Tottenham Hotspur are now closely monitoring an “exceptional” attacking midfielder, who is also a target for Champions League semi-finalists Paris Saint-Germain, according to a report.

Spurs set sights on new midfielder

Tottenham have fallen way short of expectations in the Premier League this season, but they took a huge step towards Champions League qualification by progressing past Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League earlier this week.

With Ange Postecoglou’s side set to take on Bodo/Glimt in the semi-final, they should, on paper, stand a very good chance of going all the way in the competition, which would allow them to compete for some top players in the summer transfer window.

A new midfielder is of particular interest to Spurs, and they have recently been handed a boost in their pursuit of Frankfurt’s Hugo Larsson, with it being revealed the 20-year-old is privately considering a move to north London, despite interest from Manchester City.

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The Lilywhites want to hold discussions.

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There appears to be a focus on youth ahead of the summer window, with it being revealed Tottenham are also keen on signing Sunderland starlet Jobe Bellingham, who could be available for around £20m.

A move for Bellingham wouldn’t break the bank, but there is another target on the shortlist who could also be available for a relatively low fee, with a report from Spain revealing Spurs are interested in signing FC Como’s Nico Paz.

Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain are also in the race for Paz, while Real Madrid hold a buy-back clause, which allows them to snap up their former player for just €9m (£8m), giving them an advantage over the other interested clubs.

That said, the Lilywhites are doing everything they can to win the race for the 20-year-old, whose market value could increase considerably, should he maintain his current levels of performance.

"Exceptional" Paz flourishing in the Serie A

The former Real Madrid man was unable to make the grade in La Liga, but he has flourished since making the move to Como last summer, picking up six goals and seven assists in 30 Serie A appearances.

It should be little surprise that the Spanish-born midfielder is performing very well in Italy, however, given that former Real Madrid man Toni Kroos spoke very highly of him during his time at the Bernabeu, saying: “This lad (Nico Paz) should be training with us every day because he’s exceptional.”

Not only that, but manager and fellow legendary midfielder Cesc Fabregas has also praised the Como star this season, saying: “Nico enjoys playing, he can play different roles and he is a very complete player.”

“I see a very, very big potential in him.”

As such, Paz could be a fantastic signing for Tottenham this summer, but it could be difficult to compete with Real Madrid, should the Spanish side formalise their interest.

England captain defends leadership in doomed campaign, believes ‘blended’ squad will come good

Andrew Miller22-May-2024

Jos Buttler, England’s captain, has backed his players to put the disappointment of their 50-over World Cup defence to one side as they set out to retain the 20-over version they won in Australia two winters ago. However, he insisted that their failures in India before Christmas could not be attributed solely to a “lack of clarity” from the team management.Despite being considered among the favourites for the 2023 World Cup, England lost six of their first seven matches – including a nine-wicket loss to New Zealand in the tournament opener; a historic maiden defeat to Afghanistan, and a record 229-run loss to South Africa. Only a pair of late wins against the Netherlands and Pakistan spared them the humiliation of having to pre-qualify for the 2027 Champions Trophy.Buttler himself endured a poor campaign with the bat, making 138 runs at 15.33 in nine appearances, with some critics suggesting his own struggle for form had impacted his communication within the squad. However, speaking to Sky Sports in the wake of the washed-out first T20I against Pakistan, he defended his leadership, and insisted that England’s problem had been simple: “We just didn’t play well enough”.”The big learning for me is to try not to confuse freedom with maybe a lack of clarity,” he said after the abandonment at Headingley. “Sometimes you’re trying to let players play with freedom and you don’t want to step in too much. But you have to make sure you don’t miss things.”Maybe [there could have been] more communication at times, to make sure people are clear on what is needed from them. But certainly there are times where I look back and say I’d probably make similar decisions in certain instances, and for whatever reason, they just don’t work out.Phil Salt recorded back-to-back T20I hundreds in the Caribbean in December•Associated Press

