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On an overcast Tuesday afternoon just over two weeks ago in Malahide, Pakistan found themselves three wickets down for 14, still needing 146 more to prevent Ireland becoming the first team since 1877 to win their maiden Test match. With a worrying recent history of fourth-innings implosions, Pakistan looked set for a defeat so ignoble it would define their time on British shores this tour, and highlight the malaise of their Test team since, indeed, the last time they were in the UK just under two years ago.Imam-ul-Haq and Babar Azam carried them through that ordeal, and since then, the post-mortems of sharp declines in Test fortunes are suddenly the opposition’s problems. The series against England began with two Test teams that had, with varying degrees of rapidity, gone from being the best in the world to distinctly mediocre. Pakistan’s – as you would expect – was a more expeditious, less explicable downturn, albeit one hastened by the retirement of two of their greatest batsmen, Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq, while England’s arguably has reasons stretching back for a decade: from cricket no longer being on free-to-air TV, to the marginalisation of the County Championship, to their well-documented struggles in replacing Andrew Strauss and Graeme Swann, not to mention Kevin Pietersen and Andy Flower.But the manner of England’s decimation at Lord’s – their fifth defeat in 12 Tests at that holiest of grounds, where previously they had not lost since 2005 – may be the jolt the home side need to assess how far they’ve fallen. In last week’s Test, England were out-thought by a team that isn’t exactly renowned for its meticulous planning, out-fielded by an outfit that has never been a torch-bearer in that regard, and out-batted by a group whose susceptibility to the moving ball is well-documented. After all that, it was hardly a surprise that Pakistan out-bowled them, too. The dismissiveness, almost derisive, with which Sarfraz Ahmed’s young team put England away seems to have set alarm bells ringing at the ECB, with an urgency that wasn’t in evidence even in the wake of a 4-0 drubbing in the Ashes earlier this year.As a result, Pakistan find themselves in the unfamiliar position of being the steady clinical team from which no drama is expected, while England have faced all manner of uncertainty over the past few days. The only blot on a perfect Test at Lord’s for Pakistan was the loss of Babar to a wrist fracture, while Joe Root’s men have been left to contend with changes in strategy and personnel if they are to avoid a first home series loss to Pakistan in 22 years.

Form guide

England LDLLD
Pakistan WWLLWKeaton Jennings and Joe Root warm up ahead of the second Test•Getty Images

In the spotlight

Dawid Malan managed to escape some of the more excoriating criticism in the wake of the first Test, but he will doubtless be aware of the pressure on his shoulders. Since making his debut against South Africa last July, he has shown flashes of the brilliant talent – most notably in Perth – that got him into the England team in the first place. But the cold hard facts are these: Malan averages 29 with the bat and hasn’t added to the solitary (albeit classy) century that he made at the WACA. Since then, his form has actually fallen away. He has added just 177 runs at 19.7 to his career tally, and has never quite looked an assured presence at the crease – particularly when the likes of Trent Boult and Mohammad Amir have pinned him there with a full left-arm length. He will be acutely aware of the intensifying scrutiny on his place.It’s hard to single out a Pakistan player in the spotlight; there wasn’t one you could accuse of having a poor Test match without coming off as incredibly churlish. But if you must, you could say that Shadab Khan has had better Tests with the ball. He bowled six wicketless overs that went for 34 in the first innings – albeit in seam-friendly conditions. But his bowling in the second innings, especially when England got a couple of partnerships going, arguably failed to put them under the sort of pressure that Shadab’s wizardry is capable of. He was a shade guilty of failing to exploit the rough his seamers had created. The two wickets he did get had an element of fortune to them, too, with the delivery to Stoneman keeping exceptionally low, and the wicket of Stokes off a long hop more down to the Englishman’s shocking shot selection. Shadab can – and will – only get better, so England have one more thing to be wary of.

