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England have signalled their intention to place Jamie Smith at the heart of their revival across formats, handing him a lucrative two-year ECB central contract that will commit him to their plans for both next year’s Ashes tour of Australia and the 2026 T20 World Cup.Smith, 24, was one of the breakout stars of England’s home Test summer, scoring a maiden Test hundred against Sri Lanka at Old Trafford, before being named as the PCA’s Young Player of the Year at their annual end-of-season awards dinner.Though his opportunities in white-ball cricket have so far been limited by his workload, Smith showed glimpses of his potential in the recent home ODI series against Australia, and though he is due to miss the Test tour of New Zealand as he goes on paternity leave, he looks set to be a central figure in England’s plans for their white-ball tour of India in January and the subsequent Champions Trophy.Fast bowler Gus Atkinson, another impressive addition to England’s plans across formats, has also received a two-year deal (a one-year extension of his existing offer) while Joe Root, Harry Brook and Mark Wood have been retained on the second of the three-year deals that they signed in the last round of contracts for 2023-24.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

With Brendon McCullum already secured as England’s head coach across formats for the next three years, England have now tied both their red- and white-ball captains, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, to two-year deals. As reported last week, Stokes has agreed to extend the one-year deal that he signed last year, having then taken a punt that his value to the team would rise in the interim.Buttler’s deal, meanwhile, is a show of faith in England’s white-ball captain despite an absence from professional cricket that has now extended to five months as he recovers from a persistent calf injury. It comes on the same day that his long association with Rajasthan Royals was ended by his omission from their list of retained players for the 2025 IPL.England rejigged their contracts system in September 2023 to reflect the mounting pressure on international cricket from the T20 franchise circuit, with 18 of those initial 26 offers being multi-year deals. That policy came in for criticism, however, particularly in the wake of England’s disastrous 50-over World Cup defence, because it limited the potential to overhaul an under-performing squad. Notably, 19 of this year’s 29 deals are for one year only, including that of Jonny Bairstow, who was dropped from all three formats earlier this year, midway through his two-year deal, and seems unlikely to feature in England’s plans in the near future.Related

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In addition to Smith, four other players have signed their first central contracts: Shoaib Bashir, Phil Salt, Olly Stone and Will Jacks, who was the notable omission from England’s plans last time around. Three further players have been handed development contracts, including two new additions in Jacob Bethell and Josh Hull, and John Turner, the fast bowler who could make his England debut in the Caribbean this week.Seven players have been cut from England’s list for 2024-25, including Moeen Ali, Dawid Malan and James Anderson, who have retired from international cricket, and the fast bowlers Matthew Fisher and Saqib Mahmood, who had been on development contracts after making their Test debuts in the Caribbean in 2022.The most notable absentees, however, are Ollie Robinson and Ben Foakes, the Test wicketkeeper who made way for his Surrey team-mate Smith in the summer. Both men last featured on the tour of India in February, and their hopes of a recall in the current regime would now appear to be over.”The strength and depth of talent across England Men’s red and white-ball cricket is clear in the quality of players who are centrally contracted,” Rob Key, England men’s managing director, said. “These contracts reward the players we believe will play an important role for our England Men’s teams. Both our captains, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler, have signed two-year central contracts that showcase the commitment of all the players to prioritise playing for their country.”I want to congratulate all the players who have signed new central contracts ahead of what is set to be an exciting period for England Men’s cricket.”

Mumbai play three of their four remaining games at home, while RCB only play one at home

