Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag revealed his plan for unlocking Antony's threat against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
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Newcastle United have already completed the signing of Sandro Tonali this summer and now a new update has emerged on the club's next move on a long-standing transfer target.
What's the latest on Newcastle's interest in Kieran Tierney?
According to Football Insider, Newcastle are reigniting a move for Arsenal left-back Kieran Tierney following sit-down talks.
As per the report, the Magpies have moved on after missing out on Fulham's Antonee Robinson and are now exploring a move for Tierney instead.
It is claimed that the player is the top target for Eddie Howe in his shortlist of left-back options and the club are now in pole position to secure his signature.
How good is Kieran Tierney?
Whilst the interest in Tierney appeared to have cooled due to making the signing of Robinson their priority, the young in-demand Fulham star has now signed a new long-term deal to remain at Craven Cottage, ensuring Newcastle can now focus on agreeing a deal with Arsenal for their out of favour full-back.
Howe is looking to bolster key areas of his squad to ensure his already impressive team can continue to develop and compete for trophies next season, as well as putting together a good run in their long-awaited return to the Champions League.
The left-back role is one that could definitely be strengthened with centre-back Dan Burn playing out of position the entire campaign to maintain quality across the back-line, whilst Matt Targett doesn't appear to be a trusted option which reflects in his limited game-time at St James' Park last season – having started just six league games in 2022/23.
Indeed, Burn – who has made a "ridiculous impact" according to pundit Frank McAvennie – has done a fantastic job in his adapted role and played a key part in Newcastle's League Cup journey alongside qualification for Champions League football, however, it would be advantageous to bolster the position with an experienced left-back who is a natural in the role too.
As a result, the signing of Tierney could be a great piece of business for the Tyneside outfit ahead of next season, despite his lack of minutes at the Emirates in recent times due to a variety of injury issues and the arrival of Oleksandr Zinchenko last summer.
The 26-year-old – who also started just six league games last term – ranks in the top 20% of his positional peers across the top five European leagues for shots on goal, progressive carries and progressive passes, demonstrating his clear attacking-minded style of play from his position of the left-flank, as per FBref.
In contrast to the aforementioned Robinson, the former Celtic ace – who has a reported £30m price tag – has won more tackles per 90 (1.84 v 1.81), delivered the same number of shot-creating actions per 90 (1.69 v 1.69) and provided more progressive passes per 90 (5.15 v 3.76), showcasing that the failure to land the Fulham man could prove to be a blessing in disguise, such is Tierney's all-round quality.
The Scotland star has drawn high praise over his career so far, with former Arsenal full-back Ashley Cole complimenting Tierney's impact on the Gunners when fit:
"When he’s in the team, they are a different team, he’s willing to defend, he’s that kind of leader and warrior they need in this team."
With that being said, if Newcastle can strike up a good deal for Tierney he would certainly provide the left-back position with a fresh perspective ahead of next season and will undoubtedly push Burn for the first-team role if he can be a difference-maker for Howe in the future.
Jude Bellingham has been breaking records at Real Madrid, but he admits to still “disappointing” boss Carlo Ancelotti in one area.
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Manchester United target Andre Onana is "open" to a move to Old Trafford this summer, according to Fabrizio Romano.
Is Onana joining Man United?
With Erik ten Hag's side having finally agreed a deal with Chelsea for Mason Mount, attention has turned to replacing the departing David de Gea, who is edging towards leaving the club following the expiration of his contract.
The man they have seemingly turned to is Inter's Onana, who is in contact with United over a move to the Premier League.
Despite no fee having been agreed with the Italian side as of yet, it is believed that Inter will demand a fee of around £50m for their 27-year-old shot-stopper. United will be hoping to get that figure down, or at least spread the payment over a long period of time.
