da esoccer bet： Following a busy deadline day, Wolverhampton Wanderers have already set their sights on the summer transfer window and are reportedly considering a swoop to sign a player they made a winter approach for.

Wolves transfer news

da supremo： Having struggled to get all of their reinforcements over the line in the summer, Wolves ensured that they welcomed the fresh faces they so desperately needed during the January transfer window. Even after losing out on their top options, those at Molineux still crucially managed to hand Vitor Pereira two central defenders and a central midfielder in the form of Emmanuel Agbadou, Marshall Munetsi and Nasser Djiga.

After putting pen to paper as Wolves’ final arrival on deadline day, Munetsi told the club’s official website: “I’m delighted. It’s a dream come true for me.

“I’ve always wanted to be part of something big, and being part of Wolves is something that is very big for me, and is big for my family. It’s a team that I’ve also seen from afar, and the Premier League is the best place to be, so I’m delighted to join the family, to join the team.”

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It may not be too long before the midfielder has a fresh partner at the heart of Pereira’s side either. According to A Bola, as relayed by Sport Witness, Wolves are now considering a summer move to sign Hidemasa Morita from Sporting Club having already made an approach to sign the 29-year-old in the winter window.

Reportedly put off by the midfielder’s €10m (£8m) price tag so close to 30 years old, it will certainly be interesting to see how quickly Wolves’ stance changes if they’re on the hunt for another fresh face in the summer window.

"Underrated" Morita would add key experience

With Mario Lemina’s future still in question, Morita could arrive in the summer to replace the midfielder’s experience at a crucial time for Pereira’s side. Should they stay up and avoid what would be disastrous Premier League relegation, Wolves should set their sights on higher ambitions and Morita could play a large part in that.

Dubbed “underrated” by football presenter Alex Brice, the 29-year-old may yet get the opportunity to make one of the biggest moves of his career just as some begin to question whether he is too old to complete such a switch in the summer.

Current Manchester United boss and former Sporting manager Ruben Amorim was also full of praise for Morita during his tenure, telling reporters as relayed by Breaking The Lines last summer: “I think every manager should train at least one Japanese player.

“A player who is always ready to help the team, apologises 1,000 times a day, is very respectful, will play anywhere and just wants to learn…I only have good things to say about Hidemasa Morita.”

Pick your two spinners for our all-time IPL XI and help put together the team with our panel of experts

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Apr-2017After picking the nominees for the openers, batsmen and allrounders’ spots in ESPNcricinfo’s all-time IPL XI, it is now time to pick the spinners. After more than 16,000 votes, three West Indians – Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Kieron Pollard – made it to the shortlist of six allrounders. The other three spots were filled by Shakib Al Hasan, Shane Watson and Ravindra Jadeja, while Yuvraj Singh narrowly missed out.There are 12 spinners on our long list, from which you can vote for one or two, depending on what you want the balance of your side to be. Your votes will then be used to create a shortlist from which our jury, which includes four former Test players (Sanjay Bangar, Aakash Chopra, Brad Hogg and Ajit Agarkar) and members of our staff, will pick the final XI. In keeping with the IPL’s rules, the number of overseas players in the XI will be restricted to four. The best comments will be part of discussions on the all-time XI during our live shows and video analysis. Keep visiting our all-time IPL XI page for updates on the team selection.*Voting on this poll closed at 20:10 IST, May 2, 2017.ESPNcricinfo LtdAll the player stats are as of 15:30 IST, April 22, 2017.

Aston Villa advanced through to the next round of the FA Cup on Sunday evening to put their poor form in the Premier League firmly to one side.

Villa would ultimately get the better of Ange Postecoglou’s Tottenham Hotspur by a single goal in a 2-1 win, with Jacob Ramsey and Morgan Rogers sharing out the strikes in the slim Cup victory.

Whilst there would have been many pleasing elements from the performance for Unai Emery to latch onto when it comes to those who started the game, the main excitement from the clash came from the many star-studded substitutes the Spaniard made, which included Marcus Rashford making his hotly anticipated debut.

Marcus Rashford's Aston Villa debut in numbers

Although his time at Manchester United has turned sour – leading to this last-ditch loan switch taking place – there’s no doubt that Rashford is a top Premier League performer when at the very peak of his powers.

Indeed, the Manchester-born attacker hasn’t just amassed 201 goal contributions at Old Trafford by chance, with the 27-year-old keen to hit the ground running when substituted late on versus Spurs.

Minutes played

24

Touches

22

Accurate passes

13/14 (93%)

Key passes

0

Shots

0

Successful dribbles

1/2

Ground duels won

3/5

Aerial duels won

1/1

Tackles

2

Rashford was only gifted 24 minutes of action by Emery in this clash, but he still showed off his class in flashes with one successful dribble proving to be too tricky for Pedro Porro to thwart, on top of the fact the new Villa number nine also won four ground duels to show off his commitment to his loan employers.

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Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Aston Villa have a more exciting signing than Rashford

Emery will no doubt continue to use Rashford here and there as a top-quality option to boost his already entertaining attack.

