San Jose Earthquakes star and USMNT winger Cade Cowell has been linked with a Liga MX move to Chivas after recently obtaining a Mexican passport.

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Article continues below

Article continues below

• Cowell linked with Chivas move
• Called into USMNT January camp
• Recently obtained Mexican passport

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  have linked the 20-year-old with a move to the Liga MX giants. With the January transfer window open, Chivas can go about negotiating with the Earthquakes, ahead of the proposed move south.

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• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Cowell recently obtained his Mexican passport, making him an officail dual-citizen of both Mexico and the United States. Regardless, though, he is committed to the USMNT and is cap-tied to Gregg Berhalter's side. If his move to Chivas comes to fruition, the USMNT youngster will hope that it helps him earn a spot on the U23 USMNT Olympic roster for 2023.

• WHAT BERHALTER SAID ABOUT JANUARY CAMP INCLUSION

  "I wouldn't get ahead of ourselves here with Cade. He is an example of having a ton of potential and he is a great teammate. He has experience with the senior national team, but now it's also about him applying this in his every day, first at his club by becoming a starter, becoming a high performer on his team, scoring goals in Major League Soccer. That is going to be important. And then when he gets the opportunity with our team, it's about making an impact. For him, it's straddling between can he make an impact for this Olympic age group? Can he perform at the level that's needed to be an impact player there? And then we'll see what's next. I think for us, it's really about supporting him, and really giving him the opportunity to play his best and then continue to watch how he develops at his club, but that's definitely going to be a crucial part."

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• DID YOU KNOW

  Chivas has never fielded an American player in their club before, meaning Cowell has the potential to be the first-ever.

Sunderland kick off their 2023/24 Championship season in a week's time as they host Ipswich Town at the Stadium of Light next Sunday.

Who have Sunderland signed this summer?

The Black Cats faithful could see a host of fresh faces on the pitch for their side during the game as Tony Mowbray and Kristjaan Speakman have worked together to bring in six new signings so far.

Nectarios Triantis, Jobe Bellingham, Bradley Dack, Luis Hemir Semedo, Eliezer Mayenda, and Jenson Seelt have all arrived on permanent deals.

That does not appear to be the end of their business for the summer transfer window, though, as it was recently reported by the Daily Mail that the Black Cats are one of a number of clubs interested in signing Southampton central midfielder Will Smallbone.

The outlet named Luton Town, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth, and Blackburn Rovers as some of the other teams eyeing up the Irish maestro, who has one year left to run on his current contract at St. Mary's.

How good is Will Smallbone?

A loan spell with Stoke City during the 2022/23 campaign proved that the 23-year-old technician is an excellent Championship performer who could be a fantastic addition to Sunderland's squad if they are able to snap him up.

Mowbray can land the dream replacement for Edouard Michut, who returned to Paris Saint-Germain at the end of his time with the Black Cats last season, by winning the race to secure Smallbone's signature this summer ahead of top-flight competition.

Michut made 24 league appearances for the club last term and averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.64, which placed him 20th within the squad. This shows that the French midfielder struggled to deliver consistently impressive displays as he was not one of the team's top performers.

The 20-year-old gem did make 1.6 tackles per game, which only four of his teammates eclipsed, but he offered very little going forward with 0.2 key passes per game – less than 16 other players on the roster.

On the other hand, Smallbone showcased himself to be a tough-tackling creator who can be relied on to produce excellent performances on a consistent basis at this level.

He averaged a Sofacore rating of 7.00, which would have placed him joint-third with winger Jack Clarke in the Sunderland squad, and caught the eye in the defensive third with 1.7 tackles per match for the Potters.

The £6k-per-week magician also made a significant impact in possession as he created 1.6 chances per clash and racked up five assists for Alex Neil's team. Meanwhile, only Clarke (1.5) produced more key passes per game for Sunderland and only three players managed more than five assists.

These statistics suggest that Smallbone, who was once dubbed a "special" talent by journalist Josh Bunting, has the ability to be one of Mowbray's best players next season, if he can replicate his Stoke form or even improve on it.

