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That nagging sense of complacency was somewhat put to bed following Saturday’s thumping 5-1 win at home to Kilmarnock, with Champions-elect Celtic surging into a four-goal lead inside 25 minutes to nudge themselves even closer to a fourth successive Premiership title.

Such an emphatic result represented a perfect response following the shock defeat to bottom side St Johnstone a week earlier, with manager Brendan Rodgers having stated his players may now be “too comfortable”, amid a run of three defeats in six league games.

Even amid the weekend win at Parkhead, however, Rodgers’ point still stands, with the Northern Irishman suggesting that “change is needed”, having outlined his desire to “improve the team”.

The Hoops did notably move to bring Jota back to the club in January, albeit with that switch seeing Kyogo Furuhashi head to Stade Rennais in the opposite direction, with the Old Firm side still needing to strengthen, rather than merely seeking to plug the gaps.

Thankfully, as far as Rodgers is concerned, it would appear that work is already being done on bringing in fresh faces ahead of next season, with rumours rife regarding the Glasgow side’s interest in Million Manhoef.

Why Celtic are targeting Million Manhoef

As reported in recent days, the Hoops appear to be among the clubs interested in signing the Stoke City sensation this summer, with the 23-year-old having dazzled across the last year or so in the EFL.

The suggestion is that Rodgers has set his sights on signing the winger amid the need for increased depth in the attacking ranks, with Honduran forward Luis Palma set to depart permanently at the end of the season, following his current loan stint at Olympiakos.

It was not revealed how much the Dutchman would cost this summer, albeit with Celtic likely hoping to strike a deal for close to the £3m fee that Stoke paid to snap Manhoef up from Vitesse Arnhem back in February 2024.

The Netherlands U21 international has made his way onto Rodgers’ radar amid his sparkling displays for a struggling side of late, with the right winger registering ten goals and assists for the Championship side in all competitions this season.

With 15 goal involvements in total for the Potters in 49 outings – after previously racking up 30 in 88 games in Holland – the in-demand forward has that golden touch in the final third, with the hope being that he can kick on again should he move to Glasgow.

There will also be optimism that Manhoef can follow in the footsteps of another exciting, left-footed winger who has since dazzled in green and white.

Celtic have struck gold on 'breathtaking' star

Whether it has been the lack of competition at the summit, or their cruel exit from the Champions League, it’s fair to say that Celtic have somewhat stepped off the gas in recent weeks, amid those defeats to Hibernian, Rangers and the Saints.

Market Movers

Football FanCast’s Market Movers series explores the changing landscape of the modern transfer market. How much is your club’s star player or biggest flop worth today?

Among those who have looked particularly off the boil in 2025, in general, is Nicolas Kuhn, with the 25-year-old – who did score in the second-leg clash with Bayern Munich – having failed to find the back of the net in the league since early February.

Such a drop-off is certainly a reason for concern – with Chris Sutton pinpointing the German’s ‘attitude’ as a potential problem – although it shouldn’t overshadow what has largely been a stunning campaign for the wing wizard, amid his return of 36 goals and assists in just 45 games in all competitions.

Who can forget his stunning brace against RB Leipzig, or that finish on the break against Bayern? Yes, his form has slumped of late, but at his best, the former Rapid Vienna star truly is “breathtaking”, in the words of pundit Marvin Bartley.

Regardless of his impact in recent months, it still appears that Rodgers and co struck a bargain by managing to land Kuhn from his former employers for just £3m during the 2024 winter window, with reports already linking him with a £25m exit to the Premier League.

Games (starts)

28 (21)

31

Goals

10

5

Assists

8

4

Big chances created

10

10

Big chances missed

9

9

Key passes*

1.7

1.6

Pass accuracy*

76%

79%

Successful dribbles*

1.9

1.5

Possession lost*

11.3

13.4

That would represent a mammoth profit on a player who had actually only recorded seven goals and ten assists in 51 games during his time in Vienna, thus boasting a similar record to what Manhoef has achieved at Stoke.

Hopefully, if the Dutchman does link up with Rodgers this summer he can emulate the success of Kuhn on the flanks, although at present, it is clear to see who the superior talent is. Indeed, as per Transfermarkt, Kuhn is now deemed to be worth around €12m (£10m), while the Stoke star, by contrast, is currently worth just €3.5m (£2.5m).

As Rodgers has shown with the German to date, however, he could just be the perfect coach to nurture Manhoef and turn him into yet another exciting, young attacking talent for the Hoops.

The next Liel Abada: Celtic plotting exciting move for £3m star

Celtic are reportedly interested in signing a star who could be Liel Abada 2.0 fo the club.

1 ByDan Emery Apr 14, 2025

Celtic are on course for yet another impressive domestic campaign, despite losing 1-0 at the weekend, as Brendan Rodgers’s side close in on a fourth successive Scottish Premiership title at Parkhead.

