At 36, he is the youngest ICC chair and he was elected unopposed in August
ESPNcricinfo staff01-Dec-2024
Jay Shah served as the BCCI secretary from 2019 to 2024•Associated Press
Jay Shah has begun his tenure as ICC chair as of December 1. He takes over from Greg Barclay over the weekend, with the decision on the venue for the 2025 Champions Trophy imminent.”I am honoured to take on the role of ICC chair and grateful for the support and trust of the ICC directors and member boards,” Shah said in a statement on his first day in the role. “This is an exciting time for the sport as we prepare for the LA28 Olympic Games and work to make cricket more inclusive and engaging for fans worldwide.”We are at a critical juncture with the coexistence of multiple formats and the need to accelerate the growth of the women’s game. Cricket holds immense potential globally, and I look forward to working closely with the ICC team and Member countries to seize these opportunities and take the sport to new heights.”Related
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Jay Shah could serve two three-year terms as ICC chair
Jay Shah elected unopposed as new ICC chair
Shah was elected unopposed and at the age of 36 he is the youngest ICC chair. Before moving to the ICC, he was the BCCI secretary, and it is not yet known who will succeed him in that role. He also served as the president of the Asian Cricket Council and as chair of the ICC’s finance and commercial affairs committee.A significant decision immediately facing the ICC is the venue of the 2025 Champions Trophy, which is supposed to be Pakistan. Imran Khwaja, the ICC deputy chair, has been acting as the interim chair and presided over the short board meeting on Friday. It is expected he will see through the Champions Trophy issue as the interim chair.The tournament is scheduled to begin on February 19 and the fixtures haven’t been announced yet following the BCCI’s refusal to send the Indian team to play in Pakistan, citing government advice. The PCB had been firm in its stance that it wanted to host all the Champions Trophy matches in Pakistan, after it sent a team to play the 2023 ODI World Cup in India, but a compromise may be reached where all the matches involving India may be played at a neutral venue. A final decision is expected imminently.
Roma are targeting 18-year-old Barcelona talent Marc Bernal, who was once hailed as the heir to Sergio Busquets.
Roma are interested in Bernal
Suffered an injury that sidelined him last season
Betis also eyeing the teenager
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WHAT HAPPENED?
The Serie A side are keen to bring the 18-year-old to the Italian capital this summer, according to , having already made contact regarding a possible transfer. However, La Liga side Betis are also eyeing him.
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THE BIGGER PICTURE
Bernal, a La Masia graduate, made his La Liga debut last season when he started in their opening game of the season against Valencia. He then started in the next two matches before a cruciate ligament injury sidelined him for the remainder of the campaign. His exceptional technique earned him a reputation as the natural successor to Barcelona and Spain's legendary midfielder Busquets.
DID YOU KNOW?
Roma have officially completed the signings of Evan Ferguson and Neil El Aynaoui and are now close to signing Wesley from Flamengo.
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WHAT NEXT FOR BERNAL AND ROMA?
Roma will hope to land the youngster as they look to reinforce Gian Piero Gasperini's team before the start of the season and a change of scenery may appeal to the youngster after his horrific injury.
Football Association CEO Mark Bullingham says Sarina Wiegman is "not for sale at any price" amid another Lionesses run to a major tournament final.
Lionesses reach Euro 2025 finalFA CEO heaps praise on WiegmanShe's "not for sale at any price"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?
After the Lionesses secured another dramatic comeback win, this time over Italy in extra time earlier this week, to reach the final of this year's Euros in Switzerland, Bullingham has made it clear he wants Wiegman to stay put for a while yet. He added it would "not be hard" to persuade her to stay in the post.
AdvertisementWHAT THE FA CEO SAID
He said, via : "I want to pay tribute to Sarina. I think her record individually is phenomenal. When I spoke to [the media] before the tournament I said we were lucky to have her and I still feel that way. I think she has been incredible. Her record of managing in five tournaments and reaching five finals is phenomenal. I don't believe anyone has been anywhere near that in the past and it will be really hard to do that in the future. She's a really special coach and we're delighted to have her with us."
When asked if it would be difficult to convince her to stay on in her current role, Bullingham replied: "Not hard at all. We are committed to her until 2027 and she is committed to us. We have a new [coaching] team coming in for her. We haven't quite started working on the plans for [the 2027 World Cup] but I know her focus, hopefully after success on Sunday, will shift quite quickly to that."
