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Keeping Alexander Isak around right up until the early September deadline will have the same buzz as a brand new signing for those at Newcastle United.

It will be a tough few weeks ahead for the Toon as they try and keep a firm grip on their star-man in attack, with Isak potentially having his head turned by a mega-money £200m move to Al-Hilal, away from earlier interest in his coveted services from fellow Premier League outfit Liverpool.

To make matters worse, this chaotic transfer window has also been bumpy – away from Isak eyeing up a move away – when it comes to the amount of failed pursuits the Magpies have had to stomach, with Joao Pedro favouring Chelsea over a St James’ Park switch, on top of any movement for Hugo Ekitike also falling flat.

Still, not all hope is lost that a bold new striker will arrive through the door shortly, as Newcastle prepare to spend big to bolster up top.

Newcastle ready £86m bid for former Premier League striker

After all, Howe and Co. have already flexed their muscles in the hectic transfer market by securing the services of Anthony Elanga for an excessive £55m.

The lavish spending in attack won’t stop there if new reports are anything to go by, with £78m having to be forked out on Newcastle’s end if they want to land RB Leipzig goal machine Benjamin Sesko.

The Slovenian marksman did chip in with 13 Bundesliga strikes last season, meaning he might be a worthwhile investment, but the Toon might well be better off going after ex-Manchester City ace Julian Alvarez instead.

Indeed, wild reports emerging from Spain seem to indicate that Howe’s side are preparing a move for Alvarez if Isak deserts Tyneside this summer, with a fee around the £86m mark potentially enough to win the Atletico Madrid striker, which would send out shockwaves subsequently.

There is also, of course, the long-term target of Yoane Wissa on Newcastle’s radar, but even with the DR Congo international’s goalscoring prowess in the Premier League making him a catch at £50m, Alvarez does seem to represent a more eye-catching signing, especially as the Toon attempt to wrestle back some authority in the unpredictable market.

Why Alvarez is a more exciting signing than Wissa

Picking up the Argentina international could see lightning strike twice on the end of the Magpies, with Newcastle’s last striker addition from La Liga being Isak. Now, the rest is history, as the Swede has a bumper 54 Premier League strikes next to his name.

Alvarez finds himself stuck on 20 strikes in the top-flight after waving goodbye to the Etihad last year, with Wissa having a slight upper-hand here with a heftier 45 efforts in the taxing division, but it’s his exploits away from just the English game that will have caught Newcastle’s eye even more.

In all competitions last season, the skilful £86m “monster” – as he was once labelled by Argentine journalist Pablo Gonzalez – would end up wiping the floor with Wissa, as seen in his spectacular haul of 29 strikes and seven assists leading the line for Diego Simeone’s Rojiblancos.

Amazingly, that’s two more goals than Isak managed across the entirety of last season, as he now ponders a move to the Middle East, whilst also being a whopping 12 goal contributions better off than Wissa’s own tally back at Brentford.

Alvarez’s career numbers by position
Position played	Games	Goals	Assists
CF	167	86	31
RW	49	12	8
SS	29	11	8
AM	20	8	7
LW	6	2	4
LM	1	0	0
Sourced by Transfermarkt

The ball also remains firmly in the South American’s court as a more exciting proposition than Wissa with the ex-River Plate wonderkid turned Madrid royalty an even more adaptable presence than his Congolese counterpart, with the £86m forward more than comfortable to play as an out-and-out striker, as much as he can also slot in as a number ten, or as a winger on either flank with ease.

On the contrary, Wissa has only ever played eight career clashes down the right-hand side or as a number ten, with Alvarez’s weighty price tag now making more sense in terms of what he can offer Howe and Co. away from just being a potent striker option.

With 15 Champions League goals under his belt too, on top of two Premier League title successes in his back pocket for City, landing the “best forward in the world” – as he was branded by reporter Roy Nemer – would be some coup, with Wissa forgotten about in a flash if a statement move was sealed.

Better signing than Trafford: Newcastle line up swoop for £78m "monster"

Newcastle United could be about to win a better signing than James Trafford by landing this £78m monster.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jul 20, 2025

Rapid turnaround from English summer leaves undercooked tourists vulnerable despite Pakistan’s poor form

Andrew Miller06-Oct-2024Big picture: Back on the road againAsk a friend, any friend, where do you think England will be playing a Test match this week? Who, bar the most devoted of cricket fans, could hope to keep up with an absurd itinerary that, only last week(!), was pitting England against Australia in a dank one-day series at the fag end of a deeply underwhelming summer?And now, without even a pause to put the clocks back, they are back on their winter travels again… to Pakistan, a place where England hadn’t set foot for nearly two decades from 2005, but will soon have played six Tests in the space of two years, which is more away matches than even Australia and India have warranted in a similar timeframe.It’s all deeply discombobulating – and that’s before we get drawn into the full weeds of this winter, with a white-ball tour of the West Indies already just three weeks away, and another Test series in New Zealand looming next month. It’s little wonder that James Anderson has decided to grab his golfing holidays while he can, or that Andrew Flintoff has decided that a role in rebooting cult ’80s gameshows might be a prudent side hustle. The international schedule is already anarchy. Where’s the harm in a bit more dysfunction?Related

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Jamal, Shaheen, Naseem return to Pakistan's XI for first Test against England

