Karun Nair’s century delayed the inevitable for India Green as they lost to India Red by 170 runs in the Duleep Trophy opener at Lucknow’s Ekana International Stadium on Sunday.India Green, in pursuit of 474, were bowled out for 303 in the final session on the fourth day, with Karn Sharma, the legspinner, taking six wickets and finishing with his first-ever ten-for. Siddarth Kaul, the fast bowler, had four wickets, including that of top-scorer Nair, also the captain, for 120.Resuming on 98 for 2, India Green lost R Samarth early, after he’d added just 13 to his overnight 46. Ankit Bawne then became the first of Kaul’s four wickets when he was bowled for 17 shortly before the first session ended.Nair, meanwhile, battled on and forged a 49-run stand with Parthiv Patel, before Karn struck again. Parthiv, who became the 48th Indian to go past 10,000 first-class runs in the first innings, was caught by Rahul Singh for 26. At that stage, India Green were reduced to 213 for 5.Nair, who during the course of the day’s play was named captain of the India A team to play two four-day fixtures against New Zealand A, brought up his 10th first-class century, but his dismissal to break a 62-run stand with Mayank Dagar, who made 45, hastened India Green’s exit. Their inability to build on two strong partnerships during the course of the day eventually proved costly.India Red take on the Suresh Raina-led India Blue in the second fixture at Green Park in Kanpur on September 13.
علّق حارس مرمى فريق مانشستر يونايتد، أندريه أونانا، على تأهلهم إلى نهائي كأس الاتحاد الإنجليزي بعد مباراة صعبة ضد كوفنتري سيتي.
وفاز مانشستر يونايتد على كوفنتري سيتي، في إطار منافسات نصف نهائي بطولة الكأس، على ملعب “ويمبلي.
اقرأ أيضًا.. برونو فرنانديز: لن ننجح أبدًا إذا فزنا بكأس الاتحاد الإنجليزي فقط
كان مانشستر يونايتد قد تقدم بثلاثة أهداف دون رد، قبل أن يستقبل 3 أهداف في الثلث الأخير من اللقاء، ويحتكما إلى الأشواط الإضافية.
واستقبلت شباك أونانا هدفًا قاتلًا، ولكن ألغته تقنية الفيديو، ليحتكم الفريقان إلى ركلات الترجيح التي حسمها مانشستر يونايتد بنتيجة 4-2.
وقال أونانا في تصريحات نشرتها شبكة “بي بي سي” العالمية: “إنه شعور مختلط، لقد تأهلنا، ولهذا السبب جئنا إلى هنا”.
وأضاف: “لقد كانت مباراة صعبة في النهاية، كنا مسيطرين ثم استقبلنا 3 أهداف بعد العديد من الأخطاء الفردية، الشيء الأكثر أهمية هو الفوز، علينا أن نتطلع إلى المباريات المقبلة”.
وواصل: “فقدنا السيطرة على المباراة بشكل ما، نحن مانشستر يونايتد، يجب أن نفوز، نشعر بأننا في حالة جيدة، ونشعر بالسعادة لبلوغ النهائي”.
وأردف: “سنعود إلى هنا للفوز (المباراة النهائية في ويمبلي)، أهم شيء هو الفوز، نحن في النهائي، هذا ما يهم”.
Sunderland have made a positive start to the transfer window with four new faces coming through the door at the Stadium of Light, but the club's need for a new defensive midfielder is 'obvious'.
Who have Sunderland just signed?
Following their play-off semi-final heartbreak at the hands of Luton Town in May, the Wearsiders have been positive in the summer transfer market, bringing in four new players to try and help them avoid the same fate again next year.
The most expensive player signed by the club so far is Dutch defender Jenson Seelt, who cost the Black Cats £1.7m from Eredivisie giants PSV. He moves to Wearside after being named on the bench nine times in the Netherlands but never once stepping onto the field.
