Manchester United have reportedly sent scouts to watch former Real Madrid winger Takefusa Kubo as they eye a replacement for £85m ($108m) flop Antony.
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The Three Lions boss continues to play favourites with his selections, meaning some high-profile players likely won't be on the plane to Germany
Aside from France, no team will be able to rival England for strength in depth at Euro 2024 this summer. There are a few holes in the squad here and there, midfield most notably, but in some positions Gareth Southgate has two, or even three, world-class options to choose from.
This can be a double-edged sword. While the current generation of England players is the most talented since David Beckham, Wayne Rooney and Co, some high-profile stars are guaranteed to miss out each time Southgate makes his selection.
The most recent squad was no exception. Even with a host of regulars being ruled out with injury, some onlookers were still unhappy to see their favourites miss out on games against North Macedonia and Malta.
With time running out until Euro 2024 kicks off, these debates are only going to rumble on over the coming weeks and months. Below, GOAL has taken a look at which players should be worried about their prospects of boarding the plane to Germany. In the end, there was so many, we even managed to fashion them into a makeshift XI…
Marcus Rashford has revealed that he once snubbed Manchester United icons Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney as part of bold future prediction.
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Wrexham have witnessed a huge rise in value as Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney told new net worth by club director Shaun Harvey.
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Arsenal have now reached an agreement for a “creative” player to leave the Emirates on deadline day in what has been described as an “unbelievable deal”.
The Gunners fell to a 1-0 Premier League defeat against Liverpool prior to the international break, with Mikel Arteta’s side struggling to create from open play at Anfield, despute the introcuduction of new signing Eberechi Eze in the second half.
Dominik Szoboszlai’s late free-kick was the difference between the two sides, and after the game, Sky Sports pundits Jamie Carragher and Roy Keane weren’t impressed with what they saw from Arsenal in the final third.
Carragher said: “You bring [Martin] Zubimendi in, Eze’s come in. It’s only three games but the two away games that we’ve seen Arsenal this season, nothing has changed. Heavily reliant on set-pieces, don’t create anything in open play and are the best team in Europe for me defensively.”
Keane was also critical, saying: “I think when they’ve got the defensive record that they have and they’re great at set-pieces, we’ve got to give Arsenal credit for that. If you’re just dependent on that all the time, and you come to Liverpool away.
“It’s hard to score at Liverpool. Do something a little bit different. Rice taking corners, they’re taking ages. You’re looking at Arsenal, do something off the cuff. Do something quickly. There was rushing towards the end when they were chasing a goal. Going forward they’re a bit robotic. You have to find something else.”
|
Arsenal outgoings |
To |
Fee |
|---|---|---|
|
Kieran Tierney |
Celtic |
Free |
|
Jorginho |
Flamengo |
Free |
|
Nuno Tavares |
Lazio |
Undisclosed |
|
Marquinhos |
Cruzerio |
Undisclosed |
|
Takehiro Tomiyasu |
N/A |
Released |
|
Karl Hein |
Werder Bremen |
Loan |
|
Ismeal Kabia |
Shrewsbury Town |
Loan |
Now, Arsenal are set to let go an attacker who has previously come in for praise from Arteta.
As per Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg, Arsenal have reached an agreement for Fabio Vieira to join Hamburger SV before the deadline.
The 25-year-old will join on a loan with an option to buy for more than €20m, following Albert Sambi Lokonga to the German side, with Plettenberg describing it as “an unbelievable deal” for Hamburger.
Vieira, who cost Arsenal around £34m in 2022, has made 49 appearances for the Gunners, scoring three times and providing 10 assists. He was hailed by Arteta following an FA Cup victory at Oxford United in 2025 after providing two assists.
“He has the quality. He is a really creative player and has the capacity to decide games in the final third. The moment we got him into the right spaces he made the difference.”
Now, though, Vieira’s future lies in Germany, potentially for the long run if he impresses in 2025/26.