Talking of such things… England’s hosts are past masters of the chaotic. Leaving aside their grim recent record of five Test defeats in a row – two of which came in a seminal home series loss to Bangladesh last month – Pakistan’s brand of dysfunction is best expressed in the nonsensical build-up to this series, which involved a near-daily churn of contradictory briefings about the preferred venues for the three Tests.With Karachi and Lahore out of commission, and Rawalpindi pre-booked by an international conference, serious thought had been given to booting the show out to Abu Dhabi instead – much to Brendon McCullum’s chagrin – before back-to-back fixtures in Multan were finally settled upon late last month. Despite the country’s numerous hidden charms, Pakistan has never been a favourite venue for the travelling fan, and with numerous tour operators giving up on their plans amid the uncertainty, that is unlikely to change in the coming weeks.However you view the build-up (or lack thereof), this is a match-up that deserves better than the shoe-horn treatment that it is being offered. England’s last trip to Pakistan in December 2022 was an extraordinary triumph, set in motion by their pedal-to-the-metal batting in the series opener in Rawalpindi, but epitomised by Ben Stokes’ magnificent captaincy throughout: from his perfectly weighted declaration to force victory on that dead deck, to his innovative slip-free field placings to prise out 20 wickets in similarly inhospitable conditions in Multan, and all the way through to his fearless faith in the rookie Rehan Ahmed, whose five wickets on debut in Karachi put a romantic seal on the campaign.Times have changed fairly quickly since then, not least in the evolution of England’s bowling attack. None of the three key protagonists on that previous tour – Anderson, Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson – will be making the return trip, with their not-quite-like-for-like replacements, Chris Woakes, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson combining in a seam attack that has played precisely zero overseas Tests in the whole of the Bazball era.What’s more, with Stokes absent through injury, the pressure will be on Ollie Pope to conjure the same alchemy from the tools at his disposal. Though he acquitted himself well as a leader in his three Tests against Sri Lanka, Pope was arguably guilty of over-attacking in their final-match loss at the Kia Oval – a trait which revealed the degree of subtlety in Stokes’ methods that can sometimes be lost in the bravado of his team’s overall approach.If Pakistan have an edge, therefore, it will be in the make-up of their bowling attack. The union of Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah and Aamer Jamal is, on paper, the best attack that they have fielded in months, and offers a cutting edge that was absent for much of that 2022 campaign in particular. Though Jamal has played just three Tests, each of those came in a superb 18-wicket debut series in Australia, while a fully-fit Naseem could yet leave England longing for the 150kph exocets that Wood brought to that previous success.No doubt the context of this series will come flooding back out once the teams take the field and Test cricket’s familiar rhythms are back on centre stage. But right now, with no build-up, no fanfare – quite possibly no fans either – it does rather feel like cricket for the sake of cricket. The team that manages to park that existentialism the best may well steal an important march in the course of the coming five days.Form guidePakistan LLLLL
England LWWWWAbrar Ahmed’s Test debut was against England in Multan, in 2022, and he finished with 11 wickets in that Test•Getty ImagesIn the spotlight – Abrar Ahmed and Chris WoakesEngland’s batters – five of whom are set to make their second Test appearance in Multan – will doubtless recall Pakistan’s standout performer from that first visit two years ago. With his Harry Potter glasses and a name that came pre-loaded with wizard-themed headlines, Abrar Ahmed could have been on a hiding to nothing in his maiden Pakistan appearance. Instead, he simply ripped through the repertoire that had served him so well in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy, to claim seven first-innings wickets and 11 in all in a memorably effective debut. Though England climbed into him at close to five an over across his 51 overs, that was in part a tribute to the mystery of his methods – hit out, before being got out – as epitomised by a wickedly delivered carrom ball that did for Zak Crawley in the first innings.The stats are so stark that the man himself has given up pushing back against them. In 34 home Tests, Chris Woakes has claimed 137 wickets at a world-class average of 21.59. In 20 appearances overseas, however, those figures are a more earth-bound 36 at 51.88 – and he had basically abandoned hope of ever being called upon in foreign climes when he was overlooked for the tour of India earlier this year. But circumstances change fast, and with Anderson and Stuart Broad gone, and with Stokes’ hamstring depriving the seam attack of another of its wisest old heads, the value of Woakes’ experience supersedes any doubts about his impact in such conditions. He’s here on merit, too, it should be said, after a stellar summer as England’s attack leader – 24 wickets at 20.25 against West Indies and Sri Lanka ensure he will begin this campaign with faith in his methods, and the confidence of his team-mates.Team news: Pakistan bring back the big bowling gunsShan Masood has been in the firing line in the wake of the Bangladesh series loss, but he survives as captain for the time being, and is part of the same top seven that underwhelmed against Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Co. The notable changes come in the bowling attack, where Aamer Jamal makes his comeback from a back issue, and will reunite with Afridi and Naseem in what is widely recognised as Pakistan’s premier seam attack. Khurram Shahzad, who took a six-wicket haul in the second Test against Bangladesh, misses out having failed to fully recover from an injury to his left side.Pakistan: 1 Saim Ayub, 2 Abdullah Shafique, 3 Shan Masood (capt), 4 Babar Azam, 5 Saud Shakeel, 6 Mohammad Rizwan (wk), 7 Salman Ali Agha, 8 Aamer Jamal, 9 Shaheen Afridi, 10 Naseem Shah, 11 Abrar AhmadBrydon Carse has been confirmed for a Test debut•Getty ImagesEngland welcome back Crawley at the top of the order, although he won’t field in the slips due to the broken finger he sustained during the summer. Stokes, however, misses out once again, through a surfeit of caution as he gets himself back to full strength after a hamstring tear in August. Carse will make his debut, at the venue where his Durham team-mate Wood proved so effective two years ago, alongside Atkinson and Woakes – playing his first subcontinent Test since 2016 – while Jack Leach is set for his first appearance since the tour of India in February, alongside his Somerset team-mate Shoaib Bashir.England: 1 Zak Crawley, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Ollie Pope (capt), 4 Joe Root, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jamie Smith (wk), 7 Chris Woakes, 8 Gus Atkinson, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Jack Leach, 11 Shoaib BashirPitch and conditions: Greener than standard in MultanThe Multan pitch has some grass on it but it was shaved on Saturday afternoon. England are not expecting the ball to reverse as early as it did on their last visit in 2022, as the square and outfield are much greener. There could, however, be some low bounce, to judge by the practice strips.Stats and trivia England’s 26-run victory on their last visit to Multan in December 2022 was also the most recent Test hosted at the venue. In total, Pakistan have won three of the previous six Tests held in Multan, including England’s only other visit in 2005-06. India won by an innings in 2004, while a draw against West Indies completes the set. Joe Root needs 71 to overtake Alastair Cook’s tally of 12,472 Test runs, the most made by an England batter, and the fifth-most by any player in Test history.Quotes”We came close to winning last time, but we let the matches slip away. We know how they play, but at the end of the day we have to see how to tackle it. We are clear in our mind and that’s why we have named the XI.”

