Gomez said the league is accommodating the Argentine superstar above other considerations, even after recent sanction
Arsenal are in advancing talks to sign yet another player for Mikel Arteta, following an already-hectic last seven days when it comes to the club’s recruitment drive.
Agbonlahor slams "very odd" Arsenal transfer decision as Berta agrees deal
The Gunners are shopping “at Asda”.
1 ByEmilio Galantini Jun 27, 2025
Spain midfielder Martin Zubimendi was in London this time last week to formalize his transfer to N5 and sign all documents as a new Arsenal player (Fabrizio Romano), with the 26-year-old becoming Andrea Berta’s first signing as new sporting director.
19/20 – winter
£0
20/21 – summer
£81.5m
20/21 – winter
£900k
21/22 – summer
£156.8m
21/22 – winter
£1.8m
22/23 – summer
£121.5m
22/23 – winter
£59m
23/24 – summer
£208m
23/24 – winter
£0
24/25 – summer
£101.5m
24/25 – winter
£0
Almost immediately after Zubimendi, goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga also travelled to the English capital to complete his own Arsenal move, coming after Berta triggered the £5 million release clause in his Chelsea contract.
The Spanish duo were swiftly followed in their journey to N5 by Brentford captain Christian Norgaard as well, with Arsenal agreeing an initial £10 million deal, plus a potential £5 million in add-ons (Ben Jacobs), to sign the Denmark international as a replacement for Thomas Partey.
Norgaard has been authorised to have a medical at Arsenal (Fabrizio Romano), but according to recent reports, Berta may soon add yet another player to their growing list of very recent new additions.
Arsenal "set to sign" Cristhian Mosquera from Valencia
On Thursday afternoon, news emerged that Arsenal have opened talks with Valencia over versatile centre-back Cristhian Mosquera.
The 21-year-old could play at both right-back and at the heart of Arteta’s defence, if the Gunners can agree a potential £17 million deal, with Mosquera up for grabs at a cheap price considering he’s about to enter the final 12 months of his contract.
The news was originally shared by X account ‘HandofArsenal’, with credible media sources then reporting that Arsenal are now in pole position to sign the Spaniard ahead of RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.
Now, journalist Graeme Bailey, writing in a piece for TBR Football, has shared a further update on the story.
Bailey reports that Arsenal are “set to sign” Mosquera, with talks reaching an advanced stage after “positive” negotiations, but it could spell the end for back-up defender Jakub Kiwior.
The latter impressed alongside William Saliba last season when Gabriel Magalhaes was out injured, but Mosquera’s possible arrival is “set to signal the departure” of Kiwior as he prioritises a return to Serie A.
Called a “sensational talent” by members of the media, Kiwior is apparently preparing to leave the Emirates as a result of this move for Mosquera, with GiveMeSport also reporting that personal terms have already been agreed.
While Mosquera will serve as a back-up option initially, Arsenal are said to believe that the defender has serious potential to become a first-team regular in the coming years.
It’s fair to say Manchester United fans won’t be looking back on the 2024/25 season with any degree of fondness.
A miserable tally of 18 losses in total in the Premier League would see Ruben Amorim’s dismal Red Devils have to make do with an unimpressive 15th spot in the division, whilst a heartbreaking Europa League final defeat to Tottenham Hotspur means United won’t even have the joyful distraction of European football to look forward to next campaign.
It’s a huge summer at Old Trafford, therefore, as Amorim attempts to steer the sinking ship back on course, with a whole host of transfer rumours beginning to bubble to the surface involving outgoings and incomings.
The most notable exit that could soon be on the cards is Bruno Fernandes ditching the Theatre of Dreams, with United perhaps having to sell their standout star so they can finance some top-drawer signings through the door.
Although the ex-Sporting boss remains in good spirits that the attacking midfielder could stay put amidst interest from Al-Hilal, it could well be that United’s hand is forced in this regard if they want to upgrade their striker personnel this summer.
