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Arsenal and Manchester United have both joined the race for an exciting French young talent, it has been reported, as both sides look to the future.

Gunners looking to the future

Arsenal are enjoying a fantastic season and currently sit atop the Premier League table as they look to go one better than last season's second-place finish.

Even more impressively, Mikel Arteta and co. have built their side largely on young talent, ensuring that their presence at the top of English football is only set to continue for years to come.

The likes of Bukayo Saka, William Saliba, Martin Odegaard and Gabriel Martinelli are all likely to have their best years still ahead of them should they manage to avoid serious injuries, while Emile Smith Rowe and Fabio Vieira are among those who could still make the step up.

Youngest average PL starting XI 2023/24
Club	Age (years)
Chelsea	23.1
Burnley	23.2
Brighton	23.8
Arsenal	24.3
Nottingham Forest	24.5

It is not just their first team that is making waves though, and the Gunners have begun to place an increased importance on their academy talents, both in recruiting from other sides and developing their own prospects.

Charlie Patino, Mika Biereth and Brooke Norton-Cuffy are all enjoying loan spells away from the club to varying degrees of success. Meanwhile, the Gunners have made tying down young talent their priority, and announced a professional contract for Ethan Nwaneri on Thursday after making him the youngest-ever Premier League player last season.

In securing his signature, they fought off competition from Chelsea and Manchester City, and their focus on youth is only set to continue into the summer.

Arsenal and Manchester United chase youngster

With that in mind, it comes as no surprise to hear that Arsenal are one of several clubs chasing talented youngster Joachim Kayi Sanda.

Sanda currently captains the France U18 side and was part of the U17 side that lost the World Cup final on penalties to Germany last December.

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By
Matt Dawson

Mar 26, 2024

His performances have attracted the attention of several massive clubs, with Manchester United, Newcastle, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain all alongside Arsenal in showing interest in the talented teen, according to transfer journalist Graeme Bailey.

Sanda was among four players at French side Valenciennes dubbed a "fantastic talent" by talent scout Jacek Kulig, and is expected to have a big future ahead of him.

However, those European giants may all be foiled by Championship outfit Southampton, whose owners also own Valenciennes. There is hope from the Saints that the promise of regular first-team football could see the youngster opt for the south coast outfit over big-name sides, though the latest report claims that 'their hopes could rest on whether promotion back to the Premier League can be achieved.'

Under contract with his current side until 2026, Sanda is expected to leave this summer nonetheless, with the club's youngest-ever player looking to take the next step in his career.

South Australia collapsed to lose their last eight wickets for 84

Daniel Brettig12-Oct-2020Ashton Agar and Shaun Marsh led a dominant display for Western Australia to give them a lead of 362 and set up a final day victory push against South Australia in the Sheffield Shield match at Karen Rolton Oval.Having begun proceedings at 1 for 178, the Redbacks lost the centurion Jake Weatherald just the fourth ball of the morning as he hung his bat out to a Cameron Gannon delivery outside the off stump, and never again regained control of their destiny.Agar followed up his century in the company of Josh Inglis by twirling his way to five wickets, starting with Travis Head when the South Australia captain top edged an attempt to clear the midwicket boundary. Gaining some appreciable turn out of the footmarks, Agar conjured a classic to bowl Harry Nielsen between bat and pad, and with a trio of tail-end wickets claimed his last four victims for seven runs in 53 balls – taking his figures from 1 for 96 in 22.4 overs to 5 for 103 in 33.The displays of Agar, Lloyd Pope and Mitchell Swepson will all be sources of encouragement for the national selectors, as spin has played a far larger role in the first two Shield games than was the case for the vast majority of last summer on a succession of grassy surfaces.The Redbacks had lost nine wickets for 134 on a friendly batting surface, giving the Warriors plenty of time to build their lead in the final session, and of the batsmen to appear on day three, only Brad Davis and the stranded Liam Scott could be even moderately happy with their efforts.Sam Whiteman was an early casualty in Western Australia’s second innings, touching a bouncer from Chadd Sayers through to Nielsen, but from there Marsh took complete control of the game with Cameron Bancroft working the ball around at the other end.Marsh was able to take advantage of some loose stuff from Pope, who was far too variable in his length, while of the other bowlers only Scott’s medium pacers were able to restrict the flow of runs in any meaningful way. This meant that the lead accrued quickly, even to the point that Marsh might have been able to consider a declaration late in the day.Instead, he was content to bat through to stumps and in doing so reach a century scored with ease, with Bancroft falling to a terrific running catch by Tom Cooper from what became the final ball of the day. Agar’s spin out of the footmarks will be critical to the tale of the fourth innings.