A new Celtic transfer rumour has now emerged, with a club reportedly enquiring about the availability of an “excellent” Hoops player.

Celtic linked with exciting attacking players

Brendan Rodgers will know the importance of not resting on his laurels this summer, ensuring top-quality signings arrive who can take his team to the next level.

Exciting attacking players are being mentioned as targets for Celtic between now and the end of the summer transfer window, with Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Louie Barry reportedly among those in the running to arrive at Parkhead.

Barry excelled on loan at Championship side Hull City from Aston Villa last season, scoring 15 goals in just 22 starts in the competition, and he could represent an eye-catching attacking addition with plenty more years ahead of him.

Former Aberdeen striker Bojan Miovski has also been linked with a summer move to Celtic, with the 26-year-old currently plying his trade at Girona in Spain, but struggling to make a positive impact there.

Club enquire about "excellent" Celtic player

According to Fussball Europa [via Sport Witness], Austria Vienna have enquired about the availability of Celtic midfielder Hyeok-kyu Kwon, making contact with the Scottish Premiership champions.

The Hoops will not stand in the way of the 24-year-old if a suitable offer arrives and actually prefer a permanent sale over another loan exit, with Rodgers seemingly not considering him an important part of his plans.

This summer may feel like the right time for Kwon’s Celtic career to reach its natural conclusion after two years and not even managing a senior appearance for the Hoops, even though Stephen Robinson has praised his ability in the past.

“Kwon has been excellent, he has fitted in really well. Football-wise he has been excellent on the pitch. He has taken to what we are trying to do and it is a compliment to the staff here that we have been trusted to try to develop him because he hasn’t had loads of game time. But Celtic signed him for big money and we can see why. He is a talented boy. He will be available to play.”

South Korea Under-23s

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Kwon was sent out on loan to Hibernian last season, only managing 12 starts in the league and a further nine appearances from the substitutes’ bench, and it is difficult to see his situation at Parkhead changing.

The 10-cap South Korea Under-23 international is a good midfielder in his own right, but it makes sense for all parties to allow him to move on now after struggling to set Scottish football alight.

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Celtic could sign an even better striker than Shin Yamada by moving to bring this star to Parkhead.

ByDan Emery Jul 12, 2025

Kwon’s current Celtic deal doesn’t expire until the summer of 2028, so there is no reason why Celtic can’t receive a fee for his services, possiby bringing in a midfield option of their own in the coming weeks.

30-run victory maintains hosts’ hopes of quarter-final berth

ECB Reporters Network12-Jul-2024Ashton Turner and Callum Parkinson impressed as Durham strengthened their chances of reaching the Vitality Blast quarter-finals with a comfortable 30-run win over Nottinghamshire Outlaws at the Seat Unique Riverside.Having been put in to bat, the hosts made a competitive 160 for six, as Turner (44*) combined with Ben Raine (23*) for a partnership worth 54 after they were struggling at 106 for six, which was largely down to three wickets from Lyndon James (3 for 31).The Outlaws made a good start to their chase but a fantastic Durham bowling performance led by Parkinson (3 for 15) saw the hosts grab their sixth win of the season as they restricted the visitors to 130 for nine.Durham are now back in the top four with two games to play and their fate is in their own hands, while Notts remain bottom of the North group.The Outlaws won the toss and elected to bowl first at a chilly Chester-le-Street and the visitors got their first scalp as the T20 World Cup’s top wicket taker Fazalhaq Farooqi bowled Graham Clark in the second over.Alex Lees and Ollie Robinson rebuilt well amid tricky conditions and probing bowling from Afghanistan international Farooqi.Lees then smacked two James deliveries down the ground for four to put the pressure back on the Outlaws bowlers.James bounced back as he got Robinson for 21, with the Durham man smashing one to mid-off and he then bowled Lees for 29 to swing momentum back to the visitors.Colin Ackermann and Turner combined well in the middle overs for Durham but Liam Patterson-White picked up two quick wickets, Ackermann for 20 and Michael Jones for one to leave the hosts in a perilous position.James then picked up the wicket of Bas de Leede, but Raine came in and along with Turner scored some vital runs to put the hosts within reach of a competitive score, with the pair picking up 21 from the penultimate over including a first six of the night from Raine.Turner and Raine took the hosts to a competitive 160 for six, with the duo finishing unbeaten on 44 and 23 respectively.Durham put the squeeze on the Outlaws from the off, with the North group’s bottom side picking up just six runs from the first two overs.The pressure was felt by Ben Martindale as he was the first Notts batter to depart when a full toss from de Leede was helped through to Robinson behind the stumps.Joe Clarke and Ben Slater rebuilt in the powerplay before Slater started taking on the short legside boundary and he cashed in when he hit de Leede for back-to-back sixes.Clarke hit three fours from a Raine over but he struck back as he removed the Outlaws skipper for 23 and Slater quickly followed as he departed for 20 when Parkinson got him LBW.The left-arm spinner then got Tom Moores as he was caught behind and Jack Haynes was his third victim of the night to leave the Outlaws with a mountain to climb.Nathan Sowter then bowled James, but Matthew Montgomery hit Raine for four consecutive fours to give the visitors some hope.Sowter then got Montgomery for 30 to leave the visitors staring down the barrel of a seventh Blast defeat of the season.Late wickets from Ackermann and Ben Dwarshuis saw Durham over the finish line for their fourth consecutive home T20 win.

