When Harvey Elliott was quizzed during England U21 duty on his Liverpool future, he responded by saying he was wary of “wasting years of my career” as an understudy in Arne Slot’s system.

The young playmaker only made two starts in the Premier League last season, ands both came in May. The boyhood Red would hope to stay on with the Merseysiders, but he’s 22 now and understandably wants to be competing regularly from the opening whistle.

Maybe the signing of Florian Wirtz has had a say in the matter?

The German international rejected interest from Manchester City and Bayern Munich last month, and after several weeks of negotiations, Liverpool have finally reached a breakthrough with Bayer Leverkusen for what will be a British-record signing.

Liverpool's deal for Florian Wirtz

There were understandably a few Liverpool fans dotted about harbouring concerns that Wirtz’s expected transfer to the club would fall through.

But the Reds have sealed the deal, and Wirtz, 22, will play in Liverpool red. Sure, things turned a tad protracted, but the Anfield side have pulled off a deal for a “truly generational talent”, as he has been called by sports media professional Cristian Nyari.

It was never going to be easy, with Die Werkself obstinate in their stance, ekeing out every last copper from their Merseyside counterparts. Indeed, with all add-ons included, this could prove a €150m (£127m) transfer.

Wirtz has been one of the most sought-after players in world football, rising from strength to strength and stronger still under Xabi Alonso’s wing. He will raise Liverpool’s frontline to the next level, and indeed, could take a fellow transfer target and turn them into something special.

Liverpool have advantage in race for Premier League star

As per Sky Sports, Liverpool have joined Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in the race for Bournemouth’s Antoine Semenyo, who has enjoyed an excellent campaign on the south coast.

The Red Devils are in the picture, but it’s felt that the Ghana international favours a move to a club competing in the Champions League, making Liverpool the favourites over their historic rivals, who have failed to secure any level of European competition after losing the Europa League final to Tottenham.

However, at this stage, Spurs have done the most work on the talented winger, who the Cherries would only sell for a £50m fee.

Why Liverpool want Antoine Semenyo

Mohamed Salah has Liverpool’s right flank on lock, but with Federico Chiesa prioritising a return to Italy after a difficult opening campaign in the Premier League, featuring only six times, bringing in a rising star of Semenyo’s quality could work a treat for Slot’s project.

Having joined Bournemouth from Bristol City for £10.5m in January 2023, Semenyo’s stock has risen in increments, becoming a major player in Andoni Iraola’s system.

Two-footed and ferociously explosive, the 25-year-old embodies many of the tactical virtues Slot employs, not least the fact that a hard-working attitude will get you far on the field.

His intelligence and link-up play further highlight the success that could be found in a high-flying Liverpool system with Wirtz at the centre, pulling the strings.

Not just a powerful goalscorer, Semenyo has been hailed by analyst Ben Mattinson for being a “duel monster”, so tenacious and determined to win the ball back, to drive play forward.

This level of commitment and sharpness is something that Wirtz could relish playing alongside, especially since the elite playmaker would find in Semenyo a partner whose ball-striking is a relentless thing.

Having been praised by Sky Sports’ Jamie Redknapp for mastering the art of the “Salah goal”, finding pockets of space in the danger area and pouncing with merciless hunger, Semenyo is the real deal, and given that Chiesa is being linked with a return to Italy, could prove the perfect player to challenge Liverpool’s Egyptian superstar for a place on the right.

Of course, Semenyo is more than just a one-position man.

Antoine Semenyo – Bournemouth Stats by Position
Position	Apps	Goals	Assists
Right winger	46	13	3
Left winger	29	7	5
Centre-forward	6	1	0
Stats via Transfermarkt

Where Semenyo’s best position would be at Liverpool, should he indeed sign, remains to be seen, but the fact that he can maintain a steady rate of scoring across both wings bodes well, especially with someone like Wirtz influencing from behind.

Wirtz, who is more than happy to roam around the park himself, has actually been described as something of a “genius” on the ball by his former Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso.

Despite only featuring 197 times as a professional for Leverkusen, Wirtz has already built up quite the prolific resume, having scored 57 goals and provided 65 assists, crowned the 2023/24 Bundesliga Player of the Season after winning the league with his invincible outfit.

Further illustrating his creative flair: last season, he ranked among the top 9% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues for assists, and the top 7% for shot-creating actions and progressive passes per 90, as per FBref.

