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Match Facts

August 24, 2017
Start time 1430 local (0900GMT)

Big Picture

If anything, the first ODI was even more of a pounding than the Tests had been. After Sri Lanka’s batsmen had taken turns torching their own innings in quick succession, India appeared as if they could have doubled Sri Lanka’s score in the fifty overs. Sri Lanka might not even have taken a wicket had Rohit Sharma’s bat not got been lodged in some sticky Dambulla soil. Then, completing the embarrassment, the team’s bus was held up by demonstrators, who demanded that Sri Lanka’s cricket be pruned of politics, and voiced their raucous displeasure at the team. Sri Lanka Cricket has been unpopular in the past, but it’s fair to say now that this particular board’s reputation is in tatters – worse than ever before.

Pandya with the new ball is a great option – Kohli

Virat Kohli believes Hardik Pandya, the new ball bowler, will lend a new dimension to India’s bowling attack as they look to narrow down on options ahead of the 2019 World Cup. Pandya has opened the bowling in six of his 18 ODI appearances so far.
“It’s quite possible, because he has the ability to swing the ball and he can bowl consistently over 135 kmph,” Kohli said. “With the new ball he can get a bit of extra bounce because of his height. We certainly look at it as a great option for us.
“If the teams try going after him, he can pick up a couple of wickets. Also (Jasprit) Bumrah is your strike bowler and he comes in one-change. The teams obviously will be a bit more wary against him so that really gives us good balance in terms of who to use when.”

It is a tour of increasing ease for India, who were always favourites, but would not have expected their success to come quite this easy. Shikhar Dhawan has buffed his stats beautifully in the island, hitting two hundreds in the Tests, and now posting a rapid ton in the first ODI. Virat Kohli might also have moved to triple figures on Sunday had the target been large enough to accommodate it. And Sri Lanka’s batsmen seem all too willing to lose wickets to whoever India throw the ball to.In the first match, they surrendered to the left-arm spin of Axar Patel, and the decidedly part-time stylings of Kedar Jadav. Beyond runs, wickets and rankings points, what are India themselves gaining from the contest? How will feasting on a meek Sri Lanka serve them as they build towards the 2019 World Cup?Sri Lanka have now returned to the site of their worst Test defeat in the island in the recent Test series (and in recent years), and must summon up the resolve to raise all three disciplines of their cricket out of their present shambles. The fielding hasn’t been talked about so much recently because the batting and bowling have been so bad, but with Upul Tharanga’s reprieve of Shikhar Dhawan, they have dropped no fewer than 63 catches (across formats) since the start of the year.Where, usually, when a team is struggling, the senior players might be expected to lead the way with good performances, it is Sri Lanka’s youngsters – Kusal Mendis, Niroshan Dickwella, Danushka Gunathilaka and the like – who seem most capable of lifting Sri Lank out of their pit.

Form guide

Sri Lanka LLLWW(completed matches, most recent first)
India WWLWW

In the spotlight

Nine matches, seven wickets, an average of 61.71 and an economy rate of 5.93. There lie Lasith Malinga‘s returns since his ODI comeback this year. What these numbers don’t tell you is that Malinga has had no fewer than eight catches dropped off his bowling (at least half of them easy chances), but still, he is very reliant on his wiles now, where once he also had the option of blasting batsmen out with raw pace. Given the inexperience of the remaining bowlers, Sri Lanka need Malinga to spark the attack into form. It has often been said that thanks to the IPL, no one has seen more of Malinga than India’s batsmen, but it is also true that Malinga knows those batsmen better than anyone else.While one limited-overs legend wanes, a bowler that has benefited from Malinga’s mentorship aspires to fulfil a similar role for his team. Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t had the best 2017 so far, perhaps, claiming only 11 wickets at 41.81, but took 2 for 22 from 6.2 overs at Dambulla, and the Sri Lanka innings didn’t even get to the death-overs stage, where Bumrah ordinarily prospers. Having had an excellent start to international cricket last year, Bumrah will now hope to lock down a place in the XI for that 2019 campaign. His yorkers are already pinpoint, but a little more menace with the new ball could potentially see him become one of the best ODI bowlers around.

