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Barcelona could reportedly lose over £218 million after La Liga rejected their attempts to register Dani Olmo before January.

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La Liga have rejected Barcelona's attempt to register OlmoCatalan club could lose upto £218m ($273m)Olmo is currently a free agent and could sign for another clubFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Barcelona received grim news as La Liga rejected their attempt to register Olmo before the January deadline, putting the Catalan giants in a precarious financial situation. Currently, Olmo is technically a free agent. Despite this, his agent, Andy Bara, confirmed to Fabrizio Romano that the player's intention is to "stay at Barcelona" and that they are "not considering any other option." However, if the situation isn't resolved, the financial repercussions for Barcelona could be staggering, according to .

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Barcelona would still owe Olmo £41m ($51m) in wages for the remainder of his contract, which runs until 2030, even if he departs the club. Additionally, the club is still obligated to pay RB Leipzig £47m ($59m) as part of the transfer agreement when they signed the forward. Furthermore, Barcelona would miss out on any potential transfer fee for Olmo, whose market value is currently estimated at £53m ($66.5m) by Transfermarkt.

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The financial blow doesn’t stop there. Barcelona recently sold VIP boxes at the Spotify Camp Nou for £87m ($109m) as part of a revenue-generation strategy during the stadium's ongoing renovations. However, experts believe the club could have secured double that amount—an additional £87m – had the sales been properly optimized. When all these figures are combined, the potential loss exceeds £218 million ($343m), a sum that the cash-strapped club cannot afford to lose. While some fans hold onto a sliver of hope that Barcelona can reverse the ruling by January 3, the dominant mood among supporters and insiders surrounding the club is one of pessimism.

Getty ImagesWHAT NEXT FOR BARCELONA?

This isn’t just a footballing crisis; it’s a financial catastrophe that could have long-lasting effects on the club's operations and ambitions. With mounting obligations and diminishing revenue streams, the Catalan giants face an uphill battle to stabilize their accounts. As the saga unfolds, Barcelona will have to move forward without Dani Olmo. The team is set to face lower-league side Barbastro in the Copa del Rey on Saturday. Following that, they will compete in the Supercopa de España semi-final against Athletic Club.

England need to cross a statistical hurdle of stellar proportions if they are to win the third Ashes Test

