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With Arne Slot officially unveiled, the new Liverpool boss has already reportedly turned his attention towards a Euro 2024 sensation in what would be one of the deals of the summer.

Liverpool transfer news

Over a month since his arrival was officially announced, Slot gave his first interview as Liverpool boss as he prepares to complete the near-impossible job of succeeding Jurgen Klopp. Speaking for the first time since taking the role, the Dutchman told Liverpool's media channels: "I would say energised because of the holiday I had.

"Excited, really looking forward to the new challenge which is ahead of me. We are, of course, looking at the training ground, which is fantastic, so there are a lot of things to look forward to. The team is coming back in a few weeks and yeah, [I am] looking forward to a new start after a nice period I had at Feyenoord."

Liverpool could sign a "monster" £34m Leny Yoro alternative

This talented defender would be perfect for Arne Slot’s brand of football.

ByAngus Sinclair Jun 20, 2024

What's more, now that the transfer window now open, the former Feyenoord boss can begin to make his mark alongside Richard Hughes, with a keen eye seemingly on Euro 2024 and one particular star.

According to reports in Spain, via TeamTalk, Slot is now personally keen to sign Arda Guler for Liverpool following the Turkey star's spotlight-stealing performances at the Euros and doubts beginning to creep in over his game-time alongside a star-studded Real Madrid attack next season. The 19-year-old winger scored one of the goals of the tournament so far in Turkey's 3-1 win over Georgia.

Still a teenager, there's plenty more to come from Guler, but if Madrid can't find space for such a talent alongside the likes of Vinicius Junior, Kylian Mbappe, Rodrigo and Endrick, then their loss should be Liverpool's gain this summer.

"Excellent" Guler is a ready-made Salah successor

With Mohamed Salah into the final year of his current Liverpool deal and now 32 years old, the Reds would be wise to line up an eventual replacement in Guler. The rest of Europe saw exactly what his left foot is capable of against Georgia and it's the type of quality that would instantly stand out at Anfield. When opportunities came his way at Madrid before the Euros too, he was just as clinical.

Goals

6

18

Assists

0

10

Minutes

377

2,534

Expected Goals

1.4

15.5

In just 377 minutes – the same as just over four games – Guler managed to outperform his expected goals by almost five to highlight just how ruthless he is in front of goal at such a young age.

It's no surprise that he's received such high praise and that praise is only likely to increase after the Euros. If the likes of Liverpool didn't see the Turkish sensation as a ready-made Salah replacement, then they certainly should after the tournament. Following an end to the season described as "excellent" by Alex Barker, Guler has the chance to steal further headlines this summer.

Kohli’s men, though, have lost back-to-back games and are still sweating on Saini’s fitness

