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Newcastle United still have just one win to their name in the early Premier League standings.

Yet, that doesn’t tell the full tale of the Magpies’ wobbly start to the season, with Eddie Howe’s men also only losing one game, as the Toon had to settle for another draw on the road against AFC Bournemouth.

In truth, with just four shots registered on the South Coast, the visitors to the South Coast were somewhat lucky to come away from the drab affair with a 0-0 draw still intact, as several of Howe’s first team struggled to get going against the Cherries.

The main Newcastle underperformers vs Bournemouth

While Arsenal and Manchester City would offer up plenty of entertainment on Sunday, it’s fair to say the encounter between Bournemouth and Newcastle was a little lacking on the action front, on the contrary.

Indeed, Nick Woltemade didn’t exactly boost the Toon as they attempted to play on the front foot, with the 6-foot-6 attacker failing to register a single on-target effort at the home side’s goal, before he was hauled off the Vitality Stadium turf with just six minutes remaining.

Another of Newcastle’s new signings, Malick Thiaw, also failed to put in a convincing display, as seen in the German centre-back winning just 50% of his duels, alongside being a very fortunate individual that he wasn’t dismissed with ten minutes left on the clock when clashing with a Cherries shirt, after already picking up a yellow card.

Lewis Miley also failed to grasp his first-team opportunity as Howe made many changes from Newcastle’s Thursday night defeat to Barcelona, but one of Miley’s teammates in the middle put in an even more uninspiring display than the promising 19-year-old, to now find himself on borrowed time under his manager.

The Newcastle flop who is on borrowed time

At least with both Miley and Thiaw, they should have plenty more to give to the Newcastle cause going forward, with the teenage sensation previously showing he belongs in the senior picture, while Thiaw did register four interceptions (per Sofascore) against Andoni Iraola’s men when not finding himself tangled in contentious moments on the pitch.

The same level of patience won’t be extended to Joe Willock, however, with the 26-year-old’s below-par showing on Sunday only strengthening why Howe hasn’t been picking him for some time now.

Last season saw the forgotten ex-Arsenal midfielder only make 11 Premier League starts, with Willock drafted into the XI against Bournemouth owing to some rusty legs after Champions League action.

Based on his passive display, though, Willock will be lucky to reach the same amount of starts he was afforded last season across the remainder of this campaign, with the one-time breath of fresh air at St James’ Park – who once managed eight league goals in just one season – struggling to even trump Nick Pope in terms of touches of the ball.

Indeed, Willock would only go on to amass a lacklustre 32 touches of the ball next to Pope’s weightier 42 (per Sofascore), while also only being able to accurately complete 12 passes all afternoon. In stark contrast, Sandro Tonali, who is a guaranteed starter week in week out centrally, would trudge off the pitch at the end with 49 accurate passes in tow.

It’s a no-brainer, therefore, for Howe to just reinstate both Joelinton and Bruno Guimaraes to their usual positions next to Tonali when Arsenal come to town next in league action, with Willock no doubt looking out of his depth if he were handed a surprise second consecutive start against his former employers.

With Howe stating at the final whistle that his team were somewhat careless on the ball, it’s clear that the declining 26-year-old needs to be replaced instantly for the test of Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, having also been handed a low 4/10 rating post-match by journalist Lee Ryder, who noted that Willock looked “miles off it.”

There will be a tinge of sadness at the end of the Magpies right now, considering Willock does have a hefty 18 goals and eight assists up his sleeve on Tyneside from 148 total clashes.

But, it does appear as if the number 28 is staring the end of his Newcastle career straight in the face now, with Howe certainly less keen to hand him significant minutes moving forward after his no-show on the South Coast.

Newcastle now make early approach to sign £40m+ Real Madrid player on loan

The striker is of a similar profile to Wissa.

By
Callum Kemp

Sep 21, 2025

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

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

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

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

• The thing that makes Sanju Samson special

• Manjrekar: KL Rahul needs to bat 'quicker rather than longer'

• du Plessis on Harshal: 'Every time I feel the pressure, I go to him'

• 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.

