All posts by h716a5.icu

ICC expresses disappointment after side doesn’t show up to collect its Spirit of Cricket Award

Nagraj Gollapudi in London13-Sep-2011The Indian team’s non-appearance at the ICC Awards ceremony in London on Monday night has sparked off a controversy of sorts with the ICC expressing its “disappointment” and the team management saying it was informed too late to change existing plans.Not a single Indian player or official attended the event and there was no one to collect the Spirit of Cricket Award, which MS Dhoni won for his decision to send back Ian Bell during the second Test of the summer at Trent Bridge.”We are disappointed,” Haroon Lorgat, the ICC chief executive, told ESPNcricinfo. “They have had a great year [before the England series] and it was an occasion to celebrate. It was a missed opportunity.”According to Lorgat, India also missed out on attracting more sympathisers after a disastrous England tour where they have lost both the Test and ODI series. “It was a good opportunity to show their sporting character despite them losing on this tour.”Indian team manager Shivlal Yadav explained that he received a call from the ICC on Monday afternoon. “I had already told the boys that it was an off day. So now how could I have asked them to suddenly change their plans? Hence I told them (ICC) that they should not keep the table free for us,” Yadav said.The BCCI’s chief administrative officer Ratnakar Shetty said the board did not want to comment on the issue. “Lorgat can say whatever he wants to. We don’t want to comment on it,” he told the .Interestingly, in 2009 Dhoni failed to collect his ODI Cricketer of the Year Award even though he was in Johannesburg, the venue of the ceremony. Last year’s event was in Bangalore, with the Indian team in attendance albeit in denims and T-shirts. Raising more eyebrows, though, was the absence of the BCCI’s top brass, including N Srinivasan, then its secretary and currently its president-elect.The decision to hold this year’s awards in London was taken the ICC’s executive board on February 16; it is understood that the ICC then sent an email to the BCCI outlining the various details of the awards ceremony, to be held on September 12. On August 24, two days before the nominees’ list was formally made public in Canterbury by Clive Lloyd, head of the selection panel for the awards, the ICC sent another e-mail to the Indian board informing that three Indians – MS Dhoni (Spirit of Cricket), Sachin Tendulkar (Cricketer of the Year) and Gautam Gambhir (ODI Cricketer of the Year) – had been nominated in three different categories.On September 7, the ICC sent a fresh e-mail to Srinivasan’s office reminding him about the awards and thereby extending another invitation for the Indians to attend them. It is believed that the Indian team, which was originally scheduled to leave for Cardiff, where it plays its final one-day match on September 16, had in fact postponed its trip by a day, leading to speculation that the players would attend the ceremony.”We hold the awards’ night at a time convenient for the cricketers,” Lorgat said. “When we sat earlier in the year to decide on the dates for this year’s awards, the choice was between London and Colombo. But we felt that England-India would be a marquee series and therefore [it would be] apt to host it in London.”Unofficial estimates put the ICC’s expenditure on the ceremony at close to US$ 1 million.

A brilliant, belligerent century by Paul Stirling wasn’t enough to take Ireland to victory over Pakistan in the second ODI