Indeed, French outlet Foot Mercato have reported that United will have to get rid of Fernandes and/or Marcus Rashford to try and tempt Galatasaray goal machine Victor Osimhen to England, with his annual wage costs alone coming in at an eye-watering £10m. After all, the Portuguese ace does earn a sizeable £300k-per-week salary in the current camp.
Therefore, the Premier League strugglers might well have to just bite the bullet and allow Fernandes to sadly depart, especially when you consider the Red Devils are crying out for a new, potent goalscorer away from the likes of a goal-shy Rasmus Hojlund.
That’s where the ex-Napoli man could come to the rescue, with Amorim potentially possessing his next Viktor Gyokeres very soon if his side can spectacularly purchase the “world class” – as he was once labelled by Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley – menace.
Before delving deeper into Osimhen’s own unerring ability in front of goal, it’s only right to look at how Amorim had an instrumental part to play in Gyokeres becoming an equally ice-cold finisher of chances in Lisbon.
The Stockholm-born striker would instantly hit the ground running under the 40-year-old’s stewardship in Portugal, with a bumper 43 strikes coming his way across a memorable debut season.
The former Coventry City marksman is now up to a stunning 97 goals from 102 total appearances for Sporting, and whilst there were murmurs Gyokeres could reunite with his former manager in England, a statement move hasn’t yet whirred into motion.
But, the under-fire Red Devils boss can begin to claw his way into the Old Trafford good books by landing Osimhen instead, considering the Nigerian’s explosiveness in front of goal out in Turkey and across his goal-laden career to date means he could be the manager’s next Gyokeres.
|
Osimhen’s league numbers (24/25) vs Gyokeres’ |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stat – per 90 mins* |
Osimhen |
Gyokeres |
|
Games played |
29 |
33 |
|
Goals scored |
26 |
39 |
|
Assists |
5 |
7 |
|
Shots* |
4.7 |
4.2 |
|
Shots on target* |
1.9 |
2.4 |
|
Goal conversion % |
19% |
28% |
|
Big chances missed |
25 |
23 |
|
Big chances created |
11 |
11 |
|
Stats by Sofascore |
||
Amazingly, Osimhen isn’t a million miles off his Swedish counterpart’s insane Liga Portugal goalscoring numbers, with the Galatasaray number 45 actually boasting 37 goals and seven assists from 41 games in all competitions this season, away from setting the Turkish top-flight alight.
Additionally, away from just twisting and turning Super Lig defences for fun, the 26-year-old target has also proven himself as a clinical threat on the books of Napoli and Lille previously, as seen in his 94 goals for both the Serie A and Ligue 1 titans.
Therefore, whilst it might break United hearts to see Fernandes up and leave, it could well be a momentary, but necessary pain that then results in long-term success, particularly if Osmihen – who could be up for grabs for around £62m – enters the ranks and rips up yet another major league with his goalscoring prowess.
Better than Delap: Man Utd ready to pursue deal for "unplayable" £60m ace
Manchester United are reportedly ready to pursue a deal for this star who is even better than Liam Delap.
