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Arsenal have been approached and offered the chance to sign a £290,000-per-week forward for manager Mikel Arteta.

Edu targeting new winger for Arsenal this summer

Sporting director Edu and the wider Gunners recruitment team are thought to be on the lookout for new wingers, as well as a striker, this summer.

Arsenal cast eye on Euro 2024 star after concerns for £250,000-per-week duo

The north Londoners hold worries over two members of Mikel Arteta’s squad.

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By
Emilio Galantini

Jul 2, 2024

While a new number nine is thought to be a top priority for Arsenal over the coming weeks, with Edu prepared to bid for Victor Osimhen among other potential forward targets, there are reasons that the north Londoners are seeking wide players as well.

Gabriel Martinelli's form took a slight dip last season, while there are few star alternatives to England winger Bukayo Saka on the opposite flank. Arteta could be seeking strength in depth out wide, and that has prompted links to some interesting names.

PSV Eindhoven winger Johan Bakayoko has admirers at Arsenal, and with the Belgium winger now on the plane back from Euro 2024, discussions could potentially accelerate over a move for him – if Edu and co decide to formalise their interest.

Meanwhile, a less attainable target has been mooted as well in Spain starlet Nico Williams. The Athletic Bilbao winger has enjoyed a stellar Euros for his country, and racked up an incredible 19 assists in all competitions at club level last season.

However, his reported wage demands and the cost of a transfer operation could make this move unlikely – according to journalist Charles Watts.

“In Williams’ case, the wages are also understood to be a pretty significant issue," said Watts.

"Athletic Club are big payers. They have to be to ensure they keep their team together given the unique way the club operates.

“So Williams is on good money and the word is that interested clubs have been surprised by the wages he would want to move this summer. Arsenal are good payers, but they have a wage bill that they have worked hard to get in check in recent years."

In relation to wingers with high salaries, Arsenal have apparently been subject to an approach – making them aware of Man United winger Jadon Sancho and his availability.

Arsenal offered chance to sign Jadon Sancho

The Englishman, on a reported £290,000-per-week, helped Borussia Dortmund to a Champions League final last season and rediscovered his best form on loan in Germany – having previously been an outcast under Erik ten Hag.

However, he is now back at Old Trafford, and uncertainty surrounds the player's future. According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Arsenal have been approached and offered Sancho, but the Gunners haven't taken the bait.

The 24-year-old is still fairly young, and his best season for Dortmund saw him rack up 17 Bundesliga goals and 16 assists in the 2019/2020 season. There is still plenty of time for Sancho, who Ian Wright called "top drawer", to reignite his career – but it doesn't look like he'll be doing it at the Emirates.

Murali Kartik writes to his Lachhi mama

Murali Kartik20-Aug-2012Dear ,Where do I begin to sum up the times we have shared? Let me start with an incident. As you know I have bowled to you many, many times in the nets. But on the eve of the Ahmedabad Test against Sri Lanka in 2005, you charged and hit an uncharacteristic drive early on in the nets. Even before I could react you were so apologetic. In that lovely Dakhni, which we call Hyderabadi Hindi, you said: ” (I did not hit you on purpose. But since this is practice, I had to hit you). What an endearing statement. How could anyone not have liked you?If you do not mind me saying this, I think of myself as lucky to have become a close friend. In this dog-eat-dog-world, you were always comforting to have around. Right from my international debut against South Africa in 2000, you always made time for me. I played against you for the first time at the Pachaiyappas College ground in Chennai in a practice match and incredibly, from that day till today, you have remained the same man.You have been my best friend in Indian cricket. I was honoured when I was the only cricketer to have been invited to your wedding ceremony in 2004. If you remember, there was a ritual where the priest hands over two wooden artifacts, of a boy and a girl, representing the family that the marriage will create. Traditionally they are given to the groom’s sister. You gave it to my wife Shweta, and when your children were born, you came over to our house in Gurgaon to pick them up.If I think of when we became close pals, one incident does come to mind. It goes back to 2003 and it makes me laugh. I am sure you already know what I am referring to. Prior to the 2003 World Cup, I was picked for the away tour of New Zealand after I had a good home ODI series against West Indies. I did not play in New Zealand, but was surprisingly – okay, I was surprised – dropped from the one-day leg of the tour.You were the only one who comforted me, saying things like this happen. New Zealand was not a spinner’s territory anyway. There was not much I could have done as Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh were the senior spinners in the side then. I had been looking forward to the ODI series, especially as the World Cup squad was going to be announced soon.But when the World Cup squad was announced, shockingly, your name was not to be found in the side. Ironically, both of us found ourselves playing against the other in a Ranji Trophy match in Hyderabad and a month later, we were off to the Caribbean as part of the India A tour. When we thought of New Zealand, we would laugh. Needless to say, neither of us were not present mentally on that A-team trip, especially you, considering you had registered four consecutive ducks in the first two matches. You said at the time: “From now on Kartik, I am never going to advise you because the same thing happens to me as well.” To be your friend is a much bigger reward from cricket than any other award I will ever get.I was also lucky to have played under you as captain. Including you, I have played under three very good captains: VB Chandrashekar at India Cements followed by Azzu (Mohammad Azharuddin) at the international level. You were one of the best leaders I have played under. Your style was very much from the Azharuddin school of thought: the bowler is his own captain to a certain extent. For me, that was brilliant because I knew what I was trying to do and if my captain was backing me, what more could I expect? You never tried to impose or intrude on me. You were positive, set attacking fields and made me, the bowler, feel like a champion.I clearly remember the Mumbai Test against Australia in 2004 when you played a match-winning hand with 69 in the second innings (highest by any batsman on both sides) on one of the trickiest pitches. Despite that you were so generous in complimenting me after I won the Man-of-the-Match award for my seven-wicket haul. On the big plastic cheque that came with the award, you were the first to write: “Absolute matchwinner. Always believe many, many more to come.”But we know that the true matchwinner was you. On so many occasions, especially in the second Test against Australia in Adelaide in 2003. It was 45 degrees, but you and Rahul Dravid batted amazingly to grind out a quality opposition in a 303-run stand after India were on the mat at 85 for 4. People will continue to talk about your 281, but I enjoyed your 148, which played such an influential hand in taming the Aussies and help India win a Test abroad. That victory played such a big role in India’s transformation in the years to come as we went on to become the No. 1 Test team.

