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John Simpson rearguard in vain as home skipper guides fourth-innings chase of 150

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay18-May-2025Lewis Gregory led from the front with a brilliant 89 not out as Somerset completed a five-wicket Rothesay County Championship Division One win over Sussex at the Cooper Associates Ground, Taunton.Set just 150 to win on a benign pitch, the hosts reached their target in an additional half hour to the scheduled day’s play, skipper Gregory taking advantage of his new position as opener to hit 12 fours in a sparkling 118-ball innings.Earlier, an unbeaten 82 off 164 balls from John Simpson had helped Sussex extend their second innings total from an overnight 127 for 4 to 335 all out. Fynn Hudson-Prentice contributed 41 and James Coles 39, while Jack Leach finished with 4 for 51.It didn’t prove enough and Somerset took 21 points from a second successive Championship victory, while their opponents had to be content with three.Sussex hopes of a fightback were dealt an early blow when Craig Overton struck with his first delivery of the day at the start of the second over. Tom Alsop, playing defensively, edged a low catch to Gregory at first slip. Almost immediately it was 129 for 6 as James Coles called for a single to midwicket to get off the mark and James Hayes was run out by Tom Banton’s direct hit at the wicketkeeper’s end.Coles soon began to time the ball sweetly. He and Simpson held up the home side’s victory bid with a stand of 66, both looking to play positively on a now flat wicket. Coles had struck six fours when attempting another attacking shot off Leach and driving in the air to Tom Lammonby at mid-off. At 195 for 7, his side led by just nine runs.Simpson looked untroubled and found another partner in good touch as Hudson-Prentice helped take the total to 224 for 7 at lunch. More Sussex resistance followed the interval, aided by the rare sight of Overton dropping Hudson-Prentice at second slip off Leach. With 27 runs added, the second new ball was taken.A pulled four off Henry took Simpson to a half-century off 126 balls. It was the sixth boundary of an innings that was starting to frustrate the Somerset bowlers. When Hudson-Prentice smacked Henry for six over the short boundary on the town side of the ground, the lead had grown to 87.The shot provoked quick revenge from the New Zealand seamer who with the next delivery sent Hudson-Prentice’s off stump flying to end a partnership of 78, which had occupied 28 overs. Henry soon followed up by having Nathan McAndrew caught behind after moving briskly to 16. Still Simpson refused to buckle and with last man Ollie Robinson at the other end, he went on the attack.Robinson also played aggressively in a last-wicket stand of 44 before being caught at slip for 18 pushing forward to Leach. Tea was taken with 35 overs left in the day’s play.There were early scares for the hosts when Gregory edged the second delivery of their second innings from Robinson to first slip, only to be reprieved by a no-ball call, and Josh Davey was dropped by in the slips off McAndrew.Davey soon fell to Robinson, bowled by a full delivery, and it was 11 for 2 when Lammonby was lbw to the same bowler falling across his stumps. That became 30 for 3 as James Rew uncharacteristically chased a wide ball from McAndrew and edged through to Simpson.There was tension aplenty as Tom Abell took 25 balls to get off the mark before a square cut for four off Hudson-Prentice. But Gregory was proving a calming influence and when he moved to a confident half-century off 73 balls, with six fours, Somerset were more than halfway to their target.Left-arm spinner Coles removed Abell for 27 and Tom Banton for 15, but Gregory saw his side home, striking three boundaries in an over from Jack Carson before deservedly hitting the winning run.

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Yesterday was an incredible day for Manchester City’s Riyad Mahrez and his national side.

Algeria managed to sink Nigeria deep in stoppage time as the mercurial star netted an incredible free-kick in the dying moments of the game. The referee’s final whistle shortly followed the emphatic strike, sending both the players and the fans into a frenzy.

With that goal, Algeria booked their ticket to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations and they will now face Senegal for the trophy.

Mahrez immediately took to

/Bz6alj9j8oJ/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link” data-lasso->Instagram to celebrate this incredible achievement and, of course, it soon attracted a lot of attention from the footballing world.

His club teammates were among the first ones to post a reply in the comment sections.

