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Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has named his two players of the season so far, and they’re not who you would expect.

Arsenal looking to make it 10 games unbeaten against Crystal Palace

After putting Atlético Madrid to the sword on Tuesday night, Mikel Arteta is now looking to extend Arsenal’s impressive unbeaten run in all competitions to 10 games against Crystal Palace on Sunday.

Palace, who recently saw their own 19-game unbeaten streak come to an end against Everton before the international break, will be tricky customers for an Arsenal side who need every point they can muster.

Arteta’s side are in high spirits right now and look absolutely rock solid, having conceded just three goals in the Premier League so far this season, and they have plenty of stars to thank for their imperiousness.

Gabriel and William Saliba continue to cement their places among world football’s best centre-backs, with the former majorly contributing going forward as well. His threat from set plays has been a constant thorn in the opposition’s side since the very start of last season, and Gabriel’s carried this trend into 25/26 as teams struggle to find an answer.

Bukayo Saka, now that he’s returned from a hamstring problem, is back to his imperious best and caused Atlético all sorts of problems on the right-hand side, with Paul Merson saying he had the La Liga side “on toast”.

Before his knee injury, Noni Madueke was seriously impressing too, while goalkeeper David Raya was rewarded with new and improved terms recently amid his continued contribution to the team.

Declan Rice has also stood out as the linchpin of Arsenal’s midfield, with Martin Zubimendi doing a stellar job alongside the England international.

However, according to Parlour, two completely different names have shone above the rest.

Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori named Arsenal's players of the season so far

Speaking to EPL Index, Parlour claimed that Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber are quietly outshining everyone, even with Saliba and Gabriel at the heart of Arsenal’s rise to the Premier League summit.

Timber has been a rock at the back, showcasing defensive brilliance with more tackles on average per 90 in the Premier League than any other Arsenal player, according to WhoScored.

The Dutchman is also their best-performing player by average match rating (WhoScored), so the numbers absolutely support Parlour’s theory.

Timber really needs to start getting even more credit from pundits who arguably don’t mention him enough, but Arsenal recognise his stellar contribution amid reports they’re speaking to the right-back about a new and improved deal.

Calafiori, meanwhile, has kept budding teenage star Myles Lewis-Skelly out of the team with his very impressive performances at left-back so far, with the Italian averaging more tackles on average than any other defender in the team, including both Saliba and Gabriel.

Real Madrid manager Xabi Alonso has left the door open to a potential future move to Liverpool, admitting that while he is focused on his current role, "you never know what can happen" in football, amid intense speculation linking him with a return to Anfield. The coach's response comes amid claims he is in danger of being sacked, while questions have been asked of Arne Slot's future at the Merseyside club.

• Alonso and Slot under pressure

  The former Reds midfielder has found himself at the centre of a managerial merry-go-round rumour mill. While Slot is currently feeling the heat at Liverpool due to his side languishing in 10th place in the Premier League despite significant summer investment, Alonso is navigating his own storm at the Santiago Bernabeu. Following a chaotic 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo, the Spaniard is facing a defining week, with a Champions League clash against Manchester City looming.

  However, despite the immediate pressure in the Spanish capital, questions about a potential switch to the Premier League have persisted. Alonso reportedly turned down the chance to replace Jurgen Klopp in order to stay at Bayer Leverkusen, before eventually taking the Madrid job in the summer.

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  Madrid boss addresses his future

  When asked directly about the possibility of managing in England, specifically regarding a return to his former club Liverpool, Alonso offered a tantalising response that stopped short of a full denial.

  "For sure, it's something to consider with the English clubs, with my former club," Alonso admitted. "But for now, this is the place that I want to be, and in the future, you never know what can happen."

  Slot's situation grew even worse as the coach finds himself in a dressing room rift involving talisman Mohamed Salah, who sensationally criticised the Dutchman after their 3-3 draw against Leeds at the weekend. Alonso remained diplomatic, however, when asked about the situation.

  "Those are decisions they have made at Liverpool. No doubt we're missing a lot of details. So it's not for me to give an opinion on that," he said.