However, it was another of his fresh faces in Marco Asensio who really stole the show against the visitors from North London to solidify the fact he might well be an even better capture than the Red Devils outcast.

Villa supporters wouldn’t have believed their luck come the end of the transfer window when both Asensio and Rashford arrived through the door on short-term deals, with the loan move for the ex-Real Madrid man a real coup based on first impressions.

Position

Games played

Goals scored

Assists

RW

148

30

15

LW

132

22

22

AM

90

19

22

CF

18

5

5

CM

4

0

0

SS

1

0

1

LM

1

0

0

Across his far more memorable spell on the pitch, the versatile midfielder amazingly completed all 15 of his passes, alongside also bamboozling many a Spurs defender with his repertoire of skills.

One of those stylish bits of play nearly resulted in a debut assist coming the well-travelled 29-year-old’s way, with a sublime flick moments after his introduction seeing Rogers then fire over a subsequent effort.

Whilst Rashford does know the English game inside and out, it’s safe to say his damaging experiences at Old Trafford as of late might well have left some lasting bruises that will have dented his confidence, whilst Asensio already looks confident and assured mere minutes into his first taster of his new surroundings.

Minutes played

24

Touches

20

Accurate passes

15/15

Key passes

1

Dribbles

1

Crosses

2

Duels won

2/3

Possession lost

2

Interceptions

1

Tackles

1

Alongside that, Emery will also feel comfortable chucking Asensio into his starting lineups moving forward in a whole plethora of different positions, with the 38-time senior Spain international capable of playing all across the attack, notably featuring on either flank on over 100 occasions.

His efforts as an adaptable presence playing at the Santiago Bernabeu resulted in three illustrious Champions League titles heading Madrid’s way, on top of three La Liga title successes also being achieved, meaning Asensio won’t be fazed whatsoever playing on Europe’s biggest stage for Emery’s men either.

The 29-year-old has even been labelled as “world-class” in the past by one of his former Spain managers in Vicente del Bosque, with this signing one that might take Villa to the next level on its own, away from the other statement deal of Rashford.

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ByJoe Nuttall Feb 8, 2025

An intriguing January transfer update has come out of Aston Villa in the last 24 hours, following NSWE’s talks to seal another winter window signing before deadline day on February 3rd.

Unai Emery hints at more January signings for Aston Villa

Donyell Malen has already arrived at Villa Park in a £21 million deal from Borussia Dortmund, alongside right-back Andres Garcia from Spanish Segunda Division side Levante, but more incomings are entirely possible this month.

Aston Villa offered "smart" signing who just scored in the Champions League

He’s one to watch…

By
Tom Cunningham

Jan 23, 2025

Diego Carlos has departed for Turkish Super Lig side Fenerbache, leaving Emery short of a centre-back, and the Villa boss has stated in his latest press conference that they’re still very much open to doing business.

“We are open to trying to improve the squad until the last moment, and as well, we are open in case someone is leaving,” said Emery on January transfers.

Aston Villa’s next five Premier League fixtures	Date
West Ham United (home)	Tomorrow
Wolves (away)	February 1
Ipswich Town (home)	February 15
Chelsea (home)	February 22
Crystal Palace (away)	February 25

“Of course, Diego Carlos left in the last week, and we have to replace him, and of course we are as well focusing on which players could be potential players to replace Diego Carlos.”

As Emery confirms that Villa are in the market to sign a replacement for Carlos, links understandably still surround a potential move for Sevilla defender Loic Bade.

NSWE have been tipped to move for the Frenchman, who won a silver medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, throughout this transfer window – but the potential deal is far from plain sailing.

Villa have even threatened to walk away in talks for Bade, according to some reports, while others suggest that Emery’s side rejected a bid from Sevilla for highly-rated 21-year-old midfielder Lamare Bogarde during discussions (Pete O’Rourke).

Bade, who stands out as a mainstay in Sevilla’s starting eleven, would be an ideal replacement for Carlos – given he currently ranks among their top six players in La Liga according to WhoScored – averaging a solid 4.1 clearances per 90 and their joint-second highest rate of tackles on average.

Members of the media have also called the 6 foot 3 defender a “quality” centre-back, highlighting why Emery and co are targeting him to reinforce Villa’s backline.

Now, as per journalist Pete O’Rourke, Villa are not giving up in their attempts to land his signature.

Aston Villa poised to make new bid for Loic Bade

Writing for Football Insider, the reporter claims that Villa are set to submit a fresh bid for Bade, after getting the green-light from Emery to carry on pursuing a deal for the former Ligue 1 star.

They’re expected to go back in with another proposal after seeing their first offer rejected, writes O’Rourke, with Sevilla open to selling given their precarious financial situation.

Following these January talks for the 24-year-old, other reports state that Bade could cost around £25 million, but Villa won’t want to pay over the odds, considering just how careful they’re being with PSR right now as well.

Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock complement each other perfectly. They take pressure off each other because Bavuma knows de Kock will keep the scoreboard moving and de Kock knows Bavuma will show the caution required at the other end

Firdose Moonda in Wellington17-Mar-2017The chance of a team making more than 300 after losing its first six wickets for less than 100 is a little more than 1%. It has happened only 10 times in 946 innings in Test cricket. Before the second day in Wellington, the most recent example was New Zealand’s effort against South Africa in 2006.Then, it was the experience of Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori that rescued New Zealand. Now, it was the youth of Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock that allowed South Africa to feed the hosts some of their own medicine and once again show that they belong.In de Kock’s case, there was no doubt about his talent but there was a narrative starting to develop about his vulnerability against Jeetan Patel. New Zealand’s offspinner had dismissed de Kock four times out of four – which also happened to be his last four innings – and even though the South African camp brushed it off as an anomaly, they could not ignore it. Neither could New Zealand, who picked Patel partly on his form against de Kock, ahead of Mitchell Santner in this Test.Faf du Plessis had said before the match that he thought de Kock was a smart enough cricketer to have worked out how to play Patel. In the same breath, he also explained de Kock’s approach was usually not to over-think, and sometimes not to think at all. De Kock is an instinctive player who does not care about records or jinxes.He would not have lost sleep over Patel especially because two of those – the hole out to long-off in the fifth ODI and the slice to backward point in the first innings in Dunedin – were shots de Kock could have played against any bowler. The other two – the first-baller in the fourth ODI, when the ball turned away and took the outside edge, and the way he was bowled in the second innings at University Oval – by a perfect delivery that pitched on leg and turned to hit the top of off, suggested a few technical adjustments needed to be made. But de Kock is not the kind of batsman who dwells on things. He prefers to operate in the moment. When he was needed on the second day, that moment was tense.When de Kock walked out to bat with South Arica 94 for 6 in the morning session, it would have been obvious what he needed to do. Not make it 94 for 7, that’s it. But de Kock has not been one for hanging around and even though the situation was precarious and the lunch break was imminent, de Kock was not going to bat any differently. Two of his first three shots indicated that had not changed. He flashed at a wide ball and then missed a flick down leg off Colin de Grandhomme. He might have known that would be the last he saw of the seamer for a while.Temba Bavuma did not score any runs straight down the ground•Getty ImagesPatel, who had joked that he would not have minded being picked to play on his home ground just to get de Kock out, was tasked with bowling the final over of the session and maybe, just maybe, his job would have been done with the first ball, filthy as it was. Patel produced a long-hop, de Kock pushed it to point, Jeet Raval fell over his feet while misfielding and it would all have been a bit funny had Patel not snarled in his team-mate’s direction and the rest of his team-mates joined the growl.They “oohed” as de Kock defended twice, solidly, and “ahhed” loudly when he came out of his crease to push to midwicket. They combined that into “oooaaaaa” when de Kock was hurried by the last ball of the session, went back to cut and almost played on. Almost.It was just one over but it was an over that could have set the tone for the rest of the day. On sound, it was as tense as those between Warne and Cullinan. But in sight, it had none of the nuances. Patel was not trying to trick de Kock; de Kock was not trying to survive. They would not spar for the rest of the afternoon. As du Plessis suspected, de Kock had found a way to succeed against Patel, by waiting for width and smearing it through the off side and using his feet better to get to the pitch of the ball. By the time Patel was taken off after a six-over spell with no reward, de Kock had tucked the demons into bed, complete with a bedtime story and a hot-water bottle.For Bavuma, the need to make an impact was more pressing. His only hundred is now more than a year in the past and although he broke a drought of seven innings without a half-century in Dunedin, he needs a big score to take proper ownership of the middle-order spot.Much like Ashwell Prince, Bavuma is a man for crises. He literally thrives off the back foot. At a little under 5’3″, Bavuma learned his trade by hanging back in his crease and all the short balls Neil Wagner, Tim Southee and Jimmy Neesham sent down – 45 in total – were not enough to scare him. Not even the one that he had to leap off the ground to try and ramp. Not even when he missed completely. Bavuma has confidence in his ability to hook, pull and cut and with good reason. Almost half of his 89 runs (42) came behind square and none were scored down the ground.Together, Bavuma and de Kock complement each other perfectly. They take pressure off each other because Bavuma knows de Kock will keep the scoreboard moving and de Kock knows Bavuma will show the caution required at the other end. They trust each other to play the situation as it should be played.In Hobart, Bavuma and de Kock gave South Africa a glimpse of what their batting future could look like. In Wellington, they followed through on that promise. Although neither of them went on to score a century, in years to come, they are sure to right that.

Turning their attention towards reinforcements and the summer transfer window, Liverpool are now reportedly plotting a move to sign a midfield talent as part of a triple La Liga swoop.

Liverpool transfer news

The Premier League leaders could have it all to do when the summer arrives with Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Virgil van Dijk all on course to leave as free agents as things stand. Of course, that could still change but the lack of contract news is certainly a growing concern for all those at Anfield in what is a cloud threatening to rain down on an otherwise excellent season.

As that concern does grow, so does the potential preparation over summer replacements for the big three – if replacing players of such calibre is even possible at all. And that has seen the Reds turn their attention towards La Liga, with reports in Spain suggesting that they’re already eyeing moves for both winger Takefusa Kubo and defender Cristhian Mosquera.

