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West Ham are interested in signing Porto winger Goncalo Borges before the end of the summer transfer window, but face competition for his signature from another Premier League club.

Will West Ham make more signings?

The Hammers' season got off to a satisfactory start last weekend, following a 1-1 draw away to Bournemouth. Granted, it was frustrating not to take all three points after taking the lead on the south coast, but the result was still perfectly fine.

It has been an up-and-down summer at the London Stadium when it comes to transfers, with Declan Rice a high-profile departee, having moved to Arsenal in a big-money move. On the plus side, Edson Alvarez and James Ward-Prowse have come in from Ajax and Southampton respectively, filling the void left by the Englishman in the process.

The hope is that there is more business to come at West Ham in the coming weeks, though, giving David Moyes the best possible opportunity to kick on in the Premier League. While last season's UEFA Europa Conference League success was truly memorable, their 14th-place finish in the league was a big disappointment.

It looks as though the Hammers are now eyeing up another signing in that attacking third of the pitch, according to a fresh update.

Will West Ham sign Goncalo Borges?

Writing on Twitter X, Romano claimed that Borges is wanted by West Ham in the summer transfer window, but Everton are also providing competition:

"West Ham and Everton are interested in Porto winger Gonçalo Borges as deal for final days of the transfer window. 2001 born winger, attracting interest as could be on the move."

There is no doubt that West Ham could do with more attacking reinforcements this summer, having been a little goal-shy in the Premier League last term, only scoring 42 times in 38 matches.

There is arguably a little too much onus on Jarrod Bowen to provide the spark out wide, as he showed by finding the net at Bournemouth last Saturday, but in Borges, the Hammers could have an intriguing young option to bring in.

At just 22 years of age, the Porto man does admittedly only have 23 appearances to his name for his current club, not scoring and assisting in that time, but he is a raw talent who could thrive under Moyes, should the Hammers manager believe he can get the best out of him.

For Porto's B team, Borges registered 19 goal contributions (11 goals and eights assists) in 78 appearances, and he has been capped at international level for Portugal for the Under-16s, Under-17s, Under-18s and Under-21s.

Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…

The Portuguese starlet wouldn't come in as a definite starter for West Ham, considering his lack of senior experience to date, but squad depth is absolutely vital moving forward, and he is someone whose attacking threat off the substitutes' bench could be a potent weapon.

Borges will hopefully continue to mature as a player at the same time, gradually becoming more of a key man, and if the Hammers can pip Everton to his signature, it will show that they are a more exciting proposition than the clubs around them.

Celtic kicked off their 2023/24 Scottish Premiership campaign with a 4-2 win over Ross County on Saturday and supporters were able to see some of the new signings for the first time.

Who have Celtic signed this summer?

Central defender Maik Nawrocki started the match after his permanent move from Polish side Legia Warsaw and he was joined on the pitch by Hyun-jun Yang and Odin Thiago Holm for their debuts.

Hyeok-kyu Kwon arrived from Busan IPark during the summer transfer window and was an unused substitute on the day, whilst Australia international Marco Tilio missed out on the matchday squad due to an injury.

This means that Brendan Rodgers has made five additions to his first-team squad so far and there could be more on the horizon as the Hoops have recently been touted with an interest in West Ham United centre-forward Michail Antonio.

How good is Michail Antonio?

The £69k-per-week attacker has proven himself to be a reliable Premier League goalscorer for the majority of his time with the Hammers in England and could come in as an upgrade on Hyeon-gyu Oh for the Northern Irish head coach.

Some supporters may be put off by his unimpressive return of five goals in 33 top-flight games last season but the Jamaica international's form in Europe and in previous league campaigns suggest that he has the quality to be an excellent addition to the squad.

West Ham won the Europa Conference League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign and Antonio played a major part in their success. He averaged a phenomenal Sofascore rating of 7.43 across nine appearances in the competition as the 33-year-old marksman scored six goals and provided one assist.