• Two giants in crisis

  The comments come at a fascinating juncture for both clubs. Liverpool's title defence has crumbled spectacularly, leaving Slot on the brink. The Dutchman's relationship with Salah has fractured, with the Egyptian forward omitted from the squad to face Inter this week.

  Meanwhile, at Madrid, Alonso is fighting to keep his own tenure on track. The defeat to Celta has left Los Blancos trailing leaders Barcelona by four points, and reports suggest a heavy defeat to Manchester City could be fatal for his prospects.

  "The next one is the best one. I think I know myself, and the fans know Manchester City very well from facing them many times in recent years, but I see it as an opportunity more than anything," Alonso said.

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  What comes next?

  Alonso also touched upon his own player management challenges, drawing a parallel between the Salah situation and his handling of Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian forward reacted poorly to being substituted against Barcelona earlier in the season, a flashpoint that Alonso insisted he would not handle differently in hindsight.

  "I would not change anything," he noted, reinforcing his stance on discipline – a trait that German legend Lothar Matthaus recently highlighted as a potential point of friction with Madrid's creative stars.

  "It’s not about changing, it’s about adapting. I knew pretty much what it was, that’s why Real Madrid is the biggest club in the world. You need to adapt to it, to learn from it. After you have to perform, you have to have that interaction with the players. Some days are good, some days are not so good. But from every game, we take steps, and we are in this position now, and we have to face it with good energy, positivity, that’s the only way to turn it around."

Spending 179 and 159.2 overs on the field has led to them getting to a “breaking point”

Mohammad Isam01-May-2021The Bangladesh team reached a physical and mental “breaking point” on the third afternoon of the second Test in Pallekele, according to coach Russell Domingo. He was referring to the 179 and 159.2 overs they have been in the field over the two Tests against Sri Lanka with three rest days thrown in. Domingo however said that there were some soft dismissals as the visitors were bowled out for 251 – losing 7 for 37 – and ending the day behind by 259 runs.”The guys have spent so much time on the field in the last 4-5 days (over the two Tests),” Domingo said. “They are probably a little bit mentally fatigued after being in the field for 338 overs. It wears you down physically and mentally as a cricketer. It could be one of the reasons. Obviously, there were one or two soft dismissals.”All teams reach a breaking point. Our breaking point came this afternoon when we were batting. It has been a tough day for us. We have to try to be positive. There’s still a lot of cricket to be played. We have to make sure the guys are in a good frame of mind when we bowl tomorrow (Sunday).”Domingo also expects the less-experienced players in the line-up to make bigger contributions. And as part of that process, he wants to identify young players and back them. In return, he expects them to repay the faith to lessen the burden on the likes of Tamim Iqbal and Mushfiqur Rahim.”It is a batting unit that we need to support and identify roles for, and make sure get better,” he said. “There are six or seven batters who all need to contribute, and build partnerships. While Tamim has played really well, the focus shouldn’t be just on one particular player. We have some younger players who need to step up and put in big performances. We have to give them opportunities so that they can get to the levels of Tamim and Mushfiq in time to come.”The coach was also of the opinion that Iqbal should continue to bat aggressively upfront. The senior batter has scored four fifties in a row now, having shredded a slightly-conservative template.”In our particular line-up at the moment, we have four or five players who haven’t played ten Tests yet,” he observed. “There’s a lot of inexperience, so we need to encourage someone like Tamim to play positively, and take pressure off the younger players. Some of the younger players are not at east to express themselves, and play with that sort of intent.”Domingo also pointed towards Bangladesh’s previous Test series for inspiration, underlining how West Indies scaled their 395-run target in the fourth innings to win the Chattogram Test by three wickets.”We were part of an unbelievable Test match a few months ago, when West Indies chased down 387,” he said. “We know that we are way behind the game at the moment. We are under a lot of pressure. Sri Lanka are dominating at the moment. But if we can pick up early wickets, cause a little bit of jitters in the change room, you never know. Somebody comes out and plays a great innings. So we have to remain positive going into day four.”Did Bangladesh pick the best XI? Domingo certainly thinks so, despite the bowlers toiling away. “It is easy to say after three days of cricket that we picked the wrong team,” he said. “I don’t think we have (picked the wrong team). We have a balanced bowling attack, who we think can take 20 wickets. When we bowled on day one, there wasn’t much spin on offer. Obviously the wicket started to spin now, towards the end of day three. It was tricky for the batsmen.”