The Hoops have already won the League Cup trophy, beating their fierce rivals on penalties in the first half of the season, and are in the semi-finals of the SFA Cup, which means that they are still on for a domestic treble.

Rodgers, however, will know that success at Paradise comes with a price in the summer transfer window, as their star performers garner interest from elsewhere.

The Hoops are no strangers to cashing in on their top talent and have extracted excellent value out of their key men over the past decade or so in particular, most recently cashing in on Kyogo Furuhashi in January.

As you can see in the graphic above, the Scottish giants have sold three players for £25m – including current star Jota, who returned to the club from Rennes in January – and have sold nine players for more than £10m.

One of the players they have made more than £10m from by selling has been Dutch full-back Jeremie Frimpong, whom the Bhoys played a masterstroke with.

Why Celtic hit the jackpot with Jeremie Frimpong

The Premiership side swooped to sign the young defender from Premier League outfit Manchester City in the summer of 2019 for a reported fee of just £350k.

Whilst a lot of clubs may focus on signing proven, experienced, players to come in and almost have a guaranteed impact on the team, Celtic are willing to gamble on young talent in the hope that it pays off in the long run.

Frimpong had not made a single first-team appearance for Manchester City, or any club, by the time that the Hoops signed him, which meant that they did not know what to expect from him on the pitch in the Premiership.

The Dutchman went on to play 51 times, scoring three goals and providing seven assists, in all competitions for Celtic in just 18 months at the club, as he hit the ground running in Glasgow to become a regular at right-back.

The young starlet’s impressive form for the Hoops led to interest from elsewhere, and Bundesliga giants Bayer Leverkusen swooped for his services in the January transfer window in 2021.

Celtic reportedly raked in a fee of £11m for his services, as shown in the earlier graphic, to make him one of the most expensive sales in the club’s history, just 18 months on from being signed for a measly £350k from Manchester City.

This shows that the Scottish giants hit the jackpot with Frimpong because they turned an unproven academy talent, worth just £350k, into an £11m player who was wanted by one of the biggest sides in Europe.

Celtic may, now, have unearthed their next version of the Dutch defender ahead of the upcoming summer transfer window, but it is not the team’s current right-back Alistair Johnston.

Alistair Johnston's current market value

The Canada international joined the club from CF Montreal at the start of 2023, under Ange Postecoglou, and has been a regular starter at right-back ever since, racking up 105 appearances in all competitions to date.

Johnston has started 27 of his 28 appearances in the Premiership so far this season, scoring four goals and creating 13 ‘big chances’, after he started all 32 of his outings in the division in the 2023/24 campaign.

Despite his impressive form at right-back for the Scottish giants over the past two-and-a-half years, his current market value – as per Transfermarkt – stands at €10m (£8.5m).

This means that, at his current value, Johnston would not be sold as one of the top ten biggest sales in the club’s history, and is currently worth less than what Frimpong was sold to Leverkusen for.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

There is another Celtic defender, however, who is currently worth more than £10m and could be the club’s next star to be sold to the Bundesliga for big money.

Celtic have unearthed their new Jeremie Frimpong

Cameron Carter-Vickers is on course to become the club’s new Frimpong as his value has soared during his time at Parkhead, and he has been linked with a move to Germany.

American journalist Larry Henry Jr reported earlier this season that ‘multiple sources’ confirmed that Bayer Leverkusen hold an interest in the Celtic central defender, although no offer had been made at that time.

This suggests that there is the potential for him to follow Frimpong to his new club in the upcoming summer transfer window if Leverkusen decide to act on their interest in him by making a bid for his services.

His value has doubled since signing for Celtic on a permanent deal in the summer of 2022 from Tottenham Hotspur, at which point he was valued at €7m (£6m) by Transfermarkt.

At the time of writing (08/04/2025), Carter-Vickers is valued at €14m (£12m) by Transfermarkt, which is double what it was when he joined the club and more than the amount the club raked in for Frimpong from Leverkusen.

Appearances

33

29

25

26

Clean sheets

17

13

8

14

Error led to shot

0

0

0

1

Error led to goal

0

0

0

0

Ground duel success rate

59%

59%

62%

64%

Aerial duel success rate

73%

74%

71%

75%

As you can see in the table above, the USA international has built that value by delivering consistently impressive performances in the Premiership for the Hoops over several seasons, with zero errors that have led to opposition goals in four league campaigns to date.

The dominant defender, who has never won below 71% of his aerial battles in a season, is currently the most valuable player at the club, per Transfermarkt, at £12m and that means that he could be the next star to be sold for big money in the off-season.

Celtic already sold "outstandingly basic" McGregor upgrade for just £1.5m

Celtic cashed in on the talented midfielder before he had the chance to develop into the long-term Callum McGregor upgrade.

ByDan Emery Apr 8, 2025

Therefore, Celtic have unearthed their next Frimpong in Carter-Vickers because he could be sold to the Bundesliga, and Leverkusen in particular, for more than £10m in the next window.