Both Raheem Sterling and Benjamin Mendy posted a series of emojis to show their support for their exceptionally talented teammate.

It seems Pep Guardiola will have to wait a bit longer before Mahrez reports back to pre-season training.

And if everything goes as planned, he just might return as a champion of Africa.

Aakash Chopra analyses how Nathan Lyon used accuracy, bounce, revolutions and much more to end with as many as eight wickets on the first day in Bengaluru

Aakash Chopra04-Mar-2017We witnessed, perhaps, the best bowling from an overseas spinner in India. The pitch in Bengaluru was a typical Indian pitch, which had cracks running right through but they were neither wide nor loose on the first day. The islands between those cracks were firm and even though the pitch was a little drier than expected for the opening day of a Test match, it was nowhere close to what we saw in Pune. KL Rahul’s innings showed that barring a couple of balls misbehaving, there were no demons in the pitch that can’t be negotiated with skills and application. Considering these factors, Nathan Lyon’s 8 for 50 become unforgettable. He didn’t start as Steven Smith’s first-choice spinner at the beginning of the day but ended not only on a hat-trick (which he could complete in the second innings) but also as arguably the best Australian bowler on the tour thus far.We must focus and spend some time on reading Lyon’s pitch map against the right-handers (he bowled only a few deliveries to Ravindra Jadeja) and it will not only highlight the accuracy (the grouping shows that there was nothing too full or too short) but also the line that was reasonably outside off. By bowling that line, he probed both edges of the bat and created doubts.Nathan Lyon’s beehive to right-handers•ESPNcricinfo LtdThe beehive highlights the amount of extra bounce he managed to extract from the pitch. The best bit about Lyon’s bowling is his action, for he puts his entire body behind the ball. In addition to that, he puts a lot of revolutions with the seam pointing towards leg slip (not even fine leg) and that allows him to get more bounce than the rest. There is a lot of over-spin and very little of side-spin in Lyon’s bowling and the reason for that could be his conditioning to succeed on hard Australian surfaces. Since there is very little grip available in Australia, he has used bounce as his key weapon to attack.The following four dismissals highlighted the whole repertoire of Lyon’s skill set.Cheteshwar Pujara c Handscomb b Lyon 17While facing spinners, the first thing you must judge (besides reading the spin) is the length, for that determines your primary response of either going forward or deep inside the crease. Lyon got the ball to kick sharply so often that those lines got blurred right in the beginning of his spell. The ball that dismissed Pujara was a classic case of the extra bounce creating problems as it pitched at a length that forced the batsman to contemplate coming forward but since it wasn’t close enough to smother the spin, Pujara probably got stuck in two minds and also at the crease. The ball took the inside edge onto the thigh pad en route to the fielder at short leg.Virat Kohli lbw b Lyon 12The ball that dismissed Kohli would seem like another error of judgment in reading the line from the Indian captain, but to know why it happened we must look at the first ball of the same over. The first ball landed a couple of feet outside off (into the rough created by Mitchell Starc), spun and jumped to hit Kohli on the waist. Once the batsman sees that happening, the strategic and technical response is to avoid putting bat to ball for similar deliveries, for there are two fielders (short leg and leg gully) to catch the flick off the back foot and it’s not always possible to ride the bounce and play it along the ground against a viciously turning ball. A similar delivery consumed R Ashwin later in the day and that is a fine example of the dangers of attempting to ride the bounce against spin. There was nothing wrong with Kohli’s planning but he picked the wrong length and line to let one go. the fifth ball of the over was a lot fuller than the one that jumped and a little closer to the off stump too. It’s not easy to deceive a top batsman in the air but Lyon did that, once again.Ajinkya Rahane st Wade b Lyon 17The subtle variation in the air accounted for Rahane. Most of Lyon’s deliveries would start angling into the right-handers and the turn would further accentuate the problems, but on this occasion the ball drifted away ever so slightly in the air and foxed Rahane. Earlier in the spell, Rahane had hit a lofted drive over the midwicket fielder and, perhaps, was trying to repeat something similar. This time, though, the ball kept going away from him after pitching, and that was enough to beat the bat. Another classical offspinner dismissal.Wriddhiman Saha c Smith b Lyon 1Lyon kept the shiny part of the ball towards his palm and bowled it a little flatter with the palm facing skywards. The reason of doing so is to ensure that the ball lands on the shinier surface and goes straight while skidding through the surface, and that’s exactly what it did. Saha got deceived with the trajectory when the ball pitched outside off and he went back to nick the ball to Smitha at slip. Yet another excellent display of top quality finger-spin bowling.

