Football pundit and legend Rio Ferdinand has come to the defence of Arsenal summer signing Kai Havertz, drawing comparisons with Mason Mount.

What's the latest on Arsenal and Kai Havertz?

The Gunners spent big in the transfer window to bring the German over from Chelsea, paying a notable fee of £65m to get the deal done.

However, the player has faced criticism very early on at his new club, with this even dating back to pre-season when he struggled in a skills challenge while on Arsenal's tour of the US.

Unfortunately for the German, he has been unable to silence his critics with either a goal or an assist in any of his first three Premier League outings for the club and struggled to impress most recently in the 2-2 draw with Fulham.

Read the latest Arsenal transfer news HERE…

In that game, at one point, the Emirates crowd even seemed to turn on Havertz – as pointed out by journalist James Benge.

Indeed, he took to Twitter to report on the incident, saying: "That cry of frustration when Havertz misplaced a simple pass felt very redolent of the time when this ground had very little patience for certain players."

However, in response to this, former Manchester United defender Ferdinand has somewhat surprisingly defended the German, slamming supporters for not showing more patience.

Speaking on his Vibe with Five YouTube channel (via football.london), the pundit said: “You guys [Arsenal fans] are all over the place. With Havertz, I understand that he might not have hit the ground running, bit like Mason Mount at Man United

"But the way that you guys are absolutely like: ‘get him out’, I don’t get it. If it was 10, 15 games, do you know what, I could see what they’re saying.

"But it’s three games you know. People need time to adjust.”

It's interesting that Ferdinand uses the case of Mount in his defence, as the midfielder also left Chelsea in the summer – although joined Man United instead.

The new Red Devils hasn't exactly settled in fast at Old Trafford either, and notably came into heavy criticism for his "insubstantive" efforts in the defeat away at Tottenham Hotspur.

With all this in mind, it will certainly be interesting to see how things play out when Arsenal host Man United this weekend at the Emirates Stadium.

What happened with Kai Havertz?

To be fair, Havertz probably will take more time to adjust to Arsenal as he's been asked to operate in a new role this season.

Last term at Chelsea, he played the bulk of his games (29 times) as a striker for the Blues. This time around, however, he has started all three games with the Gunners as part of a midfield trio.

What's more, criticism seems quite overblown. After all, as per WhoScored, he's still managed a reasonable if not brilliant 6.57 average rating – with the likes of Ben White and Aaron Ramsdale registering worse scores.

Of course, his lack of goals and assists doesn't look great but, as mentioned before, he's playing in a deeper role so it's unfair to judge him solely on just that.

Instead, looking at over stats, as per WhoScored again, you can see he has won more aerial duels (2.7 per game) than any other Arsenal player, and only Bukayo Saka and Leandro Trossard have made more key passes than his 1.7 per game.

The summer transfer window officially slammed shut last week but Celtic are reportedly already eyeing up a target for when the market reopens for business.

What's the latest Celtic transfer news?

Brendan Rodgers was able to add nine new players to his first-team squad with Paulo Bernardo, Gustaf Lagerbielke, Luis Palma, Maik Nawrocki, Odin Thiago Holm, Marco Tilio, Hyeok-kyu Kwon, Hyun-jun Yang, and Nat Phillips all arriving.

According to The Scottish Sun, the Hoops boss is now eyeing up a swoop to sign Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher in a future transfer window.

The report claims that the Scottish giants checked on his availability this summer but the Premier League side were unwilling to sanction an exit at this juncture, however, it is said that a move further down the line is 'likely'.

It states that the Republic of Ireland international is also tempted by the prospect of being the long-term number one at Parkhead, which could help the Bhoys in their pursuit of his services.

How good is Caoimhin Kelleher?

The 6 foot 2 titan would come in as a dream heir to current Celtic shot-stopper Joe Hart as his form, in limited minutes, with Liverpool in recent years suggests that he could be a phenomenal signing for the club.

At the age of 24, Kelleher is 12 years younger than the former England international and would arrive with plenty of years left ahead of him to impress between the sticks as the long-term replacement for the ex-Manchester City star.