The major takeaways for India from their T20I series against South Africa in Chennai

Srinidhi Ramanujam10-Jul-2024The shared T20I series at home against South Africa, on the back of the victory in Bangladesh, has given India several positives to think about ahead of two major upcoming tournaments – the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka later in July and the T20 World Cup in Bangladesh this October. Here are the major takeaways from India’s most recent performance:

India’s batting puzzle

Jemimah Rodrigues used to be India’s No.3 in T20Is until her recent back injury gave others an opportunity.Returning to India’s T20I squad after two years, D Hemalatha was promoted to No. 3 in the T20Is in Bangladesh following a successful WPL season. She scored 109 runs in four matches at an impressive strike rate of 141.55. She made only 14 off 17 balls in the first T20I against South Africa, though, and was left out of the next two games because Richa Ghosh was out with concussion and India needed S Sajana’s power-hitting in the middle order. Sajana, however, did get a chance to bat in the series.After the third T20I, India’s vice-captain Smriti Mandhana said playing Hemalatha at No. 3 was a “calculated move”, which means Rodrigues could remain at No. 5, the position she batted at in the first T20I against South Africa. Rodrigues displayed great adaptability down the order, scoring an unbeaten 53 off 30 balls.In this scenario, Sajana is likely to be the back-up – either as No. 3 or as finisher. Similar to Hemalatha, she has a strong bottom-hand game and can attack spin to score quickly. Both of them also offer the team an over or two of offspin.All this leaves Yastika Bhatia in limbo. She was the No. 3 in the first T20I in Bangladesh, and scored 36 off 29 balls, before a niggle ruled her out of the rest of the series, giving Hemalatha her opportunity. The seriousness of Bhatia’s injury is unknown but if she recovers in time for the T20 World Cup, she might be picked as a back-up keeper to Ghosh and not necessarily be in the starting XI.In such a scenario, Mandhana may be the only left-hand batter in the top six.Shreyanka Patil is one of two candidates for the third spinner’s spot•BCCI

Third spinner – Asha or Shreyanka?

Left-arm spinner Radha Yadav’s recent rise means she and offspinner Deepti Sharma are India’s first two choices in the spin department. She played all eight T20Is since her return in Bangladesh, taking 16 wickets with an economy of 5.86 per over. Her 3 for 6 helped India level the T20I series against South Africa in Chennai.Radha’s performance has left legspinner Asha Sobhana and offspinner Shreyanka Patil competing for the third spinner’s spot. Patil played five out of eight games in the last two series and Asha three. In the T20Is against South Africa, Patil took 1 for 19 and 1 for 37 in her two appearances, while Asha had figures of 0 for 39 in her only game. India could pick just one of them for the two major tournaments, based on whether they want Patil’s batting depth or a wristspinner depending on the opposition’s strengths and weaknesses.

Reddy’s successful return

Allrounder Arundhati Reddy made a promising return to T20Is and is shaping up as a reliable third-seamer option after Pooja Vastrakar and Renuka Singh. Coming back stronger and calmer after three years, Reddy was expensive in the washed-out second T20I against South Africa when Renuka was rested. However, she rectified her line and length to bounce back with 1 for 14 in three overs to help India level the series. Her excellent fielding makes her a compelling all-round package.

India’s fielding in the spotlight

“Fielding and fitness are the cornerstone.” Amol Muzumdar has emphasized the importance of these two aspects since taking over as India’s head coach last October. They started poorly against South Africa, dropping four catches in the first T20I. However, they improved in the next two games, taking 11 catches and dropping two. As they gear up for two global events in the next couple of months, this is one discipline to watch out for.

