Manchester City have reportedly made an offer for Atletico Madrid winger Rodrigo Riquelme.

What’s the latest Man City transfer news?

Those at the Etihad aren’t wasting any time in preparing for the 2023/24 season, looking to carry on the success under Pep Guardiola following a historic treble-winning campaign.

However, City have already lost one of their key players from last season in Ilkay Gundogan, who has left the Etihad on a free transfer to sign for Barcelona.

Mateo Kovacic has been confirmed as the first arrival of the window and looks set to replace Gundogan in the middle of the park, joining from Premier League rivals Chelsea in a deal worth an intial £25m.

Fellow Croatia international and RB Leipzig defender Josko Gvardiol could soon join Kovacic in Manchester, with personal terms already agreed over a potential move.

There has been further rumours of another new midfielder as well, with talks held with the agent of Celta Vigo’s Gabri Veiga and contact seemingly made for Atlanta United’s Thiago Almada.

Those links appear to be as a result of Bernardo Silva’s future at City being up in the air. Reports have claimed that Guardiola has given the green light to another marquee midfield signing should Silva leave, with the Portugal international having a ‘mind-boggling’ offer from a side in Saudi Arabia.

Therefore, it looks as if it could be an extremely busy few months in Manchester, and another player who appears to be on the radar is Riquelme.

Sport Witness relayed an update from Spanish outlet AS regarding City and Riquelme in the last 48 hours. They claimed that City have made an offer to sign the player, who has a €60m release clause, with a move in the initial stages.

The report adds that Atletico are willing to explore sales for plenty of their players, and they could negotiate a deal with City under Riquelme’s release clause.

Who is Rodrigo Riquelme?

Riquelme is primarily a left-winger who can also play on the right-hand side or in an attacking midfield role. The 23-year-old actually shares the same agency as Jon Stones and Nathan Ake and is valued at a career-high €12m by Transfermarkt.

The Spaniard has come through Atletico’s academy but has made just two senior appearances for his current employers. That’s because he has been sent out on loan on numerous occasions in recent years, including to Bournemouth where he scored twice in 19 appearances.

Riquelme has most recently been with Girona, though, contributing to eight La Liga goals in 34 appearances, with Atletico’s president, Enrique Cerezo, describing the winger’s efforts last season as “magnificent”.

“He had a magnificent season at Girona, and now Rayo [Vallecano] is interested in him.

“He is a great player, and I believe he has a place at Atletico.”

It looks as if a move to the Etihad could be one to watch this summer, and who knows, Guardiola may feel he could take Riquelme’s game to the next level, potentially viewing him as a long-term alternative to someone like Silva.

Liverpool have wasted no time at all in getting their business done in the summer transfer window and have already made the signing of two exciting young midfielders with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai joining the squad for next season.

The Reds failed to maintain their high standards both in the Premier League and on the European stage last season which left many supporters hoping that the club would look to iron out the issues and uninspiring performances by acquiring fresh talent.

Indeed, the Anfield faithful will be thrilled with the signing of the two attacking-minded midfielders, however, there is still plenty of work to be done to bring the team back to life and deliver on the expectations that have been set over Jurgen Klopp's tenure so far.

The Athletic's Liverpool reporter James Pearce claimed in an article this week that the club are no longer making the signing of a third midfielder a priority and instead are more likely to focus on bringing in a centre-back who can inject some youth into the defensive set-up.

Both Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip are well into their 30s at this point with the latter set to be out of contract at the end of next season, so there is a real opportunity to strengthen the personnel and provide Ibrahima Konate with another young prospect to work alongside as part of the long-term future of the team.

One player who has been linked with a move to Merseyside this week is Crystal Palace defender Marc Guehi.

How much is Marc Guehi?

A talented centre-back who has been going from strength to strength over the last two seasons, the Englishman has become a huge asset to the South London club.

Football Insider report that Liverpool are interested in signing Guehi this summer, however, Palace will command a whopping £60m fee to part ways with their defensive prodigy.

