Chelsea head coach Enzo Maresca is likely to give the green light for his side to sell a player, who ex-fan favourite Thiago Silva interestingly called “the future” of the club.

Players who look set to leave Chelsea in 2025

The writing is on the wall for a few members of Maresca’s squad once we reach the turn of the year, with left-back Ben Chilwell and midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka looking like sure-fire favourites to leave Chelsea.

£195k-per-week Chelsea star worried about his future with Enzo Fernandez

The Argentine’s reportedly being targeted by Barcelona and Inter Milan.

ByEmilio Galantini Nov 6, 2024

Chilwell has been deemed surplus to requirements by Maresca, playing just 45 minutes in all competitions this season and failing to make a single Premier League matchday squad under the Italian.

It’s been quite a fall from grace for him considering the 27-year-old once captained Chelsea and featured regularly for the likes of Graham Potter and Thomas Tuchel, but injuries have also blighted his time at Stamford Bridge overall.

Arsenal (home)

November 10

Leicester City (home)

November 23

Aston Villa (home)

December 1

Southampton (away)

December 4

Tottenham (home)

December 8

Chilwell is now attracting interest from clubs in England, Spain and Italy ahead of the January window, and Chelsea are actively encouraging clubs to make a move for the £200,000-per-week defender as they look to get him off their wage bill (Simon Phillips).

Meanwhile, Chukwuemeka is a transfer target for Barcelona, and Italian heavyweights AC Milan have also been linked with the 20-year-old who appears out of Maresca’s long-term plans.

Carney Chukwuemeka

Benoit Badiashile had been tipped to leave as early as January, but Fabrizio Romano and other reliable media sources like GiveMeSport’s Ben Jacobs are now pouring cold water on the Frenchman’s potential exit.

Chelsea officials also have decisions to make on their crop out on loan spells, including Cobham academy graduate and boyhood supporter Trevoh Chalobah.

The Englishman is on a temporary spell at Crystal Palace right now, but the Eagles have no option or obligation to buy him in their deal, so Chalobah is set to return next summer.

Chelsea likely to sell Trevoh Chalobah in 2025

Some reports have even suggested Chelsea could use Chalobah as a makeweight in talks to sign Murillo from Nottingham Forest, with Jacobs sharing his own update on the 25-year-old’s future for GMS.

The reporter claims that Chalobah is likely to be sold by Chelsea next year, with Maresca appearing to see no long-term future in west London for the “impressive” versatile defender, who Silva tipped for greatness back in 2021.

“He is a player who I knew from France where he was playing at a lower level for Lorient, and he’s made the step-up, and he’s playing here because he deserves to,” said Silva on Chalobah.

“Some people said that he didn’t have the ability to do so but he’s made it because of his own capacities. That’s something that makes me really happy because a player like Trevoh Chalobah is the future of this club.”

Maresca unceremoniously axed Chalobah from his pre-season squad at one point, which would’ve left a bitter taste in his mouth, and the tactician looks as if he’ll be sticking to his guns.

MatériaMais Notícias

da poker： Em Curitiba, o Bahia abriu o placar diante do Athletico, mas levou a virada por 2 a 1 e se despediu da Copa do Brasil.

– VEJA A TABELA DA COPA DO BRASIL

Na avaliação do técnico Enderson Moreira, o Esquadrão de Aço foi melhor que o Furacão e merecia sorte melhor.

Sem a Copa do Brasil no calendário, o Esqudrão de Aço foca as atenções na Série B, onde está no G-4.

‘Acho que nosso time mereceu muito o resultado. Não só de um 1 a 0, mas nós tivemos chances de fazer dois ou três. Tivemos chances claras. Fico chateado, porque a gente merecia muito a classificação pelo jogo de hoje. Acho que fomos muito superiores, jogamos muito, criamos situações, controlamos o jogo. Acabamos sofrendo o gol de uma bola parada em que poderíamos estar um pouco mais concentrados. O último gol pouco representou o que a gente fez no jogo, precisávamos do resultado e saímos muito. Acho que controlamos uns 70% do jogo’, declarou.

Calendário

Na próxima rodada do torneio nacional, o Bahia mede forças com o Guarani, no Brinco de Ouro da Princesa.

RelacionadasBahiaEliminado, Bahia chega a três jogos sem vencerBahia13/07/2022SportConfira o provável Sport para encarar o Operário-PRSport13/07/2022Fora de CampoSormani exalta Hulk e detona jogador do Flamengo: ‘Não inspira confiança nenhuma’Fora de Campo13/07/2022

The MLS 360 en Espanol host joined Mic'd Up to discuss Messi, Inter Miami and the Latin imprint on the league

When Lionel Messi debuted for Inter Miami in the Leagues Cup in 2023, he came off the bench against Cruz Azul to see the Liga MX side equalize 10 minutes into his first showing for the . Then, with the final touch of the game, the Argentine drilled home a stupendous free kick to lift Miami to victory in the Group Stage of the competition.

