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Liverpool are now plotting an opening offer for a “very special” Trent Alexander-Arnold replacement, with the right-back now confirming he is set to exit Anfield this summer.

Trent set to leave Liverpool this summer

It has been rumoured for quite some time, but Trent has now officially confirmed he is planning to leave his boyhood club at the end of the season, with a move to Real Madrid seemingly in the pipeline.

The right-back’s decision to leave has caused mixed reactions to say the least, given that Arne Slot’s side should be in a strong position to compete for major honours in the future, having won the Premier League title in the Dutchman’s first season.

However, with Trent now set to move on, Slot’s next task will be to find a suitable replacement, should the manager decide that Conor Bradley is not yet ready to get the nod as a regular starter.

According to a report from Empire of the Kop, Liverpool are now expected to make an opening offer for Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong, with FSG looking to get a deal done as quickly as possible.

A bid for Frimpong is set to be made soon, having made contact with the full-back’s agents a few weeks ago, and there are plenty of signs that a deal could be a real possibility.

The Dutchman is believed to be keen on a move to the Premier League, which could make negotiations easier, with a €35m-€40m (£30m – £34m) offer now in the works.

Elite Isak alternative: Liverpool in contact to sign the "the new Haaland"

Liverpool’s main transfer priority this summer is to sign a new striker.

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By
Angus Sinclair

May 6, 2025

"Very special" Frimpong could be ideal Trent heir

The Reds have their own ready-made Trent replacement in Bradley, but Frimpong’s versatility potentially makes him an ideal option, given that he would be able to rotate with the Northern Irishman, who may not be ready to start every match.

The Leverkusen star is also able to play further forward at right-wing, while also featuring at left-back and attacking midfield sporadically throughout his career, which makes him a “very special” player, according to reporter Christian Falk.

Much like Trent, the 24-year-old is particularly impressive on the front foot, picking up four goals and six assists in the Bundesliga this season, while also placing very highly on some key attacking metrics over the past year, when compared to other full-backs.

It is understandable that fans are disappointed by Trent’s decision to leave this summer, but Frimpong has proven he could be a fantastic replacement.

One Rangers player is certain to be sold by prospective new owners the 49ers Enterprises this summer, according to a new update.

Rangers and Ferguson preparing for Europa League quarter-final

The Gers and interim boss Barry Ferguson are readying themselves for a last-eight clash in the Europa League with La Liga side Athletic Club, which begins next week.

After overcoming Jose Mourinho and Fenerbahce, Rangers are looking to reach the final in Bilbao with a win over the hosts, something which could set up a semi-final with Manchester United.

Ferguson’s assistant, Neil McCann, has recently claimed that the interim boss is starting to prove people wrong with his impressive spell in temporary charge.

“I think that a lot of people maybe thought from his coaching CV that he maybe wouldn’t even be ready to even take this position. I think he’s proved that wrong. It’s not my place to tell anybody who is to get the job or not (beyond the end of the season). All we can do is work hard.

“He’s trying to bring the character he had as a player, the demands he had as a player. I think we’re showing that we’ve got a wee bit of guts about us.”

The 49ers, who have agreed a deal in principle to take over in Glasgow, will have a big call to make on who gets the permanent Rangers manager job.

Rangers and 49ers eye bid for 20 y/o who can play as right-back or striker

He’s also wanted in Germany and Italy.

ByCharlie Smith Apr 2, 2025

They’ll also be looking to make their mark in the transfer market and could bring a budget of more than £20m this summer. As well as incomings, there may also be plenty of outgoings, and it looks as if one player is likely to leave over the coming months.

Rangers certain to sell Jose Cifuentes this summer

Midfielder Jose Cifuentes joined Greek side Aris Thessaloniki on loan from Rangers for the 2024/25 season, and there have been claims that the club were in talks to lower the option to buy fee.