Team news

As if England didn’t have plenty to ponder already, Ben Stokes is a serious doubt with a hamstring injury, with a late decision expected before the toss. Teenage prodigy Sam Curran has been brought in as cover. Chris Woakes’s chances of starting in Stokes’ absence look good, particularly given his all-round credentials, and though Dom Bess had an indifferent debut, it is unlikely that England will risk starting the Test without a specialist spinner. As for the batting department, Stoneman has been left out, with Jennings returning to partner Alastair Cook at the top of the order.England (probable) 1 Alastair Cook, 2 Keaton Jennings, 3 Joe Root (capt), 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Jonny Bairstow (wk), 6 Ben Stokes/Chris Woakes, 7 Jos Buttler, 8 Mark Wood, 9 Dom Bess, 10 Stuart Broad, 11 James AndersonIt is much more straightforward for Pakistan. With Babar Azam out of the side, Usman Salahuddin is set to make his debut at Leeds tomorrow. No other changes are expected.Pakistan 1 Azhar Ali, 2 Imam-ul-Haq, 3 Haris Sohail, 4 Asad Shafiq, 5 Usman Salahuddin, 6 Sarfraz Ahmed (capt & wk), 7 Shadab Khan, 8 Faheem Ashraf, 9 Mohammad Amir, 10 Hasan Ali, 11 Mohammad Abbas

Pitch and conditions

The Headingley pitch is usually helpful to seam bowlers, though it does tend to go flat when the sun makes an appearance. The surface for tomorrow looks like one that will abet run-scoring, and deter England from fielding an all-pace attack. Cloudy weather is expected, especially over the weekend, so how well each side bowls could be crucial to the outcome.

Stats and Trivia

• England have lost six and drawn two of their last eight Test matches. The last time they won was against West Indies at Lord’s in September 2017.
• While England’s last home-series defeat to Pakistan came in 1996, failure to beat Pakistan at Headingley would mean Pakistan haven’t lost any of their last four Test series against England. The most recent one – in 2016 – was drawn 2-2, while Pakistan won the previous two in the UAE by margins of 2-0 and 3-0.

Quotes

“It was very clear where we needed to improve from last week. We’ve had some good preparation, the guys have really worked hard and now it’s just doing it, going out and proving a point, putting a really strong performance in as a group and showing some pride in the badge.'”
“We have to forget Lord’s and move on to this now. If we want to move ahead as a team we have to forget our wins. We did well, we enjoyed it for two days, but now we’re here.”

Wolverhampton Wanderers would have feared a relegation battle in the Premier League this campaign and those fears are coming to fruition having recorded four losses from their first six matches.

The latest of those poor results came at Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon as the Old Gold stumbled to a 1-1 draw against Luton Town, although after spending the whole second half with ten men, Gary O'Neil would have seen that result as one point gained rather than two dropped.

On Tuesday evening, the Old Gold can put their disastrous league form to the side and focus on their trip to take on Championship high-flyers Ipswich Town in the third round of the Carabao Cup.

The Tractor Boys have announced their return to the second tier in exceptional style, winning seven of their opening eight matches with their only defeat coming against Leeds United.

A distraction this competition may be – but it isn't any easy one at that for Wolves – and they'll have to be on the ball against a side brimming with confidence who will sense an upset could be in the offing.

What is the latest Wolves team news?

With the chance to utilise the full depth of his squad, O'Neil is expected to make several changes against Ipswich but at least one of those will be enforced.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Wolves' outstanding performer from their 3-1 defeat against Liverpool, followed that terrific display up with a shocking one against Luton as the midfielder was sent off for making an inexcusable challenge on defender Tom Lockyer.

On a much brighter note, midfielder Joe Hodge, who caught the eye in their 5-0 thrashing of Blackpool in the previous round, is working his way back from a muscular problem – which he sustained in the last round – and has a slim chance of returning for this tie.

Elsewhere, Matt Doherty, Boubacar Traore, Toti Gomes, Fabio Silva and Sasa Kalajdzic should all get their chances to impress O'Neil from the off, as could on-loan Manchester City midfielder Tommy Doyle, who has featured twice off the bench in the Premier League so far.

Should Tommy Doyle start vs Ipswich?