S Rajesh08-May-2023Mumbai Indians

Royal Challengers Bangalore
With only 17 games left in the league stage, it’s still impossible to separate most of the teams on the IPL points table. Five are locked on 10 points eac, and two on eight each. The overall points distribution makes this one of the closest IPLs ever. The standard deviation, which is a measure of how dispersed or clustered a set of data is around the mean, for the points table this season is 2.366; only once in the previous 15 seasons has it been smaller after 53 games: 1.984 in 2020.With five teams on 10 points, every match that pits two of them against each other will have a huge bearing on the fortunes of the teams and the table. Tuesday’s match is one such, with Mumbai Indians locking horns with Royal Challengers Bangalore. Both teams are on 10 from 10 games, with net run rates that are quite close as well. Both teams also have games to come against Gujarat Titans and Sunrisers Hyderabad.One crucial difference, though, is that Mumbai have three home games to come, compared to just one for Royal Challengers. Both teams have 50-50 win-loss records at home this season, with Mumbai winning two and losing two and RCB winning three and losing three. Towards the business end of the tournament, however, more home games might yet prove to be a crucial advantage for Mumbai Indians.Sixteen points is said to be the magic number for qualification, but as things stand, as many as six teams can finish on 16 or more points. That means the winner on Tuesday will still have plenty of work to do, though it will still be a significant step towards qualification.On the other hand, if a couple of teams – Gujarat Titans and Chennai Super Kings – break away from the pack with wins in their remaining games, then even 14 might be enough for qualification for two of the remaining teams. For instance, the loser of Tuesday’s game can finish on 14 and still qualify even without net run rates coming into play.

Smith insisted he had not requested a move back down the order but rather just told Andrew McDonald his preference

Alex Malcolm21-Oct-20241:36

What’s the logic of moving Smith back down the order?

Steven Smith has said Usman Khawaja and Marnus Labuschagne “hated” him opening the batting in the Test team, and believes it was a key driver behind his return to No. 4, but has insisted he did not request the move and would have continued to open if asked to.Australia’s chair selectors George Bailey confirmed last week that Smith would not be opening against India saying Smith “had expressed a desire to move back down from that opening position” and that captain Pat Cummins and Andrew McDonald had made the decision.McDonald stated on ABC Radio at the weekend that he and Cummins were the key decision-makers in the move, playing down Smith’s influence.Related

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Smith wanted it on the record that he had not explicitly requested to move back to No. 4 but had rather been asked by McDonald what his preferred batting spot was. He also added that Khawaja and Labuschagne had both expressed their discontent at him opening.”I got asked where I’d prefer to bat, and I said four. I didn’t ask [to move] though,” Smith said. “I also said I’m happy batting wherever. I’m not really too fussed. I got asked where my preference would be, and I said four. I saw a few things last week saying that I’ve requested to bat at four. That wasn’t the case. I said I’m happy to bat wherever you’d like me to bat but, yeah, four would be my ideal position.”Asked what had changed since earlier this year, he said: “Obviously there’s a spot there now with Greeny [Cameron Green] out. And I think just conversations we had after New Zealand with particularly Marnus and Uzzie, they hated me up top, to be honest. They wanted me behind them.”They just like the…they call it security behind them, in a way. They were pretty strong on me not batting there. So that was a big part of it. And then obviously, I’ve got a decent record at four.”It was good fun having a crack at something new, batting up top. I still feel like I could do a job there for sure. It was a pretty small sample size. But I’ve done pretty well at four for a number of years now. I feel like it’s probably where I can have my best input for this team at the moment.”Smith was set to move regardless of Green’s injury as the conversations had taken place prior to the limited-overs tour of England.He was asked whether he felt like he could have continued in the role longer term given his average of 28.50 in the four Tests in the job was not that bad as no opener averaged more than 32 across those four Tests.In his own style: Steven Smith leaves the ball alone•Getty Images”Honestly, I’m not that fussed,” Smith said. “I said it when I took that job, I’m not really fussed where I bat. The conversations I had with the other guys, they didn’t like it at all. They wanted some security, I suppose, behind them, where I’ve done really well for a number of years, and I can understand that as well. So it is what it is and I’m not going to be opening this summer. That’s it.”Smith made 3 off 29 balls for New South Wales against Victoria in his first red-ball innings since the New Zealand Test series in March and his first Sheffield Shield match since 2021.On a day when 15 wickets fell at the MCG in difficult batting conditions, Smith was upbeat about the innings despite being caught down the leg side off Fergus O’Neill.”I actually felt pretty good out there, to be honest, for the three that I scored strangely enough,” Smith said. “I felt like I was moving well. I was leaving well, and got a little bit unlucky with the one that sort of took off a little bit down the leg side. And that can happen. But I actually felt like I was getting in nice positions. My bat path was good and felt pretty good. So happy with that.”Meanwhile, Smith has been impressed with his limited time watching 19-year-old Sam Konstas who was lbw after 10 balls on the second day at the MCG”He got a bit unlucky there I reckon,” Smith said. “It looked like it might have been just darting down leg a little bit. I haven’t seen a lot of him. I would have liked to have seen a bit more of him out here in the middle for sure. But from what I have seen in the nets, he’s got a lot of time.Steven Smith threw in Nic Maddinson’s name as a potential opening option•Getty Images”He’s very organised. He plays fast bowling and spin well from what I’ve seen in the brief couple of times I’ve seen him bat, it’s looked really good. He’s a bright prospect. We’ve got to remember he’s only 19 as well so you he’s got plenty of time. But what I’ve seen so far, it looks promising”He’s got all the makings to definitely be a really good Test player. That’s for sure. Whether it’s now or in the future, time will tell.”Smith also threw Nic Maddinson’s name in the mix as a possible candidate to open the batting for Australia against India given he is a similar type of player to David Warner.”There’s a few really good candidates, guys that have, done really well the last few years,” Smith said. “[Cameron] Bancroft and the usual suspects that have been talked about. Maddo I think is also another really good candidate. He’s had a good couple of years. If you’re looking for someone similar to a Davey replacement, he gets after the ball and can score really quickly.”So he’s someone who probably hasn’t been spoken about a great deal from all you guys in the last little bit, but I think he’s someone that could definitely play test cricket and have a similar impact to what Davey sort of had at the top, the way he plays. So plenty of options. We’ll wait and see.”

