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Wolves are set to launch an audacious move to sign an England international this summer as they look to flex their transfer muscles ahead of the window slamming shut, it has been reported.

Wolves lose second star man

Much of the speculation at Molineux in recent weeks has surrounded star winger Pedro Neto, and that finally reached a conclusion as it emerged that Chelsea agreed to sign the Portuguese forward.

Neto, who had been linked with Premier League heavyweights Manchester City, Arsenal and Tottenham this summer, was never off the table should an offer come in, with Gary O'Neil admitting as much at the beginning of August.

The Wolves boss had refused to rule out a sale this summer, explaining that "if a massive bid comes from a top club then no one is going to stand in Pedro’s way", and it is Chelsea who have stumped up £54m for the 24-year-old's signature.

Related Wolves make offer to sign £2,000-a-week teenager, they've had a response

They are keen to take the centre-back to Molineux this summer.

Posts ByBen Browning Aug 9, 2024

The winger will now sign a six-year deal at Stamford Bridge with the option for a seventh. He will become the second big-money sale for the Old Gold this summer, who have already seen club-captain Max Kilman join West Ham United in a £40m deal.

By contrast, incomings have been slow, with only three new faces having been welcomed into the Old Gold's ranks plus the decision to make Tommy Doyle's loan move from Manchester City permanent. But now with close to £100m from player sales alone this summer, Wolves are ready to start spending.

Wolves target move for England international

That comes as one report claims that Wolves are eyeing up an audacious move to sign Arsenal and England shot-stopper Aaron Ramsdale this summer. The England international, who was Jordan Pickford's deputy at EURO 2024, fell out of favour at the Emirates Stadium following the arrival of David Raya last summer. He made just six Premier League appearances and just two after being dropped in favour of Raya, both coming against Brentford when the Spaniard was ineligible.

And he is set to leave this summer in search of first team football, with the Gunners open to selling him. As per Football Insider, Wolves are the latest side to be showing an interest, with O'Neil's side "plotting" to sign the goalkeeper ahead of the transfer deadline.

Ramsdale 22/23 vs Jose Sa 23/24 Premier League season

Aaron Ramsdale

Jose Sa

Appearances

38

35

Clean Sheets

14

4

Save %

70.8%

73.4%

It is added that Wolves may use Daniel Bentley, who Arsenal have made one offer for, as a potential makeweight in any deal, though given Wolves' valuation of the 31-year-old at just £1m it is unlikely to play much of a role in discussions.

The goalkeeper penned a new deal at Arsenal in 2023, which means that he has just two years left to run on his £120,000-a-week deal at the Emirates Stadium, though the Gunners have an option to extend that deal by a further year, which means that his price is likely to be more than the £25m the north London side paid for him two years ago.

Despite being second choice, Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta was quick to praise his backup shot stopper last season, dubbing his attitude "exceptional".

“He’s been exceptional around the place with the situation. Like everybody. We love him more for sure. We have him every day. We know him, we know his character and we are really happy to have him."

With Ramsdale still just 26-years-old, he could well have the best part of a decade still at the top, which could make the hefty investment this summer worth it.

Going into Arne Slot's first summer as Liverpool manager, the big question is which star players the Reds are going to lose, and which ones they going to choose to replace them.

Liverpool must prepare for life without star players

Liverpool appear to have already decided who they want as their successor to Virgil van Dijk, with the Reds set to compete with multiple clubs for Leny Yoro. Whilst the Lille man once looked destined for a move to Real Madrid, recent developments have seen the Reds put themselves in a prime position to pay the 18-year-old's £51m release clause.

Firmino repeat: Liverpool target £25m “nightmare” who Trent would love

Many top clubs are eyeing a deal.

By
Angus Sinclair

Jul 10, 2024

Despite rumours of Mohamed Salah leaving Anfield seemingly cooling off in recent weeks, the Reds are still eager to find their next star player on the wing. A move for boyhood Liverpool fan Anthony Gordon has been doing the rounds in recent weeks, though the club may struggle to agree on a price with the Englishman's current club, Newcastle.