The Racecourse Ground has been honoured by a lineage of talent throughout the distinguished history of Wrexham Football Club. These players have left their mark on football history through thrilling moments and stunning victories, making their names associated with the Red Dragons' unwavering pride.

In more recent times, the likes of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have transformed the Welsh club with League One football now set for next season, with a number of players trying to work their way into the history of the club.

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FFC has all the latest Wrexham info as they seek promotion from League One, along with a look at the Red Dragons’ journey to where they are today.

ByStephan Georgiou Oct 8, 2024

With that, here is the list of who we believe are the ten greatest Wrexham footballers, based on their overall impact at either club or international level during their careers…

1

Tommy Bamford

1928-1934

2

Gareth Davies

1967-1983

3

Bert Goode

1910-1926

4

Darren Ferguson

1999-2007

5

Phil Hardy

1990-2001

6

Mickey Thomas

1972-1993

7

Arfon Griffiths

1959-1979

8

Aly McGowan

1953-1963

9

Carlos Edwards

2000-2005

10

Paul Mullin

2021-present

10 Paul Mullin 2021-present

Paul Mullin still has a long way to go if he is to climb even further up this list, but the performances he's put in over the past couple of years for Wrexham have been nothing short of amazing.

He's scored 99 goals and laid on 10 assists in his 131 games at Wrexham so far, which has helped the Red Dragons secure promotion from the National League and League Two.

Appearances

131

Goals

99

Assists

10

Paul Mullin: Wrexham salary, net worth & stats

FFC has everything you need to know about the Wrexham forward.

ByMark Marston Apr 10, 2024 9 Carlos Edwards 2000-2005

Carlos Edwards was a powerful winger whose electric pace and flare lit up the Racecourse Ground.

He played a significant role for the club, featuring in 128 games and contributing 16 goals along with five assists, as well as helping secure Wrexham's promotion to Division Two in 2002/03.

Appearances

128

Goals

16

Stats

5

8 Aly McGowan 1953-1963

When McGowan joined Wrexham, he was working in the mines. He provided excellent service to the team as a hard-tackling full defender, amassing 478 appearances in total.

During this time, he won three medals for winning the Welsh Cup, played for the team that advanced to the 1960/61 League Cup's fifth round, defeating First Division outfit Blackburn Rovers, and lined up in the storied FA Cup match against the Busby Babes, which drew a record-breaking crowd to the Racecourse in 1957.

Even though a leg break interrupted his career too soon, he kept up his excellent work for the club as a coach and groundskeeper.

Date of Birth

22 January 1930

Position

Defender

Appearances

487

7 Arfon Griffiths 1959-1979

Raised in Hightown, Griffiths set a record with 592 league appearances for Wrexham over his 20 years with the club. In 1978, he led the team to the Third Division title and the Welsh Cup.

He also helped Wales to the quarter-final play-offs of Euro 1976 in front of his hometown fans in Wrexham thanks to a winner against Austria, as well as running rings round England on his Racecourse return in 1980.

Date of Birth

23 August 1941

Appearances

592

Achievements

Third Division title & Welsh Cup

6 Mickey Thomas 1972-1993

Mickey Thomas, who ended up securing a big-money transfer to Manchester United, assisted Wrexham in 1978 to achieve their first-ever promotion to the Second Division.

He made headlines across the country when he returned to Wrexham for a second stint, setting the stage for an all-time FA Cup upset of Football League champions Arsenal in January 1992 by scoring a sublime free kick to equalise.

He made 331 appearances for the Dragons, scoring 43 goals for the club.

Appearances

331

Goals

43

Achievements

Promotion to Second Division & Knocking Arsenal out of the FA Cup

5 Phil Hardy 1990-2001

Phil Hardy played 485 matches in a Wrexham shirt, which sees him sit fourth on the all-time list.

In addition to collecting a runners-up medal and a winners' medal in the Welsh Cup, Wrexham advanced from the Third Division in 1992/93 and made it to four FAW Premier Cup finals, winning three of them.

Position

Left-back

Appearances

485

Achievements

Won Welsh Cup, won promotion to Second Division and three FAW Premier Cup titles

4 Darren Ferguson 1999-2007

Darren Ferguson was a very reliable figure in the middle of midfield for the Dragons, making 310 appearances, scoring 51 goals, and captaining them to win promotion to Division Two in 2002/03.

He won the FAW Premier Cup with Wrexham in 1999/00, 2000/01, 2002/03, 2003/04, as well as the Football League Trophy in 2004/05.

