Barcelona face a significant setback with Robert Lewandowski ruled out of their upcoming Joan Gamper Trophy match due to a hamstring injury.
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Chelsea have agreed on personal terms with Alejandro Garnacho as they inch closer to securing a transfer for the Argentine winger. The Blues will now initiate transfer talks with Manchester United before placing a formal bid for the youngster. They are also pursuing RB Leipzig midfielder Xavi Simons simultaneously.
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Sunderland continue to be plagued by issues at the back, with Mike Dodds unable to find a consistent starter at left-back alongside having Luke O'Nien out of action for the Queens Park Rangers clash.
Versatile January recruit Callum Styles was given a start down the left-hand flank in the 0-0 draw against the visitors from West London last time out as a result, whilst Leo Hjelde – who was meant to be the answer to their woes on the left with Niall Huggins and Dennis Cirkin sidelined – awkwardly slotted into the heart of defence.
To stop Dodds reshuffling with the back four constantly at the Stadium of Light, the interim Black Cats boss could opt to give one exciting youngster some minutes in the first-team fold soon.
It wouldn't be out of the ordinary for the 37-year-old coach to catapult this starlet into the senior mix, with Chris Rigg finding his chances increase since Dodds took over the temporary reins.
The Wearside outfit will keep their fingers crossed that 18-year-old Oliver Bainbridge is next on the conveyer belt of young gems who can make the jump up to the men's side, with the teenager tipped to have a big future at the Stadium of Light.
Described as being a "strong" defender by Academy manager Robin Nicholls, when putting pen to paper on a new contract last year, Bainbridge has shone at youth level for Sunderland for some time now.
Bainbridge has notched up 70 appearances in the youth ranks at the Black Cats, with the 18-year-old proving himself to be a confident finisher even whilst playing at left-back over four seasons.
From 16 games in the U18 Premier League last campaign, Bainbridge would help himself to six goals from 16 appearances whilst his efforts this season in the U21 age bracket has seen him pick up two assists from 11 Premier League 2 contests.
It's resulted in the likes of Everton taking a keen interest in how Bainbridge is developing on Wearside, as has been reported by Alan Nixon.
Sunderland, despite their poor 12th placed standing in the Championship currently, will still strive to keep their promising starlet around and could well begin to integrate him into lineups slowly but surely to see how he copes with the hustle and bustle of the second tier.
Bainbridge will be encouraged by Sunderland's reputation at giving youngsters chances to shine in the first-team fold, with Dan Neil once just a wide-eyed academy product aiming to make it big at the Stadium of Light alongside 16-year-old Rigg.
The 18-year-old could find that he's thrust into the spotlight sooner than he thinks, having made up the numbers on the substitutes bench against QPR last game watching the likes of Neil and Rigg play with a slight inkling of jealousy.
Hjelde will know he needs to up his performance levels with Bainbridge breathing down his neck now, the ex-Leeds United man shaky against Martí Cifuentes' visitors.
Deployed at centre-back, Hjelde – who is only 20 years of age himself – would squander possession 22 times to the detriment of his side whilst stand-in full back Styles didn't come away from the contest putting in the most convincing display either with a lacklustre 65% passing accuracy registered.
The door could open for Bainbridge to come into the starting lineup soon consequently to replace either Hjelde or Styles, with Sunderland not abandoning their approach of utilising youngsters any time soon despite their torrid season to date.