An analytical look at some of the technical highlights from the first day’s play in Mohali

Aakash Chopra26-Nov-20162:41

Ganguly: Haven’t seen a surface as dry as this in Mohali

Where do the seamers go?There used to be a time when the pitch in Mohali was considered to be the best in India for fast bowlers. There was more bounce and the winter in the north assisted the seam bowlers more than the spinners. But that is the thing of the past and this pitch is no different from the ones we have witnessed in the recent past. The early morning chill ensured that the surface felt a little cold on the palm but the soil underneath wore the look considered ideal for spinners. Some of the cracks were moving even before the first ball was bowled. These cracks are expected to not only crumble but I’m anticipating some of the pieces to come off completely. Toss, once again, is crucial.Hameed too young to drive?A young Test career always gives constant opportunities to follow the developing patterns. If you looked at Haseeb Hameed’s wagon-wheel against the Indian quicks in this series, you will find that most of his runs have come behind the stumps. Since fast bowlers try to bowl fuller around the off stump with the new ball, most openers are competent drivers. Hameed’s fledgling career is suggesting that while he is aware of where his off stump is (leaves a lot of balls alone), he is a reluctant driver. Perhaps, it is worth trying bowling a yard fuller to him in the outside off channel early on.What not to do when you misread the lengthJoe Root’s dismissal highlighted the importance of judging the length while playing against spin. The ball that got rid of him was too full to go back to and the same happened a few times with Jonny Bairstow against Jayant Yadav. The cardinal rule of batting is that if you have misread the length, do not commit the second mistake by playing an attacking shot. Root did that and lost his wicket. Bairstow was fortunate because whenever he went back to a full ball, he tried to play with a straight bat.Gets Cook but puts down BairstowThe third ball of the 47th over, from R Ashwin, was well flighted and pitched full outside off, and that tempted Bairstow to attempt a cover drive. The ball turned sharply to find the inside edge and went back to Ashwin. The following delivery was on the same length, albeit a little closer and flatter, and that made the ball go straight after pitching. The variation was enough to induce another false cover drive. This time the ball kissed the outside edge. Unfortunately, Parthiv Patel failed to pouch it.Pitch too slow for bouncers?Both in Rajkot and Vizag, fast bowlers from both sides were liberal in using the short-ball trap. Not that both the pitches were seamer friendly but there was definitely more response from those pitches as compared to the one we have seen in Mohali. Even though India picked Moeen Ali with a bouncer, they used it very sparingly. The impression we got from outside was that the pitch is a little too low and slow, for the batsmen were getting enough time to ride the bounce. But then don’t form an opinion till both teams have bowled on the pitch.India seamers’ beehive on the first day in Mohali•ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Everton could move to sign a La Liga defender this summer, it has emerged, as Sean Dyche looks to bolster his ranks ahead of the new Premier League season.

Question marks at the back

Having secured Premier League survival despite two separate point deductions last season, Everton are looking to kick on this season. They have already brought in reinforcements, signing Iliman Ndiaye from Marseille after an unsuccessful spell in Ligue 1, while Jack Harrison has returned for another loan spell and Tim Iroegbunam has arrived from Aston Villa to strengthen the midfield.

But there is still plenty of speculation about how the Everton squad could look come the start of the season, with promising centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite at the heart of much of it.

The Englishman has already been the subject of two failed bids from Manchester United, the second of which totalled around £50m and was swiftly rejected.

The Toffees are thought to be holding out for around £70m to let their gem leave, with the 22 year old having appeared 42 times for Sean Dyche's side last season and becoming one of the Premier League's best left-sided defenders in the process.

