On Thursday, Saudi Pro League giants Al Hilal agreed an initial £46m deal with Liverpool for the transfer of Darwin Nunez, who has yet to complete his move but has said his goodbyes on Merseyside and jetted off to the Gulf for a medical.

What a ride. Entertaining at times, excruciating at others, Nunez leaves Liverpool as a Premier League campaign, but also having failed to ever live up to the promise that led Jurgen Klopp to champion his initial £64m signing from SL Benfica.

Arne Slot has worked wonders at Liverpool, but cracking this code proved beyond even his managerial capacity.

Nunez has been replaced by Hugo Ekitike, who left Eintracht Frankfurt and joined the Reds for £79m last month. Aged 23, the Frenchman arrived with similarly untapped potential, though confidence from the data analysts that they have hit the jackpot.

With Florian Wirtz having signed for a £100m fee too, which could rise to a British record £116m with add-ons, you’d think Liverpool are well equipped for the season ahead, but FSG still want another star to complete the set.

Especially since Luis Diaz has been sold to Bayern Munich for £65.5m, leaving space for the right player to join.

Alexander Isak, anyone?

The latest on Liverpool's search for forwards

Isak has achieved great things across his three years at Newcastle United, but his head has been turned by Slot and Liverpool and he has informed Eddie Howe of his wish to purchase a one-way ticket to Merseyside this summer.

Liverpool’s sporting director, Richard Hughes, has already lodged a formal £110m offer for the Sweden striker, which was rejected, but efforts are ongoing, and those in the Anfield offices must be tacitly confident that they will secure the coveted signature.

The intensity with which Newcastle are fighting to sign a new centre-forward does make an interesting comment on Isak’s future, with his position at St. James’ Park surely untenable at this stage.

However, nothing is certain in the summer transfer window, the least of all Newcastle’s capacity to secure a suitable replacement for a striker as prolific as Isak.

Given that Diaz has departed and is now warming to life with Bayern Munich, Liverpool may not make their final offensive signing a number nine, should Isak slip through Hughes’ fingers.

Instead, Liverpool might choose to target a move for Paris Saint-Germain’s Bradley Barcola, with reports dated earlier this week revealing that the Merseysiders have started their bid for the France international.

Barcola, 22, played an instrumental role in PSG winning the quadruple with Luis Enrique last season, and he has been priced at €100m (about £87m) as the Parisians attempt to ward off suitors.

Why Liverpool should sign Bradley Barcola

Barcola might still be young, but he dazzled as PSG laid ruin to European football last year, posting 21 goals and supplying 21 assists across 64 matches in all competitions.

The France international is principally a left-sided forward, but his clinical nature also lends itself to a role at centre-forward, having played on the alternate flanks before too.

It’s interesting to consider how he likely has plenty of levels left to scale, and more curious still that Slot has the track record of bringing the best out of up-and-coming talents like Cody Gakpo and Ryan Gravenberch.

But Barcola’s artistry and obscene numbers across direct and creative berths suggest that he might even become Liverpool’s new version of Wirtz, who has yet to play a competitive fixture for the club but has demonstrated across recent years in his homeland that he is one of the most talented players of his generation.

Barcola’s fleet footwork and trophy-laden start to his career could see him emulate Wirtz and indeed become Slot’s latest version of the German superstar, who has actually been described as “probably the best midfielder in the world” by one-time Leverkusen striker Patrick Helmes.

But then Barcola, too, has catapulted himself into the elite sphere since swapping Lyon for PSG in 2023, with analyst Ben Mattinson even naming him as “one of the best left wingers in Europe.”

And it’s clear through the data that he has the same X-factor that Wirtz uses to produce such awe-inspiring performances with regularity.

Indeed, as per FBref, the 6 foot 2 star ranked among the top 7% of positional peers last season for direct goal involvements, the top 16% for pass completion, the top 9% for progressive carries and the top 1% for touches in the attacking penalty area per 90.

There’s no question that he’s got what it takes to thrive for Liverpool in the Premier League, having run roughshod over Premier League opposition – including Slot’s Liverpool – en route to the Champions League title last season.

Though Liverpool have authorised the sale of Nunez, they have a player in Ekitike who has the potential to become one of the deadliest goalscorers in the world.