Afterward? He gave his first MLS interview with Apple TV to reporter Antonella Gonzalez, who recalls the moment as "life-changing."

"For me, that interview that I did, the first one with Messi was the first interview that he was doing for the media. In the first interview after his debut in Major League Soccer," Gonzalez told GOAL. "Having the opportunity to interview him in the best way possible, because it was like a Hollywood movie that day for me, it was life-changing, and I understood that he is just a guy who wants to keep playing and enjoying the game, and he's really happy right now."

Since then Gonzalez has had a chance to interview the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner multiple times.

"What I can see from right by his side," she says, "is that he doesn't suffer from the ego of being so popular. He just wants to keep playing, and he's just a really good guy."

Watching him grow with the South Beach club has been a joy, but his influence on the league and Latin-American culture in MLS may be what his true legacy.

"I have to say that he's a little kid playing and enjoying the game," she says. "That is what I can see when I am right by his side as a sideline reporter. When he's on the bench, when he's not In the starting XI, he's just watching the game like he is as excited as a little kid."

As a reporter for MLS 360 en Espanol, Gonzalez has experience covering the game through a unique lens, both in South American and Spanish soccer. With MLS, she's embarked on a new task: to make Latin American communities across the United States get excited about the league.

Gonzalez spoke on the Messi's influence on the league, the growth of the Latin American game within MLS and more in the latest edition of Mic’d Up, a recurring feature in which GOAL US taps into the perspective of broadcasters, analysts, and other pundits on the state of soccer in the U.S. and abroad.

Get the MLS Season Pass today!Stream games nowApple TVON MESSI'S IMPACT

GOAL: What is Messi's legacy in MLS going to be for the Latin American, the Hispanic community, that has become so fond of what Major League Soccer has developed into? What influence does he bring on and off the pitch?

GONZALEZ: I think the way the people can see MLS has changed, and they show that he is involved in everything Mayor League Soccer does. I think the name Major League Soccer will change forever due to his arrival in MLS, because… I can see I travel a lot to South America, and I travel a lot to cover the South American qualifiers. I can notice every time that I go to the airport or I'm walking through the stadiums, everybody has stopped me to talk about Major League Soccer and about Messi.

And that's unbelievable, you know, the name, the brand – I think that Major League Soccer is becoming unforgettable for everybody. And that's amazing, because 10 years ago, maybe we knew Major league soccer because of the LA Galaxy, or [Andrea] Pirlo before retiring, or David Villa, or all these big legends.

But I think that Messi’s arrival, Major League Soccer is going to be unforgettable, and for this new generation just to get involved in the meaning of Major League Soccer and try to become a fan or wear the jersey… I have a kid, he is six years-old, and he loves to wear his inter Miami Jersey. When I went to the MLS Cup in Columbus in 2023, the first thing that he called me about, he told me: Hey, Mom, can you bring me a Columbus jersey? Then it was, can you bring me an LA Galaxy jersey? And that's amazing. And I think that is just because of this Messi effect, it is getting to the new generation.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportON THE LATIN INFLUENCE IN MLS

GOAL: We recently had a La Liga Sporting Director mention MLS has become a great stepping stone for players from South America and Central America who want to continue to develop their games. What do you make of that trend, and who would you say are the perfect examples?

GONZALEZ: I think it's not a trend. It's a reality that Major League Soccer now is just a step forward to go to Europe. The perfect example is Diego Gomez. Diego Gomez came from Paraguay last year, and spent just one year playing for inter Miami.

He learned a lot playing alongside Messi, Busquets and all these legends, and one year after he just now went to the Premier League with Brighton. So in one year, being a 20-21 year old player, it is amazing how MLS is such a big step and exposure for players. And now, as a Venezuelan, we have Telasco Segovia [in MLS]. Telasco used to play in Europe, in Portugal, and people criticized him a lot for going from Europe to MLS with Inter Miami saying his career is over.

But he's only 21 years old, and for me, he's learning a lot, playing alongside Messi, Suarez, Alba, and Busquets. It’s a league where you can have a lot of minutes and opportunities to be in the starting 11 and to be in the spotlight. I'm sure if he has a good season we are going to see the same as Thiago Almada with Telasco Segovia… Playing one year, two years, and then he can just go to a bigger team in Europe, just as Diego Gomez did, too.

GOAL: What are some trends you’ve noticed about Latin American players in MLS who may not participate in English-language interviews all the time? Constantly being around them as a sideline reporter or virtually through 360 Espanol, what are some of the common traits shared across the league, and how do you think they’re influencing the growth of MLS?

