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Agora é oficial: Patrick de Paula é jogador do Botafogo. O clube anunciou a contratação do jogador criado nas categorias de base do Palmeiras via redes sociais na tarde desta quinta-feira.

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É a maior transação da história do Botafogo, que pagou 6 milhões de euros (aproximadamente R$ 34 milhões) para contratar o volante de 22 anos junto ao Verdão.

Patrick desembarcou no Rio de Janeiro na segunda-feira e foi direto ao Nilton Santos. Ele viu a derrota da equipe comandada por Lúcio Flávio para o Fluminense pelas semifinais do Campeonato Carioca.

Além dele, o Botafogo já anunciou Philipe Sampaio, Lucas Piazon e Renzo Saravia. Luís Oyama, Victor Sá e o treinador Luís Castro também estão fechados, mas ainda serão anunciados oficialmente.

Absence of James Anderson and Stuart Broad won’t make hosts complacent, says coach

Alan Gardner07-Mar-2022West Indies will be focused on ensuring that their batters grind out enough runs for the bowlers to put England’s revamped Test side under pressure in Antigua, rather than worrying about who is or isn’t in the XI for the tourists.The absence of James Anderson and Stuart Broad for England has been a running theme during the build-up to the three-Test series, but both Kraigg Brathwaite, West Indies’ captain, and Phil Simmons, the head coach, cautioned against setting too much significance by the non-selection of two of the three most-prolific fast bowlers in history.Related

Campbell, Phillip in squad for first Test against England

Reset or regret for England as West Indies look to extend home hegemony

While England’s recent travails in Test cricket have been well documented, West Indies come into the series with just one win in their last eight Tests. During that time, they have passed 300 just once in 16 innings, and been bowled out for fewer than 200 on seven occasions.Desmond Haynes’ new selection panel responded by bringing back John Campbell and Shamarh Brooks – who last played in March 2021 and December 2020 respectively – and dropping Shai Hope and Roston Chase from the squad. While opener Campbell has just two half-centuries to his name in 15 Tests, he made four scores between 33 and 47 in his debut series against England three years ago, and returns to the side after scoring a century for Jamaica in the regional four-day championship.”I think the last time England were here, and we beat them, the opening pair was Kraigg and John Campbell,” Simmons said. “So let’s hope that’s a good omen for us, because they are back together and they gave the team some good starts. So that’s what we’ve been talking about, getting a good start and then making sure that the top four put things together and not leave it for the middle and lower order.”That’s been the aspect of the five-day camp that we had, addressing the fact that batsmen need to bat long, we need to make sure we give the bowlers something to work with. And I think that the camp went well, so I expect good things from them.”After leading West Indies to a memorable 2-0 win in Bangladesh in February 2021, Brathwaite has seen the team’s fortunes dip, with a drawn home series against Sri Lanka followed by three consecutive defeats. West Indies can draw on a strong home record against England, however, and Brathwaite was confident that the hosts have enough firepower to maintain their edge.”As a team, we’re really looking forward to it,” Brathwaite said. “We’re feeling confident, and maybe not worrying about England’s team, but what we do as a team and we’re really looking forward to the challenge.”It means a lot [playing England], obviously the Barmy Army comes down and gives you a nice atmosphere. We always look forward to this series, especially at home. And we look forward to the challenge. They have some quality cricketers still, so when we do well, you know it’s still a good feeling.Shannon Gabriel trained with the Test squad as continued his rehab after injury•Getty Images

“I think the series itself is always different to every other series we have. We’re generally very good at home, especially the bowlers do a fantastic job at home. And obviously it’s also our job as batters to get runs, but the series always has a lot of energy and at times that can inspire guys.”The fragility of the batting on both sides is underlined by the fact that only one player other than Joe Root – West Indies’ No. 3 Nkrumah Bonner – currently averages more than 40 in Test cricket. For that reason, Simmons warned that West Indies could not afford to be complacent about the calibre of the attack fielded by England.”You can call it an advantage but again, no Broad, no Anderson, we keep harping on that,” he said. “But when you don’t have the experience, you have young fellas having to make their name and that is something that you have to guard against too. For me, you can’t be looking at that and saying well look, that’s a big advantage, because then you tend to get complacent and you tend to get found out early.”So we have not been looking at the fact that there’s no Broad and Anderson, we’ve been looking at who there is, and there’s still some quality bowlers in there, which we still have to bat against.”West Indies could yet be boosted by the return of a fast bowler of their own later in the series, with Simmons impressed by the progress of Shannon Gabriel after he joined the squad in Antigua to continue his rehab from a hamstring injury.”He’s a lot further on than I thought he was,” Simmons said. “He bowled with some pace today, so we’ll see what happens over the next four or five days. This squad was selected for the first Test, so we’ll see where he’s at while he’s training with us and then we can make a decision on the second Test.”