After joining on loan with an option to buy for £4.3m, Doyle's opportunities in the Wolves team have been limited thus far, however, with a suspension to Bellegarde and Mario Lemina likely to be rested, the Englishman could get his chance to shine.

The 21-year-old starred in the Sheffield United side that was promoted to the Premier League last season, scoring four goals and registering seven assists, as he impressed at Bramall Lane in a Paul Heckingbottom system that allowed his technical attributes to flourish, operating in a dynamic midfield three with James McAtee and Sander Berge.

Possessing the technique and superb passing range to dictate the tempo of matches – as taught at Man City – the midfield metronome looked a cut above at Championship level when compared to his positional peers, ranking in the top 5% for expected assists, top 12% for shot creating actions, top 13% for passes into the final third and top 15% for progressive passes, as per FBref.

At times this campaign, Wolves have struggled in the absence of the technically astute Ruben Neves and although Doyle is unable to replicate the impact of the Portuguese, he can offer O'Neil a calmness on the ball in midfield and that could be key tonight with Ipswich likely to start fast out of the blocks.

The 5 foot 8 "set-piece specialist" – as lauded by England under-21 teammate Charlie Cresswell – can provide Wolves with quality from dead-ball situations too, which is also something they've missed in the absence of Neves.

Doyle was one of the stand-out players in the Championship last term and earned his move to a Premier League side on the back of his consistent displays. Now, the stage is set for him to show O'Neil what he can offer the Old Gold in future matches.

Abahani Limited romped to their sixth consecutive win in the Dhaka Premier League after crushing Mohammedan Sporting Club by 112 runs.Mashrafe Mortaza and Mehidy Hasan took three wickets each as Mohammedan, who won their last three league matches, were bowled out for 147 runs in 30.4 overs in chase of 260. Earlier, Nasir Hossain (67) and Anamul Haque (63) made match-winning half-centuries.Mohammad Sharif’s six-wicket haul, which included a hat-trick, helped fire Legends of Rupganj to a five-wicket win over Gazi Group Cricketers.Batting first, Gazi Group were bowled out for 190 in 32.4 overs after the match was reduced to 33-overs per side due to a delayed start owing to a wet outfield. Sharif removed Imrul Kayes and India international Manoj Tiwary in his first spell.Off the second ball of his second spell, Mahedi Hasan fell for five before Sharif nipped out Rajibul Islam, Nadif Chowdhury and Ruhel Ahmed off consecutive balls in the following over. It was Sharif’s first six-wicket haul and second hat-trick in List-A cricket.Parvez Rasool and Tushar Imran rescued Rupganj’s chase by adding 102 runs for the fifth wicket after they had slipped to 86 for four in the 15th over. Rasool remained unbeaten on 61 off 57 balls with five fours and two sixes.A century by Fazle Mahmud and Farhad Reza’s four-wicket haul helped Prime Doleshwar Sporting Club to a 56-run win over Sheikh Jamal Dhanmondi Club in Fatullah.Batting first, Doleshwar were propelled to 293 for 6 on the back of Mahmud’s unbeaten 120. He added 82 runs for the second wicket with Liton Das and another 71 runs for the fourth wicket with Zohaib Khan.Nurul Hasan later struck an 86-ball century too but Dhanmondi Club were bowled out for 237 runs in 45 overs. Nurul, who earned a call-up to Bangladesh’s T20 squad on the same day, struck seven fours and a six. He added 99 runs for the seventh wicket with Elias Sunny. Farhad took four for 56 while Arafat Sunny took two wickets.

MatériaMais Notícias

O volante e lateral Gabriel Menino concedeu uma entrevista coletiva nesta sexta-feira (18) após ser convocado, pela primeira vez na carreira, para a seleção brasileira.

– Eu estava almoçando com a minha mãe. Meu empresário me ligou, me deu parabéns. Aí eu “de novo me dando parabéns?”. Achei que era pelo meu gol. Ele disse “você vai vestir a amarelinha”. Ele me mandou o vídeo… Me emocionei, minha mãe também. Choramos juntos.

