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Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca is personally driving a move for Murillo, with Nottingham Forest’s stance on sanctioning a departure now being revealed.

The Blues have been solid from a defensive point of view in recent weeks, keeping clean sheets in their last three Premier League matches, most recently defeating Burnley 2-0 at Turf moor, with Tosin Adarabioyo and Trevoh Chalobah impressing at the heart of defence.

Adarabioyo particularly caught the eye, receiving a SofaScore match rating of 8.6, the highest of any player, courtesy of making six tackles, winning ten of the 12 duels he contested, while also completing a whopping 102 passes, including seven long balls.

Being assured in possession of the ball is an important attribute for any player in a Maresca system, and the manager is now keen on another centre-back who could be an ideal fit in the Italian’s backline…

Maresca now driving Chelsea move for Murillo

According to a report from Caught Offside, Maresca has now personally identified Nottingham Forest defender Murillo as a key defensive target, but it could take a huge offer to get a deal over the line, with the Tricky Trees looking to hold out for up to €90m (£79m).

Forest are hesitant to cash-in on one of their key players, but they could be tempted to sanction a departure if a huge offer is submitted, with some other huge clubs also showing an interest in the centre-back, namely Barcelona and Arsenal.

The Chelsea manager is said to be a fan of ball-playing defenders capable of creating chances from deep, which means the Brazilian could be the perfect fit in his backline, and he recently put in a fantastic display as Forest secured a shock 3-0 win at Anfield.

Liverpool’s struggles continued on Saturday, with Arne Slot’s side falling to a shock defeat against a side that had made a slow start to the season, and Murillo displayed his attacking prowess by opening the scoring just after the half-an-hour mark.

It was a solid all-round performance from the one-time Brazil international, winning five of the six duels he contested, creating one big chance, and making 19 defensive actions, the highest number of any player.

It wasn’t the first time the 23-year-old has put in a top performance against the Reds, receiving high praise after impressing against Slot’s men earlier this year.

As such, Chelsea should undoubtedly pursue a move for Murillo, and it is promising news that Nottingham Forest could now be willing to sanction a departure for the right price.

Chelsea now readying hijack to sign Gabriel and Saliba 'hybrid' Chelsea now readying hijack to sign £44m 'Gabriel & Saliba hybrid'

The impressive international could be Chelsea’s answer to William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhães.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 21, 2025

The team management has already taken tough decisions in this Test series, but this one might be the toughest

Alagappan Muthu02-Dec-2024Rohit Sharma. Middle-order batter. Take two.Take one had its moments too. The 2018-19 tour of Australia, where he seemed to bat like a dream, getting in behind the line against the fast bowlers, rarely ever rushed. And then Nathan Lyon would show up and Rohit just wouldn’t be able to help himself. Big shot. Miscue. Gone.That used to be Rohit’s lot in Test cricket. Getting out after getting set. He left that series after the third match, where he made an unbeaten 63, which remains his highest score in this country, to be with his wife for the birth of his first child.That was the last anyone ever saw of Rohit Sharma, middle-order batter. Until maybe now.Related

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India arrived in Adelaide on Monday afternoon and have three days’ training to finalise the make-up of their XI for the day-night Test in Adelaide. The biggest call they have to make is whether to separate KL Rahul from Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top of the order. Under ordinary circumstances, there would be no need to even broach the subject after those two put on a 201-run partnership that was crucial in securing the victory in Perth. But this is their captain coming back and he has been opening the batting for the past five years.Rohit’s arrival strengthens India. His first bits of game time – the practice game in Canberra – painted the picture of a man in excellent spirit. He’s become a father again. A life-changing event like that tends to eclipse things like being unable to whack a piece of leather with a stick of wood. He was full of mischief for the little while he was fielding at Manuka Oval; a far cry from the man who was obliged to face the press after leading India to a 3-0 home defeat to New Zealand but maybe not too far off from the man who chose to face the press the day they were 46 all out in the same series with the words ” [get your knives out]”.

