottish champions Celtic.

O Jogo via The Sun claim that Porto striker Mehdi Taremi could arrive at north London after Spurs initiated contact with his representatives over a potential transfer that could be worth in the region of £17 million.

talkSPORT reported last month that Tottenham were keen on Chelsea midfielder Conor Gallagher this window and it remains to be seen whether he will become available for transfer as Mauricio Pochettino's men try to push through deals for Moises Caicedo and Tyler Adams.

In terms of player sales, Tottenham look to have put Tanguy Ndombele and Djed Spence up for sale as Postecoglou aims to streamline his squad between now and the end of the window, as per The Evening Standard.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsNeil Wagner’s role in New Zealand’s set-up is unambiguous. In an attack with world-class swing bowlers, Wagner is tasked with pushing batsmen back with a hard length.When West Indies’ openers put on a display of impeccable defensive technique on the first morning, New Zealand changed tact, employing a barrage of short balls to a solid top order. It played right into Wagner’s hands, who ripped through West Indies with a career-best 7 for 39, the fourth-best Test figures by a New Zealand bowler, to topple the visitors over for 134 on the first day in Wellington. New Zealand then added 85 runs for the loss of two wickets, cutting their deficit to just 49 at stumps.After Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell put on a 59-run opening partnership, captain Kane Williamson’s hand was forced. He had a short leg and leg gully, and pushed out fine leg and square leg for Wagner. West Indies, it seemed, were more comfortable pulling than fending. Brathwaite’s first boundary was a top-edged pull for six over the keeper in the 21st over.Wagner, from around the wicket, continued to angle short deliveries into their ribs. Brathwaite, trying to defend with a straight bat, then awkwardly fended a catch to short leg, only giving Wagner more oomph in his spell.On the stroke of lunch, a short ball from Trent Boult didn’t climb as steeply as Powell had expected. He dropped his hands to let it go, but the ball ricocheted low to third slip off the glove. The scales evened out after a dominating morning for West Indies.The session turned decisively in New Zealand’s favour as Shimron Hetmyer, who struck three delectable boundaries in his 13, also fended a catch to second slip, unable to sway out of the line of a short delivery from Wagner. Those wickets prior to lunch did substantial mental damage, and their change in technique was evident.Shai Hope gloved a wafted pull to the keeper down the leg side two balls after the break. Sunil Ambris, standing deep in the crease anticipating another bouncer, clipped a back-of-a-length delivery to fine leg, but his backward momentum meant his back foot clipped the stump. Ambris hit wicket b Wagner 0 (1) on debut.Roston Chase also chose to stand leg side of the ball to get into a better position to face the short delivery. All that helped him do was clip a leg-side delivery into the hands of leg gully. The ball of the day came immediately after. Wagner delivered the perfect yorker to Jason Holder off his first ball. Not crouching as much as he should have, the ball crept under Holder’s poke to hit off stump.A score of 59 for 0 quickly turned miserable as West Indies slumped to 105 for 9. The last pair of Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach added a defiant 29-run stand before Wagner had Gabriel caught at second slip to finish with seven wickets.New Zealand’s openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval were rather comfortable for the majority of the evening session. On a pitch with sufficient grass, but almost no lateral movement, it was hard grafting for the seamers. Latham left well, and drove and pulled effectively too en route to 37 before he swatted a pull to mid-on off Holder.Roach then gave West Indies a chance by dismissing New Zealand’s best batsman, Williamson. A short ball that started wide enticed Williamson into a cut, but inward movement after pitching made it a risky stroke. Williamson ended up slashing a ball too close to him to the finer of two gullies.It was a sour start to the tour for West Indies, but they started the day well. Both openers played close to their body and waited for the bowlers to err in areas they could benefit from. They would also have been pleasantly surprised by the lack of either seam or swing for New Zealand’s seamers through the first session.Boult often hit the perfect area – fuller than a good length – in his opening spell. He usually gets his wickets when the ball swings from that length, but with no lateral movement available, the openers were comfortable leaving or defending. Boult began the day with three straight maidens.Matt Henry, brought in for Tim Southee, searched for movement with a full length, but overpitched often. Powell, in particular, was then rewarded for his patience as he drove straight productively.