GONZALEZ: It's so funny that everyone drinks mate, because even though you are not from Argentina, you see it in the locker room at the end of the season, everybody just drinks mate. It's like this special drink inside locker rooms. But I think it’s the Latin music, that is so contagious that can just get you in the mood before and after the game. I had the opportunity to be in the locker room after the LA Galaxy won the championship, and I was with Riqui Puig, Diego Fagundez, and all these Latin American players and you can see that the DJ and the music is controlled by Latin American players.

So I think sometimes when they don't want to speak English, I think it's more because they are afraid to make any mistake, or because they are not fluent in English. I think it's more like that. It's not because they don't want to speak or they don't want to do the interview. I think it's the insecurity to not have the fluency, to not have the answer, and to feel comfortable with that.

Getty Images SportON ONE THING TO WATCH IN THE 2025 MLS SEASON

GOAL: It was a record-breaking offseason for MLS with the amount of money spent and the players brought in, obviously, Kevin Denkey at FC Cincinnati, Miguel Almiron and Emmanuel Latte Lath to Atlanta – and Wilfried Zaha. Is there one storyline across all 30 teams that you are picking out that maybe the rest of MLS is overlooking?

GONZALEZ: The Eastern Conference, this year, is the most competitive conference in the history of Major League Soccer. That's the story – in the Eastern Conference because we have inter Miami with the obligation and responsibility to get to the MLS Cup. That is the trophy that they need to become this legendary team with Messi and everybody else.

But we have Atlanta United with Miguel Almiron with Emmanuel Latte Lath, too. I think the combination of these two inside Atlanta United is going to be amazing. Nobody talks about Charlotte, and I think that they are the silent team that everybody is going to end up looking at. We have to pay attention to what they are because they have a really good defense and then they brought in Zaha and have Patrick Agyemang.

Those two together are going to be amazing on offense, so I think the storyline is the East to see who can win that part of the conference. And on the other side, we have LA Galaxy and LAFC with all of the legends we want to see, and this summer we’re watching LAFC to see if they bring a big name in.

Apple TVON HER ROLE WITH MLS AND APPLE TV

GOAL: How has your time with MLS and Apple TV been so far for you, and what would you say has been your favorite part so far?

GONZALEZ: It has been a dream. I have to say that I'm living a dream with Major League Soccer, just to have the opportunity to arrive in the United States and start all over again, finding the perfect job that matches what I love to do. That is journalism, that is following sports, with the league that… if you see the progress every year, it is just unbelievable. Every time that I visit a stadium, when I go and have to do my job as a sideline reporter, I see the stadium and all the families just together, watching the game and loving the game.

For me, it's just amazing how MLS has been growing the family culture with soccer nowadays. So it's amazing, I am living the dream. I know that now we have more responsibility on the Spanish side because we know that the Latin American community and the European community… All of the people love Messi, [Sergio] Busquets, Jordi Alba, and all these Spanish and Latin American Legends. They are watching the game, so we have more responsibility to show the world what Major League Soccer is and why you have to keep watching the league, even though Messi, Alba, and Busquets all play in the league.

GOAL: What would you say are some of your strengths in the footballing world that you bring to the table as a personality?

GONZALEZ: Well, I think that I have traveled a lot and I have seen a lot of football my entire life. I had the opportunity to cover two World Cups, Euro Cups, and the Spanish League. So I think that I can show and bring to MLS, the huge part of what football means for the entire world because I know that, even though we call it soccer, and I have it in my vocabulary, I know that is a newer sport inside the U.S.

And you have huge competition with NFL, with NHL, with NBA, with MLB. So for me, it’s.. .my purpose and my role is to help all the Latin American communities and the Latin American community living inside the U.S. to fall in love with Major League Soccer… So I'm trying to mix my knowledge and my culture, the Latin American culture that is huge when we talk about football, and try to help the fans get in love with the meaning of soccer.

India batter S Meghana will join the women’s squad for the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham on Thursday night after recovering from Covid-19. Meghana could be available for India’s first group game against Australia on Friday.Meghana is believed to have cleared her Covid test on Wednesday and was put on the first available flight to join the squad in the UK.Allrounder Pooja Vastrakar, who had also tested positive for Covid-19, is likely to remain in quarantine in Bengaluru until Saturday. Her travel to the UK is subject to her passing two Covid tests and a mandatory fitness test.Related

• Cricket at the 2022 Commonwealth Games – all you need to know

• Vastrakar, Meghana test positive for Covid-19

• CWG 2022 – India are medal contenders, but the gold seems reserved for Australia