An off-day in Manchester suddenly leaves hosts in must-win as they ponder team balance and batting flexibility
The Preview by Shashank Kishore05-Jul-20182:22
Dasgupta: Don’t see India making any changes to their XI
It is hot and dry, the pitches are flat and there will be lots of spin awaiting England. Add to this a huge Indian contingent that will be cheering their team at Sophia Gardens in Cardiff. If there was any doubt before, there is none now – the main challenge of the summer has arrived.A game down, England know one thing already: scoring truckloads of runs against Ashton Agar was clearly no preparation for India’s spin variety. Already, discussion of wristspin and their failure to cope against left-armer Kuldeep Yadav has become a talking point. The second T20I, therefore, gives them an opportunity to prove the Manchester nightmare was an aberration.It is one thing executing badly against this rare bowling style, another not picking them at all, as was the case with four of the five England batsmen in the series opener. While two days between games is unlikely to change their foundation towards approaching spin, it sure could have given England time to ponder over batting strategies – knowing whom to target – and perhaps batting positions. Joe Root, for example, was a complete misfit at No. 6, especially when having at come in as late as the 14th over. His strike rate in T20Is since 2016 a modest 105.74 in seven innings.India have decided to play five specialist bowlers, leaving them vulnerable at times to a bowler having an off day and little else to fall back on. That perhaps explains the team management’s preference for Suresh Raina over the in-form Dinesh Karthik, because he can offer part-time offspin. England must look to capitalise on this.A game down, India may have discovered their best batting line-up too. KL Rahul’s success at No. 3 could mean an end to the musical chairs at No. 4, with Virat Kohli all but likely to settle there for the time being. The success may have come in the shortest format, but India are approaching what would otherwise be a context-less T20I series, with an eye on next year’s 2019 World Cup.
England LWWLL (last five completed games, most recent first)
India WWWWW
Moeen Ali took 12 wickets in five ODIs against Australia, but has little to show with the ball in the two T20Is since. Against Australia, he was clobbered for 58 off his four overs. On Tuesday, his 2.2 overs went for 37. He didn’t look great with the bat, either, out to an ugly hoick when England needed to arrest the slide in the wake of Kuldeep’s strikes. England may well be tempted to play a specialist bowler in his stead, given their batting depth. However, should they persist with Moeen, the onus is on him to deliver.Bhuvneshwar Kumar is India’s lead bowler, and one bad outing is unlikely to change that. He’s graduated to become a bowler who isn’t always dependent on swing and seam, and will want to get back to his usual ways after two wicketless matches in Dublin and Manchester. Umesh Yadav’s stunning IPL form that earned a comeback and his fiery spells since have given him a headstart. Should Bhuvneshwar also find his groove back, it will give the team management a healthy headache when Jasprit Bumrah recovers from his thumb injury.
England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Jos Buttler (wk), 3 Alex Hales, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Joe Root, 6 Jonny Bairstow, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 David Willey, 9 Liam Plunkett, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Adil RashidIndia (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 KL Rahul, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Suresh Raina, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Umesh Yadav, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Yuzvendra Chahal
Cardiff has tended to play much slower than other surfaces in the UK, the average score here is just 144. Weather-wise, all of UK is set for a scorching weekend. No prizes for guessing which team is happier.
“It has been made very clear that there will be few changes in the team and as a batting unit we need to flexible in our heads to be able to perform any role or responsibility that has been given to us by the team. We are all working towards it like you said, I might bat at No. 3 or 5 or 6. Someday we might want to promote MS Dhoni or Hardik Pandya if we get a good start to go and get us a few sixes or get the run rate up. So we will be flexible keeping in mind the World Cup.”
“It was a good spell from Kuldeep Yadav, first of all, and then a very good innings from KL Rahul. They thoroughly deserved the win, but we’ll be looking to bounce back come tomorrow.”