Battling sixth-wicket stand takes visitors into slender lead ahead of final day
ECB Reporters Network03-Aug-2020Northamptonshire 142 (Stone 4-39) and 317 for 6 (Thurston 96, Rossington 60*, Curran 58) lead Warwickshire 369 for 8 (Bresnan 105, Yates 88, Thomson) by 90 runs Northamptonshire fought back hard to stall Warwickshire’s victory push on the third day of a compelling Bob Willis Trophy tussle at Edgbaston. Trailing by 227 on first innings, the visitors closed the third day on 317 for 6, for a lead of 90. Quick wickets on the final morning would still leave the home side strongly placed for victory but Northamptonshire have put themselves right back in the game.When, shortly after lunch, they declined to 148 for 5, still 79 behind, defeat beckoned inside three days. But Charlie Thurston, who made 96 off 168, and Adam Rossington added 159 in 48 overs, a Northamptonshire sixth-wicket record against Warwickshire, to set up an interesting last day.For the Bears, there was frustration after their domination of the first two days. They were hampered by the absence of England paceman Olly Stone who took the field at start of play but did not bowl before leaving as a precaution after feeling some discomfort in his side. The problem does not appear serious, as he took the drinks out to his team-mates a short time later, but no risks will be taken with a player who is firmly in England’s reckoning.Without Stone, as the day wore on, Warwickshire’s attack looked much less potent than in the first innings, though they made strong progress at first. After Northamptonshire resumed on 19 without loss, they soon lost Emilio Gay who edged Olly Hannon-Dalby to Tim Bresnan at first slip.The impressive Hannon-Dalby had both Ben Curran and Ricardo Vasconcelos dropped in the cordon and the pair took advantage of their reprieves to add 79 in 19 overs. Curran batted fluently for 58 from 88 balls, his fifth first-class half-century, which arrived during a flurry of four fours in an over from Ryan Sidebottom. The 24-year-old’s hopes of advancing to a maiden century were ended in the next over when he fell lbw to Warwickshire captain Will Rhodes.Northamptonshire looked solid at 135 for 2 at lunch but lost three wickets in the first eight overs of the afternoon session. Vasconcelos departed in careless fashion when he lifted Alex Thomson to short extra cover and Rob Keogh chipped Tim Bresnan loosely to point but Saif Zaib was blameless, nicking an away-swinger from Bresnan to complete a pair.Northamptonshire looked to be hurtling towards defeat but Thurston and Rossington shored up the innings with intelligent, compact batting. Thurston reached his half-century from 92 balls with Rossington following to his from 117 in two-and-a-half hours’ worth of true captain’s innings.They were separated late in the day when Warwickshire had eight overs with the new ball. In the second of them, Bresnan continued his excellent debut by trapping Thurston lbw but the resolute Rossington remained to take the fight into the final day.
Stuart Broad could miss his first home Test since 2012 this summer
Matt Roller28-Jun-2020England’s bowlers have been told by the selectors that the team picked for the first Test against West Indies will be the strongest possible side, despite the acceptance that rotation will be a feature of the summer.The 30-man training group named ahead of the West Indies series includes 18 seamers, with the ECB’s performance director Mo Bobat telling ESPNcricinfo last month that “our depth will get challenged” by a “pretty brutal schedule”. England are set to play six Tests in a seven-week window across the West Indies and Pakistan series, and the team’s management are expected to give opportunities to fringe players at some stage.That could mean that Stuart Broad misses a Test match in England for the first time since 2012, breaking a streak that currently stands at 51 consecutive appearances at home. Jacques Kallis is the only pace bowler to have played more consecutive home Tests with 54. Speaking from the bubble at the Ageas Bowl on Sunday, Broad admitted that he was reluctant to miss any cricket, but accepted that there was a “bigger picture” for the support staff to consider.Stuart Broad is just three matches away from Jacques Kallis’s record of 54 consecutive home Tests•ESPNcricinfo Ltd
“We’ve been told as a bowling group that the strongest team will be picked for the first Test. The aim is to get into that,” Broad said. “The last Test I missed in England was against West Indies in 2012, when I was named in the starting XI [before the toss] but it rained for the first two days and Andy Flower decided that a three-day Test match was one to take a rest from, over which we had an argument at the time.”I don’t like missing cricket. I feel fit at the moment – my fitness tests have been as strong as ever in this come-back-to-cricket period – but we all know how hard fast bowling is. One of my strengths over the years has been to play consistently, so the body has been used to the workload, and it has never had that period of stopping, to then have that shock of coming back.”That is the period we’re in now, and Ed Smith, James Taylor [England’s selectors] and Chris Silverwood [head coach] in the selection panel have been clear that, yes, we want to play our best team as often as possible, but we’re not going to put bodies at major risk.”Broad had an argument with Andy Flower when he last missed a home Test in 2012•PA Images via Getty Images