Now, as per The Daily Record, relayed by Ibrox News, Aris may pass up on their £4m option to sign Cifuentes, however, that doesn’t mean he’ll have a future in Scotland.

As per the report, Cifuentes is “certain” to be sold by Rangers as he is under contract with Rangers until 2027.

Games

26

Goals

1

Assists

3

Yellow cards

2

Minutes played

2,023

The 26-year-old, as can be seen, has made plenty of appearances on loan in Greece, and he was even hailed by South American expert Tim Vickery before he moved to Scotland.

Vickery said on Cifuentes when playing for Ecuador’s U20s: “He was the beating heart of that side and I think he’s a terrific midfielder. He’s strong, he’s got quality, he’s got a good engine – he’s one of the best all-round midfielders, potentially, that I’ve seen come out of South America in a while.”

They came close – very close – but Pakistan’s destiny in South Africa has not changed just yet

Danyal Rasool29-Dec-2024Centurion is a great place to watch Test cricket, but even if you’re not particularly interested, there’s enough to keep you entertained. The queues for cheesy chips snaked out on most days, and more than 2 million rands of alcohol were sold. Couples lounged around the embankments shading themselves under giant umbrellas. Over by the scoreboard, a few people were jogging on the spot, raising money for a charitable cause. Unsupervised children of varying ages – invariably wearing the wildly popular fluorescent pink ODI shirt – set up their own games of cricket, scurrying back into the ground whenever a cheer went up to investigate if news was good or bad.But once lunch was over on day 4, that area which encircles SuperSport Park was no more a hive of activity. Nearly everyone had returned from the concession stands, those dozing under the umbrellas sat up. Even the children had packed away their little plastic bats and balls, aware this was a tense finish, but unsure why a multi-decade history of trauma was writ large on their parents’ faces.***Mohammad Abbas is bowling; he was bowling before lunch, and he was bowling yesterday. At this point, it seems like he’s been bowling for longer than he was out of the Test side. He might have been bowling since 2007, the last time Pakistan won a Test match in South Africa, because Pakistan have effectively been playing the same Test match here since.Related