Andy Zaltzman12-Dec-2013The WACA has seldom been a happy place for England’s Test team. Never, in the past 25 years. Six Tests, six defeats, a collective bowling average of 39 (their seventh worst out of the 29 Test venues where England have played at least three Tests since 1988), and a collective batting average of 19, making it England’s worst venue with the bat over the past quarter of a century – their worst on any ground in that time.In terms of venues at which to begin one of the greatest comebacks in the history of English sport, it is about as auspicious as a plump baby seal booking in for swimming lessons in a shark tank.If England are to avoid surrendering the Ashes in the third Test of five for the sixth time in their last seven tours to Australia, it will take a Herculean effort. They have the players to do it. Whether those players can find the runs and wickets to do it is, of course, an entirely different kettle of out-of-form fish. It would, obviously, help if they stop hitting the ball in the air to fielders on the leg side – a strategy with little historical success – and if Australia’s rampant destroyers with bat and ball can be reminded of the frailties that engulfed their game and their team relatively recently. Part A of that ought to be possible; part B might be.Confectionery Stall Prediction: Australia to win by six wickets, or 143 runs.Confectionery Stall Prediction Rate For This Series So Far: 0%.And now, in advance of England’s efforts to overcome historical precedent, a form book that contains some rude numbers and fruity language, and their own technical glitches with bat, ball and hands, a deluge of stats.(Warning: these numerical nuggets are unlikely to prompt proud English cricket fans to rush out for that St George’s Cross facial tattoo they have been vacillating over until the statistical time was right.)* In the five Tests since Australia were obliterated at Lord’s by a potent combination of England and themselves, their batsmen have collectively averaged 39.5 runs per wicket, and scored at 58 runs per 100 balls. England’s have averaged 25.5, with a strike rate of 44. No England bowler has kept his economy rate below 3.2.* Australia’s bowlers have struck on average every 36 balls in England’s two first innings in the series so far – currently the best first-innings strike rate any team has managed in a series against England since 1899.● Australia’s current economy rate of 2.59 is their best in an Ashes series since 1993, and their best in a home Ashes since 1978-79. England’s batting strike rate for the year of 45.0 is their lowest since 2001.* Matt Prior became the second wicketkeeper ever to bag five Test ducks in a year. Australia’s Wally Grout did so in 1961, heroically achieving the anti-milestone in just 13 innings (compared to Prior’s 22). Previously, no England keeper had ever scored four ducks in a year. In the process, the England gloveman equalled the record for most ducks by an England player in a year – nine players had done so previously (including Panesar and Anderson twice each). Prior’s anti-joy was short-lived however – four overs later, Anderson bagged his sixth quacker of 2013, setting a new England record.* England’s numbers 6 to 11 in this series collectively averaged 11.5 in the first two Tests – currently, albeit only after two matches, their third worst such figure in an Ashes series, behind only 1886-87 and 1956. Their average partnership for the fifth to tenth wickets of 13.6 is currently the second worst performance by an English middle and lower order in any series of more than one match, beaten only by the 1998 home series against South Africa.● From all three of those series, however, England emerged victorious. We know how exhaustive (and, perhaps, exhausting) England’s preparations are. Perhaps their tail-end subsidences are a statistical stratagem based on these three series wins that will inevitably bring glorious success come Sydney in January. Perhaps not.● By comparison, in England’s three recent Ashes series wins, their numbers 6 to 11 have averaged 24.8 in last summer’s victory, 29.1 in Australia three years ago, and 28.3 in 2009 – all in England’s top ten mid-to-low order Ashes series collective averages. Australia’s 6 to 11 are collectively averaging 50.7 after the first two Tests, which is currently their best ever in an Ashes series.* Alastair Cook in 13 first innings since his hundreds in Mumbai and Kolkata last year: average 21, strike rate 34, with two half-centuries, and a highest score of 62.* England have failed to score a hundred in the past three Tests. If no one posts three figures in Perth, it will be their first four-Test run without a hundred since 1999, when their batsmen failed to trouble the honours boards in six consecutive matches.* Brad Haddin, having scored 94, 53 and 118, has become the second wicketkeeper to pass 50 in his first three innings in an Ashes series. Gilchrist did so in his one innings in each of the first three Tests in 2001 (152, 90 and 54), which was also the only previous occasion on which a keeper had scored 90 or more in two innings in an Ashes series. Haddin’s current series is the 11th instance of a keeper hitting three 50-plus scores in an Ashes series.* England were bowled out for under 200 in their first three innings of an Ashes for the first time since Gregory and MacDonald blasted them away in 1921. Evidently, England have not learned as much about playing high-paced bowling in the intervening 92 years as they might have done. (They would have also been out for less than 200 in all four innings in the first two Tests of 1950-51 had they not plumped for a sticky-wicket-affected declaration at 68 for 7 in their first innings of the series.) (But let’s not harp on about that, it was ages ago.)● England have lost more Tests in Perth since 1990 than they have lost at Old Trafford or Trent Bridge, despite only playing there once every four years. If they lose for a seventh consecutive time, Perth will hop into joint second place on the list of grounds where England have lost most often since 1990, behind only Lord’s where they have played 42 Tests in that time (losing ten of them).● Cricketing gods, please have mercy.

Number of professionals in women’s domestic game increases from 41 to 51

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Oct-2021Teenage allrounder Alice Capsey, winner of the PCA Women’s Young Player of the Year award, has received her first professional contract in the expanded list announced by the ECB for 2021-22.The expected increase means the eight regional teams now all have six contracted players, with extra funding at Northern Diamonds and Thunder bringing the total number of women on domestic deals to 51 – in addition to the 16 centrally contracted by England Women.Alongside Capsey, who starred for Oval Invincibles as they won the inaugural Women’s Hundred while still studying for her A Levels, the other players on their first full-time contracts are: Ami Campbell, Katie Levick, Bess Heath, Charlie Dean, Danielle Gregory, Grace Scrivens and Laura Jackson.Related