I know you would have thought you were not doing the right thing if you carried on playing. How many people think about Indian cricket and about the fact that a young cricketer needs to break in to the team for him to be groomed? You could have easily added more to your 134 Test caps

Personally I have always been surprised about how you never said anything bad about anyone – your critics, even people who have harmed you. Not many remain silent.Remember when you decided to divest the icon status at Deccan Chargers in the inaugural season of the IPL? I knew you never had any fascination for money; what you were eager for was to make sure Hyderabad had a strong team. You always strived to make an honest attempt to make your team perform. When I suggested the name of a senior player in the Indian domestic circuit, who was ignored earlier during first IPL, you went out of your way to get him into the team.We saw your your selflessness on Saturday again, when you said goodbye to international cricket. When you came into the Indian team you had played overseas in the first few years. But with India having not performed well abroad in the recent past, it became important for a young batsman to play well at home first and establish himself. I know you would have thought you were not doing the right thing if you carried on playing. How many people think about Indian cricket and about the fact that a young cricketer needs to break in to the team for him to be groomed? You could have easily added more to your 134 Test caps.I have always believed in the saying the right thing and not the nice thing. You were very soft-spoken and at the same time very idealistic. Your attitude taught me to be the way I am. You always have maintained there are certain things you can’t change about destiny. That has helped me to remain inspired, motivated and not get disgruntled about cricket despite being left out of the team so many times.I really can’t believe you will not play international cricket anymore. When I heard about your retirement, I was in tears. You have, and will remain, a calming influence in my life. If Sachin is called the god of cricket, then you, VVS, are the angel we all strive to be.Yours truly,
Kartik

Jude Bellingham is yet to score this season for Real Madrid and is struggling to live up to his superb debut campaign, according to Emmanuel Petit.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Bellingham yet to score for Madrid this season
• Petit says he's not happy on the pitch
• Urges Los Blancos to play him on the right

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Bellingham took La Liga by storm last season following his summer move from Borussia Dortmund. The England international scored 19 league goals to help fire Los Blancos to the title in Spain and also played a key role in their Champions League win. Much was therefore expected from Bellingham this season, particularly with Real Madrid having strengthened by signing Kylian Mbappe, but the 21-year-old is yet to manage a single goal for Carlo Ancelotti's side in 10 outings during the current campaign.

Advertisement

• AFP
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Bellingham is not the only attacker in the spotlight in the Spanish capital after what's been a difficult week for Ancelotti's side. Mbappe is also yet to consistently impress for Madrid after his move, while fellow attacker Vinicius Jr has been snubbed for the Ballon d'Or and seen Manchester City midfielder Rodri lift the coveted prize instead. Real Madrid's Clasico defeat to Barcelona last time out also means Ancelotti's men have slipped six points behind their bitter rivals and La Liga leaders and have handed the title initiative to Hansi Flick's side in the early weeks of the season.

• WHAT HAS BEEN SAID

  Petit told Jeffbet: "Jude Bellingham has to play on the right-hand side. I think he's under an enormous amount of pressure because he set his standard so high last season and now he's a shadow of what he could do. Bellingham was amazing last season and always smiling, but I never see him smile now. That's a sign he's probably not enjoying the football like how he used to."

