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Chelsea’s transfer activity has been leaked consistently over the last few days, with one club director now lifting the lid on a recent phone call as the Blues pursued another deal.

Chelsea targeting new attackers for Maresca after failed deadline deals

Enzo Maresca couldn’t quite get AC Milan keeper Mike Maignan or Borussia Dortmund sensation Jamie Gittens through the door in time for their looming Club World Cup campaign (Sky Sports), with the pre-CWC deadline passing at 7pm on Tuesday.

"One to watch" – Chelsea could now sell popular international for just £17m

The west Londoners have plenty of players to get off the books.

ByEmilio Galantini Jun 12, 2025

Chelsea also didn’t have enough time to strike what is a complex deal for Eintracht Frankfurt striker Hugo Ekitike, but Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg insists that he is still one to watch, and the west Londoners remain in talks.

In the meantime, it is reported that Chelsea are prioritising a new attacker over the coming weeks, namely a left-winger, versatile attacking midfielder and second striker after Liam Delap (Simon Phillips).

Chelsea also haven’t given up hope of signing Gittens, and he could well be one they revisit later on in the window.

“The hype and briefings of bids being sent and rejected for Gittens yesterday afternoon was just all blown up and also, very delayed,” said journalist Simon Phillips in a recent Substack update.

“Chelsea walked from this way before lunchtime and the biggest offer we sent in was a £45m base fee and £10m add-ons. This was rejected and Chelsea walked. It is likely to come up again because Chelsea do rate Gittens, and it’s likely to still be a genuine pursuit for Chelsea still this summer.”

This is now being echoed by Dortmund sporting director Sebastien Kehl, who lifted the lid on their discussions with Chelsea in an interview with Tage Spiegel this week.

Sebastien Kehl reveals Chelsea phone call over signing Jamie Gittens

The Bundesliga chief shared details behind their negotiations, with Kehl also tipping Chelsea talks for Gittens to reopen.

“We spoke on the phone, in the end we did not agree, because we have different ideas about the current value of the player,” he said.

“Jamie definitely makes our team better. We are glad that he is there. We are in a good exchange and see how things are shaping in the future.

“Of course, at some point, if you take a player with it, you also have to sell. I assume that his market value will not fall. We will see to what extent we can keep it until the end of the tournament. There will be talks again.”

Dortmund and Kehl are rumoured to want as much as £55 million for Gittens, which is a steep price considering he played less of a crucial role for them towards the back end of 2024/2025.

Just three of the 20-year-old’s 12 goals last season came in this calendar year, with Gittens also registering zero assists since the turn of 2025.

While Chelsea chiefs are believed to rate him, BlueCo also must not pay over the odds for him either, even if he’s Dortmund’s most sellable asset, and they’re likely to carry on charging top dollar.

This summer is huge for Leeds United in their attempts to recruit well and bridge the gap that has been created between the Championship and the Premier League.

No promoted team in each of the last two seasons has managed to survive the drop, with Daniel Farke’s side the latest to try their luck in England’s top-flight.

The Whites have previously demonstrated that it is possible, finishing ninth under Marcelo Bielsa during their previous effort after securing promotion ahead of the 2020/21 campaign.

However, the gap has arguably been widened, making such a task for Farke even harder in 2025/26, with his future already coming into question in recent weeks.

If he is to keep the side in the top-flight, he will need backing from the hierarchy, with numerous key additions needed in various areas of the pitch at Elland Road.

The latest Leeds’ pursuit of new additions this summer

Over recent weeks, Leeds have been in the market for a new talisman, even making contact with Newcastle United over a potential deal for striker Callum Wilson.

The 33-year-old’s deal is set to expire at St James’ Park this summer, with the Whites looking to take advantage and land the star, who’s registered 49 goals in 130 appearances for the Magpies.

However, he’s not the only attacker on their list during the current transfer window, with Hamburg star Davie Selke already on their list, according to ExpressSport.

The report claims that Farke’s side have already been in direct contact with the 30-year-old’s representatives after he netted 22 goals in 31 Bundesliga 2 outings this season.

It also states that his deal expires on the 30th of June, with no new contract on the horizon, leading to a battle between the Whites, RB Leipzig and West Ham United this summer.

