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Aston Villa face Chelsea this evening in the FA Cup, but Unai Emery will still have an eye on bolstering his squad before the transfer window slams shut next week.

The Midlands side have yet to make an addition to their senior side ahead of what could be a busy few months ahead, but they have shown interest in a few players.

Middlesbrough’s Morgan Rogers is one name that has been routinely linked and Villa have even had two bids rejected for the youngster this month.

Emery could forget about him, however, and pursue a move for another gem who has been shining in the Championship this season.

Aston Villa’s search for new signings

While Rogers appears to be high on Emery’s wish list, Norwich City starlet Jonathan Rowe is a player who is still being monitored by Villa, that’s according to Telegraph journalist John Percy.

He posted: “AVFC are maintaining a strong interest in Norwich forward Jon Rowe: 3 Villa scouts watched him in the match at Leeds on Weds night. Villa are still hopeful of signing Morgan Rogers but Rowe, 20, is also on their radar. 12 goals and 2 assists so far this season.”

With deadline day fast approaching, Emery does not have much time to strengthen his squad, and if he hopes to lead his side to some sort of glory this term, a couple of reinforcements could help this goal.

Latest Aston Villa injury news, return dates and suspensions

FFC keeps you up to date with all the latest Aston Villa news involving injuries.

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Jack Salveson Holmes

Apr 26, 2024

With Moussa Diaby beginning to settle into life in the Midlands, could Rowe become another version of the Frenchman but on the opposite flank?

Jonathan Rowe is on fire in the Championship

Since Diaby’s record-breaking move from Bayer Leverkusen last summer, he has managed to score five goals and register six assists in all competitions.

While it may not be an outstanding return in front of goal for the talented whiz, the 24-year-old ace is slowly adapting to English football, and could eventually add more consistency in the final third.

According to WhoScored, both Rowe and Diaby love to cut inside on a regular basis, and, considering the pair have a keen eye for goal, the Championship starlet could turn into another version of the former Leverkusen winger should he join Villa.

Indeed, this season alone, the 20-year-old wizard has managed to find the back of the net on 13 occasions along with chipping in with four assists, proving that he is a big threat in the opposition third.

This form has led to widespread praise and data analyst Ben Mattinson even claimed that he was “on fire this season” towards the end of 2023 and there is no doubt he could add something to Emery’s side.

The 5 foot 8 sensation even leads the way in terms of goals and assists (14) among the Norwich squad in the second tier, along with ranking first for successful dribbles per game (1.1) and second for shots per game (two), which clearly shows how impressive he has been for the club.

Villa may be keen on signing Rogers, yet Rowe is clearly still a player of interest to Emery and with just days to go before the window closes, the Spaniard may need to act swiftly if he wants to lure him to the Midlands.

If the Villans can strike a deal for the England U21 international's service then they could have Diaby 2.0 on their hands with another direct winger who can contribute with goals and assists.

Final warm-up for Test series ends in stalemate but with valuable lessons learnt

George Dobell in Whangarei 17-Nov-2019England had to settle for a draw in Whangarei as a stubborn ninth-wicket partnership provided an example of some of the challenges likely to confront them in the Test series against New Zealand.At just after 3pm, with New Zealand A eight wickets down and around 35 overs left in the match, England will have fancied their chances of securing a victory that looked most unlikely at the start of play. But some admirable defiance from William Somerville and Ajaz Patel saw the hosts survive for another 22.4 overs and secure a hard-fought draw. When they came together, the lead was just 26; by the time England settled for some early handshakes, the lead was 66 and time was running out.These matches aren’t really about the result, of course. They are about preparation for the Test series. And in that context, England will be pretty pleased with their workout against good quality opposition and in conditions which challenge them.Joe Root watches from the dressing rooms during day three of the tour match between New Zealand A and England•Getty Images

This is what they wanted. While they may have been encouraged by the ease with which they breezed through a West Indies President’s XI at the Three Ws Oval in Barbados in January – that President’s XI side were, ridiculous though it sounds, 200 for 19 at one stage – the worth of such experiences was betrayed when the Test series started and they encountered a far more motivated Test side which simply blew them away. The lesson, it seems, were that first-class warm-up matches provide far more intense and valuable preparation.So England will, up to a point, have relished the fight. And while there may have been moments when the bowlers quietly cursed the flat pitch and a kookaburra ball that refused to yield to their attempts to make it swing, the management know that it is only by improving in such circumstances that England can look to the away Ashes series in two years with any degree of confidence. And that, it is becoming more clear by the day, is England’s new priority.What did we learn here? Well, it is clear already that England, in such conditions, are heavily reliant upon Jofra Archer. He looked a threat – both in wicket-taking and physical terms – in each one of his three spells in the second innings. Despite the suspicion that he is still holding back just a little before the Tests, he was bowling with impressive pace and consistency by the end of the game. Joe Root was, no doubt, quite right not to push him into longer spells in such an encounter.Archer apart, however, England struggled to find a wicket-taking edge once the ball had lost a bit of its hardness and shine. Stuart Broad, who appeared to be striving for rhythm in the first-innings, looked far more fluent in the second but, without much help from seam or swing, was generally forced into a holding role. Jack Leach, too, struggled to offer much threat, though he did concede under 2.50 an over for the second time in the match. Ben Stokes might, if pressed, have performed the role of fast-bowling back-up to Archer but it is well accepted that he will have more important days ahead of him. There wasn’t a huge amount of point going for broke here.Jofra Archer bowls during day three of the tour match between New Zealand A and England•Getty Images