• Getty/GOAL
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR REAL MADRID

  Real Madrid will not be in action at the weekend as their La Liga clash with Valencia has been postponed following the devastating floods in the region. Ancelotti's side will therefore return to action on Tuesday against AC Milan in the Champions League at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Ipswich Town won't want to completely lose their identity heading up to the Premier League, with the Tractor Boys an absolute joy to watch last season in full flow.

The likes of Leif Davis were unstoppable at points for Kieran McKenna's men marauding forward, helping himself to a staggering assist haul of 21 in total, but the Suffolk outfit will know that the step-up in quality means they'll have to be tougher at the back.

Ipswich were a leaky side last campaign despite their promotion heroics, conceding 16 more goals than Championship title-winners Leicester across the 46-game season, and that could be why they're being linked with a number of new defensive recruits.

Ipswich looking at 6 foot 1 rock

According to football journalist Graeme Bailey, Ipswich Town are considering signing former loanee Cameron Carter-Vickers this summer but will face stern competition to land his services.

The 6 foot 1 centre-back, who is currently on the books at Celtic as a key cog under Brendan Rodgers, is also being eyed up by London-based duo West Ham United and Fulham this transfer window, as per Bailey, with the Scottish side adamant that they will aim to keep hold of their star 26-year-old despite all this interest heating up.

This could mean Ipswich are now hunting the signature of Carter-Vickers down over exploring a deal for Joe Rodon, who they have also been heavily linked with this transfer window, as McKenna tries to strengthen his side's porous defence ahead of their voyage up to the Premier League.

Opening the season now facing off against Liverpool and Manchester City will no doubt leave those at Portman Road anxious about how many goals they could potentially ship, with Carter-Vickers' signature likely to shore up the Tractor Boys at the back, to try and keep their heads above water in the top-flight.

How Carter-Vickers compares to Joe Rodon

Whilst Rodon is a hot property at the moment, and rightly so after an electric season on loan in the Championship with Leeds, Carter-Vickers would also arrive in Suffolk with plenty of hype attached to his name.

Winning seven trophies in total now for the Bhoys since joining at the start of the 2021/22 season, with two inclusions in the Scottish Premiership Team of the Season along the way, the towering defender could now see this as the perfect opportunity to move on and to prove himself in the top English division.

Head-to-head with Rodon across the last season, Carter-Vickers goes up against the current Tottenham Hotspur man valiantly, bettering him in certain areas, even in spite of having an injury-heavy last season for his Glasgow-based employers.

The USA international will also feel there's unfinished business for him in the Premier League, having never made appearance in the top division for Spurs, when he was still on the roster of the North London club as a promising gem for the future.

Once tipped for great things at Spurs though, with ex-Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino even declaring that a younger Carter-Vickers had the potential to be "one of the best centre-backs in England in the future", Carter-Vickers will sense that this is finally his moment to shine in England, after being offloaded to Celtic for around the £6m mark in 2022.

Coming into the side potentially to add numbers, battling it out with the likes of Luke Woolfenden and Cameron Burgess in the heart of defence, McKenna would be over the moon if this move got over the line.

Ipswich launch bid to sign "dangerous" Broja alternative

Ipswich Town could pursue this striker option instead of Armando Broja now.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jun 17, 2024

After an official warning for the last Test in Galle, the ICC will again look keenly on the pitch after 17 wickets fell on day two

Andrew McGlashan in Galle27-Mar-2012Games dominated by bowlers make for the most absorbing contests in Test cricket and the opening two days of this match have been compelling viewing for those inside the Galle stadium, those watching from the Dutch Fort and the millions glued to television sets. However, one beleaguered observer was wishing that batsmen hadn’t donated quite so many wickets so cheaply.Jayananda Warnaweera, the Galle groundsman and a former Sri Lanka offspinner who tormented England 19 years ago, was under as much scrutiny as England’s floundering top order heading into this match. The previous pitch he had produced, for last August’s Test against Australia, resulted in an official warning from the ICC for excessive early turn. The square had to undergo remedial work and another poor surface would have threatened the ground’s Test status.That would have been a huge blow to the city which, ticket disputes notwithstanding, has been a popular choice for visiting fans – especially, but not just, England’s.”I’m happy with the pitch,” Warnaweera told ESPNcricnfo. “It is has turned a bit but in my opinion neither England nor Sri Lanka batted very well on the second day. You shouldn’t produce dead Test pitches just to get scores of 600, that’s my motto.”Two Test batting sides should not have lost 25 wickets in two days. England’s quick bowlers exploited a little residual moisture in the first hour and there was increasing help for the spinners as the match moved through the second day with Swann finding sharp turn as he kept England just about alive with four wickets. Warnaweera was grateful for the support his pitch received from the most successful batsmen on either side.Sri Lanka’s captain, Mahela Jayawardene, said: “On day two we’ve probably had a bit more spin that we are used to but the last four weeks have been very hot so the wickets are unusually dry. But there are no demons in the track like for the Australia game where it was jumping from day one. There is adequate spin, but if you want to dig deep you can bat as well. It’s the challenge of Test cricket.”

