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Southampton are pushing for promotion from the Championship this season, and they are believed to be eyeing a move for a young defender with plenty of potential, according to a new update.

Southampton results and fixtures

Saints suffered are misery of being relegated from the Premier League last season, eventually finishing bottom of the table after a desperately disappointing run of results. Russell Martin's side went into the new campaign as one of the favourites to go straight back up, however, and a win away to Sheffield Wednesday on the opening night further suggested that that would be the case.

Things haven't quite gone as well since then, with inconsistent results leaving Southampton sitting 10th in the table, but they are still clearly in the mix for at least the playoffs, although new signings may be required to take them up a further gear.

Next up is a trip to Hull City, who are level on points with Martin's side, before a difficult mid-week trip to high-flying Preston.

Having quality and depth in the squad can be priceless in the Championship, considering how relentless the fixtures are the more the season goes on, and Saints are seemingly keen on signing a Premier League player to boost their defensive depth in January.

Southampton transfer update – Ben Johnson

Ben Johnson to Southampton is reportedly a deal that could come to fruition in 2024, according to West Ham insiders Claret and Hugh, who report the player is likely to be sold to one of the interested parties:

"Everton are understood to be interested along with Southampton, whilst Luton Town could show interest in the player given his versatility as a right and left back."

This could be a really strong piece of business by Southampton, with Johnson someone who has racked up plenty of experience, and who could be looking to move away from West Ham at this point in his career.

The 23-year-old has found himself out of favour at the London Stadium in recent times, with Johnson's statistics showing that he hasn't yet played at all in the league this season, instead making just one solitary appearance in the EFL Cup.

He will see his current West Ham deal expire at the end of this season, meaning they could be tempted to cash in come January. The fact that he has the same agent as Kyle Walker-Peters could be aid discussions over a move too, and the positives outweigh the negatives.

Even if Johnson's move to St Mary's Stadium doesn't work out, the cheap element of the signing would make it less of a risk, and his ability to play in several positions kills mutliple birds with one stone.

The Englishman is a versatile defender who can play on either flank and in a central role, and former England goalkeeper Paul Robinson has described him as "brilliant" in the past.

For any Championship club to snap up a Premier League players feels like a coup, and Johnson has the ability to make Southampton a more fearsome proposition at the back for years to come, with West Ham also seemingly happy to see him move on, given the lack of minutes they are affording him at the moment.

Manchester United owners the Glazers and likely new investor Sir Jim Ratcliffe are in agreement regarding the future of manager Erik ten Hag.

Man Utd's worst start to a season since…

The Red Devils have endured an extremely frustrating start to the season, losing 3-0 to Newcastle United at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening in the EFL Cup. In total, Man Utd have now lost eight of their first 15 matches in all competitions this season, a feat they last suffered in the 1962/63 campaign. Speaking after the cup exit, Ten Hag said he feels sorry for Red Devils supporters.

"We know it's not good enough. We have to take responsibility for it. I have to take responsibility for it. I feel sorry for the fans. It was below our standards and we have to put it right. We have to recover from it and we have to do it quickly. Saturday is the next game [against Fulham] and we have to raise our standards. This is not good enough."

The Dutchman appears to be under pressure due to the club’s woeful form, and one report in the last 48 hours have claimed whether or not Glazers and Ratcliffe could sack Ten Hag. According to 90min reporters Graeme Bailey and Scott Saunders prior to the defeat to the Magpies on Wednesday, Ten Hag’s job is viewed as safe by both the Glazers and Ratcliffe. They say Ten Hag ‘retains the full backing of the Manchester United hierarchy’, whereas ‘Ratcliffe, Sir Dave Brailsford and those soon to assume control also remain confident in Ten Hag's position’.

Man Utd's upcoming fixtures

The Red Devils need to turn things around soon, otherwise, you’d expect the pressure will only continue to mount on the manager. Up next for United is a trip to Fulham in the early kick-off on Saturday, where defeat could see them drop into the bottom half of the Premier League.