Why Leeds’ latest target could be the next Tanaka

Midfielder Ao Tanaka has starred beyond all imagination at Leeds over the last 12 months, cementing his place within the heart of the side after his switch from Fortuna Düsseldorf.

The 26-year-old featured in 43 outings during the title-winning campaign, scoring five times and registering two assists – a superb return for a central midfielder.

The Japanese international will likely be a key member of the squad in the Premier League, looking to build on the success endured during his debut year in Yorkshire.

He was named in the EFL’s Team of the Season as a result, highlighting the excellent business conducted by the hierarchy – something which needs to be replicated this summer.

Selke could follow in his footsteps by joining Farke’s side from a German club, before making himself a key member of the squad and contributing to their success.

The striker’s stats from the 2024/25 campaign are nothing short of remarkable, certainly adding a new dimension to the club’s attack with his impressive skillset.

The Hamburg talisman, who’s been labelled a “monster” by Sky Germany’s Phillipp Hinze, finished as the top scorer in the German second tier, registering two shots on target per 90 – showcasing his threat in attacking areas.

Games played

31

Goals & assists

22

Shots on target per 90

2

Touches in opposition box

6.2

Aerials won

4.8

Aerial success rate

65%

Dribble success

47%

He’s also registered 6.2 touches per 90 in the opposition’s penalty area this season, offering Farke a fox-in-the-box type forward that he’s missed since taking the reins.

Selke has been a huge threat in the air this season, winning a staggering 4.8 aerials per 90, offering the side a needed focal point to play off, and handing other talents around him the opportunity to improve their own tallies.

Given the interest in his signature this summer, the hierarchy will have to act quickly to avoid missing out on the German’s signature, with his ability certainly offering Farke a different option in front of goal.

Should he complete the move, if he gets anywhere close to the levels produced by Tanaka, it would be a superb piece of business, especially considering he could be available on a free transfer.

A better signing than Phillips: Leeds eye move for "phenomenal" £10m star

Leeds United should prioritise this phenomenal signing over attempting to bring back Kalvin Phillips to Elland Road.

2 ByKelan Sarson Jun 3, 2025

Chelsea are now preparing a £60m swoop for an “insane” forward, who has put in some very impressive performances in the Champions League this season, according to a report.

Blues set sights on new striker

With Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku struggling in front of goal since the turn of the year, it has become apparent that Enzo Maresca will need to bring in a new striker in the summer transfer window, and a number of targets have been identified.

Talks have been opened over a deal for Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres, and there is a feeling the Blues could be willing to fork out a fee of £65m for the Sweden international, although they will face competition from Premier League rivals Arsenal and Newcastle United.

Chelsea contact £198,000-per-week Bayern Munich player who's keen to leave

The west Londoners have reached out to another target.

ByEmilio Galantini Apr 19, 2025

Given Gyokeres’ huge price tag, however, it could be wise to consider alternative options, and it has recently emerged that Ipswich Town’s Liam Delap is set to be available for just £30m this summer, should his side be relegated from the Premier League.

Delap has been extremely impressive in front of goal in the Premier League this season, but according to a report from Spain, Chelsea have now set their sights on one of this season’s Champions League revelations, namely Borussia Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy.

The west Londoners are preparing a €70m (£60m) offer for Guirassy’s services, given that the striker has shone in the Champions League this season, most recently scoring a hat-trick against FC Barcelona in the quarter-final.

Serie A giants Juventus and Napoli are also interested in signing the Borussia Dortmund star, but Stamford Bridge is said to be his most likely destination this summer, with Maresca looking to bring in a striker who guarantees goals, amid concerns over Jackson.

"Insane" Guirassy could be huge upgrade on Jackson

Despite some promising signs near the start of the season, Jackson has been largely ineffective in front of goal this season, while Guirassy has been extremely impressive in both the Bundesliga and the Champions League throughout the campaign.

The Guinea international has amassed a remarkable 36 goal contributions in 40 appearances in all competitions, having been particularly prolific in front of goal in Europe, prior to his side’s exit at the hands of Barcelona earlier this week.

Competition

Appearances

Goals

Assists

Bundesliga

25

15

3

Champions League

14

13

5

U23 football scout Antonio Mango has lauded the France-born striker as “insane” in the past, and his performances this season suggest he deserves to be playing in the Champions League next season, which is now extremely unlikely to be the case at Dortmund.

