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Fulham are reportedly interested in exciting right-back Max Aarons, per reports.

Fulham transfer news – What's the latest on Max Aarons?

According to the Telegraph, the Cottagers are 'weighing up' a potential move for the Norwich City full-back to increase the competition at right-back in Marco Silva's team.

Dutchman Kenny Tete has primarily filled the position this season, with loanee Cedric Soares failing to impress and heading back to parent club Arsenal this summer.

According to the publication, the west London club are considering a tempting offer in the region of £10m for the fullback.

The youngster is into the final 12 months of his £22.5k-per-week deal, so a transfer is highly likely in the summer.

Would the arrival of Max Aarons spell the end for Kenny Tete?

Aarons has been a player subject to a lot of hype ever since his Premier League debut back in the 2019/20 season, so a move to Fulham might surprise many and probably spell the end of Kenny Tete's starting berth at Craven Cottage.

To compare the two players, it makes the most sense to look at the Fulham man's most recent season and Aarons' 2021/22 season, as that was his last year in the Premier League.

In doing that, the picture becomes much less bleak for the 27-year-old, as the comparison between the players is far closer than many might first assume.

In an attacking sense, the players are very close.

According to FBref, Tete averaged 0.07 expected assists per 90, whilst Aarons 0.05.

In contrast, though, it's the Norwich dynamo with the slight edge for progressive passes, having averaged 3.66 per 90 to the Amsterdam-born players' 3.61.

One area the tricky Canaries full-back is clear of the competition is the progressive distance he carries the ball, having averaged a seriously impressive 105.5 yards per 90, compared to Tete's 84.2 yards per 90.

The pass completion is also better for the Hammersmith-born gem, at 75% compared to just 72% for the Dutchman.

However, whilst it is difficult to clearly separate the players from their last seasons in the Premier League, it's important to note that Fulham were a significantly better collective than Norwich City, thus providing a more stable platform.

There are also the players' ages and potential upside to consider.

Aarons is still just 23, whereas the former Lyon man is 27, just four months off being 28.

Many in the game hold the view that the future is incredibly bright for the burgeoning Aarons, with manager David Wagner saying earlier this year:

"He likes to add new ideas to his game and this means you have more or less everything to make a top career. I'm excited to help him make the next steps."

It isn't just his manager, though, as Rio Ferdinand, one of the league's greatest-ever defenders, was full of praise for the youngster, saying on his YouTube channel, "he has got huge potential."

So the statistics might paint a picture of similar abilities at this moment in time, but with the right coaching and experience, Aarons could explode in the coming seasons, and therefore, sadly, spelling the end for Tete's Fulham career.

Russell Domingo is not ready to reveal whether he will reapply for his job as South Africa’s head coach after CSA’s board decided it would begin a recruitment process for a national coach to take over after the tour to England in August