The Bangladesh opener has often shown a tendency to get fired up and deliver with the bat when he or his team is being talked about. He did it again at Basin Reserve

Mohammad Isam at Basin Reserve12-Jan-2017Tamim Iqbal regularly follows the news and what’s going on on social media. That habit nearly derailed his career during the 2015 World Cup, when he felt that discussion about his poor form was being taken too far on social media. But, most times it seems to work for him; when there’s a lot of talk going around on a particular match situation, conditions or opponent, it’s hard to miss the fire in his belly when he comes out to bat. He has often delivered impressively soon after such talk surfaces.A few cases in point: when Bangladesh were said to be not good enough for Lord’s in 2010, Tamim responded with a breathtaking century. When the BCB president had questioned his fitness in 2012, he responded with four fifties in a row. Ten weeks ago, with everyone crumbling to spin around him, Tamim struck 104 on the first day of the Dhaka Test against England, one of his best efforts given the situation. He did it again in Wellington today.Leading up to this Test, doubts about Bangladesh’s ability to deal with a green Basin Reserve pitch swirled all around. The whispers grew in volume especially after someone posted a photo of what looked like a pitch made of AstroTurf. Bangladesh’s batting inconsistencies during the preceding limited-overs games, and the many collapses in 2016, added to the sense of unease. How did Tamim respond? Fifty-six off 50 balls, his fourth 50-plus score at a 100-plus strike rate in Tests.The pitch wasn’t as green on the first morning but the unease would have only got deeper when Kane Williamson put Bangladesh in to bat. Tamim responded with boundaries. He squeezed some through the slips but also cut and drove whenever he was offered width. He struck five fours in the first five overs. He could not convert the quick start into something more, but, by the time he was finally dismissed in the 15th over, nerves would have been eased in the dressing room.After the day’s play, Tamim said a positive dressing-room atmosphere is natural after someone bats like he did. “It might have given them confidence, though I wouldn’t say anyone got relaxed seeing me bat,” he said. “I think even I would have gained some confidence seeing someone bat comfortably. Before the first ball of this game, there was a question mark. But after seeing how someone like Mominul [and I] played, it became clear that scoring and surviving were both possible.”Mahmadullah’s brain-freeze gave New Zealand an opening•Getty ImagesTamim said all-out attack was not his plan; he just wanted to punish the bad balls. “I knew that I had to choose one way of batting in these conditions. I didn’t want to miss out on bad balls. Good balls are a given here, so I had to use the boundary balls properly to keep the scoreboard going and give me more confidence. I utilized the scoring opportunities. This was my plan. I didn’t go out there thinking of attacking every ball. I just didn’t want to miss out on scoring balls. I connected most of the deliveries that I went after, which was good.”New Zealand fast bowler Neil Wagner said Tamim’s aggression caught the hosts off guard, giving Bangladesh the early edge in the game. “I think today was Bangladesh’s day. I think we didn’t bowl well in partnerships for a long period today, and we got hurt. I think Tamim batted really well. They showed a lot of intent, coming out positively to put the bad ball away. It obviously put us on the back foot. We never really settled into a rhythm and into an area because of the way they batted.”Making life easier for the batsmen that follow, of course, is the opener’s duty. Stories abound about one former Bangladesh opener who used to make everyone nervous by always maintaining that ball was moving around like a snake off the pitch, particularly when they were playing abroad. Tamim, by contrast, is known as a very upbeat figure in the dressing-room, and his application in picking the right balls to hit must have been noted by Mominul Haque, who was getting his first bat on the tour. He started off quietly before finding boundaries regularly and ending the truncated day on 64 not out. Mahmudullah left most deliveries outside off quite well until a brain-freeze had him chasing a very wide one and getting out after getting set.When rain came down for the third time to end the day, Bangladesh were 154 for 3. Tamim admitted it would have been a better day for the visitors had Mahmudullah survived. “I think if you see how the others batted, it was different [to my innings] but they batted to their strengths. If [Mahmudullah] Riyad was at the crease till the end, it would have been a superb day for us.”Depending on how day two pans out – Bangladesh could yet collapse – Tamim’s 56 could well be soon forgotten, but, even so, it has to be appreciated for its immediate impact. He effectively scythed through the nonsense with his bat in the hope that the rest will follow suit.