“Even if there was a lack of clarity, or whatever you want to call it, I’d still expect us to perform better than we did. It’s easy to look at results and say there are certain things you would do differently or say differently. We just didn’t play well enough.”It’s a chapter in the book, it was obviously a really disappointing World Cup and your pride and confidence gets dented a bit, but time moves on, and this a really exciting opportunity now with this World Cup coming up.”In response to his former captain and fellow 2019 World Cup winner, Eoin Morgan, Buttler was bullish when asked whether England would have the wherewithal to bounce back from adversity in their 20-over defence – much as they were forced to do after losing to Ireland in a rain-affected group match at the MCG in the 2022 campaign.”I don’t see why not,” he said. “You guys are sat here talking as if no-one knows what’s going on. I’m pretty sure there’s some experienced players in there who know how cricket works, and know how to play T20 cricket.”I don’t think it’s about trying to reinvent the wheel, or trying to give people messages that they’ve never heard before. It’s about playing good cricket. In tournament cricket, you’ve got to play the crunch moments really well. You’ve got to come back from adversity really well. You have to read the game and play well, and be able to adapt.”There might be games where you need to score in excess of 200, there might be games where you need to scrap and try and defend 140, on a wicket that’s holding up and it’s tough for batting.”England gained a valuable insight into the tournament’s likely conditions when they faced the hosts West Indies in a hard-fought five-match T20I series before Christmas. West Indies won the decider to claim the series 3-2, but only after England had fought back from a 2-0 deficit. Their stand-out performer was Phil Salt, who cemented his status as Buttler’s opening partner with back-to-back centuries, and has since carried that form into an impressive IPL campaign with Kolkata Knight Riders.”We’ve got a really nice blended squad actually,” Buttler said. “We’ve got a lot of experience but some guys who are really on the upward curve, the likes of Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Harry Brook, who is still very early in his international career. Those guys are really trending in the right direction and pushing this team forward.”Related

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Early in his international career, Salt had a tendency to give his innings away after powerful starts. However, a mid-tournament run of three fifties and a 48 in five innings, all scored at strike-rates between 189 and 342, confirmed his new-found ability to align power with endurance.”One of the great things about him is he’s got that insatiable appetite to learn,” Buttler said. “He’s not afraid of asking questions. He’s always wanting feedback. At every training session, he’s clearly trying to work on something to improve.”Personally, I see he’s really improved his off-side game,” he added. “He’s always been very, very strong through the leg-side. But watching him back in the IPL especially, I thought he was so hard to bowl at, because he scored so freely through the off-side and he’s never going to lose that leg side game as well.”One of his things in the past would be those scores of 30 off 15, or 25 off 10, but he’s been able to go on and really extend those innings, which show great maturity. He can be one of the real key players for us.”England’s campaign gets underway against Scotland on June 4 in Bridgetown, the venue where they played the first of their five T20Is in December. England have since enlisted the help of Kieron Pollard as a batting consultant for their campaign, and Buttler is confident the team’s preparations would enable them to give a good account of themselves.”The conditions out there, the wickets can be a little bit slower,” Buttler said. “Spin will play a big part out there, as well as extra pace. I think the wind is a big factor on those island grounds too. But one thing that people will have to react quickly to in that World Cup is a very early start, with some 10 o’clock or 10.30 starts. A lot of the time you’re playing night cricket in T20s, so it’s trying to learn from that.”

Saeed Ahmed, the former Pakistan captain and allrounder, has died in Lahore at the age of 86 after a brief illness. Saeed, who played 41 Test matches between 1958 and 1973, captained the side briefly, for three drawn Test matches against England in 1969, replacing Hanif Mohammad. He scored 2991 Test runs, including five Test centuries, two of which came against India. A capable offspinner, he also took 22 Test wickets.Saeed was born in Jalandhar in 1937 in what was then British India – now a part of Indian Punjab. He made his debut at the age of 20 against West Indies in the famous drawn Test in Bridgetown, where Hanif Mohammad batted for 970 minutes to score 337. Saeed struck up a 154-run partnership with Mohammad for the third wicket, scoring 65 as West Indies bowled 319 overs before the game was ultimately called off.He quickly made a name for his grace and easy power, particularly when driving the ball, and demonstrated instantly that he belonged at the highest level. He finished his career with a batting average of 40.01, almost identical to his first-class average of 40.02. He later scored his first of five Test hundreds – 150 – in Georgetown against an attack that included Roy Gilchrist, Lance Gibbs and Garry Sobers, though West Indies won that Test by eight wickets. Pakistan won just one of the five Tests he scored a hundred in, though playing in the least prolific period of Pakistan’s Test history may have been a factor there.He was a staple in the Pakistan side for most of his career, though it ended ignominiously. After getting into a spat with Dennis Lillee on Pakistan’s 1972 tour of Australia, he ruled himself out of the third Test citing a back injury. The board believed he was faking it, and sent him home for discipline; he would never play for Pakistan again.”The PCB is saddened over the demise of one of our former Test captain and expresses deep condolences to the family of Saeed Ahmed,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi said. “He served Pakistan with all his heart and the PCB honours his record and services for the Test team.”After retirement, Saeed stepped away from cricket, never working in the sport again. He lived by himself in Lahore for several years, living a reclusive life with few friends or family for company, while his deteriorating health required repeated hospital visits. He was taken to hospital at noon on Wednesday, and died there shortly after.He is survived by one son, two daughters, and brother Younis Ahmed, who played four Tests for Pakistan.