1
By
Dan Emery
May 31, 2025
“They took 20 wickets on this pitch, so you can’t say it’s impossible to take 20 wickets on this pitch,” Pakistan captain says
Danyal Rasool11-Oct-2024Shan Masood drew a sharp line between his side’s batters and bowlers after their innings defeat against England in Multan – he defended the batters and criticised the bowlers for failing to do their job. Speaking after the match, Masood lamented their inability to take 20 wickets, largely dismissing the pitch as a mitigating factor for their struggles.”What England showed us is you can find a way. They took 20 wickets on this pitch, so you can’t say it’s impossible to take 20 wickets on this pitch,” Masood said. “We can’t find the easy way out to those 20 wickets, because then we wouldn’t have scored a huge first-innings score. You have to find a way as a team, and the formula of Test cricket is you can’t win a Test without taking 20 wickets. That, and first-innings runs.”We’ve repeated mistakes, by setting up the match and then letting those positions slip. When you score 550 and bat for two days, there’s a human element where there is scoreboard pressure. If in these conditions you are to set up a game, you put up a big score. And then not let the team take too big a lead.”Related
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It was a point – Pakistan’s failure to take 20 wickets – Masood repeatedly brought up. There was significantly less introspection about Pakistan’s showing with the bat in the second innings. He admitted losing “one or two fewer wickets yesterday” would have been useful, but that was about as far as Masood went in his evaluation.Much of the wider talk has revolved around the placidity of the surface, and how little it offered the bowlers, even as the game wore on. Chris Woakes, who removed Babar Azam in the first innings and knocked back Abdullah Shafique’s off stump off the first ball of the second, called it “a pitch that offered bu****r all”. Mike Atherton, working as a broadcaster on the game, called it “a shocking pitch”. Masood would have had little pushback if he’d chosen to line up behind them to exonerate his bowlers, but he opted to take a different route.”It was the same pitch for both sides, and both sides were similar – three pacers and two spinners,” he said. “They found a way, and we didn’t execute as well. Conditions change over the course of a Test, and we have to learn to find a way.”We take the discussion of the pitch too seriously. You plan a pitch for your squad and your strategy, but you can’t control every aspect of the pitch. The last Test we played here in 2022, that was a slightly different pitch. England’s squad was different, as was ours. Here, we expected this pitch to break up very quickly. Maybe around the end of Day 2 and the start of Day 3. Which is why we tried to prolong the innings.”Masood, in particular, blamed a “lapse” from the bowlers with the second new ball. By that time, England had gone past 400, with Harry Brook and Joe Root well into the partnership that would become the largest away stand in Test history. Abrar Ahmed had proved ineffectual, perhaps hampered by the illness that put him in hospital the following day. Pakistan did not make any inroads overnight, or the morning that followed.”The pitch today and yesterday wasn’t a Day 1 or Day 2 pitch,” Masood said. “The new-ball bowlers got a spell; there was enough with the new ball and there were open cracks. That was an opportunity the bowlers had to drag the game back to Pakistan. We’ll have to absorb pressure in that period and improve. These lapses have occurred before. You set up a big total and restrict the opposition, so you can drive the game on the third day. The 220 we scored, if we had conceded only a 50-run deficit, then scoring 170 in two sessions would have been a different story.”Masood’s review of that period may come off as harsh, particularly on Naseem Shah. Late on the third day, he had Joe Root trapped in front off a ball that came in, but missed out because of umpire’s call when a fair chunk of the ball was hitting leg stump. The following morning, Root pulled one off Naseem straight to Babar Azam at midwicket, and it went down.There wasn’t much introspection about Pakistan’s second innings on Shan Masood’s part•Getty Images
The hostility of the conditions is unlikely to have helped the bowlers either. The Test has been played with temperatures hovering in the high 30s and the sun blazing down; high-performance coach Tim Nielsen said yesterday “the heat and length of time” Pakistan were out on the field ended up getting to them.Meanwhile, there will invariably be criticism that Masood has been selective in the way he has framed his argument. Slumping to 82 for 6 on a surface England piled on the fourth-highest score in Test history can hardly be seen as spectacular batting, particularly in light of Pakistan’s repeated third-innings failures. It’s also worth mentioning that a 170-odd run fourth-innings target is precisely the situation Pakistan found themselves in during the second Test against Bangladesh, only for the visitors to knock it off with little drama.Masood mentioned the importance of not falling into a huge deficit to help Pakistan’s third innings, but even when that goal has been realised during his tenure, a decent third innings has not. In Sydney, Pakistan managed a narrow lead against Australia before slumping for 115, as they did during the second Test against Bangladesh after sneaking a 12-run lead in Rawalpindi. This is the largest lead they have given up during his time, but as he admitted, a spicier pitch may simply have meant a failure to put up the big first-innings total Pakistan did.”We’ve got into good positions three times, and if you keep in mind the first-innings scores – 448, 274, 556 – you’d have to accept they are good innings scores. We have to look at the batting and bowling effort and how to combine them, and stay in the game. The third and fourth innings will only be match-winning when the bowling and batting innings are in tandem.”
