Gianluigi Donnarumma is certain to leave European champions Paris Saint-Germain after being excluded from their matchday squad that will face Europa League winners Tottenham Hotspur in the midweek in the UEFA Super Cup. Donnarumma has been linked with a move away from PSG after refusing to put pen to paper on a new contract and his likely destination is the Premier League.
Donnarumma left out of UEFA Super Cup clashItalian goalkeeper likely to join an English clubPSG face Spurs on WednesdayFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
According to , Donnarumma has been left out of PSG's matchday squad by manager Enrique for their upcoming UEFA Super Cup clash against Spurs. The Italian goalkeeper will not travel to Udine in the midweek with the rest of the first team squad for the club's 2025-26 season opener.
AdvertisementAFPTHE BIGGER PICTURE
reports Donnarumma's exclusion from the squad is a clear sign he will exit the Ligue 1 giants, either this summer or next season. The relationship between the club and the player is completely broken after he refused to sign a new contract.
DID YOU KNOW?
While there is no clarity on Donnarumma's future yet, Romano further claims he is likely to head to England and join a Premier League team amid strong interest from Manchester United, who are looking for Andre Onana's replacement.
Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR PSG?
After the heartbreak in the Club World Cup in the US this summer, Enrique's side will aim to bounce back and claim another European title on Wednesday when they face Spurs.
Australia will give captain Alyssa Healy as long as possible before the match to determine whether she is fit for their T20 World Cup semi-final against South Africa.Healy pulled up with a foot injury while running between wickets during Australia’s win against Pakistan and she watched their final group-stage game against India in a moon boot and on crutches.Healy didn’t take part in an optional training session at the ICC Academy on Wednesday night.Ellyse Perry, who helped stand-in captain Tahlia McGrath during that match to great effect as Australia won a thriller, said on the eve of the semi-final that Healy would be given as much time as possible to recuperate before a decision was made on her availability.Related
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“As it stands, it’s the same thing for Midgie [Healy], the medical staff and the team are going to give her every opportunity and possibility of playing tomorrow night,” Perry said. “I don’t think anything’s changed in that respect. We’ll just have to see in the next 24 hours.”Perry said little had changed in the Australia camp since Healy’s injury, which happened the same night as fast bowler Tayla Vlaeminck dislocated her shoulder. Vlaeminck was replaced in the squad by Heather Graham but has remained in the UAE to support the team.”When stuff like that happens and you see things bringing your mate down like injury, it probably just strengthens that resolve to get around each other and be supportive,” Perry said. “But it’s really important to stay consistent and stick to the same processes that we’ve got and maintain that level of emotional consistency. Midge is such an important leader in our group and is still contributing just as much. So not too much has changed.”Laura Wolvaardt: “If we play our best cricket, Australia are beatable”•ICC/Getty Images
Also in the record books tonight: Chahar for a high, and Curran for a low
Sampath Bandarupalli21-Apr-2021171 – Runs scored by the Kolkata Knight Riders after the fall of the fifth wicket with the score on 31, the most by a team in an IPL match after losing five wickets. The Royal Challengers Bangalore held the previous record with 130 runs in 2016 against the Gujarat Lions, when they chased down 159 after being 29 for 5.The 171 runs by the Knight Riders is also the second-highest by any team in a T20 game after the fall of the fifth wicket. The highest is 184 by the Jamaica Tallawahs to chase down a target of 224 from being 41 for 5 against the Trinbago Knight Riders in CPL 2018 (courtesy 121* off 49 balls from one Andre Russell).ESPNcricinfo Ltd66* – Pat Cummins’ score while batting at No. 8 for the Knight Riders, the highest in IPL while batting at No. 8 or lower. Harbhajan Singh’s 64 against the Kings XI Punjab in 2015, also from No. 8, was the previous highest from such a batting position.0 – All-out totals higher than the 202 by the Knight Riders. The previous highest all-out total in the IPL was 188 by the Mumbai Indians way back in 2008, while chasing a 190-run target against the Kings XI Punjab.The Knight Riders are also just the second team in T20 history to register a 200-plus total after losing half their side inside 50 runs. The Jamaica Tallawahs, against the Trinbago Knight Riders in CPL 2018, recorded the first such instance.202 – The Knight Riders’ total is the highest by any team in T20 cricket with eight batters getting out in single digits. The previous highest with as many or more single-digit scores was 175 by Australia against Pakistan in the 2014 World T20. The Knight Riders’ total is also the first 200-plus total in T20s to include four ducks.ESPNcricinfo Ltd4 – Wickets for Deepak Chahar inside the first six overs in this match. He is the first player to take a four-wicket haul for the Chennai Super Kings in the IPL during the mandatory powerplay. The Super Kings took five wickets inside the first six overs, the first such instance for them in the IPL.Related
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58 – Runs conceded by Sam Curran in his four overs, the joint-most conceded by a Super Kings player in an IPL game. Mohit Sharma also conceded 58 runs against the Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2015. Curran’s third over cost 30 runs, the joint-most expensive over by a Super Kings bowler in the IPL. Lungi Ngidi also conceded 30 runs in the last year’s game against the Rajasthan Royals, where he conceded four consecutive sixes to Jofra Archer.0 – Instances of two individual fifties from Nos. 7 or lower in an IPL innings before today. The duo of Russell and Cummins produced just the second such instance in all T20 cricket. The first such occasion came during Jammu & Kashmir’s innings against Haryana in Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy 2012-13.