Appearances

310

Goals

51

Achievements

Four FAW Premier Cup titles, Football League Trophy winner & promotion to Division Two

3 Bert Goode 1910-1926

Bert Goode was as prolific as they come. He scored a whopping 148 goals in 275 appearances during his time at Wrexham, which puts him second on the all-time goalscoring list for the Red Dragons.

Position

Forward

Appearances

275

Goals

148

2 Gareth Davies 1967-1983

Gareth Davies is the second-most-capped player for Wrexham with 612 games.

During his 16-year tenure with the team, he won Player of the Season in 1977/78, and was one of the team's top players in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, while also developing into a North Wales club legend and a devoted fan favourite.

Position

Central defender

Appearances

612

Achievements

Player of the Season in 1977/78

1 Tommy Bamford 1928-1934

The club's scoring records are dominated by Tommy Bamford's amazing accomplishments. He has not only scored many more goals than any other player, but he also averaged more goals per game.

With 207 goals in just 246 games, he has an incredible strike rate that puts him 65 ahead of Arfon Griffiths in second place. And, that wasn't all, as he scored the most hat-tricks, too.

Although Mullin got close, Bamford scored a club-record 44 league goals (and 51 goals overall) in the 1933/34 campaign, setting another record that still stands today.

Appearances

246

Goals

207

Achievements

Record Wrexham goalscorer & club-record 44 league goals in 1933/34

Mumbai Indians and KKR training at an “expanded quarantine facility” at Sheikh Zayed Stadium

Shamya Dasgupta01-Sep-2020Less than three weeks to go for the scheduled start of IPL 2020, and there’s still no sign of the final schedule for the tournament. Whatever the reasons for that delay may be, it has “nothing to do with the Abu Dhabi border or the quarantine restrictions”, according to a local cricket official.As it happens, training is in full swing for the two teams based in Abu Dhabi thanks to the “airbridge facility”. Mumbai Indians and Kolkata Knight Riders have been training since day eight of their arrival in the UAE, despite Abu Dhabi’s 14-day quarantine requirements, thanks to an “expanded quarantine facility” at Sheikh Zayed Stadium. A 15,000 square-metre area, with 15 nets, has been cordoned off at the stadium for the two teams (to use one at a time), along with an 11,000 square-metre football field for physical training.ALSO READ: CSK’s coronavirus-free players set to start training on September 4″They have been training there since the eighth day of being in Abu Dhabi, so that’s seven days of training in what we call the ‘airbridge facility’. It’s a 15,000 square-metre extension of their quarantine, a place for them to have full-fledged training session. And they return to hotel and utilise the team rooms, and they come back to the airbridge facility the next day,” Matt Boucher, CEO of Abu Dhabi cricket, explained to ESPNcricinfo.”Once we receive those four test reports [one prior to reaching the UAE, and then three more in six days], the government approves the teams to expand their quarantine facility to outside the hotel with a very strict passage from hotel to bus and bus to Abu Dhabi Cricket [the stadium]. It’s a strict facility, where only the players and the teams’ support staff are allowed in.”One team comes in first and trains for a while, two-three hours, and the other comes in after that. Social distancing norms are in place, sanitisation norms are in place. We sanitise the entire facility before the next team arrives, everything is freshened up and sanitised for the next team. It’s a completely sterile facility.”Sections of the media have said that the Abu Dhabi government has granted special permission to the teams – and others involved – to move in and out of the city, but that might not be the case. The emirate’s rules are the same as they have been for a while now, but by the time the IPL starts, the mandatory 14-day quarantine would be over for anyone who had reached the UAE in the third or fourth weeks of August. So, they would then fall under the SOPs for the tournament as put together by the BCCI, with only border-checks regulated by the authorities as teams enter or re-enter Abu Dhabi.Reports of a spike in cases in the city are also not based on hard numbers – while there has been a rise in the UAE’s numbers, the data provided by the UAE is for the whole country and not each emirate individually.Therefore, the BCCI has not been served up any surprises in terms of the situation on the ground, and the delay in releasing – or putting together – the schedule is very likely for other reasons. An official from one of the teams say it’s a fallout of the positive Covid-19 tests in the Chennai Super Kings camp, which might yet force the BCCI to open the tournament with a different opponent for defending champions Mumbai Indians.As for Super Kings, team CEO Kasi Viswanathan has said that the team is ready to take the field on September 19 if required.

The first impression is always vital when a new player arrives at a club, especially for a side like Manchester United.

When anyone joins the Red Devils, whether it be a player or a manager, the expectation is to bring success and perform almost instantly.