As such, it seems likely that a move to Stamford Bridge could appeal to Guirassy this summer, should the Blues manage to qualify for the Champions League, which underlines the importance of Chelsea having a strong end to the campaign.

Liverpool are believed to be “working on” tying down an “outstanding” player to a new contract alongside Virgil van Dijk, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Salah signs new Liverpool deal

The news that Reds supporters have been dreaming of finally came true on Friday, with Mohamed Salah signing a new two-year deal at Anfield.

There have been concerns all season long that the 32-year-old Liverpool legend would leave the club, but he will now be on Merseyside until at least 2027, saying he intends to win more trophies there:

“If I don’t believe that, I would not have signed. I believe the team can win trophies and with the support of the fans and the city, and that the supporters always give us in the games, I believe we can win many trophies in the next years.”

Now, the hope is that other players will follow suit, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk also both out of contract at the end of this season.

While it looks increasingly likely that the latter will stay put and do the same as Salah, the former’s head appears to have been turned by a move to Real Madrid. That said, nothing has been confirmed over Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool at the peak of his powers.

Liverpool want new deal for "outstanding" ace

According to Romano in his newsletter for GiveMeSport, Liverpool are still looking to seal a new deal for Ibrahima Konate, as well as Van Dijk:

“They are in negotiations. Now the priority was obviously Salah and Van Dijk, but the next one could be Konate as Liverpool are working on it.”

Ensuring that Konate remains at Liverpool for the foreseeable future is of the utmost importance, considering he is still only 25 years of age and eight years Van Dijk’s junior.

The Frenchman is appreciated by so many at Anfield, from Arne Slot to the supporters, and captain Van Dijk also hailed him earlier this season, saying after their win away at Wolves in September:

“As you saw, he is important with the goal, he is defensively solid, a bit unlucky with the goal we conceded, but obviously the qualities he has are outstanding, in my opinion.

“He is learning, growing, getting better and looking after himself much better in order to be ready every three days as that’s what asked. And also we have a young player behind him in Jarrell, who is also doing well. We have to keep pushing each other and he is doing a good job.”

Relatively speaking, the £70,000-a-week wage that Konate earns is low compared to many of his teammates, so he deserves an improved contract to show that he is truly appreciated.

Liverpool confident of winning race for "amazing" £60m+ star this summer

The Reds are in a good position to strike a deal…

2 BySean Markus Clifford Apr 12, 2025

Granted, injuries have hampered him at times in his career, so there is a slight risk involved in handing him an extension, but he should only get better in the coming years, and losing him at this point in his career could be a big blow to the Reds.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Athletico-PR venceu o Palmeiras por 2 a 0 na Arena Barueri, em duelo válido pela sexta rodada do Brasileirão. Pablo e Gustavo Gómez (contra) marcaram os gols do Furacão, que viu o lateral Esquivel ser expulso na etapa final. No primeiro tempo, Bento defendeu pênalti de Veiga.

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➡️ Vai dar Brasil? Aposte no Lance! Betting e fature com a Copa América

Com a vitória, o Athletico-PR chega aos 13 pontos e reassume a liderança do Brasileirão. Já o Verdão possui oito pontos e ocupa o nono lugar na tabela.

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O próximo compromisso do Palmeiras é na quarta-feira (15), contra o Independiente del Valle, na Arena Barueri, pela fase de grupos da Libertadores. Já o Athletico-PR recebe o Danubio, pela Sul-Americana.

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✅FICHA TÉCNICA
PALMEIRAS 0 X 2 ATHLETICO – 6ª RODADA – SÉRIE A BRASILEIRÃO

Data e horário:domingo,12 de maio de 2024, às16h(de Brasília)

Local: Arena Barueri
Arbitragem: Braúlio da Silva Machado (SC). Ele será auxiliado por Luanderson Lima dos Santos (BA) e Henrique Neu Ribeiro (SC). O VAR estará sob o comando de Wagner Reway (ES).

➡️ Veja tabela com datas e horários de todos os jogos do Brasileirão

ESCALAÇÕES

Palmeiras: Weverton, Mayke, Luan, Gustavo Gómez e Piquerez; Zé Rafael, Richard Ríos e Raphael Veiga; Estêvão, Endrick e Flaco López. 