“We wanted to give the bowlers a rest. They have been so consistent and we have let them down but the bowlers will know it’s not through lack of effort.”Ian Bell

Ian Bell, the only England batsman to reach fifty, was of similar mind. “To get bowled out for under 200 isn’t great on that wicket which is pretty good to be honest,” he said. “There’s nothing to scare you. Obviously it’s starting to dry out a bit more now and it turned towards the back end of the day.”Alarm bells need not ring. This is a Test match pitch on the subcontinent. If pitches are not going to turn here then where will they turn? Within fair limits, it is what home advantage is all about and why winning overseas is the litmus test for any team. Far less fuss is made about the ball seaming around off a green-top than when it spits for the spinners. There is even a school of thought that the ICC warning after the Australia game was harsh. Clearly, the surface had started too dry but pitches like that surely do less harm to the game than when 500 plays 500 and everyone goes home bored.There are similarities in how this match has developed to the Australia Test but this time the home side are on top. Last year Mike Hussey’s 95 pushed Australia to a competitive total before Nathan Lyon’s five-wicket haul secured a big lead. This time around, Jayawardene’s solo effort pushed Sri Lanka to a good score before Rangana Herath, a conventional spinner like Lyon, claimed the bowling honours.Herath was given a helping hand during his haul. He is a workmanlike bowler who has carried Sri Lanka’s attack since Muttiah Muralitharan’s retirement. His average in the low 30s is perfectly respectable for an orthodox left-arm spinner in this era. Sometimes, though, you would have thought that England were facing Murali.All except Bell had a significant hand in their dismissal: Andrew Strauss, Jonathan Trott and Stuart Broad swept across the line; Matt Prior and Samit Patel were caught on the back foot. Those four lbws, along with Monty Panesar’s dismissal and Suranga Lakmal’s early capture of Alastair Cook, equalled the most leg-befores England have had in a Test innings and not since 1977-78 in Karachi have they had six.And the DRS indicated that they were all out, although for Strauss that was only after Jayawardene had successfully used one of his reviews. In contrast, neither Prior or Broad could save themselves by resorting to technology. It was an innings that showed how DRS works well and also showed how, most of the time, the on-field umpires make the correct call.Bell was left to regret another poor England batting display. “We wanted to give the bowlers a rest,” he said. “They have been so consistent and in a way we have let them down. The bowlers will know it’s not through lack of effort. This game is still on and if we can put in one performance it can be a good Test.”The England bowlers may not be only ones feeling a bit miffed overnight. The supporters will not look entirely happy upon a three-day contest and not just because of what is looking a likely defeat for the visitors. After all the talk about high ticket prices there will not be any refund policy, although they can console themselves with the thought that there are worst places to have a couple of spare days. But while the fans can loll on the beach, England’s batsmen could be heading for the nets.

“When he comes off like today, it’s very difficult to stop him,” says captain Morgan after Buttler’s 32-ball 71 against Australia

Matt Roller31-Oct-20214:00

Jayawardene: Batting depth allows Buttler, Roy to go hard in the powerplay

There have been higher scores by England players in T20 World Cups but few innings have felt as clinically destructive as Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 71 off 32 balls against Australia in Dubai on Saturday night.Buttler had made nine runs off his first ten balls, watching Jason Roy take the attack to Australia’s new-ball bowlers, when he skipped down the pitch and launched Ashton Agar over long-off over his head. That shot made everything click: from then on he was in the zone, leaving his team-mates in the dugout to marvel at his effortless power and wonder if they had ever seen him play so well.

Watch highlights on ESPN+

If you are in the USA, watch the Australia vs England highlights on ESPN+ here in English, and here in Hindi

“There was actually a game that we were talking about while he was going bananas out there – back in 2016, where he scored a 46-ball hundred against Pakistan in a 50-over – where very similarly, he just seemed to hit the middle of the bat over and over again,” Eoin Morgan, his captain, said afterwards. “He’s obviously one of the best players in the world and when he comes off like today, it’s very difficult to stop him.”Related

• 'We don't play it safe' – Buttler, the confidence and the adrenaline, and bringing the hammer down

