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Chelsea have now registered their interest in a surprise move for a “fantastic” Juventus star, who is being targeted by a number of Premier League clubs.

Blues join race for sought-after midfielder

The Blues’ 3-1 home defeat against Brighton & Hove Albion perhaps underlined that they’re not quite ready to mount a Premier League title push, despite their heavy spending, with Jamie Carragher making it clear that Enzo Maresca’s squad lacks experience.

The Sky Sports pundit said: “How long will the rebuild after Abramovich last? At what point will they realize the need to buy ready-made, established stars who can take the team from fourth place to first, combining youth with experience?”

Maresca’s squad has the youngest average age in the Premier League, at just 23.4, with a gap of 0.8 between them and second-placed Sunderland, and Raheem Sterling, who is part of the ‘bomb squad’ is the only player not in his twenties.

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Chelsea suffered a 3-1 loss at home to Brighton and this player failed to step up.

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As pointed out by Carragher, the west Londoners need to bring in players with experience of winning major honours if they are going to become serious title contenders, and they have now joined the race to sign a new midfielder.

Indeed, according to a report from Caught Offside, Chelsea have now registered their interest in signing Juventus midfielder Manuel Locatelli, which would be a surprising move, given that he does not align with their recent transfer policy.

At 27-years-old, the Italian is a lot more experienced than most players who make the move to Stamford Bridge, and there are signs that a deal could be possible, with any bids of €40m (£35m) deemed to be ‘unrejectable’.

With Romeo Lavia struggling on the injury front, a move for Locatelli would make sense, but there is set to be fierce competition for his signature, as Newcastle United, Aston Villa, West Ham United and Bayer Leverkusen have also expressed interest.

"Fantastic" Locatelli has the talent to succeed at Stamford Bridge

Hailed as “fantastic” by scout Jacek Kulig, the Italy international is very impressive in possession of the ball, and has displayed his tackling ability on a regular basis over the past year, suggesting he is a well-rounded midfielder.

Statistic

Average per 90

Passes attempted

74.48 (93rd percentile)

Progressive passes

9.31 (97th percentile)

Tackles

2.78 (84th percentile)

With Maresca keen on a central midfielder capable of progressing the ball up the pitch, the Juventus maestro could be an ideal option, and he also has a keen eye for goal, once scoring with a remarkable shot from distance for Italy.

At 27, Locatelli is by no means old, but his experience could be of great use to Chelsea, given that they have the youngest squad in the Premier League, and they should test the waters with an offer this winter.

أعلن الاتحاد الأفريقي لكرة القدم منذ قليل، عن قائمة المرشحين للفوز بجائزة أفضل لاعب في إفريقيا، والتي يتم منحها عن عام 2025 الحالي، حيث يتواجد عشرة لاعبين مرشحين للحصول عليها.

وكان الحاصل على جائزة أفضل لاعب في إفريقيا العام الماضي هو أديمولا لوكمان، نجم نادي أتالانتا، لكنه غاب عن قائمة المرشحين خلال هذا العام.

وجاء على رأس قائمة المرشحين للحصول على جائزة أفضل لاعب في إفريقيا نجم نادي ليفربول ومنتخب مصر، محمد صلاح، والذي قدم موسمًا رائعًا مع الريدز.

وقاد محمد صلاح ليفربول إلى الفوز بلقب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز الموسم الماضي للمرة الـ20 في تاريخه، وحصل على جائزة هداف البطولة أيضًا.

اقرأ أيضًا.. قائمة المرشحين لجائزة أفضل لاعب داخل إفريقيا 2025.. نجم الأهلي ورباعي بيراميدز

كما حجز فيستون مايلي، نجم بيراميدز، موقعه ضمن المرشحين لأفضل لاعب في إفريقيا، بعدما قاد فريقه للفوز بدوري أبطال إفريقيا، للمرة الأولى في تاريخ النادي السماوي.

واستبعد بشكل مفاجئ عمر مرموش، نجم مانشستر سيتي من قائمة المرشحين، بالرغم من المستوى الرائع الذي قدمه خلال الموسم الماضي مع أينتراخت فرانكفورت، ثم مانشستر سيتي.