Semenyo likes to fire on goal, all right, and Liverpool could find themselves striking a sure-fire formula for success by combining the Bournemouth sensation with Wirtz, whose creative capacity knows no bounds.

Sealing this deal could prove the perfect way to add that bit of extra depth and dynamism to Slot’s ranks, consolidating Liverpool’s position as a superpower above all the rest.

Upgrade on Huijsen: Liverpool make approach to sign "exceptional" £43m star

Liverpool are in the market for a new centre-back this summer.

By
Angus Sinclair

Jun 10, 2025

Leeds United will be looking to buck the recent trend and remain in the Premier League following promotion from the Championship.

To do that, the 49ers Enterprises and Daniel Farke may need to sign plenty of new players, while also shipping some out who they feel aren’t good enough to make an impact in the top flight.

The transfer activity at Elland Road is already underway, and it promises to be a frantic few months away from the pitch. Grok, the AI tool on X, has already predicted signings Leeds could make this summer.

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To maintain a solid position with PSR, though, the Whites may also look to cash in on a number of players before the deadline, some of which played a regular role in their promotion from the Championship. Now, Grok has also predicted Leeds’ summer sales.

AI predicts 6 players Leeds United will sell this summer 1 Illan Meslier (£20m)

Goalkeeper Illan Meslier struggled last season in the second tier, making a number of errors that cost Leeds points.

The Frenchman was dropped by Farke for the run-in, and Leeds are expected to sign a new first choice keeper to replace the 25-year-old.

Grok says Meslier’s ‘Premier League experience and age make him valuable’, estimating a fee in the region of £20m which would represent a big profit for the Whites.

2 Brenden Aaronson (£15m)

Another player who struggled to set the Championship alight was Brenden Aaronson, with left-back Junior Firpo recording more goal contributions in the second tier.

Leeds’ only out-and-out attacking midfielder, the chances of an Aaronson exit are described as moderate, with a £15m fee mooted.

It is added that ‘interest from European clubs could prompt a sale, but Farke may give him a chance to prove himself in the Premier League’.

3 Jack Harrison (£12m)

One transfer that won’t surprise many Leeds fans would be if Jack Harrison completed a permanent Elland Road exit.

After spending the last two seasons on loan at Everton, the winger won’t be moving to the Toffees on a permanent basis.

Jack Harrison’s stats at Leeds

Games

206

Goals

34

Assists

32

Minutes played

15,734

Grok have a departure worth £12m down as a high possibility, saying his ‘prolonged absence and Farke’s focus on new wingers make a permanent exit likely’.

4 Mateo Joseph (£10m)

Mateo Joseph’s potential exit could help Leeds from a PSR standpoint, and he has been heavily linked with a move to Real Betis this summer.

The Spaniard failed to score on a regular basis after beginning the previous campaign as first choice.

AI states ‘Leeds are reluctant to sell young talents, but a lucrative offer from Betis could sway them’ and have placed a £10m fee on any possible deal.

5 Max Wober (£8m)

Defender Max Wober has already admitted that Leeds are planning to sell him this summer, so it comes as no surprise that he is on Grok’s list.

The Austrian, like Aaronson, returned from a loan spell in Germany to help the Whites to promotion, although he wasn’t a regular under Farke.

Signed for around £10m in 2023, Leeds could still bring in £8m for the centre-back, according to Grok.

6 Joe Gelhardt (£5m)

The last player on AI’s predicted exit list is Joe Gelhardt, who again looks surplus to requirements at Elland Road.

The forward was loaned out to Hull City for the second half of the 24/25 season and helped the Tigers stay up, and he still has two years left on his Whites contract.

Leeds are open to offers for Gelhardt, though, and Grok says a £5m exit could be on the cards.

There have been a lot of players who have tormented Arsenal over the years, from Roberto Firmino to Jamie Vardy and Mohamed Salah.

However, when it comes to the striker who has scored more goals against the North Londoners in the Premier League than anyone else, it’ll come as no surprise to most that it is Harry Kane.

The former Tottenham Hotspur star scored 14 goals against the club in 17 appearances before moving to Bayern Munich in the summer of 2023, and then added another in the Champions League quarter-finals last season.