Team news

Sri Lanka have said that changes are on the way, and this generally means the attack is about to be switched up. Akila Dananjaya could replace Lakshan Sandakan on the spin-bowling front. Thisara Perera’s place could also be in question following his modest performance with ball and bat in the previous match. Milinda Siriwardana seems likeliest to replace him, provided Sri Lanka are happy to field three spinners.Sri Lanka (possible): 1 Niroshan Dickwella (wk), 2 Danushka Gunathilaka, 3 Kusal Mendis, 4 Upul Tharanga (capt.), 5 Angelo Mathews, 6 Chamara Kapugedara, 7 Milinda Siriwardanan 8 Wanindu Hasaranga, 9 Akila Dananjaya, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Vishwa FernandoKohli also hinted that India would try a few things in this series, but perhaps they will hope to win it first before any experiments are carried out. Their XI might be very similar to that which played at Dambulla. No one really had a poor game.India (possible): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 KL Rahul, 5 MS Dhoni (wk), 6 Kedar Jadhav, 7 Hardik Pandya, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Yuzvendra Chahal, 10 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

The Pallekele pitch can often be seam-friendly under lights, but that does not mean spinners cannot be very effective there. As ever, with this stadium, there is a chance play will be interrupted by rain.

Stats and trivia

• India have now won 15 of the last 19 ODIs between these two sides. For the year, they have won nine games and lost four.
• In 10 ODIs against Sri Lanka, Shikhar Dhawan has hit 757 runs at an average of 84.11 and a strike rate of 96.67. Among teams he has played more than one match against, Sri Lanka are easily his favourite opponent.
• India, meanwhile, are Lasith Malinga’s least-favourite opponent. He averages 43.88 and has an economy rate of 5.99 against them.
• The match will be Sri Lanka’s 800th ODI.

Quotes

“I havent had a look at the wicket yet. If the wicket is similar to Dambulla I don’t see any reason to change the team just after one game. As I said, it was a near perfect game for us… I wouldn’t say perfect because we came back into the game beautifully and then consolidated it with the bat. We looked really sharp in the field as well. I am very happy with how we went in the first game, and then we will decide after having a look at the wicket.”
“Malinga is a leader in the change room. We don’t look purely at what he can do with the ball, but also look at what he does for the young bowlers, and we have got a young mob of them. Stats may show that he hasn’t performed like the Lasith of three years ago, but what he does add in value is immeasurable. His stats would also look different if we held the catches off his bowling.”

Barisal Bulls won’t be part of the 2017 Bangladesh Premier League season after they were ousted for not meeting the financial terms and conditions set by the BCB

Mohammad Isam09-Aug-2017This year’s Bangladesh Premier League will be without Barisal Bulls after the governing council ousted them for not paying the tournament fees. The tournament will now have seven teams.”At a meeting today, we decided that Barisal Bulls will not be participating in the 2017 BPL,” governing council chairman Afzalur Rahman Sinha said. “They didn’t meet the BPL’s financial terms and conditions.”The Barisal franchise, co-owned by Axiom Technologies and BCB director MA Awwal Chowdhury, finished last in 2016. ESPNcricinfo understands that one of the owners was reluctant to run the team this year due to financial difficulties.Sinha said the Barisal players, including their icon player, were likely to be in the draft next month.

نجح الفريق الأول للكرة بالنادي الأهلي في تسجيل الهدف الثاني أمام نظيره سيمبا التنزاني، ضمن منافسات بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

ويلتقي الأهلي مع سيمبا على أرضية استاد القاهرة الدولي، في إطار دور ربع نهائي بطولة دوري أبطال إفريقيا.

وسجل محمود كهربا هدف الأهلي الثاني في الدقيقة 90+5، من ركلة جزاء تم احتسابها بعد عرقلة حسين الشحات.

طالع أيضاً.. فيديو | بتصويبة صاروخية.. عمرو السولية يُسجل هدف الأهلي الأول أمام سيمبا

وكان الأهلي قد تقدم بالهدف الأول في الدقيقة 48 عن طريق عمرو السولية من تسديدة قوية من داخل منطقة الجزاء، بعد تمهيد رائع للكرة من الفرنسي موديست. هدف الأهلي الثاني أمام سيمبا في دوري أبطال إفريقيا

Ramachandra Guha, one of the four members of the Committee of Administrators, has said the KSCA would insult the awardees if the state body boycotted the BCCI awards on March 8

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Mar-2017Ramachandra Guha, a member of the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators (CoA), has appealed to the KSCA to reconsider its “ill-advised” decision to boycott the annual BCCI awards and the MAK Pataudi Memorial Lecture on Wednesday evening (March 8) in Bengaluru. Guha further said the state body would insult the awardees – present and past – by abstaining from the function.”You have thereby insulted the great cricketers who have won the award this year, including the Karnataka cricketer Shanta Rangaswamy, the first to get the woman’s award,” Guha wrote in an email addressed to KSCA president Sanjay Desai. “You have also insulted the awards themselves, and you have insulted all past awardees, including EAS Prasanna, GR Viswanath, BS Chandrasekhar, Syed Kirmani and all the greats from Karnataka that [KSCA secretary] Sudhakar Rao and you played with.”KSCA member hits back at Guha