وتواجد أشرف حكيمي مدافع باريس سان جيرمان، ضمن قائمة المرشحين، بعد مستواه الاستثنائي مع النادي الفرنسي خلال الموسم الماضي وتحقيقه لثلاثية تاريخية مع نادي العاصمة الفرنسية والتتويج بدوري أبطال أوروبا. المرشحين لجائزة أفضل لاعب في إفريقيا 2025 

محمد صلاح – ليفربول (مصر).

فرانك أنجيسا – نابولي (الكاميرون).

فيستون ماييلي – بيراميدز (الكونغو الديموقراطية).

أشرف حكيمي – باريس سان جيرمان (المغرب).

دينيس بوانجا – لوس أنجلوس (الجابون).

سيرهو جيراسي – بوروسيا دورتموند (غينيا).

ندياي – إيفرتون ( السنغال).

باب ماتار سار – توتنهام هوتسبير (السنغال).

فيكتور أوسيمين – جالطة سراي (نيجيريا).

أسامة المليوي – نهضة بركان (المغرب).

He hit the winning runs for India in their landmark Test win at The Oval in 1971, the highlight of a colourful career

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Mar-2025

Syed Abid Ali is carried off the field by fans after securing India’s series win at The Oval•Getty Images

Syed Abid Ali, who represented India in 29 Tests from 1967 to 1974, has died in California aged 83.A medium pacer who was renowned for his high standards of fielding and lightning-fast running between the wickets, one of Abid Ali’s greatest moments on the cricket field came with the bat: he hit the winning runs for India from No. 8 at The Oval in 1971 to give India their first series triumph in England.These runs came via a “square cut that never reached the boundary as it was engulfed by jubilant supporters charging onto the ground”, as had been reported on ESPNcricinfo.Abid Ali also played five ODIs between 1974 and 1975, which also happened to be India’s first five ODIs.Related

Rewind To 1971: India's day of glory at The Oval

Ask Steven: Who was once no-balled for throwing in a Test?

He finished with 47 wickets from his 29 Tests, including career-best figures of 6 for 55 in his debut innings against Australia in Adelaide. His medium pace came with enough variations to test batters. He also recorded six Test-match fifties, including twin fifties in Sydney later in that debut series.It could be argued that he was an allrounder, given that those two fifties came as an opener, and he batted at the top of the order in 21 of his 53 Test innings and scored 1018 runs at an average of 20.36 in his Test career. Those fifties in Sydney included “cavalier treatment of the new ball,” the match report said. Overall, he batted across the order for India, everywhere barring Nos. 4, 10 and 11.Then, there were his impressive fitness levels and fielding. His ESPNcricinfo profile sums it up thus: “Abid Ali had the feet of a sprinter, the energy of a marathon runner and the will of a decathlete, but his misfortune was that he was born 20 years too early. His game was made to order for one-day cricket: he bowled brisk medium-pace, fielded outstandingly, and was a busy lower-order batsman who ran between the wickets as if on invisible skates.”His focus on fitness came at a time when it was not the norm in cricket, and helped him gain a reputation both as a close-in fielder and for his spot-on flat throws from the outfield. Former ESPNcricinfo columnist V Ramnarayan, who was a young cricketer in the Hyderabad domestic circles when Abid Ali was in his prime, wrote of him: “The punishing regimen of training he followed was often the subject of anecdotes, wildly exaggerated and embellished, but perfect entertainment in the evening after a long day at the ground.”Syed Abid Ali during his stint coaching UAE•AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images

He was also quite a bit of a character. Ramnarayan wrote: “He was demonstrative in an age when most bowlers tended to hide their emotions. His appeals to God when he beat the edge, and his sardonic grins at batsmen blessed by the Lord – unfairly in Abid’s opinion – were sights to see and remember.”He was once no-balled for throwing in a Test match against New Zealand in Christchurch, but his blatant chucking apparently came in protest against Gary Bartlett having taken a six-for with an action that the Indian team felt was suspect.Abid Ali never went on to establish himself as a premier name in Indian cricket, in part because he had the misfortune of being a bowler in the era of India’s famous spin quartet. He was a mainstay for Hyderabad, though, playing 212 first-class games across 20 seasons, taking 397 wickets at 28.55 and scoring 8732 runs with 13 hundreds and 41 fifties. He played his last Test match in December 1974, his last ODI in June 1975, and his last first-class game in 1978-79.”Shri Syed Abid Ali was a true allrounder, a cricketer who embodied the spirit of the game,” BCCI president Roger Binny said in a statement. “His contributions to India’s historic victories in the 1970s will always be remembered. His dedication and versatility made him stand out. My deepest condolences to his family and friends during this difficult time.”After his playing days, Abid Ali went on to coach Andhra at the Ranji Trophy, and also had stints with UAE and Maldives. At the time of his death, he was living in Tracy, California, with his family.