Unfortunately, he is currently behind Brazil number one Alisson at Anfield which has understandably led to a lack of minutes on the pitch at first-team level for Jurgen Klopp's side.

However, the Irish titan has caught the eye when he has been able to get on the teamsheet.

The talented youngster averaged an eye-catching Sofascore rating of 7.53 over three Premier League and League Cup appearances combined during the 2022/23 campaign, which included a 74% save success rate over two cup outings.

That came after his particularly impressive performances for Liverpool in the 2021/22 season as the 24-year-old giant averaged a Sofascore rating of 8.03 over four League Cup matches, in which time he saved an incredibly impressive 84% of the shots on his goal, to help his team to win the competition.

Hart, on the other hand, struggled at times last term for Celtic. The 36-year-old stopper averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.77 across 37 Scottish Premiership games and saved just 65% of the shots on target against him, showing that he stopped a lower percentage of strikes and delivered a worse average performance level than the Bhoys target.

He also made a worrying four mistakes that directly led to a shot for the other team during the top-flight campaign, with the veteran clearly prone to making errors with the ball at his feet. Whereas, Kelleher has not made a single blunder leading to a shot or goal for the opposition over the last two seasons and could be more reliable between the sticks.

Therefore, the Liverpool prospect, who was once hailed as "exceptional" by his national team boss Stephen Kenny, could be a dream heir to Hart as his performances for the Reds suggest that the potential is there for him to be an upgrade on the Englishman if he can deliver those performances week-in-week-out north of the border.

Abahani Limited lifted their 19th Dhaka Premier League title following a 94-run win against Legends of Rupganj in the Super League’s last round, retaining their status as the most successful domestic cricket team in Bangladesh. In front of a raucous crowd at the BKSP-3 ground, Nazmul Hossain Shanto and Nasir Hossain struck centuries as Abahani posted 374 for 6, before Rupganj were bowled out for 280.Shanto struck 113 off 107 balls, his fourth hundred in this season’s DPL, and included 11 fours and two sixes. Nasir’s 129 was his first century of the season, coming off just 91 balls with 15 fours and four sixes. He also survived three dropped catches.Shanto added a 91-run opening stand, with Anamul Haque who made 57. Shanto then added 187 runs for the fourth wicket with Nasir, before Mashrafe Mortaza hit four sixes in an unbeaten 28 off just eight balls. Parvez Rasool was the pick of the Rupganj bowlers, taking 3 for 42.Mohammad Naim and Mushfiqur Rahim added 91 runs for the third wicket after Rupganj lost two early wickets. Naim and Mushfiqur made 70 and 67 respectively before Naeem Islam top-scored with 76. Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Sandip Roy and Nasir took two wickets each.Khelaghar Samaj Kallyan Samity meanwhile ended Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club‘s title hopes by handing them a four-wicket defeat in Mirpur. Batting first, Dhanmondi Club were bowled out for 160 in 49 overs. Nurul Hasan top-scored with 47 while Robiul Islam, Ashok Menaria and Mohammad Saddam took two wickets each.In reply, Khelaghar reached the target in 36.5 overs with Nazimuddin top-scoring with 61. Left-arm spinner Nazmul Islam took five wickets.Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club beat Gazi Group Cricketers by five wickets at the Fatullah Cricket Stadium. Left-arm spinner Nasum Ahmed took four wickets while Arafat Sunny picked up three wickets as Gazi Group were bowled out for 95 runs. Doleshwar reached the target in 24 overs, losing five wickets. Abu Hider took three wickets. Abu Sayeem top-scored with 36 off 32 balls.