The Bulletin by Gerard Siggins30-May-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details Paul Stirling’s ton came off 94 balls•Associated PressA brilliant, belligerent century by Paul Stirling wasn’t enough to take Ireland to victory over Pakistan in the second ODI. A solid innings of 64 by Younis Khan ensured the visitors were not embarrassed and took the two match RSA Series in Belfast 2-0.Stirling played an innings that alternated between control and raw aggression as he racked up his third ODI century, his first against a Full Member. It helped set Pakistan a target of 239, which they achieved with eight balls to spare, but not before their most experienced batsmen rescued them from a tricky situation as Ireland’s celebrated fielders tightened the screws.Stirling’s innings showed great maturity for a man who has his critics in Irish cricket. He has too often been a player who raced to thrilling thirties and forites, but rarely went on. His previous highest score against a Full Member was just 52.But an Irish record one-day score of 177 against Canada in September showed what could be achieved and he round off the recent World Cup with a blistering ton against Netherlands. That innings was the third-fastest century in the competition’s history, behind only Kevin O’Brien and Matthew Hayden.He thrashed three sixes and seven fours in his innings of 109, which backboned Ireland’s total of 238 for eight.On the pitch used for Saturday’s rain affected game – and after a day of warm sun in between – William Porterfield opted to take first use.Ireland persevered with their decision to promote Ed Joyce to open, although the Sussex batsman was rarely fluent as Junaid Khan and Umar Gul made use of the overcast conditions.Stirling, meanwhile, played in his usual manner and was 38 when Ireland passed fifty.Misbah turned to the spin of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammed Hafeez to slow things down, and was immediately rewarded with the wicket of Joyce. Ajmal extracted some extra bounce and Joyce edged to Mohammed Salman with the total on 65.Porterfield joined Stirling and was at the other end as he reached his fifty off 43 balls. The pair hoisted the hundred in the 22nd over when Stirling hoicked the ball over wide mid-on for six.Pakistan preferred Hammad Azam to Tanvir Ahmed and the Rawalpindi bowler’s gentle medium proved useful in the conditions. But it was Mohammed Hafeez who dismissed Porterfield, bowled for 15.Stirling was watchful to the spinners and the rate slowed as Ajmal extracted turn on his way to 4 for 35. Stirling raced into the nineties with a sumptuous cover drive but took six more overs to reach 100, which he did with a straight drive past the bowler Azam. He passed the century mark in 94 balls.Rain – which threatened several times – eventually forced the players off for 15 minutes, but no overs were lost.Alex Cusack played a typical innings as second foil to a more aggressive batsman, and took the total to 174 before he fell charging Ajmal. He fell in the second over of the Powerplay, which Ireland struggled to exploit.Stirling was dropped by Junaid who made an awful hash of a gentle hook to fine leg off Saeed. But Junaid made amends next ball when he bowled Stirling for 109. Gary Wilson came out to cheers in his 100th appearance for Ireland, but although he hit the last two balls of the Powerplay for four, the five-over period yielded a miserable 23 for 2.Wilson hit a breezy 33 off 25 balls, but Ireland’s total was probably 30-40 short of expectations as Pakistan prevented them accelerating at the death.Mohammed Hafeez fell in the second over as he mistimed a drive off Trent Johnston, but ODI debutant Azhar Ali and Taufeeq Umar steadied the ship in the face of accurate bowling from Boyd Rankin. The big Warwickshire man extracted bounce and pace in his nine overs, claiming Azhar to a sharp slip catch.At 80 for 3 Pakistan needed steady hands and were able to turn to Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq. The pair have played 300 ODIs between them – more than the whole Irish team – and were able to dictate the pace from there.The partnership consolidated, scoring one boundary and 30 runs off the first ten overs, but as the clouds loomed they put in a mini-charge to ensure they went ahead of the Duckworth-Lewis calculation.With the score on 148 John Mooney induced the thinnest of nicks off Misbah, who seemed reluctant to depart, but his wicket gave Ireland renewed hope. The feisty Umar Akmal came in and took the game by the scruff though, smashing three sixes in an innings of 60 off 48 balls.All the while Younis Khan was accumulating while Ireland fought for every run. Porterfield at cover saved a dozen runs as Stirling, Joyce and Mooney ensured the ring was hard to pierce.Having hit just two boundaries getting to 48, Younis dragged the ball into the crowd at midwicket to complete his fifty. He perished chipping to Kevin O’Brien off Cusack trying to hit the winning runs.Stirling was named as Man of the Match, but it was Pakistan’s day.

Surrey all-rounder Yasir Arafat returned to his old stomping ground in Kent to help dismiss his former county for 266 on the opening day of the 160th Canterbury Festival Week clash

