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Aaron Phangiso, the South Africa and Joburg Super Kings’ left-arm spinner has had his bowling action cleared following a re-test, the SA20 league announced via a press release. The league has also lifted the suspension previously imposed upon the spinner.Phangiso was reported for a suspect bowling action during Super Kings’ game against Pretoria Capitals on January 17 in the inaugural SA20. He was deemed to have a non-compliant action after undergoing a number of laboratory tests and subsequently suspended from bowling in the league.Related

• Aaron Phangiso suspended from bowling in SA20 due to illegal action

• Phangiso's bowling action found illegal

The 39-year-old has since undergone bowling action remodelling and remedial work under the guidance of CSA head of High Performance, Vincent Barnes. He undertook a test at an ICC Accredited Testing Centre at the University of Pretoria, which “noted an improvement in his action, and cleared the way for him to return to bowling.” The Independent Assessment report on Phangiso’s bowling action was presented to SA20’s Independent Expert Panel, which consisted of Zama Ndamane, Gerrie Pienaar, Russell Domingo and Vernon Philander.Phangiso played six matches at the SA20, picking ten wickets – including two four-wicket hauls – and finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker for his team. Super Kings made it to the semi-final of the tournament, where they were beaten by eventual winners Sunrisers Eastern Cape by 14 runs.This was the second time in his career that Phangiso’s action was deemed illegal. He was first reported during Lions’ win against Warriors in the semi-final of the Momentum One-Day Cup in 2016 and was cleared after undergoing remedial work on his action.Phangiso has played 21 ODIs and 16 T20Is for South Africa and last donned the national jersey in a T20I against India in 2016.

“I will be exploring new opportunities in the world of cricket and the business side of it,” former India medium pacer says

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2023Joginder Sharma, the man who picked up Misbah-ul-Haq’s wicket to give India victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007, has announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.”My journey from 2002-2017 has been the most wonderful years of my life for it was an honour representing India at the highest level of sport,” Joginder said in a statement. “To all my team-mates, coaches, mentors and support staff: It has been an absolute privilege to have played with you all, and, I thank you all for helping turn my dream into reality.”I am excited to announce that I will be exploring new opportunities in the world of cricket & the business side of it, where I will also continue to participate in the sport that I love and challenge myself in new and different environment. I believe that this is the next step in my journey as a cricketer and I look forward to this new chapter in my life.”Related

The last wicket in the first T20 World Cup

'This is the biggest challenge I have faced'

Joginder represented India in four ODIs and as many T20Is between 2004 and 2007, picking up a total of five wickets. In the final moments of the 2007 T20 World Cup final against Pakistan, Joginder was handed the ball by captain MS Dhoni to bowl the final over. With Pakistan needing six runs off four balls with one wicket remaining, he got Misbah to scoop to Sreesanth at short fine-leg and set off the celebrations. He never played for India again.He was part of Chennai Super Kings in the IPL for the first four seasons, where he picked up 12 wickets in 16 matches. Representing Haryana in domestic cricket, he played a total of 77 first-class matches, 80 List A matches, and 43 T20s. He last played competitive cricket in 2017, for Haryana in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.While still an active cricketer, Joginder joined the police department in his home state of Haryana, and now serves as a deputy superintendent of police. He was on the front lines during the fight against Covid-19 and, more recently, took part in the 2022 Legends League Cricket tournament.

Sanjay Manjrekar on the various contributing factors to India’s comprehensive victory in St Lucia

14-Aug-2016Captain Jason Holder’s middling skills with bat and ball are a cause for concern, and West Indies need to take some tough decisions regarding him, says Sanjay Manjrekar.2:26

Manjrekar: Holder providing an illusionary benefit to the team

‘Young WI batsmen are not trained to be Test players’A T20 and ODI mindset is plaguing West Indies batsmen, and they need specialist Test batsmen if they hope to improve on their performances.2:36

Manjrekar: Young batsmen are not trained to be Test players

‘Familiar issues resurfaced’Manjrekar expected West Indies’ fight from the second Test to be carried forward in this series but it was not so in St Lucia.2:00

Manjrekar: Familiar issues resurfaced for West Indies

‘Kohli’s leadership was instrumental in this win’India captain Virat Kohli’s aggressive mentality rubbed off on his team, which led to victory in the third Test against West Indies.3:23

Manjrekar: Kohli’s leadership was instrumental in this win

‘Kohli happy to make adjustments for Rohit’Kohli is ready to take a gamble and include Rohit Sharma in the Test side.