But having lost Diaz to the Bundesliga champions, the very dynamism of Slot’s frontline has taken a hit, with the Colombian ace playing as a makeshift striker on numerous occasions throughout the 2024/25 season.

Barcola is versatile and balanced in his output, and would be the perfect addition to complete a remarkable summer of spending, should Hughes and the rest of the powers that be fail to seal the signature of Newcastle’s star man.

Another Ekitike: Liverpool in talks for "sensational" £50m Isak alternative

Liverpool are planning to sign a forward before the end of the transfer market.

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Angus Sinclair

Aug 8, 2025

Karun Nair’s glorious run of form brought him an unbeaten 44-ball 88 as Vidarbha beat Maharashtra comfortably in the second semi-final of the 2024-25 Vijay Hazare Trophy. The result sets up a fascinating prospect where Nair will be up against Karnataka, his former team, in Saturday’s final.Nair narrowly missed out on a fifth straight List A century only because he ran out of time. That he even got close to one is because of a sensational end-overs acceleration. On 51 off 35 balls with two overs remaining, Nair hit four sixes and three fours in the last two overs. This included a sensational sequence of 4, 0, 6, 4, 4, 6 in the final over against Rajneesh Gurbani, who was up against his former team. Nair took his run tally to 752 runs while being dismissed just once.The only time Nair didn’t middle something was while attempting a couple of reverse sweeps early in his innings to build on the platform laid by the openers. But that didn’t stop him from being enterprising, as he played some delicate paddles, audacious scoops as well as some clean strikes down the ground – he hit nine fours and five sixes in all.After being put in, and setting a target for the first time in the tournament, Vidarbha posted 380 for 3, the last seven overs alone producing 108. Nair’s sensational late carnage came on the back of a 224-run opening stand between Dhruv Shorey and Yash Rathod in 34.2 overs. Jitesh Sharma, who came in at No. 4, also cashed in, hitting a 33-ball 51 in a 93-run stand with Nair off just 59 deliveries.Maharashtra’s chase didn’t take off till the 30th over, when they were 153 for 3. Except for a four-over window from here, where Ankit Bawne and Arshin Kulkarni upped the ante with an array of stunning shots, the intent to make a serious pitch to scale down their target seemed missing.File photo – Yash Rathod was the Player of the Match for his 116•PTI

It didn’t help that they lost Ruturaj Gaikwad in the third over when he top-edged a pull off Darshan Nalkande and was sensationally caught by Jitesh, who covered nearly 30 yards to his left before diving full-stretch to pluck a one-handed stunner.Rahul Tripathi, their other big-match player capable of taking the attack to the opposition from get-go, made an attractive 27 off 19 before a heave across the line had him nicking behind in the ninth over. This is when Kulkarni appeared to have gotten stuck, on the face of some impressive bowling from Vidarbha, particularly from Yash Thakur, who was zippy, and Harsh Dubey, who was able to keep it tight with his left-arm spin.Despite Kulkarni putting on a half-century stand with Siddhesh Veer, Maharashtra lacked the middle-overs firepower that allowed them to put any kind of pressure on Vidarbha as the game meandered until it briefly came alive in that short window after the 30th over. But those hopes ended when Kulkarni and Bawne fell in quick succession after scoring 90 and 50 respectively. Kulkarni’s runs came at a strike rate of 89.10 when the requirement was much higher.Earlier in the day, Shorey began with three fours in the very first over off Gurbani, while Rathod brought the typical left-hander’s flair to get going as he climbed into left-arm seamer Mukesh Choudhary. The pair accelerated steadily, bringing their half-centuries in the 19th over.Rathod was the more adventurous against spin and used his feet superbly to hit both with and against the turn. He brought up his second List A century of the season off just 90 balls in the 31st over and then tried to up the scoring. Shorey got there soon after, zipping through the 90s with two back-to-back boundaries and then bringing up his second straight hundred off 104 deliveries.Maharashtra had their chances but they didn’t take. In the 24th over, they should have had Shorey for 57 when he got a bottom edge to wicketkeeper Nikhil Naik off Siddesh Veer. Had Maharashtra opted to review, they would have been able to overturn the on-field decision of not out. In Veer’s next over, Naik missed a stumping chance to dismiss Rathod on 76.Then in the 45th over, Jitesh was put down on 19 when Naik failed to latch on to a skier to make it a forgettable day that even his 49 late in the second innings couldn’t quite compensate for. Nair, too, received a reprieve when, on 30, he was put down by Pradeep Dadhe at fine leg.Whatever Nair did on the field from there on worked magically as Vidarbha recorded their eighth successive win to secure a maiden entry into the Vijay Hazare final.