England spinner stepped into big shoes for the Hundred, but has guided her side to the Eliminator

Andrew Miller30-Aug-2025Twelve months on from London Spirit’s victory over Welsh Fire in the 2024 Women’s Hundred final, Charlie Dean breaks into a grin as she recalls Deepti Sharma’s winning six over long-on, and her team’s agog reactions in the dugout by the boundary’s edge.”Every time you look at that clip, you see something different,” Dean tells ESPNcricinfo, thinking back to Spirit’s tightly fought four-wicket win, sealed in euphoric style with two balls to spare, and with Dean herself 1 not out at the non-striker’s end.Cordelia Griffith was the star of the subsequent meme: eyes out on stalks as she tracked Deepti’s shot, all the way off the bat and just out of the reach of a backpedalling Shabnim Ismail, but every player in the frame lived the moment in a different way.”There’s Eva [Gray] taking her helmet off, then putting it back on, then throwing it away,” Dean recalls. “I’d faced one full-toss and hit it straight to the fielder, so when Deepti hit the ball over the boundary there’s just a lot of relief. I’ve seen so many replays of the girls celebrating off the bench. It brings back a lot of good memories, a lot of good feelings. That’s why you play the game, isn’t it? To win big games like that. If we can replicate any of those feelings again this year, that would be amazing.”Spirit have certainly done the needful to give themselves a shot at back-to-back titles. For the second year running, they have qualified third in the table, meaning they will once again have to come through Saturday’s Eliminator at the Kia Oval to give themselves a chance to face Southern Brave in the Lord’s final.If there’s a slight nervousness about the weekend’s weather forecast, and the danger that a washout could send second-placed Northern Superchargers straight to the final without a ball being bowled, then Dean is unfazed. Not only has her team been in this position before, but now – as captain, in the wake of Heather Knight’s season-halting hamstring injury – she feels all the more ready to cope with whatever circumstances crop up in the coming days.Grace Harris opened the tournament with a blistering 89 not out•ECB via Getty Images”I’ve really enjoyed this year,” she says. “I’m in a place where I know my game quite well, and I can think about other people, and I feel like I’ve had a lot of personal development. I’ve gained a bit more confidence with my public speaking, and bits like that … things that would probably have challenged me a lot more in previous years.”The core group of girls is pretty similar to last year and the year before, with a few brilliant changes, so be able to lead this group is a bit of an honour,” she adds. “It’s lovely to have Heather still here with us, offering a bit of guidance and advice, then there’s Chris Liddle – it’s his first time being head coach, but you wouldn’t know it – so I’m incredibly lucky that I’m really well supported.”We work really well as a core leadership group, and that just makes my job so much easier. I trust my gut and go with how I see the game playing out on the pitch. The girls have performed really well, and different people have stood up at different times, so it certainly makes a captain’s job easier when that is the case.”The chance to captain Spirit – untimely though it has been for Knight – has the potential to transform Dean’s standing within English cricket. Back in March, when Knight left her role as England captain, Dean’s name had been one of many tentatively mentioned for the succession, but everywhere you looked, the problem was the same. Knight’s sheer longevity – eight years in the role – had inadvertently prevented anyone else within the England set-up from honing their leadership skills.Related

