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Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s journey at Wrexham has left Charlie Day emotional, with the ‘Always Sunny in Philadelphia’ star reduced to tears.

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• Hollywood stars completed takeover in 2021
• Fully invested in sporting project
• Invited famous friends along to games

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Hollywood actor is among the A-list guests to have made a trip to North Wales to watch the Red Dragons in action. He was invited over by friend and 'Always Sunny' co-star McElhenney to take in a National League fixture with Yeovil back in April.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Day courted controversy when spotted drinking alcohol in the stands, but thoroughly enjoyed his trip to experience a different brand of football to the one that American audiences are most accustomed to. He was given a first-hand look at what Reynolds and McElhenney have taken on in Britain, and the success that they have enjoyed at Wrexham AFC and in the wider community.

  Instagram/FX

• WHAT THEY SAID

  Day said on the ‘Welcome to Wrexham’ documentary after seeing the Red Dragons move a step closer to wrapping up their record-breaking promotion back into the Football League: “A lot of this talking on TV, but I just wanted to take a second to say how amazing this was from an outside standpoint, to come in here and see what you’ve done with this team and for this town. I wept openly. I never f*cking cry. I’m very proud of you guys.”

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Reynolds and McElhenney have invested financially and emotionally in Wrexham – experiencing a number of highs and lows along the way – and are hoping to see Phil Parkinson’s side bounce straight up into League One this season.

Virat Kohli, the India captain, has been honoured as the Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2017 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, which is published this week

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Apr-20171:10

Archive: Kohli’s record year

Virat Kohli, the India captain, has been honoured as the Leading Cricketer in the World in the 2017 edition of Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack, which is published this week.Kohli produced “the year of his dreams”, writes editor Lawrence Booth, “averaging more with the bat in each of the three formats than anyone: 75 in Tests, 92 in one-day internationals and 106 in Twenty20 internationals”.On his watch, India completed a clean sweep of trophies in the Test, ODI and T20 series against England in 2016-17, with his 235 against England in the fourth Test at Mumbai confirming him, in Booth’s words, as “the spiritual successor to Sachin Tendulkar”.Kohli is the third Indian to win an award that has been running since 2003, and which covers all formats of the international game in the preceding calendar year. Virender Sehwag won it twice, in 2008 and 2009, and Tendulkar once, in 2010. The women’s award was won by Australia’s Ellyse Perry.There is an Asian theme to the Almanack’s awards this year, with Pakistan’s veteran batsmen, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, each being named as one of Wisden’s prestigious Five Cricketers of the Year, following their roles in a memorable 2-2 drawn series in England last summer, which contributed to their country’s brief tenure as the No.1-ranked Test nation.”Misbah-ul-Haq was central to one of the most riveting series in England for years,” writes Booth. “His century in the First Test at Lord’s set a benchmark for his team-mates, while his celebratory press-ups became one of the motifs of the year. Against the odds, he led Pakistan, without a home Test since 2009, to the top of the rankings – and all at the age of 42.”Virat Kohli is the cover star of the 2017 Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack•Wisden

“With the pressure on, Younis Khan delivered. His classy 218 in the final Test of the summer, at The Oval, helped Pakistan square the series after successive defeats had left them in danger of squandering their win at Lord’s. It was his 32nd Test hundred – and a reminder that his struggles earlier in the series had been a blip rather than part of a decline.”Chris Woakes, England’s breakthrough cricketer of 2016, is also a recipient of Wisden’s oldest honour, which dates back to 1889 and can only be awarded once in a player’s career, after claiming 26 wickets at 16 in the four Tests against Pakistan. “This was the year Chris Woakes announced himself as an international-class all-rounder,” writes Booth.Toby Roland-Jones, whose hat-trick against Yorkshire at Lord’s sealed Middlesex’s first County Championship triumph in 23 years, and Ben Duckett, who amassed 2,706 runs in all formats in a stellar summer, complete the list.Having praised England’s positive approach across all formats in his 2016 Notes by the Editor, Booth has to reflect this year on a more retrenched approach, particularly in Test cricket, which resulted – at the end of the 4-0 defeat against India – in the resignation of Alastair Cook after five years as captain.”He chose the right time to go,” writes Booth. “By his own admission, England’s Test cricket had stagnated. This was partly a result of being lumbered with seven matches in less than nine weeks in Bangladesh and India, a touring schedule that must never be repeated.”But the two meltdowns during his reign – Australia 2013-14 and India 2016-17 – reflected an abiding weakness. Lacking the tactical acumen to influence a game on its own, Cook was half the leader when he wasn’t scoring runs. That his team lost only four of his 17 Test series in charge was testament to a very English grit: understated, occasionally self-conscious, always bloody-minded. It proved an exhausting combination.”Elsewhere in his notes, Booth reflects on an extraordinary turn of events at the ICC meeting in Dubai in February, in which, as he puts it, “the world ganged up on India”, and he also takes the ECB to task for their hard-handed approach to Durham’s financial woes, which resulted in their relegation to Division Two of the County Championship.”In September, believing they were fighting for their first-division lives, Durham fielded fast bowler Mark Wood against Surrey; Wood aggravated an ankle injury, and was ruled out of England’s winter tours, when his skiddy pace might have come in handy.”Not only that, but other teams threw everything into avoiding a relegation which was 50% less likely than they realised. It would have been better to come clean about Durham’s fate at the time. Instead, with games taking place which some officials appeared to know would be meaningless, the County Championship was brought into disrepute.”