Meanwhile, Oh scored seven times in 21 appearances for Celtic and failed to register a single assist. This came after the South Korea international managed 14 goals and three assists across 53 outings for Suwon Samsung Bluewings prior to his move to Scotland in January.

The 22-year-old striker averaged a Premiership Sofascore rating of 6.81.

This was the 21st-highest score within the Hoops squad and significantly worse than Antonio's rating of 7.43 in Europe, which would have placed him second for the Bhoys – only behind Jota (7.45).

West Ham's number nine may not have enjoyed a prolific 2022/23 Premier League campaign but he did rack up ten goals and eight assists in 36 top-flight clashes during the 2021/22 season, which was his third straight year of scoring ten league goals for the Hammers.

This suggests that Antonio – when you consider he was playing in a major European league – could be an excellent scorer for the Hoops if he can rediscover his best form, whilst his ability to assist his teammates on a regular basis could make him more useful than Oh in build-up play.

The former Nottingham Forest man, who teammate Thilo Kehrer claimed works "like crazy", would also be able to offer a level of physicality that the South Korean finisher is unable to.

Antonio won 1.5 aerial battles per Premier League match last term, whereas Oh only came out on top in 0.6 per Premiership game, which means that he could provide the team with an out-ball in European clashes when they may not be able to dominate possession.

Therefore, the 5 foot 10 gem could be an upgrade on the current Hoops striker in terms of what he is able to offer from a technical – in goals and assists – and physical perspective.

Australia’s spearhead is intent on “terrorising” England’s top order in the forthcoming Ashes after the fashion of Mitchell Johnson in the 2013-14 series

Daniel Brettig03-Oct-2017England can challenge without Stokes – Starc

Mitchell Starc is not convinced England’s challenge for the Ashes will be derailed in the event that Ben Stokes does not make it onto the plane for the tour of Australia. As parallel police and ECB investigations continue into events outside a Bristol nightclub involving Stokes and Alex Hales last week, Starc said Stokes greatly aided England’s balance but was not their only key player.
“I’m sure they can [challenge without Stokes],” Starc said. “They’ve got those experienced guys up the top, he probably makes their team a bit more balanced but he’s not the be all and end all of their team. There’s plenty of other guys we need to worry about, some experienced bowlers, some experienced batsmen up the top, they bat quite deep as well when you’ve got Moeen Ali coming in at No. 8 and [Chris] Woakes at No. 9.
“I think everyone in world cricket knows how good Ben is, it’s yet to be seen whether he’s on a plane. If he does come then we know how good a player he is and how he makes that team much more balanced. So if he’s not there it’s a big blow for them, good for us, but I’m sure we’ll assess that when they get on a plane.
“It’s not for us to worry about, I’m sure they’ll deal with it whichever way they choose, whether he’s a part of the group or not, but for us it’s getting some good cricket leading into the summer and hopefully playing some decent cricket heading into that Test selection.”