• Woakes, Jordan and Buttler dismantle Australia to top group

• Chris Woakes basks in honeymoon phase of his second T20I coming

Three of Buttler’s sixes stuck in the mind: his one-two off Mitchell Starc, sitting deep in his crease and sending consecutive 89mph/144kph length balls into the stands with a snap of the wrists, the first measured at 94 metres and the second 95, which was quickly followed by a straight hit while skipping down the pitch to Adam Zampa, launching him 102 metres into the second tier.”Every single six that he hit was 15-20 rows back – some 50 rows back,” Liam Livingstone told Sky. “I’ve said it all along: he’s the best hitter of a white ball in the world, and when he gets on a roll like that, there’s no stopping him. That was pretty much the perfect innings, a clinic of white-ball power hitting. It was a pleasure to just sit there and watch a genius at work.”But perhaps Buttler’s most skilful shot was not one that brought him a boundary. In the penultimate over of the powerplay, Josh Hazlewood landed an inch-perfect yorker, homing in on the base of off stump, but Buttler gave himself some room outside leg stump and used his supple wrists to steer the ball into a gap in the covers. Hazlewood could hardly have bowled a better ball, yet conceded three runs.It was a reminder of why Buttler is so valuable as an opening batter, on a night where it seemed far-fetched to think that there had ever been a debate about his best role. His average opening the batting for England in this format is 54.88, with a strike rate of 149.01 to boost; for all the value that he might add to their middle order, it is rare for a player to combine consistency and quick-scoring to the extent that Buttler has.”It’s very minimum movement,” Mahela Jayawardene, who first promoted Buttler to open for Mumbai Indians in 2017, told ESPNcricinfo. “He just hits straight. When you have the option of the scoop, the bowlers are always under pressure with which field to go to.”At the same time, he’s probably one of the best players through the off side as well: he opens himself up and the hands come through. He’s a good player of spin: he has the reverse-sweep, he comes down and hits – we saw the way he controlled Zampa [and how] he never let him settle into that line and length.”It was an innings that will be remembered as one of the best by an Englishman in T20 World Cups, with perhaps only Alex Hales’ 116 not out against Sri Lanka in 2014 and Joe Root’s 83 off 44 in the Mumbai heist of 2016 rivalling it. Buttler’s final strike rate, 221.87, was his highest in an innings of 30 balls or more across his entire T20 career – for club or country.”I think he’s certainly one of our players – and there are a few of them – that are at the forefront of changing the game,” Morgan added. “He’s one of the best players in the world but yet he’s still trying to improve his game and get better against every single bowler that he faces.”It’s not just targeting bowlers that might suit him, it’s every bowler. When you’ve got guys that are at the forefront of change within the game – and positive change, taking the game forward type stuff – it says a lot about the guy.”This was the night that Buttler arrived at the T20 World Cup and announced his intentions for the rest of the tournament. A similar knock in a semi-final or final might just confirm his status as England’s greatest white-ball batter.

The offspinner had only taken only three wickets in the series previously, but delivered the scalps of Sehwag, Tendulkar and Laxman on the fourth day

Daniel Brettig at Adelaide Oval27-Jan-2012Mark Taylor once joked about ordering Shane Warne to deliver the full toss that England’s Graham Thorpe had played over the top of to be bowled at the Gabba. The next day Taylor discovered, to his considerable mirth, that at least one newspaper reported these chuckling words as truth.Nathan Lyon was not ordered to bowl the full toss that did for Virender Sehwag on the penultimate day of the series at Adelaide Oval, but he was counselled to try something a little higher and loopier to tempt the opener’s hungry eyes. Those words came from Ricky Ponting, who turned out to be the man who took the catch when Sehwag’s hearty swing across the line resulted in a skier and his wicket. There was laughter, as well as jubilation, in the Australian team huddle.”Ricky Ponting came up to me just before that ball and just said ‘do him in the air’, so I was pretty happy with it,” Lyon said. “It wasn’t probably my best ball going around, but they’ve still got to play it, and I’m not going to call him back, that’s for sure.”Having taken only three wickets for the series entering its final innings, Lyon can be forgiven for any lack of charity. He has found the challenge of India’s batsmen a vexing one, but on the most spin-friendly pitch of the summer rewards have started to arrive. In the first innings Lyon did for VVS Laxman at the end of a tidy spell, and in the second he nabbed Sachin Tendulkar and Laxman again to follow up the dismissal of Sehwag.Both Tendulkar and Laxman were playing their final Test innings in Australia, but Lyon had subsisted on too meagre a diet of wickets to roll out any kind of red carpet for the duo. Tendulkar’s wicket was a source of particular joy, as it arrived in classical fashion: the flight and loop landed the ball short of his defensive push, the spin and bounce taking it up onto glove, pad and into short leg’s hands.”I had my own plans and he had to come out and play the best way possible with his plans,” Lyon said of Tendulkar. “Definitely it’s been a privilege to get him out, but saying that we’ve still got another four wickets to go tomorrow and the job’s not done as far as we’re concerned, so we’re going to have to turn up and be on our game and hopefully get these four wickets.Australia are delighted after Nathan Lyon dismissed Virender Sehwag off a full toss•Getty Images”I’ve felt I’ve bowled reasonably okay the whole summer that’s for sure, so it’s just good to be able to contribute to hopefully a team victory.”Lyon spent much of his afternoon bowling around the wicket, an angle he has favoured for considerable stretches of his young Test career, drifting the ball across the right-handers then spinning it back down the line of the stumps. The trace of footmarks left by the left-armer Zaheer Khan on a deteriorating pitch also provided encouragement for Lyon, and his captain Michael Clarke.”Around the wicket was purely [about] spinning up the line of the stumps,” Lyon said. “There was a bit of rough there, which we thought may play in their heads I guess and it just might spit out something. So it was a plan that Pup and myself came up together with.”It’s been a perfect Test match wicket in my book, there’s been some early wickets and some runs scored and now we’re starting to see some natural variation, spin and the ball starting to keep low, so it’s been a good Test match wicket.”Lyon has observed it all as an Australian cricketer, not as part of the ground staff he had worked with in last summer’s corresponding Test match against England. The speed of Lyon’s rise has been dizzying, and the return to Adelaide has brought it all back.”It’s been a different side of the fence you could say right now,” he said. “I’m enjoying the Test match rather than sitting on the roller watching it. It’s been a fantastic experience playing in front of my home crowd and I’ve really enjoyed every moment of it.”