Wrexham star James McClean has revealed his incredible Nike boot collection, including a pair signed by Brazil legend Ronaldo.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

McClean reveals insane boot collectionWrexham star has signed Ronaldo bootsWinger aiming for Wrexham promotionWHAT HAPPENED?

Footballers swapping shirts at the end of games has become a common sight in recent years, but instead of collecting jerseys, McClean hoards boots. The Wrexham and former Republic of Ireland winger has shared photos of his insane collection on Instagram, including a signed pair of Nike Mercurial Vapor boots made famous by Ronaldo 'R9' Nazario.

Instagram (@macajw)AdvertisementWHAT MCCLEAN SAID

McClean wrote on his Instagram Story: "Some of the collection, the rest [are] buried in the pile underneath."

On the photo of Ronaldo's boots, he wrote: "Few of the holy grails, the [goat emoji] R9."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

McClean has enjoyed a 17-year career playing for the likes of Sunderland, Wigan, West Brom, Stoke and now Wrexham. Given that he was playing for Derry City when Ronaldo retired in 2011 as a Corinthians player, it seems likely McClean was either gifted the legendary striker's boots or bought them himself.

Instagram (@macajw)ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MCCLEAN?

Building and looking after such a huge boot collection must take up a fair amount of time, but on the pitch, McClean will be focused on helping Wrexham's push for promotion to League One. Next up for the Red Dragons – currently second in League Two – is a trip to Shrewsbury for a grudge FA Cup third-round clash.

Retaining young players is key to club’s revival, says chief executive, Rob Andrew

