All posts by h716a5.icu

TalkSport pundit Darren Bent has questioned whether Vincent Kompany would be a good fit at Chelsea due to his relative inexperience.

What's the latest on the Chelsea manager search?

It seems as though there are still a few twists and turns to happen yet as the Blues look to appoint someone to take over from Graham Potter on a permanent basis.

Frank Lampard's struggles as interim have shown it won't be an easy job for whoever comes in and "top candidate" Julian Nagelsmann has reportedly now pulled out of the race.

Still, Burnley boss Kompany has been linked with the job since but it doesn't sound as though all are convinced that the 37-year-old would be the right man to come in.

Indeed, while talking on TalkSport, former player Bent outlined his thoughts on the rumours, highlighting some potential problems with the possible future Chelsea boss.

He said: "If they were to be in the hunt for Vincent Kompany, is that not Potter all over again?

"Because [he is] someone who's inexperienced at that level. I know he played for Manchester City, he's a fantastic captain, but managing players of that level – that might be an issue."

Would Vincent Kompany be a good fit for Chelsea?

Potter is only 47 and Nagelsmann is just 35. With Kompany also being relatively young by managerial standards, it seems as though Todd Boehly maybe after a more youthful head coach.

However, Potter's failure may have been due to his inexperience at the top which left players struggling to respect him – as shown by his supposed “Hogwarts” nickname.

Well, Kompany has even less experience at the top as he has yet to take charge of a Premier League game. However, he has proven he's too good for the Championship, having already led Burnley to promotion during his first season as a head coach in England.

What's more, the Chelsea players would likely have more respect for the 37-year-old as he achieved some much as a player, winning the Premier League four times with Manchester City.

Even so, Bent has a point. After Potter failed to build any great momentum with the Blues, the players began to feel he was "out of his depth".

Seeing as Kompany doesn't have a vast wealth of managerial experience to call upon if he did arrive in west London and get off to a shaky start, he too could soon lose the faith of his players.

It will certainly be interesting to see if actually offered the job by Boelhy and co.

Chelsea owner Todd Boehly appears to be close to appointing Mauricio Pochettino as the new boss of the Stamford Bridge side, with Sky Sports claiming a formal announcement could be made as early as next week.

The Argentinian has solid Premier League experience and could well be an excellent appointment if given time – something that Boehly hasn’t exactly offered his managers so far.

Pochettino will be expected to delve into the transfer market and continue the heavy spending that has occurred so far under the American, although due to Financial Fair Play regulations, the ex-Spurs boss will have to balance the books, and this means moving on a few players, too.

The 51-year-old may also turn to the club’s academy for promising talent instead of splashing the cash on unproven players ahead of 2023/24, and this could pay dividends in the future.

The Argentinian enjoyed success at Tottenham Hotspur by trusting youth talent he either bought or promoted from their own youth ranks.

Harry Kane made his Spurs debut in 2011, but it was under Pochettino that he broke through to the first team and turned into one of the finest strikers in the world, while Dele Alli went from a talented prospect at MK Dons to starring for the club as they nearly won the Premier League in 2015/16 and ran Chelsea close the following year, suggesting his trust in promising youngsters can pay off.

There are a fair few players currently knocking on the door in the Chelsea youth age groups – perhaps none more so than striker Bryan Fiabema.

Who is Bryan Fiabema?

The 20-year-old forward joined Chelsea from Norwegian side Tromso IL back in 2020 having impressed through the ranks, and he immediately joined the U18 team at the Blues.

Since then, he has scored 16 goals across 51 matches during his spell in the academy, and having also enjoyed recognition for Norway at youth level – netting 17 goals from the U15s to the U18s – his potential is frightening, and with this ability in front of goal combined, could Pochettino have his own Erling Haaland at Chelsea in the Norwegian youngster?

Until he is given some opportunities in the first team, it is hard to tell. Regardless, he has certainly proved himself in the lower age groups and this could enable him to follow in the current Manchester City starlet’s footsteps over the coming years.

He will need to improve his goal output at senior level, however, as he has scored only three goals during spells with Forest Green Rovers and Rosenborg, but under Pochettino, this may not be a problem.

Forest Green manager Ian Burchnall praised Fiabema following a win over Accrington Stanley in September, stating that the youngster had made a “positive impact”, while after a wonderful display in the EFL Trophy last year against Newport – where he took three shots on target, made two key passes and scored and assisted in a 2-1 win – could potentially be a sign of things to come.

