Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior says racists in Spanish football need to go "straight to jail" after La Liga was marred by more racist abuse.
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England boss Gareth Southgate has revealed Jude Bellingham has found the going tough of late in the intense spotlight at Real Madrid.
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Bellingham injured and suspendedJoins up with England for friendliesSouthgate comments on strugglesWHAT HAPPENED?
The 20-year-old superstar missed three games due to an ankle sprain throughout February before making his return during the 2-2 draw against Valencia. Sadly for Bellingham, this game was also tarnished after he was sent off by referee Jesus Gil Manzano in the 99th minute for dissent. The England international was less than impressed after the final whistle was blown just seconds before he nodded in what he thought was the winner on the evening.
AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Bellingham was able to feature in the 1-1 draw with RB Leipzig in the Champions League four days after the red card, but has since missed the games against both Celta Vigo and Osasuna in the top flight of Spanish football.
WHAT SOUTHGATE SAID
Speaking in his press conference on Friday ahead of the friendly clash with Brazil, Southgate said: "We are super happy to have him, but he is still 20 years old. The success of our team will depend on the entire team."
The England boss then went on to talk about Bellingham's struggles across recent weeks, where he added: "The last few weeks have been a bit difficult for him, with the injuries and the red card, so he is a bit upset.”
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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR BELLINGHAM?
The Real Madrid man has now linked up with England and will likely feature in the friendlies against both Brazil – where he will face his Real Madrid team-mate Vinicius Junior – and Belgium. He has now served the two-game ban he was handed by La Liga for his red card against Valencia and will be available to face Athletic Club after the break.
ESPNcricinfo has obtained a screenshot of a message sent to a fan, from what is widely believed to be the batsman’s official Facebook account, containing foul language and threat of physical harm
ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jul-2018The BCB will investigate Sabbir Rahman for allegedly abusing and threatening two fans on social media after Bangladesh’s second ODI in Guyana on Wednesday. The incident comes while he is serving a punishment for physically assaulting a child during a first-class game in December 2017.BCB’s chief executive Nizamuddin Chowdhury said the board would take “appropriate action” after looking into the possible breach in conduct.”Players, especially national players, are given definitive guidelines on how to behave with fans and on social media,” Chowdhury told the Dhaka-based . “They have been told that they must be very careful when interacting with the public on social media. Since it is out in the public and when it has come to the board’s knowledge, if such a breach has occurred it will be referred to the disciplinary committee and appropriate action taken.”ESPNcricinfo has obtained a screenshot of the message sent to one of the fans, from the Facebook account of “Shabbir Rahaman Roman” (the name also used in BCB’s official emails to the players and media), which has more than 90,000 followers and is widely believed to be Sabbir’s personal account. The message contains foul language and threat of physical harm.It came hours after the fan had posted a sarcastic comment on Sabbir’s current form; he has managed only 15 runs in the two ODIs. Another user had tagged Sabbir on to the post, after which the messages were sent. Both fans were blocked by the “Shabbir Rahaman Roman” account thereafter.The account itself has now been deactivated, which, according to the Daily Star report, happened after the BCB was informed of the incident on Thursday evening.Sabbir has got into trouble with authority in the past, apart from being punished for assaulting a child during a Rajshahi Division first-class game, for which he was also stripped of his central contract, and fined $25,000. During the 2016 BPL, Sabbir was fined USD 15,000 for “disciplinary breaches”.
