All posts by h716a5.icu

Roy Tattersall, the former England and Lancashire offspinner, has died at the age of 89

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Dec-2011Roy Tattersall, the former England and Lancashire offspinner, has died at the age of 89. In a 16-match Test career he claimed 58 wickets at 26.08 to supplement an outstanding first-class career of 1369 wickets at 18.03.Tattersall played for Lancashire from 1948-1964 and made his England debut against Australia, at Adelaide, in 1951 having been called into the touring squad as a replacement. During the preceding 1950 English season, when Lancashire shared the County Championship title, he’d claimed 193 first-class wickets at 13.59. It was the first season he had bowled offspin having started life as a seamer. That year he was the inaugural recipient of the Cricket Writers’ Club Young Cricketer of the Year award.His best Test figures of 7 for 52 came against South Africa, at Lord’s, in 1951 where he claimed 12 in the match and he also enjoyed success on the following tour of India. However, he only played two further Tests after the India trip as Jim Laker became England’s first-choice offspinner.Tattersall had recently contributed a foreword to the book about Lancashire’s 2011 Championship success, . In the penultimate game of the season Simon Kerrigan, the left-arm spinner, claimed 9 for 51 against Hampshire which were the county’s best figures since Tattersall’s career-high of 9 for 40 against Nottinghamshire in 1953.”Although I can’t get to the games now, I still watch them closely on television,” Tattersall wrote. “As the final matches were being played at Worcester, Liverpool and Taunton I was struck by the similarities between the current Lancashire team and the 1950 side which shared the title with Surrey.”

India’s sports ministry has included a provision in the new draft of the national sports bill that will exempt the cricketers from having to follow certain WADA rules

ESPNcricinfo staff17-Oct-2011India’s sports ministry has included a provision in the new draft of its national sports bill that will exempt Indian cricketers from following certain rules of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) rules, including the that the board and the players have objected to in the past.The revised National Sports Development Bill, which was made public on Monday, includes a stipulation that the Indian board would follow ICC regulations where they clashed with WADA rules.”In view of the BCCI’s objections, we have decided to exempt cricketers from some anti-doping norms,” Ajay Maken, the sports minister, said. “The ICC does not follow some WADA norms and in these cases the rules of international federation, in this case the ICC, will prevail over the WADA Code. It is not that the WADA Code will not apply to cricketers but in those cases where there is conflict, the ICC rules will prevail. It is also not an exemption to BCCI, it is to the ICC.”The ICC had wanted to implement WADA rules in full last year but the BCCI raised an objection to the ‘whereabouts’ clause in particular, which requires athletes and sportspeople to provide information to WADA of their availability for testing up to three months in advance. The ICC eventually decided to modify the wheareabouts clause in its own doping policy.The original draft of the sports bill was sent back to the ministry because the cabinet of ministers, including current ICC president, and former BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, had objected to various clauses and asked for changes. Among them were the provisions on tenure limits and age limits for the Indian Olympic Association and all the National Sports Federations, but those have been retained according to the .The specific clause on WADA was added to Section 15(1) of the bill and excludes those provisions of the WADA/ National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) code to which an international federation, like the ICC, is not subject.”This has been done since NADA functions under the WADA code,” Maken said, “and if at the international level there are certain provisions of the WADA code to which the international federation is not subject, then the logical corollary is that those provisions should not be administered by NADA on the sport of that national sport federation.”Efforts have been made to streamline the Bill while retaining basic principles of transparency, good governance and de-control from government. Serious consideration has been given to remove the perception that the Ministry was seeking to directly interfere in sports. So, I am hopeful that the revised Bill will get cabinet’s approval.”