The Saints wizard could be an outstanding creative threat from the middle of the park in a way that Michut was unable to be, whilst still being able to offer a defensive presence as a tough-tackling number eight who can win possession back for his side.

New Zealand A lost six wickets for nine runs to be bowled out for 143 and despite a top-order stutter, India A had little trouble chasing down the target

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2017
ScorecardKarn Sharma continued his rich form against New Zealand A•BCCILegspinner Karn Sharma extended his dominance over New Zealand A into the List A format with a five-for that helped India A take a 1-0 lead in the five-match one-day series. Karn, who had taken 16 wickets in the two four-dayers against New Zealand A, took 5 for 22 to limit the opposition to 143 in the third match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Despite a top-order slump, India A completed the chase with six wickets and more than 25 overs to spare.New Zealand A had a promising start after opting to bat first, with George Worker and Colin Munro adding 39 by the eighth over. Both, however, were out within a short span and two more wickets left New Zealand A at 97 for 4. Henry Nicholls and Colin de Grandhomme attempted something of a repair job with a partnership of 37 for the fifth wicket but it took only eight overs for the rest of New Zealand A’s innings to unravel. Nicholls was dismissed for 35 in the 31st over and his wicket began a slide that saw New Zealand A lose six wickets for merely nine runs. Karn was central to this slide, taking four of the six wickets in consecutive overs, including those of Nicholls and de Grandhomme. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and allrounder Deepak Hooda took three wickets between them to wipe out the rest of the line-up.India A’s top three were all dismissed for single digits but Shreyas Iyer, Vijay Shankar (47 not out) and Hooda (35 not out) ensured they reached the target comfortably. Iyer, who had struck 90 in the tied match on Tuesday, made 37 off 36 before Hooda and Shankar completed the chase with a 57-run partnership.

The wicketkeeper, who is set to equal Brad Hogg’s Australian record for the most Tests missed between appearances, is eager to use this chance to rewrite the story of his career

Brydon Coverdale in Brisbane20-Nov-2017Tim Paine can’t take a hint. In fact, he can’t take repeated hints over the course of several years.Three summers ago, when Paine was 29, Tasmania looked to the future by choosing the Western Australian import Tom Triffitt as wicketkeeper instead of Paine. Last season, it was the teenage Jake Doran – another import – who took the gloves. And this year, Matthew Wade returned from a decade with Victoria and settled in behind the stumps himself.So where does that leave Paine? In a plot-twist worthy of , it leaves him about to keep wicket for Australia in an Ashes series, seven years after he last wore the baggy green. As head-scratching selections go, this is one of the scratchiest, for Paine has been gloveman in just three Shield games in the past two years and has not scored a first-class hundred since 2006. But there are mitigating circumstances.”It was widely recognised last year in Tasmania that I was the best wicketkeeper in Tasmania,” Paine said in Brisbane on Monday, “it was just that at the time Tasmania had a fair share of battles in Shield cricket and decided to go in a new direction that was clearly a younger direction, so that was just how it panned out.”And the lack of big runs? One contributing factor was the smashed finger that he suffered while batting against Dirk Nannes in an exhibition match in 2010. Rod Marsh was Iron Gloves, but surely no Australian wicketkeeper has had as much metal to contend with as Tim Paine, who now has a plate and seven or eight pins as permanent features of his right hand, repairing the index finger that caused him such trouble after the Nannes blow.”Behind the stumps I was pretty good straight away, it didn’t worry me too much. It hurt a little bit but it didn’t take too much away from me,” Paine said. “But with batting, it really did affect me and you only have to look at my numbers in those few years when I came back. I was battling mentally, I was out there thinking I was going to get hit and if I did get hit I’d never play again. It certainly rattled me a lot.”It was not until he opened up with Tasmania’s sports psychologist, Emma Harris, that Paine was able to move past his batting troubles. And now, a couple of years down the track, he has also found an ally in the new Tasmania batting coach Jeff Vaughan, who has helped Paine rework his batting grip to better suit his pins and plate.”The opportunity has come at a really good time for me,” Paine said. “The past five or six months I’ve really started to bat well again and I’ll go into this Test with some confidence. I played pretty well last week [against England in a tour game], I’ve played Test cricket before so I know what to expect. And I’ve had some success in the few Tests I have played, so I’ll take some confidence from that.”Australia have played 78 Tests since Paine last wore the baggy green, meaning that on Thursday he will equal the Australian record for the most Tests missed between appearances: Brad Hogg also sat out of 78 Tests from his 1996 debut until he returned to the side in 2003.And while Paine admits he was surprised by his recall, he is keen to grab his chance. He turns 33 next month, and if he performs strongly during this Ashes campaign, he could feasibly have several years ahead of him as a Test keeper. Finally, it is a chance for Paine to live up to the high expectations that were placed on him seven years ago.”I’m not here for five minutes, I’m here to make the most of this opportunity,” he said. “To be honest, I’m sick of talking about being the person who hurt his finger and what could have been six or seven years ago. That’s the way I’m looking at this opportunity.”Hopefully I can be sitting in a room like this in two years or three years and we’re talking about the back end of my Test career, not ‘Geez, he could have been a good player back in 2009’. That’s something that’s really exciting for me, is to be able to re-write my story a bit and it’s something I’m really keen to do.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola is eyeing a move to sign Bayern Munich full-back Benjamin Pavard this summer, according to reports.

