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Arsenal would now be willing to sanction the departure of William Saliba as part of a swap deal for a Real Madrid star this summer, according to a report.

Doubts remain over Saliba's Arsenal future

There have been widespread recent reports suggesting the Gunners are set to offer Saliba a new contract, amid interest from European heavyweights Real Madrid, but there is still plenty of doubt over the defender’s future at the Emirates Stadium.

Madrid president Florentino Perez has hatched a plan to sign the Frenchman, alongside Myles Lewis-Skelly, in a deal that could amount to £101m, and the Spanish side’s recent transfer business indicates they could be capable of getting a deal over the line.

Trent Alexander-Arnold’s decision to leave boyhood club Liverpool may have sparked outrage among supporters, but it also showcased the pull the La Liga club have in the transfer market, as explained by Everton’s James Tarkowski.

With that in mind, there are plenty of signs that Saliba could also be tempted if Madrid come calling, and a new report from Spain has suggested Arsenal would be willing to sanction the Frenchman’s departure as part of a swap deal for Rodrygo.

Mikel Arteta has been considering the possibility of swapping the centre-back for the forward, but a deal of that nature is not of interest to Perez, given that Saliba’s market value will drop next summer, at which point he will have one year remaining on his contract.

With Arteta pushing to sign the Brazilian, who could cost as much as £85m, it remains to be seen whether a deal of a different nature is possible, but Perez’s lack of interest in a swap means Saliba is unlikely to be heading in the opposite direction.

Saliba must be kept at all costs

Saliba’s contract running down should be a major cause for concern, with Madrid’s move for Trent highlighting their willingness to wait for a target to be available on a free transfer before making a move.

However, the France international should be kept at all costs, given how important the centre-back has been for quite some time, with Arteta lauding him as “incredible” earlier this season.

Arsenal: Arteta wants £67m Odegaard alternative with 17 goals this season

The Spaniard thinks he could be “key”.

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By
Emilio Galantini

May 17, 2025

That said, it would be exciting if Arsenal were able to bring Rodrygo to the Emirates Stadium alongside the 24-year-old this summer, having been lauded as “spectacular” by pundit Terry Gibson during his time with the Spanish club.

As such, the Gunners should look to negotiate a different type of deal for the Brazil international, who is among a number of potential winger targets this summer.

West Ham United are now closely monitoring an “intelligent” £84m striker, who is also in the sights of Premier League rivals Arsenal and Aston Villa, according to a report.

Hammers set sights on new striker

Niclas Fullkrug may have won over some West Ham fans with his extremely honest reflection on the team’s performance in the 1-1 draw against Southampton last month, which left manager Graham Potter not best pleased.

However, the German has hardly set the world alight himself during his first season at the London Stadium, netting just three Premier League goals, and with the striker now 32-years-old, it could be a shrewd move to bring in a replacement this summer.

Celtic’s Daizen Maeda is one potential option, with the Hammers currently preparing a substantial offer for the versatile Japanese forward, while Strasbourg’s Emanuel Emegha and Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap also remain of interest.

Delap could be an ambitious target, given the level of interest in the Englishman, and the same applies to Botafogo striker Igor Jesus, with a report from Spain now revealing that West Ham are now racing their Premier League rivals for the Brazilian’s signature.

Arsenal and Aston Villa are also keen on Jesus, who the Hammers have been closely monitoring, with the Gunners thought to be seriously considering a move, which could pose a major problem for Potter’s side.

The 24-year-old is also protected by a €100m (£84m) release clause, although the Brazilian club should be willing to sanction his departure for a lower price.

Related Their best signing since Bowen: West Ham in the race to land £12m EFL star

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Posts ByBen Gray May 18, 2025 "Intelligent" Jesus impressing for Botafogo

Brazilian pundit Walter Casagrande has been impressed by some of the Brazil international’s performances since returning to his home country after a spell with Dubai-based side Shabab Al-Alhi, lauding him as “very intelligent” in September last year.

The forward played an important role in Botafogo’s 2024 league title triumph, picking up five goals and three assists and receiving some very high praise for his displays.

Jesus could now be ready to make the step-up to the Premier League, and at 24-years-old he is at the right age to be a long-term success at the London Stadium, but the serious interest from Arsenal could be a major issue for West Ham.

Getting into the Premier League is a challenge in itself, although staying in the division is becoming increasingly more difficult. The gap appears to be growing ever wider.

In both 2023/24 and 2024/25, the three promoted sides swiftly tumbled back down to the Championship, with most having almost been resigned to their fate from the outset of the campaign.

And yet, in years gone by, there are those who have managed to shake off a slow start to eventually stave off the drop by their fingernails, having battled their way to retaining their top-flight status.

Ranked: The 11 best starts to a Premier League season

Where do runaway leaders Liverpool rank?

ByBarney Lane Nov 28, 2024

As a few examples below showcase, that ability to cling on can prove to be a turning point, a defining moment in sparking something of a revival for a club.

Here, we rank the best sides to beat the drop against all odds.

10 Wigan Athletic (2006/07) Final day showdown sees Latics send Blades to Championship

Wigan Athletic’s form in early 2007 saw them plummet down the table, and ended up requiring a victory on the final day to secure their safety.

Three wins in five months meant the Latics had inadvertently set up a final day play-off with Sheffield United, who only needed a point to survive the drop.

Wigan led through Paul Scharner before Jon Stead equalised for the hosts, but David Unsworth’s penalty on the stroke of half-time was the eventual winner that saw the visitors survive.

Since this came down to one game, it’s hardly the greatest escape of all time, but pulling a win out of the bag when it mattered most deserves some credit.