Firdose Moonda11-Feb-2017Russell Domingo is not ready to reveal whether he will reapply for his job as South Africa’s head coach after CSA’s board decided it would begin a recruitment process for a national coach to take over after the tour to England in August, when Domingo’s contract expires. Although several insiders believe the opening of an application process is nothing more than a formality to meet corporate governance requirements and Domingo will get the post if chooses to apply, the man himself has indicated he will need to assess whether he wants to continue.”I need to think about it. There’s a lot of water to still go under the bridge. Our focus is on this New Zealand series. I need to weigh up where I am with my life, with my family, with my career and make a call closer to the time. At this stage, I am not able to commit or not commit. I have to see,” Domingo said, after South Africa beat Sri Lanka 5-0 at Centurion.Domingo, whose contract has already been extended three times, still has a trio of trips before the end of his deal – the imminent visit to New Zealand which includes a T20, five ODIs and three Tests, the Champions Trophy, and a four-Test tour of England. It is expected that if he succeeds, especially at the ICC event, he could even be asked to reapply and continue but Domingo said he is not looking at the fixtures as a litmus test. “I don’t think I need that as any form of motivation. Its not about me, its about the team. It’s not about me being motivated, it’s about the players being motivated,” he said.Asked whether the CSA board announcement, which came two weeks’ ago during the first ODI against Sri Lanka, could have waited, Domingo explained he understood the administrative reasons behind CSA revealing they would be widening the net. “There’s never a good time but the board has got processes they need to follow. They need to do what they feel is in the best interests of the national team. Whatever they feel that is, they need to make those decisions. I don’t always have to agree with it or love it or disagree with it. It just is what it is.””That’s part of life and part of sport. If my contract can be up and Jose Mourinho’s contract can be up – I am only Russell Domingo… there have been big coaches whose contract has expired and they’ve got to move on. That’s the way it is.”Domingo has been in charge of South Africa since mid-2013 and has overseen a period from which they have dropped from No. 1 on the Test rankings to No. 7 and then got themselves back up to No. 3. He is the only coach under whom South Africa have won a knockout match at a World Cup – the quarter-final in 2015 against Sri Lanka. His ODI success often goes under the radar – South Africa became the first team to have whitewashed Australia 5-0 under his watch and also hold the record for the most consecutive ODI wins at home – 14 – and he hopes their limited-overs’ performances are regarded with the same prestige as some of their longer-form achievements. “We’ve won some unbelievable one-day series that sometimes the players don’t get enough credit for,” Domingo said.Should Domingo choose not to put his name in the hat to take the team to the 2019 World Cup, Lions’ coach Geoffrey Toyana is considered the favourite to take over. Toyana has been in charge of the Lions since the 2012-13 season and they have won three trophies (a T20, a shared one-day cup and a first-class title) under him. He has also presided over the progression of several players to the national side including Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Stephen Cook, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso and Dwaine Pretorius.

Insider ExWHUEmployee has revealed that West Ham United co-owner David Sullivan is so unhappy with the club's recent transfer he may take responsibility away from David Moyes.

What's the latest on West Ham's transfer plans?

Despite spending a lot of money in the summer – well over £150m – it's not as though the Irons have been better this season.

After all, last term they made the Europa League semi-final and finished seventh, while now they are still in the Europa Conference League (one tier below) and currently sit 15th in the Premier League.

With that being the case, the club will have to carefully consider their transfer strategy and it sounds as though power will be taken away from manager Moyes if he remains in East London.

Indeed, in an update shared on The West Ham Way Podcast, Ex outlined his understanding of the situation.

He said (09:59): “What I have heard as well is that David Sullivan is so unhappy with the amount of money – the amount of his money essentially – has been wasted on transfers, that he's going to take more of a role back in transfers and appoint another sort of football director to come in and oversee it.

"If this is the case and David Moyes stays on as manager, which at the moment is still not decided, but if he does start as manager, I would think this is a massively undermining thing to appoint another football director and to take responsibility away from Moyes and take power back."

Who is the sporting director at West Ham?

Interestingly enough, back in 2018, The Guardian reported that Moyes – who was in his first spell with the Irons – would be given more influence over transfers with Sullivan taking a more hands-off approach.

Presumably, then, the Scottish manager has had a lot of say in recent dealings alongside Head of Recruitment Rob Newman.

However, when you look at a signing such as Gianluca Scamacca, who arrived for £35.5m but hasn't settled well with just three league goals to his name, it's not hard to see why Sullivan might be unhappy with the decision-making by Moyes and Newman regarding transfers

Of course, Irons legend Mark Noble is currently the sporting director but has only been in the role since January this year, so perhaps the board will want to put someone with more transfer experience into a specific role behind the scenes.

If that is the case, it will be interesting to see how Moyes reacts to this change in control he has at the club.