10-Aug-2011
Scorecard
Surrey all-rounder Yasir Arafat returned to his old stomping ground in Kent to help dismiss his former county for 266 on the opening day of the 160th Canterbury Festival Week clash.The Pakistan all-rounder bagged three wickets for 62 runs in his 22 overs to assist Surrey’s County Championship promotion push, while limiting Kent to just two batting bonus points from their first innings that concluded within 82 overs.Batting first in seemingly ideal batting conditions, Kent posted 80 through opening partners Joe Denly (49) and Robert Key (35). The pair looked untroubled for the best part of 20 overs until home captain Key, on the drive, edged to Mark Ramprakash at fourth slip to make it 80 for one.Denly, having proffered a half-chance to third slip when on 14, reached 49 from 73 balls until his dismissal on the cusp of lunch. Pushing well forward to a Tim Linley off-cutter, he was sent packing leg before and Kent went in to lunch on 104 for 2.Sam Northeast’s disappointing season continued when he shuffled forward to Zander de Bruyn to also go leg before for 20 and Martin van Jaarsveld had reached 13 when he was out in similar fashion to Jade Dernbach when playing across the line.Geraint Jones’ ambitions got the better of him against Arafat, who plucked out off stump to send the former England wicketkeeper back to the pavilion with only nine against his name.Darren Stevens, having posted a crisp and watchful 31 from 67 balls, hit his third boundary over extra cover off the left-arm bowling of Zafar Ansari, but perished from the very next delivery. Aiming an apologetic cut at a ball too close to his body, Stevens edged to wicketkeeper Davies and sloped off leaving his side in deep trouble at 184 for 6.Kent limped to their first batting bonus point with six wickets down but, one run later James Tredwell went leg before wicket to Arafat and soon after Adam Ball wafted outside off stump to be caught behind again off Arafat. Tail-enders Matt Coles and Wahab Riaz hit out lustily to add 16 and 34 respectively before Gareth Batty’s off-spin outfoxed Coles and Riaz played across the line to go to Linley.With 12 overs of the day remaining, Surrey put the excellent batting conditions into perspective with a trouble-free unbroken stand between openers Rory Hamilton-Brown and Davies that took the visitors comfortably to stumps on 50 without loss.

Sachin Tendulkar and Ambati Rayudu took Mumbai to 159, a gettable score on this pitch, but not against an attack as ruthless as their’s

The Bulletin by Nitin Sundar02-May-2011
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAmbati Rayudu played some big shots in his half-century•AFPIf Sachin Tendulkar doesn’t get you, Ambati Rayudu will. If Lasith Malinga doesn’t get you, Harbhajan Singh will. Unfortunately for Kings XI Punjab, all four men were on top of their game today, and the rest of the Mumbai Indians XI was ruthlessly efficient. Tendulkar played within himself, Rayudu launched the occasional sortie and the middle order kept up the momentum to lift Mumbai to 159. It was a gettable target on this pitch, but not against this attack.Harbhajan and Malinga cracked open the game in their opening spells. Harbhajan nailed Adam Gilchrist on the sweep in the opening over, before Malinga put Paul Valthaty in his place with an over of pace-bowling brilliance. He began with a full ball that was through Valthaty in a blink. The second was a swerving full toss at 144.5 kph that Valthaty barely managed to get bat to. The third was faster, and Valthaty nervously glanced to fine-leg, but he was back on strike for the last two. Malinga let him have two short balls; Valthaty did not pick the first one, and missed a feeble attempt at a pull off the second. Valthaty, clearly outclassed, was stunned into his shell and Punjab never recovered.Tendulkar smelled blood, and went for all-out attack. Malinga bowled with two slips, while Harbhajan trotted in with a slip and a silly point. Valthaty continued to struggle, but Shaun Marsh managed to sneak a couple of boundaries off Malinga. Abu Nechim kept the pressure on Valthaty, who was so late on a pull in the fifth over that he ended up playing it uppishly to cover. Cover is not where a pull shot should go, neither is it the place for Munaf Patel to field: he grassed the catch, tumbling forward. Unfortunately for Punjab, that was the only fielding error from Mumbai.After dawdling to 8 off his first 24 balls, Valthaty eventually found respite against the back-up bowlers. He carted T Suman and Andrew Symonds for sixes, but holed out soon after. Marsh was in his groove by then, charming a Munaf half-volley for four and clattering a half-tracker from Nechim to midwicket, but he needed someone to hold up the other end.Mumbai ensured that did not happen: David Hussey was held spectacularly at long-on by Rohit Sharma, who hurtled forward and dived full-length. Dinesh Karthik was trapped in front by Kieron Pollard, and Abhishek Nayar allowed the entry ‘c Symonds b Harbhajan’ to enter the scorecard. Malinga tied up the loose ends in his second spell.Earlier, Mumbai were efficient rather than excellent with the bat, as Punjab’s spinners held them back in an attritional first half. Punjab were clearly looking to capitalise on Tendulkar’s weakness against left-arm spin, when they opened the attack with Bhargav Bhatt. Bipul Sharma took over for the third over, and struck with his unusual trajectory from well wide of the crease. Davy Jacobs was lazy leaning out to one of those deliveries, and turned his wrists too early as the ball slipped through to hit the stumps. The early dismissal forced Mumbai to rebuild cautiously, and the left-arm gambit had paid off though Tendulkar hadn’t fallen for it.Rayudu attempted to break free with a couple of against-the-spin heaves, while Tendulkar skipped inside the line to sweep Bhatt over deep square leg, but Mumbai showed their first real sign of intent only in the 12th over of the innings. As always, Praveen Kumar was cannon fodder once the shine disappeared from the ball, and Rayudu clubbed him for two fours and a six off consecutive balls. Punjab did not help their own cause, dropping Rayudu twice in two balls. The second a comical error in judgement from Ryan Harris at long-off, that allowed Rayudu reach his half-century.Rayudu and Tendulkar fell soon after getting to their half-centuries, but Pollard ensured there was no let-up, smashing two sixes and in the process increasing his tournament tally by a factor of five. His closing surge, aided by Rohit, took Mumbai to a score that Punjab would have fancied chasing, but Malinga and Co. had other plans.