9 Leeds United (2021/22) Late Harrison winner gets Leeds out of bottom three

Leeds United spent the entirety of the 2021/22 season in the bottom six, and after losing three on the spin in mid-May, the Whites would need at least another win from their final two matches to stay up.

A late draw against Brighton on matchday 37 ensured that bettering Burnley’s result on the final day would be enough to stay afloat, ensuring a tense clash with Brentford would decide their fate.

Jesse Marsch’s side had led through Raphinha, but Sergi Canos’ equaliser meant the West Yorkshire outfit were one goal from relegation with Burnley trailing to Newcastle.

But a late Jack Harrison strike ensured Leeds would live to fight another day in the Premier League, staying up by the skin of their teeth.

8 Wigan Athletic (2010/11) Rodallega heroics secure another great escape

Wigan had started to make a name for themselves as survival specialists, and one of their finest escapes came in the 2010/11 season, when they stayed up despite starting the final day in the bottom three.

The Latics were once again in peril and had spent most of the campaign in the relegation zone.

And along with Charles N’Zogbia, Hugo Rodallega popped up with some crucial goals to save Roberto Martinez’s side.

Wigan somehow grabbed a last-minute win to relegate West Ham in their penultimate match before visiting Stoke City on the final day.

And Rodallega pounced late on at the Britannia Stadium to secure Wigan’s safety, despite being on the brink of demotion on multiple occasions.

7 Bradford City 1999/00 Bantams beat Liverpool to stay afloat

Bradford City notched three wins in their final four games to stay in the Premier League amid a tense conclusion to the 1999/00 season.

The Bantams were in big trouble with just five games to go, trailing 17th-placed Wimbledon by six points and coming off the back of six successive defeats.

But Paul Jewell’s side earned 10 points from a possible 15 in a run that included a win over Wimbledon at Valley Parade and a dramatic 1-0 victory over Liverpool on the final day to guarantee survival.

6 Everton 1993/94 Goodison drama sees Toffees survive on final day

Everton have been in relegation trouble in more recent times, but their finest escape from the drop is probably their Houdini act in 1994.

The Toffees had recorded just 1 win in 10 going into the final day, and would require another victory to escape the bottom three.

Facing a Wimbledon side in the top six at Goodison Park, the home side made the worst possible start after going 2-0 down inside 20 minutes.

But a barnstorming comeback through Graham Stuart’s double and Barry Horne’s screamer saved Everton from relegation in the most dramatic of turnarounds.

5 Aston Villa 2019/20 Superb run-in keeps Villans alive

The 2019/20 season was a little different for all involved, and having resumed the pandemic-affected campaign with two draws and four defeats, Dean Smith’s Aston Villa were strong favourites for the drop.

Having trailed Watford and West Ham by four points, the final four games saw the Villans grab eight points to sneak out of the bottom three.

A huge turning point was their 1-0 win over Arsenal in their penultimate game, which handed them the most slender of advantages ahead of the final matchday, when they simply had to better Watford’s result.

After a tense draw with West Ham, Villa were made to wait for the Hornets’ defeat at Arsenal to be confirmed, which led to wild celebrations in east London.

4 Sunderland 2013/14 Black Cats win four on the spin to surge to safety

Sunderland may have finished in 14th place back in 2014, but that hardly tells the story of their impressive escape.

Not only were the Black Cats bottom at Christmas – often a death knell for teams battling the drop – but Gustavo Poyet’s side were at the foot of the table as late as 27th April, when a victory over Cardiff City saw them surge out of the bottom three.

The Wearsiders’ run-in was mightily impressive, with a run of four straight wins securing survival that included victories away from home over Chelsea and Manchester United.

Having looked doomed for much of the season, Sunderland finished five points above the drop, making their final-day loss to Swansea City academic.

3 Leicester City 2014/15 Insane run of form saves Foxes and sets up historic campaign

Seven wins in their last nine games saved Leicester City from dropping straight back into the Championship – and set the scene for perhaps the greatest campaign we have ever witnessed.

The Foxes looked destined to return to the second tier, having been left seven points adrift of safety with nine games remaining.

Having won just four games all season and been without a victory in almost three months, Nigel Pearson’s inspired team were only beaten by champions Chelsea in the run-in, making the King Power Stadium a fortress as they coasted to safety, finishing six points above the drop zone.

We all know what happened next.

2 West Brom 2004/05 Baggies pull off miraculous escape on final day

West Bromwich Albion were the victors on a historic final day, which remains the only time that all three demoted teams had their relegations confirmed in the last round of matches.

And despite being rooted to the bottom at Christmas and spending most of the year in the drop zone, the Baggies held on to give themselves a fighting chance thanks to key victories over Charlton Athletic and Everton either side of the final mid-season international break, as well as a credible point away at Manchester United.

The final day itself saw Bryan Robson’s side requiring a win over Portsmouth and other results to go their way.

Defeats for Norwich City and Southampton, along with Crystal Palace’s draw at Charlton, meant that goals from Geoff Horsfield and Kieran Richardson were enough to somehow prolong their stay in the top flight.

1 Fulham 2007/08 Roy Hodgson's side complete miracle turnaround

When Roy Hodgson took over as Fulham boss in December 2007, the Whites were in trouble. Just two wins all year and facing the prospect of their seven-season stay in the Premier League coming to an end, they were going to need to turn a corner, and quickly.

Hodgson took just over a month to claim his first win, but it didn’t lead to a transformation of Fulham’s fortunes.