49ers Enterprises have now made contact with a rather surprising new candidate over the possibility of replacing Daniel Farke at Leeds United, according to a report.

Latest on Daniel Farke’s future at Leeds

Despite talking about the fact that the Whites sealed automatic promotion to the Premier League last weekend, talk since then has been about the future of Farke, as the 49ers weigh up what to do with the German.

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1

By
Kelan Sarson

Apr 28, 2025

It’s been reported that club chiefs could be ready to sack the former Norwich man and bring in a replacement before the new season begins in the top flight. The hierarchy are tempted to move on from the Leeds boss as they are not sure whether he is the right man to lead them in the Premier League, given his record in the division while in charge of the Canaries. A decision hasn’t been fully made yet, but already there are names being linked with a move to Elland Road.

Jose Mourinho has been talked up about making a return to England and the Premier League, while Give Me Sport have reported that the Whites are interested in former Southampton manager Russell Martin. Leeds are said to be considering a move to appoint the Scotsman, despite the fact he was sacked by the Saints because of their start to life in the top flight. Martin has been sounded out about a return to the managerial dugout and what his vision would be.

49ers make contact with ex-Rangers boss to replace Farke at Leeds

But the list of possible replacements doesn’t stop there, as according to The Guardian, Leeds have made contact with Giovanni van Bronckhorst about becoming their new manager.

The report states that chairman Paraag Marathe is flying into the UK on Monday from San Francisco to talk to Farke about his future at Elland Road. The American will attend Leeds’ match against Bristol City before then holding a meeting with the German later in the week.

Marathe will need to be convinced by Farke that he is the right man for the job, as the Whites already have looked at managers who are out of work or would cost a low compensation fee given their financial restrictions. They have ‘sounded out’ van Bronckhorst, as well as Roger Schmidt and Davide Ancelotti.

Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s record at Rangers
Games	68
Won	42
Drawn	11
Lost	15
Points	137
Points per game	2.01

Van Bronckhorst, who managed Rangers between November 2021 and November 2022 and led them to the Europa League final in the process, has been out of work since leaving Besiktas in November last year.

The 50-year-old has experience of playing in British football, as he played for Rangers and Arsenal, but has never managed in England. Therefore, his arrival would be a huge gamble for the Whites and a baffling one at that, with Farke’s experience with Norwich likely better than none at all.

Liverpool are on the cusp of winning the Premier League title for the second time in its modern format. Victory will take Anfield’s top-flight triumphs to 20 across the sweep of history, levelling with bitter rivals Manchester United.

It could be settled this week. Should second-place Arsenal, whose eggs lie in the Champions League basket, fall at home against Crystal Palace on Wednesday, Liverpool will win the title. Otherwise, the Merseysiders have the chance to clinch it themselves when they host beleaguered Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend.

Arne Slot is going to get a taste for silver on English soil, and he’s going to want more. The Dutch tactician, who replaced Jurgen Klopp last year, has already confirmed Liverpool are planning to attack the summer transfer market with a hunger.

Multiple areas require attention, but with Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah’s contracts wrapped up, it’s clear Liverpool are looking to spend a shedload on a brand-new centre-forward.

Why Liverpool want a striker

Klopp’s many players have been effectively subsumed into Slot’s way of life, but Darwin Nunez remains an uncrackable nut.

Liverpool’s head coach gave it his best shot, but the 25-year-old hasn’t reacted all that well to the Dutchman’s tactical nuances, scoring just seven times across all competitions and starting only once in the Premier League since Boxing Day.

He’s set to leave, but sourcing the perfect successor isn’t going to be a walk in the park. On Monday, Fabrizio Romano revealed on GIVEMESPORT’s Market Madness show that Newcastle United’s Alexander Isak remains the top target at number nine but won’t be signed unless his exorbitant £150m valuation is slashed.

Strong across all areas and a goalscorer of the highest station, the Sweden international’s the dream, alright, but the report details growing interest in RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Joao Pedro, who has scored 30 goals and laid on ten assists across 70 games for Brighton.

Change is afoot at Anfield, but Nunez isn’t the only member of Slot’s attacking fold who may be in the firing line this summer.

Plenty of speculation has circled around Luis Diaz’s head, but the in-form, multi-positional winger might be better off staying put this term.

However, there’s another who needs to be sold. Believe it or not, this man’s actually been more wasteful in front of goal than Nunez since Slot walked through the door.

Liverpool must cash in on wasteful star

It’s curious that Liverpool should be cruising toward the Premier League title, their first since Jurgen Klopp dominated the 2019/20 campaign, but feel in need of surgery across a range of positions.