In recent years, only a handful of signings have consistently performed at Old Trafford, with the likes of Antony and Jadon Sancho being examples of individuals who have been unable to star in the Premier League thus far.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at another player who once promised to be a world-beater but instead failed to live up to their apparent potential.

Meet the star who was meant to be the next Cristiano Ronaldo

In 2011, a promising Belgian talent named Adnan Januzaj joined Man United from Anderlecht as a 16-year-old, where he instantly impressed.

On October 5th, 2013, the number 44 was announced in the starting lineup for the first time under David Moyes as Man United faced Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

The then-18-year-old was absolutely electric, netting a brace that handed the Red Devils a 2-1 win, which was certainly the perfect way to introduce yourself to the footballing world.

After the game, Januzaj received plenty of praise and encouragement, with Moyes comparing his quality to Wayne Rooney and United youth coach Eric Harrison stating: “Januzaj is outstanding and I think he is similar to Cristiano Ronaldo".

However, the following season saw the arrival of Louis van Gaal, which the winger later claimed to be the reason why he never lived up to his potential at United, despite being an "unbelievable" talent, as per football creator Liam Canning.

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ByTom Lever Mar 14, 2024 Adnan Januzaj’s career since his debut

During the Dutch manager’s first campaign at the club, Januzaj’s minutes and opportunities took a huge hit, starting just seven times in the 2014/15 Premier League.

A year later, the Belgium international only made just two league starts across the campaign, which was due to two separate injuries and a short loan spell at Borussia Dortmund.

With the left-footed ace failing to progress much further, in 2016, he joined Sunderland on a season-long loan in an attempt to revive his career, but over 25 matches, he failed to score a single goal.

In 2017, Januzaj eventually left Old Trafford after a troubled few seasons, joining Real Sociedad in a deal worth £9.8m, a club he would go on to score 23 goals in 168 appearances for.

Five years later, the former Red Devil moved to another La Liga side, this time joining Sevilla on a free transfer, which is where he plays his football today.

Man United

63

11

Borussia Dortmund

12

2

Sunderland

28

4

Real Sociedad

168

44

Istanbul Basaksehir

17

6

Sevilla

17

1

Despite being at the club for two seasons, Januzaj has only made 17 appearances, with a failed loan spell at Istanbul Basaksehir in between, where he scored three times in 17 games.

Fast-forward to this season, and the former wonderkid has featured just eight times, even though he has not suffered from any injuries. Januzaj has averaged just 24 minutes per game, and he truly cannot get a game, starting zero times.

At just 29 years of age, the number 25’s career has become completely stagnant, and there have been no signs of him turning it around, especially not at Sevilla.

In truth, it is extremely sad and disappointing to see how Januzaj’s career has unfolded, especially considering just how fantastic he was in his first season under Moyes, after being compared to the legendary Ronaldo in his early days at Old Trafford.

Change is afoot at Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp bringing an end to an incredible nine-year tenure at Anfield alongside his coaching staff, and Joel Matip also leaving at the end of his contract this summer. In need of a replacement for the experienced defender, the Reds are reportedly interested in a rising Premier League star,

Liverpool transfer news

Although Matip's injury history has occasionally stood in the way of his Liverpool legacy, with this season's ACL blow summing things up, there's no doubt that he more than played his part in the success under Klopp. By the end of his time at Anfield, the Cameroonian will come away as a Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, Super Cup and Club World Cup winner. Given that he arrived as a free agent, Matip may well go down as one of Liverpool's greatest bargains in their history.

With the 32-year-old's contract now set to expire, however, the Reds must turn towards the transfer market to land a replacement this summer. According to Matt Law of The Telegraph, Liverpool are interested in signing Marc Guehi this summer, but a deal could rely on just who comes in to replace Klopp and also who takes up the sporting director role at Anfield.

The Merseyside club could also face competition from Manchester United for the Crystal Palace defender if they manage to land Dan Ashworth in time.

As the summer approaches, the battle between the Premier League rivals could be one to watch if both make their moves for Guehi.

"Amazing" Guehi can step into Matip role

Whilst Ibrahima Konate has cemented himself as Virgil van Dijk's defensive partner this season, the chances that Jarell Quansah has been handed proves that there's room for rotation in Liverpool's backline, potentially handing Guehi a boost if he completed a move. The England international has more than proved his ability to step into such a side this season too. Here's how Guehi's stats have compared to Matip's.

Stats	Marc Guehi	Joel Matip
Progressive Carries	13	8
Progressive Passes	58	34
Tackles Won	17	6
Blocks	22	16

Guehi has already earned plenty of fans in England, including fellow countryman Harry Maguire who previously told BBC Sport: "Marc has done amazing. I think he left Chelsea at an amazing time when he had to play football.