How good is Marc Guehi?

Owing to his expensive price tag it would seem unlikely that FSG would sanction the funds to snap up the services of Guehi this summer, however, this will depend on just how urgent the need is felt to strengthen the centre-back role and whether Klopp can trust his current crop of players.

Should Matip be allowed to leave on a free next summer, it would leave Klopp's options limited to Konate, Van Dijk, Nat Phillips and Joe Gomez, unless of course, the club decide to invest in the 2024 transfer windows.

This would also be without taking into consideration potential injury issues, something that plagued Konate's ability to be a consistent presence over last season with only 18 appearances and 17 starts in the Premier League last season.

As a result, the signing of Guehi – dubbed "composed" by Patrick Vieira – could be the perfect opportunity to bolster the centre-back options with a Premier League-proven defender who could not only maintain the quality needed when others are injured but would be a great upgrade on Gomez.

When comparing the positional peers' output in the league last season, Guehi comfortably outperformed the Liverpool centre-back in a number of attributes including percentage of dribblers tackled (61.9% v 57.9%), aerial duels won (55.7% v 54.8%), interceptions (45 v 25) and ball recoveries (241 v 126), as per FBref.

The 22-year-old has been the recipient of high praise over his career so far, with Club Brugge 'keeper Josef Bursik naming Guehi when asked to pick the strongest player in England's U21 squad a few seasons ago:

"Marc Guehi. He’s an absolute tank, It’s like having a brick wall in front of you, he’s massive."

With that being said, it would be a no-brainer for Liverpool to sign Guehi this summer as it could well be a move that facilities an exit for Gomez.

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has reportedly been blown away by Darren Fletcher's son Jack after training with the first-team.

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• Ten Hag 'wowed' by Fletcher's son, Jack
• United midfielder, 16, trained with first-team
• Tipped for big future at the Red Devils

• Getty
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The teenager, who is the son of Red Devils' technical director Darren Fletcher, was promoted by Ten Hag to train with the first team ahead of their Champions League clash with Galatasaray on Wednesday – a game they drew 3-3.

  Now, the Sun claims the Dutch manager is keen to 'fast-track' Fletcher's progress, is likely to go out on loan next season, and that he has a 'massive' future at United after watching him for several months.

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Jack joined United from rivals Manchester City earlier this year to link up with twin brother Tyler. While Jack was not selected as part of the travelling party to Istanbul, he was the only under-18 representative to be involved in the first-team training session. There may be another young Fletcher going onto be a hit at United in the future.

• Getty
  

  DID YOU KNOW?

  Jack's father, Darren, spent 20 years at United as a player, progressing through their academy to play 342 times for the first team. The former Scottish international also won nine major trophies at the club, including the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, and FIFA Club World Cup. He also won the Community Shield on four occasions.

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• WHAT NEXT?

  United are back in Premier League action on Saturday when they travel to Newcastle United in a battle between the sixth-placed Red Devils and the seventh-positioned Magpies.

The Committee of Administrators (CoA) hopes that the state associations will distill their objections to the Lodha Committee recommendations to one or two points when they meet on Sunday (June 25) in Mumbai