Whilst Van Dijk and Salah are the two biggest names nearing the end of their time at Anfield, Liverpool are also planning for the scenario of another of their important players leaving this summer.

Reds ready to replace Alisson with Madrid man

As first reported by TEAMtalk, journalist Graeme Bailey has claimed that Liverpool have earmarked Real Madrid 'keeper Andriy Lunin as a possible replacement for Alisson. Recent reports have linked the Brazilian shot-stopper with a move to Saudi Arabia this summer.

Alisson arrived on Merseyside in a £65m move from AS Roma back in 2018. The fee paid to bring the Brazilian to Anfield was a world record for a goalkeeper at the time.

Whilst Alisson's departure has not progressed beyond these initial rumours, it appears that Slot and co are not taking any chances as they work to find a suitable replacement for the 31-year-old.

Despite spending many years as a second and third-choice goalkeeper at Real Madrid, Lunin finally got his chance to shine for Los Blancos during the past season. As a result of Thibaut Courtois' injury issues over the course of the campaign, the Ukrainian keeper was able to make 31 appearances in all competitions as Carlo Ancelotti's side won domestic and continental trophies.

Lunin's exploits in Madrid saw him earn the praises of Ancelotti, with the legendary coach discussing the player's suitability to replace Courtois in a press conference back in August 2023:

"We have total confidence in Lunin, who is a great goalkeeper,

"He's been very good during pre-season. He's talented and what he lacks is what all young players lack – experience, which he's going to gain day by day."

With Courtois returning to fitness at the end of the last campaign, all signs point towards Lunin returning to his role as deputy going into next season. Whilst few among the Anfield faithful will want to see Alisson leave, there is no doubt that the Ukrainian could once again prove that he is more than capable of stepping up when needed.

Following another disappointing season, Sir Jim Ratcliffe is seemingly feeling ruthless and Manchester United are now reportedly willing to show one star forward the door this summer.

Man Utd transfer news

Ratcliffe, of course, surprisingly kept hold of Erik ten Hag this summer despite initial doubts over the Dutchman's job security even after his side defeated Manchester City to win the FA Cup at the end of the season. The same fate may not be afforded to certain struggling stars, however, with Casemiro already linked to clubs in Saudi Arabia ahead of a potential Old Trafford departure.

Man Utd now ready to double salary of £114,000-p/w star as move intensifies

The Red Devils have reportedly stepped up their efforts.

ByTom Cunningham Jun 27, 2024

The Brazilian midfielder struggled to repeat his debut season form in the last campaign and at 32 years old may well be past his best. If the Red Devils can cash in on the former Real Madrid star, then they may not be able to resist in the coming months. Casemiro would join the likes of Raphael Varane out the door following the Frenchman's exit at the end of the season following a two-year spell often disrupted by injuries.

It's not the exit of Casemiro that would send shockwaves around Old Trafford, however. According to Graeme Bailey for HITC, Manchester United are now willing to sell Marcus Rashford this summer amid incoming interest from Paris Saint-Germain. The French champions are looking to replace Kylian Mbappe, who swapped Paris for Real Madrid, and could turn towards the United academy graduate in pursuit of that.

Earning a reported £300k-a-week at United, Rashford was one of the biggest disappointments under Ten Hag last season after such a strong campaign a year prior. Dropped from Gareth Southgate's Euro 2024 squad as a result, the England international could now leave the Red Devils in pursuit of finding his best form once again. An academy graduate, it's certainly not a decision that either party will make lightly.

"Strong" Rashford is at a career crossroads

Now 26 years old, Rashford should be at the top of his game but found himself at a level below his best standards at Manchester United last season. It represents an all too familiar story regarding the forward's form, who was one of the Premier League's standout players in the previous season before drifting through a campaign to forget last time out.

Appearances

35

33

Goals

17

7

Assists

5

2

Expected Goals

15.4

7.4

As the numbers show, Rashford's overall goals tally significantly dropped off last season and that goes hand in hand with the fact that he underperformed when it comes to expected goals, struggling to finish at times. In some contrast, he outperformed his expected goals in the season prior to score a sensational 17.