Since Mikel Arteta entered Arsenal Football Club he has been ruthless with his decision-making. He takes no prisoners, that’s for sure.

After one too many misdemeanours, the Spaniard removed the captaincy from Pierre Emerick-Aubayemany and subsequently told him to leave the club.

There’s also the goalkeeper situation. Aaron Ramsdale was fine. He had some great moments in an Arsenal shirt. Remember that jaw-dropping stop to deny James Maddison’s free-kick against Leicester? Alas, Arteta had seen enough. In came David Raya.

The way he’s now phasing out Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Jesus is also pretty ruthless but they aren’t good enough. Let’s be honest, here.

One of the more peculiar moves during Arteta’s reign was the freedom with which Granit Xhaka left the Emirates Stadium.

Why Granit Xhaka left Arsenal behind

The redemption arc of Xhaka’s Arsenal career was a sight to behold. This was a player who cupped his ear and tossed the captain’s armband on the floor during the reign of Unai Emery.

There was surely no way of coming back from that. Well, the Swiss defied the doubters, defied all critics and is now seen as a club icon for his performances under Arteta.

It was during the 2022/23 season that the midfielder shone brightest, scoring a career-best nine goals and also registering seven assists across all competitions. He had quickly become one of the finest central players in the Premier League.

However, he wanted to go and in swooped Beyer Leverkusen who snapped Xhaka up for a measly fee of £21.4m. Why did he go? Well, it was to seek a new challenge at a late stage in his career.

Since then, the now 32-year-old has enjoyed a fabulous time of it. He won the Bundesliga unbeaten last season and reached the final of the Europa League. He was among the Ballon d’Or nominees too.

Xhaka ended up ranking in 16th place, ahead of Martin Odegaard, Bukayo Saka, William Saliba and Declan Rice.

Did Arsenal miss him last term? Perhaps. That being said, club-record signing Rice did a pretty decent job in his stead, being named in the PFA Team of the Year for 2023/24.

That said, will the Gunners miss another midfielder? Quite possibly, for this young Frenchman is now ranking pretty closely to Xhaka in certain metrics.

When Arsenal sold a "monster in the making"

The 20th June 2020. It’s a poignant date in Arsenal’s history. An unsuspecting game with Brighton during that dreaded COVID season happened to alter the timeline of many careers as Arsenal lost at the Amex Stadium.

Berno Leno suffered a serious knee injury that led to Emiliano Martinez’s triumphant rise to become the best goalkeeper in the world. It was also Matteo Guendouzi’s last match in an Arsenal shirt.

Visibly angry at the challenge from fellow countryman Neal Maupay that hurt Leno, he somehow avoided punishment despite grabbing him by the throat.

Arteta had seen him enough, though, and that summer he was being sold in a £9m move to Marseille. Guendouzi left having flattered to deceive. He had mass potential but his attitude problems – as we saw in that clash with the Seagulls – often got the better of him.

Moving back to his homeland after initially being signed from Lorient, the France international did so having played on 82 occasions for Arsenal.

Described as a “monster in the making” by scout Jacek Kulig, the now 25-year-old is now impressing in Serie A for Lazio alongside Nuno Tavares. Remember him?

Where Are They Now

Your star player or biggest flop has left the club but what are they doing in the present day? This article is part of Football FanCast's Where Are They Now series.

After a summer move, Guendouzi has played 14 times in which he’s scored once and registered a solitary assist. But, it’s his Xhaka-like qualities that are going under the radar.