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There are reasons South Africa cannot win this Test, primarily because it matters in a wider context. They are a handful of runs away from making a World Test Championship final, and a crack at yet another piece of silverware. They are – or were – in a winning position, and having begun to squander it, the path of heartbreaking failure looks like it has locked beneath their feet.But expecting Pakistan to win Tests in South Africa is a bit like being believing a steady diet of cheese will cure gout. That it failed to do so doesn’t mean there’s anything wrong with the cheese. It’s just not what cheese does.Mohammad Abbas had single-handedly threatened to put South Africa’s qualification to the WTC final on hold•Gallo ImagesThis makes it a contest of a movable force against a stoppable object, because any world where Pakistan win this sort of Test in South Africa turns the narrative upside down. The plot armour that has scripted a Pakistan defeat this Test appears nigh-on impenetrable. When South Africa have bowled poorly, Pakistan just offered their wickets up. When South African wickets were falling in a bunch, Pakistan spread out their fields, threw in an hour of indifferent bowling, and ensured there was enough “cushion”, as Shan Masood called it, for a South African win to still be believably scripted. Masood pointed out this had been an issue with Pakistan in every innings. He just meant this match, but he might as well have extended that characterisation to about half the Tests Pakistan had ever played in this country.But boy, is Abbas trying to change all that. After a first innings where his exclusion from the Pakistan side appeared vindicated, he’s working on reversing more than just one narrative. Every other over, he takes off his floppy hat, almost on autopilot, and walks over to the bowler’s end. It appears human function doesn’t resume after the over begins either, so metronomic is Abbas’s end-product. Eighty-six of the 117 balls he sent down across the innings hit a hard length outside off stump, giving South Africa no breathing room from his end and picking up half his wickets. For a player who has got more than half of his Test dismissals hitting the stumps, a further 17 threatened off stump, and produced the other three.For much of the morning, though, he probes in vain, as South Africa fend off the inevitable stutter Pakistan, as well as a taut South African crowd – more than 5000 of whom have turned up on a glorious summer day – are convinced will come. Pakistan review one that whooshes past Bavuma’s bat without success, and South Africa successfully have an lbw overturned when Bavuma is convinced he got an inside edge. Abbas’ Hampshire coach Graeme Welch has encouraged him to add the bouncer to his game, and when he sends one down from time to time, it’s a mean one, rearing up high and drawing as much bounce as the faster bowlers have extracted.South Africa are cheered on by their fans as they seal their spot in the WTC final•AFP/Getty ImagesMysteriously, though, Bavuma’s ability to tell when he’s got inside edges is selective, and when, for some reason, he strides out of his crease and tries to whack Abbas over midwicket, he misses. Mohammad Rizwan appeals, but the spot where he stands may as well be a coiled spring for how often he goes up. The umpire thinks he’s got an edge, and even though it’s only clipped the flap of his right pocket, the South African captain walks off.The joy in Abbas’ expressions when he picks up a wicket is always mixed with an air of surprise, as if wondering why the batter did whatever they did, because Abbas is always doing the same thing. Length, top of off, target the pads, look for the outside edge. Having deprived him for much of the morning, it does feel like the batters are doing something different, bats jutting out away from their bodies, outside edges as if by magnetic force flying towards the ball. David Bedingham, and Corbin Bosch, who weary Pakistan supporters were convinced would hit the winning runs to round off the torment, fall off successive balls, and South Africa’s curse looks set to prove stronger than Pakistan’s history.For Pakistan, the specific details of what happen next barely matter. For the record, Naseem Shah bowls a loose over, and Rabada rides his luck. Like a long-forgotten plot point, Aamer Jamal, who had been sending a few down during the lunch break, emerges, beginning with a no-ball and ending with two boundaries. The field is spread far out as Marco Jansen – who has until now averaged 6.33 with bat this year – and Rabada pick up singles at will, casually interspersing them between the boundaries.Abbas produces a Rabada outside edge that Rizwan was standing too far back to take, but Pakistan recognise it is merely the script’s attempt at a final jump scare as it inexorably takes its course through to its denouement. It was Rabada and Jansen here, just like it was Dean Elgar and Hashim Amla in the past, or Jacques Kallis and Ashwell Prince further back. The cast may have changed, but destiny has not. Pakistan still must keep their appointment in Samarra.

Influence of domestic tournament plain to see as homegrown matchwinners come to fore

Mohammad Isam09-Mar-2023It is commonplace for players from India, Pakistan and Australia to feed their form, confidence, planning and attitude from tournaments like the IPL, PSL and BBL into the international game. That has hardly been the case for Bangladeshi players and the BPL. The nine editions to date haven’t produced many players organically, neither have they influenced the playing style or confidence that Bangladesh’s national side has carried into T20Is.Najmul Hossain Shanto and Towhid Hridoy have bucked this trend for once. The pair reproduced their Sylhet Strikers’ form and partnership in the first T20I in Chattogram, resulting in Bangladesh’s maiden victory against England in the format. The BPL ended less than a month ago, with many of its top performers picked in this Bangladesh squad. The policy has paid dividends in several aspects of this win.Shanto was the BPL’s leading run-getter with 516 runs at an average of 39.69, with four half-centuries. Hridoy made one more fifty, scoring 403 runs at a strike-rate of 140.41. They put together 466 runs in 12 partnerships, with one century stand, the best in the BPL this season.At 43 for two in the sixth over, chasing 157, Bangladesh really needed Shanto and Hridoy, on debut, to keep the run-rate up on a pitch that, as England had discovered, got trickier as the ball got older. Shanto responded by hitting Mark Wood, England’s fastest bowler, for four consecutive boundaries in the seventh over.Shanto went on to hit his third T20I fifty in four matches, following on from the two he scored against Zimbabwe and Pakistan in the T20 World Cup last year. He was the team’s top-scorer in that competition, and has now carried that form through the BPL and the ODIs against England.Related