Tottenham Hotspur do not have the best of reputations when it comes to buying players in the transfer window.

In fact, the fans have often decried the ownership for not backing their managers enough, which is entirely understandable considering Mauricio Pochettino was unable to sign a single player for 517 days.

However, for all the North Londoners’ historical lack of big spending in windows, they have always been strong sellers.

Daniel Levy has made a name for himself for being one of the toughest negotiators in the game, which has led to some pretty sizable sales in the past, including one player who was moved on for 750% more than he cost.

Ranking Spurs' best-ever sales

So before getting to the player in question, it’s worth looking at some of Spurs’ other impressive sales, starting with England international Kyle Walker.

The incredibly experienced full-back joined the North Londoners from Sheffield United for around £5m in 2009 and, after a few loan spells, became a mainstay in the first team during the 2011/12 season.

The 34-year-old went on to make 229 appearances for the Lilywhites, scoring four goals and providing 18 assists before Manchester City signed him for a fee of £50m, which was not only a tidy £45m profit for Tottenham but also a record for a defender at the time.

From defence to attacker now and the club’s record sale: Harry Kane.

The England captain famously came up through the club’s academy after being released by North London rivals Arsenal, and after several loan moves himself, he ended up making 435 first-team appearances, in which he scored a staggering 280 goals and provided 61 assists.

That means the Walthamstow-born monster averaged a goal involvement every 1.27 games during his time in the capital, which helped to justify the eye-watering £86.4m fee he cost Bayern Munich in 2023.

However, while Kane’s sale was a good bit of business from Levy and Co, a sale made a decade prior was even more impressive.

Gareth Bale: Spurs' best-ever sale

So, with Kane and Walker’s massive sales already covered, it should come as no surprise that the sale we reckon is Spurs’ best is that of Gareth Bale.

The Welsh superstar was signed for around £10m, including add-ons, in May 2007 and then sold for a then-world-record fee of £85m in the summer of 2013, meaning Tottenham sold the incredible winger for an astronomical 750% increase on their initial investment.

Moreover, while that would still be an impressive fee to receive for a player today, the fact Levy managed to get it over a decade ago is truly remarkable.

That said, the Cardiff-born monster proved to be value for money during his title-laden stay in the Spanish capital, and considering how well he was playing prior to the transfer, it was an entirely justifiable fee.

For example, even though the “once in a lifetime” star, as Wales manager Craig Bellamy described him, struggled with injuries and poor form early on in his Spurs career, a change in position from full-back to winger under Harry Redknapp set him on his way to becoming a world-class superstar.

During his first stint in North London, the incredible dynamo racked up a tally of 55 goals and 50 assists in 203 appearances, but it was in his final season before moving to Madrid that he truly reached a world-class standard.

Across 44 appearances in the 12/13 season, totalling 3891 minutes, the Welsh icon scored 26 goals and provided ten assists, meaning he averaged a goal involvement every 1.22 games, or every 108.08 minutes.

Ultimately, Tottenham have made some impressive sales over the years, but considering the price they paid and the period in which they sold him, Bale’s sale remains the best in Spurs’ history.

