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Celtic have made a habit out of buying and developing and selling on young talent over the years, as they have made millions in profit through player trading.

The likes of Matt O’Riley, Odsonne Edouard, Moussa Dembele, and Virgil van Dijk, among many others, have come and gone thanks to the club’s excellent recruitment work.

Whilst they have had success in plucking players out of top European countries, like van Dijk from the Netherlands or Dembele and O’Riley from England, they have also had success in snapping up talent from more obscure leagues.

For example, Celtic signed Kristoffer Ajer as a 17-year-old for £650k from Norwegian side Start, before they went on to sell him to Brentford for a reported fee of £13.5m.

The Hoops plucked the teenage talent up and sent him out on loan, to Kilmarnock, before integrating him into the first-team to develop into a £13.5m player, and they could repeat a similar trick with their interest in a midfielder this summer.

Celtic enquire about deal for Serbian midfielder

According to Cukaricki sporting director Vladimir Matijašević, Celtic have made contact over a potential deal to sign central midfielder Andrej Bacanin before the end of the summer transfer window.

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

Speaking to the club’s official website, he said: “There’s significant interest in our young players, and right now the spotlight is on Andrej Bačanin’s transfer. His performances last season for both our team and the Serbian national side at youth level have drawn attention from numerous clubs.

“We’ve had enquiries from Scottish giants Celtic and Rangers, and clubs like Ajax and Udinese are also interested, among others. It’s possible more options will emerge, but I expect the transfer to be completed within the next ten days.”

This shows that the Hoops are interested in the 18-year-old talent, who could arrive at Parkhead to follow a similar path to success in Scotland as Ajer.

Why Celtic should sign Andrej Bacanin

The Scottish Premiership giants should push to win the race for the teenage starlet’s signature this summer because he could be a future star for the club.

At the age of 18, Bacanin should not be expected to arrive as an immediate first-team star, as he only just made his breakthrough at senior level in Serbia in the second half of the 2024/25 campaign.

Instead, the Serbia U19 international could follow Ajer’s path by joining another Premiership team, or a club in another country, on loan to continue his development, before making the step to Brendan Rodgers’ team further down the line.

Although he may not be ready to make an instant impact in Glasgow for Celtic, his performances in the Serbian Superliga show that he does have potential.

Appearances

17

Starts

10

Goals

1

Assists

2

Tackles per 90

2.3

Interceptions per 90

1.8

Error led to goal

0

Penalties committed

0

As you can see in the table above, Bacanin offered a screening presence in front of the back four when he played, averaging 4.1 tackles and interceptions per 90 in the division.

Meanwhile, no central midfielder for Celtic managed more than 2.0 tackles and interceptions per game, which suggests that the Serbian youngster could offer a defensive midfield option that Rodgers does not currently have.

As was the case with Ajer, though, Bacanin will need to be playing games week-in-week-out to hone his skills and develop as a player, which is why bringing the young whiz in before sending him out on loan could be a shrewd move.

The Hoops could snap him up this summer, to ensure that their rivals do not steal a march of them, before sending him away to develop and improve, with the hope that he will come back a better player who is ready to make his mark on Parkhead in the 2026/27 campaign.

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Serbian Football Scout, who is a professional scout for MLS side Colorado Rapids, previously dubbed Bacanin a “true midfield controller”, and he could control games for Celtic in the future, if they get this deal done.

