A standout feature of Jasprit Bumrah’s young career thus far has been his willingness and ability to learn and evolve. While “learning” rolls off many cricketers’ tongues as a stock cliché, Bumrah means it. Last year, when he said he had learnt something new in each of his first three seasons in the IPL, it wasn’t tall talk. In 2013, Bumrah was schooled in the art of pre-game preparation and managing different situations. When he became one of Mumbai Indians’ lead bowlers next year, he absorbed the lessons of carrying good form and sustaining it over a length of time. Even his injury was an opportunity to learn: ahead of the 2015 edition, he sought out senior bowlers to understand how to prepare for a comeback.At 23, Bumrah has already made strong strides towards becoming a more rounded bowler. From someone who relied heavily on an amalgam of a whippety, awkward action, inch-perfect yorkers and slower deliveries, he has now proven to be adept at taking wickets with length deliveries. During India’s 5-0 ODI thumping of Sri Lanka recently, Bumrah emerged as the leading wicket-taker on either side with 15 scalps at an economy-rate of less than four and was named Man of the Series. Nine of those wickets came via deliveries that were pitched either on good length or on the shorter side of it. The yorkers made an appearance only on eight occasions, thus retaining their shock value. He also straddled the twin roles of opening the bowling and operating at the death.Bumrah’s rapid growth wasn’t lost on his captain Virat Kohli, who called him India’s “most effective short-format bowler” in the last year and a half. “He has really worked on his bowling a lot – especially his length ball, which has picked up more pace,” Kohli said at the end of the series. “It’s not only about yorkers and slower balls anymore. He can bowl a good length ball and nick you off as well, which I think is the biggest improvement in his bowling. Credit to him for shaping his game in that way.”By his own admission, Bumrah has had many mentors right from Sachin Tendulkar to Ricky Ponting and Lasith Malinga to Shane Bond. He feels much of his improvement is down to relentlessly picking another bowler’s brain – be it a peer or a senior. “We just want to improve all the time,” Bumrah said on the eve of the first T20I against Australia in Ranchi. “We keep asking questions to each other and we keep learning from the senior players – what else we can do, how to improve ourselves, how to adapt to different conditions and different wickets. So, our main focus is that. We don’t focus on the results. We just want to focus on the training and we want to get better and better after each and every game.”With Ashish Nehra’s return, Bumrah will also have another familiar mentor to lean on for advice. Earlier this year, Bumrah and Nehra combined to throttle England by five runs in Nagpur. Despite an age difference of 15 years, Bumrah enjoys a great comfort level with his senior partner. “He is a very experienced player and I have played some cricket with him during the T20 World Cup,” Bumrah said. “It’s always great fun playing alongside him. He has got plenty of experience to share and is very helpful. As a youngster, I keep asking him questions and seek his advice. The team atmosphere also becomes very good with his presence, so it’s very nice to see him back.”With rain thwarting India’s training session on Friday, some of the players, including MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya and Bhuvneshwar Kumar, tried their hand at foot-volley in the dressing room balcony. Bumrah appeared to stand in a corner and watch them in action. Don’t be surprised if he learns a few tricks there and masters those, too.

Newcastle United's summer transfer is up and running, with Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes enriching the ranks at St. James's Park; now, Southampton's Tino Livramento could be the next to make the move to Tyneside.

Does Tino Livramento have a buyback clause?

According to the Daily Mail, Newcastle are preparing to re-enter negotiations for the starlet after failing with their first offer, though Southampton are believed to be reluctant to sell one of their most coveted assets.

talkSPORT have also claimed that Saints will demand £50m for the 20-year-old full-back after turning down an initial £30m approach from the Magpies, and the completion of the deal now lies in whether a happy medium can be found between the respective clubs.

Having arrived at St. Mary's from Chelsea for just £5m in 2021, Livramento spent the majority of the 22/23 campaign on the sidelines, but with the Blues holding a £25m buyback clause, Southampton are demanding any further bids to eclipse that price

How good is Tino Livramento?

The five-cap England U21 international was a consistent performer for Southampton across the 21/22 campaign, earning an average Sofascore rating of 6.85 across his 28 Premier League appearances, completing 79% of his passes from his marauding role, averaging 1.9 tackles and 1.7 clearances and interceptions, and succeeding with 62% of his ground duels.

This level of precocity is exactly why Newcastle are so desperate to acquire his services, with England manager Gareth Southgate even heralding his "excellent" start to the campaign.