Following a defeat to Sunderland in early April, Fulham were six points from safety and had an inferior goal difference to most of their relegation rivals. But somehow, they did enough in their final five matches to save their Premier League status.

A crucial win over lowly Reading started their revival, before being brought down to earth with a home defeat to Liverpool.

Then, their most miraculous result of the campaign almost single-handedly gave them the inspiration they needed to stay up.

2-0 down at Manchester City, Fulham were all but down, but an incredible comeback in the final 20 minutes – sealed by Diomansy Kamara’s superb double – rejuvenated the Cottagers.

Tense wins over Birmingham and Portsmouth saw Fulham complete their turnaround, as Danny Murphy’s late winner at Fratton Park saw them stay up by three goals at the expense of Reading.

Now that it has brought in the money, the upcoming Hundred season has missed a chance to begin the healing process

Andrew Miller13-Mar-2025“Are you a Gladiator? Do you have the will and the skill?”At the age of 42, but still with the body of a Greek god, James Anderson would probably answer “yes” to both of those questions, whether he was pushing off from the sightscreen at Old Trafford or from a giant hamster-ball launcher in a Saturday night gameshow.Never mind that the Hundred might prefer to be seen in loftier company, English cricket’s chosen prime-time offering has more than a few traits in common with “Gladiators”, ITV’s eponymous hit which pitches plucky members of the public against a range of beefcakes in a series of taxing athletic pursuits.Kids love both concepts, by all accounts, even if more established sports fans tend to view them, at best, with indifference and, at worst, disdain or outright loathing. And the strides towards gender parity have been a key aspect of the appeal, with the men’s and women’s competitions in both cases having equal and interchangeable merit (if not, in the Hundred’s case, equal pay just yet).Dare one say it, however, grumpy has-beens have long been a central plank of Gladiators’ success. Fans of the original series in the 1990s had “Wolf” as the original pantomime baddie, while the modern-day villain is the taciturn, tantrum-prone “Viper” (alongside the engagingly egomanicial “Legend”). At least London Spirit have got David Warner lined up for 2025, but you can see where this one’s going, can’t you?Yes, Anderson’s enduring heart to be a winner made not the blindest bit of difference in Wednesday night’s Hundred draft. For the fifth time (and, given what’s at stake from next year onwards, let’s fervently hope the final time), the tournament’s organisers again failed to work out whether it is sport or entertainment that they will be overseeing in the prime weeks of the English summer.Should we care that an England legend, who hasn’t played a professional T20 fixture in more than a decade, has just been snubbed by a tournament that was last month valued at approximately £2 billion? Your answer depends on what you think the ECB ought to be getting out of the Hundred this summer, seeing as it has already got exactly what the tournament was created for.Wolf (left) and Cobra pose ahead of the original series of Gladiators in 1992•Getty ImagesAs England’s stake in a fragmenting international market, the Hundred has fulfilled its purpose admirably. At an operational level, however, the ECB has consistently struggled to pitch it in a manner appropriate to the sport that they already serve. The tournament, they have long said, is not aimed at cricket’s established fans, which would be fine in principle, were it not for the contempt with which that insistence had been burnished, and the collateral damage it has caused along the way, particularly in hastening the decline of the very international game that, by design, it is there to replace.As such, every new season has been a bundle of contradictions, at one level or another, but this year’s competition doesn’t even seem to be aimed at future fans either. Who knows what the Hundred will look like from 2026 onwards, when IPL team-names begin to oust the competition’s existing brands, and the kits start to get a makeover – including, it is proposed, a garish MCC egg-and-bacon strip to replace London Spirit’s existing Tyrells’ blue. Vikram Banjeree, the Hundred’s MD, recently admitted the competition needed more “tribalism” to gain proper traction with its fans, but in the rapacious world of financially focused sports leagues, the only constant is change.The draft itself rather confirmed the impression that this year’s tournament will be an unusually listless exercise. Where once the player selection process had been envisioned as an appointment-to-view Sunday evening event on Sky Sports, this year’s version wasn’t even deemed worthy of a fixed YouTube camera. Instead, contracts worth up to £200,000 a pop were drip-fed through a tournament-run live blog on a half-hour delay, without so much as a peep behind the curtain to whet any wider media interest. No doubt the Silicon Valley tech bros were especially entranced by the spectacle.Beyond the immediate confusion, however, there are still wider issues that the Hundred still isn’t making any attempt to address. In the build-up to the draft, a preview piece on BBC Sport (a tournament partner, remember) was inundated with the usual vitriol: “Couldn’t care less” … “pantomime time” … “a joke competition” … “just ever-changing teams of random individuals, picked like in a school playground …” and so it went on.Of course, the ECB is entitled to show off its swag-bag as a pointed rejoinder, but there’s no way that anyone who cares for cricket in this country can just close their ears to the hatred, and pretend it will all just go away now that the money is rolling in. The bad blood is real and lasting, and a rapprochement seems no closer to fruition.Related

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• James Anderson undrafted for 2025 men's Hundred