Sam Curran’s performance will have secured his position in the team for the first Test. While his first wicket, that of Glenn Phillips, was more than a little fortunate – the batsmen simply edged one down the leg-side – he later had Jimmy Neesham, driving somewhat lavishly, caught behind by one that left him slightly and bowled Scott Kuggeleijn with a well-directed yorker.Just as pertinently, Curran also had Tom Blundell dropped at leg slip by Root, as he experimented with the short ball and leg side field. Curran knows he can’t simply run in, hit the seam and gain movement as he does in England and while he will probably always lack a bit of pace, he did show a willingness to “find a way,” as Darren Gough put it, to challenge batsmen in such conditions. Whether it’s with his bouncer, his willingness to go around the wicket, or his swing, he is a little less one dimensional as a bowler than is sometimes suggested. It was interesting to note, however, that Chris Woakes appeared to be hitting the gloves extra hard in training. He won’t be going without a fight.Some other concerns may linger, though. In an ideal world, England would have wanted their openers, as well as Root and Stokes, to spend a bit longer at the crease. And in an ideal world, Root would have clung on to both the chances offered to him in New Zealand A’s first innings. The first, at leg slip off Curran, looked tough; the second, at conventional slip off Archer, less so. And yes, there will be just a bit of concern that they were unable to part two tail-enders – neither Somerville or Patel have ever scored a first-class half-century – once they had decided to simply block for the draw.But England will, overall, have been delighted to have reduced New Zealand A to 129 for 8 at one stage. And they will, overall, have been delighted to bat for 117.5 overs in their innings and pass 400. And they will have been encouraged that, after a poor miss in the first innings, Dom Sibley held on to three catches including one sharp chance in the cordon.But most of all, they will have been delighted by the form of Jos Buttler who, after a disappointing Ashes, compiled a mature century and then claimed a couple of impressive catches – not least the one to dismiss Phillips – with the gloves.To put Buttler’s innings in context, this was just the second first-class century he has scored since June 2015 (the most recent was in the Trent Bridge Test of August 2018) and his first overseas. It was also just the sixth first-class century of a career that has brought nine ODI centuries. Afterwards he credited a break from the game and a couple of sessions working with former Somerset teammate Marcus Trescothick as contributory factors.”It was a tough summer,” he said afterwards. “Great fun but a huge challenge which took a lot out of most of us. So it was good to have some time away from the game and get refreshed. I’ve had four or five weeks off and that has been invaluable. It’s allowed us to refresh, have time away and get excited to come back.”I’m absolutely aware of my record as regards scoring first-class centuries. It’s something I’ve been very light on, really. I know this was a warm-up match but it’s nice to spend time in the middle and get to three figures.”I went down to Somerset to work with Marcus Trescothick, who is someone I know really well. I got a lot out of it. It gave some building blocks – more around my set-up, really, trying to be in the right place at the right time when the ball is released – to coming here and feeling in good touch.”A similar surface is expected in Mount Maunganui and England’s bowlers may well still struggle to make inroads. But if their batsmen can occupy the crease for 120 overs or more and their fielders hold their chances, they will give themselves a chance of a first victory here since 2008.

Former Bayern Munich chief executive Karl-Heinz Rummenigge has stated that big clubs like Manchester City, Real Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain will have learned their lesson in the new Champions League format after their shaky performances at the start of last season. The German legend believes the top clubs have learned that they must attempt to dominate the competition from the very first round.

• European giants prepare for Champions League openers

  The new Champions League structure debuted last season and saw the likes of Madrid, Bayern, PSG and City have to fight for their place in the last-16 via a knock-out play-off tie. It marked a big change from the previous format, which resulted in some low-stakes matches at the end of the group stage, with the top teams often guaranteed a place in the next round by week four. 

  With the 2025-26 campaign getting underway this week, Rummenigge says he finds the new format much more exciting than the previous one, but expects the bigger teams to start the campaign with maximum intensity to ensure they avoid the risk of an embarrassing exit.

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  Rummenigge expects 'full throttle' from City, Madrid & PSG

  Rummenigge told the : “In the old group phase, everything was often already decided after the fourth matchday. Bayern Munich were regularly eliminated, and there were one or two meaningless games. I think this way as a football fan. The fact alone that four top teams – Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester City, and Paris Saint-Germain – had to make it to the playoffs in the first round was proof to me how much more exciting this system is.

  "The big teams have understood that they have to go full throttle from the start to get into the top eight – because that's what everyone wants. A year ago, a lot of things were still new; some top clubs were taking a more relaxed approach to one or two matches. I expect a clear learning curve now."

• Bayern legend disagrees with 'Hoffenheim' billing

  Bayern are looking to go further than they did last season, having been knocked out by Inter at the semi-final stage. However, the club's honorary president, Uli Hoeness, recently dismissed their chances of competing for the crown, labelling Vincent Kompany's side the Hoffenheim of the Champions League. Rummenigge, who had a good rapport with the president, has disagreed with him. 

  “No. For once, I disagree with Uli Hoeness when he says we're the Hoffenheim of the Champions League," he said. "We're never underdogs! We may not always be the favorites, but that's not a bad thing."

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  When do Bayern take the field in the Champions League?