The Melbourne Stars allrounder caused a scare in the opening game of the BBL season

AAP27-Dec-2024

Hilton Cartwright has revealed he had fears of being left paralysed while laying prone on the Optus Stadium turf in the BBL season opener.Cartwright sent a scare through Australian cricket last week, after falling awkwardly in the field in Melbourne Stars’ season-opening loss to Perth Scorchers.He was taken from the field in a neck brace and medicab, before being quickly cleared of any serious damage in hospital and being released back to Melbourne. Incredibly, the former Test representative returned to play for the Stars just three days later against Brisbane Heat, and has not missed a game yet this season.Related

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Speaking for the first time since the injury, Cartwright admitted his mind had spiralled quickly while laying on the turf with what was ultimately a case of whiplash.”It was an extraordinary series of events. It looked worse because there was no information surrounding it,” Cartwright said.  “My neck pain had subsided quite a lot by the time I was on the sidelines, it was all on one side. Needless to say the doctors did a great job with how they handled it.”But my mind spun to the worst-case scenario about being paralysed, or strokes. My mind was completely spinning. But thankfully I was home that night and I haven’t had any serious repercussions from it.”After diving for a ball in the outfield, Cartwright’s neck snapped back quickly and he was left to lay on the ground for close to five minutes while receiving medical attention. Adding to the concern was that the 32-year-old became a father for the second time in October, with another toddler also at home.”As soon as all that pain subsided I started thinking around all the short-term side effects,” he said. “Am I going to be in a neck brace for a couple of months whilst we have a newborn? It would not only be tough on me, but tough on my partner. Thankfully everything got cleared and there were no issues. So far so good.”Cartwright said he had been able to class the incident as a “freak” accident, helping it not play on his mind while in the field since.His comments came as Stars slumped to a fourth straight loss to start the season, with Sydney Sixers chasing down 195 against them with 11 balls and two wickets to spare at the SCG.Stars will now likely need to win at least five of their last six to have any hope of making the finals, beginning with Saturday night against the Sydney Thunder. Otherwise, they risk missing for a fifth straight season.”If we’re being true to ourselves we want to win all six games to give ourselves a chance,” Cartwright said.

Fulham have now submitted an opening bid of £1m for an “outstanding” EFL defender who has a “wonder of a left foot”, according to a report.