Australia’s new Test captain said that talk of changing the team’s on-field approach had started when Steven Smith was still in charge

ESPNcricinfo staff19-Apr-2018Australia will tone down their sledging under new Test captain Tim Paine as the team try to repair their damaged reputation following the ball-tampering controversy in South Africa which led to three players being handed significant bans.Paine was named the new Test captain when Steven Smith was suspended for the final Test in Johannesburg and Smith was subsequently handed a 12-month ban along with David Warner while Cameron Bancroft was given a nine-month penalty.Paine’s first proper chance to build a new-look side, both in terms of personnel and style, will come against Pakistan later this year but he is already thinking about the direction he wants to take the team. Cricket Australia have instigated a culture review following the recent events, but discussions about toning down on-field behaviour which had brought significant criticism before the Cape Town controversy had started when Smith was in charge.”I think there’s always a time and a place to talk to your opposition, but I think what’s said and how it’s said will be very different going forward,” Paine said. “A lot of this stuff we were actually starting to speak about under Steve already. A lot of the players had their head around the fact we needed to change the way we play. Some of those conversations were already being had.”I’m really looking forward to playing that role and winning back the trust and respect of our fans and the Australian public first and foremost. That’s a really exciting thing for our playing group.”Dean Elgar, who was part of the South Africa side throughout the series, admitted it was an odd atmosphere during the final Test of the series as a flat Australia were crushed by 492 runs and he hoped that Paine would be able to put his stamp on the captaincy.”Joburg was very strange, my first encounter against Australia that I wasn’t told my future,” Elgar said. “But saying that it’s part of the game, they’d been through so much leading up to the game, and it was sad to see what they were going through. No side needs to go through what they experienced, and knowing the characters in that changing room, I’m sure they can bounce back”I’d like to believe that’s the way they want to play their cricket, and if that’s their challenge that they have to deal with then we’ve got to respect what their new captain wants. I know Tim, I’ve played a lot of cricket against him, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to try to implement those kind of phases that they need to start off a new slate.”Another part of the fallout to the affair was Darren Lehmann stepping down as coach. Justin Langer has been tipped as favourite to take over but Cricket Australia have said the process will be started following a forthcoming board meeting. There will also be the need for new one-day and T20 captains in time for the tours of England and Zimbabwe which start in June with Paine only taking on the Test role.”We’ll have a new coach going forward, we’re going to have some time off where guys can take stock and think about the way they want to play,” Paine said. “Certainly, playing international cricket you’ve got to be as competitive as you can be. But we’ve got to look at different ways of doing that and more respectful ways of putting opposition teams under the pump.”Part of what we spoke about a lot is playing on skill, not emotion. I think in the last couple of years at times we’ve been a touch too emotional and got carried away on that side of the game. That’s a small thing we can improve on.”Paine also said he has kept in contact with Smith since he was banned and will continue to do so during his time out of the side.”I have a role to play of winning the back the trust and faith of our fans and the Australian public. I have spoken to him on the phone and via text. He’s someone who I certainly will be speaking quite closely to on how we go about it and keeping him in the loop. All three of them are going through a tough time and our thoughts are with those guys and we would love them back in the team.”However, in the longer term Paine believed the Australian game could recover from the controversy without lasting damage as he looked ahead to a home season that would include visits by India and Sri Lanka.”I don’t think it’s as disastrous as it’s been made out,” he said. “We’ve had this incident which has brought everything to a head. During the Ashes there wasn’t a lot said about our culture and looking back it’s just a few little things we can tweak and do a little bit better as a team.”If we do that then I think the Australian public will jump back on board pretty quickly. That’s one of our main aims for this coming summer.”

Manchester United youngsters Alejandro Garnacho, Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo have been told they still have a lot of developing to do.

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Young trio in great form for Man UtdTen Hag sang praises of starsWarned them to "be hungry" and improveWHAT HAPPENED?

The trio have earned a lot of praise for their recent displays, scoring eight goals between them to help United go on a five-game unbeaten run in all competitions. Despite their promising performances, though, manager Erik ten Hag has challenged them to keep improving and "be hungry".

AdvertisementGetty WHAT TEN HAG SAID

"I think they enjoy to play together. There is adventure. They are a danger. They want to do it together and to pass to each other so that everyone can play to their qualities and everyone can score goals," he told reporters. "It's great if they want to do it together because that is the key, then we can have a lot of pleasure from this. They are young players and the future for Manchester United is quite bright with such talent on board.