On a turning track where the ball kept low, Kolkata’s batsmen all chipped in to put up the highest total of the tournament so far, which proved sufficient against Deccan Chargers

The Bulletin by Siddarth Ravindran11-Apr-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Jacques Kallis made his second consecutive half-century•AFPIt could be the overdose of cricket, or the absence of their adored hometown hero Sourav Ganguly, or just that it was a Monday night; whatever the reason, it was only a sparse crowd at Eden Gardens as Kolkata Knight Riders eased to victory in their first home game of the season. On a turning track where the ball kept low, Kolkata’s batsmen all chipped in to put up the highest total of the tournament so far, which proved sufficient against Deccan Chargers.Jacques Kallis provided another launchpad for the innings, with a controlled half-century filled with off-driven boundaries. He wasn’t overly troubled by the new-ball attack of Dale Steyn and Ishant Sharma, but the introduction of spin slowed the scoring as Pragyan Ojha and Amit Mishra teased the batsmen on a helpful pitch.Kallis’ opening partner Manvinder Bisla’s scratchy stay ended soon after the fifty stand came up, as he missed a straighter one from Mishra. Kallis employed the sweep effectively against the spinners, and started to punish the part-time offerings of JP Duminy and Ravi Teja. A powerful swipe off Duminy got him to a second consecutive fifty, but he perished next ball as he attempted to clear midwicket again.Gautam Gambhir, back in the familiar territory of No. 3 after batting down the order in the opening match, hardly needed power as he picked off boundaries behind square. Manoj Tiwary’s batting was more muscular, slogging two big leg-side sixes in one Duminy over. Yusuf Pathan also provided the Kolkata fans something to cheer as he unleashed his brand of power-hitting to club three boundaries off Steyn’s final two overs.Mishra was the best of the Deccan bowlers, mixing in the googlies and sliders with his stock legspinner to trouble the Kolkata batting. Gambhir is widely reputed to be among the best players of spin in the country, and Mishra had the satisfaction of foxing him with a delivery that slid on to take middle stump. Mishra ended with 4-0-19-2 despite bowling two overs at the end of the innings.The lack of pace in the Kolkata attack worked in their favour during the chase as the ball didn’t come on to the bat, making it difficult for the Deccan batsmen to play their shots. Left-arm spinner Iqbal Abdulla squeezed the runs early on and he bowled Ishank Jaggi, who attempted an awful slog after struggling to 3 off eight balls. Soon after, Eoin Morgan pulled off a stunning piece of fielding to send back Shikhar Dhawan – diving to stop the ball at cover, and rifling in a direct hit while still on his knees.The Deccan batting depends heavily on their three overseas signings: Kumar Sangakkara, JP Duminy and Dan Christian. Sangakkara and Duminy fell cheaply, both providing catching practice to Kallis in the deep, and it was left to little-known Bharat Chipli to keep the Deccan challenge going with a series of boundaries. He too gave Kallis a simple catch, and with half the side dismissed and the asking rate around 13, there was too much for Christian to do. He unleashed a few big hits, but by that stage the biggest worry for Kolkata was the blow to Kallis’ chin as he attempted yet another catch.