Nat Sciver-Brunt put on an exceptional all-round show to propel Mumbai Indians to the top of the table with an eight-wicket win over UP Warriorz in Bengaluru. She took three wickets and followed it up with an impressive unbeaten 75 off 44 balls to chase down the target of 143 with 18 balls remaining.Warriorz initially rode on Grace Harris’ quickfire 45 and Vrinda Dinesh’s solid 33 but lost eight wickets for 54 runs to eventually end with a below-par total.Sciver-Brunt and Hayley Matthews stitched together a solid 133-run stand for the second wicket and made the chase look easy. Though Matthews struggled her way to a 50-ball 59 after getting a life early on, Sciver-Brunt’s boundary-laden knock made sure MI raced to their third win in four games. Warriorz are fourth on the points table now with two wins after five games.With 254 runs from four matches, Sciver-Brunt is now the leading run-scorer of this WPL, overtaking Ellyse Perry’s 235.

Another Sciver-Brunt show

Sciver-Brunt came in early when MI were 6 for 1 in the fourth over, with Matthews struggling to get her timing and rhythm right. Chinelle Henry was swinging the ball both ways, making it difficult to score off her. But Sciver-Brunt took only five balls to change things around.She welcomed Saima Thakor with a hat-trick of fours in the sixth over – hitting to long-on, deep square-leg and deep cover – staying deep in the crease, and putting her bottom hand to good use and effortlessly manoeuvring the ball to both sides of the pitch.When there was width on offer, she cut fiercely, and when the length was short, she pulled behind and in front of square and toyed with the Warriorz bowlers. She brought up her fifty off 29 balls with nine fours, bringing the equation down to 54 off 47 balls. This included a hat-trick of fours off Henry as well, in the 11th over.From there, it was a cakewalk for MI as Matthews also found her range and started hitting boundaries. Overall, Sciver-Brunt struck 13 fours in her 44-ball stay.Grace Harris gave UP Warriorz a blazing start•BCCI

Harris moves up, Vrinda moves down

After four matches, Warriorz took a cue from the WBBL and the Hundred and promoted Harris to open for the first time in WPL after her struggles in the middle order. The move felt just right as she looked in her element from the start.With Kiran Navgire falling in the first over, it was up to Harris and Vrinda to steady the innings on a pitch that was holding up a bit, and the two shared 79 runs off 52 balls to give Warriorz solidity.Harris began with a scoop against Sciver-Brunt and punished Shabnim Ismail for three fours on the bounce in the second over. She kept attacking and smashed 6, 4, 4, 6 off Matthews in the fourth. She swept and pulled towards square leg, muscled the ball to long-on, and rolled her wrists to bisect the gap between mid-on and midwicket.On the other hand, Vrinda – who had scored only 40 in the previous four matches – looked in much better touch and played second fiddle to Harris well. She played a lofted cover drive elegantly to start the third over and followed it with a hook in the same over. Unlike Harris, Vrinda found boundaries on the off side with classy cover drives in her 30-ball 33.The first two partnerships gave Warriorz 81, the most for them in this WPL so far.

Middle overs remain a problem for Warriorz

It was something the Warriorz captain Deepti Sharma had admitted recently, that they needed to do better in the middle overs. But they couldn’t, squandering a strong start by losing wickets in clumps, again, to lose the plot. From 81 for 1, they collapsed to 123 for 7, losing five of those wickets in the middle overs for 30 runs.It began when Amelia Kerr removed Harris in the tenth over after the batter was dropped on 44 by Ismail off Jintimani Kalita. Offspinner Sanskriti Gupta then bowled a momentum-changing 11th over when she dismissed both Vrinda and Tahlia McGrath in the space of four balls. Warriorz slowed down and did not quite recover after that.Overall, they have lost the most wickets (24) in the middle overs (7 to 16) in this WPL so far and have been the slowest (6.72) in that phase too.