It’s all change at Manchester United so far this summer, with Matheus Cunha signed, Bryan Mbeumo seemingly on his way and now one struggling striker increasingly likely to depart the club.
Man Utd commence attacking overhaul
Starting by triggering Cunha’s ÂŁ63m release clause, Manchester United’s attacking overhaul is officially underway. The Brazilian is set to hand Ruben Amorim an instant upgrade in his frontline and could slot straight into one of the two attacking midfield roles in his 3-4-2-1 system. He’s unlikely to be the only fresh face in United’s frontline too.
The Red Devils are also pushing to sign Mbeumo from Brentford with reports going as far as to suggest that they’re willing to offer the talented forward a ÂŁ13m-a-year salary to join. All of a sudden, from a blunt frontline, Amorim could have two options at his disposal who scored over 15 Premier League goals each last season and two options who should finally push United away from the bottom half next season.
Both have earned plenty of praise in recent weeks as they potentially prepare to combine at Old Trafford and that includes from Manchester United legend Gary Neville, who told Sky Sports: “Cunha and Mbeumo have obviously got Premier League experience. They’ve got plenty of games under their belt. [English football] is not new to them and actually they are the right type.
“When I watch Manchester United wide players, they have to be able to get from box-to-box quickly. They have to be able to run, to travel with and without the ball. Mbeumo and, to be fair Cunha, can do that.”
Man Utd submit bid for once-£57m ex-Man City ace who’s desperate for move
He won six Premier League titles at Manchester City.
By
Tom Cunningham
Jun 7, 2025
What those arrivals will mean for one player, however, is a likely departure away from Old Trafford to bring an end to what has been a nightmare spell at the Theatre of Dreams.
Hojlund gives green light to Inter Milan move
According to Saturday’s print edition of Corriere Dello Sport, as relayed by TeamTalk, Rasmus Hojlund has now given the green light to Inter Milan, who are closing in on sealing the Dane’s signature in a €40-45m (ÂŁ33-ÂŁ38m) deal.
Rasmus Hojlund
The struggling forward has looked desperate for a fresh start for at least a year, as have several others in a Manchester United shirt. Unlike some around him, however, Hojlund is seemingly set to get his wish courtesy of Inter Milan.
Rasmus Hojlund at Man Utd
Record (via Transfermarkt)
Appearances
95
Goals
26
Assists
6
After scoring 26 goals and creating another six in 95 appearances across the last two years, to say that Hojlund has far from lived up to his ÂŁ72m price tag would be a major understatement. Many expected the Dane to lead United’s frontline for years to come. As it happens, though, he may have lasted just two years before moving back to Italy.
Given that the struggling forward earns a reported ÂŁ85,000-a-week at the club, INEOS should be keen to clear his salary from their wage bill to make room for the likes of Cunha and Mbeumo this summer.