Rohit has been opening the batting for India in Test cricket for the last five years but for this tour – and this Test – he might just concede that there are better options up there and he can do more damage just by backing them up

Rohit has been a remarkably even-tempered person given the ups and downs he’s been through. His daughter put it best. Back when he had to isolate after testing positive for Covid-19, she said, “In one month he will laugh.” Very little keeps him down, just as very little slips past him, except he’s coming off a series where things did slip past him, a series where he admitted he was off the mark, a series that gave him pause to think about his batting and his leadership. It might be fair to assume that, whatever his temperament, he wouldn’t want to go through that again. So, from that point of view, if he comes to believe that the team is better off with other people opening the batting, he will make way for them. He did in Canberra.Rahul and Jaiswal continued to open for India and given that was the only pink-ball practice game they had before the Adelaide Test, there are at least some indications that Rohit will be dropping down to a support role at No. 5, which might be good for him too. He hasn’t been in form and he hasn’t been in Australia as long as the others have. It would be risky to expose him to the new pink ball. It decks around a lot more than the red one, but that is compensated by its going soft by around the 30-40 over mark. Rohit, with his range of shots, coming in when the ball isn’t doing as much, has often been a recipe for big scores.1:25

Pujara: ‘Nothing later than No. 3, KL has to bat in the top order’

India have had occasions in the past where their captain has had to bat in somewhat unfamiliar positions for the benefit of other people and also the team as a whole. Sourav Ganguly came up from No. 5 to No. 4 in the second innings of the Melbourne Test in 2003, which didn’t really make a dent in the scoreline, but it did give Sachin Tendulkar a better entry point and he used it to make 44 off 79, which then became a launch pad for his famous Sydney double-century.Adelaide is a very real shot for Australia to gain back the ground they lost in Perth. India might have to be better than they were last week to hold on to their 1-0 lead. Rahul and Jaiswal showed that they could rise to challenges like that. The selectors and the coaching staff showed they could cope with key players going missing and still put out a team capable of rolling over a well-rested, well-prepared opposition.Although it’s only been one match in this Border-Gavaskar Trophy, India have had to make some tough decisions; the kind that could have backfired on them. Going in with two debutants. Leaving out both their superstar spinners. They felt comfortable doing so because they felt it made the team more likely to win. It was contingent on a lot of their prep work paying off and it did. Nitish Kumar Reddy and Harshit Rana knew what their roles were and played them well. There has been flexibility about India recently; a willingness to go out of the comfort zone. It could be their captain’s turn to epitomise that over the coming days.

Just a few years ago, Alek Manoah was a legitimate Cy Young candidate and an All-Star for the Blue Jays. Now, he's been out of the league for the better part of two years, and is officially parting ways with Toronto.

Manoah was designated for assignment on Tuesday, per a team announcement, in what could very well signal the end of his tenure with the organization. Having risen to prominence as a breakout rookie in 2021, Manoah looked like one of the best pitchers in the sport in 2022, when he made the All-Star Game and had a 6.0 WAR with a 2.24 ERA across 31 starts.

He failed to replicate that season in 2023, when he had a -1.1 WAR, a 5.87 ERA and 1.740 WHIP. He last pitched for the Blue Jays in May of 2024, after which he was shelved as he underwent Tommy John surgery. Manoah was finally reinstated from the IL on Sept. 11 and was optioned to Triple-A Buffalo, but now looks destined to exit the organization following his latest designation.

Manoah was hopeful of competing for a spot in Toronto's starting rotation in 2026, but will now have a chance to latch on with another organization instead.

The Blue Jays also announced they have activated Anthony Santander from the 60-day IL and placed Ty France on the 10-day IL.

Australia coach Andrew McDonald said he expected Hazlewood to be able to play a part during the series

Andrew McGlashan24-Nov-2025

Josh Hazlewood is set to miss the second Test against England in Brisbane but there is confidence he will be able to play a role later in the Ashes series while Pat Cummins is closing in on a return which could come next week at the Gabba.Hazlewood was ruled out of the opening Test in Perth after picking up a hamstring problem in the Sheffield Shield with an initial scan not showing the injury. It’s understood he will join the squad in Brisbane to continue his rehab with coach Andrew McDonald expecting him to be available later in the series.”He’s working through the first week of his rehab,” McDonald said. “I’m not sure that we need to give an update on that. Once he gets further down the track and [we] have some rough timelines, then we’ll be in a position to communicate that.Related