Saurabh Somani30-Oct-2020Big pictureBoth these teams began their IPL 2020 campaigns against each other, and in some ways how they began is how their tournament has gone. The Royal Challengers Bangalore pulled off a win on the back of their bowling, having first put up a competitive score. The Sunrisers Hyderabad looked like they were making smooth progress in their chase, until a middle-order collapse did them in.At the other end of the league phase now, both teams find themselves with different equations. The Royal Challengers haven’t yet secured qualification but are still second on the points table. One win will take them through. The Sunrisers, on the other hand, need to win both their remaining games. They’ll be a bit more confident of doing that, because a match earlier, they had needed to win three in three – and against the top-three teams. The Delhi Capitals have been knocked off quite spectacularly, and the Sunrisers have to do the same against the Royal Challengers now.For the Royal Challengers, there might be a hint of worry given that they have lost two on the bounce, to the Chennai Super Kings and then the Mumbai Indians. Their batting didn’t show up in either game, emphasising the importance of AB de Villiers in the line-up. Whenever he has fired, the Royal Challengers have looked powerful. When he hasn’t, the batting has not been able to break free into impregnable totals territory for the most part.In the news The Royal Challengers will be waiting on Navdeep Saini’s fitness status. The fast bowler had split the webbing of his right hand in the loss to the Super Kings. Not having Saini available forced quite a few changes for their game against Mumbai. The Royal Challengers had to bring in Dale Steyn to cover for Saini, but that also meant Moeen Ali having to sit out. Shivam Dube was brought back for Ali. Steyn didn’t have a great game against Mumbai, so Isuru Udana might come back instead of Steyn if Saini continues to be unavailable. The Sunrisers’ swap of Jonny Bairstow for Kane Williamson led to Wriddhiman Saha being pushed into the opener’s slot, but a circuitous route yielded a bountiful result, as Saha tore apart the Capitals, who have among the IPL’s best bowling attacks. Historically, Saha’s best position in the IPL has been to bat in the powerplay, and with Baistow not having fired as expected, Saha’s success at the top has lent much greater stability to the Sunrisers middle order with Williamson in there. The New Zealander was sorely missed when the Sunrisers crashed to a 12-run defeat against the Kings XI Punjab chasing only 127 for victory. Incidentally, the Sunrisers had crashed to a similar defeat in their first match against the Royal Challengers in IPL 2020 too, losing by 10 runs. Williamson had been absent from the XI then too, due to injury.Likely XIsRoyal Challengers Bangalore: 1 Josh Philippe, 2 Devdutt Padikkal, 3 Virat Kohli (capt), 4 AB de Villiers (wk), 5 Gurkeerat Singh Mann, 6 Shivam Dube/Moeen Ali, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Washington Sundar, 9 Isuru Udana/Navdeep Saini, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Yuzvendra ChahalSunrisers Hyderabad: 1 David Warner (capt), 2. Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 3 Manish Pandey, 4 Kane Williamson, 5 Vijay Shankar, 6 Abdul Samad, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Rashid Khan, 9 Shahbaz Nadeem, 10 T Natarajan, 11 Sandeep SharmaPrevious meetingIt was both teams’ first match of IPL 2020, and the Sunrisers were 121 for 2, needing 43 runs in 4.5 overs with Bairstow on song, when Yuzvendra Chahal wrecked the middle order. Inexperience played a part in the collapse, as Sunrisers subsided to 153 all out, having lost a chase they looked in control of for large parts.The Sunrisers had gone with Mitchell Marsh as their fourth overseas player then, and he pulled up short without completing an over and hobbled out to bat at No.10. They’ve covered for Marsh with Jason Holder now, and they’ve got Williamson fit again.Strategy punt Outside of the IPL, de Villiers has had a lot of success against Rashid Khan. But in the IPL, where Rashid has bowled to de Villiers as part of a generally strong bowling attack, it is the legspinner who has come out on top, with de Villiers taking only 17 runs off 16 balls and dismissed twice. Rashid has also had the better of Virat Kohli, with the Royal Challengers captain having taken 18 runs off 18 balls while being out once. Keeping Rashid for the men who will bat at No.3 and No.4 might be a good move for the Sunrisers. David Warner began IPL 2020 by batting conservatively, looking to play through the innings. While he did get 283 runs in his first eight matches, they came at a strike rate of 121.88, and a Smart Strike Rate of 116.83. In his last four games though, Warner has spoken about going “old school” and reverting to his attacking ways. His strike rate has gone to 167.03 and his Smart Strike Rate has shot up to 203.03, meaning Warner is effectively scoring almost twice as fast as he was. The quick scoring hasn’t come at the expense of runs: Warner has 152 runs in his last four games, and a much higher average (50.67 to 35.50). Continuing to be aggressive at the top seems to be the way to go for Warner. So how do the Royal Challengers counter Warner? Deploy Washington Sundar. He has a couple of factors going for him: he’s going to turn the ball away from Warner, he’s capable of adjusting line and length later than most bowlers, and he’s already bowled extensively in the powerplay this IPL and been among the most economical bowlers in the competition. Warner hasn’t been dismissed by Sundar, but he has taken only 22 runs off him from 22 balls faced – and it’s 20 off 20 in the powerplay. Keeping Warner quiet in the powerplay will be a significant advantage in itself, and could affect how the rest of the Sunrisers batting goes, much as it did before Warner rediscovered his free-stroking avatar.Stats that matter None of these teams have gone through a season with an all-win record against the other when they’ve played at least two games, splitting wins each time. They played each other thrice in 2016, with Sunrisers beating the Royal Challengers in the IPL final. Of the ten IPL 2020 games played at Sharjah so far, the split between winning batting first and second is five-five. However, the last four matches at Sharjah have been won by the chasing team, with dew playing a more prominent role as the tournament has gone on too. Kohli has played 14 matches against the Sunrisers. He made more than 40 in six of his first seven games against them, but in the latter seven games, he has gone past 40 just once.

