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The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has informed the BCCI of their decision not to host two Under-19 Tests between India and England next month

Nagraj Gollapudi08-Jan-20175:35

Ugra: Unsavoury that cricket is being affected

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has declined to host the two Under-19 Test matches between India and England, scheduled to be played in Chennai in February. The state association sent a brief note stating “domestic programs” as the reason, to the BCCI CEO Rahul Johri informing them of the decision, on January 7.The two four-day matches, scheduled from February 13-16 and February 21-24, are part of the seven-match tour which also includes five ODIs in Mumbai before the Tests. “At the outset we thank you for allotting the India – England Under 19 matches at Chennai between 13th and 16th February and 21st to 24th February 2017. However, we regret to inform you that we are unable to host the matches at Chennai due to various domestic programs scheduled during the period,” the TNCA letter said, as quoted by the The note was sent on a TNCA letterhead that listed several office bearers of the state association including N Srinivasan as the president and Kasi Viswanathan as secretary. It is understood that RA Palani, the joint-secretary and interim caretaker of the TNCA, signed the letter.Both Srinivasan and Viswanathan were disqualified as office bearers by the Supreme Court order of January 2, which stated an administrator could not continue in office if he had completed a cumulative period of nine years at either the state level or the BCCI. Both Srinivasan and Viswanathan have been at TNCA for more than a decade each as office bearers.Palani told the : “It was my decision and I take the responsibility for it. We have a heavy backlog of matches because of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) and the Vardah cyclone.””We have to conduct the TNCA first division matches, lower division games and inter-university matches. We need grounds to hold our own matches. At a time like this, it will be extremely hard for us to take the responsibility for two under-19 Tests.”It is understood that the Lodha Committee was displeased after having received a copy of the TNCA letter. The committee felt the former office bearers could be charged with contempt of court order. When asked about the letter, Viswanathan said he was no more with TNCA.Ever since the January 2 judgement, there have been murmurs of disgruntled office bearers trying to find ways to counter the court order. On Saturday, a host of prominent former office bearers including Srinivasan, Anurag Thakur, Ajay Shirke, Rajiv Shukla and Niranjan Shah met in Bangalore to discuss their next step in an informal meeting. The meeting was organised by Srinivasan and attended by 24 state associations. Although one of the officials present at the meeting indicated cricket would not be affected, the TNCA letter could be the first step towards a possible rebellion.

Manchester United are unlikely to sign Tottenham Hotspur star Harry Kane this summer and have given themselves plenty of time to identify alternatives in the transfer market, according to journalist Ben Jacobs.

What's the latest transfer news involving Harry Kane?

According to The Guardian, Manchester United have pulled out of the race to sign Harry Kane this summer due to the 'unrealistic' amount of money that it would take to lure him to Old Trafford.

The report states that Red Devils boss Erik Ten Hag is 'disappointed' that he will not be able to add Kane to his squad; however, he understands that Manchester United need to be realistic when assessing potential transfer incomings.

Renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano has also gave an update regarding the future of Kane, stating on Twitter: "Manchester United are currently looking at other options for new striker as Harry Kane deal is not advancing at all. Man Utd feel Tottenham never wanted to sell Kane to them and have no plans to enter into two-months saga. Rasmus Højlund, one of the names in the list."

Capology understand that Kane earns around £200,000 per week at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on a contract that runs until June 2024.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jacobs thinks that Manchester United have done the right thing by scoping out their chances of getting Kane early in the window rather than entering into a protracted transfer saga.

Jacobs told FFC: "The point of Manchester United moving early to explore the Harry Kane situation was not to be messed around and that was smart because the last thing Manchester United want is a saga over Harry Kane. They had this with Frenkie De Jong last summer and when you are pushing for a player at the value that Kane will be worth, £100 million plus, you obviously have to allocate that budget if you think you've got a realistic chance and as a consequence, if it drags on, it can overshadow other summer activity."

What other strikers have Manchester United been linked with?

As Jones stated, Atalanta striker Rasmus Hojlund is a target at Old Trafford, though it is believed that the Serie A outfit want to recoup £86 million in order to let go of their rising star this summer, according to The Daily Mail.

Telegraph Sport cite that Brighton & Hove Albion man Evan Ferguson, Napoli striker Victor Osimhen and Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic have also been linked with Manchester United in the window.

The Sun also report that Benfica striker Goncalo Ramos has been offered to Manchester United as their striker search continues to intensify.