Australia’s spearhead Mitchell Starc is intent on “terrorising” England’s top order in the forthcoming Ashes after the fashion of Mitchell Johnson, as he reaches the end of an injury rehabilitation far less rushed than his previous spell on the sidelines.Following the emergence of a foot stress injury during the Test tour of India in March, Starc was placed on an expedited recovery programme to ensure his availability for the Champions Trophy in England in May, whereupon the still-healing foot was aggravated – though not re-fractured – by the rapid return. By Starc’s admission, that decision followed plenty of “risk versus reward” discussions between himself, Cricket Australia medical staff and selectors, but this time around he has enjoyed more leisurely progress.It’s been around two weeks now since Starc first started bowling off his long run in the SCG nets for New South Wales, and he is set to take his improving rhythm and swing to Hurstville Oval on Friday to turn out in the domestic limited-overs tournament. That appearance will be Starc’s first on his road to the Gabba, where he quite likes the idea of emulating Johnson’s feats in 2013-14.”It’s a very different Australian team and an opportunity for a few of the younger, less experienced guys to get on top of them much like Mitch did to some of their batsmen through that series [in 2013-14],” Starc said in Sydney. “They’ve got [Joe] Root and [Alastair] Cook up the top who’ve played a lot of cricket and probably their main guys with the bat, the guys in the top order around them are pretty inexperienced and hopefully we can exploit that in our conditions and if we can, really get on top of them in the first Test like Mitch did a couple of years ago.”This time we’ve got a few guys who can bowl pretty quick and bowl some good bouncers, and we’ve got a really solid attack who complement each other. If it’s not me, you’ve got Pat Cummins bowling fast bouncers, you’ve got Josh Hazlewood bowling consistent line and length, so much like that attack did when Jono took all those wickets, I think we complement each other really well. You throw in Jackson Bird, [Nathan] Coulter-Nile’s bowling well as well, so five really good guys there, Patto [James Pattinson] if he’s fit to go.”We’ve got a really good attack there, it’s not down to one person, everyone will like to bowl like Jono and terrorise the Poms like he did and take 1000 wickets in a series, but the great thing for us is we’ve got a young group that complement each other really nicely.”Starc provided an insight as to the sometimes elusive nature of bowling fast when he said he was not sure how quick he would be to begin with for NSW, but he has no qualms about charging in to the crease after a sturdy rehabilitation period.”It’s been great to have the time to progress it really nicely and gradually rather than having to throw all these things in over four weeks and having to get back to play,” he said. “I’ll be trying to bowl fast. Whether that happens straight away is yet to be seen, but I won’t be holding back. Looking forward to playing cricket again and trying to terrorise a few batsmen, take a few wickets and contribute to a few NSW wins.”Heading into England we knew there was still some stuff going on with the foot, it hadn’t healed properly. It didn’t re-fracture so it was a good result in the end, but I still had a lot of pain in there. This time it’s feeling really good, it’s feeling strong, there’s no pain in there doing any bowling, and that extended time to make sure it was right and progress through different stages of running and strength stuff before having to bowl has really left me in a good position heading into the summer, which I’ll hopefully play a big part in.”If it was a Test series I probably wouldn’t have played [Champions Trophy], the fact it was England and one-dayers in a major tournament … there were a lot of conversations with the medicos about risk versus reward, it didn’t re-fracture but there was a bit of pain in there. We needed the break after, but it’s worked out really well to be 100% heading into the summer. It didn’t go to plan in the Champions Trophy but it’s good to go now.”Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesA few questions surround the makeup of Australia’s Test XI for Brisbane, not least the middle order where major doubts surround the No. 6 batting or allrounder position, and the identity of the wicketkeeper. While adamant that Nathan Lyon had to play as the nation’s No. 1 spin bowler, Starc suggested there might be room to squeeze himself, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and James Pattinson into the same team, provided all were performing with the bat.”I think you’ve got to pick him [Lyon], it’s just whether you can balance a team with four quicks around him and whether guys like Pat Cummins, James Pattinson and myself can bat well enough to fit us all into the balance of the team,” Starc said. “You’ve got to pick Nathan, he’s bowling so well and he’s a big part of our team, not only with experience but his numbers speak for themselves as well. I don’t think you can’t play him. You’ve got to play him in all the Test matches.”There’s always been chats about it, not so much the batting to squeeze us all in the team, just to help the team out whether you end up with a collapse at the top, or a bit like Mitch and Hadds [Brad Haddin] had to do in the last Ashes a few times was bat really well to put big totals on the board, that’s what the conversations more so are about, contributing with the bat because we do have the ability to do that. That does help being able to squeeze the four bowlers in when we can bat. Maybe we can get to the point where we can squeeze in.”Sadly for Pattinson, his recovery from recurring back trouble has struck another hurdle, placing his availability for the three Sheffield Shield rounds before the Ashes opener in considerable doubt. “Three of them we know are on track, but James Pattinson’s had a little bit of a setback,” the fast bowling coach David Saker said in India. “We’re not sure how bad it is at the moment.”Starc indicated he had been pencilled in to play the first two of those Shield rounds if fit, with the third to depend upon how much bowling he had been required to do up to that point.