Marnus Labuschagne has reflected on being involved in the extraordinary tied County Championship game earlier this week and admitted Glamorgan thought they were home in their bid for a world-record run chase.They had been set 593 by Gloucestershire and entered the final over of the match needing two to win after centuries from Labuschagne and Sam Northeast. Mason Crane played out four dot balls before taking a single to level the scores leaving No. 11 Jamie McIlroy on strike. He swung hard at Ajeet Dale, edging through to James Bracey who took a spectacular one-handed catch having removed his right glove in preparation for the batters attempting a bye.Related
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“Whenever you are chasing a big score like that it’s always about one step at a time,” Labuschagne told . “But the ground we played at was [a] very fast outfield so you just felt like if you got on top of the opposition and you scored and batted well, things could get out of hand very quickly.”That’s always in the back of your mind but you are just taking it one step at a time. Then when it gets down to 100 you start getting a little more invested and you get a bit more eager, then it gets down to 50, then we lost a couple more wickets and we are like, do we bat the draw or go all in for the win.”So there was heaps of ups and downs and even into the last over, we got a boundary off the last ball of the second last over of the day, then we thought we were home. Needed two runs off the last over, we had Mason Crane the batter in on strike. He ended up facing four dots and then got a single, so it’s over to the No. 11 to get the job done.”Incredible game…we got their score, we just couldn’t get one more.” The match marked Labuschagne’s last County Championship outing of this spell with Glamorgan which concludes with a run of T20 Blast matches before he returns to Australia. He will then be part of Queensland’s pre-season as their new captain ahead of potentially returning to England for the ODI series in mid-September.Labuschagne scored 468 runs at 58.50 in four first-class matches with two centuries which follows a relatively lean period in his Test career where he has made one century in his last 20 Tests, although hit 90 in the previous outing against New Zealand in March.”The ups and downs of the game is part of the challenge,” he said. “For me it was just a good opportunity to review before I came here on how I’ve been successful, what have I done in different time periods that I’ve been batting well… have done a few technical things and worked on a few things and it’s coming together really nicely, so setting up nicely for some one-day cricket and some Test cricket coming up this summer.”I always look at my game from a technical lens, finding out ways to improve and get better, and especially with my technique making sure my alignment is good, moving into the ball well, all those sorts of things [are] really important for me.”Being involved in a 592-run four-day tie has not been the only memorable moment of Labuschagne’s Glamorgan season with him also lighting up social media with his spectacular catch in the T20 Blast.”It’s definitely the best catch I’ve taken that’s been caught on camera, that’s for sure,” he said. “I took a catch in club cricket when I was 18 or 19, the boys that I play with at Queensland always say it was another very good catch, but unfortunately we don’t have that on camera, so as good as it never happened.”Labuschagne could be available for at least the first month of the Sheffield Shield season for Queensland and potentially more depending on how multi-format players are managed around the white-ball series against Pakistan in November. The first Test against India starts in Perth on November 22.”It’s there in the back of my mind stewing along,” he said of the prospect of facing India, “but when you are playing you are always trying to focus on the here and now.”
MatériaMais Notícias
da aposte e ganhe： O São Paulo encara o Tigre, nesta terça-feira (26), pela última rodada do Grupo D da Copa Sul-Americana. Na primeira posição da chave, com 13 pontos conquistados, o Tricolor está a três de distância dos argentinos. Mas há algum risco de eliminação? Quais são os critérios de desempate? Dorival pode se dar ao luxo de poupar jogadores na partida? O Lance! responde.
da apostaganha： Para os tricolores apaixonados: produtos a partir de R$39,90 na FutFanatics!