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It’s an issue Dean recognises and accepts. “It’s hard, as an England player, to be in and out of domestic teams and still be a leader. You can’t captain a domestic team if you’re not there all the time. So opportunities to captain are few and far between, but I always relished the chance to step up in other leadership ways. This has been a perfect opportunity for me to test out how I’ve grown, and see where it takes me.”In the immediate future, Dean hopes it will take her north of the river once again, after this afternoon’s Eliminator, and back to the base-camp that she has been proud to call her midsummer home for the past five seasons.”Lord’s massively feels like home for us,” she says. “It really does feel like the norm to be able to go out and play there, which is crazy when you think, 5-10 years ago, you really wouldn’t be able to say that at all. Women’s cricket deserves that platform … the skill levels are increasing, day in, day out, with more professionalism and the chance to showcase our skills.”Even so, the Lord’s factor is a very real aspect of Finals Day, and so the chance for Spirit to have familiarised themselves with the surroundings, and the ground’s idiosyncrasies (“I don’t know if you know, but there is a slope here,” Dean jokes…) is undoubtedly a bonus.Lord’s ‘massively feels like home’ for London Spirit women, Dean says•ECB/Getty Images”It does give it a little home advantage, but a final is a final,” she adds. “You have to be the better team, but you also have to be smart. It’s not like The Oval or Headingley, where it’s a batter’s paradise most of the time. But equally, those are the games of cricket that really excite you as a player, when you have to engage a bit more, and plan for different scenarios – left-hand, right-hand, a smaller boundary, or whatever it is. Those are the things that really excite me as a player. It gets the brain ticking.”As Dean acknowledges, many of the same characters from the 2024 victory are still present in the Spirit dressing-room, from Georgia Redmayne at the top of the order, via Griffith and Dani Gibson in the middle, through the spin duo of Dean herself and Sarah Glenn, and with Gray topping their averages with nine wickets at 17.77.But Kira Chathli’s arrival as Knight’s replacement has been a revelation – 214 runs at a strike-rate of 150 has helped to propel their powerplays – while the return of Grace Harris alongside the marquee signing of Issy Wong has given Spirit a sprinkling of extra impetus as they seek to become only the second team after Oval Invincibles to land back-to-back women’s Hundred titles.”We picked up Kira before the wildcard draft, and that was gold-dust, really,” Dean says. “She’d had brilliant form in the Vitality Blast for Surrey, so it was a no-brainer for us to promote her to the top of the order and just encourage her to play the way that she’s been playing for Surrey.”As for Harris, she announced her return in irrepressible fashion in the tournament opener against Invincibles, where she clubbed a matchwinning 89 not out from 42 balls. Her returns since then may have been more hit-and-miss, but her threat has been ever-present, along with her indefatigable dressing-room attitude.”She’s a fantastic cricketer to have in your team,” Dean says. “The energy that she brings and the way she goes about her business, she just cracks on and gets it done. She set the tone with that opening game, and has been just fantastic for us. We let her go and express herself. And she does it really well, even though at times you may be like, ‘Wow, she really doesn’t stop!’ But it is fantastic to have someone in your dressing-room who just exudes energy, because it really brings everyone up with her.”And then there’s Wong, a player whose personal journey in recent seasons has arguably epitomised that of the women’s game as a whole. The huge promise, the inflated expectations, the inevitable dip in performance amid the glare of ever-building scrutiny. But now, still only 23, she’s been on the comeback trail for Warwickshire, England and Spirit all season long, and after a series of critical contributions with bat and ball alike, Dean believes she’ll be ready to deliver when her team needs it most.”Issy is someone that will always stand up under pressure,” she says. “That’s one of the qualities you really want in a player. She thrives in the battle and she’s really become resilient, and developed ways of bouncing back, because she’s had a few struggles.”She’s a fantastic bowler to have in our armoury. She’s come in and really owned what she’s doing, and she’s back with a bang, which is so exciting for English cricket. And for her, on a personal level, knowing how much work that she’s put in over the past couple of years.”

Siddle also attributes the development of T20 cricket to lower-order batters moving away from the “basics of hanging in there”

Alex Malcolm13-Jun-2023When Peter Siddle walked out to bat at Edgbaston in 2019, he had some prescient words ringing in his ears from none other than Steve Waugh.Australia were perilously placed at 122 for 8 on the opening day of the Ashes series on the brink of a disastrous loss from which there may have been no return. Siddle joined Steven Smith, who was unbeaten on 42, begging for someone to stay with him.Waugh, who had been brought in as a consultant for the tour by then coach Justin Langer, had had a quiet word to the bowlers the previous day.Related