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Wiegman has been a huge success since becoming Lionesses boss in September 2021. She has a win percentage of 69.57, led England to Euro 2022 title glory and guided them to the 2023 World Cup final. The Dutchwoman has done a remarkable job and is likely to be attracting interest from a host of teams – but the FA won't let her go easily.
GettyWHAT NEXT?
Wiegman, who is the only manager in the men's or women's game to have reached the final at all five major tournaments she has coached in (Euro 2017 winners and 2019 World Cup finalists with the Netherlands), will hope England can upset the odds and beat World Cup holders Spain in the Euros final on Sunday.
The wheels came off West Bromwich Albion’s 2024/25 campaign alarmingly quickly.
It all started when Carlos Corberan left the building at the end of December, leaving the Baggies with the extremely tough task of replacing the Spaniard mid-way through what they hoped would be a promotion-winning season in the Championship.
Unfortunately, Tony Mowbray came in and depressingly faltered instead, with the 61-year-old subsequently relieved of his duties as his side fell out of the playoff picture.
It can’t all be blamed on the seasoned EFL manager, however.
The likes of Adam Armstrong also struggled in a league he usually shines in, as seen in the Southampton loanee only firing home a limp three strikes from 16 games after a late January swoop.
Games played
16
Games started
12
Goals scored
3
Assists
0
Big chances missed
4
Goal conversion %
12%
Therefore, this might make the Baggies think twice about going after Armstrong permanently now his loan deal has expired, with these three strikers perhaps on the West Brom shopping list instead to try and bolster their firepower.
1 Marc Guiu
Chelsea's Marc Guiu celebrates
West Brom could boldly go down the route of exploring the loan market once more with Chelsea hotshot Marc Guiu, irrespective of Armstrong’s poor stint at the Hawthorns.
After all, the Baggies have succeeded in the past when gifting an up-and-coming starlet chances away from Stamford Bridge, with Romelu Lukaku once just a wide-eyed attacker like Guiu before exploding into life in the West Midlands.
Guiu would hope to follow in the deadly Belgian’s footsteps if he is picked up by the promotion-aspiring Baggies this summer, having previously reportedly been on their radar around the time of Armstrong’s move.
The promising 19-year-old managed to bag six goals for Enzo Maresca’s men last season despite limited first-team action, meaning more game-time to come down a division could get even more out of the raw Spaniard.
2 Willem Geubbels
West Brom could be up against it in attempting to land the services of St. Gallen star Willem Geubbels, considering he is being linked with a £4.6m move to Premier League-bound Leeds United.
But, never say never over the Swiss attacker wanting more game-time by relocating to the Hawthorns instead, having been a long-term target on the Baggies’ agenda.
His goalscoring expertise in the Swiss Super League has even resulted in football talent scout Jacek Kulig heralding Geubbels as an “absolute top talent” and for many a valid reason too, considering the 23-year-old has hammered home an impressive 17 strikes this season from 41 overall clashes.
Therefore, the in-demand Frenchman could push a returning Josh Maja for a starting spot next campaign if he were to move to England, away from also allowing West Brom to immediately forget about Armstrong’s frustrating spell.
3 Ali Al-Hamadi
Ali Al-Hamadi
Lastly, away from thinking outside the box by shopping in Europe or snapping up a rising top-flight star, West Brom could go after a centre-forward talent full to the brim with EFL experience in Ali Al-Hamadi.
The Iraq international didn’t set the world alight out on loan with Stoke City this season just gone when registering only two weak goals from 15 games, but he has proven in the past for parent side Ipswich Town in the Championship that he’s a reliable option to call upon when the deadlock needs to be broken.
Games played
14
Games started
1
Minutes averaged*
22
Goals scored
4
Assists
0
Scoring frequency*
72 mins
Staggeringly, despite only starting one league game for Kieran McKenna’s men during their promotion-winning campaign, the former AFC Wimbledon man would still fire home a blistering four strikes, leaving him with a devastatingly effective scoring frequency of every 72 minutes.
It would all just depend on whether the Tractor Boys would want to keep the dangerous 23-year-old around now they’ve slumped back down to the EFL, but if he is available again, West Brom could seriously boost their promotion efforts by landing their failed January target.
