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Barcelona have opened the door for Chelsea to sign one player who’s been admired by the Blues for a long time, with Hansi Flick’s side informing the man in question that he’s free to leave the Camp Nou this summer.

£50m Chelsea player in "advanced" talks to leave, could be done imminently

It would be a boost for BlueCo.

ByEmilio Galantini Jun 26, 2025

After their £30 million deal for striker Liam Delap from Ipswich Town, Chelsea remain in the market for more fresh faces.

Cole Palmer

7.33

Moises Caicedo

7.02

Enzo Fernández

6.95

Nicolas Jackson

6.88

Noni Madueke

6.82

via WhoScored

Enzo Maresca’s side are believed to be closing in on a move for Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens as their next potential high-profile signing, despite already seeing three public bids rejected for him prior to the pre-Club World Cup transfer deadline on June 10.

If completed, the Englishman would come in to replace the likes of Jadon Sancho and Mykhailo Mudryk outwide, with the former returning to Man United and the latter facing a four-year ban after violating anti-doping rules.

Chelsea also want to sign a new goalkeeper, alongside strengthening other more advanced areas of the squad.

Chelsea given green-light to move for Barcelona keeper Marc-André ter Stegen

AC Milan’s Mike Maignan could re-emerge as a target later in the window after Chelsea failed to find an agreement with the Rossoneri, but they have another illustrious option – Barcelona’s Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

The “incredible” Germany international and Catalans captain failed to play his usual key role on a regular basis last term, mainly due to injury, and Barça are keen to reduce their wage bill, as they are “operating above their La Liga-imposed salary limit” (The Athletic).

They’ve already signed Joan Garcia from Espanyol as a potential heir to Ter Stegen, with the La Liga champions now telling the 33-year-old to find a new club.

That is according to journalist Simon Phillips, who also says that Ter Stegen could be signed for a very reasonable fee, despite having three years left on his contract. Chelsea have held a long-standing interest in Ter Stegen, which dates back prior to their takeover in 2022, and BlueCo actually tried to sign him right after they completed their buyout of the club.

“Chelsea have held an interest in him for some time both under the last ownership and under the current owners as well. When the new owners first bought the club, they tried to get Ter Stegen in then,” said Phillips, via his Substack.

“Well, the interest remains, as first called by my colleagues at Caught Offside this week, and he is another name on our goalkeeper shortlist for a potential move this summer.

“The 33-year-old has a market value now of just £10m and Chelsea, or any other interested club, should be able to pick him up at a reasonable price.

“It remains to be seen just how serious Chelsea’s interest is and whether his salary demands will be what Chelsea can manage – its likely that he will need to take a drop in earnings for anything to happen. But the German international has been told by Barcelona to find a new club this summer and his agent is getting to work.”

Earlier this week, journalist Rudy Galetti reported that Chelsea have already made an approach to sign ter Stegen, so perhaps the illustrious shot-stopper is being seriously considered as an alternative to Maignan after all.

Aston Villa are pushing hard to sign an “exciting” £25m La Liga star, having now submitted a proposal, according to a report.

Villa set sights on new goalkeeper

Emiliano Martinez may well have signed off in the worst possible way in a Villa shirt, having been dismissed for a foul on Rasmus Hojlund at Old Trafford, before his side went on to lose 2-0 against Manchester United in controversial fashion.

However, the goalkeeper will, of course, be fondly remembered, should he decide to move on, given everything the Villans have achieved in recent years, securing a second European campaign on the spin despite the defeat against the Red Devils.

Not only that, but there have been hints that Martinez could remain at Villa Park beyond the end of the campaign, with Unai Emery simply saying “no way” when asked whether the Argentine has played his final game for the club.

Aston Villa could sign their new version of Grealish for £65m this summer

Aston Villa have been linked with a Premier League sensation

ByRoss Kilvington May 26, 2025

That said, while Emery clearly retains hope of keeping hold of the shot-stopper, Villa and Monchi’s pursuit of potential replacements suggests there is concern the 32-year-old will move on during the upcoming window.

According to a report from Spain (via Sport Witness), Aston Villa are now pushing hard to sign Espanyol goalkeeper Joan Garcia, having submitted a proposal, but there is likely to be fierce competition for his signature from some top clubs.

Indeed, Newcastle United, Barcelona, Arsenal, Napoli and Bayer Leverkusen have also made proposals for Garcia, and with all the aforementioned clubs set to take part in next season’s Champions League, it could be difficult for the Villans to win the race.

The Spaniard, who has a reported asking price of £25m, is set to meet with his agent later this week, in order to choose his next club, having set his sights on joining a top side, so a decision could be on the horizon very soon.