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Além disso, Menino disse que não esperava ser chamado por Tite:

– Me surpreendi. Sabia que teria a convocação, mas não sabia que seria tão cedo. É agradecer a Deus pela oportunidade e agarrar com as duas mãos.

O atleta, também, não escondeu sua admiração por jogadores que estarão com ele na seleção, como Neymar, um dos melhores do mundo, e Gabriel Jesus, ex-atacante do Palmeiras:

– O jogador que eu mais admiro é o Neymar. Jesus também, que fez história aqui e eu quero fazer isso também, além de ir pra um time da Europa. O Neymar é meu ídolo e sou muito fã dele.

Gabriel comentou, também, a comparação feita pelo jornal espanhol AS entre ele e Casemiro, o volante titular do Real Madrid:

– É uma honra ser chamado de Casemiro por tudo que ele joga e fez. Quero fazer história, ganhar os títulos assim como ele. É uma honra.

O jogador, ao ser questionado sobre sua polivalência, mostrou-se disposto a jogar em qualquer posição para ajudar a equipe:

– (Versatilidade ajudou?) Acho que sim. Jogador tem que ter mais de uma posição. Não saber jogar em todas, mas em algumas. Para onde precisar, estarei a disposição e vou dar conta do meu espaço – e completou – para jogar eu aceito até goleiro. Eu quero jogar. Onde o professor achar que eu devo, eu vou jogar e dar meu melhor.

Por fim, Menino agradeceu ao treinador do Palmeiras, Vanderlei Luxemburgo, pela oportunidade na equipe principal:

– Tenho que agradecer muito ao professor (Luxa). Olhou mais a base, me deu oportunidade para jogar como lateral, volante, ponta. Ele me deu oportunidade de mostrar meu futebol para o Brasil, para o mundo. Agradecer a ele e a comissão por ter me ajudado, conquistado meu primeiro título como profissional. Minha primeira convocação para a Seleção. É só agradecer.

Gabriel Menino chegou à seleção com apenas 19 anos. Ele subiu à equipe principal do Palmeiras em 2020, se tornando, rapidamente, titular absoluto no time de Luxemburgo. Como profissional, ele soma 25 jogos, um gol e quatro assistências.

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Tottenham Hotspur have now been provided with a new update on their pursuit of FC Porto winger Pepe, who they have already submitted a bid for this summer.

Who are Tottenham signing this summer?

By now, Tottenham fans will be well aware that Nottingham Forest's Brennan Johnson has shot right up to the top of their shortlist, with journalist Alasdair Gold reporting that the winger is Ange Postecoglou's "number one attacking target."

Postecoglou believes Johnson is the "perfect fit for his Spurs system", but Gold makes it clear that it will be a tough deal to orchestrate, and if it does happen, it will be late in the window, with Forest keen to hold out for a fee of around £50m.

However, the manager does have some alternatives in mind, including Jota, who he worked with during his time at Celtic, although the Portuguese winger is not thought to be as high on the wanted list as the Nottingham Forest star.

Last week, the Lilywhites submitted a bid in excess of €45m (£38.6m), including an additional €15m (£12.9m) in goal bonuses for Pepe, but faced rejection from Porto, who are demanding a fee of €70m (£60m) if they are to sanction his departure.

Despite having their opening bid rejected, reports from Spain indicate Tottenham remain keen on signing the winger before the summer transfer window closes, with the board well aware that he could go some way to replacing Harry Kane's goal-scoring contributions (via Caught Offside).

Bizarrely, the report claims the FC Porto star has a market value of just €30m (£26m), far less than the bid Spurs initially made, which does not seem very likely, considering he has a release clause of €75m (£64m) included in his contract.

As previously mentioned, the Portuguese club are hoping to receive a fee of £60m, so you'd think there is no chance they let the Brazilian leave for less than half that amount, but it remains to be seen whether the Lilywhites come back with a higher offer.

Read The Latest Tottenham Transfer News HERE

How good is Pepe?