According to Fabrizio Romano, Onana is keen on a move to the Premier League and is open to joining the Red Devils on a permanent basis.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, the Italian said: "Something I mentioned yesterday night and in the past few days about Andre Onana is that Manchester United interest is there. I can say that also in the recent hours, today Man United had one more contact with Andre Onana's camp."
He added: "They [Inter] want around €50/55m for Onana, not less than this. But, for sure Man United interest is there. They're very well informed on the conditions, on player and club side, and the player would be open to Premier League experience."
The fact that Onana is open to a Manchester United will only strengthen the club's position when bargaining for the Cameroon international, although it appears that United are yet to approach Inter directly to speak about the transfer.
Chelsea were also interested in Onana, with the Blues eager to replace Edouard Mendy, but United have jumped ahead of them in the queue.
Is Onana an upgrade on De Gea?
When comparing Onana with his potential predecessor De Gea, both in their domestic leagues only, the two goalkeepers are not too dissimilar in standard.
Onana conceded 0.13 fewer goals per 90 and boasted a 2.4% higher save percentage than his counterpart, while De Gea enjoyed a significantly better clean sheet percentage (44.7 to 33.3).
However, there is a difference when it comes to distribution. Despite playing 14 fewer games than De Gea, Onana managed only 29 fewer passes, boasting a 10.1% better pass accuracy, but the main difference came with long passes as both goalkeepers had the exact same short and medium pass completion percentage.
It's clear that Onana is more comfortable with the ball at his feet and is utilised in a distributor role far more often than De Gea, which is the main reason Ten Hag is looking to move for the 27-year-old.
For Ten Hag, however, it looks like a trade worth making to help him implement his style of football at Old Trafford.
The 18-year old legspinner picked up five wickets in only two overs to ensure Afghanistan beat Ireland by 17 runs in a rain-shortened match and furthered their record-breaking winning streak
ESPNcricinfo staff10-Mar-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsFile photo: Ireland’s middle order could not handle Rashid Khan’s clever changes of pace•Peter Della Penna
Twelve little balls of legspin. How much damage could it really do? Well, it could change the fate of a T20I, vault the practitioner to the greatest of heights and protect a proud winning streak that seemed all but dead. Before Rashid Khan, no one had ever taken a five-wicket haul in as little time as two overs in Twenty20 international cricket. The record, though, was merely a byproduct of his ability to vary pace, prey on the pressure the Ireland batsmen felt and then toss up the hit-me ball, which invariably turned out to be a googly that bamboozled everyone. The slogs came, the stumps were broken, the rest became history.Afghanistan came into the match with nine straight wins in the shortest format. It was already a world record, but their hopes of pushing it to 10 took a major hit when heavy rain lashed across the Greater Noida Sports Complex. With only the pitch and the bowler’s run-ups under covers, the majority of the outfield took on a lot of water and it was testament to the ground staff that the match even restarted. Ireland had been 65 for 2 in 6.1 overs when the weather intervened, which put them 12 runs ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis par score considering the target was 185. Then the rain stopped.And Rashid went to work. He hoodwinked Kevin O’Brien and Gary Wilson with wrong ‘uns in his first over. His next one was a triple-wicket maiden and it simply trampled upon all the hope Ireland had of levelling the three-match series. Their target was revised to 111 in 11 overs – or 46 runs to win off the remaining 29 balls. It was a tough ask but perhaps some of the senior batsmen should have taken a little time to get themselves set again. Instead, they chose to hit out as wildly as the tailenders who would follow and 65 for 2 became 93 for 9 in what could well have been the blink of an eye.All of that made for excellent viewing for opener Najeeb Tarakai. He had hammered 90 off 58 balls to become the only man not named Mohammad Shahzad among in the list of top six scores by an Afghanistan batsman in T20Is. Spending two hours on the sidelines watching the showers lash across the ground wouldn’t have been pleasant for him after driving his team from the doldrums of 12 for 2 in the third over to 175 for 6 by the time he was dismissed in the 20th. It was his first half-century in the format, including seven fours and five sixes, and most importantly, it turned out to be match-winning effort.