Tottenham Hostpur have been dealt a potential setback in their bid to bring Denzel Dumfries to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by Italian publication Gazzetta dello Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim that Bayern Munich are growing increasingly keen on the idea of a move for the Inter Milan wing-back this summer, with the Bundesliga side known to be looking for a player in the 26-year-old’s position, and said to be impressed by the Netherlands international’s growth and dedication as well as his technique and athletics.

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However, the report goes on to state that Tottenham are also extremely keen on the versatile defender, with Antonio Conte’s side thought to be leading the race of Premier League clubs interested in a move for the former PSV Eindhoven starlet this summer.

Paratici must move

With Conte’s desire to sign a new right wing-back this summer being well documented, it is easy to see why the Italian has taken a particular shine to the Inter Milan defender, as Dumfries has been in magnificent form for the Nerazzurri ever since his €15m (£12.5m) move to the San Siro last August.

Indeed, over his 30 Serie A appearances this season, the £34m-rated Dutchman has proven a constant threat on Simone Inzaghi’s right flank, scoring five goals, registering five assists and creating five big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of one shot, making 0.8 key passes and completing 0.5 dribbles per game.

The £51k-per-week 26-year-old has also impressed in metrics more typical of his position, making an average of 0.2 interceptions, 0.9 tackles, 0.6 clearances, 0.4 crosses and winning 3.9 duels – at a success rate of 53% – per fixture.

These returns have seen the player who Fuad Alakbarov dubbed an “exciting” talent average a very respectable SofaScore match rating of 6.86 – playing a key role in the Nerazzurri’s push to retain their Serie A title this season.

As such, it is clear for all to see just how well Dumfries would be suited to Conte’s right wing-back role at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, leading us to believe that Paratici simply must do everything he can to beat Bayern Munich to the €30m (£25m) signing of the player who Siavoush Fallahi dubbed a “difference maker” this summer.

AND in other news: Sources: Spurs can now seal cut-price deal for £116k-p/w “monster”, Paratici must move

Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s stand-in captain for Daniel Vettori, rued his team’s batting performance during the failed chase of 294 in the third ODI against Pakistan

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2011Ross Taylor, New Zealand’s stand-in captain for Daniel Vettori, rued his team’s batting performance during the failed chase of 294 in the third ODI against Pakistan in Christchurch. Taylor, who made only 6 off 14 balls, said his batsmen should have pushed on after getting starts. Martin Guptill and Jamie How began briskly, while Scott Styris and Kane Williamson chipped in with 40s, but New Zealand went down by 43 runs.”We got a few starts but didn’t go on. In the end we couldn’t keep up with the rate,” Taylor said after the game.Taylor also credited the Pakistan seamers, who kept chipping away at the hosts as the run-rate crept up. “Umar Gul bowled well. He along with Wahab Riaz got some reverse swing on a pitch that broke up a bit in the end.”New Zealand had dented Pakistan with a couple of early wickets and it seemed that the visitors would have to settle for a score of around 240. But Shahid Afridi’s monstrous assault in the final ten overs – they yielded 126 runs – gave Pakistan the initiative. “The last 10 overs were crucial. You got to give credit to Afridi who hit some massive sixes.”Afridi praised Mohammad Hafeez, who added 94 with Misbah-ul-Haq, for setting up Pakistan’s competitive total with an assured 115, his maiden ODI century. “The way Hafeez started; he played like an experienced player. Misbah and Hafeez took the responsibility to ensure that we played 50 overs. We played mature cricket. Hafeez and Misbah took time to settle, but we had wickets in hand and we could play the big shots.”

Having come back strongly in the second Test against West Indies, Sri Lanka are likely to field an unchanged team for the decisive third Test against West Indies in Pallakele