The England international showed similar form under former boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who praised Rashford, via BBC Sport: "That is what the Stretford End wants to see. They love to see forwards play with courage. He was mature and strong against good Premier League players. Today he played like he was in the backyard, the garden or back on the playground with his mates. He is enjoying himself."

“They’ve got too much to hide is the only inference that can be drawn,” says interim board chair of CSA

Firdose Moonda13-Nov-2020Nathi Mthethwa, the South Africa sports minister, has asked the members’ council of Cricket South Africa (CSA) to recognise the interim board “immediately”, and warned the body that if it failed to do so, he would use his statutory powers to intervene in the matter. In a letter to the acting president of the members’ council, Rihan Richards, Mthethwa said he would “not hesitate to impose the sanctions available” under the country’s National Sport and Recreation Act.The act gives Mthethwa the power to withdraw funding from CSA and strip it of its status as the governing body of cricket in the country, but it does not allow him to remove the members’ council. That is because the members’ council, which is also the highest decision-making body at CSA, is made up of 14 elected provincial presidents, and removing them would effectively overrule all the country’s domestic cricket boards, who are independent entities in their own right. Instead, Mthethwa’s department has ownership over the national badge and can grant and revoke the right for organisations to use it.If Mthethwa were to intervene as outlined above, his actions could be regarded as government interference, which is prohibited by the ICC and could cause further sanctions for South Africa. Mthethwa has, however, looped the ICC in on all his communications to CSA so far, including his decision last month to step in as requested by the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), which reached a standoff with CSA over the same issue.ALSO READ: CSA board impasse likely to impact ICC chairman electionsCSA has been plagued by governance-related issues since September 2017, when it parted ways with former CEO Haroon Lorgat following the failure to launch the now-defunct Global T20 League. That tournament, and the reasons that it did not take place, formed part of the forensic report that CSA commissioned earlier this year, which was used to fire Lorgat’s successor Thabang Moroe for financial misconduct. The report is not available to the public and has only been seen by three former CSA independent board directors, those on the members’ council that were willing to sign a non-disclosure agreement, and Mthethwa himself. It is due to be scrutinised by interim board, whose remit is to act on recommendations of the report.Lorgat is part of the interim board and his presence has caused the greatest apprehension among the members’ council, which has cited a conflict of interest in having Lorgat on board. Mthethwa clarified that Lorgat would recuse himself from all discussions relating to the Global T20 League. However, the interim board chair Zak Yacoob said he thinks the members’ council is using the Lorgat issue as a reason to prevent the interim board from doing its work.”Lorgat is just an excuse. That they’ve got too much to hide is the only inference that can be drawn,” Yacoob said. “That is my opinion and they can prove it wrong by saying, ‘Come into our offices and have a look and you will never find anything that we did wrong’. If that’s the case I will withdraw my opinion and apologise.”In a defiant press conference on Friday afternoon, Yacoob explained that the members’ council had deceived Mthethwa into believing they would ratify the interim board and work with them in order to avoid a ministerial sanction earlier. “I suspect the members’ council feared administration and feared the repercussions the minister is now promising. To avoid that, it falsely agreed with the minister and now reneged on it,” Yacoob said. “We believed that the members council would legitimate us. The minister believed that the members’ council would legitimate us and they didn’t. In other words, they broke their promise. And they broke their promise because we began interfering too quickly and too soon and it just became very uncomfortable.”In the two weeks it has been in operation, the interim board have already made significant inroads into understanding CSA, most especially by promising to investigate the lack of ball-by-ball coverage in the first-class competition, to consider the domestic restructure and to be involved in discussions over the way South Africa would vote at the next ICC meeting, which will decide the chairperson. Mthethwa said he was impressed with the “speed, vigour, passion and independence” of the interim board, but the members’ council saw it as interference. Further, the members’ council expected the interim board to report to them, which the interim board refused. “We are not prepared to be told what we do by anybody. It’s not to say we won’t take anybody into account, but we won’t take instructions. It’s not to say suggestions are not allowed,” Yacoob said.In fact, the interim board levelled the same accusation at the members’ council, purporting that the council had shown no accountability over their role in the administrative bungling of the last few years and Yacoob believes they are unlikely to shift from that position. Asked if he believes CSA can self-correct, Yacoob said, “No chance at all. Everything we have seen in the last two weeks, shows us they have no chance to self-correct. But miracles do happen. It may be that Mr Richards goes to church on Sunday is convinced by some priest but let’s see.”By Sunday, the members’ council would have met and decided whether or not to work with the interim board and the future of South African cricket could lie in Mthethwa’s hands.