Vastrakar could fly out on Sunday at the earliest, which will make her available for India’s last league fixture against Barbados on Wednesday.An official from the Indian Olympics Association (IOA) had confirmed Meghana and Vastrakar’s positive tests a day after the India team had left for the Commonwealth Games on Monday.This is the first time that women’s cricket has been included in the Commonwealth Games, and the competition will be played in the T20 format. India are in Group A along with Australia, Pakistan and Barbados, while Group B comprises England, South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka.India open their campaign against Australia on Friday before taking on Pakistan on July 31, and then play their final group game against Barbados on August 3. All the matches in the Commonwealth games will be classified as T20 internationals.India squad: Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Smriti Mandhana (vice-capt), Shafali Verma, S Meghana, Taniya Bhatia (wk), Yastika Bhatia (wk), Deepti Sharma, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Pooja Vastrakar, Meghna Singh, Renuka Thakur, Jemimah Rodrigues, Radha Yadav, Harleen Deol, Sneh RanaStandbys: Richa Ghosh, Poonam Yadav, Simran Bahadur

تحدث الإعلامي أحمد شوبير، عن الجدل الدائر حول موعد نهاية عقد أحمد سيد زيزو مع نادي الزمالك، في ظل الأنباء المتداولة بشأن اقتراب انتقاله إلى الأهلي قبل كأس العالم للأندية 2025.

وقال شوبير خلال برنامجه الإذاعي صباح اليوم الأربعاء: “أحمد سيد زيزو، في حال انضمامه إلى الأهلي كما تشير كل التوقعات، فإن الزمالك أرسل خطابًا رسميًا إلى اتحاد الكرة يؤكد فيه أن عقد اللاعب ينتهي في 12 يونيو، وهو يوم نهائي كأس الرابطة، وبالتالي من حق النادي الإبقاء عليه حتى هذا الموعد”.

وتابع: “الزمالك في البداية قال إن العقد ينتهي يوم 30 يونيو وفقًا للعقد المالي، لكن هناك نقطة مهمة قد غفلها مسؤولي الزمالك، أنهم حددوا 3 مواعيد ينتهي فيهم عقد اللاعب، المرة الأولى قالوا1 يوليو، ثم 30 يونيو، وأخيرًا أشاروا إلى 12 يونيو، وكان من الأفضل أن يُحدد موعدًا واضحًا منذ البداية دون هذا التضارب”.

طالع أيضًا | هاني رمزي يصدم جماهير الأهلي بشأن مشاركة زيزو في كأس العالم للأندية

وأوضح شوبير أن الحسم جاء من رابطة الأندية، حيث أبلغه مسؤول رفيع المستوى بأن نهاية الموسم المحلي في مصر تُحتسب بعد نهائي كأس مصر، ولا علاقة لها بكأس الرابطة، مضيفًا: “الموسم المحلي، وفقًا لما هو متفق عليه مع الاتحاد الدولي، ينتهي بانتهاء بطولتي الدوري والكأس فقط”.

واختتم: “بالتالي، بعد نهاية كأس مصر، يحق لأي لاعب الانتقال إلى نادٍ آخر، وهذا هو التعريف الرسمي لنهاية الموسم من جانب رابطة الأندية”.

Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney issued a heartfelt message to the fan who was rushed to hospital during the team's slender win against Wycombe.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Match had to be suspended due to a medical emergencyMedics attended to the person in the standsFan was sent to hospital for further aidFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Medical staff rushed to attend a medical emergency in the Wrexham stand after a supporter fell unwell. As they tended to the patient, match officials decided to take both teams off the field and into the dressing rooms. Stewards formed a barrier with flags and banners to provide privacy while treatment was being administered.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportTHE BIGGER PICTURE

With the situation under control, the match eventually resumed at 5:21 PM, after an almost 45-minute delay. Wrexham confirmed that the emergency had been managed and the fan had been transported to a hospital in a stable condition.

WHAT WREXHAM & MCELHENNEY SAID

McElhenney put out a message on X that read: "We are all so proud of the lads and their massive win. But our hearts go out to our supporter who was rushed to the hospital. Wishing them the the best of recoveries."

Whereas, in an official statement after the match, Wrexham posted: “The patient has left the stadium in a stable condition and is on the way to hospital. We’d like to thank the emergency services and staff for their efforts.”

DID YOU KNOW?

When play resumed, Wrexham managed to take the lead in the 78th minute through a goal from Sam Smith. The Red Dragons held on to their slender advantage for the rest of the match to move up to the second place, leapfrogging Wycombe in the table.

While Wycombe and Wrexham remain in contention for promotion, Birmingham City currently lead League One, sitting 12 points clear at the top with 83 points. Catching them remains an unlikely task, but Wrexham’s main objective is securing one of the two automatic promotion spots.

MatériaMais Notícias

da bet7： A venda do volante Fausto Vera ao Corinthians foi oficializada na última segunda-feira (25) pelo Argentinos Juniors, clube que o atleta defendia.

continua após a publicidade

da heads bet： +Vera é o próximo! Relembre argentinos que já passaram pelo Timão

O Timão ainda não realizou o anúncio oficial. O valor, tempo de contrato e moldes da transação ainda não foram informados, até aqui.