Whilst cheaper than his new Dutch teammate, Jobe Bellingham has easily drawn the most attention from the wider footballing world. Jude Bellingham's younger brother, he cost Sunderland £1.5m and, just like his Madrid-based brother, comes from the academy at Birmingham City.
Birmingham midfielder Jobe Bellingham.
The other two players to make a move to the North East are centre-forward Luis Semedo, who joined from Benfica B for an undisclosed fee, and centre-back Nectarios Triantis, who joined from A-League outfit Central Coast Mariners for an estimated fee of £300,000.
Whilst these are all good signings that could help Sunderland get over the line this year, they still need more cover in defensive midfield, according to Phil Smith of the Sunderland Echo.
He stated: "Cover in defensive midfield would look to be one other obvious priority, but elsewhere it could depend much on how Mowbray’s squad shapes up in the months ahead."
Who are Sunderland targeting in the transfer window?
According to a report from Dutch outlet Leeuwarder Courant, Sunderland have identified 28-year-old Thom Haye as a serious transfer target this summer.
Whilst he is younger than the typical age profile that the Wearsiders have been targeting recently, the club have made it clear that they want to strike a balance between youthful promise and a few older players with more experience.
Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray.
Sporting Director Kristjaan Speakman said as much last summer:
"I've had three transfer windows here and I'd like to think if people were going to be critical about the group and lowering the age profile, they would have to say we've got some really talented players in our group and we've got some older more experienced players that are fundamental to that success and we've got some young up-and-coming players that are fundamental to that success. That's the balance we've got to get."
Would Thom Haye be a good signing for Sunderland?
The former Netherlands under-21 international is in the perfect spot to help the club and Speakman fulfil their goal of including more experienced and slightly older players into their exciting and youthful setup.
At only 28, he is still in the prime of his career, but he also comes with bags of experience after playing 175 games in the Eredivisie, with the vast majority of those appearances coming as an out-and-out defensive midfielder.
He also had a strong season last year with, WhoScored giving the "impressive" midfielder a brilliant average rating of 7.05 across his 31 top-flight appearances for his club side SC Heerenveen.
His underlying numbers are equally impressive, with FBref, who compare players in a similar position across their definition of the next best eight competitions, placing him in the top 8% for progressive passes, the top 10% for passes attempted, the top 17% for tackles, and the top 19% for progressive carries and interceptions, all per 90.
If Sunderland could get this deal over the line, they would have some excellent cover in defensive midfield for next season, and who knows, Haye could make that position his own if he can carry over his form from the Netherlands.
Shreyas Iyer’s 57-ball 96 steered Delhi Daredevils through a tense chase of 196 and consigned Gujarat Lions to yet another defeat while batting first
The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy10-May-2017 Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:08
Bangar: Iyer’s use of the crease was impressive
Before Wednesday, Gujarat Lions had only won one match while batting first in the IPL, in 12 attempts. The last time they had played Delhi Daredevils, they had failed to defend 208. Now, sent in to bat, they made 195, and ended up on the losing side yet again, their bowling falling apart at critical moments.Daredevils’ match-winner, yet again, came from their group of young, sometimes inconsistent, but undoubtedly gifted Indian batsmen. At the Feroz Shah Kotla, Daredevils had romped home with 15 balls to spare, after Rishabh Pant and Sanju Samson added 143 in 63 balls.Here, at Green Park, they had to pull off a different sort of big chase, where they kept losing wickets right through. Shreyas Iyer’s 96 was a different sort of innings to Pant’s 97. Daredevils were 121 for 6 at one point, with only the lower order left to give Iyer company.Then, out of the blue, came some of this season’s most exhilarating batting, as Iyer and Pat Cummins plundered 52 