Chelsea defender Marc Cucurella has admitted that he was 'on his knees' to join Manchester City before completing his move to Stamford Bridge. The Spanish full-back left Brighton to join the Blues in the summer of 2022 as Chelsea beat the Cityzens to secure his transfer for a whopping £55 million (€65m/$67m) plus a potential £7m in add-ons.

• How Chelsea beat Man City to sign Cucurella

  City wanted Cucurella during the summer of 2022 but the club did not agree with the £50m valuation of the player. The Cityzens submitted an initial bid of £30m, which was rejected and then put forward an improved offer of £40m, which was also rebuffed by the Seagulls. Barcelona were also one of the suitors of the Spain international defender and he was open to a move back to the Catalan outfit. However, the deal could not go through as Brighton stuck to their price tag. Chelsea were given a window to initiate talks and the Blues agreed to pay the amount. During the negotiations, Brighton were also pushing to sign youngster Levi Colwill, who eventually moved to the Seagulls on a season-long loan deal.

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  Cucurella was ready to 'go on his knees' to join City

  Speaking to Informe, Cucurella claimed that he was elated to play under Pep Guardiola when he learned about City's interest, as he said: "Man City wanted me before I joined Chelsea. They were on fire, one of the best teams in the world. I wanted to go. When they come like they did, when Guardiola asks, you’ll go on your knees if necessary. But the clubs couldn’t reach an agreement."

• Cucurella credited for helping Estevao in Chelsea's win over Barcelona

  Cucurella was instrumental in keeping compatriot and Barcelona's star attacker Lamine Yamal quiet on the left flank as Estevao starred with a goal in the Blues' thumping 3-0 win over the Spanish champions in the Champions League last month. According to the , Cucurella used Esetvao during Chelsea's training sessions and pulled off some really important tackles as he prepared to face Yamal.

  The left-back later confirmed this by saying: "Not Yamal vs Cucurella, it's Chelsea vs Barcelona." When asked about his preparation in training for his battle against Yamal, Cucurella added: "I told Estevao to put shin pads on this week because I’m going to be practising on him."

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  How long will Cucurella stay at Chelsea?

  The European championship-winning Spanish defender still has three years left in his existing contract, although at the start of the 2025-26 campaign he confirmed that the club have initiated contract talks with him and wants him to remain in west London.

  The former Brighton defender said, via : "Yes, it's [the contract renewal] done. We already did it. I'm very happy, the club gave me the confidence and I'm very happy to be here. Hopefully, I will have a great year."

  The 27-year-old will be back in action for Enzo Maresca's side on Wednesday as they take on Leeds United away from home. 

The Kolkata Knight Riders opener seems to have found his mojo at the top of the batting order again, and rival teams are paying

Nagraj Gollapudi25-Apr-2024At the halfway mark of Kolkata Knight Riders’ innings in their home match against Rajasthan Royals ten days ago, Kumar Sangakkara, the Royals director of cricket, said he felt sorry for bowlers this IPL, in which batters have plundered runs at a rate not seen in the tournament’s history until now.A packed Eden Gardens swayed with happy emotion as Sunil Narine, Knight Riders’ opener, whipped a short delivery outside off from Kuldeep Sen for four. Harsha Bhogle, who was on air, asked Sangakkara how Royals might stop Narine. “Hopefully he’ll get himself out,” Sangakkara said.By the time Narine did get out, he had made his first T20 century in over 500 matches to become the first KKR batter to score an IPL hundred at Eden Gardens. It came in 49 balls. Though his start was steady, he accelerated in the middle and death overs, scoring at an overall strike rate of over 194, with six hits over the rope and 13 fours.Related