Man Utd's upcoming fixtures

Competition

Date

Fulham (A)

Premier League

4th November

FC Copenhagen (A)

Champions League

8th November

Luton Town (H)

Premier League

11th November

Everton (A)

Premier League

26th November

Galatasaray (A)

Champions League

29th November

Newcastle United (A)

Premier League

2nd December

Chelsea (H)

Premier League

6th December

AFC Bournemouth (H)

Premier League

9th December

Bayern Munich (H)

Champions League

12th December

Liverpool (A)

Premier League

17th December

West Ham (A)

Premier League

23rd December

Aston Villa (H)

Premier League

26th December

Nottingham Forest (A)

Premier League

30th December

As can be seen, following the next international break, the games come thick and fast until the end of the year, by which you’d expect Ratcliffe could have completed his investment to take control of sporting decisions. It’ll be interesting to see how much patience he has with the Dutchman, should results not improve, but by the looks for things, his job is safe for now.

Liverpool have had some ups and downs over the past few years, which is expected after the Reds achieved the highs of winning the Premier League and the Champions League between 2019 and 2020.

Jurgen Klopp has had the pleasure of coaching some of the world’s best over his tenure at Anfield, with some stars being far more memorable than others.

Last year, the German became the victim of orchestrating arguably one of Liverpool’s worst exchanges of the Premier League era, as Arthur Melo arrived on loan.

When did Liverpool sign Arthur?

Following the close of the 2022 summer transfer window, Liverpool announced the arrival of Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo on a season-long loan from Juventus.

The deal included the option to make his move permanent for £32m, a prospect that the Reds didn’t even need to consider by the time the midfielder departed at the expiration of his loan.

At the point of his arrival, the Brazilian had eased the Merseyside outfit’s injury woes in the midfield, as Thiago Alcantara, Jordan Henderson, Naby Keita and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain were absentees at the time.

The former Barcelona ace told the club’s site, as relayed by Sky Sports, that his “ideas and visions were a good fit” for Liverpool, a statement that was far from relayed on the pitch.

How much did Arthur cost Liverpool?

While Klopp decided against triggering the £32m option to buy Arthur, the Brazil international still cost the Reds a considerable amount due to his wage demands and the £4m loan fee paid to Juventus.

Earning £110k-per-week at Anfield, Arthur was picking up a higher salary than the likes of squad essentials Andy Robertson and Ibrahima Konate, despite making little impact during his season at the club.

During the 2022/23 campaign, the Brazilian cost Liverpool a staggering £5.7m in wages alone, which amounted to him costing £9.7m per appearance, fusing his salary, loan fee and single appearance.

It was a dreadful outcome for both player and club, as after playing 13 minutes in the Champions League in September, Arthur’s time at Liverpool was essentially over as it began.

In early October, the Fiorentina midfielder suffered a muscle tear in training, which required surgery to fix, leaving him out of action for 145 days.

Time stopped for Arthur, but continued at Liverpool, and as players returned, arrived and performed, the Brazilian’s situation at Anfield remained stagnant and the possibility of him securing regular game time became impossible.

Three appearances for the U21 and seven outings on the bench as an unused substitute in the Premier League concluded the Juventus loanee’s time on Merseyside, leaving having played just 13 minutes over the campaign.

Journalist Henry Jackson branded the deal as “pointless”, which was a valid description, and as much as it was an agonisingly unfortunate situation for the midfielder, the Reds were contracted to pay his fees for the duration of the season.

13 minutes of football over the 2022/23 footballing calendar cost the Reds almost £10m, and marked what was possibly the worst loan situation in Premier League history, as the player now resides back in Italy with Fiorentina.

Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly been told by their manager, Ange Postecoglou, to sign one country's "fundamental" defender.

Latest Spurs news

On the field, Spurs have gone from strength-to-strength under their new boss; winning five out of their opening seven Premier League games while displaying an exciting brand of attacking football on display. Tottenham continued their impressive streak with a controversial 2-1 win over Liverpool in north London on Saturday, with Joel Matip's own-goal deep into added time gifting the home side all three points. Speaking after the 90 minutes, Postecoglou said the dramatic late win could help to build up the spirit and belief in his group of players.

“It wasn’t an easy game for us, we knew it wouldn’t be, and even in the circumstances, we had some unique challenges," explained the Australian.

"For some of these guys, this will be the first time they’ve faced that type of scenario, and for the most part, we handled it okay. Again, getting that late winner helps build the belief and spirit in the group. The thing about Liverpool, even with 10 men, they are equally as dangerous because the game plan is the same, they play on mistakes, they have world-class players up front who can hurt you. I thought the second half was better because we stayed a bit calmer, maintained our pressure in the wide areas and got our reward.”