Livramento's former Saints teammate Theo Walcott was also left astounded by his development, even likening him to Gareth Bale, who came through the Saints youth academy before signing for Tottenham in a £12m deal in 2007.

Walcott said: "Do you know what, he reminds me a little bit of Gareth Bale when he came through as a full-back. That's a big statement of course to compare him to someone like that but just feel like his presence and the way he drives and the pace and the power and it's no surprises that you know what he's going to do."

Bale would go on to sign for Real Madrid in an £85m transfer in 2013 – a world record at the time – plundering 173 direct contributions from 258 matches and notably winning five Champions League trophies and three LaLiga titles.

It's a big call from Walcott to predict Livramento could emulate the former Wales international, but he boasts the skills to cement his stature as a "top-class" – as he has already been called by talent scout Jacek Kulig – flanker over the next decade.

Bale averaged 1.7 dribbles and 1.5 key passes per match across the duration of his career, as per WhoScored, and while Livramento only averaged 0.7 key passes and 1.1 dribbles across the 21/22 league term, there is clearly a base to his skill set that can be enhanced and shaped over the coming years.

Indeed, like the Saints youngster, Bale also started as a flying full-back becoming one of the game's great wide players. That is a path well trodden for players of a similar ilk in modern football, and Livarmento will hope he can tread along a similar path to success.

indeed, under Howe's wing at Newcastle, he could be placed into a thriving crop capable of unlocking his potential and guiding him into the top stratosphere of talent on the European stage.

Jamie Porter also claimed two prizes after helping Essex to the County Championship title while James Anderson and Joe Root took the England awards

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Oct-2017Samit Patel and Nat Sciver have been recognised by their peers with respective Player of the Year titles at the Professional Cricketers’ Association awards night.Patel, the Nottinghamshire allrounder, won the Reg Hayter Cup after being voted the PCA Players’ Player of the Year, following his starring role in Nottinghamshire’s impressive season where they won both white-ball competitions – the Royal London Cup and NatWest T20 Blast – and secured promotion in the County Championship.Patel topped the voting ahead of Kumar Sangakkara, who signed off his first-class career by averaging over 100 in the Championship for Surrey, Essex’s Jamie Porter, the leading wicket-taker of the season, and Glamorgan’s Colin Ingram who made over 1000 runs in white-ball cricket.He was Nottinghamshire’s leading run-scorer in the Championship with 906 at 53.29 and also claimed 19 wickets. He also topped the county’s run chart in the Royal London Cup – and was fourth overall – with 539 at 67.37 then added 405 runs and 16 wickets in the T20 Blast. His success has been enough to have him floated as a possible replacement for Ben Stokes should the latter be withdrawn from the Ashes.

PCA award winners

Reg Hayter Cup for the NatWest PCA Players’ Player of the Year
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
John Arlott Cup for the NatWest PCA Young Player of the Year
Jamie Porter (Essex)
NatWest Women’s Player of the Summer
Natalie Sciver
Investec Test Player of the Summer
James Anderson
Royal London One Day International Player of the Summer
Joe Root
Specsavers County Championship Player of the Year
Jamie Porter (Essex)
NatWest T20 Blast Player of the Year
Wayne Madsen (Derbyshire)
Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year
Colin Ingram (Glamorgan)
Greene King PCA England Masters Player of the Year
Owais Shah
PCA Lifetime Achievement Award
Fred Rumsey
ECB Special Award
Heather Knight and Mark Robinson
Harold Goldblatt Award for the PCA Umpire of the Year
Michael Gough