Sri Lanka were 140 for 1 in a chase of 214 but then lost nine wickets for 30 runs

Shashank Kishore27-Jul-2024

Suryakumar Yadav hit a half-century in his first match as India’s permanent T20I captain•Getty Images

India’s new T20I era under Suryakumar Yadav began on a winning note, even if it was jittery at various points in their defence of a big score. A spirited Sri Lankan batting unit, spearheaded by Pathum Nissanka and his free-stroking 79 left an Indian team playing with just five bowling options hanging onto crumbs of hope. One of them was scoreboard pressure. Sri Lanka had nine wickets in hand but they still needed 74 off 36.Nissanka, reprieved a ball earlier by Ravi Bishnoi at deep midwicket, fell to Axar Patel to open the floodgates. India converted that opening into a double-strike when Kusal Perera fell four balls later. It would be the start of a sensational meltdown; Sri Lanka losing 9 for 30 in all to concede a game they would’ve backed themselves to win.Gill and Jaiswal lay down a markerOn match eve, Shubman Gill had acknowledged the need to improve his T20I batting template. On Saturday, he walked the talk, cutting and pulling anything fractionally short to put pressure on the bowlers during the powerplay. Yashasvi Jaiswal was equally aggressive, as India’s new opening partnership turned into a healthy contest of one-upmanship.Jaiswal’s intent upset Sri Lanka and their plans to introduce spin early. He welcomed Maheesh Theekshana with a clean hit for six over long-off and followed it with a ferocious slog sweep for four. In all, India scored 11 fours and three sixes in the powerplay during a 74-run first-wicket stand before Dilshan Madushanka had Gill miscuing a lofted shot to mid-on for a 16-ball 34.SKY offsets Sri Lanka’s double-strikeGill’s wicket was followed by Jaiswal’s off the very next ball for a 21-ball 40, Wanindu Hasaranga having him stumped off a ripping googly. But Suryakumar was quickly into his element, moving inside the line to play the pick-up flick for six from just his fourth ball. He offered a chance on 15 when he top-edged a Madushanka bouncer in the eighth over, only for Asitha Fernando to drop the catch at fine leg. It would prove costly.Suryakumar peppered different arcs on the legside boundary with his plethora of sweeps, punishing Hasaranga and the ambidextrous Kamindu Mendis to raise a half-century stand for the third wicket; Rishabh Pant’s contribution to it a mere 11 runs. Suryakumar soon brought up his half-century off just 22 balls, his second-fastest in T20Is, but fell in an attempt to take on Matheesha Pathirana, who was held back till the 12th over to close out the innings.Matheesha Pathirana got rid of Suryakumar Yadav•Associated Press

Pathirana leads Sri Lanka fightbackIt took Pant a dropped catch – by Asitha at deep square leg – and 15 balls to find his first boundary. His next one, a helicopter shot over midwicket in the 16th over broke a 14-ball boundary-drought following Suryakumar’s dismissal. In fact, Pant barely managed to get out of second gear for much of his innings. Prior to his first six, he scratched his way 20 off 23. He made 29 off the next 10, eventually falling 49 while attempting to takedown Pathirana for a third boundary in a row.Pathirana stuck to a simple mantra of bowling straight and fast, relying on a slight tail in to clean bowl Hardik and Pant, while dismissing Riyan Parag in the same way he did Suryakumar – lbw to a low-arm slinger as they missed full balls. Pathirana finished with 4 for 40 as India finished with 213 after being 135 for 2 after 12 overs.The Nissanka-Mendis turbochargeSri Lanka kickstarted their chase in the third over as both batters got stuck into Axar’s drifters into the stumps. Nissanka cranked it up a notch when he hit Mohammed Siraj for two sixes in the fourth over, ramping him first over third man and then clubbing him over deep midwicket. Sri Lanka raised their fifty off 31 balls.Hardik was welcomed with a bludgeon through point, Ravi Bishnoi swept and reverse-swept with disdain as he kept firing deliveries down leg. When Mendis got inside the line to mercilessly flick Arshdeep Singh into the grass banks in the ninth over, India were nervy. But off the next ball, the batter’s attempt to repeat the shot had him holing out to deep midwicket.Sri Lanka’s counter-punch forced mistakes from India, Nissanka raising his half-century off 34 balls with an overthrow that gave him five runs. Nissanka’s exhibited his full range soon after, reverse-sweeping Axar, pouncing on anything dragged down and even improvising to get inside the line of length balls and swatting them over the ropes. But at 140 for 1, Nissanka chopped on attempting to cut. The slow walk back signalled a job unfinished.Parag justifies selectionSiraj and Arshdeep had two overs apiece. With four overs left and India needing to defend 56, it seemed obvious Suryakumar would turn to his two frontline pacers. Instead he threw the ball to Parag, who had been picked ahead of Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar. And unlike Bishnoi and Axar, Parag slowed it down and gave it a rip.After India got lucky with Dasun Shanaka’s wicket courtesy a run out made possible by Siraj’s athleticism at short third, Parag bowled Kamindu and gave away only five runs at a crunch moment. Then with Sri Lanka in a freewill and all but out needing 44 off six, he was given a second over, when he picked up Theekshana and Madushanka off successive deliveries to seal victory.