• Sunil Narine: the perfect T20 cricketer? It's complicated

• Narine scales Mt 500 – Wicket-taker, man of maidens, Dhoni stopper

• Stats – Buttler and Narine make the IPL record books

• IPL 2024, a turbo-charged, batter-dominated season like no other

Narine, who until earlier this week was among the top ten run-makers in the tournament after that innings, still leads ESPNcricnfo’s Smart Stats MVP standings for the tournament, thanks to his batting heroics paired with incisive bowling that has brought him nine wickets.He has been a distinct point of difference for KKR, who are second on the points table and have shaped up as the team to beat behind RR through the first half of this year’s IPL.At the innings break after his hundred, Narine said that just the fact of him being in contention for the orange cap was a joke, given his dire returns with the bat over the last few IPL seasons. Starting with 2021, he made 62, 71 and 21 runs respectively, batting ten innings in each of the last three years, not all as opener.How has this turnaround as an impact opener come about?Narine says Gautam Gambhir, the former Knight Riders captain, who returned as the team’s mentor this season, has been instrumental. “With GG coming back, he gave me the confidence and the assurance that I’ll open the batting. And out of the 14 games, just try to [succeed] in three or four to give the team a good start.”ESPNcricinfo LtdIt was under Gambhir’s captaincy, in 2017, that Narine opened for the first time for KKR. The idea to field him as an opener, Simon Katich, the franchise’s assistant coach between 2015 and 2019, says was adopted from Melbourne Renegades, who tried Narine out as an opener for three matches in the 2016-17 BBL. He scored just 37 runs in those games but there was enough on show to establish that Renegades were not just throwing things at a wall hoping something stuck.Back in 2017 at KKR, Narine was paired with Australian batter Chris Lynn, one of the leading top-order T20 power-hitters of the time. “We knew teams wanted to bowl spin early to Lynny,” Katich says, “and we felt Sunny would put pressure on the opposition team in the first couple of overs, which allowed his partner to get settled and attack in the back end of the powerplay.”The impact of that strategy was witnessed in May 2017, when Narine and Lynn pulped Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s bowlers in a 105-run opening partnership in the powerplay, chasing a target of 158. It was, until April 20 this year, the highest powerplay partnership in IPL history.”The game was over. The boys killed it in the first six overs,” Katich chuckles.That rampage by Narine and Lynn showed what an aggressive mindset and a batter with no fear of consequences can do. It was something of a precursor to the batting carnage we have seen this IPL, where the record for the highest IPL total has been broken three times, two of those instances courtesy the outrageous batting of Travis Head and Abhishek Sharma of Sunrisers Hyderabad.Narine and Phil Salt, the KKR openers, have not been too far behind that pair. In the match against Royals, that team’s spinners, Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin, deliberately pitched on a line outside off stump in an attempt to evade Narine’s hitting arc. He still managed to score heavily against the pair, who are arguably among the best slow bowlers in the tournament.Narine was not slogging, and evidence of that came in how he repeatedly squeezed boundaries through the pocket behind the bowler, who had positioned long-off and long-on extra straight. Narine picked up 67 runs from just 28 balls against Chahal and Ashwin in that game. Before that match, Chahal had conceded just five sixes in this year’s tournament in the middle overs, and Ashwin none. Narine hit five sixes off them in that game alone.The start of something big: Narine (right) walks out to open with Aaron Finch for Melbourne Renegades in early 2017•Cricket Australia/Getty ImagesLike Narine, Katich too credits Gambhir with being behind the move to open with Salt and Narine. “It just highlights the way game keeps evolving,” he says. “This year in particular, we are seeing a really aggressive game and teams like KKR and SRH are probably leading the way with that in terms of [saying] ‘We are going to put opposition teams under the pump right from the word go. If it doesn’t go to plan, so be it. We might lose a few [wickets] doing that, but we are going to win more than we lose playing an aggressive style of cricket, and take pressure off that middle order.'”The 19 boundaries Narine hit against Royals is the joint most number of fours and sixes in an innings so far this IPL. Overall this year he has hit 20 sixes, which places him sixth on the list of leading six-hitters this season.How does he derive the power to go so big, despite not having much of a trigger movement?”He