He talks about his mindset, his equation with Tim Paine, how fatherhood has changed him, and how he has evolved over time

Daniel Brettig28-Jul-2019It’s more than six years and six months since Matthew Wade made the most recent of his two Test centuries, a high class counter-attack from No. 6 at the SCG against Sri Lanka in January 2013.That hundred, and his other three figure score against West Indies in Dominica the previous year, have stayed in the memories of many who witnessed them, and always left open the question as to whether or not Wade might be worth his place as a specialist batsman.But Wade is nothing if not stubborn, and it took most of the intervening period for him to reach the point where he realised that his batting talent, leavened with some technical and tactical work to make it suit all conditions, was the thing that would bring him back into the international fold. Wade’s wicketkeeping, while always improving, has never had the polish of a natural; his yapping, aggressive mien on the field was useful to Australia in the maelstrom summer of 2016-17, but only in a transient, expendable way.If there was a reluctance to a change of tack, to focusing purely on batting as the means by which Wade would flourish, there were also life changes that brought maturity and perspective. Moving home to Tasmania and playing in more difficult home ground conditions at Bellerive Oval in Hobart, taking on the state captaincy, passing the age of 30, and marriage and then fatherhood with his wife Julie. All were mixed into the bargain, allied to some key help from the state’s batting coach, Jeff Vaughan.”I just reached a place where I probably sat down and worked out why I wanted to play cricket and what I was actually doing it for,” Wade said. “The thing that kept coming back to me is I wanted to be the best player that I could possibly be and get the most out of my talent. Moving from Melbourne to Tassie has definitely made me a better batter. To be able to bat at Bellerive is certainly a challenge and if I had’ve kept batting the way I was batting at the MCG I certainly wouldn’t have been making any runs on that wicket.”It’s obviously a bowler-friendly wicket at times in Bellerive and you have to find a way to score runs. I could hit the ball really nicely when I played at Victoria and we played at the MCG which everyone’s seen is a flat wicket and that’s probably been the big difference that I really had to look internally and work out how I was going to go about making runs. Doing a heap of work with Jeff Vaughan to do that and I feel like I play the ball a heap later than what I did two years ago, I probably chased the ball out in front, now I let the ball come to me and let the ball do the work.”Playing with the Dukes ball as well in Australia has probably helped that as well, it swings a lot more. So they’re probably the big changes I’ve made. When you look at yourself as a specialist batter I think it certainly changes the way you go about training and what you’re trying to achieve out on the ground.”Vaughan, who has also enjoyed fruitful mentoring relationships with the likes of Travis Head and Tim Paine, mastered the art of communicating with Wade in ways that were something other than prescriptive. Building a relationship and working through improvements together, Vaughan and Wade were able to fashion a more rounded game for a batsman who had, on ability and toughness alone, first played Test cricket in 2012.”He’s class, he’s one of the best that I’ve ever worked with,” Wade said. “When I’m talking about Jeff Vaughan it’s probably the ability to let players make their own mistakes is what first comes to mind. A lot of coaches can push you in the direction they think is best for you. He has an amazing ability to be able to back the way you want to play and let you go out and play like that, and if you have challenges, he can help you get over them, but he doesn’t push you in a certain direction.Getty Images”He backs you as a player more than a lot of coaches I’ve ever had and I think that gives you confidence when you walk to the middle, if you’ve got any doubt at all then you’re a big, big chance to fail. He just has the ability to put confidence in players and I think you’ve seen probably more the work he’s done with our younger players has been extraordinary. Guys like [Jordan] Silk weren’t playing two years ago, now they’re in the top three or four players in the country. I can’t speak highly enough of him.”Something as fundamental as Wade’s bat has changed too, reflecting his search for a better balance between orthodoxy and his own percussive power game. “I’ve moved to that a couple of years ago,” he said. “Joe Root went from GM to New Balance, he used short blade, long handle. I saw a couple of his bats, trialed them, liked them, went from there.”It wasn’t a real big thing for me, it just felt comfortable in my hand. They have got shorter and shorter as things have gone on. My T20 and one-day bat is short. It just feels comfortable for me. I feel like I can swing it better in T20 for sure, it’s a shorter, more compact blade, and long handle, it just suits the way I can go out and swing it. It was when I was over here playing for Birmingham. Sam Hain was in that team, he had one. I had started chopping my blade down before I came