As the glitter and cacophony of the IPL engulfs India, Cheteshwar Pujara is in Yorkshire hoping to return the former champions to title contention
Melinda Farrell11-Apr-2018As the glitter and cacophony of the IPL engulfs India, with maximums and power hitting among the most prized batting traits, Cheteshwar Pujara is happily discussing the value of the leave in Leeds.While it is common for the County Championship to see visiting Test players use the competition as a valuable acclimatisation period before a Test series, Pujara maintains he would have played in England even if India were not touring later this summer. It is, after all, his fourth stint in the Championship and his second for Yorkshire. At Headingley they hope his return is an omen: when he was here in 2015 the title followed.Yorkshire are seeking a refocus in their approach to batting this season, with an emphasis on consolidation before attack. They could hardly have found a better exponent of this than Pujara. Generally a cautious starter, he is notoriously difficult to pry from the crease, as evidenced by his 14 Test and 44 first-class centuries.”They have spoken to me about that,” Pujara told ESPNcricinfo. “The guys played too many shots in the last couple of seasons. They’ve learned from their mistakes and obviously they will try to change the way they play a little bit but at the same time one has to know their strengths and weaknesses so you still need to play according to your strength.”It is always important to spend a lot of time at the crease, have a lot of patience when the ball is doing a lot understand the situation where you need to be a little defensive and know your time to attack because you will always have a time when the ball doesn’t do much and that is where you can capitalise.”Not everyone appreciates Pujara’s discipline and control. His trademark slow starts and a Test strike rate of 47.45 frustrate those fans who have grown impatient on a white ball diet and its effect on the longer formats. When Pujara scored a majestic double-century against Australia in the third Test in Ranchi, which ended in a draw, some critics pointed to the time it took – 525 balls – for him to make 202 as a major impediment to India winning the match. He feels fans in England have a greater appreciation of his skills and temperament.Cheteshwar Pujara works the ball to the leg side•BCCI
“Sometimes I do feel that when I start leaving the ball people really don’t appreciate that because of shorter formats of the game, ” said Pujara. “But when I come here they understand what my role is.”In the India team they do understand but I’m talking about the fans’ perspective where they want to see fours and sixes. So when I come here fans they do understand the game, they do appreciate if you’re leaving the ball, if the bowler is bowling well, if the conditions are challenging, they understand that you need to survive that. Then obviously, once I’m set, I always start scoring runs.”
England’s head coach has hinted that the batting line-up is unlikely to change much for the series against Pakistan in May, despite few of the issues being resolved over the winter
Andrew McGlashan04-Apr-2018Head coach Trevor Bayliss has hinted that the England batting line-up is unlikely to change much for the series against Pakistan in May, despite few of the issues being resolved over the last five months, but he called on domestic players to show they are better than those currently in the team.Bayliss conceded that England ended their 2017-18 Test campaign with largely the same questions as they began with following five defeats and two draws having been foiled by New Zealand’s lower-order on the final day in Christchurch.Over the seven Tests against Australia and New Zealand, Dawid Malan was the one batsman to enhance his reputation. Mark Stoneman and James Vince showed moments of encouragement but the pair finished averaging 30.23 and 30.54 respectively across all the Tests. Vince missed the Auckland Test when the line-up was reshuffled due to Ben Stokes being unable to bowl and returned with 76 in the second innings in Christchurch while Stoneman scored half-centuries in each Test.
Jack Leach “He’s the one who holds the position at this stage and I thought he had a good game for someone playing his first Test. He had good composure. Like anyone playing his first game or two, he’s still got a few things to learn at this level but I think he bowled a good line and didn’t give too much away which was a good thing.”
The batting order “We have tried Jonny up the list previously and I think he’s quite comfortable at No. 7 but he’s obviously a very good player. I think that will be revisited especially if some of the other guys don’t cement a spot and start averaging 45-plus for the batters.”
Catching “We’ve got to work harder. If what we’re doing is not working we’ve got to do it even more. We’ve tried to up the catching and fielding and at times we field and catch extremely well, as good as anyone, but it doesn’t mean you’re a good fielder if you’re inconsistent.”