The result keeps Postecoglou's in second place and just one point behind last season's treble-winners Man City, having scored just as many goals as Pep Guardiola's blues. It's certainly a promising time to be a Spurs supporter as the arrival of Antonio Conte's replacement seemingly hands them a new lease of life. Off the pitch, chairman Daniel Levy and Chief Football Officer Scott Munn will be slowly preparing for the January transfer window.

Latest Spurs transfer news

You could argue that Postecoglou's squad lacks depth beneath the first team, especially when it comes to central defence. If either summer signing Micky van de Ven or Cristian Romero – the current star pairing – become unavailable, there are few world-class options to cover them.

This has lead to reports that Spurs could go in for a second centre-back signing after van de Ven this winter, with the likes of Bournemouth's Lloyd Kelly and Juventus star Gleison Bremer linked recently. Another to have come out as an option is previous summer target Edmond Tapsoba, with an update coming to light on the Burkina Faso international.

According to a report out of Spain, the 6 foot 4 Bayer Leverkusen star is an "express request" from Postecoglou – who has seemingly asked his club make the signing. It's added that the incorporation of Tapsoba to Spurs would be an "ambitious move" by Levy and co, but Tottenham are "determined" to shore up their defence in the coming months.

Called one of Leverkusen's best defenders under manager Xabi Alonso, the 24-year-old has also been branded "fundamental" for his country at international level by members of the press.

علق إيهاب الكومي عضو مجلس إدارة الاتحاد المصري لكرة القدم، على اعتراض الأندية المصرية على أداء الحكام المصريين، ومطالبتهم بتعيين حكام أجانب، موضحاً موقف الزمالك من خوض مباراة القمة أمام الأهلي.

وقال إيهاب الكومي في تصريحات عبر قناة “أون تايم سبورتس”: “الاعتراض على التحكيم ليس وليد اليوم أو أمس، وليس أزمة اتحاد الكرة الحالي فقط بل المجالس السابقة، حاولنا أن نطور من أداء التحكيم وقمنا بالاستعانة بالخبراء الأجانب”.

وأضاف: “الاعتراض في الفترة الحالية على الحكام الدوليين، رغم أنهم يقوموا بالتحكيم في الخارج ويظهرون بشكل جيد، الضغط المتواجد على حكامنا حاليًا هو السبب الرئيسي، لا يوجد حكم في العالم يريد تعمد الخطأ”.

طالع أيضاً.. حكم مباراة الأهلي والداخلية في الدوري المصري

وتابع: “أقول لحكامنا المتواجدين يوجد تقنية الفيديو، يجب أن نحد من أخطائنا، ما أعلمه أن بيريرا أقام معسكرًا في السويس وقال للحكام يجب أن نقلل من أخطائنا في الـ 9 جولات المقبلة”.

وواصل: “يوجد اجتماع لاتحاد الكرة الإثنين المقبل وسيكون هناك قرارات مهمة جدًا على رأسها الخاصة بالتحكيم”.

وأفاد: “لم نجدد عقد بيريرا حتى الآن، بنهاية الموسم سنقوم بتقييم التجربة وهل نجحت وهل استفاد التحكيم المصري بوجود الخبير الأجنبي، وبناء عليه سنجدد له أو لن نجدد له”.

وأردف: “نادي الزمالك له مطالب وفيها أمور خاصة برابطة الأندية، وأمور خاصة بالتحكيم وسنقوم بمناقشتها في اجتماع الإثنين المقبل”.

واستطرد: “تضارب قرارات حكم الساحة مع حكم الفار أصبحت ظاهرة سلبية في الدوري، لو نريد أن نمر بالدوري المصري إلى بر الأمان، نطلب من الحكام مزيد من التركيز مثلما يكون هناك تركيز في المباريات الخارجية”.

وتابع: “شكل الدوري أصبح لا يليق بنا، في فترة من الفترات فكرت في الاستقالة، ولكن نحن كأعضاء مجلس إدارة دخلنا مع بعض وقرارنا يجب أن نتحمله حتى النهاية”.

هل تعتقد الزمالك سيخوض مباراة القمة أم سيظل الموقف كما هو؟ أجاب: “وفقًا للائحة ستطبق من خلال رابطة الأندية من أي خصم نقاط وخلافه، أتوقع نادي الزمالك سيخوض مباراة القمة”.