School's out for summer as Alice Capsey hits the road

New women's contracts in pipeline as ECB expands professional reach

Sophia Dunkley replaces Kirstie Gordon in England Women's central contracts list

Yorkshire have provided funding for two further contracts at Diamonds, awarded to Netherlands batter Sterre Kalis and Rachel Slater; while Lancashire will also support an additional pro player, with Phoebe Graham moving across the Pennines from Diamonds.Sophia Dunkley moved on to an England contract in the summer, with Kirstie Gordon now on a domestic deal. Marie Kelly has switched from Central Sparks to Lightning, with Abbey Freeborne going in the opposite direction.”It’s absolutely fundamental to the future of women’s and girls’ cricket in England and Wales that we’re able to continue increasing the depth of our regional game by offering more professional contracts to our players,” Clare Connor, the ECB’s managing director of women’s cricket, said.”We cannot overstate the impact that a new professional structure is having on our game. We’ve already seen the positive impact it has had on players’ performances in a relatively short space of time. The players are thriving, raising standards across the game and deepening the potential talent pool for England Women.”Just as important is the visibility of these players, showing young girls that cricket is a game that can offer them a professional future.”Professionalising the women’s game is a significant chapter for our sport and I’m thrilled that we’re able to continue that momentum by increasing the number of professional contracts on offer.”ECB women’s professional contracts 2021-22Central Sparks: Emily Arlott, Ami Campbell, Gwenan Davies, Abbey Freeborn, Eve Jones, Issy WongLightning: Kathryn Bryce, Sarah Bryce, Bethan Ellis, Kirstie Gordon, Lucy Higham, Marie KellyNorthern Diamonds: Hollie Armitage, Jenny Gunn, Bess Heath, Beth Langston, Katie Levick, Linsey Smith, *Sterre Kalis, *Rachel SlaterSouthern Vipers: Georgia Adams, Lauren Bell, Maia Bouchier, Charlie Dean, Tara Norris, Paige ScholfieldSouth East Stars: Alice Capsey, Aylish Cranstone, Alice Davidson-Richards, Danielle Gregory, Tash Farrant, Bryony SmithSunrisers: Amara Carr, Kelly Castle, Naomi Dattani, Jo Gardner, Cordelia Griffith, Grace ScrivensThunder: Georgie Boyce, Alex Hartley, Laura Jackson, Hannah Jones, Emma Lamb, Ellie Threlkeld, ** Phoebe GrahamWestern Storm: Dani Gibson, Alex Griffiths, Georgia Hennessey, Sophie Luff, Fi Morris, Nat Wraith*Funded by Northern Diamonds regional host, Yorkshire CCC
**Funded by Thunder regional host, Lancashire CCC

da bwin： With just two weeks left until deadline day, Chelsea have spent the summer stealing the headlines once again and could now end on their most surprising addition yet, according to reports.

Chelsea transfer news

da realbet： Once again, the Blues face a guessing game as to how their season is going to go with a new manager in Enzo Maresca alongside a sensational nine fresh faces. Chelsea have welcomed the likes of Filip Jorgensen, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and, most recently, Pedro Neto in another overhaul.

Speaking to the official website, Chelsea's ninth signing of the summer said: "I feel really grateful to have joined this club. I have worked really hard in my career to be here and I’m looking forward to getting on the pitch with this shirt."

The winger arrived for a reported £54m in a hefty deal, but even after splashing the cash once again, the Blues may not be done on the incomings front this month.

Related Chelsea prepared to offer Lukaku discount as Napoli table £26 million bid

The deal is heavily tied in with Chelsea’s move for Victor Osimhen.

Posts 1 ByEmilio Galantini Aug 16, 2024

Now, according to Fussball News, Chelsea are willing to offer Jadon Sancho an escape route out of his Manchester United misery and to Stamford Bridge before the summer window slams shut. The Blues are reportedly willing to hand Manchester United two academy stars in a swap deal for the former Borussia Dortmund star or land a loan deal with an obligation to buy, in which they'll cover his £250,000-a-week wages.

Whilst Sancho did patch things up with United boss Erik ten Hag, there's been no signs to suggest that he'll be a starter at Old Trafford this season, once again leaving the door open for an exit. In what would be one of the most surprising deals of the summer, Sancho could yet be on his way to Chelsea.

"Great" Sancho is a risk not worth taking for Maresca

Although he showed several signs during his loan move at Dortmund in the second half of last season that he is still capable of becoming a game-changer, Sancho is yet to show it in the Premier League. And given that Chelsea have just signed a winger in the form of Neto, the England international is arguably not worth the risk, especially considering his £250,000-a-week salary.

