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Jose Mourinho has revealed he and Samuel Eto'o "fought every day" before a crucial match in Inter's 2010 Champions League triumph.

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Mourinho explained clashes with Eto'o before last 16Says he fought with striker "every day"He recalls telling Eto'o "I don't trust you"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Jose Mourinho explained how his treatment of Samuel Eto’o prior to Inter’s Champions League last-16 clash with Chelsea left the striker pleading to play. Mourinho said as part of the BBC’s ‘How to win the Champions League’ series that he and Eto’o “fought every day”.

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The last 16 draw pitted Mourinho against Chelsea for the first time since the end of his first spell with the club in 2007. Inter, chasing a famous treble, led 2-1 from the first leg. Though he set up Diego Milito for the opening goal in that contest at San Siro, Eto’o also missed a glorious chance just after the half-hour mark. He was substituted in the 67th minute for Goran Pandev, and it’s fair to say Mourinho had doubts about the Cameroon forward for the return leg.

WHAT MOURINHO SAID

Mourinho said: "Psychology is part of the job and is part of the game with the players. The way you deal with the press is not going to win to win matches. Not at all. But, with the players? Yes. And, you know, I had I think, hundreds of players (during my career). I always looked at each one of them as a different guy than the other guys. Every person is one individual. 

"I give you an example of a very strong minded guy, Samuel Eto’o. The week before that match at Stamford Bridge, I fought him every day. Big, big discussions, big level of pressure. I told him: “I'm not going to play you. You are not in your best level. You are not going to play.” He said: “Please, Mr. Let me play. I said: “no, there is no please Mr. You are not going to play. You are not performing. I don't trust you”. It was one week of an emotional work with him."

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Mourinho relented, and he played Eto’o from the start. His faith was rewarded as Eto’o scored the only goal at Stamford Bridge 11 minutes from time to clinch a 3-1 aggregate win, Mourinho’s psychological approach having successfully motivated the striker. Inter went to beat CSKA Moscow before a defining triumph over Barcelona was followed by victory against Bayern Munich in the final to complete the treble.

The home side squeezed home with two balls to spare in a seven-over chase

Associated Press17-Aug-2022Ireland 56 for 3 beat Afghanistan 95 for 5 (Ghani 44*, Adair 3-16) by seven wickets (DLS method)George Dockrell edged Ireland to a T20I series victory over Afghanistan in a tense conclusion to a rain-affected decider in Belfast.Dockrell hit the decisive run as the home side clinched a 3-2 win by seven wickets after reaching a reduced target of 56 with two balls of their seven allotted overs to spare.Having won the toss and put the Afghans in, Ireland got off to a good start when Mark Adair removed openers Hazratullah Zazai, who had dispatched the two previous balls to the boundary, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz in his first over.When Adair had Ibrahim Zadran caught by Barry McCarthy, he had 3 for 16 and the tourists had been reduced to 26 for 3 inside four overs.Usman Ghani steadied the ship, but Josh Little had Najibullah Zadran and Mohammad Nabi caught behind by Lorcan Tucker off successive deliveries in his second spell, but with Ghani unbeaten on 44 and his side having reached 95 for five from 15 overs, rain intervened.Paul Stirling needed just five runs to reach 3000 in T20Is as Ireland’s reply got under way, and he made it within three balls, cutting Naveen ul Haq for four off the first and taking a single from the third.Fellow opener Andrew Balbirnie was trapped in front for 9 attempting to sweep Mujeeb Ur Rahman with the score on 17, Mujeeb had Stirling caught at deep midwicket for 16 to give his side hope, and Tucker soon followed for 14.However, Harry Tector and Dockrell saw their side home for the loss of three wickets.

Having already endured a busy month on the transfer front, Aston Villa could now reportedly walk away from a deal to sign a £25m-rated central defender given Unai Emery’s latest verdict on the matter.

Aston Villa transfer news

The Villans have already welcomed reinforcements at both ends of the pitch in the form of Donyell Malen and Andres Garcia, who will provide competition for the likes of Leon Bailey and Matty Cash down the right-hand side.

