Sheffield United are going to need a huge end to the season, as well as a bit of help from other teams, to secure automatic promotion from the Championship.

The Blades are currently five points adrift of Burnley, who they still have to play, and Leeds United with just four matches left to play before the end of the campaign.

Chris Wilder’s side have lost their last three Championship games and scored just one goal in that time, which must be particularly frustrating after they splashed the cash on a new centre-forward in the January transfer window.

How much Sheffield United paid for Tom Cannon

The Athletic reported that Sheffield United agreed a fee of £10m to sign Tom Cannon from Leicester City earlier this year to bolster their attacking options.

They made that move off the back of his return of nine goals in 22 Championship matches on loan at Stoke City in the first half of the season.

Unfortunately, though, Cannon has failed to hit the ground running at Bramall Lane and has not been the boost to their promotion chances that supporters may have hoped that he would be at the time of his big-money move.

The 22-year-old attacker has failed to score in 12 league matches for the Blades to date, registering just one assist in that time, and it is fair to say that the striker has flopped due to his complete lack of goals.

£10m was a big outlay for a centre-forward at Championship level, which is why more should be expected from him, and this is illustrated by the fact that United once sold Che Adams, who is now miles better than Cannon, for just £2m.

Why Che Adams is miles better than Tom Cannon

The Blades sold Adams to Birmingham for a reported fee of £2m in the summer of 2016 after he had scored 15 goals in 55 first-team matches for the club.

After scoring 38 goals in 123 games for the Blues, the English-born centre-forward signed for Southampton for a fee of £15m in the summer of 2019.

Following several seasons in the Premier League with the Saints, Adams went back down to the Championship last season and thrived in the second tier, before his move to Torino in the Serie A last summer.

Che Adams	23/24 Championship (Southampton)	24/25 Serie A (Torino)
Starts	25	25
xG	13.79	6.27
Goals	16	8
Conversion rate	20%	17%
Big chances created	7	5
Assists	4	3
Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Scotland international was prolific for Southampton last season and has carried his impressive finishing over to Italy, outperforming his xG by almost two goals in the Serie A.

These statistics show that Adams is a clinical forward who is reliable in front of goal in one of Europe’s major leagues, whilst Cannon is currently goalless in 12 games for Sheffield United.

The Torino frontman is, therefore, currently significantly more effective than the Blades number nine, as he is thriving in a top European league, whilst the Ireland international cannot score in the Championship.

Sheffield United eyeing move to sign 23 y/o assist machine ahead of Leeds

He could add real quality in the final third for the Blades.

By
Henry Jackson

Apr 13, 2025

Sheffield United once sold the attacker for a fee of just £2m and it currently remains to be seen if their £10m signing will ever reach the heights that the Scottish dynamo has hit in his career.

Former Manchester United defender Rio Ferdinand has blasted a section of the Arsenal fan base which has severely criticised Noni Madueke on social media.

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Ferdinand publicly defends MaduekeLaunches attack on Arsenal fans for criticising the wingerMadueke set to make move from ChelseaFollow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Legendary Manchester United centre-back Ferdinand has come to the defence of Madueke ahead of his £52 million (€61m/$71m) move from Chelsea. Ferdinand labelled the behaviour by a section of the Arsenal fan base as an "utter disgrace" and stated that he has "never seen anything like this before" while speaking about the negative reaction of some fans on social media.

Advertisement(C)Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Since making a switch from PSV Eindhoven in January 2023, Madueke has made 92 appearances for the Blues, scoring 20 goals. His performances have somewhat left fans wanting for more. Despite not lighting up the Premier League on a consistent basis, the 23-year-old has earned a surprise move to rivals Arsenal, joining them on a five-year contract. The move has attracted harsh criticism from a lot of Gooners, who have vilified the English international on social media. In fact, the hashtag #NoToMadueke has been trending on micro-blogging platform X (formerly Twitter). A petition to prevent Madueke from arriving at the Emirates Stadium has also been filed by the same fans.