over here, then I saw those, liked the look of them and went from there.”At the same time, other relationships have evolved, not least Wade’s with Paine. The pair have known each other since schooldays, but in a universe where their specific spot has only ever been available to one player in any particular team, the cross currents had Wade moving to Victoria then, when he returned to Tasmania, momentarily displacing Paine in the state team. When the national selectors saw things differently and handed Paine the Test gloves, Wade took this information as part of a move towards more of a batting focus and, by extension, a less competitive association with Paine, now captain.”There’s been crossover for years, I suppose,” Wade said. “Tim was a couple years older than me when I was in Tassie and I suppose I look at it in a completely different light than what I did two years ago, I don’t see myself solely as a wicketkeeper anymore and I don’t feel like I’m pushing for that spot too much anymore. I think Kez [Alex Carey] is going to be the next wicketkeeper for Australia, I think everyone knows that, it’s just a matter of time for that to happen.”I probably see myself as a specialist batter a lot more now and it’s just a luxury that I’ve played 20 Tests and a lot of one-dayers as a keeper that if something happens to Tim on the morning of a Test then I can stand in and keep. I’ve got no issues there, I did half the Shield year when Tim wasn’t there and I played as a batter the other half. I probably look at it in a different light between me and Tim now. We’re team-mates, we get along well and it’s enjoyable to play cricket with him.”These evolutionary changes all added up to Wade building a run of run-making that have, in recent weeks, earned him the sobriquet “Don” for its sheer prolific number. He was the dominant cricketer in both the Sheffield Shield and the Big Bash League last year, carrying that on for Australia A ahead of the Ashes. But the fact he was in England at all had a lot to do with Julie, who encouraged him to make himself available despite a looming birth.”I certainly wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my wife throwing me on the plane to be honest,” Wade said. “I was probably going to pass on the Australia A tour because we were going to have the baby and I rang Julie during the Shield game and basically told her I was a chance to get picked in that Australia A tour and she told me to go. So all credit to her to be honest, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I felt like I’d put a lot of runs on the board already, that if that wasn’t enough I was comfortable with that. Family comes first for me obviously and all of the cricketers here.Robert Cianflone/Getty Images”It was a sticky situation, I probably didn’t think I’d get picked in the Australia A tour, I thought they probably knew what I could deliver and they’d seen enough of me, so when that came up it was a little bit from left field, but we sorted through it and went to Melbourne and had little Goldie and jumped on a plane four days later and here I am. Julie has been amazing. She’s coming over during partner period during the second Test, she’ll fly over with the girls. It will be good to see them.”I think every player that has had kids will say it certainly chills you out and gives you a great perspective of life. The ability to come over and do what I am doing, I understand how grateful I am. I could be at home doing the dad thing day in and day out, Julie has given me the opportunity to come over. Game day is a breeze compared to looking after two kids, I would have thought.”But beyond all the change, education and improvement Wade has made over the past few years, there is one thing that will not alter, even if he is not wearing the gloves – his vocal nature. In this, if nothing else, Wade may be the only Austrlaian who gives out more than he gets back from the Edgbaston crowd come Thursday’s first Test. “I try and keep it as lighthearted as I can. A bit of banter with as many blokes as I can. I try and give Heady a bit of grief,” he said.”It’s an intimidating environment to play so you have to create your own environment on the ground. I feel like I can throw a bit of banter out, and Tim is good at that as well. Then you are more worried about what’s going on between the 11 guys out there rather than the whole external pressure. This game here, there was a lot of tension for guys to get spots. It was trying to create the best team environment you could, and the Hick XII managed to do that a lot better than the Haddin XII.”There are lot of intimidating grounds, and Edgbaston is one of them. If you get stuck on that side you can get heckled for the whole day. I try and steer clear of there. It’s a great venue. The wicket can be one of two. A lot of the time it does seam and swing, then it can take spin towards the back-end of the game. You have to be prepared for both. I am excited, it’s the first time in a long time I have been genuinely excited to be rocking up and playing, and to be around an Ashes series, it has been a long time between Tests for me and sometimes you can get in the grind of playing international cricket and I was probably in that for a long period of time. I’ve been away for a long time and I am excited to get back in.”