  Bayern will play their first game against Chelsea on September 17, at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Last summer, Arsenal broke the Premier League British transfer record to sign Declan Rice from West Ham in a deal worth £105m. Rice has been a big hit for the Gunners so far, winning the club's Player of the Month award in August and earning a nomination for the league-wide prize in October too. Unsurprisingly, he's made the XI for every single one of his side's 20 top-flight matches so far, completing the full 90 minutes in 17 of those.

Despite that, there are signs that Mikel Arteta wants to use him a little differently. According to Football London, Arsenal "are exploring a possible deal" for Amadou Onana at Everton, who could form a new partnership with Rice that allows the Englishman to push "further up the pitch". Arteta may now be a step closer to realising that vision after the latest update on Onana.

Onana keen on Arsenal switch amid Man Utd interest

Speaking to GiveMeSport, journalist Ben Jacobs says that "Onana is open to Arsenal in particular" amid concurrent links with Manchester United. It looks like a potential move for the summer, with both sides "unable to proceed in January" given a lack of available funds.

Even as they face a fresh round of Premier League charges, Everton will refuse to accept a "cut-price deal" and instead expect "£50m or more" for a player who cost them £33m when he joined from Lille in the summer of 2022.

"Octopus" Onana has already shown Arteta and Arsenal what he can do

Onana has played 57 games for Everton since his arrival from Ligue 1, including 22 this season. When fit, he's one of the first names on the team sheet for manager Sean Dyche, with a starting rate of over 94 per cent (16/17).

Everton team-mate Arnaut Danjuma has likened him to an "octopus" given the amount of ground he's able to cover and the difficulty of getting past him. Indeed, in his first season of Premier League football, he ranked inside the competition's top 10 for the percentage of dribblers tackled (71.4%), illustrating Danjuma's point. He's also been hailed as "tremendous" in the media, as can be seen below.

The Belgian has already shown Arteta just how good he can be up close, having starred in a 1-0 win over the Gunners at Goodison Park in February 2023 – a shock result that hurt Arsenal's chances of winning the title. Onana finished joint-top of the match leaderboards that day for tackles and interceptions and also won eight of the 12 ground duels he contested, the third-highest volume. It wasn't all about the dirty work either as he created two opportunities, including one big chance.

Predictably in light of those numbers, Onana was named the official player of the match on Merseyside, and you get the sense that the game left a particular imprint on the Arsenal manager, who now seems determined to lure him to the Emirates. Everton know that they have a coveted asset on their hands, though, and it looks like they won't be handing him to their former player on a silver platter.

He was also asked repeatedly about that T20 World Cup loss in 2016, and if he had exorcised his ghosts against India

Mohammad Isam03-Nov-20192:48

This win a great moment for Bangladesh cricket – Mushfiqur

Even as off-field issues troubled Bangladesh cricket in the days leading up to their tour of India, one thought would likely have always come up in conversations among the players: beating India. Whether it was seeing them line up to announce the players’ strike against the BCB on October 21 or when Shakib Al Hasan was banned by the ICC a week later, they knew they would have to regroup quickly for a difficult tour, where every team struggles these days.The tour comprises T20Is and Tests, formats Bangladesh often struggle in, especially against India. This is their biggest bilateral tour in one of the Big Three countries in many years. And yet, so much was going wrong for the team. Apart from the strike and the ban, senior batsman Tamim Iqbal had pulled out of the tour, to stay back home with his pregnant wife.Even after the strike ended, the three-day preparatory camp was chaotic. Shakib’s absence even before the ban was announced was a mystery, and then, to add to the mess, the BCB pulled out nine players from ongoing first-class matches to join the camp. Then came the Shakib bombshell that really sunk the morale of the team as they had very little time to react before boarding the flight to Delhi last Wednesday.However, on Sunday evening, Bangladesh overcame the odds to topple India, sealing their first win against them in T20Is. Mushfiqur Rahim, who was at the forefront of the players’ strike, was the architect of the win, taking on left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed to tilt the scales Bangladesh’s way.”The last two-three weeks has been the toughest situation that I have faced in my 15-year cricketing career,” Mushfiqur said at the post-match press conference. “I said to the journalists before leaving Bangladesh that the only way to return to the right track would be with a couple of wins in India. It will bring back smiles and calmness to the team and the nation.”Mushfiqur also praised new coach Russell Domingo for keeping his cool, despite off-field troubles, and also explained the value the youngsters added to the side.”We came here as underdogs. I thank our head coach because of the situation we have faced in the last three weeks. To come back from that, especially giving the youngsters the freedom and giving them confidence; whether you give 20 runs in an over or get out first ball, you are still a member of this team,” he said. “We have been giving this message to the rest of the team. I want them to take eight or ten years to reach what I have reached in 15 years.”Mushfiqur Rahim celebrates Bangladesh’s maiden T20I win over India•BCCI