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“I know that he’ll be available at some point during the series. We’ve got a little bit of that early rehab to go through to formulate where he may plug into the series, but we expect him to take some part in the series.”The rapid two-day finish to the opening Test has forced a minor change in plans to Cummins’ bowling schedule after he had trained impressively in the lead-up to the first Test. He had been due to bowl on the fourth day of the Test on Monday, but after traveling home to Sydney that has been pushed back a day.However, the signs continue to be encouraging for Australia’s captain although McDonald said it could be a late call whether he plays the day-night Test in Brisbane. If Cummins was to return and the second Test went all five days – and unlikely proposition if Perth is any guide – there would be an eight-day gap to the third in Adelaide.Cummins has previously said that playing back-to-back Tests in the series may be a challenge for him, although short games could work in his favour.”Once we see him again we’ll be able to then join the dots as to what that potentially looks like,” McDonald said. “But for those who saw him in Perth, I did say this a while back that he’ll be up and bowling…and people will be sitting there questioning why he’s not playing.”It looked like a player that was nearing the completion of his rehabilitation. The intensity was there, the ball speed was there. There’s a lot of positives, but now it’s just really building that resilience within the soft tissue and making sure that we’re not putting him in harm’s way in terms of accelerating it too much.Brendon Doggett took five wickets on debut•Getty Images

“But it will be a genuine discussion leading into this Test match. That may be one that eventuates late for us. A little bit to work through but it’s nearing completion, which is really, really positive.”In the absence of Cummins and Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc led the attack magnificently with a 10-wicket match haul including a career-best 7 for 58 in the first innings. Scott Boland bounced back from a poor opening-day display where England took him at a run-a-ball with a game changing burst in the second innings while debutant Brendan Doggett picked up five for the match. McDonald took the blame for Boland’s opening day performance saying there had been a directive for him to bowl very full before returning to his natural lengths in the second.In Australia’s high-octane run chase, Jake Weatherald put together a valuable hand alongside Travis Head after a first-innings duck to ensure both debutants had played a role in the match”It’s always that unknown when you jump up from Shield level into the Test match arena and they looked right at home, the skill level, the composure, it was a fit,” McDonald said. “It’s always nice to see that in a Test when you’ve got those unknowns.”I thought Brendan Doggett, his ability to execute the bouncer plan when we needed him to and [then] to pitch the ball up get in the right areas. And Jake in the second innings, I thought the way he was able to put pressure back on, we want to be that type of batting unit that has that intent and looks to score, and he most certainly did that.”Australia have retained the option of adding a 15th player to the squad for Brisbane. When Hazlewood and Sean Abbott were ruled out of Perth they only called up Michael Neser as cover.

New Zealand’s bowling spearhead Matt Henry (calf strain), seam-bowling allrounder Nathan Smith (side strain) and spin-bowling allrounder Mitchell Santner (groin injury) have all been ruled out of the rest of the home Test series against West Indies.Glenn Phillips, who joined the squad in Christchurch early as a substitute fielder, has officially been added to the Test squad for the remainder of the series, New Zealand Cricket confirmed. This after he proved his match fitness in the Plunket Shield before joining the squad for the first Test, and he could be in contention to be selected in the XI for the second Test.In another bit of good news for New Zealand, Daryl Mitchell, who put in a long shift as a substitute fielder in the first Test, is set to be available for the second and slot back in as their middle-order mainstay.Related

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Wicketkeeper-batter Tom Blundell had already been sidelined from the second Test in Wellington after suffering a hamstring injury while batting on day one in Christchurch. Mitchell Hay has been added to the squad and could make his Test debut.Also, a day after uncapped seamer Michael Rae was called up to the Test squad, Kristian Clarke, a seam-bowling allrounder from Northern Districts, was added to it. With Kyle Jamieson and Will O’Rourke managing “return to play” protocols, New Zealand were left scrambling for last-minute replacements, with the Wellington Test set to begin on November 10.Both Rae and Clarke were pulled out of the third round of the Plunket Shield. Clarke didn’t bowl for ND in the final innings against Otago in Hamilton, with rookie James Naylor stepping in as his replacement.Clarke, 24, is uncapped in Test cricket, but was recently part of the ODI series against England as a replacement player after Henry had suffered a separate calf injury. He has now earned his maiden Test call-up as a like-for-like replacement for Smith.Kristian Clarke could be in line for a Test debut•Getty Images