England swept and swept, first unsuccessfully, then inefficiently, and then decisively enough to outdo India’s spinners and pull the duel their way in a tight finish, where Alex Hales punished Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s lapse in lengths to help them level the series.Hales’ unbeaten 58 was built during two crucial partnerships. The first one in Eoin Morgan’s company, which began at 44 for 3 after England’s top three, much like India’s top order earlier, couldn’t get them going in pursuit of a conservative, if not below-par target. Once again, it was the two Yadavs who had put England in such a position: Umesh was true to his new-found specialisation of getting wickets in the Powerplay, rattling through the opening stand. Jason Roy was out stabbing at a furious indipper, while Jos Buttler, having been reprieved by Kohli at mid-off, handed the same man a catch two balls later.Joe Root came in ahead of Hales, at his customary No. 3 position, but that move to give him time up front to settle down didn’t pay off. Once again, it was a wrong’un that accounted for him; this time, it was Yuzvendra Chahal’s and it spun into him and under his sweep to crash into the stumps.Alex Hales’ unbeaten 58 not out steered England to victory•Getty Images
There was more sweeping, and more sweep-induced lbw calls and at one point, it seemed like England’s Merlyn bowling-machine exercise hadn’t changed a lot for them. Morgan in particular was caught flailing about, trying to sweep it on either side of the wicket. He was fortuitous, though, as was Hales, who survived both an lbw appeal and the ensuing review against Kuldeep.Then, Hales started making contact on the cross-batted hits. Hales found big sixes on either side of long-on with his slog-sweeps as Morgan struggled further, eventually falling to a Hardik Pandya bouncer.This brought Jonny Bairstow, and England’s second and ultimately decisive partnership, with Hales as the anchor. Bairstow made 28 of the 36 they put up in four overs. Crucially, he took Kuldeep for two sixes in his penultimate over, leaving both captain Kohli and the bowler visibly frustrated. Kuldeep’s lengths and paces were largely defensive after that, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar couldn’t defend 12 in the last over. It was hard enough without the six and four off the first two balls from Hales, the Man of the Match half-centurion who had been considered the starting point of England’s meek surrender in the last match.Earlier, Morgan had elected to bat and England’s seamers were disciplined in hitting the deck on the shorter side of a good length, a strategy that – in combination with a good mix of varying natural speeds – took the boundaries almost completely out of the equation for an in-form top-three. With hardly anything to drive, India managed only three boundaries in the Powerplay.Fans stormed into the field after Shikhar Dhawan’s catch to dismiss Eoin Morgan•Getty Images
But the plan to play four seamers at the expense of Moeen Ali was truly vindicated by the fact that they had dismissed the top three inside the Powerplay. Jake Ball, on debut, followed up a miserly first over by trapping Rohit Sharma under a steep short ball. His sliced pull, trying to make room down the leg side, was matched in technique – or the loss of it – by KL Rahul a few overs later. India’s No. 3, looking to slash Liam Plunkett over cover, lost his middle stump.In the middle of these wickets was the strange case of Shikhar Dhawan who, while trying to switch his bat to his right hand halfway through a run while seemingly trying to avoid obstructing a Jason Roy throw from point at the non-striker, ended up losing his grip entirely. A tumbling bat’s first contact with the ground was outside the crease and he was caught short by Morgan who had initially forgotten to appeal as he despaired at a fluffed gather.At 22 for 3, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, batting in almost alien positions for them in this format, were largely kept to running between the wickets too. If the spinner was the release they were waiting for, Adil Rashid proved to be a downer. Rashid floated his deliveries up, rather than pushing them through as he had done in the previous match, and forced both batsmen to manufacture power on a slow track. The result was a 57-run stand that came at under eight an over. Raina was the more fluent batsman, peaking with a hook shot that went several rows behind at deep square leg, and generally scoring at a good strike rate before he was stumped. Kohli top-scored with 47, but his 38-ball knock provided little by way of momentum.That came from MS Dhoni and Hardik Pandya, who left it late to pummel Ball’s last over – the only one in which not a single ball was of optimal length – for 22. It wasn’t to be the difference.
Everton triumphantly claimed their first Premier League victory of the season yesterday, as they travelled to Brentford and came away with a well-earned three points.
Given the hosts' home record last season saw them lose only twice, few predicted anything other than a routine victory for Thomas Frank's men, against the beleaguered visitors who were yet to win a game in the league.
However, with the Bees starting slowly, Sean Dyche sought to capitalise. Abdoulaye Doucoure's goal set the tone with a sweet half-volleyed finish before James Tarkowski nodded in from a corner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin wrapped up the points with his late goal.
A perfect afternoon for the travelling Toffees, who bore witness to a huge victory which is now set to kickstart their campaign.
Whilst there were numerous outstanding performers for a side who rained down 18 shots despite only enjoying 43% of the ball, one man shone yet again despite his continued presence in an unfamiliar role.
However, should James Garner continue to play like that from the right wing, there is little chance that he might return to his favoured central midfield.
How did James Garner play vs Brentford?
As the only change from the side that whimpered to a 1-0 home defeat against Arsenal a week ago, the 22-year-old general was employed to replace the attack-minded Arnaut Danjuma, with Dyche clearly seeking to unleash a game plan.