The 26-year-old has been a key player for Porto over the past two seasons, since arriving at the club from Gremio, and he has made year-on-year improvement, after picking up four goals and four assists in his first campaign.

Last season, the versatile winger amassed 11 goal contributions in the Liga Portugal, with journalist Fernando Campos claiming he's been "getting better and more important in Sergio Conceicao's team."

It is very impressive that the former Gremio man has regularly managed to weigh in with attacking contributions with his new club, but his main strength is his dribbling ability, ranking in the 99th percentile for successful take-ons per 90 in the past year.

When compared to his positional peers, the attacker also places in the 98th percentile for progressive carries per 90, and his attacking threat is also highlighted by the fact he is in the 94th percentile for touches in the opposition area.

Pepe could be a fantastic signing for Tottenham, but he will not come cheap, considering Porto are set to hold out for a fee of £60m.

Everton are looking at concluding two transfers in the coming days with Sean Dyche, Farhad Moshiri and co seemingly busy as the market nears its conclusion in a few weeks' time.

Who do Everton want to sign?

Reports on Sunday afternoon suggest that Everton's interest in Leeds winger Jack Harrison is now 'very advanced'. That said, he is not the only forward on Dyche's radar after the season kicked off this weekend.

Indeed, according to Football Insider on Saturday, they are working on securing Portuguese attacker Beto on a loan deal with an obligation to buy, with talks advancing over the past few days.

The Toffees have been monitoring his situation all summer but were reluctant to meet his €30m (£26m) price tag, though an initial short-term contract could work in their favour.

Read the latest Everton transfer news HERE…

Everton's Premier League campaign began with a 1-0 home defeat to Fulham this weekend, accentuating the need for offensive reinforcements despite the signings of Arnaut Danjuma and Youssef Chermiti.

Everton could repeat the signing of Richarlison by luring Beto to Goodison Park, with the Brazilian leaving the club for Tottenham Hotspur in a £60m deal last year but departing as one of the club's most distinguishable stars of recent memory.

How many goals did Richarlison score for Everton?

Arriving from Premier League rivals Watford in 2018 for £50m, the 26-year-old scored twice on his competitive debut against Wolverhampton Wanderers to kickstart a 53-goal haul across 152 outings while plying his trade on Merseyside, with former manager Carlo Ancelotti claiming he is "among the best forwards".

Standing at 6 foot, the 44-cap star – with 20 goals for Brazil – is not the tallest of forwards but utilises his aerial dominance superlatively, ranking among the top 7% of attacking midfielders and wingers across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for aerial wins per 90, as per FBref.

Hailed as a "warrior" by former Spurs boss Antonio Conte, the £90k-per-week gem brings an imposing element to his game and this is something that Beto could replicate under Dyche's wing on Merseyside, with the 52-year-old's management style focussing heavily on aerial dominance and dogged determination.

How good is Beto?

Standing at 6 foot 4, Beto is a taller figure and has averaged 1.8 shots and 2.2 aerial wins across the duration of his career, as per WhoScored, but has hit double-digits across all four league campaigns of his career, including 22 goals across his two years in Serie A.

The 25-year-old also ranks among the top 20% of forwards across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for successful take-ons, the top 10% for clearances and the top 25% for interceptions per 90, as per FBref, illustrating his Richarlison-like tenacity and relentlessness that could slot into Everton's system seamlessly.

He has been lauded for his "quality" and intelligence by journalist Josh Bunting, and his ten league goals and 1.8 shots per match last term, as per Sofascore, were not bettered by Everton forwards Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Neal Maupay and Demarai Gray.

With journalist Sam Tighe also waxing lyrical over the ace's ability to "spook defenders", claiming that makes the opposition panic with his brutish presence and physicality, he could emulate Richarlison in his imperious former role at Goodison Park, and could perhaps finally restore some offensive verve to the Toffees' frontline.