Under the former Paris Saint-Germain manager, Fiabema has a solid chance of gaining some first-team minutes next season and like Haaland, he could well explode onto the scene.

Chelsea are "ready to cash-in" on midfielder Ruben Loftus-Cheek in the summer transfer window, according to an update from reliable journalist Nizaar Kinsella.

Is Loftus-Cheek having a good season?

The Englishman has had a solid Blues career overall, but equally, he has always found it difficult to become a genuinely key player at Stamford Bridge. Constant injury problems certainly haven't helped, in that respect, and he arguably hasn't reached the heights many expected in his career.

This season, Loftus-Cheek has made 20 Premier League appearances, but has failed to either score or assist in that time, highlighting his lack of impact in the final third. The £120,000-a-week midfielder hasn't played since the 2-0 defeat at home to Aston Villa in early April and there are now real doubts surrounding his future.

With the 27-year-old's current deal expiring in the summer of 2024, selling him at the end of this season could make the most sense, in terms of receiving a good amount of money for his services.

Could Loftus-Cheek makes Blues exit this summer?

Taking to Twitter, The Evening Standard's Kinsella provided an update on the situation, admitting that Loftus-Cheek is likely to be up for sale in the summer window:

"Ruben Loftus-Cheek has offers led by interest from AC Milan this summer. He will likely have to take a pay-cut wherever he goes. He was offered to clubs late in January and Chelsea are ready to cash-in."

Selling Loftus-Cheek this summer really is the most logical decision by the Chelsea, with the 10-time capped England international someone who doesn't look like a key player heading into the club's future.

Granted, Thomas Tuchel hailed him as "excellent" during his time in charge, but his overall impact isn't great enough to justify handing him an extension, or even keep hold of him until his current contract runs out next year.

This is an absolutely vital summer for Chelsea in the transfer market, and while making signings is clearly imperative, it is also so important that the dead wood is moved on and money is freed up, in terms of paying for new additions and also easing the club's wage bill.

Loftus-Cheek's aforementioned £120,000-a-week wages are a prime example of this, and if the Blues can sell other expendable players this summer, as well as receiving good money for them, it will go a long way to steadying the ship under incoming new manager Mauricio Pochettino.

MS Dhoni unleashed his attacking avatar to thump Axar Patel for back-to-back sixes as Rising Pune Supergiants pipped Kings XI Punjab by four wickets in Visakhapatnam

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu21-May-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details3:40

Nannes: Dhoni’s batting in last over was bizarre

This wasn’t the deadest of dead rubbers. Two knocked-out teams – Rising Pune Supergiants and Kings XI Punjab – were desperate not to finish at the bottom of the pile. It ultimately boiled down to 12 off the last two balls, with MS Dhoni, the fading star, facing off against Axar Patel, the rising star. Dhoni unleashed his attacking avatar to bring back memories of his heyday; his back-to-back sixes over midwicket delivered Supergiants a sensational four-wicket win in Visakhapatnam.The final over began with Supergiants needing 23. M Vijay’s key men in the end overs – Mohit Sharma and Sandeep Sharma – had bowled out. Axar was in the hot seat. Dhoni may have struggled for timing and power throughout the season, but this wasn’t beyond him.He flatly refused a single after mis-hitting the first ball – a short fizzer – to deep midwicket. The next ball – a wide bouncer down leg side – was well stopped by Wriddhiman Saha. The second legitimate ball was fired too full and Dhoni’s responded with a mighty club over long-on. The next one was darted short and wide outside off as Dhoni slapped it to sweeper cover, where Hashim Amla dived full-length to his left to save a certain boundary. Dhoni, in anticipation of a four, was unmoved and Supergiants missed out on two runs. It was clear he backed himself to finish it off.Axar then sent down a short ball outside off, which Dhoni flat-batted over cover for a one-bounce four to reduce the equation down to 12 off two. The Supergiants captain sealed it with twin sixes and finished with 64 not out off 32 balls. He later said it could have been the “kind of game the team wanted to win to get into the knockouts.”Dhoni had joined Thisara Perera in the 14th over after Supergiants were reduced to 86 for 5 in a chase of 173. Perera was the first to tee off with three boundaries off fast bowler Kyle Abbott in the 16th over. Then, when Sandeep missed his yorker by an inch of two, Dhoni smeared two off-side fours in the 18th over to bring the equation down to 29 off 12 balls.A ball later, Thisara swung wildly only to nick Mohit behind. Dhoni carved the third ball away for four, but Mohit hit back to give away only one run off the next three balls – a cutter and two pinpoint yorkers. As it turned out, Mohit’s variety wasn’t enough as Kings XI were left to rue what could have been, considering how well they started with the ball.The seamers stuck to disciplined lines and lengths and subdued Ajinkya Rahane and Usman Khawaja. Gurkeerat Singh Maan reaped the rewards with his handy offspin when he dismissed Saurabh Tiwary and Khawaja in the 12th over.Gurkeerat’s role wasn’t just to bottle up the runs with the ball. Earlier, he had brought up his maiden IPL half-century, which included three fours and three sixes. His 58-run stand for the third wicket with Vijay helped lay the platform for Kings XI’s eventual total of 172 for 7.While Vijay took his time early on, Amla did the early running with three whipped fours, including two in the first over off Irfan Pathan. Vijay shifted gears when he slammed seamer Deepak Chahar for successive boundaries in the fifth over. Amla brought up Kings XI’s first fifty-plus opening stand in the last seven matches with a lofted cover drive for six.The subsequent introduction of spin, however, applied the brakes on the innings. While R Ashwin claimed 4 for 34, his best IPL figures, Adam Zampa enhanced his growing reputation with 1 for 32. He got the ball to turn, bounce, and dip, even as Vijay completed his fourth half-century in eight games as Kings XI captain.A slog to a straighter one from Ashwin bowled Vijay by the 16th over. Kings XI then plundered 48 off the last four overs, but they were left with the wooden spoon for the second successive season.