"But you have to develop the talent and there is a lot of space for improvement and that is necessary if you want to go to the top levels. This club wants to achieve a lot, to win trophies. It is very ambitious so they then have to step up and bring higher levels and consistency. Also against the best opposition they have to express the same threat and it is about end product. Players need time, especially young players like Rasmus and Alejandro. They need time but also they need a team so those effects were not there in the first half of the season."

He added: "From the start I was confident they have the potential to do what they are doing and now it is about keeping going, keep moving, be hungry."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Hojlund has found his form for the Red Devils in recent weeks, scoring five times in his last six matches. Garnacho, meanwhile, struck twice in his starring role as the Old Trafford side beat West Ham in their most recent match, while 18-year-old Mainoo got his first United goal in the FA Cup victory against Newport and then fired in a late winner as they beat Wolves 4-3.

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Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR MAN UTD?

Ten Hag will be hoping that his young stars can help extend their winning streak by scoring in their Premier League clash against Aston Villa on Sunday. United are currently sixth in the table, eight points behind Villa, who are fourth.

Despite winning an FA Cup and two Community Shields at Arsenal, Cesc Fabregas is unlikely to be the most loved man at the Emirates Stadium.

The Spanish midfield maestro spent seven seasons playing for the Gunners, making 303 appearances, scoring 57 goals a recording an incredible 95 assists.

However, unfortunately for Arsenal fans in 2011, Fabregas returned to his boyhood club Barcelona, but the real kick in the teeth came in 2014 when he signed for bitter rivals Chelsea, where he would go on to win two Premier Leagues – something he never managed to do at Arsenal.

Why did Cesc Fabregas leave Arsenal?

Arsenal fans had a deep affection for the now-retired 36-year-old but since his moves to Barcelona and predominantly Chelsea, it is probably fair to say his legacy isn’t quite what it once was.

In a revealing interview with Arseblog in March 2020, Fabregas revealed he left the club because of the pressure that was put on him as captain and the poor quality of players he was surrounded by.

He said: "I was the captain, I always felt so much pressure on myself. I had to lead this team to win something. I gave everything. Sometimes, I used to go home after we lost and I used to cry.

"I used to suffer, I used to spend sleepless nights suffering. And then you lose a game, you're in the bus like this, destroyed, and then you hear some players laughing, thinking about where they will be going out later.

"This was going on for a few years. And at one point I felt kind of lonely. Especially in the last two or three years, I felt Robin and Samir were the only players – it's not an arrogant thing to say, it's how I felt at that time – were the players who were at my level mentally and technically."

You could argue that the Europa League winner’s assessment of the squad was, right as in his seven seasons with Arsenal he was only able to win three trophies, and by the time he left in 2011 they hadn’t won the Premier League since 2004 and the FA Cup since 2005.

However, thankfully for Arsenal fans, manager Mikel Arteta and sporting director Edu have been able to revolutionise Arsenal as a club and its squad of players.

Very few people can question the extremely high quality of the squad now, with players like Bukayo Saka, Martin Odegaard and William Saliba pushing the red side of London to be serious title challengers.

Who has a better legacy than Cesc Fabregas?

It could be argued that many of the players in the current Arsenal squad will one day leave a greater legacy than Fabregas.

But even former controversial Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka could have left the Gunners this summer with a far greater reputation and status.

The Swiss midfielder signed for legendary boss Arsene Wenger in the summer of 2016 for £25m from Borussia Mönchengladbach, and before leaving for Bayern Leverkusen this summer he made 297 appearances for the north London side, scoring 23 goals and providing 29 assists in all competitions.

The 30-year-old quickly became a controversial player at Arsenal, as his performances weren't always spectacular. On top of this he wasn’t afraid to put in a rash challenge, and during his time at Arsenal he picked up 76 yellow cards and five red cards in all competitions.

Xhaka’s performances during this part of his Arsenal career were once excellently summed up in one X by journalist Mark Man-Braynes.