Liam Plunkett’s four wickets enabled Yorkshire to edge a tense quarter-final against Kent on a dead Canterbury surface

Paul Edwards at Canterbury18-Aug-2016
ScorecardLiam Plunkett pulls off a vital return catch to dismiss Darren Stevens•PA PhotosThere is an old cricketing saw that if you want to know how good a pitch is, you need to wait until both sides have batted on it. Like most proverbs, this is a useful saying only when used carefully; trotted out uncritically, it is tripe. This close and noble match, which ended with Yorkshire looking forward to a home semi-final against Surrey, illustrated the point.Between the two innings, as a St Lawrence ground which had brimmed with afternoon sunshine gave itself over to the gentler grace of evening, Kent’s supporters had reason to be optimistic. A Yorkshire side containing seven Test cricketers had managed no more than 256 in their 50 overs, a good score to be sure but self-evidently not the 300-plus the home fans may have feared.Kent skipper, Sam Northeast, may even have half toyed with notions of a Lord’s final. That would have capped a great season for the still youthful-looking Northeast, who has scored runs for the fun of doing so in the Championship. He has also been appointed club captain in succession to the slightly aldermanic figure of Rob Key. Sam Weller has taken over from Mr Pickwick.Eighteen overs into their innings the mood in the home dressing room was probably considerably less sanguine. Although 64 runs had been scored, four prime wickets had been lost, including that of Daniel Bell-Drummond, leg before to a David Willey yorker in the second over and Sam Billings, lbw on the front foot to Steve Patterson when he had made a mere single. Sandwiched between these dismissals, Northeast had gone, too, when he chipped a catch to Gary Ballance at midwicket.Thus did one Old Harrovian send another packing, although this very posh dismissal was moderated a little by the involvement of the bowler, Liam Plunkett, he of Nunthorpe Comprehensive. Maybe we should have known then that it would be Plunkett’s night, just as it had been against Essex at the same stage of the same competition a year earlier.

Alex Lees, Yorkshire captain: “I thought we were 20 runs or so light at the end of our innings, although Adam Lyth played quite beautifully, because we lost our way a bit after he got out. It is such an asset having someone like Liam who takes wickets in the middle overs, because in one-day cricket that is so important. Adil, at the end, bowled with great skill and it was testament to his ability that he got us wickets just when we needed them.”
Sam Northeast, Kent captain: “We lost too many wickets in the first 20 overs. We made a good show of it in the end but we were just not good enough overall today. We pegged them back really well on a pitch that was slower than we expected. Rashid bowled really well at the end, and we came up short.”