Maybe it’s easy to cling too tightly to the past, and miss the bigger picture. Elsewhere in this week’s sporting news, the Manchester United Supporters Trust couldn’t help but sound like stick-in-the-muds when failing to get giddily excited about Old Trafford’s extraordinary expansion plans. No doubt their concerns about ticket prices and in-stadium atmosphere have merit, but lads … can’t you just look at that £2 billion’s worth of real-estate investment and be happy for once?But, while snubbing Anderson’s advances could be seen as a statement of sporting seriousness as the Hundred prepares for its loaded new future, it does seem odd – in these remarkable circumstances – to pass over the appeal of one man who could, at the very least, have given cricket’s disenfranchised masses a reason to tune in and pass judgement on their own terms.Anderson played his first T20 match way back in July 2004, in the format’s second season, and a full year before its first international fixture. But it’s not as though he’s been a stranger to the Hundred’s new demographics, with his guest slots as a BBC summariser and numerous matchday masterclasses. His Tailenders’ podcast sidekicks, Felix White and Greg James, were even co-opted onto Oval Invincibles’ board in the lead-up to the equity sale.Yes, Anderson will still be toiling away on the county circuit for another season yet, but that fact in itself merely exacerbates the sense of a heritage spurned – a fair few fans may pop into Lord’s from April 4 to watch him open the county season with Lancashire, and he may even feature in his first 50-over game in six years when the One-Day Cup takes place in the Hundred’s immense shadow in August.But surely there would have been merit in a one-season deal for a grand old man who just wants to be able to flame out on his own terms, and provide a last bit of entertainment along the way. It would have been a vehicle, if nothing else, to lure a few of the unconverted through the gates – maybe even with their kids in tow, flushed with memories of what it was like to be young and starry-eyed – and begin some sort of a healing process before the true upheaval begins next year.After all, as Gladiators has shown over the course of its 33-year span, good clean family fun doesn’t have to be so goddamn divisive.

His spin-bowling team-mate talks about the India No. 3’s method, and a nickname he gave him

R Ashwin14-Feb-2023The first time I bowled competitively to Cheteshwar Pujara was in the Buchi Babu Invitational Tournament in 2008-09. I took five wickets but he scored a hundred.The first thing about him was how quick he was on his feet. The moment you tossed it up a little, he’d step out and get to the pitch of the ball. He wouldn’t hit it in the air. If he wanted to make runs – he’d still hit it along the ground, but ferociously. Puji is one of the greatest at playing percentages against spin.During all these years of knowing him, I have learnt that his game is just an extension of his personality. And his personality is stubborn. You just can’t win an argument with him. He never concedes a point. I enjoy seeing his stubborn side, so I try to lead him into arguments while others around say, “Ash, you know you are not going to win.”Related

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M Vijay, according to me the greatest opener for India outside of Sunil Gavaskar and Virender Sehwag, and Puji are quite similar in that they haven’t been celebrated enough. They also had some of the most hilarious arguments. They used to do the most difficult job in Test cricket – play out the new ball in testing conditions, as we tend to need to do whenever we go abroad – so it is par for the course to have a few eccentricities emerge from that kind of partnership.They could spend a whole session break arguing over a call that Puji wouldn’t have responded to. Vijay would try to get others to back him, but Puji would stay firm and say, “There was no run.” You can get witnesses and evidence and attorneys, but Puji never changes his mind. Nor does he get frustrated with these debates.Pat Cummins bowls good ball after good ball, changing the angles, trying a bouncer, trying a sucker ball, but all he gets from Puji is the leave or the dead defence. Actually I don’t recall thinking Puji had a great defence when I first saw him, but his stubbornness is such that he has broken down the best of the attacks with his defence.4:17

Pujara: ‘Nothing more satisfying that playing an inspiring innings’

Most batters add to their game when they are successful or cut out some elements when they are failing, but Puji keeps trusting his method. You can’t convince him to change. I used to use a Tamil nickname for him with Shankar Basu, our previous trainer: Mirugam, the beast. Just like a beast focuses single-mindedly on its prey, Puji focuses on batting.One of the arguments I lost to Mirugam was in trying to get him to expand his game. I always believed he could have been an excellent one-day batter. He had the natural ability to rotate the strike in the middle overs.With all the knowledge he has acquired over the years, I felt he could have been a more explosive batter, but I can also understand his challenges. He has had two career-threatening injuries, he has been in and out of the only format he plays, so I can see why it is not easy to veer away from what he knows the best.Especially considering what he knows made him a batter spinners found impossible to bowl to between 2012 and 2017. You pushed it up slightly and he would step out, but never be beaten in the flight. If you bowled a fraction flat, he would go back and whack you through the off side.There was an inevitability to Puji’s runs in this period. Even on the green top at the SSC in 2015. I felt bad for him that he didn’t play the first two Tests because I really rated him. He had played beautifully in Australia too. The moment we knew he was playing the series decider, I told Basu: the Mirugam is hungry and he will feast. It was written all over that match that Puji would score a hundred. That match happened just so he could score that hundred.

“I have not batted a lot with Puji, but we have had a few crucial partnerships. I regret not having been at the other end when he cut loose against the Australian attack in Adelaide “