تحدث عماد النحاس القائم باعمال المدير الفني لفريق الأهلي، عن الفوز برباعية مقابل هدفين، على كهرباء الإسماعيلية، ضمن مباريات الدوري المصري الممتاز. 

وحقق الأهلي فوزًا كبيرًا على فريق كهرباء الإسماعيلية، برباعية مقابل هدفين، في المباراة التي جمعت بين الفريقين اليوم السبت، على ملعب المقاولون العرب في الجولة العاشرة من الدوري الممتاز. 

فوز الأهلي رفع رصيده إلى 18 نقطة في المركز الثالث بالتساوي مع الزمالك والمصري البورسعيدي، اللذين يمتلكان نفس العدد من النقاط، بينما تجمد رصيد كهرباء الإسماعيلية عند 8 نقاط في المركز الـ18 من جدول الترتيب. 

طالع.. رجل مباراة الأهلي وكهرباء الإسماعيلية في الدوري المصري

وقال النحاس في تصريحاته للمؤتمر الصحفي عقب اللقاء: “دائمًا المباريات سواء قبل أو بعد القمة تكون صعبة، فقبل مباراة القمة يكون هناك حسابات المباراة والإنذارات والإصابات، ولكن عقب المجهود الذي بُذل، ظهر الإرهاق على اللاعبين اليوم ودخل مرمانا هدفين، ورغم ذلك النتائج جيدة”.

واضاف: “اطمأنينا على الإصابات، وأبارك للاعبين قبل الانضمام للمنتخب، لدينا توقف 10 أيام واللاعبون سينضمون لمنتخباتهم، وسنستكمل التمرين مع المجموعة المتبقية”.

وعن إصابة ياسر إبراهيم، قال النحاس: ياسر في الإحماء كان يُعاني من دوار (دوخة) ولكن لا أعلم سببها، ورفضنا أن يستكمل المباراة”.

وواصل: “حسين الشحات كان يسير بشكل جيد لكن الإصابة قدر، إن شاء الله تكون بسيطة، لأنه سينضم للمنتخب ولاعب الكرة (ما بيصدق) أن يستعيد مستواه، لذلك طبيعي أن يبكي”.

وعن حقيقة معاقبة عمر كمال عبد الواحد لاعب الفريق، أكد النحاس: “لا يوجد عقاب ضد عمر كمال، قمنا بإجراء التغييرات بعد الإصابات وهذا أربك الأفكار”.

اوأكمل: “التدريبات ستكون مختلفة في فترة التوقف، لكن الصعوبة بعد عودة لاعبي المنتخب والسفر إلى بوروندي، هذا ما نخشاه، نحن نتواصل مع الجهاز الطبي الذي يتابع إصابات اللاعبين، ونحاول مرعاة أن كل اللاعبين يكونون جاهزين”.

واختتم النحاس تصريحاته: “الهدف الأول لفريق كهرباء الإسماعيلية أمامنا جاء من خطأ وارد، لكن إن فريقًا صاعدًا يعود أمام الأهلي بهدفين هذا يُحسب لهم ولمدربهم، وارد يكون هناك عرضية من الجنب اليمين أو اليسار تترجم لهدف، أهم شيء أننا حققنا الفوز”.  

After suffering a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier against Club Brugge, Rangers have reportedly been handed further concern in the form of an opening bid for one of Russell Martin’s star men.