Kumar Sangakkara scored his third straight fifty, while Oshane Thomas took 3 for 31 to help the Jamaica Tallawahs beat the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots by 41 runs

The Report by Peter Della Penna31-Aug-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsKumar Sangakkara scored his third successive fifty•Randy Brooks – CPL T20 / Getty

Chris Gayle’s return to Sabina Park was spoiled by Man of the Match Oshane Thomas, whose searing pace dismantled St Kitts & Nevis Patriots’ chase, as a spirited effort from Jamaica Tallawahs in the field resulted in a 41-run win. The defending CPL champions clinched their fifth straight playoff berth and moved one point ahead of Patriots to second on the CPL points table. Thomas took 3 for 31, including the wicket of Gayle for a three-ball duck.Another Tallawahs win in their final match against Guyana Amazon Warriors would put them into the opening playoff match against the Trinbago Knight Riders for a chance to gain direct entry into the tournament final.Tallawahs’ inauspicious startVictory was the furthest thing from the minds of Tallawahs supporters after Lendl Simmons was bowled off the first ball of the game. Pace bowlers have been sensational in the final week of the season and that trend continued on Wednesday night as Sheldon Cottrell swung one full and straight to castle the right-hander before halting his follow-through to stand at attention for his patented military salute send-off. It was the first of two wickets on the night for Cottrell.Sangakkara’s streak continuesWhile Sri Lanka’s fortunes continue to wane post Kumar Sangakkara’s international retirement, his form has been waxing lyrical all summer, whether in England with Surrey or in the Caribbean with the Tallawahs. Arriving in the middle for the second ball of the match, Sangakkara settled early nerves by forging an 81-run stand with Glenn Phillips.Sangakkara kickstarted the innings in the fifth over against Ben Hilfenhaus, riding a pair of streaky shots that fell safely as he carted the Australian for three fours and two sixes in a 24-run over. He routinely used his feet to combat the Patriots’ spin trio of Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Nabi and Tabraiz Shamsi. When he wasn’t charging forward, he got creative within the crease, shuffling back and across to disrupt their lines with a series of flicks and scoops. By the end of his innings, he’d racked up his third consecutive half-century.Powell’s prodigious powerWhile Sangakkara drove most of the Tallawahs innings, runs were trickling through at the other end. By the time he got out with eight balls left in the innings at 135 for 4, Patriots were looking at chasing an under-par total. That’s when Rovman Powell stomped down hard on the accelerator for a furious finish to the innings.Having smashed a free hit off Shamsi over midwicket a few overs earlier for six in search of his timing, Powell chopped an edge for four to fine leg to end the 19th. After nearly being run-out off the first ball of the 20th, he found his radar once more against Cottrell, creaming him over midwicket and long-off for consecutive sixes to take Tallawahs past 150 before falling on the final ball of the innings.Lightning strikes twiceJust as Simmons fell at the start of the match without scoring, so too did Gayle. The Universe Boss fell in somewhat more shocking fashion though. One of the most fearsome six-hitters in world cricket padded up to an inswinger from an amped-up Oshane Thomas. Gayle appeared to motion after the ball struck him as if he had failed to pick it up or something distracted him. The umpire disregarded the gesture and simply raised his finger to send Gayle on his way.Wonderboy tees off, then strikes outEvin Lewis shook off Gayle’s abrupt departure by scorching 40 of the next 43 runs in partnership with Mohammad Hafeez. Returning to the same ground he blitzed a T20I century against India earlier in the summer, Lewis targeted the leg-side boundary early and often with six fours and two sixes.He began the fifth over by smacking three consecutive boundaries off Mohammad Sami, then drove a moon shot over long-on for six off the fifth ball. That shot resulted in a broken bat. Just like Roy Hobbs in Bernard Malamud’s , Lewis was sapped of his powers without his go-to bat and promptly popped a tame return catch to Sami off the final ball of the over. Only two more batsmen reached double-figures in the Patriots innings as Thomas and Krishmar Santokie took three wickets each to bowl out Patriots for 116 inside of 18 overs.