Segundo apurado pelo LANCE!, a operação custou ao Time do Povo 6,5 milhões de dólares (R$ 34,9 mi, na cotação atual), podendo chegar a 8 milhões de dólares (R$ 43 mi) com bônus e premiações. O vínculo terá duração até o fim de 2026.

A equipe argentina receberá 4,5 milhões de dólares (R$ 24,1 mi, cotação atual) de forma parcelada. Os juros e encargos, além de comissão aos intermediários do negócio, custarão 2 milhões de dólares (R$ 10,7 mi).

No comunicado de venda, o Argentinos Juniors confirmou que repassará 70% dos direitos jogadores ao Corinthians, mantendo 30%.

+Veja datas e horários dos jogos da Copa do Brasil

NEGOCIAÇÃO PELO VALOR

Mas para chegar a esses números, a diretoria corintiana precisou de paciência na negociação, que durou cerca de duas semanas.

Inicialmente, o Corinthians ofereceu 7 milhões de dólares (R$ 37 mi, na cotação atual) na operação total, que já seria parcelada. O Argentinos Juniors receberia R$ 4 milhões de dólares (R$ 21,4 mi).

O clube portenho, no entanto, não gostou do preço. A ideia era ter em mãos 6,5 milhões de dólares (R$ 34,8 mi). E foi nesse ponto que as tratativas se intensificaram, como uma espécie de pechincha do Timão.

A possibilidade de bonificação por meta de jogos e títulos conquistados surgiu no decorrer das tratativas e agradou a diretoria do Argentinos Juniors.

A aposta nesse modelo de negócio foi para compensar a ausência financeira que o Corinthians tinha para pagar um valor tão alto no estágio inicial da negociação.

Além do parcelamento da quantia total, a ideia de bonificar também é de compensar o pagamento ao Argentinos Juniors durante a passagem de Vera pelo time do Parque São Jorge. Isso porque, no compasso que o Timão vai vencendo e se classificando em competições ele recebe premiações.

Para finalizar a negociação houve até mesmo uma conversa olho a olho entre os membros da direção corintiana e Cristian Malaspina, presidente do Argentinos Juniors, que veio ao Brasil no último fim de semana para selar o negócio.

Nesse momento, a situação já estava bem encaminhada, tanto que o advogado da equipe argentina também viajou.

CONCORRÊNCIA EUROPEIA E APOIO DE EMPRESÁRIOS

Em meio a negociação do Corinthians com o Argentinos Juniors, o Genk, da Bélgica, também procurou a equipe portenha por Fausto Vera.

Financeiramente, a proposta dos belgas não foi muito diferente ao que o Timão ofereceu inicialmente pelo volante. No entanto, a parte corintiana tinha como trunfo as tratativas com os representantes do jogador.

A ideia do estafe de Vera foi o potencial de vitrine do Corinthians para o mercado central da Europa, principalmente com o clube alvinegro estando nas quartas de final da Copa Libertadores da América.

Já no Genk, ainda que o meio-campista cumprisse o objetivo de chegar ao Velho Continente, ele atuaria em um mercado fora do grande centro e sem muita visibilidade.

MONITORAMENTO

Vera foi bem qualificado pela comissão técnica, que, desde a lesão de Paulinho, visava um atleta para a função. O camisa 15 rompeu o ligamento cruzado anterior do joelho esquerdo e não atuará mais nesta temporada.

Para chegar à contratação, o Corinthians contou com a ajuda dos representantes de Vera na América do Sul. Pessoas ligadas a Kristian Bereit, que é agente do meia, estiveram no Brasil e entraram em contato com o Timão.

O jogador, que inicialmente foi oferecido pelo Time do Povo, passou por um processo de monitoramento e agradou o clube.

A situação foi parecida com a do chileno Erick Pulgar, que teve o seu nome levado ao Corinthians por pessoas de fora, foi avaliado positivamente, mas não teve a negociação concluída por conta de uma acusação de violência sexual contra uma mulher, no Chile.

Outras equipes brasileiras chegaram a monitorar Fausto Vera, mas o Corinthians foi o único que avançou às negociações e, por fim, fechou com o jogador.