from three overs. Suddenly, Daredevils only needed 23 off 18 balls.There would, of course, be some late tension. Cummins holed out when he may not have needed to hit in the air. Iyer fell in the last over, leaving Nos. 9 and 10 seven to get off four balls. Amit Mishra, though, kept his head, pulling off two ice-cool fours off successive balls to haul Delhi over the line with two balls to spare.Finch, Karthik lift Lions out of early troubleGreen Park provided a flat batting pitch for its first game of the IPL season, and Lions, despite losing their top three inside the first seven overs, kept scoring at a healthy rate. A lot of this was down to the bowling; in this game, Daredevils’ bowlers seemed to have caught the contagion of bowling too straight – and often too short – and leaked runs behind square on the leg side.In all, they would concede 52 runs, and 10 boundaries (out of 26 overall), in that region. Mohammed Shami provided an early instance of this, bowling one ball full and leg-stumpish and another short and leg-stumpish to Ishan Kishan in the fourth over – with fine leg and square leg both inside the circle – giving away six and four.Still, Lions had to fight from 56 for 3, and they did so via a 92-run stand, in 58 balls, between Aaron Finch and Dinesh Karthik. Both batsmen played some eye-catching shots, the highlights including a straight six by Karthik off Shami and some ruthless pulls from Finch, who finished with 69 off 39.Run-outs imperil Daredevils chaseSanju Samson hit two sumptuous fours through the covers before dragging a pull onto his stumps in the second over of the chase. Then Rishabh Pant, having sauntered absentmindedly out of his crease after surviving an lbw appeal from Pradeep Sangwan, was caught out by a direct hit from Suresh Raina at slip.That left Daredevils 15 for 2. Iyer then put on the first of his two substantial stands, 57 off 34 balls, with Karun Nair. Right from the start, Iyer’s placement stood out – he kept finding gaps in the infield, particularly through the off side, and particularly through or behind point. Then Nair, having just hit three successive fours off Dwayne Smith’s slow-medium long-hops and reverse-lapped Ravindra Jadeja for another four, miscued a James Faulkner slower ball.Then came two run-outs, both from direct hits powered by Jadeja’s priceless left arm. First, Marlon Samuels was slow responding to Iyer’s call for a single after a push towards point. Mistake. Then Corey Anderson wandered out of his crease after bunting Basil Thampi towards backward point. Another mistake. When Carlos Brathwaite fell to a short ball from Dhawal Kulkarni in the 14th over, Daredevils were sinking. They needed 75 from 37 balls at that point, with only four wickets in hand.Iyer, Cummins blast offDaredevils didn’t have time for a slow-burning comeback. They duly hit four fours in the next over, two each by Iyer and Cummins, all of them hit along the ground, into off-side gaps. Then Iyer drove and flicked three successive fours off Kulkarni. The biggest over, though, was still to come. It would come – as it has more often than he’d like to admit – against Faulkner. Cummins, expecting and getting the slower, length ball first up, clouted him over long-on. Then Iyer lifted Faulkner over long-off before drilling a drive between the bowler and mid-off.To recap Daredevils smashed 17, 14 and 21 runs off the 15th, 16th and 17th overs.Mishra the finisherWhen Cummins picked out long-on in the 19th over, Daredevils needed 14 off 10 balls. When Iyer played all around a Basil Thampi yorker in the final over, they needed 7 off 4. In walked Mishra, a vastly improved long-format batsman, but not one counted among T20’s most dangerous lower-order hitters.Mishra knows the game inside-out, though, and probably guessed that Thampi would bowl a yorker first up. Down the track he went, surprising the bowler into a full-toss, which he flicked nonchalantly past midwicket. Then, with three to get off three balls, he walked across his stumps, with the knowledge that fine leg was stationed rather square. Thampi’s slower ball may have surprised some batsmen, but not Mishra. He waited, kept his shape, waited some more, and unfurled a deft little scoop. The fielder chased hard, dived, got his body behind the ball, but couldn’t help deflecting it into the rope.
Leeds United are keen on a move to bring Maccabi Tel Aviv star Djordje Jovanovic to the Championship, according to reports.