Malan had scores of 19, 55 and 99* in the three-match series, which took England past Australia to the No. 1 position in the T20I team rankings

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Dec-2020Dawid Malan achieved the highest-ever points in the ICC T20I rankings for batsmen, getting to 915 at the end of the T20I series in South Africa. In the process, he also became the first batsman to cross the 900-point mark since Aaron Finch got there in July 2018, his 173 runs at a strike rate of 161.68 helping England to a 3-0 series sweep in South Africa. Malan finished the series 44 points ahead of second-placed Babar Azam.Malan had scores of 19, 55 and 99* in the three-match series, which took England past Australia to the No. 1 position in the T20I team rankings. India, Pakistan and South Africa make up the top five. New Zealand are in sixth place after their 2-0 win over West Indies, who have slipped to tenth.Among other players in action in South Africa, Buttler gained seven spots to get to No. 21 among batsmen, while Rassie van der Dussen’s 136 runs lifted him 17 places to No. 5, a career-best. Faf du Plessis’s 121 runs also helped him get into the top 20.Of the bowlers, Adil Rashid gained three spots to get to No. 4, while Chris Jordan gained one place to get to No. 12.Across in New Zealand, the home side won the first two games before the third was washed out, and Lockie Ferguson, the best bowler across the two sides with seven wickets, including 5 for 21 in the first game, moved up 42 spots to the 32nd position. Glenn Phillips, who smashed the quickest T20I century by a New Zealander in the second fixture, got into the top 100 for the first time, moving to No. 86.

Mikel Arteta has admitted Arsenal need to address their disciplinary issues as red cards take their toll on the Gunners' season.

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Arteta admitted to Arsenal's red card problemSaliba third Gunners star to get sent off Arsenal could appeal Saliba's dismissal Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

William Saliba, who was sent off in the first half against Bournemouth last Saturday, became the third Gunners star, after Declan Rice and Leandro Trossard, to be sent off in the club's opening eight Premier League outings of the 2024-25 campaign. After the game, Rice had expressed his frustration over the French defender's sending off and now manager Arteta has addressed the issue.

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The Spanish coach advised his players to remain calm on the pitch and avoid picking up unnecessary red cards as it would hurt their title aspirations in the long run. The Arsenal boss also revealed that the club could consider appealing Saliba's dismissal. For now, the France international remains suspended for their upcoming Premier League clash against Liverpool on Sunday.

WHAT MIKEL ARTETA SAID

Speaking to reporters, the 42-year-old said: "Playing with ten men always is an issue. The truth is, when you analyse it, three different actions and the outcome of them, the reasons are very different. Regardless of that, we cannot continue to play with ten men at this level.

"We need to eradicate that, it's clear. The reasons, how – it doesn't matter. We have to focus. We cannot continue to play with ten men, easier to say it than to get it done. Specific moments. Reacting, we have a defeat. Very specific conditions as well. Let's move on, take that pain we have and use it tomorrow night."

When asked if Arsenal would appeal Saliba's red card, the manager added: "I leave that one to the club to understand the circumstances. The examples that are very clear in the same position and they will have to decide."

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Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR ARSENAL?

The north London side will be back in action in the midweek as they take on Shakhtar Donetsk in a Champions League clash at home on Tuesday.