“I think what they’ve all shown over this winter is that they are good players and they’ve scored some runs against quality opposition bowlers,” Bayliss said. “But what we need from them is to be doing it more often. They’re averaging high 20s, we need them to get that up and hopefully put another 20 on that.”Probably the same questions are still there but Malan for example played pretty well against the pace in Australia and the other two guys at different times stood up. Vince made a couple of good scores. Stoneman under a fair bit of pressure and a barrage of short-pitched bowling handled himself reasonably well but again to be an international batter we need to be doing better than that.”And the other side of that is who do we replace them with? We need guys and I guess this is a call-out to the guys in county cricket, the first five or six matches of the county season are very important. We’ve got Liam Livingstone here and the other one I’ll add in who’s impressed in the nets is Ben Foakes. He’s batting very well also. So there’s a couple of guys in this squad who can hopefully score runs and put a bit of pressure on and make the selectors job difficult which is what we all want.”The batting was not helped by Alastair Cook’s lean time, other than his double-century in Melbourne, which was compounded by a miserable series in New Zealand where he made 23 runs in four innings. Cook has reiterated to Bayliss that he has the desire to continue to add to his 154-cap career and after a couple of weeks off he will look to recuperate in the County Championship for Essex.”It’s dangerous to write off someone with 12,000 Test runs. He’s desperately disappointed he hasn’t contributed more but speaking to him in the sheds, he’s still got a hunger for the game and he’s still wants to do well and thinks he’s got a role to play,” Bayliss said. “Going forward I think having someone with that experience we will need, so hopefully it’s not too long before he gets back into the groove.”Then there is the captain. Root is England’s best batsman but can’t break his run of unconverted half-centuries, which now stands at nine, with two more in New Zealand added to the five in Australia (although retiring ill in Sydney can’t be held against him). Having come off a distinct second best to Steven Smith in the Ashes it was a slightly closer tussle with Kane Williamson as the New Zealand captain followed his Auckland century with a lean Test in Christchurch. Coming up for Root later this year is the head-to-head with Virat Kohli.Bayliss remains largely phlegmatic about Root’s conversion rate and would like to see the rest of the batting order take some pressure off the captain. There were just four centuries scored across the seven Tests in Australia and New Zealand, two by Jonny Bairstow and one apiece for Cook and Malan.”I’m sure he would have liked a few more runs himself but there’s a fair bit of pressure on him to be the one who scores the runs and we need a few more runs from some of the other guys,” Bayliss said. “I think that would take a little bit of the pressure off Joe. But he’s a guy who sets himself very high standards so I’m sure he’d be a little bit disappointed he hasn’t turned some of the starts into big hundreds.”
If Jos Buttler can turn IPL brilliance into a Test place, perhaps Tom Kohler-Cadmore can make enough white-ball runs to make Yorkshire think again in the Championship
ECB Reporters Network and ESPNcricinfo staff18-May-2018
ScorecardYorkshire were in a ruthless mood on the day when Durham unveiled the Paul Collingwood Pavilion at Emirates Riverside, crushing them by 142 runs in their opening match in the Royal London One-Day Cup.Tom Kohler-Cadmore made his first start for Yorkshire in the 50-over format one to remember as he scored a career-best 164, dominating the Durham bowlers with a number of impressive shots to the boundary.Yorkshire’s total of 328 put Durham under pressure and their batting line-up was not able to rise to the occasion. Adil Rashid ripped through the lower order claiming figures of 4 for 47 to guide his team to a comfortable victoryKohler-Cadmore, who averages 31 in first-class cricket, has rarely seemed in Yorkshire;s plane for the longer format but if Jos Buttler can use IPL to force his way back into England’s Test side, anything is possible.He made his intentions known from the off, dispatching early boundaries off Natham Rimmington and James Weighell beginning the innings with momentum. Adam Lyth offered support in the early stages, with the opening duo reaching their fifty partnership in the eighth over. Yorkshire pressed forward, but Lyth was out going for on big strike too many for 30 when he was caught by Stuart Poynter off the bowling of Matthew Potts.His opener partner continued his assault as he reached his fifty from 50 balls, while the visitors brought the 100 up in the 17th over. Cheteshwar Pujara provided a solid foil for Kohler-Cadmore at the other end of the crease. Kohler-Cadmore took centre stage continuing his brilliant knock by reaching his third one-day century off 114 deliveries, which included 10 fours and two sixes.He stepped on the accelerator after notching his hundred. dominating his partnership with Pujara, which passed the 100-run mark when the opener smashed a huge six off the bowling of Weighell.However, he was then dismissed for a career-best 164 when he was caught on the boundary by Smith off George Harding. Pujara passed fifty to guide Yorkshire beyond 300, with Yorkshire posting 328 for 4 in their 50 overs, although he and Harry Brook were dismissed in back-to-back balls by Potts.Collingwood opted to open the batting for the first time in his Durham career since 2000 with Graham Clark. However, both were dismissed cheaply as Ben Coad and Tim Bresnan made early inroads into the home side’s line-up. Tom Latham failed to fire on his first appearance of the campaign loosely driving a Stephen Patterson delivery to Brook.A suicidal run-out saw the end of Will Smith before Rashid snagged the wicket of Ryan Pringle. Michael Richardson offered resistance in the middle order until he fell lbw to Rashid for 43, while the leg-spinner then removed James Weighell. Potts and Poynter made late runs, but Yorkshire were able to wrap the win with ease.