They’re not the only La Liga talents on their radar, however. According to reports in Spain, Liverpool are now plotting a move to sign Oihan Sancet as part of a triple swoop this summer.

The attacking midfielder could be the final piece to Arne Slot’s midfield to finally complete the rebuild there which initially commenced under Jurgen Klopp. The Spaniard – still just 24 years old – has enjoyed an excellent campaign for Athletic Bilbao and has undoubtedly earned his way onto Liverpool’s radar.

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When the summer arrives, Sancet, Kubo and Mosquera will be ones to watch – particularly if Liverpool lose their big three.

"Underrated" Sancet would inject goals into Liverpool midfield

As efficient as Ryan Gravenberch, Dominik Szoboszlai and Alexis Mac Allister have been throughout the current campaign both on and off the ball, one thing that midfield three has lacked is goals. Sancet, on the other hand, has lacked anything but.

The Athletic Bilbao man has been at the centre of his side’s excellent attacking work adds an extra element of threat from the middle of the park – something the Reds lack at times.

Starts

16

18

22

Goals

12

3

2

Assists

1

2

3

Key Passes

16

33

32

Add Gravenberch’s two goal involvements – both assists – and Liverpool’s midfield trio have been involved in just 12 goals so far this season, one less than Sancet has managed on his own in La Liga.

It shouldn’t be Slot’s greatest concern, but it should be something that he aims to solve in the summer if he wants to end Liverpool’s reliance on the likes of Salah and Cody Gakpo. Dubbed “underrated” by analyst Ben Mattinson, Sancet could quickly become an ideal solution at Anfield this summer.

CPL chief executive Damien O’Donohoe talks about the league’s plans to head north to the US and Canada

Interview by Tim Wigmore29-Jun-2016The Caribbean Premier League, which begins its fourth season on June 29, has been praised for galvanising cricket in the West Indies, and for contributing to the region’s victory in the World T20 in April this year. Some have suggested the CPL is the third most prestigious domestic T20 league in the world, after the Indian Premier League and the Big Bash. Over 300,000 fans attended matches last year, a 44% increase from 2014. As a sign of its future ambitions, the CPL this year takes the carnival to the United States for the first time – six matches will be played in Central Broward Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida.But the CPL also faces significant challenges. Every season so far has made a loss. This year, three days before the tournament began, the hosts of the semi-finals and final were still unknown. In the longer term, the ECB’s determination to reform and modernise domestic T20 cricket could create a problem for the CPL if the competitions clash.Damien O’Donohoe, the league’s chief executive, speaks about the challenges and the opportunities the CPL faces in a year in which it will go head to head with West Indies’ home series against India.What’s the character of the CPL?
I think when you see the CPL it really is the Caribbean people and the Caribbean flavour – that’s what makes it so different. We call it “the biggest party in sport”, and that’s really what it is. The atmosphere, the party, is like nothing you’ve ever experienced. That’s why for us it’s not hard to convince some of the biggest players in the game – like Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson and AB de Villiers – to come and play, because it’s six weeks in the Caribbean, playing in packed-out stadiums, with atmospheres that you’d usually expect at a rock concert.How much of a challenge is the clash with West Indies’ Test series against India?
I see it as an advantage. It means the Indian media will be there, Indian players will be there, and that can only be a good thing. People in the Caribbean love their cricket, they love the CPL, and I think the whole of cricket in the region is really on the rise as a result of CPL and as a result of the West Indies’ win [at the World T20]. So I think us going side by side, like what the Big Bash do, will work fine.Are you in competition with the West Indies?
No. The games are being played on different islands, so I never see it as a competition. The West Indies Cricket Board are partners to this. We run our product and they run theirs. I think the success of the CPL can only help West Indies.What are the main challenges the CPL faces?
You can see the amount of money that we put in, and the level of players, and just how far CPL has come in a short period of time. One thing that’s a big part of this working financially is the public-private partnership. That’s why working with the governments is so important, because they’re the ones who really gain most. Ninety-three million TV viewers last year – what a way to promote the Caribbean. You won’t find a better way than through this, and especially into markets that are very important to them, like the UK and the US.

“We’ve had the guys from Hong Kong, from Singapore, reach out to us about taking some games there, and also even Dubai. That would obviously open us up to the Asian market”