Martin "proud" despite Club Brugge defeat

There’s no denying that it’s been a disastrous start for Martin at Rangers. The former Southampton boss is yet to win in the Scottish Premiership and even watched on as his side made hard work of defeating Scottish League One side Alloa Athletic in the cup last weekend. So the arrival of Club Brugge couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Unlike Rangers as of late, the Belgian side were in a ruthless mood and raced into a shock 3-0 lead within the space of 20 disastrous first-half minutes. Ibrox began to empty and the thought of qualifying for this season’s Champions League proper became a mere fantasy for the Gers, who only managed to gain one goal back courtesy of Danilo.

Despite yet another evening to forget, however, Martin was “proud” of his side for how they responded to Club Brugge’s 20-minute thrashing. He told reporters: “That’s as hard as it will ever be for the players on the pitch. I’m proud of how they responded.

“We concede a crazy goal and don’t respond anywhere near well enough. Then we concede out of anxiety and make decisions based on desperation. The game plan went out the window. When you’re 2-0 down after seven minutes, tactics don’t come into it. It’s not about style of play it’s about the reaction and we didn’t react well.”

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Meanwhile, with one leg out of the Champions League, the Gers could reportedly be in for an almighty blow on the transfer front to only add to their recent woes.

Lille submit fresh Igamane offer

According to Rangers Review, LOSC Lille have now submitted a fresh loan offer to sign Hamza Igamane, only for that to be laughed off by the 49ers who have set their price-tag at a hefty £15m to sell the forward. Whether the French side now opt to get anywhere near that valuation before the end of the month remains to be seen.

The 49ers’ stance will come as a major relief to Martin, who simply cannot afford to lose a player of Igamane’s quality at this stage of the transfer window. The talented forward is yet to start a game under the new manager as he works his way back to full fitness after a disrupted pre-season, but Rangers will be hoping to see their star man become a much-needed difference-maker sooner rather than later.

A player who was described as “superb” by scout Jacek Kulig last season, Igamane has all the tools to become the most important player of Martin’s tenure and Rangers simply must avoid his departure at all costs this summer.

Rangers fans protested against Russell Martin, whom they consider the "worst manager in their history", after a dismal start to the 2025-26 campaign. Rangers faced Hibernian in a Scottish League Cup quarter-final clash on Saturday and after the team's 2-0 win, Martin bizarrely thanked supporters, despite their vehement protest at the Stadium.

• Rangers fans protested against Martin

  On Sunday, during Rangers' Scottish League Cup quarter-final tie against Hibernian, the supporters of the Scottish giants displayed vehement protest outside the Ibrox as they demanded the ouster of manager Russell Martin and chief executive Patrick Stewart. Inside the stadium, the fans unfurled banners with the words written: "Russell out – worst manager in history." They also hurled balls onto the pitch, which led to a delay in the start of the game. 

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• Getty Images Sport
  

  Martin thanks Rangers fans

  The under-fire Rangers boss was asked about the pre-match protest after the game, to which he said: "Well, it was actually right during the team talk, but it's like I said to the guys, I can't control any of it. And also a bit of perspective, like I said, yesterday in the press conference about some family stuff this week that's been really difficult to put in some perspective.But we had control of the performance and we had control of, not the start of the game, but the fans at the end of the game. And I have to say I thought the fans were brilliant. 

  "They made their feelings really clear, and then once that was done, the team started playing with a bit of flow. I think they were really, really good. So I have to thank them for that. At this football club, it comes about one person really quickly. But it's just not. It's not. It's about so many people, staff and the players. It's become about me, not by my choice. So now, hopefully it'll become more and more about the team if we put in performances like that."

• Rangers' maiden win in domestic competitions

  After going winless in their first five Scottish Premiership matches, which included four losses, Rangers finally registered their maiden win in domestic competitions as they rode on Nicolas Raskin and Bojan Miovski's first-half goals.

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  Who could replace Martin at Rangers

  Rangers’ hierarchy have publicly backed Martin but are reportedly exploring alternatives if results at Ibrox don’t improve. Among the potential candidates is the son of legendary manager Carlo Ancelotti, Davide, who is currently in charge of Botafogo in Brazil.

As deadline day approaches, one transfer insider now believes that Leeds United are “interested” in signing a Premier League rival for Daniel Farke.

Latest on Leeds' transfer targets

It’s a big week for Leeds. Even after signing Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, there remain question marks about whether their frontline is capable of keeping Farke’s side afloat. As such, it is no surprise to see a number of targets emerge on their radar as the window enters its final six days.

