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With a total of just 224 to defend Virat Kohli admitted the dressing had “doubts” about what would happen. The India captain was also honest about their batting not going to according to plan because some of his men had played “horizontal” bat shots on a pitch that demanded they play straight.On a sunny Saturday, Kohli had no qualms in electing to bat and wanted to put up a score well above 250. But as the game progressed, and the slow nature of the pitch and a quality Afghanistan attack challenged the Indian batsmen, Kohli said they had to recalculate.”You expect yourself to win the toss and put up big runs on the board,” Kohli told the host broadcaster after India’s narrow 11-run win, wrapped up by a Mohammad Shami hat-trick off the penultimate ball of the match. “Then you see the nature of the pitch slowing down drastically with three wrist spinners [Rashid Khan, Rahmat Shah and Mujeeb Ur Rahman]. We thought 250-260 would have been par, but 270 would have been outstanding effort.”Watch on Hotstar (India only): Highlights of Kohli’s fiftyBarring Kohli, who made his third half-century of the World Cup, every other Indian batsman struggled to find rhythm. Rohit Sharma was clueless against the carom ball from Mujeeb. KL Rahul abruptly played a reverse sweep and paid the price. Vijay Shankar attempted a sweep, tempted by the empty area at fine leg, but was lbw. MS Dhoni’s dot-ball kitty swelled once again before he charged Rashid in desperation and was stumped. Kedar Jadhav played a scrappy and unconvincing innings.Virat Kohli pulls one away•Getty Images

Only Kohli displayed dominance over the bowlers as he rotated strike with ease before he cut a ball that bounced sharply and took his leading edge. Kohli admitted India’s shot selection was not good on the day.”As soon as I went in I understood the pace of the pitch. I thought cross-batted shots are not on on this pitch at all. You’ve got to play with a straight bat [and because of that] I was able to rotate strike. Our shot selection could have been much better – a lot of horizontal bat shot costs us a lot of wickets. You can’t really take the game away from the opposition, you’ll have to respect the pace of the pitch and knock the ball around for ones and twos and work yourself into an innings. But once you lose wickets on a pitch like that with three quality wristspinners…””They really put some pressure on us in the middle overs. A team like Afghanistan who have a lot of talent doesn’t let you play the way you want to play.”What then was India’s plan at the innings break? Kohli said it was to have the “collective belief” and the bowling attack showed plenty, led by Jasprit Bumrah, Shami and Yuzvendra Chahal. “At halfway mark, we did have some sort of doubts in our minds [about] what’s going to happen in the game, but everyone had belief in the change room. Everyone had collective belief that we can win this one.”This game was way more important for us. It didn’t go as planned, but when things don’t go your way you need to show character and bounce back and fight till the last ball. That shows the character of our team.”