Ramesh Mendis has missed out, while Nishan Peiris has been picked in a slightly different looking Sri Lanka spin department

Andrew Fidel Fernando19-Nov-2024

Lasith Embuldeniya is back in the Test squad•Associated Press

Left-arm spinner Lasith Embuldeniya has been named in Sri Lanka’s squad for the two Tests in South Africa, more than two years after he last played a Test. Offspinner Nishan Peiris, who made his Test debut against New Zealand in September, has also been included.Ramesh Mendis, the offspin-bowling allrounder, misses out on selection, though he claimed six wickets in his only Test appearance this year. Ramesh, additionally, can bat.Though Prabath Jayasuriya leads the spin contingent, this amounts to something of a shake-up in the ranks with Sri Lanka playing in Durban and Gqeberha, where the tracks are expected to take more turn than most South African surfaces, particularly as matches wear on.The squad is largely as expected in the batting and seam-bowling fronts, however. Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha and allrounder Milan Rathnayake make up fast-bowling outfit. Top order batter Oshada Fernando makes it in into this squad, but Nishan Madushka – who has made a bright start in ODIs – does not.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Both Embuldeniya and Oshada have partly been picked on account of their good performances in South Africa in 2019, when Sri Lanka had also played in Durban and what was then Port Elizabeth. Embuldeniya took six wickets at 23.83 across three innings on that tour, while Oshada hit a fourth-innings 75 not out alongside Kusal Mendis to see Sri Lanka home in what could have been a tough chase. Neither player, though, has been especially impressive in domestic cricket over the last season, though Embuldeniya did have a decent outing in the four-day National Super League.Several Test specialists are already in Durban for a pre-series training camp, overseen partially by former South Africa batter Neil McKenzie, who serves as Sri Lanka’s consultant on this trip.Kusal Mendis, Asitha, Kamindu Mendis and Pathum Nissanka have also been pulled out of the ongoing ODI series against New Zealand, after Sri Lanka sealed that series on Sunday. This is so those players can have a couple of extra days to recover and begin preparation for the Tests in South Africa.The first Test is scheduled to start on November 27, in Kingsmead, Durban.Both Sri Lanka and South Africa have a shot at finishing in the top two on the World Test Championship table.Sri Lanka squad for Test series in South AfricaDhananjaya de Silva (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Dimuth Karunaratne, Dinesh Chandimal, Angelo Mathews, Kusal Mendis, Kamindu Mendis, Oshada Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Prabath Jayasuriya, Nishan Peiris, Lasith Embuldeniya, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Kasun Rajitha

As their battle with Manchester United to sign Benjamin Sesko continues, Newcastle United have reportedly initiated contact to sign a Serie A alternative this summer.

Sesko deals Newcastle fresh blow

It’s the story of their summer, but a story that is far from finished and the latest twist to the tale is that Sesko now reportedly prefers a move to Old Trafford rather than St James’ Park in the next month. For all they’ve got to offer over Manchester United these days, the RB Leipzig forward is seemingly destined to join a long list of players to turn down a move to Newcastle this summer.

It’s a list of rejections that Newcastle didn’t anticipate ahead of this summer and one which includes Hugo Ekitike, James Trafford and potentially now Sesko.

Just where the Magpies go from here is the big question. After endless rejection, those at St James’ Park will find themselves back at square one just two weeks before the Premier League campaign gets underway if Sesko joins Manchester United.

Before the impressive striker has even made his decision official, however, Newcastle have at least reportedly set their sights on some equally impressive alternatives.

Related Howe's own Gyokeres: Newcastle in race for "monster" £69m Sesko alternative

Newcastle want to sign a new number nine this summer

Posts ByJoe Nuttall Jul 31, 2025

Ollie Watkins, for example, is a player now on Newcastle’s radar amid Aston Villa’s PSR problems and their own desperate need for an attacking reinforcement. What’s more, if Sesko chooses United, then the Magpies may well be out on their own in the race for Watkins’ signature in what would feel somewhat refreshing given how this summer has gone.