WHAT RIO FERDINAND SAID

Taking to X, Ferdinand posted: "Noni Madueke. For a Young 23 year old English footballer to be vilified, bullied, embarrassed and totally strip down at a time when you’re meant to be celebrating a transfer worth £55 million. Yes a young kid with a dream about to secure a £55 million dream move to a club of his desire leaving a rival at that to be treated in this manner via section of the Arsenal fan base is an utter disgrace. Just put yourself in his shoes for one minute just put yourself in his parents shoes for one minute and just think of how that feeling must be. I’ll say it again, at a time as a player as a human as a family you should be celebrating. I just hope the people that are closest to him are around him and supporting him in the way that he needs right now.

"It’s fine for fans to disagree with signings or decisions made at their football club but the way some fans have publicly voiced their opinions and those who have gone a step further in publicly joining a petition for this player not to be signed by their football club is beyond me. I have never seen anything like this before, and I hope I don’t ever again. Like I said earlier just imagine this was your best friend, one of your family members, your brother, son…then tell me how would you feel if they were on the receiving end of this vulgar behaviour???

"By the way, This isn’t aimed at all Arsenal fans it’s just a small section who have become very loud unfortunately. I just hope the transfer goes through and Noni Madueke rams all of this negativity back down the throats of these impostors.

"Whatever happens from here good luck Noni."

Getty/GOALWHAT NEXT FOR NONI MADUEKE?

According to Fabrizio Romano, Madueke has returned to England after leaving the Chelsea camp for the Club World Cup in the United States. The medicals are scheduled and it is expected that Mikel Arteta's side will announce the arrival of the Barnet-born attacker shortly.

SA had some positives though: runs from de Kock, and impressive performances from spinners Peter and Fortuin

Firdose Moonda25-May-2024West Indies sealed the three-match T20I series against South Africa, with a match to spare, and successfully defended 208 in front of enthusiastic Sabina Park supporters. With all the fixtures in this series being played at the same venue in Jamaica – which will not host any T20 World Cup games – the weekend crowd were out in full force on a Saturday afternoon to enjoy another strong performance from their side.After choosing to bat, West Indies started slower than the first match (where they had reached 100 runs by the halfway mark) but paced their innings well. They accelerated in the middle and latter period, thanks to a 56-run fourth-wicket stand off 36 between Roston Chase and Andre Fletcher and a 63-run fifth-wicket stand, off only 25 balls, between Chase and Romario Shepherd. In the process, Chase scored his first T20I fifty.Anrich Nortje returned to the South African side after almost nine months on the sidelines as he recovered from a lower back stress fracture and was expensive on his return. His four overs cost 47 runs, and he went wicketless. The star of South Africa’s bowling was debutant Nqabayomzi Peter, who took 2 for 32, but is not in the T20 World Cup squad.In response, South Africa were quick out of the blocks and brought up 100 in eight overs but no-one could kick on after Quinton de Kock’s 17-ball 41. The middle-order were particularly disappointing and folded from 113 for 2 to 167 for 7, losing 5 for 54. South Africa may not be too concerned because none of Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs and David Miller were involved in this series and all four will return for the T20 World Cup.Still, South Africa have not won a T20I series since August 2022, and have lost four of their last five series. Their ability against spin remains a concern and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie benefited most from that. He picked up career-best figures of 3 for 22 and has taken three wickets in each of his last three matches.Newcomer Nqaba makes a nameLittle more than a year ago, Peter was a net bowler, without a domestic contract, bowling to South Africa’s batters in their preparation for a home series against West Indies. Now, after finishing as the second-highest wicket-taker at the CSA T20 Challenge for the title-winning Lions, he made his international debut at Sabina Park and immediately impressed.Brought on to bowl just after the Powerplay, he tempted West Indies’ stand-in captain Brandon King into a big shot with his fourth ball that was full and wide outside off. King slapped it across the line but could not clear Wiaan Mulder at long-on, who took the catch over his head to give Peter the biggest name on debut. In his next over, Peter was not put off by Kyle Mayers hitting his googly for six and bowled it again. Mayers pulled to the area between deep square leg and fine leg, where Ryan Rickelton ran around to take the catch. Peter finished with 2 for 32 in his four overs.Chasing half-centuriesRoston Chase has played high-level cricket for a dozen years but this is only his 13th T20I and before today, he had yet to score a half-century. That changed with an innovative innings that held West Indies together and ensured they accelerated in the second half of their innings. Five of Chase’s six fours were scored behind square and two of them were big ones, both off short balls. The second, off Lungi Ngidi, sailed over the stands and broke a window of one of the parked cars, as he brought up fifty off 30 balls.Quinton’s quick startQuinton de Kock has not been at his most fluent since retiring from ODI cricket at last year’s fifty-over World Cup but showed signs of returning to his best as he gave South Africa a speedy start. De Kock pulled the first ball he faced to fine leg and beat Kyle Mayers to find the boundary and went on to hit four fours and as many sixes in the 17 balls he faced. The shots of his knock were back-to-back sixes off Akeal Hosein, the first off a full ball that he slammed over mid-on, and the second off a short ball that he pulled over long-on. He was bowled in the same over but was still the major contributor to South Africa’s highest Powerplay score of 85 for 2.Catches win matches Andile Phehlukwayo was promoted to No.6, above Wiaan Mulder, and was called on with eight overs left, and South Africa still 84 runs away from the target. They had not hit a boundary since the eighth over, and Phehlukwayo had no choice but to try and get one when Motie offered one full and wide. Phehlukwayo attempted a shot go over cover but Shamar Joseph moved to his right and dived diagonally to take an amazing catch in the deep. Two overs later, Hosein, at long-off, timed his jump well to end Rassie van der Dussen’s innings on 30, and with it South Africa’s hopes.