Arun Venugopal23-Jun-2017The Committee of Administrators (CoA) hopes that the state associations will distill their objections to the Lodha Committee recommendations to one or two points when they meet on Sunday (June 25) in Mumbai, a day before the BCCI’s SGM. This, the CoA believes, will be a significant step towards firming up the BCCI’s model constitution.The Vidarbha Cricket Association is the only one so far to draft a new constitution as per the Lodha recommendations, and it has subsequently been ratified by the BCCI. A number of state associations, however, have filed petitions in the Supreme Court objecting to different recommendations of the Lodha Committee. The CoA feels this is counter-productive to all parties concerned. “We are focused on making sure that the Lodha Committee report gets implemented, which requires the model constitution to be adopted,” a CoA official told ESPNcricinfo.”For this, the states need to be aligned. We told them even in the last meeting that going to the court with multiple petitions won’t work. We have asked them to narrow it down to two points that are absolutely critical from their standpoint. If they are going to withdraw all their petitions and ask the court to consider two points, it’s much easier for the court to deal with the matter rather than dealing with 15 different petitions with different permutations and combinations.”My hope is in that meeting we will be able to narrow it down and then consider and work with the court to see if it is possible to amend one or two these things and then move forward to get the constitution finalised. Then you can conduct elections and hold AGM in September.”The CoA is given to understand that a majority of state associations are opposed to four recommendations – one-state, one-vote; the age cap of 70 for office bearers; the cooling-off period of three years for office bearers between terms in office; and restriction on the number of selectors to three as opposed to the earlier five. A Cricket Association of Bengal official, for instance, told ESPNcricinfo that the age-restriction was a major stumbling block since “more than 60%” of the state body’s officials were over 70.While the Kerala Cricket Association objected to the cooling-off period, it also sought clarity on the role of the Apex Council. “We have 11 office-bearers as opposed to the nine-member Apex Council that has been prescribed by the Lodha Committee for the BCCI,” a KCA official said. “We want clarification on whether the formation of an Apex Council applies to us as well; that is should a state association like ours need to have an Apex Council like the BCCI.”The CoA official indicated that the Supreme Court might be inclined to reconsider one or two recommendations so long as they didn’t tinker with governance issues. “We have indicated to the state associations that if they try and dilute anything surrounding governance, it is unlikely to fly,” the official said. “So, within that context, let them decide what they want to take to the court but it is unlikely the court will dilute any governance-related clauses. One-state, one vote, and three selectors, I think, the court may be willing to consider.”The state associations might still want to take [governance-related clauses] to the court and the court might strike it down. They might want the court to specifically say that they are unwilling to make amendments. But, if they adopt all the recommendations except one or two points that they object to, the court will at least feel they have a genuine inclination towards reform. That’s what we have been telling them to do, so that it is in their interest as well that if the court wants to consider something, if the court feels that they are moving forward.”The CoA is also likely to discuss other issues such as the Deloitte report that has dealt with financial irregularities in certain member associations. “Even in our previous meetings, we tried to talk to them on various matters, including governance,” the official said. “In this case, there might be something to discuss on ICC-related matters, obviously on what is coming up for voting in the SGM on June 26. There are other things that we sent to them to respond to – the Deloitte report and appointment of Ombudsman and redressal officer.”

Justice RM Lodha was critical of the Indian board and the Supreme Court-appointed Committee of Administrators in the tardiness regarding the implementation of reforms suggested by his committee

Arun Venugopal29-Jun-2017

Justice RM Lodha, the architect of the Lodha Committee recommendations, has expressed dismay at the tardiness of the BCCI and the Committee of Administrators (CoA) in implementing the sweeping structural reforms approved by the Supreme Court nearly a year ago.While Lodha, a former Chief Justice of India, was irked by the BCCI’s defiance, he was also critical of the CoA for not being proactive enough.”It’s unfortunate, actually, [that] nothing has been done,” Lodha told ESPNcricinfo. “Things have not moved, reforms have not been taken forward, so definitely it is not a good thing to happen. I have yet to see a body defy the Supreme Court’s order continuously. It is almost one year – 11 months are already over and the 12th month [is] going on and there is no sign of implementation of the highest court’s order. This is something that doesn’t happen at all.”Had [the CoA been proactive], by this time [the] Supreme Court order and reforms would have been in place. Unfortunately, I think, [they have involved] themselves in incidental matters instead of taking the reforms forward and implementing the order which was the main brief given to them.”Lodha also felt that the resignation of CoA member Ramachandra Guha, who alleged inaction on a number of issues, was possibly an indication that the committee did not function smoothly.”The CoA are doing their job,” he said. “[But] maybe they [spend] a lot of their time in these contractual and administrative matters, whereas the focus should have been the implementation of the court order because that was the primary task. Everything else was incidental. Maybe, as the reports have come, one of their members has resigned, so maybe the things aren’t going on smoothly. I don’t know; it’s all conjecture and surmise.”The fact of the matter is the BCCI actually continues to defy and not implement the Supreme Court order. The CoA, being a body appointed by the court, must have been actually proactive and the focus ought to have been implementation of the court order.”In the lead-up to the board’s special general meeting earlier this week, the CoA had been hopeful that the BCCI would adopt the Lodha reforms.After discussions, the committee had urged state associations to distil their objections of the Lodha recommendations to a few points which could then be run past the Supreme Court. The committee believed this might make the court more amenable to revisit these recommendations.However, the BCCI went ahead and formed a committee of their own to examine the areas of difficulty in the implementation process.Justice RM Lodha on the Committee of Administrators: “Unfortunately, I think, [they have involved] themselves in incidental matters instead of taking the reforms forward.”•AFP