The Aston Villa man isn’t the only name on the shortlist, though. Alongside him, Newcastle have also reportedly set their sights on a Serie A star.

Newcastle initiate contact to sign Dovbyk

As reported by Italian outlet Corriere dello Sport, Newcastle have now initiated contact to sign Artem Dovbyk from AS Roma. The forward has reportedly been shown the door at the Serie A club after returning to pre-season with fitness struggles.

Available for just €38m (£33m) as a result, Newcastle have now reportedly made their first move for a player who was named in the Ballon d’Or top 30 last season.

League stats 24/25 (via FBref)

Dovbyk

Sesko

Minutes

2,418

2,380

Goals

12

13

Assists

2

5

Expected Goals

11.9

10

When compared, it’s clear to see why Dovbyk has become an option for Newcastle. For around £40m cheaper, the Ukraine international could provide Eddie Howe with a similar level of output and another forward who outperformed his expected goals last season.

There are still some concerns to address, however. Dovbyk’s fitness struggle in pre-season, for one, should not be ignored. Then, Newcastle must decide whether splashing out on a younger option would be a smarter plan this summer even if their immediate output only matches or is even less than Dovbyk’s.

Dovbyk may have been dubbed a “great finisher” by Italian legend Daniele De Rossi, but the Roma forward has arguably reached his peak at 28 years old and Newcastle should set their sights on a striker who has the ability to eventually reach 20 goals a season.

حذر بيدجا مياتوفيتش، لاعب نادي ريال مدريد السابق، فينيسيوس جونيور وذلك بعدما جلس الأخير على مقاعد البدلاء خلال مواجهة الفريق الملكي يوم أمس الثلاثاء أمام أوليمبيك مارسيليا بدوري أبطال أوروبا.

ولم يدفع مدرب ريال مدريد، تشابي ألونسو، بفينيسيوس بشكل أساسي أمام مارسيليا، ضمن دور المجموعات أو مرحلة الدوري من دوري الأبطال على ملعب سانتياجو برنابيو.

وفضل ألونسو التعويل على رودريجو جوس بشكل أساسي كجناح أيسر، حيث فاز ريال مدريد 2-1 في نهاية المطاف.

ونزل فينيسيوس في شوط اللقاء الثاني بدلًا من رودريجو وساهم في حصول ريال مدريد على ركلة جزاء سجل منها كيليان مبابي هدف الفوز للميرنجي.

اقرأ أيضًا .. فالفيردي: تلقينا ضربة موجعة أمام مارسيليا.. ونريد تسهيل الأمور على مبابي

ويعتقد مياتوفيتش في تصريحات إلى ”El Larguero”، أن فينيسيوس إذا لم يلعب بشكل جيد، فسوف يكون بديلًا مع ألونسو وهي فلسفة الأخير مع ريال مدريد.

وقال مياتوفيتش عن فينيسيوس: “أعرف فلسفة تشابي ألونسو ومنهجيته وهذا لا يفاجئني، لن يجد تشابي أي مشكلة في إراحة أي لاعب”.

وأضاف مياتوفيتش في حديثه: “يريد تشابي الحفاظ على حيوية جميع اللاعبين مع منحهم دقائق لعب كافية في كل مباراة تقريبًا، سواء في الدوري الإسباني أو دوري أبطال أوروبا”.

واختتم المهاجم السابق: “إذا لم تتدرب جيدًا دون حماس، لأنك لست لاعبًا أساسيًا فمن الواضح أنك لن تلعب مع ألونسو، لا داعي للقلق كثيرًا والأمر يعتمد على فينيسيوس. إذا بذل جهدًا أكبر سيلعب، وإذا لم يفعل سيلعب لاعب آخر”.

Sunderland are looking to build a squad capable of thriving in the top-flight and have now entered the race to sign a striker who excelled last season, according to a report.

Sunderland begin exciting summer of recruitment

Enzo Le Fee and Habib Diarra have been brought in at the Stadium of Light from Roma and Strasbourg, respectively, with the former becoming the Black Cats’ first addition of the window after a fine loan spell last season.