Como o São Paulo está a três pontos do Tigre, o máximo que o time argentino consegue chegar é o mesmo número de pontos, 13. Portanto, fica a pergunta de quais são os critérios de desempate para definir o único classificado diretamente às oitavas de final da Sul-Americana. A Conmebol define o saldo de gols como o primeiro critério de desempate. Em relação a isso, a situaçâo do São Paulo é muito cconfortável.
+ Clique aqui e veja como apostar no Brasileirão
O Tricolor tem 11 gols pró de saldo, contra apenas três do Tigre. Ou seja, para ser eliminado, o São Paulo precisa levar oito gols do clube argentino. Curiosamente, a defesa é um dos pontos fortes da equipe de Dorival Júnior no torneio, já que o time ainda não sofreu gols em cinco jogos disputados.
O outro critério de desempate é em relação ao número de gols feitos, critério que o São Paulo também leva vantagem. O Tricolor fez 11 tentos, já o Tigre balançou a rede em sete oportunidades. Portanto, apenas uma ‘tragédia’ tira a classificação do Tricolor para a próxima fase da Sul-Americana.
As they look to take their title party into the summer, Premier League champions Liverpool now reportedly want to sign an impressive forward who has scored 33 goals in all competitions this season.
Liverpool look towards Chelsea and summer transfer plans
The Reds have been in party mode ever since thrashing Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 to secure their 20th league title and their second in the last five years, but must now turn towards Chelsea this weekend. It’s at Stamford Bridge that Arne Slot, even with the title sealed, will be looking to see his side continue their celebrations and prove exactly why the Blues will be giving them a guard of honour ahead of kick off.
Chelsea’s applause will be the first of four guard of honours that Liverpool receive on their way towards lifting the Premier League title, with Arsenal, Brighton & Hove Albion and Crystal Palace to come.
Arsenal’s at Anfield will, of course, taste the sweetest for all those in Merseyside after Liverpool dominantly beat the Gunners to the English crown this season. It’s a feeling the Reds will be desperate to get used to and one that Mohamed Salah has already set his sights on ahead of next season.
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He’s enjoyed an excellent season…
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The Egyptian took to social media to celebrate title success whilst also laying down an early marker for the next campaign, posting: “This is what we wanted to deliver to our fans more than anything.
“This is a club that should always compete for everything and be right at the top. No excuses. All teams win games but in the end there’s only one champion. That’s what history remembers and this applies to next season as well.”
It’s next season that the Anfield legend could be joined by some fresh faces too, which may yet include a 33-goal star.
Liverpool complete Maeda scouting mission
According to The Boot Room, Liverpool now want to sign Daizen Maeda from Celtic after completing their scouting on the forward this season. The Japan international has enjoyed an excellent campaign and has earned the interest of the Premier League champions as well as Arsenal and Aston Villa as a result. Amid such interest, Maeda hasn’t exactly ruled out a departure either.
The Celtic forward told reporters when quizzed about his future: “Well, I’m not sure. That’s a difficult question. While I’m here, I always want to fight and play for Celtic. I want to keep focusing and playing for the team.”
With just two years remaining on his current deal, Celtic could have a decision to make on Maeda sooner rather than later. They already proved that they will sell if necessary last summer when Matt O’Riley left for Brighton in a deal worth a reported £25m. Now, a year on, Maeda could leave for a similar price, following the same path from Glasgow’s east end to Merseyside trodden by the legendary Kenny Dalglish.
Dubbed “amazing” by manager Brendan Rodgers earlier this season, it’s clear that the impressive striker is ready to take the Premier League or elsewhere by storm if he does depart the Scottish champions this summer.