That’s why we made the deal with Dave [a British TV channel] to get the CPL onto free-to-air TV in the UK, so that we get more eyeballs as we try to build our brand. Making the books balance is always a challenge, because of the level of event we produce, and some things are completely out of our control.We tender the finals, and last year it couldn’t have been a bigger success than it was in Trinidad. The government there paid a decent sum – US$3.5 million – to get the finals last year. Now we’re still in negotiations in relation to the finals, because Trinidad’s economy’s been badly hit with the oil prices and they’re in a deep recession. They don’t have that level of money to pay, which is a big challenge for us because that’s a very important revenue line for us. What I explained to the government is that the final is one thing, but actually supporting the team is a huge part of making CPL work long term.What’s the time frame for when the CPL will start making money?
We came very close to breaking even last year, and until I get this finals deal settled, I don’t know where we’re going to stand. At this point, it’s so disappointing, because we’ve been in negotiations with the governments for a long time. But sometimes there’s things which are out of our control. Our sponsorship, our TV – it’s all moving in the right direction. We’re making great progress, but there’s been a lot of money invested in this – more than $20 million to date – and it is a very expensive tournament to put on.How do you assess the conflict between the West Indies players and the board?
I can’t make the terms of what Chris Gayle does. The cricket landscape is changing as a result of these T20 leagues. Players have a little more power and a little bit more ability to make their own decisions and create their own schedule. I think that’s something that needs to be looked at across the board, not just in the West Indies.Are you hopeful that the partnership between Kolkata Knight Riders and Trinidad will herald a greater Indian involvement in the tournament?
I think it’s going to be very exciting. The people of Trinidad are very excited about it, the KKR people are very excited. What the KKR guys want to look to do now is building a relationship with Trinidad, so that they bring some of the young players and coaches, hopefully, to India next year, so that they can really work at grass-roots level in terms of developing players and coaches and backroom staff. I think it’s going to be a really exciting time over the next few years to see exactly what they can do in a market like Trinidad, which is the biggest cricket market of all in the Caribbean.Chris Gayle signs autographs for fans in Florida during a West Indies-New Zealand T20 series in 2012•AFPHow do you promote the CPL in the islands that do not have teams?
We are promoting it. It’s a very expensive event to run, so we really have to concentrate on our six markets, and getting that right. But we have had other Caribbean islands reach out, because they want to look at possibly even taking a franchise there. We moved the franchise from Antigua to St Kitts & Nevis a couple of years ago. The St Lucia franchise is for sale, and there’s some discussions of maybe buying that and possibly moving it. But at the end of the day, that’s for the government to come to the table and do a deal to make sure it stays.What would be a success this season?
Getting packed stadiums; a TV audience grown from 93 million to, I’m hoping, 125 million. It’ll be getting the stadiums packed in Fort Lauderdale. And I think it’ll be, hopefully, having a few – I can’t imagine there’s going to be a huge amount of Americans there, but definitely getting some, and getting maybe some of our celebrity names to be there and really raise the profile, to put on a first-class event.How can you keep ticket prices affordable?
Of course you make money from tickets, and that’s what the franchises do. They now run their own franchise, and ticketing is a big part of that. What we urge and work with the franchises to do is keep the tickets very reasonably priced, because some of the markets in the Caribbean are depressed, especially this year. That’s why we want to be affordable to everybody. T20 is bringing a whole new audience to cricket – women, children – and we want all of those guys to be able to come and enjoy the CPL.Is there a tension between playing matches during the day – which is better for overseas TV – and playing them at night, which is better for locals?
That’s what we tried in year two. And what we realised is that you can’t change the local product to please the international market, because at the end of the day it’s a Caribbean product for Caribbean people. And they love to party, they love to come out at night time. It’s just not the same sort of adventure in the day that it is at night. That’s why we’ve come back with a few 12 o’clock games this year, but the vast majority of our games are in the evening.But that’s why we’re looking at other opportunities. The great thing about this franchise model is that you can take it places. We’re taking it to America this year. We’ve had guys from Hong Kong, from Singapore, reach out to us about taking some games there, and also even Dubai. That would obviously open us up to the Asian market. We’ll get through this year, regroup, and have a look at the tournament, have a look at some of those opportunities, hopefully outside of the region as well, so we can help grow and develop the CPL like we planned.

“Working with the governments is so important, because they’re the ones who really gain most. Ninety-three million TV viewers last year – what a way to promote the Caribbean”

How important is playing games in the US this year?
It’s a first step, so let’s see. The ticket sales have been really strong. We’ve got 60% sold. So let’s take it one step at a time, get the US right. It’s taken three years to get the Caribbean piece right, so we’ll see how that goes. If we make a success of that, there will be some decisions to make post-tournament.How supportive has the government in Florida been to taking the CPL there?
They have been very receptive to the idea, and love the fact there’s a stadium that is the only cricket stadium in the US and doesn’t get much use. I think they’re delighted to see something like the CPL come. They are getting six games this year. I’m sure they’re hoping for more next year.Where could there be new franchises?
I think ideally, when you look at it – New York and Toronto – you’ve got to look where the big diaspora markets are. That’s why we look at the sales. Over 50% of our sales for Fort Lauderdale this year are from New Yorkers who are flying down. So I think New York and Toronto – if we had a choice, and there were stadia – would be our No. 1 and 2 choices.I think it’s for cricket collectively to look at what football has done and the plans that they’ve had – like hosting a World Cup there.Damien O’Donohoe (left) at the CPL final in 2015•Caribbean Premier LeagueCould the new franchises be in place for 2017?
That’s definitely possible, but it’s only possible if that’s in agreement with the ICC. USACA aren’t involved in the US anymore. Everything goes through the ICC, so we’ll be sitting down with them in September and discussing what the future is with the CPL in the US.Is six teams optimal?
I think six teams in the Caribbean is optimal. If we had the chance to take a couple of teams into the US or Canada, that would be brilliant. But I think eight, really maximum ten, would be where we get in time.How do you manage the potential conflict between the CPL and the English domestic T20 competition?
We’ve had discussions with the ECB, because we have that window that is so important to the ECB. We’ve spoken with Tom Harrison [the ECB’s chief executive], because obviously if they’re to do any type of franchise league they would want to have the best players in the world, a lot of which we have attracted. And likewise, we’d love to have the English players play in the Caribbean. There’s got to be a way where we can all work together to make sure that we’re not crossing over at the same time.How are you managing the clash at the moment?