So, the Gunners faithful should be excited about reports linking them to a free-scoring striker who’s won comparisons to the England captain.

Arsenal's striker search

With Arsenal’s need for a striker this summer practically undeniable, the last few weeks have seen the club linked with a host of talented options, from Benjamin Sesko to Evann Guessand.

The club are reportedly in talks for the former at the moment, who could cost around £67m, which might just prove to be a bargain price, as in 45 appearances for RB Leipzig this season, the 22-year-old dynamo was able to score 21 goals and provide six assists.

Coming in with a cheaper price tag that is said to be around the £25m mark, Guessand would be the more economical option, and with a tally of 13 goals and ten assists in 42 games, it would be a tempting one at that.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Yet, there is now another forward whose price fits nicely between both and has been compared to Kane: Nick Woltemade.

According to a recent report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are one of several teams incredibly interested in the VfB Stuttgart poacher.

In fact, the report reveals that the Gunners, as well as Liverpool, have made contact with the German outfit over their star striker, who could be available for around €50m, which comes out to about £42m.

He might not be a known quantity to fans in England, but given Woltemade’s ability and potential, this is a deal worth pursuing – with the comparison to Kane a nice bonus.

How Woltemade compares to Kane

Now, there are several reasons why Arsenal might want to go out and sign Woltemade this summer, but before getting to them, it’s worth examining this comparison to Kane and where it originated from.

In this case, it stems from FBref, which compared players in similar positions in the Bundesliga this season and came to the conclusion that the Englishman was the second most similar forward to the German.

The best way to understand how this conclusion was reached is by looking at some of the underlying metrics in which the pair rank closely, such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, live passes, expected assists, passes into the penalty area, tackles won and more, all per 90.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.70

0.70

Goals per Shot

0.22

0.16

Expected Assists

0.19

0.21

Live Passes

26.5

23.4

Passes into the Penalty Area

1.28

1.36

Tackles Won

0.39

0.42

Successful Take-On %

43.7%

43.4%

However, while the comparison to England’s captain and one of the best strikers in the game is certainly encouraging, it’s not the only reason the Gunners should be looking to sign the Stuttgart star.

For example, despite playing for a midtable side, the “exceptional” marksman, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, was able to rack up an impressive haul of 17 goals and three assists in 33 appearances, totalling 2039 minutes.

That means the 23-year-old goalscorer maintained an average of a goal involvement every 1.65 games this year, or every 101.95 minutes, which is undeniably impressive.

On top of that, the Bremen-born star comes in at a massive 6 foot 6 but remains agile and quick on his feet, so not only could he interchange with the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard at the Emirates, but he’d add even more height and physicality into the Gunners’ squad.

Ultimately, Woltemade has been incredible this season, and his goalscoring abilities combined with his physical characteristics make him someone Arsenal should not miss out on – the comparison to Kane is just another reason they should be going all out to sign him.

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England do the needful after three-hour rain delay as eyes turn to St Lucia

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Jun-2024Jos Buttler admitted that – for one night only – he would be an Australia fan, after his England team did the needful against Namibia, albeit in deeply stressful circumstances in Antigua.Needing a win of any description to keep their T20 World Cup hopes alive, England had to endure a three-hour rain delay at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, as a series of torrential downpours threatened to wash out their final group-stage fixture, and hand Scotland a pass to the Super Eight, even before their own clash with Australia – an eventual five-wicket defeat with two balls remaining – could get underway in St Lucia.But with the cut-off time looming, the clouds finally broke, and an 11-overs contest was able to get underway – which in turn was reduced to 10-a-side after another short break for rain. Buttler duly lost the toss, and was then bowled for a four-ball duck as Namibia’s seamers found the sweaty conditions to their liking in the powerplay. But with Harry Brook’s 47 not out from 20 balls leading the way, England reasserted their dominance to secure a 41-run win.”It’s a big relief,” Buttler said at the post-match presentations. “It was certainly a stressful day when the rain was coming down. But I thought we put in a really good performance. I think everyone managed that situation well. We were well prepared when we did play, and we played well.”I thought that was a really good score on that wicket,” he added, after England recovered from a dicey 13 for 2 in the third over to post a competitive 122 for 5. “After I got out, I was thinking 85-90 might be a really good score, with the way the ball was sticking in the wicket. But credit to [Jonny] Bairstow and Brook, a fantastic partnership with great cameos from Moeen [Ali] and Livi [Liam Livingstone]. They are class players.”The victory still would not have been enough if Scotland had managed to cap their impressive form in the tournament by overturning Australia in their final Group B match, which was due to get underway some two hours after England’s match had finished. Asked by Mike Atherton at the presentation whether he would be supporting Australia in the circumstances, Buttler replied: “Absolutely…”With that contest eventually going the way of Australia – albeit not without a stiff challenge from the Scots – England will progress to the Super Eight without a clear idea of where their form is at. Their frustrating run of recent fixtures has included two wash-outs against Pakistan in England last month, a 36-run loss to Australia in Barbados, and three matches against Oman, Scotland and Namibia in which they have batted for a total of 13.1 overs.”That’s just how it is,” Buttler said. “I think everyone’s dealt with everything that’s been thrown at us really well. Sometimes when you haven’t had a chance to spend much time in the middle, you can create things in this format. So credit to those guys, they’ve been hitting the ball well and they put together a vital partnership today. We’ve done all we can do. We’ll see what happens.”