Such is the ambition of this team, whose future will surely lie at the forefront of the European game with key players tied down and exciting targets being lined up.

But Liverpool will need to cash in on one or two. They haven’t received bang for their buck with Nunez, but Diogo Jota has been a clinical presence in the final third since he signed for Liverpool from Wolverhampton Wanderers for a £41m fee in 2020.

However, he’s endured a miserable season and may well be heading toward the end of his time on Merseyside.

Only 15 months ago, Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher remarked that Jota, from a pure ball-striking standpoint, might be Liverpool’s deadliest goalscorer, saying, “he’s a better finisher than the likes of Suarez, Torres, even Salah.”

Quite the praise, but not true anymore. So many injuries and inconsistencies have taken their toll, and this current version pales in comparison to the sure-firing Jota of old.

Jota’s shooting boots have deserted him. He’s missed 13 big chances in the Premier League having converted six goals, as per Sofascore. Across the past two campaigns, the 28-year-old fired 17 strikes home, missing 13 big chances.

Something’s gone awry. Given that he’s actually been more profligate than Nunez this season, it doesn’t feel like Jota’s toils are backing up Carragher’s lofty words from last year.

Liverpool Forwards – Shooting Stats in Prem (24/25)
	Apps	Goals	xG (+/-)	Chances missed
Mohamed Salah	33	27	23.84 (+3.16)	21
Luis Diaz	32	11	9.23 (+1.77)	9
Cody Gakpo	30	8	6.22 (+1.78)	6
Diogo Jota	22	6	7.26 (-1.26)	13
Darwin Nunez	25	5	4.88 (+0.12)	6
Federico Chiesa	4	0	0.25 (-0.25)	1
Stats via Sofascore

The Uruguay striker, set to leave in the coming months, hasn’t actually been all that wasteful in front of goal this season; rather, he’s lacked composure and a stylistic understanding of Slot’s demands.

Liverpool are going to sign a new centre-forward, to be sure, but why not two? A young, eager-to-please star could fill Jota’s boots, jockey with the young and lively Jayden Danns for a nailed-down place in Slot’s high-performing squad.

Were Salah not in such staggering form this season, Nunez and Jota’s struggles may well have been to the detriment of Liverpool’s title charge, for neither have covered themselves in glory this season.

Alan Shearer even branded Jota “embarrassing” after a half-baked attempt to win a penalty in a victory over Newcastle last season, when ostensibly he could have struck cleanly on goal instead.

The Portugal international has more than paid his due at Anfield over the past five years, but every dog has their day, and this talented forward no longer bears his trademark incisiveness in the final third.

Given that he takes home a pretty penny at £140k per week and is about to enter the penultimate year of his contract, it might be worth cashing in while FSG can still bank a sizeable fee.

Maybe he was once Liverpool’s cleanest finisher, but he’s performing to a lower standard than Nunez and that makes the final comment on Carragher’s claim.

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Liverpool appear set to lose the Scouser in their team on a free transfer this summer.

By
Angus Sinclair

Apr 21, 2025

As the summer transfer window approaches, Aston Villa have reportedly been handed a fresh exit concern with David Ornstein claiming that one particular star is now attracting “big admirers”.

Ornstein drops Aston Villa exit update

The Villans already saw Jhon Duran depart in the January transfer window and whilst they used his exit to their benefit on the incomings front, they’ll be desperate to avoid any major exits. The forward’s exit should act as a warning over the spending power of those in the Saudi Pro League and just how quickly players can call it quits at Villa Park.

That said, Champions League qualification would, therefore, likely prove to be more important than ever in the Midlands this season. The likes of Ollie Watkins and Jacob Ramsey have both already been linked with moves away in 2025, but a place among Europe’s elite for a second-consecutive campaign could put an end to any doubt over their respective futures.

Related Aston Villa in pole position to sign star in total deal that may cost £130m

He’s been catching the eye of Unai Emery.

Posts 1 ByCharlie Smith Apr 3, 2025

They’re not the only players threatening to steal the headlines, however, and the interest in Unai Emery’s best players should come as no surprise after his side earned their way into the Champions League last eight as well as the FA Cup semi-finals.

Now, according to Ornstein of The Athletic, Morgan Rogers is now “attracting admirers” ahead of the summer transfer window.

Like Watkins and Ramsey, the interest in Rogers should come as little shock. The midfielder has once again been excellent at Villa Park this season and remains a player destined to reach the very top. Whether he reaches that position in the Midlands remains to be seen, but given how important the former Manchester City man is under Emery, the Spaniard will certainly hope that’s the case.

"Important" Rogers is crucial for Aston Villa

One of many former Manchester City youth academy stars now thriving elsewhere, Rogers has become more important than ever at Villa Park and those in the Midlands should do everything to keep hold of a player of his calibre. At just 22 years old, the only way is up for the England international who has already earned impressive praise from Emery.

The Villa boss told reporters in March: “With how football is changing, I appreciate a lot the players being versatile, playing different positions, understanding everything tactically. One of them in our squad is clearly Morgan Rogers, and John McGinn as well.

“This versatility and performing like we are always needing is really very important. Sometimes I’m pushing other players to be versatile or to adapt. Being versatile in case we will need it.

“Not every player is ready to do it, but Morgan Rogers is always positive and his versatility is very important for us. In the last match, we played in different positions with Morgan.”

So, even as the big admirers arrive, Villa should ensure that Rogers stays put with their European ambitions forever increasing in the Midlands.