With an impressive history of success across all formats, Riki Wessels was not short of possible destinations when he left Nottinghamshire at the end of last season. Yet he chose Worcester, much to the excitement of supporters who had seen his destructive qualities at first hand last summer.Wessels smashed nine sixes in a Vitality Blast T20 match on this ground in August, in an 18-ball 55 that launched Nottinghamshire towards a five-wicket win, a rare setback in a campaign that ended with Worcestershire being crowned T20 champions for the first time.New Road, he said, was his favourite ground outside Trent Bridge, which showed him to be a man of taste. As if to underline his liking for the place, he celebrated his first Championship appearance here by scoring his 23rd first-class hundred.It was a typically energetic Wessels knock, one made with a constant eye for a gap in the field and a willingness to take the initiative. Before his arrival at the crease, Worcestershire were progressing at barely two an over against a disciplined and testing Durham attack. He doubled that almost on his own.That is not intended as a criticism. Having lost Daryl Mitchell to the second ball of the innings on Tuesday evening, Worcestershire quickly suffered two more setbacks as a lively new ball spell from Matt Salisbury accounted for Tom Fell and nightwatchman Charlie Morris, leaving a rebuilding job in the hands of George Rhodes, whose struggle for form last year meant he had not played a Championship match in 11 months, and Josh Dell, a 21-year-old academy graduate making his debut. Their watchful approach was entirely the correct one.Dell made a handsome start, executing a lovely late cut for four off Matthew Potts to get off the mark. The right-hander, born in the county at Tenbury Wells, was given his chance after carrying his bat for 131 in a Second XI match against a decent Lancashire attack last month, but he was never likely to imagine that the transition would be easy.A Worcestershire collapse in the circumstances would not have been at all surprising but Rhodes and Dell stood firm and taking their side to 57 at lunch with no further losses was a commendable effort.They were unable to maintain their defiance far into the afternoon session before Rhodes was pinned leg before by Ben Raine. But Dell was not to be shifted for some while, raising his bat to warm applause after his eighth boundary, steered to third man off Rushworth, took him to his half-century.By this point he was playing second fiddle to Wessels, who had drawn on his depth of experience to take control away from Durham’s quintet of seamers for the first time in the day. He got into his stride with two consecutive boundaries off Salisbury and did the same to Potts in the next over.Durham turned to Liam Trevaskis, a 20-year-old left-arm spinner playing in only his fourth first-class match, at which Wessels’s eyes lit up. Twice in four deliveries, he lofted the ball into the seats at the Diglis End, the second one ending in a dark corner somewhere and needing to be replaced.Wessels was enjoying himself now. His fifty came up off 56 balls, including a third maximum off the unfortunate Trevaskis, and when he and Dell touched gloves to celebrate a 100-stand in 19 overs, Wessels had 73 of them.Dell’s vigil ended on 61 off 175 balls when he was bowled by a ball of full length from Gareth Harte, before Wessels mistimed one to be caught at midwicket for 118 off 133.Durham took the second new ball when it was due but did not profit from it. Instead, Ross Whiteley punished them for dropping him on five, when Salisbury spilled a boundary catch at long leg that sprang out of his hands as he landed, by muscling his way to an unbeaten 62, adding 85 unbroken with Ben Cox to give Worcestershire a lead of 48 to take into the third day.

Jasprit Bumrah’s discipline and wickets shared among the rest meant that the Australians lost 6 for 54 in 77 balls in the final overs

The Report by Daniel Brettig13-Mar-20195:01

India’s middle order still a concern?

A decade ago Australia won an ODI series in India despite a surfeit of injuries. Numerous stronger sides have left empty handed since then, so it was with a great deal of satisfaction that Aaron Finch’s team sealed this victory from 0-2 down, the first time an Australian side had ever done so in 50-over matches, with a disciplined, determined and tactically astute defence of 272 in Delhi.Being 0-2 down is something the Australians have become used to in more than one sense over the past year, missing the names of David Warner and Steven Smith from their team sheet as a result of the Newlands scandal.But there was much to be savoured in winning a series over one of the World Cup fancies in the final assignment before the Smith and Warner bans expire at the end of this month. Their reintegration meeting in the UAE later this week will take place in the afterglow of a first series victory in seven attempts dating back to January 2017, at the same time inflicting India’s first home ODI defeat since 2015.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Tellingly, two of the men to stand up in the former leaders’ absence were those who were directly replacing them: Usman Khawaja gliding to a second century of the series to further press his case for World Cup inclusion, and Peter Handscomb providing more than useful support having been promoted to No. 3 after Shaun Marsh was dropped. Finch and the national team coach Justin Langer have spent some months feeling like they were short of viable options; now they find themselves spoiled for batting choice.Equally the Australian effort with the ball and in the field showed an expanding tactical and technical repertoire, as Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon combined artfully as spin bowlers on a slow, low Feroz Shah Kotla pitch, only a matter of weeks after it appeared that Langer and company had belatedly acknowledged the need to find wicket-taking spinners for the middle overs. Masterful too was Pat Cummins, giving barely anything away, while Marcus Stoinis returned from injury to enjoy his He-Man moment when coaxing an edge from Virat Kohli.India had not lost any ODI series at home since going down 3-2 to South Africa in October 2015. That result arrived only a matter of months after Australia won the previous World Cup so was not considered a major reverse. However this defeat, on the cusp of the IPL, has left India with precious little time to iron out an increasing number of wrinkles. By contrast the Australians can now look forward to a further five matches against Pakistan.Marcus Stoinis is fairly pleased with his work, don’t you think?•Getty Images