Over the last two years, their batsmen are averaging below 30 at home. And if they can’t score big at home, how can they be confident of scoring abroad?

Mohammad Isam29-Nov-2018Bangladesh’s batting average against spinners, 19.85, was marginally better than West Indies’, 18.25, in the Chattogram Test last week. It is similar to their batting average against spin at home in the last two years (27.92) and only slightly higher than the sides they have faced in this period (24.89). These numbers confirm that Bangladesh’s gamble on spin-friendly pitches isn’t entirely paying off, particularly for their batsmen who already struggle in overseas Tests and now haven’t been up to the mark in their own conditions.

Batting against spin in Bangladesh

Sep 2012 to Aug 2014
Bangladesh: Inn 12, Runs 1933, Ave 48.60
Away teams: Inn 10, Runs 3080, Ave 49.68
Sep 2014 to Aug 2016
Bangladesh: Inn 14, Runs 2242, Ave 39.33
Away teams: Inn 12, Runs 2780, Ave 35.00
Sep 2016 to Nov 2018
Bangladesh: Inn 18, Runs 3239, Ave 27.92
Away teams: Inn 17, Runs 3610 Ave 24.89

This new normal dates back to England’s tour of Bangladesh in October 2016. Bangladesh lost a close game in Chattogram but in Dhaka, Shakib Al Hasan, Taijul Islam and Mehidy Hasan took 10 wickets in one session to level the series.Ever since then, Bangladesh have preferred to welcome teams with turning pitches and have had great success in the process. They secured first-ever wins over England and Australia as well as a maiden win at home over West Indies last week. The standout bowlers have been Taijul, who has taken 50 wickets at 23.76, Mehidy, 46 at 23.54 and Shakib, 29 at 19.44.Between September 2012 and August 2014, sides visiting Bangladesh used to average 49.68 against spin. In the next two year period, that came down to 35, and now it has sunk as low as 24.89. The hosts haven’t fared any better, their numbers coming down from 48.60 to 39.33 to 27.92.Privately, many of Bangladesh’s batsmen have expressed their concern about what is turning out to be a long-term policy of employing spinning tracks. However, their disappointing returns in even slightly bowler-friendly conditions raises the question about whether they are even willing to apply themselves.