Australia’s new coach has made it patently clear already that he wants thoroughbreds capable of staying mentally sharp, with rigorous physical preparation a key part of his outlook
Daniel Brettig12-Jun-2018When Australia’s players sauntered in one after the other to complete their customary 2km time trial at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane last month, some got quite a shock when they were immediately asked to do a series of short sprints to test their endurance.This extra stretch of the players was no surprise to those from Western Australia, where Justin Langer’s insistence on higher fitness and training standards had been a hallmark of his work in the state ever since becoming coach in late 2012. But there were others who were not used to the extra exertion, and were quickly left in no doubt that things had changed from whatever they had been used to for state or country.”Over the past five years we’ve done a lot of that in Western Australia but to be fair that has backed off and he does work on the principle of common sense so we’re not going to be doing anything over the top,” Ashton Agar, one of the WA-based ODI squad members, has said of Langer. “I think being physically fit certainly helps your mental state and that’s what he’s all about. One of his biggest things for the players is discipline, and the fitness side of things certainly helps.”ESPNcricinfo has learned of at least one player being given a stern talking to by Langer about general fitness and the need to improve his endurance, as part of a wider theme that will doubtless be carried through all the way from Brisbane in May 2018 to England for the World Cup and Ashes double a year from now. Langer has made it patently clear already that he wants thoroughbreds capable of staying mentally sharp despite fatigue, with rigorous physical preparation a key part of his outlook.As he stated on the day he first addressed the team in Brisbane: “To me it is really clear. You need good athletes. You have to be able to field well and be really fit to run hard between the wickets. We have to take responsibility with the bat. We have probably got away from that the past year or so. Our ranking would suggest that.”While much has been written and said about the still evolving area of fast bowling fitness, Langer’s link between fitness and “taking responsibility” as batsmen was significant. Quite apart from the technical demands of batsmanship, which are also being addressed by coaches at the NCC, the physical hardness and endurance required of those who bat for long periods is an area getting plenty of attention.It is being backed up by plenty of empirical evidence, including the findings of GPS collections taken in recent times that indicated any batsman scoring more than 90 in an ODI is likely to cover anywhere between 11 and 13km between the wickets. Such a load is not dissimilar to a pace bowler getting through 10 overs while also fielding.One of the guinea pigs for the 2016 GPS data was David Warner, clocked at 12.6km for his innings of 109 against South Africa at Warner Park during the Caribbean triangular series that year. It is one of the ironies of the Newlands scandal that the bans for cheating have shorn Langer of three players in Warner, Steven Smith and Cameron Bancroft who were all noted hard trainers with plenty of endurance. The way Warner had changed his body shape and built his endurance between 2012 and 2018 was something that Langer, among others, had admired even if they did not always agree with other elements of his behaviour.”He’s a really good young bloke and he made a mistake,” Langer has said of Warner. “I love the way he plays his cricket. The way he runs between the wickets, the way he fields, the way he bats – they’re things that for the less-trained eye, you might not respect as much. Has he got areas to get better at? Yep … we’ve all got areas we can get better at.”Getting better was of course something at the forefront of Langer’s mind when he became the coach of the Warriors and the Scorchers in late 2012 amid plenty of indiscipline and disunity in the state. Among the lessons Langer took from his stint as an assistant coach for Australia over the preceding four years was the importance of not only a strong fitness base but also training for volume, as recounted by Alex Malcolm for Cricket Mentoring:”In the lead up to the first test at the Gabba Australia’s captain Michael Clarke was struggling with his ongoing back problems. The medical staff had advised him to limit the amount of batting he did in the lead up. Langer said Clarke ignored the advice and hit somewhere in the vicinity of 400-500 balls on each of the three days leading up to the test match, including the day prior to the game starting.ESPNcricinfo Ltd”What he had done in practice was train his body and his mind to bat for long periods. If you train in one-hour sessions all the time you will train your body and your mind to switch off after an hour. Is it little surprise then that you fail to kick on after batting for an hour in a match? It shouldn’t be. This was eye-opening to me. I would hit balls four or five times a week but never for more than an hour