Dwayne Bravo will captain West Indies A against Bangladesh A in the first four-day game between the two sides from November 5 at North Sound

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Oct-2011Dwayne Bravo will captain West Indies A against Bangladesh A in the first four-day game between the two sides from November 5 at North Sound. The 13-man squad for the game includes three players who are on development contracts from the WICB, and Andre Russell, who is on a Grade C contract.Bravo’s inclusion in the A squad means he will not be part of the Test squad for West Indies’ tour of India, which starts with the first Test in Delhi from November 6. He has not played for West Indies since asking for a break after the first two ODIs against India in June to work on his game. Since then he has played for Chennai Super Kings in the Champions League T20 and for Trinidad & Tobago in the ongoing Regional Super50 tournament.Fast bowlers Shannon Gabriel and Nelon Pascal, who played two Tests last year, and wicketkeeper Devon Thomas, who has played nine ODIs for West Indies, are the three players on development contracts who have been included in the West Indies A squad for the first game against Bangladesh A. Batsman Danza Hyatt, who has been a regular member of West Indies’ limited-over squads in recent times, and legspinner Nkruma Bonner and allrounder Carlos Brathwaite, who were recently handed international debuts, are also in the A squad.Russell has become an integral part of West Indies’ limited-overs side but has played just the solitary Test so far, against Sri Lanka in Galle last year.Sunil Narine, the T&T offspinner, has also been added to the squad after topping the wicket-charts in the Regional Super50. Narine also impressed during the recent Champions League T20, where he took 10 wickets at an average of 10.50.West Indies A will play two four-day games against Bangladesh A, two Twenty20 matches and three one-day games.Squad: Dwayne Bravo (capt), Nkrumah Bonner, Carlos Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Rajindra Chandrika, Kyle Corbin, Shannon Gabriel, Nelon Pascal, Veerasammy Permaul, Danza Hyatt, Andre Russell, Devon Thomas (wk), Sunil Narine

Reports have emerged that the Zimbabwe Cricket board has removed David Mutendera and John Rennie from the selection panel, replacing them with former national coach Kevin Curran and Givemore Makoni

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jul-2011Reports have emerged that Zimbabwe Cricket has removed David Mutendera and John Rennie from the selection panel, replacing them with former national coach Kevin Curran and Givemore Makoni, who is chief executive of the Southern Rocks domestic franchise. National selector Alistair Campbell survived the clean-out and remains in his post.Makoni has been a constant on Zimbabwe’s cricket scene for several years, having been one of the founders of Takashinga Cricket Club, which was originally known as Old Winstonians. He’s also carried out of the role of team manager of the national side – a position he resigned before taking charge of Southern Rocks. Makoni has not been free from the controversy that has dogged cricket in the country in recent years though and has often been portrayed as a politicised figure.Curran, a former player who has also been involved with cricket in Zimbabwe for several years, had recently sealed the job of coach of the Mashonaland Eagles franchise and has been playing an active role at the Interfin Cricket Academy in Harare.Rennie and Mutendera – both former national players themselves – were reportedly given the axe as part of the fall-out from Zimbabwe’s disappointing World Cup campaign in the subcontinent earlier this year, where they failed to beat any of the major nations, although their only really controversial selection was leaving experienced batsman Hamilton Masakadza out of Zimbabwe’s squad for the tournament.The decision to relieve them of their duties was taken at the same meeting where it was decided that Brendan Taylor would replace Elton Chigumbura as captain of the national side.

Former team manager Imran Khan has criticised the USA Cricket Association administration, blaming it for the national team’s failure to advance from ICC WCL Division Three