A round-up of the Group D games in the 2016-17 Vijay Hazare Trophy, which took place on February 25, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff25-Feb-2017

Hyderabad seamer Ravi Kiran and left-arm spinner Mehdi Hasan took three wickets each to help their side bowl out Jammu & Kashmir for 228 and set up a 29-run win. A 70-run partnership for the fourth wicket between Parvez Rasool and Ahmed Bandy, which came at more than eight runs an over, had put J&K’s chase of 258 back on track after quick wickets. However, once both batsmen were out, the lower order slumped quickly – J&K lost their five wickets for 22 runs to fold in the 43rd over.Earlier, fifties from openers Tanmay Agarwal and Akshath Reddy carried Hyderabad to 257. Their 127-run opening partnership gave Hyderabad a platform strong enough to survive a brief slide where they lost four wickets within five overs, before S Badrinath and Hasan nudged the score past 200. Hasan remained unbeaten on 28 off 26 balls, having seen the side through to 257.MS Dhoni’s 50-ball 43 and Saurabh Tiwary’s 68 were not enough to help Jharkhand chase down a target of 267 against Karnataka, who won by five runs with only one ball to spare. The pair came together with Jharkhand at 79 for 4 in the 20th over and added 81 runs to put the chase back on track. After Dhoni fell, Tiwary kept the chase alive with a rapid 39 runs for the seventh wicket with Shabaz Nadeem off 26 deliveries. However, Tiwary’s dismissal in the 42nd over left Jharkhand with another 63 to get and although the lower order strung up partnerships, the side was eventually dismissed off the penultimate ball of the game. Rahul Shukla was the last man to fall, run out for 23 off 20 balls, having driven the lower-order partnerships. K Gowtham had returns of 4 for 58.Shukla had earlier taken 4 for 45 in his nine overs as Karnataka were bowled out for 266. Ravikumar Samarth (71) and Manish Pandey (77) struck fifties and shared a 116-run partnership for the third wicket. Pavan Deshpande, too, chipped in with 36 off 34 balls.Seamer Suraj Yadav and wicketkeeper-batsman Nakul Verma played stellar hands in Services’ 48-run victory over Saurashtra.Yadav struck three times in his first two overs – including two wickets off two balls in the first over – to leave Saurashtra’s chase of 263 in trouble. Their score of 6 for 3 soon became 44 for 5 and they only managed to limp to 215 due to half-centuries from Prerak Mankad (58) and Jaydev Unadkat (57). Yadav returned to pick up one more wicket for figures of 4 for 47.Earlier, Verma’s second List-A century, 124 off 132 balls at the top of the order, set the base for Services’ total of 263 for 9. The remaining Services batsmen got starts but only Soumya Swain made a substantial contribution among them, with 32 off 36 deliveries. Seamer Shaurya Sanandia took 4 for 67 for Saurashtra

The striker grabbed a treble after working up a superb understanding with his co-star

Erling Haaland smashed in his seventh Manchester City hat-trick after working up a wonderful partnership with Julian Alvarez, turning a tricky fixture against Fulham into an eventual thrashing. The little and large partnership did not always work well last season but here the Norwegian and the Argentine were on exactly the same page.

Haaland squared for Alvarez to knock in the opening goal in the 31st minute, only for Tim Ream to pounce and equalise two minutes later. Nathan Ake powered in a header to restore City's lead on the stroke of half-time and Haaland made sure of the three points with three strikes in the second half, two served up by partner in crime Alvarez.