Manchester City star Kyle Walker could make a move to Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich this summer as the Germans are willing to offer him a contract for "two years plus an extra year", whereas the Citizens are willing to offer just "one further season", claims Sky Sports reporter Mark McAdam.

Is Kyle Walker leaving Manchester City this summer?

It was truly a season to remember for the blue half of Manchester last year. Not only did they win the first treble in the club's history, but they did it while beating local rivals Manchester United in a tightly contested FA Cup final.

In many ways, it felt like the culmination of everything that Pep Guardiola and the City Group had been working towards since the Spaniard's arrival back in 2016, and for one of the club's longest-serving players, it seems like it's the perfect time to bid farewell.

According to The Athletic, England and City star Kyle Walker has courted the interest of German behemoths Bayern this summer and has now reached a verbal agreement with the side for a two-year contract.

While an agreement between the two clubs has yet to be formally agreed, it's expected that the treble winners could make upwards of £15m.

Reporter Mark McAdam explained the situation live on Sky Sports News (via Football Daily), saying:

"He's currently going into the last year of his contract at City. Now, there are talks that they would be willing to extend that, but only for one further season, whereas Bayern Munich are offering him two years plus an extra year – so he would extend his career at the very highest level for another three seasons, in theory.

"There is no agreement in place between Bayern Munich and Manchester City, but talks continue between the two clubs – and this is fascinating because it's always the way with these situations: guess who's playing each other next week in Japan on a pre-season tour? It's Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

"So that's the latest with that situation, but again, would Bayern Munich be making these noises publicly about Kyle Walker if they hadn't been given an indication that he would be interested in talking to them, should the two clubs agree a fee?"

How good was Kyle Walker last season?

Despite starting just 29 times across the Premier League, FA Cup, and Champions League last season, it was yet another campaign in which Walker demonstrated to the world just why he is so well thought of by Guardiola and why he'll go down as one of the most successful English full-backs of all time.

According to Sofascore, the Sheffield-born dynamo averaged a match rating of 6.74 in the Premier League and a seriously impressive rating of 6.96 in the Champions League, where he was included in the Team of the Week twice for his efforts.

As you'd expect for a full-back in a Pep system, his underlying offensive numbers are brilliant.

According to FBref, which compares players in a similar position across Europe's top five leagues, the dynamic defender sits in the top 3% for attempted passes, the top 5% for progressive passes, and the top 6% for pass completion per 90.

That said, for as "exceptional" as Walker is, he is now 33 years old, and having won everything there is to win at the club, a move away to prolong his career at the very highest level could be what's best for everyone involved.

Newcastle United look set to complete the signing of young right-back Tino Livramento from Southampton in the very near future, with the club "closing in" on a move for him.

Who is Tino Livramento?

The 20-year-old is a highly-rated youngster with a potentially big future ahead of him, even though his career has been a little stunted to date. Having joined Saints from Chelsea in 2021, he found himself sidelined for the vast majority of last season after suffering a cruciate ligament injury.

Only 26 minutes of Premier League action came his way in the whole of 2022/23, but in the previous campaign he started 25 times in the competition, despite still only being a teenager at that point.

Southampton's relegation to the Championship has meant that important players are going to move on in the current transfer window, and Livramento falls into that bracket, considering the ability that he possesses.

He has been constantly linked with a move to Newcastle – he seemingly prefers them over Chelsea, who have also been in the mix – as they look to strengthen their squad ahead of a return to the Champions League in 2023/24, as well as attempting to secure back-to-back top-four finishes in the league.

A new update has now emerged regarding the Englishman's future and it looks as though it is now just a matter of time until he is plying his trade at St James' Park.

Are Newcastle set to sign Tino Livramento?

According to reliable journalist Nizaar Kinsella on Twitter, Newcastle are now on the verge of sealing the signing of Livramento this summer:

"Valentino Livramento is closing in on a move to Newcastle. Player is ready to accept terms and Southampton are expected to agree a fee soon."

This has the potential to be a fantastic piece of business by Newcastle, at a time when it is crucial when they plan for both the present and the future, rather than simply focusing on the here and now.