India’s chase, and defeat from 2-0 up for the first time in history, opened more than a few questions for Kohli and the coach Ravi Shastri, not least team balance after only three specialist batsmen were selected. With Shikhar Dhawan and Kohli dismissed cheaply, Rohit Sharma seemed weighed down by the task before him, twice offering chances spurned off Zampa’s bowling before charging wildly to be well stumped by Alex Carey. MS Dhoni’s resting for the final two matches provided opportunities for others in India’s middle order, but they were far from taken.All this was after Khawaja’s dismissal in the 33rd over of Australia’s own innings had seen the game change markedly. Jasprit Bumrah’s discipline and wickets shared among the rest meant that the team lost 6 for 54 in 77 balls just as they were looking to accelerate. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja were the chief wicket-takers for India, while Ashton Turner and Stoinis were irritated to have failed to go on from their starts. Jhye Richardson and Cummins put on a pesky 34 runs in 2.4 overs and ultimately ensured the Australians would be happy with their total.Despite Australia’s record-breaking chase in Mohali, led by Turner, Finch chose to bat first and attempt to put scoreboard pressure on India, who also made a couple of changes, calling in Jadeja and Mohammed Shami while dropping Yuzvendra Chahal and KL Rahul.Shami and Bhuvneshwar floated the ball full in the early overs in search of swing, but slipped obligingly into the driving zones of Khawaja and Finch as the tourists made a fluent start. Khawaja in particular was punishing on balls either too straight or too short, while Finch was for the most part content to bat in his partner’s slipstream. Neither batsman was overly troubled as they rattled to 76, and it took an excellent delivery from Jadeja, spinning past the outside edge of Finch’s bat and clattering off stump, to separate them.Adam Zampa is starting to bamboozle more and more batsmen in international cricket•Getty Images

Handscomb was quickly into stride however, maintaining the momentum from his Mohali innings by finding the boundary while rotating strike expertly with Khawaja, who was soon saluting his second century of the series. It was his third in international cricket since he returned from knee surgery with a hundred against Sri Lanka in Canberra last month.At 175 for 1 with 17.1 overs left, a major score seemed likely, but when Khawaja picked out Kohli at cover, causing the Indian captain to hurl the ball into the turf as he released his frustration, the game began to shift in momentum.The ball was ageing, the pitch slowing, and new entrants to the crease found the going harder. Glenn Maxwell shaped to hit Jadeja inside out but could not clear cover, Handscomb’s innings ended when he was surprised by extra lift from a Shami delivery he wanted to run down to third man, and Turner’s follow-up innings to Mohali ended when he miscued Kuldeep Yadav to long-on after he had lifted the left-arm wristspinner for six.At the other end Stoinis soaked up 16 dot balls out of 27 faced before dragging Bhuvneshwar onto the stumps, but Richardson and Cummins were able to pull together a priceless stand in the closing overs to push Australia’s total past 270. From a point where Kohli’s men had looked likely to need to beat the previous record chase at the ground – 281 in 1982 – they were ultimately left with a target of more modest dimensions.Kedar Jadhav punches through covers•Getty Images