“It’s a great honour to be voted by your peers. It’s a great feeling and it demonstrates how well we have done as a team and individually this season,” Patel said. “I’m a little bit surprised actually. To be up there with a world-class player like Sanga, with the amount of runs that he scored in a short amount of time, is a privilege in itself.”Allrounder Sciver, part of the World Cup-winning side, was named England’s Player of the Summer ahead of Tammy Beaumont and Alex Hartley. Sciver scored 369 runs at 46.12 and took seven wickets to help England secure the title and, during the tournament, had a shot named after her.The ‘Nat-Meg’ was unveiled, at least to a wider audience, during her 129 off 111 balls against New Zealand when Sciver deliberately deflected a leg-stump yorker through her legs for two runs. Earlier in the tournament she had scored a career-best 137 against Pakistan which included England’s fastest World Cup century off 76 balls.In the final against India, played at a sold-out Lord’s, Sciver held England’s middle order together with 51 off 68 balls to help them to 228 for 7, which ultimately proved just enough thanks to Anya Shrubsole’s inspired spell.”Nothing can take away from that day at Lord’s and just being there with the whole team and the girls who didn’t quite make the 15 so we were there as a squad,” Sciver said. “This caps off a brilliant year for us and hopefully we can produce a few more brilliant years. To be voted by my peers is a really nice feeling.”There are a few other players who could have been nominated as well. It was a performance by the full 15 in the squad, so I am very lucky.In the other awards, Porter picked up two prizes – the Young Player of the Year and the County Championship award for his 75 wickets at 16.82 in Essex’s unbeaten campaign. His success has earned him a place on the England Lions tour of Australia next month.The England Test and one-day awards went to James Anderson and Joe Root respectively, Ingram was named the Royal London Cup Player of the Year and Wayne Madsen took the same title for the NatWest t20 Blast.In the PCA’s 50th year – the organisation’s first meeting was on September 4, 1967 in London – they gave a lifetime achievement award to the founder Fred Rumsey.”In our 50th Anniversary year it is only fitting that our Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to one of our founding members, Fred Rumsey,” David Leatherdale, the PCA chief executive said. “His courage and determination some 50 years ago has enabled the PCA to become the respected organisation it is today.”PCA team of the year Alex Hales(Nottinghamshire), Mark Stoneman (Surrey), Colin Ingram (Glamorgan), Kumar Sangakkara (Surrey), Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire), Darren Stevens (Kent), Ben Cox (Worcestershire), Kyle Abbott (Hampshire), Craig Overton (Somerset), Simon Harmer (Essex), Jamie Porter (Essex)

The celebrations belonged to Essex but the inquest will surely be felt byYorkshire as a county that imagined itself as champions a year ago took a thorough pounding

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Sep-2017Sam Cook, a complete unknown only a fee weeks ago, personified a season of excellence as he took 5 for 20 to skittle Yorkshire for 74 and round off a tumultuous season for Essex during which they have remained unbeaten in the Specsavers County Championship for the first time in their history.The champions’ 10th victory of the 14-game campaign was followed by resounding applause and sprays of champagne post-match as they received the Championship trophy for the first time in 25 years. It was the moment they had waited for since the title was claimed a fortnight ago when they still had two games to play.For Yorkshire, who were in the same celebratory mood just two summers ago, their total was their lowest since 1999 as they succumbed by a massive 376-run defeat in just 29 overs. There were still 25 overs remaining in the day when Matt Fisher was left on his back by Neil Wagner to end the season. It was as well they claimed the points required to avoid relegation on the first day otherwise their feeble effort could have been terminal.Cook, who made his first-class debut for his home county less than two months ago, had taken a career-best 5 for 18 in the second innings at Southampton in the last game. The second five-fer of his embryonic career came before he returns next week to Loughborough University for the final year of his history degree course.Cook put the skids under a Yorkshire top-order chasing an unlikely 451 to win with four wickets in 32 balls in a six-over, pre-tea burst.Adam Lyth looked surprised to be given out caught behind to Cook’s second ball, and Kraigg Brathwaite played down the wrong line to be lbw to Porter in the next over. Alex Lees’s middle stump was sent cartwheeling by Cook and Yorkshire were already on an inexorable slide at 17 for three in the sixth over.Cook claimed his third wicket for 11 runs when the Ashes-bound Gary Ballance fell lbw for just five. Jack Leaning was stuck in his crease playing forward and edging to James Foster to give Cook wicket No4.Simon Harmer joined the party when Andrew Hodd became his latest lbw victim. Thirty-five for six.Essex announced at the tea interval that Porter had signed a two-year contract extension taking him through to the end of the 2020 season. He had a double celebration first ball after the break when he had Steven Patterson caught behind to claim his 200th first-class wicket for the county.That preceded Cook’s fifth wicket with his first ball upon his return for a second spell. Jack Brooks hung out his bat and played tamely into Varun Chopra’s hands at first slip. Thirty-seven for six at tea had become 38 for eight.Karl Carver helped Matt Fisher put on 34 for the penultimate wicket in nine overs to give some respectability to the score before he departed lbw for nine. Fisher, who had taken three Essex second-innings wickets for 69, was the only batsman to make it into double figures. He was the last man to go for 25, caught behind for Foster’s eighth catch of the match, after Wagner had him flailing with a bouncer.It meant Division One’s leading wicket-takers had shared 147 Championship wickets with Porter leading the way with 75 from Harmer.At the start of the day, Essex’s overnight second-wicket century stand ended in the fourth over when Dan Lawrence went lbw to give Coad his 50th and last Championship wicket of the season. Lawrence’s 83 came from 156 balls, and with Nick Browne he put on 139 in 49 overs to lift Essex from 6 for 2 on the second afternoon.Browne followed on the same personal score when Lyth made amends for a difficult dropped catch chance when the opener was 59. This time, Lyth held on to a snick at second slip to end Browne’s 166-ball innings that including 11 boundaries. James Foster then became the 10th lbw victim of the match to give Fisher the first of three wickets.That brought together ten Doeschate and Harmer, who put on 75 in 21 overs for the sixth wicket. Ten Doeschate’s innings was full of nudges and nurdles, eight of them going to the boundary, and a ninth clearing the ropes at long leg.He was finally out straight after lunch, in Fisher’s second over with the new-ball when ten Doeschate tried to withdraw his bat and was caught behind. The partnership with Harmer was worth 75 in 21 overs with the captain departing for a 92-ball 57 with eight fours and a six.Harmer claimed his second half-century of the match, following his 64 in the first innings, when he clubbed Fisher through the covers from the 79th ball he faced. The seventh-wicket pair added 42 in eight overs with Neil Wagner, whose bright and breezy 23 came from 26.before he edged to second slip to give Fisher his third wicket at a personal cost of 69.Ten Doeschate called his batsmen in 50 minutes after lunch following the second ball of the 96th over, when Porter hit the second of two fours in a five-ball 10. Essex had reached 334 for 7 without the requirement for the injured Tom Westley to bat.