How do bowlers deal with dew? Dale Steyn and Ajit Agarkar tell us
Interview by Nagraj Gollapudi and Raunak Kapoor23-Apr-20213:33
Dale Steyn – ‘I’ve seen many a bowler run in and bowl waist-high full tosses’
No IPL in India goes by without dew becoming a talking point. It has an impact on the toss and overall game plans. The 2021 tournament has been no different, with MS Dhoni, the Chennai Super Kings captain, saying the early start times (7.30pm as opposed to 8pm) give an unfair advantage to the team batting first because the dew is yet to set in. KL Rahul, the Punjab Kings captain, suggested teams bowling second be allowed to change a wet ball.What exactly is the problem that dew poses, particularly to fast bowlers in the death overs? We asked former international fast bowlers Dale Steyn and Ajit Agarkar to break down the challenges.What happens to the ball when it is wet? Ajit Agarkar, former India fast bowler: It’s leather, so the water keeps seeping in, the seam becomes greasy, and it is very difficult to hold the ball on the seam.Personally, because my foot landed at an angle and then there was a pivot, I used to struggle a lot if the bottom of the shoe was a little wet or greasy, or if there was a lot of mud on it. When the foot landed, it didn’t stick in the [damp] pitch for the pivot to happen; and when the foot slipped, I had no control of what happened at the other end.When the ball is slipping through your fingers, you don’t really have control over the length. You set the field for a particular ball but the execution doesn’t happen like you want it to.Plus, it skids off the pitch, which becomes a little bit easier for the batsman. To consistently bowl the balls you want becomes a lot harder.Dale Steyn, former South Africa fast bowler: I back everything he said. Your run-up becomes difficult when you land. You feel like you are a little bit unstable because you can slip. The ball becomes extremely greasy in your fingers. The seam and the leather just become extremely slippery.And once the ball hits the deck, it also loses that bounce, because it is now a little wet. So if you were to going to bowl a back-of-a-length ball, it often doesn’t get as much bounce, which means that if you like to hit the stickers of the bat, now you are hitting more of the centre of the bat, where you don’t exactly want to hit.The ball actually completely loses its swing. So if you are thinking at the back end of an innings to target a little bit of reverse swing or get the ball to dip, because it’s dry on one side and a little wet on the other, that goes completely out the window too.A slippery, greasy, wet ball is probably one of the most difficult things to control when it comes to bowling.Can you practise by getting the ball wet during training? Steyn: You can. It is less practice with the ball and more mental practice – training your brain that this is the situation. You can’t exactly create the same amount of dew in practice as you would have in a game. No two [wet] balls will be the same. You can’t be certain the ball is going to be wet as opposed to a dry ball, where you know, okay, I can run in and if I let it go like this, it’s gonna land exactly there. It is really just training your brain to understand that this is going to be extremely
“Jasprit Bumrah he looks like he just nails his yorker regardless. Lasith Malinga was another one that just seemed to, regardless of the dew, nail his lengths”Dale Steyn
When you are doing it in practice, and you get maybe seven out of ten, you do feel a little bit better as opposed to going out in the game and it being completely foreign to you. You are just thinking to yourself, “That’s it, this game is over”, when, effectively, you could get the ball in the right place having known you have done it in training.So you can’t exactly simulate the situation while preparing? Agarkar: Obviously not. Plus, the ground is not wet either [during training]. I mean, try bowling with a wet bar of soap. It can be practically impossible when there’s a lot of dew. It makes life easier for the batsman, but as a bowler it just becomes so much harder to land the ball on a spot. Then it becomes difficult to control the runs as well.Does the dew hurt more when you are bowling second? Agarkar: It gets progressively worse as the game goes on. That’s why one-day [day-night] games now start a bit earlier in India – at 1.30pm as opposed to 2.30pm. The team fielding second are at more of a disadvantage because it just keeps getting worse. It does not matter how much chemical is sprayed or how much the rope [to mop up the dew] goes around or [whether] the Super Soppers are used.How does dew tend to mess up bowling plans at the death?Steyn: Sometimes you are thinking of a particular way you want to bowl. You go “Okay, cool, tonight you know the plan is that to this batsman we are going to bowl yorkers.” And then you come across the dew factor. I’ve seen many a bowler running in and bowl