Misbah-ul-Haq’s glorious Lord’s century stood out as a magnificent aberration of an achievement for modern 40-plus cricketers

Bill Ricquier20-Jul-2016In the week that Theresa May became the oldest person to enter 10 Downing Street as Prime Minister since James Callaghan in 1976, the remarkable Misbah-ul-Haq became the oldest person to play in a Test match in England since Brian Close, oddly enough, in 1976.Close, who was 46 when he was asked to pad up against Michael Holding, Andy Roberts and Wayne Daniel, had, 27 years earlier, become England’s youngest ever Test player. Misbah’s achievement, at 42 , was even more extraordinary. The first Test against England at Lord’s was the first he had ever played in that country. Indeed of his young and exciting team, only four – including the great Younis Khan and Mohammad Amir – had toured England before.It was after their last tour of England in 2010, and the spot- fixing scandal that besmirched their last Test appearance at Lord’s, that Misbah was brought in, as it were to clean out the Augean stables. He has been outstanding in every respect . It is naturally tempting to compare him with Imran Khan, the only other Pakistan captain capable of bringing disparate and willful talents together to form a conglomerate of something like greatness. But the real comparison is with one of history’ s outstanding captains, Frank Worrell, who led the West Indies to glory in the early 1960s. Both men had something special, something that fulfilled a need felt by a particular team, full of hugely talented individuals at a particular time. Both were essentially father figures – Imran never really managed that – and had an unchallengeable authority that did not need to be demonstrably seen to be followed.Misbah’s century on his first appearance in a Test in England was a lustrous adornment to a special Lord’s day. Pakistan were not exactly in difficulty when he arrived but they should have been doing better. As so often, he showed the way. He is always an immensely sensible batsman but he is so much more than that. The way England’s change bowlers – on the day at least, Steven Finn and Moeen Ali – were dealt with was as clinical as it was elegant.The Lord’s Test will be remembered for many things apart from Misbah’s century. It was one of those games whose bare result – a Pakistan win by 75 runs – tells very little about the intensity of the contest, particularly on the gripping final day. The performances of Yasir Shah and Chris Woakes were especially telling but if there is an abiding memory, it will be Misbah’s celebratory press- ups on reaching his century. It has always been more or less assumed that he is the fittest man in the side – although in the field he is s beginning to show signs of what property lawyers call fair wear and tear. Be that as it may, his achievement was remarkable for a 42-year old.Andrew Miller, speaking on ESPNcricinfo, said it was a throwback to the days of Jack Hobbs. Hobbs famously completed a hundred first- class centuries after his 40th birthday. He was exceptional but not unusual. When he toured Australia for the fifth and last time in 1928-29 under Percy Chapman (aged 28) England won 4-1. Hobbs turned 46 on the tour, Phil Mead 41, Patsy Hendren and Ernest Tyldesley both 40.Even in relatively recent times forty-plus players have featured in England Test sides. Alec Stewart carried on till he was 40, just. Eddie Hemmings was 41 when Kapil Dev hit him for four successive sixes to save the follow-on at Lord’s in 1990. This was the game in which Graham Gooch made a triple century and another hundred; he too went on till he was well over 40.But for a player not from England to go on for so long is highly unusual. The historical reason for this is the professional structure of the English game. English players, operating in the county system, had careers that could last for decades. It was different in, say, Australia, where in Richie Benaud’s time even the best could not go on indefinitely. Great players like Alan Davidson and Neil Harvey left the game relatively early: Harvey, the last survivor of Don Bradman’s 1948 Invincibles, made four Ashes tours of England but when he retired he was only 33. Bradman himself made four tours of England. He turned forty at the end of that 1948 tour.It was the same elsewhere. Even Worrell was only 38 when he made his third and final tour of England in 1963. Clive Lloyd, a comparable figure in some ways, turned 40 at the end of the triumphant tour of England in 1984. Of course overseas players who played in county cricket, like Lloyd, Viv Richards, Gordon Greenidge, Zaheer Abbas and Courtney Walsh, tended to have longer careers. But none of them, not Sachin Tendulkar or Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the old war horses of the modern era, played a Test in England after turning 40.Bert Sutcliffe, the classy New Zealand left hander, toured England in 1965 at the age of 41. It was not a success . He never really recovered from being hit on the head by a ball from Fred Trueman, himself hardly a stripling at 34.Commendable though Misbah’s achievements are, it is difficult to see him as a trend-setter in respect of the age of Test cricketers. It’s a different world. Misbah was a special man for a particular occasion, which he rose to in a way that no one could really have anticipated. We must take him for what he is – a magnificent aberration, and a rare and joyous combination of the ordinary and the extraordinary.Want to be featured on Inbox? Send your articles to us here, with “Inbox” in the subject line.