Faced with Kent’s grim situation, Darren Stevens and Alex Blake resolved to die with their boots on and their magazines empty, if necessary. The fifth-wicket pair took 61 runs off the next seven overs, most of the damage being done to the spinners, Adil Rashid and Azeem Rafiq, both of whom were lifted for sixes into the crowd sitting in front of the mustard-coloured crane on the Old Dover Road side of the ground.The pair had added 86 in 13 overs when Blake was caught behind by Jonny Bairstow for 50 when attempting to pull a bouncer from Plunkett but only edging a catch. Nevertheless, the later Kent batsmen took their cue from this stand and it needed some outstanding cricket from Plunkett to prevent them winning the game.Northeast’s men needed 109 off 20 overs when Blake was out and the rate was not to drop much above or below five an over for the rest of the innings. Crucially, of course, though, wickets were to fall, the first of them that of Stevens, whose leading edge was clutched one-handed with supreme athleticism by the diving Plunkett. Will Gidman gave the same bowler a much easier return catch two overs later but Kent battled on and the crowd warmed to themMatt Coles took a four and two sixes off a Rafiq over before being stumped off a Rashid googly – his foot raised just for an instant, but exposed by Bairstow’s fast work.Charlie Hartley and James Tredwell maintained a rate of five an over and 37 were needed off the last 48 balls. Yorkshire’s bowlers became nervous, then irritated. But with only 16 needed, Hartley was leg before to Rashid and his 29-run stand with the calm Tredwell was ended. Then a borderline lbw for Willey finally killed Kent’s chances when 12 runs were required, 13 balls were left and most in the 6000 capacity crowd were beginning to think that, just for once, hope was not going to betray them.All this floodlit tension followed a Yorkshire innings which had been dominated more by accumulation than the artillery which Blake and Coles favoured. Although Adam Lyth hit two fours and a straight six in his first 15 balls, the boundaries were not to flow with comparable frequency until the final over of the innings, when Rashid drove successive balls from Mitch Claydon to the Nackington Road for four and over midwicket for six. Claydon had been the early sufferer, too, when he pitched the ball up rather too far to Lyth, who rarely passes up such pleasant opportunities, especially when the deep field is as empty as a gambler’s wallet.But this early fun more or less marked the end of the visitors’ big shots. After Alex Lees had pulled Claydon straight to Blake on the square leg boundary, Lyth and Joe Root added 90 for the second wicket in 19 overs by pushing the ball into gaps, working it around and scampering twos.Root’s innings exemplified the few problems Yorkshire’s batsmen encountered on this pitch. England’s finest batsman is so well balanced at the crease that he is almost incapable of inelegance, yet the accuracy of the Kent attack and the apparent slowness of the wicket prevented him playing any of his straight drives or signature back-foot forces. Instead he and Lyth were content for the most part to milk Tredwell, the off-spinner conceding 52 runs off his ten overs.Root and Lyth’s partnership was by far the best of Yorkshire’s innings. Three other pairs added 27 runs apiece, a statistic which itself rather reveals the absence of rhythm in the visitors’ innings. The batsmen’s problems were caused – some would say merely exacerbated – by the accuracy of Kent’s bowling. The pick of the attack was the medium-pacer, Hartley, who was playing just his fourth List A game and will dine out on his removal of Root, well caught at deep midwicket by Blake for 45, and Bairstow, who drove too soon and chipped a catch to Bell-Drummond when he had only 9 to his name.Although Gidman later removed Tim Bresnan and Willey in the same over, the latter departing to a contentious leg-side catch by Billings when the ball appeared to have hit only the pad, the most successful Kent bowler was Coles. Like Chaucer’s Miller, “a stout carl for the nones” Coles has plenty of pace and perhaps more variations than is sometimes assumed. “Ful byg…of brawn, and eek of bones” he may be but there is craft there, too, and in this game, it was sufficient to account for Lyth for 88 when edging a drive and both Plunkett and Rafiq late in the piece. Coles finished with 3 for 39 and maybe he, too, was pondering spending a September Saturday in St John’s Wood as he ate his tea.Instead it will be Yorkshire’s players who have that chance when they play Surrey in a semi-final at Headingley a week on Sunday. Having set up one semi-final Lees and his players can now travel to Edgbaston to play in another. Kent’s players were left with deep disappointment and the ink-blue glory of a Canterbury night.Matt Coles dismisses Yorkshire’s top scorer Adam Lyth•PA Photos

Tottenham Hotspur manager candidate Julian Nagelsmann may have had a 'rethink' over potentially becoming Spurs manager following their late collapse against Liverpool last weekend, according to Dean Jones.

What's the latest news involving Tottenham Hotspur's pursuit of Julian Nagelsmann?

As per The Telegraph, negotiations between Spurs and Nagelsmann appear to have hit a 'stumbling block' due to uncertainty over the situation surrounding their sporting director role.

Fabio Paratici resigned from the position due to receiving a worldwide ban from FIFA which was upheld and the 35-year-old coach wants assurances over who will be handling recruitment and strategical matters before choosing whether or not to commit to taking over permanently from Antonio Conte.

The Sun also claim that Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy has 'reservations' over Nagelsmann's age and wants to make sure the German would be respected in his role of seniority by everyone in the building.

Several other candidates have also been linked to the vacancy, such as Burnley manager Vincent Kompany, Feyenoord coach Arne Slot and former Leicester City man Brendan Rodgers, as per Football London.

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Jones thinks that Spurs' performance last Sunday in their 4-3 defeat against Liverpool will also leave a lot to be desired from Nagelsmann's perspective.

Jones told FFC: "The motivation is not there, the hunger is not there, none of the things you would look for on surface level as a manager were in that performance. That's before you even get into the technical ability and wonder if they're capable of carrying out what you need them to do to carry out your vision. I'm sure Nagelsmann, if he was watching that game, might be having a bit of a rethink."