two waist-high full tosses, almost shoulder high. And that’s it. You are out of the attack. It can really go pear-shaped.That’s when you have to start to think on your feet a little and drag your length back.Commentators or people watching the game might start to go: “Why did that guy bowl a back-of-a-length slower ball as opposed to running in and bowling a yorker when we know that, as an example, [Kieron] Pollard’s not good at [facing] a yorker?”That really is because you are scared that the outcome is not going to be what you want it to be. You have bowled one yorker and it’s a full toss. You have been given the warning. Now your captain comes to you and says, “Another one like that, my friend, and you are out of the attack.” So you start to change your thinking.Dew diligence: when dealing with a wet ball and a wet surface, bowlers often lose control of not only the ball but also the way their feet land•Arjun Singh/BCCISo what is the best length to bowl in such situations? Agarkar: It depends on the day. There might be days where it is wet but you are still getting the ball full enough or landing it well. I found it a little bit easier to bowl length. My [bowling] arm was anyway a little bit lower, so the ball did skid through and if I did bowl that in-between length, I had a chance of getting away with it if there was no real room or it wasn’t too short. Maybe the batsman can’t time it properly [against the skidding ball] if you are straight enough.The yorker is the toughest ball to get right when the ball is wet, because from landing on the crease to keeping your action depends on trying to bowl full and quickly. Cross-seamers are something that a lot of bowlers try because it becomes difficult to grip the seam [upright], but the control or execution of every ball then becomes a challenge.Steyn: I preferred to bowl a hard back-of-a-length. Bowling a yorker is hard at the best of times with a normal ball. And now you are trying to do that with this wet bar of soap. It becomes impossible.In T20 cricket, at least, you are using one ball. When you are playing one-day cricket, you can be bowling from the one end and the ball might not be as wet, and you are absolutely nailing your yorkers. But then your captain switches you to the other side. You run in, bowl a full toss and you just know you’ve got to completely change your game plan. I have to go cross-seam and bowl hard lengths. You really have to play it on how you are feeling out in the middle, explain it to your captain, get the right field setting, and you just have to back it and hopefully it comes off.Are there some bowlers, in particular, who have done well in these conditions? Steyn: I have never really played with somebody like Jasprit Bumrah, but he looks like he just nails his yorker regardless. Lasith Malinga was another one that just seemed to, regardless of the dew, nail his lengths. But I guess that was his go-to ball. He just felt confident he can do it. And maybe the guys who run in slightly slower. When they land on the crease, they are more in control of themselves. They are probably going to bowl at the same speed, but everything is a little bit more in control.And like Ajit said, when running in as a fast bowler and trying to bowl as quickly as you can, a little bit of a slip here, a little bit of a movement here – this game is by inches. You miss your yorker, it’s a waist-high full toss, and the ball goes out of the ground.So probably for Bumrah and Malinga, the dew never seems to bother them, but I can guarantee you, for the rest of the world, it’s always in the back of your mind.Some IPL captains have suggested the ball be replaced during the second innings to compensate for the dew. What do you think? Steyn: Yeah, it can be. But then, you know, teams are also going to be holding out against it because the team that batted first may not have had the ball swapped over as many times.What about a pre-decided change for both innings? Steyn: I guess so. Also, for the safety of the sport. You are going to be running in and looking to bowl yorkers. There’s a chance that the ball can slip out of your hand. When I played a game for the Royal Challengers last year, I actually asked the umpire: “Please, can we change this ball? This is a crucial time of the game and I feel like I’m going to bowl a waist-high full toss.” He opted not to. I had to bowl the back-of-a-length ball.It was the last batter. He got under it and got caught on the long-on boundary. Had they changed the ball and had it been a newer ball, it probably would have gone for six. So I was both lucky and unlucky at the time. Maybe if you are looking to come into the back end to bowl and there is extreme dew, changing the ball is the best way. But you’d be almost doing it once every two or three balls.Agarkar: That seems to be the best solution. How you get it done is a challenge. Certainly it is a completely different ball game when it is a drier ball in your hand.