Lodha was categorical that there was no scope for negotiation in an order delivered by the highest court in the land. “After the Supreme Court’s judgement what do you negotiate?” he asked with a laugh. “You can’t bargain on the court’s order. To overrule the Supreme Court’s judgement, no authority can do that. The only authority that can change it [the order] is the Supreme Court itself, no-one else.”The Supreme Court’s judgement is there, it is there. And, it has been passed after hearing BCCI at quite some length. I don’t fathom any reason. I just can’t figure out what should be negotiated. A Supreme Court judgement is non-negotiable.”According to Lodha, there was no ambiguity in the Supreme Court’s position since it passed the order in July 2016. “There is no history of order passed by the Supreme Court staying the implementation of the judgement,” he said. “Rather, the orders subsequent thereto have been to implement the order. The cricket board and the state associations will continue to put obstructions, but that should not hamper the implementation of the highest court’s order.”People who know the procedure of the court know how the Supreme Court actually deals with the matter after the final judgement is passed. There is a procedure for [filing a] review petition. The other procedure is of curative petition, that’s all. Both processes have been pursued [by the BCCI] and pursued unsuccessfully.”There have been no impediments from the court’s side. As a matter of fact, there is no order; the judgement of July 18 stands as it is. It’s as simple as that: it has to be implemented because Supreme Court has not modified or reviewed its order.”The BCCI SGM was attended by veteran administrators N Srinivasan and Niranjan Shah despite their being ineligible to be office bearers on more than one count according to the Lodha guidelines. When asked about Srinivasan’s eligibility, CoA chairman Vinod Rai had said his committee was not mandated by the Supreme Court to “sit in judgement on people’s qualification or disqualification.”Lodha, however, said the eligibility was clearly specified in the court’s order. On whether the CoA could have taken a call on the matter themselves, he said: “Look, our report is there. A person is disqualified if he has attained the age of 70 years. This has got the seal of the approval from the Supreme Court. One should always keep in mind [that] what cannot be done directly cannot be done or achieved indirectly. Ultimately, it is a committee of administrators appointed by the Supreme Court to oversee the affairs.”Still, with the Supreme Court hearing the matter on July 14, Lodha was optimistic the reforms would be implemented. “The court order has to be implemented. There may be some delay that is happening, of course,” he said. “But, I am sure it will be taken to its logical conclusion and our efforts and hardwork will not go waste.”

Fede Valverde has hailed former Real Madrid team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo for the rapid "progress" of the Saudi Pro League.

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Ronaldo first megastar to shift base to Saudi ArabiaNeymar & Karim Benzema followed suitValverde lauds Ronaldo for football revolutionGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Portuguese forward sent shockwaves across the world when he announced his decision to sign for Al-Nassr after the 2022 World Cup. His move to the Middle East ignited an influx of superstar signings in the Saudi Pro League over the summer, which included Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and Brazilian forward Neymar, at Al-Ittihad and Al-Hilal respectively.