It crowned an excellent week for Haaland, who won the PFA Men's Player of the Year award in recognition of his record-breaking season. It was far from a fluid performance from City although Phil Foden was in mesmeric mood and, thanks to their brilliant strike pairing, the champions have four wins from four.

GOAL rates Man City's players from the Etihad Stadium…

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  Goalkeeper & Defence

  Ederson (4/10):

  Gave an unconvincing performance and should have done better with Bobby De Cordova-Reid's shot which he spilled at Ream's feet.

  Kyle Walker (6/10):

  Led with authority at the back but not as influential in attack as in earlier games.

  Ruben Dias (6/10):

  Pretty solid without being outstanding.

  Manuel Akanji (7/10):

  Played the 'John Stones role' for much of the game, stepping into midfield and building attacks. Played a crucial if controversial part in the second goal.

  Nathan Ake (6/10):

  Looked a bit uncomfortable on his return to the left-back position, making a couple of bad passes. But compensated by heading City back in front.

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  Midfield

  Phil Foden (8/10):

  Played some wonderful football, gliding past Fulham's defenders as if they were plastic cones. Created a lot of City's best moments, including the corner from which Ake scored.

  Rodri (6/10):

  Looked a little rusty, playing imprecise passes.

  Mateo Kovacic (7/10):

  Played with purpose and flair. Played a beautiful pass to slice open Fulham's defence for the opening goal.

  Jeremy Doku (5/10):

  Had a pretty unremarkable debut. Made some nice touches which drew applause from the fans but didn't do many things of note.

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  Attack

  Erling Haaland (10/10):

  The Norwegian had not scored in his previous four matches at the Etihad but filled his boots here, aided by Alvarez. Scored his first hat-trick since his treble against Burnley in March.

  Julian Alvarez (8/10):

  One goal and two assists. Had a superb game, dovetailing to devastating effect with Haaland and getting his scoring touch back after missing a pair of glaring chances against Sheffield United.

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  Subs & Manager

  Bernardo Silva (6/10):

  Kept City's play flowing in the 15 minutes he was on.

  Sergio Gomez (7/10):

  Gave City extra potency down the flanks and grabbed a rare assist.

  Kalvin Phillips (N/A):

  Only introduced for the final five minutes.

  Oscar Bobb (N/A):

  Came on in added time to make his Premier League debut.

  Rico Lewis (N/A)

  Came on in added time.

  Juanma Lillo (7/10):

  Enjoyed a big win in his second and last match in charge after a scrappy victory at Bramall Lane last week. Made a big call by dropping Josko Gvardiol and mad full use of his bench.

Shaun Marsh and Ashton Agar have been named in Western Australia’s squad for next month’s Matador Cup, despite both carrying injuries that will likely prevent them from being available for the start of the tournament

ESPNcricinfo staff22-Sep-2016Shaun Marsh and Ashton Agar have been named in Western Australia’s squad for next month’s Matador Cup, despite both carrying injuries that will likely prevent them from being available for the start of the tournament. Fast bowler Jason Behrendorff has also been included and will make his return from a lengthy lay-off, having not played since the BBL in January due to a stress fracture of the lower back.Western Australia have named a near full-strength group for the one-day tournament, with only Mitchell Marsh unavailable due to Australian duties and Nathan Coulter-Nile injured. However, Shaun Marsh’s broken finger and Agar’s shoulder injury will likely mean they are unavailable until later in the tournament, in which case WA can apply to Cricket Australia for injury replacement players.”It’s great to see Jason [Behrendorff] back in the squad after a long time out,” coach Justin Langer said. “He’s a consummate professional with his rehab and has been diligent throughout so we’re confident he can return to his best during the Matador Cup.”It’s great to have Adam Voges here to lead the side, while we’ve got good experience with players like Michael Klinger and Nathan Rimmington around him.”Western Australia squad Adam Voges (capt), Ashton Agar, Cameron Bancroft, Jason Behrendorff, Hilton Cartwright, Michael Klinger, Shaun Marsh, David Moody, Joel Paris, Nathan Rimmington, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, Jonathan Wells, Sam Whiteman.