Indeed, as per FBRef, the former Arsenal man ranks among the very best Europe has to offer for progressive passes. Compared to players in Europe’s top five leagues this season, he sits in fifth place for that metric with 96.

He sits just ahead of Real Sociedad’s Martin Zubimendi (91) and only just behind Joshua Kimmich (126) who ranks first and Xhaka (125) who sits second in the listings.

So, are there many other similarities between the two midfielders? Let’s take a look.

Goals

0.09

0.10

Assists

0.09

0.30

Pass success %

88.5%

90%

Short pass success %

94.4%

94.8%

Long pass success %

73.4%

72.5%

Key passes

1.13

2.20

Progressive passes

8.35

12.5

Tackles won

0.61

0.60

Let’s be honest. Xhaka is quite evidently the better football but it’s clear that there are plenty of similarities between the two players.

Arteta wasn’t to know but in a parallel universe, perhaps Guendouzi was the long-term heir all along? From a passing point of view, very little separates them and they also make a similar number of tackles per 90 minutes.

As data analyst Ben Mattinson once said, the now Lazio ace is a great “what could’ve been” player.

Arsenal must finally sell £110k-p/w flop who was their "obvious captain"

The experienced international has been painfully unlucky at Arsenal.

1 ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 14, 2024

Heading into the game off the back of an impressive point against Atalanta in the Champions League, Celtic could once again be forced to cope without a key player against Motherwell.

Celtic injury news

After they lost main man Matt O’Riley to Brighton & Hove Albion in the summer transfer window, some may have worried about Celtic and their chances of retaining the Scottish Premiership once again. So far, however, they’ve barely skipped a beat and sit top of the league once again, though only ahead of surprise challengers Aberdeen on goal difference.

Worse than Idah: Rodgers must drop 5/10 Celtic forward who lost 88% duels

The Celtic attacker should finally be dropped from the starting XI this weekend.

5

By
Dan Emery

Oct 24, 2024

Meanwhile, the Bhoys have been responsible for a couple of surprising results, themselves. One of many test subjects in the new Champions League format, Celtic have so far smashed Slovan Bratislava, been humiliated in 7-1 fashion by Borussia Dortmund and earned a solid and impressive 0-0 draw against last season’s Europa League winners Atalanta.

What made that point all the more impressive is the fact that the Scottish champions were forced to earn it without one of their star defenders in a scenario they may face again this weekend. As alluded to by Rodgers and relayed by Daily Record, Cameron Carter-Vickers is now a doubt to face Motherwell after missing out on Celtic’s trip to Atalanta despite initial hopes he may play in Italy.

The American was pictured in training prior to that Champions League clash but missed out nonetheless. Rodgers has since remained fairly coy when asked about the defender’s fitness, telling reporters via Daily Record: “Cam, we’ll just see when we get back.”

After missing the last six games in all competitions, Carter-Vickers won’t be rushed back which may leave him with no choice but to be a frustrated spectator once again this weekend.

Return of "brilliant" Carter-Vickers will be crucial

As Celtic have re-established their dominance in the Scottish Premiership in recent years, Carter-Vickers has been at the centre of both Ange Postecoglou’s side and now Rodgers’ champions. The American captained the Bhoys in their final five league games last season in a crucial run towards the title which included a dramatic 3-3 draw against Old Firm rivals Rangers, and now has the chance to step back into the side when he is back to full fitness.

The former Tottenham Hotspur defender has earned plenty of praise during his time at Celtic Park, including from former manager Postecoglou, who said via The National after Carter-Vickers earned a World Cup call-up for the USA: “He has just been brilliant for us since the day he arrived. He has embraced everything within the club and his performances speak for themselves.

“He has now taken on leadership as well. “It’s a credit to him, he is the one that has put in the hard work and I couldn’t be happier for him.”

Whilst they’re still waiting for his return, Celtic’s patience should prove worthwhile once Carter-Vickers is back firing on all cylinders after missing a total of six games so far.

Antony could yet play for Manchester United again in the future, with no long-term decision made beyond this season's Real Betis loan.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Antony's future not closed off
• Winger enjoying Real Betis loan
• Agent not ruling out Man Utd stay

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Antony's agent hasn't ruled out the possibility of the winger being reintegrated at Old Trafford, despite falling out of favour and moving to Spain to finish the season with Real Betis. Junior Pedroso explained that a loan exit was the best course of action in the short-term but insists that "football is dynamic".