He said: “Petulant booking for AFC captain Xhaka – tugs back Grealish as his counterpart just turns and walks past him with the ball.”

Xhaka’s controversial performances came to a head in 2019 when he was stripped of his captaincy after arguing with the fans, during a 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

As the midfielder was being substituted, he was booed by the Arsenal fans, prompting him to cup his ear to the fans, tear off his shirt, and walk straight down the tunnel.

However, after the arrival of Arteta and the signing of new players that allowed Arsenal to flourish, Xhaka looked like a player reborn.

Last season the midfielder was part of the side that spent 248 days at the top of the Premier League, claiming the record for the longest time at the top of the league without winning it.

At one point of the season, they were 8 points clear of eventual treble winners Manchester City, but finished 5 points behind the Champions, after they completely capitulated at the end of the season, losing two of their last five games.

During, Arsenal’s title charge the Basel Youth Academy graduate received lots of praise for his performances, even BBC pundit Garth Crooks highlighted his importance to Arsenal and the love he received from the fans.

Writing for BBC Sport he said: “I don’t like Granit Xhaka, I find him confrontational, overly aggressive and altogether irritating. Nevertheless, on his day he’s a very good player. He should have left Arsenal years ago.

"However, for some reason he has not only stayed at the club but also occasionally wears the captain’s armband, such is his popularity these days."

His performances were also backed up by his 7.05 Sofascore rating last season, this rating placed him eighth in the squad overall and ahead of lorded defenders Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes.

He also played 3,700 minutes last season in all competitions, the fourth most in the entire squad, showing how important he was.

4,100

3,740

3,720

3,700

3,400

Stats via Transfermarkt.

In truth, Xhaka was and will never be as good of a player as Fabregas was for Arsenal – or for any other club.

But he will certainly be remembered more fondly by Arsenal fans, after his excellent final campaign for them along with his two FA Cups and two “Community Shields, which is slightly more than what Fabregas won in his time with the Gunners.

The Spanish midfielder will be more fondly remembered by fans of other teams for his achievements for them, as his trophies away from Arsenal include two Premier Leagues and one Europa League with Chelsea, his one World Cup and two European Championships with Spain, and one LaLiga title with Barcelona

NWSL expansion side Bay FC smashed the world-record transfer fee to sign Madrid CFF superstar Racheal Kundananji on Tuesday.

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Bay FC sign Kundananji for world-record feeMadrid CFF superstar joins NWSL expansion sideLook ahead at 2024 campaignWHAT HAPPENED?

The Zambian superstar has signed from Madrid CFF in the biggest transfer in women's soccer history, for a staggering fee worth €735,000 ($788,000/£625,000). The 23-year-old striker will travel to the United States to now be one of the highest-paid players in the league, with a deal that will pay over $2m across her contract through 2026, according to

AdvertisementWHAT BAY FC

“We are delighted to add Racheal to our group,” said Bay FC General Manager Lucy Rushton. “She is a tremendous talent with dynamic attacking qualities and an incredible physical profile who has produced for both club and country. Racheal has a composure in-front of goal and a natural ability to score with different types of finishes and from various locations. We believe she will continue to grow and develop at our club, showcasing her skillset and adding to the array of exciting attacking talent we have here.”

GettyWHAT KUNDANANJI SAID

“Every place that I’ve been to, I always take something from there; I learn something from there,” Kundananji told . “Good or bad, to me it’s a good experience because you have to experience something to know something. I’m looking [forward] to having a great time in the U.S., have a great time with the team. Now, Bay FC is my new family.”

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THE BIGGER PICTURE

Kundananji, who has eight goals and two assists this campaign in Liga F, is one of the top prospects in all of women's soccer. After signing in Spain in 2022, she ended her debut season with 25 goals across all competitions for Madrid CFF. Now, she's taking her talents to the West Coast to be the first-ever superstar signing for Bay FC ahead of their inaugural season.

Everton's James Tarkowski and wife Samantha made little attempt to hide the truth when asked about their favourite pastime in a new reality series.