Plays of the day from the Group 1 clash between Afghanistan and Sri Lanka

Karthik Krishnaswamy17-Mar-2016The falling reverse-slap
Samiullah Shenwari had just drilled the previous ball back down the ground for four, and he probably expected Thisara Perera to shorten his length a bit. He knew third man was inside the circle, and read the situation perfectly well. Down came the back-of-a-length delivery outside off, and Shenwari was quickly in position to play a reverse-swat into the gap to the left of the fielder. It was cleverly done, but by no means elegantly, and Shenwari lost balance and fell onto his backside. It’s debatable whether the stroke made any impression on old-timers sighing wistfully about Rohan Kanhai’s falling sweep.The one-legged hoick
Asghar Stanikzai was not to be outdone in the off-balance hitting stakes. He was using the depth of the crease to good effect, and had hit an attempted wide yorker from Nuwan Kulasekara over the covers in the 17th over. Now, in the 19th over, Perera looked for a another wide yorker. Stanikzai moved his right foot way back into his crease, leaned his upper body back, and created enough swinging room to launch the ball high over long-on. The force of the shot left him with both feet off the ground at impact, and he completed it with a hop on one leg.The flashing-bail, fielding-team advantage
In the past, while making tight run-out decisions, third umpires had to rely exclusively on their own vision to rule whether a bail was completely out of its groove. Often, they would give the batsman the benefit of the doubt unless they had the clearest possible visual evidence. At the World T20, lights go off in the bails when they are completely out of their groove.When Perera called Tillakaratne Dilshan through for a leg-bye from the non-striker’s end, Mohammad Shahzad looked slow when he scampered back to field the ball. He turned around momentarily as he did so, to see where the batsmen were. He took another split second to take off his right glove before rifling in a direct hit at the striker’s end. In the pre-zing-bail era, all of these split seconds might have cost Afghanistan a run out. But now, the bails lit up with Perera’s bat on the line, even though it was impossible to tell otherwise if they were out of their groove or not.The deflection
When a non-striker is run out by a deflected straight drive, the bowler usually has a sheepish grin on his face, for having got an inadvertent fingertip to the ball. When Dilshan drilled the ball back down the ground off Mohammad Nabi’s bowling, however, the bowler seemed to know exactly where the ball was heading – between the stumps and the non-striker, down towards long-on. Showing spectacular spatial awareness, Nabi reached out, angled his palm expertly, and quite deliberately flicked the ball onto the stumps to find Chamara Kapugedera out of his crease.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s contractual situation has become incredibly tedious in recent weeks, with the decibels rising among the Spanish press this week as Real Madrid look to swipe Liverpool’s homegrown superstar.

However, the 26-year-old hasn’t let such noise detract from his performances under Arne Slot’s wing, showcasing a tough defensive side unseen during his career under Jurgen Klopp while oozing class and style on the ball.

The pull of Santiago Bernabeu is strong, Europe’s palatial club ground being the hothouse for trophies and an illustrious career, but Trent is hardly scrounging for success within his boyhood outfit, for Slot’s tactics have put Liverpool in the driving seat for the Premier League title and a promising position in the Champions League too.

Regardless of whether the £180k-per-week talent stays or leaves, Liverpool appear keen to invest in a new full-back this year – though it might not be on the right-hand side.

Liverpool's search for a full-back

At the backend of December, GIVEMESPORT reported that Liverpool are set to rival Manchester United for Antonee Robinson this year. The arch-rivals are both keen on a new left-back, and the Fulham ace has been among the finest players in the Premier League this season.

Robinson, 27, has started every top-flight fixture this term, captaining his squad regularly since December. Fulham value him as high as £50m and you’d have to admit that they are well within their right. He’s been brilliant and contracted until 2028 besides.

Liverpool know that they can present a more appealing career path than their beleaguered neighbours but United are invariably dangerous in the transfer market. With that in mind, FSG may hope that they opt for Bournemouth’s Milos Kerkez instead, given that he has his sights set on Old Trafford.

Robinson would bring instantaneous results to a Reds side seeking the highest honours both domestically and on the continent. Andy Robertson has been a stalwart over so many years, but he’s simply not performing at his incredible one-time level.

At no disrespect to the Scotsman, Robinson is outstripping him on the pitch this year, but in fact, Fulham’s Duracell Bunny may even be operating at a floor above Alexander-Arnold too.