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  In just two La Liga appearances, Antony has already racked up more minutes than he did in the first half of the Premier League season. The Brazilian has also scored twice so far, including one in the Conference League play-off phase. It has been a much-needed reset.

• WHAT ANTONY'S AGENT SAID

  "Antony respects [Ruben] Amorim a lot, for sure. But we understood in January that his moment at the club was not good, so Manchester United also understood that leaving on loan was the best way for Antony to recover his best form," Pedroso told. "I believe that football is very dynamic. There are no long-term plans to be made. There may still be a few more chapters in his story with Manchester United, or there may not be. This will depend on many factors involving decisions by the club and him in the near future."

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• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  Antony's loan includes no option to buy and his Manchester United contract still has two more years to run until 2027. If he finishes the season strongly, it stands to reason that Amorim could consider using him in a new-look squad next season. Alternatively, witht he coach's system calling for versatile wing-backs rather than wide forwards, the club could look to cash in to reinvest in the transfer market.

A worrying report has emerged over the future of one of Wolves’ stars, with several top clubs now believed to be keeping a close eye on him this season.

Are Wolves too good to go down?

As it stands, Wolves are bottom of the Premier League, with just a single point after seven games. One of four sides without a win (alongside Southampton, Ipswich Town and Crystal Palace), Gary O’Neil’s side have had the toughest run of fixtures in the division so far, but have failed to do much to inspire confidence at Molineux.

They have faced Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle United and Aston Villa in their opening stint of fixtures, but even against Brentford they conceded five times to fall to a 5-3 defeat, while they were held to a 1-1 draw in a Midlands derby with Nottingham Forest.

Wolves now tracking teenage gem with "great potential" for O'Neil – report

He is seen as a star of the future.

ByBen Browning Oct 15, 2024

O’Neil is not yet under any major pressure over his future in charge of the Old Gold, but has a run of fixtures between now and the November international break that will demand an upturn in both performances and results. Things get harder before they get easier though, as they play host to reigning Champions Manchester City before games against sides around them which will be vital in O’Neil’s future at Molineux.

O’Neil’s fixtures to save his job?

Manchester City (H)

Brighton (A)

Crystal Palace (H)

Southampton (H)

Fulham (A)

Bournemouth (H)

Should they fail to turn things round in the remainder of the campaign, it could have worrying consequences.

Top clubs eyeing "phenomenal" talent

That comes via Football Insider, who report that a whole host of European clubs are keeping a close eye on Matheus Cunha as they eye up a potential cut-price deal to sign the Brazilian. Cunha, who arrived as Wolves’ record signing from Atlético Madrid in a deal worth £44m, has caught the eye during his time with the Old Gold.

He was linked with a move to Manchester United over the summer, though he insisted he was happy at Molineux after a strong season – indeed, former teammate Max Kilman dubbed him “phenomenal”.

And former Man United, Aston Villa and West Ham scout Mick Brown explained to Football Insider that “clubs in the Premier League are already keeping an eye on his situation”.

Though he still has three years left to run on his £60,000 a week deal at Wolves, it is suggested that the Brazilian could be “one of the first out of the door” if performances continue to underwhelm. Signed for almost £50m, he could be available for far less if Wolves are forced into a sale following any potential relegation, especially given that Wolves remain close to the line over financial fair play.

Perfect for Cunha: Wolves could hire attacking 4-3-3 O'Neil replacement

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1 ByKelan Sarson Oct 9, 2024

“Every team in the league will be keeping an eye on what happens with him, and if they’re not, they should be”, Brown added. “Even the clubs at the very top of the table should be interested, and from what I’ve heard, a few of them are tracking the possibility of that deal.”