Puji’s stubbornness has helped him play some of his more memorable knocks, be it the hundreds in Southampton, Adelaide and Melbourne, or the fifties in Johannesburg and Sydney.I have seen a lot of criticism that Puji doesn’t move the game forward and that there is no scoreboard pressure on the bowlers when he gets out, and how that contributes to the dismissal of the new batters. By the same token, those critics should attribute hundreds made by other batters to Puji when he plays out the new ball and leaves behind tired bowlers.We joke that Puji’s dad, Arvind, didn’t teach him the whole sport of cricket. He has taught him this: there is a round object, it is red in colour, people will hurl it at you, and you have to hit it. Hit it in a way that the ball doesn’t fall far from your feet. The other aspects of the sport he doesn’t even see as cricket. He just sucks all the energy out of the bowlers. I am waiting for the day when someone runs in and bowls fast and Puji defends it so softly that the bat falls out of his hand upon impact.When Vikram Rathour and I watch Puji bat, Vikram , for some reason, is always optimistic Puji will hit in the air. He tries to manifest it, but Puji never yields. I tell him if he hits in the air, Puji’s dad won’t let him come back home. In fact, we joke that his house doesn’t have a lock combination. His dad and his wife throw a few balls at him, and he has to knock them back along the ground. Only then is he allowed in. I am sure by now Aditi, his daughter, is also throwing balls at him.R Ashwin: “Critics should attribute the hundreds of other batters to Puji when he plays out the new ball and leaves behind tired bowlers”•AFP/Getty ImagesI have not batted a lot with Puji, but we have had a few crucial partnerships. I regret not having been at the other end when he cut loose against the Australian attack in Adelaide, but then again, I doubt he will take risks like that as long as even a half-decent batter is at the other end.Not that Puji doesn’t think of runs. His long-term planning is way ahead of anyone else. We see he stays in the moment and defends, but in his mind when he is defending Dale Steyn in the first session, he has already planned for JP Duminy after tea. He doesn’t know what score he’ll be on at tea, but he knows he will get at least one or two overs from Duminy and he knows he will go right of midwicket once, left of midwicket once, and he’ll cut him once. So he has 12 runs parked there when you think Steyn is building pressure.We have many other complimentary jokes about Puji but it is no joke for someone with two surgically repaired knees to play for 12 years and get to 100 Tests in a country as full of competition and talent as India.As a spinner who needs runs to play with and an important lower-order batter, I am a nervous watcher when we are batting. The one time I do take a coffee break or a loo break is when Puji is batting because I know when I come back, Puji will still be doing his thing.In your 100th Test and beyond, Puji, my friend, my leg-slip and backward short-leg ally, the single-minded Mirugam, I will be thankful for the value you bring to the team, and the peace and calm to the dressing room.

England could do well to listen to voices from the past

George Dobell25-Feb-2021Chris Tavare, that famously obdurate England batsman*, had an expression he used at the start of each county season. “Every dot ball in April and May,” he would say, “is a run in July and August”.Even by Tavare’s standards, an innings that takes three or four months to build might be deemed excessive. But Tavare’s words provide a revealing insight into not just his mental approach, but the approach of another era of batsmen. What he meant, in essence, was that time invested at the start of an innings – or even a season – is time rewarded later.England’s batsmen could do worse than reflect on Tavare’s words in the coming days. For as much as we are often told ‘the game has changed’ and ‘you have to be positive’, the somewhat prosaic truth is a good Test technique is still built on a solid defence.Related

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Let’s be clear: batting in this game was tough. The combination of the pitch, the ball and the bowling resulted in challenging conditions that would have tested any player of any era. Dennis Amiss, a man who went on three tours of India (two with England and one with a World XI) described it as “as tough as any I’ve seen,” so an England side who rarely encounter such circumstances can probably be cut a little slack however ugly this scorecard looks.A match aggregate of 193 runs is never going to be satisfactory, but they will probably bat worse and score double. They could console themselves too, that despite losing the one Test on this redeveloped ground, they hadn’t produced the worst performance here in recent months. No, that came when Donald Trump tried to pronounce Sachin Tendulkar’s name.There is a difference, however, between tough conditions and impossible ones. And if England really do want to be the best in the world, they are going to have to find a way. At present they have an Achilles heel which will cost them just about every time they come up against these conditions. And as we saw in Dhaka, in 2016, or Abu Dhabi, in 2012 (both occasions when their batsmen have been undone by the ball that skidded on as much as the one that turned), they going to come up against these conditions.The modern game is probably as entertaining as it has ever been. The scope of modern batsmen – who now routinely achieve things that could not have been imagined only a couple of decades ago – the agility of modern fielders and the skills of modern bowlers provides us with an almost endless string of breath-taking action. The draw is almost as endangered a species as the rhinoceros.But, somewhere along the way, we’ve lost a thing or two. And while the ability to defend the turning, spitting ball might seem arcane, there was a certain beauty – and yes, a certain entertainment – in it. Perhaps, as long as the longest format survives, there will be a place for it, too?

“You earn the right to hit the bad balls by being able to defend the good ones”Graeme Fowler