Of course, it would be on brand for this modern-day Chelsea side to ignore their growing squad and the red flags that Sancho would come with and secure his signature, nonetheless, but only time will tell whether they push on with their move.

Former Dortmund boss Edin Terzic was full of praise for Sancho last season, saying via BVB Buzz: "We were very happy with Jadon's performance against PSG. He had a really great game. We've emphasised again and again that he shows us in every training session how good he is. He hadn't played for a long time, but now he's fit, bursting with energy, and enjoying playing for us."

The move would undoubtedly steal the headlines. Whether it will take place remains to be seen, however.

Captain wants his side to build on experience for next T20 World Cup

Matt Roller07-Nov-20212:49

Masood: Shoaib and Hafeez will be big-match players in the semi-finals

Kyle Coetzer has called upon Cricket Scotland to be “bold and brave” in order to “push our whole organisation forward” after his side’s T20 World Cup campaign ended with heavy defeats against India and Pakistan.Scotland defied the odds to qualify as group winners from the first stage of the competition in Oman, beating the hosts, Bangladesh and Papua New Guinea to reach the Super 12s stage for the first time in their history, but struggled in the second round, losing all five of their games.They are already assured of a place in the first round of the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia by virtue of their Super 12s qualification, and Coetzer said that their success had inspired young players in Scotland and that his side had learned a lot they could take into next year’s campaign.”I’m extremely proud of how we’ve played and what we’ve achieved,” Coetzer said. “We’ve got an excellent group and the guys are willing to learn and are trying to learn as fast as they can. Being exposed to what we have been in the Super 12s is only going to make us stronger and make us realise some of the skills and efforts you have to put in to achieve it at this level.

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“Reaching the Super 12s was our immediate goal and we achieved that, but we need to learn as much as we possibly can because 12 months down the line, we’ve got another World Cup to go to. It’s going to be in different conditions so we’ll have to factor that in, but because we’ve experienced it, we now know what to expect.”When we go home we have to be bold and brave, and make sure we push our whole organisation forward. We have to find a way to improve our ‘A’ team structures when we’re at home and find a way to keep developing this team, this squad of players that we have. We’ve got a long journey to go on but it’s an exciting one to be part of: who wouldn’t want to be part of Cricket Scotland right now?”Coetzer said that Scotland had three key areas of improvement following the tournament: making better use of the powerplay with the bat, playing high-quality spin, and being “a little bit braver” with the ball by bluffing with field-sets.Kyle Coetzer wants Scotland to build on their Super 12s experience•ICC via Getty Images

“Not that we have never played here before – we have done quite a few times – but what we’ve realised is the importance of the powerplay,” he said. “We haven’t really nailed that yet with the bat.”[We’ve learned] the importance of how to play high-quality spin bowling. I believe we’re a very strong side and very capable of playing spin bowling but it’s a different story when you come and play at Sharjah and some of these grounds out here, and the style in which the mystery spin is coming down. We have to go away and see how we can develop that.”We need to be a little bit braver as a bowling unit, perhaps. We’ve noticed a number of the teams out here have actually been double-bluffing quite a lot, setting fields and bowling balls that don’t necessarily match up – but what they do do is they nail and execute those deliveries extremely well.”Scotland have been in the Gulf since late September, having played World Cricket League fixtures against Oman and Papua New Guinea before their T20 World Cup preparation, but Coetzer denied that fatigue had been an issue, highlighting Richie Berrington’s innings of 54 not out in their failed run chase against Pakistan as evidence.Related

• The World Cup showed that Associates have not kept up in T20 – because they're playing too few games

• Dominant Pakistan end group stage with all-win record

• Cool-headed Shoaib Malik shows how he fits into this Pakistan side

“I wouldn’t like to say that,” he said. “We’ve prepared well. We think we’re playing pretty decent cricket but the standard has certainly gone up when we hit the Super 12 stage and we had to find a way to adapt as quickly as we possibly could. Playing cricket out in the UAE isn’t easy and we’ve learnt a lot from this occasion.”We have been away from home for a little while but I wouldn’t like to use that as an excuse. We’ve got to look at ourselves and see where we can continue to improve. We’ve shown signs of that: look at Richie Berrington’s innings against a fine Pakistan attack. I thought he played outstandingly well and it may well go under the radar because we lost but it was a great knock.”Hopefully from the seven weeks or so we’ve managed to inspire as many associate nations as we possibly can and hopefully inspire young cricketers back in Scotland. That’s why we’re here: we get to try and give it all for our country and be able to inspire as many people as we possibly can. That’s how I started many years ago, watching Scotland play in the World Cup and hopefully there’ll be a few more boys and girls coming through that will want to play cricket for their country.”