A £315,000-a-week star "wants to join" Manchester City, however, he’s also keen on Premier League rivals Arsenal and Liverpool.

Man City transfer rumours

Pep Guardiola recently guided City to a historic fourth Premier League title in a row, however, the 2024/25 season could be his ninth and last with the Citizens.

Reports from The Daily Mail last month revealed that the Spaniard is ‘expected to call time on a spell of unprecedented dominance at City next summer’, with his current contract set to expire in 2025.

Etihad officials appear to have been discussing the prospect of losing Guardiola behind the scenes in recent months, with Girona’s Michel talked up as one potential candidate.

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Despite the possibility of losing Guardiola, it looks as if he could still make a number of additions during the summer transfer window, possibly with one eye on leaving City in a strong position.

For example, contact has reportedly been made over a deal to sign RB Leipzig star Dani Olmo, who is currently impressing with Spain at Euro 2024. Another target appears to be FC Porto goalkeeper Diogo Costa, who has been linked with a move to Manchester to potentially replace Ederson and rival Stefan Ortega.

Bayern Munich star Joshua Kimmich has also been linked with a move to England and City in 2024, and there has now been a new update on the versatile German, one that could encourage Etihad chiefs.

Joshua Kimmich transfer update – Sky Sports

Taking to X, Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg revealed that Kimmich could leave Bayern Munich this summer, with new manager Vincent Kompany not having the versatile star in his midfield plans.

A split between Bayern and Kimmich, who is out of contract next summer, is “getting closer”, and it is added that the German “wants to join Man City, Liverpool, Arsenal, Real Madrid or Barcelona”.

Kimmich and Guardiola previously worked together at the Allianz Arena, with the 29-year-old coming in for plenty of praise from the Man City boss. Back in 2016, Guardiola said after Kimmich played at centre-back against Borussia Dortmund: “I told him that he's perhaps one of the best centre-backs in the world. I love this boy.

“Joshua Kimmich turned in a great display. We have a very good defender who’s strong in the build-up play. I like to work with players who are eager to learn. He's got the desire, the will, the passion. He's got absolutely everything.”

Since then, Kimmich, on £315,000-a-week, has also been dubbed a "mentality monster" by ex-boss Hansi Flick, whereas another iconic manager, Jose Mourinho, called him “an absolutely phenomenal player” last year.

"I see him as a top right-back, left-back, centre-back, No.6, No.8, No.10… he has the qualities to be anything! I think he looks to me, very intelligent related to football, very intelligent, understands the moments of the games and understands the difference between positions and understands what he has to do here and what he has to do there. I think he’s phenomenal, an absolutely phenomenal player."

It looks as if a move to England, potentially the Etihad Stadium to reunite with Guardiola, could be one to watch over the summer.

Alexi Lalas says FIFA are making the Club World Cup “all about Miami and Lionel Messi” after absorbing the Herons into an expanded event for 2025.

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32 teams will grace revamped tournamentEvent set to take place on American soilArgentine icon helped Herons fill spotFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

The best sides on the planet, with the most prestigious of honours being collected in recent seasons, will take part in a 32-team competition on American soil next summer. It has been revealed that Inter Miami will be joining 2022 CONCACAF Champions League winners the Seattle Sounders in providing MLS representation.

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With Argentine superstar Messi on board, the Herons did win the inaugural Leagues Cup in 2023. They have made more history this term by winning the Supporters’ Shield with a record-setting tally of points. Collective sights in Florida are now locked on ultimate MLS Cup glory.

WHAT LALAS SAID

Questions have been asked of whether Inter Miami deserve their Club World Cup spot, given the claims of others, and Lalas admits that marketing has played a huge part in a big decision. The USMNT legend has told his podcast: “I don’t think anybody is looking at Inter Miami representing, not just Inter Miami, but representing MLS and representing the US in this tournament that’s coming next summer as a bad thing.