وأكمل: “نادي الزمالك واحد من جناحي الرياضة في مصر، يوجد اجتماع مجلس إدارة وسنرى الشكوى الخاصة بالحكام، عامر حسين وأحمد دياب من المؤكد سيكون هناك اتصالات مباشرة لحل هذه الأزمة مع نادي الزمالك”.

واتم: “سيراميكا كليوباترا تعرض لظلم تحكيمي كثير في الفترة الماضية، وأنا معهم تمامًا في ذلك”.

Liverpool made hard work of it, but on Saturday lunchtime they secured their fourth successive victory of the season, producing a comeback against Wolverhampton Wanderers after falling behind in what was a sluggish and disjointed first period.

Hwang Hee-chan opened the scoring within seven minutes, dispatching a wicked Pedro Neto delivery. From there, the hosts were in the driving seat, pressuring the Reds high up the field and causing them all sorts of problems on the counterattack. Indeed, Matheus Cunha should have added a second from a fine Neto cross.

The Reds failed to win any of their six Premier League matches in this time slot last season and after conceding early on, this trend showed little sign of being put to bed as the Old Gold showcased a slickness in possession, energy in their press and directness on the counter.

But Gary O'Neil's side were to be punished for their missed opportunities, as a second-half comeback, spearheaded by the relentless Mohamed Salah and some impactful Jurgen Klopp substitutions, saw Liverpool turn the deficit around and record a 3-1 victory.

Who impressed for Liverpool against Wolves?

While Salah received most of the plaudits for laying on two assists in the second period, it was their "Duracell bunny" of Andy Robertson, who led their charge down the left and marked his 200th appearance for the club by netting a late-winner.

The Scotsman was filling in for the suspended Virgil van Dijk as captain, and he filled that role to perfection, popping up in the box and calmly slotting the ball past the frame of Jose Sa after playing a one-two with Salah.

Robertson's goal was a reward for the intent that the visitors showed in the second half as the introduction of Luis Diaz saw the left-back unleashed higher up the field, reminding Klopp of his qualities going forward that saw him subsequently labelled as an "attacking machine" by a Liverpool journalist Sean.

As per Sofascore, Robertson would become a thorn down Wolves' right flank with seven crosses, one shot on target, making 103 touches and placing 92% of his passes accurately, crucial in preventing the hosts from building a head of steam in the second period and driving his side up the field with his powerful running style.

Although the Scot put in a performance that was synonymous with years gone by, Klopp must consider dropping fellow defender Joel Matip after he was "miles off it", as James Pearce noted, on Saturday afternoon.

How did Joel Matip perform against Wolves?

Liverpool were scrutinised for their distinct lack of defensive organisation throughout last season and in the absence of Virgil van Dijk, they were all over the shop once more as Wolves flew out of the blocks and caught their opponents off guard.

The skill, confidence and ambition of Neto led the charge as the Portuguese provided a telling end product to go with his sparkling build-up play.

With Wolves producing an onslaught of attacks, the Reds needed an experienced head at the heart of their defence to inject a bit of calmness into proceedings and although Matip is so often associated with achieving this, the Cameroonian was one of the players at fault for Liverpool's first half implosion.

The 32-year-old was supposed to be setting an example for the debuting 20-year-old Jarell Quansah but instead of leading from the back with his experience, Matip allowed the Molineux crowd to swallow him up, enduring a nightmare display.

Despite their apparent defensive struggles in the first period, Quansah was a stand-out performer at the back, winning three out of four of his ground duels, recording 96% pass completion, making three tackles and accurately placing his two attempted long balls, as per Sofascore.

While the youngster led by example, the senior Matip buckled under the weight of expectation, gifting possession to the opposition on 11 occasions, winning just one of his three ground duels, making one tackle and misplacing five of his six attempted long balls.

Following this performance, Matip's place in the team could be under threat and with van Dijk returning ahead of their home fixture against West Ham, the £100k-per-week earner could be the one who makes way.

تتوالى الأنباء المتعلقة بنادي برشلونة الإسباني، والذي أعلن إقالة المدير الفني تشافي هيرنانديز من منصبه.

وأفاد برشلونة في بيان رسمي اليوم الجمعة، أن تشافي لن يستمر مدربًا للفريق، وستكون المباراة أمام إشبيلية يوم الأحد هي الأخيرة له.

وأكدت تقارير متعددة في وقت سابق، أن مدرب بايرن ميونخ وألمانيا السابق، هانز فليك، هو من سيتولى تدريب برشلونة.