"Exciting" Garcia could be solid Martinez replacement

Having proven himself with Espanyol, scout Ben Mattinson believes the Spanish shot-stopper is now ready to make the move to a top club, saying: “An uber-athletic keeper with dominant cross claiming, composure on the ball, standing at 6’3” tall, García is an exciting keeper ready for a step up.”

The 24-year-old is at a good age to be a long-term success at Villa Park, and he was an indispensable member of the Espanyol starting XI last season, appearing in all 38 of the Spanish side’s La Liga outings.

It will be a concern for Villa that so many other top clubs are in the race for the Espanyol star, but it was recently revealed that he has set his sights on being a regular starter, rather than playing second fiddle to another goalkeeper.

As such, if Martinez moves on this summer, a move to Villa Park could appeal to Garcia, given that a starting spot will be up for grabs.

Aston Villa have had some disappointing moments in recent weeks after being dumped out of the semi-finals of the FA Cup by Crystal Palace and the quarter-finals of the Champions League by PSG.

The Villans will not win any silverware this season, after failing to progress further in those competitions, but they still have a chance to end the campaign on a high note.

Unai Emery’s side are currently seventh in the Premier League table, three points behind Chelsea in fifth place, and have a chance to qualify for the Champions League for the second year running.

The Villans conceded a stoppage-time goal to lose to Manchester City last time out in the top-flight, which put a dent in their hopes of finishing in the top five, but there are still four matches left to play and plenty of points to battle it out for.

If Villa can qualify for the Champions League again, NSWE could show ambition, as they did with the signings of Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, to significantly bolster Emery’s squad in the upcoming summer transfer window.

In fact, the owners are reportedly ready to put their backing behind a deal to bring in a superstar who could be their next Jack Grealish.

Why Jack Grealish was so important for Aston Villa

The England international came up through the ranks in the Midlands before emerging as a first-team sensation at Championship and Premier League level.

Grealish produced six goals and eight assists in the 2018/19 Championship season, leading his team to promotion via the play-offs, before being an incredibly important part of their top-flight team in the following two campaigns.

Grealish (PL)	19/20	Squad rank	20/21	Squad rank
Goal	8	1st	6	4th
Pass accuracy	85%	1st	83%	5th
Assists	6	1st	10	1st
Key passes *	2.5	1st	3.1	1st
Dribbles completed *	2.0	1st	2.5	1st
Stats via WhoScored (* = per game)

As you can see in the table above, the midfield wizard was crucial to Dean Smith’s side because of his ability to score and create goals at an impressive rate, which made him a hugely influential figure at the top end of the pitch.

Grealish, as evidenced by the statistics from those two seasons, was the creative hub of the team. Everything flowed through him, and the midfielder provided consistent creativity to provide his teammates with opportunities in front of goal.

The academy graduate was the biggest creative threat in the squad for Villa at the time, and NSWE could provide Emery with his own star creator by signing De Bruyne on a free transfer in the upcoming summer transfer window.

The latest on Aston Villa's interest in Kevin De Bruyne

According to Football Insider, NSWE are prepared to back an Aston Villa swoop to sign Manchester City attacking midfielder Kevin De Bruyne this summer.

The Belgium international has confirmed that he will leave the Cityzens at the end of this season, when his contract expires at The Etihad, and this means that there is an opportunity to sign a Premier League icon on a free transfer.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

Football Insider reports that the Villans are ambitious and that Emery has identified the Manchester City hero as a target for his side ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, with the owners seemingly now ready to sanction an attempt to sign him.

The outlet reveals that teams in the MLS and the Saudi Pro League are lining up lucrative offers to tempt De Bruyne to move on from England, which means that it could be a difficult deal for Villa to pull off amid significant competition from overseas.

Whilst it remains to be seen how likely a move to Villa Park is for the Manchester City superstar, NSWE could land Emery his own version of Grealish by winning the race for his signature this summer.

Why Kevin De Bruyne could be Jack Grealish 2.0

If the Villans can pull off this ambitious move for the Belgian sensation then he could come in to be the main creative outlet in the current Villa team in the 2025/26 campaign.

Despite turning 34 in June, De Bruyne still has the quality to make a significant impact at the top end of the pitch, and could hit the ground running at Villa Park next season.

The 33-year-old veteran has created a whopping 14 ‘big chances’ in 24 appearances in the Premier League so far this season, and only Youri Tielemans (16) has created more within the Villa squad – having started all 34 league matches to date.

De Bruyne, whose creative brain was described as “ridiculous” by Thierry Henry, has racked up 177 assists in 417 appearances for the Cityzens in all competitions in his career to date, the bulk of which have come in the Premier League.

The Villa target has consistently proven his ability to unlock top-flight defences with exceptional through balls, passes, and crosses to set up his teammates for ‘big chances’.