Much depended on how the hosts could start, and though there was a sprinkling of boundaries against the new ball, Cummins’ dismissal of Dhawan opened up the opportunity to hunt Kohli’s wicket while the ball was still new. Cummins and Richardson were unable to find a way through, but Stoinis, bowling across the seam and finding extra bounce, did the trick by finding a thin edge through to an exultant Carey.Rishabh Pant threatened for a while, but was becalmed and then dismissed by Lyon’s offbreaks, prodding at a delivery that turned and bounced, offering a catch to Turner at slip. Vijay Shankar also made a start, only to sky Zampa to Khawaja at deep midwicket, and when Rohit was dropped off consecutive Zampa deliveries – first a thin edge through to Carey and then a catch by Maxwell at cover – Indian frustration was clear.Zampa did not have to wait long to celebrate, for in his next over Rohit ran down the wicket, was beaten between bat and pad and clearly stumped by Carey after he had stayed admirably low with the ball. Ravindra Jadeja had not scored when he stretched forward and was beaten by a Zampa wrong’un with Carey again in position for a stumping, this time achieved by the barest of margins as the left-hander’s foot was deemed to be stuck on the line and not behind it.That left India 132 for 6 and seemingly in quicksand. Bhuvneshwar and Kedar Jadhav got the equation down to 50 off 25 balls with a nifty union of 91 that brought the crowd to life and had Finch nervously drying the ball as late evening dew began to settle.But Cummins returned to have Bhuvneshwar miscuing to mid-off, and the very next ball Jadhav was well pouched by a running Maxwell off Richardson, leaving Stoinis to complete formalities by knocking out Kuldeep’s middle stump. At the boundary’s edge Langer, so frazzled for much of the past 10 months, raised two arms in triumph.

Pakistan will have to fight for just their third Test match win in South Africa without the services of Mohammad Abbas. Sarfraz Ahmed confirmed at a press conference at Supersport Park that the Boxing Day Test came too soon for Abbas, with the shoulder injury that kept him out of the third Test against New Zealand ensuring he will play no part in the opening Test.”Abbas is not fit for the first Test, hopefully he will be fit for the second Test,” Sarfraz said. “Shadab Khan, too, will be back for the second Test, but Fakhar Zaman is fit.”Legspinner Shadab has been nursing a long-term groin injury which caused him to miss the home Tests against Australia and New Zealand, although he did take part in the limited-overs games against New Zealand. Opening batsman Fakhar, meanwhile, has not featured for Pakistan since November 11 thanks to a knee injury, but played in the tour game against a CSA Invitation XI last week.Abbas’s sensational performance in the two-Test series against Australia on the generally placid UAE tracks in October – he took 17 wickets in two Tests at 10.58 – meant he was considered Pakistan’s trump card for the seamer-friendly pitches in South Africa. After the shoulder niggle last month, he was initially thought to be ruled out for the entire South Africa tour, before it emerged that he could participate in the bulk of this series. He had at one point been believed likely to win the fitness race by Boxing Day, only for Sarfraz to confirm otherwise.Abbas’s absence means Pakistan are left with just three specialist seamers in Mohammad Amir, Hasan Ali and Shaheen Afridi along with the allrounder Faheem Ashraf. That quartet is all set to feature in the Centurion Test now. Sarfraz also hoped the surface would allow the legspinner Yasir Shah some purchase in the later stages, effectively confirming the spinner’s involvement in Shadab’s absence.

Getty Images

A sublime unbeaten 250 from Marcus Harris and five wickets from Scott Boland have put Victoria on the verge of a crushing innings victory over New South Wales at the MCG. Needing 286 in their second innings to make Victoria bat again, New South Wales crumbled under the relentless pressure of Boland.He forced a mistake from Daniel Hughes early in the innings before Nick Larkin and Kurtis Patterson put up some resistance. Larkin made a well-compiled 53 before he was bowled leaving a ball from Andrew Fekete that snaked back off the seam from well wide of off stump. Moises Henriques was trapped plumb in front by Boland and Jack Edwards was castled by a devilish inswinger from Tremain.The Blues slumped from 4 for 167 to 9 for 175 in the space of 12 overs. Patterson reached his second half-century of the match but again fell to a right-arm quick angling in and seaming away from around the wicket. In the first innings it was Chris Tremain who found his outside edge, in the second it was Boland.Boland also knocked over Daniel Sams and Daniel Fallins for his fourth five-wicket haul in first-class cricket after Fawad Ahmed accounted for Peter Nevill and Jason Sangha.The Blues’ last wicket pair of Mickey Edwards and Trent Copeland survived for 60 balls on the third evening to ensure the game went into a fourth day.Earlier, Harris pushed on from his overnight total of 210 to make an even 250. He faced 403 balls and struck 22 fours and a six in his remarkable innings to put his name up in lights ahead of the Test series against India.Harris got incredible support from Fawad, who posted his highest score in first-class cricket. He made 34 from 90 balls with four fours and a six to rub salt into the Blues wounds. Harris and Andrew Fekete also added an unbeaten 54 for the 10th wicket before Peter Handscomb declared.