Alice Capsey shrugged off a mid-innings collapse to smash 40 off 26 balls and hand South East Stars the inaugural Charlotte Edwards Cup with a five-wicket victory over Northern Diamonds.The 17-year-old Capsey, a Hundred sensation with victors Oval Invincibles, arrived in the midst of four wickets falling in 14 balls to both steady the ship and take her side to the finish line.Stars were chasing 139 to win after Diamonds captain Hollie Armitage made an unbeaten 59, and they had a 71-run platform set by their openers, Bryony Smith and Aylish Cranstone. But it was Capsey who once again underlined her big-game temperament to take Stars over the line with two overs to spare in front of 1270 at the Ageas Bowl.Diamonds found a formula in their victory over Southern Vipers in the eliminator earlier in the day, and replicated it steadfastly. Again, they won the toss, batted carefully in the Powerplay, one of their top four – Armitage rather than Lauren Winfield-Hill – did the bulk of the scoring and Jenny Gunn scored an unbeaten 22.This time the openers reversed their dismissals, with Leah Dobson caught at mid-off and Bess Heath run out – by an incredible pick-up and direct hit from Emma Jones.England batter Winfield-Hill scored 65 in the victory over the Vipers but fell for a third-ball duck when she was leg before to Grace Gibbs. But Armitage, whose previous highest score for Diamonds this season was 21, took control with a run-hard approach – only scoring four boundaries despite a strike rate in excess of 120.The skipper reached her half-century in 41 balls, identical to Winfield-Hill in the afternoon, as she added 43 with Sterre Kalis – who was caught and bowled by Linsey Smith – and an unbroken 50 with Gunn.Where the Vipers stuttered in response, Stars attacked in the Powerplay, Smith and Cranstone both striking three fours apiece, with the former also adding a slog-swept six as 50 was smashed in the first six overs.After a further 26 runs in 13 balls, Cranstone stepped on her own stumps before Smith chopped her namesake on in the following over. A collapse was in full effect when Katie Levick’s legspin accounted for Gibbs and Phoebe Franklin – caught deep midwicket and mid-on respectively – in four balls, with four wickets falling in quick succession.Amid the chaos, the precociously talented teenager Capsey had arrived at the crease, scooped to the boundary first ball and was motoring. A straight six, a sweetly timed flicked through midwicket were the eye-candy among 14 singles and two twos.She added 51 with the equally impressive Alice Davidson-Richards, who was caught at extra cover with three still required, before Capsey flicked off her legs to give her side their first piece of silverware.

Chelsea have been one of the busier Premier League sides in the summer transfer window as Enzo Maresca has spent Todd Boehly’s cash on a whim.

The Italian has signed the likes of João Félix, Marc Guiu, Kieran Dewsbury-Hall and Pedro Neto over the previous couple of months, but that wasn’t without its fair share of chaos.

Initial results have been mixed, as the Blues have won just two of their opening four games this term, but time is of the essence.

The Londoners may have missed out on Victor Osimhen but one late move was completed as Jadon Sancho swapped Manchester for the capital.

How much Man Utd will pay for Jadon Sancho

According to TEAMtalk, Manchester United had initially valued Sancho at around £40m in response to the interest from Chelsea but it was a fee lower than that which Boehly and Co agreed a deal on.

In the process of landing the England international on an initial loan deal, it’s been reported that an obligation to buy of around £20m-£25m has been put in place.

The winger has failed to really settle during his spell at Old Trafford, scoring just 12 goals in 83 appearances for the Red Devils, and iErik ten Hag has taken a hit on the player as a result.

In an alternative reality, Sancho should be comfortably one of the finest players on the planet. Yet things turned sour soon after he joined the club and is now actively seeking an exit from Old Trafford.

Chelsea have signed a bucket load of forwards this summer and it will come as no surprise to hear they have a few who are already worth more than that Sancho fee.

Todd Boehly's worst transfers at Chelsea… so far

There are plenty to choose from, but who has been Boehly’s biggest mistake at Stamford Bridge?

2

By
Stephan Georgiou

Aug 23, 2024

What Chelsea spent to sign Pedro Neto

Despite having an embarrassment of riches at his disposal in his attacking department, Maresca still felt he had room for another winger in his squad.

This saw the Blues spend £54m to sign Wolverhampton Wanderers’ forward Pedro Neto a few weeks ago in a move which could perhaps net the club millions in profit if all goes to plan in the coming years.

Analyst Ben Mattinson lauded the winger as a “monster” back in 2023, and he enjoyed a fabulous spell with the Old Gold.