Not as much as many might think: only a fraction of their white-ball internationals were games of real consequence

Osman Samiuddin12-Jun-2025Nicholas Pooran has retired from international cricket. Heinrich Klaasen beat him to it by a week. Their retirements may not feel as seismic as some recent ones, but as two of the game’s most fearsome and effective middle-order hitters, they’re far from insignificant. Their work has always been valued in very modern currencies. Last year, Pooran broke Chris Gayle’s record for the most sixes hit in T20s in a calendar year.Actually, he obliterated it, ending with 170, well past Gayle’s 135 in 2015 (Pooran played 38 more innings, which feels at least as relevant a metric). Klaasen ended the same year with 105 sixes, the sixth-most hit in a calendar year.Between them on that list it is all Gayle, a marker of the esteemed company they are in, as well as a reminder of how far ahead of the game Gayle was back then. Gayle never officially retired from the game; he just kept going until there was nowhere for him to go. But in that too he was presaging.Pooran and Klaasen have retired but they’re not retired because these days cricket retirements are not goodbyes so much as quiet-quitting; that is, finding ways to do less for more – or for at least the same reward as before – and with a better work-life balance.They’re a loss, yes, except we’re not really losing them. Pooran said goodbye on Monday night and on Thursday he’ll be saying hello again, as captain of MI New York in Major League Cricket’s third season. Klaasen will also be there, captaining Seattle Orcas. Ferris Bueller thought life moved pretty fast nearly 40 years ago. He had no idea.Also, if international cricket is your thing, then they’re even less a loss, because international cricket was not – is not – really their thing. International cricket didn’t really see the best of them.Actually, let’s rephrase that: truly meaningful international cricket didn’t see the best of them, or nearly enough of them. Only 23 of Klaasen’s 118 white-ball international matches were in ICC World Cups – games with real meaning and jeopardy. An even smaller proportion of Pooran’s games were at those events: 24 out of 167.In other words, 80% of the international white-ball games Klaasen played, and 86% Pooran played, lacked any real, meaningful context. That is basically what so much bilateral white-ball cricket is now – random matches floating in the ether without rhyme or reason (more so since the end of the short-lived ODI Super League in 2023) and with dwindling commercial returns in most instances.Klaasen walks back after his hundred against England in the last ODI World Cup, one of all too few white-ball internationals of real import he played•PUNIT PARANJPE/AFP via Getty ImagesAs such, these retirements don’t say anything about the two players’ commitment to the game, or about their sense of national duty, however nebulous a concept that may be. They don’t, in fact, say as much about Pooran and Klaasen as they do about international cricket. They’re retiring with a pinnacle international event – the T20 World Cup – less than a year away. An event Klaasen made the final of last year and almost won for South Africa. In Klaasen’s case, he is also foregoing the chance to play in a home 50-overs World Cup in 2027.But for him to play in next year’s T20 World Cup would mean he plays in a majority of the 23 bilateral T20Is South Africa have scheduled until then, which will only accrue a scintilla of meaning closer to the event, in the guise of being warm-ups. He’d probably also have to play some of the 12 ODIs scheduled in that time, which serve even less purpose. West Indies have 25 T20Is scheduled for the same period.This is the vicious cycle of international cricket as it stands now. Smaller boards need ever more money to keep their best players, which comes from greater ICC revenue distribution, which come from more ICC events, for which, as preparation, teams need their players for bilateral cricket, which, in turn, compels players to make the kind of choices Pooran and Klaasen have made.Not only will both players be playing games – within the context of T20 league play – with more immediate competitive meaning, they will also earn more playing in franchise leagues between now and then. A lot more. (It’s worth reading this post on the Broken Cricket Dreams blog for an idea of the potential difference in earnings.)Cricket was pretty pleased with itself in the aftermath of the IPL final, when Virat Kohli ranked that triumph – long-awaited as it was – still several rungs below Test cricket. But the messenger was more significant than the message, as Andre Russell was quick to point out to the last week. “Those guys [Kohli and others] get lucrative central contracts to play Test cricket and play on the biggest stages, of course they want to play. West Indians? You might play 50 or 100 Tests and, you know, after you retire, there’s not much to show for it.”There’s even less to show for it if you don’t play red-ball cricket. So a more illuminating ranking would have been of where Kohli placed the IPL triumph in comparison with international white-ball cricket and its trophies. Perhaps he rates the international wins higher. But with these decisions, it’s clear where Pooran and Klaasen place it. The two are not a younger generation as such – Klaasen is only three years younger than Kohli and Pooran is nearly 30. But their tribe is only going to grow.

And has anyone made a higher percentage of a team’s score in a T20I than Romania’s Rebecca Blake?