How Robinson compares to Alexander-Arnold

Years of dining at the elite table have established Liverpool’s wide defensive duo as the pre-eminent pairing. They have redefined the full-back role, in some ways, with tireless running and outstanding creativity serving as the life-juice of the Klopp era.

Both Robertson and Alexander-Arnold remain core parts of Liverpool’s first team – the latter still arguably the best full-back in the world – but that doesn’t mean he’s outperforming every single player across this current campaign.

Indeed, Robinson suffers from the affliction of not being part of a ‘big-six’ club. That sentence is facetious, of course, but there is a ring of truth there.

He’s so complete, so dynamic, so effective across different phases and – crucially for Slot’s system – wonderful on the ball, retaining with ease and picking out perfect passes. Sky Sports’ Dougie Critchley has even gone as far as to describe him as “one of the best left-backs in the world.”

With seven assists from 19 Premier League matches this term, Robinson is behind only Mohamed Salah and Bukayo Saka in that chart. Moreover, he ranks highly across defensive metrics while providing a relentless ball-carrying output. What a skill set, balanced so finely across every required area.

Trent, while impressive this season, has failed to outrank Robinson across any of the above-listed statistics, as per FBref. Alexander-Arnold is the most talented and accomplished player by far, but Robinson is at his apex right now, performing at a higher level.

A closer look at the defensive numbers further illustrates this point. Liverpool’s number 66 has been much improved in the lower department this term, averaging 2.6 tackles per Premier League match while winning 51% of his ground duels, as per Sofascore.

Robinson, however, provides even more eye-catching statistics, for the USMNT international has chomped down on opponent with 2.8 tackles per game (Sofascore), also winning 58% of his total duels.

It’s admittedly harder to distinguish them given that the respective full-backs play different types of games, but for Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher at least, they are on the same platform all the same. Chalking down his mid-season predictions and ratings alongside Gary Neville, the Anfield icon paired the wide defenders in his updated Team of the Season.

Robinson might turn 28 at the start of the 2025/26 campaign but he’s hardly doomed to deteriorate any time soon. His stock has been sky-high this season and it owes testament to the incremental progress that he has forged across so many years. Not all of them bore fruits.

Athletic, adept on the ball and fierce without it, he’s arguably been the best full-back in the Premier League this season. As far as the stats go, he’s outperformed Liverpool’s imperious right-back.

FSG must cash in on Liverpool flop who's earning more than Gakpo & Diaz

This Liverpool star’s days could well be numbered…

By
Angus Sinclair

Jan 3, 2025

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.

Altay Bayindir sent out a message to Manchester United fans after a nightmare Premier League debut against Newcastle United.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Bayindir sends message to Man Utd fans
• Had a nightmare Premier League debut against Newcastle
• Magpies thrashed the Red Devils 4-1

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Turkish goalkeeper replaced Andre Onana in United's goal after the Cameroonian made some costly mistakes in their 2-2 draw against Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday. Bayindir, who joined the Red Devils in the summer of 2023, finally got a chance to make his Premier League debut, however, it turned into a nightmare as he conceded four goals against Newcastle United. He also made a costly error when the team were 3-1 down as his poor clearance was intercepted by Joelinton, and seconds later, Bruno Guimaraes made it 4-1 at St James' Park.

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  United fans slammed the 26-year-old on social media for his terrible performance against the Magpies, however, the custodian later sent out a message to the angry supporters as he urged them to keep their faith on the team.

• WHAT ALTAY BAYINDIR SAID

  Taking to Instagram, Bayindir shared some photographs from the game and wrote in the caption: "Honored to make my PL debut for this club. Not the result we wanted, but I’ll keep pushing, keep fighting. We’ll be back stronger — keep believing."

• Getty Images Sport
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  Ruben Amorim's side will now aim to beat Lyon in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final fixture at home on Thursday and book their berth in the last-four stage.