The Times claim that United will return with a third bid for the Everton man, though they are "unwilling to meet" the £70m asking price, which will force Everton to consider lowering their demands or keeping the centre-back. Now, they have been linked with a potential replacement for Branthwaite.

Toffees chase Copa America man

That comes with Paraguayan media revealing that Everton are in the running for 27-year-old centre-back Omar Alderete, who appeared three times at the most recent Copa America and even found the net against Brazil with a thunderous effort.

The defender only joined Getafe permanently last summer, in a deal worth 4m euros, but has gone on to cement himself as a key figure in their defence. He featured 31 times in La Liga as he helped his side out of relegation trouble, and is thought to have caught the eye of several clubs in the process.

One of those is fellow Spanish outfit Sevilla, but Everton are also named among the sides chasing his signature and have made contact to sign the defender.

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Alderete only penned his £20k per week deal 12 months ago, and it runs until 2028, meaning that Getafe will demand a reasonable sum for his departure, though no specific fees are mentioned.

With Branthwaite being the only left-footed centre-back in the squad at present, Alderete's arrival could simply be to provide cover for the 22 year-old. At present, Dyche's only centre-back options are first choice pair Branthwaite and James Tarkowski along with Michael Keane and Mason Holgate, who has just returned from loan with Sheffield United and could be set to leave again.

Messi's legacy will be fine, Miami's brand will be fine and MLS will be fine, but club needs serious retooling to compete in 2025

Lionel Messi's message was one of defiance. The Inter Miami forward took to social media to address Inter Miami's 2-1 series loss to Atlanta United in the first round of MLS playoffs – the biggest upset in the history of Major League Soccer's postseason – and said all of the right things. He referenced the growth of the club, the accomplishments during the regular season, the support of the fans.

But he also pledged to return stronger. It was all a bit cliche, but Miami, we are led to believe, will be back.

And good for them. They need to be. For the sake of MLS – if nothing else – Messi's message was a good thing. Still, zoom out, and this loss to a team that barely edged its way into the playoffs via a wildcard, was symptomatic of a wider problem in South Beach.

Even though he missed significant time with an ankle injury, Messi still did his bit in the regular season, as did the stars around him, leading Miami to the Supporters' Shield with a record 74 points. But so much of this side went into brand building, the acquisition of big names, and the hiring of a marquee coach.

Someone, somewhere didn't say enough about how a roster should be pieced together for playoff success. Miami, the brand, will be fine. Messi, the GOAT, will certainly be fine. MLS, with hope that the league is actually bigger than one player or one team, will also be fine.

But Miami, the team, have some serious retooling to do if they want to exceed this performance next year.

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  Not enough Messi magic

  For all of the good vibes from Messi, though, it must be said that he probably could have done more.

  Messi was quiet for most of the Atlanta series. In truth, he has been in knockout football for a while. Yes, the Argentine got on the scoresheet, nodding home the equalizer in the game 3 loss. But when a 5-7 playmaker, with just 27 headed goals in his career – less than 5 percent of his total – leaps to knock the ball into the net, there is little you can do but reluctantly accept it. Otherwise, though, Messi had few real chances against Atlanta. He found himself forced into deeper areas, receiving the ball far from goal.

  And when he was close, Atlanta simply crowded him out. A couple of free kicks hit the wall. One of two nice dribbles were cut short by smart fouls and timely tackles. There was no magic to be found, no last-second winner, no no-look pass. More than anything, this is all due to good defending. Atlanta had a plan, executed it well, and ensured that the best player to ever kick a football didn't have a sniff.

  But we have become so used to Messi working miracles. It basically feels like a disappointment when he doesn't.

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  Personal legacy intact

  Big-picture, this doesn't mean much for Messi's career narrative. The Argentine, in truth, could have retired after the 2022 World Cup, and few would have begrudged him. After all, with that trophy, he completed football. There is nothing more left for him to win, no further accolades needed to cement his legacy. No one seemed to care when he left PSG without a Champions League. Miami means even less, comparatively.