Spinners took six wickets on the final day as West Indies recorded their biggest run-margin victory at Queen’s Park Oval
The Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando10-Jun-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
AFP
Sri Lanka hurtled to defeat either side of lunch on the final day, losing the last five of their wickets within 25 deliveries, for eight runs, as West Indies went 1-0 up in the three-Test series. The telling blow had been struck earlier in the day, by Shannon Gabriel, who has been outstanding in this Test. He pitched a ball just short-of-a-length to centurion Kusal Mendis, got the ball to erupt, and drew the outside edge. Though for much of the morning, wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich had been collecting balls at knee height or below, so menacing was this delivery, that he had had to complete the catch with arms outstretched over his head.Of the other Sri Lanka batsmen seen on day five, only Lahiru Gamage the nightwatchman showed any substantial resistance. He played out 49 balls for three runs, deadbatting almost anything that came his way, until he was eventually trapped in front of the stumps by a Devendra Bishoo googly. Everyone else fell in a heap.The win was special because West Indies’ bowlers were outstanding on a pitch that was never particularly treacherous. In the fourth innings, Roston Chase finished up with the best figures of 4 for 15, though two of those wickets were those of tailenders. More impressive were Bishoo, who took 3 for 48, and Gabriel, who was intense in patches in both innings. His match haul was 4 for 100 – figures that do not do him justice.Upon resumption in the morning, Mendis had been secure, moving smartly to his fifth Test century, with a flick to the deep square leg boundary. He celebrated with little fuss, knowing perhaps that his team still needed many more runs from him. It wasn’t to be. That Gabriel ball was nigh unplayable, and it was only because he was in good touch that he got an edge to it. No other Sri Lanka batsman crossed fifty in this Test – woeful returns, given the nature of the surface.Of Sri Lanka’s day five dismissals though, perhaps it was Dinesh Chandimal’s that was the most reprehensible. He had resumed his innings on 15, having retired ill the previous day, with early symptoms of sunstroke. He was cautious for the majority of his day five stay, only venturing a boundary off a Bishoo long hop. However, he lost his temperament and his wicket an over before lunch.Aiming to slam a Chase length ball over midwicket, he ended up miscuing the stroke badly, and looping a catch to near mid-on, where a running Kraigg Brathwaite completed the catch. Later that over, Niroshan Dickwella was struck in front of the stumps by a slider. He burned Sri Lanka’s final review in desperation, out for 19.The tail then went quickly. Herath gloved Bishoo short leg, not long after lunch. Next over, Chase had Nos. 10 and 11 caught behind – though Suranga Lakmal was unlucky to be given out, as he had not in fact made contact. Nevertheless, with all Sri Lanka’s specialist batsmen out before lunch, these were merely the last rites. The final margin of victory was an enormous 226 runs. The hosts having run the match from the second day onwards, it was a West Indies domination.