So, how can a batsman prosper in such conditions? It seemed the best people to ask were those who had done it. And while Amiss, Roger Tolchard, Graeme Fowler and Kevin Pietersen – all of whom, to varying degrees, helped in putting this article together – each had different scoring methods, they also each had the same premises behind their game: you build an innings on a strong defence.”The modern batsman seems to think you have to hit your way out of trouble,” Amiss, who averaged 48.05 in Test cricket in Asia, told ESPNcricinfo. “We used to think you play your way out of trouble.”This pitch was about as tough as any I’ve seen. So, as a batsman, you probably are going to need some luck. But yes, we did play on similar wickets. And yes, we did find a way to score runs on them.”India belt out an appeal on a track that offered turn from day one•BCCIAmiss went back to the Mumbai Test of 1973 for his example.”I don’t know if that was as tough as this surface in Ahmedabad, but it was very demanding,” he said. “It turned and it bounced and India had three great spinners.”But Tony Greig and Keith Fletcher found a way. They quietly went about their business – they didn’t try and blast the bowlers into submission – and they both made centuries. And because the rest of us learned from what they did, we went back to India a few years later and we won the series.”And how did Amiss succeed in such conditions? “I always looked to play forward,” he said. “But as soon as you saw it was short, you rocked back. You tired bowlers out. And, as you did, they would get more frustrated and give you more loose balls. It’s not so different to the way Joe Root and Dom Sibley were batting for a little while.”Like Amiss, Tolchard played for many years on uncovered wickets. Indeed, he recalls one match – in July 1966 – when he suffered a king pair in a day against Derek Underwood’s left-arm spin on a surface which overnight rain had rendered treacherous. But he wasn’t going to let the experience go to waste and, from then on, he utilised his quick feet to smoother such spin.”Lesson learned,” Tolchard told ESPNcricinfo. “I vowed never to get caught at slip playing defensively again. So [from then], I swept, cut, or ran down the wicket to block it. You get to the other end and you aim to survive six balls so you can gather your thoughts.”But it’s not easy. There were a lot of class batters on my two tours to India and Pakistan and they couldn’t all cope. And I’m not sure those pitches turned as much as this one. You have to be quick on your feet and some people aren’t.”Not everyone who has prospered in India had had quick feet, though. Fowler, the first England player to register a Test double-century in the country, did not sweep and did not come down the wicket. But he, too, found a way.”People talk about dominating a bowler as if that means hitting him for fours and sixes,” Fowler said. “But you can also dominate them by seeing out seven maidens in a row. You earn the right to hit the bad balls by being able to defend the good ones.”You can see batsman now are thinking ‘there’s one with my name on it here’ and they don’t give themselves a chance to build an innings as a result. The game’s got better in nearly every way. But I don’t believe the bowlers are faster and I don’t believe the batsmen have the defensive game they used to have.”I used the depth of the crease. I would look to play forward – I don’t know what Zak Crawley was doing playing back to the one that bowled him – and I’d look to frustrate the bowlers. If you defend long enough, they will get tired and they will bowl balls you can hit. It’s not like England ran out of time here, is it? There’s plenty of time to build an innings.”And I practised. I used to face the spinners in the worst net possible. My thinking was, if I could play the ball in that net, I should be able to play the ball on any pitch I encountered. I’m not sure many modern players think like that.”R Ashwin punches the air after claiming his 399th Test wicket•BCCIThere may be batsmen of a certain era rolling their eyes at all this and mumbling about the game having changed. And they have a point. For the introduction of DRS a decade or so ago did make a monumental difference. Where once the batsman could get far enough forward to win the benefit of the doubt from umpires, the advent of ball-tracking technology changed that. The pad stopped being another line of defence and instead became a target for bowlers.But while acknowledging that, one of England’s greatest batsmen of the modern era underlined the views of his predecessors.”DRS made batting more difficult, there’s no doubt about that,” Pietersen told ESPNcricinfo as he reflected on his Mumbai masterclass in 2012 (a piece to be published in the coming days). “You had to be more precise.”But I played best when I trusted my defence. The shots you see on highlights shows, they are great. But they come because you are able to trust your defence.”So, how tough were the conditions in Ahmedabad? All interviewed here agreed they were about as tough as it gets. But before we chastise the groundstaff – or, indeed, the BCCI – we do have to acknowledge that the pink ball contributed to the difficulty. That extra lacquer applied to gain that colour seemed to result in the ball skidding on with surprising pace when it came off the surface. The unpredictability of that was a huge factor in these low scores and that’s not down to the pitch.Clearly, the game cannot afford too many two-day finishes. Both broadcasters and hosts miss out financially in such circumstances. But we don’t want homogenisation, either, and most would agree this game was entertaining. More entertaining – and arguably less damaging – than the surfaces seen in Hamilton (2019), Melbourne (2017) and Trent Bridge (2014).Joe Root sets off for a run•BCCIAnd what can England do differently? Well, there’s not much chance of a return to uncovered wickets, though Root did call for “serious improvements” in the standard of county wickets to help England combat this long-existing weakness. He meant surfaces on which sides can score “400 or 500” and which enabled spinners to bowl long spells, but a more open mind to surfaces that turn, from the start, like this may be helpful, too.Modern batsmen tend to like flat tracks on which they can hit through the line of the ball and celebrate their power and audacity. But if they really want to improve – and if they really want to challenge in such circumstances – the ECB may want to rethink their attitude to spinning pitches in the modern game.Most of all, they may want to rethink their mind-set. Trying to hit your way out of trouble in Test cricket is the get-rich-quick scheme of the sport. It is, generally, there to mask a lack of faith in a defensive technique. If you really want to score runs in Asia – anywhere, really – you have to learn to defend in Asia.

انطلقت منافسات الجولة السادسة عشر من بطولة الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، مساء يوم السبت، حيث خاض ليفربول مباراته مع برايتون على ملعب “الأنفيلد”، وحقق فوزًا بهدفين دون رد.

وتمكن هوجو إيكتيكي من تسجيل هدف أول مبكر لصالح ليفربول، في الدقيقة الأولى من عمر الشوط الأول، قبل أن يضيف الثاني في الدقيقة 60 من أسيست لـ محمد صلاح.

ويتصدر إيرلينج هالاند، نجم مانشستر سيتي قائمة هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي، موسم 2025/26 برصيد 17 هدفًا، بعدما سجل هدفين في مباراة تلك الجولة ضد كريستال بالاس.

وشهدت المباراة نفسها، بين مانشستر سيتي وكريستال بالاس، تسجيل فيل فودين هدف، ليواصل تألقه في تلك الفترة.

بينما سجل محمد صلاح 4 أهداف فقط في النسخة الحالية من الدوري الإنجليزي، وشارك من دكة بدلاء ليفربول ضد برايتون بعد إصابة جو جوميز في الدقيقة 25. ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي

1. إيرلينج هالاند، مانشستر سيتي، 17 هدفًا.

2. تياجو، برينتفورد، 11 هدفًا.