Mushfiqur then turned philosophical when asked repeatedly about the heart-breaking loss against India in the 2016 T20 World Cup in Bengaluru. Both Mahmudullah and Mushfiqur were dismissed in the final over of that match with their team two runs away from victory, but three years later, the same batsmen successfully finished the game and put them 1-0 up.”The biggest thing is people don’t remember winning from these situations for too long,” he said. “But if we lost this game, they would remember it for a long time. We were in a better position two overs before the end in that [Bengaluru] game. This was a tougher proposition on this wicket where scoring so much in the last two overs was going to be tough. I didn’t find it easy to find boundaries on this wicket.”Mushfiqur said Bangladesh had learnt their lessons from the Bengaluru loss and that they were better equipped to deal with pressure now.”We have had a lot of close games against India, so we promised ourselves that the next time we go into such a phase of the game, we don’t want to lose,” he said. “We have learned a lot from those last two games against India that went into the last over, so we discussed on how we can overcome those moments. I was telling Riyad that let’s win in singles and doubles rather than going for big hits.”Two years after that loss in the T20 World Cup came the Nidahas Trophy final, in which Bangladesh were denied the title thanks to Dinesh Karthik’s late-match heroics. And finally, last year, there was the Asia Cup final, where India beat Bangladesh off the final ball.The big question was whether Mushfiqur had finally exorcised his ghosts against India.”Not really,” he told at the post-match presentation before elaborating that it was simply the game situation that had spurred him on. “When you are playing in front of a huge crowd, and when the team needs it the most, then nothing more feels special (than helping the team cross the line). I feel really good. It’s a great honour to play India in India.”As for what Mushfiqur’s plans are with T20 cricket, given he is one of the few Bangladesh players to play all three formats, the wicketkeeper-batsman said: “I am trying my level best to improve as a cricketer. T20 cricket belongs inside me. I am trying to learn each and every day, and want to do more for Bangladesh.”

GOAL looks at the biggest storylines among Americans Abroad, with Reyna and Yunus Musah looking to debut with new clubs

And just like that, we're back. After two weeks of drama with the U.S. men's national team, several stars return to their clubs in Europe. The spotlight and pressure is back on, with several important fixtures for Americans. 

Gio Reyna spent the last two years fighting through uncertainty with his club in Dortmund. After his transfer, this weekend could mark his debut as a member of Gladbach, who host Werder Bremen.

In Spain, Johnny Cardoso could be a man on a mission when Atletico face off against Villarreal. With USMNT manager Mauricio Pochettino stressing that his "real" squad and strategy will surface in October friendlies, Cardoso will want to send a message that he belongs.

And Christian Pulisic returns to AC Milan to face Bologna after a strong performance against Japan in the USMNT's 2-0 win earlier this week. 

GOAL looks ahead at some of the biggest storylines to follow among Americans Abroad this weekend.

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  Reyna's next chapter to begin?

  Reyna said it best. 

  "I believe I'll be there. That was one of the reasons for my move. I'm in open contact with the coach. If I play well at Borussia, I'll definitely find my way back to the national team," he told BILD. 

  The midfielder was referencing next year's World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Considering how Reyna's last World Cup went, with former manager Gregg Berhalter hinting he wanted to send Reyna home due to his showings at practice, the 2026 tournament could be a chance to turn the page.

  In many ways, that moment shifted Reyna's once-promising momentum and led to the turbulence that's followed him since. Still, as Reyna noted, he's got to play and play well for his new club. He might have a chance to do so Sunday, as the American could make his first appearance for the

  Early on, there's been positive sentiment towards the move as Reyna has reunited with NYCFC academy and USMNT teammate Joe Scally. He also dropped a stunning assist during the international break in a club friendly, playing centrally for the Bundesliga side. 

  Yet, friendlies and league matches are different realities, and Gladbach face a tough challenge ahead in Werder. Both clubs have gotten off to slow starts, sitting 14th and 16th in the table, respectively. Considering the stakes, it will be interesting to see if Reyna is given a spot in the starting XI or worked into the game as a substitute. In either case, Reyna appears hungry to get things back on track. 

  "I'm now at a point where I want to take the next step and take my career to a higher level. I feel ready for it – and that's why I came to Gladbach," he said. 

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  Cardoso with a point to prove

  The move for Cardoso to Atletico Madrid hasn't gone to plan. He was pulled at halftime during his league debut for Atleti, and while his playing time has increased in later fixtures, the team's fortunes have not. Expected to be a dark horse contender for La Liga and the Champions League, Diego Simeone's side has dropped points in its three opening matches.

  More worrying is the fact that the results have all come against clubs Atleti was expected to beat – Espanyol, Elche and Alaves. The pressure is higher than ever for Simeone, who is on the hot seat for the first time in his 14 years as Atletico's manager. 

  Things don't get any easier with Villarreal. are traditionally one of Spain's most competitive sides, finishing among of La Liga's European slots each season. With the international break done, can Atleti turn things around? Will Cardoso be more adjusted to his role after being given a break from the USMNT by Pochettino?

  The midfielder has had some solid moments, totaling seven tackles in his three matches, but needs to be wary of yellow cards – he already has two in three matches. Concern will build if Atleti remain winless, and with good reason. There is already speculation about Simeone's future. New managers often bring new philosophies and that could impact Cardoso, who is still trying to secure a role with the national team.

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  Pulisic back with the Rossoneri

  Pulisic put a summer of headlines behind him with a solid showing for the USMNT against Japan. Now, back with AC Milan, the American star will need to carry over some of his international success to the Rossoneri, who have gotten off to an uneven start this season.

  Under Max Allegri, Pulisic's fourth manager since joining the Serie A side two years ago, Milan were stunned by newly-promoted US Cremonese before getting back on track against Lecce. The team will look to build momentum when it faces Bologna, the team it lost the Coppa Italia final to last season. 