Eleven uncapped players have been included in the 30-man shortlist for a USA selection camp announced by new selection panel chairman Ricardo Powell and ICC Americas consultant Tom Evans on Friday evening

Peter Della Penna09-Jul-2016Eleven uncapped players have been included in the 30-man shortlist for a USA selection camp announced by new selection panel chairman Ricardo Powell and ICC Americas consultant Tom Evans on Friday evening. The players will participate in the camp in Florida at the end of the month, and the camp will be used to help pick a 14-man squad for ICC WCL Division Four to be played in Los Angeles this October.”It doesn’t really matter to us who has played and who hasn’t before,” Evans told ESPNcricinfo after the squad was released. “It’s exciting when you find talent that you might not have known about previously.”The most notable omission was former USA captain Steve Massiah, the country’s all-time leading run-getter in 50-over cricket, who turned out at the ICC Combine in New York last month a few days short of his 37th birthday. Massiah scored few runs at the trial while his 2K run time of 11:30 – the ICC Combine target was under eight minutes – also hurt his chances. He last represented USA at the 2014 ICC WCL Division Three in Malaysia, when the team was relegated after a fifth-place finish. Three players who were part of USA’s 2015 ICC Americas Qualifier squad in Indianapolis- Barrington Bartley, Karan Ganesh and Mrunal Patel – were omitted from the 30-man short list. Also missing was Timothy Surujbally who, along with Ganesh and Mrunal, played the World T20 Qualifier in Ireland and Scotland.The 30-member squad for the upcoming national camp

Capped players: Danial Ahmed, Timroy Allen, Alex Amsterdam, Fahad Babar, Adil Bhatti, Akeem Dodson, Muhammad Ghous, Elmore Hutchinson, Naseer Jamali, Japen Patel, Timil Patel, Saqib Saleem, Srini Santhanam, Hammad Shahid, Jasdeep Singh, Nicholas Standford, Steven Taylor, Ravi Timbawala, Shiva Vashishat.
Uncapped players: Davion Davidson, Nosthush Kenjige, Ali Khan, Keon Lake, Aman Lobana, Francis Mendonca, Prashanth Nair, Nisarg Patel, David Pieters, Usman Rafiq, Arjun Thyagarajan