3. هوجو إيكتيكي، ليفربول 7 أهداف.

4. فيليب ماتيتا، كريستال بالاس، 7 أهداف.

5. داني ويلباك، براتون، 7 أهداف.

6. فيل فودين، مانشستر سيتي، 7 أهداف.

7. بريان مبيومو، مانشستر يونايتد، 6 أهداف.

8. أنطوان سيمينيو، بورنموث، 6 أهداف.

9. ريتشارليسون، توتنهام، 6 أهداف.

10. برونو جيماريش، نيوكاسل، 5 أهداف.

11. نيك فولتماده، نيوكاسل، 5 أهداف.

12. بيدرو نيتو، تشيلسي، 5 أهداف.

13. زيان فليمينج، بيرنلي، 5 أهداف.

14. جارود بوين، وست هام، 5 أهداف.

15. هاري ويلسون، فولهام، 5 أهداف.

16. مورجان رودجرز، أستون فيلا، 5 أهداف.

17. محمد صلاح، ليفربول، 4 أهداف.

ويمكن متابعة ترتيب هدافي الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز، موسم 2025/26، محدث بشكل مستمر من هنا.

MatériaMais Notícias

Fortaleza e Ceará se enfrentaram na última sexta-feira (12), valendo pela decisão da Copa Seromo sub-15. Com o empate em 0 a 0, o Tricolor foi campeão nos pênaltis. Moisés, atacante do Vovô, relatou um suposto episódio de injúria racial na partida.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFortalezaComo joga Thiago Carpini, novo técnico do Fortaleza?Fortaleza13/12/2025FortalezaSub-17 do Fortaleza vence e Fred terá primeira final como técnicoFortaleza12/12/2025CearáCeará anuncia a contratação do técnico Mozart para 2026Ceará12/12/2025

➡️ Tudo sobre o Vovô agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Ceará

O jovem disse em suas redes sociais que foi chamado de “macaco” por um atacante do Fortaleza após o fim da disputa de pênaltis. O Ceará, em nota oficial, declarou apoio a Moisés e relatou que “tomará as medidas cabíveis neste caso, apresentando notícia de infração junto ao Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (TJD-CE)”.

— Até quando nós negros vamos ter que aguentar isso? Racismo é crime e a justiça vai ser feita. E outra, tenho muito orgulho de ser negro. Meu choro não foi de tristeza não e sim de raiva. Mas Deus sabe de tudo. Obrigado a todos que estão comigo – escreveu Moisés.

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➡️ Tudo sobre o Leão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Fortaleza

O Fortaleza não se manifestou de forma oficial até o momento. Caso isso aconteça, a matéria será atualizada.

➡️ Quando começa a Série B de 2026? Veja participantes

Confira abaixo a nota completa do Ceará:

“Tomado pela mais profunda indignação, o Ceará Sporting vem repudiar veementemente a injúria racial sofrida pelo atleta Moisés, da categoria Sub-15 do Time do Povo durante a final da Super Copa Seromo.

Ao fim das disputas de pênaltis entre Ceará e Fortaleza, Moisés foi chamado de “macaco” por um atleta adversário, conduta inaceitável em qualquer ambiente de nossa sociedade e que fere a todos e nos revolta ao mesmo passo em que traz à tona o pensamento de que falhamos enquanto sociedade.

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➡️ Ceará anuncia a contratação do técnico Mozart para 2026

Ciente de seu papel social, o Ceará SC abomina todo e qualquer ato discriminatório e ressalta que tomará as medidas cabíveis neste caso, apresentando notícia de infração junto ao Tribunal de Justiça Desportiva (TJD-CE).

O Time do Povo manifesta apoio irrestrito a Moisés, se colocando à disposição do atleta para que as consequências deste episódio sejam minimizadas o mais brevemente possível.“

Tudo sobre

CearáFortalezaFutebol Nacional

This has been a whirlwind four days for Liverpool Football Club.

The problems engulfing Arne Slot and his side are no secret; they’re well-documented, but things have only got worse in recent days.

The pressure on Slot has never been greater. That 3-3 draw with Leeds was rough, but Mo Salah’s post-game comments lit a fire that’s been burning away since Saturday.

Liverpool chose to drop him from the squad and who knows whether we’ll see the great Egyptian in the famous red shirt again.

Salah posted a picture of himself in the gym as the rest of his teammates prepared in Milan for their Champions League clash with Inter.

Slot’s side, however, were resilient, they showed an improved attitude and it got them over the line on Tuesday night. They kept things tight to seal a late 1-0 win inside the San Siro.

How Slot's tweaks improved Liverpool

With Salah absent from the squad, Federico Chiesa out with illness and Cody Gakpo missing through injury, it meant that Slot decided to operate with a diamond formation.

Hugo Ekitike and Alexander Isak operated as the two central strikers with Alexis Mac Allister behind and while the forward line was still largely non-existent, the defence was hugely improved.

As Slot said a few days ago, Ibou Konate has been a “little too much at the crime scene” this season, referring to his mistake-riddled performances.

Well, the Frenchman and indeed club captain, Virgil van Dijk, looked back to their best against Inter. They did so against two menacing centre-forwards in the shape of Marcus Thuram and Lisandro Martinez.

The Liverpool centre-backs reduced the two strikers to just one shot on target. Konate and Van Dijk also won seven of their 11 duels, competing on average 92.5% of their passes.

The midfield three in front of them got through plenty of work to aid the defensive cause. As a consequence, Curtis Jones, Ryan Gravenberch and match winner Dominik Szoboszlai look undroppable.