West Brom could finally replace Palmer in swoop for "exceptional" EFL star
West Brom could finally replace Alex Palmer by swooping for this free agent EFL star.
da betsson： Manchester United’s forward line has been massively underwhelming throughout 2024/25, undoubtedly contributing to their lowly Premier League standing.
da bet vitoria： The Red Devils have only registered 42 goals in their 37 league outings to date, an average of just 1.1 per 90, highlighting the need for investment in such a department over the summer.
Ruben Amorim will want to make key changes to his squad during the off-season to try and right the wrongs of the current campaign and be a success at Old Trafford.
Manchester United manager RubenAmorimbefore the match
With the summer window right around the corner, work has already been done by the hierarchy to back the manager and hand him the tools he requires to change the fortunes at the club.
However, it’s crucial that the manager makes the right additions to the squad, with quality over quantity needed if they are to return to their former glory in the near future.
The latest on United’s hunt for new attackers this summer
Viktor Gyokeres has been a constant target for United over the last couple of months after Amorim’s arrival, understandably so given their time together at Sporting CP.
The Swede has registered 53 goals in 51 games throughout the current campaign, leading to rumours of a £60m switch to Old Trafford, with Arsenal also in the race for his signature.
However, the club have targeted alternatives over the last couple of weeks, leading to further links with Ipswich Town forward Liam Delap, according to journalist Laurie Whitwell.
His report states that the Red Devils are set to hold face-to-face talks with the striker over a move to the club after his impressive debut Premier League campaign, which has seen him net 12 times in 36 outings.
It also claims that Amorim’s side are leading the race for his signature and are willing to trigger the £30m release clause that has become active after the Tractor Boys’ relegation was confirmed.
Why United’s £30m target could be their next Rooney
Wayne Rooney will forever be a club icon at United, given their success he endured at the club over a sustained spell, breaking a whole host of impressive records.
The Englishman joined the Red Devils in a £30m deal from Everton back in 2004, with little to no fans expecting the forward to have the impact he did at Old Trafford.
He registered a staggering 253 goals in his 559 appearances, the most of any player in the club’s history, highlighting the impact he made during his spell in the North West.
Rooney also won 12 major honours during his spell at the club, including five league triumphs, something which now appears to be a distant memory given the recent slump at the Theatre of Dreams.
However, this summer, Amorim could land his own version of Rooney in a deal for Delap, following suit by joining for £30m from a smaller Premier League outfit.
Liam Delap
The comparisons could also be made with their respective playstyles, with the Ipswich star having similar ball-striking abilities and a battering ram-like presence in forward areas.
His stats from this campaign are evidence of how much of an impressive addition he would be for the Red Devils, offering a cheaper alternative to a deal for Gyokeres.
Most goals scored by U23 STs in Europe’s top-five leagues (2024/25)
Player
Club
Games
Goals
Arnaud Kalimuendo
Stade Rennais
33
17
Hugo Ekitiké
Eintracht Frankfurt
33
15
Emanuel Emegha
Strasbourg
27
14
Benjamin Sesko
RB Leipzig
33
13
Mika Biereth
Monaco
16
13
Liam Delap
Ipswich Town
36
12
Thierno Barry
Villarreal
34
11
Joao Pedro
Brighton
27
10
Stats via Transfermarkt
Delap, who’s been labelled “phenomenal” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, has completed 1.4 take-ons per 90, along with 1.6 carries into the final third – offering the side a needed all-round presence in attacking areas.
He’s also won 1.9 aerials per 90, along with a 45% shot-on-target accuracy, handing the side the added aerial and clinical threat they’ve been lacking throughout 2024/25.
His £30m clause could prove to be a potential bargain should Amorim sign him this summer, offering a cheaper but just as impressive option in attacking areas.
Should he get anywhere near the levels produced by Rooney at Old Trafford, it would be a sensational piece of business and one that could push the side back towards their former glory.
The new Van Nistelrooy: Man Utd make approach for £55m Delap alternative
Man Utd are desperate to sign a new centre-forward this summer, with Liam Delap just one target to have emerged.