Earlier, his bat used to point to first slip at the point of the bowler’s delivery. Now it’s over middle and off stump, but there’s been teething issues

Karthik Krishnaswamy02-Sep-2019Was that a defensive shot, or was it a leave? If you watched KL Rahul scratch his way to 6 off 63 balls on Sunday, the question would have popped into your head on several occasions.It usually happened when West Indies’ fast bowlers hit the short-of-good-length area in the corridor outside off stump. Rahul would push his bat at the ball, and then, having made contact, withdraw it hastily, as if he’d just touched a blazing skillet.He’d been out playing the same sort of half-shot in the first innings, getting squared up by a ball from Jason Holder, nicking to first slip, and then pulling his bat away futilely with an elaborate flourish.Batsmen often shadow-practise the shot they have played after they are beaten or dismissed; with Rahul, the shadow-practice seems to begin as soon as he’s made his mistake, as if to say, “wait, I’ve taken that shot back!”His dismissal on Sunday was a little different, off a front-foot defensive shot to a delivery from Kemar Roach that left him late in the corridor. But again, his bat, having felt for the ball, shrunk back guiltily after edging it.Rahul didn’t look like he was simply watching the ball and reacting to it. He seemed preoccupied with thoughts of where his feet were, where his head was, and how his bat was coming down.The uncertainty was understandable. Since the start of 2018, Rahul has averaged 22.23 across 15 Test matches, scoring one hundred, against England at The Oval, and one fifty, against Afghanistan in Bengaluru. His career average, which stood at 44.62 before this lean run, has now slumped to 34.58.In that time, he’s made a few technical adjustments, possibly prompted by a run of nine straight innings – in England, and against West Indies at home – in which he was either bowled or lbw.The most visible change is in the pick-up of his bat. In 2017, and through most of 2018, Rahul’s bat used to point to first slip at the point when the bowler let fly. During the Australia tour at the turn of the year, his pick-up became a little straighter, with his bat pointing over the top of off stump, perhaps to ensure that he didn’t leave too big a gap between bat and pad. The change didn’t bring him any immediate reward – he only managed one double-digit score in five innings.

KL Rahul has changed the way he picks up his bat, and the extent of his trigger movement. It hasn't changed his Test-match fortunes, just yet. pic.twitter.com/49CMISIIKS

— Karthik Krishnaswamy (@the_kk) September 1, 2019

On the West Indies tour, he’s been holding his bat up even straighter, over the top of middle and leg stumps, and his back-foot trigger movement isn’t taking him as far across his stumps as it used to.His indecision in the middle suggests that he’s still getting used to his new technique. It can’t be easy to be playing international cricket with a set-up you aren’t fully comfortable with, but that’s the way of the modern game – particularly if you’re an India player – with no off-season and hardly any gaps between series to fine-tune your game.India might have given him a break here if their other first-choice opener had been available, but Prithvi Shaw’s suspension has almost forced them to pick Rahul. And with the ability he has, he isn’t an easy batsman to leave out in the first place.Rahul’s struggle is hard to watch, and it must be even harder to experience. But hidden somewhere amid all the indecision is a top-class batsman who not too long ago made ten 50-plus scores in the span of 14 Test innings. India will hope Rahul can rediscover that batsman sooner rather than later.

The India opener has made seven hundreds in a year, which is only two shy of Tendulkar’s all-time record

Bharath Seervi18-Dec-20197 – Number of ODI centuries for Rohit Sharma in 2019. Only once has any batsman made more in a calendar year. Sachin Tendulkar had scored nine centuries in 1998 which is the record. Overall, this is Rohit’s 10th hundred across the formats – including his three Test centuries -, which is also the most among all batsmen this year.2 – Number of hat tricks for Kuldeep Yadav in ODIs. He has become the first bowler from India to take two hat tricks in ODIs and in fact the first to take multiple hat tricks in international matches. Before this match, he had taken his first hat trick against Australia at Eden Gardens in 2017. Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Chaminda Vaas and Trent Boult are the others to have taken two hat-tricks whereas Lasith Malinga has taken three hat tricks.Super Six: the men who got hattricks twice•Getty Images159 – Rohit’s score, which is now the highest among India batsmen this year. He has made the highest individual score for India in each of the last seven calendar years, beginning from 2013.227 – The partnership between Rohit and KL Rahul – India’s fourth-highest for the first wicket. The stand lasted 222 balls, which is India’s third-longest stand in terms of balls played.387/5 – The Indian team’s total at Visakhapatnam, which is their ninth-biggest in ODIs and the second-biggest against West Indies.ESPNcricinfo Ltd31 – Number of runs that were scored in the 47th over from Roston Chase, which is now the most productive over in India’s ODI history. Shreyas Iyer scored 28 of those runs, which are also the most by an India batsman in a single over. The previous most productive over for India was of 28 runs against New Zealand at Hyderabad in 1999 in which Tendulkar scored most of the runs.6 – Number of fifties for Iyer in his short ODI career – he has played only nine innings so far. His quickfire 53 in this game was his fourth consecutive fifty in ODIs. He has made 469 runs in nine innings at average of 52.11 and strike rate of 104.92.1 – The Visakhapatnam ODI produced the first ever instance of both captains getting out for first-ball ducks in the same match. Both Virat Kohli and Kieron Pollard were out for golden ducks in this ODI. Overall, this is the 12th instance of both captains getting out for ducks.