Kevin De Bruyne’s Premier League career
Season	Starts	Big chances created	Assists
24/25	16	14	7
23/24	15	21	10
22/23	28	31	16
21/22	25	16	8
20/21	23	19	12
19/20	32	33	20
18/19	11	11	2
17/18	36	19	16
16/17	33	24	18
15/16	22	8	9
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, De Bruyne has showcased remarkable consistency as a creator in the Premier League in his ten seasons at Manchester City, creating at least 11 ‘big chances’ in nine of those campaigns.

These statistics illustrate the kind of quality that NSWE would be bringing to Villa Park if they can get a deal over the line for the soon-to-be free agent in the summer, as he could come in as the main creative outlet in the middle of the park for Emery’s side.

Aston Villa ready to pay £21m release clause to sign Man Utd 'keeper target

Aston Villa are looking to act quick and beat Manchester United to a signing this summer.

By
Brett Worthington

Apr 28, 2025

This means that De Bruyne could come in as Jack Grealish 2.0 for the Villans, as another mercurial talent with the ability to be a one-man show at times, creating chances at will to break teams down and contribute to big wins for the team.

Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone create selection dilemma in quest for perfect line-up

Cameron Ponsonby07-Dec-2023Is this, actually, kind of the problem? The bunch of flowers and romantic evening after months of poor performance. Every allrounder has their day, and this was the day that both Sam Curran and Liam Livingstone teased England into giving them one more date.England’s dilemma is that two of the best eleven white-ball cricketers in the country do not necessarily fit into the best XI. Make no mistake, both Curran and Livingstone are fantastic cricketers and proved their worth with three-wicket hauls that bowled West Indies out for 202 and led to a well-earned victory. Curran bounced back from conceding the worst-ever ODI bowling figures from an England player on Sunday, to rip through the West Indies top-order with a triple powerplay strike. Livingstone then came on in the middle overs, broke the 129-run partnership that threatened to take the match away, and picked up a further two wickets for good measure.”It was great to see Livi bowling well,” Curran said at the end of the match, bigging up the skills of his mate, who regardless of their friendship off the pitch, may find themselves at odds trying to get on it.”We just try and do our best and whatever happens, happens. He’s one of my good mates and we work hard together and train hard. I don’t think we need to focus on that too much.”But in the current balance of the team, Livingstone’s presence prevents England from playing a fourth seamer. Which in turn, means that Curran, as one of just three quicks, has to bowl a full allocation despite being a borderline powerplay specialist. The presence of Livingstone weakens the output of Curran. And with Curran’s overs under greater pressure, so too does that pressure flip back on the need for Livingstone’s overs. Two magnets, pushing each other further away from the other.The problem is that on days like today, both showed that, at their best, it can work. But the saying goes ‘if you can’t love me at my worst, then you don’t deserve me at my best’. Not, ‘if you can live with me at my best, you must also stick with me at my worst’.England have been here before. In the opening round of the World Cup against New Zealand, they picked three seamers, with Livingstone at seven and Curran at eight and were beaten heavily. A match later, Reece Topley was selected in place of Moeen Ali and England cruised to a 137-run win. Topley took four wickets. And Curran bowled only 7.2 overs.This is the alternative that England are presented with. With Gus Atkinson, first-class batting average of 28.14, at No.11, England could pick a fourth seamer and shuffle everyone up. Curran at seven, Brydon Carse at eight, Rehan Ahmed at nine. It is still an exceptionally deep batting line-up, and one that would also lessen the load on Curran’s shoulders.Sam Curran bounced back with stellar spell in the powerplay•AFP/Getty ImagesWhy the emphasis on Livingstone to depart in this conversation? Because England already have a locked-in spinner in Adil Rashid (or Rehan Ahmed when he’s unavailable) and Will Jacks can also provide overs of offspin. But until Rob Key dusts off Lewis Gregory’s phone number or Ben Stokes lego knee is magically cured, there is no seam-bowling allrounder to lighten the load. A seam-bowling allrounder in this team is currently more valuable than a spinning one.What’s more, Sam Curran has been chosen as vice-captain for the series. If that was news to you, don’t be ashamed, it wasn’t announced. But it nevertheless further highlights that this is a player who England wish to build a team around.”Jos mentioned before the series if he’d like me to do it, that’s a great honour.” Curran said of discovering his promotion. “I do feel like more of a senior player in the side so that was a nice, proud moment. I’ve done a little bit with Surrey recently as well. It’s a great experience, just giving Jos some ideas here and there, but today was pretty much perfect for everyone.”It’s a label but it’s just been great and it was a nice feeling to be told that, but the most important thing was that we all perform our own roles in the way we did, which was really exciting.”Alternatively, Livingstone and Curran would argue why can’t they be the solution to their own problem? A unanimous conclusion from the ODI World Cup was that the gap between T20 and List A cricket was bigger than people realised. Whereas previously different players would give you different answers as to how far apart the two formats are, now they’re all singing from the same limited-overs hymn sheet.Related