Steven Lynch15-Aug-2023What records did Prithvi Shaw set during his double-century for Northamptonshire the other day? asked Mumtaz Hussein from India
Prithvi Shaw smashed 244 from 153 balls against Somerset in the Royal London Cup 50-over match against Somerset in Northampton last week. It was the highest score in List A cricket for Northamptonshire, beating Wayne Larkins’ unbeaten 172 against Warwickshire in a 40-over Sunday League game in Luton in 1983, and the second-highest in the English domestic competition, behind Alistair Brown’s 268 in a 50-over match for Surrey vs Glamorgan at The Oval in 2002.Including Brown’s innings, there have been only five higher individual scores in List A matches, three of them by Indian batters: 277 by Narayan Jagadeesan (Tamil Nadu vs Arunachal Pradesh in Bengaluru in 2022-23), the ODI-record 264 by Rohit Sharma (India vs Sri Lanka in Kolkata in 2014-15), and 248 by Shikhar Dhawan (India A vs South Africa A in Pretoria in 2013). The other one was D’Arcy Short’s 257 for Western Australia against Queensland at the Hurstville Oval in Sydney in 2018-19.Shaw reached 200 in 129 balls, the seventh-fastest on record, and the second-quickest in England behind Ben Duckett’s 123 balls for England Lions against Sri Lanka A in Canterbury in 2016. The only three List A double-centuries faster than Duckett’s were Jagadeesan’s (see above), which came up in 114 balls, and two by Travis Head for South Australia: from 114 deliveries against Queensland at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide in 2021-22, and 117 against Western Australia in Sydney (Hurstville Oval) in 2015-16.Shaw’s 244 was his second double-century in List A matches, following an undefeated 227 for Mumbai against Puducherry in Jaipur in 2020-21, when he reached 200 from 142 balls. He’s the fourth man to score more than one List A double, after Rohit (three), Brown and Head, but the first to make them in different countries.Roy Swetman, who died recently, was capped by three different first-class counties. Was he the first to achieve this? asked James Farrell from England
Wicketkeeper Roy Swetman, who died last month aged 89, was capped by Surrey in 1958, Nottinghamshire in 1966, and Gloucestershire in 1972. Neat and unflashy behind the stumps, Swetman played 11 Tests for England, the first after being selected for the 1958-59 Ashes tour even though he wasn’t Surrey’s regular keeper at the time. He should perhaps have played more often but, as his Surrey team-mate Micky Stewart recalled, “He enjoyed his time off the field too much. He’d start off the season in good nick, but after a few weeks back he wouldn’t be so sharp. He didn’t have the strength and stamina to maintain that lifestyle. It was sad, really.”Swetman was actually the second player to be capped by three counties, back in the days when movement between them was much less frequent than now. The first was the slow left-armer Bob Berry, by Lancashire in 1950, Worcestershire in 1957, and Derbyshire in 1961. Like Swetman, Berry also played for England, in two Tests against West Indies in 1950.In case anyone is unfamiliar with the term, county caps are usually awarded to someone who has become a regular player. It used to be an important stage in a player’s career – for a start it meant he would be paid more. Some counties, however, have discontinued this long-established tradition, and award caps (or sometimes “colours”) to anyone who appears for their first team.Mohammad Rizwan made a catch as a substitute in a recent Test, then joined the match as a concussion replacement and made another dismissal. Has anyone ever done this before in a Test? asked Hafeez Ahmed from Pakistan
Mohammad Rizwan pulled off this unusual double during Pakistan’s recent Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. In Sri Lanka’s first innings, Rizwan took a catch at point to dismiss Kusal Mendis while on as a substitute fielder. Later he replaced Sarfaraz Ahmed, who was suffering from concussion; in the second innings Rizwan – by now a fully fledged member of the team – stumped Ramesh Mendis as Pakistan approached victory.It was indeed the first time a player had made dismissals for the same side as a substitute in a match he was playing in, which has only been possible since concussion replacements have been allowed. But in the early days of Test cricket, when teams often did not have spare players handy, there were three instances of a man taking a catch as a substitute against his own side. The first to do it was Australia’s captain Billy Murdoch, who caught his team-mate “Tup” Scott against England at Lord’s in 1884. He was fielding in place of WG Grace, who had injured a finger. This was actually the first substitute catch in any Test; Scott had top-scored for Australia with 75.Murdoch was followed by two more Australians in Ashes Tests. Affie Jarvis caught his team-mate Fred Spofforth in Melbourne in 1884-85. He’d only just been dismissed himself, six overs earlier, but England were short as Billy Barnes was injured. A few seasons later, in 1886-87, Charles “The Terror” Turner caught Reginald Allen in Sydney. He’d just sent down 64.1 (four-ball) overs, after 53 in the first innings, so must have been delighted to be asked to field for the opposition! He was needed as England’s Billy Gunn had been pressed into service as an umpire on the final morning, in the absence of one of those appointed. None of this trio of Aussies took a catch for their own side in the same match (even though Jarvis kept wicket in his game), so Rizwan is unique in that regard.Rizwan dismissed Kusal Mendis as a substitute fielder and stumped Ramesh Mendis later in the Test when he replaced the concussed Sarfaraz Ahmed•AFP/Getty ImagesRebecca Blake made around 70% of Romania’s runs in a recent T20I – was this a record? asked Geoffrey Harrison from England
Romania’s Bucharest-born captain Rebecca Blake scored 135 not out in her team’s 20-over total of 197 for 4 against Malta in Ilfov County last week. That’s 68.52% of the total – which, as this table shows, currently comes in third place for a women’s T20I (counting only all-out innings, or those where the full quota of overs was used).Top of the list is Sindhu Sriharsha, who made an unbeaten 74 out of 103 for 3 – 71.84% – for United States against Bangladesh in Abu Dhabi in September 2022. Next comes Deandra Dottin, with 112 out of 159 for 6 – 70.44% – for West Indies vs Sri Lanka in Coolidge (Antigua) in October 2017.The men’s T20I record is 75.10% – 172 in a total of 229 for 2 – by Aaron Finch for Australia against Zimbabwe in Harare in July 2018.Which player’s life story is told in the book The Globe-Trotting Cricketer? asked Keith McKenzie from Australia
This is the much-travelled Australian-born cricketer Bert Kortlang, who played first-class matches for Victoria in Australia before the First World War, and for Wellington in New Zealand afterwards. But that wasn’t the end of it: he travelled far and wide, and played minor cricket in many far-flung places, including Argentina, Canada and the United States. Back in Australia, he became a journalist and a friend of Don Bradman, who was the godfather to one of Kortlang’s children. Pelham Warner, the former England captain who was later closely involved with cricket as a journalist and administrator, compared him to the Scarlet Pimpernel: “We hear of him here; we hear of him there; the beggar pops up everywhere.”Kortlang died in 1961, aged 80, but his life story was reassembled by the New Zealand writer Rob Franks, in a book for the Cricket Publishing Company that came out in 2022. Not many were printed, so it’s rather hard to find, but it is beautifully produced and a very good read.And there’s an addition to last week’s question about the players who made their international debuts in all three formats in the shortest time frame, from Mike Halliwell from Australia, among others
“There’s a name to add to the list: the Australian legspinner Alana King completed her set in 14 days, the same as Mukesh Kumar, during the 2021-22 women’s Ashes series. King made her T20I debut in Adelaide on January 20, won her first Test cap in Canberra on January 27, and played her first ODI in Adelaide on February 3.”Shiva Jayaraman of ESPNcricinfo’s stats team helped with some of the above answers.Use our feedback form, or the Ask Steven Facebook page to ask your stats and trivia questions