Pakistan have traditionally had the wood over Lyon, but his record at the Gabba is impressive

Daniel Brettig16-Nov-2019If Nathan Lyon knows what it is like to bowl to a batsman “I’ve got the wood over”, then he will also know that of all Test nations, Pakistan is the one to have developed a very strong record of succeeding against him.In an otherwise outstanding ledger for Australia over 91 Tests dating back to 2011, Lyon has struggled notably against Pakistan across seven Tests and three series between 2014 and 2018. His 26 wickets have come at a cost of 50.34, the greatest expense of any of Lyon’s international opponents, and his economy rate and strike rates of 3.31 and 91.1 against Pakistan are also his worst.There is some mitigation in the fact that Lyon was monstered in his first series against Pakistan, in the UAE in 2014 and improved in two subsequent series at home and away since. But the fact remains that he is yet to claim a five-wicket haul against Pakistan and New Zealand, the two opponents he will face this summer – albeit within a much stronger overall record against New Zealand.A key to Pakistan’s success against Lyon has been to look for scoring avenues at every opportunity, not giving him too much of a chance to settle. Occasionally, as on the final day of the Boxing Day Test in 2016 when Lyon claimed 3 for 33 to break out of a rough wicket-taking patch, this instinct to attack has played into the offspinner’s favour. But more often, Pakistan’s batsmen have been able to prosper while also putting Lyon off-balance.The tourists’ treatment of admittedly lesser spin bowlers in Travis Head, Lloyd Pope and Tom O’Connell – the trio have collected the combined figures of 6 for 317 from 63.5 overs at an economy rate of 4.99 across the two tour matches – is a fair indication that Lyon will be attacked once more.And in what is again likely to be a four-man bowling attack during the summer, as Lyon shares billing with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and one of Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Michael Neser and Jhye Richardson, the need for Australia’s No. 1 spin bowler to be able to put a clamp on the scoring when he is not taking wickets will be critical.Lyon was asked on Saturday about dealing with adversity through the prism of David Warner’s struggles in England, and gave an answer that was revealing as much in terms of how he may view the looming contest against Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq and company as how he reflected on his state and Test match team-mate.”When you’re competing against some of the best players in the world, and I know when I’m bowling to someone who I’ve got the wood over, it can play on their mind, so no doubt Davey would have felt the pressure,” Lyon said. “But it’s one of those things where you need to accept the challenge, move on and try to get better. Davey’s a world-class player, I know that, you know that, I’m expecting him to come out here and play exceptionally well.”No doubt he’d be down about the Ashes he had, but still part of the side to go over there and retain the Ashes, which is pretty bloody special if you ask me. From our experiences over in England it’s been absolutely incredible. To gel as we have over there, the summer over there, our winter here, it’s been absolutely exceptional. The squad’s pretty well the same squad, those guys have been performing extremely well over there and to be part of it and retain the Ashes.”Would’ve been great to win it obviously, unfortunately weren’t able to do that, but we take a lot of momentum from that experience over there, it’s that hard to win away from home, so it’s crucial we come here and prepare the way we need to prepare before the first Test match and if we bat or bowl morning of day one, that we go in 100% and we keep the foot on where we took it off.”Nathan Lyon looks dejected ater fumbling the ball and missing a chance to run out Jack Leach•Getty ImagesUndoubtedly Lyon will benefit from different climes in which to bowl, having been hounded through the latter part of the Ashes series with taunting related to the feverish conclusion of the Headingley Test. But the greatest source of encouragement for Lyon is bound to come from the chance to bowl on the Gabba, a surface where he has excelled a good deal while scooping 33 victims at 27.69 over eight matches.”We tend to play an extremely exciting brand of cricket here at the Gabba, so I’m very happy, it’s one of my favourite places to play, it’s great that we’ve got the first Test here, fingers crossed it’s a decent crowd that rolls out for us,” Lyon said. “The wicket, I reckon it’s a good contest between bat and ball, personally I find I get a fair amount of bounce and a bit of spin over the last couple of years as well.”I love playing cricket here, for the last nine years I’ve been playing Test cricket here, everyone’s been talking about playing four quicks every time, so it’s all part of it and I’m not really concerned what Pakistan do to be honest, it’s about us as the Australian cricket team, making sure we’re preparing the absolute house down and making sure we’re doing everything in our control to make sure we’re right to go.”Even then, though, Lyon’s one meeting with Pakistan in Brisbane returned the match figures of 2 for 139 as Shafiq took the visitors far closer to their fourth innings target than any Australia would have preferred. The wood, at this stage, is very much with Pakistan.