Manchester United are likely to be linked with several other targets over the next few months, though Kane is unlikely to be one of them following recent developments.

Ben Duckett missed out on selection for England’s ODI squad to play India next month, thanks to the return of Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Joe Root

George Dobell05-Dec-20161:22

‘Duckett will get his chance again’

Ben Duckett was “desperately unlucky” to be squeezed out of the England ODI squad by the return of Eoin Morgan, Alex Hales and Joe Root, according to the coach, Trevor Bayliss.Duckett batted at No. 3 in Bangladesh and scored two half-centuries in three innings. But although Bayliss said he had “shot up the pecking order” the selectors eventually decided to stick with the squad that has served England well for the majority of the last 18 months. England have won nine of their 12 most recent ODIs.There was, according to Bayliss, never any doubt that Morgan would return as captain. Though the England management were disappointed that he and Hales elected not to go to Bangladesh due to their security fears, the ECB had specified months ago that those who skipped the tour would not be punished for doing so.England ODI squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes

Root, who was rested from the limited-overs section of the Bangladesh tour, is also back and set to reclaim his spot at No. 3, despite expecting the birth of his first child a few days before England return to India in January. The combination of those factors meant no room for Duckett.”There was a lot of discussion around Duckett,” Bayliss said. “It was the toughest decision and the one we spoke about the most. He did well in Bangladesh and if we had left someone else out they would have been desperately unlucky as well. We thought that Duckett has done himself no harm. He has shot up the pecking order and he is right there or thereabouts.”At this stage he is more suited to white-ball cricket and he showed he had what it takes in Bangladesh. There were a couple of innings there that were class. He has done well for himself but we thought we would show a bit of solidarity with the team we have had and done so well in last 12-18 months.”James Vince, who scored 53 runs in three ODIs in Bangladesh, has also been dropped, as was Steven Finn, who was a member of the squad but did not play in Bangladesh. The selectors resisted the temptation to rest players, reasoning that the gap between tours – the players will have more than two weeks at home between the end of the India Test series and their departure for the limited-overs games – was adequate.Bayliss did hint, though, that Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes “who have played a fair bit” may be rotated in order to allow “someone like Liam Dawson … another opportunity”.With Morgan, Hales and Root all but certain to return, Duckett was competing for inclusion in the squad with Jonny Bairstow and Sam Billings. In the end, though, the selectors decided Bairstow and Billings were better players of spin and wanted to offer more opportunities to those regular members of the squad.Ben Duckett scored two half-centuries in three ODIs against Bangladesh•Getty Images”Billings and Bairstow at this stage are probably the two spare batters,” Bayliss said. “We think both are two of our better players of spin. Billings did well with the opportunity he had in Bangladesh and Bairstow has been batting well. Probably over the last couple of years, due to strength of the team we have had, he has not had the opportunities he would have liked. He is a good player, we all know that, and we want to keep him involved.”Hales has made four hundreds and ODI cricket suits him to a tee. He has that bit of extra time to get himself in and when he gets himself in we know the damage he can do from a batting point of view. He has been an integral part of the last couple of seasons in white-ball cricket. He has not given up hope of continuing in Test cricket either, but at the moment he is not there and extra focus is on one-day cricket. He has certainly been one of our better players in white ball cricket.”I have not had the chance to speak to Duckett yet but my message to him will be ‘Mate, well done, you have had a fantastic start and see this as the beginnings of a career. Keep going out and scoring runs because you are right there or thereabouts.’ This decision was more to do with the experience of the guys we have in the team who have been together for the last 18 months and done well.”The Champions Trophy is one of the big tournaments in the world and we are playing at home. We want to be in as good a form as we possibly can, so we don’t want to be chopping and changing the team leading into that tournament.”England T20 squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jake Ball, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Tymal Mills, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey

Bayliss confirmed that Morgan had been involved in the selection of the squad and dismissed the suggestion that his authority as captain had been diminished by his decision to miss the Bangladesh trip.”Morgan not returning as captain was not even discussed,” Bayliss said. “It was said earlier that there would not be any recriminations against them and they are straight back in. We have done pretty well over last 18 months and the team we have got has been reasonably stable and successful and there is no reason to change.”I have not sensed that his authority has been eroded at all. There has been no comment about it. He gets on well with all of the guys in the team. He is very highly respected among everyone for the job he has done over the last two years. He captains the team very well. He is a very positive captain and that means a lot to the players in the team.”Other notable inclusions were Dawson being named in both squads – he was last week called up to join the Test party – and Tymal Mills in the T20 squad. And, while Bayliss acknowledged that Moeen and Adil Rashid “are the two best spinners” England have, he did name check Hampshire’s 19-year-old legspinner, Mason Crane, as a bowler with “reasonable control” and a player who had impressed him.