Andrew Miller at Hove14-Nov-2017Rob Andrew, the Sussex chief executive, says that the club will not be rushed into appointing a new head coach in the wake of Mark Davis’s departure last month, adding that the priority in the close season has been to firm up the contracts of the players whom the management believe can restore the club to its recent glories.Andrew, who took up the reins at Hove in January after a decade at the Rugby Football Union, oversaw a difficult first season, in which Sussex failed to secure a return to the top flight of the County Championship, while slipping out at the group stages of both the NatWest T20 Blast and the Royal London One-Day Cup.That sense of under-achievement was compounded late last month when two club stalwarts left in quick succession – Chris Nash, the veteran batsman, who accepted a three-year deal at Nottinghamshire, and Davis, whose 16-year association with Hove extended way beyond his two years as coach.The twin departures represented a further distancing of the current Sussex squad from the great team of the early 2000s, which won the first Championship title in the club’s history in 2003, then added two more pennants in 2006 and 2007. Andrew, however, was unapologetic about the new direction of travel.”There’s been some changes happening, but that’s the nature of sport,” Andrew told ESPNcricinfo. “I’ve really enjoyed the year. I’ve enjoyed getting to understand the club, and we’ve got a very, very clear direction of where we are going and the next few years will genuinely be very exciting.”It was pretty clear when I looked into the job that the club had maybe been treading water a little, probably for the last two or three years really, with short-term signings – some have worked, some haven’t. But it takes time to rebuild a side, especially when you’ve been on a very successful period.”With that in mind, Andrew would not be drawn on the possible contenders for the role of head coach. Two of the club’s most notable ex-players – the title-winning captain, Chris Adams, and the former England wicketkeeper, Matt Prior – have both been linked with a return to Hove, but beyond insisting that interest in the coaching vacancy had been high, the CEO remained tight-lipped.
“I’m not going to get dragged into speculation, but we will make the right appointment as head coach,” he said. “We are not in any great hurry, there’s no timeline on it because it’s a big decision that we’ve got to get right. The club hasn’t really had that many coaching changes if you look back at how long Mark was here [initially as 2nd XI coach], and Mark Robinson before that.”Behind the scenes, Sussex have been identifying the players that they believe will form the core of the team in the future. Luke Wells recently committed to another two years, as did Chris Jordan, while Luke Wright and George Garton – their hugely talented left-arm quick who was last week called up to reinforce England’s Ashes squad – have both extended their contracts until the end of 2020.”He’s very talented, very young, and still very inexperienced,” Andrew said of Garton. “We’ve all got to be a bit careful not to get too carried away.”We have got some very talented young players – George is one of them, Jofra Archer is one of the first names I came across when we first joined, Stuart Whittingham, Abe Sakande … these are very talented young bowlers coming through the system.”But we also need experience around the place, we need our experienced players to step up and with the signing of Stiaan van Zyl and David Wiese, there were signs last season that they were getting used to the club. Luke Wells was the second-highest run-scorer in the country, but we need to be more consistent.”In the longer term, however, Sussex’s hopes for a full-blown regeneration may be hampered by the looming upheaval in English domestic cricket – namely the launch of the new-team T20 competition in 2020.The details of the tournament remain to be thrashed out, but despite Hove’s history as county pioneers – in 1999, they became the first English club to install permanent floodlights – the size of the venue means that they face being overlooked when it comes to the allocation of these new marquee fixtures.”It’s something I’ve tried to get my head round since I started,” Andrew said. “It’s been the big talking point. We are now into the nuts and bolts, the nitty-gritty of what is it going to look like and what impact is it going to have on counties – who will be a host, and who won’t.”From my perspective, I hope it won’t have a negative impact on Sussex, because the whole premise of the new competition is that all 18 counties benefit, and share in the rewards. We all need it to be successful. And we don’t need a split between Test-match and non-Test match grounds.”I’m confident that a club like Sussex can be successful in all formats, just look at what Essex did in the County Championship this year.”As for whether Sussex need to consider finding a new home for a new era of county cricket, Andrew insisted this was highly unlikely, without ruling out the possibility entirely.”I haven’t been here long enough to really understand the politics of the club, but I think it would be very, very unusual if we were to consider moving from here,” he said.”I think we need to improve the ground and that’s something we need to look at, but this is a fantastic county ground. We can be successful from here, we can retain our best young players, which is what we’ve done in the last month, and we’ve proven that.”Cricket’s got into too much debt because of the push to get more and more Test grounds,” he added. “There is possibly going to be less Test cricket but more Test grounds, so us going and building another one is probably not a clever idea.”

Given he is also keeping wickets, it is possible Bancroft could be included in any one of three ways in the Australian side: as an opener, No. 6 batsman or gloveman

Daniel Brettig13-Nov-2017Getty ImagesCameron Bancroft built a near undeniable case for Ashes selection by adding another innings of real substance to his Sheffield Shield ledger against South Australia at the WACA Ground.Pushed as a candidate by his state coach Justin Langer, Bancroft batted throughout day one to finish on an unbeaten 161, aided by a freewheeling 95 from the Western Australia captain Mitchell Marsh.Given he is also keeping wickets, it is possible Bancroft could be included in any one of three ways in the Australian side: as an opener, No. 6 batsman or gloveman. Either way, he is fitting the definition of “banging the door down” the selectors have been looking for.There were less glad tidings for Shaun Marsh, Hilton Cartwright and the returning Marcus Stoinis. All made starts before being dismissed, Marsh dragging on, Cartwright bowled between bat and pad, and Stoinis caught behind.SA’s bowlers were largely unable to stem the scoring rate, though the wicketkeeper Alex Carey claimed a pair of catches and the recalled Kane Richardson was economical.

Chelsea are “back in the race” to bring Dynamo Moscow attacking midfielder Arsen Zakharyan to the Premier League, according to reliable journalist Nizaar Kinsella.

Is Arsen Zakharyan leaving Dynamo Moscow?

The Russia international’s contract is set to expire in less than a year meaning that now will be Marcel Licka’s final opportunity to cash in should he not want to lose his prized asset for free, and having emerged as his club’s overall second best-performing player so far this season with a WhoScored match rating of 7.41, he won’t be short of potential suitors should he depart.