A round-up of the National Cricket League matches that ended on September 18, 2017

Mohammad Isam18-Sep-2017Tier 1Rain in Cox’s Bazzar meant that play was possible only on the second day in the match between Dhaka Division and Barisal Division. Play was eventually called off early on the fourth day with the game predictably ending in a draw.The second day, which allowed 90 overs, saw opener Rony Talukdar (121) and No.3 Saif Hassan (106*) hit centuries to guide Dhaka to 309 for 2. Talukdar struck eight fours and six sixes in his 195-ball knock, while Saif hit nine fours and five sixes off 193 balls. The pair added 141 runs for the second wicket after Abdul Mazid was dismissed in the 28th over by Tanvir Islam. Monir Hossain was the other wicket-taker for Barisal.Rain also affected the Khulna Division-Rangpur Division match at the Shiekh Abu Naser Stadium and ensured another draw. Play was called off on the fourth day at 2.40, about two hours before the scheduled time for stumps.Mashrafe Mortaza, who returned to first-class cricket after three years, claimed match figures of 4 for 73, including 3 for 12 in the second innings, but Anamul Haque made a bigger impact, scoring his maiden first-class double-hundred.In reply to Rangpur’s 471, Khulna enjoyed an excellent start with Anamul and Robiul Islam Robi putting on 251 for the first wicket. The stand ended when Robiul was pinned lbw by Nasir Hossain for 100, but Anamul went onto make a big one. He struck 18 fours and two sixes during his 512-minute knock. The marathon innings came 10 days after BCB president Nazmul Hassan had made a recommendation to the selectors by asking them to consider Anamul as an opening option for the South Africa Test series later this month.Nasir took 5 for 70 before Khulna declared their innings at 495 for 9 on the fourth day. Mashrafe and Al-Amin Hossain reduced Rangpur to 37 for 4 in eight overs before rain forced a premature end.File photo – Mohammad Ashraful struck his 19th first-class ton, and first in four years•BCBTier 2Farhad Hossain’s 70 in the fourth innings – the only fifty of the match – proved the difference in a low-scoring clash as Rajshahi Division chased down 212 beat Sylhet Division in Rajshahi.Rajshahi lost their openers Mizanur Rahman and Jahurul Islam early in the chase, but Junaid Siddique, who made 46, and Farhad, who cracked 11 fours and a six in his 99-ball innings, lifted their side. Farhad fell when the hosts were nine away from the target, but Myshukur Rahaman and the other Farhad – Reza – wrapped up a six-wicket win on the final day.This after Rajshahi had been shot out for a mere 79 in reply to Sylhet’s 128. Offspinner Sayem Alam’s 6 for 32 proved vital in Sylhet securing a 49-run first-innings lead.Sylhet were then reduced to 22 for 4 in their second innings but a series of cameos from the middle order and the lower-middle order helped the side to 162, setting Rajshahi 212. Farhad and Junaid then gave the chase direction and set up the win.Rain thwarted Dhaka Metropolis’ push for victory against Chittagong Divison at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium. After opting to bat, Dhaka posted 344 on the back of Mohammad Ashraful’s 19th first-class hundred, and first since 2013. He struck 12 fours and two sixes and added 148 for the fifth wicket with Mehrab Hossain jnr, who made 66.Nihaduzzaman’s 5 for 45 built on their good work and skittled Chittagong for 130 in 50.5 overs. After securing a 214-run first-innings lead, Dhaka scored 169 for 6 before declaring their second innings. Captain Marshall Ayub and Asif Ahmed hit fifties, setting Chittagong a target of 384.Dhaka had Chittagong at 193 for 4 before rain stopped play on the fourth day at 2.30pm. The rain refused to relent, and the match was ultimately called off at 4.02pm.