Tottenham Hotspur have a new manager at the helm in Thomas Frank, though he could now have a decision to make on one of his key stars, according to a report.

Tottenham make Tel second signing under Frank

There were plenty of mixed opinions when Ange Postecoglou was relieved of his duties at Tottenham. He delivered on his promise to bring a trophy to North London, but Daniel Levy couldn’t look past the Lilywhites’ dismal form in the top flight.

Frank has since been appointed and arrives as a revered figure among many of his Premier League peers. The former Brentford boss released an emotional statement after swapping Hounslow for N17 as he gets to work ahead of pre-season.

He stated: “I want to extend my profound gratitude to the club for giving me the chance to pursue my dreams and for everyone involved who made the journey such a memorable one.

“For my family and I, it has been a privilege to be allowed to be part of such a special community – it’s an experience and adventure that we will cherish for life. So, thank you.”

Mathys Tel has been announced as a permanent Tottenham star and has signed until 2031, becoming an early signal of the former Brentford man’s transfer intent. Kevin Danso has also joined after his loan spell from RC Lens.

Looking to tempt one of his old flames to work together again, Spurs boss Frank is targeting a move for Brentford’s Bryan Mbeumo, who has reportedly changed his stance on potentially swapping the Gtech Community Stadium for Manchester United amid recent talks.

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Jadon Sancho has also been linked with a surprise switch to Spurs. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if the Red Devils would be willing to deal with a direct Premier League rival after his spell at Chelsea.

Making inroads, Frank has now been left with a crucial decision to make after a big-money proposal came to light for one of his established stars.

Tottenham star Son Heung-min has offer to join Fenerbahce

According to reports in Spain, Fenerbahce have tabled a big-money proposal to Tottenham icon Son Heung-min that could see the South Korea international earn around £195,000 per week in Istanbul.

The outlet suggests that a deal between all parties is ‘very close’ despite nothing being fully set in stone, which could mark the end of an era for the 32-year-old after lifting the Europa League trophy last month following a decade-long wait for silverware.

Son Hueng-min – the end of an era at Tottenham Hotspur?

Appearances

454

Goals

173

Assists

101

Trophies won

UEFA Europa League

Admittedly, he did wane during a difficult campaign on a week-to-week basis for the Lilywhites, though he still managed to register 11 goals in 12 assists in 46 appearances across all competitions.

From a personal perspective, Son bowing out with a winners’ medal in-hand would be the perfect way to depart, even if his exit would be an emotional one following his excellent ten years in North London.

While they were less successful on the trophy front than the current Tottenham Hotspur team, it would be fair to say the side Mauricio Pochettino built was the best the club has seen in the modern era.

From front to back, the team was filled with simply sensational players who really should have won at least a couple of major honours during their time in North London.

The likes of Harry Kane and a younger Son Heung-min would give opposition defenders nightmares, while Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld did the same to opposition attackers.

However, arguably, the most talented player in that squad was Mousa Dembélé, and now it looks like Ange Postecoglou might be brewing his own version of the Belgian.