The VTB Arena’s academy graduate reportedly agreed a deal to join the Blues last summer, but the switch fell through due to UK sanctions amid his nation’s ongoing war with Ukraine, though that didn’t stop Todd Boehly from keeping a close eye on his target for Mauricio Pochettino.

Read The Latest Chelsea Transfer News HERE…

Writing in his column for CaughtOffside in January, Fabrizio Romano confirmed that the SW6 outfit maintain an admiration for the 20-year-old, who would be keen to complete the move to Stamford Bridge. He said:

“Chelsea are still interested in signing Zakharyan, for sure. He’s one of the talents they are following, but Chelsea are working on many deals so the timing cannot always be fast, that’s absolutely normal. The player would love to join Chelsea.”

Are Chelsea signing Arsen Zakharyan?

Taking to Twitter, Kinsella revealed that Chelsea, even now, are still looking to land Zakharyan, and could do so with the help of their sister-club Strasbourg. He wrote:

“Chelsea are back in the race to sign Arsen Zakharyan, albeit through Strasbourg.”

According to Kinsella in The Evening Standard, Strasbourg have recruited agent Rafaela Pimenta to “win” the battle for the central talisman, who has a £12.6m release clause included in his deal.

The Dynamo Moscow star is “increasingly attracted” to the multi-club project, and with chiefs in the capital having “long been admirers” of their target, they are “stocking” the Ligue 1 side with players that “may someday be capable of making the switch” to the Premier League.

How good is Arsen Zakharyan?

Chelsea are clearly serious about signing Zakharyan one way or another having made yet another move for him, and it’s no surprise having previously been dubbed “outrageous” by talent scout Jacek Kulig. Should he put pen to paper, the attacking midfielder would be an excellent addition for the long-term future of the club.

In the Premier Liga last season, the Samara native posted 13 goal contributions (nine assists and four goals) in 27 appearances, whilst averaging 2.8 key passes per game, highlighting the prolific impact he makes in the final third when it comes to creating chances for himself and his fellow teammates.

Zakharyan, who received his division’s Best Young Player award in 2021, would also provide the boss with wonderful versatility having operated in six different positions since the start of his career, including everywhere across the centre and out wide on the left wing, so this is a no-brainer of a deal to complete should the opportunity present itself.

The last time Faiz Fazal played a tournament final, he scored a century, took the Man-of-the-Match trophy and finished on the winning team when he represented India A in the Deodhar Trophy last year. With hardly any experience of playing finals until then, Fazal put his hand up at the crucial juncture, much like how his team Vidarbha has done in the Ranji Trophy this season.Vidarbha were the underdogs when they qualified for the quarter-finals, they were the underdogs against heavyweights Karnataka in the semi-finals, and now, eight matches later, they are still unbeaten after six wins this season. Are they the underdogs heading into the final against Delhi?”I don’t know actually,” captain Faiz Fazal said on the eve of the match. “We have six-seven outright wins so … but we don’t mind. In our minds we have to think that we don’t care even if we are called the underdogs. We don’t mind anything because ultimately winning this game is important for us.”Vidarbha’s spirit, courage and attitude have shown that they may not be the underdogs anymore. They are up against Delhi who last played a Ranji final in 2007-08, under Gautam Gambhir’s captaincy. Delhi hardly have an edge because they have only one player left from that Ranji win 10 years ago. If Delhi won three of their six league matches, Vidarbha earned four wins and topped their group. If Delhi won the quarter-final by beating Madhya Pradesh by seven wickets and the semi-final by an innings and 26 runs against Bengal, Vidarbha hammered Kerala by 412 runs – the biggest margin by runs in Ranji history – and beat all odds to edge out Karnataka in a thriller in the semi-finals.Fazal believes apart from veteran Wasim Jaffer’s wisdom and acumen in the dressing room and new coach Chandrakant Pandit’s philosophy, it is the discipline in the team that brought the best out of them.”The way we played the semi-final as a whole unit, it showed our character,” Fazal said. “We all believed we could win this game and we always thought that this is our game, we can’t lose this game. Even when they needed nine runs and we needed two wickets, we never thought that we are going to lose the game. We were really positive and focused because we needed only two good balls to get them out.PTI