He knows his game, exactly what he can do, Phil Simmons says of his premier white-ball pace weapon

Deivarayan Muthu17-Dec-2019Sheldon Cottrell is one of the smartest short-format bowlers going around at the moment, but when he started out, he was a mean left-arm tearaway, who harried batsmen with pace and bounce. Cottrell had bolted into West Indies’ T20 World Cup squad in 2014 because of those skills. Playing for the now-defunct Antigua Hawksbills against Barbados Tridents in the 2013 CPL, Cottrell had bounced out Dwayne Smith, Jonathan Carter and Shakib Al Hasan, making the Caribbean cricket community sit up and take notice.Injuries then interrupted his career and drained his pace, but Cottrell has now learned to make up for it with his guiles. It was on bright display in the ODI series opener against India at Chepauk on Sunday.ALSO READ: Is the IPL ready for Cottrell’s salute?The pitch had been relaid in Chennai, but it was still very sluggish. When Keemo Paul dug in a bouncer in the 16th over, Rohit Sharma was sitting on the back foot, waiting to switch on his pull playlist. However, the bouncer simply dawdled into Rohit’s body off the pitch and he could only flap it away to the leg side.Rohit – and India’s top order – was caught by surprise, but Cottrell wasn’t. He sussed out the conditions and the pitch so early that he bowled offcutters, legcutters and slower bouncers with the new ball.In the T20I series opener in Hyderabad, Cottrell showed he could still crank up his speeds to the higher 135kph range. But it just wasn’t needed on this Chepauk track.After starting off with two successive maidens, Cottrell shortened his length and got one to cut away from KL Rahul. The in-form opener was cramped for room and beaten by the lack of pace, splicing a leading-edge to midwicket. Boom! Out came the trademark salute.

I think he’s been brilliant for the West Indies in both formats of white-ball cricket. He was brilliant with St Kitts [and Nevis Patriots], whom I was with three years ago. He knows his game, exactly what he can doPhil Simmons on Sheldon Cottrell

Virat Kohli then got cracking with a drilled drive down the ground for four. Kieron Pollard moved his slip to short mid-off, daring Kohli to run the ball down to third man. However, Kohli didn’t have enough room or pace to do that. Cottrell floated a 124.9kph cutter and had the India captain chopping on for 4 in the same over. The salute again.After completing the double-wicket over, Cottrell was whisked away to the long-off boundary. And out came the salute again, this time from the Chennai crowd, along with chants of “Shellll-don Cottrell! Shellll-don Cottrell!” His first spell read: 5-3-12-2.Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer lifted India, but Cottrell came back and pinned the hosts down, again, with his cutters as well as yorkers. With the cutters, Cottrell has also created the illusion of swing and has made incisions with the ball going straight on, something that Zaheer Khan had mastered after injuries had cut down his pace.The straight ball has accounted for three of his five wickets in the limited-overs series in India. And in the 2019 World Cup earlier this year in England and Wales, it had accounted for seven of his 12 wickets, with the other tricks in his bag setting up the breakthroughs.Sheldon Cottrell is a livewire, with ball in hand or prowling the field•BCCI”I think he’s been brilliant for the West Indies in both formats of white-ball cricket,” West Indies coach Phil Simmons said on the eve of the T20I series decider in Mumbai. “He was brilliant with St Kitts [and Nevis Patriots], whom I was with three years ago. He knows his game, exactly what he can do.”Eoin Morgan had said pretty much the same thing when England toured the Caribbean at the start of 2019. “[He poses] a different challenge – swinging the ball both ways, and he comes back with variations with the older ball.” Cottrell even posted on his blog that he “really enjoyed” the praise from Morgan.Mind you, Cottrell wasn’t even supposed to be part of that ODI series against England. Paul was injured, as was Rovman Powell, so the West Indies selectors recalled the left-arm seamer.Cottrell marked his return with 5 for 46 in Bridgetown, helping West Indies defend 289 against a power-packed England line-up. After that, Cottrell made a splash in the World Cup, emerging as West Indies’ highest wicket-taker, with 12 wickets in nine games at an economy rate of 5.85.Cottrell’s international future was uncertain at the start of 2019, but he has turned it around, becoming the leader of the West Indies’ white-ball pace pack. How about securing the ODI series against India and bagging a maiden IPL contract to close out a bumper year now?

Arsenal are now ready to pay the £51m release clause for a “world-class” player, who is also of interest to Real Madrid, according to a report.

Gunners title hopes bleak despite Fulham victory

Fulham secured a surprise 3-2 victory against Liverpool yesterday afternoon, which means the Gunners remain 11 points behind the Reds in the Premier League table, but with just seven games left to play, their title hopes are looking very bleak.

Mikel Arteta still has an opportunity to make the 2024-25 campaign a memorable one, however, with his side still fighting in the Champions League, although their route to Munich will not be easy, as they are set to take on Real Madrid in the quarter-final.

The north Londoners will have to take on the reigning champions without an out-and-out striker, with Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus still sidelined, which will make the daunting task even more difficult.