To say that football is a reactionary sport would be quite the understatement. One bad run of form, or dare we say, one slip, can define a player’s legacy. But, that’s when statistics can come in as a saving grace to remind us all of the quality that we see week in, week out.This is exactly the case for Virgil van Dijk. The Dutchman suffered quite the drop off from his usual colossal form last season, as Liverpool finished outside the Premier League’s top four for the first time in a full campaign under Jurgen Klopp (and since the defender has been at the club).Defensively, the Reds were a mess, conceding 49 goals in total.A recent graph has shown that Van Dijk’s form wasn’t as bad as we thought, however, with the defender remaining a class above the rest in England’s top flight.

Who is the Premier League’s best centre-back?

As you can see from the graph put together by social media statistician @SawkurGod, Van Dijk stood tall once again when compared to the rest of the Premier League’s central defenders last season, winning the highest percentage of defensive duels and aerial duels.

Unsurprisingly, meanwhile, the closest that anyone got to his defensive duel success was Ruben Dias. The Manchester City man had yet another impressive season at The Etihad, picking up a historic treble by winning the Premier League, Champions League, and FA Cup.

When it came to aerial duels, it was Everton’s James Tarkowski who came closest to the dominance of his Merseyside rival, perhaps highlighting how important the former Burnley defender is to Sean Dyche’s side in the coming campaign.

The fact is, in a season where many believed he struggled more than ever, Van Dijk was statistically superb once again, arguably taking his stock up another level or two. If he managed to put up such numbers in a struggling Liverpool side, then the Reds should be back to their best if they fix their problems around their new captain.

Who will be Liverpool’s captain 2023?

Following the departure of Jordan Henderson to Al-Ettifaq this summer, Liverpool officially announced that Van Dijk will be the club’s new captain, whilst Trent Alexander-Arnold will take up the role of vice-captain next season.

Speaking on taking up the role, Van Dijk told the club website: “[It’s] a really proud day for me, for my wife, for my kids, my family. It’s been a special feeling and I can’t really describe it at this point. But it’s something that I’m really, really proud of.

“Obviously I’m captain of Holland, that was already such a huge honour, a proud moment as well. But also to be the captain of Liverpool Football Club is something that I can’t describe at this point.

“It’s just something that makes me very proud and I will do everything in my power and what I can do to make everyone proud and happy with me and the football club.”

As Liverpool enter a new era under Klopp, Van Dijk will have a more important role to play than ever before, but if the stats are anything to go by, he is more than ready to step up.

Vernon Philander has recovered from the illness that affected him during the third Test and hopes to bring his ability with bat and ball to bear on leveling the series in Manchester

Firdose Moonda02-Aug-2017If Vernon Philander could do The Oval Test all over again, he would. And he would do it feeling the way he does now because that is infinitely better than the way he felt last week.Philander spent most of the third Test in the toilet, “losing quite a lot of fluids, top and bottom”. The same could be said of South Africa’s performance.The top order was guilty of not posting enough runs, especially in the first innings, and the bowling lacked the discipline required to contain England. Philander’s all-round ability was missed and he knew it. “In any bowling line-up, if there’s a link missing, you feel it and I’m quite an important part in that line-up,” Philander said. “I could feel my intensity was missed.”Don’t read that as a man talking himself up, read it as an international sportsperson speaking from a place of professionalism. Philander was picked to play – and the merits of including someone who was obviously ill have already been discussed on these pages – so that is what he wanted to do.He fronted up on the first morning and took the new ball even though South Africa’s initial hope was that they would bat first and he would have some extra time to recover. That day, Philander bowled 12 overs; in the innings, he bowled 17; and in the match, 32, which amounted to 17.4% of the total overs South Africa sent down. It cannot be a coincidence that at Lord’s, where Philander was coming back from an ankle injury sustained in a county stint and where South Africa also lost, he only bowled 13% of the total overs whereas at Trent Bridge, where Philander was Man of the Match, he delivered 23.9%, almost a quarter.Perhaps the more telling impact of Philander’s absence was that the most he could provide in a single spell at The Oval was five overs. While he could create pressure early on, he was unable to sustain it and neither was anyone else in the attack despite tailor-made conditions. Under thick cloud and in humidity, Morne Morkel turned in one of his best performances for little reward but Kagiso Rabada struggled for rhythm and Chris Morris with inconsistency. All Philander wanted to do was get better enough to get in on the action. “It was frustrating not to be out there or to bowl longer spells,” he said.It was even more frustrating watching the chance to win the series slip past South Africa, especially as Philander knows what victory in England tastes like. He is one of only three members of the current squad who played in the 2012 matches and took the Test mace off England at Lord’s. Philander had one of the most important hands in that victory after scoring fifty and taking a five-for. Then, a South Africa side that shone with superstars like Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis, AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn may not have realised how much they relied on Philander. Now, they know exactly how much they do. It is more than they should be comfortable with because, as demonstrated last week, if Philander is unavailable, South Africa need to have other options.It may be something that comes up in their team talks, which Philander explained involved severe self-reflection. “We’ve had a few hard chats,” he said. “We have an honesty policy and we all admitted it wasn’t our best Test match. We let ourselves down with the bat in the first innings and that’s something we would like to correct.”Philander will have a role to play in that regard because he has been promoted to No. 7 and, now that he is healthier, he can show why he has long wanted to bat higher up. “I think No. 7 is ideal for me. I enjoy having to bat longer periods,” he said. But his main role will remain with the ball in hand.With heavy cloud hanging over Manchester, rain in the week prior to the team’s arrival in the city hampering pitch preparation and drizzle expected throughout the final Test, Philander may get the chance to do at Old Trafford what he would have done at The Oval. And this time, he thinks, “there’s everything to play for”.