The uncapped players include fast bowler Ali Khan, who secured a CPL contract with Guyana Amazon Warriors this season after being included in an ICC Americas combined team this past January, as well as former USA Under-19 players Prashanth Nair and Nisarg Patel. Nisarg was included in the squad for the ICC Americas Division One T20 championship last year in Indianapolis but was ruled ineligible after it was determined he failed to meet residency criteria.Usman Rafiq and David Pieters participated in last year’s ICC Americas trial in Indianapolis, with the latter making it to the final 26 out of nearly 100 players. Pieters narrowly missed the 15-man squad after finishing as the leading wicket-taker over the course of the trial. Rafiq also served as a substitute fielder during the Cricket All-Stars match in Houston last November.Davion Davidson, Keon Lake and Francis Mendonca have all been representatives in the past at USACA national tournaments for their respective regions. Mendonca also competed at the Indianapolis trial last September, but was squeezed out from making the first weekend of cuts by fellow wicketkeeper Srimantha Wijeratne of Canada, who was the leading scorer for the ICC Americas squad at the Nagico Super50 in Trinidad & Tobago.However, two other uncapped players were plucked from relative obscurity. Los Angeles area medium-pacer Aman Lobana gained some notoriety when he knocked back Sachin Tendulkar’s stumps in a nets session ahead of the Cricket All-Stars match in Los Angeles last November. At the ICC Combine in March, multiple sources said Lobana outbowled USA players Hammad Shahid and Elmore Hutchinson, who also feature in the 30-man list.”Aman was really impressive to bowl the way he did in LA,” Evans said. “He swung the ball, bowled full and was consistent. So I think everyone that was at that combine thought that he stood out and that’s great. You always want depth in your fast-bowling brigade which, I think, within that squad we’ve certainly got.”Left-arm spinner Nosthush Kenjige has never represented a regional side at a national tournament. A member of Columbia CC in the NY Commonwealth League, Kenjige wowed evaluators in the last trial match at the ICC Combine in New York last month with an excellent demonstration of flight, turn, bounce and accuracy to claim three wickets in three overs.One player who was included, despite having never played for USA nor attending the most recent round of eight regional ICC trials, is Arjun Thyagarajan. The 33-year-old left-handed opener – younger brother of former USA national stalwart Aditya Thyagarajan – attended last year’s Indianapolis trial and turned in an underwhelming performance. He scored 8 off 13 balls in the opening T20 trial match on the main turf pitch before being shuffled down to a second-tier trial game played on an artificial strip for the final day of the trial’s first phase.Evans defended Thyagarajan’s selection on the basis of prolific scoring at league level and in various local T20 tournaments seen by selectors. Among Thyagarajan’s more impressive feats in recent years were his three centuries in the 2013 SCCA Division One competition played at Woodley Park, the venue for WCL Division Four. One of the knocks was 126 off 50 balls for Hollywood CC against a Vijayta CC bowling attack that featured four national bowlers: Shahid, Japen Patel, Timil Patel and Mrunal.”The Combine process was fantastic in terms of identifying talent and having a level playing field but ultimately the selection panel want to pick the best squad in US cricket that’s available to them and some guys couldn’t make it to the combine and that’s that,” Evans said. “But you still want to pick what the selection panel thinks is the best squad and you’ve got to take everything into account.”Arjun is well known to a few of the guys on the selection panel and they believe he’s a pretty talented player. He’s obviously been pretty dominant in terms of club cricket across the US and has topped a lot of the leagues and has made big hundreds. I think that was one of the things that appealed was the fact that looking towards a 50-over tournament, you want someone who makes big hundreds, not good-looking 30s and 40s and he’s certainly got runs on his side over a fairly long period of time so that’s what helped him out.”Steven Taylor, Muhammad Ghous, Nicholas Standford and Naseer Jamali also did not attend the recent ICC trials, but were all chosen for their solid records for the national side at recent tournaments, according to Evans. Taylor has a CPL contract with Barbados Tridents, while both he and Ghous were part of the 15-man ICC Americas team in Trinidad last January. Standford was twice Man of the Match with back-to-back 40 not outs in USA’s wins over ODI nations Hong Kong and Papua New Guinea at the World T20 Qualifier last year. Left-arm seamer Jamali’s economy rate of 3.90 was second-best for all bowlers at the same event.With the exception of Khan, Taylor and Timroy Allen, who are taking part in the CPL, the rest of the USA 30-man group will fly to Florida on July 27 for the camp. A T20 trial match against a combined Caribbean Premier League XI will take place on July 29 at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Florida as a curtain raiser for that night’s CPL game between the St Kitts & Nevis Patriots and Trinbago Knight Riders. The players will be allowed to train with each of the CPL squads over the following two days before being reassembled to compete in three 50-over intra-squad matches from August 1-3 in Lauderhill.