Both teams are coming off wins and seem to have finally figured out their best combinations

Varun Shetty02-Oct-20211:43

Should Pooran continue at No. 3? How should RCB deal with Bishnoi?

Big pictureBoth Royal Challengers Bangalore and Punjab Kings seem to have finally figured out what their best combinations are. They’ve also won their last games and are looking to put together the kind of rollicking streak that can seal a playoff spot early in the IPL.Watch IPL on ESPN+ (US only)

IPL 2021 is available in the US on ESPN+. You can subscribe to ESPN+ and tune in to RCB vs PBKS here.

Royal Challengers are significantly closer to that – they’re on 14 points with three games to go and have won their last two. Solving their domestic No. 3 conundrum by giving an extended run to Srikar Bharat has brought stability, and the return of Shahbaz Ahmed has been a move that’s brought them closer to the team that dominated in the first half of the tournament.For the Kings, the chance to push each of their middle-order players some spots higher in the absence of Chris Gayle has created a sturdier batting since it has allowed Shahrukh Khan and Fabian Allen – bona-fide T20 finishers – to bat in more suitable positions. It also gives them flexibility in terms of bowling and all-round options, and although it’s only been one game so far, this might finally be a way that they’re able to break their reliance on the openers.Qualification chancesWith the Kolkata Knight Riders and the Mumbai Indians losing their most recent games, the Royal Challengers only need to win one of their last three matches to qualify. Three wins will give them a chance to finish among the top two if the Chennai Super Kings or the Delhi Capitals slip up in their last couple of matches.However, if the Royal Challengers botch up the last week and lose all three remaining matches, they could be eliminated, for as many as four teams could end up on 14 points, vying for two qualification spots.A win for the Kings will keep them in the hunt to reach that all-important tally of 14 points. Even if they get there, though, they will need other results to go their way to qualify. A defeat will leave them clutching at the slimmest of lifelines with some very specific result requirements: apart from winning their own last match, they will need the Knight Riders to lose their two remaining matches and stay at 10, and for Mumbai to beat the Royals, who in turn should beat the Knight Riders. Then three teams – the Kings, Mumbai and the Royals – will finish on 12 points, with the Kings likely to have the best net run rate among the three and take the fourth spot.In the newsFabian Allen appeared to be limping when he came in to bat against Kolkata Knight Riders on Friday. There is no official word on the type and extent of the injury.Likely XIsRoyal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Virat Kohli (capt.), 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Srikar Bharat (wk), 4 Glenn Maxwell, 5 AB de Villiers, 6 Shahbaz Ahmed, 7 Daniel Christian, 8 George Garton, 9 Harshal Patel, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalPunjab Kings: 1 KL Rahul (capt, wk), 2 Mayank Agarwal, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Aiden Markram, 5 Deepak Hooda, 6 Shahrukh Khan, 7 Fabian Allen/Harpreet Brar, 8 Ravi Bishnoi, 9 Nathan Ellis/Chris Jordan, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Mohammed ShamiStrategy punt Mayank Agarwal has an incredible strike rate of 184 against Yuzvendra Chahal in T20s; but that has also come at a cost, with Chahal dismissing him four times in 37 balls. Royal Challengers could use Chahal in the powerplay to break that opening stand Harpreet Brar has gone for 6.1 this IPL in five innings, with a Player-of-the-Match performance against RCB in Ahmedabad earlier this year when he dismissed Virat Kohli, AB de Villiers, and Glenn Maxwell. With Allen’s injury a potential concern, the Kings could consider bringing Brar back into the XI in Sharjah, where spinners have dominated the second half of the tournamentStats that matter Royal Challengers haven’t beaten Kings since the 2019 season Arshdeep Singh has gone wicketless in only two of his ten matches and is currently the Kings’ leading wicket-taker this season with 16 scalps in 10 matches. He averages 16.2 for six wickets in the powerplay at an economy of 6.5, and 13.4 for eight wickets in the death overs at an economy of 8.7 AB de Villiers has faced only 19 balls in four innings since the tournament’s resumption in UAE

Christopher Nkunku could reportedly consider a Chelsea exit next summer if he fails to tie down a regular spot in Enzo Maresca's team.