Newcastle United are interested in a deal to sign Manchester United defender Harry Maguire on loan this summer, according to reports.

Is Harry Maguire leaving Man United?

The Red Devils centre-back first arrived at Old Trafford from at the time Premier League rivals Leicester City back in 2019 and over the years has become a regular feature of the first-team, clocking up 175 appearances since joining, not to mention that he’s also Erik Ten Hag’s captain.

The England international, however, made just eight starts and the same number of substitute outings in the top-flight last season so is significantly out of favour, and he’s already been linked with an exit with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur, Aston Villa and Everton all keen.

90min have reported that the 30-year-old wants to stay and fight for his place beyond the summer, but with his boss already searching the market for replacements, it appears that they are open to sanctioning his sale, which has alerted Eddie Howe at St. James’ Park.

Are Newcastle signing Maguire?

According to The Sun, Newcastle “want to rescue” Maguire on a loan basis this summer, but Man United are only happy to let him go permanently, meaning that PIF will have to buy him should they want to secure his services.

The M16 defender “can leave” if the price is right, but the reason they won’t green-light a loan is because they would be helping a rival and gaining no financial benefit themselves. Should the northeast outfit come forward with a cash offer, it could be a “different story”.

Should PIF submit a bid for Maguire?

Newcastle will know that Maguire can be a decent player in his prime but in recent seasons he’s not lived up to expectations at Man United, which has seen him described as “terrible” by members of the media, so PIF should avoid this move at all costs.

The World Cup participant, who’s sponsored by Puma, ranked as Ten Hag’s 18th worst-performing defensive player during the previous term averaging just 0.5 tackles per game, as well as placing 17th overall in their squad ratings, via WhoScored.

The Sheffield-born player, who also failed to record a single goal or assist, is currently pocketing £190k-per-week so his wage demands would be way too high to match, with the club’s highest earners being Kieran Trippier, Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes on £120k-per-week.

Howe and the Magpies board should look elsewhere should he want to add to his defensive ranks.

Manchester United are showing interest in Juventus winger Federico Chiesa ahead of the summer transfer window, with Erik ten Hag looking to add some quality to his attacking department.

What’s the latest on Federico Chiesa to Manchester United?

According to Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport (via TEAMtalk), the Red Devils are keen on making a surprise move for Chiesa, with the player looking for a move away from the Serie A side.

Juventus will consider bids in the region of €35m (£30m) for the Italian international, which considering his form before his horrific knee injury suffered in 2022, suggests Ten Hag would be securing a potential bargain, especially if he could get him back to his best.

Could Federico Chiesa improve Manchester United?

Before missing the majority of 2022, the 25-year-old had scored 18 goals and grabbed 14 assists since arriving in Turin at the start of the 2020/2021 campaign, underlining his attacking qualities from the left wing.

His form hasn’t been quite as sparkling since recovering, which is understandable, yet he has still managed four goals and six assists during 2022/2023, a decent enough return and a solid pre-season will surely have him back to his best.

Chiesa is statistically similar to Arsenal starlet Bukayo Saka according to FBref, with the Englishman the third-most comparable player to the Italian and given that he has been on fire over the previous few seasons, registering 44 goal contributions, it certainly isn’t a bad comparison to have.

Indeed, this season has seen the pair register similar stats across a variety of attacking metrics such as shots per 90 (2.75 to 2.43), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.56 to 4.34) and goal-creating actions per 90 (0.79 to 0.63), displaying their eye for creating scoring opportunities for both themselves and others.

Both Chiesa and Saka count crossing and holding onto the ball as key strengths according to WhoScored, while they both have a similar style of play as the pair like to cut inside on a regular basis, fashioning chance after chance and this must come into Ten Hag’s thinking if he is considering launching a bid for the player.

He was lauded as “incredible” by journalist Jack Gallagher and having also shone on the international stage, helping Italy win their first European Championship in 53 years after defeating England at Wembley in 2021, he has plenty of experience and a move to Old Trafford shouldn’t faze him in the slightest.

For just £30m, the move is a gamble that could be worth every penny should he recapture his previous form.