Need an opener ‘to win our trust’ – Shakib

Bangladesh are 1-0 up against West Indies and they’ll be keen to complete the whitewash. So it’s entirely possible the game will be played on another turning pitch and the players have to be on their guard.
“I would never want my batsmen to fail,” Shakib said. “Whenever a batsman goes out, I always wish that they play a big innings or put together a big partnership. But the sort of wicket we are playing on, we have to accept [that a batting collapse is possible].
“It is therefore important for a batsman to cash in whenever he is set. A new batsman always has less of a chance to do well on these wickets.”
The onus is on the top order to make things easy for the rest of the line-up, but Bangladesh have been having trouble in that department. With Imrul Kayes’ injury, they’ll be using their fifth opening combination in eight Tests this year.
“We make good starts with the ball, but not with the bat, which has forced us to make many changes. I think we will ultimately run into someone who can be given a longer rope. It is important that someone wins our trust.”

This could well be a consequence of playing a lot of limited-overs cricket, where the flatness of the pitches enables attacking strokeplay. Mahmudullah, for instance, has struggled in Tests but has always come good in shorter formats, particularly in crunch situations where he is often needed to bat at a high tempo. Soumya Sarkar is a more recent example of a batsman who has returned to form in ODIs, with his century against Zimbabwe, but endured twin failures against West Indies. While it is difficult to switch formats, several players around the world have retained their style of batting for all formats, with slight adjustments.Bangladesh’s Test captain Shakib wants his players to follow their instincts, going as far as to suggest they were free to attack from the get go.”I always feel that a batsman shouldn’t tinker with his style of batting,” he said. “Unless it is very necessary for the side, I don’t want a batsman to change his natural game plan. Virender Sehwag would hit a four off the first ball whether he was playing Tests, ODIs and T20s. It is an important approach. I would never want a batsman to defend or leave the first ball in a Test if they look to hit that ball for four in ODIs and T20s.”He should have a similar mindset in every format, because it was this style of cricket that got him picked in the first place. I don’t think he has to try anything different here. The team never asks for anything out-of-the-box or outside his nature from any batsman.”West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite agreed. “Staying positive on this type of wicket is key. The bounce varied a lot in the first Test and even myself could have gone forward. The onus is on ourselves to trust our defence and attacking methods.”I think the key is to be light in your feet, and treat each ball as it comes. I think we need to be clear in our mind, how we are going to do it. I definitely believe we can do it.”That’s the application bit. Choosing the right ball to hit. Figuring out the shots that can lead to a wicket and avoiding them at all cost. Identifying the weak link in a bowling line-up and exploiting it, while taking extra care against the ones in form. These nuances are hardly necessary in one-day and T20 cricket with conditions so heavily in favour of the batsmen. But with Bangladesh choosing to play their home Tests on pitches that turn from day one, it is quite likely that their batsmen will always have to deal with tough days in the office. Even when they tour, especially outside the subcontinent, it’s likely that oppositions will roll out seamer-friendly surfaces to gain the upper hand.Something needs to be done, and perhaps the Mirpur Test on Friday will be a good starting point. Bangladesh are looking at a year-long stretch of matches abroad and their best chance of success lies in having a group of players who are confident about their game. Scoring big runs automatically solves that problem.