  Despite last year's cup win, Bologna have a terrible record against Milan – winning just two of the last 20 league encounters between the sides. And Pulisic has found a measure of success against the North Italian side. He has two goals and an assist in four Serie A appearances against Bologna, including a goal and assist in their last encounter on May 9, a 3-1 Milan win. Will it be more of the same? 

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  Musah set for a fresh start

  Another possible debut could come from Yunus Musah at Atalanta. Musah's future had been speculated upon all summer, and the midfielder appeared to indicate he wanted to stay at AC Milan. Yet, on the transfer deadline, Musah ended up joining Atalanta on loan, with a option for a future transfer. 

  Despite his desire to stay, Musah might have landed on his feet with Manager Ivan Juric apparently is a big fan of Musah's biggest strength as a footballer, his versatility, and reportedly believes the American is a perfect fit for his tactics. The midfielder can also count on playing Champions League football, something that wasn't on offer at Milan after they finished eighth last season. 

  Atalanta are searching for their first win of the season. The team opened the season with a draw in its first two fixtures, but it does get a slight reprieve in facing 17th-placed Lecce – a team Musah beat before the international break with AC Milan. 

Liverpool are interested in completing the signing of an "exceptional" player who has broken Reds hearts in the past, according to a fresh transfer rumour.

Liverpool may need Mohamed Salah replacement

Jurgen Klopp has assembled one of the strongest attacking units on show at Anfield in many years, with five brilliant options to choose from in the final third. Mohamed Salah is the undisputed star man, but Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo are top-quality players in their own right, too.

There is the worry that Salah will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, however, with the 31-year-old out of contract at Anfield in the summer of 2025, and therefore having to make a key decision regarding his future later this year. He will either need to sign an extension or move on to pastures new, most likely a Saudi Pro League club.

Should that happen, it is essential that the Reds and FSG act fast and replace the Egyptian superstar with a fantastic player, trying to fill the void left by one of the best players in world football over the past five or six years. While not necessarily a tailor-made immediate successor for Salah, it looks as though Liverpool are eyeing up one highly-rated young attacking ace.

Liverpool want Crysencio Summerville

According to an update from Anfield Watch, Liverpool are interested in signing Leeds United youngster Crysencio Summerville, seeing him as an exciting prospect.

"Liverpool are considering a move for highly-rated Crysencio Summerville during the upcoming summer transfer window, Anfield Watch can reveal.

"The 22-year-old Dutch winger has been turning heads with his impressive performances for Leeds in Championship this season, leading to a slew of interest from clubs in the Premier League, with Jurgen Klopp's side among the former Feyenoord star's admirers."

As mentioned, Summerville, who shares the same agent as Curtis Jones, may not yet be close to Salah's level, in terms of being a world-class player who any team on the planet would want on their side, but he is someone with a high ceiling who Liverpool know a lot about. That's because he scored the winning goal in Leeds' 2-1 win at Anfield last season, in what remains the Reds' only Premier League home defeat in front of fans since April 2017.

The Dutchman has plenty of admirers, one of whom is former Reds striker Michael Owen, who has said of him in the past:

"This is such a good goal. Look at that for a touch [Summerville’s first]. The ball is behind him. He takes one lovely touch with the outside of his foot, then another one to keep him away from the defender and finishes it brilliantly. This is a really hard chance. He’s behind the defender in many ways when he gets the ball. I mean how he does that is really, really exceptional."

Still only 22, Summerville has starred in the Championship this season, shining out wide, and he could be seen as a good squad player to begin with at Liverpool, before becoming more of a key man over time.

It is a curious truth that whenever one of cricket’s prized formats has been challenged in recent years it has often responded in a manner illustrating its value

Paul Edwards22-Sep-2019It is a curious truth that whenever one of cricket’s prized formats has been challenged in recent years it has often responded in a manner illustrating its value. In 2016 the decision was taken to reduce the number of County Championship matches to 14; then came Middlesex v Yorkshire at Lord’s, the best climax to an English season for many years and a game so fine it even inspired an excellent book: Duncan Hamilton’s .This year a prevailing enthusiasm among some propeller heads was a reduction in the length of Test matches to four days; so we had the most closely contested Ashes series for a decade, one in which three of the five matches had the temerity to extend themselves into a fifth day.Next year, of course, The Hundred is to be played in the weeks hitherto reserved for the Vitality Blast. Having marketed T20 cricket superbly and seen it attract record attendances at almost all venues, the counties must now try to sell a second short-form competition much earlier in the summer at a time when many GCSE and A Level examinations are taking place. Good luck. The response of the Blast was to offer a glorious Finals Day at Edgbaston, where two of the three matches went to the last ball and one of those games, the Worcestershire Rapids v Notts Outlaws semi-final, gave us one of the most bizarre finishes in the history of T20 cricket.Old coaches and players are wont to suggest this is another example of the power of “Mother Cricket”, a strange force by which the game rewards those who respect it and punishes those who do not. More rational individuals view this contention as so much hokum yet even they would agree that in the summer prior to the greatest change in the English domestic game for a generation we have had a season so fine that no one outside the ECB sees any need for fundamental alteration.The Vitality Blast has played its part in all this. T20 Finals Day is utterly unlike any other occasion in the sporting year. It is back-slapping, brightly-coloured, belching, beery England in all its unapologetic finery. Decorum? Don’t even think about it. Subtlety? Not unless you are referring to Pat Brown’s knuckle balls or Ravi Bopara’s judgement of an innings. Some people will never warm to T20 cricket yet even they admit the importance of the income the competition generates and concede that it has refined and extended many skills. How many misfields do you recall from this year’s Finals Day? How many dropped catches?And it is even more important to recognise The Blast’s value because it appears under challenge; because, so the argument goes, if the ECB can use The Hundred to kill The Blast it will foreshadow the introduction of a hierarchy of ten or so first-class teams with the smaller counties permanently relegated or forced out of business altogether: counties like Essex, who won The Blast and may well win the County Championship, the greatest prize of all; counties like Somerset, who won the Royal London One-Day Cup; counties like Northamptonshire and Gloucestershire, who are on the verge of promotion to Division One; counties like Derbyshire, who so relished their first Finals Day; counties like Leicestershire, who continue to nurture great talents like Hasan Azad and Harry Swindells.Great God, this is poisonous stuff. And a simple press release from the ECB would be a most powerful antidote to it all.For the moment, though, we still have Finals Day and even the sceptics should treasure it a little. Sir John Betjeman would have loved the whole ridiculous rigmarole. Even though he knew next to nothing about cricket, that fine poet always appreciated English people displaying all their daft exuberance; the lines of people in fancy dress doing some version of the conga would, I suspect, have brought forth howls of laughter from him. Though capable of serious poetry, he relished popular entertainment – in its golden years was a great favourite – and Edgbaston on the third Saturday in September is a right royal knees-up.A fan dressed as the Queen during the Vitality T20 Blast Semi Final match between Notts Outlaws and Worcestershire Rapids•Getty Images