has relatively long levers,” says Katich, who was head coach at Trinbago Knight Riders, where too Narine has opened. “When you look at his grip, it’s pretty high on the handle. So when you see him hitting sixes – he’s a powerful ball striker.The short ball was something of an Achilles heel for Narine over the years, and Katich speaks of how there was a period where teams tried to tuck Narine up and bowl at his right shoulder, with some success. While his strike rate against the short ball has been consistently high, his dismissal rate against it was high in the past as well, leading to a low batting average against the short stuff: 11 in 2017, 18 in 2018, 15.66 in 2019.This IPL, on the other hand, in seven innings as an opener, against 59 deliveries pitched back of a length or shorter, Narine has scored 82 runs at an average of 41 and a strike rate of nearly 139, getting out twice.”The beauty of him batting in the powerplay is, it’s very difficult to pin someone down when you have only got two men protecting the boundary, because there are times where he top-edges sixes and then the bowlers [get] gun shy of attacking him again with a short ball,” Katich says. “And because he moves around [the crease], it makes him difficult to bowl to, because he’s just as capable of scoring off side as he’s leg side.Narine has credited KKR team director Gautam Gambhir with giving him confidence in his role as an opener•BCCINarine usually takes a leg-stump guard, holding the bat somewhat loose, his backlift high. Generally he opens up his right hip and right shoulder to be able to use the bottom hand to access both sides of the pitch: he can hit over square leg as easily as he does over deep point. To counter that, Katich says, teams have tried taking pace off the ball and tried pitching fuller around the wide line outside off stump to make it hard for him to power it over mid-off or cover.Narine, though, has improvised to counterattack against that strategy. In the game against Delhi Capitals in Vizag,where Narine made 85, during the powerplay, Ishant Sharma pushed the point fielder back and brought midwicket closer, having placed him deep earlier. Narine read it correctly and took a quick step wide to hit it over mid-off for a four.Also that over, with square leg and midwicket deeper, Ishant attempted a yorker that turned into a low full toss outside off. Narine stretched from his leg-stump guard to connect to it with one hand and got enough power into the stroke for the ball to race for four between point and short third. He got to 34 off 15 after having started his innings with five dot balls.”The thing with Sunil, what a lot of people probably don’t appreciate, is that he actually works as hard as most do on his game,” says Tom Moody, who in the past has watched Narine from the opposition dugout as head coach at Sunrisers Hyderabad, and more recently has worked with him as head coach of Oval Invincibles in the Hundred. “So there’s no coincidence that he has those moments where he can have an opposition on the back foot very quickly, because it’s not like it’s unrehearsed. He is prepared for it.””I have one role and the less I know, the better it is for me,” Narine said this year when asked why he skips batters’ meetings. He would rather lounge by the pool than discuss match-ups.ESPNcricinfo LtdAnd that inclination to keep his mind uncluttered has probably allowed Narine to not fret too much about whether he is in control or not while batting. Among openers this IPL who have faced at least 40 deliveries in the powerplay, his control percentage is the lowest, 51.55, but he counters that with his intent in the first six overs, when only two fielders are allowed in the outfield. Among batters who have faced at least 30 deliveries, only Head has a higher aggression (intent) percentage for openers in the powerplay.In his assault on Royals, Narine had 14 false shots in the first 24 deliveries. An extremely chancy beginning, but he made his own luck. In T20s intent matters more than control, and Narine understands that.Is he unique as a batter?”He’s a skilful bowler that can bat,” Moody says. “And he has realised that his most effective way to bat in this format, and the most damaging, is to play with that freedom. The game is increasingly being recognised for those impact-type innings – those ten-ball impact innings that either help you finish off the total or launch your powerplay into a level that you wouldn’t otherwise have done if you didn’t have that sort of approach.Katich says that moving Narine back up to the opening slot is a winning move by KKR. “He’s a game changer. He’s a proven player in the IPL. He has got a huge amount of experience, he’s a very clever cricketer. The more you can have those guys playing these roles in critical times of the game – which the powerplay is – you give guys that opportunity.”Stats inputs from S Rajesh