Ian Fray wants to tell the story of “what people should really know about Lionel Messi”, with the Inter Miami forward a star on and off the pitch.

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• Argentine superstar chasing American dream
• Impressed everybody in Florida
• Colleagues delighted to have him on board

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Argentina icon arrived in the United States during the summer of 2023 amid much fanfare. He delivered on expectations within a matter of weeks, as Inter Miami claimed a historic Leagues Cup crown. The 2022 World Cup winner has also landed an eighth Ballon d’Or of his remarkable career since deciding to chase the American dream.

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  WHAT FRAY SAID ABOUT MESSI

  Messi has taken his Golden Ball in to show club colleagues and Inter Miami’s academy hopefuls, with Fray telling of the character that supporters do not always see: “That’s what people should really know about Messi, the little things he does like that. Of course, the whole world gets to see the type of player he is and the things he can do with the ball at his feet. But he understands there is a lot more than that, and it is obvious he cares about his team-mates.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Fray suffered a devastating ACL injury on the day that Messi made his Inter Miami debut, against Cruz Azul, and is determined to work his way back to properly live the dream alongside an all-time great. The 21-year-old added on being a club colleague of Messi, Sergio Busquets, and now Luis Suarez: “I feel fortunate to be part of it, to be here at such an amazing time for the club and for American soccer, and to be able to see and train with and learn from (Messi) and these other great players. But at the same time, I haven’t had the full experience yet. I’ve watched, but I haven’t played alongside him, on the same team, in a proper game. That’s what I have to look forward to. And that’s what drives me now.”

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• DID YOU KNOW?

  Messi sent a message to Fray after netting a spectacular winner on his Inter Miami bow, despite never gracing the pitch together in competitive action. Fray said of that show of respect and humility: “When he did that and took the time from that amazing moment to think of me, it meant the world. It still does. I was just sitting there thinking, ‘This guy doesn’t need to be doing this,’ but he did it for me. He did it because of who he is. I saw the interview on social media, but I don’t speak Spanish — I’m getting on Google Translate to figure out what he was saying. Then I saw the photo of him and the guys with my jersey, holding it up in the locker room. At that point, I couldn’t cry any more, I was just numb. It had a different kind of effect. I literally wanted to go and get the surgery then and there, so I could get back to soccer and play with Messi.”