Glasgow Rangers are in talks to sign a new “highly-rated” player after manager Russell Martin gave the green light to an Ibrox transfer.

Rangers want more defenders as Aarons moves to Ibrox

The Gers will be looking to win just their second Scottish Premiership title in 15 years in Martin’s first season at Ibrox, and the 49ers Enterprises appear willing to back the new boss in the transfer window.

After already securing the services of midfielder Lyall Cameron from Dundee, Rangers swopped to sign Max Aarons on loan from Bournemouth, with a transfer officially announced on Wednesday.

The right-back spent the second half of the 2024/25 campaign on loan at Valencia and will now link up with Martin who knows Aarons from his time at Norwich City.

Talking after signing Aarons, Martin said: “Max is a player who I have always kept a keen eye on since he was emerging through the youth ranks while I was coming to the end of my time at Norwich as a player. He is a wonderfully talented player who is hungry to develop, improve and help deliver success for his side.

“We are pleased to bring him on board for this season, and I believe he will be a fantastic addition to the squad.”

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Alongside the 25-year-old, Rangers also want to sign a new centre-back, with the future of Robin Propper up in the air. There have been claims the Gers have even accepted an offer from FC Twente for the Dutchman after only joining 12 months ago.

Leicester City’s Conor Coady has been linked with moving to Glasgow as Rangers’ centre-back signing, however, a new name has entered the frame.

Rangers in talks for Peterborough defender Fernandez

According to reports from Football Insider journalist Pete O’Rourke, Rangers have opened talks to sign 23-year-old centre-back Emmanuel Fernandez.

It is added that Martin has ‘given the green light’ to a deal, with the 6ft 4 defender making 42 appearances in all competitions last season, scoring five times.

Fernandez is under contract until 2027 and was wanted by Norwich in the January window, but it looks as if Rangers are the side making moves in the summer.

Games

61

Goals

7

Yellow cards

8

Red cards

2

Trophies

2

Rangers have also been after Peterborough star Kwame Poku, who is out of contract at the end of the month, but it looks as if the winger may move elsewhere and not Glasgow.

Posh chairman Darragh MacAnthony hailed Fernandez as a “colossus” last season, while also calling him the club’s “best defender”.

O’Rourke has also called Fernandez “highly-rated”, and it looks as if a deal could be one to watch following the journalist’s update.