or 90 minutes. Most team training sessions batsmen generally only get 10 minutes in a net against bowling and have a few throw downs on top of that.”So I tried some two-hour plus sessions the following winter, hitting 10 buckets instead of four, 400 balls instead of 160. The result was six of my next eight 50-plus scores [for Subiaco-Floreat in Perth first grade] were hundreds.”For Malcolm, this sort of volume sat alongside physical training, based largely around the running of short repeated sprints to replicate running between the wickets. With WA, Langer emphasised a similar kind of regime with plenty of emphasis on personal responsibility. In many ways it replicated the sort of discipline Bob Simpson first brought to a then struggling Australian side, shorn of talent by the South African rebel tours, in the mid-1980s.Tom Moody has recalled the fact that ahead of the 1987 World Cup in India, the Australians arrived earlier than most and trained for the sort of endurance that was to help them outlast all comers and claim the Cup.”There were no prisoners,” Moody said. “He didn’t miss anyone with regards to practice and making sure it was done at a very high level. He had an enormous influence in where Australian cricket is now. Because we were so far ahead of our opponents in terms of how we prepared, how hard we worked, and he built a very strong foundation.”The WA foundation Langer set in terms of physical preparation was to be backed up by results, particularly in terms of the state’s ability to produce long innings. Over the five seasons from Langer’s first full summer in 2013-14 to that just completed, WA batsmen compiled 51 centuries between them, six clear of the next best in Victoria. The number of balls faced by WA batsmen, 49,119, was a wide margin ahead of the sixth placed state, NSW, with 45,936.More tellingly, the fruits of Langer’s demands were shown in a notable spike from season one (seven centuries) to two (18), before levelling out in seasons three (12) and four (10) and then finally dropping off last summer (five). Langer’s contract with Australia is for four years. Over that period, Adam Voges and Bancroft were equal most prolific centurions in the Shield with nine apiece, sharing the mantle with Callum Ferguson. Notably, South Australia employed the former Adelaide Crows fitness coach Stephen Schwerdt to raise the fitness levels of the Redbacks, reflecting a broader trend towards more exacting standards.Tasmania, too, has pushed this line, with the coach Adam Griffith – a former assistant to Langer in WA – requiring his players to turn up for the start of preseason training in the sort of trim they might have traditionally hoped to get into by the time Hobart’s winter began to thaw. This is not only about higher standards but also more efficient training: a player needing to spent less time in the gym or on the running track has more time to work on technique. And as the new Australian captain and fellow Tiger Tim Paine said in London, the Australian players’ realisation about the fitness component of the new regime is a recent development, even if the 2km time trial is not.”The style of cricket we want to play we realise we want to be a little bit fitter, for our little things, our running between the wickets, having a really high intensity for 50 overs in the field,” Paine said. “So we realise we have to be a little bit fitter than what we have been to play at the intensity for as long as we have. In terms of the 2km time trials and testing and all that stuff, that’s always been a part of our programs, it’s just that I think now guys actually buying into it and seeing that it is more important because of the style of cricket we want to play.”
Tottenham Hotspur chiefs are continuing to conduct their due-diligence on potential replacements for Ange Postecoglou with the tactician’s future in serious doubt, and chairman Daniel Levy has more interesting names on his shortlist beyond rumoured top target Andoni Iraola.
According to credible reports recently, Postecoglou’s long-term future is now in “serious doubt”, following a dismal 2024/2025 campaign for Spurs.
52-year-old holds talks with Levy to join Tottenham as "rich offer" readied
The Lilywhites chairman personally met with him yesterday.
By
Emilio Galantini
Mar 28, 2025
The Lilywhites sit 14th in the Premier League table and have lost a disastrous 15 matches in the top flight, grim numbers for a ‘big six’ side, and while their plethora of injuries have played a major role in this, criticism has still surrounded Postecoglou.
“When you’ve had your best team available to you and you’ve lost at home to Ipswich, your best team’s been available to you,” said talkSPORT pundit Simon Jordan.
|
Tottenham’s next five Premier League fixtures |
Date |
|---|---|
|
Chelsea (away) |
April 3rd |
|
Southampton (home) |
April 6th |
|
Wolves (away) |
April 13th |
|
Nottingham Forest (home) |
April 21st |
|
Liverpool (away) |
April 27th |
“When you had your best team available, you’ve been 2-0 up against Brighton, you’ve lost. When you’ve had your best team available to you away at Selhurst Park to Crystal Palace, who at the time were stinking the place out, you lose.