“I think the skill has failed us when it has been really important,” Sri Lanka head coach Ratnayake said after defeat to India
Firdose Moonda10-Oct-20242:59
‘The timing of Harmanpreet’s knock makes it special’
Sri Lanka’s head coach Rumesh Ratnayake has described his team’s performance at the T20 World Cup as “not acceptable”, and a consequence of skill “failing us” after they were knocked out of semi-final contention by India. Sri Lanka have lost all of their three matches so far in the World Cup, and cannot advance out of the group after coming into the event with the expectation they could go after an impressive last 20 months.Since the last T20 World Cup, Sri Lanka have won series in England and South Africa, cruised through the World Cup Qualifiers in Abu Dhabi undefeated, and beaten Pakistan and India on their way to becoming Asia Cup champions. But Sri Lanka lost to both those oppositions and defending champions Australia in the first week of the tournament, which Ratnayake put down to overall underperformance.”It was bad playing through and through this tournament,” he said after Sri Lanka lost to India by 82 runs. “They’ve been doing poor cricket, and that is not acceptable. We’ve been talking about it, we’ve tried to come out of it and we’ve tried various things, we’ve been fearlessly doing things, freely doing things, and I think the skill has failed us when it has been really important.”Related
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Though he did not specifically say it, Ratnayake must have been talking about Sri Lanka’s batting. They have not crossed 100 in any of their three innings, whether batting first or chasing, and their collective form has directly mirrored their captain’s. Chamari Athapaththu has been dismissed in single figures in each innings for a total of ten runs at the tournament thus far. It is her worst return at a World Cup, and stands in stark contrast to the last two editions, in South Africa and Australia, where she scored over 100 runs in each event.The singular focus on Athapaththu can be traced back – probably much further, but for our purposes – to the start of Sri Lanka’s current bad patch, which started on their tour of Ireland in August. Athapaththu missed the two T20Is as she was playing in the Hundred, and though Sri Lanka started well in the first T20I and chased down 146 inside 17 overs to win comfortably, they could not reach a target of 174 in the next match. On Athapaththu’s return, for the ODIs, she notched up 0 and 22 as Sri Lanka went 2-0 down, before managing 48 when they claimed a consolation win.”From the second match up to the fifth match [in Ireland], there were situations where we were on top and we faltered,” Ratnayake said.One such situation was in the second T20I, where Sri Lanka were 101 for 2 in the 13th over but then lost 5 for 56 in five overs to lose by seven runs. Still, Ratnayake was happy with the work they did back in Sri Lanka.”Our preparation was really good back home,” he said. “We played on various types of wickets. We simulated some of those similar situations, but winning those moments, winning those appropriate situations, decision-making along with the skill hasn’t been backed up. The skill did not come through as it did as you said in the finals of the Asia Cup. So that’s something which we need to work on, rethink and come back.”Sri Lanka’s form in the World Cup has reflected that of their captain Chamari Athapaththu•Getty Images
In the Asia Cup final, Sri Lanka successfully chased 166, and though Athapaththu scored a half-century, they also had runs in the form of an unbeaten 69 from Harshitha Samarawickrama, and a 16-ball 30 from Kavisha Dilhari. Both of those are players Athapaththu herself has identified as being key to the future of Sri Lanka cricket. Ratnayake also believed Sri Lanka are “almost closing the gap”, between Athapaththu and other batters with potential, and he continues to have faith in their development initiatives.”In the past 22 months, we’ve worked hard on creating an environment which is conducive for learning,” he said. “So we are not only building up in confidence but building up in confidence so that we would back ourselves with the skill as well.”But has that confidence spilled over into overconfidence, given Sri Lanka’s fighting talk before the series? Athapaththu spoke realistically of their chances of making the semi-finals at this tournament despite being in the tougher of the two groups, and Ratnayake backed that up when he said Sri Lanka “are here to win the World Cup,” and not just participate.”Overconfidence is a thing which is verbally not accepted in our environment, so I don’t think it’s overconfidence, but they are confident enough,” he said. “That is what we thrive on and that is what we emphasise on. It’s just that when needed, we haven’t won the moments.”Now, they also have no hope of winning the World Cup but Ratnayake continues to believe in the group of players he is working with. “This has happened and we will never give up, so that’s a very heartening and a very satisfying thing for a coach to see,” he said. “As much as I’ve created an environment, I’m quite privileged and honoured to be here because they are a super lot. I know we will come through this sooner rather than later.”Sri Lanka have two days before their final match, against New Zealand on Saturday, and Ratnayake has described it as a “prime objective” to “salvage ourselves” and win that game. They will be up against a New Zealand side who will feel the same way, after their chastening defeat to Australia, and with the match a must-win to keep their semi-final hopes alive. For Ratnayake, nothing less than an almighty fight will be acceptable.