Leeds United outlined yet another spirited display yesterday, but it was not enough to claim three points as their clash with Newcastle United ended 2-2.

It was a clash in which the visitors naturally dominated, given their battle for Champions League football, however, Sam Allardyce had seemingly got his game plan spot on when his side soaked up early pressure and scored on the break.

Enjoying just 36% of the ball all afternoon, the Whites still managed a respectable nine shots with four on target, suggesting that they can retain their signature attacking prowess without completely surrendering all defensive impetus.

As the first half trundled along, and Eddie Howe’s men struggled in their quest to break the resolute hosts down, a golden opportunity presented itself to extend their lead on 28 minutes.

Patrick Bamford was handed the task of scoring from 12 yards after Joelinton’s clumsy challenge handed them a penalty. However, typical of the 6 foot 1 dud’s recent goalscoring form, he fired a weak effort down to Nick Pope’s right, which was saved with ease.

Journalist Graham Smyth simply wrote: “Allardyce has his hands on his head. Tame penalty, easy height for Pope.”

Although Junior Firpo may have seen red later in the game, and Max Wober was culpable for one of Callum Wilson’s two penalty strikes, this miss from their main marksman could prove to be the key failure that costs them their place in the Premier League.

How did Patrick Bamford play vs Newcastle?

To summarise just how disappointing the 29-year-old was, out of every player on the pitch, only the Austrian centre-back earned the same match-worst 6.3 rating as him, courtesy of Sofascore.

His profligacy was not tied to that sole miss, as he enjoyed three other shots, none of which hit the target. Having just 31 touches of the ball too, it was clear to see that the English marksman wilted after such a demoralising moment. After all, even his goalkeeper Joel Robles saw the ball at his feet more often (38 touches).

Having missed a similarly golden opportunity to claim three points against Leicester City just two weeks ago too, it seems that Bamford is doing all he can to ensure the relegation of this historic club.

Only one of the £70k-per-week forward’s last five showings has merited above a 6.7 rating, to further emphasise his consistent mediocrity.

Given the importance of that spot kick, and how it would have afforded precious daylight with which Allardyce could have then reinforced, to squander it was a gut punch; made even more frustrating given how Wilson would score his penalty, won just three minutes after the miss.

It is moments like these that can prove vital in such a tight battle for survival, and they simply have to go your way.

The PCB is set to introduce 10 day-night matches, to be played with the pink ball, in its forthcoming domestic first-class season starting September

Umar Farooq14-Jun-2016The PCB is set to introduce 10 day-night matches to be played with the pink ball in its forthcoming domestic first-class season starting in September. The idea will be implemented in Quaid-e-Azam (QEA) Trophy matches, including the semi-final and final, to ensure every top team is acquainted with the new conditions. The governing board of the PCB approved the idea recommended by the domestic cricket committee as Pakistan are set to play their first pink-ball Test against Australia in Brisbane in December.The format of the Quaid-e-Azam trophy has been retained from last year; it had changed almost every second year on average, and last season’s revamp was the third such change in the last five years. There has been a change in the one-day structure though. The National One-Day Cup, which featured 16 teams divided into two pools last season, has now been split into two tournaments – one with eight regional teams and the other with eight department teams. The Pakistan Cup, which replaced the Pentangular Cup recently, will continue to have five provincial teams. The domestic season will kick-off with the National Super Eight T20 Cup in the last week of August.PCB increases match fees across formats

The PCB has increased the match fees of all players across formats by 100%. Each international player who is centrally contracted with PCB will get 50% of the international match fee of the same format in domestic cricket, to encourage them to play domestic competitions. Players for all the national limited-overs tournaments will be picked through a draft process, relinquishing the traditional way of selecting players.

The QEA Trophy will be played by 16 teams, and 12 of those – six regional and six departmental – will gain automatic qualification on the basis of their performance last season. The last four places will be filled through a qualifying round introduced by the PCB, which will be played between 14 teams. The top two regional and departmental teams will qualify for the main tournament.The day-night first-class schedule has been designed with a focus on the top teams, to give ample exposure to national cricketers ahead of the Brisbane Test. The PCB has been encouraging the pink-ball trial for the last six years, though they did not extend the experiment beyond a few games. In 2010-11, the final of the QEA Trophy was played with an orange ball in Karachi and the 2011-12 final was played with a pink ball. Earlier this year, the QEA final between Sui Northern Gas Pipelines Limited, led by Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq, and United Bank, captained by Younis Khan, received mixed reactions.Though the PCB was pleased with the trial, the major concern among the players was the visibility of the ball and its quality once it got older. Most of the players backed having more games with the pink ball to get familiar with its behaviour.