Add Florian Wirtz into the equation at the weekend too, and you would sense that the German is tailor-made for a diamond formation at the front of the midfield.

That being said, not everyone in red did their duties well. Some might say Liverpool’s big-money summer signing is as much a problem as Salah right now.

Liverpool's big problem after Inter

While Salah has been excluded from the squad, Slot needs to find a way to get more goals from his side.

Starting Isak and Ekitike together is a start but there is one huge problem; the Swede hasn’t been good enough.

His fellow striker has been one of Liverpool’s most impressive players this term, bagging eight goals in all competitions. In many senses, he looks like the £100m plus addition, not Isak.

We can no longer make any excuses for the £125m man. Of course, with no pre-season, he needed several weeks to get up to speed but we are now in December, he should be at full fitness, playing like a man who cost more money than any English club has ever spent on a single player.

Chalkboard

Two goals later and he looks like one of the biggest flops in football history. There is still time for the former Newcastle United attacker to come good but judging by his display in Italy this week, it won’t be anytime soon.

Once again, Isak lacked the energy and desire to press hard from the front. He also lacked the ability to link the play and most vital of all, he didn’t have any goal threat.

Minutes played

68

Touches

25

Accurate passes

10/11 (91%)

Shots

1

Shots on target

0

Successful dribbles

0/1

Key passes

0

Successful crosses

0/1

Duels won

3/7

Liverpool World’s Will Rooney handed the record buy a 5/10 rating, noting that he ‘faded’ as the first 45 minutes wore on, bemoaning the fact that the club are still ‘failing to make the most of his attributes’.

That bit may be true, but he’s not doing enough himself either. He registered fewer touches than Alisson (45) and also only completed ten passes against Inter.

While you don’t always need your centre forward to have too many touches to impact a game – Erling Haaland is the prime example of that – they need a higher degree of influence from Isak now.

If Salah is going to leave Merseyside behind then they’ll need someone to step up as soon as possible. Sadly, Isak doesn’t look capable of doing that.

It’s likely Slot will keep the same formation he operated with on Tuesday when Liverpool face Brighton in the league at the weekend but that team shouldn’t include Isak. Perhaps it’s time to give Chiesa a run in the team.

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Leeds United’s winless run in the Premier League continued at the hands of Manchester City yesterday, with Daniel Farke’s side suffering a 3-2 defeat at the Etihad.

At one stage, it appeared as though the Whites would endure another battering, as they did at Arsenal, but it was anything but that against Pep Guardiola’s men.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha both hit the back of the net in the second half, subsequently restoring parity after trailing by two goals going into the break.

However, Phil Foden’s strike in stoppage time took some of the gloss off the impressive second-half showing, which should have earned Farke’s men a crucial point.

Despite the fightback, numerous players chosen by the manager at the Etihad struggled to produce the goods, which could lead to yet more changes in their next clash.

Leeds’ poor performers against Man City

Wilfried Gnonto is a player who the Leeds fans have been crying out to start in recent weeks, having only featured in five outings before the trip to face Man City yesterday.

However, the Italian was handed his chance to shine, but struggled to take full advantage of the opportunity handed his way, as seen by his tally of zero crosses and dribbles completed.

He was even fortunate not to be sent off, with his high challenge on Tijjani Reijnders somehow going unpunished – before being replaced at the break by Farke.

Gnonto wasn’t the only player who struggled against Guardiola’s men, with centre-back Pascal Struijk coming under fire for numerous errors throughout the contest.

The Dutchman was only able to win 50% of the aerial battles he entered at the Etihad, often being dominated in the air and resulting in added chances for the hosts.

He also nearly produced a costly mistake after slipping on the greasy turf, but luckily for the player and the team, his error only led to a corner rather than a goal.

The Leeds star who needs to be dropped after Man City

Going away to the Etihad and trying to get a result is no mean feat, with the former champions boasting one of the best home records in the division over recent seasons.

It’s a feat achieved by the Whites in years gone by, but unfortunately for Farke, he was unable to match the achievements previously achieved by Marcelo Bielsa.

As previously mentioned, there are certainly positives for the manager to pick out from the contest – as seen by their response to get themselves off the canvas in the second half.

However, multiple players’ showings will be a cause for concern for the German, which could certainly result in shape and personal changes ahead of their next top-flight outing.

Jayden Bogle is a player who has been a consistent starter for the Whites in 2025/26, as seen by his total of 13 appearances – subsequently not missing a single game to date.

Despite the faith shown in him by Farke once again yesterday, he was unable to produce one of his best showings, and often struggled to contain Jeremy Doku.

The Englishman’s underlying stats from the defeat further showcase his struggles, which could see the manager shuffle his pack and drop the 25-year-old as a result.

Minutes played

90

Touches

46

Passes completed

63%

Possession lost

14x

Dribbles completed

0

Long balls completed

0

Crosses completed

1

Tackles made

0

He only managed to complete 63% of the passes he attempted, subsequently losing possession on 14 separate occasions – highlighting his struggles with the ball at his feet.

Other numbers, such as zero dribbles, zero long balls and just 46 touches of the ball – a tally that was fewer than goalkeeper Lucas Perri, who managed 56 – showcase his lack of impact on proceedings.

Out of possession, Bogle was just as disappointing, as he was unable to make a single tackle, whilst making no blocks and just a single interception in his 90-minute display.

There’s little disputing that the full-back has been an excellent option for Farke in 2025/26 to date, but he will no doubt be concerned by the lack of impact against City.

As a result, the German should look to shuffle his options around in midweek, with a huge reaction needed to make amends for the disappointing defeat yesterday.

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