Tottenham Hotspur sporting director Fabio Paratici is now personally driving a move for an “absolute powerhouse” with the same agent as Mohammed Kudus.

Spurs looking to sign new striker amid Tel struggles

After being left out of Tottenham’s Champions League squad, Mathys Tel has now admitted he was left fuming with the decision, saying: “To be honest, I was very, very mad for a lot of weeks. But I was like, ‘use this and show him you need to be on the squad list’.

“Bad things help me more than good things to be better. So I will face a lot of bad things, but I’m going to be OK with that. I’m not in the squad list right now, but I will do everything to be in the squad list in January.”

However, Thomas Frank’s decision to omit Tel is starting to look more justified, with the striker putting in a very poor performance in the 2-1 home defeat against Aston Villa on Sunday, before being replaced by Richarlison due to a calf issue.

The Frenchman failed to have any real impact on the match, touching the ball just 15 times, while also squandering one big chance before his withdrawal on the hour mark.

As such, it may come as no surprise to learn that Tottenham are looking to sign a new striker, according to a report from The Boot Room, with Paratici personally driving a deal for FC Porto striker Samu Omorodion, but it could be very expensive.

Omorodion has a £87m release clause included in his Porto contract, although there is a feeling he may be available for a lower fee, given the Portuguese club’s current financial situation.

Jamie O'Hara slams two Tottenham stars who were "painful" to watch v Aston Villa

The former midfielder was left extremely disappointed by the 2-1 defeat.

By
Dominic Lund

Oct 20, 2025

With Dominic Solanke struggling on the injury front, and Tel yet to make a real impact, it could make sense to bring in a new striker, but the Porto star is not the only option on the shortlist, with Juventus’ Dušan Vlahović still of interest.

"Powerhouse" Omorodion could take Spurs' attack to next level

Unlike Tel, the Porto star has made a fantastic start to the campaign, having already chipped in with eight goals in nine matches in all competitions, most recently bagging a hat-trick against CD Celoricense in the Taca de Portugal.

Ben Mattinson has also suggested the 21-yeasr-old is destined to play at the very highest level, with the scout being left particularly impressed by his physical attributes.

Tottenham could certainly do with bringing in a new striker, given that Tel has struggled, while Richarlison and Solanke have suffered various injury setbacks, and Omorodion, who has the same agent as Kudus, has proven he could take their attack to the next level.

Title celebrations three years ago were interrupted by two players being whisked away for Australia duty amid a crisis

Daniel Brettig14-Apr-2021Usman Khawaja was a world away the last time Queensland hosted the Sheffield Shield final – and had their stride to the title rudely interrupted by the Newlands scandal.In the last week of March, 2018, Khawaja was part of the Australian team pilloried for egregious ball tampering and an even worse cover-up in South Africa, leaving a young deputy Jimmy Peirson to lift the Shield and then see Matt Renshaw and Joe Burns spirited away to fly across the Indian Ocean as replacement players for the banned Cameron Bancroft, David Warner and Steven Smith.It’s an experience that Peirson remembers vividly as taking sizeable gloss off what is usually the most glittering prize in Australian domestic cricket. “It was day three of the game when that [scandal] broke and we were just in shock, we didn’t understand what was going on or how big it would get,” he told ESPNcricinfo this week. “Then by the end of that game we had guys literally pulled out of our team song to go ‘mate, pack your bags, you’re going to South Africa’ – Matty Renshaw and Joe Burns, they went over and played.”So we very quickly went from winning the Shield and the euphoria of that to having them go over there to deal with what was happening. It was a bittersweet moment, we wanted to celebrate our achievement with those guys, but it was also very satisfying to see them go, although the circumstances weren’t fantastic. It’s certainly burned into my memory, that weird feeling in Australian cricket as a whole at that time.”Related

• How is a drawn Sheffield Shield final decided?