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“I haven’t played a massive amount of 50-over cricket,” Curran said. “I feel like a senior player in this group and have played a bit more than others, but it’s a format that is totally different to other formats.”People learn on the job, and in Curran and Livingstone you have two cricketers with the talent to both bat in the top seven, let alone top eight. It’s just that, in the here and now, both have ODI batting averages in the 20s.”I’ve played various roles in the side so I guess I’m just adapting to different type of roles,” Curran said, without committing to the idea that a top-six spot is one he craves. “I’d love to just keep improving in all areas. I felt like I found a good place with the bat the other day, so that’s a good sign. I know moving forward, I just want to be a lot more consistent in both facets of my game and hopefully I can fit in anywhere.”The conundrum England have to solve is whether they can change Curran and Livingstone into the players they want them to be, or if they have to change Curran and Livingstone.

With each option having pros and cons, there is no right answer leading up to the Boxing Day Test

Karthik Krishnaswamy19-Dec-2021Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, neither, or both? Of all the questions that will keep India’s team management awake on the nights leading up to Boxing Day, this one might be particularly vexing.All four options could come under consideration, with Ravindra Jadeja out of the tour, making a five-bowler combination trickier to balance, and with Ajinkya Rahane’s form potentially putting his spot under doubt.The case for Iyer is simple. He got his opportunity against New Zealand, and grabbed it with a hugely accomplished 105 and 65 on debut. The Test match was in the balance each time he came in to bat, and he steered India to positions of strength both times before being dismissed. He’s already close to being a fixture in India’s white-ball teams, and his domination of domestic attacks – he has a first-class strike rate of 80.22 from 56 matches – has long suggested he belongs at a higher level in red-ball cricket as well.Related

• If Dravid the coach is anything like Dravid the captain, be ready for unpopular calls

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• From Green Park to Green Park: The making of Iyer

That Iyer got that chance at all, however, was down in part to the selectors leaving Vihari out of the squad and putting him on an India A tour of South Africa instead. If that decision was aimed at getting Vihari ready for the Tests in South Africa, it could be argued that he has readied himself most excellently, with scores of 25, 54, 72*, 63 and 13* in three four-day games in Bloemfontein.Just as much as it was a demonstration of ability in South African conditions, however, it was a demonstration of ability against South Africa’s second-stringers. While Vihari was scoring those runs, Iyer was scoring runs against New Zealand’s Test attack, except he was doing it at Green Park and the Wankhede rather than Centurion Park and the Wanderers. And as skillful as Iyer’s displays were, he was acing an entirely different test to the one he will face if picked in South Africa.Shreyas Iyer followed up his century with a vital second-innings fifty on Test debut•BCCITake, for instance, his first-innings hundred in Kanpur. On the second morning, Kyle Jamieson delivered an uncharacteristically wayward spell, and Iyer took full toll, clattering him for six fours in five overs. Up to that point, however, Iyer had faced 32 balls from New Zealand’s seamers and scored seven runs off them. Against their spinners, he’d scored 68 off 104.Iyer, of course, was only doing what generations of India batters have done to visiting attacks: play the waiting game against the quicks, and milk their spinners ruthlessly. Mayank Agarwal did much the same during his 150 in Mumbai: 45 off 119 balls against the fast bowlers, 105 off 192 against the spinners.Both innings were masterclasses in punishing minute errors in length and line from spinners in subcontinental conditions. But neither Iyer nor Agarwal will get too much of a chance to unveil that side of their game in South Africa. The last time India toured the country, fast bowlers delivered 91.34% of the balls South Africa bowled in the series.Unless illness or injury intervenes, Agarwal will open India’s batting at Centurion, and will immediately face a ruthless examination of his technique against pace. He seems to have narrowed his stance since his struggles on the 2020-21 tour of Australia, but it can’t be said conclusively if that’s helped him overcome the technical issues that dogged him on that trip. On day one in Kanpur, for instance, he was beaten and squared up multiple times by Jamieson before he nicked off, shaping to go forward but not quite managing to transfer his weight fully onto his front foot in time – the same issue that had caused him strife in Australia.Unless illness or injury intervenes, Mayank Agarwal will open India’s batting at Centurion•BCCIThis isn’t to say Agarwal won’t make runs in South Africa – just that, in order to do so, he will have to check boxes entirely different to the ones he checked against New Zealand at home. The same holds true for Iyer.What of Vihari, then? Eleven of his 12 Test matches have come away from home, and in them he has shown plenty of evidence of his quality against fast bowling – a half-century on debut at The Oval, 93 and 111 against a good West Indies attack wielding the Dukes ball, a counterattacking 55 against New Zealand’s short-ball tactics in Christchurch, a match-saving 237-minute vigil on one leg in Sydney – but with an overall average of 32.84, he hasn’t made himself indispensable.You could argue, though, that he’s only ever played in challenging conditions and against strong pace attacks. In the 11 away Tests he has featured in, Vihari’s average of 34.11 is better than those of Pujara (34.00) and Kohli (32.11), and not a whole lot worse than Rahane’s (38.94). The one time he got to bat at home, India were already 436 for 5 and looking to declare. Tough cards to be dealt. But then again, there’s no saying how Vihari would have done in Iyer’s place in Kanpur or Mumbai.And so, back to India’s middle-order conundrum at Centurion. Iyer, Vihari, neither, or both? A difficult question, to which there are no right or wrong answers.