And of course it bloody daft. From the first chorus of the morning to the final spray of champagne it is gloriously unhinged. You cannot stage an obstacle race between 18 adult humans, most of them dressed in felt animal costumes, and hope that it will look anything but absolutely bonkers. You cannot celebrate the fall of every wicket by sending people hurtling into the air in a glass pod – it is called the Bungee Blast – and think you are presenting an image of maturity.You cannot hire Mr Motivator – ask your parents – to exhort 6,000 people in the Hollies Stand to exercise when most of the people he is encouraging have been drinking for England and many are dressed as bananas / Donald Trump / chickens / Roman Catholic priests, and still hope to look sensible. Someone might have suggested to the ECB that it is tricky to exercise when you cannot stand upright. But never mind, welcome to Birmingham’s House of Fun.It is also about the beauty of seeing a great city in its crepuscular light; the beauty of seeing Birmingham’s great business houses disappear into the darkness until they are revealed only by tiny pinpricks of red. The English season should always end with the last day of the County Championship but there is a certain elegiac richness about this particular Saturday evening. Gone is the expectation of early morning. All we have before us is the season’s final game of short-form cricket.And so we are left with the cricketers. They must always have the final word. We are left with Worcestershire’s Daryl Mitchell going over to his team-mate, Wayne Parnell, when he has been hit for four off the penultimate ball of the Final. We are left with Simon Harmer returning to console Parnell when his blows off that bowler have secured the trophy for Essex. And we are left with Harmer telling the press that his team will celebrate their victory properly but will not “go nuclear”. Many of the 24,550 folk at Edgbaston, on the other hand, have been going nuclear all day. The first beach-ball was confiscated at 11.24am. Freddie the Falcon won the Mascots’ Race.Freddy the Falcon of Derbyshire wins the mascots race on Finals Day•Getty Images

The Red Devils have agreed a deal sign the Royal Antwerp shot-stopper amid continued concerns over Andre Onana and Altay Bayindir's competency

"There is a glaring issue for Manchester United that cannot be ignored and that is they need to find a new goalkeeper. They have to, I am absolutely unequivocal on that," Red Devils legend Gary Neville told after seeing an awful error from Altay Bayindir gift Arsenal a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford on the opening weekend of the new Premier League season.

"It is really unsettling when you don’t have a dominant No.1 who owns his six-yard box, who comes and punches everything and makes saves to save you points when your defenders make mistakes. They need to sort the goalkeeper out as they will continue to concede goals and points and it undermines what they are doing."

Despite that mistake, Bayindir also got the nod in goal for United's subsequent league games against Fulham and Burnley, with Andre Onana left on the bench. Head coach Ruben Amorim stuck with Onana as the club's first-choice goalkeeper initially after arriving at Old Trafford last November, but the calamitous Cameroonian is no longer a guaranteed starter, having been just as unreliable as he was under Erik ten Hag throughout 2023-24.

Through the opening weeks of the campaign, Amorim decided that Bayindir was the lesser of two evils, with 39-year-old Tom Heaton still seen as nothing more than a back-up option, but Neville is absolutely right: United cannot progress until they sign a new No.1. Fortunately, help is on the way.

The Old Trafford recruitment team has honed in on 23-year-old Royal Antwerp 'keeper Senne Lammens, who is set to complete an £18 million ($23m) move to Manchester before the summer window slams shut on Monday, and that will be a very small price to pay if he solves the club's long-standing crisis between the sticks.

Below, GOAL assesses whether the undeniably talented Lammens is truly up to that daunting task…

• Where it all began

  Lammens was born on July 7, 2002 in the Belgian city of Zottegem. He took his first steps into football at the age of five, joining local side KRC Bambrugge, and spent three years on their books before catching the eye of professional outfit Dender.