Dooley suffered a stroke while on holiday and had emergency surgery in Honolulu before being airlifted to Brisbane where she remains in hospital
Alex Malcolm20-May-2024Melbourne Renegades and South Australia wicketkeeper-batter Josie Dooley is in hospital in Brisbane after suffering a stroke while on holiday to Hawaii which left her in intensive care for more than two weeks.Dooley, 24, was on vacation on the Hawaiian island of Kauai in April when she suffered a stroke. The South Australia Cricket Association released a statement on Monday detailing Dooley’s condition.”On 15 April Josie was on the Hawaiian island of Kauai when she suffered a stroke as a result of hydrocephalus and was required to be air lifted to Honolulu to receive urgent neurosurgical treatment,” the statement said.”Following surgery, Josie remained in the neurosciences ICU of the Queen’s Hospital in Honolulu for 18 days before progressing to a neurosurgical ward where she remained for a further 12 days.”Once she was fit to fly, Josie was medically evacuated to her hometown of Brisbane where she was readmitted to hospital.”Hydrocephalus is a neurological disorder caused by an abnormal build-up of cerebrospinal fluid in the ventricles (cavities) deep within the brain.”Josie is making progress in her recovery and would like to thank her family, friends and teammates for their love and support over this challenging time,” the statement continued. “The Dooley family request privacy at this time.”Her WBBL club, Renegades, added: “Like many in the Australian cricket community, the Melbourne Renegades are thinking of our beloved team member, Josie Dooley, as she faces her current health battle.”Josie is a much-loved member of our playing group and a favorite with our fans. We see her strength, dedication and spirit during the WBBL and we know this will guide her through this challenge.”Dooley plays for South Australia in the WNCL competition and for Renegades having started her WBBL career in her hometown with Brisbane Heat in 2018-19 where she played nine matches. She has gone on to play 65 matches for Renegades in the WBBL.She also started her WNCL career with Queensland in 2018 as a teenager before moving to South Australia ahead of the 2020-21 season. Dooley has represented Australia at Under-16 and Under-19 level and played Australia A. She also played for the Governer-General’s XI against England in 2017.
Arsenal may not have won the Premier League this season, but Mikel Arteta’s squad still have it all to play for in the Champions League.
Though Paris Saint-Germain left the Emirates Stadium with a slender one-goal advantage in midweek, the Gunners have the quality and confidence to create something special at the Parc des Princes.
Arsenal manager MikelArteta
Some questionable officiating aside, Arsenal know the crux of their issues this season lies with the failure to provide Arteta with an elite-level striker.
Injuries to Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz in the new year sapped the Londoners’ strength at number nine, calling for an unconventional but curiously effective stopgap in Mikel Merino.
However, Arsenal need a permanent solution, one which could ease the talismanic burden Bukayo Saka wears around his neck.
Bukayo Saka's season in numbers
To be fair, Saka wears the weight of responsibility rather well, having maintained a confident stream of goals and assists through the campaign while producing influential and energetic performances.
But this only draws to attention the yawning hole at number nine, with a prolific centre-forward certain to take the England international’s game to the next level.
Saka, 23, has scored 11 goals and provided 14 assists for Arsenal this season. The three-month hamstring injury picked up in December has proved the biggest blow to his side’s campaign; Saka’s back now, but he’s still not at his sharpest.
Nonetheless, the winger’s return has restored a deeper degree of balance and fluency that must be allowed to bloom into something truly world-class next season, and a more clinical attacking partner than one of Havertz or Jesus will ensure that happens.
As per FBref, Arsenal’s starboy ranks among the top 2% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe’s top five leagues over the past year for assists, the top 1% for goal-creating actions and the top 5% for crosses made per 90.
This man is a striker’s dream, and new sporting director Andrea Berta is ready to reward him with one of the finest centre-forwards out there.
Arsenal in talks to sign top striker
We all know Alexander Isak’s the dream. But Isak is going to cost more than £150m to convince Newcastle United to sell, and this would likely prove beyond any interested party’s means.
Instead, Berta is pushing to seal the signing of Sporting Lisbon’s Viktor Gyokeres. According to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg, several talks have already taken place, with the Liga Portugal champions looking for no more than €70m (about £60m) to get a deal done.
Sporting CP's ViktorGyokerescelebrates scoring their third goal to complete his hat-trick
Arsenal are confident they can get a deal done, but with Real Madrid, Chelsea and Ruben Amorim’s Manchester United also keen, they will need to act swiftly.