"When you watch him play he doesn't look like a young boy playing football. He's a captain of Crystal Palace. He’s going to have a long career in the game. He has all the attributes you need to be a centre-back. The friendly in the first half at Scotland unfortunately he had to come off. He's such a young boy playing with so much maturity."

Lamine Yamal is living his best life, with the teenage wonderkid showing off his dance moves at Spain’s Euro 2024 celebration party in Madrid.

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Record books rewritten by youngsterEuropean champion at 17 years of ageStill so much left for him to achieveWHAT HAPPENED?

The Barcelona starlet, who turned 17 the day before La Roja prevailed against England in the European Championship final, continues to rewrite the record books. He played a crucial role in Spain claiming a continental crown in Germany, with a stunning semi-final goal recorded against France.

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Yamal was named Young Player of the Tournament, adding another trophy to his collection before getting his hands on the ultimate Euros prize. Spain have made history as a collective by becoming the first nation to claim that title on four occasions.

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Yamal is part of their present and long-term future, with there still so much left for him to achieve. For now he is enjoying being centre stage, with the youngster throwing shapes when presented to the crowd during wild celebrations in the Spanish capital.

It would be hard to describe this season as anything other than a car crash for Chelsea, as back-to-back hammerings from Liverpool and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League have all but ended the Blues' chance of European qualification.

There is still the League Cup final to come, but with the Anfield outfit as their opponent, it is hard to see how they'll be lifting that come full-time.

While there are plenty of problems at the club, one of the biggest is their frontline's inability to finish their chances.

Nicolas Jackson has become infamous for his myriad of misses this season, and what makes it worse is the club's failure to sign a replacement they were heavily linked with last month, a man who would've given them a chance at Wembley and formed a brilliant partnership with Cole Palmer.

Close but no Cigar

Now, clubs like Chelsea are often linked with a multitude of players every transfer window, and while a significant portion of these stories are nothing more than rumours, the links to Sporting CP's Viktor Gyokeres last month seemed genuine.

Things looked even more real when it was revealed that the Blues had made a £73m bid for the Swedish international halfway through the window.

However, with a release clause worth closer to £86m, the Portuguese giants were unwilling to accept the offer, so Todd Boehly and Co appeared to call it quits.

While this decision to walk away might have been wise from a financial point of view, considering the reluctance to spend from English clubs, it also seriously handicapped what the club could achieve on the pitch for the rest of the season.

Gyokeres could have turned Chelsea's season around

Now, unfortunately for Chelsea, their season has gone so poorly this year that in this case, 'turning it around' would likely just mean qualification for the Conference League and potentially winning the League Cup at the expense of Liverpool; while you may think that's unlikely, Gyokeres' goal record speaks for itself.

In 25 appearances for Sporting across all competitions this season, the former Coventry City ace has scored a remarkable 21 goals and provided nine assists, meaning he is averaging a goal involvement every 0.83 matches.

What makes it more impressive is that he is not being flooded with chances either, as his 15 league goals have come from an expected goals figure of 10.9, and his 12 non-penalty expected goals come from a non-penalty expected goals figure of 8.5.

In short, the dynamic "powerhouse", as described by data analyst Ben Mattinson, has been consistently overperforming his expected goals figure this season. In contrast, Jackson has seven league goals from a figure of 10.8, which would explain why he has picked up a reputation for being profligate.

Had the Blues just pushed the boat out that little bit more last month and signed the "unplayable" 25-year-old, as former teammate Maxim Biamou described him, then the talismanic Palmer would have had a genuine poacher to work with at the top of the pitch.

The former Manchester City gem has been one of the few bright spots in the Pensioners' bleak season, but his creative numbers have been impacted by his teammate's inability to finish the chances he creates.

Cole Palmer's Creative numbers
Expected Assists	5.4
Assists	4
Progressive Passes per 90	7.20
Progressive Carries per 90	3.31
Shot-Creating Actions per 90	4.51
Successful Take-Ons per 90	1/66
All Stats via FBref for the 2023/24 Domestic Season

For example, he only has four assists in 20 league appearances this season, but an expected assists figure of 5.4 demonstrates that he could be even more involved in Chelsea's play with a clinical frontman.

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Ultimately, this could be a transfer miss that really comes back to bite the Blues and potentially even cost Pochettino his job. After all, goals win games, and Gyokeres brings goals.

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

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

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

• The thing that makes Sanju Samson special

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• Patidar, Rahul and their different high-wire acts

• Stats: Patidar's big-match hundred

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

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

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

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

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

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

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

• DID YOU KNOW?

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

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  WHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

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