No result A potentially engaging contest was robbed of its conclusion as the second T20I between India and South Africa was abandoned halfway through courtesy a steady evening drizzle in Chennai.It was the kind of rain that wouldn’t take players off most times. However, the sharpest spell of the evening – a steady five-minute drizzle – coincided with the innings break – forced the ground staff to cover the playing surface. But it continued to mizzle on and off for the next hour, forcing the umpires to pull the plug.It left India, who made as many as four changes to their XI, with more questions than answers, while South Africa could be fairly satisfied after a second good workout with the bat, having followed their 189 for 6 two nights ago with a compelling 177 for 6 on Sunday evening.They go into the series finale on Tuesday with an opportunity to seal the series, a significant result if it comes to fruition given this is their last assignment before the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in September.Hello, Uma ChetryAssam played their first domestic tournament in 1948-49. It took them nearly 76 years to produce the first India player (Riyan Parag), but on Sunday, they doubled that tally as Uma Chetry, the 21-year-old wicketkeeper, was handed a cap in Richa Ghosh’s absence due to concussion.Chetry was in action almost immediately. Everyone thought she had effected a smart stumping when Tazmin Brits, the top scorer from two nights ago, ran down to a Sajana Sajeevan slider. Even as an ecstatic Chetry celebrated her first dismissal, the third umpire brought her some agony.A tiny fraction of Chetry’s glove was in front of the stumps when she collected the ball, which meant Brits wasn’t just not out but also had a free hit. On 5 then, Brits built on to make a 36-ball half-century, looking in sparkling touch for most parts.It was in sharp contrast to her struggles in the series opener, where she took nine balls to get off the mark and had limped to a run-a-ball 25 after 10 overs, before a sensational late acceleration brought her 81 off 56 balls.Wolvaardt’s blazing startSouth Africa captain Laura Wolvaardt offset any early pressure there may have been on the team with three back-to-back boundaries off the third over. Each of them was high on aesthetic appeal, her timing and placement precise enough to thread the tiniest of gaps on the off-side ring.She would also be lucky to survive a leading edge that nearly popped to point as Arundhati Reddy, who replaced Renuka Singh in the XI, had a tough beginning.But Wolvaardt’s innings was cut short soon enough, when she found the safe hands of Radha Yadav at backward point as Pooja Vastrakar struck in the fifth over to break a dangerous opening partnership. Wolvaardt’s contribution to the 43-run stand was a robust 12-ball 22.Deepti Sharma picked up the key wicket of Marizanne Kapp•BCCI

Deepti leads India’s spin chargeMarizanne Kapp didn’t take long to settle in like she did the other night. She welcomed Delhi Capitals team-mate Yadav by muscling two hits down the ground in her opening over as South Africa ended the powerplay on 66 for 1. But India weren’t throwing in the towel, ably hitting back courtesy their spinners, especially Deepti Sharma.Deepti did what the other spinners couldn’t – get balls to bounce off a length while also cleverly varying her pace – and Kapp fell in trying to step out and hit through the line to one such delivery, only to find Sajana at mid-off. Then India slipped in a few tight overs with Shreyanka Patil, who replaced legspinner Asha Sobhana, joining in.Anneke Bosch took a while to adjust to the pace of the surface, but it helped that South Africa had Brits bring up a half-century. Then, Chetry redeemed herself with a stumping to dismiss Bosch as she charged Deepti, only to be beaten by sharp turn. To Chetry’s credit, she stayed low and collected the ball at shin-height to effect the stumping.It was a near double-strike as India then prised out the dangerous Chloe Tryon as she tamely lobbed a return catch to Radha. At 131 for 4 in 15 overs, South Africa needed a big finish to get near the 189 they made on Friday. It wasn’t until the 19th that they got that, when Shreyanka was hit for four fours in a 20-run over by Bosch, who more than made up for a sluggish start to finish with a 32-ball 40.Annerie Dercksen then finished the innings off in a blaze of boundaries, three of them off Vastrakar, to take South Africa to 177 before the rain came down and killed what could’ve been an exciting chase.

Russell Martin is now leading Glasgow Rangers’ pursuit to bring a “class” £18 million midfielder to Ibrox with Joe Rothwell, according to a recent report.

Rangers chasing multiple Ibrox targets as they close in on Rothwell

The Gers have already added Max Aarons to their squad since the appointment of Martin, but as the Scottish side don’t have long to wait until they return to competitive action, the club are working on multiple transfers to try and get their business done as early as possible.

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The next arrival at Ibrox is Joe Rothwell, who has joined Rangers on a permanent basis after both the Scottish side and AFC Bournemouth agreed a transfer fee. The 30-year-old has worked with Martin before at Southampton in the 2023/24 season, and his relationship with the now Rangers boss seems to have swung him to favour a move to Scotland, as he also had offers from teams in La Liga.

As well as moving for Rothwell, the Gers are also looking to sign not one but two more new midfielders. Current Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin is being linked with a move away, as several Premier League teams are interested in a potential deal.

Therefore, Rangers are looking at players who could replace him, and according to The Scottish Sun, the Gers are chasing a permanent deal for Metinho and are ready to ramp up their efforts to get a deal completed.