Mousa Dembélé's Spurs career

Dembélé joined Tottenham in the summer of 2012 from fellow Premier League side Fulham for a fee of just £15m, which, in retrospect, has to be looked at as one of the deals of the century.

It didn’t take long at all for the former Cottagers star to settle into life with the Lilywhites, scoring his first goal for the club on his debut – a 1-1 draw at home to Norwich City.

He finished his first campaign in North London with two goals and five assists to his name in 44 appearances, and while he looked the part, he only improved when Pochettino took charge ahead of the following season.

Under the Argentine, the Antwerpen-born titan became the all-action “monster,” as dubbed by Eric Dier, that he’s remembered as today.

It was practically impossible to get the ball off of him, and if he didn’t have it, you could be sure that he’d do everything he could to win it off the opposition – usually to great success.

The 37-year-old icon was the engine of that Spurs side, and to say his teammates appreciated him would be a massive understatement, with Kyle Walker once describing him as “the best player I’ve ever seen play football” and Harry Kane simply calling him “incredible.”

After making 249 appearances for the club, in which he scored ten goals and provided ten assists, the midfield maestro finally left in January 2019 to join the Chinese Super League.

Dembélé’s Spurs career

Appearances

249

Starts

181

Minutes

16115′

Goals

10

Assists

10

Goal Involvements per Match

0.08

Minutes per Goal Involvement

805.75

All Stats via Transfermarkt

However, some of his teammates would have liked him to stay for the rest of that season, as Kieran Trippier would later claim that Spurs could have won the Champions League with him still in the side.

He might have done what the club’s new Dembélé did for them against Manchester United on Wednesday night.

The Spurs star becoming their new Dembélé

Okay, so the first thing to say here is that we aren’t arguing that anyone in the current Spurs squad is as good a player as Dembélé was, as that would be absurd.

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However, there is one youngster who starred on Wednesday night and has some of the characteristics that could see him develop into the team’s modern version of the Belgian: Pape Matar Sarr.

The Senegalese international joined Tottenham under Nuno Espírito Santo’s reign for around £14.6m, and after spending the 2021/22 season on loan with the French side, made his way to North London, where he has continued to develop since.

Much like the club’s former number 19, the 22-year-old is primarily a central midfielder but has the ability and flexibility to play in defensive midfield and, even on occasion, slightly further up the pitch.

In terms of his style of play, the “sensational” dynamo, as dubbed by Spurs content creator tehTrunk, is constantly on the move, be that darting forward to help out in attacks or covering ground to help out the defence, and while he’s not quite as safe on the ball, you’d have described the former Lilywhites star in a similar way.

We saw all of these characteristics in Bilbao, with Spurs writer Alasdair Gold awarding him a 9/10 match rating at full-time for his ‘constantly running display’ and how well he did ‘to break up United’s play.’

Ultimately, while we would never say Sarr is on the same level as Dembélé, we do think there are parts of his game that are quite similar, and with another few years of development, he could get close.

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Rangers’ chances of hiring Jose Mourinho as their next manager could hinge on one key factor, according to a new update regarding their next boss.

Latest on Rangers' next manager

After bowing out of the Europa League at the hands of Athletic Bilbao last week, Barry Ferguson feels increasingly unlikely to be handed the Gers job on a permanent basis. The former captain has done a good job at times, mopping up after the disappointing reign of Philippe Clement, but he has only won four of his 10 matches in charge in all competitions.

Steven Gerrard has been strongly linked with a return to Ibrox, having led the Gers to Scottish Premiership title glory back in 2020/21, with the Liverpool legend perhaps feeling that he has unfinished business at the club. The 44-year-old was most recently in charge of Saudi Pro League team Al-Ettifaq.

Former Southampton boss Russell Martin has also emerged as an alternative to Gerrard, with the Englishman favouring a ball-playing style, while Sean Dyche has been mentioned as an option, too, and would bring a very different approach. Mourinho’s name has also been mooted, and a now fresh claim has dropped regarding Rangers potentially hiring him this summer.