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti said he's not worried about Jude Bellingham's goal drought while also addressing criticism of Kylian Mbappe.

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• Bellingham hasn't scored in nine games
• Ancelotti still pleased with his work
• Also defends Mbappe's current role

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• Getty Images
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bellingham has yet to find the back of the net in the 2024-25 campaign, seemingly losing his golden touch in the final third after scoring 23 times across all competitions in his maiden season with Real Madrid. However, Ancelotti seemed unfazed by his star player's goal drought as he pointed out the England international's real role in the team.

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• WHAT CARLO ANCELOTTI SAID

  Speaking to reporters, the Italian coach said: "We're satisfied with his work, I'm very satisfied. He works a lot, he's always present, he competes, he fights, he sacrifices himself. It's true he hasn't scored the goals he scored last year, but the surprise isn't this year, the surprise was last year, when he scored lots of goals which nobody expected and helped us a lot. The problem this year isn't that we're lacking Bellingham's goals.

  "We've always scored goals, and we'll always score, because we have talented players up front. For us, in this moment, the work he's doing is more important than the goals the scored last year."

• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ancelotti also jumped to the defence of Mbappe when asked about the French forward's lack of involvement in general play. Mbappe has scored eight goals in his first 12 appearances for Real, but has come in for criticism for his performances.

  "[I ask him] to score goals. I prefer him to score goals rather than pressing," Ancelotti said. "The centre forward role hasn't changed for us, I ask the same of Mbappé that I asked Karim [Benzema], to be ready when we win the ball, and try to make a fast transition."

  The Real boss added on his team's current standing: "We aren't 100%, obviously. We've got good results, but we have to improve in terms of our play, and little by little, we will… We have to defend better, as we did last year. Right now the team is less solid, and we're working on that."

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• WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID?

  Reigning La Liga champions Real will be back in action on Tuesday as they take on Borussia Dortmund in a Champions League encounter at Santiago Bernabeu, with Mbappe and Bellingham both in line for starting roles once again.

After failing to qualify for the Champions League, Chelsea are now reportedly at risk of losing a star player before Enzo Maresca even has the chance to make his mark.

Chelsea transfer news

Despite the Blues' strong end to the Premier League season, their failure to finish inside the top four was enough for Todd Boehly to show Mauricio Pochettino the door at Stamford Bridge in controversial fashion. Since then, Maresca has left newly-promoted Leicester City for the London giants to become the latest manager to take on the challenge of steering a now somewhat steadied ship back towards its former glory.

Chelsea facing Havertz repeat with £35m star who could sign for Man City

The club are looking to raise funds to allow Maresca to invest in his new squad.

ByEthan Lamb Jun 17, 2024

Without a place in Europe's elite competition, however, welcoming fresh faces to help steer that ship becomes that much harder, as Chelsea have already found out in pursuit of Michael Olise. The Crystal Palace winger reportedly has a £60m release clause that can only be triggered by Champions League clubs, which instantly leaves Chelsea on the back foot in negotiations.

Meanwhile, without that Champions League place, keeping hold of star players also becomes increasingly difficult, especially if other clubs come calling in the way that one European giant reportedly has for one of Maresca's key men.

According to Florian Plettenberg, Bayern Munich have enquired about signing Levi Colwill, who would be open to joining the Bundesliga giants this summer. Chelsea are reportedly unwilling to let him go and their asking price is currently too high for Bayern, but the central defender remains on their shortlist nonetheless in a worrying situation for those at Stamford Bridge.

As the summer goes on, it will be interesting to see just how much Colwill wants the move and just how much Bayern push for his signature to create a further dilemma for Chelsea.