Their new Archie Gray: Spurs submit bid to sign "wonderful" English star

The promising talent could be just what Spurs are after.

By
Jack Salveson Holmes

Mar 24, 2025

Manchester United have taken the first step toward exploring a move for Inter Milan’s Davide Frattesi, reaching out to the Serie A giants to gather information regarding a potential summer transfer, as revealed by Caught Offside. His future at the San Siro appears uncertain, with several European clubs, including Tottenham Hotspur, Roma, and Atletico Madrid, also monitoring the situation closely.

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United looking to add steel in midfieldHave zeroed in on Inter star FrattesiMight have to shell out €35m for the playerFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The midfielder, who joined Inter permanently last year, has yet to express a firm desire to leave Milan. However, sources suggest that Inter are open to parting ways with the Italian international should the right offer come in.

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Inter have revised their valuation of Frattesi, reducing their asking price from €50 million (£43m/$59m) to approximately €35 million (£30m/$41m). This shift has reignited interest from several Premier League clubs, with United and Spurs now reportedly leading the chase.

DID YOU KNOW?

Frattesi is among the midfielders being evaluated, as United consider him a potential improvement over underwhelming recent performers like Casemiro and Manuel Ugarte. The club’s recruitment team is also keeping tabs on Joao Palhinha and Crystal Palace’s rising star Adam Wharton, both of whom have been linked with summer moves to Old Trafford.

AFPWHAT NEXT?

With his value now more affordable and several top clubs circling, Frattesi faces a pivotal decision in the weeks ahead. With Tottenham also circling and Atletico stepping up their own interest, United may need to move swiftly if they are to win the race for the 25-year-old Italian’s signature.

da betobet： Arsenal hold a serious belief that they’ve now signed a “world-class” player for Mikel Arteta ahead of next season, and they’re behaving like it is a done deal behind-the-scenes.

Arsenal's main transfer plans for this summer

da roleta： Buoyed by the arrival of new sporting director Andrea Berta, Arteta has already admitted that Arsenal are set for a “big” summer transfer window after the Italian’s appointment.

Related Arsenal demand major Thomas Partey concession in talks over new deal

The Ghanaian has arguably enjoyed his best campaign at Arsenal.

Posts ByEmilio Galantini Apr 25, 2025

A host of incomings across multiple areas of the squad are anticipated ahead of what is expected to be a busy debut window for Berta, with GiveMeSport recently reporting that £300 million could be spent on seven major signings.

As per GMS, Arsenal are believed to be prioritising a new second-choice goalkeeper to replace Neto, a full-back, new midfielder, left-winger, right-winger and striker. Kieran Tierney is off to Celtic, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is expected to be sold after falling down Arteta’s pecking order.

Arsenal’s final Premier League games

Date

Bournemouth (home)

May 3rd

Liverpool (away)

May 11th

Newcastle United (home)

May 18th

Southampton (away)

May 25th

While Thomas Partey is in talks to extend his Arsenal contract, Jorginho remains likely to depart when his contract expires, meaning the addition of a centre-midfielder is still pretty imperative before 2025/2026.

Meanwhile, Leandro Trossard’s long-term future is uncertain, as his contract expires in 2026, with Arsenal arguably in need of another winger who can provide Arteta with a quality alternative to the likes of Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli.

Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz’s long-term injuries have also emphasised the need for Arsenal to finally sign a prolific striker, so there is plenty to do for Berta. Indeed, Arteta confirmed last week that he wants Arsenal to bring more strength and depth into the squad, sending a subtle message to his director.

“Squad quality and availability. Without those two, we cannot compete in four competitions,” said Arteta on his Arsenal transfer wish.

“At this level, especially in this country, it’s impossible. The higher the quality, the higher the availability, the more chances, probability you have. After you have to do it. But the probability goes high.”

Arsenal "internally" behaving like Martin Zubimendi deal is "done"

One top target for Arsenal, as per multiple reports, is Real Sociedad midfielder Martin Zubimendi.

They’ve been in negotiations over the Spain international’s acquisition for quite some time, with The Mail first reporting advanced pre-summer talks in January. Since then, the consensus has been that Arsenal are confident they can sign Zubimendi before June, while Marca journalist Juan Castro reported this week that an agreement appears to be struck already.