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Squad depth has been an issue for Arteta this season, and the manager is keen to bolster his options in the summer transfer window, with a new central midfielder of interest.

According to a report from Caught Offside, Arsenal are now ready to meet the €60m (£51m) release clause in Martin Zubimendi’s Real Sociedad contract, having wanted to sign the midfielder for quite some time.

The Gunners are looking to finalise the deal for Zubimendi, who is Arteta’s primary target in central midfield, but Real Madrid also retain an interest, and the Spanish side could provide competition for his signature, alongside Atlético Madrid and Manchester City.

An agreement has already been reached on personal terms, indicating the Spaniard is keen on a move to the Emirates Stadium, but his head could still be turned by one of the rival suitors.

Gunners must win race for "world-class" Zubimendi

The 26-year-old has been one of Sociedad’s best performers in La Liga this season, averaging a WhoScored match rating of 6.89, the second-highest figure in the squad, and he has received high praise from members of the media.

Ben Mattinson lauded the Spain international for a “top performance” against Real Madrid last week, claiming he could relieve the burden of creating chances that is currently on Martin Odegaard, while he has also proven himself to be solid defensively.

Journalist Alexandra Jonson believes there is “no doubt” the Sociedad star is “world-class”, indicating he could take Arsenal’s midfield to the next level, with Arteta in need of at least one new player, given that Jorginho is in talks over a move elsewhere.

As such, it is promising news that Arsenal are now ready to pay the £51m release clause, and they will be hoping his head isn’t turned by the prospect of remaining in Spain with Real Madrid or Atlético Madrid.

Leeds United have their eyes on a new centre-back signing and one who could come in to replace Pascal Struijk.

Leeds return to top of Championship with win over Middlesbrough

The Whites and Daniel Farke managed to get back to winning ways in the week after a run of just one victory in their previous six Championship games with a 1-0 triumph over Middlesbrough.

Dan James’ early goal proved to be the winner, although Ao Tanaka and Patrick Bamford both had goals wrongly ruled out for offside.

Leeds’ win, coupled with both Burnley and Sheffield United dropping points, ensured that they’d return to the top of the table with just five games remaining.

Talking after the game, Farke said: “I’m proud of my boys. It was a tough game, overall an excellent advert for the Championship. Both sides had periods, but in the end we found a way to win this game and it was crucial today to return to our clean sheet behaviour.

“We had to dig in, had to deal with a couple of injuries and had one day less in between games, and Middlesbrough were in red-hot form. “We had to dig in and show steel and togetherness and spirit to bring this over the line in a hard-fought game and a well-deserved win.”

Leeds (85 pts)

Sheffield United (83 pts)

Burnley (85 pts)

Preston North End (h)

Plymouth Argyle (a)

Norwich City (h)

Oxford United (a)

Cardiff City (h)

Watford (a)

Stoke City (h)

Burnley (a)

Sheffield United (h)

Bristol City (h)

Stoke City (a)

QPR (a)

Plymouth Argyle (a)

Blackburn Rovers (h)

Millwall (h)

Leeds won at the Riverside without Pascal Struijk, with the left-footed centre-back suffering an injury against Luton Town. There is a concern that Struijk may have a fracture in his foot and could be out for the season, which resulted in Ethan Ampadu filling in at centre-back.

Now, a transfer target has emerged on the Elland Road radar who could prove to be a replacement for Struijk.

Leeds keen on signing Modibo Sagnan

According to reports in France, relayed by Sport Witness, Leeds and the 49ers are interested in signing Montpellier HSC centre-back Modibo Sagnan.

Like Struijk, Sagnan is a left-footed defender and could be on the move this summer with Montpellier bottom of Ligue 1. Leeds could take advantage of their potential relegation with a move for the Mali international.

Sagnan, 25, can also turn out as a left-back as well as a centre-back and has played for the likes of Real Sociedad, Lens and FC Utrecht before joining Montpellier.

Over the last 12 months, Sagnan has ranked in the top 10 percentiles when compared to centre-backs in the big five European leagues for both goals and take ons – he has scored five times in 39 games for his current employers.

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Struijk also has an eye for goal with Leeds, but by the looks of things, should Leeds win promotion, a move for Sagnan could be one to watch.

Predicting Liverpool’s forthcoming season before the current campaign is done is an ever-increasingly difficult task. Anfield has been restored over the past decade, willed back into its former imperiousness by an eccentric German genius.

Jurgen Klopp’s gone now, taken up a role of seniority as Red Bull’s Global Head of Soccer. But Liverpool endured, endured and eclipsed expectations under new boss Arne Slot.

The Reds are the Champions Elect in the Premier League. A 12-point lead and eight remaining fixtures mark an unbridgeable gulf ahead of second-placed Arsenal. All is very much well.