Lewis Hill’s 71* also pivotal in eight-wicket win over Yorkshire

ECB Reporters Network08-Aug-2024Ian Holland starred for champions Leicestershire with ball and bat as they maintained hopes of a Metro Bank One-Day Cup title defence with a rain-affected eight-wicket win over Yorkshire at Scarborough, the Foxes chasing a revised 22-over target of 150.All-rounder Holland took the new ball and returned 2 for 39 from 10 overs before opening the batting with 42 off 25 balls as Leicestershire won for the fourth time in six fixtures to move into the top three places in Group B.Helped by captain Lewis Hill’s excellent 71 not out off 54 balls with four sixes, Holland dented Yorkshire’s chances. They lost for the third time in six having made 236 for 7 from 50 overs after being inserted before rain at the mid-innings interval forced a two-hour delay to 5pm.The Vikings recovered from 118 for 6 thanks to a career-best 60 from Dom Bess and 55 not out for Matthew Revis, the seventh-wicket pair sharing 112. But the exploits of Holland and then Hill usurped their contributions.Alongside Holland, Tom Scriven and 17-year-old debutant Alex Green also struck twice apiece in Leicestershire’s five-man seam attack.The champions were exceptional with the ball during the first half of the innings having elected to bowl on the same pitch used for Yorkshire’s win against Essex on Tuesday.Along with taking four early wickets, reducing the Vikings to 79 for 4 inside 25 overs, they exerted significant control and conceded only three boundaries in that time.Tall Academy seamer Green encouraged after Holland had struck twice with the new ball to get Fin Bean caught behind and Shan Masood at cover.Holland also had a hand in the third wicket as he took the catch at mid-on after Harry Duke had miscued a pull at Scriven before James Wharton, for 23, pulled Roman Walker to deep midwicket.
Just when Yorkshire tried to accelerate, with George Hill and Luxton hitting a six apiece, they were checked by both men departing in quick succession as the score fell to 118 for six in the 35th over.Hill was caught in the ring off a miscued pull at Green before Luxton was caught behind against Scriven.But as good as Leicestershire were early on, Bess and Revis matched them late on in their century partnership to give Yorkshire a competitive total.They shared three leg-side sixes and reached their fifties late in an innings which saw 93 runs come from the last 10 overs. Revis got to 50 first off 47 balls and before Bess’s came off 48. Both finished having faced 51 balls.Bess had hit an unbeaten 53 – also a career best – in Tuesday’s win against Essex.Even though Leicestershire were helped by Duckworth Lewis Stern, their task still didn’t look straightforwards given ideal bowling conditions under gloomy skies.But Holland set the tone by square driving Hill for four after three balls of the chase.He found the boundary regularly afterwards and was strong on both sides of the wicket.And the loss of opening partner Sol Budinger – caught at mid-on off Hill, 18 for one – was not costly.When Holland fell, well caught at square-leg by diving sub-fielder Yash Vagadia off Dom Leech, the Foxes had control at 62 for two in the eighth over.Hill hit Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin for six over long-off – his second six – as Leicestershire reached the 10-over mark at 80 for two. And when Hill reached his fifty off 37 balls, the game was all but over at 113 for two in the 14th.Hill dominated an unbroken 90 stand with third-wicket partner Ajinkya Rahane (28) as victory was sealed with 2.2 overs remaining.