Tottenham Hotspur and their transfer plans for the summer window are underway, starting with the permanent signing of Mathys Tel for ÂŁ30 million, but they’re by no means finished with the Frenchman.
Spurs are poised for a crucial 2025/2026 campaign back in the Champions League, and new manager Thomas Frank is tasked with building off his predecessor’s Europa League triumph in Bilbao last month.
"Special" Tottenham forward spotted at another club amid talks to leave
Spurs are in negotiations over his exit.
ByEmilio Galantini Jun 17, 2025
Ange Postecoglou brought an end to the club’s 17-year wait for major silverware with their 1-0 victory over Man United, which subsequently confirmed Tottenham’s spot in Europe’s most prestigious competition for next season.
The significant financial windfall awarded to them thanks to Spurs’ Champions League qualification is set to play a “huge” role in their summer recruitment drive, and they no longer have to operate under a ‘sell to buy’ policy (Michael Bridge).
There have been suggestions in the last few months that Tottenham could even sell Pedro Porro this summer, even if these claims were before their Europa League win, with the resurgence of Djed Spence playing a role here too.
Interestingly, football.london’s Alasdair Gold has recently revealed that Spence has a long-time admirer in new head coach Frank. Brentford held a long-standing interest in the Englishman, with bids even made for him in previous summers, so Spence could be a member of the squad who stands to seriously benefit from the Dane’s arrival.
If Spurs decide they can afford to sell Porro for a substantial fee after all, despite his excellent performances towards the back end of last season, they’ll still need a new right-back to come in and rotate with Spence, especially with their hectic European fixture calendar.
Tottenham willing to "invest heavily" on Vanderson signing
According to a report from UOL, Monaco defender Vanderson is firmly on the Lilywhites’ transfer shortlist.
The Brazil international is currently being chased by Barcelona, though, who’ve intensified talks with the Ligue 1 side, and progress has been made in negotiations to lure Vanderson to the Camp Nou.
They’re counting on the 23-year-old’s preference to join the Spanish champions, with Monaco seeking a fee north of ÂŁ30 million to part company with their highly-rated wing-back. However, Frank’s side could pose a real threat and hijack their deal.
Colombia's Luis Diaz in action with Brazil'sVanderson
UOL state that Tottenham are still in the running to sign Vanderson, whilst willing to “invest heavily” in his signing. Monaco also have a major incentive to sell to Spurs instead. Spanish taxes mean Monaco would lose around 15 per cent of their final sale value, but a transfer to England would mean they take a far less substantial loss in that regard.
Taking this into account, the “perfectionist” defender could be one to watch at N17.
Vanderson is a well-balanced modern full-back who has established himself as a reliable defender at Monaco since his move there three years ago. According to The Mail, Brentford actually held talks over a deal for Vanderson in 2021, so he’s a player who Frank has admired for quite a while.
It’s set to be a very busy summer at Rangers. With 49ers Enterprises, spearheaded by Paraag Marathe, close to finalising their 51% takeover of the Ibrox side, they’ve got plenty of work to do before Champions League qualifying commences early on 22/23 July.
Rangers need a new manager and, after a trophyless campaign, the squad requires major surgery too, but could they land a “very talented” midfielder, who would suit the style of play of one of the front-runners to become the new boss?
The latest on Davide Ancelotti to Rangers
As reported by Spanish outlet AS, Carlo Ancelotti’s son, Davide Ancelotti, is one of the front-runners to become the new Rangers manager, claiming that the 35-year-old is excited by the ‘project’.
Mark Atkinson of the Scotsman notes that Ancelotti previously worked with Rangers’ new sporting director Kevin Thelwell at Everton, while Guillem Balague and Chris McLaughlin of BBC Sport are reporting that an official approach has now been made.
Ancelotti has been his father assistant at Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton and Real Madrid, but has never been a head coach in his own right, so it is difficult to forecast what a Davide team looks like, but one can only assume it would be similar to a Carlo side.
With that in mind, perhaps their latest transfer target might be perfect.
The first signing of the Ancelotti era?