Silva set to stay on as Fulham boss

In what will no doubt come as welcome news to Fulham fans, Marco Silva has now made it clear he expects to remain at Craven Cottage beyond the summer, saying: “I am under contract with the club and of course I’ve been in planning with the board (for) next season.

“Everything on track and the plan is there. We have the next two months to prepare for the season as best we can. If I’m under contract with the club and if I’m planning with the club the next season, of course I expect to be here.”

As such, the Cottagers can now continue to plan for the summer transfer window with Silva in mind, despite recent suggestions they could make a move for Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Vitor Pereira or Sheffield Wednesday’s Danny Rohl to replace the 47-year-old.

With their manager looking likely to stay, a new transfer target has also now entered the frame for Fulham, with a report from Football League World revealing they have submitted an opening offer of £1m for Peterborough United defender Harley Mills.

The Posh are currently considering the bid for the left-back, who scored a free-kick in the Vertu Cup final last month, which attracted the attention of a whole host of scouts.

Peterborough do not want to sell the 19-year-old, having offered the youngster a new contract in the hopes of retaining his services beyond the summer, but they will be well-aware that a move to the Premier League is likely to be a tempting proposition.

"Outstanding" Mills has a "wonder of a left foot"

Peterborough U18s manager Jamal Campbell-Ryce was full of praise for the starlet upon signing a professional development contract with the Posh, lauding him as “outstanding”, while also adding: “Harley has shown how much he values defending now and has real quality when in possession of the ball and has a wonder of a left foot.”

The Peterborough defender’s ball-striking ability was particularly on show during his side’s 2-0 triumph over League One title winners in the Vertu Cup, scoring a stunning free-kick to open the scoring in the first half.

Fulham are well-stocked at left-back, with Antonee Robinson and Ryan Sessegnon at their disposal, but with the former being linked with a move elsewhere this summer, it could make sense to bring in a new option.

Mills is yet to prove himself above League One level, but the teenager’s performance in the Vertu Cup final indicated he is ready to make the step-up to a higher level, and at a fee of just £1m, the young Englishman would be a low-risk addition for the Cottagers.

Former Liverpool winger Jermaine Pennant claims he rejected a "crazy" Real Madrid transfer but wishes he could go back and change that decision.

Pennant spent three years at LiverpoolSays he rejected chance to join Real MadridEx-winger admits he regrets decisionFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Former England Under-21 international Pennant says that the Spanish giants "wanted him" back in 2010 as they needed a right winger for their "squad depth". The ex-Birmingham City player admitted the opportunity was "exciting" but he had no real desire to be a benchwarmer. However, 15 years on, Pennant admits he would go back and change his decision.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT PENNANT SAID

The 42-year-old told Adventure Gamers: "This is a crazy one and many people can’t believe this, but Real Madrid wanted me back in 2010. It was my last year at Liverpool, I wasn’t going to sign a new contract, and things weren’t really working out between Rafa Benitez and me. Madrid came in needing a right-winger for their squad depth, so we had that conversation, and it was exciting, but then I asked myself if I wanted to go there and sit on the bench for three years or do I want to go somewhere to be a first team starter and kick-start my career again? It was exciting, but I wasn’t keen at the time. Would I go back and change my decision? I wish I could!"

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Pennant, who scored three goals in 81 games for Liverpool, spent the second half of the 2008/09 season on loan at Portsmouth before sealing a three-year deal with La Liga side Real Zaragoza in July of that year. From there, he played for Stoke City in the Premier League, followed by stints at FC Pune City in the Indian Super League and Bury in League One, before finally retiring at Billericay Town in the Isthmian League Premier Division. His career could have been very different if he had joined Madrid all those years ago.

Getty Images EntertainmentWHAT NEXT?

Former Arsenal and Wigan Athletic player Pennant, who retired in 2018 after making 448 appearances and scoring 27 goals in his career, has since gone into punditry work and can often be heard on talkSPORT.

Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed made unbeaten centuries as Nottinghamshire Outlaws bounced back from defeat at Leicester in their opening match with a eight-wicket victory over Sussex Sharks in their Metro Bank One-Day Cup match at the picturesque home of Welbeck Cricket Club in the north of the county.Opener Slater, who averages more than 53 in the List A format, again demonstrated his penchant for 50-over cricket by scoring 107 with Outlaws skipper Hameed making 101 not out as they shared a county List A third-wicket record partnership of 209 to inflict a heavy opening-match defeat on their Group B opponents, who managed only one win in the competition last season.Sussex were bowled out in the 48th over for 216 despite Fynn Hudson-Prentice’s 90 from 109 balls. The all-rounder hit nine fours and a six but found himself ploughing almost a lone furrow in an under-par performance by his side, who have up to now enjoyed a successful season, booking a home quarter-final in the Vitality Blast and building a healthy lead in Division Two of the Vitality County Championship.Luke Fletcher (three for 35) and Toby Pettman (three for 44) were the most successful Outlaws seamers, although Brett Hutton, who took one for 41 bowling his 10 overs in a single spell, made a strong comeback after three months out with an Achilles injury. Left-arm spinner Liam Patterson-White (two for 35) also impressed.The Outlaws stuttered at the start of their chase, finding themselves eight for two after losing Freddie McCann for two and Jack Haynes without scoring, but Sussex were unable to make any further inroads as their opponents cruised home with 50 balls to spare.The 19-year-old McCann, in his second List A appearance following his debut at Leicester on Wednesday, spooned a catch to mid-on off Ari Karvelas, while Haynes registered his second consecutive duck with a loose shot that had him caught behind, after which Slater was fortunate with a top-edge off Karvelas that flashed just out of the wicketkeeper’s reach.But with a required rate of only 4.34 runs per over and a quick outfield, Slater and Hameed did not need to take risks and were able to comfortably pace their innings once the newness of the balls had worn off, moving the total to 48 for two from 10 overs, 93 for two from 20, and 140 for two from 30.Slater found the gaps regularly enough to pass fifty for the 18th time in this format from 54 balls with eight boundaries, Hameed reaching his from 69 balls with his third four, a return to form he will have enjoyed after enduring a lean time in 2023, if not the shot that took him there, a streaky edge off the leg-spin of Archie Lenham.The left-handed Slater was seldom troubled, reaching his seventh List A hundred when he pulled Karvelas for his 13th boundary as the Outlaws closed in on their target, Hameed hitting the same bowler for six, four, four and one to complete his.Sussex found the going tough from the outset after opting to bat first. The pitch seemed to lack pace and, in the face of excellent, tight bowling at both ends from Hutton and Fletcher, they lost both openers for 33 by the second ball of the 11th over.Tom Clark nibbled at one outside off stump off Hutton before Tom Haines edged his drive against Fletcher, Tom Moores doing the rest behind the stumps.Joined by Hudson-Prentice, Oli Carter sought to rebuild but the arrival of Pettman in the attack made scoring no easier.The 26-year-old seamer, who has had limited opportunities in his four years with Nottinghamshire, was making his first senior appearance since last August but made it count with two wickets in two balls as a frustrated Carter found the fielder at mid-on and Sussex captain John Simpson was leg before.Simpson’s dismissal exposed Sussex’s inexperienced middle-order and Hudson-Prentice soon lost two more partners as 19-year-old Daniel Ibraham was caught at slip and 18-year-old Henry Rogers, on debut, skied to long-on as Patterson-White found immediate turn.Hudson-Prentice and 20-year old off-spinner Bertie Foreman added 64 before some smart relay fielding involving extra cover Ben Slater, bowler Lyndon James and ‘keeper Tom Moores ran out the younger player.Fletcher returned to dismiss Lenham caught behind and Karvelas via a miscued pull, in between which Hudson-Prentice cracked consecutive boundaries off Pettman before he was caught at mid-off, as Sussex were all out with almost three overs wasted.