Captain’s 76 not enough as Gloucestershire defend 251 at York

ECB Reporters Network02-Aug-2024

Ollie Price added a half-century•Getty Images

Ollie Price’s watchful 98 off 118 balls plus a feverish bowling display led by three-wicket quick Matt Taylor led Gloucestershire to an entertaining win over Yorkshire at York as they successfully defended a 252-target to triumph by 36 runs.Price had underpinned Gloucestershire’s 251 for 9, while opener Miles Hammond leant support with 54. But the visitors added only 85 runs in a damaging final 15 overs which saw seven wickets fall.The Vikings responded on a challenging batting pitch, with new-ball seamer Ben Coad (2 for 27 from 10 overs) particularly impressive as one of four bowlers who struck twice.Shan Masood and James Wharton hit 76 and 56 respectively to leave Yorkshire well placed, but they slumped from 137 for 2 to 215 all out inside 48 overs. Left-armer Taylor finished with 3 for 35 off 10. Both counties have now won two, lost two in Group B.Gloucestershire elected to bat on the same hybrid pitch used for Yorkshire’s Wednesday win over Sussex, and they showed early caution against accurate bowling. After Cameron Bancroft’s early departure, caught behind off Coad, Hammond and Price advanced impressively as extra bounce was evident without extra pace.They rotated strike amidst an 88-run partnership, and a feature of Price’s innings was his sweeping and reverse-sweeping against spin. But the reverse against Dan Moriarty’s left-arm spin was Hammond’s undoing, bowled shortly after reaching his 84-ball fifty. By then, Price had also reached 50 off 65.Price beautifully drove two boundaries almost arrow straight off Ben Cliff’s seam in the 34th over before, at the start of his next, James Bracey hoisted the same bowler over long-on for one of only two sixes in the entire innings. However, Gloucestershire’s acceleration was shackled, as four wickets fell for 19 from 172 for 2 in 36th over to 191 for 6 in the 41st.Cliff struck twice in an action-packed 36th as Bracey played on and Ben Charlesworth was caught behind. Coad then forced Jack Taylor to play on, as did Moriarty to Graeme van Buuren. Tom Smith added a useful 27, but Price was yorked by George Hill as the visitors only just crept over 250.Wickets continued to fall as Yorkshire replied. Fin Bean was bowled off the inside-edge as he left Matt Taylor alone before Ajeet Singh Dale bowled Will Luxton shortly afterwards, the Vikings 24 for 2 in the seventh over.Masood and Wharton set about a no-frills recovery, sharing a third-wicket 113. Masood hit 63 in Wednesday’s Sussex win, and by the time his latest half-century arrived off 52 balls, Yorkshire were on a healthy 94 for 2 in the 21st.Acceleration came when they hit three leg-side sixes off the spin of Price and van Buuren, taking the score to 117 for 2 in the 23rd. It was now Yorkshire’s game to lose. But that’s exactly what happened.Matt Taylor had Masood caught behind and bowled Hill in successive overs before Harry Duke pulled Dom Goodman’s seam to midwicket – 147 for 5 in the 33rd.Wharton reached his fifty off 78 balls, but him crawling through the 40s heightened home nerves. It was, therefore, no great surprise when he miscued Smith’s left-arm spin to backward point, leaving the Vikings six down at 163.That became 176 for 7 in the 39th when Singh Dale trapped Dom Bess lbw. Now it was Gloucestershire’s game, and they didn’t let things slip.Coad was run out before Matthew Revis, for 41, and Moriarty were caught in the deep off Goodman and van Buuren.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta would reportedly approve the signing of an all-round player who Son Heung-min thinks is “incredible”, with sporting director Andrea Berta and the Gunners boss now having one eye on the next transfer window.

Arsenal turn attention to next season after PSG defeat

Their 3-1 Champions League semi-final loss to PSG means Arsenal no longer have any silverware to play for next season, meaning attention is continues turning further to Berta’s debut summer at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal "closer to finalising" deal for £85m star with contract semi-agreed

The Gunners have made significant progress ahead of this summer.

2 ByEmilio Galantini May 7, 2025

The ex-Atletico Madrid chief is expected to be very busy in the coming weeks, and a major squad overhaul has already been mooted by sections of the press.

Berta could even orchestrate a summer spend worth up to £300 million on seven signings across the squad, according to GiveMeSport, and it is highly anticipated that forwards will arrive at Arsenal among them.

Liverpool (away)

May 11th

Newcastle United (home)

May 18th

Southampton (away)

May 25th

Injuries to Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus have seriously debilitated Arteta’s forward options and exposed their lack of a potent goalscorer to lead their line, while there are also precious few options on the right-wing behind star man Bukayo Saka.

Some uncertainty also surrounds the long-term futures of Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli, who’ve been sporadically linked with potential exits from N5, so Arsenal’s forward line could be looking significantly different by the time next season commences.

Arsenal could sign a striker, left-winger and right-winger this summer (GiveMeSport), but Arsenal will only have so much money to spend on high-profile stars and competition is set to be rife for their signatures.

However, one man who could cover a lot of bases in the attacking areas, and a player they’re now believed to be interested in, comes in the form of versatile PSG ace Lee Kang-in.

A report from The Sun claimed earlier this week that Berta personally wants Lee at Arsenal, and PSG are prepared to sell the South Korea international who can play as an attacking midfielder, on the right, on the left and even as a striker when required.

Mikel Arteta would "welcome" Lee Kang-in signing at Arsenal

Berta was apparently driving a move for Lee when he was at Atlético, only for the Italian to miss out on his signature to PSG.

Following on from these claims, a Spanish media source now states that Arteta would “welcome” the signing of Lee at Arsenal as well, so it appears both the manager and sporting director are in agreement over his quality.