The KSCA, in a statement signed by managing committee member Ashok Raghavan, responded to Ramachandra Guha’s comments on the association’s awards boycott, tagging his comments “despicable”. The statement said Guha was taking his job on the Committee of Administrators “far too seriously”, and that the member would continue to make “submissions every time when the [CoA] cross the line of authority either by way of their action or their words”.
“Your above remarks per se are uncalled for, unnecessary, disdainful, disparaging, despicable and condemnable to say the least,” the statement said. “I being the member of the Managing Committee, who has spent considerable time and energy in carrying out my duties… which is strictly honorary in nature, do not deserve such uncharitable remarks. I respectfully submit that I do not need a certificate from you or from anybody else for that matter, about my extent of love for cricket or lust for power as I personally know the hours I have spent in the Association for its betterment and smooth administration.
“… As a person of public repute far larger than me it is expected that you should have been more mature, measured and sensitive in your remarks… From your statements in the press it appears that you are taking your job far too seriously and making comments without even understanding the other point of view.
“… It is needless to state that the Apex Court has found some merit in your good self to bestow you with the onerous responsibility of a Member of the [CoA] and it would only be fitting if you could carry the confidence reposed in you by the Apex Court with maturity and wisdom.”

Guha called the decision to boycott the functions “foolish and petty”, and said it would send a message that the KSCA put its opposition to the reforms ahead of honouring cricketers. “Please do reconsider. Think of the message it will send – that KSCA hates reforms in cricket administration so much that it does not even wish to honour its own great cricketers. Do act like gentlemen and come join in the celebration of cricket and cricketers,” he said in the email accessed by ESPNcricinfo.BCCI CEO Rahul Johri had earlier invited state associations for the fifth Pataudi Lecture, to be delivered by former India wicketkeeper Farokh Engineer, and the board’s annual awards. However, the last paragraph of the invitation – “Kindly note that the committee of administrators is constrained to convey that only those office bearers who are qualified as per the Supreme Court orders are expected to attend the function” – struck a raw nerve with the KSCA.In its reply dated March 3, the KSCA said it would be a “humiliation to the very cricketing fraternity” to accept the invitation with constraints and restrictions. “It may seem very rude or undiplomatic, however, looking at the last paragraph of your invitation, we would like to ascertain that we are also constrained not to acknowledge, thank or even remotely think of attending this function,” the two-page mail, signed by Desai and Rao, said.Desai and Rao had also accused the CoA of treating cricketers and administrators shabbily. “Administrators and Cricketers who have contributed their time and energy and also have sacrificed immensely for the development of game over decades are being treated so shabbily by the Committee of Administrators as though all of them are of doubtful integrity,” their reply had said.Many state associations, who are likely to follow KSCA’s lead and stay away from the awards, have been critical of the CoA “overstepping” its role defined by the Supreme Court. Last week, these associations, barring Vidarbha and Tripura, sent the CoA separate emails saying they would not comply with its directives till they got clarification from the Supreme Court on aspects like eligibility of an office bearer.

كشف عمرو عثمان الطبيب المعالج للاعب نادي فيوتشر أحمد رفعت عن آخر تطورات حالته الصحية.

وفي قال عثمان في تصريحات لقناة “أون تايم سبورتس”: “أحمد رفعت في العناية المركزة، وضع القلب على الأقل يسير في وضع ثابت، لا يوجد انهيار أو تقدم، العناية المركزة أكثر من استشاري يمر، وطبيب العناية هو المسؤول ويتابع حالة اللاعب الصحية”.

وأكمل: “ما هو السبب؟ لا يوجد شيء يسبب فقدان الوعي بشكل مُفاجئ، ما حدث اضطراب في المخ أو القلب لم يوصل الدم للمخ وهذا ما حدث وأدى إلى توقف القلب”.

طالع | رئيس فيوتشر: ما حدث لـ أحمد رفعت معجزة قد تذكر في كتب الطب.. ويعاتب المسؤولين

وزاد: “عندما وصل اللاعب للمستشفى استخدمنا الصعقات الكهربائية، وفي مثل هذه الحالات تكون عندنا مرحلتين، الأولى الطوارئ، وبعد ذلك نُفكر في الأسباب حتى لا يتكرر الأمر، لكن هذا ليس هدفنا الآن، المهم أن الحالة تستقر”.