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• Tarkowski and wife Samantha interview
• Reveal favourite activity to do together
• New show focuses on lives of players' partners

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The couple were quizzed during Amazon's series which focuses on the lives of several players and their partners. Asked what was their favourite thing to do together, Samantha burst into laughter asking what time the show will be aired. The former England defender took a more direct approach with a simple one-word answer — "shagging".

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• WATCH THE CLIP

• THE GOSSIP

  The centre-back copped some online ribbing earlier in the week when a social media trailer for the series showed Tarkowski flirting with his wife, leading some fans to jokingly call for Everton to be hit with a further points deduction as punishment.

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• WHAT NEXT FOR JAMES TARKOWSKI?

  Tarkowski and his Everton team-mates head to the south coast on Saturday looking to repeat their feats of last season when they stunned Brighton and Hove Albion with a 5-1 win which proved crucial to their Premier League survival.

The former fielding coach said the board’s lack of professionalism was the reason he quit

Danyal Rasool27-Sep-2018Former Pakistan fielding coach Steve Rixon accused the PCB of “disrespect and stupidity”, and said he had “not once” been paid on time. Rixon said that was the reason he quit his post after two years, deciding he “didn’t need it that much”, and opted to walk out than have to deal with what he believed to be a lack of professionalism on his employer’s part.”I never got paid on time,” Rixon told ESPNcricinfo. “It’s disrespectful, and the disrespect came from the fact that nothing was paid on time to the subsidiary staff. Indecision was the other thing. Whenever something needed to be done, and my contract was one of those things, that took over five months to get clarified. They thought I’d just roll over and accept it right at the eleventh hour but I didn’t do that as I’d basically had enough of it at that stage. I’ve been involved with coaching for 30 years. I enjoy the game a huge amount and I never want to finish a job at cricket not enjoying it. And that’s what probably would have happened if I’d stayed on there.”Refusing to point the finger directly at anyone, Rixon said the PCB needed to learn to treat overseas staff well. He pointed to the fact that the PCB’s conduct had put off Darren Berry from replacing Rixon as Pakistan’s fielding coach – the PCB’s clear first choice – and forgoing the services of such professionals was “stupidity”.”Darren Berry eventually refused to do the job, and I was left out at that particular time when things were going so well. When I say “stupid”, it’s those decisions I’m talking about. If you want overseas staff to come and do a job they’ve started to do which was going extremely well, don’t treat people like that.”Rixon, who had last month mentioned he was “horribly worried” Pakistan would slip back into old ways if they didn’t have someone to drum fielding standards into them, said some of the things that had concerned him had already started to happen. Pakistan were knocked out of the Asia Cup by Bangladesh on Wednesday. The tournament was notable for Pakistan in that it was the first time since the team appeared to have turned a corner under Mickey Arthur that fielding standards sharply dropped. Before the Bangladesh game, the catching rate at the tournament stood at a mere 30%, with eight chances put down in two crunch games alone. For Rixon, it highlighted the importance of not letting up on the Pakistan players who, he felt, tended to relax as soon as things began to go well.”I highlighted that if you don’t work hard with these kids and stay on their backs, you’re going to have the sort of things that have started to happen. Far, far too many easy catches were dropped. The fielding record that had improved, the catching record that had improved, and the run-out record that took them to the top of the table in world cricket is not going to happen again if these kids don’t continue to be pushed.”The concentration level of a lot of our players is very minimal when it comes to the fielding aspect, and we tend to relax when things start to go okay. When we think we’re getting on top is when the danger time starts; that’s the most vulnerable time for our boys. When one thing goes wrong, it’s like a snowball effect. That’s when things start to happen in bulk and that’s obviously what’s happened of late. But it’s more our level of concentration. You have to stay on top of these boys at all times. Don’t relax at any stage and keep the work ethic as high as possible because if you don’t, they’ll fall off as quick as they started.”Grant Bradburn, Pakistan’s new fielding coach, was a New Zealand cricketer when Rixon coached the side. And although Rixon said he didn’t know much of Bradburn’s fielding credentials, he did remember that he was a good fielder.”I think he’ll do a very good job, he’s a guy that has been from an era where fielding became a massive part of the way we train. When I was with NZ, all the provinces talked about the same philosophy of fielding and started to place emphasis on it. But they need to keep pushing those boys, and if they get that part right, I’m sure it’ll turn out okay.”The PCB, responding shortly after, issued a statement rejecting Steve Rixon’s “baseless” allegations”, saying they came “as a surprise”.”The PCB is disappointed by the baseless allegations made by former fielding coach Steve Rixon in a recent interview,” the statement read. “The PCB spokesman wishes to clarify that the Board has enjoyed cordial relations with all current and former foreign staff attached with national teams.”Mr. Steve Rixon was a good coach who worked hard with the players and certainly helped improve team’s fielding in the last two years. It comes as a surprise to us that Mr. Rixon made unfounded allegations against PCB.The PCB strongly refutes the allegations made by Mr. Rixon in his interview, the foreign coaching staff has full backing and support of the board.”