Martin leading Rangers move to sign £18m midfielder with Rothwell

As well as Metinho, according to TEAMtalk, Rangers are in talks with Southampton over a deal to sign Flynn Downes.

The report states that Martin is keen to reunite with the player once again after signing him in the summer of 2023 from West Ham United in a deal that was worth £18 million for Southampton, and before that, Martin worked with Downes during his time as Swansea City manager. It doesn’t state what type of deal Rangers are looking to do, as the midfielder is still under contract at St Mary’s until the summer of 2028.

The 26-year-old, who has been dubbed “class” by Dan Woffenden, has been a regular in the Southampton team in the two seasons at the club. In their promotion-winning campaign, Downes played 33 times in the regular season, as well as a further three games in the play-offs. Last season, Downes started 25 of the 27 Premier League games he featured in.

Apps

66

Goals

3

Assists

3

During his time at Swansea, Martin labelled Downes “incredible” and a player who does the “dirty work perfectly well”. Martin said: “Flynn was incredible; it’s difficult to single people out, but he does the dirty work perfectly well. He enables other people to do their roles brilliantly; he knows exactly what his role in the team is.”

The news everyone feared at Burnley, but ultimately expected, has now been officially confirmed, with CJ Egan-Riley taking up an opportunity at Ligue 1 giants Marseille after turning down a new Turf Moor deal.

This will be a sizeable hole to fill on the end of Scott Parker’s men, considering Egan-Riley is just fresh off a glittering Championship promotion season that saw him collect a mammoth 26 clean sheets.

But, the Clarets have been here before and bounced back well, with both Ben Mee and James Tarkowski exiting the club once upon a time garnering this same level of dismay.

Therefore, Burnley will be hopeful they can plug Egan-Riley’s gap very soon by landing an adequate replacement.

Burnley keen to re-sign £20m defender

As per a new report from football journalist Alan Nixon, Burnley are keen to bring Taylor Harwood-Bellis back to Lancashire after his current employers, Southampton, crashed out of the Premier League last season.

It’s stated that the 23-year-old is eager to stick it out in the top-flight over heading down to the Championship with the Saints, meaning a second spell at Burnley could soon be on the cards.

Nixon does reveal that West Ham United are also keeping tabs on the former Manchester City youth starlet, but a deal would only take place if a sale was made, owing to Harwood-Bellis’ reported price tag of £20m.

Therefore, the newly promoted outfit could soon race to the front of the queue to land Harwood-Bellis back on a permanent basis, with the 6-foot-2 defender a very suitable replacement for the now departed Egan-Riley.

Why Harwood-Bellis is even better than Egan-Riley

Whilst the 22-year-old is just fresh off an unbelievable campaign in the heart of the Clarets’ defence, the former Burnley number six has only collected one Premier League appearance across his career to date, meaning he might well struggle with the demands of a top-five league.

On the contrary, Harwood-Bellis is well versed with the challenges of the daunting Premier League now, with the Stockport-born colossus even winning himself a senior England call-up last season when battling away valiantly for basement side Southampton.

Games played

34

41

Goals scored

1

1

Assists

0

1

Touches*

74.1

80.8

Accurate passes*

55.1 (88%)

59.7 (86%)

Big chances created

3

2

Ball recoveries*

3.6

4.5

Clearances*

4.1

4.7

Total duels won*

3.2

4.2

It’s clear from the table above that Harwood-Bellis is very similar in approach to Egan-Riley, with the defensive pairing both comfortable performers with the ball at their feet, as much as they are also adept at getting stuck in when necessary.

Whilst it is obviously impressive to pick up the numbers Egan-Riley managed at the top-end of the Championship, Parker will view his new target as an upgrade for what he can offer in the league above, with Harwood-Bellis actually averaging more accurate passes per match stuck in a relegation battle than his Marseille counterpart managed in a promotion race.

He was even labelled as “incredible” last season by former boss Pep Guardiola for the progress he had made away from the Etihad, with a Three Lions call-up further proof that he belongs in the big time.

On the flip side, away from his standout showings last season, Egan-Riley has only ever been exposed to a top division fully on loan with Hibernian, with just that one paltry Premier League appearance next to his name. Harwood-Bellis, despite only being one year older, boasts a hefty 34 and counting, away from his 113 outings in the taxing Championship.