What Viktor Gyokeres would bring to Arsenal
Isak has been described as “the best striker in the Premier League” this season by Sky Sports’ Jamie Carragher, but he’s not the only deadly goalscorer on the market.
In fact, Gyokeres has the complete take on the centre-forward role and could make it his own at the front of Arteta’s system.
Sporting CP's ViktorGyokeres
The 6 foot two star’s technical quality, physicality and hunger for success have been hallmarks of his journey in Portugal, scoring 95 goals from 98 matches and winning last season’s Liga Portugal title before being crowned the division’s Player of the Year.
This level of surety in the final third is something that Arsenal have lacked across the campaign, and by instating Gyokeres in the focal role, Saka would finally have the reliable outlet from which he could direct his peerless playmaking ability.
24/25 – Sporting
48 (40)
52
12
23/24 – Sporting
50 (47)
43
15
22/23 – Coventry
50 (47)
22
12
21/22 – Coventry
47 (42)
18
5
20/21 – Coventry
19 (7)
3
0
20/21 – Swansea
12 (2)
1
0
Talk about year-on-year growth. Gyokeres, 26, has yet to make his mark in one of Europe’s recognised top-five leagues but his numbers leave little to the imagination in the best way, especially since he’s only missed 43 big chances across his past three league terms, as per Sofascore, scoring 88 times.
Havertz has his strengths, but he’s not clinical. In the Premier League this season, the German has missed 15 big chances, converting nine strikes. The 28-year-old Jesus, meanwhile, has not been available often enough to warrant Arteta’s trust as his first-choice option.
There’s no doubt Saka is among the finest players in world football, but his game is being impeded by the absence of a partner like Gyokeres. With 20 big chances created in the Premier League this season, only Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah has more – and having played plenty more minutes at that.
Injury pulled from Saka the chance to immortalise his name in the Premier League’s playmaking record books, but the Three Lions sensation’s electric start to the 2024/25 season remains a welcome reminder of the level of player Arsenal have on their hands.
Moreover, it’s an arresting lever Arteta wields in convincing a player of Gyokeres’ ilk that the Emirates project is the best place for him to go from strength to strength and hit the next level in his incredible journey.
Of course, any natural goalscorer would find their game enhanced alongside Arsenal’s main man, but the Sweden star is “the hottest striker in Europe,” according to ESPN’s Mark Ogden, and the partnership might just be something that fixes the issues that have plagued the north London side’s season.
Having come agonisingly close in recent years, this would be a signing to complete the craft and finally establish Arsenal as the continent’s team to beat.
It’s not over yet; Arsenal may yet find themselves fighting for the Champions League trophy after turning it around against PSG, but in any case, Gyokeres would turn a great team into an unstoppable force.
Their own Bruno Fernandes: Arsenal holding talks over "exciting" £66.5m ace
The creative maverick could be Arsenal’s missing piece.
Dame Caroline Dinenage MP questions chair’s intentions in open letter from CMS committee
ESPNcricinfo staff23-May-2024Colin Graves, Yorkshire’s chair, has come under renewed scrutiny from the chair of the parliamentary committee that oversees sporting bodies, following his recent claims that a process of demutualisation could prove to be “essential” to the long-term future of the club.Caroline Dinenage, chair of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee, queried the timing and content of Graves’ remarks, made in a letter to Yorkshire’s members on Monday, which she felt contradicted his previous assurances that the club would remain a members-owned institution under his leadership.Graves appeared before the CMS select committee on February 20, after his return as Yorkshire chair had been ratified at an EGM earlier that month. Yorkshire claimed at the time that it had engaged with more than 350 interested parties, including the former Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley, but had deemed his offer was the only one capable of retaining the club’s existing status as a mutual society.”Your return to the club was predicated on your financial support not being contingent on demutualisation of the club, in contrast to alternative bids discussed by the board,” Dinenage wrote in a letter to Graves on Thursday, which was also posted on X (formerly Twitter). “We are therefore concerned that you have now decided that converting the club to a private structure is now ‘essential’?””Prior to your bid’s approval, you reassured the members of the club on 16 January that ‘there are no discussions or plans to change the mutual status of YCCC.’ This claim was made despite your September 2023 offer to the YCCC board, which you initially denied any knowledge of to us, which was contingent on such a demutualisation.”Dinenage also queried the nature of Graves’ relationship with the family trust, overseen by independent trustees, which is a legacy of his original bail-out that saved Yorkshire from bankruptcy in 2002, and still constitutes some £15 million of the £20 million of the club’s “long-term borrowing” that Graves outlined in his letter to members.Related
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Colin Graves: Private ownership at Yorkshire 'essential for club's future'
Graves’ proposed process of demutualisation would unlock those loans and open the club up to private investment – a prospect that has already be raised among county clubs via the ongoing discussions over the future of the Hundred.In his update to members, he pledged that any potential windfall “for either myself or my family trust … would be donated in full into a charitable trust supporting Yorkshire recreational cricket, both men’s and women’s”. Dinenage, however, requested more information on that commitment, and set a deadline of May 31 for a response.”You have previously told the Committee that you have no role in your family trusts,” Dinenage wrote. “We would be grateful for clarity on the following points:
Whether the trustees of the Graves family trustees have agreed to the commitment to donations, and your role in securing this agreement?