“But it never should have gotten to that, it should have been done ahead of time. And I know that this was a work in progress and this is the first in this expanded type of club World Cup that they are going to have, even with the challenge that they have. And this is a very nice thing to have, not just Inter Miami, but obviously Inter Miami with Messi to kind of kick it off.

“And in that moment, Gianni Infantino even said that they will be hosting the first game in Miami. So it is all about Miami, it’s all about Messi using him as a promotional vehicle for this club World Cup that needs promotion.”

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR MESSI & INTER MIAMI?

Inter Miami are about to enter the MLS play-offs as No.1 seeds. They will get that campaign underway against Atlanta United on Friday, with eight-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi already in MVP contention alongside club colleague and fellow Barcelona icon Luis Suarez.

India players were seen training with pink and red balls

PTI17-Nov-2020The limited-overs competition awaits them first but the India players, led by captain Virat Kohli, seemed focused on next month’s Tests against Australia as they practised in simulated long-format match conditions with pacers using red and pink balls in Sydney on Tuesday.The top batsmen and bowlers from across the three squads were seen taking part in the practice session.The likes of Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj were seen bowling to Kohli in a video posted on Twitter by the captain himself.ALSO READ: Tim Paine, Marnus Labuschagne in mass airlift to avert summer disruptionKohli will feature in just the opening day-night Test, starting December 17 in Adelaide, before flying back to India for the birth of his first child.

Love test cricket practice sessions pic.twitter.com/XPNad3YapF

— Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) November 17, 2020

The video showed the players using the centre strip of the ground with Test match field and a batsman at the non-striker’s end, which is a deviation from traditional net sessions. Given that the players were kept busy by the IPL for the last two months, the white-ball training has taken a back seat.In another video, posted by the BCCI, Shami was seen bowling in tandem with Siraj.

The master and his apprentice

When @MdShami11 and Siraj bowled in tandem at #TeamIndia's nets. Fast and accurate! pic.twitter.com/kt624gXp6V

— BCCI (@BCCI) November 17, 2020

The 30-year-old Shami, who took 20 wickets from 14 matches for the Kings XI Punjab in the IPL, is a part of all three squads. India will rely heavily on him during the four-match Test series.Siraj, who is only in the Test squad, followed his senior team-mate and was seen sending down a few deliveries as other senior players watched him bowl.ALSO READ: Glenn McGrath says ‘Australia slightly ahead’ because of Mitchell Starc’s X-factorThe 26-year-old, who has played one ODI and three T20Is, took 11 wickets from nine matches for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.On Monday, the star studded batting line-up was seen gearing up for the lively Australian pitches with the traditional tennis ball training after competing on the slow UAE tracks during the IPL.The first two matches of the ODI series will be played at the SCG on November 27 and 29, followed by the third in Canberra on December 2.The first T20I, on December 4, will also be played in Canberra while the last two will be played at the SCG on December 6 and 8.

According to Sky Sports, Crystal Palace are one of two Premier League clubs interested in signing a new £35m forward.

Crystal Palace summer signings so far

The Eagles, sporting director Dougie Freedman and chairman Steve Parish have been making preparations behind the scenes ahead of Oliver Glasner’s first full season in charge at Selhurst Park.

So far, centre-back Chadi Riad is the only signing, with the Morocco international arriving after an impressive season on loan in Spain with Real Betis.

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Next to officially arrive looks set to be Daichi Kamada. The Japanese attacking midfielder will officially become a free agent at the beginning of July after leaving Lazio and has reportedly penned a two-year deal with Palace.

Glasner and Palace will lose Michael Olise, who is joining Bayern Munich in a deal worth more than £50m, and it is believed that Club Brugge forward Antonio Nusa could be the player to replace Olise, with the Norway international valued at £25m.

Meanwhile, another target is Sunderland’s Jobe Bellingham, the youngster brother of Jude, with Fabrizio Romano recently saying that the Sunderland gem is a “main target”, whereas Nusa is also among the “priorities”.

Alongside both Bellingham and Nusa, though, it looks as if another attacking target is of interest to Palace.