Athletico: Bento; Léo Godoy, Kaique Rocha, Gamarra e Esquivel; Fernandinho, Erick e Zapelli (Felipinho); Canobbio, Julimar (Cuello) e Pablo (Mastriani).

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Athletico-PRBrasileirãoPalmeiras

It’s remarkable just how quickly the pendulum can swing at Manchester United.

From the optimism of a five-game unbeaten run, including three successive wins in October, the Red Devils can now be viewed through the lens of three games without a win, following Monday’s dismal defeat to Everton.

Results like that are perhaps to be expected for a side still enduring a hangover from last season’s 15th-place Premier League finish, although with AFCON looming, Ruben Amorim and co can’t afford to keep slipping up.

Sunday’s clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park thus provides a perfect opportunity for the Old Trafford side to bounce back, albeit with Amorim’s options again set to be somewhat limited.

Latest Man Utd team news

To borrow the old cliché, Selhurst Park has not been a happy hunting ground for United in recent times, having last tasted victory in south London back in July 2020.

Home or way, in truth, the Eagles have provided a stern test for the Manchester side, with United failing to win any of the last four meetings between the two teams, a run that includes the infamous 4-0 thrashing in May 2024, and the subsequent criticism of Casemiro from Jamie Carragher.

Hopes of ending that recent run will have been dented by the news that Matheus Cunha will once again be absent, with the Brazilian having missed the loss to the Toffees after sustaining a head knock in training.

That is a particular blow considering that fellow summer signing Benjamin Sesko is also still set to be missing until mid-December, with the £74m Slovenian having been sidelined since hobbling off in the 2-2 draw at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Amorim doesn’t even have his makeshift marksman, Harry Maguire, to call upon either, with the 32-year-old also not set to be involved on Sunday due to injury.

Thankfully, the sight of Lisandro Martinez back on the bench last time out will spark hope that the Argentine cult hero can be involved again sooner rather than later, although it is likely that the 27-year-old will be eased back into the action gradually.

There is an intrigue at potentially seeing the ex-Ajax man deployed at left centre-back, with Luke Shaw at left wing-back, although in the meantime, Amorim might have a wildcard solution down that left flank.

Man Utd's new Evra could start at Palace

That Shaw-Martinez combination could be the answer later down the line, with Amorim certainly in need of genuine competition or an upgrade on Patrick Dorgu at wing-back, with the Dane again struggling against the Toffees.

Chalkboard

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

The former Lecce starlet notably flashed an effort wide at the backpost, prior to being hooked on the hour mark, having failed to provide a single successful cross, while losing possession 11 times from just 40 touches, as per Sofascore.

Whether the 21-year-old has been parachuted in too soon or not, he doesn’t look like the answer right now, with Amorim himself admitting that “you can feel the anxiety every time Patrick touches the ball”.

Equally, the decision to deploy a right-footed Diogo Dalot on that flank continues to leave supporters scratching their heads.

With that in mind, Amorim could surely do worse than hand a chance to the previously exiled Tyrell Malacia, with the forgotten Dutchman having been brought in from the cold in recent months.

Previously – and perhaps unfairly – included in United’s summer ‘bomb squad’, the injury-hit full-back might be a wildcard option, representing one of few genuine options on the left wing.

Games (starts)

22 (14)

Goals

0

Assists

0

Big chances created

1

Pass accuracy

87%

Tackles

2.1

Interceptions

1.1

Dribbled past

0.5

Total duels won

50%

Part of the matchday squad in two of the last four games, including against Everton, albeit while yet to make an appearance this season, Malacia hasn’t featured for United since January, having made only eight appearances in the first half of 2024/25 following his belated return from injury.

A 17-month horror stint on the sidelines had come after an initially positive start to life at United back in his debut 2022/23 campaign, with the ex-Feyenoord man having usurped Shaw at left-back following the debacle at Brentford.

The diminutive talent was even likened to a legendary figure of United’s past in the form of Patrice Evra, with Rio Ferdinand making that comparison in August 2022:

So cruelly ravaged by injury since then, the 26-year-old – to his credit – has fought his way back into contention, even after looking off the pace following his eventual return last November, with Amorim stating that it is hard for him as he is “not so offensive”.

After six months at PSV Eindhoven, and a summer exile, Malacia is now back in favour, with Amorim seemingly offering a route back into the side late last month:

Of course, those concerns over his attacking quality might still ring true, having yet to score or assist for the club, yet at a time when Dorgu is struggling, Malacia might well be able to provide a sense of balance off the left.