Further hailed as a “warrior” by journalist Josh Bunting when shining bright previously at Turf Moor, the composed, yet dominant defender could well be an even better figure for Burnley to have at the back than Egan-Riley, especially as they transition back to the daunting reality of Premier League life.

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“Whether we see him again, time will tell,” says South Africa’s white-ball coach Rob Walter

Firdose Moonda04-Jul-2024

It remains to be seen if the T20 World Cup final was Quinton de Kock’s last international match•ICC/Getty Images

South Africa are hopeful Quinton de Kock will remain available to play white-ball international cricket and realise his dream of winning a World Cup, as they are yet to receive news of his T20I retirement. De Kock called time on Tests in 2021 and ended his 50-over career at last year’s ODI World Cup. The T20 World Cup in West Indies and USA was expected to be his last T20I outing but national white-ball coach Rob Walter hopes there may be more to come from de Kock.”Quinny’s an enigma. He hasn’t officially called time. So we have that little glimmer of hope that sits in the background,” Walter said on arrival in South Africa on Thursday. “Quinny has very high standards for himself and has dreamed about a World Cup win for a very long time. Has had a number of knocks along the way, not least this last final, You would have seen that he was very emotional with it. Whether we see him again, time will tell.”Related

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Sometimes sports can be messy and without any explanation

Markram: 'It hurts quite a bit', but 'incredibly proud of this group of players'

Walter has not broached the subject with de Kock yet and will not have to for some time. South Africa’s next T20Is are in West Indies in August but de Kock is not on their national contract list and therefore not obliged to be available for those, or any other international games, but that will not compromise his selection in future.As was the case with de Kock at this World Cup, when he was picked without playing the preceding series against India in December as he was at the BBL, national availability is no longer a non-negotiable ahead of big tournaments. That means de Kock may still come into contention for the 2026 T20 World Cup as long as he remains active on the league circuit.”I’ve had no conversations with him. It wasn’t the right time after the final to have that conversation,” Walter said. “So let me leave it at saying your guess is as good as mine.”Luckily for Walter, the other likely retiree, David Miller, has left no one guessing over his future. Miller confirmed his availability for South Africa in an Instagram story when he said: “Contrary to reports, I have not retired from T20 international cricket. I will continue to be available for the Proteas. The best is yet to come.”The wording of Miller’s post suggests he will also continue playing ODIs, which is important considering there remains a question of whether de Kock would consider an ODI U-turn, with the 2027 home World Cup in mind. If so, he may come into consideration for next year’s Champions Trophy which is crucial to kicking off long-term preparations for the next ODI World Cup and presents another opportunity for South Africa to get their hands on a long-awaited trophy. Incidentally, it is the only ICC senior cup South Africa have won, in 1998.”I think people underestimate the toughness of the Champions Trophy. For me, that’s as strong a competition as any,” Walter said. “Hopefully we continue to grow as a side and just keep putting ourselves in a position where we can compete. I said last year after the 50-over World Cup, I genuinely believed that semi-final would be the catalyst to us winning our first world trophy. And nothing’s changed. We probably believe that even stronger now.”Quinton de Kock and Rishabh Pant have a chat after the final•Robert Cianflone/Getty Images

Walter identified the team’s ability to stay in the game under pressure, which has historically not been the case, as the biggest improvement in his time in charge. “We’ve progressed, no doubt about that. This last World Cup, the team won small moments which in the past, potentially, haven’t gone our way. There was huge resilience, we showed a large skill set and we encountered very different conditions from the start in New York to the back end of the competition so it showed great versatility as well. For me, the team is ever-growing. We’ve made strides, but by no means the finished article.”South Africa, as a nation, have now reached successive T20 World Cup finals thanks to their women’s and men’s team and director of cricket Enoch Nkwe called it a “massive mindset shift,” to get there.”Reaching two finals in a short period of time goes to show the buy-in, not only from the two teams, but also from a system point of view. There’s been quite a lot of work that’s been done and builds towards this moment. We’re heading in the right direction. From a women’s point of view, the eyes have always been on the 2025 Cricket World Cup. And from a men’s point of view, 2027. This will definitely go a long way and give us that belief in the system that we can actually achieve according to this system.”Currently, South Africa’s women’s team are in India, where they will play three T20Is in final preparation for the October World Cup, while the men’s team are on a break until early August, when their World Test Championship fixtures resume. Of the T20 World Cup squad, only Keshav Maharaj, Ottneil Baartman and Lungi Ngidi returned home with the rest either at the MLC or the Lanka Premier League.