Australia lost both openers after India declared early in the second session

Annesha Ghosh02-Oct-2021A high-octane second session in which Jhulan Goswami’s epic two-spell new-ball burst accounted for Australia’s openers headlined day three of the standalone pink-ball Test in Carrara. Ellyse Perry, who shortly before India’s declaration on 377 for 8 had become the first woman with the double of 300 wickets and 5000 runs in international cricket, rode her luck through her 98-ball 27 to carry the hosts to 143 for 4 at stumps, 85 behind the follow-on target of 228.A booming inswinger from Goswami crashed into left-hander Beth Mooney’s leg stump in the seventh over and when she returned for her second spell in the 23rd over, she renewed her battle against Alyssa Healy, who had creamed her for a crackling cover-driven four five balls into Australia’s innings. In her second burst, Goswami, in the space of three balls, beat Healy’s defence with one that came back in, hurled a bouncer into the opener’s front shoulder, and drew a faint outside edge with an outswinger to leave Australia at 63 for 2.Meghna Singh complemented Goswami in a fiery 12-over pace-bowling opening charge. The pink ball, which India had their first brush with only two days out from the start of this day-night fixture, moved in the hands of the pair and later Pooja Vastrakar, who, on the night, delivered her most incisive performance with the ball in international cricket yet, taking out captain Meg Lanning – albeit via an erroneous lbw decision – among her two wickets.Vastrakar set up a riveting battle against Lanning, who struck three fours – including a trademark square drive and an emphatic pull – en route to 17, when she survived two edges off back-to-back Vastrakar deliveries: Deepti Sharma shelled a thick outside edge at gully before a leading edge landed in an unpatrolled area at short cover.Left-arm spin, a missing component in India’s attack in their drawn Test against England in June, was deployed to good effect in the form of Rajeshwari Gayakwad, who remained wicketless for her 12 overs, but beat Lanning’s outside edge twice, including a dropped chance by the wicketkeeper off the final ball before tea.Ellyse Perry celebrates her 300th international wicket alongside Sophie Molineux and Georgia Wareham•Getty Images

Goswami challenged Perry, taking an inside edge precariously close to her stumps on 2 and then beating her front-front drive’s outside edge. With Australia on 86 for 3, Perry survived an lbw appeal on 8, with replays showing Gayakwad taking top of leg in what eventually proved to be a pad-bat front-foot block.After Lanning’s departure, a steady rebuild had ensued via a Tahlia McGrath-Perry stand, before McGrath’s uppish cut to Smriti Mandhana at point gave Vastrakar a well-deserved second wicket.Aggressive tactical ploys from India captain Mithali Raj bookended the day’s play, both in the form of attacking field placements inside the circle and repeated insistence on swapping the wet ball with dry ones before a final burst from the three quicks post-tea.The opening session of the day had been largely sluggish, with Australia picking up just two wickets before dinner, the second of those, Vastrakar’s scalp, being Perry’s 300th international wicket to go alongside 5000 runs. Australia also dropped two chances, which meant India gathered 83 runs in a session spanning 40.4 overs, going into the session break at 359 for 7, which had already become the highest by any visiting side against Australia.Deepti put on 45 with Taniya Bhatia, building on India’s overnight score of 276 for 5. Before Perry removed Vastrakar for 13 at the stroke of the dinner break, Stella Campbell offered a reverie-snapping breakthrough with her second ball of the day. The tall debutant’s nagging fourth-stump line, helped by healthy bounce and carry off the drop-in surface, forced Bhatia to prod at the outswinger for wicketkeeper Healy to gobble it up, and give the 19-year-old her maiden Test wicket. She clocked 124kph with that delivery.Having picked up her first wicket of the series in the second session of the truncated day two, Perry almost had a second with her third ball of the day. An inswinger, Perry’s yorker, struck right-hander Bhatia on toe on the off-and-middle line, but there was hardly an appeal for lbw. From that lifeline on a duck, Bhatia, playing her first match since the ODI series against England, unfurled an array of cover drives and cuts before perishing to Campbell.Deepti then added 40 with the Vastrakar, playing mostly risk-free against spinners and pacers alike, riding on five scares since day two, including two close shaves past first-slip Lanning. The closest of them was when, on 24, she nearly chopped on and her attempt to brush the ball, rolling millimetres away from the off stump, almost put her in further jeopardy. A single off her 148th ball took her to her second straight Test fifty, the previous having anchored a rescue act against England. After she was given out when India batted on briefly after dinner, replays showed the ball had pitched outside leg. In the absence of DRS, the umpire’s call couldn’t be challenged.With just the fourth day left in the game, chances of a second drawn Test for India this year – extending their unbeaten streak to six in the longest format – seems the likeliest outcome.