Vernon Philander could find himself in contention to play in the Champions Trophy as South Africa continue to search for a new-ball partner for Kagiso Rabada. They have been trialling Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius and Chris Morris, after Kyle Abbott signed a Kolpak deal and ended his international career, but bowling coach Charl Langeveldt admitted they have not got it quite right at the start of the innings and need a quick fix.”It’s going to be a big concern in England where you need to take wickets up front,” Langeveldt said. “We always say if we get a team three down early, we’ve got a good chance of winning the game so we’re trying a few things but we are still at the stage where we are finding who is going to be the opening partner to ‘KG’. In English conditions, if it’s overcast, Vernon would be the perfect guy to play. He fits our mould if we are looking for a guy with a new ball that can bowl you five overs up front. We are looking at all possibilities.”Philander last played an ODI in August 2015, five months after he was at the centre of an episode that derailed South African cricket for a summer. At the 2015 World Cup, Philander, who had struggled with a hamstring injury for parts of the tournament, was recalled for the semi-final in place of an in-form Abbott after consultations with CSA’s chief executive, Haroon Lorgat. It took months for CSA to admit that the talks took place and Philander’s inclusion came after the selectors were reminded to pick the team with transformation guidelines in mind.Abbott has since revealed he considered quitting South African cricket in the immediate aftermath but gave himself another two years to see if he would find a more regular spot. He had just done that – after injuries to Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel – when it was revealed he had put pen to paper for Hampshire months before. South Africa’s coach Russell Domingo said Abbott’s departure came at a particularly bad time for the team, because Abbott was the leading contender to open the bowling at the Champions Trophy.Now, it seems South Africa may go back to Philander, although not for the upcoming series against New Zealand. Philander is nursing a slight ankle impingement and, having torn ligaments in the same place in November 2015, he has been prescribed some time off in order to be ready for the Test series in New Zealand in March. He will also have a break afterwards before beginning a county stint at Sussex in preparation for the four Tests in England but could be called on for ODI duty as well.South Africa may also consider injured young quick Lungi Ngidi, who will not make the New Zealand series because of a hip problem but should recover in time to play the domestic one-day cup and prove his worth. Langeveldt all but ruled out looking any further as he explained why neither new Test cap Duanne Olivier nor his Knights team-mate Marchant de Lange will be considered at this stage.”Duanne is an excellent bowler,” Langeveldt said. “He swings the ball and gets reward but I looked at his stats and he struggles with the white ball. It’s a concern, especially in the first ten and then at the back end, he is not as good. He bowl quickly but we are looking for a guy that can mix it up, bowl slower balls and stuff like that.”Olivier has played 24 List A matches and taken 29 wickets at 24.86, while de Lange has 97 scalps at 22.91 from 50 appearances but has fallen down the queue.”Marchant has always been a strike bowler but I think he is way down in the pecking order. I don’t think he will be considered for the Champions Trophy,” Langeveldt said.The other option, of course, is to ask the incumbents to step up and there is some evidence that they can. Rabada and Parnell conceded 37 for 2 in the first ten overs of the first ODI against Sri Lanka before Morris and Parnell went for 56 runs and picked up two wickets in the second. Things only became more difficult from the third match when Rabada and Morris opened, with Pretorius at first change, as Sri Lanka put on 54 without loss. Then, in Cape Town, Sri Lanka’s openers raced to 100 without loss as South Africa used six different bowlers in the opening Powerplay. They won all four matches against a struggling opponent but Langeveldt is still looking for improvement.”In the first ten overs, we haven’t been up to standard,” he said. “I am very hard on that. I will give us a five [out of ten]. Coming back, we’ve showed a lot of character, especially Wayne Parnell. He bowled really good areas and he took wickets. I’d give us a seven there. Before you go to a championship, you want to be at eight or nine because the bowlers win you games.”Whether South Africa improve their score or not, they have an excellent chance of reaching the tournament as the top ranked ODI side. They are a win away from overtaking Australia and then take on third-placed New Zealand in a five-match series before three ODIs in England in the lead-up to the Champions Trophy. “We want to go into a big tournament being No. 1 in the world so we are always talking about it. The captain always says if you go in a tournament you want to be No. 1,” Langeveldt said.