Despite his admission that he would rather not miss a Test, Broad conceded that the risk of injury will be heightened this summer. There have already been parallels drawn with football, where the Bundesliga and the Premier League have seen a spike in injury rates, and Broad used the example of James Anderson’s injury at Newlands to illustrate the problem.”We all wear these GPS devices now, and the stats that Phil Scott [England’s strength and conditioning coach] pulls together are quite interesting. He can almost predict when an injury might happen. If you bowl 25 or 30 overs in a day, you won’t get injured the next day – it’s a bounce of two weeks when the height of risk of injury comes, which is why rest and recuperation comes into it.”If you’re in the team on July 8 and you do your job and bowl well and you bowl the team out by only bowling 20 overs in the Test then I’m assuming you’re going to play in the next game. That has got to be your aim, and I’d love the opportunity to start. It’s always going to be hard and frustrating if you’re told you’re not playing in a Test, but there is a bigger picture for them looking after us.”We can see [from when] Jimmy came back on Boxing Day – we had a bit of illness, so he bowled loads on Boxing Day and then got injured ten days later. We want to avoid those sorts of things with our bodies not feeling as tough, as cricket-hardened as they would be in a normal summer.”ALSO READ: England’s pace attack is their best since 2005 – GoughIf England do choose to rotate, they will not have any shortage of options to choose from. Players on the fringes of selection like Saqib Mahmood, Jamie Overton and Ollie Robinson will push for inclusion in the final squad for this series in a three-day warm-up match starting on Wednesday, while England have already used as many as eight frontline seamers in Test cricket in the past 12 months.”You have 30 people trying to get in 11 spots, so training has been nicely intense,” Broad said. “The coaches have been telling us to make sure we control our intensity a little, because obviously if we come in and spike our workloads and get up to too high an intensity, we risk injury.”There is certainly no panic over the strength in depth of English fast bowling. We’ve all come here fit and fresh, which is rare for a fast-bowling group. The dream ticket is to board a flight for Brisbane [ahead of the 2021-22 Ashes] and having this lot of fast bowlers all ready to go.”Can we have Olly Stone, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, these sort of pace guys, Woakes, Curran, Broad, Anderson, all fit, fresh and ready to go? If we can, we’ve got a chance of winning there.”
Lille star Thomas Meunier has admitted he would "cycle" to Manchester United if Ruben Amorim's side put in an offer for him.
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A hugely experienced and successful manager is "open" to the idea of replacing Eddie Howe at Newcastle United this summer, according to an update from journalist Graeme Bailey.
The Magpies have suffered a season to forget in 2023/24, having gone into the campaign with such high expectations, following last year's brilliance.
The only thing Newcastle realistically have left to play for between now and the end of the campaign is the FA Cup, and that dream could easily end on Saturday evening when they make the daunting trip to Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
Howe has been tested to the limit as a manager this season, with injuries not helping him at all, and there have been mixed reports regarding his future at St James' Park. Some claims have suggested that he is under big pressure to keep his job, but a contrasting update has said that he remains the right man for the job and will continue as manager beyond the summer.
Plenty of candidates have emerged as options to replace the Englishman, should he be relieved of his duties, including Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann and legendary former Chelsea and Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho.
Speaking to Geordie Boot Boys, Bailey discussed another potential choice in the role, talking up the idea of Roberto Mancini replacing Eddie Howe as Newcastle manager this summer.
"From what I’m told, Mancini would be open to it [becoming Newcastle manager]. He [Mancini] was one of the catalysts for what happened at Man City. He won their first Premier League title. If I was PIF, Roberto Mancini would be very much towards the top of my list, not the Jose Mourinho’s of this world. Mancini has been in this position. He’s taken over from a very popular manager previously.
"He’s been able to bring in these top quality players, and yeah Newcastle can bring big players in too, but you’re not telling me that Roberto Mancini can’t attract more players than Eddie Howe. That’s just a fact. Mancini can attract a player without having to pay them X amount of money. Yes, Newcastle with Howe can get the player in but you might have to pay him that much more."
Mancini is a proven winner who would be a strong candidate to be Howe's successor, even though it remains to be seen what the PIF's decision will be. It is pleasing to see them showing faith in him currently, considering what an excellent job he has done overall, but another poor couple of months to end the season could sway their thinking.
In Mancini, Newcastle would be acquiring the services of an individual has won the Premier League title with City back in 2011/12, as well as tasted Euro 2020 glory as Italy manager, among numerous other huge trophies.
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Roberto Mancini's trophy wins as a manager |
Total |
|---|---|
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European Championship |
1 |
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Premier League |
1 |
|
FA Cup |
1 |
|
Serie A |
3 |
|
Italian Cup |
4 |
|
Italian Super Cup |
2 |
|
Community Shield |
1 |
|
Turkish Cup |
1 |
He knows the English game extremely well, and could want a return to club management instead of being in charge of the Saudi Arabia national team, so there are certainly worse choices out there to come in for Howe.