Whether the ‘financial upside’ referred to in your 20 May update includes the interest rates of 4% above base rate, which will be returned to you and your family trusts as part of the repayment of debts?
The proposed governance arrangements for any new charitable trust for Yorkshire recreational cricket.”It is the second time in as many months that Yorkshire have come under parliamentary scrutiny. In April, the committee released its “Equity in Cricket” report, in which the ECB was urged to closely monitor the club in the wake of the racism scandal, to “ensure that there is no return to the ‘business as usual’ that allowed a culture of discrimination to take root and thrive at the club”.
da esoccer bet： A derrota por 1 a 0 do Corinthians diante do Argentinos Juniors, pela Libertadores, deixou a torcida corintiana ainda mais revoltada com Fernando Lázaro. Tanto na arquibancada quanto nas redes sociais, torcedores protestaram e pediram a saída do treinador. Com ampla história no clube, ele disse entender o lado do torcedor, mas não se mostrou afetado pelas cobranças.
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da brdice： +Fernando Lázaro tem noite desastrosa e leva a pior nota em derrota do Corinthians
– Não misturo (torcida com trabalho). Não me impacta nesse sentido. O torcedor está assim por uma derrota em casa, que não acontecia faz tempo. Sei o sentimento e o que gera esse resultado, aliado ao resultado da Copa do Brasil. Gera cobrança do torcedor. Entendo o sentimento do torcedor. Vamos buscar melhorar. Saímos triste pelo resultado. Entendo a cobrança – falou o técnico corintiano na coletiva de imprensa.
+ Assine o Star+ por apenas R$32,90 por mês e acompanhe o Timão na Libertadores quando e onde quiser!
O treinador também foi questionado se estaria disposto a entregar o cargo em meio a sequência negativa do Timão, mas disse que está focado em acabar com a oscilação da equipe. Mesmo com a derrota, Lázaro acredita que o grupo do Timão na Libertadores está aberto.
– Temos oscilado, a sequência tem sido de alternância de resultados e desempenhos. Não é ruim, mas tem alternado, e isso nos incomoda. Os resultados negativos, como hoje, não são o objetivo, queremos constância. Conseguimos resultado fora na competição, e depois esse resultado em casa seria importante para consolidação e valorização dos pontos fora. Sabemos que está em aberto, grupo difícil. Temos o Del Valle. Penso em trabalhar, ir buscando corrigir, melhorar e estamos batalhando nesse sentido, de menos oscilação de um jogo para outro – ponderou o técnico.
BALBUENA
Uma das surpresas na escalação inicial do Corinthians foi Balbuena, já que Bruno Méndez vinha formando parceria com Gil. O paraguaio novamente não foi bem e foi um dos culpados pelo gol do Argentinos Juniors na partida.
Além da análise da derrota, Lázaro justificou a opção por Balbuena afirmando que ele neutralizaria a força no jogo aéreo da equipe argentina.
+ Veja tabela e a situação do grupo do Timão na Libertadores
– Partida que não iniciamos bem, tomamos gol cedo, isso acelerou um pouco, enervou. Era um jogo de paciência, contra um adversário forte, que buscava atrair uma primeira marcação para uma bola que fosse colocada em disputa, ou buscando o espaço na defesa para criar situações. Isso é um pouco a opção pelo Balbuena, é uma bola que eles utilizam bastante, o pivô, e tendo consciência disso, entendemos que era um jogo para muita disputa aérea. Ele teve bem nessas disputas, muitas situações, o adversário exigia isso, por isso a opção – explicou Lázaro.