England hope that Haseeb Hameed will be able to bat in the second innings at Mohali but his involvement in the rest of the tour is in doubt, with the severity of his finger injury yet to be determined

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Nov-2016England hope that Haseeb Hameed will be able to bat in the second innings at Mohali* but his involvement in the rest of the tour is in doubt, with the severity of his finger injury yet to be determined.Hameed’s short-term prognosis appeared uncertain when he did not open the batting in England’s second innings. He did not field throughout India’s 138.2-over first innings but, because the injury to the little finger on his left hand was classed as an external blow, he would have been allowed to open. He is set to undergo an X-ray after the match is over but a fracture would likely rule him out of the rest of the series.During the first part of the third day Hameed had undergone numerous net sessions to test the finger and was reportedly experiencing pain while batting. When England began their second innings after tea it was Joe Root who opened with Alastair Cook. Although another change to England’s opening combination, it was not a new one: Root and Cook opened throughout the 2013 Ashes.Hameed had enjoyed an impressive start to his Test career after having been overlooked for the two Tests in Bangladesh. He made 82 in the second innings of his Test debut in Rajkot and resisted for 144 balls as England attempted to bat out for a draw in Vizag.If Hameed’s injury makes him a doubt for the Mumbai Test, which starts on December 8, England may need to consider calling up another batsman to the squad. They have Ben Duckett, who opened in Bangladesh, but he was dropped for Mohali in favour of Jos Buttler, having made 18 runs in three innings during the first two Tests; Gary Ballance is also in the party and could come into the middle order if Root stayed at opener.Nick Gubbins, the Middlesex left-hander, or Durham’s Keaton Jennings would be candidates as opening batsmen in county cricket while Essex’s Tom Westley could be another option. All three are currently in the UAE as part of the Lions’ winter programme.A left-field choice, to try and counter India’s spinners, would be Sam Billings, the Kent wicketkeeper-batsman who has played ODI and T20 cricket and is renowned as an excellent player of spin. However, that route would still require looking for another opening solution.*16.30 GMT: This story was updated

The DRS was a vital component of the Chittagong Test – with a record 26 on-field decisions being reviewed by the players – and Kumar Dharmasena was especially in the spotlight

George Dobell in Chittagong24-Oct-2016Alastair Cook has hinted that England will make a couple of changes, particularly to their bowling attack, ahead of the second Test against Bangladesh.England wrapped up a 22-run victory within 20 minutes on the fifth morning in Chittagong but Cook, the England captain, suggested they will use the final Test of the series to provide an opportunity for other members of the squad to gain experience ahead of the five-Test series in India that awaits.”I’m pretty sure there will be some changes,” Cook said. “If we play the same side early on in the tour, we could have a lot of guys with not much cricket under their belts coming into a crucial Test a bit further down the line. We were clear before we came out here that we would rotate, so I’d imagine there might be a couple of changes.”Cook on …

Stokes: “He is that X-factor cricketer which every side would love to have. He balances our side, he gives us options, he allows us to play the extra seamer or an extra spinner and he has improved his method against spin. I don’t want to say I’m surprised but it surprised me how well he scored that ODI hundred in Dhaka and it gave me a lot of confidence. It just showed what hard work can do and he can take a lot of credit for that.”
The final morning: “I was fairly confident. I thought we’d create the chances, the doubt was whether we were good enough to take those chances. But I thought we’d create enough to win the game so I was fairly relaxed.”
The review of Taijul Islam: “If you’ve two reviews left and you’ve two wickets to get and they need 20 runs you’re probably going to take a punt on it. We thought it was close and it was well worth having a look. He was a long way across, so as soon as Stokes said it wasn’t the inswinger I was confident. I was going to review anyway.”