Who is Djordje Jovanovic?
Jovanovic is naturally a striker who plies his trade at the Bloomfield Stadium having moved there from FK Cukaricki back in February 2022, where he’s since gone on to make a total of 62 appearances to date, but his future is currently up in the air.
The Serbia international’s contract with Aitor Karanka’s side expires at the end of next season, meaning that the ongoing window will be his manager’s final big opportunity to cash in, not to mention that due to his situation, a cut-price deal could be available.
Are Leeds signing Jovanovic?
According to SportsWalla (via Football League World), Jovanovic is on the "radar" of Leeds, who have been "linked" with a move ahead of the 2023/24 campaign. Maccabi's centre-forward has reportedly been a target "for a while", but it was his performances on the international stage at the recent European Championship qualifiers that have caught the eye once again.
The 24-year-old and his club are both "open to a transfer" and have "already held talks" with several unnamed suitors, once of which could well be at Elland Road.
Leeds United's stadium Elland Road.
Leeds will know that they are likely to lose Rodrigo this summer amid reports that his agent is set to hold an imminent meeting regarding a departure, so the 49ers will need to recruit a new centre-forward for their incoming manager to replace him, and Jovanovic could be the perfect successor.
He clocked up an impressive 17 goal contributions (13 goals and four assists) in 25 Ligat ha'Al outings last season, highlighting his prolific form in the final third, which is something that was blatantly missing during the previous campaign in Yorkshire.
The Leposaviq native is also a versatile operator with his ability to play out wide on both the left and right flanks alongside his usual role through the middle, so he could be deployed in a variety of positions should the boss ever want to switch up his formation or rotate the squad.
What Jovanovic's price tag or salary demands look like yet remain to be seen so it's difficult to figure whether this deal would be financially affordable, but should it turn out that it is indeed doable, the hierarchy shouldn't even have to think twice about recruiting him given his age profile and impressive goal return.
Chris Jordan impressed upon the need to remain calm and have self-belief while bowling in the end-overs, qualities he exhibited to deny MS Dhoni in the first T20 in Kanpur
Vishal Dikshit in Nagpur28-Jan-20172:31
‘Hope to keep momentum on our side’
In the last two overs he bowled in Kanpur, Chris Jordan stuck to his plan of bowling yorkers throughout. He bowled 10 of his last 12 balls to MS Dhoni and conceded 16 runs off them, a strike rate of 160. What those numbers don’t tell you is that Dhoni struggled to hit eight of those 10 balls cleanly. The moral victory was Jordan’s.This attacking and fearless bowling style makes him a vital cog in England’s pace attack in the limited-overs formats. It was a testimony of how Jordan has become Eoin Morgan’s go-to bowler in the slog overs, either to pick wickets or limit runs, or often both. It was reminiscent of how Jordan had bowled a barrage of yorkers to Pakistan’s tail in his final two overs at Headingley in September, and a few months before that had helped England defend 171 in the World T20 semi-final against Sri Lanka in Delhi.His first spell there read 2-0-16-1. He then returned to bowl with Sri Lanka needing 40 off 24 balls. He walked away with a fine second spell that read 2-0-12-3. It showed why he was rated highly as an end-overs bowler. Jordan, who addressed the media on the eve of the second T20I in Nagpur, was asked of what it takes to succeed in the end overs. He impressed upon the need to remain calm and have self-belief.”Although T20 cricket can be a fast-paced game, I believe at the back-end of the innings you have to give yourself time,” he said. “You have to try and take the sting out of the game, try to keep a very clear mindset especially when guys are trying to hit you over the ropes every single ball. That calmness and that whole notion of trying to give yourself time is something I try to use and luckily it works.”Plans can change literally every ball because you’re trying to stay one step ahead of the batsman every time, and at the back-end of the innings it could be a lot of commotion. You have to try and stay clear and think about simple things and executing them, that’s what I try to do.”