Sheffield Wednesday have received a double injury boost for their League One semi-final playoff against Peterborough United.

What's the latest Sheffield Wednesday team news?

With the playoff semifinal looming large, Darren Moore will be relieved to hear that he will have Lee Gregory and Reece James available for selection after being cleared to play, the Star reports.

Gregory was forced to sit out of the 1-0 win over Derby County after sustaining a facial injury during training. The hope from staff was that he would be able to return to training this week and has. The striker has had a face mask fitted and will be ready to play if called upon, reports Joe Crann on Twitter.

James is also back from injury, with Moore confirming that both will be available for selection this evening. Jack Hunt is available as well after a cameo from the bench against Hillsborough at the weekend.

Crann also added that Michael Ihiekwe and Dennis Adeniran are also ready to play after being rested for the win over Derby: "Good news for SWFC… Lee Gregory has trained fine, has had his mask fitted and is ready to play on Friday if called upon. Reece James is also available to start should he be required. Michael Ihiekwe & Dennis Adeniran are fine after being rested v Derby."

How crucial could returning injured stars be for the Owls?

With promotion to the Championship on the line, Sheffield Wednesday boss Moore will be over the moon. In their last eight games, the Owls have won five, lost one and drawn two. Their opponents, Peterborough, have won just four, lost two and drawn two. It's relatively evenly balanced in terms of form,

Gregory though is an especially important injury boost. His instinct for goal is vital in a game as important as this. With 15 goal contributions this season, Moore will be delighted to be able to call upon him even if he needs to wear a face mask to do so.

James is also a major boost for Moore. Speaking after a strong showing over Wycombe Wanderers last season, Moore heaped praise on the fullback, highlighting his "tenacity, determination and aggression," all traits that will serve well in a playoff fight.

The boss said: "He was excellent. He showed tenacity, determination and aggression. He has got a lovely left foot on him and gives us that balance on the left-hand side. He has been superb. He is someone that I worked with at Doncaster. He has got wonderful versatility.

"I am pleased he showed his class today. I thought his performance was good. The team was solid in and out of progression.”

Manchester United are at the front of the pack in the race to sign Victor Osimhen this summer, with Il Mattino in Italy stating that the Red Devils are "on pole" to land the striker.

What is the latest on Victor Osimhen to Man United?

The Premier League outfit have outlined their need for another striker already this summer, with boss Erik Ten Hag intending to try and add both another forward and a midfielder to his Old Trafford squad during the transfer window.

With his side struggling to hit the back of the net – only Marcus Rashford has scored a double-digit tally of Premier League goals for the club this term – the Dutchman will be eager to add another attacking option to his side this summer.

There have been several names already linked with a switch to United. Harry Kane has been one of the most notable, with some reports suggesting that the Spurs striker is high up on the Red Devils' wanted list.

However, one name that won't go away is that of Victor Osimhen, who currently plies his trade for Napoli. The forward has been heavily linked with a switch to England, with United one of the teams that have gathered the most mentions over a potential transfer for the player.

Now, it appears as though Ten Hag's side are in the driving seat to seal a deal for the attacker, with Il Mattino in Italy reporting that the Red Devils are "on pole" position in their efforts to try and add the player to their squad.

The report also states that the Old Trafford outfit have already been in negotiations with Napoli owner/president Aurelio De Laurentiis, with these talks happening all the way back at the beginning of the season. In addition to that, Napoli are also prepared to sell it seems if the right offer comes in, with the report adding that the Serie A outfit are not prepared to offer Osimhen any more money, with De Laurentiis not prepared to raise the wage budget. That means that if the Red Devils make the right offer, then a deal could be done for the player this summer.

Would Osimhen be a good signing for Man United?

With Man United toiling in front of goal, Osimhen firing in the goals upfront for the club would certainly be a boost for the side.