What next for Tottenham Hotspur?

So, things appear to be going from bad to worse for Tottenham having gone four games without a win, and now it looks as if this has potentially had a negative effect on the potential appointment of Nagelsmann.

Tottenham have four matches left in Premier League still to play as they try to salvage a European slot from an underwhelming season.

Champions League qualification now looks to be out of the window, given that they sit nine points behind Manchester United in fourth position, who have played two fixtures less than the Lilywhites.

Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion linger just below Spurs in the standings and could well overtake them if results do not improve, potentially leaving them completely out of the picture concerning the prospect of securing continental football for 2023/24.

Although their managerial situation will continue to dominate headlines off the pitch, making sure they end the campaign with a flourish under Ryan Mason has to be of paramount importance to everyone at Hotspur Way.

Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy have questioned the selection of the West Indies ODI squad for the tri-series involving Australia and South Africa in June

ESPNcricinfo staff20-May-2016Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy have questioned the selection of the West Indies ODI squad for the tri-series involving Australia and South Africa in June. They expressed surprise at Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine being in the squad despite not meeting what they considered to be one of the WICB’s criteria for selection – playing West Indies’ domestic 50-over competition.Gayle, Bravo and Sammy did not play the Nagico Super50 in January because they were playing the Big Bash League in Australia at the time. Pollard and Narine also did not participate in the Nagico Super50, though. Pollard was injured during the Ram Slam T20 in South Africa in November last year and only regained fitness in time for the 2016 IPL, and Narine was not allowed to play because his bowling action had been declared illegal. He was cleared to bowl by the ICC only in April.In a series of tweets and retweets, the players who had been left out of the squad expressed their incredulity at the selection. “@KieronPollard55 & #SunilNarine selected for WI Tri-Series. How is that possible @westindies?” asked Gayle on Twitter. “WICB stop Sunil from playing super 50 and now they pick him. If @KieronPollard55 was fit he would’ve play the B Bash just like the rest of us!!”Bravo called the development “magic” on Twitter. “Joke of the day: WI selectors. One minute Pollard & Narine were not good enough & now are perfect for Tri Nation series? It’s like magic! One minute we have to be available for domestic super 50 to be selected and the next minute, it seems we don’t. Magic! Get serious people!”Sammy, while congratulating Pollard, asked him how he had managed a comeback: “@KieronPollard55 great to see u back in odi team but tell me how did u qualify for selection having not played the super50 or ODI since 2014.”In response to Sammy and the others, Pollard seemed to say he did not know why he had not played an ODI since October 2014: “Bingo, or I should say Pingo. Numbers shuffled and up popped P55!! Or should I [say] lucky days!! Think the truth, or real reasons of expulsion will finally come out??? Have been baffled for 15 months. Then Pingo.”Andre Russell was the other high-profile omission from the West Indies ODI squad. He too did not play the Nagico Super50 and played the Big Bash League instead. It is not known, however, whether the injury he sustained during the IPL played a part in his non-selection. None of these players – Gayle, Bravo, Sammy and Russell – were contracted by the WICB earlier this year, but all four were part of West Indies’ title-winning squad at the World T20 in India.

The PCB has introduced a revamped domestic one-day tournament, called the Pakistan Cup, to replace the existing Pentangular Cup