According to a report by TEAMtalk earlier this week, Rangers are ‘plotting’ a move to sign midfielder Metinho, who they claim is valued at ÂŁ4m.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
Born in DR Congo, Abemly Meto Silu and his father Abel fled when he was just one-year-old, moving to Rio de Janeiro, earning the nickname Metinho during his time in Fluminense’s academy.
After turning pro, he was picked up by the City Football Group, officially attached to Troyes, although he’s never made a senior appearance for the Ligue 2 side, loaned out to Lommel in Belgium, another CFG-owned club, as well as Sparta Rotterdam and then, most-recently FC Basel.
The table below illustrates his globe-trotting career so far.
Fluminense
Campeonato Carioca
1
Troyes B
Championnat National 3
8
Lommel
Challenger Pro League
27
Sparta Rotterdam
Eredivisie
41
Jong Sparta Rotterdam
Tweede Divisie
1
FC Basel
Swiss Super League
11
Since leaving Brazil, he has played in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and Switzerland, so could Scotland be next on this list?
This weekend Basel were crowned Swiss champions for the first time since 2017 and, while Metinho has only made 11 appearances for the RotBlau, he’s quickly established himself as a key figure, dubbed ‘the Brazilian Paul Pogba’ due to their stylistic similarities.
So, where would the 22-year-old fit in at Ibrox, and could he be the perfect first signing for an Ancelotti-led Rangers side?
Where Metinho would fit in at Rangers
Samuel Bannister of Team Talk notes that Metinho is ‘known for his versatility and composure’, adding that ‘he stands out for his ability at taking on opponents… but he’s also good at stopping opponents getting past him’.
​​​​​Meanwhile, Jacek Kulig of Football Talent Scout describes the 22-year-old as “very talented”, while adding in a separate player profile that the Brazilian is a ‘defensive midfielder…. best suited’ to playing at the base of a 4-3-3.
So, could this make him the perfect signing for Rangers’ player of the season Nicolas Raskin who, as noted by Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, has been ‘one of few silver linings’ in an otherwise miserable campaign for the Gers?
Scott Bradley of Breaking the Lines believes the now Belgian international ‘has the potential to be something special’, with Brandon Liss of Total Football Analysis describing him as a ‘deep-lying playmaker’ who likes to ‘spray passes​​​​​​​’ and ‘roam vertically from touchline to touchline’, suggesting Metinho’s tactical discipline could certainly help to get the best out of him.
Thus, Raskin and Metinho’s skill sets appear to perfectly complement one another, and one can totally envisage the duo operating in a Real Madrid-esque 4-3-3, should Ancelotti arrive at Ibrox.
Perhaps in this situation, Raskin would act as the Modric-like midfielder while Mettinho would be more of a Tchouameni, sitting deeper and protecting the defence while the Belgian goes about creating play.
As referenced earlier, with Metinho valued at just ÂŁ4m, this is exactly the sort of high-potential, low-cost transfer Rangers need to be targeting and need to get right, if they’re going to be able to compete with Celtic at the top of the table.
He's the next Gerrard: Rangers close in on "big name" appointment at Ibrox
Rangers could go left field with their new manager
Hayley Matthews ended her dream tour of Pakistan as she started it, with yet another commanding performance as West Indies coasted to an eight-wicket win in Karachi. Smashing 78 in 59 balls, the West Indies captain made light work of Pakistan’s first innings total of 134, with the visitors getting there with ten balls to spare. West Indies won the series 4-1.West Indies demonstrated Thursday’s indifferent performance was an aberration, and were right on it from the moment they won the toss and put Pakistan in to bat. Pakistan started brightly with a 38-run opening partnership in five overs, and after Qiana Joseph cleaned up Ayesha Zafar following a 16-ball 22, Sidra Ameen and Muneeba Ali went about rebuilding effectively. By the 12th over, the hosts sat pretty at 84 for 1, ostensibly set up for a big finish.But, led by legspinner Afy Fletcher, West Indies engineered an almighty Pakistan collapse. Only Rameen Shamim, whose late unbeaten 11-ball 16 got Pakistan past 130, managed double figures after the top three. Pakistan lost seven wickets for 37 runs as Fletcher, Joseph and Matthews all cashed in, strangling the innings until Shamim’s final-over flourish. Sidra top-scored for Pakistan with a 52-ball 48.But West Indies had the momentum, and never truly ceded it. Matthews started cautiously once more, allowing Rashada Williams to inflict the early jabs. Sadia Iqbal got rid of her in the fifth over, but that brought out Shemaine Campbelle, who, together with Matthews put together a 103-run partnership, terminally ending any Pakistan hopes of another consolation win. Towards the second half of that innings, Matthews seemed to be finding boundaries at will, 11 of them sprinkled throughout her innings as she surpassed 50 and helped her side hurtle towards what suddenly looked like an inadequate target. Campbelle, meanwhile eased along for an unbeaten 33 off 35, happy to play second fiddle at a master in full flow.Pakistan did manage to get Matthews out one final time in the series, Nashra Sandhu knocking her stumps back. But by then, West Indies needed just seven to win, and Matthews’ work was done.