Despite a seven-month inquiry having run its course over the suspicious Tier B first-class match between Panadura Sports Club and Kalutara Physical Culture Club, Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and the independent committee it appointed have not been able to determine who made the decision to manipulate the result of that match.The board has since punished the players of both the clubs – captains Chamara Silva and Manoj Deshapriya having been banned from “cricket-related activities” for two years, while the other players were served one-year bans. However, there remains no clarity on who – if anyone – instructed the players to manipulate the result.”We can’t pinpoint it was this person or that person who made the decision,” chief inquirer Asela Rekawa said. “We didn’t get any evidence to support that. That’s why we had to punish more generally – even the captain, coach, we had to punish.”The reason for coming down hardest on the players, however, was due to the lack of evidence that any party other than the players were complicit, SLC said. It was on the cricketers, that SLC claims, original charges had been laid. And though the inquirers said they have provided players multiple opportunities to defend themselves, few players utilised that opportunity – many of them have remained completely absent from the inquiry’s many hearings.According to the inquirers, the players of each team had only been represented by lawyers, which is why the committee had later even requested the players to make written submissions if they had anything relevant to add. This process, in fact, was cited as one of the reasons why the inquiry took seven months to conclude, instead of the few weeks it was originally expected to take.Despite all this, questions remain as to why many players spurned the opportunity to personally defend themselves at the inquiry.One of the other strange aspects of this case, however, is that Silva* was actually not on the field on the final day of the match, when the suspicious scoring rates occurred. And yet, he has been handed the harshest sentence.Rekawa said this was because as far as his committee was concerned, the inquiry was about whether the spirit of cricket had been tarnished through the course of the three-day match as a whole, and not whether it had occurred on a single day alone. Moreover, though Silva had not taken the field that day citing a stomach illness, Rekawa said the inquiry could not establish whether he had been at the venue or not.”In terms of the documentation provided, it was very clear that [Silva] was not present on the last day. But there was no suggestion that Mr. Chamara Silva was not there at the [venue] premises. So there was no defense taken that he was not there and he didn’t know anything about [the decision to manipulate the result]. He was in the same category as the other players. He didn’t come [to the inquiry] in person. No lawyer appeared for him to suggest he was taking up a different position.”In fact, only over the last two days, after the media had begun to discuss Silva’s absence, did I find out about his stomach ailment. It wasn’t much of a concern for us as we were not only concerned about the third day.”Rekawa and SLC did concede that having taken the decision to suspend the players, the board could be the subject of a legal challenge from them. In fact, at least one player has already retained a lawyer with a view to appealing his ban.*This story had earlier erroneously said Silva was the only affected player to have represented Sri Lanka.

Chelsea are "tempted" to bring in another number nine this summer and have discussed the possibility of making a move for Dusan Vlahovic, according to journalist Dean Jones.

Is Vlahovic joining Chelsea?

Since Todd Boehly's arrival as Chelsea's new owner, the Blues' approach to the transfer market has been fairly disastrous.

Having spent enormously on a mass of players, Chelsea have been preoccupied this summer with trimming their ridiculously large squad, and it is still impossible to predict what new boss Mauricio Pochettino's line-up will look like on the opening day of the Premier League season.

Chelsea's scattergun approach to signing talented young players on huge contracts has backfired significantly and Pochettino is the man tasked with picking up the pieces.

Despite having spent a vast fortune on players in recent windows, Chelsea still mysteriously ended up without an orthodox striker last season, one of the reasons they slumped to a 12th-placed league finish.

However, Pochettino is hoping to remedy that situation in the market and, despite having already signed Christopher Nkunku and Nicolas Jackson this summer, journalist Jones believes that the Blues could target Juventus' Vlahovic to ease their goalscoring woes.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Jones said: "I know some people are ruling out of Vlahovic and they say that nothing is happening there. But Vlahovic has definitely been explored by Chelsea and conversations have definitely happened in terms of that.

"The fact that they are even contemplating that, tells you they're tempted to go and sign another striker by the end of this transfer window."

Nkunku can play as a striker but is not a typical number nine, despite his prowess in front of goal. Meanwhile, Jackson is just 22-years-old and may need significant time to adjust to life in a new league at such a young age.

Therefore, Vlahovic, who has been called a "big-name striker", could be an astute piece of business and is a player with a wealth of experience despite being just 23-years-old.

The Serbian international has managed 72 goals in 171 matches for Juventus and Fiorentina in Italy but has struggled to fully settle at the Allianz Stadium in Turin since arriving halfway through the 2021/22 season.