Speaking to the official club website, Garcia expressed his delight over putting pen to paper, saying: “I think it’s the dream that every footballer has, and it’s a huge step for me which I’m facing with excitement and, above all, with lots of respect towards the club.

“I would say that, (with) the qualities I have as a footballer, the traits, I think the Premier League is the ideal league for the way I play.

“To be able to achieve this at only 21-years-old, it’s a really proud moment for me, as well as a challenge, and to be able to learn from the players that are here in the club is going to be really good for me, and a big step.

“There are players here with great careers, with lots of quality. It’s a challenge for me, but I’m excited to face it. For me, it’s a tremendous honour to be able to defend these colours, and I’m looking forward to the moment to be able to do that.”

But Villa’s impressive business so far hasn’t stopped further reports from coming thick and fast. Even after already splashing out, a number of further names have been linked to Villa Park.

Aston Villa battling to sign "skilful" Bade alternative to replace Carlos

He’s got unfinished business in the Premier League…

ByTom Cunningham Jan 22, 2025

The right-back could be the final defender through the door if one recent report is to be believed however. According to reports in Spain as relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa could now walk away from a deal to sign Loic Bade with Emery “not obsessed” about the Frenchman and willing to turn his attention elsewhere.

The news arrives amid Sevilla’s reported €30m (£25m) asking price that those in the Midlands are currently unwilling to match.

"Crazy" Bade is worth the money

Whilst Aston Villa must be careful on the profit and sustainability front, the recent departure of Diego Carlos should have made room for someone of Bade’s calibre to arrive. Still just 24 years old, the Frenchman is about to reach the peak of his powers and there’s every reason why he’s found himself at the centre of praise from the likes of Ben Mattinson.

The analyst described Bade’s ball manipulation as “crazy” during the summer after praising a “colossus performance” which those at Villa Park would become familiar with if the Villans made their move this month, given he’s one of Sevilla’s highest rated players this season, starting 15 top flight matches.

As things stand, however, Bade remains a Sevilla star and Sevilla star only as Aston Villa reportedly prepare to walk away from any deal this month.

“As a young lad you read about guys getting a 300… but I never thought I’d ever get there”

Paul Edwards13-Jul-2022
Days like this foster a sense of unreality. Men and women go through their lives hoping to rediscover the innocence of childhood and its idyllic experiences on blue summer days. There is, of course, no need for cricket to play any part in such quests but individual scores like Keaton Jennings’ 318 connote consumption on the grandest scale. Cakes and ginger beer, indeed. In no time at all we are tugged contentedly back to that time before form-filling and responsibilities when we rarely wondered who paid for our food and clothes.Some of those who watched Jennings flay Somerset’s bowling recall the first game between these sides at Southport. “There was a boy, ye knew him well, ye Cliffs and Valleys of Winander!” That match took place in 1966 when Ken Palmer’s century and seven wickets brought an innings victory and joy illimited to the West Country. Now they have fresh memories to set alongside their others and they feature a tall, ever-angular batsman destroying Somerset’s attack with cuts, pulls and drives that sent the ball into the gardens at Harrod Drive and agile boys climbing over the walls to recover it.Of course, there were records, oodles of them. Jennings’ 318 – he was caught at long-on by Peter Siddle off Roelof van der Merwe in the final over of the day – is the fourth-highest individual score in Lancashire’s history and the best since Neil Fairbrother made 366 against Surrey at The Oval in 1990. It is also the highest individual score between these teams at Trafalgar Road, and while that mark may seem trivial on an evening when the county’s all-time records have been rewritten, it might be remembered that many thought they’d never see anyone make more than the 281 not out John Crawley levied off Andrew Hayhurst’s Somerset attack in 1994.That, too, was an afternoon of blessed memory but it has now been joined by “Jennings’ Match”, one in which he scored 257 runs in a single day, hitting 26 fours and four sixes in his entire innings. And of course, achievements like that dwarf all others. For example, Luke Wells reached his century off the second ball of the morning; an edged four through gully off Siddle. But four overs later, Brooks tailed one in to the opener and Wells’ jab down on it thick-nicked a catch to Steve Davies behind the stumps.This meant that having sat down to watch the cricket at 11.00am, spectators had stood up to clap the hundred, plonked themselves down again, got up again to applaud Wells’ return to the pavilion and sat down once more, all in the space of twenty minutes. It was quite enjoyable, of course, but it did nothing for the hip replacements. The spectators little knew that they would be standing on half a dozen further occasions simply to salute Jennings.The most notable of these was the triple-century, of course, which was reached late in the evening when Jennings pushed Tom Lammonby to midwicket for a single and yet another large Trafalgar Road crowd saluted him. They are already calling him the King of Southport on social media but that misses the humility of a cricketer who always puts his team first. And not only his team. When the usual photographs were being taken in front of the scoreboard Jennings insisted that the youngsters who had watched him bat should be included in them. He’s like that.Related