“The discipline in the team, the way the routines and preparations we had before coming into the Ranji Trophy,” Fazal said in response to what changed their fortunes this season. “Except the nets, the match simulations we did, and one more thing is that we are a really happy unit. We all are really happy and we are enjoying our cricket very much. We always used to enjoy but I don’t know why we all believe that this season the trophy is ours. As I mentioned earlier, after quarter-final or the semi-final, that I want to have the feel of the trophy in my hands. I want to have that bite of success so let’s see.”Fazal exudes conviction and clarity when he talks. Unlike the 20-year-old Delhi captain Rishabh Pant, who was succinct and not too revealing in the pre-match press conference, Fazal was at ease, with the experience of 14 years of domestic cricket behind him.When asked about Vidarbha’s memorable season, Fazal went all the way back to their first match – against Punjab in Mohali, where the hosts were bundled out for 161. Vidarbha kicked off their season with an innings win and carried that form and confidence into the subsequent matches, to beat Services, Bengal and Goa in the group stage.It spilled over in the knockouts too, when they had already taken a first-innings lead against Kerala and were placed on a solid 431 for 6 in their second innings, with a massive lead of 501, with a day left in the game. Instead of batting on and on, they declared on the last day and then rolled over Kerala in just over 52 overs, led by left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate’s 6 for 41, to take home another six points.”The way we won against Punjab, they had all the stars in the team and we got seven points in that game,” Fazal said. “That start was really important for us. The way we’ve been playing the whole season, we always want to win the game, not only take the first-innings lead…like we played in the quarter-finals.”We could have batted the whole day and we could have just walked away. But we thought that let’s make a game out of this. We already had plans to declare after lunch and then give two sessions to them and the way we played then for the outright win, this is the way we’ve been planning to play this season and hopefully we’ll continue like this.”Starting on Friday, Fazal will now hope the team’s dream streak stretches for one more match, the players don’t buckle under the pressure of the big occasion and the law of averages doesn’t catch up with them so that he can actually taste success like never before.

After having been skitted for 96 – their lowest score in the BPL – Tamim’s men need to lift their batting if they are to topple Rangpur and join Dhaka in the final

The Preview by Mohammad Isam09-Dec-2017

Big picture

Rangpur Riders and Comilla Victorians will battle it out in the second qualifier to determine who will face Dhaka Dynamites in the final of this BPL season. Both Rangpur and Comilla have plenty of international stars who have lit up the league. Rangpur, however, have had a better build-up to this clash, after having crushed an impressive Khulna side in the Eliminator. Chris Gayle unleashed his firepower, his 14 sixes entertained the Mirpur crowd as much as it did his team-mates and the Rangpur owners.Comilla have racked up nine wins – the most by any side in the tournament – but their confidence was dented by a heavy loss against Dhaka in the first qualifier. In pursuit of 192, Comilla crashed to 96 all out in 18 overs with only captain Tamim Iqbal passing 30.Tamim and the other Bangladesh internationals such as Imrul Kaues and Liton Das need to step up further under pressure. Marlon Samuels and Shoaib Malik have been among the runs, but Jos Buttler has struggled on the slow, dry pitches.Comilla’s bowling, however, looks in good shape with offspinner Mahedi Hasan attacking the pads in the Powerplay and Hasan Ali attacking the stumps with the end overs.

Form guide

Rangpur Riders: WLWLW (completed matches, most recent first)
Comilla Victorians: LWLWW

In the spotlight

The wait for a Jos Buttler blitz in this BPL continues. He has managed only 199 runs in 12 innings with just one fifty. Buttler’s last five innings have been particularly poor: 5,3,11,5 and 4.Brendon McCullum, another big hitter, hasn’t fired like he can. He has only 152 runs in 10 innings but his strike-rate of 97.43 is more worrying.