For many Indians across North America, the three-match All-Star series has turned into a chance for a pilgrimage – partly to watch legendary cricketers playing but mostly to see one man

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan 08-Nov-2015For Rahul Shrivatsav, a 38-year-old catering director in Ann Arbor, Michigan, the events of February 28 and March 1, 2003, are etched in his head. He was holidaying in Florida, celebrating his first wedding anniversary, but his mind was fixated on spending the night in a local Pakistani restaurant, to watch India play Pakistan in the World Cup.”I tried everything I could to convince my wife that I had to watch Sachin play that game,” he says, “but she said, ‘No, our anniversary is more important.'”Twelve-and-a-half years later Shrivatsav’s wife, Sarah, surprised him by booking a ticket for the first All-Star game in Citi Field in New York – an event that required him to take a one-and-a-half hour flight one way.”You have been feeling bad about 2003 for all these years,” she told him. “If you don’t go now, you will feel bad forever.”When Shrivatsav arrived at Citi Field on Saturday and caught a glimpse of Tendulkar gearing up – the first time he had seen Tendulkar in the flesh since 2001 – he broke down.”I didn’t even realise I was crying initially,” he says. “But then I thought, it would actually be a shock if I didn’t cry.”‘He is moving on from his father’s death by doing what he does best. Why can’t I do the same? Why can’t I too put my mother’s death behind and make her proud’ – Rahul Shrivatsav•Rahul ShrivatsavShrivatsav moved out of India in 1997, first to Australia then to the US. From the time he moved out, he is certain he has seen “almost every ball that Sachin faced in international cricket on TV or online” – mostly live but occasionally recorded “because sometimes one has to work also.”Over the last few years Shrivatsav has maintained a daily log on Facebook and Snapchat – “I want to document how I feel at different points of my day: when I run, when I cook, when I travel.” There is an update every hour or so – “sometimes more sometimes less” – and when he revisits the log every few days he finds most of his updates have a reference to Tendulkar.”If I ever write my memoir,” he says, “it will actually be Sachin’s memoir.”***For many Indians across North America, the three-match All-Star series has turned into a chance for a pilgrimage – partly to watch legendary cricketers playing but mostly to see one man. A group of engineers from Toronto, another group of graduate students from State College in Pennsylvania, an IT consultant from Connecticut, an assistant professor from North Carolina: all undertaking journeys (in cars or flights) to be in Citi Field, for Sachin.For some, who moved to the US in the 1990s, Tendulkar was first a gaping absence. The internet was at its infancy and unless you invested in a satellite dish of your own, it was close to impossible to watch international cricket live. Every trip to India was a chance to hoard VHS tapes (on which relatives had recorded international games, especially ones with Tendulkar’s dazzling knocks) and, later, Video CDs. Graduate students ravaged college libraries for Indian newspapers and magazines; some caught scores on BBC’s radio service; others called home during important games – with extra money they had saved up through the month – to find out if Tendulkar was still batting, how he was batting and why nobody was lending support.

If they were all not there applauding every little thing I did I would not have got even one-tenth the satisfaction and happiness that I have got in my lifeSachin Tendulkar on his fans

Sometime in the early 2000s the internet provided them a new lease of life. But not without its own challenges: connections were unreliable, streams were hard to find and a number of games weren’t telecast live. For graduate students, their best bet was to make a trip to their computer labs (mostly late at night) and take in the action in low volume. College work took a backseat. Sleep patterns went for a toss. And often, after a three-match or five-match series, the body was jet-lagged for a few days. Social life? What’s that?All through these years – studying in small towns in the US, shivering through icy winters, acclimating oneself with the accent, the food and limited (and often nonexistent) public transport – there was one unchanging factor: they had watched Tendulkar batting when they had lived in India; they were watching Tendulkar batting when living in the US. They had gone nuts watching his cover drive when back home – holding the follow-through for that millisecond longer, as if posing for the cameras, then nodding his head. They were watching the same cover drive – same tock, same pose, same nod – when living abroad. Life was variable; Tendulkar was constant.***Rohan Shirwaiker (right), an assistant professor in North Carolina State University, lost sleep watching Sachin and Amit Goda (left) has a friend who has a friend who taught Sachin how to tie a tie•Siddartha VaidyanathanRohan Shirwaiker, a 32-year-old assistant professor in North Carolina State University, drove ten hours to get to Citi Field on Saturday for his first sighting of Tendulkar in ten years. A few minutes before the game, he was “terribly nervous”, still coming to terms with the fact that he is within touching distance of “him”.Over the last ten years Shirwaiker estimates that he has slept on fewer nights than he has not. “It’s Sachin, man,” he says with a blush. “You have to stay up. In the mornings, my students tell me, ‘Sir, we fell asleep but we knew you would tell us about all that happened.'”On March 30, 2011, Shirwaiker was scheduled to attend a job interview in Florida. “I requested them if I could postpone it because India were playing Pakistan in the World Cup semi-final in Mohali on the same day. They said no. So I cancelled my flight and booked another one a few hours later, so that I could see as much of the game as possible. I couldn’t see the whole match but Sachin’s innings, I saw.”Does he think he played a small part in India’s win by delaying his flight? He blushes again but quickly adds, “One of my wife’s relatives once took a restroom break when Tendulkar reached a hundred. So from then on, every time Sachin was in the 90s we used to request that relative to take a restroom break.”Shirwaiker was at the game with his friend, Amit Goda, a 32-year-old chemical engineer based in New Jersey. They are part of a Whatsapp group that discusses cricket “but before he retired, mostly Sachin”. Goda has a friend whose friend apparently taught Tendulkar to tie a tie. This may sound like a useless bit of information but in the Tendulkar universe this is an essential tidbit: everybody has a friend (or a friend’s friend or a friend’s friend’s friend) who has a connection with Tendulkar. Usually, the farther you get from the man, the more interesting is the yarn.***Ankur Jhaveri (right) and Ayush Gupta (left) at the Cricket All-Stars game in New York•Siddartha VaidyanathanTendulkar has friends who moved to the US in the 1990s. He kept in touch with some of them – “many of them have become big doctors and big businessmen now,” he told ESPNcricinfo – and is aware of the lengths they have gone to watch him bat over the years. “My friends would invariably tell me, ‘We sat in a big group and watched you bat.'” Some would fly to watch him live. Some others would send a kind word via email.Tendulkar may be playing cricket in the US for the first time but he has always known that the expatriate population has been tracking him like a hawk. “Their support has given me the strength to go out there and perform,” he says. “If they were all not there applauding every little thing I did I would not have got even one-tenth the satisfaction and happiness that I have got in my life. All the good moments have been multiplied many-fold thanks to them. The reason to come here is to get them to come to stadiums and to watch us play.”

