Tag Futebol

Anyone could have seen this Champions Trophy imbroglio coming, but cricket’s governing body did not

Nagraj Gollapudi18-Nov-2024We are here again. Not for the first time and probably not the last.With under 100 days to go for the 2025 Champions Trophy, scheduled in Pakistan, the ICC has still not formally announced the dates for the tournament. The schedule, too, has not been finalised. Why? India, one of the eight participating countries, will not travel to Pakistan – a decision taken by the Indian government, according to the BCCI in its communication to the ICC.We have been here, not once but twice, as recently as 2023. Take your memory back to last year’s Asia Cup and ODI World Cup and you will see a similar pattern. In the first instance, the PCB was forced to loosen its stance that the event would be held solely in Pakistan after the BCCI said India did not have permission from their government to travel across the border. Eventually it was Pakistan, the hosts, who ended up boarding flights to and from Sri Lanka, where India played all their matches, including the final. At the World Cup, the PCB pushed to get the ICC to adopt the hybrid model, but Pakistan eventually travelled to India. They travelled, it has since emerged, despite deep reservations within the Pakistan government.Twelve months later we are once again in familiar territory: the BCCI has made its move, comfortably standing in one corner, arms folded. At the opposite end, the PCB stands steadfast, refusing to blink or budge. The ICC, in theory the adjudicator, remains tight-lipped. It is a shambolic situation.Related

The resolution of the India-Pakistan Champions Trophy standoff was a win? Not by a long shot

Outgoing ICC chair Barclay blames members' 'self-interest' for congested cricket calendar

Champions Trophy: PCB promises to do 'what's best for Pakistan cricket'

India withdraw from T20 Blind Cricket World Cup in Pakistan

PCB chief on Champions Trophy: 'I still have positive expectations'

Who actually gains from this brinkmanship? That is only part of the question. The more important question, though, one that never gets asked properly is: who is responsible for this standoff? Unequivocally the answer is the ICC, the game’s governing body, which has once again escaped scrutiny. To be precise, the ICC leadership: the ICC board.In November 2021 the ICC board allocated hosting rights for various global events in the 2024-31 rights cycle to several boards. The PCB, which had bid for two events, was allocated the 2025 Champions Trophy. The ICC board approved the hosts based on recommendations drawn up by a smaller working group that included Sourav Ganguly, then the BCCI president, and Ehsan Mani, the former PCB chair and ICC head. That ICC board was headed by Greg Barclay. Ganguly, one would assume, had the backing of the Indian board, whose secretary was Jay Shah (who takes charge as ICC chairman from December 1).Sourav Ganguly, the BCCI president at the time, was part of the working group that drew up recommendations to the ICC board when it awarded Pakistan the Champions Trophy hosting rights•BCCIAs a reminder, the ICC board comprises directors who represent the 12 Full Members, along with an independent director, three directors representing the Associates, and the ICC chairman and CEO. So this was a collective call. If there was even a single voice of caution three years ago when it came to allotting the Champions Trophy to Pakistan, details of it have never emerged. Did nobody see this coming? Maybe they did but opted to look down or the other way instead?In the fraught political climate that has existed between the two neighbours since the Mumbai terror attacks of November 2008, you didn’t need to be a fortune-teller to raise a red flag about whether India would actually travel to Pakistan in 2025. More than one person involved in the bids allocation process said that one reason the ICC board believed conditions might be favourable for India to visit for the Champions Trophy was if Pakistan went to India for the 2023 World Cup – which they did. And once they did, the PCB must have assumed India would reciprocate.However, in a professional environment, you need accountability instead of relying on good faith. Why did the ICC, in 2021, not attach a few conditions when it allotted the Champions Trophy to Pakistan, starting with an official timeline including deadlines, with one specifically for the BCCI: communicate well in advance to the ICC whether India would travel to Pakistan? Such a hard stop could have been put in, say, a year before the actual event. In the absence of any such cutoff, the BCCI’s first communication to the ICC that India would not travel was relayed around November 6. That is just over three months before the scheduled start of the tournament on February 19.