استقر الكرواتي كرونسلاف يورتشيتش، المدير الفني لنادي بيراميدز، على تشكيل لاعبيه أمام فلامينجو البرازيلي في بطولة كأس القارات للأندية “إنتركونتيننتال”.

ومن المقرر أن يلتقي بيراميدز مع فلامينجو، اليوم السبت، في مواجهة نارية، تقام في نصف نهائي كأس إنتركونتيننتال في قطر.

وكان فلامينجو قد فاز على كروز أوزول في كأس إنتركونتيننتال بهدفين مقابل هدف، ليتأهل لنصف النهائي ومواجهة بيراميدز.

طالع | تشكيل بيراميدز الرسمي أمام فلامينجو في كأس إنتركونتيننتال.. مايلي يقود الهجوم

أما بيراميدز فوصل إلى دور نصف النهائي، بعد تخطي أوكلاند سيتي النيوزيلندي بنتيجة 3-0 في مباراة الدور التمهيدي الأول، ثم الفوز على الأهلي السعودي في دور ربع النهائي.

وسيحجز المتأهل من لقاء بيراميدز وفلامينجو مقعده في النهائي أمام باريس سان جيرمان الفرنسي. تشكيل بيراميدز المتوقع أمام فلامينجو في كأس إنتركونتيننتال

حراسة المرمى: أحمد الشناوي.

خط الدفاع: محمد الشيبي، محمود مرعي، أحمد سامي، محمد حمدي.

خط الوسط: أحمد عاطف قطة، مهند لاشين، مصطفى زيكو، محمد رضا بوبو، كريم حافظ.

خط الهجوم: فيستون مايلي.

Pooja Vastrakar’s fitness and Nat Sciver-Brunt’s form could also be key, if Mumbai are to repeat their success from the inaugural season

S Sudarshanan11-Feb-20253:22

What is MI’s biggest strength?

Where Mumbai Indians (MI) finished in WPL 2024They finished second in the league stage for a second season in a row, but went down to title-winners Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the closely-fought Eliminator. They were inaugural champions in 2023.What’s new for MI in WPL 2025?Allrounder Nadine de Klerk and Under-19 Women’s T20 World Cup winner G Kamalini, who was India’s wicketkeeper and opening batter in the tournament, are among their newest additions. The other two new players in the squad are Rajasthan seam-bowling allrounder Akshita Maheshwari, and Madhya Pradesh’s offspin-bowling allrounder Sanskriti Gupta.De Klerk’s addition comes at a time when India’s own seam-bowling allrounder Pooja Vastrakar is injured. Vastrakar had last played for India at the Women’s T20 World Cup in October 2024, and then three matches in the Senior Women’s T20 Trophy after being rested from the home ODIs against New Zealand.Related