However, another brilliant piece of news for Sunderland is that Florent Ghisolfi has now arrived as their new Director of Football in the North East, and BBC radio’s Simon Pryde believes his remit will be solely focused on recruitment with Kristjaan Speakman handling external matters.

He stated: “I think Ghisolfi will be on recruitment. His umbrella will be over player recruitment and the first team squad. Speakman has a wide brief at the moment and this will allow him to focus because the structures in the Premier League are vastly different than those in the EFL.”

He added: “Ghisolfi has plenty of experience. (He was) assistant manager at Lorient for two years. (As a football director) he’s been at Lens, and he’s been at Nice, so he has a glowing reputation within football as a director.”

With that in mind, who could arrive to bolster the ranks? Reports suggest Lorient star Arthur Avom Ebong could be next to join Sunderland and discussions are an advanced stage between all parties over a £4 million deal.

Sunderland’s first five Premier League fixtures
West Ham United (H)	Stadium of Light
Burnley (A)	Turf Moor
Brentford (H)	Stadium of Light
Crystal Palace (A)	Selhurst Park
Aston Villa (H)	Stadium of Light

Now, the Black Cats are reportedly in the hat to sign a striker who showed a clinical edge in front of goal last term that hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Sunderland position themselves to sign Luis Suarez

For the avoidance of doubt despite a name that will attract attention, Sunderland have entered the race to sign Almeria forward Luis Suarez this summer alongside Sporting Clube de Portugal, according to reports in Spain via Sport Witness.

The Colombia international registered 31 goals and eight assists in 43 matches across all competitions, though his side failed to gain promotion to the top-flight of Spanish football in the end.

Sunderland plotting bargain swoop to sign "great" Premier League midfielder

The Black Cats could land an excellent deal.

By
Tom Cunningham

Jun 30, 2025

Notably, Sunderland and Ghisolfi are willing to pay the £21.5 million fee needed to tempt Suarez to England, while Sporting feel that figure is excessive.

However, they have doubts the Santa Marta-born man would favour a switch to the Stadium of Light as he is being lined up in Lisbon as a replacement for Viktor Gyokeres.

Talks have taken place with ‘several’ clubs regarding his future, though the Black Cats’ interest in the 27-year-old is said to be fresh, so it remains to be seen how this one pans out as Regis Le Bris looks to bolster his side’s chances of remaining in the Premier League.

India captain Harmanpreet Kaur believes playing in Chennai is a “great opportunity” for the side to get used to the conditions, given it could be one of the venues for the Women’s ODI World Cup next year.India’s women’s team last played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk in a Quadrangular series in 2007. They last played a women’s Test here in 1976, and the ground hasn’t hosted any women’s T20Is yet. Since the end of 2022, all women’s internationals in India have either been in Navi Mumbai or Mumbai, till the ODI-leg of the South Africa series was hosted in Bengaluru last week. Following the one-off Test against South Africa starting on Friday in Chennai, India will also be playing three T20Is against them at the same venue.”As a team, it’s a great opportunity for us,” Harmanpreet said on the eve of the Test. “We are getting used to home conditions… even though they are home conditions, we don’t have much experience here. But I think this series will definitely give us a lot of confidence to see how the wicket is going to behave and what combinations we can look for [for the World Cup]. Before the World Cup, with [about] one year left, I think as a team we are taking this opportunity with both hands whenever we are playing home series. It’s a great opportunity to see how the wickets are and how we can improve our skills.”Related

• Laura Wolvaardt: 'Incorporate red-ball into domestic cricket or we must leave it'

• When Chennai hosted its first women's Test: 'They came to watch the cricket, not just to see if the girls could play'

• Muzumdar: 'Not a bad idea to have Test Championships for women'

This will be India’s third Test in seven months. They played back-to-back Tests against England and Australia in December 2023, posting massive wins in both matches. Harmanpreet says playing those two matches has helped the side get rid of “overthinking” while playing in a format.Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur take part in close-catching drills•PTI