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To that end, one interesting name that has been mentioned is Brighton & Hove Albion’s Facundo Buonanotte. According to Ben Jacobs, the attacking midfielder is a target for both Leeds and West Ham United, who are leading the charge to secure his signature in a late loan move.

The 20-year-old spent last season on loan at Leicester City and provided the Foxes with a rare bright spark in a season to forget – scoring six goals and creating another three in all competitions.

Now, as Leeds aim to avoid the same fate as Leicester, they could certainly do with a player of Buonanotte’s talent. Whether they can land an early victory over relegation rivals West Ham off the pitch remains to be seen, however.

It must also be said that the Argentine ace isn’t the only name on the club’s radar. Others such as Kobbie Mainoo have also threatened to steal the headlines as of late in what would be one of the most controversial moves of the summer from Manchester United. Meanwhile, another Premier League rival has reportedly attracted Leeds’ interest.

Leeds "interested" in Jota Silva

According to former Premier League scout Mick Brown, Leeds are now “interested” in signing Jota Silva from Nottingham Forest before the end of the transfer window. The winger has fallen down the pecking order following recent arrivals at the City Ground and could now get the chance to stay in the Premier League, courtesy of those in Yorkshire.

Although Brown described him as a “maverick”, Silva managed five goals in all competitions at Forest last season and only three of those came in the Premier League. That record is undeniably questionable and there’s no denying that Leeds would be taking a risk by asking him to solve their attacking issues.

Reddy has a side strain, while Rinku experienced lower-back spasms during the first T20I against England

Vishal Dikshit and Shashank Kishore25-Jan-2025Shivam Dube and Ramandeep Singh have been added to India’s T20I squad for the series against England in place of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rinku Singh. Reddy is out of the five-match series with a side strain, while Rinku experienced lower-back spasms while fielding during the first T20I against England and is out for at least the second and third matches.*With the second game set to be played later today in Chennai, Dube and Ramandeep will be available from the third T20I onwards.Reddy picked up his injury during a training session ahead of the second T20I. He will head to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence – the newly opened National Cricket Academy premises on the outskirts of Bengaluru – for rehabilitation.Dube’s last outing for India was in August 2024, during an ODI series in Sri Lanka. He then missed India’s home T20I series against Bangladesh with a back injury. Dube returned to cricket with the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, where he scored 151 runs in five innings at a strike rate of 179.76, and took three wickets at an economy of 9.31.In all, he has played 33 T20Is for India, for 448 runs at a strike rate of 134.93 with the bat, and 11 wickets with the ball. He was part of India’s T20 World Cup-winning squad in the West Indies and USA last year.Ramandeep has played just the two T20Is for India, both in South Africa last November. In the recent Vijay Hazare Trophy, the 50-over tournament, he totalled 126 runs from six innings for Punjab, mostly providing quick runs for a strike rate of 134.04.Dube’s most recent outing at the competitive level was Mumbai’s Ranji Trophy match against Jammu and Kashmir, which ended on Saturday afternoon. He was out without scoring in both innings, and picked up one wicket in the match as Mumbai lost by five wickets. Ramandeep was also involved in the just-concluded Ranji round, also minimally, scoring 16 and a duck in Punjab’s big loss to Karnataka.India won the first T20I against England, in Kolkata, by seven wickets with all of 43 balls remaining. Reddy didn’t have much to do in the game: he took two catches, but did not get to bowl or bat as India romped home. Rinku, too, did not get to bat with the top order polishing off the chase of 133.India’s updated T20I squadSuryakumar Yadav (capt), Axar Patel (vice-capt), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Shivam Dube, Ramandeep Singh.*

Leeds United still have a bit of time left to add more quality to their squad before the end of the summer transfer window at the start of September.

The Whites were reportedly leading the race to sign Leicester City attacking midfielder Bilal El Khannouss earlier this month, but they now look set to miss out on the Morocco international.

Sky Sports reports that Crystal Palace are close to agreeing a deal with the Foxes to sign the 21-year-old playmaker in a deal that could be worth up to £32m.