The Spaniard has reportedly identified the Frenchman as a concrete target in the current transfer window, as he looks to strengthen his right-back options in the coming weeks.

What's the latest on Benjamin Pavard to Manchester City?

Guardiola is keen to strengthen his side's right-back options this summer, and Pavard is a target for the Manchester City manager, according to Pete O'Rourke of Football Insider.

The Bayern Munich man has been linked with a move away from the Bundesliga champions throughout the summer, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that he is top of Manchester City's list of right-back targets if Kyle Walker decides to go the other way in the current transfer window.

As things stand, Pavard's contract is set to expire next summer, potentially making a deal easier to negotiate for Guardiola and co.

As per O'Rourke, too, City are desperately trying to convince Walker to stay put ahead of the forthcoming Premier League campaign, amid interest from the Bundesliga champions.

Meanwhile, there's still questions over the future of the treble winners' other right-back option, Joao Cancelo, who spent last season on loan at Bayern Munich.

Should Manchester City sign Benjamin Pavard?

If Walker or Cancelo leave this summer, then Pavard would be an ideal option for those at The Etihad this season. Boosted by the fact that the Frenchman can play as a centre-back, too, Guardiola would certainly get the best out of the World Cup winner.

Thomas Tuchel was quick to praise the full-back after taking up the managerial role at the Bundesliga club last season, calling him "underrated" and saying, via Lequipe: “He can adapt to the highest level and he defends rigorously. He is a top team player, he immediately had my confidence and proved to me that I had been right.”

Statistically speaking, too, Pavard outperfomed both Cancelo and Walker in some areas last season. According to FBref, the Bayern man made more progressive passes, won more tackles, made more blocks, and made more interceptions per-90 when compared with the Manchester City full-back. The transfer target was also in the 98th percentile of expected assists, as per FBref, so would provide City with even more chance creation.

So, with that said, it certainly seems as though Guardiola would be upgrading his right-back options this summer if he secured the signature of Pavard.

The Premier League giants have already, of course, dipped into the Bundesliga this summer to complete the signing of Josko Gvardiol from RB Leipzig for a reported £77.6m. And, with time still remaining in the window, they could yet return to Germany's top flight.

Off the back of winning the treble last season, the pressure is on City to perform once more on the biggest stages. Already, they've continued their recent trend of losing the Community Shield, losing for the third consecutive year, and this time against Arsenal.

Guardiola's focus will now turn to his side's opening day clash against Vincent Kompany's newly-promoted Burnley side. It is then that City will hope to hit the ground running, with or without Pavard.