وبحسب كريستيان فالك من صحيفة “بليد” الألمانية، وقع فليك عقدًا مع برشلونة حتى يونيو 2026.

وحقق فليك إنجازًا تاريخيًا مع بايرن ميونخ من قبل بالتتويج بالسداسية، وكان صاحب الانتصار الكبير على برشلونة في دوري أبطال أوروبا بنتيجة 8-2.

وتولى فليك تدريب منتخب ألمانيا لكن تمت إقالته لسوء النتائج وتولى يوليان ناجلسمان المهمة خلفًا له.

وتأتي إقالة برشلونة لتشافي بعد شهر من إعلان رئيس النادي خوان لابورتا لاستمرار المدرب في منصبه، بعدما قرر الإسباني في وقت سابق الرحيل نهاية الموسم الحالي.

Newcastle United are set to strengthen their left-back options this summer with a deal for Lewis Hall, according to reports, as Eddie Howe looks to build a side capable of competing on all fronts.

So far, the Magpies have welcomed four new arrivals in the current transfer window, and a new report has revealed exactly how much Hall is going to cost versus Chelsea's initial demands.

How much will Lewis Hall actually cost?

A boyhood fan of the club, Newcastle were expected to make an offer in the region of £30m to sign Chelsea academy graduate Lewis Hall, according to Sky Sports.

However, The Telegraph reporter Sam Wallace has now revealed a deal has been reached at £28m after a breakthrough in negotiations.

"Chelsea and Newcastle reach agreement on a fee for teenager Lewis Hall, understood to be around £28m initially. Sudden change of strategy after major spending this week by Chelsea."

According to David Ornstein of The Athletic, the London club initially valued their academy graduate at £35m, so it really looks like PIF have pulled a masterclass.

Read the latest Newcastle transfer news HERE…

Eddie Howe said last week, via Sky Sports: "We're hoping for one more [signing], no guarantee, but we will fight to the end to strengthen. We are getting there. Every transfer window we have got stronger."

With that said, that signing now looks set to be one of Cobham's most promising talents, who is also a boyhood Magpies fans.

An added bonus for the Tynesiders is that the left-back's wage is reportedly just £10k per-week, making him a cheap option on that side of things even if there's a likely spike on those numbers.

Is Lewis Hall actually that good?

Looking at Newcastle's current squad, there's not many areas that Howe could strengthen. In fact, it could be said that the left-back area is the only position that could use some extra depth. As things stand, the Magpies call on Dan Burn to play the role, and, to his credit, he did an adequate job last season to help his side qualify for the Champions League.

Statistically speaking, though, Hall would be a bif upgrade on the giant fullback. Last season, according to Fbref, the Chelsea youngster made more progressive passes per 90, more progressive carries, enjoyed a better pass completion rate and completed more tackles and interceptions than Burn. Every way you look at it, Hall looks like a better option for Howe's side.

Following his rise at Stamford Bridge, the 18-year-old has received plenty of praise, too, including from former manager Frank Lampard, who said, via The Metro, after his performance against Manchester City back in May: "He’s a good player Lewis, he’s a good player and I thought he did really well. We certainly rate him."

Lampard then went onto say: "In terms of quality on the ball, that’s really clear. In terms of quality, if you see him with the ball and the things he can do, he’s got the levels, he’s obviously got to add to that as he goes along. Another academy one that we’ve produced and it will be good to see him in regular games at this level to be tested more but he’s shown he can do that."

With Burn still capable of playing regularly and taking the pressure off the youngster to immediately hit the ground running, this looks like one of the signings of the summer.

West Ham United are finally beginning to ramp up their transfer business following weeks of inactivity.

David Moyes has already invested some of the £105m secured from the sale of Declan Rice by luring Edson Alvarez to the Premier League for a fee of £35.4m, while he could add some attacking reinforcements with a move for Manchester United striker Antony Martial.

It looks as though Moyes is pushing to sign another player from Old Trafford however…

Who are West Ham signing this summer?

According to Football Insider, West Ham are looking to push for the signing of McTominay should Lucas Paqueta secure a move to Manchester City.

City have seen a bid of around £70m rejected by Moyes for the Brazilian but they could perhaps come back with a further bid, this time including youngster Cole Palmer as part of the deal.

Read the latest West Ham transfer news HERE…

Selling another midfielder for big money would allow the Scot to make a concrete offer for his compatriot at United.