Why missing out on Bilal El Khannouss is a blow

The Eagles swooping in to potentially sign El Khannouss ahead of Leeds is a blow for Daniel Farke because he is an impressive young talent who could have been an exciting addition to the squad at Elland Road.

In his first season in the Premier League, the Moroccan ranked within the top 25% of attacking midfielders for chances created (42) and the top 37% for xA (3.11), per FotMob.

Per Sofascore, El Khannouss created eight ‘big chances’ in 27 starts for Leicester, despite their relegation, and could have added an extra degree of creativity to the Leeds midfield.

The Whites could, however, forget all about the Foxes sensation by swooping to sign Gabriel Sara, who was linked with a £35m move from Galatasaray earlier this month.

Why Leeds should sign Gabriel Sara

Signing the Brazilian maestro would help everyone to forget about El Khannouss because he could be an even better signing for Leeds, particularly with the new 4-3-3 system that Farke deployed against Everton.

Lining up with three central midfielders instead of a double pivot and a number ten means that Sara could make more sense as a signing, as he is a creative central midfielder, rather than an out-and-out number ten like the Leicester starlet.

The left-footed star, who delivered 13 goals and 12 assists in his last season in England with Norwich, has been in fantastic form for Galatasaray as a creative whiz in the middle of the park over the past 12 months.

Sara has created a staggering 11 chances in two matches in the Super Liga this season, per Sofascore, which is roughly a quarter as many as El Khannouss created in the entire 2024/25 campaign.

24/25 season

El Khannouss (Premier League)

Sara (Super Lig)

Appearances

32

30

Goals

2

2

Big chances created

8

12

xA

3.11

7.62

Assists

3

8

Key passes per game

1.3

2.3

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Sara was directly involved in six more goals in two fewer appearances at league level in comparison to the £32m-rated man, and created one more chance per game on average.

The Brazilian star, who scored a sublime solo goal against Leeds two seasons ago – as shown in the highlights below, has been a consistently brilliant creator for both Galatasaray and Norwich in the last few years.

Sara, who was hailed as “outstanding” by former boss David Wagner, appears more likely to make an impact in the here and now in comparison to El Khannouss, who is younger and still developing.

The 26-year-old wizard is in the prime years of his career and could arrive at Elland Road to hit the ground running as a creative maestro in the middle of the park for Farke, given his prior experience in England and his form for the Turkish giants.

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Therefore, Leeds should be pushing to secure a deal for Sara now that Palace are closing in on El Khannouss, because he has the experience, the quality, and the creativity to be an even better signing for the Whites in their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.

As Celtic gear up for yet another title defence, Brendan Rodgers now reportedly believes that they hold a key advantage in the race to sign an impressive midfield star.

Rodgers still aiming to "push" for arrivals

Despite welcoming as many as six fresh faces following another dominant Scottish Premiership campaign last time out, Rodgers admitted that he’s still pushing the Celtic board to secure more additions.

He told reporters: “We have gaps in the squad that are very clear. I have to convince the board to really push to get the players in that we really need. Clearly, I’m not doing that job well enough, but I will continue to push and hopefully we can get the players in by the end of the transfer window.”

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“When you lose important players, you want to fill those gaps. That attacking department is the strength of my team. It always will be. We were very, very good last year in that front in terms of both the score and both the creativity.

“I’m fairly confident that we will do the business that will fill those gaps and with the necessary quality that’s needed to keep the team moving forward, because that’s what we all want. That’s what the supporters want. They want to see a team that’s exciting and that can dominate games and really attack games and that’s our goal.”

Just who those additions will be is the question. It looks as though the Bhoys are at least set to welcome Manchester City youngster Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on loan, but that’s not to say other targets have fallen away from their radar.

Those at Celtic Park have also reportedly set their sights on winning the race to land a bargain deal in the next month and Rodgers believes that they hold one key advantage over the rest of the chasing pack.

Rodgers believes Celtic have advantage in Brownhill race

According to Pete O’Rourke of Football Insider, Rodgers believes that Celtic have the advantage in the race to sign Josh Brownhill this summer thanks to their Champions League place. Whilst the likes of West Ham United and Everton chase his signature, the Bhoys will be able to offer the 29-year-old his first taste of Europe’s elite.