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Pallekele30-Nov-2010Having come back strongly in the second Test against West Indies, Sri Lanka are likely to field an unchanged team for the decisive third Test against West Indies in Pallakele.”Barring injuries not many changes are likely,” the home captain Kumar Sangakkara said. “We will have to see how the guys pull up after today’s practice. We will probably decide whether a change is needed in the spin department, but other than that I think we are fine.”Sri Lanka who have not lost a home Test series since 2006 and Sangakkara said he would be disappointed if his team could not win this series, tied 0-0 going into the decider.”The series will be decided in this Test, provided there’s play on all five days,” Sangakkara said. “We have to be positive and keep thinking that we can beat West Indies by playing some good cricket. We have improved in the last Test and we need to keep getting better and hopefully we need to play some solid cricket.”It looks a good wicket but there’s still a bit of rain. Unfortunately with the weather around you have to see what it does. It looks drier than the R Premadasa Stadium wicket. In Kandy, conditions can change early morning. It helps all the bowlers from the first day onwards. It’s good to bat on. It will be a wicket where it’ll be difficult to bat on in the first hour maybe, but will probably get better.”Hopefully it will be better than R Premadasa, in the sense more bounce and pace, so that batsmen can play shots even on the first day. Other than that, I think, it will help all the bowlers. We are expecting it to break up sooner and help our spinners.”Sangakkara compared the new stadium to the ground in Centurion, South Africa. “I honestly think that this will be the nicest stadium of all when it’s finished. It looks fantastic. The view for the crowd is nice. Once it’s finished it will be nice. When they started it was like Centurion. It’s a long walk and it’s a beautiful ground.”

The head of a Pakistan parliamentary committee on sports has resigned in frustration over the state of affairs in Pakistan cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff14-Nov-2010The head of a Pakistan parliamentary committee on sports has resigned in frustration over the state of affairs in Pakistan cricket. Iqbal Muhammad Ali, who was chief of the National Assembly Standing Committee on Sports, was critical of the government for not taking adequate steps to arrest the current decline.”The state of cricket affairs is before everyone, it is in poor shape and yet nothing is being done to change the tide,” Ali told reporters in Karachi. “I am resigning because the government has not bothered to implement any of the recommendations by this committee for improvement and betterment of sports in the country.”The committee’s previous chairman was Jamshed Dasti, who had repeatedly called for the sacking of the PCB chairman Ijaz Butt in the aftermath of the 2009 attack on Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore, and even suggested that Younis Khan and his team-mates had deliberately underperformed in the Champions Trophy the same year. He was eventually asked to step down by the Supreme Court of Pakistan when it was discovered that the Masters degree he held was, in fact, fake.

According to journalist Pete O’Rourke (via GiveMeSport), Tottenham will be interested in signing Paulo Dybala in the summer if he becomes available.

The Lowdown: Dybala’s failed Spurs move

The Juventus attacker was heavily linked with a move to Tottenham in 2019, with the deal ultimately falling through due to an issue with the player’s image rights, according to a report by The Independent.

Everything was seemingly on track; Spurs were pursuing the forward and Juventus were more than happy to sell him. Even the Argentine wanted the move. Daniel Levy secured the transfer with the Serie A side, agreeing on a £59m fee. However, the 28-year-old’s wage demands far exceeded the £200k-per-week paid to the club’s top earner Harry Kane.

Despite overcoming this barrier, the failure of the transfer came down to image rights. Spurs would have had to reach a financial agreement with the company who owned Dybala’s license, since image rights are not legally recognised by the Premier League. This caused a headache for both clubs and, as a result, they were unable to sort everything out before the transfer deadline.

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The Latest: O’Rourke claims Spurs will be interested in Dybala

Speaking to GiveMeSport, O’Rourke has claimed that Tottenham will be interested in signing Dybala in the summer if the opportunity presents itself.

He was quoted saying: “I think Dybala, long-term target under Pochettino, I’m sure he will definitely be on the list in the summer but I think lots of clubs in Europe will be interested in the playmaker this summer on a free transfer, potentially.”

The Argentina international is out of contract in the summer, so it is expected that a whole host of clubs will be queueing up to secure his signature.

The Verdict: Would be a brilliant signing

Lionel Messi once hailed his Argentina team-mate’s praises, proclaiming that he “is a great player and he has a bright future ahead of him”. With the Juventus star’s creativity and attacking threat, having scored 111 goals in 278 appearances for the Turin club, it is easy to see why Tottenham are interested in him.

With a current market valuation of £45m, Spurs will be getting an incredible deal if they manage to sign Dybala on a free transfer in the summer. However, with such a talented player available for nothing, winning the race for the player’s signature could prove to be a very difficult task for Fabio Paratici and co, especially if they don’t have Champions League football to offer him.

In other news: This Tottenham player has made an admission about his future