وأضاف عن حالة لاعب فيوتشر: “القلب لم يكن ينقبض وينبسط، وهذا نوع من أنواع توقف عضلة القلب، كان يعمل بسرعة كبيرة جدًًا ولا يوصل الدم للمخ”.

وواصل: “إذا كان هناك جهاز صدمات كهربائية في الملعب كان الأمر سيفرق؟ الجهاز يجب أن يكون مشحونًا، واللاعب دخل المستشفى في سيارة الإسعاف وكان على صدره الجهاز، إذًا الجهاز كان موجودًا، لكن كيف تم التعامل به هذا لا أجزم به، ولكن نحتسب أنه تم التعامل معه بشكل جيد”.

وأتم: “هل اللاعب بدأ في التعافي؟ الوضع مستقر، لكن القلب لا يوصل الدم بشكل كافي، ونحن مضطرين لوضع منشطات لتعمل الخلايا بشكل أفضل”.

وعن تأثر بعض أجهزة اللاعب داخل الجسم بما حدث، قال: “التأثرات بشكلين، شكل ظاهري وآخر عن طريق الفحوصات، حتى أمس كل الأمور تقول إن هناك تحسن، فيما عدا الكلى، وبدأنا غسيل تنشيطي لها”.

واختتم: “هل لا يُفضل عدم اللعب في أول يوم رمضان؟ كلنا قد نتعرض لمجهود بدني، لكن أجسامنا ليست واحدة في استقبال الجهد، ولو هذا الموعد به نسبة واحد في الألف خطر، لماذا لا نؤجل اللعب أول يوم، لأن هناك أجسام تتقبل وأخرى لا، وطالما هناك احتمالات خطورة، فالأفضل أن نتدارك ذلك”.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsMahmudullah’s 44 off 26 balls set up a respectable total for Khulna Titans•Raton Gomes/BCB

Khulna Titans climbed to the top of the BPL points table after a 22-run win over Barisal Bulls. As was the case in their four previous wins, it was their bowlers who made their moderate total look very competitive.Shafiul Islam led the five-man bowling attack to defend their 151 runs comfortably. The paceman took four wickets while Junaid Khan and Mosharraf Hossain took two each as Barisal capitulated for 129 in 19.3 overs.Barisal’s chase was always going to be interesting as they had a batting line-up to compete with Khulna’s discipline. Jeevan Mendis, promoted to open the innings, struck four fours on his way to 21 before falling to Shafiul in the fourth over. His opening partner Fazle Mahmud was earlier trapped lbw for a duck in the second over.After Shamsur Rahman was caught at long-on cheaply, Barisal’s main batsmen Shahriar Nafees and Mushfiqur Rahim added 43 runs for the fourth wicket. Nafees batted at a slower pace, hitting two fours in his 28 off 35 balls. Mushfiqur held the chase together till the 16th over before he top-edged a pull after making 35 off 23 balls with four fours. Thisara Perera’s failure with the bat made it harder for Barisal who folded in the last four overs of their chase.After they had decided to bowl, Barisal were given early breakthroughs by Taijul Islam who struck twice in the fifth over to remove the Khulna openers Hasanuzzaman and Andre Fletcher. Both batsmen holed out to Abu Hider at long-on.Mahmudullah ensured that they recovered from an ordinary Powerplay, adding 53 for the third wicket with Riki Wessels. He slammed three sixes through long-on and two fours in his 26-ball 44, before becoming Taijul’s third victim, caught at point. Next ball, Shuvagata Hom was run-out after a mix-up with Wessels with both batsmen ending at the non-striker’s end.Wessels, who had contributed just five runs to the third-wicket stand, found a higher gear as he struck four fours and a six over long-on in his 29-ball 40. Like Mahmudullah, Wessels’ wicket also hurt Khulna, who added 39 runs in the last five overs.

Sergio Aguero’s son, Benjamin, has trolled Paris Saint-Germain after the French side announced that Lionel Messi would be leaving.

Why was Messi booed at PSG?

Over the weekend, PSG officially confirmed that the World Cup winner would be leaving France this summer after two seasons with the club.

In a statement, Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “I would like to thank Leo Messi for his two seasons in Paris. To see a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner in the Rouge & Bleu and at Parc des Princes, winning back-to-back Ligue 1 titles and inspiring our younger players has been a pleasure.