Mourinho has one key demand for 49ers

According to TEAMtalk, Mourinho “would be open” to becoming Rangers’ next manager, as has been recently reported, but only if he is backed with “new additions” by 49ers Enterprises. The update also claims that the Gers “have not approached his entourage yet”, with Gerrard still looking like the front-runner to replace Ferguson.

Rangers hiring Mourinho would be one of the most high-profile appointments in the club’s history, considering the Portuguese is among the most successful managers of his generation.

The 62-year-old is a two-time Champions League winner, having led both Porto and Inter Milan to European glory, and there is also the small matter of him winning eight league titles in four different countries – the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A and Primeira Liga.

Mourinho possesses the winning mentality to help bridge the gap between Rangers and Celtic, and he has the ability to create a siege mentality and endear himself to his own supporters.

Admittedly, at 62, he may not quite be at his absolute peak as a manager anymore – he would arguably be in a bigger job than Fenerbahce if that was the case – but he remains a born winner who could be an instant hero at Ibrox.

The fact that Rangers haven’t approached Mourinho yet does suggest that he is an outside bet to come in at the end of the season, with Gerrard feeling like the more likely choice.

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Posts ByRoss Kilvington Apr 20, 2025

For all the former Chelsea and Real Madrid manager’s controversial character, though, there is no doubt that the Gers hiring him would be a huge story and a potentially game-changing appointment.

If he makes his debut, Brendan Doggett will become just the third Indigenous man after Jason Gillespie and Scott Boland to play Test cricket for Australia

AAP16-Nov-2025Seven years after Brendan Doggett was first picked in an Australia squad, the ultimate late-bloomer is poised to become the country’s 472nd Test cricketer.After the untimely hamstring injury to in-form quick Josh Hazlewood, Doggett is set to make his debut when the Ashes gets underway at Optus Stadium in Perth on Friday. The 31-year-old will slot into Australia’s fast-bowling attack alongside Mitchell Starc and Scott Boland, a man with many similarities to his journey.Just two Indigenous men – Boland and Jason Gillespie – have represented Australia in almost 150 years of Test cricket. But Doggett is set to become the third, learning more about his Aboriginal heritage in his 20s after first earning a contract with Queensland Bulls.Related

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Proudly from Toowoomba, the man with 190 first-class wickets has spent the last four seasons helping South Australia rise from perennial battlers to Sheffield Shield champions.Doggett first received a call-up to an Australia squad in 2018, just months after the ball-tampering scandal in South Africa. Injuries slowed him down, but a move to South Australia in 2021 to become the leader of their attack has paid off.He has been consistently named in Australian squads over the past 18 months, stuck behind Starc, Hazlewood and captain Pat Cummins. But with Cummins and Hazlewood both injured for the start of the Ashes defence, the three-time Shield winner should get his shot.”He’s one of the quicker bowlers in Australia,” Gillespie, who coached Doggett for South Australia, told ABC Radio on Sunday. “Got a good motor, he’s a greyhound and is as fit as a fiddle. He’s ready to go.

“His path to a potential Baggy Green is not a common one in the modern game. It just shows the value of our local competitions, plying away and working on your craft”Jason Gillespie on Brendan Doggett