Luke Wells, Keaton Jennings bite huge chunk out of Somerset's first-innings total

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Keith Barker, Mohammad Abbas hasten Warwickshire towards defeat

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Unbeaten Ryan Rickelton century sets up tense final day

“It feels amazing but the main thing is we are in a nice position to push on and hopefully win the game tomorrow,” he said. “We have a good chance of really putting some pressure on Somerset and getting a nice win under our belt. The innings went in waves – last night I didn’t feel amazing and then today I went through ebbs and flows of scoring quickly and then reining it back.”It’s one of those days you can look back on at the end of your career and realise it was special but at the moment it hasn’t quite sunk in and it just feels like a day in the dirt.”If so, one wonders what it feels like for Josh Bohannon, whose innings of 91, his first score above fifty since late April, is now barely a footnote to events. And what it feels like for Somerset’s bowlers, among them Matt Renshaw, who took 3 for 29 when Lancashire’s tail had a slog late in the day, or for van der Merwe, whose 5 for 174 in 40.2 overs does not look too special until one realises that it was the first five-wicket haul of the 37-year-old’s career.Van der Merwe’s obvious pleasure as he took late wickets was in particular contrast to his reaction when he bowled Bohannon to leave Lancashire on 397 for 2 in mid-afternoon. He celebrated with a joyous tug of the waistband on his flannels. The day would get better for the South African off-spinner but nothing like as good as it would get for his Johannesburg-born countryman.”It’s a special day and one I hope I look back on with a lot of pride – I’ll be honest I didn’t think I’d ever get a first-class 300 at any point. As a young lad you read about guys getting a 300 – Mike Hussey was a guy I looked up to as a player – but I never thought I’d ever get there so it is an amazing day.”I’ve had some pretty low times in my career that have been fairly well documented so this is a special day – it’s a day I’ll hopefully smile about with my grandkids one day. A really good day personally and a really good day for the team – we shared a beer in the dressing room and that was really special.”So all that remains for Lancashire is to somehow take ten wickets on a pitch where some batters have got out having a thrash but very few have been beaten all ends up by the bowlers. That would be a fine achievement but one doubts that children around here will remember it more clearly than Jennings’ strokes or being asked to join the triple-centurion in the photographs that celebrated one of the best days in his career. Cakes and ginger beer again on this most generous of summer days.

West Ham United are now keen on signing a “clinical” £40 million Premier League midfielder this month, according to a new report.

West Ham transfer news

Julen Lopetegui could soon get the sack at the London Stadium after defeat to Manchester City reopened the question marks around his long-term future at the club. Graham Potter’s name is once again back in the frame for the Hammers, and the former Chelsea boss may well seal a move to replace the Spaniard.

West Ham now make contact over move to sign "fantastic" £60m striker

Julen Lopetegui is keen to strengthen his strike force this winter.

ByDominic Lund Jan 3, 2025

Ahead of the game against City, Lopetegui revealed that West Ham are “working” on potential arrivals behind the scenes. Lopetegui said: “It is true that we have these two important losses [Bowen and Antonio]. The club knows our needs and are working about [on] that.”

One player the Hammers were interested in signing was Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney, but that appears to be a non-starter, as the defender looks set to re-join his old side Celtic. West Ham are said to have made an approach to sign Tierney, but he has snubbed the interest in favour of rejoining the Scottish champions.

A new forward could be on the radar for the Premier League side, as they are targeting a move for Real Sociedad star Brias Mendez. Lopetegui knows the player, having come up against him in La Liga, and he could be an option for the Hammers this month, as they look to strengthen their forward line.