"Fantastic" Colwill has a decision to make

A homegrown talent, Colwill has quite the decision to make this summer amid interest from one of Europe's best. With Chelsea at a crossroads themselves, having gone through three managers in two seasons, the defender may be wise to jump ship if he cannot see a proper pathway under Maresca.

After Pochettino's praise last season, it's little surprise that even as Chelsea have struggled, the interest in Colwill remains. The former Chelsea boss told the official club website: "At the moment I need to see him and get to know him better. He is a fantastic talent of course.

"‘We were talking about the things that also the way that we can help improve his game in all areas. He is so relaxed, calm and I enjoy talking to him. He has great character and personality. I am so happy to have him in the squad and to have this opportunity to work together."

It's now Maresca who will be hoping to benefit from that talent, but with Bayern interested, the Blues could yet be in for a frustrating start to the summer.

Mohammad Abbas spoke about how opponents batting outside their crease doesn’t bother him

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Aug-2020

Mohammad Abbas celebrates after bowling Ben Stokes•Getty Images

England might go into the final Test 1-0 up, but it is Pakistan who arguably provided the most enduring memory this series so far. After having put up 326 in the first innings, Pakistan had England on the ropes in the second, reducing the hosts to 12 for 2, with the ball swinging and seaming extravagantly and Mohammad Abbas prowling. Out walked Ben Stokes, England’s best batsman on form, to try and set his side back on course.In an absorbing game of cat and mouse, Abbas ripped a hole through the left-hander’s defence, threading the needle to find just the perfect amount of seam movement to beat Stokes’ outside edge as he strode out of his crease onto the front foot, trying to disrupt the angle from which the Pakistan fast bowler was operating with metronomic precision. Having gone past the bat, it just clipped the outside edge of the off stump to send both bails flying, as an aghast Stokes and a disbelieving Root, watching from the other end, exchanged a momentary glance.Abbas opened up on that famous delivery, saying he wasn’t as bothered by batsmen standing outside their crease to him as people might think.”Ben Stokes is a big name in cricket right now,” he told the PCB’s in-house media channel. “He is one of the world’s best allrounders, and he’s performed several times for his country. Before the game, we watched videos and analysed how best to disrupt him. So we went round the wicket straightaway. I tried to bowl in the right areas, and he kept moving forward to try and disturb me. But my view is when a batsman comes forward, I am not disturbed by that. I feel I am disturbing the batsman by forcing him to move around the crease.”There is a bit of regret we didn’t get over the line at Old Trafford. We played brilliant cricket for three and a half days, and England then took the game away from us by playing better cricket for two hours. We’re excited, but we need a lot of hard work, and we’ll leave no stone unturned in trying to level the series.”Abbas has enjoyed a flying start to his Test career, taking 59 wickets in his first ten matches, and established himself as an automatic selection with 17 wickets in a two-match Test series against Australia on the turgid pitches of UAE in 2018. A back injury hampered him for much of the year that followed, but he said the conditions in England were enjoyable to bowl in.”Bowlers get help here in England because of the weather, conditions, as well as the Duke ball, the seam of which is upright,” he said. “I am a seam bowler, so that assists me. But wherever you play, if you bowl well, you will be rewarded. In England, you can dominate the batsmen a little bit, but you need to remain consistent, bowl long spells sometimes, and then reap rewards. You can’t expect wickets to just be given to you without working hard and maintaining your concentration levels.”

Liverpool are reportedly interested in completing the signing of a "versatile" player in the summer transfer window after he impressed FSG's scouts recently.

Liverpool transfer news

The Reds could have a busy summer in the transfer market with Arne Slot at the helm, as the Dutchman looks to perfect his squad when he officially replaces Jurgen Klopp as manager on June 1st.

Constant rumours are swirling regarding potential incoming signings at Anfield in the near future, with RB Leipzig attacking midfielder Dani Olmo linked with a move to the club. PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko is another target, with the 21-year-old similar to Mohamed Salah in terms of his tendency to drift inside onto his stronger left foot, and seen as a player who could link effectively with Diogo Jota.

Lille centre-back Leny Yoro is considered one of the most exciting young defenders in European football currently, and Liverpool are believed to be rivalling Manchester United for his signature before next season gets underway.