They had gone nuts watching his cover drive when back home. They were watching the same cover drive when living abroad. Life was variable; Tendulkar was constant.

And turn up they did. Mayank Jhaveri, a 23-year-old IT consultant, flew in from Connecticut. His cousin, Ankur Jhaveri, an engineer, drove from Toronto. Ankur’s friend Ayush Gupta, another engineer, says he might have thought twice about coming if Tendulkar wasn’t there but “there was no question once he was here. No question.”Back in 1997 Shrivatsav, the catering director from Ann Arbor, lost his mother. He also lost his passion for cricket and entered a downward spiral. He still watched Tendulkar batting but the rest of the time, he was “moping around, grieving, lost”. Then came the World Cup in 1999, a time when Tendulkar had to fly back home owing to the death of his father.”And then he came back and played that game against Kenya,” says Shrivatsav, his eyes enlarged. “Now that was a huge turning point in my life. I told myself, ‘Look at Sachin. He is moving on from his father’s death by doing what he does best. Why can’t I do the same? Why can’t I too put my mother’s death behind and make her proud.”The moment when Tendulkar looked up the skies in Bristol, after completing his century against Kenya, was a moment that Shrivatsav says he can never forget. “Every time I see that image or that match, I burst into tears. It was a great moment, I tell you. A great, great moment.”

India’s captain says his bowlers struggled to protect the short square boundaries in Adelaide

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Nov-20223:43

Moody’s advice to India – Set a brand of cricket, then pick players accordingly

India just didn’t turn up with the ball. This was Rohit Sharma’s immediate diagnosis after their ten-wicket defeat in the T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Adelaide. Chasing 169, England romped home with 24 balls left to play, as Alex Hales and Jos Buttler dominated India’s bowlers from start to finish.”I thought we still batted pretty well at the back end to get to that score, but we weren’t good enough with the ball,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation. “It was definitely not a wicket where a team could come and chase down [that target] in 16-17 overs. But yeah, these things happen. Like I said, with the ball we just didn’t turn up today.”Buttler set the tone for England in the first three balls, threading Bhuvneshwar for a pair of fours past the diving point fielder. It was the start of a bowling effort where India struggled to prevent England from accessing the short square boundaries at Adelaide Oval.Related

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India scored only 100 runs in their first 15 overs, before Hardik Pandya’s late fireworks powered them to a competitive total. In those first 15 overs, India only scored 64 runs square of the wicket (backward point, covers, forward square leg and backward square leg as per ESPNcricinfo’s ball-by-ball logs) from 46 balls. England, in their first 15 overs, smashed 98 off 54 balls square of the wicket.This could have meant either that India’s top-order batters failed to maximise the short square boundaries, or that India’s bowlers didn’t bowl the right lines and lengths, or both. Rohit suggested that the bowlers offered England too much width.”I thought when Bhuvi bowled his first over, it swung a little but not from the right areas,” Rohit said, when asked whether there was less swing than normal for Bhuvneshwar and Arshdeep Singh with the new ball. “We wanted to keep it tight, not give room, we looked at Adelaide pretty well, we know where the runs are scored. Square of the wicket is what we were quite aware of, and that’s where all the runs went today. Keeping it tight is something we spoke of but from there if the batsman plays a good shot we’ll take it. But that is something that didn’t happen today and that is a little disappointing.”This defeat meant India had lost the World Cup semi-final each of the last four times they had reached that stage – the 2015 and 2019 ODI World Cups and the 2016 T20 World Cup before this one. Rohit said India’s players had the experience to handle the pressure of a knockout game, but were “a little nervy” nonetheless on this occasion.”When it comes to the knockout stages, it’s about handling that pressure,” he said. “It depends on individuals as well. You can’t really go and teach how to handle pressure. All these guys have played enough cricket to understand that. Yeah, I mean, look, lot of these guys when they come out and play in the playoffs in the IPL and all of that, it’s a high-pressure game, some of these guys are able to handle that. When it comes to the knockout stages, it’s all about handling that pressure. Holding yourself a little bit and keeping calm. I thought the way we started off with the ball was not ideal. That shows we were a little nervy to start off with the ball, but again we’ve got to give credit to those openers as well, they played really well.”