The 24-year-old has bagged six goals and six assists in all competitions this term, across 44 total appearances, but a fair portion of his minutes have come off the bench.

Enrique, who called Lee a “complete” player, has found real use of him as a utility man at the Parc des Princes, and judging by praise from international teammate Son, he could end up being a very useful addition for Arsenal, even if reports late last year claimed PSG could demand £51 million to let him go.

“Kang-in Lee’s talent is incredible,” Son told Sungmo Lee in 2023.

“I believe he could grow even further. We have to help him not to get too much pressure.”

It didn’t come around with a final dot ball or a wicket or a final scoring shot. The fans didn’t get to celebrate in the stands. There was no drama. After about five hours of hard work from the ground staff, it was during a fresh shower that it was finally decided there wasn’t going to be a match in Lauderhill on Friday. And with that, amid almost no fanfare, USA qualified for the Super Eight.USA will take it whatever way they get it, but they came wanting to play cricket. “As a cricketer, me coming to the ground today, and the boys coming to the ground today, I think that you don’t want to leave home and not play cricket,” the USA vice-captain Aaron Jones said. “That’s for me personally, I want to play. But at the end of the day, the rain… it’s nothing that we can control. So we are grateful that we got to the Super Eights. But we left the hotel this morning thinking about playing cricket, we wanted to play cricket.”Jones is not one for doing cartwheels. “Yeah, definitely we are celebrating,” he said. “Everybody’s happy right now. Obviously qualifying for the Super Eights is a big thing, so everybody’s happy right now.”Related

• Scenarios: How can Bangladesh, Netherlands still qualify?

• India and Australia in same Super Eight group

• USA qualify automatically for T20 World Cup 2026

• Washout in Florida takes USA through to Super Eight

Of course, the qualification didn’t come around just because there was no play on Friday, leaving Pakistan no chance to draw level with USA let alone going past them. They qualified because they beat Pakistan and Canada, something Jones at least had warned the world about when he said USA were not there just to make up the numbers.”Yeah, I definitely believed that earlier this year when I spoke about it,” Jones said when reminded of his comments. “To be honest with you, a lot of people don’t really pay much attention to US cricket. So probably the whole world don’t already know how much talent we have here and how good the players that we have here are. I think that could be a little advantage to us, but definitely I think that on any given day, once we play proper cricket, we believe that we can beat any team in the world for sure.”USA will now get three big matches in the Super Eight, facing West Indies, South Africa and possibly England. Their prize money will jump by at least $150,000. The biggest boost will hopefully be more interest in cricket in the country after such an impressive showing in their first T20 World Cup. Especially given how this automatically qualifies them for the next T20 World Cup too.”It’s a big thing for us to be honest,” Jones said. “Over the last couple of years, we’ve been speaking about playing in the World Cup, playing more games against the Full Member nations and stuff like that. And here we are doing it right now. And obviously qualifying for the Super Eights is really good. Not only for us right now in the moment but I think we’ll qualify for the 2026 World Cup as well so I think it’s a big thing for us. Not only for us but the fans around America as well. We really appreciate them for sure and not only for the fans but for the younger generation in America as well.”Even their rivals Canada have been rooting for USA because this brings the spotlight on the whole of North America. “I saw them last month in April, those guys were working really hard and I’m happy for them, how they qualified,” Shreyas Movva, the Canada wicketkeeper said. “It’s a motivation for us going into the next tournaments that USA have done it so we can do too.”Jones himself will be going back to the land of his birth, Barbados, to play two of the three matches. “It’s really good for me to go back home,” Jones said. “I’m really happy right now. I think I’ll get a lot of support for sure, especially in Barbados. So definitely looking forward to it.”

Liverpool have made a shock offer for a £400k-a-week star who is now keen to play in Europe next season, according to Sky Sports journalist Gianluca Di Marzio.

Reds' summer transfer plans taking shape

After two quiet transfer windows since replacing Jürgen Klopp in the dugout, Arne Slot will be tasked with strengthening his squad in a number of key areas this summer, and FSG are prepared to back their manager with significant financial backing.