‘Calmness, self-belief key to bowling in end-overs’ – Jordan•Getty ImagesJordan’s yorkers have been a fundamental aspect of his end-overs bowling and are something he falls back on when summoned. Jordan said developing the wide yorker too was a result of increasing his variations to keep the batsmen guessing.”It is a skill that I have worked on very, very hard whether it’s in the nets or actually in games,” Jordan said. “Most batsmen obviously want the ball in their arc and if you bowl at the stumps a lot, that’s in their arc so you’re backing yourself to execute the skill anyway. But I find that with that wide yorker, bowling the ball outside the batsman’s arc even when you do bowl there still has to be some precision with it. I find bowling that ball more often than not buys you some dots and time, and helps you get ahead of the batsman and also pick a wicket in the innings.”It came from first and foremost using variations. When I look at death bowling I think you can’t be predictable, you have to use different variations and that doesn’t necessarily have to be pace, it can be line or length and that’s how I developed that ball. So instead of maybe bowling my slower one more often, I use the variation in line and bowl a wide yorker, straight yorker, at the back end of the innings.”Despite this expertise and the role he played in England’s march to the World T20 final last year, Jordan was dropped for the ODIs against Bangladesh, India, and more recently the three ODIs against West Indies in March. His last ODI series was against Pakistan at home, where he produced figures of 2 for 42 from nine overs and 0 for 52 from 7.2. When asked to self-assess why he had been dropped, Jordan said it was about consistency.”You are always disappointed when you have ambition and then do not get selected,” he stated. “Disappointment is an emotion that I think is warranted. I would want to get back into the ODI and the Test team as soon as possible and am working very hard to do that. But obviously, we have a very good set of players, very strong depth. It will be quite tough getting back in, but I don’t think it is beyond me.”Possibly consistency wasn’t as I’d like it to be and I do set my standards very high,” Jordan said of his exclusion. “If I look at it I can say that my consistency at that particular moment wasn’t to the level I wanted it to be but that’s not to discourage or dishearten me. I do still have opportunities and I hope to push my case to make it back.”Jordan will hope he displays more such impressive efforts, the way he did in Kanpur, in the remaining two T20s of the series and stakes a claim for the Champions Trophy in June at home. After the West Indies tour, England are scheduled to play two ODIs against Ireland and three against South Africa – all in May at home. Jordan said he was looking at every game he would play from now as a “chance to impress and a chance to stake a claim”.
Arsenal are reportedly eyeing a Ligue 1 star to bolster their attack, as Mikel Arteta prepares for a busy summer in charge at the Emirates.
While the Gunners enjoyed a high-scoring Premier League season, in a year that teased north London with their first league title since 2004, there is always room for improvement which the Spaniard could achieve in signing their latest target.
What’s the latest on Elye Wahi to Arsenal?
As reported by Foot Mercato late last month, Arsenal are interested in signing Montpellier forward Elye Wahi this summer.
The report claimed that the Gunners were in ‘pole position’ to sign the striker, who is believed to be valued around €35m (£30m).
In a recent interview with 100% Paillade, Montpellier president Laurent Nicollin revealed that Arsenal are a club that the goal machine “likes a lot”, as relayed by Get Football News France.
What could Elye Wahi offer to Arsenal?
Lauded as “powerful” by Francis de Taddeo, ex-academy director at his former club Caen, the forward could be an exciting revelation for the Gunners.
North London has enjoyed its fair share of French strikers, from Thierry Henry to Olivier Giroud, and it’s not unfamiliar for the club to have a Frenchman leading the line.
In 33 Ligue 1 appearances, the 20-year-old has contributed to a total of 24 goals, scoring 19 himself and assisting five in a memorable individual season, via FBref.
The interest sparks questions as to what his place would be in Arsenal’s side, and most importantly how this would affect Gabriel Jesus.