  In a sense, that could be a bad thing. This league should be his stomping ground. With 26 goal contributions in 19 regular season games, it actually was. Messi isn't necessarily here to just to win. Rather, the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner also carries the mantle of growing the game. But the implicit argument of it all, the thing that goes unsaid by the depth of his trophy cabinet, suggests that the Argentine be lifting the MLS Cup every year.

  Expectations are nothing new – and Messi has failed to meet them in his prime years – but in five years, no one will remember if Messi won the MLS Cup or not in 2024. More likely, it become a trivia night special that he didn't.

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  What this means for Miami, the brand

  For Miami, the team, meanwhile, this is all a bit embarrassing. It's hard to spin this as anything but a massive upset for the best team in MLS. This squad, assembled by co-owner and team president David Beckham and the Miami front office, met all expectations during the regular season. They were the No. 1 seed in the East, winners of the Supporter's Shield and statistically the most successful regular season side ever.

  Yes, Atlanta executed a wonderfully constructed gameplan, and made it very difficult for the Herons. But if Miami were better managed across the three-game series, and got the most out of their stars, this really shouldn't have been a contest.

  Still, little of this has to do with the performance of the 11 men on the pitch. Miami in MLS, much like Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, are a brand. Ask anyone outside of the MLS sphere, and they would likely only know the Herons as "Messi's team."

  They would recognize the pink kits and know that Beckham owns them, and that Luis Suarez joined Messi in this South Beach escapade. Scroll social media or ask people on the street and they are unlikely to know how Miami performed. This won't come as comfort to the players, fans, or league itself – the passion therein is real – but team performance is irrelevant to the brands of Messi and Inter Miami in the wider sphere.

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  Where Miami go now

  But the team might have some thinking to do. This is a strangely assembled roster, top heavy, and lacking in the kind of intelligent, athletic role players needed to succeed in MLS. Messi is not to blame – he's a designated player and therefore can be paid however much the Herons want. Neither is Sergio Busquets, who is also allowed to be paid whatever Miami deems the right price within league regulations.

  Financially, at least, neither Jordi Alba or Suarez are at fault, either. They are both on affordable contracts, and have taken immense pay cuts from the kind of money they might have earned elsewhere. Still, roster assembling is more than a question of how much you pay individuals. There are knock-on effects, wage structures to be pieced together.

  Suarez, Alba, Busquets and Messi pretty much have to start, based on those salaries. Much like some of the best teams across other American sports, Miami needs to shrewd in how they spend the money. In abstract, they need a right back, defensive midfielder and center back. They will get some help by the fact that big-money man Diego Gomez is leaving for Brighton in January.

  There remain questions elsewhere, though. Suarez is out of contract at the end of the season, and although there is talk that he wants to stay, Miami might need a new No. 9 if he elects to hang up his boots. The long-term effectiveness of Drake Callender in goal, as well as the puzzling underuse of Julian Gressel, must also be addressed. Miami have tried the expensive route. Now, it might be time to be a little smarter.

Manchester United and Sir Jim Ratcliffe have held talks over a move to sign a £63m Brazilian ahead of Arsenal, according to a new report.

Man Utd targeting striker signing

Ratcliffe and INEOS are now officially into their first summer transfer window in charge of sporting decisions at Old Trafford and have already made a big decision.

The club decided to stick with Erik ten Hag as manager, with Ratcliffe recently explaining that call. “The coach isn't the central issue at Manchester United”, Ratcliffe said on keeping Ten Hag.

“It’s a sports club. It needs to be competitive, it needs a degree of intensity, but with a supportive side to it because you are dealing with players who are relatively young. It hasn’t had that type of environment historically.”

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With the club’s attention now on the transfer window, Ratcliffe has already hinted that United need two of three summer windows to complete a rebuild.

"I don't think the solution is to buy an Mbappe. We are more grassroots than that. One player is not going to solve the problem at Manchester United. The first thing we need to do is build a balanced squad and ultimately maybe top it off with one or two players like Mbappe. It will take two or three summer windows to get to a better place."

This summer, a centre-back and striker appear to be at the top of their to-do list at this moment in time. Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite has been at the top of the defensive wishlist, whereas a number of attacking targets have been on the club’s radar.