Notwithstanding the Lodha Committee’s strong missive to the Supreme Court asking it to disqualify all ineligible office bearers with immediate effect, the BCCI and its members have reiterated that they continue to oppose some of the committee’s recommenda
Nagraj Gollapudi02-Dec-20160:49
‘Members have reiterated their position’ – Shirke
Notwithstanding the strong missive sent by the Lodha Committee to the Supreme Court asking it to disqualify all ineligible office bearers with immediate effect, the BCCI and its members have reiterated that they continue to oppose some of the committee’s recommendations.At a special general meeting on Friday, the BCCI said it would stick to the decision taken on October 1 at a previous SGM. Then, the BCCI had said that it had “unanimously” adopted “important recommendations” made by the committee.However, a deeper reading of the minutes of the October 1 meeting made it clear that the BCCI and the states were against some of the key recommendations such as election and term of an office bearer, one-state-one vote, formation of an Apex Council to replace the existing working committee, and the role of the CEO.On Friday, BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke did not respond directly to a question on whether the BCCI and the states had effectively decided not to accept the court order of July 18, which had approved most of the recommendations proposed by the committee and asked it to lay out a timeline for the BCCI to put the reforms in place. “We have once again explained to them [members] the position and they have again clarified their position that they stand to their decision taken earlier,” Shirke said on Friday, in a brief statement to the media. “So the decision taken on the October 1 SGM, the members have reiterated their position with regards to the reforms.”Shirke said the BCCI would await the court to provide further direction on December 5, when the court reconvenes for the next hearing. On Monday, the court will consider the latest status report submitted by the committee on November 18, when it proposed for the second time that the existing office bearers of the BCCI and state associations be removed if they failed to meet various eligibility norms. The committee has also proposed GK Pillai, a former civil servant, be appointed as an ‘observer’ to oversee all business conducted by the BCCI.A state association president who attended Friday’s SGM said the matter was out of the BCCI’s hands already and it was for the court to take the final call. “We don’t have to take any decision. We have said we don’t agree [with certain recommendations]. Whatever the Supreme Court says we will have to abide.”This member said there was no reason for the BCCI or states to panic even if the court were to pass an adverse order. “Since the last three meetings our stance has not changed. There is no panic.”
BCCI president Anurag Thakur has accused the Shashank Manohar-led ICC of “arm-twisting” the Indian board and not taking it seriously
Arun Venugopal10-Sep-20162:50
‘Felt like the captain left a sinking ship’ – Thakur
BCCI president Anurag Thakur has said the board is being “arm-twisted” on two fronts: as a result of the Lodha committee’s recommendations for structural reform, and due to the change at the top of the ICC, where Shashank Manohar has taken charge as the independent chairman. Thakur also took exception to Manohar’s remarks that his priorities lay with the ICC and not the BCCI. Manohar had suggested that it wasn’t his responsibility but that of the BCCI representative to look after the board’s interest at the ICC table.”I think these [Lodha] recommendations and [the] change in ICC [regime] are arm-twisting BCCI both at home and at the ICC which is not good for Indian cricket,” Thakur said. “The situation of BCCI – a global leader till the recommendation of the Lodha committee… now with the new ICC regime they are trying to sideline the BCCI, one of the most important stakeholders in global cricket today. Just [because of] one recommendation, we are not taken seriously.”Thakur, who is in Greater Noida to watch the final of the Duleep Trophy, told reporters that the BCCI, by virtue of being a “global leader”, had an obligation to look after the interest of smaller boards. He reiterated the BCCI’s concerns over the budget for next year’s Champions Trophy in England, which the Indian board felt was three times as much as what was allotted to India