  From there, the youngster developed at a rapid rate, and in 2014, he was snapped up by Club Brugge, historically the second-biggest club in Belgium behind Anderlecht. Just four years later, a 16-year-old Lammens was named in Brugge's first team squad for a Champions League group-stage clash with Atletico Madrid, though that did not turn out to be his breakthrough moment.

  Brugge resisted the temptation to throw Lammens in at the deep end before he was ready. They had no desire to rush his development, particularly after signing ex-Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet in the summer of 2019. However, in December that year, Lammens made headlines across Europe.

  The teenage shot-stopper scored a fantastic 95th-minute header for Brugge's U19s in a UEFA Youth League encounter against Real Madrid after going up for a corner, earning his team a 2-2 draw to take them into the knockout phase. It was a dream moment for Lammens, who had also established himself as a regular in the Belgium U17s team by that stage.

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  The big break

  Lammens stepped up to Brugge's U23s squad – known as Club NXT – in 2020-21, which was their first season competing in Belgium's second tier. He largely impressed across his 13 appearances, but failed to keep a single clean sheet as Brugge finished rock bottom of the table.

  However, good fortune did smile upon Lammens in July 2021 as he was handed his first senior start when Brugge faced Genk in the Belgian Super Cup final, after Mignolet was ruled out of the contest through injury, and played his part in a thrilling 3-2 victory.

  Lammens made his Belgian Pro League bow eight days later as Brugge played out a 2-2 draw with Eupen in their 2021-22 campaign opener, but Mignolet then returned to full fitness. The youngster would only feature in two more games for the club that season, a 3-0 victory over KMSK Deinze in the early rounds of the Belgian Cup and as a substitute in the final match of the champions' play-offs against Anderlecht.

  Brugge earned a 1-1 draw in that contest to clinch the title, giving Lammens his second piece of senior silverware, but he continued to see his path to a regular role blocked by Mignolet. Lammens made only 11 appearances across all competitions in the following season, with none of those coming in Brugge's run to the Champions League knockouts, and he was allowed to leave the club as a free agent at the end of the 2022-23 campaign.

  That could have been a devastating blow, but Lammens landed on his feet when newly-crowned Belgian champions Royal Antwerp drafted the promising 'keeper in on a four-year contract, which gave him the chance to work under the guidance of former Bayern Munich and Netherlands star Mark van Bommel. 

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  How it's going

  In an interview with , Van Bommel described Lammens as a goalkeeper with "enormous potential" and suggested he could be a future starter for Belgium. However, Lammens was the second choice initially at Antwerp, behind Jean Butez, with the majority of his 18 appearances in the 2023-24 season coming in the Belgian Cup. 

  Antwerp made it all the way to the final of the competition, only to lose 1-0 against Union Saint-Gilloise, and they also slipped to a disappointing sixth-placed finish in the league, which cost Van Bommel his job. Jonas De Roeck was appointed as the Dutchman's replacement, and one of his first orders of business was to promote Lammens into the No.1 role.

  Consistency continued to prove elusive for Antwerp, and De Roeck only lasted nine months at the helm, but Lammens drew widespread acclaim for his performances last term, while developing a reputation as an expert at keeping out penalties. He saved four spot-kicks in total, and kept 10 clean sheets as Antwerp finished fifth in the Pro League, with the senior Belgium national team calling him up for the first time in March.

  Lammens did not play in the Nations League play-offs doubleheader against Ukraine, but the experience of training alongside Real Madrid star Thibaut Courtois and Nottingham Forest's Matz Sels was invaluable. Rumours of a big summer transfer to United began to swirl after that, and Stef Wils, who was named De Roeck's permanent successor at Antwerp earlier this summer, has admitted that Lammens is "ready for the next step".

  Wils added after seeing Lammens put in a typically assured display in Antwerp's 2025-26 curtain raiser against Union Saint-Gilloise on July 25: "He has everything it takes to make it, in any league." 

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  Biggest strengths

  Wils has only had two months to work with Lammens, but has been blown away by his abilities. "Senne is a modern goalkeeper. He's still young, he has the potential to grow," the Belgian coach has said. "He instills confidence in a defence. When high balls come, it's a plus that Senne is always there. That gives the central defenders a certain sense of calm." 

  In addition to having full command over his penalty area, Lammens is a superb shot-stopper. He made more saves than any other goalkeeper in the Belgian Pro League last season (127), and ranked in the top one per cent of goalkeepers across Europe's top 20 leagues for goals prevented, according to . 

  That incredible record is in part a by-product of Lammens' quality in one-vs-one situations, as he so often outfoxes attackers through a mix of superb positioning, razor-sharp reflexes and composure. United fans will also be pleased to know that the Antwerp star also excels when it comes to distribution with both feet, which is one of the areas Onana has fallen woefully short in since his 2023 move from Inter.