Bologna striker Joshua Zirzkee is one of those, with Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg stating there is a good chance Man Utd can hijack AC Milan’s deal to sign the Netherlands international.

Lille’s Jonathan David is another target, with talks advancing for the Canada international, who is wanted by a number of Premier League clubs.

There was also noise around Wolves forward Matheus Cunha, with Ratcliffe reportedly willing to double his wage at Old Trafford to £120,000-a-week. Now, a new update has emerged on the Molineux star.

Cunha to Man Utd update

According to CaughtOffside, Man Utd have now held talks with Cunha’s agents ahead of a possible move to Old Trafford.

The Red Devils have received information about a potential deal, with the Brazilian also wanted by Arsenal. Wolves are demanding €75m (£63m) to sell the forward, and it remains to be seen if United and Ratcliffe are willing to pay such a big price.

Cunha, Zirkzee and David appear to be the three main attacking targets to rival Rasmus Hojlund next season, with the Wolves star more expensive than David and Zirkzee who could cost around £30m and £34m respectively. It’ll be interesting to see if United can secure the services of one of the three attacking names mentioned, with a deal for Cunha once again one to watch.

Lautaro Martinez has been advised to forget about his Ballon d'Or disappointment as Marco Materazzi urged the Inter striker to listen to Lionel Messi.

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• Martinez angry over his Ballon d'Or ranking
• Messi said forward 'deserved the award'
• Materazzi says 'Messi's words more important'

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Martinez did not hide his disappointment at his lower than expected placing in the Ballon d'Or rankings this week, calling his seventh-place finish "unfair" as Manchester City star Rodri went on to win the award.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Martinez had a wonderful year playing for Inter in Serie A as he scored 27 goals and assisted three more in all competitions, playing a huge part in Inter's league and cup double. He went on to score five times as Argentina won the Copa America in the summer.

  More so than Rodri or Vinicius Junior, Messi argued that it was his Argentina team-mate who deserved to take home the award, and those sentiments, Materazzi says, outweigh the honour of winning the Ballon d'Or.

• WHAT MATERAZZI SAID

  In an interview with , 2006 World Cup winner Materazzi said: "He is undoubtedly top five. You can't complain about Rodri, who won the Champions League and the Euros, or Dani Caravajal. But Lautaro has also won trophies with Inter and Argentina. He's right when he says he expects more. I think the Ballon d'Or doesn't count much. The real value is determined by the clubs with which you win trophies. Lautaro has won the World Cup and two Copa America, the last one as a top scorer. This is what counts."

  Materazzi added: "Lautaro must heed Messi's words, because his judgement is more important than the one of the Ballon d'Or jury."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MARTINEZ AND INTER?

  Martinez will have to recover from this disappointment quickly, as Inter are set to face Arsenal in the Champions League and Serie A leaders Napoli before the November international break begins. Martinez has five goals and two assists in all competitions so far this campaign, and will want to maintain that form against their upcoming opponents.

A list purporting to show the top 12 finishers in the 2024 men's Ballon d'Or has gone viral before Monday night's official ceremony in Paris.

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• Viral social media post shows alleged Ballon d'Or results
• Vinicius Jr's apparent winning points tally revealed
• Identity of top 12 finishers unveiled

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The unconfirmed but widely-shared list shows Vinicius Junior top of the standings with 630 points, which is significantly more than Lionel Messi won with in 2023, but not as much as Messi in 2019 (686), Luka Modric in 2018 (753) or Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017 (946). If accurate, Manchester City midfielder Rodri has finished second with 576 points, with Jude Bellingham in third on 422.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Ballon d'Or votes are cast in advance of the ceremony and rumours started circulating in September that Vinicius was aware he'd won, although he hasn't been officially told. has reported this is the first time that the winner doesn't formally know the outcome prior to the ceremony, with no interview or photoshoot conducted in advance as has been the case in the past.