A fee of around €80m would potentially be enough to sign Vlahovic, a figure which is unlikely to put off free-spending Chelsea. The striker would offer Pochettino a more traditional number nine than what the Blues currently have at their disposal and the forward's physicality and clinical edge would make him a great fit in the Premier League.

How good is Vlahovic?

Based on his performances last season in a Juventus side that struggled on and off the pitch, there isn't an enormous amount to get excited about with Vlahovic.

He scored just 14 goals and provided four assists in 42 matches, also suffering from injuries at times throughout the campaign, and only managed the same amount of Serie A strikes as wantaway Chelsea forward Romelu Lukaku.

However, looking at his statistics during the 2020/21 season – his last full campaign with Fiorentina – it is clear to see that Vlahovic is a top-quality centre-forward.

Compared to other strikers that season in Serie A per 90 minutes, he ranked in the top eight percent for goals (netting 21 in 37 games) and top 12% for aerials won, highlighting his physical presence up top and eye for goal.

Signing Vlahovic could be a risk given his lack of consistency in the black and white of Juventus, but if the forward can recreate the form he has exhibited in the past with Fiorentina and Serbia, then Pochettino would be foolish not to consider the young striker.

Manchester clubs United and City have joined Chelsea, Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid in issuing a strong statement on the European Super League.

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European giants reject Super League Real Madrid & Barcelona corneredSuper League future remains in darkness WHAT HAPPENED?

In the wake of a landmark victory in the European courts for the Super League propagators, United became the first Premier League club to unequivocally reject rejoining a new European Super League (ESL). The decision follows the announcement of new plans for a three-tier rebel format, made immediately after judges ruled that UEFA rules blocking the formation of such a competition were contrary to EU law. The same sentiment was echoed by Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain and Atletico as well who put out their respective statements in rejecting the breakaway competition.

AdvertisementWHAT UNITED AND BAYERN SAID

The club officially put out a statement which read: "Our position has not changed. We remain fully committed to participation in UEFA competitions, and to positive cooperation with UEFA, the Premier League, and fellow clubs through the ECA on the continued development of the European game."

Whereas Bayern Munich CEO and Vice-Chairman of the European Club Association (ECA), Jan-Christian Dreesen said: "We have taken note of the judgement of the European Court of Justice. However, this does not change FC Bayern's and the ECA's position that such a competition would be an attack on the importance of the national leagues and the structure of European football. The Bundesliga is the foundation of FC Bayern, just as all national leagues are the foundation of other European football clubs. It is therefore our duty and our deep conviction to strengthen them, not to weaken them. We are also committed to the European club competitions under the umbrella of UEFA. So let me make it very clear once again that the door for the Super League remains closed at FC Bayern.”

WHAT CITY, TOTTENHAM AND CHELSEA SAID

Later on Thursday, United's rivals City reiterated their stance against the breakaway tournament, writing in an official statement: "Manchester City Football Club confirmed in 2021 that it had formally enacted the procedures to withdraw from the group developing plans for a European Super League. Our position has not changed. We remain committed to the values of European football, and we will continue to work with fellow clubs through the ECA and participate in UEFA competitions."

Tottenham's stance mirrored that of their Premier League counterparts, adding in a statement released shortly after City's: "Following today’s (Thursday, 21 December) ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) regarding the European Super League (ESL), we should like to confirm that our position has not changed. We remain committed to the values of European football, and we will continue to work with fellow clubs through the ECA and participate in UEFA competitions."

Chelsea also sought to distance themselves from the ESL, writing in their own statement: "The judgment issued today by the European Court of Justice does not change Chelsea FC’s position. We firmly believe that, by working with the Premier League, The FA, other European clubs through our strong relationship with the ECA, and with UEFA and FIFA, we can, together, continue to develop the European game for the benefit of everyone."

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WHAT ARSENAL & LIVERPOOL SAID

Arsenal took a day to ponder over the revised ESL format but ultimately rejected it and cleared their stance through a statement that read: "Arsenal Football Club notes the judgement by the European Court of Justice on Thursday, 21 December 2023 and our position in relation to the European Super League has not changed. We will continue to play in UEFA competitions and continue to work with fellow European clubs and the European Club Association (ECA)."

A couple of hours later, Liverpool also followed suit and put out a statement communicating the same: "Yesterday’s ruling by the European Court of Justice does not change Liverpool FC’s previous stance on a proposed European Super League. Our involvement has been discontinued. We will continue to work with fellow clubs through the ECA and participate in UEFA competitions."