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Nkunku had injury-hit spell at ChelseaJanuary exit currently unlikelySummer departure a possibilityFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The Blues recruited Nkunku from RB Leipzig in the summer of 2023 for £52 million ($67m) in what was seen as a statement signing at the time. However, knee, hamstring, and various other injuries have limited his game time and this season, Nicolas Jackson has been Chelsea's first-choice striker. Now, journalist Florian Plettenberg claims the France international could depart the club in 2025 if his minutes don't improve – but a January exit is very unlikely.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT FLORIAN PLETTENBERG SAID

Plettenberg claimed that while Nkunku is 'highly motivated' and 'currently not planning a transfer this winter', his 'challenging situation' could soon change if Maresca doesn't afford him more opportunities.

The journalist added: "If Nkunku's situation does not improve by the summer, a departure from Chelsea FC could become a possibility."

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Nkunku has made 30 appearances for Chelsea in all competitions, scoring 13 goals along the way. Despite scoring 10 goals in 16 matches this term, he has made just one start in the Premier League in 2024-25. The 26-year-old has mainly started in the Carabao Cup and the Conference League but it seems clear he wants more action in the English top-flight. Losing him would be a blow for the Blues, especially after forking out such a big fee for him.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT?

It remains to be seen if Nkunku, whose contract at Stamford Bridge runs until 2029, will get game time when Chelsea host Arsenal in a crunch Premier League clash on Sunday afternoon.

In search of their replacement for Raphael Varane, Manchester United are now reportedly in pole position to sign a European star for Erik ten Hag in this summer's transfer window, having been given the green light by the player this week.

Man Utd transfer news

Whilst they're yet to officially get their summer business underway, Manchester United have been linked with plenty of names, including Joshua Zirkzee and Manuel Ugarte. Both players would instantly help Ten Hag solve two major problems in his current side, with Casemiro struggling in defensive midfield and United's attacking options far from thriving last season.

Replacing Casemiro is particularly important this summer, given that he sits at the heart of Ten Hag's side. The Brazilian, now 32 years old, began to show signs that he's past his best last season and has since been linked with a move to Saudi Arabia. Even without that move, however, United should prioritise welcoming a replacement in the form of Ugarte in the coming months.

Imagine him & De Ligt: Man Utd scouting "electric" Shaw replacement

The impressive full-back could be a game-changer for United.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Jul 3, 2024

Casemiro isn't the only player who will need replacing, either, following the departure of Varane at the end of last season. The Frenchman left as a free agent to create a gaping hole in United's defence that one European star could now fill.

According to Fabrizio Romano, Manchester United are now in pole position to sign Matthijs de Ligt this summer and have opened negotiations with Bayern Munich over a potential deal. The Dutchman, meanwhile, has reportedly given the green light regarding a move to Old Trafford in the coming months.

With De Ligt seemingly keen on the move, Manchester United have the chance to sign a defender who is more than capable of replacing Varane and more next season.

"Wonderful" De Ligt can lead Man Utd's backline

Earning a reported £261k-a-week, De Ligt already has plenty of experience at levels that some Manchester United players are yet to even see for themselves, having played in Champions League semi-finals and won league titles at both Ajax and Bayern Munich.

The Dutchman, currently at the Euros with his country, now has the chance to become the defensive leader that the Red Devils are so desperately crying out for next to Harry Maguire, or when fit Lisandro Martinez.

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It's a surprise that Bayern Munich have so willingly entered talks with Manchester United, given the praise that former sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic had for De Ligt when the central defender arrived in 2022, saying via the Bundesliga website: “We wanted to bring Matthijs to Munich three years ago. We were convinced of his qualities as a defender then, and we are even more so today.

"With his professionalism, his desire and his wonderful character, Matthijs fits our team as well as our ambitions. He will play an important role at Bayern on and off the pitch. He was already a leading player at Ajax as a youngster, and he is still capable of development at the high level he is at, at the age of 22.”

With Sunderland looking to bounce back from a disappointing season in the Championship, the Black Cats have reportedly set their sights on a player who's just left a European giant as a free agent.