Several chances have been spilled in the field by Bangladesh on the New Zealand tour, especially in the slip cordon, compounding their batting and bowling woes

Mohammad Isam at Hagley Oval23-Jan-2017Mashrafe Mortaza had sounded an early warning when he talked about the body-language problem with Bangladesh’s fielders during the first ODI of this tour in Christchurch. Seeing how they have dropped catches so regularly through the rest of the tour, though, that warning seems to have gone unheeded.The 20 dropped catches on tour have affected Bangladesh adversely both in that particular moment and over the larger passage of play. This sloppiness in the field has compounded their woes, which have included batting collapses, the lack of big runs from senior batsmen and the inexperience of the Test pace attack.Mashrafe had tagged Bangladesh’s fielders “lethargic” after the ODI in Christchurch, where they allowed 27 twos and 111 singles. Back at the same venue for the second Test, their last game on tour, Bangladesh dropped seven genuine chances.In the fourth over of New Zealand’s first innings, Mahmudullah didn’t stay down for long enough when a Jeet Raval catch came his way at second slip off Mehedi Hasan. A little while later, his dive to his left at square leg couldn’t intercept a Ross Taylor flick. In between, Sabbir Rahman dropped a sitter at second slip offering Raval another life. Later Kamrul Islam Rabbi dropped Taylor at deep midwicket, and then Mehedi Hasan put Southee down at second slip. Nazmul Hossain Shanto also dropped a straightforward chance at gully; he had already shown poor technique at silly mid-off when Henry Nicholls had struck him on the body twice in the 44th over. Both would count as chances – albeit very tough ones – as it hit him on the full, but the bigger point was why was Nazmul ducking into the ball instead of jumping over it, as close-in fielding technique would demand in such cases.What was also confusing was the choice of slip cordon, where most of their catches have gone down. Mehedi Hasan continued to be there despite dropping two in Wellington Test as well. Sabbir dropped a catch in the first Test at third slip too, but continued in the same position in Christchurch where he dropped that sitter off Taskin Ahmed.Slip catching is considered a specialist’s job and Bangladesh haven’t really found their specialists. The reason for posting Sabbir and Mehedi Hasan in the slips was the absence of the injured Imrul Kayes, a recent regular in the spot. But he too had dropped one, that too one of the easiest chances on the tour, when Neil Broom had edged-behind in the third ODI in Nelson.That is not to say that catches have not been dropped elsewhere during both the ODIs and Tests. Some of these catches going down could be explained as a matter of pure luck – as Tamim Iqbal said after the loss in Christchurch, “it just happens”.* But several of these missed opportunities have translated into New Zealand batsmen going on to make a big score.Clearly, given the despair the matter has caused to some of the bowlers, it has been discussed in team meetings, and efforts must be underway to eliminate the problem. Tamim agreed that specialists need to be found. “We can definitely work on our catching, especially in our slip cordon. We will have more chances going to slips now that we will play more overseas. We have to look for specialists in that position.”The home side dropped catches too, and the issue has been brought up with their players in media conferences. Bangladesh’s extensive catalogue of problems on tour, though, has meant that their dropped catches have not really been questioned much. When he was asked about it, Tamim said the team just could not afford to fluff chances in conditions overseas. “We can somehow manage this thing at home. Conditions are such that chances are created quite regularly,” he said. “Here they [New Zealand] can drop five catches but we cannot afford to.”It takes a lot of effort for our bowlers to create one chance. I think our pace bowlers did very well here. But these things make a difference. It would have been so much better had we taken even 70% of the catches.”The easiest way to react to drops is to blame the fielder first, and then the fielding coach. But that is too simplistic a view. Fielding is about involvement and enjoyment out in the middle. If that’s missing when Bangladesh goes out to field, it might suggest deeper issues to look into. The faster the problem is pinpointed and sorted out, the better it will be for the team.*10.15 GMT, January 23: Tamim Iqbal’s quotes were added to this article at the end of day four of the Christchurch Test.