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“He spoke to all the bowlers, not so much about what we can do with our bowling, but how valuable we can be with contributions with the bat throughout the series,” Siddle told ESPNcricinfo. “And that was literally the day before that first Test.”He spoke about hanging out there, especially if there’s a batter there, just hanging with him and ticking the runs over, rotating the strike.”Waugh’s chat had also come hot on the heels of a similar speech from then-Australia assistant coach Brad Haddin, who had pulled all the bowlers aside at the now infamous cut-throat pre-tour intra-squad match at Southampton and told them that there would be a huge focus on their batting at training on the tour because lower-order contributions would be vital.”Hads [Haddin] has always been a big one on that, obviously with him being a keeper batting at seven through his career, a lot of his batting tended to be with the lower order,” Siddle said.”It’s always been a big emphasis for him to have those batters around him. So there’s always a strong focus and he was one of the coaches that would be willing to stay around and keep working with you to get that extra hit in knowing how important it was to him when he played, but how important it was just in general for the team to push that total up a little bit more.”The speeches and the added batting work paid dividends immediately. Siddle, not for the first time in his 11-year Test career, contributed a vital 85-ball 44 in an 88-run stand with Smith. Nathan Lyon then batted for another hour at No. 11, helping Smith race past his century and add 74 for the final wicket to help Australia post 284 after winning the toss.They would still concede a first-innings lead, but it was only 90, before Smith and Matthew Wade made second-innings hundreds and James Pattinson smashed an unbeaten 47 at No. 8 to help set up a victory that would put them on course to retain the Ashes.Mitchell Starc would also make an unbeaten 54 at No. 9 in Australia’s only other win of the series at Old Trafford, sharing a 51-run stand with Smith who made 211, and adding 59 more with Lyon to help Australia post a match-winning total of 497 for 8 declared.Fast forward nearly four years and Starc’s 41 in the World Test Championship final at the Oval on Sunday was just the second 40-plus score by an Australian bowler in a Test match since his half-century at Old Trafford. Australia’s Nos. 8-11 have contributed just four 40-plus scores in four years, with two of them belonging to Alex Carey when he twice slid to No.8 after the use of a nightwatcher. The only other 40-plus score by a bowler came from Todd Murphy in Ahmedabad this year.Only Ireland and Afghanistan’s tails have made fewer 40-plus contributions in that time, having played just four and three Test matches, respectively.In the 2021-22 Ashes, Starc did make four important scores of 35, 39 not out, 24 not out and 34 not out in the first four Tests. But aside from that, it has been slim pickings. And the lack of contribution from Australia’s tail compared to their opponents has been a decisive factor in the only five losses Australia have suffered in that time, four of which came at the hands of India who possess the strongest batting tail in the world.Australia’s bowlers did face the challenge of barely being required to bat in the last home summer against West Indies and South Africa to being asked to score runs in the most extreme of conditions in India, which also exposed their specialist batters.Pat Cummins averages 11.71 with the bat in Tests since January 2019•Associated PressBut the gradual decline of the batting contributions of Australia’s main four bowlers is cause for concern and has been noted within the Australian camp. Just like in 2019, there was an emphasis put on Australia’s bowlers getting plenty of batting work in at the pre-departure camp in Brisbane with Starc’s return at the Oval an early dividend.But the question remains why the extra batting work isn’t a constant. It is one of the challenges in the modern era, where the management of bowlers’ training loads has become a top priority to the point where they do have full rest days from optional sessions, whereas some of Australia’s premier batters in Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will almost always bat on those optional days.The opposite is true for Australia’s batters with their bowling. Smith and Labuschagne both began their Test careers as better-than-part-time legspinners capable of making breakthroughs and holding an end to ease the burden on the frontline bowlers. But both have focussed so heavily on their batting that their legspin has fallen by the wayside, to the point where both have been bowling part-time offspin in first-class cricket recently. The only difference is that batters do not have to bowl in Test matches, but bowlers always have to bat.”It is tough,” Siddle said. “At the end of the day, we are bowlers, we’ve got to be ready and prepared as well as we can to do our first job which is to bowl and take wickets in that Test match, so it always does take precedence getting that work done.”Most bowlers really love batting. That’s probably the most fun part of the game that we have in Test matches. Everything else is hard work.”But it does take up a lot of time and I think if you’re batting at the end of a training session, you’re tired, you’ve been there for a few hours, the motivation can be low.”But it’s definitely something that I’ve noticed a lot more that tail-enders, lower-order batters do a hell of a lot more batting and there’s a lot more time and effort put into it than when I first started playing.”One thing Australian coaches have found difficult is allocating time and resources to improving the bowlers’ batting. Batters are facing more balls than ever in the nets leaving the coaches who throw balls exhausted by the time the bowlers are ready to bat.It was noticeable at times during Australia’s recent tour of India how often bowlers were left to bat unsupervised against net bowlers when they arguably need more specialised coaching, more volume, and a greater focus on batting fundamentals if they are going to survive and contribute to key partnerships in games. That is where Siddle thinks some lateral thinking and personal responsibility need to kick in.”Definitely, that’s probably the biggest issue,” Siddle said. “The batters do take up a lot of time and coaches get tired.”I think it’s just finding the right moments to get that extra work in. Sometimes, it’s not at the end of sessions because the fatigue on everyone is so great because the session has been long.”I think it’s about getting the opportunities and sometimes the best ones were during Test matches. Once the batting innings starts, if the facilities are available, getting out to the nets with the batting coach during the game…I think sometimes they were some of the best sessions that I had. You can get out and focus a bit better, knowing that you’re going to bat at some stage either that day or the next. That last little top-up session was very valuable.”One other major challenge facing bowlers globally, and Australia’s bowlers in particular, is the development of T20 batting. Bowlers who are multiformat players, as all three of Australia’s main quicks are, can add millions to their T20 franchise value if they can power-hit.

“Most bowlers really love batting. That’s probably the most fun part of the game that we have in Test matches. Everything else is hard work. “Peter Siddle

In January 2019 Pat Cummins was averaging 21.12 in Test cricket having just made his second half-century against India. He was also facing an average of 45 balls per Test innings, which was part of the reason he was elevated in front of Starc in the order 12 months earlier, with Starc facing an average of just 26 balls per Test innings for 21.44 runs per dismissal, even though Starc had seven more half-centuries including a Test 99.At the same time, Cummins wasn’t a regular in Australia’s T20 side and was averaging 14.09 in T20 cricket with the bat, striking at just 124.A greater emphasis on honing his power-hitting skills since that point has seen Cummins average 21.05 in his last 59 T20 innings, striking at 152.67 with three half-centuries, helping his IPL auction price go through the roof.Over the same period, Cummins has not passed 40 once in 40 Test innings and has averaged just 11.71. He has now moved back behind Starc in the order.”The format changes have brought this dilemma for batters in general but more so probably tail-enders and I think the new generation of player tends to be more of a power-hitter in the way they play anyway,” Siddle said.”Obviously, Pat and Mitch are players that have developed their game around both different formats.”The new generation, they’re learning how to be power-hitters first. As the years go by and there’s more T20 cricket played, the lower-order players want to be able to whack the ball and clear the ropes and they’re going away a little bit from the basics of hanging in there, having a good solid defence, keeping everything tight and valuing your wicket.”