Crystal Palace will have a medical for "top signing" Matheus Franca "this week" after a transfer to Chelsea didn't materialise, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.

Is Matheus Franca joining Crystal Palace this summer?

It hasn't been a great transfer window for Palace so far this summer, with the only new face coming through the doors at Selhurst Park being Jefferson Lerma, who joined on a free from Premier League rivals Bournemouth.

Worse still is the loss of club legend and talismanic winger Wilfried Zaha. The Ivorian international left the club earlier this summer when his contract expired, and despite the Eagles offering him an enormous £200,000-a-week, he opted to join Turkish Super Lig side Galatasary to fulfil his dream of playing Champions League football.

That said, it's not all bad, as the club are set to sign an incredibly exciting and highly-rated youngster from Brazil in the coming days, Flamengo's Franca.

With the 19-year-old courting so much attention from the likes of Chelsea and Newcastle United over the last 12 months, it's a real coup for the south Londoners to get their man.

The Guardian has reported that sporting director Dougie Freedman played an 'instrumental' role in the signing after he spent 'some time' scouting the youngster himself.

The deal is said to be worth up to £26m, and the player's medical is set to take place this week, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.

He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:

"First of all, Crystal Palace signing Matheus Franca. This is a top signing guys from Flamengo; remember the name €20m (£17m) plus €10m (£9m) in add-ons.

"Medical this week, Chelsea negotiated for Matheus Franca a few weeks ago, the deal was not happening, and now Crystal Palace [will] sign Matheus Franca."

Who else is linked to Crystal Palace this summer?

While the club may be focused on the attacking signing of Franca at the present moment, they have also been touted as the potential destination of the exciting Dutch centre-back Perr Schuurs.

Currently plying his trade for Serie A side Torino, the 23-year-old was brilliant last season. He started 28 games for the Turin side, providing two assists, maintaining a passing accuracy of 88.2% and averaging an impressive match rating of 6.67, per WhoScored.

According to the Evening Standard, the Eagles have 'expressed an interest' in the former Ajax man but will likely face stiff competition from several clubs, including West Ham United and Liverpool.

Another youngster linked with a move to south London this summer is Leeds United attacker Crysencio Summerville.

According to the Daily Telegraph's Mike McGrath, the 21-year-old is a player that is "admired" by Palace, but he will want to determine the Peacocks' plans for him before he decides on his future.

The Dutchman had a reasonably productive season for the Whites last year. In just 12 starts for the Yorkshire club, he scored four goals, provided two assists and averaged a match rating of 6.46, per WhoScored.