England captain backs Archer to build on promising comeback after SA ODIs

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2023

Jos Buttler drives through the covers in Bloemfontein•AFP/Getty Images

Jos Buttler, England’s white-ball captain, has admitted to “frustrations” that his team’s preparation for the defence of their 50-over World Cup title has been hampered by scheduling clashes ahead of this month’s tour of Bangladesh.However, Buttler insists there will be no consequences for those players who have made themselves unavailable for the tour – among them Alex Hales, Sam Billings and David Willey – given that the opportunities currently presenting themselves on the franchise circuit are too good to turn down for those players who are not centrally contracted to the ECB.”It’s quite a unique situation,” Buttler said in the wake of England’s 2-1 series loss to South Africa in Kimberley. “It’s the time we are in. The way the games are scheduled, I can sort of understand it both ways. As an England captain, on one side you wish that everyone would see playing for England as the main thing and grab any opportunity available.”But there are bigger things in play as well. The discrepancy between what people can earn playing for England and not playing for England is quite large, so that’s a factor that must be considered. For each individual that will be a different decision made at different times of their careers.Related

Uncapped Tom Abell ruled out of England's Bangladesh tour due to side strain

T20 franchise commitments leave England short-stocked for ODI tour of Bangladesh

Jos Buttler, Dawid Malan tons, Jofra Archer six-for snap England losing streak

England are behind on their World Cup studies – but there's still plenty of time to cram

“In this day and age, you’ve got to try to work with it as best you can and if people make themselves unavailable, they know they’re giving someone else a chance. But I certainly don’t want to be in a position where you rule people out and say they’ll never play for England again, or anything like that.”The squad for the Bangladesh tour includes two uncapped players in Tom Abell and Rehan Ahmed, with England having already selected 37 players across 33 ODIs since the 2019 World Cup victory – five more than they used in nearly three times as many matches (98) in the previous World Cup cycle from 2015 to 2019.With the IPL looming in April, plus a five-Test Ashes series in June and July that will be the preoccupation for a number of England’s leading multi-format players – including Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow – England will not be able to field their first-choice World Cup XI until at least the series against Ireland and New Zealand in September.Buttler, however, remains phlegmatic about the current situation, and confident that the players who have put their names forward for Bangladesh will use the chance to advance their own World Cup claims.”Wherever people are playing, we want to pick our best available team, especially for World Cups and big ICC events, so we are open minded,” he said. “It’s quite complicated, and there are some frustrations at certain points but I completely understand people’s positions and it’s an individual decision at the end of the day.”One man who has made himself available for the Bangladesh tour is Jofra Archer, who capped his return to England colours after a near-two-year absence with career-best figures of 6 for 40 in the third ODI.Jofra Archer was back in the wickets for England in Kimberley•AFP

Archer’s return to action has been a gradual process, with an initial outing for England Lions in Abu Dhabi last year followed by a run of five appearances for MI Cape Town in the SA20, prior to his two ODI outings in Bloemfontein and Kimberley.”He wants to play,” Buttler said. “When he’s come back and he’s fit, and there’s cricket available, it doesn’t seem to make sense to hold him back. He obviously needs to build his overs, and his resilience, to being able to bowl 10 overs a game and of course for English cricket looking ahead you want to see him playing Test cricket as well where he will be able to bowl spell after spell.”Archer could return to action for Cape Town this week, and is scheduled to play for Mumbai Indians in the IPL from April. Having touched speeds of up to 92mph in his England return last week, he has expressed his desire to be part of England’s Ashes plans come the English season.”He certainly needs to be playing cricket,” Buttler added. “You are always going to try to look after him and we will be guided by the medical team. But he has been sat on the sidelines for a long time and so if he’s fit and available it makes sense for him to be playing.”We all know the levels he can perform at, so to see him get back to that kind of level so quickly is incredibly impressive. It’s such a treat as a captain to have him there to throw the ball to.”He really wants the big moments, it’s something that he always stands up. Jofra wants the ball there and it’s just a great thing as a captain to have someone there like that. The more and more cricket he plays, the better he’s going to get.”

Crystal Palace are closing in on the signing of a 17-year-old gem who has impressed coaches on trial at Copers Cope Road, according to a new report.