Valverde had the fortune of sharing the dressing room with both Ronaldo and Benzema at Real Madrid. The Uruguayan midfielder hailed Ronaldo as a pioneer for the development of the game in the Middle East.

AdvertisementWHAT VALVERDE SAID

Speaking to reporters, Valverde said: "I think there’s been a lot of progress with the players who have come here. For example, Cristiano, who started all this. It shows what they want to do and to have players of that quality is important."

Getty Images THE BIGGER PICTURE

The Pro League continues to be a popular attraction among players for the hefty wage structures and even Liverpool's Mohamed Salah is being linked to a move to Riyadh. However, Valverde also made it clear that even a blank cheque would not convince him to choose Saudi at this point in his career as he is enjoying his stint with Los Blancos.

"It is really impossible for me to go to the Saudi League," he added to . "No chance. 10, 20 or 30 million will not change my life. I'm at Real Madrid, the best club in the world. I love my life in Madrid, the same goes for my family and that's it."

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GettyWHAT NEXT?

The transfer bandwagon to Saudi Arabia shows no signs of stopping and it is expected that it will only grow in the next few years. Michael Emenalo, the Saudi Pro League director of football, has insisted that they are still pursuing a deal for Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe, despite the forward rejecting a move in the summer transfer window. If they manage to pull off the Salah and Mbappe signings it will undoubtedly be another major coup for Saudi Arabia.

Nottingham Forest have emerged as a frontrunner to sign Chelsea forward Callum Hudson-Odoi this summer, according to fresh reports.

Is Callum Hudson-Odoi leaving Chelsea?

The Premier League’s left-sided winger worked his way up through the youth ranks to graduate from the academy at Stamford Bridge and become a regular feature of the first-team, where he's so far made 126 senior appearances, but his future is currently extremely uncertain.

Last season, England’s former international was sent out on a season-long loan to Bayer Leverkusen to receive more game time, but that spell didn’t go as well as hoped as he only made seven starts all term which will have been disappointing for both the player and his parent club.

The Blues product, however, will be out of contract at the end of the next campaign so this window will be Mauricio Pochettino’s final opportunity to cash in should he not want to lose him for free, and should he depart, he’s already got a heavily invested suitor at The City Ground.

The Guardian’s Jacob Steinberg recently reported that the Reds, Fulham and AC Milan have all registered an interest in the 22-year-old who is ready to embark on a new challenge, but if the following update is to be believed, it’s the former who have leapfrogged their competitors into pole position.

Are Nottingham Forest signing Hudson-Odoi?

According to Football Transfers, Nottingham Forest are the “among the favourites” to sign Hudson-Odoi should he secure a move away from Chelsea. The SW6 outfit “want to sell” the attacker and Steve Cooper is a “huge fan” of his target having managed him at the England’s U17s World Cup earlier in his career. The Blues are “looking” to demand £20m, though if a deal is to be agreed, it likely won’t be until “later” in the window.

Should Marinakis make an offer for Hudson-Odoi?

Nottingham Forest’s owner Evangelos Marinakis will know that Cooper holding an existing connection to Hudson-Odoi means he knows a lot about what he’s capable of, and even though he only scored one goal and provided the same number of assists last season at Leverkusen, he still looked promising and could thrive in the next chapter of his career in the Midlands.

Chelsea’s forward was averaging 3.86 shot-creating actions per 90 minutes over in Germany which was the third-highest total throughout his squad, as per FBRef, not to mention that he had strong link-up play with his teammates, recording an 86.9% pass success rate, higher than any of the regular current starters in NG2.

The Wandsworth-born ace, who has the versatility to operate in seven different positions across the pitch, also knows what it takes to compete and be successful having won five senior trophies with his boyhood club, including the Champions and Europa League, so could bring a much-needed winning mentality to the side.