“On the cricket field, I’m a bowling allrounder, you know, and I pride myself on trying to offer as much as I can in the game,” Clarke said in October after breaking into the ODI side. “I just want to be a good person around the group also and just offer as much as I can.”Clarke has played 27 first-class games so far, taking 77 wickets at an average of 33 and scoring 893 runs at an average of 23.50. He was also part of a New Zealand A tour to Bangladesh during the winter. Though bowling is his primary skill, Kristian is also a capable batter and had notched up his maiden century in senior cricket, against Central Districts in the one-day Ford Trophy, in October.Clarke hails from Te Awamutu, a small town in the Waikato region and played for Waikato Valley in the Hawke Cup before rising up the ranks in New Zealand cricket. His brother Matti Clarke has also played for Waikato Valley in the Hawke Cup.Daryl Mitchell could be back in action in the second Test against West Indies•Getty Images

“Yeah, so [I was] born and raised in Te Awamutu, [and I] still live in Te Awamutu, still at home,” Clarke said. “I hold Te Amuru very dear to my heart – it’s a cool little town and yeah, quiet little place. Just sort of grew up through the cricket system there and then yeah, sort of just went from there.”While Blair Tickner, who was the reserve seamer at Hagley Oval, comes into the selection frame for Wellington, there might be a toss-up between Rae and Clarke for a potential Test debut at Basin Reserve.The first Test was drawn after West Indies, faced with a 530-run deficit in the fourth innings, held on for 163.3 overs to pull off a draw, with Justin Greaves (202 not out) and Shai Hope (140) their main men with the bat

New Zealand squad for second Test vs West Indies

Tom Latham (capt), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Will Young, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell, Zak Foulkes, Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner, Michael Rae, Kristian Clarke

Bumrah and Hardik went full-tilt at the nets, while Suryakumar eased himself back into post-surgery rhythm

Shashank Kishore05-Sep-202513:47

Runorder: What is India’s best XI for the Asia Cup?

“Stiff legs,” Shubman Gill teased, as Jasprit Bumrah darted around the ICC Academy Oval in Dubai – sprinting, diving and cutting off angles, much to the delight of fielding coach T Dilip. Bumrah jokingly waved Gill away as he continued his drills.Watching and clapping from afar was Sanju Samson, meditatively cross-legged after 30 minutes of batting in shirt-soaking humidity. It was well past 7pm, but the temperature was still hovering around 38 degrees Celsius.Samson was one of many India batters who had multiple stints at the nets. And much to the curiosity of those gathered, his stints came alongside those of Jitesh Sharma, with whom he will likely compete for a spot during India’s playing XI in the Asia Cup 2025. Jitesh, for what it’s worth, also got through a proper keeping workout – catches, drills, footwork – while Samson watched on.Related

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Perhaps Jitesh was making up for lost time. His most recent bout of competitive cricket was in June, at the Vidarbha Pro T20, soon after a memorable IPL-winning campaign with Royal Challengers Bengaluru. Maybe Samson was saving his legs after playing four games back-to-back only last week at the Kerala Cricket League. Either way, Friday’s vibe was more first day of school than selection day.Long before they got to the nets, the team got through warm-up stretches, shuttle runs, high knees and soft throws, with trainer Adrian Le Roux often reminding them: “75% intensity!” (though Bumrah seemed to ignore that memo when he steamed in, full throttle, to Gill in the nets a little later).File photo: Jasprit Bumrah steamed in full throttle to Shubman Gill in the nets•Getty ImagesAfter the fitness drills, all the batters (and Varun Chakravarthy) spent extensive time – upwards of 30 minutes – alternating between nets. A ball after being smashed through the covers off a half-volley, Bumrah bowled the perfect nip-backer to beat Gill. The cat-and-mouse game between the two was just getting started.Gill batted alongside Suryakumar Yadav, who was searching for his rhythm following a spell away recuperating from sports hernia surgery, and Jitesh. Samson, Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma had come out before them, armed with several bats, each seemingly meatier than the other, and went hammer and tongs.Alongside Bumrah, there was Hardik Pandya, – hair coloured blonde – who bowled 20 minutes non-stop at high pace. Also noticeable from afar was the attention India gave to Shivam Dube and Abhishek, the bowlers.While Abhishek bowled a mixture of traditional left-arm spin, wrist spin and his backspinner, bowling coach Morne Morkel kept a close eye on Dube’s action and delivery stride.

Indian team arrives for their first training session at the ICC Academy. pic.twitter.com/ZRsEOsvZ8Q

— Shashank Kishore (@captainshanky) September 5, 2025