It would be a bold call to thrust the nine-cap Netherlands international into the mix against Palace’s Daniel Munoz, but Amorim needs to find a solution – the diminutive full-back might just be it.

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That will open up fresh possibilities for Sri Lankan cricket with day-night Tests becoming more viable in the country

Andrew Fidel Fernando26-Nov-2025The Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) ground in Colombo will get floodlights and other upgrades in preparation for the Men’s T20 World Cup, which Sri Lanka co-hosts with India in February and March next year. Although the SSC has occasionally hosted daytime limited-overs internationals – especially women’s games – Colombo’s day-night games have all been played at Khettarama (R Premadasa Stadium), which in any case is the highest-capacity stadium in the country.SSC’s first match that will require lights will be the T20 World Cup Group B game between Oman and Zimbabwe, scheduled to start at 3pm local time on February 9. It is one of five matches the SSC is due to host at this World Cup. The first of those – between Netherlands and Pakistan on February 7 – will begin at 11am local time whereas the third fixture – between Pakistan and USA on February 10 – is the only match there to start at 7pm local time. Khettarama is set to host at least eight matches, and possibly the first semi-final and the final if Pakistan make it that far. Pallekele, the only Sri Lanka World Cup venue not in Colombo, will host seven games.Building floodlights at the SSC will open up fresh possibilities for Sri Lankan cricket with day-night Tests becoming more viable in the country. Although Khettarama is the preferred limited-overs venue in Colombo, the SSC and the P Sara Oval are still preferred for Tests, owing partly to their reputation for being boutique Test venues.Related

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Sri Lanka has never hosted a day-night Test, but Sri Lanka’s Test captains have also asked their board to arrange such a fixture, over the years.SLC confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that floodlights construction were already under way at the SSC.The ICC announced the schedule for the T20 World Cup on Tuesday, with the tournament set to run from February 7 to March 8 across five venues in India and three in Sri Lanka.

Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named captain, replacing Anustup Majumdar

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Oct-2025Mohammed Shami has been named in a strong Bengal squad for the start of the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season. Shami will be partnered by Akash Deep, Mukesh Kumar and Ishan Porel in the pace department, with the squad captained by opener Abhimanyu Easwaran.Bengal had earlier named Anustup Majumdar as captain. But the late change is understood to have been made in consultation with Sourav Ganguly, the former India captain who recently took charge as president of the Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB).Shami hasn’t played for India since featuring in the Champions Trophy in early March. Asked of his omission from the squad for the West Indies Tests, chief selector Ajit Agarkar had highlighted Shami’s lack of match time as one of the reasons.Related

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So far, since the end of IPL 2025 in June, Shami has featured in just one first-class game, for East Zone in the Duleep Trophy. In that game, he sent down 34 overs across the two innings, picking up one wicket. In the second innings of that match, Shami didn’t bowl much on the final day in a game East Zone lost after conceding a big first-innings lead.The Ranji season is also an opportunity for Akash Deep and Mukesh to get back on the Test selection radar ahead of the South Africa series starting November 14.Akash Deep was part of the England tour in the summer, where he featured in three of the five Tests and starred with a ten-wicket haul in India’s win in Birmingham. However, since his return from England, Akash Deep has had to undergo rehab for a back injury that ruled him out of the Duleep Trophy. He has since passed a fitness test but was not picked in the squad for the ongoing series against West Indies.Mukesh was part of the India A tour of England in the summer, where he picked up three wickets in his only outing. He bowled in just one innings in the Duleep Trophy opener for East Zone before being examined for a hamstring injury. He has since cleared his fitness tests at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence.Bengal open their campaign against Uttarakhand at Eden Gardens on October 15. They are placed in Group C, with Assam, Services, Tripura, Railways, Haryana and Gujarat as the other teams.