More than one person involved in the bids allocation process said that one reason the ICC board believed conditions might be favourable for India to visit for the Champions Trophy was if Pakistan went to India for the 2023 World Cup – which they did

But more crucially, what plan was in place to deal with the outcome that was always likely? In a perfect and equitable world, global tournaments could go ahead without teams that are unable to participate in the prescribed way, but no ICC tournament is commercially tenable without India’s participation, a fact that was emphatically underlined during the last broadcast deal. Why wasn’t a hybrid option part of the contingency plan if India failed to travel to Pakistan? Or was it assumed that the PCB would once again fall in line and acquiesce to a hybrid model?As it turns out and as was pointed out to them recently by a senior official from an overseas board, the PCB might have a little leverage by dint of their team being part of the most watched and most lucrative match in an ICC event. It might have been unacceptable to the PCB to accept the hosting rights with a hybrid option attached as a contingency. But it would have been the most pragmatic and clear-minded approach, since it is beyond the ICC to persuade the Indian government to allow the Indian team to travel to Pakistan. Instead, the ICC leadership has opted to kick the problem down the road, hoping it will somehow resolve itself.In our increasingly divided and divisive world, strong leadership is required to maintain equilibrium. The ICC board in the past has shown it is capable of doing that. Now it needs bold solutions for the future.

He has all the attributes: pace, bounce, swing, left-arm advantage, yorkers, death bowling, middle-overs wickets, around-the-wicket angle, and more

Sidharth Monga19-Mar-20233:21

Tait: Starc close to being an Australia all-time great

Twice in two innings, KL Rahul has faced a hat-trick ball from Mitchell Starc. On both occasions he has walked out following near-perfect deliveries from Starc to Suryakumar Yadav. In the first match, Starc bowled the hat-trick delivery too full. In the second, he nearly repeated the ball that got Suryakumar out.Rahul kept it out. On the surface it looked like a more accomplished longer-formats batter handling the same ball better than one who is being pushed into the longer formats based on his success in T20s and not in List A or first-class cricket. On closer inspection, though, Suryakumar was done in by a ball that seamed to go with the beautiful swing Starc was getting. The hat-trick ball swung in the air, but didn’t change its direction upon pitching.Not to worry, Rahul got his own version of that Suryakumar ball soon enough. The shortest length with which you can hit the stumps with, swinging in in the air, then pitching and seaming some more to beat the bat, which had hoped to cover the line of the swing. At Starc’s pace. If you were teaching a class the meaning of unplayable, you might use that as an illustration.Related

• Can the batters fight back in spin-friendly Chennai?