for the World T20 earlier this year.”Yes, BCCI should look after its interests, but BCCI does not only limit itself to look after BCCI’s interests,” Thakur said. “If he [Manohar] is saying that he has got nothing to do with the BCCI, BCCI is one of the 105 members and one of the most important stakeholders of the ICC today. And, that is why we have raised the issue – when the others kept mum – that we want to go through the Champions Trophy budget.”Compare the World [T20] Cup with the Champions Trophy – we had 56 matches, Champions Trophy has close to 15 matches; we had eight venues, they had only three venues; it was a 49-day event and the Champions Trophy is only a 20-day event. So the per-match cost is three times higher. Every single penny saved is every single penny earned, not only for BCCI but for 105 countries.”When you talk about the two-tier Test system, BCCI could have got benefits by joining hands with those associations like Australia and England, but we stood by countries like Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe, and to an extent like West Indies.”Thakur questioned Manohar’s motives for amending the ICC constitution, which played a part in his being elected unopposed as the first independent chairman of the world body. He contended that Manohar hadn’t taken all members into confidence before the amendments were made.”Mr Shashank Manohar was on the board to make certain changes, amendments. As the president of the board he should have taken into confidence all the BCCI members which he did not,” he said. “The amendments were made and he became the independent chairman. Once he has become the independent chairman, he left the BCCI when BCCI needed him the most.”
Durham’s reward for sneaking fourth spot in the NatWest T20 Blast North Group is an away trip to South Group table-toppers Gloucestershire
ESPNcricinfo staff29-Jul-2016Durham’s reward for sneaking fourth spot in the NatWest T20 Blast North Group, courtesy of Warwickshire’s capitulation at Old Trafford, is an away trip to South Group table-toppers Gloucestershire who have the two leading run-scorers this year in Michael Klinger and Ian Cockbain.Essex, who grabbed the final qualifying place in the South Group when their game against Glamorgan was abandoned after one innings due to rain, visit Nottinghamshire in the first of the quarter-finals on August 8.The other two quarter-finals will see Northamptonshire, last year’s losing finalists, host Middlesex and Yorkshire, who produced a late surge after a poor start to the group stage, will travel to Glamorgan.Finals day will take place on August 20 at Edgbaston. Of this year’s quarter-finalists only Northamptonshire and Middlesex are previous winners.Quarter-final drawAugust 8 – Notts v Essex 1830 + 30 minutes extra time
August 9 – Northants v Middlesex 1830 + 30 minutes extra time
August 10 – Gloucs v Durham 1830 + 30 minutes extra time
August 11 – Glamorgan v Yorks 1900 + 30 minutes extra time
Chris Adams, the former England batsman, has withdrawn from the role of manager at Cricket Ireland’s academy, which he accepted two days ago, due to family reasons.Adams, 46, had been announced in the position on Wednesday but has decided he does not want to be away from his young family or uproot them to Ireland.”I have children who are at important stages of their life and education and I realised that a move as a family would cause major disruption,” Adams said.”On reflection and through further discussion with my family over the last 24 hours it has become clear to us that the situation is not going to be manageable. I really don’t wish to put distance and time spent apart between myself and family, so I’ve unfortunately had to withdraw from the position.”I am very sorry to Cricket Ireland for the inconvenience, but I’d like to thank them for their complete understanding, sympathetic approach and wish them a very successful future”Cricket Ireland Performance Director Richard Holdsworth said: “Naturally we are disappointed with Chris’ decision but understand his concern. Moving a family to a new city and country is never an easy matter and he’s obviously done some soul searching before making a difficult decision. We will reflect on the best way forward for getting a suitable replacement.”After retiring from playing in 2008, Adams became Surrey’s professional cricket manager which he held until being sacked in 2013 and has since had roles with Sri Lanka and Netherlands.