This is far from a golden era of slip catching, but there are still some players who make a habit of taking stunners in the cordon

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jun-2021Steven Smith

There are few better sights in cricket than a packed slip cordon – well, maybe it’s just me. But does this feel like a golden era of slip catching? I’m not going to delve into the percentage of dropped catches right here, but the gut feeling is no. A recent social media poll by our digital gurus posed the question of the dream cordon: Darren Gough’s was Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Jacques Kallis and Andrew Flintoff. It’s an all-timer, for sure.The best of the current players? I’ve gone for Smith, who snaffles them pretty safely, and sometimes spectacularly, either against the quicks or the spinners (when he isn’t standing too deep and getting Shane Warne riled up). One of the more recent ones to stick in the memory is a full-stretch dive to remove Kane Williamson – should there be extra marks for the quality of the batter? – in Perth two seasons ago. Williamson edged Mitchell Starc in a day-night Test with the lights taking hold, and Smith was horizontal at second slip when he took it almost behind him. Would he make an all-time cordon? I might check the replies to that social post.#OhmyBroad: Ben Stokes’ grab at Trent Bridge in 2015, is an unforgettable Ashes moment•Getty ImagesBen Stokes

There’s probably a distinction to be made between great slip catchers and takers of great slip catches. Some of those vying for the all-time cordon pouched almost everything that came their way with soft-handed surety, but may have been less likely to fling themselves bodily for the one-percenters. And if there are fewer in the never-drop-a-chance category these days, perhaps it’s because the modern cricketer is more likely to get close to ones that would have zipped straight through in the past.Related

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Who has the best cover drive in the game today?

Anyway, while Stokes does put down more than the odd one, there’s no doubting his ability to pluck ’em from thin air – and it’s spectacular snags that do it for me. Exhibit A is, of course, the Aussie-scuppering, #OhMyBroad-inspiring, claw-assisted snatch of Adam Voges’ outside edge from fifth slip at Trent Bridge in 2015 – aerial, horizontal, behind him. But we’ve subsequently discovered this is just what Stokes does. See four grabs in a day in Cape Town (three of them full length, one an absolute screamer), or a regulation flying one-hander to dismiss Jasprit Bumrah in Chennai that he barely celebrates.My other candidate was Faf du Plessis, who might edge Stokes on reliability and could also pull off a worldie but was deemed ineligible having retired from Tests.Big ticket: Rakheem Cornwall can make the long journey down to take some outstanding low catches•AFP/Getty ImagesRahkeem Cornwall

It’s obviously no hindrance to be a natural athlete, but you don’t have to be one to be a good slip fielder. Think Mark Taylor.Several large men have fielded there – Warwick Armstrong and Inzamam-ul-Haq, to name two – so it’s perfectly natural for Rahkeem Cornwall to do so, blessed as he is with bucket hands and the meditative temperament of one who will always let the ball come to him rather than go snatching at it. It’s no surprise when he pulls off nonchalant catches like this one, when Rory Burns top-edged a full-blooded square cut his way at Old Trafford, but his unlikely party trick is the low catch, by his bootlaces – surely the most difficult feat for a man of his size to pull off. Have a look at this effort to send back Rashid Khan in Lucknow (at the 17-second mark here), or the famous low tumble to his right to end Mehidy Hasan’s resistance and complete West Indies’ 2-0 Test series triumph in Bangladesh. Is Cornwall the best slip catcher in world cricket? Who knows? Is he the most fun to watch? Most definitely.Ajinkya Rahane makes the tough catches look simple because of his soft hands•AFPAjinkya Rahane

I wonder if there’s a happy coincidence between being a good slip fielder and wearing either a cool floppy hat or a worn-out cap that has absorbed buckets of sweat over the years. Mark Taylor and Mark Waugh come to mind in the 1990s. In the 2000s, it’s hard to look beyond Mahela Jayawardene and Rahul Dravid.My pick from the current era is Ajinkya Rahane. Hat aside, I’ve picked Rahane because when he stands at slip to the spinner, he makes difficult catches look easy. Look at the ones he took to dismiss Steven Smith in the 2017 Dharamsala Test or Adelaide 2020. Whether Rahane is dealing with the turn of the subcontinent that needs him to stay low or the bounce of Australia and England, which calls for positioning further back, his anticipation, the ability to stay light on his feet to allow him to move either way, and his sound judgment of where he should stand means he takes most chances.