We are speaking with ECB, as they ultimately want our window. So we are working with them to find a solution so we can get the players and vice versa, as it makes no sense competing with each other.Where do you see the CPL being in 2020?
It’s already the No. 1 sporting event in the Caribbean. Stadiums are packed out. We’re seeing stars come through like Carlos Brathwaite, who was spotted in the CPL and is now a worldwide star. I really want to see more of that. Ideally, as I said, if we’re going to have a franchise in the US, or a franchise in Toronto, that would be hugely exciting, and that would be the ultimate dream. But we want to just make sure that we get everything right this year. The eyes of the cricket world are going to be on us in July at Fort Lauderdale. We want to just make sure that those stadiums are packed, that there’s real awareness for cricket, and we make a big success of it before we look at anything bigger.

Celtic could still look to sign an “amazing” player who they made an offer for in the January transfer window, according to the individual himself.

Latest Celtic news

Things continue to go extremely smoothly for the Hoops this season, with Saturday’s 5-0 win over Raith Rovers at Parkhead seeing them cruise into the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup.

Celtic ended up having a quiet time of things in the January window, even though Brendan Rodgers was pushing hard to complete the signing of Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden, following the surprise exit of star attacker Kyogo Furuhashi.

In the end, the 22-year-old stayed put at his current club for the time being, but it remains to be seen if the Hoops will go back in for him at the end of the season.

While Rodgers has built a squad capable of fighting on all fronts this season, there is no question that new faces could be needed in the summer, in order to bring a freshness to the squad. Now, a potential target has emerged – one who may even have arrived at Celtic by now if his situation was different.

Celtic made offer for 23 y/o forward in January

Speaking Gazet van Antwerpen [via Sport Witness], Michel-Ange Balikwisha claimed that Celtic attempted to sign him in January, while also not ruling out a summer move:

“Celtic’s offer this winter was concrete, but I didn’t want to leave injured. Celtic’s interest was specific, but I chose to stay. I didn’t think leaving with an injury was ideal. Then I’d rather take good care of myself, to be ready for the play-offs. We will see further in the summer window.”

It makes complete sense why Balikwisha didn’t want to leave in January, given his injury situation, but it is encouraging that he hints at a move still coming to fruition in the near future.

The 23-year-old is a young winger who should only improve in the coming years, and analyst Ben Mattinson has spoken highly of the Royal Antwerp ace, describing him as “amazing”.

Primarily a left winger, Balikwisha can also excel on the right and in a central attacking role, with the Antwerp man capped for Belgium across five different age groups.

Belgium Under-21s

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Belgium Under-19s

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Belgium Under-18s

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Belgium Under-17s

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Belgium Under-16s

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A tally of 25 goals in 128 appearances for his current club is a solid return, and Celtic should be eyeing him up as a primary target when the summer window opens.

Worth more than Maeda: Celtic hit gold with a star whose value soared £5.5m

Celtic hit the jackpot by selling the star who is now worth more than Daizen Maeda.

2 ByDan Emery Feb 9, 2025

Celtic are ready to make a move for an “exciting” forward in what remains of this transfer window as they prepare to sell Kyogo Furuhashi, according to a new report.

Celtic transfer news

The Hoops secured their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League on Wednesday night for the first time since 2013, after beating Young Boys 1-0 at Parkhead. Celtic can now look forward to an exciting two-legged game against a top European side in February, as well as continuing their pursuit of another Scottish Premiership title.

Celtic star who won 8/11 duels was an even bigger hero than Idah

The Celtic midfielder caught the eye with a terrific performance for the Hoops.

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By
Dan Emery

Jan 23, 2025

Despite the fact they are in the next round of the Champions League and sit pretty at the top of the table, Celtic look set to lose one of their key players, Kyogo Furuhashi. French side Rennes are closing in on the Japan international’s signature, with it reportedly being a deal worth £10 million. The 30-year-old has been a key player for the Hoops, and captain Callum McGregor was hopeful the club can keep hold of him.

McGregor said: “I understand there is a lot of speculation. But he’s a Celtic player at the minute, and obviously we want to keep him for as long as we can.

“He’s a top player. Again, you see his quality tonight, his movement, and the way he sets the tone for the team. All our good players, we want to keep them for as long as we can. Generally, when there’s speculation, then people have done well.

“We want that as well. It gets people talking about Celtic and the players that we’ve got. I’m sure the club will do everything they can to keep him because he’s a top player and a top person as well.”