Peter Della Penna16-Jul-2011Former team manager Imran Khan has criticised the USA Cricket Association (USACA) administration, calling its president Gladstone Dainty and the board of directors incompetent and blaming them for the national team’s failure to advance from ICC WCL Division Three to the top echelon of Associate cricket.”The people in charge have completely failed,” Khan, who was USA’s manager from 2008 until the tour to Hong Kong in January, told ESPNcricinfo. “Don’t blame the team. They’re at the low level. It starts right at the top. These guys have proven their incompetence.”Since his return from Hong Kong, Khan claimed he received no communication from USACA despite attempts to reach out to them. According to USACA general manager, Manaf Mohammed, Khan was not invited to be the team manager for the upcoming ICC Americas Division One Twenty20 tournament in Florida because he lived in England and it was not worth flying him in. Khan, however, said this was another indication of how USACA operates because he has been living at his summer home in San Francisco for several months.According to Khan, as team manager, he made it a priority to write and submit detailed reports after each tournament. They covered the organisation of practice sessions, team selection, kits, travel itinerary and evaluations of each player’s off-field behaviour on tour. Khan claimed the administration ignored the reports and any recommendations he made.”The only response I’ve ever had is, ‘Your reports are too long. Nobody reads them’,” Khan said. “What is the point of writing these reports and giving the feedback and analysis when nobody cares? They just want a confirmation the tour happened and that’s it.”The manner in which players were treated by the administration, Khan said, was unacceptable and the selection for the ICC Americas Division One T20 tournament was the latest of several confusing decisions made by the country’s three selectors. Khan said the biggest problem was that the players were not told why they were dropped or where they stand. He claimed this was the case with batsman Sushil Nadkarni – one of 10 players cut after the Hong Kong tour – before he was abruptly brought back into the squad last week at the expense of Nauman Mustafa, allegedly on Dainty’s orders.”They are incompetent and they are not capable,” Khan said. “I’m talking about the president all the way down to all the directors and all the people involved in leadership positions because I’ve met most of them … they don’t have the ability to communicate such a thing.”The communication breakdown was not limited to the players, Khan said, and was responsible for damaging relationships with coaches as well as lost sponsorship opportunities. He said that, on the tour to the UAE and Nepal in February 2010, former chief executive Don Lockerbie had promised Dipak Patel, the former New Zealand spinner, who was with the team as a consultant coach, the position of head coach and the responsibility of building a national development program. After the tour ended, though, Patel did not hear back from anyone. Lockerbie’s presence, Khan said, had also undermined the role of head coach Clayton Lambert and created disharmony among players loyal to Lambert.”In my presence, he [Patel] was promised the main coaching job in the US, responsible for its development,” Khan said. “He was going to take over. Dipak was even talking about moving his family to the US and how he would convey that to his family and how his wife and kids would react to that. A seed had been planted, ‘we want you. Now we’re going to talk about salaries,’ and then once the tour ended, it finished.”Prior to the ICC WCL Division Four in Italy in August 2010, Khan said Mohammed had publicly discussed plans for the team to go to England for a pre-tournament training camp. Khan was organising that portion of the tour through his network of contacts. The arrangements included a day at Lord’s and several warm-up games against representative XIs but USACA canceled everything at the last minute.”That was shocking and embarrassing for me because I unfortunately burnt a lot of bridges in England and [lost] long-established contacts with reputable people,” Khan said. “We talked to Jimmy Ormond who used to play for England and Surrey. They decided to host a Surrey XI, ex-professionals or current professionals, and we had got a Kent XI. We were going to organise a similar thing in Sussex, or up in Henley with a Berkshire XI.Khan also spoke of a deal with Gray-Nicolls – “whose head I knew very well” – who would supply free kits to USA’s first XI in return for the chance to sell merchandise through the USACA website. It needed the chief executive’s signature but that never came.Khan says the people most affected by the administration are those who come through the Under-19 system but fail to get the support necessary to develop their talent. “Dipak Patel offered to take the majority of these kids into club cricket in New Zealand to develop them,” Khan said. “That Under-19 team that went to the World Cup in 2010, that should have been the majority [senior] team now. How many of those kids are in this team?”Let’s look at Ryan Corns. What has he done to be dropped? This is your young, prime talent coming through. He could be a future captain. He’s from a white background, so from a marketing perspective it makes sense. Not only is he a great prospect for the future and a good player, but he also could be a good face for US cricket to sell to the domestic public. It just makes sense and yet you’ve kicked him out for Joe Average players nobody’s heard of. It’s a short-term thing done for votes.”According to Khan, the current administration is locked in a power struggle based on ethnic and cultural alliances that is damaging to all stakeholders. For the organisation to truly succeed, he feels, a wave of young business professionals independent of political influence needs to step up and take control.”There will never be a unified structure until this old guard is completely replaced. This old guard with their back-home mentality is always the problem. I mean they do a lot of good things – they established the thing – but when they try to replicate what they had back home is when the problem begins.”

Transfer expert Fabrizio Romano has delivered a big update on Tottenham Hotspur’s pursuit of Brentford midfielder Christian Eriksen. 

The lowdown: Summer interest

Having only signed on a short-term contract until the end of the season, there is expected to be major competition in the race to sign the 30-year-old Dane as a free agent.

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Recently a report from 90min claimed that Aston Villa, Crystal Palace, Fulham, Everton, Newcastle United and West Ham are all in contention alongside interest from Spurs.