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“I have been scoring regularly, which allows extra confidence,” Shanto said. “Game awareness gets better. I had a better understanding of building my innings. I wasn’t given a specific plan. We just tried to continue with the momentum from the openers. We stuck to a normal plan, reacted to the ball. We tried to apply the way we batted in the BPL. It was nothing different than that.”Shanto added that Hridoy’s confidence at the other end also helped him play his shots. Hridoy struck two fours and a six in his 17-ball 24, but like Shanto, looked full of confidence from the BPL. “[Hridoy’s] approach and intent, in his first international match, gave me a lot of confidence. He never got nervous playing against such a big team. We just batted the way we batted in the BPL, where we had some big partnerships.”Shanto said that he hadn’t planned to go after Wood, but focused on finding the gaps, and it all came together. “There was no pre-planning. I reacted to the ball. I tried to use the gaps, which is obviously why I could find the boundaries,” he said.Even the opposition noticed how well Shanto played, arguably changing the course of the game with his quickfire fifty. Phil Salt said that Bangladesh completely aced the 157-run chase.”Shanto played very well in the chase,” Salt said. “I think the openers set the chase up very well for them, and I think in the middle they played really well. I think the lads that were in for them, they found a way of getting a boundary early in the over quite a lot of the time. I think they ran pretty well as well. So, they’ll be sitting in that dressing-room right now, thinking that’s as close to a perfect chase as they’d have wanted these conditions.”Shanto said that he sensed that Bangladesh were slowly coming into control of the game from the midpoint of England’s innings. The visitors added only 76 runs in the last ten overs, after they had rushed to 80 for 1 in the first half.”The way we made the comeback in the last ten overs [of the England innings], that gave us the confidence” he said. “Then we started well with the bat. We knew that two more partnerships will get us close to the win.”Bangladesh’s fast bowlers – who only gave away 21 runs in the last four overs – were instrumental in turning their fortunes around, not least Hasan Mahmud, another star of the BPL, whose 17 wickets for Rangpur Rangers had been the joint-most in the competition.”He bowled an important spell. I think his BPL performance gave him confidence today,” Shanto said. “Hasan Mahmud, Taskin Ahmed and Mustafiz bowled really well in the last few overs. They played a big role in closing them down on 156 for 6.”Bangladesh have been a poor T20I team for a long time, but the recent T20 World Cup offered them some timely confidence after they won two games in the competition for the first time. Shanto scored key runs, Bangladesh won some close games, which all added up to their increased self-belief.The talk of impact, a watchword in the latter half of 2022, has finally come through for them. “The batsmen were given freedom in this series,” Shanto said. “Impact can’t happen quickly. It takes time. It depends on wickets, conditions. I think the batsmen have a lot more freedom, and soon there will be more impact.”

Former Lancashire and Derbyshire wicketkeeper has written a book on his life as a sports agent