West Indies have agreed in principle to play a pink-ball Test against Pakistan in the UAE in September, ESPNcricinfo has learned

Umar Farooq19-Jun-2016As the push for day-night Test cricket gathers momentum around the world, West Indies have agreed in principle to play a pink-ball Test against Pakistan in the UAE in September, ESPNcricinfo has learned. The WICB were initially reluctant but the PCB’s offer of a practice match and training sessions under lights appears to have changed its mind.The PCB also proposed to revise the composition of the tour to three Tests, three ODIs and three T20Is, from the earlier plan of two Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is, according to the FTP.The Pakistan board has been keen to host a day-night Test and made a bid in 2013 to play one against Sri Lanka in UAE. The proposal, however, was declined with lack of practice with the pink ball cited as the reason. Earlier this year, Pakistan agreed to a day-night Test against Australia in Brisbane in December.The PCB is also set to introduce ten day-night matches in its forthcoming first-class season, which starts in September. The plan will be implemented in Quaid-e-Azam Trophy matches, including the semi-final and final, to ensure every top team is acquainted with the demands of long-form cricket under lights.The PCB had also weighed up Sri Lanka as an alternative venue to host West Indies, to counter the growing expenses in UAE, which has been host to Pakistan’s home series for a decade now. The proposal of playing outside UAE had emerged after the Pakistan Super League was held in Dubai and Sharjah in February; it cost the PCB more than US$ 3 million (Pakistan rupees 31.4 crore approx) to stage the tournament over two weeks. The idea, however, was dropped after assessing the drawback of playing in Sri Lanka during the monsoon.Pakistan has largely remained a no-go zone for international teams since March 3, 2009, when gunmen attacked the Sri Lankan team bus during the Lahore Test. Since then, the UAE has hosted a majority of Pakistan’s home series, with only Afghanistan and Zimbabwe visiting Pakistan for one series each.

The IPL 2016 match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians will be held as scheduled on May 1 in Pune, the Bombay High Court ruled on Wednesday

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Apr-2016The IPL 2016 match between Rising Pune Supergiants and Mumbai Indians will be held as scheduled on May 1 in Pune, the Bombay High Court ruled on Wednesday. Last week, the court had ruled that all matches after April 30 should be moved out of Maharashtra due to a severe state-wide drought, but it has permitted the match on May 1 to go ahead after an application from the BCCI.The board had sought permission from the court citing logistical difficulties due to a short turnaround time from the match between Supergiants and Gujarat Lions on April 29. In the application, the BCCI said it was “practically impossible” for the board and Supergiants to shift the match to an another venue outside Maharashtra and “make all arrangements for the same in just a single day”. The application also stated stated that the request to permit the match was “bonafide and is being made in the interest of justice” and, if refused, could cause severe prejudice, grave hardship and irreparable damage and injury to the BCCI and Supergiants.The High Court’s ruling to move matches out of Maharashtra in May has affected 13 matches, including the final, which was scheduled to be held in Mumbai on May 29. The ruling also forced Mumbai and Supergiants, the two Maharashtra-based franchises, to look for alternative home venues for the remainder of the season. While Supergiants have listed Visakhapatnam as their alternative venue, Mumbai have picked Jaipur. Bangalore is likely to host the final, while Kolkata is in line to stage the Eliminator and the second Qualifier, both originally scheduled in Pune. The alternative venues need to be ratified by the IPL governing council.

After letting England chase down a target of 230, South Africa will be desperate to get back to winning ways in the World T20 and keep qualification to the knockouts in their own hands

The Preview by Firdose Moonda19-Mar-2016Match factsSunday, March 20, 2016
Start time 1500 local (0930 GMT)1:49