Celtic to make a move for £8m forward as Kyogo replacement

Despite reports of Jota coming the other way from Rennes, according to The Scottish Sun, Celtic are ready to rekindle their interest in Brondby striker Mathias Kvistgaarden as they search for a replacement for Kyogo.

Brendan Rodgers was keen on signing Kvistgaarden during the last January transfer window as well as during the summer, but a deal never materialised. This report states that interest hasn’t disappeared, and Celtic are ready to make a new offer to Brondby for the striker, who is valued at £8 million.

Kvistgaarden, who has been dubbed “exciting” by Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig, has told Brondby that he plans to leave the club either in this transfer window or the summer and is keen on a move to Scotland, meaning the Danish side may be forced to sell if they receive a suitable offer.

Mathias Kvistgaarden’s Brondby stats
Apps	110
Goals	38
Assists	17

This is good news for the Hoops, as Kyogo’s potential departure would see them heavily depend on Adam Idah as their senior centre-forward. With Champions League knockout football on the way, Rodgers will be keen to add more firepower to his side, and given Kvistgaarden has scored 10 goals in 15 league games this season, he could be the perfect new arrival. The 22-year-old, who has 17 Denmark under-21 caps to his name, can also play on either side of the centre-forward, meaning he provides more options for Rodgers in attack.

Dan Christian’s constant and rapid evolution is very much the story of T20. From a sloggy allrounder he is now a professional franchise cricketer touring the world

Jarrod Kimber24-Aug-2017This time last year Dan Christian was about to lead Nottinghamshire to T20 Final’s Day. He hadn’t played IPL since 2013, or for Australia since 2014. He was playing for Nottinghamshire as a batsman; his last Big Bash season was middling. He was just another player on the T20 circuit.Since Nottinghamshire lost on Finals Day last year, Christian has changed his game, changed his worth, and changed his future.It all started with some video analysis. “At the start of the season I saw some footage of my action, and my load up was going where it shouldn’t be. So I worked harder getting that tighter, then the rhythm came back, then the pace came back.” Unless you are a change-up superstar like Andrew Tye, being able to bowl quick is a great extra bow to have. “Now I have that pace back, that I lost for a couple of years. It certainly helps, certainly being able to run in and bowl a bouncer, stopping the batter getting on the front foot.”Christian’s season with Hobart Hurricanes started with him not thought of much as a bowler. Like with Nottinghamshire he’d become a middle-order batsman. The 2015-16 season he averaged 80 with the ball at more than eight an over, so they didn’t use him for a few games at the start of 2016-17. When they did he struck with every 12th ball he bowled, had an average of 14, and went at 7.44 an over. The improved bowling was helpful, because his year with the bat was a bit more ordinary, he only made 87 runs for the year.”I just batted flat out five where I’m probably better off just waiting until the ninth, tenth or eleventh, regardless of how many wickets we’ve lost. We played the Strikers at Adelaide, and Billy Stanlake ripped through us, and I went in at five and was out first ball, and the innings wasn’t over, but it meant that I wasn’t able to capitalise at the end. In hindsight Jon Wells, or someone like that should have gone in, who is a bit more adaptable.” Hobart’s season was poor and they didn’t qualify for the finals.Christian put himself into the IPL auction thinking he wouldn’t get picked, and that it would be okay if he didn’t, so his price tag was high for a guy coming off an average season. But Pune went for him at roughly USD150,000. “I didn’t think I’d play at all, and I only missed one game in the end, maybe two.” It was evident from Pune’s list that Christian wasn’t going to bat as high as four or five as he had for Hobart and Notts. “We had Stokes, Smith, Jinks [Rahane], up top, and Faf Du Plessis. So I knew if I was going to play it was going to be finishing the innings kind of role, and offering some overs in the middle period.” With Mitch Marsh injured Christian played a lot, and fulfilled the role asked of him perfectly. He hit a boundary every five balls, scored at a strike rate of 161. With the ball he took 11 wickets and went at 7.45 an over.He was a role player, but it turned out, a role player on a team that made the final, and with four balls to go in the final, he went in to bat. “I was stood at the other end and we needed seven off four with Steven Smith facing. Then Steve hit the first one out to deep point, amazing catch. Now Washington Sundar was on strike; first ball missed it, we ran the bye through. So we needed six off the last two.”

Tactically I learnt a lot, playing under Smith, talking to Dhoni, du Plessis, and Stephen Fleming off the field. I’ve seen a couple of times where I’ve seen a situation for Notts and thought, oh yeah, we saw this happen in the IPL, and we tried this, and it’s ended up working