  The alleged top 12, according to the leaked list, in this year's vote are as follows:

  1. Vinicius Junior, 630 points
  2. Rodri, 576 points
  3. Jude Bellingham,422 points
  4. Kylian Mbappe, 317 points
  5. Harry Kane, 201 points
  6. Erling Haaland, 195 points
  7. Lamine Yamal, 128 points
  8. Phil Foden, 29 points
  9. Dani Olmo, 25 points
  10. Florian Wirtz, 24 points
  11. Dani Carvajal, 17 points
  12. Antonio Rudiger, unknown

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Vinicius, who was instrumental in Real Madrid winning both la Liga and the Champions League last season, stands to be the first Ballon d'Or winner born in the 21st century. The men's award has bizarrely never been won by someone born in the 1990s, due to the long-term dominance of Cristiano Ronaldo (1985) and Lionel Messi (1987).

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  WHAT NEXT?

  The Ballon d'Or trophy will be presented at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris on Monday night, along with the Feminin prize, for which Barcelona's Aitana Bonmati is the favourite, and subsidiary accolades, including the Kopa Trophy, Yachine Trophy and new coaching gongs.

Douglas Luiz's move to Juventus has yet to be finalised. Aston Villa are under pressure to adhere to Premier League profit and sustainability (PSR) rules before the end of the month and the Brazil midfielder has been sacrificed.

According to Gianluca di Marzio, Weston McKennie and Samuel Iling-Junior are poised to move to Villa Park in the same deal, but the former is currently holding up the deal, having yet to agree terms. Still, the move is very much on, with McKennie expected to ply his trade under Unai Emery next season.

The USMNT midfielder is talented but failed to impress during his loan spell with Leeds United in 2022/23. He will need support to reach his zenith, and Villa are lining up a new forward who could be the perfect partner for the 25-year-old.

Villa eyeing new striker

As per Football Insider, Aston Villa are hoping to strengthen their frontline with the signing of Tammy Abraham this summer, who are open to selling the striker.

Abraham enjoyed an instrumental loan spell at Villa Park in 2018/19, scoring 26 goals as the club got promoted to the Premier League. He has since enjoyed a trophy-laden career but missed most of the 2023/24 campaign due to a knee injury.

Tottenham Hotspur and West Ham United are also thought to be interested in the £20m-rated Englishman, but Emery will hope his outfit's connection to the player holds sway.

Imagine Tammy Abraham & Weston McKennie

There is rarely an obvious branching point in a player's career, but Abraham cut his teeth at Aston Villa and honed his ability ahead of a prosperous few years.

An ACL rupture suffered on the final day of the 2022/23 campaign restricted him to only two Serie A starts last term, scoring one goal and adding one assist.

Standing at 6 foot 3, Abraham has scored 36 goals and provided 12 assists across 107 matches for his Italian club, notably notching a 27-goal haul during the 2021/22 campaign, scoring nine goals in the Europa Conference League en route to the title.

He's been hailed as a "goal machine" by former coach Stephen Elliott and would offer something different, more of a focal point, to that of Ollie Watkins. His imposing style up front would benefit McKennie greatly.

McKennie might have flattered to deceive during his loan spell with imperilled Leeds but this should not define him as a player. Last season, back in Turin, he was a key figure in the middle of the park and demonstrated a rounded skill set.

The 25-year-old's seven-assist total would obviously help Abraham, whose silky footwork could be a good target point for the American's distribution, but deeper analysis highlights the reason this would be so successful.

As per FBref, the Old Lady midfielder ranked among the top 5% of midfielders in Serie A last season for assists, which is great, but he also ranked among the top 20% for progressive carries, the top 17% for touches in the attacking penalty area and the top 7% for progressive passes received per 90.

A forward-scurrying star, his athleticism and passion for pushing forward and influencing play would give Villa's prospective new striker a steady stream of creative support.

Given that he also ranked among the top 9% for crosses into the penalty area, his dynamic delivery also suggests that Abraham could find his noggin meeting ball with prolific constancy.

Watkins is the main man at Villa Park but with Jhon Duran mooted for a move to Chelsea, Abraham could be the perfect supplementary to add a dimension as Emery and his troops march toward Europe's elite club competitions.

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By
Angus Sinclair

Jun 6, 2024