Match Day: SA’s class should show against Afghanistan

Big PictureThis was the game South Africa glossed over when the fixtures were announced. They were focused on the three former champions they would be facing and not on Qualifier B1. But then they did not know how much would hinge on that seemingly throwaway match-up.South Africa find themselves in the same situation England were two days ago. Defeat in their opener means that they cannot afford another slip-up if they want to ensure the progression to the knockouts remains in their control. If they respond the way England did, they will have nothing to worry about.Faf du Plessis will demand that they do, especially after he spent the latter part of the home summer explaining that South Africa were much-improved under pressure. For that to hold true, the captain will need to look at himself first. His own strike-rate has come under scrutiny, even though it remains in excess of 125 at this level. Mohammad Shahzad’s tops 135. Those small differences can matter.For Afghanistan, it is the big difference they are after. Advancing to the Super 10s was one thing, taking down a big name while they are there will be another. They had Sri Lanka in an awkward position, but too many mistakes in the field allowed the defending champions to escape. Afghanistan will not want to let South Africa get away with similar. At the same time, Afghanistan’s own outcome hangs in the balance. Although few expect them to reach the knockouts, they will want to keep themselves in with a chance for longer than two matches.Form guide (last five completed games most recent first)
South Africa LLLWW
Afghanistan LWWWWIn the spotlight The biggest secret in South Africa’s camp is out: AB de Villiers will not open the batting as originally planned. Despite de Villiers spending the months in the build-up in that role, leaving Hashim Amla and Quinton de Kock to battle for one spot, South Africa have realised all three are too valuable and so de Villiers will hover near the top instead. With Amla and de Kock in form, it means de Villiers has the advantage of a platform to take off from and after failing against England, he will be hungry to make amends in front of an adoring crowd.Afghanistan’s spinners Mohammad Nabi and Rashid Khan lead the wicket-takers’ list with sevens scalps each but are likely to find the going tougher on a surface without much grip or turn. But, against a South Africa middle-order that has historically gotten itself in a spin, they may eye an opportunity to add to their spoils. Even if they don’t, their economy rate of 5.73 and 5.56 respectively could make things difficult anyway.Team news Chris Morris, the bowler, has continued to misfire which may force a change in the lower middle-order. South Africa’s only other allrounder is David Wiese but if they include him, they may also need to strengthen the batting with the inclusion of Rilee Rossouw or Farhaan Behardien, which may lead to Kyle Abbott missing out.South Africa: 1 Quinton de Kock (wk), 2 Hashim Amla, 3 Faf du Plessis (capt), 4 AB de Villiers, 5 JP Duminy, 6 David Miller, 7 Chris Morris/Rilee Rossouw, 8 David Wiese/Kyle Abbott 9 Kagiso Rabada, 10 Dale Steyn, 11 Imran TahirAfghanistan brought in the experience of Karim Sadiq for Gulbadin Naib, who has struggled after the Zimbabwe series in January, but Sadiq did not do much better. He was out for a duck, which could see Gulbadin brought back.Afghanistan: (probable) 1 Mohammad Shahzad (wk), 2 Noor Ali Zadran, 3 Asghar Stanikzai (capt), 4 Mohammad Nabi, 5 Gulbadin Naib, 6 Samiullah Shenwari, 7 Shafiqullah, 8 Dawlat Zadran, 9 Najibullah Zadran, 10 Rashid Khan, 11 Hamid HassanPitch and conditions The Wankhede Stadium has already produced 824 runs in four innings, so it is fair to say the pitch is packed with runs. There is no assistance for seamers or spinners but it may be kinder to fielders with this fixture. This being a day game, dew will not become a factor which should take the emphasis off the outcome of the toss, which favoured the chasing side in the previous two matches.Stats and Trivia South Africa and Afghanistan have met once before, at the 2010 World T20. South Africa won that match by 59 runs. Interestingly, Charl Langeveldt, who is now South Africa’s bowling coach, was a star performer in that game with 3 for 12. While South Africa lamented the 26 extras they gave away against England on Friday – the most in a T20 innings this year – Afghanistan have had a similar problem. They conceded 23 extras against Zimbabwe in January.Quotes “You can’t take any team for granted. We saw how they played against Sri Lanka and in the shorter the format, the minnow teams are more in the running. We have to play our best players to beat them.””We will play South Africa like we play every country, with our own cricket. We give a tough time to every team; we not only play with them, but want to beat one or two of them as well. As long as we play more cricket with Full Members we are getting more experience, and identifying the weak areas we need to work on to compete at the elite level.”

Chelsea remain in the race to sign Victor Osimhen during the summer transfer window but face stiff competition from Manchester United, among others.

The Lowdown: Chelsea keen on Osimhen

The Nigerian has arguably been one of Europe’s standout strikers so far this season, spearheading Napoli’s relentless march to what looks like inevitable Serie A glory.

Osimhen has scored 19 goals in 22 league appearances in 2022/23 to date, as well as finding the net twice in four Champions League outings, one of which came away to Eintracht Frankfurt in the last 16.

The 24-year-old is understandably sought-after by a number of top clubs and Chelsea have emerged as front-runners to sign him at the end of the season, as they look to make further reinforcements to their squad.

United also look like strong contenders to acquire Osimhen’s signature, however, and only a huge bid will likely be able to prise him away from Napoli.