Crystal Palace want Emile Smith-Rowe – Sky Sports

According to Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth, speaking live on Wednesday evening, Crystal Palace are interested in signing Emile Smith-Rowe from Arsenal this summer.

“We understand that a number of Premier League clubs, including Fulham and Crystal Palace are interested in Arsenal forward Emile Smith-Rowe.

“He is very popular at the club, should be noted, Smith-Rowe. He is very popular at the club with those within the club, he’s very popular with the fans as well – the fans always get behind an academy product. But, he started just three times in the Premier League in the last two seasons, and now he’s in that position in his career where he thinks ‘I want regular first-team football’.

“It’s thought that if a suitable offer was to present itself, that Arsenal would seriously consider that offer. Formal approaches for Emile Smith-Rowe are expected to start coming in over the next few weeks.”

Reports elsewhere have stated that the Gunners could hope to bring in around £35m for Smith-Rowe, so the Eagles may need to make the 23-year-old Palace's most expensive signing of all time if they want to bring him to Selhurst Park.

In total, Smith-Rowe has made 115 senior appearances for the Gunners, scoring 18 times and registering 13 assists. He’s also spent time out on loan with RB Leipzig and Huddersfield Town after coming through Arsenal’s academy, but by the looks of things, a permanent exit could be on the cards.

Rabada and Pretorius are carrying injuries, and were not considered for selection

Firdose Moonda11-Dec-2020Opening batsman Sarel Erwee, wicketkeeper-batsman Kyle Verreynne and medium-pacer Glenton Stuurman have received maiden call-ups to South Africa’s Test squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka. South Africa will be captained by Quinton de Kock, who has been appointed in temporary capacity of the 2021-21 summer. However, they will be without frontline seamer Kagiso Rabada or allrounder Dwaine Pretorius, who are both injured.Pretorius was ruled out of the recent white-ball series against England with a hamstring concern while Rabada picked up a groin strain during the T20Is. Though a CSA statement said the pair would both be assessed in the coming days to determine if they could be added to the squad, selection convener Victor Mpitsang was less hopeful.”The concern is around workloads. For now, they (Rabada and Pretorius) are not available for the Sri Lanka tour but hopefully they will be ready for the Pakistan series,” Victor Mptisang, convenor of selectors, told ESPNcricinfo.Importantly, Mpitsang would like to see both players feature in domestic red-ball cricket before they join the Test squad. Pretorius is expected to play in a four-day match for the Lions starting on Monday, December 13, while Rabada should be fit for the fixture the week after, which starts on December 20. The South African squad will go into their bios-ecure bubble at the Irene Country Club on December 19, which means Rabada, especially, could be too late to join them for the festive Tests.However, they will not look to add any reinforcements to their spin department, where Keshav Maharaj remains the first-choice. George Linde, who was the second-highest wicket-taker in last season’s four-day competition, and Tabraiz Shamsi, who led the list before he was needed for international duty this summer, will have to wait for January’s tour of Pakistan to get their chance. “Both of them are there and thereabouts but if you look at where we are playing this series, we will struggle to get two spinners into our team in Johannesburg and Centurion,” Mpitsang said. “In our conditions, Keshav will do the job.”On the batting front, Mpitsang confirmed that Aiden Markram will return to the top of the order after missing most of last summer with a hand injury. Markram leads the domestic run-scorers’ list, with three hundreds from his last three innings, and displaces Pieter Malan, who has not been included in the squad at all. Instead, Dolphins’ opener Erwee, who is 47 runs behind Markram, has been included. “Pieter Malan is unlucky to have missed out because of what he had done against England but Aiden Markram missed out against England and we’ve seen the remarkable form he has been in. He just comes back in,” Mpitsang said. “The replacement will be Sarel Erwee who has been very good in the past. It shows that when you do well in the domestic structure you will be rewarded.”Markram will also be closely watched as a potential permanent Test captain, a position that will be filled ahead of the 2021-22 season. “Aiden has always been a guy earmarked as a captain but we will reassess after the season,” Mpitsang said. “There’s a nice leadership group for now, with Rassie and Temba, and it’s about getting them to be stable in the team.”Bavuma only played one Test last season after he was dropped and will need consistent performances to cement his spot. He will bat in the top five, which is bolstered by the experience of Faf du Plessis, who remains available for selection, despite stepping down as captain, and Rassie van der Dussen, with Keegan Petersen likely to be the reserve. Petersen, who is fourth on the domestic run-charts this season, has been preferred over Zubayr Hamza and Theunis de Bruyn. Verreyne, who is also a wicketkeeper is the other batting option, and could find himself making a debut either as a specialist batsman or to relieve de Kock of the gloves.The series will be South Africa’s first since the coronavirus pandemic hit and their third in the World Test Championship. They are placed eighth on the WTC table, with one win and 24 points and though their chances of qualifying for the final are slim, they have seven Tests this summer to work their way to a more respectable position. They will be wary though, knowing that the last time Sri Lanka were on their shores, in the 2018-19 season, they became the first team from the subcontinent to win a series in South Africa.Squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Quinton de Kock (capt & wk), Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram, Faf du Plessis, Beuran Hendricks, Dean Elgar, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rassie van der Dussen, Sarel Erwee, Anrich Nortje, Glenton Stuurman, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Kyle Verreynne

Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espírito Santo has the opportunity to make his mark on the squad this summer for the first time since his arrival at the club back in December.

The former Wolves manager replaced Steve Cooper halfway through the campaign, unable to fully implement his system across to the players, but showing glimpses of promise towards the end of the season.

He was heavily reliant on striker Chris Wood to do the business for the Reds, with the New Zealand international scoring 14 Premier League goals – proving a lot of doubters wrong in the process.

However, with the new season just over a month away now, the Reds boss will still want to invest further into his playing squad to pull further clear of the drop zone in 2024/25.

Nottingham Forest’s transfer business this summer

Forest are no stranger to a transfer or two, making over 30 new additions to the squad since promotion back to the Premier League back in the 2021/22 season.

Nuno has wasted no time in further adding to his squad this summer, signing the likes of goalkeeper Carlos Miguel, young winger Eric da Silva Moreira and Newcastle star Elliot Anderson, with the latter costing £35m with Odysseas Vlachodimos going in the other direction.

However, to avoid another PSR breach this season, the club have had to balance the books by parting ways with two important squad members.

Orel Mangala and Moussa Niakhate both left the City Ground to join French side Lyon, with the pair leaving the club for £20m and £27m respectively.

Whilst they’ve undoubtedly left a hole in Nuno’s squad, the club’s recent recruitment has provided hope that they can identify a suitable replacement to further improve the Reds squad.

Their excellent recruitment can be demonstrated by multiple players within the Forest first-team, including one talent who’s already proven to be value for money, with his market value taking a huge increase as a result.

Callum Hudson-Odoi’s market value in 2024

After arriving at the club from Chelsea during the summer of 2023, winger Callum Hudson-Odoi looked as though he would be a shrewd addition to the club after joining the Reds for a deal in the region of £3m last summer.

He made an instant impact on his first appearance for the Reds, scoring a goal-of-the-season contender against Vincent Kompany's Burnley side to secure a vital point for his new team.

However, fast forward to nearly a year on from his move to Trentside, he’s excelled in his first campaign in the East Midlands, scoring eight and providing one assist in his 29 outings for the club.

Games played

29

Goals

8

Assists

1

Pass accuracy

85%

Chances created

36

Dribbles completed

43

Dribble success rate

61%

His form has seen strong interest from fellow Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, with the Reds valuing Hudson-Odoi at £40m – an increase of 1,230% from the fee they paid for him less than 12 months ago.

He’s been an excellent addition to the club, becoming a crucial player under Nuno towards the tail end of the campaign – scoring three goals in the final three matches of the season.

Next season provides a fresh opportunity for the 23-year-old to build on the progress he’s made in recent months, potentially seeing his market value increase further.

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