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“Pooja’s currently injured at the moment, so will be making a call on that very, very soon,” MI head coach Charlotte Edwards said in the pre-season presser. “Clearly she’s been a big player for us for the last couple of seasons, but obviously we’re monitoring her fitness and, hopefully, we should be able to announce something really soon.”MI also have a change in the coaching staff, with former Australia opener Nicole Bolton replacing England’s Lydia Greenway as the fielding coach.MI’s likely XI1 Yastika Bhatia (wk), 2 Hayley Matthews, 3 Nat Sciver-Brunt, 4 Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), 5 Amelia Kerr, 6 S Sajana, 7 Nadine de Klerk, 8 Amanjot Kaur, 9 Akshita Maheshwari, 10 SB Keerthana, 11 Saika IshaqueOther players: Chloe Tryon, Shabnim Ismail, Pooja Vastrakar, Sanskriti Gupta, G Kamalini, Jintimani Kalita and Amandeep KaurKey players: Harmanpreet Kaur, Nat Sciver-Brunt, Saika IshaqueHarmanpreet Kaur is MI’s leading run-getter in the WPL, followed closely by Nat Sciver-Brunt. A lot of MI’s fortunes hinge on how the pair performs. Harmanpreet averages 17.40 at a strike rate of 102.35 in MI’s losses, while the corresponding figures for Sciver-Brunt in those games are 10.33 and 106.89. Sciver-Brunt heads into WPL 2025 on the back of a difficult Women’s Ashes, where she picked up just two wickets and hit two half-centuries across the multi-format series.Nat Sciver-Brunt heads into WPL 2025 on the back of a difficult Women’s Ashes•PTI There will also be additional spotlight on Harmanpreet in a home ODI World Cup year, which will be her first as India’s captain. Of late, her slowish starts in T20s have been in focus, even if she possesses the ability to make it up later. A case in point being MI’s must-win league-stage game against Gujarat Giants in WPL 2024. In that match, Harmanpreet was on 20 off 21 balls at one stage, before surviving a dropped chance and turning the game around to finish on 95* from 48. MI, and India, would want their captain to be in good striking form.Saika Ishaque has been the find of the WPL, and is its second-highest wicket-taker so far. Performances for MI helped her make her India debut, although she finds herself out of the reckoning after only four matches across white-ball formats. Ishaque has the ability to bowl across phases, and heads into WPL 2025 on the back of successful performances in domestic cricket, where she picked up 39 wickets and captained Bengal to a runners-up finish in both the Senior Women’s One-Day and the T20 Trophy.Young one to watch: Akshita MaheshwariMaheshwari, 24, could be expected to feature in MI’s starting XI, given the question marks over Vastrakar’s availability. She is a seam-bowling allrounder who plays for Rajasthan in the domestic circuit, and is the first from her state to be part of the WPL. In the Under-23 Women’s One Day Trophy last season, Maheshwari had finished with 23 wickets, the second-most in the competition, and picked up two hat-tricks: against Mizoram and Odisha, both in Mumbai. She also returned 4 for 23 against Meghalaya in the One Day competition earlier this domestic season. Maheswari was even part of the Senior Women’s T20 Challenger Trophy, although she did not get a game.MI’s league fixtures in WPL 2025MI start their campaign against Delhi Capitals (DC) on February 15 in Vadodara, and are one of the three teams that play league matches in all four cities hosting WPL 2025. Their two league games in Mumbai are back-to-back, making MI one of only two teams – the other being DC – playing on successive days in this edition. MI also play the last game of the league stage, which could help if things are tight – they will know the exact qualification scenarios.

Shubman Gill, who has just wrapped up his first Test series win as India captain is “kind of getting used to it [the experience]”, he said after the seven-wicket win over West Indies on Tuesday sealed a 2-0 series win.”It’s about taking the right options in the given situation,” he said in the presentation ceremony when asked what he had learnt after seven Tests (starting with the 2-2 result in England) as the leader of the pack. “I try to make the most probable decision in the given situation that we are in. Sometimes you have to take some bold decisions, that X-factor depending on which player can get you certain runs or get you those wickets.”Four wins in seven Tests is a great start for any Test captain, but when you lead India, it comes with additional scrutiny. In Delhi, it was in response to India enforcing the follow-on after taking a 270-run lead, especially after the 177-run third-wicket stand between century-makers John Campbell and Shai Hope.Related

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• Washington: Heartening to take 20 wickets on this surface

• Kuldeep's stump vision defies flat Delhi pitch

“We were around 300 runs ahead and the wicket was quite dead, and we thought even if we scored 500 runs, we have to get six or seven wickets on day five it would be a tough day for us,” Gill explained.The other little niggle was Nitish Kumar Reddy, the fast-bowling allrounder in the XI, not bowling a single over. “[He] didn’t really get to bowl any overs in this match but we don’t want players to only play matches overseas – that puts a lot of pressure on the players,” Gill said. “If we want to groom certain players that we think can help us win matches overseas [we need to find spots for them], because that’s been the challenge for us.”Two of the players who got to bowl a lot and played key roles in the series were Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav. Two spinners trying to form a partnership after many years of R Ashwin being the lead spinner when at home.”I could get chance to bowl more overs,” Jadeja said with a laugh after collecting his player-of-the-series award. “We’ve been doing wonderful work as a team. We know what brand of cricket we have been playing since last five-six months, so it’s a good sign as a team that we continue to do it for a long period of time.”2:13

Why didn’t Nitish Kumar Reddy bowl a single over in the Delhi Test?