The Latest: New updates emerges

Taking to Twitter, reliable journalist Florian Plettenberg provided an update on the situation, confirming that Chelsea are still very much in the race to sign Osimhen this summer:

“News #Osimhen: Massive season & focussed on the next step.

“Been told City, #CFC, #PSG & #MUFC are all in! Different talks took place. #MCFC inquired although they have Haaland/Alvarez. No topic for Bayern. Transfer fee of at least €100m not feasible.”

The Verdict: Special striker

There is no doubt that Chelsea need to bring in a genuinely elite striker once the summer window arrives, with their attack desperately in need of one currently, with only 27 goals scored in 26 Premier League matches.

Kai Havertz has done well at times in the role, scoring in his last two appearances, but he is still more effective in a deeper position with a No.9 ahead of him further up the pitch, allowing his creativity to shine through.

If Chelsea manage to sign Osimhen, it could be a game-changing addition for Graham Potter, with Jose Mourinho even comparing the 15-goal Nigeria international to Blues legend Didier Drogba recently.

He looks to have all the attributes to be a huge success in the Premier League, possessing the strength to bully defenders, the pace to outrun them and the deadly finishing in front of goal.

At 24, Osimhen is also coming right into the peak of his career and whoever snaps him up could be getting one of the leading strikers of his generation, assuming he ends up leaving Napoli, which is far from a given.

Everton are interested in bolstering their attacking ranks with a struggling star following news of Demarai Gray's supposed departure to Saudi Arabia this month.

What's the latest on Callum Hudson-Odoi to Everton?

According to the Evening Standard, Sean Dyche's Everton could make a swoop for Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi after Fulham's reluctance to meet the £8m transfer fee, with fellow top-flight rivals Nottingham Forest also interested.

Sky Sports report Dharmesh Sheth has since corroborated such claims by stating that the Cottagers' negotiations have indeed stalled, paving the way for the Toffees to hijack the deal.

Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…

Everton have bolstered the attacking ranks with a wealth of acquisitions this summer, but yielding no points and no goals from their first two Premier League matches, it's understandable that Dyche seeks further firepower.

How good is Callum Hudson-Odoi?

Hudson-Odoi had the world at his feet.

The fleet-footed wideman had burst onto the scene at Stamford Bridge, hailed as "brilliant" and "the big one" by pundit Darren Bent after a scintillating performance against West Bromwich Albion back in 2020, but the three-cap England international has hit his nadir after a heavy fall from grace.

He was even the subject of £70m transfer attention from Bayern Munich in 2020, though Chelsea rejected the German Bundesliga champions' advances and now look to offload their struggling star for a paltry £8m.

The talent is unequivocal, however, and there is a reason that Hudson-Odoi was earning such lucrative attention in the formative phase of his career, described as "amazingly talented" by scout Jacek Kulig.

Despite an inauspicious loan spell with Bayer Leverkusen last season, where the ace posted just one goal and one assist from 21 outings, starting 13 times, the Cobham graduate boasts a wealth of qualities that could arrest the awe of the Everton masses once provided with a platform to truly grow into his skin.

As per FBref, Hudson-Odoi ranks among the top 10% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 18% for progressive passes and the top 15% for progressive carries per 90.

Effectively, this highlights both the crispness of his ball-playing skills and his aptitude as a box-crashing vessel, and while the fluidity in decisive moments has faded, he could yet restore his impetus.

It could be an especially prudent move to make given the likely departure of Gray at Everton, with the 27-year-old poised for a move to Saudi club Al Shabab after the Toffees reached an agreement on a fee, though first will look to secure a replacement.

Enter Hudson-Odoi.

The £180k-per-week gem – who the Evening Standard claim will take a 'significant' pay cut to get his career back on track – can play across both flanks and actually trumps his Jamaican counterpart in several key elements.

Indeed, Gray ranks among the bottom 22% of attacking midfielders and wingers for progressive passes, the bottom 1% for progressive passes, the bottom 23% for successful take-ons and the top 37% for progressive carries per 90.

The £25k-per-week attacker did manage to score six goals from 36 matches across all competitions last term, but his overall game does not cut the mustard considering the sustenance of Everton as a top-flight outfit.

Hudson Odoi – roughly five years younger – has had a tough time of late and is leagues below the expectation when this prodigious bundle of talent announced himself at Stamford Bridge several years ago, but he has maintained some of the core qualities requisite for success and Dyche would do well to discard Gray and provide the Chelsea star with the opportunity to tap into his potential on Merseyside.