Roy Hodgson's team could be quite an exciting one to watch next year with the addition of Franca, and if they can add any of their other targets over the next month, they might just be fine without the influence of Zaha.

A large cull of employees at the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has provoked an uprising against chairman Atif Mashal and chief executive Shafiqullah Stanikzai

Umar Farooq19-Aug-2017A large cull of employees at the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has provoked an uprising against chairman Atif Mashal and chief executive Shafiqullah Stanikzai. The ACB axed or shuffled over 30 employees, including a number of top officials, as part of extensive reforms after obtaining Full Membership at the ICC but it has led to employees alleging that the leadership is mismanaging cricket affairs and misusing funds sanctioned for the development of cricket.As many as 25 managers across various departments were let go, a step taken, according to Mashal, for the sake of reform and restructuring. While some of the staff had their contracts terminated outright, others were given one month’s notice. A few members of the staff were also either demoted, allegedly, or moved to positions outside their areas of expertise.The aggrieved employees and ex-employees protested the new recruitments and held a press conference detailing allegations of corruption and mismanagement within the board. They also listed these in an email to the ACB board of governors, which includes government officials.The email, which ESPNcricinfo has accessed, has made numerous allegations including the squandering of “precious time and money” on self-promotion while falling behind on infrastructure development, and new staff recruitments made without following HR protocol. The email also questioned the sacking of staff who played a “key role” in Afghanistan achieving Full Membership.”With respect, ACB staff would like to inform the respected Board members that if such management is working in ACB as leaders, we staff will not work anymore in ACB and would boycott ACB operations,” the email read. “It [is] worth mentioning that we have valid documents against their [chairman and chief executive] illegal proceedings in hand and would personally share with all respective Board members in a meeting of yours [sic.] date and time choice.”Mashal told ESPNcricinfo that he did not need to respond to the allegations.”This uprising is a result of a few people getting fired, which was because of new structure and reforms,” Mashal said. “Now we are a Full Member and we have introduced new structure and will be bringing reforms to ACB. Board is in loop and in our last special board meeting it was decided to introduce new structure and start reforms and we are committed to cricket development and will continue the reforms.”These are just claims [in the email] and I don’t need to respond to every single claim. As a board we are following our plan and we are on the right track. We all are on the same page and things are carrying on on normally. I am not worried about a few people shouting but instead we will continue our commitment to reforms and development. Cricket will shine in Afghanistan day by day, .”In July, Mashal had accused some politicians and government authorities of interfering in cricket affairs.”We have evidence to show that some politicians and powerful individuals put pressure on us to appoint their own people in the ACB and the national team,” he told a press conference in Kabul. “If these individuals continue interference, we will have no way but to reveal their names. No type of pressure and interference is acceptable to us. If anyone tried to impose their own demands on ACB, they would fail.”

Tottenham Hotspur wide-man Ivan Perisic has given Ange Postecoglou "some little things to think about" after his brilliant performances for the team on Spurs' pre-season tour, claims journalist Alasdair Gold.

Is Ivan Perisic leaving Tottenham this summer?

One of the great benefits of a pre-season tour for a manager is the ability to reassess players that might have otherwise been deemed surplus to requirements from the season just gone, and for Spurs, the recent Asia-Pacific tour has done precisely that for Croatian Perisic.

The 34-year-old has excelled for new boss Postecoglou in the team's recent run of friendlies, playing in the games against West Ham United in Perth and the Lion City Sailors in Singapore.

Read the latest Tottenham transfer news HERE…

The former Borussia Dortmund winger has been predominantly used as a wing-back since moving to N17, but was deployed in his original position as a winger during the recent friendlies – a change which allowed him to focus his efforts on the attacking side of the game where he is most decisive.

Before going on tour with the club, he was expected to terminate his contract in north London and join Hajduk Split in his home country, per transfer expert Gianluca Di Marzio.

However, following his brilliant performances for the team over the last couple of weeks, some believe the Lilywhites could try to convince the Split-born star to stay another year, per Spurs journalist Gold.