Chelsea are believed to be targeting another Man United star alongside their interest in Kobbie Mainoo, with two players in Enzo Maresca’s squad heading towards the exit door.

Chelsea approach Kobbie Mainoo's agents over transfer

In the last week, credible media sources revealed Chelsea’s serious interest in signing Mainoo, who is currently in the midst of a contract debacle, as the England international sets his sights on improved terms.

Chelsea "in talks" for first 2025 signing in versatile £30 million forward

The west Londoners have entered negotiations.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jan 17, 2025

The 19-year-old rising star is on just £20,000-per-week at United, which hardly reflects his status as a Three Lions midfielder and crucial player to Ruben Amorim, but rumoured PSR concerns are stalling an agreement over a new contract for Mainoo.

As a result of this, it is reliably believed that Chelsea have approached Mainoo’s agents in an attempt to lure him, as reported by journalist and Stamford Bridge insider Simon Phillips on his Substack.

“Chelsea also still want to bring in a new midfielder this window on request of Enzo Maresca,” wrote Phillips earlier this week.

“However, that does not need to be a new midfielder, and there are still chances that either Lesley Ugochukwu or Andrey Santos could be recalled, SPTC sources have heard again yesterday.

“There’s a chance Santos is recalled too by the way, something that we were not expecting to happen at all, until now, potentially.

“Chelsea have tried to turn the head of Kobbie Mainoo at Manchester United by approaching his agents, and this one is still potentially one that could happen this month, if the player decides he is keen on the move.”

While this is far from advanced, it appears Chelsea are seriously pursuing Mainoo, but he isn’t the only Red Devils sensation on their radar.

Chelsea target Alejandro Garnacho with Disasi and Nkunku set to leave

According to French newspaper L’Equipe, exciting United winger Alejandro Garnacho has emerged as a target for Maresca.

The Argentine is attracting reported interest from Antonio Conte’s Napoli, who appear to have set their sights on him as a potential replacement for the PSG-bound Khvicha Kvaratskhelia.

However, Conte now faces competition from his former club. Chelsea are targeting Garnacho and have “launched” an operation over his potential signing, according to L’Équipe, who also provided an update on the futures of Christopher Nkunku and Axel Disasi.

The £275,000-per-week duo are apparently set to depart west London before deadline day on February 3, with Maresca’s squad facing a serious overhaul in the latter stage of this transfer window.

Going back to Garnacho, the 20-year-old has bagged eight goals and five assists in 31 appearances so far this campaign, putting in some exceptional displays, and he fits the mould of a young, exciting player that BlueCo has repeatedly targeted since Chelsea’s takeover.

Garnacho is also highly versatile, capable of playing anywhere across the attack – including the left-hand side, right-hand side, through the middle as a central attacking midfielder and even as a second striker. However, he won’t come cheap, as some reports suggest the South American could cost £70 million.

da pixbet： West Ham spent most of the January transfer window chasing a centre-forward for Graham Potter, looking to replace Michail Antonio and Niclas Füllkrug who are out injured.

da heads bet： Eventually, in the final days of the window, a loan deal for Brighton’s Evan Ferguson materialised, reuniting the 20-year-old striker with Potter, who worked with him at Brighton.

However, with such focus on the striker position, the Hammers failed to recruit a midfielder, instead deciding to recall James Ward-Prowse from his Nottingham Forest loan to reinforce the midfield depth.