The pitch was hard to score off all game, Mumbai’s 129 proving like Everest to Pune. Even with Smith and MS Dhoni batting it was more than defendable, and Christian wasn’t facing a standard bowler, he was facing Mitchell Johnson. “I’d done okay batting at the death, lap sweeping and standing still as well, I just tried to trust myself that Mitch would hopefully just miss one yorker out of the two. And I’d be able get it just by standing still and hitting it over midwicket or mid-on. But with his angle, and the ball just tailed a bit, and I couldn’t hit the middle of the bat. Plinked them. Plinked ’em both out to deep midwicket. With hindsight I should have tried to lap one and used his round-the-wicket angle and gone over short fine leg.”Christian’s game theory didn’t work, yet he would end with the second-best strike rate of the match with his 4 from 2, but without the extra two runs needed to win the match.It was December last year, as he was about to start for Hobart, that he was officially signed by Nottinghamshire as captain. “Once I re-signed we just started talking about planning. It’s more about team make-up, we had a really good season last year and stumbled in the semi-final, so we know we didn’t have to change too much. Obviously, we talked a little about who the second overseas would be, Imran Tahir had already signed at Derby, Andre Russell [their overseas from last season] was floated and then he got banned, and we got Ish Sodhi. And that just sort of finishes the pie off”.Nottinghamshire have made big noises with their batting, but their bowling line-up is incredibly deep and close to ideal for T20. On top of Sodhi, Christian says: “We’ve got two good quicks in Harry Gurney and Jake Ball, Steven Mullaney bowling medium pace, Samit Patel bowling spin, so we’ve got all bases covered.” That’s not including the man himself. And with good reason, last year he barely bowled: 11 overs with an economy of 12 and only two wickets. Although he scored over 300 runs at a strike rate of 158 and hit a boundary every 3.5 balls.This year, with Russell not playing and Christian back in bowling form, he has been used a bit more, 17.5 overs, taking eight wickets, and going at 9.9 an over. That economy is actually better than the average at Notts this year.His high economy and strike rates can somewhat be attributed to Nottinghamshire’s home ground of Trent Bridge with small boundaries and an incredibly good pitch for batting. Trent Bridge is the highest scoring ground in the T20 Blast. Actually, Trent Bridge is the highest scoring ground in all T20 cricket. Over the last two years matches at Trent Bridge have gone for 9.14 an over, no other ground is over nine. This season alone Trent Bridge is at 10.45, one run more than anyone else in England, and even the world over the last eight months. The runs-per-over in the Blast this season is almost two runs behind Nottinghamshire at 8.60. They are playing a different form of T20.Dan Christian celebrates a wicket•BCCIOver the last two years Nottinghamshire have won 10 and lost three at home.That is great, but brings in different problems for the captain. “We had all these plans at the start of the year here playing at Trent Bridge, where we were going to bowl and what fields we were going to set. And for the first few games we went for 222, then 195 the week after that, 208 again the next week, and then 223. We were tearing our hair out. We thought our plans must be wrong, but then we sat back and looked at some of the footage, and we thought that’s just a half volley, that’s short and wide, that’s supposed to be a straight yorker and it’s a half volley on the pads. So we just went back to the basics of trying to be as honest as we could in our appraisal of what we do, and then just try to change our execution.” The next two games teams only (only for Trent Bridge) scored 183 and 180.Christian is a pretty recent captain, he captained the indigenous team in Australia, and also a handful of games for South Australia, but until last year he was not really thought of as a skipper. That makes his last year at Pune quite helpful where he played with a quite extraordinary team of leaders. “Tactically I learnt a lot, playing under Smith, talking to Dhoni, du Plessis, and Stephen Fleming off the field. I’ve seen a couple of times where I’ve seen a situation for Notts and thought, oh yeah, we saw this happen in the IPL, and we tried this, and it’s ended up working.”Nottinghamshire lost their opening two games, and have gone eight and two since with the opening batsmen making all the runs, and a bowling line up so deep they play with seven bowlers some games, so Christian’s role is different again.And that’s what is so fascinating about his last nine months and T20 in general. In three of the main T20 competitions, he’s had three completely different roles. In Hobart he was a No. 5 five batsman at the start of the season, who became a traditional allrounder bowling one over at the top, a couple in the middle and finishing at the death. For Pune, he was a middle-overs bowler and death batsman. And for Nottinghamshire he’s the occasional third seamer, bowling up front and in the middle, usually as back up if the spinners are going for runs, and a batsman who comes in anytime from the eighth to twelfth over no matter what has gone on before him.And after all this chopping and changing, and going from competition to competition, he’s now been picked in the Australian T20 squad. Most likely to fulfil whatever one of these roles (most probably the Pune one, as it’s an Indian tour) the Australia team thinks it needs.Christian’s constant, and rapid evolution is very much the story of T20. He began as a sloggy allrounder with a bit more pace than most. That got him into the New South Wales T20 team, alongside Andrew Johns, the Rugby League star who was brought in as a novelty for the crowds. A few years later he received USD900,000 for the 2011 IPL season (it’s the law that this must be mentioned in all Christian articles) which surprised everyone in cricket, including Christian. And now he is a professional franchise cricketer, touring the world, fitting into teams in whichever role they need, and evolving his game as T20 changes.When he first started “we just turned up and played, it was just the last 20 overs of a one-dayer, and you’ve got ten blokes in the shed and see what happens,” he says. “That’s changed now. “There’s a real science to it these days. You’ve got to be so much more precise.”When asked if he’s a better player than he was when he was nearly an IPL millionaire he says, “Definitely, 100%. 100%.” The weird thing is, T20 moves so fast, he’s also definitely a better player than he was this time last year. In T20, everything happens quickly.