He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:

"He played very well in some of the games. His delivery is unquestioned. It's a terrific delivery he puts into the box, but the fact that actually, as a winger, without the defensive responsibilities, it played to his strengths as an older player not having to get back, he was able to just concentrate on pressing. He was involved in pretty much every goal that occurred when he was on the pitch.

"I still get the feeling he might depart, maybe because of his wages and because of his desire to probably play in the Champions League, or maybe there's talk about him going home to Hajduk Split in Croatia.

"But he gave Postecoglou some little things to think about. He was really good, he looked really sharp the whole time."

Who else could leave Tottenham Hotspur this season?

If Perisic could potentially be staying for another year or more under the new boss, who else is likely to leave regardless?

One name heavily linked with a departure from N17 is centre-back Davinson Sanchez, with the club accepting a £13m offer for the player from Russian outfit Spartak Moscow earlier this week, per BBC Sport.

The Colombian hasn't quite reached the heights people hoped he would since arriving at Tottenham for what was a club-record fee of £42m in the summer of 2017, making just eight starts in the Premier League last season and only 17 the year before.

When Postecoglou was asked about the move, he simply replied that the defender is "exploring his options".

Another defender that looks like he's on the way out is Spanish full-back Sergio Reguilon.

Fabrizio Romano has reported that La Liga side Real Sociedad have a "genuine interest" in the player, but that the deal is in the early stages and has "not advanced yet".

If Postecoglou can convince Perisic to stay in the Premier League for just one more year under the promise of a more attacking role, then he could have just one more potential trick up his sleeve in their quest to return to European football next term.

Manchester City defender Nathan Ake is close to signing a new long-term deal at the club, according to an update from journalist Fabrizio Romano.

When is Nathan Ake out of contract?

Pep Guardiola's side enjoyed a truly legendary season last time around, winning the treble after securing Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup glory. It was a monstrous effort from everyone involved, with the manager showing why he is one of the best of all time, and so many players doing their bit for the cause.

While the likes of Erling Haaland, Kevin de Bruyne and Ilkay Gundogan may have often made the headlines, Ake was an outstanding performer in his own right, playing with such consistency and authority throughout the campaign. He started 22 Premier League games, averaging 1.8 clearances per game and enjoying a 91.1% pass completion rate, also featuring five times for the Netherlands at the 2022 World Cup.

The 28-year-old only has two years remaining on his current City contract, and given his importance to the squad last season, the club will surely be wanting to extend his stay as soon as possible. That certainly looks set to be the case, following a promising new update.

Is Nathan Ake set to sign a new Man City deal?

Taking to Twitter, Romano provided a positive update regarding Ake's future at the Etihad, saying a contract extension is now close to coming to fruition:

"Manchester City are close to reaching an agreement with Nathan Ake over new long term deal. Talks are advanced – understand it’s just matter of time to get it done. Salary will be significantly improved, as Telegraaf reported."

This is brilliant news for anyone of a City persuasion, with Ake really growing into his role at the club after what was arguably a fairly slow start there, having arrived from Bournemouth back in 2020. The Dutchman has displayed his versatility superbly, allowing him to shine at both centre-back and left-back, and he has played with so much intelligence and defensive nous in recent times.

Guardiola has described Ake as a "proper defender", while former City striker Paul Dickov has lauded him as "fantastic", following a particularly impressive performance up against Arsenal's dangerous attacker Bukayo Saka last season. Having players of his ilk around is so important to the club's success moving forward, given his consistency and knowledge of the system, so the idea of him signing an extension is good to hear.

At 28, there is no reason why the Netherlands international can't continue to be an important figure at the Etihad for the next four or five years, becoming an even more experienced head, and he is a great example and showing patience with a player and seeing them eventually develop into a real force.

Ake will have to continue to improve, such is the level of competition at City in defence, but he has shown that he is ready to fight for his place, and his spot in the starting lineup became undeniable at times last season, including in the Champions League final win over Inter Milan in June.