A few months of his leadership appear, against all expectation, to have steadied the national team
Andrew Fidel Fernando17-Aug-2019The selectors are making strange picks, the board is trying to sack another coach, the sports minister is making serious overreaches, the XI changes from series to series, but from amid this chaos, which to many has seemed like the wreckage of a once-was cricketing power, Dimuth Karunaratne has eked out a small but significant patch of stability.He came to the captaincy at a time of extreme vulnerability. The team was at the start of a third leg of a Southern Hemisphere tour in which they had not won a single match after two-and-a-half months on the road. He also had a vastly inexperienced attack to call on, and a couple of key senior players were missing. Before his first series at the helm he seemed like a farmer who had inherited an operation where the crops had been burned, the barn was on fire, and whose fences had been torn apart, and yet somehow he managed to strap all his livestock to the same plough and had them pulling in the same direction. Sri Lanka became only the third team ever to beat South Africa in their own backyard. And they did it 2-0. This is the craziest result of the year. Of any year. Months later, you’re still expecting to wake up from the dream.A middling World Cup as ODI captain followed, and unless you’re the kind of hyper-optimistic fan who goes to sleep in a Sri Lanka shirt and craps blue and yellow, a middling World Cup was the best that could have been hoped for. Through the course of it, Lasith Malinga was shooting verbal bazookas in every direction, and cardboard cutouts of some middle order batsmen might have scored more runs than the batsmen themselves, and yet, the team did not look anywhere near as directionless as they could have done. That Karunaratne was the fourth one-day captain in nine months was practically forgotten.This has been an era of farcical and unprecedented turnover in Sri Lanka cricket, for coaches and captains, yes, but also for boards and sports ministers, but a few months of Karunaratne’s leadership appears, against all expectation, to have steadied the national team. In the ongoing Galle Test, a second-day middle-order collapse aside, Sri Lanka have done all the things expected of a determined Test-match outfit. They’ve hounded out the New Zealand batsmen who have looked uncomfortable. Those batting well, they’ve tied down and forced into corners. And where normally, New Zealand outfield Sri Lanka by such an extent that they may as well be playing different sports, Sri Lanka have arguably made more of the chances that have come their way, in this Test.Now, for the first time in seven Test innings, Karunaratne has himself hit a half-century. It is far from one of his best. He was dropped once at least, and could have been stumped. He played the cut like it was an addiction, and missed probably half the time. But making tough runs such as these in the fourth innings of a Galle Test, is a vital pillar in any captaincy. Although his team won in South Africa, there was no substantial contribution from Karunaratne himself. His unbeaten 133-run stand with Lahiru Thirimanne has not only moved Sri Lanka almost halfway to their target, it is also their best-ever opening stand in the fourth innings of a Test.”Both those knocks are invaluable,” said acting coach Rumesh Ratnayake at stumps. “We saw how well they bowled and how hard we fought to get this 133 runs. It wasn’t all from the middle of the bat. It’s just that they had something called ‘wanting to be there and wanting to stay there’. That was the talk from what Dimuth said before as well. Dimuth brings a lot of calmness to the team.”If Sri Lanka go on to win this match – and there is no guarantee that they will, on what is still a surface that can throw up several wickets at once – Karunaratne’s 73 not out will have provided an excellent platform. It would be their third consecutive impressive chase, with both South Africa Tests having been won batting last as well. But Test chases are infamously treacherous, and a century of convention says there is no such thing as a reliable fourth-innings outfit. But then Sri Lanka have been finding consistency in strange places lately.