Jadeja has also moved up the batting order in recent times – all the way to No. 6. And the returns have been solid. There was a century in England when India saved a Test they seemed out of in Manchester, and one now in Ahmedabad, along with a number of other impressive scores. “In past so many years, I have been batting at No. 8, No. 9, so my mindset was a little different to what I have right now, but [I’m] just trying to spend more time in the middle when I get the chance.”He’s also got a chance to mentor the younger spinners in the side, like Kuldeep and Washington Sundar. “It’s lovely to have him [Jadeja] around,” Kuldeep said. “He’s someone who has always guided me in tough situations and giving me some advice and it’s really helping me out.”Having sat out the entire tour of England, Kuldeep was back in the XI for the two Tests against West Indies and bowled beautifully, finishing with a chart-topping 12 wickets, including eight in Delhi that earned him the player-of-the-match award.1:15

How Kuldeep beat the challenges of a slow pitch

“In terms of pace, I thought, probably the pace, and the drift, which I got in Ahmedabad, if you compare that to this Test match, there wasn’t any drift here, because of the surface. The wicket was too dry,” he said of the changes he had to make between the two Tests. “Playing two Test matches back-to-back is always fun, and bowling lot of overs and getting the breakthrough in the middle is something I enjoy.”There isn’t much time for the multi-format players, with the first ODI of the series in Australia in a week’s time.Kuldeep will squeeze in as much football-watching as he can: “I’ll watch a few games and we hardly have time, we’re going to fly tomorrow and we have a game on the 19th. So I have to prepare for that.”Gill will leave his preparations – or the planning, at least – till later: “It’s a long flight, maybe we can talk about it there.”

New Zealand thrive on green-tinged pitch before the weather has the final say

Andrew Miller18-Oct-2025

Sam Curran and Brydon Carse punch gloves during England’s late rally•Sanka Vidanagama/AFP via Getty Images

England 153 for 6 (Curran 49*, Bracewell 1-10) vs New Zealand – match abandonedIt turns out there’s a reason New Zealand don’t often host international cricket in October. A truly glorious sunset over Christchurch gave way to dankness and mizzle after dark, as persistent rain wrecked a well-poised contest at Hagley Oval and sent a capacity crowd home unfulfilled.The home fans could at least be content that their own players had had the better of the 20 overs that were possible. New Zealand’s six bowlers claimed a wicket apiece, as England’s aggressive batters struggled to cope with the early-season movement of a green-tinged pitch.Only Sam Curran, with a gritty if fortunate 49 not out from 35 balls, resisted for any length of time. His 19-run take-down of Jacob Duffy’s final over hoisted England past the venue’s par score of 150, to set up what should have been a compelling fight to the finish. That will now have to wait until these teams reconvene at the same place on Monday.Runs at a premiumBoth captains had been eager to get first use of the conditions, and sure enough, the die was cast for an uncomfortable evening for batters when Phil Salt – usually England’s banker for a flying start – fell in the second over for 3, caught at short third off Jacob Duffy having failed to middle any of his four deliveries.That brought Jacob Bethell to the middle at No. 3, to begin his long and public audition for a similar role in the Ashes. Suffice to say, he didn’t quite enhance his claims on this showing. Three air-shots in five dot-balls gave way to back-to-back boundaries, including a firm swipe for six down the ground. But then he climbed across Matt Henry’s short ball, and top-edged a steepler back to the bowler for 15 from 13.England emerged from the Powerplay with some impetus at 44 for 2, thanks to Jos Buttler’s old-school nous and eye for a scoring opportunity. But, having reached 18 from his first ten balls, he lost momentum along with the strike, adding just five more from his last nine, which were stretched across five fallow mid-innings overs.Initially this didn’t seem to matter, with Harry Brook greeting Jimmy Neesham’s seamers with two sixes in his first three balls. But Neesham hit back with a cutter that flicked off the captain’s pads to bowl him for 20 from 14, whereupon Tom Banton struggled to get started in his unfamiliar mid-innings role.He made it to 9 from eight balls at the ten-over drinks break, then slapped his first ball of the resumption to long-on, as Mitchell Santner got his reward for a typically unrelenting spell. When Buttler followed one over later, caught at mid-off as he too failed to hit the spin of Michael Bracewell off his length, England were in peril at 81 for 5.Jacob Duffy struck early to remove Phil Salt•Joe Allison/Getty Images