The Eagles picked up just their second win of the Premier League season on Tuesday night, as they beat Ipswich Town 1-0 at Portman Road, a result that lifts them three points above the relegation zone, albeit playing a game more than their rivals near the bottom.

Crystal Palace believe £20m gem they want to sign is available in January

Palace chiefs now believe a deal can be done in January for a key target.

ByBrett Worthington Dec 3, 2024 Crystal Palace transfer news

It is a good start to the month for Palace in what is always a busy period for English clubs, as games come thick and fast and lead right into the winter window. The win over Ipswich will have eased the pressure on Oliver Glasner, but it will probably not have done much to change the club’s plans for the New Year.

January could be a busy time for the South London side – it has already been reported this week that Palace have made an approach to sign striker James Berry-McNally from Chesterfield. The young attacker has impressed in League Two and has put himself on Palace’s radar, with the Premier League side keeping a close eye on his development. Chesterfield are looking to get around £5 million to let the player leave.

Palace are also confident that James McAtee will be available for a transfer in January. The Manchester City man looks set to leave the Etihad in the New Year, with a loan looking a possibility a couple of weeks ago, but Palace, along with West Ham, are confident that they can sign the midfielder on a permanent basis. But it could be another young player who becomes their first signing ahead of the New Year.

Crystal Palace closing in on signing of Rylan Brownlie

According to Football Insider, Crystal Palace are on the verge of signing Rylan Brownlie on a free transfer. The 17-year-old is from Brisbane, Australia, and he has been without a club since leaving Brisbane Roar during the summer.

Brownlie, who is a centre-forward, played 11 times for the Australian side in the 2023/24 campaign, scoring one goal and registering one assist. He came through the ranks at Brisbane and signed his first professional deal last year, but it was not extended this summer.

The young striker has been training at Palace in recent weeks, and he has done enough for the Premier League side to offer him a contract. The report states that Brownlie has impressed the coaches at Palace’s training ground and now looks set to follow his dad by playing in England.

Apps

12

Goals

1

Assists

1

Brownlie is believed to be known for his power and pace at the top of the pitch, and he now looks set to join Palace’s under-18 side, which is considered among the best in England. Brownlie will hope he can do enough in the under-18s to get a chance in the under-23s and then the main aim will be to feature for the first team.

Hansi Flick has chimed in on the topic of the ongoing controversy related to referees, with Real Madrid repetitively calling for their heads.

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• Flick on the side of referees
• Showed empathy towards them
• Ongoing controversy stirred by Real Madrid

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick has voiced his opinions on the latest footballing controversy in Spain, calling for LaLiga match officials to be protected amid a wave of harsh criticism from Real Madrid via their official platform, Real Madrid TV.

Advertisement

• Getty Images Sport
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  During Real Madrid's most recent LaLiga encounter, in which they faced Osasuna at El Sadar, Jude Bellingham was shown a straight red card in the 39th minute for allegedly saying "f*ck you" to referee Monuera Montero.

  Following the game, Montero was a victim to online abuse and threats made by fans, prompting the Technical Committee of Referees (CTA) to issue a strong statement condemning the treatment of the referee.

  That wasn't the first instance of Real Madrid clashing with the referees, as the club demanded VAR room audios from the Espanyol game at the start of the month, in which Espanyol left-back Carlos Romero escaped a sending off for a rash challenge from behind on Kylian Mbappe.

• WHAT HANSI FLICK SAID

  “It is very important to have referees. What they are doing with the referees in Spain is unbelievable," Flick told reporters (h/t Football Espana). "I don’t like it. We have to think about the families. We as players and managers have to protect them too. I don’t like to use energy against the referees.

  “We have the VAR and we have to trust them. You have to change things, because they are human and it is normal to make mistakes. The Federation must show how strong they are, because it’s important. Players and coaches also make mistakes, and we must protect them.

  “We always look for excuses. If we lose it’s because of the referees and it’s not like that. We all make mistakes, I make them, you make them, even the referees. We have to protect the referees because we can’t play without them. We have to protect them. We have to play better to win.”

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR HANSI FLICK?

  The German head coach has guided Barcelona back to the top of the LaLiga table following a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Monday. Their upcoming assignments include a trip to Las Palmas this weekend, followed by next week's Copa del Rey semi-final first leg clash against Atletico Madrid.