‘The ECB’s policies played a key part in winning the World Cup, but are about to play a key part in losing the Ashes’

George Dobell in Leeds23-Aug-2019Just as you wouldn’t go to your butcher for your eye surgery or your vet for your vegetables, so you shouldn’t be asking a middle-order batsman to open the batting in Test cricket.Yes, we know Jason Roy can do the role in ODI cricket. But ODI cricket is played with a Kookaburra ball that barely swings. And it’s played, on the whole, on pretty flat wickets where the bowlers gain little seam movement. It is, in short, a different game.Opening the batting in first-class cricket is a specialist role. It’s not so much about the shots you play as the shots you don’t. It’s about knowing which balls to leave, about having the patience to wear bowlers down and the defensive technique to withstand the moving ball. And if you don’t have someone who can do that, you risk exposing a middle-order that may legitimately not have those skills, to the new ball and fresh bowlers.While Roy could, perhaps, learn the skills required to open in Test cricket, expecting him to do so at this level – and against an attack as good as this – is naïve to the point of recklessness. He does not open for England Lions and he does not open at county level. While Surrey did, briefly, experiment with him in the position, it was a ploy they abandoned in 2012. And it wasn’t because he made it all look too easy. In all, he averages 31.65 in the role (which he last attempted, in just two innings, in 2015) in first-class cricket. He now has the second-lowest average (9.80) for an opener with five-plus innings in the Ashes since the start of the 1900s. Only Geoff Cook, who averaged 9.00 in the 1982-83 Ashes, is lower in that time.Whether Roy has the appetite for the role is unclear. A couple of day ahead of this game, he spent much of his time in the nets trying to slog almost every delivery he faced into the stands. Maybe it was an exercise designed to build his confidence but, in the long-term, it is competence than breeds confidence. It rarely works the other way around.It seems absurd that an England system that prides itself on attention to detail – this is the side, remember, that provided its players with a cookbook involving various quinoa recipes in a bid to ensure they were in optimum position – can take such a laissez-faire attitude to such a key position. And absurd they can go into such games, against such attacks – and we really do have to acknowledge that this is a terrific Australia bowling line-up – with such a makeshift solution despite their coach acknowledging ahead of the game that Roy is, in his view, better suited to the middle-order.So it was irresponsible to pick Roy for this role. Just as it was irresponsible to ask Ollie Pope to bat at No. 4 – a position he had never fulfilled – in the Test series last summer. Pope, you may recall, came into the Test team having never batted before the 20th over of a first-class innings. He was used to batting at No. 6 for Surrey.On both occasions, the over-promotion of Roy and Pope risked ruining a talented player. Nathan Leamon, the sometime England analyst, has previously talked of data that suggests that the longer it takes new players to achieve success, the less likely it is they will go on to enjoy long careers. Destroying players’ self-confidence in the formative stages of their career could cause lasting damage. The fact that England are considering swapping the positions of Roy and Joe Denly – who looked so out of depth while batting on Friday that it was tempting to call the coastguard – is not especially encouraging.In truth, Roy is probably not well suited to batting at No. 4 in Test cricket, either. It would be easier, for sure, but it would still require patience, technique and discipline. And while he is a man with many skills, the stroke that brought his dismissal here – edging a drive at one outside off stump that left him a fraction – did nothing to suggest he has those qualities. He might well prove best at No. 6. But England aren’t looking for No. 6s.Conditions were pretty good for batting on Friday. Yes, the attack was good and there was seam movement. But it was sunny and there was none of the swing that troubled batsmen on Thursday. England would be deluding themselves if they hid behind the conditions as a reason for this capitulation.Ed Smith, the head selector who has pushed for Roy to open, Pope to bat at No. 4 and Denly to win an extended chance in the side, does not emerge from this situation especially well. He has previously defended his selection policy by stating, “there has to be a compelling reason not to have one of your top players in the team”. But such a naïve policy ignores the balance required to build a side; it ignores the specialism required at this level; it involved far too much wishful thinking. It just isn’t working.Ultimately, though, all these issues stem back to one fundamental problem: county cricket does not appear to be producing top-order batsmen of the quantity or quality required. Until they do, England’s team management will always be looking for contingencies and England’s middle-order will continue to be exposed. Eventually, the penny will drop at the ECB, that by eroding the primacy of the county championship, they have eroded their Test team’s ability to compete. They are the ones to blame for these embarrassments. The team is simply the product of a broken system.There are, however, some other options. There’s Dom Sibley, of Warwickshire, who has churned out runs consistently over the last year and has the patience of an old-school opener. There’s Zak Crawley, who looks a fine talent and plays the short ball particularly well, but who is very young, very green and, perhaps, a little vulnerable to expose at this stage. And there are the likes of Sam Robson and Mark Stoneman whose averages in the high 20s or low 30s are suddenly not looking all that shabby.But increasingly, as you cast around the counties for options, you are reminded of Bob Dylan’s great line: “All these people that you mention, I know them they’re quite lame, I had to rearrange their faces and give them all another name.” It probably won’t matter too much who England pick. The system is broken.Sound like hyperbole? Well, this was England’s lowest Ashes total since 1948 and their second-lowest since 1909. It was the fourth time in the Trevor Bayliss era that they have been bowled out for under 100; no other Test side has suffered such an indignity so often. It keeps happening. And if things keep happening, they can’t be dismissed as an aberration.There is a lack of respect for the old virtues of batting; for determination and patience and technique. And there is a lack of respect given to the county game which builds players; truly, the changes made in recent years amount to an act of vandalism. If the ECB truly care about Test cricket – oh, they talk a good game, but there’s very little evidence of anything other than talk – they will acknowledge that you don’t build Test success by focusing on white-ball cricket and you don’t build a team by picking the most attractive stroke-makers. The ECB’s policies played a key part in winning the World Cup, but are about to play a key part in losing the Ashes.England’s Test batting is painfully weak. Perhaps as weak as it has ever been. Unless the ECB have the courage to change the county structure – and yes, that includes backtracking on the monstrosity that is the white-ball window and accepting that the focus on The Hundred won’t do a thing to help the Test team – it will keep happening.