James Ward-Prowse's return to West Ham

Ward-Prowse joined West Ham in 2023 from Southampton, after Declan Rice left the club, joining for a fee of around £30m. In his first season, the midfielder made 37 Premier League appearances for the Hammers, scoring seven goals and providing seven assists.

But, after David Moyes left the club in the summer, with Julen Lopetegui taking over, it became clear the English midfielder wouldn’t have much of a role under the Spaniard, instead deciding to send him on loan to Nottingham Forest.

The 30-year-old has only made ten Premier League appearances so far this season, providing one assist and totalling 559 minutes to date. So, why bring him back?

James Ward-Prowse past two seasons comparison

Stats (per 90 mins)

2023/24

2024/25

Goals + Assists

0.42

0.16

xG

0.15

0.02

xAG

0.25

0.24

Progressive Carries

0.62

0.43

Progressive Passes

4.48

4.35

Shots Total

1.16

0.48

Key Passes

2.10

0.87

Shot-Creating Actions

3.51

2.17

Tackles + Interceptions

2.33

2.00

Stats taken from FBref

Whilst Potter could use certain qualities such as set-piece ability from Ward-Prowse returning, there is perhaps a better option waiting in the academy ranks, who should be given more of a chance in the second half of this campaign.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Expand Collapse West Ham's very own Carrick and Rice hybrid

West Ham’s 18-year-old midfielder, Lewis Orford, has been given a few chances from the bench since the arrival of Potter and could have been the perfect solution had Ward-Prowse remained at the City Ground.

He’s made two Premier League appearances under Potter already so knows the system. He’s also particularly well thought of with the the English midfielder having made his way through the academy, playing both U18 and U21 football for the club.

John Brewin, speaking to the Guardian, is one rave reviewer, speaking extremely highly of Orford, comparing the midfielder to the likes of Declan Rice and Michael Carrick in terms of his overall ability mixed with his tall and powerful frame.

West Ham clearly need support in this area, after recalling Ward-Prowse, but giving Orford extra minutes wouldn’t hurt at all.

It would prepare him for the future and perhaps even prove he is ready now to contribute at a higher level, fixing a fair few issues the Hammers midfield have had so far this season.

Related Their answer to Ferguson: West Ham must rue letting "incredible" ace leave

West Ham may have already let go of their own Ferguson in 2024

Posts ByRoss Kilvington Feb 4, 2025

يستعد فريق برشلونة الإسباني لخوض أولى مبارياته الودية هذا الصيف، استعدادًا للموسم الجديد المرتقب 2025/26، والذي سينطلق في شهر أغسطس المقبل.

ويسعى برشلونة إلى مواصلة عملية النجاح، خلال الموسم الجديد، والتي بدأها في المنصرم تحت قيادة المدرب هانز فليك في بداية عهده، حيث حقق الثلاثية المحلية المتمثلة في الدوري الإسباني، كأس ملك إسبانيا والسوبر الإسباني.

ويخوض برشلونة، ظهر اليوم الأحد، مباراة ودية ضد نظيره فيسيل كوبي الياباني على ملعب “كوبه المنزلي”.

وكانت جولة برشلونة الآسيوية مهددة بالفشل بسبب انتهاكات جسيمة من قِبل اللجنة المنظمة، قبل تدارك الأمر في وقت لاحق والتوصل إلى حل، ومن ثم التراجع عن قرار الإلغاء.

وتتضمن جولة برشلونة، بخلاف مباراة فيسيل كوبي، لقائي سول ودايجو، يومي الخميس والإثنين 31 يوليو و4 أغسطس، قبل صدام كومو في كأس خوان جامبر يوم 10 من الشهر المقبل.

ويبدأ برشلونة حملة الدفاع عن لقب الدوري الإسباني بمباراة ضد ريال مايوركا، يوم 16 أغسطس القادم. موعد مباراة برشلونة وفيسيل كوبي الودية

تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة الواحدة ظهرًا بتوقيت القاهرة والسعودية. القناة الناقلة لمباراة برشلونة وفيسيل كوبي الودية اليوم

تُذاع عبر تطبيق “DAZN” والذي أعلن حصوله على حقوق بث مباريات برشلونة في الجولة الآسيوية.