West Ham keen on signing "clinical" £40m Premier League midfielder

Signing a new defender and forward are not the only positions the Hammers are looking to strengthen, as according to TBR Football, West Ham are interested in signing Carney Chukwuemeka from Chelsea in this transfer window.

Chukwuemeka joined Chelsea in 2022, but his time with the Blues has been far from successful. The midfielder has struggled to nail down a regular spot in the starting XI, and under Enzo Maresca, he has hardly featured. The 21-year-old has played five times this season, four of which have come in the UEFA Conference League and one in the EFL Cup. Not only has he not played in the league, but he has yet to make a matchday squad.

TBR Football now reports that Chelsea are prepared to let Chukwuemeka leave this month, ideally with a permanent sale, with them looking to get around £40 million for the player. There are several players that the Blues want to move on in this month, and Chukwuemeka is one of those who has interest from West Ham and his former club Aston Villa.

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The Hammers want to sign a new midfielder, but the chances of them paying £40 million this month is said to be unrealistic. Chukwuemeka, who scored at the London Stadium against the Hammers last season, is very highly rated by former Chelsea man Marcel Desailly, as he labels the midfielder as “clinical.”

Desailly said of Chukwuemeka: “I like Carney Chukwuemeka because he is like an artist who comes onto the stage. He has got the ball. Now is my moment. Shine. You see the dribbling. He is sure about what he is going to do, and he is clinical. I love it.”

Gary Neville slammed 'robotic and micromanaged' players as Manchester derby ended in a drab stalemate at Old Trafford.

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Neville slammed players in a passionate rantManchester derby ended in a stalemateNeville labelled players of both clubs 'robotic'Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The United legend did not hold back while slamming players from both clubs as the Manchester derby ended in a boring goalless draw on Sunday at Old Trafford. Neville questioned the players' attitude after the draw as he labelled them 'robotic and micromanaged'.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportWHAT GARY NEVILLE SAID

In a passionate rant on after the match, the pundit said: "I don’t think there was one player who walked off the pitch disappointed about drawing the game 0-0, from either side. I think they all sort of walked off thinking: ‘We’re okay here we got away without making a mistake’. It was really disappointing, I apologise for my co-commentary, I think I let it get to me, I was boring on there as well. That was drab.

"I get what he [Ruben Amorim] is saying about it being that point in the season, with City and United being in a difficult moment. But this robotic nature of not leaving our positions, being micro-managed within an inch of our lives, not having any freedom to take a risk to go and try and win a football match is becoming an illness in the game, it’s becoming a disease in the game."

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Neville added: "Ultimately, when you think about Pep Guardiola and his teams over the last 10 years, that’s what his teams do but we are seeing poor imitations of that across the board now. United’s goalkeeper rolling his foot on the ball and waiting for things to happen. That’s not it. That’s not what this club is and not what we do here. Liverpool don’t do that. You’ve got to be a top team with tempo in your play, rhythm in your play."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

Amorim's side will now shift their focus to Europe as they are scheduled to face Lyon next in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final fixture on Thursday in France.

Glasgow Rangers will be hoping that the January 2025 transfer window will be more rewarding than the year before.

Fabio Silva, Oscar Cortes and Mohamed Diomande all arrived in Glasgow midway through the 2023/24 campaign, but it was only the latter that made an impact as he signed permanently in the summer.

Silva failed to showcase his true talents, while Cortes managed just a handful of games before suffering a season-ending injury in February. The Light Blues ended up failing to win either the Premiership or Scottish Cup and recruitment this winter must be better.

With the window not opening until next week, the Light Blues have already been linked with a few players. Marko Soldo, a midfielder from Croatia has been linked, while Chelsea player Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is another name that has been doing the rounds of late.

Finances will dictate just how many new signings Philippe Clement will be able to make next month, and he could be forced to rely on loan moves like last winter. That is, unless he is able to sell a few first-team players.

Another Premier League player was also rumoured to be on the Light Blues’ radar ahead of a potential move, but this looks unlikely now…

Rangers linked with Premier League striker

Towards the end of November, news emerged that Rangers were one of the clubs showing interest in Brighton and Hove Albion’s Evan Ferguson ahead of the January transfer window.