As well as this, The Times say that transfer chief Fabio Paratici and co are currently considering an exciting reunion with the ex-Lilywhites playmaker.

As this big news comes to light that Spurs could re-sign their former favourite this summer, it has now been backed by a reliable transfer source.

The latest: Romano confirms Lilywhites’ interest

Taking to Twitter on Friday, Romano provided an update on the Dane whilst citing a desire from another Premier League club to land Eriksen.

The journalist now backs that both Spurs and Leicester City are ‘really interested’ in the 111-cap superstar however there are ‘no talks’ ongoing at present.

He also cited recent admiration from Antonio Conte on the attacking midfielder whereby the Italian coach hails Eriksen as ‘amazing’ and being ‘really important’ during the pair’s time together at Inter Milan.

The verdict: Exciting move

Far from a token gesture to reunite manager and player as well as player and club, Tottenham should be looking to sign Eriksen purely down to what the Dane still has to offer at the very highest level.

Following a remarkable return to action, the man who made 305 appearances during his time in north London has scored once and provided two assists in seven league outings whilst also making a goalscoring comeback on the international stage.

Conte and indeed transfer chief Fabio Paratici were able to get a closer look at Eriksen when the cultured star earned an impressive 7.60 rating in a performance boasting 73 touches, four key passes and one clearance in the goalless draw at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday evening (Sofascore).

In other news: Tottenham officials dispatched to club as they allegedly eye ‘unbelievable’ £33m man for Conte! Find out more here.

Vincent Barnes, Duncan Fletcher, John Buchanan and Richard Pybus are four other names understood to be on the six-man shortlist

Firdose Moonda11-Apr-2011Gary Kirsten, Vincent Barnes, Duncan Fletcher, John Buchanan and Richard Pybus are understood to be on the six-man shortlist for the South Africa coaching job. Tom Moody and Stephen Fleming are also rumoured to be in contention for the position.Kirsten, who ended his tenure with India after winning the World Cup, is said to be the favourite, but has reportedly not submitted a formal application. Insiders have confirmed that he is on the shortlist and has been in contact with CSA chief-executive Gerald Majola. Kirsten had said he wanted to take some time off after his stint with India ended, which may be why he hasn’t officially applied.South Africa’s next series is scheduled for October, against Australia, which would allow Kirsten a five-month break. Kirsten is understood to have shown interest in the position and CSA may have placed him on the shortlist to keep him in the running, despite the fact that he has not applied. Majola said in an interview in Colombo that CSA would not consider anyone who wasn’t on the shortlist.Although Kirsten is the popular choice, CSA are also considering other candidates, including the long-serving assistant coach Barnes. He has been in the national set up for the past eight years, since the 2003 tour to England, and had applied for the head coach’s position when Mickey Arthur was appointed in May 2005. Barnes started off as the bowling coach and has been credited with being part of the reason behind the success of the likes of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Lonwabo Tsotsobe. Barnes’ obvious advantage is that he has worked with the national squad for a significant amount of time and has been a part of their recent successes, such as the series wins in England and Australia.Fletcher has also been involved with the current crop of players, having joined as a batting consultant in the 2009-10 season. He previously coached England and was at the helm of their Ashes triumph in 2005. Buchanan also has much lauded international credentials to his name, having won three Ashes series and two World Cups with Australia. He is most recently known for his controversial coaching methods which involved a proposed captain-rotation policy at Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.Pybus is the only one who is working in the South African domestic set up. He took Cobras to a double title this season, winning both the first-class SuperSport Series competition and the Pro20. Having previously been involved with Titans and the Border province, before the franchises were formed, Pybus has an intricate knowledge of local cricket and has seen many of his charges progress to national honours. He coached Mark Boucher, Makhaya Ntini, Steyn, both Morkel brothers and Paul Harris, among others. He is known for his diverse, out-of-the-box thinking and was also head coach of Pakistan during the 1999 World Cup.All six candidates, whose names cannot be officially released for confidentiality reasons, will undergo a rigorous interview process by a six-man panel appointed by CSA to choose the new coach. The committee consists of Majola, Andy O’Connor, chairperson of the cricket committee, Boeta Dippenaar, cricket association representative, Andrew Hudson, convenor of selectors and Corrie van Zyl, outgoing coach. Johann Coetzee, a human development consultant and consulting psychologist, was added to the panel last week and.Interviews will be held on May 16 and 17, and the panel will make its recommendations at a board meeting on May 28. CSA hope to appoint the new coach at the beginning of June.