Smith maintains form as two wickets before close leave challengers in strife

ECB Reporters Network02-Jul-2024A brilliant 107 from Ryan Patel, necessarily watchful at first but buccaneering by its end, built on Jamie Smith’s classy 70 and enabled Surrey to reach a second innings 278 and set Essex a formidable 361 to win the top-of-the-table clash at the Kia Oval.By stumps, they were 21 for two with Nick Browne edging Jordan Clark to keeper Ben Foakes – via a push-up from a diving Smith at third slip – to depart for nine, and nightwatchman Eathan Bosch bowled for one as he shouldered arms in Clark’s next over. Dean Elgar is 11 not out.Patel thumped paceman Shane Snater for two legside sixes in an over and soon afterwards hit Simon Harmer’s off spin into the Bedser Stand during a 125-ball knock that also featured 15 fours – the 14th of them a stunning straight drive off Matt Critchley to complete the 26-year-old’s fourth first-class hundred.Smith had earlier lit up a stop-start day as, for the second time in the match, he made sure Division One leaders Surrey stayed in control of a vital fixture against second-placed Essex.With 35 overs ultimately lost to bad light and rain, across an infuriating five separate interruptions in the first half of the day, Surrey stretched their 126-run overnight lead to 360 as first Smith and then a 65-run seventh wicket partnership between Patel and Clark denied Essex a way back into the game.Patel’s superb late hitting then saw him plunder the bulk of the 85 runs Surrey managed to score for their last two wickets. Overall, indeed, it was a great effort by Surrey, who began day three on 44 for three, and the only consolation for Essex was seamer Jamie Porter claiming his 500th first-class wicket by having Clark caught at third man, uppercutting, for 30.Leading Essex by 12 points coming into the match, Surrey would stretch that gap to 29 if they go on to secure victory on day four and – if that does happen – they would chiefly have Patel and 23-year-old Smith to thank for a sixth win from nine Vitality County Championship outings so far this season.Smith’s opening day 100 did much to take Surrey to 262 in their first innings and, resuming on 11, the player selected at the weekend to be England’s new Test wicketkeeper-batsman later this month again showed his sublime strokemaking skills even in such bowler-friendly conditions and with the need to keep starting again and again after each break for bad weather.After an initial 30-minute passage of play, in which Foakes was dropped on nine at first slip off Porter as Surrey edged to 63 for three, there were three mini-sessions of 10 balls, one ball, and then another 10 balls, either side of an early lunch.More rain then followed a 27-ball session, driving the players off yet again at 2.12pm, but after a fifth re-start of the day at 2.38pm there was at last a prolonged period of play – broken only by the tea interval – until stumps.By then Smith had moved smoothly past fifty, despite seeing Foakes fall for 13 when he edged Snater and was smartly held above his head at second slip by Harmer.Left-hander Sai Sudharsan, the India international, helped Smith to add 45 for the fifth wicket, taking Surrey’s overall lead beyond 200, but it was Smith who was the main aggressor with a booming extra cover drive off Snater and a gorgeous on-drive off Porter perhaps the pick of his eventual 11 fours.And Smith, who came in on 25 for two, had scored 70 of Surrey’s next 98 runs when he greeted left-arm seamer Paul Walter’s first ball by pulling it straight to deep square leg in the 38th over.When Sudharsan fell for 12 in the next over, thin-edging Bosch behind, Surrey were suddenly 127 for six and Essex knew they had probably their last chance to stay in the contest.Patel and Clark, however, both batted with grit and no little skill to defy the Essex seamers for almost 20 overs, and Surrey’s lead had reached 274 before Porter’s dismissal of Clark was quickly followed by Bosch bowling Tom Lawes for a first-ball duck.That was the signal for Patel, who had survived a caught and bowled chance to Bosch on 40, to press hard on the accelerator and although James Taylor (3) was bowled sweeping at Harmer he found in last man Dan Worrall a steady partner while a further 43 runs were added in, by now, bright sunshine and until Patel was bowled swinging at Critchley.