Outcast England batsman should be allowed to prove he’s changed, says team-mate
Andrew Miller22-May-2020Chris Woakes believes that Alex Hales would be welcomed back into the England set-up this summer, assuming he has learnt his lessons following the drugs ban that caused his axing from last summer’s World Cup squad.Speaking in anticipation of next week’s squad announcements, for which England are likely to choose up to 45 players to accommodate both red- and white-ball needs, Woakes acknowledged that Hales remains a “world-class player” despite not having been selected for England since March 2019, and admitted that a part of him felt sorry for his former team-mate, after missing out on what ought to have been the highlight of his career last summer.”I don’t 100% know what will happen but I’d be happy to see Alex back in England colours,” said Woakes. “I would imagine the majority would have the kind of views I have given. People deserve a second chance, as long as they’ve gone away and worked on a few things. I don’t know why anyone would see that any differently.”The ultimate decision remains in the hands of the England white-ball captain, Eoin Morgan, who took a hard line on Hales in the immediate aftermath of his drugs ban, describing his actions as a “complete disregard” for the team’s values.And though Morgan conceded earlier this month that “the door is still open” for Hales to return to the white-ball set-up, he also put no timeframe on how long he would need to “regain that trust”.Nevertheless, Woakes’ endorsement is significant seeing as he was one of the group of senior players – alongside Morgan, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali – who initiated the removal of Hales from England’s World Cup plans last May.”I don’t know 100 percent if it’s the right decision, it’s not my call,” Woakes said. “[But] I’m a believer that people serve their time so to speak – he’s gone through a tough time, being left out of the World Cup, and going on to see that team lift the trophy must have been difficult for him.”Though Hales has yet to make a public apology for his actions, which overshadowed England’s final preparations for their most important campaign in a generation, he recently told the Daily Mail that he had matured as a character since his fall from grace, and hoped that the England management would find it in themselves to “forgive and forget”.ALSO READ: Is it now or never for Alex Hales’ England recall?Hales has certainly demonstrated a renewed focus with his on-field performances. In 22 innings for Sydney Thunder and Karachi Kings since December, he has amassed 815 runs at 42.89, including eight fifties, and believes he has been in the “form of his life”. With back-to-back T20 World Cups looming – albeit October’s event in Australia may be facing postponement – the statistical case for his England recall is self-evident.Alex Hales gets low to slog-sweep•Getty Images
And Woakes, who has played with and against Hales throughout their rise through age-group cricket, including two Under-19 Tests against New Zealand in 2008, said that he would be willing to take Hales’ commitment to self-improvement at face value.”I think if people have gone away for a time and worked on their weaknesses, they should be allowed a second chance,” Woakes said. “Alex is a world-class player. I have played a lot of cricket with him from a young age actually. In a way I felt sorry for him but I understand the decision from the management, captain and rest of the team.”We have a culture and an environment in the England squad that we all try and pull in the right direction. If Alex is willing to do that then I imagine everyone would be happy to see him back playing for England.”
Manchester United have posted losses of £113 million but are confident they are compliant with Premier League Profit and Sustainability Rules.
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Liverpool's academy has been renowned as one of the world's best for some time now.
Many players who came through the ranks at the club, such as Steven Gerrard, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Jamie Carragher each managed to have long-standing Premier League careers with their hometown team.
The 2023/24 season, in particular, is where the Reds' academy has been allowed to show its prowess in the development of talent.
Jurgen Klopp's men have had a major injury crisis all the way through the campaign thus far. Players such as Joel Matip, Stefan Bajcetic and even Alisson are all absent due to the long-term injuries they have sustained either during the 2022/23 campaign or this term.
Fans are unlikely to see Matip appear for the Reds again this season as the Cameroon international managed to rupture his ACL during Liverpool's 4-3 win against Fulham.
In fact, that game against the Cottagers could be the last time we see the centre-back in a Liverpool shirt at all because his contract is set to expire at the end of the season.
However, departing manager, Jurgen Klopp believes FSG will "show their class" and offer the 32-year-old an extension.
"I would say so, but it’s not my decision in the end – I cannot sign the papers,” he said.
"I am pretty sure the club will show their class, just how they should do it. I am pretty sure the club told Joël already that whatever happens as long as he is injured everything is fine. Then we have to make a decision together with Joël how it looks after that."