Seeking to pack out the midfield whilst also ensuring they retained a keen defensive impetus on both flanks, Garner marked a fine option to fulfil such a role.
Having shone for England U21s at right-back in their recent European Championship success, already his ability to star from the right was renowned. However, the former Burnley boss endeavoured not to stifle the creativity that the Manchester United academy graduate clearly boasts, by deploying him just in front of Ashley Young.
This quickly turned into a masterstroke, as the hosts remained frustrated with the lack of options they were presented with from teammates. Having a host of intelligent pressers, all of whom have the rigid defensive structure locked down, was bound to be imperative, and Garner was just one of a perfectly drilled system of players willing to fight for the win.
It did help that the midfielder enjoyed one of his outstanding games in royal blue, as a consistent creative threat despite his reliable solidity.
He would maintain an impressive 92% pass accuracy throughout the clash, yet blended such an economical display with a whopping four key passes, via Sofascore. Relentless until the final whistle, his work in dispossessing Nathan Collins showcased his defensive know-how, before he allowed that quality to shine through by slipping in his compatriot to score the third.
The game was over with that goal, forged almost solely by the endeavour and excellence of Garner.
However, as aforementioned, the former Nottingham Forest loanee was not to shirk his defensive responsibilities, still chipping in with three tackles and one clearance to justify his 8.0 rating, the second-highest of any player on the pitch, via Sofascore.
This aligned well with the Liverpool Echo's post-match player ratings, who offered the following summation of this display which merited an 8/10 rating in their eyes: "Repaid his manager’s faith in him to deploy him out wide early on as his cross from the left wing picked out Tarkowski for his flick-on to Doucoure for the opener and then hustled and harried to win the ball back before picking out substitute Calvert-Lewin for the third."
Having joined for just £15m in 2022, it finally seems like the Toffees are set to enjoy the best of Garner, who has seemingly shaken off his injury troubles to become a mainstay in the side, no matter where he is played.
Who could James Garner replace?
With Dyche clearly favouring a more workmanlike midfield, given the trio of Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Doucoure is seldom altered, Garner could perhaps be a victim of his own technical prowess and versatility.
The former all share a relentless work ethic and a focus on solidity, and whilst it often negates the opposition's attack, it also blunts their own due to a lack of creativity from midfield.
It is well known the quality that the 6 foot 1 Garner boasts, but he has still had to battle for any first-team involvement since joining. The £30k-per-week wizard even admitted his desperation for minutes by noting: “Wherever I am wanted, I’ll play.”
This came years after the "special" talent, as branded by Statman Dave, gave his own verdict on his favoured role: "Personally, I’m not too fussed if I play as a 6 or 8. Throughout the academy I played as a deeper lying 6. People maybe questioned whether could I score and create but when I got to the 21s I showed I could also play box to box."
Such adaptability and a willingness to sacrifice himself for the team makes the midfielder far more likely to be used to plug gaps, even though it could be argued that his creativity outranks most of the aforementioned three.
After all, whilst Onana might boast 0.8 key passes per game, his youth leads to him slipping in and out of games, often unable to dominate for a full 90. Then, whilst Doucoure has shown up with some big goals across the last 12 months, even he can go missing, despite remaining one of the side's biggest threats.
However, if anyone was to lose their place in the side it would surely be Gueye, given the obvious drop-off that the 33-year-old has suffered even if he remains a tireless enforcer.
Still an intelligent footballer, the Senegal international is prone to some truly uncomfortable moments, playing blind passes and dawdling in possession in dangerous areas.
One such example was showcased in their 4-0 away loss to Arsenal last season, where he was lambasted for gifting the hosts their second by talkSPORT pundit Dean Ashton on commentary: "That was just really poor, slow play from Idrissa Gana Gueye.
6
2
1.7
7.12
6
0
0.8
7.17
6
0
0.8
6.98
5
1
1.5
7.17
"You cannot switch off the way Idrissa Gana Gueye has done there. It is a massive, massive error."
To replace that kind of unreliability with the ever-improving Garner, and not only would they retain high effort levels, but that injection of creativity could prove integral in providing even more chances for the forwards.
After yesterday's display against Brentford, where the Englishman dominated, surely Dyche must be considering shifting him across to allow him to shine in his favoured role.