Bayer Leverkusen have had numerous star men throughout this season, en route to romping to Bundesliga glory and going unbeaten, and Florian Wirtz has been an undoubted catalyst to their success. The young German has been backed to join the Reds in an exciting move, though it would be an expensive venture.

Liverpool scouts impressed by "versatile" European hero

According to a new report from Tuttosport, Liverpool scouts have been left impressed by Atalanta midfielder Ederson, with the Reds keen on completing a summer move for him, as FSG make their presence felt.

The £41,000-a-week ace is thought to have caught the eye of Reds representatives when they were planning to watch teammate Teun Koopmeiners instead, seeing the former as arguably a better option to bring in.

Ederson could be exactly what Liverpool are looking for in the summer window, considering an upgrade on Wataru Endo at the base of the midfield is required. The Japanese did an admirable job for large parts of the season, but he is now 31 years of age and has limitations in a technical sense.

In contrast, the Atalanta star is seven years younger than the Reds veteran, and he is fresh off the back of a Europa League triumph with his current club, overcoming Leverkusen in the final last week. Meanwhile, South American football expert Tim Vickery has heaped praise on him.

"24-years-old, strong, well-built central midfielder. Strong on the ball, versatile, box-to-box. Strong personality as well," said Vickery. The first time I remember him was his professional debut really. He was thrown in the deep end in a big team called Cruzeiro, who were really on the slide. They were relegated in dreadful form and even in this bad context, he stood out, so a lot of virtues."

Appearances

35

29

Starts

31

20

Goals

6

1

Assists

1

0

Tackles per game

2.3

1.7

Interceptions per game

1.1

0.7

Aerial duel wins per game

1.0

1.1

Ederson is contracted at Atalanta until 2027, so big money would likely be needed to prise him away – a minimum of £50m is likely to be required to have any chance of snapping him up – but he could be worth every penny, proving to be a massive part of Slot's midfield for many years.

Test captain says team can “make amends” after 2-1 defeat in 2017 and hold on to Wisden Trophy

Nagraj Gollapudi10-Apr-2020

West Indies secured a dramatic win at Headingley in 2017•Getty Images

West Indies Test captain Jason Holder wants his team to “make amends” for their 2017 defeat in England, should their planned Test tour for this summer go ahead. Holder is confident that he and his men now have the experience as well as confidence to win a Test series in England, a feat last achieved in 1988 when Viv Richards’ team blanked the hosts 4-0 in the five-Test series.This year, West Indies were due to arrive for three Tests in June, but the series is likely to be postponed due the UK government’s directive against social gathering to combat the Covid-19 pandemic. More than 1.6 million people have been infected by the coronavirus worldwide, with the UK recording so far close to 9000 deaths (in hospitals only).Both the ECB and CWI are scheduled to discuss various options based on when the series could be played during the English season, which was meant to commence on Sunday. Originally the West Indies were scheduled to play three warm-up matches with a preparatory camp at Hampshire’s Rose Bowl, but those plans would now have to be reworked.ALSO READ: ‘I see light at the end of the tunnel for WI’ – HoldingNonetheless Holder said he would remain upbeat if the tour did happen. Joe Root and his team must take Holder seriously also because England lost the Test series 2-1 in the Caribbean in 2019. Although West Indies lost the final Test in St Lucia, the series was a dead rubber by then after Holder’s men had registered emphatic wins in the first two Tests. In the first Holder had recorded his personal best of 202, which set up an innings win.”Yes, very, very confident,” Holder told the podcast on talkSPORT, asked about the scheduled England tour. “This series will be tougher than the one in the Caribbean because we are obviously going in their backyard. England are very, very good team in their backyard. Even although we beat them in the last series I’ll still England will start as favourites.”According to Holder another advantage West Indies would have this time was the added experience some of the players had gained playing in England, with himself and Kraigg Brathwaite having played county cricket. Holder did not expect the “nucleus” of the Test squad to change “drastically”, which meant most players would know what to expect from the conditions.Holder termed the 2017 result was also a “success” after his team recovered from demoralising defeat at Edgbaston in the pink-ball Test in the series opener to level the series in the next match by scripting history at Headingley – their first win in England for 17 years. Although they lost the decider at Lord’s, they were well-prepared when England toured 18 months later.”I am looking forward to it personally,” Holder said. “You’ve got guys like Kraigg Brathwaite who has played county cricket as well and international cricket there. Shai [Hope] has played enough international cricket and did really well as well. So we have some guys going back there with a vengeance.”If you speak to a lot of guys who were on that tour in 2017 everybody will say they can’t wait to go back and probably just make amends for what would’ve happened in 2017. We believed personally in our abilities, it is just a matter of understanding the conditions and now that we’ve had that experience I should only hope that we should be able to then put into practice and make a better show than we did last time.”Holder said he had confidence in the West Indies bowling attack and was hoping Shannon Gabriel would be feature in the England Test series if it goes ahead. Gabriel underwent ankle surgery in November last year and has been in rehab since then. But Holder had spoken to Gabriel and assured him of lending him ample rest time for him to be completely fit for the England tour.”I’ve spoken to Shannon personally a few times over the last couple of months. He is confident that he will be ready for the England tour. Obviously he hasn’t had the chance to play any cricket and he’s just trying to get himself back to a reasonable level to get back on the field.”I’ve said to him and to the management staff as well – I don’t think we should be pushing him to force him to play cricket before England. We just need to be very, very patient with him. He’s been a senior member of our team for a number of years and I would think that we would express that luxury to him to give him as much time as he needs to recover and make sure his recovery process is carried out properly before rushing him back onto the park.”