O Timão volta a campo pela Libertadores no dia 2 de maio, contra o Independiente del Valle, na Neo Química Arena. Antes, o clube alvinegro enfrenta Goiás e Palmeiras, pelo Brasileirão, e tentará reverter a desvantagem contra o Remo, pela Copa do Brasil.
da heads bet： Right-back Trent Alexander-Arnold looks almost certain to depart Liverpool this summer, with his contract set to expire at the end of the current campaign.
da dobrowin： The 26-year-old has largely been touted with a free transfer to join Real Madrid, with numerous publications already claiming that a deal is complete for him to join the LaLiga giants.
Such news has angered supporters, with his potential move leaving Arne Slot’s side shortchanged and unable to receive a fee for a talent who’s been a leading player in their success.
Liverpool'sTrentAlexander-Arnoldwalks off the pitch
He’s made over 300 appearances for his boyhood side, playing a vital role in various levels of success, claiming one Premier League title, with another set to follow in the coming weeks.
The defender isn’t the only player to depart Anfield on a free in recent years, albeit in different circumstances to another player who captured the hearts of the fanbase during his spell on Merseyside.
Daniel Sturridge’s time as a player at Liverpool
Striker Daniel Sturridge formed a deadly partnership with Luis Suárez during his stint at Liverpool, with the pair firing the Reds to title contention under Brendan Rodgers over a decade ago.
The Englishman scored 67 times in his 160 appearances during his six-and-a-half years on Merseyside, producing countless moments of magic including his effort against former side Chelsea.
However, despite his goalscoring exploits, he was unable to prove his talent on a regular basis, with injuries massively plaguing his time and subsequently spending long periods on the sidelines.
During his stint on Merseyside, the now-retired striker suffered 15 separate injuries, missing a total of 121 matches – missing an average of 18.5 matches per season he was on the club’s books.
Such a record left the hierarchy with no choice but to offload him in the summer of 2019, but six years on, Slot has found a new version of the Englishman, desperately needing to offload him to avoid losing another talent for nothing.
Why Slot needs to sell Liverpool’s new Sturridge this summer
Despite Slot’s impressive first season in England, which has seen him take the top-flight by storm, he may have a job on his hands to sustain such a success next season.
Liverpool head coach Arne Slot
Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah could all depart the club on a free transfer this summer, giving the Dutchman a huge task in replacing the trio given their importance to the side.
However, he may want to offload numerous other first-team members this summer, including Diogo Jota, who’s fallen well beyond the high standards he set for himself during his early days on Merseyside.
The Portuguese international joined the Reds in a £45m deal from Wolves in the summer of 2020, notching 34 goals during his first two years after his big-money transfer.
However, he’s struggled to achieve such levels in 2024/25, scoring just nine times across all competitions, with injuries starting to prevent his progress at Anfield.
Diogo Jota’s injuries since joining Liverpool in 2020
Season
Injury
Days missed
Games missed
2020/21
Knee
85
19
2020/21
Foot
12
4
2021/22
Ankle
15
4
2022/23
Hamstring
32
5
2022/23
Calf
117
24
2023/24
Calf
29
8
2023/24
Knee
52
13
2023/24
Hip
23
4
2024/25
Hamstring
54
14
2024/25
Fatigue
17
4
Total:
10
436
99
Stats via Transfermarkt
Jota has only been able to start 12 league outings so far during Slot’s reign, leading to reports that the club were willing to cash in on him this summer to fund a move for a new talisman.
Liverpool striker Diogo Jota
The 28-year-old has two years left on his contract, but with the former Atlético Madrid ace now entering the latter stages of his professional career, the upcoming window could present the last opportunity to recoup the majority of the fee paid for his signature.
Given his injury issues and lack of form when fit, Slot must look to offload him this window, joining Trent in not featuring in his plans as he looks to continue his impressive start as the club’s manager next season.
It may seem a brutal call, but the football industry is an unforgiving one, with decisions needing to be made for the better of the club, subsequently leading to fresh blood arriving to fill the void.
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