Who are playing, when and where, what’s the format, and – hey! – how come there’s no New Zealand?

Srinidhi Ramanujam13-Jan-2022When does it start?
The 14th edition of the Under-19 World Cup, a one-day competition, will begin on January 14 with a double-header, both matches in Guyana. The first game will be played between hosts West Indies and Australia in Providence, while Sri Lanka take on Scotland in Georgetown. There will be 48 matches overall, with the final slotted for February 5.How many teams are taking part?
Sixteen. Group A has Bangladesh, Canada, England and United Arab Emirates; Group B has India, Ireland, South Africa and Uganda; Group C has Afghanistan, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea and Zimbabwe; Group D has Australia, Scotland, Sri Lanka and West Indies.Related

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Why aren’t New Zealand participating?
New Zealand decided to withdraw from the tournament owing to “extensive mandatory quarantine restrictions for minors on their return home”, because of Covid-19. Scotland, who had fallen short in the Europe qualifiers, were included as the 16th team in New Zealand’s absence.Where are the matches being played?
In the Caribbean, for the first time, with a total of ten venues across four islands being used. The main – Super League – quarter-finals will be held in North Sound and Coolidge, and the final will also be in North Sound, at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.What’s the format?
The teams are divided into four groups of four each, and they will play each other once apiece. Like in past editions, the top two from each group will progress to the Super League knockouts, but those who don’t qualify will earn crucial playing time in the Plate competition to compete for positions nine to 16, which will run concurrently with the main tournament. It means every team will play the same number of games.Will DRS be in use?
There will be no DRS. Since only a select set of games will be broadcast, the camera set-up will not be the same across all venues.Will there be strict bubbles for all teams?
The bubbles will be managed in such a way that the wellbeing of the young players – both physical and mental wellbeing – is taken care of. The ICC is taking cognisance of the fact that it is a long tournament, added with the fact that the young players have not been in such situations before. There will also be mental-health professionals available to the teams as it was during the men’s T20 World Cup last year.Can games be rescheduled if Covid-19 affects a team in a major way?
That’s what the ICC plans to do if the need arises. The intention is to be fluid and flexible to deal with unforeseen developments.Have any schedule changes already taken place?
Yes. Visa glitches delayed Afghanistan’s arrival in the Caribbean. As a result of the delay and the quarantine requirements for the tournament, their first game was moved from January 16 – they were supposed to take on Zimbabwe – to January 18, when they will play Papua New Guinea. Games on January 20 and 22 follow, against Pakistan and Zimbabwe respectively. All the sides in Group C have had games rescheduled to deal with the change. And Afghanistan’s two warm-up games, against England on January 10 and UAE on January 12, were cancelled.ESPNcricinfo LtdDoes the ICC verify the age of the players?
The ICC left it to the individual cricket boards to verify the ages of their cricketers.How did the teams qualify?
Ten of the 16 teams advanced directly for the global event. After missing out on a place outright initially, Scotland replaced New Zealand. The last five spots went to the sides that won their respective regional qualifying events. Canada qualified from the Americas, pipping the USA, Argentina and Bermuda. Papua New Guinea, who couldn’t participate in the previous edition after missing their 2019 regional qualifier final over disciplinary issues, advanced from East Asia-Pacific, Uganda went through from Africa, Ireland from Europe, and UAE qualified from Asia.Who are the defending champions?
Bangladesh beat India to win the Under-19 World Cup in 2020. It was their first World Cup win at any level.Which have been the most successful teams over the years?
India, they have won the title four times – in 2000, 2008, 2012 and 2018 – and have a win percentage of 76.83. Australia have won the tournament thrice, in 1988, 2002 and 2010, while Pakistan have clinched the title twice, in 2004 and 2006. Bangladesh (2020), South Africa (2014), West Indies (2016) and England (1998) have won the tournament once each.The last decade saw two teams dominate – India and Australia. Between them, they won three of the six titles and finished runners-up four times between them. Pakistan were the only other side to make it to more than one final in the decade, twice falling short at the last step.Any first-timers?
No, the last edition had Japan and Nigeria making their maiden appearances in the Under-19 World Cup. There are no newbies this time, though Uganda will be featuring after a gap of 16 years. They have taken part only twice – in 2004 and 2006 – before this World Cup.Are spectators allowed at the venues?
Guyana, Antigua and St Kitts and Nevis will allow only fully vaccinated people to come in, while Trinidad & Tobago will not allow any spectators.Where to watch?
Local broadcasters around the world will telecast the matches. It will also be streamed on .