Granted, Livramento suffered a serious knee injury last season – one that many players can struggle to fully recover from – but he is so young still and the club will no doubt have done their research in making sure they believe he won't be hampered in the long-term future.

Livramento could come in as the natural heir to Kieran Trippier, who is now 32 years of age and possibly not at his best for too much longer, initially arriving as his deputy but growing into a key figure over time.

The Saints ace has won five caps for England Under-21s, breaking into a setup full of fantastic young options, and if he can remain injury-free moving forward, he could believe that a future starting berth awaits him for the Three Lions at senior level, even though competition is clearly strong in that area.

Gareth Southgate has hailed Livramento as "excellent" in the past, which can only bode well for him, and a move to a Newcastle team very much on the rise can only increase his level of exposure.

The West Indies bowling caoch has urged his bowlers to take more responsibility for bowling with discipline, after the side lost two wicket-taking chances due to no-balls

ESPNcricinfo staff02-May-20172:02

We were sloppy between lunch and tea – Estwick

Twice during the second session in Bridgetown on Monday, West Indies were denied the wicket of Ahmed Shehzad on account of a bowler overstepping. In the first instance, Shannon Gabriel struck Shehzad plumb in front of the stumps, only for a review to show it was a no-ball. Shehzad was on 21 at the time and that delivery was Gabriel’s sixth no-ball of the innings. A few overs later, Roston Chase, bowling off spin, would have had Shehzad out stumped for 32 had he not overstepped. Overall, West Indies conceded nine runs in no-balls in Pakistan’s innings on the second day, eight from Gabriel.It was the kind of performance that West Indies’ bowling coach Roddy Estwick said was a sign of “ill-discipline”, and prompted him to suggest some sort of penalty so that bowlers would start taking responsibility for these mistakes on the field.”We have to make sure there is some kind of action starting from the nets, people have to be penalized for it,” Estwick said. “Because you can’t continue at the international level to be bowling no-balls. For me, it’s ill-disciplined because you can go through ODIs and T20Is and not bowl no-balls, and then you come into Test matches and you are bowling a cluster of them. To make it even worse, the spinners are bowling no-balls and that is not acceptable at all.”They could be fines, they could be any punishments – for every no-ball that you bowl, you have to do 10 sprints, whatever. But there must be some way that people will take accountability for what’s happening. You have to accept the responsibility, it’s you bowling no-balls. I can only help you prepare but when you go out in the middle you have to be as disciplined as possible.”Just like, if a person plays a bad shot, there is nothing a batting coach can do about it. If someone drops a catch, they blame the fielding coach but I think it’s all down to discipline, everybody making sure that on the field of play he is as disciplined as possible. I will try and correct it in the nets but it is up to the players to take ownership when they walk out on the field.”The no-ball issue isn’t a new one facing the side. In the first Test in Jamaica, West Indies gave away 12 runs in no-balls in Pakistan’s first innings, six from Gabriel. Although there were no wicket-taking chances squandered because of overstepping in that innings, West Indies still ended up conceding 27 runs in extras in Pakistan’s total of 407.West Indies did fight back in the final session in Bridgetown on Monday, taking three wickets in a space of five overs, but Estwick said the team would have to lift their game considerably given the lack of assistance for seamers on the track and Pakistan’s score of 172 for 3 at the end of the day, 140 runs behind West Indies’ first-innings total of 312. Estwick stressed they couldn’t allow Pakistan to run away with a big first-innings lead.”We were very sloppy between lunch and tea,” he said. “That’s the area that we have got to improve. We dropped one or two catches. We got wickets off no-balls. That’s the focus we have to try and improve on because you can’t afford, on an unresponsive pitch like this for seam bowlers, to make the kind of mistakes we did during lunch and tea. We came back nicely between tea and close of play but before tea it was disheartening to see the performance.”We have to correct it and correct it quickly because we can’t allow Pakistan to get a lead. Because once they get a lead, going into day three or four, that is going to be very, very difficult.”