Under the guidance of director of cricket operations Mithun Manhas, they are eyeing their maiden semi-final appearance in the Ranji Trophy

Himanshu Agrawal07-Feb-2025Jammu & Kashmir are in the Ranji Trophy knockouts after five years. En route, they have beaten higher-rated teams like Mumbai and Baroda to finish with the second-highest points from the group stage. This is only the third time they have entered the quarter-finals in their 55 years of participation in the tournament.Their campaign has had shades of the 2019-20 season, where they made the knockouts on the back of six outright wins in nine matches. They were within touching distance of the semi-finals then, before nerves got the better of them against Karnataka.That season should have been the springboard for higher honours. Instead, the following four years have been about inconsistency, lack of proper build-ups to seasons, infrastructure issues and administrative apathy.Related

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Things have been slightly different this time. The Jammu & Kashmir Cricket Association (JKCA) had emphasised on proper conditioning through match time in the build-up to the season, and that seems to have given the players a better footing. They had a proper pre-season camp, followed by a competitive pre-season tournament – Buchi Babu in Tamil Nadu – prior to the Ranji season. The players haven’t had to hit the ground running.With Srinagar unable to host matches because of the harsh winter conditions, J&K’s only other available ground, the Gandhi Science College ground in Jammu had to be renovated quickly, and that work started late last year. It’s possible even JKCA didn’t factor in the possibility of the team qualifying in the manner they have – they finished as group-toppers and earned the right to host the quarter-final against Kerala, starting February 8.They play in Pune instead. But if it is a red-soil surface, as it is likely to be, J&K won’t complain, having performed exceedingly well and beaten Mumbai and Baroda on such surfaces in their own backyards.

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J&K’s run hasn’t been because of their big-ticket players. Umran Malik hasn’t played a game owing to form and injury issues, Rasikh Salam has mostly been used in T20s, and Abdul Samad, a player with big-match capabilities, hasn’t quite been able to come on the way everyone anticipated him to when he broke through in 2019-20.Samad is still their second-highest run-getter this season with 393 runs, but he’s only been a support player to the likes of batter Shubham Khajuria, allrounder Abid Mushtaq, right-arm quicks Auqib Nabi, Yudhvir Singh and Umar Nazir, and offspinner Sahil Lotra.Nabi has enjoyed a breakthrough run five years after first playing for the state. Now 28, Nabi is this season’s second-highest wicket-taker with 38 wickets, including five five-wicket hauls. In fact, he is one of only two pacers in the top ten in the wicket-takers’ charts.

“Before he came on board, I feel we lacked in off-season camps and preparation. In these three years, we have had a different coach for batting, bowling and fielding. Every year when the season ends, Mithun summons all the players and asks what was lacking during that season. And with everyone’s feedback, that thing [which was lacking] is implemented next year”Shubham Khajuria on the impact of director of cricket operations Mithun Manhas

Nazir, meanwhile, was instrumental in running through Mumbai’s top order on the opening day two weeks ago, taking 4 for 41. This included the wicket of Rohit Sharma, which he didn’t celebrate because he’s a “big fan” of the India captain. Nazir has been the perfect back-up to Nabi in the pace department. And like Nabi, Nazir too has over the years built up solid experience.”For the past two years, we have been playing red-ball tournaments outside of our own state,” Nabi said. “We also played the Buchi Babu tournament in Tamil Nadu. So our practice was very good. The same team that plays Ranji also went there. So it helped us a lot.”One of the sounding boards for this team is Mithun Manhas, the former Delhi captain who now leads their cricket operations as director. Manhas took over after Irfan Pathan and Milap Mewada left as mentor and coach respectively following Covid. Success hasn’t come overnight; it has taken three years for Manhas and the others to get it right. Manhas’ challenge will now be to ensure, unlike earlier, this isn’t a case of taking two steps forward and then three back.This season, Manhas brought in Paras Dogra. At 40, he’s the oldest member of the side, but also the most experienced, having played 142 first-class games at the time of writing. Dogra took over the captaincy, a tough ask for anyone coming in. While he has been short of runs (216 runs in 12 innings), his experience has certainly lent a degree of calmness.Dogra has had the support of Ajay Sharma, the former India batter, who was brought on as head coach three years ago. While the start to his tenure wasn’t great, the JKCA hasn’t been swayed by short-term results.Prior to the season, former Rajasthan batter Dishant Yagnik was brought in as fielding coach. He conducted camps along with Ajay for the batters. Then there were other moves which helped, like the BCCI deciding to split the Ranji Trophy season in two to avoid games getting affected by fog during peak winter in north India, something that cost them last year.Shubham Khajuria is Jammu and Kashmir’s leading run-scorer this season•PTI “All our three home games in 2023-24 were badly hit,” Nabi said. Barely any action could take place over four days in the matches against Himachal Pradesh (65.3 overs), Delhi (42) and Uttarakhand (39) in Jammu. While the first two of those games took place in early January, even the one against Uttarakhand in early February was fogged out. It meant J&K could hardly challenge for a knockouts berth.However, the tweak to the calendar worked in their favour. After a high-scoring draw against Maharashtra and an innings victory against Services in Srinagar, they also beat Tripura in Jammu, before getting on a roll in their away games.