The report claimed that the Seagulls were going to make the striker available for a loan move as he wasn’t playing much first-team football under Fabian Hurzeler, with Celtic another team who were keen on bringing him north of the border.

Several Premier League sides were also showing admiration for the Irishman as he seeks to gain more game time during the second half of the season.

A loan move would be ideal, but with so many clubs interested, it might be hard for Clement to convince the centre-forward that Rangers is the perfect club to join, especially when he can remain in the Premier League.

Do Rangers really need Ferguson, however? Not only can the manager call upon Danilo and Hamza Igamane as players who can be a key part of the club’s future, but Zak Lovelace is someone who has been overlooked of late.

The young Englishman could certainly be Clement’s own version of Ferguson – a young, talented striker who is ready to make his mark.

Zak Lovelace could be Rangers' own Evan Ferguson

Despite his tender years, Ferguson has already played 79 senior matches for Brighton, going on to score 17 goals and provide five assists.

Since making his debut for the Republic of Ireland in November 2022, Ferguson has gone on to score four goals for his country across 18 games, showcasing his talents on the international stage.

In The Pipeline

Football FanCast's In the Pipeline series aims to uncover the very best youth players in world football.

Lovelace might not be at this level yet, but he is still only 18, making his achievements all the more remarkable.

He made his senior bow aged just 15 for Millwall, becoming their second-youngest ever player when he came off the bench against Coventry in December 2021.

Fast-forward six months and the Light Blues had managed to secure his signature, luring Lovelace to Scotland. Sporting director at the time, Ross Wilson, hailed the youngster, saying:

Under Giovanni Van Bronckhorst, Lovelace made his senior debut for the Light Blues in August 2022, coming on for the final few minutes in a League Cup tie against Queen of the South, thus becoming the fifth-youngest player to make an appearance for the club in the process.

Player

Age at debut

Derek Ferguson

16 years, 24 days

Bailey Rice

16 years, four months and 14 days

Tom Walsh

16 years, four months and 27 days

Paul Nsio

16 years, five months and 15 days

Zak Lovelace

16 years, seven months and 7 days

Since then, he has only featured a further four times for Rangers, as injury issues have hampered his progress. It looks as though he is back to full fitness, however, and Clement should be integrating the 18-year-old into the first-team squad, as he could be the next big thing to make it at the club.

With Hamza Igamane showing what can happen by trusting young talent in the starting XI, Lovelace could go on to form a solid partnership with the Moroccan starlet.

Zak Lovelace could form dream duo with Hamza Igamane

Like Lovelace, Igamane can either play centrally, or out wide on the left, offering positional flexibility, which is a big bonus for the manager.

Since making his breakthrough, Igamane has scored six goals, including four in the Europa League and has looked happy wherever he has been deployed. This game time will only ensure his improvement as a player.

Lovelace has shone for both the B team and the Youth side at Rangers, scoring 19 goals and registering 11 assists in just 40 matches, which means he registers a goal contribution once every 1.3 games for the club.

His only appearance for the first team came during the Europa League clash against FCSB when the Gers were cruising to victory. He was given 16 minutes on the pitch, which saw the Englishman register a single shot, complete seven of his eight passes and take 13 touches as he made his continental bow for the club.

The more often he is involved in these squads, the higher the chance Lovelace will have of getting minutes here and there. He is still developing, but exposure at this level can only be a good thing.

There is no doubt he has a wonderful future in the game, but patience is key to his development from talented youngster to first-team regular over the next few seasons.

Signing someone like Ferguson may give the club a short-term boost, but with Lovelace already at the club itching for opportunities, might it be better to use him rather than loan a player from elsewhere?

Hopefully Clement thinks so.

Rangers' top 15 goalscorers of all time

Rangers have had plenty of natural goalscorers at Ibrox over the last 150 years.

ByRoss Kilvington Dec 26, 2024

Liverpool have been backed for a stunning swoop to sign an Everton defender if Virgil van Dijk leaves Anfield this summer.