MatériaMais Notícias

Nesta quarta-feira (03), Trinidense e Fortaleza se enfrentam pela primeira vez na história em confronto válido pela primeira rodada da fase de grupos da Copa Sul-Americana. As duas equipes brigam pela classificação no grupo D da competição e este primeiro jogo acontece no lendário estádio Defensores del Chaco, em Assunção, no Paraguai.

Atual vice-campeão da competição, o Fortaleza entra em campo hoje às 21:00 da noite, horário de Brasília, para enfrentar o penúltimo colocado do campeonato paraguaio. A partida terá transmissão do Star+ (serviço de streaming) e da ESPN 4.

Ficha Técnica:
Data e horário: 3/4/2024, às 21h
Local: Estádio Defensores del Chaco, em Assunção
Árbitro: Francisco Gilabert
VAR: Rodrigo Carvajal

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Prováveis escalações:

Trinidense: Victor Samudio; Luis De la Cruz, Gilberto Flores, Cesar Benitez e Sergio Mendoza; Román, Riveros, Salcedo, Andrada e Sinisterra; Fernando Romero. Técnico: José Arrua.

Fortaleza: João Ricardo; Emanuel Brítez, Benjamin Kuscevic, Tomás Cardona e Thauan Lara; Lucas Sasha e Kauan Rodrigues; Marinho, Kervin Andrade e Moisés; Lucero (Tomás Pochettino). Técnico: Juan Pablo Vojvoda.

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تحدث مارسيلو، لاعب الفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي ريال مدريد السابق مع قائده إيكر كاسياس، عن أصعب مباراة خاضاها أمام برشلونة.

مارسيلو يعتبر ضمن أفضل اللاعبين في تاريخ ريال مدريد، وقدم عروضًا لا تُنسى مع الملكي قبل الرحيل بنهاية موسم 2022 ومن ثم التوقيع مع فلومينينسي.

كان لاعبًا أساسيًا في واحدة من أنجح فترات ريال مدريد، مسيرة شهدت فوزه بخمسة ألقاب في دوري أبطال أوروبا وستة ألقاب لبطولة الدوري الإسباني.

اقرأ أيضًا | تشكيل ريال مدريد أمام سيلتا فيجو في الدوري الإسباني.. موقف فينيسيوس

وحينما سأله كاسياس، الذي يقدم بودكاست “تحت المرمى” بدأ المدافع حديثه قائلًا: “الخسارة 5-0 في كامب نو، لم نستطع حتى رؤية الكرة”.

وأضاف: “كنتُ أفكر ماذا يحدث هنا؟ يا إلهي! تشافي، إنييستا، بيدرو الذي لا يتذكروه الناس ثم ميسي”.

واختتم كاسياس الحديث قائلًا: “كان علينا أن نلعب ضد أفضل فريق لـ برشلونة في التاريخ”.

أُقيمت تلك المباراة على ملعب كامب نو في 29 نوفمبر 2010، وسحق فريق جوارديولا نظيره ريال مدريد بقيادة جوزيه مورينيو.

Can West Bromwich Albion morph into genuine promotion contenders under Ryan Mason?

At the moment, Mason’s Baggies are wildly inconsistent in the Championship, with a middle-of-the-road finish looking likely if they can’t string together a consistent run of victories sooner rather than later.

The jam-packed December fixture schedule to come will be a big test as to whether West Brom can push up the league, or whether they will have to make do with Championship action for yet another season, having now been outside the Premier League since the close of the 2020/21 campaign.

Whatever does happen, West Brom still have several first-team players out of contract come next June, with West Brom veterans such as Jed Wallace and Josh Maja both at risk of walking away for nothing.

This isn’t new ground for the second-tier outfit, though, with Grady Diangana bringing his up-and-down Baggies career to a close this summer, when his deal expired.

Why Diangana was allowed to leave West Brom

Once upon a time, Diangana would cost West Brom a startling £18m to get through the door from West Ham United.

He demanded such a lavish fee back in the summer of 2020, too, having instantly stood out in the Championship for his new West Midlands employers, with his gung-ho performances in attack.

In total, the Congolese forward would chip in with a sturdy 26 goals and 22 assists from 202 appearances, with Carlos Corberan regularly relying on the magic of his former number 11 when his past Baggies sides were challenging for promotion.

Yet, after mustering up a standout 15 goal contributions under Corberan during West Brom’s promotion near-miss season of 2023/24 , it all began to become a bit pear-shaped for the ex-Hammers winger at the Hawthorns.

Indeed, last season saw Diangana bow out from West Brom as a bit-part figure, with only 14 starts coming his way across a campaign that saw the Baggies fall drastically short of the top six.

With the 27-year-old also reluctant to pen a fresh deal, it was, therefore, agreed that Diangana would walk away from his long-established home, bringing his extensive association with the club to a sad end.

In the here and now, with more contract situations up in the air at the Championship outfit, Mason could have a new Diangana situation unfolding.