Injury issues meant he wasn’t quite as consistent as he wanted to be in the Midlands, but he did demonstrate flashes of immense quality last term.

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

Indeed, in the Premier League, Neto scored twice, and grabbed nine assists while averaging 1.9 key passes and 1.9 successful dribbles per game.

During his three full seasons at United, Sancho registered more than six goal contributions just once (2022/23), hardly the numbers expected following his big-money move from Borussia Dortmund.

Neto may have missed 23 games last season due to injury, but still registered 11 goal contributions in the top flight, proving that if he remained fully fit, this number would have been much higher.

The Portuguese star has made a solid enough start to life in Blue, grabbing an assist against his old side on the weekend in Chelsea’s 6-2 win.

If he carries on this early momentum, Neto can force his way into the starting XI sooner rather than later, potentially becoming one of the club’s key assets before long. It’s a deal, a rare one under Boehly, that they’re set to strike gold with.

Chelsea hit the jackpot on "elegant" star who's worth way more than Felix

Enzo Maresca recently signed Joao Felix from Atletico Madrid

By
Ross Kilvington

Aug 24, 2024

On a slow, grippy pitch, a weakened India line-up only managed 132

Andrew Fidel Fernando28-Jul-20213:02

Muralidaran: Karunaratne’s six off Bhuvneshwar changed the match

India, who anyway brought a replacement team to Sri Lanka, were further severely hamstrung by nine of their players having to go into isolation. They had Bhuvneshwar Kumar – a bowler who bats a bit – as high as No. 6, because they had only five recognised batters available to them. And yet, they almost defended 132, their spinners – Rahul Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy – stymying Sri Lanka’s chase through the middle overs.Sri Lanka eventually stumbled over the line to record their first T20 victory in six matches, with Dhananjaya de Silva holding the innings together with 40 not out off 34 balls. He hit the winning run with just two balls to spare, and with Sri Lanka down to their last serious batting pair.Related

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A thigh-high full toss turns the match Sri Lanka’s way
When a squall blew through the ground at the end of the 18th over of Sri Lanka’s innings, the hosts still needed 20 to win and were three runs behind the DLS par score. They desperately needed boundaries, but had managed only one in the previous three overs. The third ball of the 19th over – bowled by Kumar – was a hit-me ball, however. India had been contending with dew already, but the few minutes of rain had made the outfield even greasier, and the ball likely difficult to grip. Chamika Karunaratne thumped the full-toss into the stands beyond wide long-on, bringing the equation down to 12 off 9 balls, and Sri Lanka did not need to hit another boundary, running twos and singles until the target was reached.India spin themselves back into the game
Although Sri Lanka did not quite get ahead of the required rate early on, the middle-overs period in which various batters floundered against the spinners put India in serious contention to defend their total. Not a single boundary was hit in a 27-ball stretch between the ninth and 14th overs. Sri Lanka struggled with Chakravarthy’s variety in particular – the bowler returned figures of 1 for 18 from his four overs. Through the course of this boundary-less stretch, Yadav dismissed Dasun Shanaka and Minod Bhanuka. He finished with 2 for 30 from his four.Dhananjaya de Silva and Chamika Karunaratne celebrate Sri Lanka’s win•Ishara S.Kodikara/AFP/Getty Images