Suryakumar Yadav knew he “hadn’t touched the rope” and that he’d made the split-second decision of going all out for the catch the moment he saw Rohit Sharma further away from the ball at long-on as compared to him at long-off.The topic of discussion was the catch he took to dismiss David Miller in the final over to tilt the T20 World Cup final in India’s favour, decisively, as it turned out.”Rohit usually never stands at long-on but at that moment he was there,” Suryakumar told the . “So when the ball was coming, for a second I looked at him and he looked at me. I ran and my aim was to catch the ball. Had he [Rohit] been closer, I would have thrown the ball towards him. But he was nowhere close. In those four to five seconds, whatever happened, I can’t explain.”Related

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Was the catch clean? Did Suryakumar’s foot tickle the advertising skirting? Replays have been inconclusive so far.”When I pushed the ball [up and inside the playing area] and took the catch, I knew I hadn’t touched the rope,” he said. “The only thing I was cautious about was that when I pushed the ball back inside, my feet don’t touch the rope. I knew it was a fair catch. In hindsight, anything could have happened. If the ball had gone for six, the equation would have been five balls, ten runs. We might have still won, but the margin would have been closer.”Suryakumar revealed the method behind taking such catches, while also crediting fielding coach T Dilip for motivating the entire group by introducing the fielding medal after every match, which has ensured “everyone wants to do something extra on the ground”.”The catch I took, I have practised it at different grounds, depending on the wind,” he said. “I was standing a bit wide because Hardik [Pandya] and Rohit had put a field for the wide yorker, and Miller had hit straight. My mind was clear that I have to catch it come what may.”A day before the game, we do a quality fielding session where for 10-12 minutes, we have more than ten high catches, flat catches, direct hits, slip catching. It’s not a one-day exercise, I practise these kinds of catches during IPL, during bilateral series. Yesterday’s catch was the reward of the hard work done over the years.”Getty Images

Suryakumar said that such balance and agility wouldn’t have been possible without working on his fitness. He spent four months on the sidelines from November 2023 to March 2024, recovering from a sports hernia and an ankle injury. It was during this period that he worked on slimming down as part of his fitness regimen which also included working with a nutritionist.”I remember last August, I was at around 93kg, maybe because I was having too much local food,” he said. “I got injured and then had a hernia operation. I went to NCA [BCCI’s National Cricket Academy] from January 1 to April 1 [this year]. Even during off days, I used to not go home because I knew Monday morning would be my session. I couldn’t waste time.”I ate proper food prepared by my chef. I used to sleep sharp at 10pm and get up early in the morning. Even now, I have decided on my meals for the next week with the help of the chef and nutritionist; they decide how much protein and fat I will have daily, how much water I need to take with my food. We have a group for it which also has my wife. They decide and I just follow. It helped me here.”How has he soaked that moment in, along with the euphoria of being a world champion?”In those four to five seconds, whatever happened, I can’t explain,” he said. “The amount of reaction I have been getting for that, people have been calling, messaging; there are more than 1000 unread WhatsApp messages on my phone. The catch is all over social media. I’m grateful that I was there in those five seconds of play.”

England star Lucy Bronze has revealed the Lionesses had a heartbroken reaction to the tragic news of Liverpool star Diogo Jota's death.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Jota died in a car accident
• Bronze asked about tragedy at Euros
• Sends condolences to late star's family

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Jota died in a tragic car accident on Thursday, as did his brother, Andre, after the Lamborghini they were travelling in left the road and caught fire after a tyre blowout during an overtake. The Liverpool star only got married two weeks ago, and was the father to three children. Asked about the tragedy at the Women's European Championship, Bronze revealed that she and the rest of the Lionesses squad were left stunned by the news.

Advertisement

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Jota's death has led to widespread tributes from across the footballing world, including the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool, and his former clubs Wolves and Porto. The forward was a sparkling, twinkle-toed forward for Liverpool, and played a key role in their recent success following his arrival in 2020.

• WHAT BRONZE SAID

  Bronze told reporters: “Yeah it definitely shocked all the squad when we woke up this morning and the news started to spread. Obviously we have a lot of Liverpool fans in our team and football fans, but for people in general, everyone is just thinking of them – him and his brother.

  “They were so young as well. We have seen all the messages on social media and stuff so you can tell what a great guy he has been. It’s just really sad and we were shocked by the news, really.”