تُوّج فريق نهضة بركان المغربي بلقب بطولة كأس الكونفدرالية الإفريقية لعام 2025، بفوزه على سيمبا التنزاني بنتيجة 3-1 في مجموع المباراتين.

وجاء ذلك على الرغم من تعادله في مباراة الإياب أمام مضيفه نادي سيمبا التنزاني بهدف لكل فريق، في المباراة التي أقيمت على ملعب “أماني” في زنجبار. 

المباراة شهدت هدف تقدم سيمبا عن طريق مهاجمه موتالي في الدقيقة السادسة عشر بعد تلقيه عرضية متقنة ليسدد بقوة لم يستطع منير المحمدي، حارس نهضة بركان، التصدي لها.

لكن الفريق المغربي تمكن من تعديل النتيجة في الدقيقة الثالثة والتسعين عبر هدف قاتل أثار فرحة عارمة وسط جماهيره، ليحسم التعادل 1-1 في لقاء الإياب.

رسميًا | الزمالك يتلقي خطاب فيفا برفع إيقاف القيد

وكان نهضة بركان قد وضع قدمًا على منصة التتويج بعد فوزه في مباراة الذهاب على أرضه بهدفين نظيفين سجلهما لامين كامارا وأسامة المليوي في الدقيقتين 8 و14، ما منح الفريق أفضلية واضحة قبل موقعة الإياب.

شهدت المباراة أيضًا طرد لاعب سيمبا يوسف كاجوما في الدقيقة 50 من الشوط الثاني بعد تلقيه البطاقة الصفراء الثانية لتراكم الإنذارات، ما أثّر على أداء فريقه وجعل فرصهم في الفوز تقل.

على الجانب الإداري، تعرضت بعثة نهضة بركان لمضايقات وتأخيرات تجاوزت الأربع ساعات في مطار زنجبار بسبب إهمال إداري، الأمر الذي دفع إدارة النادي لتقديم شكوى رسمية للاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم (كاف) ضد نادي سيمبا، متهمة إياه بعدم احترام معايير الاستقبال والضيافة. 

بهذا التتويج، يحقق نهضة بركان لقبه الثالث في بطولة الكونفدرالية بعد ألقابه السابقة في 2020 و2022، معززًا مكانته كأحد أبرز الأندية المغربية والإفريقية في المسابقة.

وتجدر الإشارة إلى أن الفريق خسر نهائي النسخة الماضية أمام الزمالك، ما يجعل هذا الفوز بمثابة استعادة قوية للمكانة.

 

Rain washed out the game between Knight Riders and Royals, but the Eden Gardens crowd was lapping up to the music and commerce swirling inside and outside the gates