With 23 goals this season, it is the player's best ever return for Napoli and over the course of his career. At just 24-years-old too, the likelihood is that he will continue to improve and get better and so now would be a good time to sign up the striker. In fact, his goals and assists rate so far this campaign is 1.03 per 90 minutes – which means that, on average, he is guaranteed to do one or the other every single game he plays in.

In addition, the player has even received praise from opposition coaches. He's been called "phenomenal" by former Cagliari coach Walter Mazzarri for example after his performance in Napoli's victory over the Italian side. It shows just how impressive the striker has been in Serie A.

Ten Hag then would instantly upgrade his frontline with a player like Osimhen. Even if the player ends up costing a substantial amount of money, it would still be seen as good business if he could produce similar numbers at Old Trafford.

Mickey Arthur has warned his Pakistan players they will have to raise their game “considerably” if they are to defeat England in the third Test at Edgbaston

George Dobell01-Aug-2016Mickey Arthur has warned his Pakistan players they will have to raise their game “considerably” if they are to defeat England in the third Test at Edgbaston.Arthur, the Pakistan coach, admitted that he was “really disappointed” by his side’s performance in defeat at Old Trafford and questioned whether some of them felt they had achieved their objectives with victory at Lord’s. Now he has urged them to replicate the “warrior” performance they demonstrated in that game at Lord’s and insisted England have a vulnerability that can be exploited.”We’re going to have to raise our game considerably from Old Trafford,” Arthur said. “I was really disappointed with our performance at Old Trafford. Really disappointed. There are credible losses and there are losses when you lie down and were steam rolled. Old Trafford was clearly that.”At Lord’s we were upbeat and played with real spirit. We had that edge. I told the guys I thought we were warriors at Lord’s. But we were completely the opposite at Old Trafford.”I wasn’t sure if it was as if we had reached our goal and our goal was to come and win a Test and then take your foot off the pedal.”Part of Pakistan’s problem at Old Trafford was the balance of their side. With just four frontline bowlers playing in back-to-back Tests, Pakistan looked a weary side as England amassed a huge first-innings total. But it seems they have given up on the possibility of Mohammad Hafeez, who remains suspended from bowling in international cricket until he is cleared in an ICC test, taking any part in the series with a ball.”We’re very keen to get Hafeez back but we realise that it’s a delicate process,” Arthur said. “We did some really good work with him during the tour game in Worcester. We got the spin coach Carl Crowe – who worked with Sunil Narine – to work with him for two days. We’re confident that he is getting back to where he needs to be and that gives us so much balance, especially with our left-armers, as suddenly we have an offspinner who can hit those footmarks as well.”We’ll keep chipping away at his action and I’m confident that, if everything goes well, we can have him tested before the one-dayers. Then that will give us another string to our bow in the ODI series.”But while he conceded the current side had improvements to make, he will resist calls to select Umar Akmal or Ahmed Shehzad until they can demonstrate that they “buy into” the values of the side.Mickey Arthur was “disappointed” by Pakistan’s performance at Old Trafford•Getty Images”That’s been a burning question for a long time,” Arthur said. “I took over once Umar and Ahmed had been left out of the squad and clearly they were left out for the right reasons. I’m hoping they still want to play for their country. But they need to prove to us that they want to be part of our set-up.”As I’ve always said there are no passengers in our set-up. They’ve got to be part of our set-up and buy into what we want to do with the cricket team otherwise it is irrelevant how good they are. We’re going in a direction at pace and we don’t need anyone pulling us down.”Saying that, I’ve had a very brief conversation with Ahmed and not had any conversation for Umar and that will be something for later down the line. I think they’re very exciting cricketers but sometimes we need more than that.”Arthur remained confident that Pakistan can retake the lead in the series at Edgbaston. As well as having analysed the reasons for defeat in Manchester, he felt there were faultiness within the England team that can be exploited. Most noticeably, he suggested their batting is over-reliant upon Alastair Cook and Joe Root and that, if Pakistan can strike with the new ball, they could put the likes of James Vince and Gary Ballance under pressure.”Vince and Ballance are quality players,” Arthur said. “But at this level confidence is such an important thing. They clearly know when they walk out to bat that they are playing for their Test places. So that provides another level of pressure. It’s not just the opposition running in and bowling a cricket ball at you. Suddenly that pressure is intensified as they’re playing for their places as well.”We feel if we can get into them with the new ball we’ve got a real good chance. Clearly Cook and Root are the beacon of England batting at moment.”