Ireland show improved batting performance led by Adair, McBrine and Tector

Valkerie Baynes03-Jun-2023Four balls was all it took… four balls and more than two sessions as Ireland’s batters put on a dogged display to take their Test against England into a third evening – just – when making it to tea had looked like a sturdy ambition.Josh Tongue’s five-wicket haul on Test debut put his name on the Lord’s honours board and the hosts on the brink of victory and Zak Crawley struck three fours off the first four balls of the innings to overhaul the 11-run target.Droll predictions abounded overnight about how long England’s golf-loving players would need before booking their tee times and the fact that England were forced to bat again was down a 163-run partnership between Mark Adair and Andy McBrine after Harry Tector and Lorcan Tucker had laid the foundation with a fifty stand that signalled an improved Ireland batting performance compared to the first innings.McBrine kicked on after Adair’s dismissal but was stranded on 86 when Stuart Broad bowled Graham Hume with the eighth ball after tea to end Ireland’s second innings, 10 runs in front.England claimed three wickets in the morning session, including one for Tongue, which left him just one shy of the five-for to neatly cap a great week for the Worcestershire seamer. He was drafted into the squad for this match as injury cover for James Anderson and Ollie Robinson and retained his place alongside them in a 16-man squad for the first two Ashes Tests, unveiled on the stroke of lunch.It wasn’t until shortly before the scheduled tea break and with a ball that was 79 overs old that he sealed a spot on the joint honours board, as Tongue had fellow debutant Fionn Hand out edging a length ball just outside off stump to Crawley at slip.England took the second new ball after 81 overs and handed it straight to Tongue, but McBrine and Hume stood firm to go to tea unbeaten on 85 and 9 respectively with Ireland four runs ahead.With opener James McCollum playing no further part in the match after retiring hurt with a badly twisted ankle he sustained while batting on Friday evening, Ireland were effectively effectively 162 for 7 during the morning session. Scans showed no fracture, but McCollum suffered suspected ligament damage and was resigned to watching from the sidelines in a moon boot.Tector and Tucker had batted well the previous evening and comfortably navigated the first half hour on Saturday, adding 29 runs to Ireland’s overnight 97 for 3. But then Jack Leach entered the attack and struck second ball as Tucker attempted to sweep and succeeded only dragging the ball back onto the stumps with his glove to end an assured innings on 44 and a fifth-wicket stand worth 63.Joe Root came on and saw his fifth delivery muscled for six by Curtis Campher. Then Tongue, who had taken all three of Ireland’s second-innings wickets the previous day, returned to action and went for back-to-back fours by Campher, the first a well-drilled cover drive and the second a complete miscue through mid-on.Tector brought up a deserved half-century driving through mid-off and running two but Tongue had him out with his next ball, a short, wide delivery which Tector sent straight to backward point where Harry Brook juggled momentarily before holding on.In the next over, Root invited Campher to sweep and the ball sailed through to Ben Stokes at short fine leg, a dismissal notable for Stokes’ wince as he clutched his troublesome left knee and hobbled after completing the catch.Adair took 15 off one Root over as lunch approached, including a six over deep midwicket to take Ireland past the 200-mark and an authoritative sweep through backward square leg for four. By the time Adair reached his fifty by guiding a short ball from Broad over the keeper’s head for four, he had scored just one run to the off side. He tucked the next neatly to the rope through fine leg before threading a third boundary in a row behind gully.McBrine brought up his fifty with a reverse-sweep off Leach for four and the duo reached their 150 partnership off just 155 balls. Matthew Potts removed Adair, caught behind for 88 off just 76 balls after failing to put more than a light touch on an attempted upper cut. Potts’ relief was palpable as he collapsed into Stokes’ arms to celebrate, perhaps not so much because England had broken Ireland’s record partnership in Tests given the hosts’ still-dominant position, but that he had finally added to his two wickets from Ireland’s first innings after toiling hard through 17 overs of their second.Stokes still appears to be in a race against time to fulfil his ambitions of playing as an allrounder against Australia, although he said after the match that he felt fine. In any case, Tongue stepped in to claim his fifth after going wicketless in Ireland’s first innings, when Broad took a five-wicket haul.When Hume struck a second four on the trot off Root to put Ireland in front by one run, the crowd let out a huge cheer. Even when Broad claimed the final wicket, they couldn’t say they hadn’t been treated to a much fuller day than anticipated and witnessed a batting display Ireland will surely have wished they’d produced on the first day.

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.

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

Chelsea target new forward as Christopher Nkunku eyes January exit

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

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

The west Londoners have made contact.

By
Emilio Galantini

Jan 16, 2025

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chelsea in talks to sign Karim Adeyemi for this summer

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

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

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