Paul Edwards12-Apr-2021In the days after Ben Stokes’ astonishing century in the 2019 Ashes Test at Headingley radio phone-ins invited listeners to tell them where they were and what they were doing when cricket’s famously flimsy logic was being trashed once again. There was no shortage of callers but Luke Sutton, the former Somerset, Derbyshire and Lancashire wicketkeeper-batsman, was not amongst them. Although Sutton was in Leeds that Sunday afternoon, he was doing something much more important than witnessing one of the best innings in the history of cricket. He was helping a young man make sense of his suddenly troubled life.While the rest of England watched the Test Sutton was sitting on the balcony of Nile Wilson’s flat, talking to the 23-year-old gymnast and quietly suggesting ways in which he might go about things. It was a tricky undertaking. On the positive side Wilson was a successful athlete who had already won an Olympic bronze medal. Having vlogged since he was 15 he was also exceptionally skilled in the use of social media and was listed by at No. 37 in the table of the UK’s biggest online influencers. Set against these factors and the prosperity that went with them was the fact that Wilson’s mental health was deteriorating. He had grown increasingly unhappy with the demands of celebrity and what he saw as the responsibility of producing content for over a million subscribers on YouTube.Wilson derived joy from little except going out and getting drunk with his mates, and on the Saturday of the Leeds Test he had got into a fight with his father, Neil. Hung-over and fragile, he needed an honest friend with whom he could talk about his problems and so Sutton turned up at his apartment on the Sunday afternoon. Except that Luke Sutton is not only Wilson’s friend; he is his agent.The story of how he kept Wilson company as he found a way through his problems makes up two chapters in , which was published last autumn and was Sutton’s second book in little over a year. The first, , was a raw account of his own struggle to achieve good mental health and overcome long-term problems that had manifested themselves in alcohol-dependence. To a degree, therefore, he was well-placed to help Wilson, albeit he is careful never to lay down the law. “I had felt everything Nile was feeling and had made all the same mistakes,” he writes. “I had once been as confused and lonely in my own head as he now was in his.” The pair eventually spent a week in Sutton’s house in Ibiza, pottering around “like a little married couple”, living quietly and talking.It worked. Gradually Wilson came to see that his life encompassed far more than sporting achievement and an online presence. Sutton ends the chapters musing on what Wilson might achieve in gymnastics yet also reassured that any success will have far firmer foundations than previously. But such thoughts are probably not the stuff people expect to come across from someone in Sutton’s profession. Where are the deals? Where is the cut-throat promotion? Where is Mr 10%?

You’re managing young, very talented sportspeople and helping them to cope with highly pressurised situations. And I have to be the person in their lives who tells them the truth