Team news

Rangpur have Ziaur Rahman, Shahriar Nafees, Isuru Udana and Samuel Badree as replacement options but it is unlikely that they will break the winning XI that won the Eliminator with ease.Rangpur Riders (probable): 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Mohammad Mithun (wk), 5 Ravi Bopara, 6 Nahidul Islam, 7 Mashrafe Mortaza (capt), 8 Sohag Gazi, 9 Lasith Malinga, 10 Nazmul Islam, 11 Rubel HossainComilla could consider replacing Dwayne Bravo, who leaked 45 runs on Friday, with Graeme Cremer.Comilla Victorians (probable): 1 Tamim Iqbal (capt), 2 Liton Das (wk), 3 Imrul Kayes, 4 Jos Buttler, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Shoaib Malik, 7 Mohammad Saifuddin, 8 Mahedi Hasan, 9 Dwayne Bravo/ Graeme Cremer, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Al-Amin Hossain

Pitch and conditions

It rained in Dhaka on Saturday and Sunday’s forecast doesn’t seem very promising either. The pitch, which has been under the covers, is likely to offer some assistance to the bowlers.

Stats and Trivia

• Comilla had beaten Rangpur twice in the group stage.
• Comilla’s 96 all out in the first qualifier was their lowest total in the BPL.

Manchester City are interested in signing West Ham star Lucas Paqueta, with talks taking place over a potential transfer this week, according to Fabrizio Romano.

What’s the latest Man City transfer news?

Those at the Etihad Stadium have added to Pep Guardiola’s squad this summer by signing a new midfielder and centre-back. Croatia internationals Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol have moved to the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League winners from Chelsea and RB Leipzig respectively, but another new addition could be on the cards before the September 1 deadline.

City have lost Ilkay Gundogan to FC Barcelona and Riyad Mahrez to Al-Ahli this summer, so a new attacker to replace the latter appears to be on the to-do list in Manchester.

There have been a number of players mentioned, including Crystal Palace’s Michael Olise, with reports even claiming that a deal is ‘very probable’. Rennes’ Jeremy Doku is another winger who has been linked to the Etihad, but it appears as if Paqueta is also of interest to Guardiola and co.

Transfer expert Romano took to X in the last 24 hours to share what he’s heard on Man City and Paqueta. The Italian stated that Man City have a concrete interest in the player and that talks have taken place this week, although a deal won’t be easy.

“Manchester City have concrete interest in Lucas Paqueta. Talks took place with West Ham this week.

“Not an easy negotiation but City have added him to summer targets list, as @marcoconterio @geglobo reported.”

How good is Lucas Paqueta?

Paqueta began his career on the books with Brazilian side Flamengo and made a big-money move to AC Milan back in 2019. He spent just 18 months and made 44 appearances for Milan before moving to France with Lyon, where he went on to turn out on 80 appearances, contributing to 34 goals.

The 25-year-old then joined West Ham last summer and helped the Hammers win the Europa Conference League, contributing to 12 goals during his first season at the London Stadium.

Primarily a left-footed attacking midfielder who can also play in a deeper role, Paqueta is valued at a career-high €45m by Transfermarkt and was hailed by Declan Rice last season, who said:

“He’s incredible, honestly, he’s absolutely incredible. It’s obviously taken him a while to settle into the Premier League and into the training ground, moving his family over.

"I think now you’re seeing the real Lucas. Some of the stuff he does, even in training, it’s just mind-boggling how good he is.”

As per FBref, the £150,000-a-week attacker has ranked in the top 1% for attacking midfielders and wingers for tackles and blocks over the past 12 months, showing the defensive output he could offer to Guardiola’s side in the top flight.

He also ranks highly for passes into the final third and through balls, showing the quality he also has when on the ball, so it could prove to be a shrewd deal, however, it doesn’t appear to be a straightforward one but one that could well develop over the coming days.