Although all these players being absent is far from an ideal situation for the Reds, they have still managed to find themselves on top of the Premier League table and find themselves still in contention for a historic quadruple.
Granted, they are just one point ahead of second-placed Manchester City, however, they face one another on the 10th of March in what many are calling a title-deciding game.
One positive aspect which can be taken from the absences Liverpool have suffered is the fact that some of their academy players have had their careers kick-started.
Youngsters such as Jayden Danns, Lewis Koumas and 16-year-old Trey Nyoni have all made their debuts for the Reds' senior squad this term.
However, it is another one of Liverpool's academy players who has been setting the footballing world alight with his performances of late, that player being, Caoimhin Kelleher.
Described as "world-class" by his teammate Virgil van Dijk, Kelleher has been a constant around Liverpool's senior squad since his first appearance for the club in the third round of the Carabao Cup where Liverpool triumphed 2-0 over MK Dons.
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Starting XI on Kelleher's debut |
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|---|---|
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MK Dons 0 – 2 Liverpool September 2019 |
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|
GK – Caoimhin Kelleher |
|
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RB – Ki-Jana Hoever |
|
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CB – Joe Gomez |
|
|
CB – Dejan Lovren |
|
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LB – James Milner |
|
|
CM – Adam Lallana |
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|
CM – Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain |
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CM – Naby Keita |
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RW – Harvey Elliott |
|
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ST – Rhian Brewster |
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LW – Curtis Jones |
He joined the Reds' academy at the age of 15 from Ringmahon Rangers and managed to make his way through the youth ranks at the club and eventually to the first team.
Since then, he has cemented himself as a penalty shoot-out specialist and has come out on top a total of four times, more than any other Reds goalkeeper in history.
The most memorable of those would more than likely have to be when he rounded off the shoot-out against Chelsea in the 2021/22 edition of the Carabao Cup final.
The Reds won 11–10 thanks to the heroics of the 'keeper and granted Klopp the first Carabao Cup trophy of his tenure.
The Republic of Ireland international started to make himself known during Liverpool's pre-season tour during the 2018/19 season, where he appeared multiple times.
From then on, he made sporadic appearances for the first team on numerous occasions, racking up a total of five appearances before playing his first Champions League games against both Ajax and FC Midtjylland.
It was also during the same 2020/21 season when the youngster made his top-flight debut versus Wolves, where he was filling in for the injured Alisson.
Since then, he has only been able to make the odd appearance here and there due to the importance of the Brazilian stopper within the Liverpool line-up.
However, over the last couple of seasons, the now 25-year-old has been afforded the chance to take the helm in the Carabao Cup games.
This season, the goalkeeper has appeared for the Reds a few more times than he would've likely expected to as Alisson has been ruled out for multiple weeks due to an injury he sustained.
Fortunately for Klopp's men, Kelleher has been on top form.
Thanks to his strong performances throughout both 2021/22 and 2022/23, Kelleher was linked with a plethora of clubs over the summer and January transfer windows, with Celtic even being told that a £20m bid would suffice for the 'keeper.
Klopp will now be thankful that they didn't sell their academy graduate as he has managed to perform to an incredibly high standard this season.
The 2023/24 term has been the one in which fans have seen the most of the Irishman. Due to the sheer excellence of Alisson, it's easy to understand why the 25-year-old isn't afforded as many chances as he likely should be.
Since being called up whilst the 31-year-old is injured, Kelleher has managed to perform to the same level with a handful of superb displays.
Indeed, he has made multiple world-class saves and has cemented himself as one of the best shot-stoppers in the Premier League, notably shining in the Carabao Cup final, as seen below.
Interestingly, when compared to some of his top-flight counterparts, only Arsenal's David Raya has a higher clean sheet percentage (38.1%) than Liverpool's stand-in number one (33.3%) in the Premier League.
Alisson has the same clean sheet percentage as his deputy although, he has played 15 more top-flight games.
The statistics from FBRef also show that the youngster has the third-highest save percentage (71.4%) out of the sample chosen. Only Alisson (75.3%) and, somewhat surprisingly, Manchester United's Andre Onana (73.3%) have a higher amount.
Although statistics can't always be taken for gospel, it shows how well the 'keeper has played this season and outlines how strong of a backup he is.
So, it's no wonder that Klopp has struck gold with the signing of Kelleher and, more than likely, after his stellar form this season, his value will have no doubt increased considerably.