The answer to such questions is that there are deals and promotions in but they are subordinated to the themes of compassion, love and support. The stereotypical image of an agent fades and is replaced by Sutton’s much broader duties of care to a group of clients that includes the former hockey player, Sam Quek, and the gymnast, Louis Smith. Naturally, there are a host of cricketers. James Anderson and Haseeb Hameed have been on the books of Sutton’s company, Activate, and he now looks after the affairs of Dom Bess, Peter and Tom Moores, Sam Northeast, Saqib Mahmood and a group of younger players. To each he brings a thoughtful awareness of the perils of fame and an understanding that while things may seem to be going well as far as coaches and colleagues can see, the player may be struggling and saying nothing.”As an agent of course you get involved in discussions about sponsorship deals and playing contracts,” he says. “There’s a very financial, transactional side to it but ultimately you’re also managing young, very talented sportspeople and helping them to cope with highly pressurised situations. And I have to be the person in their lives who tells them the truth. I always tell them I’m going to say it with love and I’m not the sort of person who goes around banging down doors and screaming and shouting but I’ll tell it to them straight. If they don’t want to hear it, I still have to be the one to tell them.”Most people who have read understand that Sutton is well-placed to advise his predominantly young clients as they try to cope with the emotional polarities and absurd reality of professional sport. There was a time when he had to cope with some difficult truths, all the more difficult, perhaps, because he was informed of them when a patient at the Priory in 2011. Sutton writes of his time in the acute psychiatric hospital in stark prose, its style blessedly free of any intervention from a professional journalist. Readers should be grateful for this. A book already haunted by demons does not need another ghost. is also all his own work, although the second book is a more considered effort, one that offers a justification of Sutton’s current profession.”They were very different experiences,” he says. “There was a therapeutic aspect to the first book but this one explores different areas of sports management and I took care in organising the material. The first was baring my soul and the second was more opinionated because I do feel strongly about the roles of the sports agent. I wanted to give an insight into that world.”James Taylor, left, was forced to retire in 2016 after the discovery of a heart condition•Getty ImagesAnd yet nothing could have prepared Sutton for the text James Taylor sent him at two o’clock in the morning on April 7, 2016: “Hey bud, I need to talk to you.” Behind the bland words was a crisis that will touch Taylor’s life for ever. Less than 24 hours before sending the text he had been sitting in the dressing room at Fenner’s, suffering acute pain and watching his heart seemingly trying to beat itself out of his body. Within a week arrhythymogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) had been diagnosed. It is a disease of the heart that is often first identified by pathologists. Had Taylor not been a super-fit sportsman he may well have died but further exercise was ruled out. He had just established himself in England’s Test team and now those days were over.Sutton does not dispute the observation that the biggest crisis in Taylor’s life also allowed his agent to develop his own career. Yet perhaps it is that such brutal reflections are best considered over four years after the events being recounted. In the spring of 2016 Sutton was preoccupied in organising the announcement of Taylor’s retirement, making arrangements for his financial security and setting up his tentative return to cricket in the media. There was really no playbook that the agent could follow but none of his professional duties was more important than being there for his mate, talking to him for hours beyond counting and sharing his tears.”I wasn’t prepared in the slightest for what happened, so I guess in hindsight it did move me forward a great deal,” he says. “And if anyone asked me to name the biggest accomplishment of my management career I would talk about my experience with James when his career ended.”There was no warning. This atomic bomb arrived in this young man’s life and everyone was wondering what to do. There were many times when I worried whether I would be able to guide him to a place of stability, happiness or closure. When we did get there I realised how great the weight had been. James and I still talk about it a great deal and he read the chapters about him before the book was published. It’s still a huge thing for him to deal with.”But his experience across a range of sports has taught Sutton that he cannot carry the burden of personal responsibility on anyone’s behalf. He frequently talks about players “owning” their decisions whether they are moving from one club to another or going out on the razzle. Agents like Sutton can make the picture clearer but they cannot make a client see what is revealed.”I’m dealing with exceptionally talented people and it’s not my job to tell them what to do,” he says. “I can offer advice and a steer but giving them that level of personal responsibility creates a healthy dynamic. They’ve got to own their decisions as I have to own mine and that’s part of their development. I’m not commander-in-chief.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Com futuro incerto no Flamengo, Gabigol tem como meta se tornar o segundo maior artilheiro da Libertadores. Com 31 gols na competição, o atacante está a seis gols de igualar Fernando Morena e Pedro Rocha (Uruguai) na artilharia do torneio continental.

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Em entrevista à Conmebol, Gabigol deixou claro que quer buscar a segunda posição no ranking, seja atuando pelo Flamengo ou outro clube do futebol brasileiro. O camisa 10 tem contrato com o Rubro-Negro até o final de 2024, e a diretoria do clube carioca vê a renovação do atacante como controlada.

– Tenho mais esse ano de contrato, não sei como vai ser. Caso fique no Brasil é possível. Para ser o maior artilheiro preciso jogar o maior número possível de jogos. É possível ser a vice-artilharia (faltam 6 gols). Caso eu fique no Flamengo e no Brasil pode acontecer naturalmente – disse o atleta.

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➡️ Combinadona Lance! Betting! Fature mais de R$1300 com os clássicos da Copa do Nordeste!

Gabigol valorizou o ambiente no Flamengo durante as últimas temporadas e disse que só vai conseguir bater sua meta pessoal caso esteja em campo.

– Acho que tudo isso vem ao natural, claro que quando se chega perto de metas individuais fica feliz. Mas creio que precisa muito do coletivo, nunca fiz nada sozinho. Espero que o time esteja bem. Para poder fazer gols em finais, a gente tem que chegar lá. Para eu ser artilheiro, tenho que jogar o maior número de jogos possível. Acho que uma coisa leva à outra. O importante mesmo é o time estar bem e fazer um bom campeonato – ponderou.

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➡️ Veja tabela com datas e horários dos jogos do Fla na Libertadores

A estreia do Flamengo na Libertadores será contra o Millonarios, da Colômbia, no dia 2 de abril, às 19h, com transmissão da Espn e Star +.