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Apr-2016The PCB has introduced a revamped domestic one-day tournament, called the Pakistan Cup, to replace the existing Pentangular Cup. The tournament will be played between five provincial teams, starting April 19 in Faisalabad.The format will remain the same as the Pentangular Cup, but the process of picking players has been altered – the traditional selection process has been replaced with a draft system. It will allow a pre-announced captain and coaches to pick their 15-man squads from a list of 150 cricketers in 15 rounds. There was no reason given for the selection process being changed.The five teams from the five provinces – Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and a team from Federal Capital of Pakistan – will remain the same. The PCB announced Azhar Ali will lead Balochistan, Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq will lead Federal Capital, Younis Khan will take the reins of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shoaib Malik will captain Punjab and Sarfraz Ahmed will lead Sindh.The draft took place in Lahore, where Punjab picked Salman Butt as their opening batsman while Sindh went for Mohammad Amir. Mohammad Asif, however, was not picked by any of the five teams. Mohammad Hafeez, who is suffering from a knee injury, remained unavailable for selection. In order to promote young cricketers, each team had to pick one regional Under-19 player in their 15-man squad.The Pakistan domestic structure has been inconsistent for decades with changes occurring every two years. Their domestic season starts in August with Grade-2 tournaments, and ends with the limited-overs tournaments by March. The PCB had introduced a completely new first-class system in 2015 and the announcement of the Pakistan Cup reflects the varying nature of planning in the domestic set up. It was understood that there were commercial reasons behind the timing of the event.”Our public loves cricket and we are trying to further elevate our product,” Najam Sethi, the chairman of the PCB executive committee, said. “There is greater involvement of senior cricketers with the draft process in place. Players will also receive a 100% increase in remuneration and the support staff is very experienced. We are celebrating unity in diversity and I urge the fans to come and watch these matches in the stadium.”Punjab: Salman Butt, Shan Masood, Asad Shafiq, Asif Ali, Akbar-ur-Rehman, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Saad Nasim, Amir Yameen, Shoaib Malik (capt), Ehsan Adil, Amad Butt, Adnan Ghaus, Zulfiqar Babar, Saif BadarSindh: Khurram Manzoor, Sami Aslam, Mohammad Waqas, Shoaib Maqsood, Khalid Latif, Fawad Alam, Saad Ali, Sarfraz Ahmed (capt), Imad Wasim, Anwar Ali, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Amir, Sohail Khan, Ruman Raeez, Hassan KhanBalochistan: Azhar Ali (capt), Owais Zia, Ramiz Raja (junior), Babar Azam, Umar Akmal, Shahid Yousaf, Mohammad Hasan, Mohammad Nawaz, Sohail Tanvir, Junaid Khan, Bilawal Bhatti, Umar Gul, Imran Khan, Osama Mir, Saeed AjmalFederal: Sharjeel Khan, Nasir Jamshed, Iftikhar Ahmed, Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Asif Zakir, Hammad Azam, Sarmad Bhatti, Arsal Sheikh, Imran Khalid, Zafar Gohar, Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Irfan, Hasan Ali, Mohammad AbbasKPK: Ahmed Shahzad, Fakhar Zaman, Younis Khan (capt), Rameez Aziz, Naveed Yasin, Musadiq Ahmed, Bismillah Khan, Faheem Ashraf, Rahat Ali, Azarullah, Sadaif Mehdi, Yasir Shah, Mohammad Asghar, Zohaib Khan, Hayatullah

Aston Villa have made an enquiry over a possible summer move for Arsenal defender Kieran Tierney, according to Ben Jacobs.

The Lowdown: Villa rumours

Villa were first linked with a move for Tierney earlier this month by Football Insider. They said that Arsenal could green-light a summer sale and value the player at £30m, with the report adding that Villa could be willing to sell Lucas Digne to make room for the Scot.

The 25-year-old appears to have dropped down the pecking order under Mikel Arteta this season following Oleksandr Zinchenko’s arrival in the summer, starting more games in the Europa League than the Premier League.

Tierney also shares the same agent as Villa centre-back Ezri Konsa, and it looks as if Villa have made their first move ahead of a possible transfer.

The Latest: Jacobs’ comments

Jacobs was talking to TEAMtalk regarding Tierney and Villa. He said that those at Villa Park (by extension both NSWE and sporting director Johan Lange) have made an approach for Tierney.

However, the reporter said he would be ‘surprised’ if the left-back decided to move to the Midlands due to no European football being offered.

“Aston Villa have been a club that have also inquired but I think that Tierney will still want European football. So personally – and it is only my view – I’d be surprised if Tierney drops down to a club in his mid-20s after impressing for Arsenal – let’s not forget last season – that doesn’t offer European football.”