West Brom star could be another Diangana

In a summer that saw some of the old guard, such as Diangana leave the building, Mason was also given the appropriate tools to instil some fresh blood into his ranks, with Aune Heggebo already up to six Championship goals for the season, after making the move to England from Brann.

While Mason will be impressed with the current goalscoring exploits of his Nordic recruit, he also has many relics from Corberan’s West Brom past still in his starting XI, with Karlan Grant managing to get minutes here and there under the new regime.

Much like Diangana before him, Grant was once seen as an eye-catching capture when the West Midlands outfit were regularly flirting between the Championship and the Premier League, with £15m dropped on his services in 2020.

In a similar fashion to his former attacking teammate, too, Grant became known as an explosive attacking talent in the EFL’s elite league during the early years of his Baggies career, with pundit Carlton Palmer also praising him for his versatile” edge, even when things weren’t always going his way under Corberan.

Yet, even with 31 goals and ten assists under his belt from 158 total contests, it does look as if the plug will be pulled soon on the number ten’s bumper Hawthorns stay, when you consider he has zero goals or assists from 12 outings under Mason.

With his contract also set to expire this approaching June, it does feel as if it’s a move that suits all parties for his deal to run out without a renewal coming his way, as his past best looks to be far beyond him.

He could, of course, still manage to chip in with a goal or assist this season, having collected seven goals across all of last campaign from inconsistent starting opportunities.

But, with Mason now infrequently starting him this campaign amid poor performances, he is unlikely to want to keep him around, whatever division West Brom end up in when contract renewals pop back up.

Mason must now bin West Brom star who earns more than Heggebo & Johnston

Ryan Mason must now axe this West Bromwich Albion high earner for good.

By
Kelan Sarson

Nov 26, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

O atacante Marcos Leonardo é o maior ativo do Santos e a saída do clube faz parte dos planos do jogador, mas até o momento nenhuma proposta oficial pelo atleta chegou para o clube.

➡️ Tudo sobre o Peixe agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Santos

O estafe do atleta faz o possível para atrair possíveis times interessados. De acordo com a imprensa inglesa, o Arsenal, da Inglaterra, entrou na lista de pretendentes. Entretanto, a equipe não sinalizou com nenhuma oferta pelo atacante.

➡️ Santos prepara pacote de reforços para 2024

A atual janela de transferências está longe de ser a preferida pelos times europeus para a realização de investimentos, pois a temporada já está na metade e os grandes clubes costumam já ter uma diretriz do que desejam nos seus próximos passos. Portanto, a situação de Marcos segue indefinida.

SANTOS QUER VALOR ALTO PELO ATLETA

Apesar de nenhuma proposta ter aparecido pelo centroavante, o atacante firmou um compromisso com Andres Rueda para ser negociado caso aparecesse algo na casa dos 18 milhões de euros (aproximadamente R$ 96,5 milhões)

Contudo, o presidente Marcelo Teixeira não compartilha desse desejo e deixou clara a vontade de negociar Marcos Leonardo por um valor mais alto que o pré-estabelecido.

– Existe, infelizmente, um valor contratual acertado pela diretoria atual. Isso engessa em parte essa situação. Deixamos claro que pretendemos um valor acima do que está estipulado no contrato. Os valores estão sendo diferentes daquilo que estava sendo conversado antes da nossa posse. Pretendemos intensificar essas negociações – concluiu o atual mandatário do Peixe.

Seam-bowling allrounder Johann Layne has replaced him in the squad

ESPNcricinfo staff08-Aug-2025

West Indies seamer Matthew Forde has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against Pakistan that starts in Tarouba from Friday. Forde suffered a shoulder dislocation earlier on Wednesday while attempting a catch during a training session.Johann Layne, the West Indies academy seam-bowling allrounder, has replaced Forde in the squad. Layne is among the seamers that impressed Ian Bishop, who called him “rangy, tall and intelligent”.Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph, Romario Shepherd and Jediah Blades are the quicks in their ODI squad with Gudakesh Motie as their frontline wristspinner. Alzarri Joseph has been rested. West Indies would also miss Forde’s talent with the bat lower down the order; he holds the ODI record for fastest fifty (16 balls), achieved in May against Ireland.Related

Alzarri Joseph rested, Shepherd back in WI squad for Pakistan ODIs

Pakistan and West Indies look to break out of their ODI funk

West Indies lost the T20I series against Pakistan 2-1 in Lauderhill, but are looking to claim a fourth-straight ODI series with the tour moving to Trinidad & Tobago. It is only their fifth ODI series since the start of 2023, but come into the contest having beaten England twice (2-1, on both occasions) and Bangladesh once (3-0).The 50-over game has been a difficult format for West Indies in recent history, missing out on the last two ICC tournaments for ODIs. Their qualification for the 2027 ODI World Cup is also far from guaranteed as they are ranked tenth in the rankings. West Indies realistically need to finish within the top nine – one place higher than they are – to secure automatic passage at the cut-off date. A series win against Pakistan, ranked six places above them, would help them significantly.