While things are looking a little bleak at the moment, Arsenal are still in a position that seemed almost impossible just a few years ago.

Mikel Arteta’s side have gone from languishing in eighth place for back-to-back campaigns to fighting for the Premier League title for the third year on the bounce.

The Spaniard has overseen a massive overhaul of the side he inherited in December 2019, with only a few players like Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli surviving and continuing to play significant roles in the first team.

However, there is another survivor who was a part of the squad during Arteta’s first season, a player who joined the club that summer and was tipped to be a future captain, but now has to be sold for his own sake.

Arsenal's 2019 summer signings

So, before we get to the player in question, let’s examine a couple of other signings made that summer, starting with a player who is unfortunately considered one of the club’s worst additions of all time, Nicolas Pepe.

Under the management of Emery, Arsenal decided to smash their transfer record in July 2019 and spend a whopping £72m on the Ivorian international, who, in their defence, had just scored 23 goals and provided 12 assists in 41 appearances for LOSC Lille.

Unfortunately, as most fans will attest, the talented winger did not show that sort of form in North London, and while he left the club for good last September as a flop, his final tally of 27 goals and 21 assists in 112 appearances isn’t quite as bad as some would have you believe.

In stark contrast, the North Londoners also paid a hefty £27m for a relatively unknown 18-year-old centre-back from Ligue 1 that summer, a young defender who has since established himself as one of the best in the world, William Saliba.

Yes, while he would spend the next three seasons on loan in his home country, the Gunners secured the services of their number two in 2019, and following his competitive debut for the side against Crystal Palace in August 2022, he’s racked up 98 appearances for the team, signed an extension in 2023 and is rumoured to be getting another one soon.

However, the Bondy-born titan wasn’t the only defender signed by the club that summer, but unfortunately, the player in question has followed a path closer to Pepe’s than his in N5, despite being touted as a future captain at one point.

The Arsenal captain that could've been

Arsenal have had a long list of incredible captains over the years, like Tony Adams in the past, the technically brilliant, if a little controversial, Cesc Fàbregas in the early 2010s, the sharpshooting and, actually, just as controversial, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang during Arteta’s earlier tenure, right up to the midfield maestro, that is Martin Odegaard today.

However, in the summer of 2019, the club signed someone who perhaps could have been on that list in another world, Kieran Tierney.

The Scottish left-back joined the North Londoners from Glaswegian giants Celtic that August for around £25m.

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While he hadn’t played outside the Scottish Premiership at that point, there was a lot of excitement about what he could become.

That was largely thanks to his sensational play for the Hoops and the perception people had of him as a hard-working, no-nonsense defender, someone who was a throwback to a bygone era.

The then-22-year-old endured a mixed start to his life in the capital, though, as despite looking good on the pitch, he could only make 24 first-team appearances, as injuries kept him sidelined for large parts of the campaign.

The following year was much better in this regard, as while he still suffered a few setbacks, the Douglas-born dynamo made 38 appearances for the first team, in which he scored two goals, provided four assists and was called a “natural leader” by the manager.

The good times wouldn’t last, however, and even though the following season saw former professional Ally McCoist describe him as the “obvious captain” following Aubameyang’s exit, the talented full-back was once again plagued by injuries, and he made just 25 appearances.

Those fitness concerns must have been the final straw for the manager, as that summer, he welcomed in Oleksandr Zinchenko from Manchester City for £32m, and even though the Scotsman managed to avoid injury throughout the campaign, he was limited to just 15 starts and 21 substitute appearances.

Appearances

124

Goals

5

Assists

13

Goals + Assists per Match

0.14

Injuries (including Loan)

11

With the writing clearly on the wall, the former Celtic star joined Real Sociedad on a season-long loan last year, but as you may have guessed by now, injuries once again reared their ugly head and the 27-year-old was limited to just 26 appearances.

Today, the £110k-per-week full-back is still in North London but hasn’t made a single appearance all season thanks to yet another hamstring problem.

Therefore, even though he was once tipped to be the club’s future captain, Arsenal must do what they can to sell Tierney before his contract expires in 2026, for their own sake and his.

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