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كشف منتخب مصر الثاني، المشارك في بطولة كأس العرب، عن تعرض واحد من اللاعبين للإصابة، خلال الساعات الماضية.

وسقط منتخب مصر، في فخ التعادل الإيجابي بهدف لكل فريق أمام منتخب الكويت، في اللقاء الذي أقيم في الجولة الأولى.

طالع | ترتيب مجموعة مصر في كأس العرب 2025 بعد التعادل مع الكويت ويقع منتخب مصر في المجموعة الثالثة التي تضم الإمارات والكويت والأردن، ضمن البطولة المقامة في قطر خلال الفترة من 1 حتى 18 ديسمبر.​

وأوضح مصدر خاص لـ”بطولات”: “كريم فؤاد تعرض لكدمة وسيخضع لآشعة غدًا الخميس؛ لكن حالته مطمنئة”.

ويواصل منتخب مصر مبارياته في بطولة كأس العرب، بمواجهة هامة أمام الإمارات، باللقاء الذي يجمع بينهما ضمن منافسات الجولة الثانية من مرحلة المجموعات للبطولة الدولية.

West Indies allrounder has worked on his fitness and skills to adapt to different conditions

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Dec-20252:59

Justin Greaves: ‘This is where I always wanted to be’

Allrounder Justin Greaves has called the progression from first-class cricket in the West Indies to Test cricket a “massive step up”.Greaves, 31, is coming off of a match-saving 202 not out against New Zealand in the first Test in Christchurch. Chasing 531, he began his innings with West Indies 72 for 4 on the fourth day. Greaves batted for nearly nine and a hours and faced 388 balls to help them survive 163.3 overs and salvage a draw. He said that learnings from conversations with Jason Holder had helped improve his game.”It [Test cricket] is a massive step up from first-class cricket in the Caribbean,” Greaves said. “It’s a lot more demanding both physically and mentally. This is where I always wanted to be – so I had to change the way I train, both strength-and-conditioning and skill-wise. Enjoying it, learning as I go along.Related

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“If I can pick up some tips from the other successful allrounders around the world when we play against them, I pretty much do that. I lean on Jason Holder, who’s been around with the T20 squad when I’m here. I’ve dropped him a few messages in terms of finding out what he’s done to have the career he’s had in Test cricket so far.”Greaves was part of the West Indies Test teams that toured Australia in 2023-24 and Pakistan earlier this year. He has played 12 Tests so far. Travelling to and playing in different countries has required him to get stronger, eat better, and learn to be patient.”Everything had to change because it’s not easy being on the road [in] different conditions,” Greaves said. “When you’re at home, it’s pretty easy because you know pretty much all the conditions in the Caribbean, and then, coming overseas, playing cricket in Australia and then to Pakistan, and here now, in New Zealand, everything is different.”Adapting to that in the gym, getting stronger, eating better in terms of food, putting on a bit more muscle as well, and being a bit stronger; skill-wise, adding a bit more to my game; [while] batting – being a bit more patient because at this level, everything is not given to you. Bowling-wise, being the allrounder in the team, you can be bowling, and within an hour or two, you could be batting again. So, you’re putting your mind to it, and adapting to change.”Greaves will hope to build on this performance in the second Test against New Zealand in Wellington, which starts on Wednesday, with the three-match series locked at 0-0.

After a dismal defeat against ten men last Monday, Manchester United bounced back with a 2-1 win away to Crystal Palace on Sunday afternoon.

The Red Devils were behind at half-time after a Jean-Philippe Mateta penalty, but two goals from set pieces were enough to ensure they would take all three points back to Manchester.

Both goals were impressive finishes from United. First, the lesser-spotted Joshua Zirkzee got himself on the scoresheet with a fantastic finish.

He controlled a Bruno Fernandes free-kick on his chest before superbly volleying low and hard into the back of the net.