Last but not least, Hudson-Odoi has been dubbed a “monster of a talent” by journalist Nizaar Kinsella and it’s obvious that he has bags of potential to be unleashed, and this is exactly what could happen should he sign on the dotted line to become a new recruit under Cooper.

South Africa may be willing to bench their most experienced bowler, Morne Morkel, in the Champions Trophy, in favor of an allrounder and a shorter tail. Morkel, who was included in the squad despite not having played an ODI since June 2016, made his comeback on Monday, and bowled four overs at first change without taking any wickets.Although coach Russell Domingo was pleased to have the seamer back, he admitted there may not always be room for him. “It’s a catch-22 situation because having Morne there might strengthen our bowling, it gives us more of a tail not having the three allrounders,” Domingo said. “It’s his first one-day international for a while and it’s good to have him back. He’s had a long-term injury layoff, and the bowlers that have played in his place have done really well.”The game Morkel played in was the only one that South Africa could win in the series against England, though he cannot claim to be the reason for their success. It was Kagiso Rabada, the new No. 1-ranked bowler in ODIs, and Wayne Parnell who reduced England to 20 for 6 in five overs. They appear to be the first-choice new-ball pair.Parnell has been the most successful partner to Rabada in the 13 ODIs played after Kyle Abbott’s international retirement, effectively pushing other options down the queue. Those include Chris Morris, Dwaine Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo – all big-hitting allrounders, who South Africa hope can add late runs on pitches that are expected to produce big totals. England batted first on such surfaces in the first two ODIs and put up 339 and 330.Domingo expects conditions to be batting-friendly in the Champions Trophy as well because that suits the hosts’ current style of play. “That’s the way England bat at times – if there is something in the wicket, and you land the ball in the right areas and they nick the ball, you’ve got a chance against them because they play that expansive brand of cricket. On flatter wickets, they’re going to be hell of a dangerous,” he said. “But the bowlers will always have a chance against them when there’s something in the wicket because of the way they’re going about their batting at the moment.”South Africa will not meet England in the group stage of the Champions Trophy, where they are pooled with Sri Lanka, India and Pakistan, but could come up against them in the knockouts, where England will hold the psychological advantage having won the series 2-1. Still, South Africa were pleased with their preparation leading into their opening game against Sri Lanka at the Oval on Saturday. “There were a lot of benefits and positives that we can take forward into the Champions Trophy so we’re pretty happy with the way things have panned out for us,” Domingo said.

Liverpool have been strongly linked with a move for Romeo Lavia this summer and now a new update from a reliable source has been revealed on the club's pursuit of the player.

Will Liverpool sign Romeo Lavia?

According to a journalist associated with Football Transfers, the Southampton midfielder is keen on a move to Liverpool but the club will wait to see if his fee decreases.

The reporter revealed on Twitter: "Hear Liverpool have received positive indications from Romeo Lavia that he would like to play under Jurgen Klopp but the £50million fee that the Southampton have stuck on their midfielder means that the Reds are prepared to play the long game."

How good is Romeo Lavia?

Liverpool have wasted no time in getting their business done over the summer transfer window with Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai acquired to become part of the next generation of success at Anfield.

However, there have definitely been opportunities squandered in the past to add quality in midfield with the most recent being Jude Bellingham who was reportedly a top target for the Merseyside club

However, after years of speculation surrounding a potential approach for the talented England star, he finally signed for Real Madrid instead this summer.

As a result, Jurgen Klopp must avoid another long-winded back and forth that could result in missing out on a further young talent in Lavia, as he could be a hugely valuable asset to Liverpool's midfield rebuild.

The 19-year-old sensation – hailed for his "unbelievable quality" by Nathan Redmond – is attracting interest from a number of Premier League clubs following Southampton's relegation to the Championship with Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea all named as potential suitors alongside Liverpool.

The Reds have added great depth to their attacking-minded presence needed in midfield, however, there is definitely room for improvement in the deeper defensive role and if an opportunity arises to snap up a worthy successor for Fabinho it shouldn't be missed.