West Ham United have not always had the best of luck, or judgement perhaps, with their dealings in the transfer market over the years.
Who are West Ham's biggest signings?
The Hammers have not been afraid to splash out the cash to bolster their squad, particularly over the last five years or so, in an attempt to push on in the Premier League.
Player
Fee paid
Sebastien Haller
£43m
Mohammed Kudus
£37m
Lucas Paqueta
£37m
Edson Alvarez
£32.7m
Felipe Anderson
£32.7m
Fees via Transfermarkt.
Haller and Anderson, of the five most-expensive signings in the club's history as shown above, did not enjoy the best of times at the London Stadium and David Moyes could be on course to oversee another expensive disaster with Pablo Fornals.
The former Villarreal whiz, Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal, Michail Antonio, and Aaron Cresswell are among the players who are out of contract next summer and will be free to leave for £0.
What's the latest on Pablo Fornals' future?
It was recently reported that Spanish side Sevilla are eyeing up a swoop to sign Fornals from the Hammers as their sporting director Victor Orta, who was previously at Leeds United in England, is keen to secure a deal for him in 2024.
The report stated that the attacking midfielder is free to speak with other clubs from January onwards and that a move to Sevilla would be among his preferences if the option arises.
He is allowed to sign a pre-contract with another team in January ahead of a free transfer next summer due to his expiring contract, which is why West Ham must get him to put pen to paper on an extension.
Football Insider claimed, prior to the news of Sevilla's interest, that the Hammers are planning to sit down with Fornals, along with Coufal and Soucek, to discuss a possible contract extension.
They also revealed that teams from Saudi Arabia were showing an interest in the ace, although nothing came of that before the Saudi Pro League transfer deadline earlier this month.
How much did West Ham pay for Pablo Fornals?
In the summer of 2019, West Ham completed the signing of the then-23-year-old wizard from Spanish side Villarreal for a reported fee of £24m, which made him the second-most expensive player in the club's history – behind Felipe Anderson at £33.5m – at the time.
Fornals arrived at the London Stadium after two impressive campaigns in LaLiga, following on from his move to the club from Malaga in 2017.
The creative Spaniard enjoyed a fantastic 2017/18 campaign with Villarreal as he racked up an outstanding 12 assists and created 15 'big chances' for his teammates across 30 league starts, to go along with three goals, as per Sofascore.
His teammates then let him down throughout the 2018/19 season as the technical ace produced ten 'big chances' for his fellow attackers over 28 LaLiga starts and was only rewarded with three assists. This suggests that his teammates did not make the most of the opportunities that he created for them.
The talented whiz's performances were impressive enough to convince West Ham and then-manager Manuel Pellegrini to splash out £24m to secure his services.
How well has Fornals performed for West Ham?
Fornals has been a solid performer for the Hammers over the years as he has racked up 184 appearances in all competitions and played 141 times in the Premier League to date.
He has featured in at least 32 top-flight matches in all four of his seasons with the club so far, which speaks to his reliability in terms of his performance level and durability. Managers have rarely not selected him to play, whether that is from the bench or within the starting XI, and he has not had any major injury lay-offs.
His best season in a West Ham shirt to date arguably came during the 2021/22 campaign. The Spanish maestro provided a consistent creative threat and added goals to his game as he delivered brilliant Premier League performers week-in-week-out.
Fornals averaged an excellent Sofascore rating of 6.94 across 36 league appearances for the club and contributed with six goals and ten 'big chances' created from midfield. He also showcased his defensive quality with 2.3 tackles and interceptions per game to win the ball back for his side.
The former Villarreal star, who was once dubbed "unbelievable" by journalist Karl Matchett, was the team's outstanding creator as he averaged 1.3 key passes per match throughout the season, which none of his teammates were able to better.
More recently, Fornals caught the eye in the Europa Conference League last term as the club went on to win the competition. He averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.13 over 12 appearances as he scored three goals and created two 'big chances' from the middle of the park.
What's next for Fornals?
The report of Sevilla's interest and the player potentially being keen on the move is worrying for West Ham as it suggests that there is chance that he will sign a pre-contract with the Spanish team to join them for nothing next summer.