“England will sniff an opportunity [without Cummins and Hazlewood], but I’m confident the Australian seam attack is good enough to get the job done.”Doggett’s selection will only prompt further “Dad’s Army” jibes from England.Like Tasmania allrounder Beau Webster did in January, Doggett will join a small club to have made their Test debuts for Australia without having played a white-ball international in their 20s. Before Webster was brought in for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy decider, Bryce McGain was the only member of that group. If Jake Weatherald is selected to open the batting with Usman Khawaja in Perth, he will also be making his international debut at 31.If Jake Weatherald plays the Perth Test, Australia will have two 30-plus debutants in the same game•Getty ImagesDoggett never made any representative team until he was in his 20s, eventually making his domestic debut for the former Cricket Australia XI that played in the One-Day Cup in October 2016.He was plucked out of local cricket in his 20s, after dominating for Toowoomba Souths.”His path to a potential Baggy Green is not a common one in the modern game,” Gillespie said. “It just shows the value of our local competitions, plying away and working on your craft.”Doggett’s former Queensland team-mate Michael Neser was added to the squad on Saturday when Hazlewood was ruled out. If Hazlewood and Cummins still aren’t fit for the second Test at the Gabba, Neser could join Doggett in the XI.The only two Tests of Neser’s career were with the pink ball, with Australia preferring to play four quicks instead of veteran spinner Nathan Lyon when they last played a day-nighter.

The ace spinner needs to respond to the rule change where third umpires are catching the marginal no-balls he used to get away with

Sidharth Monga04-Mar-2024Ravindra Jadeja has bowled 52 front-foot no-balls in Test cricket since December 2020. Of the 18 overall no-balls he had bowled before that, four had bounced more than once, and seven were detected by the third umpire because they had either resulted in dismissals or were reviewed under DRS. We don’t have records that confirm all of the remaining seven were indeed front-foot no-balls. Be that as it may, you get the gist: Jadeja has been bowling an extraordinarily high number of no-balls since late 2020.In a way, this increase in no-balls has nothing to do with Jadeja. In mid-2020, the ICC handed over calling of all foot-fault no-balls to the third umpire. Before that turning point in cricket, the third umpires used to check for no-balls only if the ball had resulted in a dismissal or if a non-dismissal had been reviewed by the fielding side.Now Jadeja is the perfect illustration for why you need a third umpire, for why it is so difficult to call no-balls on the field. He pushes the line anyway, but to add to that, he doesn’t land flat. His front foot goes well over the line in the air, then he drags it back while still in the air, and the toe makes the landing first. The umpire has to quickly draw an imaginary straight line from his heel to the ground and calculate in their head if it falls on the popping crease or just behind.Related

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That most of Jadeja’s no-balls are only caught on replay means he hasn’t started overstepping in 2020. Just that, he has started getting called for overstepping in 2020. Just imagine how many no-balls were missed before the third umpires started to check every ball for a foot fault. Not just from Jadeja, but especially Jadeja, because his landing is so difficult to work out.In another way, the increase in no-balls has everything to do with Jadeja. Since the third umpires took over calling all foot-fault no-balls, starting with the Test series between England and West Indies in July 2020, Kagiso Rabada and Ben Stokes have sent down the most foot-fault no-balls: 77. They are fast bowlers, and their increase from before third-umpires is not huge – 50s to 77. No spinner, however, comes even close to Jadeja’s 52 no-balls, and he has gone from seven foot-fault no-balls to 52. At No. 5, he is the only spinner among the top 14 bowlers of no-balls since the third umpire started checking every ball.Jadeja is one of the all-time great spinners and allrounders. He is such a gifted athlete that everything on the cricket field seems to come naturally to him. He is like a well-oiled machine on the road: smooth and seemingly effortless. This is not to say he doesn’t work hard, but he does give the impression that he does things the way he knows, and most of the times it just turns out to be too good for most other cricketers.With these no-balls, though, Jadeja needs to put in the extra effort. And it is not a big effort. Most of these are extremely marginal no-balls, and avoiding them requires only a small adjustment. A Test cricketer shouldn’t take so long to respond to a rule change.Known for his glib, funny one-liners on the field, India’s Test captain Rohit Sharma shouted during the ongoing Test series: “This Jadeja doesn’t bowl no-balls in the IPL, man. Jaddu, just imagine it’s T20.”In T20s, with the threat of the free hit around, Jadeja has overstepped just twice since 2020. In ODIs, he has done so only six times. The same should be easy to apply in Tests. In this series alone, Jadeja has bowled 11 no-balls, nearly twice what anybody else has. Luckily none of those has impacted his 17 wicket-taking balls, but it shouldn’t take a no-ball to cost him a wicket to make that adjustment.