“You don’t get those passes. I think you get some of them. So I think that Ange has to be accountable for some of the poor performances.”
Postecoglou made the best-ever start to a Premier League season by any new manager in the competition’s history last season, but the 59-year-old has suffered a serious crash back down to earth after what was a promising debut campaign in the Spurs dugout.
So much so, that Tottenham are reportedly considering a new manager to replace Postecoglou.
It is widely reported that Bournemouth’s Iraola is Tottenham’s leading managerial candidate, with Rayo Vallecano’s former boss having guided the Cherries to a very impressive campaign.
The south coast side are undergoing a damp patch of form right now, losing three out of their last four league games, but they remain surprise contenders to seal European qualification despite suffering their fair share of injury problems.
This has impressed Spurs enough for them to make the 42-year-old their top target to succeed Postecoglou, as per The Athletic and other sources. However, the same outlet reports that Levy has alternative options.
Indeed, it is believed that fellow top-flight boss Thomas Frank is among the other names in their thinking.
The Dane is out of contract in 2027 and previous reports have suggested that Frank is expected to pursue a new challenge at the end of the season, following seven successful years as Brentford’s head coach.
In that time, the 51-year-old has transformed Brentford from a Championship side to solid Premier League mainstays, and there is still an outside chance they qualify for Europe themselves this term.
The Athletic claims Tottenham are considering a move for Frank alongside Iraola, so this could be one to watch this summer. Man City boss Pep Guardiola, commenting on Frank last year, also called him “one of the best” coaches around.
“They are an extraordinary team,” said the City manager.
“What they do always makes sense. Every corner is a headache. They are compact. This season, they have a high press. Thomas is one of the best.”
The left-arm orthodox, who played three Tests for Australia in India last year, has signed with Tasmania after not playing any Sheffield Shield cricket for Queensland last summer
AAP23-Apr-2024
Matthew Kuhnemann has moved to Tasmania in a bid to return to Test cricket•Getty Images
Three-Test spinner Matthew Kuhnemann has signed with Tasmania in a bid for red-ball game time ahead of Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka next summer.The 27-year-old didn’t play for his home state of Queensland in last season’s Sheffield Shield and has made the move south with hopes of becoming Tasmania’s No.1 Shield spinner and push his case for an Australia recall ahead of the two-Test tour next year.Kuhnemann, who has 20 first-class matches under his belt, played three Tests for Australia in India in early 2023. After being flown over mid-tour, the left-arm finger spinner took 5 for 16 in his second Test to help Australia beat the hosts at Indore.Related
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“I’m very grateful to be given the opportunity from Tasmania to join their talented squad,” Kuhnemann said on Monday.”I’m excited to get down there, challenge myself, and help contribute to winning games and competitions for Tasmania.”Kuhnemann will be eyeing a spot in Australia’s Test squad for their tour of Sri Lanka in February, after a summer series on home soil against India.He will also be available for 50-over selection for Tasmania and remains contracted to the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash League.”We are excited to have a player of Matt’s calibre join the Tigers and believe he will play a key role for us in the white-ball format of the game,” Cricket Tasmania high-performance manager Salliann Beams said.”Matt’s left-arm orthodox bowling craft will provide us with a different option to our bowling line-up, as someone who has had success for Australia, and on a national stage in the BBL.”Tasmania lost to Western Australia in March’s Sheffield Shield final, with Jarrod Freeman (18 wickets at 46) their first-choice spinner for the season.Kuhnemann, who has also played four one-day internationals, was stuck behind leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson, who took 30 wickets for the season for Queensland.The Tigers also announced the signing of 22-year-old Queensland quick Will Prestwidge, who played two one-day games for the Bulls across three summers.