But uncertainty is rife and the future is hazy. Predicting Liverpool’s forthcoming season is a difficult task. Chiefly, this is because FSG are expecting to make sweeping changes, tweaks needed up front, at the rear; concerning contractual issues linger like an unpleasant smell as the term reaches its business end.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s future is the big one, of course, but he’s not the only expected outgoing down Anfield Road this summer.

The players possibly leaving Liverpool this summer

While supporters are resigned to Alexander-Arnold’s departure to sunny Los Blancos this summer, plenty more uncertainty reigns around various other first-teamers’ futures.

Up top, it feels like change is a given. Sporting director Richard Hughes has no doubt canvassed plans to Michael Edwards, who in turn will feed FSG’s senior figures with the plan of approach.

Fabrizio Romano has already confirmed that the Reds are planning to part ways with Darwin Nunez this summer, who almost left for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia this winter but was kept for the remainder of the campaign so not to reduce depth at such a critical juncture.

There has also been chatter around the likes of Luis Diaz and Ibrahima Konate leaving, but the respective stars are crucial parts of the team and would only be sold if presented with an irresistible proposal – that said, Liverpool are mooted to be in the market for wingers.

And reputable reporters such as The Athletic’s David Ornstein have revealed that interest in Diaz is strong. One to keep an eye on as the shuttered market begins to prepare to swing open its stalls.

Then, of course, there’s the matter of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah, 32 and 33 respectively and into the final months of their deals, but both still performing at the top level and convinced of their ability to stay at the top for the next few years at the least.

Ultimately, with more than a few fresh faces needed for Liverpool to maintain their lofty level under Slot’s wing, one or two sales are going to be enforced.

Konate, wanted by Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, is in the protracted process of extending his deal on Merseyside, but Jarell Quansah could be sold given Newcastle United are keen and may be willing to spend £30m, which may fall below Liverpool’s valuation.

He’s young and talented; in an ideal world, he stays put. In order to bank funds, Liverpool might instead want to turn toward another member of the backline.

Liverpool must sell their long-serving star

You would be forgiven for questioning the crux of this argument, for Alexander-Arnold is set to leave for Real Madrid, and Liverpool’s options at right-back are going to be cut short.

But stagnancy has been the bane of fans’ lives in transfer markets past. Liverpool need to attack the window with a hunger this summer, rewarding Slot’s incredible efforts with a new, state-of-the-art arsenal.

That’s why Joe Gomez, Liverpool’s longest-serving senior player, should be sold this summer having come close to leaving last year.

Gomez was resurgent last season, so important for Jurgen Klopp’s team. However, he was privy to conversations with the Magpies in the summer and might have wound up at St. James’ Park, had a deal for Anthony Gordon come to fruition.

Liverpool signed Gomez from Charlton Athletic for just £3.5m back in 2015, when he was 18 years old. Since, he’s featured 241 times for the first team and has won the full sweep of silverware,

His renaissance across Klopp’s final campaign highlighted his abiding quality, his ability to overcome numerous long-term layoffs that might have derailed another athlete’s career.

It earned him a long-awaited Three Lions recall and indeed prompted Newcastle boss Eddie Howe to launch a move worth £45m for the 28-year-old, which indeed fell apart once Gordon was confirmed to be staying put.

Last year, pundit Steve McManaman described Gomez as “absolutely priceless” for his versatile displays in Liverpool’s senior set-up, but FSG were willing to cash in last year and his nominal impact under Slot’s management suggests the team could make do.

Centre-back

117

–

2

Right-back

102

–

6

Left-back

33

–

2

Defensive midfield

2

–

–

Especially if a cool figure is claimed for his sale, turned toward the acquisition of a new defender.

It’s the right time for him to move on; he’s not the highest earner at the club, but Gomez is on a healthy £85k per week, which is more than the aforementioned Diaz (£55k per week) and Liverpool star Curtis Jones (£15k per week), who is soon to become the foremost Scouser on the books, it seems, combined.

Gomez is a stalwart and a half, one of the central parts of the most illustrious span in Liverpool’s modern history. But it feels like the right time for him to move on, and for Liverpool to inject some freshness into the ranks while they can still bank a cool sum for his sale.

Predicting Liverpool’s forthcoming season is a difficult task, but change is needed to add some depth and dynamism to Slot’s ranks. He’s doing so well, but it’s time for the Dutchman to put his own external stamp on the squad.

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Burnley are fighting for promotion to the Premier League and Scott Parker has wasted no time in profiling targets ahead of the summer window, per reports.

Burnley edge ahead of Championship title rivals

Following a chaotic afternoon of Championship action, Burnley emerged at the summit following a vital 2-1 victory over Coventry City on Saturday courtesy of a double from Jaidon Anthony.