• Route to the Sheffield Shield final

• Swepson emulating Warne and challenging Lyon

• New South Wales out to prove depth of youthful batting in Sheffield Shield final

Three summers and one pandemic later, Peirson is happy to have handed the captaincy back to Khawaja, who in the wake of being discarded by the national team has proven himself a thoughtful and astute – both strategically and tactically – leader of the Bulls.”He’s quite calm, whereas I’m not so calm in some situations so he’s a great factor for us and someone I’ve learned a lot from,” Peirson said. “I really appreciate that he’s using me more in terms of tactically coming to me and asking for my opinion on things, which is helping me to develop in my tactical role in the side, and I’m really enjoying working with him.”When Usman went away [in 2018] and I was given the captaincy, it was something I was completely shocked by. I was taken off-guard and I actually considered not taking it on, because I didn’t feel like I was ready. But I’m glad I took it on, I learned so much and I was lucky that year was similar to this year where we had very few injuries and the same bowling attack for the whole season with our guys hitting their straps.”I was very lucky that the team ran itself and I didn’t have to make any massive calls. I had guys like Joe Burns there the whole year who really helped guide me in some of the decision-making. So I was making it up as I went and I was really lucky we managed to win the Shield that year.”One area in which Khawaja has shown himself adept as a leader is in helping to change attitudes about spin bowling. He recalled a pointed conversation with the state coach Wade Seccombe that helped turn Mitchell Swepson from a week-to-week selection proposition to a fixture in the team and now a genuine challenger to Nathan Lyon’s spin supremacy.”I think it was a line in the sand last year,” Khawaja said. “I remember talking to ‘Chuck’, Wade Seccombe, my coach about it. We were at the Gabba and we were umming and ahing whether to play Swepson.Will it be Kurtis Patterson or Usman Khawaja holding the Sheffield Shield?•Getty Images

“It was probably the third game and I said, ‘look, Australia has Nathan Lyon and they’re playing at the Gabba.’ And he said, ‘yes.’ So I said, ‘well we’ve got to play Swepo every single game. If they’re playing the best spinner, why aren’t we playing our best spinner?’ I think that was the line in the sand and since then we’ve always picked him.”At the same time, Khawaja has been driving towards a title that has personally eluded him. He played for New South Wales in the 2011 Shield final on the losing side, and spoke passionately in his opposition to the new system that no longer awards the competition to the top team in the event of a draw.”They talked about taking out the Shield final – I love the Shield final, I think it should be there, but I think the team that comes first should have that little bit of advantage that you have to beat them [outright],” he said. “Because a team could come first by 15 points and they’re clearly the best team in the competition. They should have a massive advantage. It’s not like a BBL tournament where you’re playing one day at a time, it’s four days at a time and takes a lot to win a red-ball game. Ten games, it takes a lot to get there.”That passion, Khawaja noted, was a byproduct of how much interest he has felt about the Shield in his adopted state. Queensland, famously, did not win their first Shield title until 1995, spawning a sense of overdue reward that has added to the level of interest retained in a competition that is often reduced in status to that of “research and development”.Queensland celebrate with the Sheffield Shield in 2018•Getty Images

“I’ve got people from Mackay, Townsville, random people coming up to me and going ‘good luck with the Shield’, you realise how big Queensland is and you realise how much people care about the Shield, especially when it comes to country towns in Queensland,” Khawaja said. “First and foremost we have a lot of support here and it’d be really nice to win a Shield, because to me it seems a lot of people still care about it, particularly in the country areas of Queensland.”Queensland’s a big state, there’s a lot of people living in the country areas, and so is New South Wales to an extent, but I think when you first move up to Queensland, you know how much Queensland love their sport, but you don’t realise how much until you come up here. Now I’m a Queenslander, as I say to my wife I bleed maroon, I love it up here, it’s my home. We love our sport and we want to win whether it’s in footy, in anything, particularly cricket.”It’s good to see, in a world so BBL-dominated, that there are still so many people who love the Shield game. That’s the biggest thing for me.”Peirson, too, is eager to reclaim the Shield, as much because the last one disappeared in a Newlands-heightened blur as anything else. “It all went by so fast,” he said. “I told the guys that I really want to enjoy this week and enjoy a Shield final. Plenty of guys haven’t played one and plenty of guys haven’t won one.”