“His contribution to Paris Saint-Germain and Ligue 1 cannot be understated and we wish Leo and his family all the best for the future.”

In response, Messi said: “I would like to thank the club, the city of Paris and its people for these two years. I wish you all the best for the future.”

The 35-year-old departs having scored 32 goals and provided 35 assists in 75 games, but wasn’t ever truly adored by the PSG support.

For instance, he was even booed during his final appearance, with fans unhappy that he couldn’t help bring the Champions League to Paris, as well as his recent unauthorised trip to Saudi Arabia.

Well, it seems his godson, is still more than happy to defend Messi against any criticism. Indeed, after PSG posted a farewell message on Instagram, Benjamin Aguero replied to the message, simply writing: “He was too big for you.”

A screenshot was then circulated on social media by Barca Universal and fans quickly flocked to the post to offer their own thoughts on the matter.

Indeed, it seems many supporters were in agreement with Ageuro Junior’s brutal assessment of PSG. Here are some of the best reactions on Twitter.

People seemed pretty delighted to see Aguero’s son showing loyalty to the former Barcelona star.

While some suggested Kun Aguero was actually behind the post.

The ICC has refused to get involved in the BCCI’s tussle with the Lodha Committee, ICC chief executive David Richardson has indicated

ESPNcricinfo staff12-Sep-2016

The ICC has refused to get involved in the BCCI’s tussle with the Lodha Committee, ICC chief executive David Richardson has indicated.Richardson told that BCCI president Anurag Thakur had asked the global governing body to address a letter to the Indian board, asking it to clarify whether the reforms of the Lodha Committee – forced on the board by the Supreme Court of India – did not amount to government interference in the board’s running. As per ICC regulations, member boards cannot have government interference in their running.ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, Richardson said, was reluctant to get involved in the matter unless “formally” requested to.”The BCCI president Mr Thakur did verbally ask the ICC to write a letter to the BCCI asking the BCCI to explain whether the recommendations of Lodha Committee might constitute government interference,” Richardson said, according to PTI. “But Mr Manohar said that the ICC should not write such a letter unless the BCCI first writes to the ICC requesting ICC to intervene, or ICC receives a letter from another of its member boards to do so. But no such letters have been received.”So I understand that Mr Manohar is reluctant to interfere in the domestic affairs of a member country. He will not do so without being formally requested to do so by the member concerned and nor is he prepared to put the ICC in a position where it could be perceived as challenging the authority of the Supreme Court of India.”Don’t forget… the consequences of the government interference could lead to the suspension of a member board and nobody really wants the BCCI to be suspended.”Richardson said Thakur was not happy with the ICC’s refusal to write the letter. “There were other board members present when that request was made by Mr Thakur,” he said. “As far as I [could] see, Mr Thakur actually criticised the ICC for not sending the letter.”BCCI secretary Ajay Shirke responded to Richardson saying: “First of all, any verbal discussion is not a request. Informal discussions take place on so many issues.”Shirke added that it had been Manohar’s call, when he was still the BCCI president and the board had submitted its affidavit to the Supreme Court after the Lodha recommendations, to highlight the threat of suspension.”When these affidavits were made, it was Shashank who approved them as BCCI president and lawyer. He was the one who said, ‘we should include this point’,” Shirke told the . “He was already heading the ICC and was holding both portfolios at that time. Now, either he has conveniently forgotten about this or this Richardson has been tutored to say what he’s saying,”Earlier, Thakur said at a press conference that the ICC had stepped in when there were administrative issues with other member boards, but it was ignoring what was happening with the BCCI. “Here there is an outside interference,” Thakur said. “ICC takes a decision on Nepal, Sri Lanka on the basis of outside interference, [but] they are keeping mum here when BCCI is concerned.”In July, India’s Supreme Court accepted a majority of the recommendations put forward by the Lodha Committee covering wide-ranging aspects of Indian cricket at the central and state level, and gave the BCCI a maximum of six months to implement the reforms. The Lodha Committee, comprising former Chief Justice of India RM Lodha and retired Supreme Court judges, Ashok Bhan and R Raveendran was formed by the court in January 2015 to determine appropriate punishments for the franchises involved in the 2013 IPL corruption scandal, and propose changes to the BCCI’s functioning.Last week, Thakur had said the “ICC regime” was trying to “sideline the BCCI, one of the most important stakeholders in global cricket today”.Manohar, meanwhile, had said he was concerned with the interests of the ICC and world cricket, not the BCCI. Manohar had seemed to take a similar tone when, soon after taking charge of the ICC in November 2015, he said he wanted to stop the “bullying” caused by the constitutional revamp of 2014 – the “Big Three” episode, which left the BCCI, the ECB and Cricket Australia better off than other member boards financially and in terms of administrative powers.