Sheffield United’s unexpected slip-up at Oxford United and Leeds United’s dropped points on their visit to Luton Town have played into the Clarets’ hands, with promotion specialist Scott Parker licking his lips at the remaining fixture schedule.

Nevertheless, Burnley also have an eye on next season and potential recruits once the window opens for business. Per reports, out-of-contract Rangers midfielder Tom Lawrence could move to Turf Moor on a free transfer.

Despite the Clarets’ appeal as a serious promotion candidate, West Bromwich Albion, Middlesbrough, Coventry City and Wrexham are among other destinations on the table for the Wales international.

Burnley’s final six Championship fixtures

Derby County (A)

Pride Park

Norwich City (H)

Turf Moor

Watford (A)

Vicarage Road

Sheffield United (H)

Turf Moor

QPR (A)

Loftus Road

Millwall (H)

Turf Moor

On the same token, West Brom star Grady Diangana is on Burnley’s radar and they have been urged to put forward a proposal for the versatile attacker by David Prutton.

Ultimately, any concrete information on high-profile targets will need to wait until the summer. Parker’s men are in a good position with the end of the campaign near, but there is plenty of work to do before celebratory champagne can be cracked open at Turf Moor.

Either way, Burnley are making tracks to lure a rising EFL star to Lancashire despite competition from Premier League clubs for his signature, per recent developments.

Burnley eyeing Bristol Rovers midfielder Kofi Shaw

According to reliable reporter Alan Nixon via The 72, Burnley are eyeing a move to sign Bristol Rovers midfielder Kofi Shaw alongside Premier League duo Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford.

Born in 2006, the 18-year-old has made ten appearances for the Gas this campaign, while his loan spell at Yeovil Town earlier on yielded two goals and an assist.

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Versatile by nature, the youngster is capable of playing across various roles in the engine room, on either flank or as a foil for the main striker.

Labelled “a clever player” by boss Inigo Calderon, he would likely be deemed as one for the future at Turf Moor, but stockpiling homegrown talent for years to come is a strategy that could save millions down the line if worked correctly.

It remains to be seen the sort of fee he would be available for if Burnley do follow up on their initial interest. One imagines he could be attainable for a relatively inexpensive fee, though only time will tell if a deal is to come to fruition.

Aston Villa face a transfer fight with Manchester United to sign an “incredible” £67m star this summer, according to a new report.

Aston Villa chase new defender as Rogers gains admirers

The Villans strengthened their bid to finish in the top four over the weekend as they beat Nottingham Forest 2-1. Unai Emery will be keen to secure another season of Champions League football, as it will help their finances when it comes to the summer, and perhaps more importantly help them keep players such as Morgan Rogers.

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The midfielder has been one of Villa’s best players this season, and that has earned him the reward of an international stage. It may also not be a surprise to see Rogers’ performances have “attracted admirers”, according to The Athletic’s David Ornstein. No specific teams are mentioned, but it is clear that huge clubs have taken notice of the Villa midfielder.

On the incomings front, Villa are looking to make an offer to sign Ousmane Diomande from Sporting CP. Emery is keen on signing a new defender this summer, and Diomande has emerged on their radar, as Sporting are willing to sell as long as they receive a £50 million fee.

Aston Villa looking to beat Man Utd to Maignan deal

As well as looking to sign a new defender, Emery is also planning on strengthening his goalkeeper department, as according to journalist Niccolò Ceccarini, relayed by Sport Witness, Aston Villa are interested in signing AC Milan’s Mike Maignan, gathering information on the player and the chances of a deal.

The report states that Villa have taken an interest in Maignan and could now make a concrete approach to sign the France international this summer, as he will enter the final 12 months of his contract at San Siro. Maignan has agreed a new contract with Milan in principle but has yet to sign the deal, so he could be moved on by the Italian team this summer, but would still cost around £67 million.

Villa, who already have Emi Martinez between the sticks, are not the only team from the Premier League to take a close look at the shot-stopper, as Chelsea are also interested, despite having several goalkeepers on their books.

Manchester United are also keen on Maignan and are said to be preparing an offer to bring the Frenchman to Old Trafford as a replacement for Andre Onana. Maignan, who has been hailed “incredible” by former Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny, was asked about his future on Saturday after Milan’s 2-2 draw with Fiorentina.

Mike Maignan’s AC Milan record

Apps

154

Goals conceded

163

Clean sheets

55

The Frenchman was unwilling to talk about his contract situation at AC Milan: “As I said, I feel good at Milan; I give everything for the shirt every time I put it on, every day. At this moment, I tell the truth; I don’t want to talk about the contract; I want to talk about football.

“Milan deserves more; we want more. My personal case is not the most important thing at this moment.”