Wolves midfielder Ruben Neves is ‘destined’ to move from Molineux to Barcelona this summer, according to journalist Josh Holland.

The Lowdown: Neves linked with Wolves exit

The 25-year-old has proven to be a wonderful player for the Old Gold, producing moments of magic from midfield and maturing into a formidable player.

Unfortunately, Neves’ superb form this season has seen him linked with a summer move away, with numerous clubs keen on acquiring his signature.

Barcelona are arguably the front-runners to sign the Portuguese maestro, as Xavi looks to build a successful new era at the Catalan club.

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The Latest: Journalist drops Barcelona claim

Speaking to GiveMeSport, Holland claimed that Neves’ rumoured move to the La Liga giants feels inevitable. He stated:

“The history and the name Barcelona, that’s pulling power in itself. And you look at what Xavi is doing at the club, there’s always going to be the whole if he goes and works with Xavi, how good will he be?

“No disrespect to Wolves, but you’d rather live in Barcelona than Wolverhampton. I think that’s more or less destined to happen.”

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The Verdict: Matter of time

As great as it would be to see Neves remain at Wolves, there almost seems to be an acceptance that he will trade Molineux for Camp Nou this summer.

The lure of playing for such a special club could be too great to turn down, especially for Portuguese players, with past legends such as Luis Figo and Deco representing the Blaugrana.

The hope is that Neves will extend his stay at Wolves, but with European football looking unlikely for Bruno Lage’s team next season and elite clubs interested in the 25-year-old, it seems as if the Molineux faithful should be prepared for the midfielder’s exit.

In other news, Wolves are interested in signing an exciting wide player this summer. Find out who it is here.

Tillakaratne Dilshan has sent out a warning to other teams that Sri Lanka will start playing their best cricket from their game against New Zealand on March 18 onwards

Sa'adi Thawfeeq in Pallekele10-Mar-2011Tillakaratne Dilshan has sent out a warning to other teams that Sri Lanka will start playing their best cricket from their game against New Zealand on March 18 onwards, and keep improving as the tournament reaches its knockout stages. Dilshan’s all-round performance on Thursday – he scored a century and took four wickets – helped Sri Lanka qualify for the quarter-finals with a win over Zimbabwe, but he said it was from now on that they had to be on the top of their game.”After March 18 we have to play our best cricket. We cannot afford to make mistakes with the quarter-final and semi-finals coming up,” Dilshan said. “We know we have qualified but we can’t take it easy for the next few matches. We have to play with 100% commitment from the New Zealand match.”Dilshan had gotten off to starts in three of Sri Lanka’s previous four games in this World Cup, but had not kicked on to get the big score, on two occasions perishing to strokes he would not have been happy with. Against Canada in Hambantota, after reaching fifty, he hit a short and wide delivery straight to deep cover, and then against Kenya in Colombo, he seemed to be lining up for a big shot before deciding to fend a short delivery to the keeper, after making 44.After those performances, Dilshan recognised the importance of him having gone on to score 144 on Thursday in Pallekele. “I am really happy with my batting and bowling performance. In the first couple of matches I got the starts but I didn’t capitalise and get a big one. But today [Thursday] I did that and that’s why I am happy with the hundred.” His innings makes him the highest scorer in the tournament so far, with 283 runs at an average of 56.60.It was not just about Dilshan’s batting on Thursday though. He came on to do a job with the ball, and in just three overs snapped up figures of 4 for 4, his best in one-day internationals. He was even on a hat-trick at one point and would have got it had Mahela Jayawardene held on to a tough catch from Graeme Cremer at slip. Dilshan put his success with the ball down to the fact that Sri Lanka played only one of their frontline spinners on Thursday, which meant his responsibility as a bowler increasedTillakaratne Dilshan’s 144 in Pallekel made him the leading run-getter of the World Cup so far•AFP”We usually have two or three spinners in the line-up, but today there was only [Muttiah] Muralitharan, so I knew at some point of time I would have to bowl. I seized that chance and I hope the captain will have lots of confidence in my bowling in the future. I think I can contribute a lot with my bat as well as ball and as a wicketkeeper in this World Cup.” Dilshan does also keep wickets but is not expected to unless his captain Kumar Sangakkara suffers an injury.As far as missing the hat-trick was concerned, Dilshan said he was not that disappointed because Jayawardene, who dropped the catch on the hat-trick ball, had taken a stunner the previous ball. “Mahela’s dropped catch can happen to anyone in the match. He created a great catch before that and made it a hat-trick ball.”There was another milestone mised as well: two more runs would have taken Dilshan past Aravinda de Silva’s score of 145 against Kenya in 1996, giving him the highest score by a Sri Lanka batsman in World Cups. But Dilshan said he was not even aware of the statistic until after he was dismissed.”It was only after I got to the dressing room that someone told me that if I had scored another one run I would have passed Aravinda’s record. At that time nobody can send a message. It was the 45th over. But I am not worried about messages and I am not thinking of records. I am always playing for my team. After the 45th over I was trying to get the maximum runs for my team.”Although Sri Lanka won comfortably, their fielding in the first ten overs of Zimbabwe’s chase was not up to the mark, and Dilshan noted the room for improvement. “At the moment we are playing really good cricket and everything is going really well for us. We can’t say we are not going to make any mistakes; anybody can make mistakes sometimes while batting or on the field. We have to minimise the mistakes coming to the quarter-final and keep going for the rest of the tournament.”Sri Lanka’s next game, against New Zealand on March 18, is not in Sri Lanka as all their other group games have been, but in Mumbai. Dilshan, though, put a positive spin on the slightly puzzling scheduling, saying playing at the Wankhede Stadium would give them an opportunity to get used to the renovated ground, where the finals of the World Cup will be held on April 2.”If we qualify to play in the final, we’ll play in Mumbai. It’s a good opportunity to play another match there before the final. We are happy playing New Zealand in Mumbai.”