This would mean that the Hammers would not get back a single penny of the £24m that they initially paid to secure his signature back in 2019, which would be a disaster when you consider that he will be 28 and in his prime years ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
FootballTransfers currently has his Expected Transfer Value at €22.2m (£19.1m) and this is an indication of the kind of fee that the club are set to miss out on if they do not tie him down to an extension.
Moyes and West Ham have allowed him to enter the final 12 months of his contract before sitting down to have talks over a new deal, as per the aforementioned Football Insider report, and this has allowed Sevilla, and potentially other teams, to show an interest and possibly sway Fornals' thinking.
The situation should have been dealt with before the recent summer transfer window as they could have been able to cash in on him this year if he refused to put pen to paper on an extension.
Therefore, the Hammers are currently on course for a howler with the Spanish magician unless they are able to convince him to turn down Sevilla and remain at the London Stadium beyond the end of this season.
Aston Villa are reportedly already planning a big next transfer move following a productive summer window.
What’s the latest Aston Villa transfer news?
Villa Park owners NSWE promised to back Unai Emery with a ‘huge’ transfer budget ahead of the Spaniard’s first full season in charge and lived up to their word.
In total, the club brought in five new players, two of which commanded huge fees. Defender Pau Torres arrived from Villarreal at a cost of £33m, whereas winger Moussa Diaby set the club back a record £51.9m.
The Frenchman has already shown why Villa were willing to spend big on his services, contributing to three goals in the first four Premier League games.
Emery clearly has big plans at Villa as well, with the manager recently saying the dream is to qualify for the Champions League.
"Defensively, we were very strong last year. We need to keep doing the same and then improve things with the ball. I think we can do it. We achieved seventh position in the Premier League. We are going to fight for that as a minimum."
"The present and the future for me is to try to play Champions League with Aston Villa. That is my dream. And then try to have options for a trophy is another challenge. My challenge here is to win a minimum of one trophy."
Despite a fairly big outlay in recent months, it looks as if plans are being put in place for 2024, with a new target emerging on the radar in the Midlands.
According to reports from Italy, relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa are interested in signing Atletico Madrid defender Nahuel Molina.
Juventus, Arsenal and Manchester City are also keen on the player's services, but it is Villa and NSWE who are thought to be ‘ready to make a very high offer’ for him.
Who is Nahuel Molina?
Molina is a right-back who can also play further forward if needed and appears to be at the top of his game with a career-high €35m Transfermarkt valuation, a figure which has almost doubled over the past 12 months.
The 25-year-old, hailed for an "incredible" World Cup campaign in Qatar last year by journalist Josh Bunting, spent the early stages of his career in his native Argentina before moving to Italy to sign for Udinese in 2020.
The World Cup winner went on to make 68 appearances for the Serie A side, contributing to 20 goals which led to a move to Atletico Madrid. He has gone on to feature on 44 occasions for his current employers, scoring on his first La Liga appearance of the 2023/24 season.
At this moment in time, Villa and Emery have Matty Cash and Calum Chambers as senior right-back options, whereas youngster Kaine Kesler-Hayden is currently on loan with Championship side Plymouth Argyle, so it will be interesting to see if Molina is viewed as an upgrade on Cash or Chambers, making this one to keep an eye on over the coming months.
Sky Sports News have shared an update on Tottenham Hotspur and their interest in signing PSV Eindhoven forward Johan Bakayoko.
Who will Spurs replace Kane with?
The departure of star striker Harry Kane to Bayern Munich was seen as a major blow to Spurs and new manager Ange Postecoglou, who must contend without the presence of a star 25-plus-goal-per-season forward.
Kane's absence leaves a gaping hole in quality, but Spurs have done very, very well to cope so far; remaining unbeaten in the Premier League over their trio of opening games.
An opening day 2-2 draw away to Brentford showcased Tottenham's attacking promise in their first game since Kane's exit, while subsequent 2-0 wins over Man United and Bournemouth highlighted a fluid transformation under Postecoglou.
Spurs' head coach had time to prepare for life without Kane, as he admitted before their match against Brentford, with the 30-year-old seemingly making his mind up on leaving.
“I had a conversation with Harry the first day he arrived and he was up front and honest, and I was the same,” Postecoglou said.
“You get an indication there that he kind of made up his mind: that if the clubs agreed he would go, particularly if it was before the first game. That was my preference as well.