When comparing Lavia's output last season to the Brazilian midfielder, there are clear attributes that the Saints star has outperformed his Liverpool positional peer in including rate of dribblers tackled (39.6% v 38.7%), successful take-ons (56% v 46.7%), ball recoveries (187 v 180) and blocks (47 v 38), as per FBref.

The former Manchester City academy graduate has already started to earn high praise for his impact at St Mary's, with Manchester United legend Paul Scholes full of praise for the youngster's ambition to earn first-team football away from the treble-winners:

"I was surprised when City let him go I think he is good enough potentially, he is only 18-years-old maybe hold him back a bit.

"He has chosen to move on and I think he is a player with so much potential and he could potentially go back, but he has settled in so well."

"He has got a pass in his locker and he is big and strong and likes to defend. He does not want to get forward too much and sits in front of the back four and sets the play in motion from there."

With that being said, Klopp must do everything he can to secure a deal for Lavia to avoid repeating the club's Bellingham disaster.

David Warner has stuck firm to his assertion that the players are prepared to be absent from this summer’s Ashes if the pay dispute drags into the six months beyond June 30

Daniel Brettig04-Jun-20173:46

What is the Cricket Australia-ACA pay dispute?

Australia’s vice-captain David Warner has stuck firm to his assertion that the players are prepared to be absent from this summer’s Ashes if the current pay dispute drags into the six months beyond the June 30 expiry of the MOU between Cricket Australia and the Australian Cricketers Association.”I stick firm behind it,” Warner said in London. “If we are unemployed we have no contracts, we can’t play. So, from my point of view and speaking to the guys, we would love to see something happen between now and July 1 and I am sure that it is in the capable hands of the ACA to get to the table with CA and come to some form of an agreement.”Warner was subjected to plenty of criticism in the wake of his earlier comments about the possibility that CA “might not have a team for the Ashes” if they continued to take a hardline stance on their efforts to break-up the fixed revenue percentage pay model that has existed for the past two decades.Subsequent reports focused on Warner’s handsome pay packet and its attendant extravagances of property and cars. He noted that a prickly past had prepared him for being able to brush those barbs aside while pushing to ensure that domestic and international players are not divided into separate camps as per CA’s current pay offer.”It comes with my background and my history with that kind of stuff. So you know, it is water off a duck’s back,” Warner said. “I have a verbal stance, to stick up for all our players, and we are always talking about a fair share and equality. And that’s what we are sticking to.”People have their own opinions and they can have those opinions, and for me, what has been written about me in the past or what gets written now, I don’t take any notice of that. My full support is with all the guys, and we’re all together.”We’ve always said from day one that all the support is behind the ACA 100%. They are doing a great job for us. Obviously, from a players’ point of view, we are pretty vocal and upbeat about it. We are pretty sure that they will come to an agreement. But as you know, we are going to be unemployed come July 1. So we have to wait and see and play it out from there.”In refusing to back down from his words about the Ashes, Warner said that the players were committed to letting the ACA act as their collective bargaining agent and were not entertaining the thought of any direct negotiations with CA. Instead, he said, members of the Champions Trophy squad were hearing of CA’s tactics via media reports.”Not really. It is only what we hear in the media and that’s how CA have been driving it the whole way,” Warner said. “They have been using the media as a voice and we get that message from there. As you said, we get a couple of emails.”A rusty display in the rain-curtailed opening match against New Zealand suggested Australia’s players may struggle to keep their minds focused in the midst of the dispute over their futures. However, Warner was adamant that events between the two negotiating teams over the next four weeks would not divert from efforts to win in England.”For us, we galvanise all the time – it doesn’t matter what is going on outside of the game,” he said. “It is a big thing that we could be unemployed but from us, our job is to play cricket and focus on winning the tournament and not letting our country down in that respect. So as I said, our full mental frame is toward the tournament.”