Tom Abell gave a reminder of his immense promise as Somerset responded positively to Hampshire’s first innings score of 338 on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Taunton

ECB Reporters Network24-Aug-2016
ScorecardTom Abell anchored Somerset’s reply to Hampshire’s 388•Getty ImagesTom Abell gave a reminder of his immense promise as Somerset responded positively to Hampshire’s first innings score of 338 on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Taunton.The 22-year-old opener, who has not enjoyed the best of seasons in four-day cricket, hit 79, off 132 balls with 11 fours, sharing an opening stand of 87 with Marcus Trescothick, who made 36, as the hosts closed on 257 for 5.Peter Trego contributed 42, James Hildreth 40 and Jim Allenby 37 not out, but none of the home batsmen were able to push on to the big score needed to establish control of the game.Earlier, Jack Leach had finished with 6 for 108 as Hampshire added 57 to their overnight score of 281 for 6, David Wainwright making a valuable 35 not out. The left-arm spinner now has 43 first class wickets to his name this season.The ball turned from ball one of the day, but more for the Somerset spinners, whose counterparts were unable to settle on the right pace to exploit the pitch to the full.From an overnight 281 for 6, the visitors slipped to 303 for 9 before a valuable last-wicket stand of 35 between Brad Wheal and David Wainwright, who contributed 35 not out with the ball deviating considerably for Leach and fellow left-arm spinner Roelof van der Merwe.Leach sent back Lewis McManus, Mason Crane and Wheal. But Hampshire could feel satisfied with their efforts as both sides collected three bonus points from the innings.Somerset were left with nine overs to bat before lunch and reached the interval on 40 without loss, Trescothick and Abell surviving comfortably against six overs of seam and three of spin.Trescothick looked in little bother until trying to hit Wainwright over the top and falling to a catch at long-on. His disappointment was matched by that of Chris Rogers, who had made only 11 when giving legspinner Mason Crane the charge and offering a leg-side stumping to McManus.

An update has emerged on Newcastle United and their plans to bolster their academy side in the upcoming summer transfer window…

What's the latest on Kian Breckin to Newcastle?

According to the Daily Mail, the Magpies could provide Leeds United with competition in the race to sign young Manchester City central midfielder Kian Breckin.

The report claims that the 19-year-old talent has emerged as a target for the two Premier League clubs, who are eyeing up the gem as a summer signing, and that City could cash in on him for the right offer.

However, it remains to be seen how much the reigning champions would demand for their academy starlet as he still has four years left to run on his current contract.

Who is Kian Breckin?

The City youngster is a 'highly regarded' number eight who has the potential to develop into an excellent box-to-box midfielder for Eddie Howe, much like current Newcastle star Bruno Guimaraes.

Since arriving from Ligue 1 side Lyon in January of last year, the Brazil international has excelled in the Premier League.

He scored five goals and created three 'big chances' in 11 top-flight starts in 2021/22 and has found the back of the net three times and provided two 'big chances' in 29 starts in the current campaign to date.

The Brazil international has also averaged 3.3 tackles and interceptions per game in the division this term and these statistics show that Guimaraes has the quality to make an impact at both ends of the pitch, by chipping in with goal contributions and winning the ball back on a regular basis.

Meanwhile, Breckin – who was once dubbed "one to watch" by journalist Aadam Patel – has the potential to eventually replicate that standard of performance in the Premier League based on his form at youth level.

The teenager has scored eight goals and provided four assists in 31 U21 matches for the Cityzens and his goalscoring prowess from a central midfield position is akin to what Guimaraes has produced in a Magpies shirt over the last 18 months.

In the Football League Trophy this season, the teen gem displayed his defensive quality as he made 4.3 tackles and interceptions per game across three appearances and this shows that the Englishman can disrupt the opposition's play by making vital interventions.

There is no guarantee that the Manchester City starlet will be able to translate this form over to the first team but Newcastle signed Guimaraes for £40m and Breckin's defensive and offensive output at U21 level indicates that he has the potential to reach the Brazilian's numbers, and potentially outdo them, in the long run.

Therefore, signing the young prospect is a gamble worth taking as Howe could secure the eventual heir to his current no.39's throne.