في حين لم تعلن أي قناة عربية إذاعتها للمباراة، وسيتم التحديث لاحقًا حال حدوث أي جديد في هذا الأمر.

ويمكنكم مطالعة مواعيد ونتائج جميع المباريات لحظة بلحظة عبر مركز المباريات من هنا.

Nottingham Forest’s side that won promotion back to the Premier League in the 2021/22 season will live long in the memory of their supporters.

Although much of that team now plays elsewhere, the men in Garibaldi Red that season wrote their names in the history books as the side who returned the Midlands club to the Premier League.

Despite struggling at the start of the campaign, Forest, managed by Steve Cooper, ended up finishing fourth in the second tier of English football. In the playoff final, the East Midlands outfit beat Huddersfield Town at Wembley to secure Premier League status again.

One of the standout players for Forest that year was Brennan Johnson.

Brennan Johnson’s Forest career

23-year-old winger Johnson came through the ranks at the City Ground. After a loan spell at Lincoln City, he eventually broke into the first team at Forest and became a crucial player, helping the club to promotion in 2021/22.

In total, the Welshman played 109 times for the club, scoring 29 goals and grabbing 12 assists. In the promotion season, his 16 goals and two assists in 46 Championship games, and two goals in three playoff games, ensured he could help bring his boyhood club back to the top flight of English football.

It is fair to say that, in his first season as a Premier League footballer, the Wales international impressed. He scored eight goals and grabbed three assists in 38 games as Forest survived by the skin of their teeth. He scored some crucial goals, but perhaps none more so than both strikes in a 2-0 win at home to Leicester City, who ended up being relegated themselves.

Sadly for Forest fans, he left his boyhood club for pastures anew on deadline day in 2023. Tottenham Hotspur paid £47.5m to sign Johnson from Forest, which was a record sale for the club.

There is no doubt it was a big loss for the East Midlands side, and they could be in danger of losing another star for perhaps an even bigger fee.

The £60m star who Forest could lose

According to a report last week from the Mail, Morgan Gibbs-White is someone who is of ‘keen interest’ to several Premier League clubs, including Liverpool, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Newcastle United.

At this stage, a price is not clear should a deal materialise. However, Gibbs-White was valued at a reported £60m over the summer, with the club likely looking to make a profit on their initial investment.

There is no doubt that losing Johnson was a disappointing thing for Forest, even if the club did not stand in his way when the right price arrived. Losing Gibbs-White, however, could arguably be even worse.

He is the main man in a side flying this season under Nuno Espirito Santo. Forest are currently third in the Premier League on 40 points, the same amount as second place Arsenal and just six points off leaders Liverpool.

Their most recent win was a 3-0 thrashing away to Wolverhampton Wanderers.

There is no doubt that Gibbs-White’s four goals and three assists in 16 games are a big reason for that form. Initially, the 24-year-old started the season slowly, with just one goal in his first ten appearances.

However, in the last six games, he has really kicked on, with an impressive six goals and assists in his last six games. It is certainly no coincidence that his electric form has coincided with Forest winning six games in a row.

Opponent

Goals

Assists

Chances created

Dribbles completed

Duels won

Man United

1

1

1

2

5

Aston Villa

0

1

3

3

5

Brentford

0

0

1

1

9

Spurs

0

1

2

1

4

Everton

1

0

1

1

5

Wolves

1

0

0

0

5

Losing a man with 15 goals and 21 assists in 96 games across competitions would be a huge blow for Nuno and his squad. Those donning Garibaldi Red this season are doing an exceptional job, spearheaded by Gibbs-White.

It was never going to be easy to replace Johnson, yet Forest have found a man who is filling the boots of his former teammate pretty well, to say the least.

The last thing they need is for Gibbs-White to leave, meaning they would lose another of their talismanic attackers.

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