All affiliated with Newcastle United can look ahead to the forthcoming campaign with great zeal, considering manager Eddie Howe has navigated his outfit away from the lower echelons of the Premier League with a fourth-placed finish last term.

Indeed, Champions League football now awaits the club, and while the Magpies have taken circled flight, they are yet to consolidate their newfound stature with a continuation of the recent successes.

As momentous as the past year has been, multiple outfits fell by the wayside and the competition will ostensibly be tougher come August, but with the likes of Sandro Tonali and winger Harvey Barnes already arriving, the St. James' Park side are clearly making the right moves.

The defence has yet to have been bolstered, however, and Crystal Palace's Marc Guehi is among the candidates as Howe searches for the apt defensive move to continue the ascent.

Who could Newcastle sign?

According to Caught Offside, Guehi is on the club's list as they assess the best way to better the previous campaign.

Football Insider have claimed that a massive bid of £60m would be enough for Palace to grant negotiations with the Tyneside team.

With Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur all also considering a move, reports the Evening Standard's Nizaar Kinsella, the Toon must swiftly determine whether to forge ahead with a bid and strike before their rivals.

How good is Marc Guehi?

Newcastle completed the 22/23 term with the league's joint-best defence – conceding 33, alongside Champions Manchester City – which might leave some onlookers questioning whether reassembling the current crop of defenders is a necessity.

Sven Botman arrived from Lille on a deal worth around £35m last summer and has almost been infallible, having been hailed for his "incredible impact" by pundit Leon Osman, but Fabian Schar might be deemed expendable, with the 31-year-old Switzerland international entering the final year of his contract.

Guehi, aged 23, could prove to be a superlative heir to Schar's position in the team and could complement the no-nonsense style of Botman to a tee, especially considering the £50k-per-week titan has performed so admirably for the Eagles.

Described as a “tank” of a defender by goalkeeper and former England U21 teammate Josef Bursik, the 6-foot machine recorded an average Sofascore rating of 6.94 in the Premier League last term across his 37 outings, completing 85% of his passes, making 3.6 clearances per game and succeeding in 68% of his ground duels.

For comparison, Botman averaged 3.3 clearances per game and also succeeded in 68% of his ground duels, completing 87% of his passes.

For two central defensive partners to both boast such an innate ferocity and robustness bodes very well indeed for the club's prospects of success this season, as does their progressive passing capabilities, if indeed Howe and co do succeed in getting a deal for Guehi over the line.

Having been called “incredible” by BBC Sport’s Alex Howell, the Palace titan could reinforce an already mighty Newcastle defence with an iron-clad grip, creating one of English football's most fearsome partnerships by linking up with Botman.

New Zealand A lost six wickets for nine runs to be bowled out for 143 and despite a top-order stutter, India A had little trouble chasing down the target

ESPNcricinfo staff11-Oct-2017
ScorecardKarn Sharma continued his rich form against New Zealand A•BCCI

Legspinner Karn Sharma extended his dominance over New Zealand A into the List A format with a five-for that helped India A take a 1-0 lead in the five-match one-day series. Karn, who had taken 16 wickets in the two four-dayers against New Zealand A, took 5 for 22 to limit the opposition to 143 in the third match in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Despite a top-order slump, India A completed the chase with six wickets and more than 25 overs to spare.New Zealand A had a promising start after opting to bat first, with George Worker and Colin Munro adding 39 by the eighth over. Both, however, were out within a short span and two more wickets left New Zealand A at 97 for 4. Henry Nicholls and Colin de Grandhomme attempted something of a repair job with a partnership of 37 for the fifth wicket but it took only eight overs for the rest of New Zealand A’s innings to unravel. Nicholls was dismissed for 35 in the 31st over and his wicket began a slide that saw New Zealand A lose six wickets for merely nine runs. Karn was central to this slide, taking four of the six wickets in consecutive overs, including those of Nicholls and de Grandhomme. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem and allrounder Deepak Hooda took three wickets between them to wipe out the rest of the line-up.India A’s top three were all dismissed for single digits but Shreyas Iyer, Vijay Shankar (47 not out) and Hooda (35 not out) ensured they reached the target comfortably. Iyer, who had struck 90 in the tied match on Tuesday, made 37 off 36 before Hooda and Shankar completed the chase with a 57-run partnership.