Dubbed “brilliant” by Burnley boss Scott Parker, Brownhill represents one of the few bargain deals still on the market and one that Celtic should go all out to snap up this month.

Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner says the one-off Test can feel “a bit of novelty”, although she admits expansion is unlikely

Andrew McGlashan08-Jan-2025

Players from Australia and England have called for future multi-format Women’s Ashes series to include three Test matches, although the chances of that becoming a reality are slim, certainly in the next four years.In the upcoming series, the one-off Test – a four-day match under floodlights at the MCG – will be played as the final instalment of the Ashes for the first time since it was introduced in 2013. The match is worth four points for a win and two for a draw meaning one side could be in a position knowing that avoiding defeat would be enough to win the series.England need an outright points victory to regain the Ashes with Australia having clung on in 2023, which was shared 8-8 despite the visitors winning the Test at Trent Bridge, which began the series.Related

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WPL, Hundred, WBBL given separate windows in new FTP

Wyatt-Hodge lauds 'ruthless' Australia's batting depth

Prior to the multi-format concept, the Ashes was decided purely on Test cricket. The last time a series involved more than a single game was in 2005 and Australia allrounder Ashleigh Gardner has led the call for three Tests to go alongside the three ODIs and three T20Is.”From [the] workload [point of view], it would be quite tough with how busy our summers are, but personally I would love to see three, three, three,” Gardner, who took 8 for 66 in the previous Ashes Test, said. “It’s obviously going to make the tours a lot longer, [and] not sure where you are going to fit it in, knowing we are still going to have to play overseas competitions as well. It would be interesting to see over the next four to five years where that gets to.”But I know personally I’d love to play more Test cricket against England. Playing the one Test feels like a bit of novelty sometimes. We obviously have some really good white-ball games against England and other nations around the world but think the way our teams match up it would be a really cool Test series to see who would come out on top for that. But don’t think that’s probably going to change anytime soon.”England batter Tammy Beaumont, another star of the 2023 Test where she made a double-century, backed Gardner’s views on an expansion of the format, saying it would help build the storylines around a series.”Absolutely, I completely agree with Ash,” she said. “I’d love to see three, three, three. The best thing about the Ashes is the narrative, the rivalry, how it builds over time. You saw in the India-Australia men’s Test series, the narratives build in a five-match series, and even in a three-match series, whether it’s the kind of things like [Jasprit] Bumrah always getting the same people out or things like that. As an opening batter, that’s part of why you love the game, that battle of trying to maybe getting one-up on an opening bowler, think it builds even more in Test cricket. That’s why I love getting the whites on and I’d love to see more.”Late last year, the next four-year cycle of the Future Tours Programme was locked in and, while West Indies will return to Test cricket, further matches being added to Ashes series would appear unlikely.”Space in the calendar is a real challenge,” outgoing Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley said. “What I would like to see is more countries playing multi-format series more regularly.”Ashleigh Gardner’s 8 for 66 secured Australia a vital victory in the 2023 Ashes Test•Getty Images

The next FTP also sees the Women’s Premier League (WPL) move to January, meaning this Ashes series is the last time for at least four years that Australia will be able to play in the prime summer holiday window with their main international block moving to February and March.While the 2023 Ashes in England, which took place concurrently with the men’s series, drew record crowds, there is a sense in Australia that the game hasn’t quite been able to recapture the momentum that was building when the 2020 T20 World Cup final was played in front of 86,174 at the MCG only for Covid to shut down the world a few days later. Alongside the MCG Test in this Ashes, T20Is will also be played at the SCG and Adelaide Oval.”This is such an important series for us,” Gardner said. “The Ashes in general in such a big series, pretty much just behind the World Cup for us in my opinion. We’ve been so successful over the last five or six years, it’s probably one part of our game we’ve been a little bit disappointed with is not seeing as many people as we would have like.”Obviously to have the T20 World Cup five years ago now and to pretty much sell out the MCG, then for Covid to kind of put dampener on the path Australian cricket was going… but fingers crossed after a pretty successful men’s Test series people can come and support our series as well because we are going up against our fiercest rivals and they just went against theirs.”