de Silva produces a slow burn innings
Not known to be a natural hitter, de Silva would reveal after the match that the role handed to him by the coaching staff was to ensure he held one end down and batted as long as possible. He struck only one six (off Kuldeep) and a four in his knock, but ran six twos, and played out only eight dot balls.Sri Lanka cycle through their bowlers in the early overs
Although it is India who were forced to field an XI with more bowlers than they would have liked, Sri Lanka were the side intent on showcasing their bowling depth, right out of the gate. Captain Shanaka had eight different bowlers delivering the first nine overs – Dushmantha Chameera, Karunaratne, Akila Dhananjaya, Isuru Udana, Wanindu Hasaranga, Shanaka, Ramesh Mendis and de Silva all coming to the bowling crease.The idea, clearly, was to prevent India’s batters from settling. Although the ploy did not yield many wickets, with only Ruturaj Gaikwad falling during this period, Sri Lanka were successful in keeping a lid on the scoring. India scored only 54 runs in those nine overs. Shikhar Dhawan was particularly modest, as he ambled to 28 off his first 32 balls. When he was eventually out in the 13th over, his strike rate had only marginally improved – he’d soaked up 42 balls for his 40.A shortened India batting lineup fails to explode at the death
With Suryakumar Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey and Ishan Kishan all unavailable due to being put in isolation, India had only five recognised batters to choose from. So although they had lost only two wickets at the end of the 15th over, the lack of firepower through the middle was a major concern (this may also likely be why Dhawan and co. batted so conservatively early on). With the likes of Hasaranga and Chameera bowling reasonably well on a slow surface, India mustered only 38 off the last 30 balls. Their last boundary came from Devdutt Padikkal, in the 16th over. Padikkal was out next ball. Batting at No. 6, Kumar, who is by no means an allrounder, had to face 11 deliveries, from which he hit 13.

Steve Cooper will be searching for more Leicester City players to call his own between now and deadline day at the close of the month, to help the Foxes in their bid to stay afloat in the Premier League past this season.

It feels an awfully long time ago now since Enzo Maresca was in the King Power Stadium hot-seat over the Welshman, as the Italian swapped the newly promoted outfit for Chelsea, right after lifting the Championship title last campaign.

Cooper won't be expected to pick up any silverware, on the contrary, as he attempts to keep Leicester up, with this new signing potentially entering the building soon.

Leicester could land Wilfried Zaha alternative

Leicester had been noted as an interested party looking at former Crystal Palace star Wilfried Zaha this summer, with the ex-Eagles winger expected to leave Galatasaray behind, for a return to English shores.

However, any talk surrounding the 31-year-old dramatically returning to the Premier League with the Foxes has gone quiet, as the newly promoted outfit could now look at snapping up Reiss Nelson instead.

As per a report by the Telegraph earlier this week, it seems that Leicester are looking at the reserve Gunners attacker, but the 24-year-old's reported £120k-per-week pay packet could prove to be a tricky hurdle to overcome in their pursuit.

Still, the entertaining 5 foot 9 attacker could join between now and the end of the month, with the potential there that the former TSG 1899 Hoffenheim loanee could shine alongside veteran striker Jamie Vardy if signed, after finding himself stuck on the periphery in North London for too long.

What Nelson could offer Leicester

Nelson has performed recently for Arsenal when thrown into the deep end however, netting this last-gasp winner – as shown above – back in March of last year versus AFC Bournemouth, after only being on the Emirates Stadium turf for a meagre 21 minutes.

He could well be an impact substitute for Cooper's men too, therefore, thrown into action when top-flight defences are tiring, in place of first-team regular Abdul Fatawu down the right, or even down Stephy Mavididi's left-hand side if needed.

Leicester will just hope Nelson can turn back the clock to the form he's managed away from North London in the past, with 11 goals and eight assists managed when loaned out to the Netherlands and Germany previously.

Whereas, Zaha – who is now 31 years of age – has only managed 15 goal contributions playing out in Turkey away from Palace to date, and so Nelson could still have the potential to push on and become a top performer in the Premier League, at 24 years of age himself.

Cooper won't want too many ageing talents up top, well aware that Vardy is already nearing towards the end of his playing days at the King Power, but can still pack a punch in the elite division.

The Foxes veteran would only need 19 touches of the ball to fire home versus Tottenham Hotspur during his side's opening 1-1 draw of the campaign, getting under the skin of Ange Postecoglou's men in the process, by deliberately riling up the away end from North London when hauled off by Cooper, on top of denying Spurs a win.

Therefore, both players could prove to be vital assets for the former Nottingham Forest boss to rely on, as both are capable of producing moments of magic from limited time on the pitch.

If any manager can get Nelson back to firing on all cylinders on a regular basis, it could well be Cooper, who is an avid admirer of the Arsenal man's work, having overseen his early development as a rising star when coaching the England U16s and U17s.

Once dubbed as being "special" by Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, Nelson could well get his stuttering career back on track at the King Power, as Leicester aim to keep their heads above water back in the Premier League.

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By
Kelan Sarson

Aug 3, 2024