• Stats – India's 117 leads to their biggest ODI defeat batting first

• Starc's five-for, Marsh-Head century stand sink India for 1-1

As Starc himself said, he didn’t do much different in these two ODIs. He tried to swing it, he bowled fast, and he attacked the stumps. This direct approach – high pace, hit the stumps – gives him comfortably the best strike rate among bowlers with 100 wickets or more in history of ODI cricket.When it is swinging and seaming – as it has been this series – Starc is a proper nightmare because he can swing it in a way that it still attacks the stumps. He is one of the only four fast bowlers with 100 wickets or more to have taken more than half of their wickets bowled or lbw. The other three – Waqar Younis, Wasim Akram and Mohammad Sami – benefited heavily from the low Asian pitches and reverse swing, which has been practically regulated out of the game in Starc’s time.With the numbers that Starc has – a strike rate of 25.6, average of 21.78, nine five-fors – it is surely time to see where he sits among the greatest fast bowlers in ODIs. He has all the attributes: pace, bounce, swing, left-arm advantage, yorkers, death bowling, middle-overs wickets, around-the-wicket angle, ability to run through line-ups as seen in the 16 times he has been on a hat-trick, more than anyone since he debuted.Mitchell Starc rattled India again•ESPNcricinfo LtdHowever, ODIs are the toughest to compare players across eras because of how much the playing conditions and the tempo of the game keep changing. Starc has played most of his ODI cricket with reverse-swing practically non-existent, on high-scoring pitches with good bounce, but he also has bowled to more trigger-happy batters needing to score quicker and thus taking more risks. That he has taken only 219 wickets can be an argument against him, but if he plays such little ODI cricket, he plays only the “important” tournaments and series, which reduces matches against outmatched opponents.One way to contextualise Starc among the greats of the format is to see how much better he is than the average bowler of his era. Shiva Jayaraman from ESPNcricinfo’s stats team worked these numbers out for me. Starc averages 9.59 less than the average of fast bowlers in the matches he has played. Among those who have taken 100 wickets or more in ODIs, nine fast bowlers have fared better on this metric. Two of these are not full-time bowlers, which might suggest theirs being used only in seam-friendly conditions, thus skewing that number.The leaves us with seven: Jasprit Bumrah, Shaun Pollock, Glenn McGrath, Josh Hazlewood, Joel Garner, Nathan Bracken and Curtly Ambrose. Bumrah’s numbers are phenomenal: an average 16.56 lower than the average of fast bowlers in matches he has played, and an economy rate 1.17 lower.Starc doesn’t quite do that much better than the others on the economy rate front because of the highly aggressive lengths he bowls in order to get the bowleds and lbws. The flip side is the exceptional strike rate. Those traditional stats – average, strike rate – and that he is so much better than the others in his era should be enough to put him among a handful of the greatest fast bowlers in ODI cricket. Once he is back from injury and adds to his body of work, Bumrah could just end up right alongside Starc.The only argument against Starc can be the volume. However, he has topped the wickets chart in both the World Cups he has played. He won one, and ended up a semi-finalist in the other. How much Starc wants to add to the volume of wickets will probably be decided after the World Cup later this year, but if he has a similar World Cup to the last two, there will be very little keeping him from being recognised as the greatest of all time.

The three young uncapped Indian fast bowlers promise much for the future

Aakash Chopra10-May-2021In T20 cricket the two most difficult phases to bowl in are the first six overs and the last four. In the early years of the IPL, the majority of the overs in these periods were bowled by the overseas bowlers, but gradually the Indian internationals began to share this responsibility. Still, while Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar grew into two of the finest fast bowlers in the world in these phases of a T20, the rest of the young – and even older – Indian fast bowlers were still not up to the mark.A curtailed IPL does not provide us with a reasonable sample size of matches to form a firm opinion, but there was enough to suggest that there has been a significant shift in the roles and responsibilities of young uncapped Indian fast bowlers in the tournament.In Chennai, Harshal Patel of the Royal Challengers Bangalore was assigned the duty of bowling his four overs in the second half of the innings. Chetan Sakariya of the Rajasthan Royals bowled both with the new ball and in the death overs. And Avesh Khan of the Delhi Capitals was extremely impressive in all phases of the game. These three Indian medium-pacers were the story of the 29 games played in this year’s IPL so far.Related

Avesh Khan is ready for the next level

How Harshal Patel found a new gear (with a little help from Ponting)