That was the strike which drew United level, and the goal which won them the game, from Mason Mount, was just as good. The Red Devils’ number 7 walked onto a Fernandes layoff from yet another free-kick, driving his effort through the Palace wall and into Dean Henderson’s goal.

Despite the result and an energetic second half showing, it was far from a perfect afternoon for United. Ruben Amorim’s side could only muster an expected goals tally of 1.25 xG, and just 0.26 xG in the second half. It was an important win, but there is still a lot to improve on.

Indeed, it was a tough day at the office for some United players, including young defender Leny Yoro.

Leny Yoro's day to forget vs Palace

Young French defender Yoro did not have the best outing at Selhurst Park on Sunday lunchtime. It was his foul on Mateta, a challenge late from behind his countryman, which led to Palace’s penalty and Oliver Glasner’s side taking the lead.

Indeed, there were bright moments against the South Londoners for the former Lille star, who has struggled to find his best form for the majority of this season. He made a crucial block in the first half to prevent Palace from scoring, an important moment in the game.

Yet, it was still not the day Yoro would have hoped for. His foul on Mateta, which was ultimately quite a clumsy challenge, and the fact that he won just three duels from the six he contested, meant Amorim took him off for Noussair Mazraoui after Zirkzee’s goal.

Despite what is a tough moment for Yoro, the United squad is rallying around him. Mount was one of the players quick to support his teammate at full-time, something that football presenter Dylan Penketh said he was “glad to see” after the final whistle.

It was a disappointing day for Yoro, but he was not the only United player who struggled.

Not just Yoro: Man Utd star struggles vs Palace

Coming up against Adam Wharton and Daichi Kamada was always going to be tough for United’s pivot at Selhurst Park, and Casemiro was a player who felt the brunt of that.

The Brazilian was said to be “haunted by Adam Wharton” according to journalist Samuel Luckhurst.

Indeed, it was not an easy day against the Eagles’ energetic midfield pivot, especially in the first half. The Brazilian had 65 touches in total across the game, losing the ball 11 times and creating one chance. He also won just seven of his 15 duels.

Touches

65

Pass accuracy

80%

Number of times ball lost

11

Ground duels won

5/9

Aerial duels won

2/6

Fouls

4

Chances created

0

The United number 18 received a 5/10 rating from the Manchester Evening News journalist Steven Railston. He said Casemiro did improve throughout the game, although he described his start to the game at Selhurst Park as “shaky.”

After a tougher game for Casemiro, and the fact that he is one yellow card away from suspension, it will be interesting to see if he keeps his place in the side ahead of United’s next game. Next up, they have a clash with West Ham United on Thursday at Old Trafford.

It is also a game where United are likely to have the lion’s share of possession. Perhaps Amoirm opts to bring Kobbie Mainoo into their midfield, a man who is better on the ball and more capable of retaining possession and sustaining attacks.

On top of that, the Brazilian played 90 minutes at Selhurst Park. With the game as soon as Thursday and a hectic December coming up, it would not be a surprise to see him rotated out of the side to help aid his recovery.

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O Botafogo entrou em negociações com o meia Rômulo, de 22 anos, do Novorizontino. O Glorioso fez uma proposta formal ao jogador nos últimos dias e aguarda resposta.

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Segundo o “GE” e a “TNT Sports”, desde o fim de 2023, Rômulo vem sendo observado pelo Botafogo. O clube está atrás de um atleta mais jovem para ser reserva de Eduardo, que após uma avaliação interna, o meia caiu de rendimento devido à alta sequência de jogos.

Agentes de Rômulo acenaram positivamente com a proposta, mas ainda não tem nenhum avanço em relação à negociação, pois o Novorizontino ainda não deu uma resposta. Inscrito no Campeonato Paulista, o meia segue treinando normalmente com o elenco.

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Revelado pelo próprio Novorizontino, o meia marcou 11 gols e deu nove assistências em 51 partidas em 2023

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