Now, the reliable David Ornstein has somewhat backed up Castro’s claim, stating that Arsenal are “internally” behaving like Zubimendi is a “done deal”.

This interesting update from a very credible source should fill supporters with confidence, as the feeling within N5 appears to be that it is inevitable the 26-year-old will finally make his long-awaited move to England, just a year after he publicly rejected Liverpool’s advances.

Called a “world-class” player by Tierney, during their time together at Sociedad, Zubimendi has been likened to Balon d’Or winner Rodri and played a key role for Spain in their Euro 2024 final triumph against England.

The La Liga mainstay is indispensable for his boyhood club, but it appears he’ll soon be waving goodbye if all goes to plan.

The former allrounder is in line to be the temporary head coach of Bangladesh alongside being a member of the selection panel and a director of the cricket board

Mohammad Isam27-Nov-2017When BCB president Nazmul Hassan identified Khaled Mahmud as the frontrunner to be the interim head coach of Bangladesh, various potential conflicts came starkly into view.Mahmud is currently a BCB director and if he is ultimately given the temporary job, he will be the first director-cum-coach in world cricket. Even for someone who was an allrounder during his playing career, this dual role will be something.But this is not the first time Mahmud finds himself juggling several roles. He has been Bangladesh’s team manager on a number of occasions since the 2015 World Cup. He has also been head coach of Dhaka Premier League side Abahani Limited for the past three seasons, head coach of the BPL team Dhaka Dynamites since 2016, and a national selector since 2016.Wait. There’s more. Mahmud is the vice-president of players’ association – the Cricketers Welfare Association of Bangladesh (CWAB). Naimur Rahman is president. Both Naimur and Mahmud are also BCB directors which puts them, theoretically, at both ends of the bargaining table for cricketers’ rights.And it does not end there. Mahmud is also head coach of Shinepukur Cricket Club, the Dhaka First Division Cricket League champions who earned promotion to the 2017-18 DPL, and Bangla Trac Cricket Academy. During the BCB directors’ last term, he was chairman of the BCB’s development committee, which meant he headed a department that finds and hones talent from across the country while working for a privately-owned academy that provides talent.All of these roles have made Mahmud arguably the most influential policy-maker in Bangladesh cricket. He has authority over senior team selection while at the same time being in charge of two of the top domestic teams in the country.Last year, when he was appointed to the selection committee, questions were raised that the captain should have been part of it instead of the manager. But BCB chief Hassan explained that it was only because of Mahmud that the team manager was being made a selector, not the other way around.Mahmud has, in the past, understood the problems leading so many roles could cause. In January 2013, he quit the BCB’s ad-hoc committee to join Chittagong Kings’ as coach in the BPL to avoid a conflict of interest.”Without any doubt it was a great honour for me when I was included on the ad-hoc committee,” Mahmud had said at the time. “It would have been nice if I continued, but the reality is different for me.”I have to earn money for my livelihood, so there was no other choice rather than taking the decision to continue as coach of the Chittagong Kings. I talked with [Nazmul Hassan] Papon bhai. Actually it was not possible to continue with both jobs as there was a conflict of interest.”Nine months later, he was elected board director and then took on all of those roles.Mahmud is not alone. The board president Hassan and director Ismail Haider Mallick, who is also the BPL governing council’s secretary, are employees of Beximco Group, which owns the BPL side Dhaka Dynamites and Shinepukur Cricket Club. Khulna Titans is owned by Kazi Inam Ahmed, who is also a current BCB director; the team employs Habibul Bashar as well, who is on the Bangladesh selection panel. Meanwhile, chief selector Minhajul Abedin is working for Chittagong Vikings in this season’s BPL.The BCB has, in practice, allowed for these conflicts of interest. Club officials have always held powerful positions in the cricket board. When re-writing its constitution in 2017, the board had an opportunity to address this issue in a more detailed manner but chose to ignore it completely.Some argue that a lack of quality administrators leaves the BCB with no choice. But the board has also mostly preferred to rely on Dhaka-based officials to run it; if they spread their net wider, they wouldn’t have the problem of quantity. Developing quality is then a matter of time.Perhaps it is time for the BCB to adopt the Cricket Australia (CA) model. CA changed their governance plan in 2012 so that the board is an independent entity containing nine directors. None of them are allowed to be directors or chairmen of their member associations.There are some like Mark Taylor (New South Wales) or Tony Harrison (Tasmania) who used to be, but they had to resign from state posts during an interim process from 2012 to 2014. The only potential conflict now is Taylor being board director and also a Channel Nine commentator.When asked about his dual role, Naimur said that CWAB representation in the board is helpful as it gives the representative a position to talk and work as a partner with the board. The CWAB already has a designated councillorship in the BCB apart from Naimur (a BCB councillor through Manikganj district) or Mahmud (BCB councillor in the cricketers’ quota).