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VVD's current deal ends this summerYet to sign an extension at AnfieldHamann believes Liverpool could sign Jarrad BranthwaiteFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Liverpool’s defensive plans for the future remain uncertain, with speculation growing around Van Dijk’s long-term stay at the club. While the Reds remain keen to extend his contract, the Dutchman has hinted that he wasn't sure where his future lies.

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Van Dijk has been instrumental in the club’s success over the years and remains the heart of the team’s defensive structure. His leadership and presence have been crucial, and Didi Hamann believes that securing his services should be Liverpool’s top priority.

WHAT DIDI HAMANN SAID

In an interview with Hamann said: "Keeping Virgil van Dijk has to be the priority for Liverpool, he is the heart of the team. He stabilizes everything and makes other players better. He's just a rock at the back and he's been for a number of years now, so I think he's the most important."

However, Hamann believes there remains a lack of clarity on whether Van Dijk has been offered a new deal or whether negotiations are ongoing. With just months left on several key contracts, including Mohamed Salah and Trent Alexander-Arnold, questions have been raised about Liverpool’s approach to contract renewals.

“It's a bizarre situation because we don't know whether he's been offered a contract or whether he's holding out for more money or what the situation is. So it's very hard to tell," he said.

“But I would find it very bizarre if these players hadn't been offered contracts. If they have been offered a contract you can't be too harsh on the club because the players might want more money or a longer deal so there is negotiation there.

“There's about 10 or 12 games to go and you don't know what's going to happen with them, when are you going to think about a replacement, it will be too late and that probably makes players more expensive. I'm sure they do their homework and that they've got players in mind, but it’s a very strange situation. Liverpool do their business differently to other teams and clubs – but you have to say that in the past and it hasn’t done too much harm.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Amid the uncertainty surrounding Van Dijk, Hamann suggested that Liverpool could make a surprise move for Everton’s highly-rated defender Jarrad Branthwaite as a replacement for Van Dijk.

“It’s been a while since someone made the move between Everton and Liverpool, I know there was talk of Anthony Gordon recently who does have that blue connection," he said.

“Nicky Barmby did it, but I do think that the gap between the two clubs at the moment is so big that Everton fans would understand if he wanted to go there. The gap is big but I hope that it closes in the sense that Everton improve with their new stadium and try to get back into Europe, we know there is a huge rivalry there. But in terms of Jarrad Branthwaite, if there is interest there then Liverpool will be able to find a solution.”

The allrounder could play his first Test in five years having not played first-class cricket since 2019

Andrew McGlashan25-Jun-2022Glenn Maxwell had always held out hope, if not always complete belief, that he would get another chance in Test cricket. But he did not want to tempt fate in Sri Lanka, so did not pack his baggy green. And as it turns out, he’ll need a new one in Galle with the original having not aged well.”I didn’t want to be presumptuous and it turns out I’m glad I didn’t bring it because it’s completely disintegrated,” Maxwell said. “So I’m going to have to get a new one for this Test tour. I’ll look like a first-gamer out there.”My last Test was a win in Bangladesh and [the cap] is full of all sorts of different things. It’s stayed in the little bag that we get. I took it out last year and had a look at it and it was deteriorating, thought that’s not a good sign. My wife took it out yesterday and said ‘I don’t think I can bring this’, it looked terrible, so think when I get home I’ll see if I can get it fixed up but it’s not looking great at the moment.”Maxwell was involved in squads briefly after his last appearance at Chattogram in 2017 – during the Ashes later that year, then as an emergency call-up in Johannesburg amid the ball-tampering scandal – but while it is not certain Maxwell will add to his seven Test caps the odds are narrowing after he was called up following Travis Head’s hamstring injury.Related