The 26-year-old is reportedly valued at £40m and with two years left on his current deal at the Old Trafford side, Erik ten Hag will surely be looking for as much money has possible.

How good is Scott McTominay?

Alongside Alvarez, Moyes has now added James Ward-Prowse to his midfield options for a fee believed to be around £30m and this is another player who could bring something different to the club.

The former Southampton gem was their one shining light during a woeful campaign in 2022/23, racking up nine goals and four assists in the top flight, while creating nine big chances and averaging two key passes per game, suggesting he was a massive threat going forward.

To put those numbers into context, he would have ranked first across the West Ham squad for goals and assists and key passes per game while sharing the honours with Jarrod Bowen for big chances created. It's clear, then, that Moyes has undoubtedly signed a player who will improve the team this term.

Adding McTominay into the side will also give Ward-Prowse a huge boost, especially with his defensive attributes which would surely allow the England international to thrive.

When compared to positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues, the £60k-per-week United midfielder not only ranked in the top 1% for clearances per 90 (3.21) but also in the top 2% for aerials won per 90 (2.83) indicating just how impressive his defensive abilities are at the heart of the midfield.

McTominay also ranked in the top 13% for tackles per 90 (2.83) with this clearly suggesting that he could give Ward-Prowse so much more freedom by focusing on the dirty aspect of the game and making sure the ball is won back often.

This robust nature was praised by former United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who lauded him as a “physical monster” back in 2020 and having started just 16 games across all competitions during the 2022/23 campaign, a fresh start could reinvigorate his game.

In the process, Moyes could form a dream duo, with both McTominay and Ward-Prowse looking to take West Ham to the next level.

Although a final decision remains to be made, a BCCI official suggested that the three players could be a combination of two Indians and one overseas player, or two overseas players and one Indian

Nagraj Gollapudi24-Oct-2017The eight IPL franchises are likely to be allowed to retain up to three players each before the player auction in the 2018 pre-season. Such a proposal was discussed by the IPL governing council in Delhi on Tuesday. The governing council will meet again next week to deliberate on the issue before making a final decision on November 14 at a workshop with all eight franchises.Although a final decision remains to be made, a BCCI official suggested that the three players could be a combination of two Indians and one overseas player, or two overseas players and one Indian. ESPNcricinfo understands that not all franchises have been keen on retaining players, but Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals, the two teams that are returning to the IPL after serving a two-year suspension, were “keen” to retain a certain number of players.If the IPL allows the retention of a certain number of players, both these franchises would be able to pick their choices from the two teams that replaced them in the last two editions of the IPL: Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions.MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Ben Stokes, Steven Smith, Brendon McCullum and Faf du Plessis are some of the prominent names that featured for Supergiant and Lions in the last two years.It is understood that the IPL chief operating officer Hemang Amin met with representatives of the eight franchises in the last few months to gather suggestions before a final plan is laid out at the franchise workshop next month.It is not just the number of players that should be retained that the franchises have different opinions about – they are also concerned by the purse that will be made available to them.Some of the richer franchises are keen to have a maximum purse of INR 80 crore as opposed to some franchises which are happy with INR 75 crore. The IPL governing council is likely to take a final call at its next meeting.One franchise official pointed out that the richer teams might want a bigger purse in order to spend big money to retain marquee players. The official suggested the IPL should consider a smaller purse as well as sticking to the retention policy it had used in the past. In 2014, when the retention policy was introduced for the first time by the IPL, every franchise was allowed to retain a maximum of five capped players. Back then every franchise had a salary cap of INR 60 crore, out of which a fixed amount would be deducted for every player retained. The break-up of the deduction was: Player 1 – INR 12.5 crore, Player 2 – 9.5 cr, Player 3 – 7.5 cr, Player 4 – 5.5 cr and Player 5 – 4 cr.Simultaneously the franchises could buy back additional players through the right-to-match-card option in the 2014 auction. On Tuesday, the IPL governing council discussed the right-to-match-card option, but there was no clarity on the issue. The right-to-match card essentially gives a franchise the first right of refusal to its players, allowing it to buy its player back after other franchises have completed the bidding process for him.In 2014 the number of right-to-match cards available to each franchise was dependent on the number of players already retained. A franchise retaining between three and five players had one right-to-match card, while a franchise retaining up to two players had two right-to-match cards; those not retaining any player had three cards to play.