Arsenal’s number nine has had a strong first season in the capital, despite missing a chunk of action after undergoing knee surgery for an injury sustained at the Qatar World Cup.
Arteta was left with little option following the Brazilian’s absence, with no option but to see Eddie Nketiah lead the line, a player that had previously struggled to maintain game time.
The Englishman did a stellar job in standing in for the former Manchester City ace, notably scoring twice against Manchester United, however, the issue remained that there was no other option for Arteta to consider other than the forward with ten Premier League goals prior to this campaign.
In Wahi, Arsenal would not only gain a stronger option to contest and interchange with Jesus but a forward in himself that is capable of leading the line.
As per FBref, the striker averages 0.64 non-penalty goals per 90, placing him in the top 7% of forwards in Europe in this area which signifies the prolific nature of his game.
Arteta could replicate the success that Pep Guardiola has in being able to rely on Julian Alvarez to get among the goals in the absence of Erling Haaland, which would be a huge step in terms of Arsenal’s progression, but certainly bad news for Nketiah.
Indeed, the Argentine has capped off a wonderful first season in English football where in the process of winning the treble, found the net on 17 occasions, a great deal better than the nine-goal haul of Arsenal's back up striker.
This season may well have been all about Haaland but Alvarez certainly played a huge part in dragging City across the line.
Therefore, another striker potentially arriving in north London could mean the end of the road for the 24-year-old Nketiah, who has struggled to impose his quality during his career at Arsenal so far.
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.”
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.
Burnley striker Jay Rodriguez.
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.
Sam Allardyce has just two games left to save Leeds United's status in the Premier League and with tough games against West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur to come, he will need to drum up something special to keep them up.
The vastly-experienced Englishman has already shown a willingness to try something different by starting Robin Koch in midfield and Rasmus Kristensen at centre-back but it has done little to improve Leeds' defensive woes, as they were perhaps lucky to only concede a combined four goals in games against two top-three teams in Manchester City and Newcastle United.
Naturally in a season where things haven't gone to plan, certain players become scapegoats for fans and one man who has seemingly been written off is summer signing Brenden Aaronson.
However, the 22-year-old's displays have not been as bad as people think, and he could prove to be an unlikely saviour for Allardyce in the final two games – if he opts to give him some first-team minutes.
Should Allardyce start Aaronson?
The USA international, who earns £45k-per-week, has made 34 appearances in the Premier League this season, mustering just one goal and three assists, with a disappointing 6.45 rating from WhoScored for his performances.
Given Leeds spent around £25m to sign him from RB Salzburg last summer, you would have perhaps hoped for more from the young midfielder but it must also be remembered that it is his first season at this level, and he will no doubt have been hit hard by the exit of former manager and American compatriot Jesse Marsch.
Leeds boss Sam Allardyce
It's been a disappointing season for more than a few members of Leeds' squad, which is why they are in the position that they're in but Aaronson can at least boast to be one of the most creative outlets at Elland Road.
The 22-year-old currently ranks second for key passes, second for dribbles and fourth for shots per game in Leeds' squad, which suggests that he can definitely offer Allardyce something from an attacking perspective.
The former Philadelphia Union star's only goal of the season came just in the third game against Chelsea. However, this emphasised just what he is capable of, as he closed down Edouard Mendy and tapped the ball in on the line.
His impressive work rate, which once saw him lauded as a "pressing machine" by The Athletic's Phil Hay, could be vital in the final two games of the season as Leeds look to cause problems for their opponents, both of whom could well have very little to play for.
With fellow midfielders Weston McKennie and Sam Greenwood failing to make much of an impression in the midfield against the Magpies, having completed just 17 passes between them, it must be time for Aaronson to get his first start under Allardyce.
If he can reproduce some of his early-season form and give Leeds an energy boost in the middle of the park, it could just be enough to keep them in the Premier League in what would be a bold and questionable call.