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For the first time, J&K brought on a bowling coach in an official capacity two years ago when Manhas called up former Rajasthan quick Pudiyangum Krishnakumar. Until then, Abdul Qayoom, the former J&K player, had been in an overseeing role. “We never had a bowling coach before him,” Nabi said. “So I’ve practiced a lot with him. I worked with him on my outswing, and I have been getting very good outswing since then.”Khajuria, J&K’s highest run-getter this season, credited Manhas for the resurgence, especially when it came to the planning part.”I feel we lacked in off-season camps and preparation,” Khajuria said. “In these three years, we have had a different coach for batting, bowling and fielding. Every year when the season ends, Mithun summons all the players and asks what was lacking during that season. And with everyone’s feedback, that thing [which was lacking] is even implemented next year.”He also underlined how the preparation was different.”After the [List A] Vijay Hazare Trophy got over, we reached Jammu on January 6. Thereafter, we had our camp from January 9 onwards; we hardly took a two-day break in between,” he said. “We practiced there till January 15, and realising the massive difference between the weather in Jammu and Mumbai, the association sent us to Mumbai on the same day itself. That was eight days before our match, during which we practiced there.”Both Nabi and Khajuria were part of the XI in the 2019-20 quarter-final heartbreak. As experienced players now, they have had a ringside view of the challenges the team has had to endure since.Auqib Nabi, with 38 scalps, finished the league stage as the highest wicket-taker among fast bowlers•PTI “The biggest problem is that we don’t have any infrastructure in J&K; it is coming up a bit, but it’s still not a lot,” Nabi said. “For instance, I come from Baramulla, where we don’t have enough nets to practice. We have to practice on our own.”There are not many turf cricket in Kashmir. Some [players] go out of state to practice. But over the last one or two years, JKCA has helped us play a lot of matches. So there has been a lot of improvement in our performance.”And people with expertise in the domestic circuit – Ajay Sharma is a Ranji Trophy legend – has only helped. Especially people like Khajuria.Over the course of the ongoing domestic season, Khajuria has cracked 255 in a Ranji game against Maharashtra, 159 against Chhattisgarh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, and 85* against Uttar Pradesh in the [T20] Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy – all of them the highest by a J&K batter in the respective tournaments’ history.”Ajay sir has been asking me to play the long innings,” Khajuria said. “Often, I used to get out in the 30s or 40s. That has stopped happening now. So the mindset has changed. Earlier, the environment of J&K’s dressing room was not like this either. [But] now, everyone talks about winning. We have had [three] different Man-of-the-Match winners across our five victories. Everyone has contributed. Now it is the case of trying to win every match.”The next week could take J&K to new frontiers. They have never made a Ranji semi-final previously and there’s nervous excitement bubbling. How they channel it could determine their road ahead.

قلص فريق أولمبياكوس اليوناني فارق الأهداف أمام خصمه ريال مدريد الإسباني، خلال مباراتهما ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا.

ويستقبل أولمبياكوس نظيره ريال مدريد، في إطار مباريات الجولة الخامسة لمرحلة الدوري ببطولة دوري أبطال أوروبا موسم 2025-2026.

وتمكن أولمبياكوس من تسجيل الهدف الثالث عن طريق أيوب الكعبي في الدقيقة 81 بشباك لونين حارس مرمى ريال مدريد، وتم تأكيد صحة الهدف بعد العودة للفار.

وكان أولمبياكوس تقدم بهدف أول في الدقيقة 8، ثم أحرز كيليان مبابي هاتريك لريال مدريد في الدقائق 20، 22، و29.

وعقب ذلك سجل أولمبياكوس ثان أهدافه خلال المباراة بالدقيقة 52، وتشير النتيجة لتقدم ريال مدريد بنتيجة 4-3.