“There's nothing along the way that's sort of made me feel there's anything other than this outcome."
Now, the post-Kane era has well and truly begun, and Tottenham have a number of targets they've been considering ahead of tomorrow's deadline day rush.
While Spurs have missed out on Barcelona ace Ansu Fati, who is set to join league rivals Brighton after major overnight news, they're still believed to be chasing Nottingham Forest star Brennan Johnson.
Bakayoko, who starred for PSV over the 2022/2023 Eredivisie campaign, is also a player attracting real interest from Tottenham as Sky share an update on the situation.
Speaking on a live TV broadcast, Sky claim that Spurs are "very much" contending to sign the Belgium international alongside Johnson.
Sky said (via Football Daily): "They also remain very much in the race for Nottingham Forest's Brennan Johnson and PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko."
As previously reported, the aforementioned players are seen as candidates to replace Kane, despite not being out-and-out strikers in the Englishman's ilk.
How good is Johan Bakayoko?
Over his 23 Dutch top flight cameos last term, Bakayoko racked up five goals and five assists; all while ranking among their very best for shots at goal and successful take-ons per 90 in the final third (WhoScored).
The 20-year-old's form has been rewarded with recent call-ups to the Belgium national team, where he has already bagged his first international goal for the Red Devils.
Bakayoko was also endorsed by former Man United star Ruud van Nistelrooy, who called the attacker a "dominant" force.
“He is so dominant, sometimes you forget that he is eighteen," said van Nistelrooy two years ago.
“He’s a boy who, if he continues to invest in what he’s doing now, hopefully at the end of the season can make a nice step towards first. He’s worked hard on multiple facets of his game, and that’s showing through now. Maintaining this level in the longer term is his goal.”
Everton are in danger. The club has suffered defeats in its first two games of the Premier League season and looks destined for another year perilously resisting relegation.
Sean Dyche’s dismal frontline is in major need of an overhaul as the Toffees must improve on their 35 top-flight goals last campaign, which was the second-lowest in the division.
However, Goodison Park still remains an attractive and viable destination for many footballers, with a wantaway Championship winger desperate to move to Merseyside…
What’s the latest Everton transfer news?
Back on the 10th of August, transfer insider Fabrizio Romano revealed that Leeds United’s Wilfried Gnonto has wanted to move to Everton since July, and it was his ‘priority.’
The player reportedly already has an agreement on personal terms on a five-year deal.
Since then, the situation has rapidly escalated, with Sky Sports revealing that Gnonto has handed in a transfer request after failing to force a move.
Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…
The Italian is extremely unhappy after Leeds rejected four offers – the latest on Friday was worth more than £25m – and ended talks with Everton.
As a result, Gnonto has made himself unavailable for the club’s last three fixtures.
However, Leeds have released a statement, saying:
“Willy Gnonto and his representatives were informed by the club that he would not be sold this summer.
"This is now an internal disciplinary matter and the club will make no further comment, other than to reiterate that Willy is not for sale."
Would Wilfried Gnonto be a good signing for Everton?
An injection of pace, trickery, directness, and dynamism are traits that Gnonto possesses and are exactly what Everton requires if the club is to reverse its abysmal form.
Last season, in just 14 Premier League starts the 5 foot 7 livewire recorded six goal contributions.
After a defeat against Aston Villa in January, Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville singled out the 19-year-old for high praise and said:
“I've seen a special young talent. Honestly, sometimes you see potential and talent and you are excited but I watched him so closely, and his understanding of where to be, his choice of pass, his choice of when to run with it, his awareness of his teammates, really, really good.”
His natural ability on the ball is reflected by his rank within the top 17% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive carries per 90.
If Everton manages to progress from this saga with Gnonto, he could provide some crucial attacking depth and some much-needed competition to Dwight McNeil.
The Englishman has opened the start of the current campaign after suffering ankle ligament damage in a friendly against Stoke City and his presence has been sorely missed.
Last season, the former Burnley dynamo was the club’s top scorer in domestic football with seven goals, and was also a chief creator, averaging the most dribbles per game (1.5), and the second-most key passes per game (1.4) in the squad.
Dyche has previously lauded McNeil as “outstanding” and with Gnonto as another possible asset on the left-hand side, the Toffees would possess a threatening pair of attackers.
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.