Liverpool were a day late and a dollar short in the Premier League title race last season, also losing to the eventual champions in both the FA Cup and the Europa League.

There's no question that Jurgen Klopp's announcement in January that he would end his nine-year tenure at the helm heightened expectations, put an unwelcome and unhelpful spotlight on the fact that Liverpool had overcome the struggles of the 2022/23 campaign, were resurgent, had battled back to a place alongside the division's finest.

But Liverpool still finished third with 82 points, 15 better off than the previous term. Arne Slot inherits a squad bursting with talent, desperate to add to last season's Carabao Cup triumph with some more illustrious silverware.

A talented squad but too short in the fight for such honours last season. Purposeful progress must be made in the market over the next few months, with FSG ready to pounce if the right player becomes available.

And, as it would have it, one of Europe's most coveted players may well be on the radar.

Liverpool interested in Euro 2024 star

According to a report from The Mirror earlier this week, Liverpool are interested in signing Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala. The Germany international has been one of the stars of Euro 2024 so far, scoring twice in two games.

Musiala, aged 21, is contracted to the German giants until 2026 but is currently keeping his options open despite being presented with a bumper new deal. That said, if he were to leave this summer, reports earlier in 2024 suggest that Bayern would demand a price of £100m. As a result, it could be a club-record move for the Reds if it were to happen.

Liverpool, along with Chelsea and Manchester City, are eager to bring him to the Premier League, with Musiala having grown up in London and eager to ply his trade in England's top flight.

Jamal Musiala's season in numbers

BBC presenter Gary Lineker described Musiala as "magical" after his stunning brace of performances at the Euros so far, scoring in both of the host nation's victories and flaunting his tricks and flicks.

Few players are capable of performing with the snazzy guile and flair to a degree similar to that of Musiala, whose ball-carrying expertise and ability to weave past any defence on the planet have even led to him being hailed for his "world-class" performances by Germany manager Julian Nagelsmann.

He's also an interestingly versatile player, principally deployed on the left flank but finding plenty of success when starring centrally. For Germany, over the past week or so, he has actually featured from the right wing, albeit roaming around the final third.

In the German Bundesliga, while Musiala's Bavarian outfit endured a testing season that resulted in a third-place finish under Thomas Tuchel, ending 11 years of dominance, Musiala still shone as one of his homeland's standout performers.

As per Sofascore, the wide forward featured 24 times, starting 20 matches, scored ten goals, added six assists, and astoundingly averaged 1.8 key passes, 3.6 dribbles, and 7.2 successful duels per game.

Liverpool's intrigue will centre around Musiala's ability to bring it all together, varying his goals and assists while maintaining a robust approach that is discernible through his combativity and creativity.

Given that he has such a similar style of play to Michael Olise, regarded as "one of the EPL's best players" last season, as per talent scout Jacek Kulig, Liverpool could do a lot worse than bringing him to Anfield to spearhead the new, post-Klopp era.

Musiala could be Slot's own Michael Olise

Interestingly, Olise is actually headed toward Germany, with Bayern agreeing a €60m (£51m) fee with Crystal Palace to bring Olise to the Allianz Arena this summer. A host of Premier League outfits had a vested interest in the France U21 international but Die Roten have prevailed.

Olise was utterly breathtaking in the English top flight last term; limited to only 19 starts due to injuries, he still scored ten goals and assisted six more, also averaging 1.9 key passes, 2.1 dribbles, and 5.7 successful duels per outing.

Just glancing at the respective seasonal metrics of the two players in question, it can certainly be ascertained that both operate in a similar style, impressively prolific but truly succeeding through their tenacious, multi-faceted performance level.