Warner, Babar, Pooran among overlooked contingent as lack of availability dents tournament’s quality

Matt Roller05-Apr-2022’Buy British’ was the mantra for teams in Monday’s men’s Hundred draft. When governments use that slogan, it is a tacit admission that foreign goods have offered consumers better value for money than their domestic alternatives. For the Hundred teams, however, it was a scarcity of overseas options that drove them to make picks as they did.The Hundred’s organisers have consistently promised “brilliant overseas players” and “world-class cricket” but this year, the competition’s month-long window from August 3 to September 3 clashes with several men’s bilateral series, the Asia Cup and the start of the Caribbean Premier League.In the draft, five of the eleven vacant slots in the top £125,000 salary band were filled by domestic players: Joe Clarke and Tom Banton (Welsh Fire), Tom Kohler-Cadmore (Trent Rockets), Laurie Evans (Manchester Originals) and Liam Dawson (London Spirit). Uncertainty over the availability of leading overseas players was always expected to see domestic players do well, but even Dawson himself admitted he was “surprised” to have been picked at the band he was.Each pick made sense at a micro level, with teams looking to fill gaps in their squads by recruiting the cream of the English crop, but the bigger picture is that the ECB will pay £625,000 in wages to a group of players who, for all their respective talents, have 34 England caps between them. That figure represents just under a third of the total wage bill across all eight teams in the women’s competition, despite women’s salaries doubling over the winter.Babar Azam, Lockie Ferguson, Nicholas Pooran and David Warner were among those unsold due to uncertainty over their availability.”Availability is a big issue for the overseas guys throughout the whole tournament,” admitted Eoin Morgan, London Spirit’s captain and a prominent advocate for the Hundred, speaking to ESPNcricinfo in a forthcoming interview. “I think you can go through every team and who they selected and there are actually very few overseas that are available throughout the whole tournament.”As a result, several men’s sides have opted to use at least one of their overseas picks on cheaper options, with seven of the twenty-four foreign players signed for £60k or less (each men’s team will add a fourth ‘wildcard’ overseas player to their squad in June or July for £50,000, with a maximum of three permitted in the same XI). While their selections make sense for an Oval Invincibles side looking to add power to its middle order, Rilee Rossouw and Hilton Cartwright were not the overseas draw-cards that the ECB had envisaged when they came up with the Hundred.Related

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• Meg Lanning set for English domestic debut in the Hundred

Perhaps the problem is the conflict between the tournament’s overall aims and the disparate, individual ambitions of those involved in selecting the squads. The ECB would love teams to sign players based on their reputation – it seems like a missed opportunity that Chris Gayle has twice registered for a draft without being picked – in order to shift tickets and merchandise, but an analyst hoping to impress a coach in order to keep their job would rather prove their worth by signing a hidden gem.The decision to stage the draft behind closed doors for a second year in a row added to the sense that nobody is quite sure what this tournament is, or who it is for. Back in 2019, the draft was hailed by the ECB as “an historic occasion in British sport, as the first major UK sport competition draft to be held in this country,” shown live in a prime Sunday night slot on three Sky channels and online. Two-and-a-half years later, it took place remotely on a Monday morning before being drip-fed out through press releases and live blogs on a Tuesday afternoon, after most of the main cricketing stories had already been broken.Showing the draft live would have presented expensive logistical challenges, not least with most head coaches based overseas and working in Mumbai during the IPL, but they would not be insurmountable. Even if the Hundred is pitched at new fans, existing ones are always intrigued by team construction: the most recent PSL draft had over a million views on YouTube, and viewing figures for the IPL auction regularly dwarf those for actual games.By contrast, the women’s competition continues to attract the best players in the world. Meg Lanning leads a contingent of eleven Australians who will stay in the UK after the Commonwealth Games and despite the salary discrepancies – Lanning will earn just £1,250 more than the lowest-paid men’s players – the prevailing sense is that the women’s Hundred is working better than the men’s.The ECB claimed with some justification that the tournament’s first season was a success, emboldened by strong viewing figures and ticket sales in its first season, but the question that its many critics continue to ask is: at what cost? As Andrew Strauss’ high performance review into the structure of the English game looms, the Hundred still resembles a speculative venture.