Leeds United are interested in a deal to bring Brennan Johnson to Elland Road in the summer transfer window.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by the Daily Mail, who claim that Leeds have now joined Brentford and Newcastle United in the race for the signing of the Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder, who is yet to agree a new deal at The City Ground – with his current contract set to expire next summer.

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The report goes on to state that, while Victor Orta is plotting a £20m offer for the 20-year-old, this move is on the basis that the Whites remain a Premier League side next season, as well as Forest failing to secure promotion to the top flight.

He’s better than Aaronson

Considering the fact that Leeds have also been linked with a move for Red Bull Salzburg’s Brenden Aaronson this summer, it is clear that Orta and Jesse Marsch are targeting the signing of a new attacking midfielder ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

And, while it is undeniable that the USA international is a fantastic young talent – having scored four goals, provided four assists and averaged a SofaScore match rating of 6.90 over his 22 Austrian Bundesliga appearances this season – there is an argument to be made that Johnson could well be the smarter choice for Leeds.

Firstly, the 20-year-old has experience in the English game, proving himself to be one of the most exciting young prospects the Championship currently has to offer.

Indeed, over his 43 second-tier outings this season, the £900k-rated talent has been one of Steve Cooper’s standout performers, scoring 15 goals, registering ten assists and creating 14 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 1.9 shots, making 1.3 key passes and completing 1.2 dribbles per game.

These returns have seen the £2.5k-per-week sensation who Sabri Lamouchi dubbed an “unbelievable” player average an incredibly impressive SofaScore match rating of 7.11, ranking him as the Reds’ fourth-best outfielder in the league – playing a key role in his side’s late push for an automatic promotion spot.

Secondly, with Salzburg having already rejected a £20m bid for Aaronson in January, as well as the likes of AC Milan and RB Leipzig reportedly interested in the 21-year-old, it would appear likely that the Austrian side will demand a great deal more than Johnson’s own £20m price tag this summer.

As such, while Aaronson would certainly be a fantastic coup for Orta and the Whites, the signing of Johnson may well prove a better deal for Leeds to pursue – as the Wales international would not only be a cheaper option for the Spanish sporting director, considering their respective returns this season, he could also a have a brighter future than the Salzburg starlet.

AND in other news: Deal close: Agreement now in place for £63m talent, Leeds supporters will be gutted