Journalist Pete O'Rourke has shared how Tottenham Hotspur are planning to replace the out-of-favour Eric Dier in the January window.

Who have Spurs signed 2023?

Popular new Spurs manager Ange Postecoglou moved to bring in goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, young centre-back Ashley Phillips, defender Micky van de Ven, playmaker Maddison, winger Manor Solomon, striker Alejo Veliz and forward Brennan Johnson over the summer.

The aforementioned stars, while not all set to be an immediate part of the first team, come in as the first crop of new players tailored towards Postecoglou's new-look, open and attack-minded Tottenham system.

Thus far, Tottenham and Postecoglou's off-field decisions have proved totally justified, with Spurs currently sitting second in the Premier League table after a run of three wins over their opening four top flight matches.

In that time, the Lilywhites have racked up 11 goals over what has been a very impressive unbeaten streak; a run which showcases Postecoglou's exciting philosophy to devastating effect.

Who is leaving Tottenham?

Chairman Daniel Levy, before Chief Football Officer Scott Munn's arrival, also offloaded striker Harry Kane, Sergio Reguilon, Joe Rodon, Djed Spence, Harry Winks, Alfie Devine, Troy Parrott, Dane Scarlett, Davinson Sanchez and Tanguy Ndombele during what was a busy summer transfer period.

Other members of the Spurs squad face uncertain futures, as the likes of Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Hugo Lloris and Dier are all repeatedly linked with departures.

The latter defender, who is yet to play a single minute of Postecoglou's debut campaign, is reported to have even held talks with Levy over his future at the club.

This is despite being a previous favourite of ex-Spurs boss Antonio Conte, who lavished him with praise last campaign.

"What I can tell you is that Eric has improved a lot since I arrived," said Conte.

"We are talking about a reliable player, 100 per cent focused in every game. He is not a player who alternates with a big performance then a drop. He is providing great continuity in his role and playing every game.

"I can also tell you he is a really good guy, with great will, desire to work and improve. He knows he has space for improvement and I see every day in his eyes the desire to become stronger, to become a top defender."

Dier's contract expires in 2024 and Spurs couldn't find a suitor before September 1, meaning they could look to January for a solution.

As per Football Insider and journalist O'Rourke, a transfer plan has come to light on how the club may seek to replace the Englishman.

Indeed, it is believed the north Londoners, and by extension Postecoglou, are "plotting to sell" Dier and sign Fulham centre-back Tosin Adarabioyo as a replacement.

Tottenham were interested in signing the 25-year-old this summer, O'Rourke writes, and are likely to revisit a move for him in January – on either a pre-contract agreement or there and then for a cut-price fee.

Adarabioyo's deal expires in 2024, meaning Fulham aren't exactly in a position to demand high figures for his signature.

How good is Tosin Adarabioyo?

Adarabioyo has played just a one solitary league minute under Marco Silva this season, but did stand out as one of Fulham's best performers by average match rating over 2022/2023, according to WhoScored.

He's even been called "magnificent" by members of the media for some of his displays over the years.