كشف تقارير صحفية أردنية عن تفاصيل إصابة يزن النعيمات مهاجم منتخب الأردن أمام العراق في بطولة كأس العرب. 

وتعرض يزن النعيمات إلى إصابة قوية خلال مباراة الأردن والعراق، بعد تعرض قدمه لالتواء ليخرج على إثرها من المباراة محمولًا على نقالة، ما أثار الشكوك حول تعرضه لإصابة قوية في الركبة. 

طالع.. فيديو | الأردن يطيح بالعراق ويتأهل إلى نصف نهائي كأس العرب.. وإصابة يزن النعيمات

وارتبط اسم يزن النعيمات مهاجم الأردن، بالانتقال إلى صفوف الأهلي خلال فترة الانتقالات الشتوية المقبلة. 

وذكرت صحيفة “الرأي” الأردنية من مصادر خاصة بها أن النعيمات تعرض لإصابة في غضروف الركبة وفقًا للتشخيص المبدئي. 

واختتمت: “لم يتم التأكد من مدى خطورة الإصابة حتى الآن، بانتظار خضوعه لمزيد من الفحوصات المتخصصة، بما في ذلك الصور الشعاعية والرنين المغناطيسي، لتحديد طبيعة الإصابة بشكل دقيق”.

ومن جانبه، أعلن الاتحاد الأردني منذ قليل عن إصابة يزن النعيمات بقطع في الرباط الصليبي للركبة، بعد الخضوع للآشعة والفحوصات الطبية. طالع التفاصيل

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Agustín Giay é a bola da vez para chegar ao Palmeiras. O Verdão insistiu na contratação — e pagará cerca de R$ 40 milhões por 75% dos direitos — porque o argentino de 20 anos se encaixa perfeitamente no perfil de reforços do clube. Anteriormente, os argentinos endureceram as negociações e rejeitaram as primeiras propostas apresentadas.

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O Palmeiras ficou “encantado” com Giay. Ele soma as características desejadas pela comissão técnica de Abel Ferreira, além de entrar no projeto a longo prazo do clube: atleta versátil, jovem, competitivo, passagens por seleções de base e promissor, podendo render lucro ao Alviverde no futuro.

Polivalente, o jogador atua na lateral-direita, como volante e meia pela direita. A versatilidade é justamente um dos “mantras” de Abel, que insiste em ter um elenco que os atletas desempenhem mais de uma função.

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Praticamente todo plantel alviverde, atualmente, atua com frequência em mais de uma posição. Além disso, Giay é analisado como competitivo para marcar e atacar, outra valência enfatizada pelo técnico do Palmeiras.

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Formado no San Lorenzo, Giay foi capitão da seleção Argentina no Mundial sub-20. Experiente apesar da pouca idade, o provável reforço palmeirense está no time profissional do “clube do Papa” desde seus 18 anos.

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O Palmeiras enfrentou o San Lorenzo duas vezes na fase de grupos da Libertadores 2024. A partir disso, o interesse na joia aumentou.

— Sim, teve contato (com Abel Ferreira e Simeone). Mas são coisas que não cabem a mim. Estou tranquilo, pensando no clube — disse Giay, em entrevista recente à “Espn Argentina”.

Na temporada atual, o atleta soma 24 partidas, um gol e duas assistências.

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