Examining the collated stats above, we can determine that while Olise was head and shoulders ahead of Musiala vis-à-vis goals and assists, his shot-taking and shot-creating, the German maverick is just as exciting in his progression, actually driving forward with the ball at his feet with far greater regularity and sharpness than the Eagles ace.

Moreover, Musiala's more defensively sound, chipping in more often with tackles and throwing himself in front of opposing through balls to intercept and recycle possession.

Michael Edwards is known for his savvy, number-crunching wherewithal in the transfer room, and he would surely look past the fact that Musiala hasn't enjoyed his finest goal-contributing season with Bayern when mulling over a move.

Indeed, the underlying story declaims to all that Musiala is one of the most exhilarating and effective attacking midfielders in Europe. He might cost quite a pretty penny but he would be wholly worth it for Slot and his new Liverpool team.

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At the age of 21, the former Chelsea youth prospect would also arrive with long-term potential to be a terrific player for the Reds boss for many more years to come, rather than a short-term fix who would need to be replaced again within a few seasons.

It is now down to Edwards and his team to pull off a deal for the talented wizard so that Slot can have his own version of Olise at Anfield next term.

The winner will be announced in Paris on Monday, October 28 – so which of the game's biggest stars are true contenders, and who are merely pretenders?

After a season headlined by him finally getting his hands on the World Cup, Lionel Messi took home his eighth Ballon d'Or after picking up the 2023 prize in Paris back in October. The footballing world has long since moved on, though, and debate has raged over the identity of the 2024 winner ever since the spring.

It was an intense race. Along with the usual domestic ups and downs, 2023-24 was a campaign that saw the majority of the globe's best players taking part in international tournaments, including the European Championship and Copa America.

So after a year that was defined by the battle between Messi's tournament success for Argentina and Erling Haaland's season-long superiority at Manchester City, how much of a bearing on the 2024 Ballon d'Or race will those international competitions have?

GOAL has been here every step of the way to track the contenders for the biggest individual prize the game has to offer. So who do we think will come out on top? With the nominees all confirmed, here's how we see things playing out at the ceremony in Paris on Monday, October 28…

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  15Dani Olmo (Barcelona)

  Dani Olmo didn't even make it into Spain's starting line up at Euro 2024 until the semi-finals, but the playmaker still managed to play a pivotal role for La Roja as they triumphed in Germany. He tallied three goals and two assists over the course of the tournament, earning him a share of the Golden Boot, though perhaps his most pivotal moment came when he cleared Marc Guehi's header off the line in the closing stages of the final.

  Olmo's superb tournament came off the back of an up-and-down season at RB Leipzig, which began with him scoring a hat-trick in the DFL-Supercup final but saw his game-time restricted by injuries. Regardless, his Euros heroics look earned him a big-money move to Barcelona, and he now has the chance to take his career to the next level over the coming years.

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  14Emiliano Martinez (Aston Villa)

  Ballon d'Or voters are always keen to ensure a couple of goalkeepers make the final shortlist, and yet again Emiliano Martinez finds himself at the front of the shot-stopper queue after another memorable campaign. The Argentina No.1 played a pivotal role in Aston Villa's ascension into the Premier League's top four, and ensured he will play Champions League football for the first time in a decade.

  Yet again, though, Martinez saved his best performances for the international arena. He conceded just once in six games as La Albiceleste won the Copa America – his third major trophy since making his international debut in 2021 – with his best performance coming in the quarter-final win over Ecuador, when he again showed off his penalty-saving ability by keeping out two spot-kicks in the shootout.

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  13Erling Haaland (Manchester City)

  Haaland could barely have done more to win the 2023 Ballon d'Or and yet still came up just short, so could he get over the hump this time around? The answer is almost certain to be 'no', as despite his fine goal-scoring record, he endured some forgettable performances in 2024. He still ended the campaign with a league title after claiming the Premier League Golden Boot, but going out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals is likely to prove costly to his Golden Ball hopes.

  That is because of the biggest obstacle that was already in Haaland's way, which is that he again missed the big summer tournament after Norway failed to qualify for Euro 2024. There was always a chance that if other contenders shone in Germany, then Haaland's potential heroics might be forgotten come voting time. As it is, they will merely push him further down the final rankings.

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  12Nico Williams (Athletic Club)

  Williams' performances in 2023-24 largely went unnoticed outside of Spain, but the Athletic Club winger proved to be one of the most dangerous attacking threats in La Liga, while he saved some of his best performances for the Copa del Rey, as he helped bring the trophy back to Bilbao for the first time in 40 years.

  The wideman carried that form into Euro 2024, where he was one of the most electrifying players in Spain's mightily impressive side. His displays – which included an excellent opening goal in the final – did not earn him a big-money transfer in the end, but should push him close to the Ballon d'Or top 10 when all is said and done.