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Having seen how the pitches played in the ODI series with an expectation of more of the same – and perhaps even greater spin – in the Tests there is an increasing sense that – to quote Liam Neeson in – Maxwell has a very particular set of skills that Australia will need to call on.”I think I bring a lot of experience in these sorts of conditions and being able to tackle good spin bowling in tough conditions,” Maxwell said. “It’s something I pride myself on, having quick feet and being able to find a way through adversity in tough conditions.”Looking back to 2017, being able to get a Test hundred in India is something I’m extremely proud and to be one of only a couple of people in the last decade to do that is something I’m hoping holds me in good stead for this as well. My game plan probably isn’t going to change a whole lot, probably just going to be a little more time consuming, being able to spend more time at the wicket, without any run-rate pressure on and I’m certainly looking forward to that opportunity to bat long periods of time.”Glenn Maxwell will need a new baggy green•Getty Images and Cricket AustraliaMaxwell has not played a first-class match since October 19 due to a combination of his extensive role in Australia’s white-ball sides and the impact of Covid-19 on the domestic schedule over the last two years. Before last season, he trained with Victoria ahead of the Sheffield Shield season but believes the conditions in Sri Lanka are so foreign to Australian players that domestic cricket is of limited value.”[I was] always trying to stay ready just in case, knowing there was a fair few subcontinent tours coming up not just this year but next year as well,” he said. “At some stage you think you might give up hope but it’s just so nice to get the tap on the shoulder and have the faith I can do a job for this team.”Even looking at these ODIs, I don’t think anything we do in our domestic competition prepares you for what you are facing out there. It’s so totally alien to us. That’s the hard thing for people trying to pick a squad back home, people might have success against spin in Australia but it just doesn’t compare to over here. It’s doing all sorts. To be able to combat that in different ways, sometimes a play and miss is a good shot, thought we saw that [in the last ODI] with the way Marnus [Labuschagne] and Alex Carey went about their work then Cameron Green at the end.”Maxwell’s addition to the squad also provides another way for Australia to balance up their side with additional spin-bowling depth. It is likely another specialist will partner Nathan Lyon, but Maxwell could have an important role to play while also providing batting depth.”The work I’ve done with the other side of my game, the bowling, being able to contribute regularly with the ball is something I’ve worked really hard on,” he said. “I’ve been lucky to have [spin-bowling coach Sridharan] Sriram follow me in different parts of the world, able to work together at the IPL, and feel like we’ve got a really good grasp on how the ball is coming out of my hand.”With the batting, I just feel really comfortable with where my game’s at, been able to bat continually pretty well in these conditions and my footwork has been reasonable crisp. Certainly looking forward to the next couple of weeks.”

Manchester City have submitted a bid for an “energetic” midfielder ahead of the January transfer window, and Pep Guardiola is believed to be a big fan, according to a report.

Man City struggles continue with defeat to Aston Villa

City’s struggles were underlined by their defeat at Villa Park on Saturday afternoon, falling to a 2-1 defeat after yet another disappointing display, which leaves them outside the top four in the Premier League.

Guardiola’s side have dropped off considerably this season after winning the league four years in a row, and their poor run of form coincides with Rodri being sidelined with an injury, indicating just how important the midfielder is to the team.

In the Spaniard’s absence, Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan got the nod in central midfield yesterday afternoon, but they flattered to deceive, with the latter arguably now in the twilight years of his career.

As such, Guardiola may feel he needs to strengthen this winter if his side are going to force their way back into Champions League contention, with Bayer Leverkusen’s Jamal Musiala thought to be a target, albeit and expensive one.

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Now, it seems as though Guardiola has identified his main target to strengthen the midfield, with reports from Spain detailing that an opening Man City offer has been made for Atalanta midfielder Ederson, with Guardiola personally seeing him ‘as an ideal reinforcement’ in 2025.

Manchester United are also interested in the midfielder, which could drive up the price, and there is a feeling that a deal could amount to around €70m (£58m), with a swap deal also possible. City are said to be determined to beat their rivals to the 25-year-old’s signature, and the outcome of the transfer battle is likely to be known within the next few weeks.

Man City need a new midfielder

Amid links to Liverpool earlier this year, the Brazilian was lauded by journalist Bence Bocsak, who said:

Since then, the Atalanta star has kicked on even further, playing a big role in Atalanta’s successful Europa League campaign, and he has remained one of the first names on the team sheet for the Serie A side this season.

It is evident that City need to strengthen this January, with the Rodri injury exposing how reliant they are on the Spain international, and they need to reinforce their midfield with a player proven at the top level.

Ederson could fit the bill in that regard, but it remains to be seen whether City can win the race for his signature, particularly considering the ongoing legal battle with the Premier League, which could be off-putting to potential targets.