Cook made a point of saying that they would be rotating players rather than dropping them. “It’s certainly more about rotation. In an ideal world we don’t want to get to India with people having not played much cricket. There are some fine players who didn’t make this team and, with how hot it is and energy levels, to not be playing all seven Test matches will freshen things up. It’s certainly more on the bowling side to start with.”With Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali looking hard to leave out – they give the side its depth and balance – England may be tempted to rest Stuart Broad, who has now played 99 Tests, and Chris Woakes, while they would also like to give a game to the left-arm spinner Zafar Ansari if possible.While Cook admitted there were times he would have “loved to have the fourth spinner” in his side, he also expressed his contentment with the current balance of the team and suggested Bangladesh’s batsmen in general look a little more comfortable against spin than seam. Certainly it was noticeable that, on the final morning at Chittagong with the game in the balance, Cook put his trust in two seamers who he knew would relish the heat of battle. Broad’s spell, continued from overnight, may well represent his best bowling display in Asia, while Stokes was named Man of the Match for his skill, maturity and persistence with bat and ball.While it does not reflect brilliantly upon England’s spinners that they were not trusted to bowl on a fifth-day pitch that turned from the first ball of the match, it was England’s seamers who offered Cook control throughout the match and whose ability to gain reverse-swing unlocked the Bangladesh batting in both innings.”We’d have loved to have the fourth spinner when it was turning,” Cook said. “But Bangladesh are used to these conditions. They play spin very well.”It’s nice having that extra seamer for our side. When it does reverse you can keep the pressure on for longer. If you do go double seam like we did after tea on day four for the first half an hour, we didn’t go anywhere but then you’ve got the option of bowling another seamer. It just suits us at the moment. But, yes, there was a time when I was thinking I’d love another spinner. But you can’t have everything can you?”The performance of England’s spinners was intriguing. Moeen took at least three of his wickets with what might reasonably be termed ‘magic’ deliveries and showed he has the pace and the skill to prosper in these conditions. But he was also the most expensive spinner in the match – he went at 3.75 runs per over – and will know he has to tighten up if he is going to prove effective in India. Adil Rashid, meanwhile, bowled some fine deliveries but struggled with his length and looked a little off the pace in the field. Gareth Batty, meanwhile, relished the battle and was probably the most consistent of England’s spinners. While there were moments he looked a little slow for the conditions, this was generally an impressive return to Test cricket.”The spinners bowled pretty well,” Cook said. “It’s a different mentality when the ball spins like that. Very quickly the expectation goes on to the spinners and you think ‘oh you must take wickets’. I thought they handled themselves very well despite being a young spin attack in terms of Test experience. We maybe missed length a little bit too much and maybe let the pressure off, but I genuinely believe they will get better.”While there were few runs from the top-order batsmen, Cook felt they encountered conditions at their most difficult. So while Gary Ballance looks vulnerable at No. 4 and there might be some logic in resting Jonny Bairstow – who enjoyed an excellent game standing up to the spinners – to provide an opportunity for Jos Buttler to gain some experience with the gloves in these conditions, it does appear England will persist with the same batting line-up.”Scoring runs on that wicket was a real credit to us as a side,” he said. “They were as tough batting conditions as I can remember, certainly early on and against spin. But we’ve managed to score enough runs to win the game and then take 20 wickets as well. I was pleased with our performance. Was it the best performance? No. But it was a start and it’s better winning these games and moving on. We showed a lot of character.”

Inter Milan are reportedly believed to be interested in signing Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah during the summer transfer window.

Is Chalobah likely to stay at Chelsea?

The £50,000-a-week Blues youngster has more than held his own this season, trying his best in a team that has struggled hugely in the Premier League.

Chalobah started 18 of Chelsea's 38 league games, which is a good return for an emerging talent, and he also enjoyed six outings in the Champions League.

Whether Mauricio Pochettino sees the Englishman as a key figure at Stamford Bridge moving forward remains to be seen, however, with the Blues' incoming new manager set to take a close look at his squad when the player return for pre-season.

Chalobah's current deal runs until the summer of 2028, though, so any potential interest in him would likely have to see a sizeable bid tabled.

Could Inter snap up Chalobah this summer?

According to Football Insider, Inter have "made a move" to snap up Chalobah in the summer transfer, seeing him as an exciting option to bring in. They have reportedly "contacted the Londoners to register their interest in a potential deal", with the player himself "keen to hold talks if permitted by his club".

It is even stated that the upcoming Champions League finalists "made enquiries over his availability in January as they were keen on a deal back then", suggesting that they have been long-time admirers of the Chelsea man.

This is a tricky one for the Blues, mainly because Chalobah remains such a big prospect who could potentially be a key man in west London one day, having been described as "the future of this club" by teammate Thiago Silva. Former Manchester United and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand also once called him "unbelievable", which futher outlines what a talent he is.

Should a huge bid arrive for the three-time capped England Under-21 international, however, Chelsea must at least consider it, with Pochettino arguably needing to bring in genuinely elite defenders in their primes this summer, especially with both Silva and Kalidou Koulibaly now in their 30s (the former is almost 40, in fact).

Chalobah's contract situation puts the Blues in a strong position, and while keeping hold of him remains the preferable outcome, given his long-term potential, if the player wants to move in order to get more minutes, it is something that should be considered by the club.