Curran the cat claws a totalJordan Cox and Sam Curran were integral to Oval Invincibles’ latest Hundred triumph, but usually through front-footed onslaughts from No. 3 and 4 respectively. This rearguard from No. 6 and 7 required rather different skillsets – and, as it turned out, a fair dollop of luck.A timely rain-break in the 17th over offered England a chance to regroup, which Cox seemed to seize when he slapped Kyle Jamieson’s first ball of the resumption through the covers for four. But Jamieson hit back immediately, getting a length ball to stick in the pitch as Cox’s timing deserted him. Notwithstanding his fifty against Ireland in his previous outing, this 16 from 18 marked another missed opportunity for a player who – for a variety of reasons – can’t quite grasp his chances in the England set-up.Curran has also been on the outside looking in since Brendon McCullum took over as head coach, but his time would appear to have come, and even the fates seem to agree. Invaluable though his innings was, he was the beneficiary of two badly dropped catches – on 14, as Duffy spilled a steepler in his followthrough, and on 26, as Tim Robinson misjudged a pull to deep midwicket off Henry.He had a further life five balls later, when Jamieson pinned him on the knee-roll as he lined up a ramp. A speculative review showed it had pitched outside leg, by which stage he was already most of the way off the pitch.But he did the needful as the overs ran out, scampering the twos as New Zealand set their men back in the deep, before a final-over six and two fours hauled England to a total that might well have proved sufficient had the weather permitted a defence. On that, however, we’ll never know.

Arne Slot has been warned that a defeat to Nottingham Forest "would make things tricky" for him at the Liverpool dugout, but a potential return for Jurgen Klopp has been ruled out. The reigning Premier League champions, who only weeks ago appeared to have rediscovered their rhythm with statement victories over Aston Villa and Real Madrid, were humbled at the Etihad in Pep Guardiola’s 1,000th match in management.

Liverpool’s crisis deepens after Etihad setback

Liverpool offered little resistance in a 3-0 defeat marked by Erling Haaland’s opener, scored moments after he missed a penalty, followed by long-range strikes from Nico Gonzalez and Jeremy Doku. Virgil van Dijk did have the ball in the net at 1-0, but the goal was controversially ruled out after VAR determined Andy Robertson, who was offside, had made an "obvious action" that impacted play. Liverpool failed to register a shot on target until the 75th minute. Slot, meanwhile, endured chants of "sacked in the morning" from City supporters as his team slumped to a seventh defeat in ten matches across all competitions. After 11 league games, Liverpool sit eighth, eight points behind leaders Arsenal.

AdvertisementAFPForest encounter critical to Slot's future

Former Everton, Sunderland and Scotland midfielder Don Hutchison has warned that Slot will be under pressure if Liverpool further drop points against Forest. 

In an interview with Slot said: "I think a defeat against Forest would make things a little bit tricky, to be fair, for Slot. You can't sugarcoat it. They've got a run of games now, Liverpool, where they play a good amount of teams in the bottom half. So this is the period where you can put a run of wins together, and if you do, you get Liverpool back into the top two or three. If they don't then he starts to become a man under pressure, because it's time now to have the plan and to show everyone the plan, about how you get all your big boys into the same team."

He added that Liverpool’s issues are no longer just form-related, but structural.

"We're all trying to guess on what system and what permutation and what individuals you go for," he said. "Slot is a very good manager and he's got to solve it. So to answer your question he would be under pressure, but I'm still pretty confident in him."

Klopp's return not on the cards

With pressure building, bookmakers have inevitably drifted towards familiar names. Leading the speculative odds at 4/1 is the man Slot replaced, Jurgen Klopp. But Hutchinson has been quick to dismiss the idea. 

"No, I don't see it. I think Jurgen's got more about him," he said. "I even think if that was the conversation, I think Jurgen would say to Liverpool to be patient on Slot, to give the guy time. I think Jurgen's that type of guy where it's not all about him. Jurgen's very honest.  He wants to do what's best for himself and Liverpool for sure. So he would probably say to the board, stay patient, stay with Arne Slot. There's no one out there at the minute from the list of managers that would be available who would make it worth firing Slot."

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GettyMixed injury news as Forest clash nears

Slot confirmed a blend of encouraging and worrying updates ahead of Saturday’s clash with Forest. Alisson Becker is fully fit after recovering from a hamstring injury and is expected to return in goal. However, Conor Bradley and Florian Wirtz have both suffered muscle injuries since returning from international duty. Bradley is expected to miss around three weeks, while Wirtz’s absence should be shorter, but he remains unavailable. Jeremie Frimpong is still out with a hamstring problem, leaving Liverpool thin at right-back. 

Speaking on Wirtz and Bradley's injury situations, Slot said: "Both muscle issues. I don't expect Conor to be part of the next 22 days. Maybe he returns towards the end of that period unless a miracle happens. Florian should be back sooner, it depends how things go but it should not be too long.

"Jeremie is out for a similar timeframe and probably will not be available for the next two or three weeks either. It will be interesting to see who plays at right back. Curtis Jones filled in there last season and Joe Gomez has played there as well, but he has only completed 90 minutes in 2025, so asking to play seven times in 22 days is a risk."

However, Alexander Isak is fit again after a stop-start beginning to life at Anfield following his club-record transfer from Newcastle.