Manchester United are battling Liverpool for the signing of an "excellent" player with a £51m release clause in his contract, according to a fresh transfer update.

Man Utd eyeing centre-back signings

Big additions are needed in the Red Devils' squad in the summer transfer window in order to avoid suffering another underwhelming season in the Premier League. It is clear that these changes are required all over the pitch, with an ageing midfield needing fresh legs and the attack needing more firepower, while centre-back is also a position that needs new signings.

The likes of Raphael Varane, Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans are all in their 30s and arguably past their best, meaning Lisandro Martinez is the only central defender who feels like a genuinely strong option there currently.

Plenty of defenders are being linked with summer moves to United at the moment, with Barcelona star Ronald Araujo seen as a good choice who has matured into one of the premier players in La Liga in his position. Sporting CP centre-back Goncalo Inacio has also emerged as a target for United in the summer window, with the Portuguese playing a key role in his side sitting on the verge of winning the Primeira Liga title this season.

There are also two Englishmen who have been backed to seal moves to Old Trafford in the coming months, with Everton ace Jarrad Branthwaite and Crystal Palace star Marc Guehi both reportedly wanted by Sir Jim Ratcliffe. Both will hope to feature for England at Euro 2024, but it is not guaranteed that they will be chosen in Gareth Southgate's squad.

Man Utd battling Liverpool for "excellent" ace

According to Football Transfers, Manchester United have "stepped up their pursuit" of Inacio, but they aren't alone in showing a strong interest in the 22-year-old, who has a £51m release clause in his current deal.

Perhaps crucially, the report notes that the Portuguese giants are "resigned to losing" the defender this summer, though it appears clubs are stopping short of bidding full whack for Inacio.

Liverpool are also in the mix to snap up the Sporting youngster, seeing him as someone who could be a long-term replacement for Virgil van Dijk at the heart of their defence.

It is no surprise to see huge clubs showing so much interest in Inacio, considering he is already a top-quality centre-back and a player who should only mature in the coming years. He has already made 168 appearances for Sporting, despite still being such a young footballer, as well as scoring twice in six caps for Portugal.

A left-sided central defender who can also do a job at left-back, Inacio ticks so many boxes for United, whether it be his versatility, defensive resilience or quality on the ball.

Appearances

30

Starts

26

Goals

1

Assists

0

Pass completion rate

89%

Clearances per game

1.9

Tackles per game

1.5

Granted, it may not be easy for him and Martinez to be a natural fit, considering both are left-footed, but if Erik ten Hag and Ratcliffe view him as their primary defensive target, they need to be trusted. Inacio is certainly a special young talent, being hailed as "excellent" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, and he could develop into a world-class player over time.