The Verdict: You never know…

Christian Purslow is expecting an ‘extremely busy summer’ ahead of Unai Emery’s first full season in charge, so it wouldn’t come as a shock if Villa followed up their approach by making an offer for Tierney in the summer.

He has been dubbed as an ‘absolute baller’ by talent scout Jacek Kulig, so could prove to be a shrewd signing, even though Emery recently brought in left-back Alex Moreno from Real Betis in the winter window.

The Arsenal man would bring a winning mentality to the Midlands after lifting a number of trophies with boyhood club Celtic and the FA Cup and Community Shield with the Gunners, potentially adding a Premier League winners medal to his collection over the coming months.

Villa have shown recently that they can attract players who are used to European football by signing Philippe Coutinho from Barcelona, so we won’t rule out a move for Tierney just yet, although Villa may have to rival Newcastle United for his signature.

Chelsea's Fran Kirby has withdrawn from the England camp in Spain after picking up yet another knee injury.

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• Kirby withdraws from England squad
• No plans to recall Kirby in this break
• England to face Italy

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The attacking midfielder did not feature in the Lionesses' rampant 7-2 victory over Austria after being injured in the warm-up and would have been aiming to get some minutes in an England shirt against Italy on Tuesday. However, Kirby has been forced to return to London from the camp in Spain for assessment on the minor injury.

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  WHAT ENGLAND SAID

  On Kirby's injury, England released a statement saying: "Fran Kirby has withdrawn from the England camp in Spain and will return to Chelsea for further assessment on a minor knee injury reported before the Austria match. At this stage, there are no plans to call a replacement into the senior squad."

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Kirby will be disappointed not to have had the opportunity to showcase her talents for England this break after returning to regular football, and form, this season for Chelsea. Kirby missed the Lionesses' World Cup campaign through another injury to her knee and will be desperate to remind Sarina Wiegman that she can be a starter as they look to defend their crown at next year's European Championship.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR KIRBY?

  Kirby will return to Chelsea in order to have her knee assessed. She will have the Blues' next game against Leicester in mind as she looks to recover from this minor setback. Chelsea remain top of the WSL but equal on points with Manchester City.

Wrexham co-owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney will be able to lure transfer targets down from the Championship this summer, says Lee Trundle.

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Red Dragons boast big ambitionHollywood stars make funds availableBack-to-back promotions targetedWHAT HAPPENED?

The Red Dragons have always boasted big ambition when it comes to recruitment, as Hollywood superstars make the funds available that turn dreams into reality. Few could have predicted that the likes of Paul Mullin, Elliot Lee and James McClean would be strutting their stuff at SToK Racecourse prior to a stunning takeover in 2021 being completed.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT TRUNDLE SAID

Wrexham are now setting their sights on promotion into League One, and former frontman Trundle – speaking to , who provide the latest – has said of tempting talent down from the second tier of English football: “I think other players will be tempted to drop down as Wrexham aren't a club who'll be happy to stay in League One. Wrexham want to grow and play Premier League football someday, and I'm sure plenty of players will be attracted to that."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Reaching the Premier League remains the ultimate goal for all of those associated with Wrexham, and Trundle sees no reason why that target cannot be hit. He added: “Everything about Wrexham indicates that they're setting up to play Premier League football – the owners have said it themselves. I've seen it with Swansea and I was a part of that journey who not only got to the Premier League but also won the League Cup and attained Europa League football! If you had said that 15 years ago, nobody would have believed you and you would have been silly to even say it!

"That's the beauty of football. Wrexham have a strong backing and they know how to grow their brand. They've had Paul Rudd, Will Ferrell, and other actors in attendance, and they're showing the club off as a potential investment. I think that's where they'll move as they continue to climb. There's no reason why they can't go into the Premier League.”

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR WREXHAM?

Wrexham will see the playing field level somewhat if they do step up into League One, with there plenty of big clubs to be found in that division, but there is no sign of impressive progress on and off the field slowing down in North Wales.