Karthik Krishnaswamy in Kolkata26-Apr-2015It is closing in on 7pm at the Eden Gardens when the stadium DJ decides to break the monotony of contemporary Bollywood music and go back to the early 80s.” [Have you ever loved someone?]” a youthful Rishi Kapoor implores, in the voice of an ageing Kishore Kumar.” [I have!]” comes the reply, with sections of the Eden Gardens crowd joining the chorus of shrill voices recorded before a lot of them were born.” [Have you ever given someone your heart?]” ” [I have!]”There is little reason for the crowd to show so much enthusiasm. For one, they should be watching the climactic stages of a Twenty20 run chase. They are instead watching the groundstaff and three Super Soppers grimly attempt to turn a sodden outfield into a surface fit for a game of cricket.Even that sodden outfield is a freshly vacuumed carpet compared to the turf some of them have trudged through to reach their seats.Barricaded into a narrow pathway around the edge of Kolkata’s sprawling , soaked to the skin, five or six to a row, shoulder to shoulder, they had squelched their way from ticket counter to stadium gates through sometimes ankle-deep slush.All this so they wouldn’t hinder the flow of traffic on the roads around the stadium.Whenever a row in front had hesitated before sinking their feet into a particularly boggy patch, the rows behind had undergone an accordion-like contraction that had mashed faces into backs. This had also happened when someone had paused to buy a t-shirt or get their face painted. For the vendors outside the stadium, this was just another match day.The swirl of commerce, in all its forms, goes on as always, outside and inside the gates. The music blares incessantly, without a single sombre or reflective note. But you are never far from a reminder that this isn’t, perhaps, just another match day.Ankit Keshri’s face looks out from posters all around the stadium and at its gates. At the Club House gate, his posters stand in front of giant photo-murals of Indian cricket’s legends. Here is Kapil Dev, lifting the World Cup. Here is Sourav Ganguly, Kolkata’s greatest cricketer. Here are VVS Laxman and Rahul Dravid, walking off the field after one of the greatest days in Indian cricket. Maybe a six-year-old Keshri had been at the stadium, watching them bat.This is the first match at the Eden Gardens since Keshri’s death. Kolkata Knight Riders have included him as the 16th member of their squad. Conversations around the stadium occasionally turn to Keshri, or to the earthquakes that have shaken the city – and ravaged Nepal – over the last two days.Before the sun went down, it had been possible to see smoke rising over the rooftops beyond the eastern side of the ground. In the morning, a fire had broken out at a shopping complex in the New Market area. Now the skies have darkened and the buildings in the distance have faded out of view. All you can see clearly is the giant football on the roof of the New Secretariat Building, lit by the stadium’s nearest floodlight tower, looking like a gibbous moon.Mobile phones cause pinpricks of light to flash in the far stands. They remind you vaguely of the paper torches the crowds here used to hold up back in the 90s. You’ll now need secret pockets to carry matchboxes or lighters into the stands. Back then the stadium could pack 90,000 spectators, some said 100,000. Now it holds 66,000. On a rainy day with little hope of cricket, it is close to full.Each time the PA system brings the crowd an update – a male voice, polite, speaking first in English and then in Bengali – that hope dwindles further. An inspection at 5.35 if there is no rain. There is no rain. An inspection at 6.20 if there is no rain. There is no rain. 6.50. No rain. Through all this the covers come off, and a blue ground slowly turns green, with wet patches on its edges.There is no more rain, but the wet patches simply won’t dry. At 7.05 the announcer reveals there is little hope of play, considering the cut-off time is 7.30. He announces that spectators will get a full refund should there be no play. At 7.15 he confirms that there will be no play.The exodus begins. Feet that had gone crusty with dried mud step in puddles once more. They step past posters of Ankit Keshri. They stop at stalls selling . They go back home. They will return to the ticket counter in two days, get their refunds, and complete a strange cycle that posterity will simply record as ‘match abandoned without a ball bowled’.

One of Sunderland’s Championship promotion rivals are believed to be interested in signing one of their key players in the January transfer window, according to a new report.

Sunderland stuttering after flying start

After a blistering start to the season by Regis Le Bris’ side, there is no question that their campaign has started to lose a little bit of momentum in recent weeks.

On Saturday afternoon, Sunderland blew a 2-0 lead at home to a Coventry City side who sacked manager Mark Robins last week, eventually drawing 2-2. It was their third draw in a row in the league, and having led the way at the top of the Championship table by five points, they are now only ahead of Sheffield United on goal difference, following their 1-0 win at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

There is certainly no reason to panic for the Black Cats, who still looked primed for a promotion push this season, but an improvement in form is needed after the international break, with the absence of the suspended Jobe Bellingham acting as a blow.

It is imperative that Sunderland keep hold of their most influential figures between now and the end of the season, however, and possibly even make new signings in January, but a concerning update has now emerged regarding one current Stadium of Light hero.

"Fantastic" Sunderland ace wanted by rivals

According to a fresh claim from The Sunday Mirror [via Football League World], Leeds United are eyeing a move for Sunderland ace Dennis Cirkin in January, in what would be a shock exit from the Stadium of Light. The Whites are keeping tabs on the Black Cats hero, who has been an ever-present for his side in the Championship this season, starting all 15 of their matches in the competition.

The idea of Sunderland allowing Cirkin to join Leeds midway through the season is nonsensical, considering they would be both weakening themselves and strengthening one of their biggest Championship rivals this season.

The 22-year-old has excelled for the Black Cats in 2024/25 to date, scoring twice and assisting once from left-back, as well as averaging 3.4 tackles and 2.7 clearances per game.

Praise from his former manager, Lee Johnson, speaks volumes about what Sunderland would lose out on: “Fantastic player, he’ll have a top career. No question of a doubt but we need to accelerate that leadership and obviously we’re looking to do that. Communicating in his best way and if that’s having a lot of individual chats with players around him, to canvas, to make sure that connection is there, then so be it.”

The £10,000-a-week Cirkin is a player Sunderland simply must keep hold of, at least for the remainder of the season, or risk seeing their promotion hopes damaged.

Championship Table: Latest standings for the 2024/25 season

Latest English Football League Championship standings 2024/25.

ByStephan Georgiou Apr 22, 2025

At 22, there is still so much more to come from him too, so he should be viewed as an important long-term figure at the club by Le Bris.