He has confirmed that the ongoing T20 World Cup will be his last tournament in the role

Sidharth Monga03-Jun-20241:43

Dravid: Even 140 could be a winning total in certain conditions

Rahul Dravid has confirmed that the T20 World Cup 2024 will be his last assignment as India head coach as he will not be applying for the position again. It was largely expected, but this was the first official confirmation that India will have a new coach come July.Dravid confirmed it when asked if this World Cup was going to hold extra importance for him. “Every tournament is important,” Dravid said. “Every game that I’ve coached for India has been very important for me. For me, this is no different just because it is going to be the last one that I’m in charge of. I love doing the job. I’ve really enjoyed coaching India, and I think it’s a truly special job to do. I’ve enjoyed working with this team, and it’s a great bunch of boys to work with.”Unfortunately, just the kind of schedules [that are in place in international cricket] and where I find myself in this stage in my life, I don’t think I’ll be able to re-apply. Having said that, it’s no different for me to be very honest. I don’t see this anything particularly different or significant. From the first day I took the job, I always felt that every game was important and every game mattered, and that will not change.”Related

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As a player, Dravid played a World Cup final in 2003, but even though he enjoyed a stellar career and was part of the No. 1 Test side, he never got to be called a world champion. As a coach, he came close to it on three occasions, in all three formats. This will be his last chance for now to be part of a world champion side. Dravid, though, could step back and look at the larger picture.”To be very honest, I think we’ve actually played really well in these World Cup tournaments,” Dravid said. “In terms of our consistency, we’ve been very consistent. Making the semi-final in the first, in the T20 one in Australia [in 2022]. The World Test Championship is slightly different in terms of it’s not one tournament, but it’s a whole cycle, but playing extremely well in the cycle to get to the final there again [in 2023]. The 50-over World Cup where we had a great run and went into the final [in 2023]. In terms of our consistency, in terms of the quality of cricket that we have played in these big tournaments, I think we’ve been right up there with some of the best teams.’You have to find yourselves in those positions where you are pushing for glory, and that’s all you can do as a group and as a team’•ICC via Getty Images

“We can’t say that we’ve not played good cricket in these tournaments. Yes, we probably haven’t been able to get across the line in that one knockout game. The [2023 ODI] final in Ahmedabad or the [WTC final] game at The Oval and then again at Adelaide in the T20 semi-final. So we just probably haven’t been able to execute in that last phase.”Hopefully we play good cricket to get ourselves into those positions again. Then maybe play good cricket on the day to get across the line. But the important thing when you start these tournaments is not to think about that. It is to actually think about getting into those positions again. I think that’s as hard as actually winning those games at times. You have to find yourselves in those positions where you are pushing for glory, and that’s all you can do as a group and as a team. Our whole goal will be to try and get ourselves once again into a position where we give ourselves a chance to be able to, um, win a tournament.”That unfortunately is not enough if you are the Indian cricket team. It comes with the territory of being the most followed cricket team in the world. Dravid said they would need to focus more on their decision-making than expectations to get past the knockouts hurdle.”To be able to read and understand conditions that will be different in various places,” Dravid said. “It’s our ability to use our experience. It’s our ability to execute in the middle. It’s our ability to make the right decisions whether with the bat or with the ball at those critical moments, which will be the defining factor. We would rather focus on that rather than kind of worry about the expectations. Of course, there are expectations and it’s a great thing that people are rating our team highly because that means that we’ve been playing good cricket and we’ve got a good squad together.”