Sunderland transfer news

Before anything, Sunderland may need to finally welcome their replacement for Michael Beale this summer. Those at The Stadium of Light have been without a permanent manager since February, with Mike Dodds only taking charge on an interim basis, and are still yet to name a fresh face in the dugout. That's not to say that plenty of names haven't been mentioned, however, with Will Still, Paul Heckingbottom and, more recently, Pascal Jansen linked with the job.

Sunderland could cash in on free signing who's now worth more than Clarke

Sunderland will be well aware they could make some substantial profit on this star soon.

By
Kelan Sarson

Jun 2, 2024

The longer they remain without a manager, the more that Sunderland could remain without a clear plan, which may push the likes of Jack Clarke and Jobe Bellingham out the door. The two young stars have both been linked with summer exits. And with the former now reportedly wanting to move on from the Stadium of Light, the Black Cats will be left searching for replacements, which is where one target could come in.

According to Dutch outlet FCUpdate, Sunderland are keen to sign Ar'jany Martha this summer following the expiry of his contract at European giants Ajax, making him a free agent. Given that the 20-year-old can play primarily as a left-back and on both attacking wings too, those in Wearside would be getting a player ready to step into a more defensive role.

They're not alone in their interest, however, with Championship rivals Burnley also reportedly eyeing a move to sign the former Ajax man this summer. The Clarets are in a similar position to Sunderland in that they're currently managerless whilst still seeking further improvements in the summer transfer window.

"Impressive" Martha can realise potential at Sunderland

Although things didn't work out at Ajax, Sunderland represents a place where young talent has thrived in recent years, from Clarke all the way to Manchester United gem Amad Diallo.

Now, it could be Martha's turn to thrive. The deal itself, meanwhile, could be relatively risk-free from Sunderland's perspective, given that they'd be getting a free agent and someone who still impressed when given the chance in the Netherlands. Antonio Mango described him as "impressive" on X:

If Martha arrives, then a player of such potential may need time to find his feet, but once he's comfortable, Sunderland could have an unexpected gem on their hands. As those at the Stadium of Light look to avoid a repeat of last season, welcoming the right manager before key reinforcements is crucial in the coming months, which could see Martha arrive on Wearside.

Marsh’s all-round brilliance, Hazlewood’s thrifty spell in vain for visitors in St Lucia

Andrew McGlashan09-Jul-2021West Indies fought back to secure an extraordinary victory in the opening match against Australia having been behind the game for large periods. The visitors contrived to lose their last six wickets for 19 runs against Obed McCoy and Hayden Walsh Jr having needed less than five over in the second half of the chase.McCoy, who was impressive in the recent series against South Africa, confounded Australia’s lower order with his slower-ball variations while Walsh Jr marked his recalled with the key wicket of top-scorer Mitchell Marsh who looked to have put Australia on track with a maiden T20I fifty.In the end it was another maiden T20I half-century, from Andre Russell, which finished on the winning side as his 51 off 28 balls transformed the West Indies innings after they had laboured against an inspired opening burst from Josh Hazlewood who conceded just three runs in his first three overs.Australia surged out of the blocks in the chase with 70 on the board at the end of the powerplay and the loss of three wickets in the same period seemed a reasonable price to pay to be so far ahead of the required run rate. The decisive collapse began when Ben McDermott missed a booming drive against Walsh Jr’s googly and the rest of Australia’s innings did not make much sense. A small crowd of fully vaccinated supporters were left jumping for joy.Hazlewood’s powerplay perfection
There was one spot up for grabs among Australia’s four specialist bowlers and it went to Hazlewood for just the 10th T20I in a career that started in 2013. He could not have put in a better display to advance his claims for a spot in the T20 World Cup squad. With his second ball he had Evin Lewis taken at mid-on and then he tied down Chris Gayle with a maiden in his second over. That pressure told when Gayle got a top edge to point in Hazlewood’s third over, by the end of which he had the astonishing figures of 3-1-3-2 – including 17 dot balls – as West Indies limped along in the fielding restrictions with Lendl Simmons 19 off 23 balls in the first six overs. Hazlewood would return for the final over of the innings where he adjusted his length to end the thunderous display of Russell and, if it hadn’t been for Dwayne Bravo sending the last ball for six, he could have finished with Australia’s most economical four-over display.