Usman Khawaja expects to be dropped from Australia’s ODI team the moment Aaron Finch is fit after a finger fracture, despite his Man of the Match-winning turn against Ireland in the opening match of the South Africa tour

Daniel Brettig28-Sep-2016Usman Khawaja expects to be dropped from Australia’s ODI team the moment Aaron Finch is fit after a finger fracture, despite his Man of the Match-winning turn against Ireland in the opening match of the South Africa tour.Clearly benefiting from conditions more familiar than those witnessed recently in Sri Lanka, Khawaja stroked his way to an unbeaten 82 in the company of David Warner and Steven Smith. While hopeful the innings meant a turnaround from his wretched times in Sri Lanka, Khawaja had no illusions about where he now stood in the limited-overs order of preference.”You can never count your chickens in cricket or in life, you can’t get too far ahead,” he said. “I’m only here because Shaun Marsh hurt a finger and Finch was out with a broken finger as well, so I got an opportunity opening the batting. To get out there and be Man of the Match first game of the tour is a really nice feeling.”Nice to get out there early on, I enjoy opening the batting in shorter form cricket, so it was good fun and with Davey at the other end going berserk it made life a lot easier.”It was a tough time over there [in Sri Lanka], it’s been a tough couple of months. So from an individual point of view it’s nice to get out there and score some runs. We played some really good cricket the back half of Sri Lanka, but I still didn’t contribute the way I wanted to contribute over there, so I had a tough time there, but glad I could contribute to a win first up here.”The Australians were quickly into a groove against Ireland, and now face a South Africa side shorn of AB de Villiers due to injury. Khawaja said it was useful to pick up the winning habit instantly in South Africa, and acknowledged the hosts would have to be weakened by de Villiers’ enforced absence.”We won and that’s the main thing,” Khawaja said. “You want to win as much as you can and keep reaffirming that winning feeling. Winning is a habit, it’s a cliche but it’s true, the more you win, the more natural it becomes. Every game you play we want to win every time, whether it’s a dead rubber or a final, because that’ll keep us in good stead for really close games.”I don’t know who’s going to take over [AB’s] role but they’ve got big shoes to fill, he’s one of the best batsmen in the world. Looking at it from that point of view it’s never nice to see a player not play, especially someone like AB because he brings a lot of people through the gates and that’s what it’s all about in the end. But he’s a big player for them, so they are weakened, but South Africa have a lot of depth.”

Burnley romped their way to the Championship title in exciting fashion as they accumulated 101 points to secure their promotion to the Premier League.

Vincent Kompany must now use the upcoming summer transfer window to build a squad that is capable of surviving, and thriving, in the top-flight, instead of suffering an instant relegation back down to the second tier.

One area in which he is reportedly looking to strengthen is the centre-forward position following the departure of Ashley Barnes on a free transfer to Norwich City.

It was recently reported that the Clarets are one of the teams interested in signing Metz number nine Georges Mikautadze, who has been the subject of a €10m (£8.7m) offer from Italian giants AC Milan.

Who is Georges Mikautadze?

He is a 22-year-old Georgian international who has caught the eye with his impressive performances in the second tier of French football this season and the ace could come in as a big upgrade on current Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez.

In the Championship this term, the ex-Southampton man averaged a Sofascore rating of 6.93 and contributed with ten goals and two assists in 28 appearances – a strike every 2.8 outings on average.

Mikautadze, however, averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.25 and plundered 23 goals and eight assists in 36 clashes in Ligue 2 for Metz – a goal every 1.56 matches on average.

This shows that the marksman has been lethal in front of goal as the gem has been able to score more than once every other game, which is far more impressive than Rodriguez's return.

The dynamo also produced 1.5 key passes per appearance and delivered seven 'big chances' on a plate for his teammates throughout the campaign, which shows that the young whiz has the vision and passing range to regularly open up the opposition's defence.

Meanwhile, the Englishman created 0.5 chances per game for his teammates in the second division and this indicates that the Metz star would provide far more creativity in the number nine role, as Rodriguez does not set up his fellow attackers on a regular basis.

Mikautadze, who writer Andres Ramos claimed is "shining" in Ligue 2, could, therefore, come in and provide Kompany's side with far more quality in the final third.

Their respective statistics this season suggest that the Georgian has the quality to score more goals and create more chances for others in comparison to Rodriguez, which is why he would come in as a big upgrade on the English veteran.