  She added: “We’ll be watching the games tonight and Portugal play their first game against Spain and I know there will be a minute’s silence held before that game. I think everyone in an England shirt and everyone in the tournament will be supporting the Portuguese team because they will be a lot closer to this than we are.

  “It is just a really sad moment for everyone involved in football, knowing what a great guy he is and what an amazing year he’s had – not just in football, but he got married a few weeks ago and he’s got some little kids. It’s just so sad.”

• Getty Images
  

  WHAT NEXT?

  England will have to try to refocus, as they kick off their European Championship campaign against France on Saturday.

Over the last couple of days, Liverpool have appeared to make huge progress in the transfer window, looking to land a replacement for the outgoing Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Englishman is set to leave the club on a free transfer at the end of the campaign, with Jeremie Frimpong emerging as Arne Slot’s number one target to replace him.

Journalist Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that the Reds are in talks to land the Dutch international, who currently has a £29.5m release clause in his deal with Bayer Leverkusen.

It’s also been reported that he’s keen on a switch to Anfield in the coming months, with the hierarchy working tirelessly to provide the manager with the tools he needs to build on his Premier League triumph.

However, he’s not the only player on their radar, with groundwork being laid for another signing who could prove to be a more exciting addition than the right-back.

The latest on Liverpool’s hunt for new additions

Even though the summer transfer window is yet to open, Liverpool have already wasted no time in making moves for multiple players in multiple areas of the pitch.

The likes of Murillo, Rodrygo and Tomas Araujo have all appeared on their list in recent weeks, as Slot looks to provide added depth to his squad ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.

However, the aforementioned trio aren’t the only ones on their radar, with Lyon star Rayan Cherki attracting huge interest from the Reds, according to French outlet Le Parisien.

Their report claims that Slot’s men have made an enquiry to land the 21-year-old who’s registered a staggering 12 goals and 19 assists across all competitions in 2024/25.

It also states that he could be available this summer for as little as £19m, with the Ligue 1 outfit prepared to let him depart during the off-season due to their financial issues.

Why Cherki would be a more exciting signing than Frimpong

There’s no denying that Liverpool’s current squad is full of talent across various areas, playing a massive role in their title success during Slot’s first campaign at the helm.

The Dutchman has only made one first-team addition this season in the form of Federico Chiesa, with the Italian only featuring for a total of 41 league minutes, highlighting the impressive squad he took over upon taking the reins.

However, if they are to sustain such levels of success, additions will be needed this summer, with Frimpong and Cherki just the two latest names thrown into the mix.

Whilst the Leverkusen star would fill a huge void given Trent’s pending departure, a move for the French youngster would inject added life and creativity into an already potent front line.

The attacker, who’s been labelled “world-class” by talent scout Jacek Kulig and as a “future Ballon d’Or winner” by The Athletic’s Alex Barker, has excelled this season, enjoying the best year of his professional career – with his figures backing up his success.

His tally of 18 combined goals and assists in Ligue 1 to date is the fifth-highest of a player who doesn’t play for PSG, showcasing how impressive he’s been for Lyon.

His underlying stats are just as impressive, averaging 3.2 chances created per 90, along with 2.1 successful dribbles, with his subsequent tallies allowing the likes of Mohamed Salah to build on their own impressive season in 2024/25.

Ousmane Dembélé

28

21

6

27

Bradley Barcola

33

14

10

24

Mason Greenwood

33

19

4

23

Jonathan David

31

16

5

21

Arnaud Kalimunedo

32

17

3

20

Gaetan Perrin

33

10

10

20

Rayan Cherki

29

8

10

18

He’s also averaged 6.4 touches in the opposition box per game, as well as 1.9 shots per 90 – having the ability to find the back of the net on his own should he need to.

Cherki’s flair and creativity make him a joy to watch, with his reported £19m fee a bargain for a 21-year-old who could explode into life in the Premier League over the next few years.

Despite the interest from elsewhere, the Reds should be working tirelessly this summer to complete a deal for Cherki, with the youngster having the tools to thrive in Slot’s system and bolster their chances of retaining their title next year.

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