“In the long format you have to be there [in the middle] for four days. But if you think like that as a player you can overthink. The last time [we played a Test] we only thought about winning the sessions and that really helped us. This time also we will focus on each session. The best thing about Test cricket is you have time to come back. If you lose one session, you always have time to [make up for] things.”That’s the key point which our support staff told us: ‘just focus on each and every session and if you can [break it] down to two to two-and-a-half hours, think about how you’re going to perform as a player’. I think that really helps, [rather] than thinking that it’s a 100 overs [roughly per day] game which makes you overthink. Those little points really helped us win the last two Tests and we just want to continue [to apply] those.”India will be relying on head coach Amol Muzumdar’s red-ball experience heading into the Test, Harmanpreet said. Muzumdar, who played 171 first-class matches in a 20-year-long career, has also played two red-ball matches at Chepauk.”I didn’t have much experience in Test cricket when I got to captain those two Tests,” Harmanpreet said. “Amol sir help me. He has played lot of Test [red-ball] cricket and he has a lot of experience. With his experience, he has helped me with things like how to take decisions on the field. I do have a bit of an idea now.”We don’t have much idea about how Chennai wicket is going to play. We have only seen when the men were playing but women’s cricket is totally different… the pace, the way we bowl and bat, I think we’ll know that only once we take the field tomorrow, see how the pitch behaves and take decisions. The experienced support staff are definitely going to help us.”

Arsenal transfer chief Andrea Berta is personally keen on a high-earning centre-forward, who’d now reportedly jump at the chance to join Mikel Arteta’s side.

Arsenal two-man striker target list with Andrea Berta holding talks

According to recent reports, two players currently stand out as Arsenal’s most desired striker targets – Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres and RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko.

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Going by the on-field and off-field numbers, it is clear to see why this is the case.

Gyokeres, who’s racked up a phenomenal 53 goals in all competitions for Sporting this season, could also depart the Primeira Liga side for a fee of up to £60 million, according to Fabrizio Romano, so he’d be an arguable bargain when factoring in the 26-year-old’s record.

Sporting CP

101

96

28

Coventry City

116

43

17

Brommapojkarna

67

25

9

FC St. Pauli

28

7

4

Swansea City

12

1

0

Brighton

8

1

1

Meanwhile, Sesko’s current release clause stands at £67 million, and the Slovenia international actually bettered his goalscoring tally from last season (18) with 21 goals across all competitions.

While some reports in Portugal earlier this week stated that Arsenal have agreed a £59m fee to sign Gyokeres from Sporting (O Jogo), this claim appears to have jumped the gun, as Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg stated on Friday that Berta is holding serious talks over a move for Sesko.

Arsenal’s pursuit of a top goalscorer remains very much open, as Berta identifies targets who he believes would be best-suited to Arteta.

Interestingly, as per journalist Simon Phillips last week, Arteta would personally prefer Sesko, while Berta is believed to be more of a fan of Gyokeres.

What’s clear, though, is Arsenal’s glaring need for another striker. Arteta has been forced to utilise midfielder Mikel Merino as an emergency striker for most of this calendar year, following injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz.

While the latter has since returned to action, it is imperative that Arsenal don’t wait any longer to sign a 25-plus-goals-per-season forward, as they look to mount a successful Premier League title challenge.

Dušan Vlahović would "immediately" join Arsenal this summer

According to some reports, there are other centre-forwards on Berta’s shopping list, albeit further down the pecking order when compared to Sesko and Gyokeres.

Journalist Daniele Longo, writing a piece for Calciomercato, shares that Juventus striker Dušan Vlahović is one of them.

The Serbia international is entering the final 12 months of his £359,000-per-week contract at Juve, and with no sign of a renewal, it would appear that the Old Lady must be more inclined to sell him this summer, rather than lose Vlahovic for nothing in 2026.

Longo states that Vlahovic “would immediately pack his bags” and join Arsenal if given the opportunity, and Berta personally wants the ex-Fiorentina star, even if he’s less of a transfer priority.

The “starting” price of any negotiations for Vlahovic comes at around £42 million, which could be seen by some as good value, considering the “machine” has scored at least 14 total goals per season since 2020/21.

If Berta were to seriously pursue him, Arsenal’s major obstacle would undoubtedly be Vlahovic’s extortionate wages.