A new striker could be required, with Darwin Nunez’s future in doubt, and the aforementioned report names Napoli’s Victor Osimhen as a potential option, alongside RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and prolific Sporting CP star Viktor Gyokeres.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold recently confirming his decision to leave his boyhood club this summer, the Reds have also ramped up their pursuit of a new right-back, and David Ornstein believes Bayer Leverkusen’s Jeremie Frimpong is keen on a move to Anfield.

The dream Isak alternative: Liverpool working on deal for £60m goal machine

Liverpool could be about to land a star who could allow fans to forget about Alexander Isak.

By
Ethan Lamb

May 7, 2025

Having perhaps overrelied on Ryan Gravenberch and Alexis Mac Allister, there have also been suggestions that Slot could look to bring in a new midfielder this summer, and there is serious interest in Stuttgart maestro Angelo Stiller.

However, a surprise move for a Premier League attacking midfielder could also be on the cards, according to Di Marzio, with the Sky Sports journalist recently stating Liverpool have now made a shock offer for Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.

De Bruyne is set to leave Man City on a free transfer this summer, with Pep Guardiola’s side taking the decision not to extend his contract, but the Belgian wants to remain in Europe, despite widespread links to the MLS.

Napoli are making a concrete attempt to sign the 33-year-old, so there could also be competition for his signature from some of Europe’s top clubs.

"World-class" De Bruyne likened to Gerrard

In truth, the Man City legend moving to Anfield doesn’t seem particularly realistic, given that he was in direct competition with the Reds for a number of years, during which time he impressed Klopp, who described the maestro as “world-class”.

Wayne Rooney has also likened the Belgium international to Steven Gerrard in the past, saying: “De Bruyne reminds me a bit of Steven Gerrard. He drifts out to that right-hand side and plays some brilliant balls whipped in, like Stevie used to. What I like most is he takes chances, he takes risks, he doesn’t go for the easy ball – he plays the hard pass.”

The £400k-a-week star is evidently in the twilight years of his career, given City’s willingness to sanction a departure, but he has still impressed in the Premier League at times this season, while also catching the eye in the FA Cup.

Competition	Appearances	Goals	Assists
Premier League	25	4	7
FA Cup	3	2	1

As such, De Bruyne could still be a difference-maker for a top club, but a move to Anfield would be extremely controversial.

India will start training in Chepauk on September 12 ahead of their first Test against Bangladesh, who will begin training on September 15

ESPNcricinfo staff04-Sep-2024India’s red-ball players are scheduled to begin their training at Chepauk on September 12 ahead of the first Test against Bangladesh, starting September 19. Bangladesh, meanwhile, will start training at the same venue on September 15.The BCCI is yet to name the squad for the Two-Test series against Bangladesh. The announcement is likely to happen after the first round of the Duleep Trophy, to be played from September 5 to 8 in Bengaluru and Anantapur. In action will be Shubman Gill, KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh and KS Bharat, among others.Many other Test hopefuls, such as batters Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, B Sai Sudharsan, and bowlers R Sai Kishore, Saurabh Kumar and Yash Dayal, will be in action in the domestic season-opener.Related

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India are set to begin their long Test season, all part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25, with two matches against Bangladesh, with the second Test in Kanpur. The series concludes on October 12 after three T20Is. Following this, India will play three Tests against New Zealand at home before travelling to South Africa for five white-ball matches and then go on to Australia later in the year for five Tests.India’s last Test series was against England in February-March at home which Rohit Sharma’s men won 4-1. Since then, there has been the IPL and the T20 World Cup, in the USA and the Caribbean, which India won, and white-ball series in Zimbabwe and in Sri Lanka.Bangladesh, meanwhile are coming off a historic Test series sweep against Pakistan in Rawalpindi and will be keen to take this confidence forward to Chennai.The 2-0 scoreline in Pakistan has lifted Bangladesh to No. 4 on the WTC table with 45.83 percentage points. India, meanwhile, are at the top of that table with 68.52 percentage points and will be hoping to strengthen their position in the series against Bangladesh.