Avesh Khan fulfils 'dream' of taking MS Dhoni's wicket

Chetan Sakariya overcame personal tragedy to make it to the IPL

Sakariya started as an unknown but immediately made an impression. He has the skills to make the ball move both ways in the air, has both back-of-the-hand and offcutter slower ones, and the temperament needed to bowl wide yorkers. He isn’t rapid in the air but has shown that he has the bowling smarts to pick the right options.The Royals had a preset plan to have deep point and deep square leg fielders from the first ball. That kind of field forces your hand as a bowler, often making you bowl shorter. While bowling to that kind of field is not ideal for someone who isn’t really fast and prefers to rely on swing instead, Sakariya adapted and rarely bowled a boundary ball with the new ball. Every time he was taken for runs, the batters had to take risks. In the death overs, he not only backed his plans, he also was not perturbed by the reputation of the batter he was bowling to.Avesh Khan bowled the toughest overs for Delhi and came out looking good•BCCIThere are two things in particular that you look for in a young bowler. One, how he reacts to a six or four – that is, what will his follow-up ball be? And two, how does he shape up in a contest against the best in the world? The likes of Kieron Pollard, Andre Russell and AB de Villiers are capable of smashing good balls for sixes and that puts a lot of experienced bowlers off their plans, making them end up bowling half-volleys as we scratch our heads and wonder why they didn’t just bowl a wide yorker. Sakariya stood tall in these contests, though, as I said, the sample size is small.Khan was assigned a much tougher role than Sakariya. He wasn’t bowling the first and third overs but rather the fifth or sixth – the toughest of the powerplay overs. Since Anrich Nortje was missing and Kagiso Rabada seemed a little off-colour, Khan was often even brought on to bowl the 18th and 20th overs.He is tall, gets good bounce and is fairly quick in the air. This season we saw him pitch the ball fuller when it was new, and land yorkers close to perfectly in the death overs. He doesn’t have a great slower one but he seemed to be in a good place to make the best of what he does have. That’s another thing that makes a big difference: if you don’t have a good slower one, the ones you do attempt are probably going to disappear. It is the same with misdirected yorkers. The understanding of one’s abilities and skills is vital if you are to trust them while choosing from the many options every ball presents.Harshal Patel showed he knew how to operate on slow pitches•BCCI/IPLPatel, the holder of the purple cap, seemed to turn over a new leaf in his IPL career this year. There aren’t many categories of fast bowlers in T20 cricket – the two main ones are those who are good with the new ball and the ones who specialise in bowling at the death. Patel might belong to the latter group, but impressively, he made the most of his skills on the slow surface in Chennai. Once the ball got old, it started to grip the pitch, and the bigger boundaries allowed the fast bowlers to roll their fingers over the ball with more confidence. T20 cricket isn’t long enough for bowlers to set up dismissals but it does allow you to use the match situation. Patel often started his spells around the 12th over – when the opposition is typically looking to break free. He used his offcutter variation to take the pace off the ball, and otherwise bowled really straight – though not attempting to get under the bat.In theory it sounds really simple because that’s more or less what you need to do on a slowing surface, but it requires discipline and confidence to stick to the plan. We’ve often seen bowlers try something radically different on the fifth ball of an over after having contained the batters for the first four balls. The anticipation that they are going to be hit makes them do things differently even when normal service is working just fine.Patel, as expected, struggled a little when RCB’s campaign moved to the Wankhede and Ahmedabad but two expensive 20th overs must not take away from the amazing things he did before that.

Leeds United and the 49ers Enterprises are preparing a surprise bid to sign a long-term target at a discount in the January transfer window.

Farke under pressure as Leeds prepare for Aston Villa

After back-to-back away defeats in the Premier League, Daniel Farke appears to be under pressure, with a number of managerial candidates linked to replace him at Elland Road in recent weeks.

Ex-Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and former RB Salzburg, Borussia Dortmund and RB Leipzig boss Marco Rose have both been mooted as options. Rodgers was recent rivals with the 49ers in Glasgow and their ownership of Rangers, whereas Rose has ties with the Red Bull network in both Austria and Germany.

Leeds find themselves just a point clear of the relegation zone ahead of their clash with Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon in what is the beginning of a testing period between now and the New Year.

Leeds’ upcoming fixtures

Date

Aston Villa (h)

November 23rd

Manchester City (a)

November 29th

Chelsea (h)

December 3rd

Liverpool (h)

December 6th

Brentford (a)

December 14th

Crystal Palace (h)

December 21st

Sunderland (a)

December 28th

The January transfer window will give the 49ers the chance to bolster their options in the final third following a lack of goals in the top flight, but it is a creative midfielder who Leeds have their eyes on.

Leeds ready surprise Gabriel Sara bid

According to a report from Turkish outlet Takvim, there has been a surprising development involving Galatasaray midfielder Gabriel Sara.

Formerly of Norwich, Leeds were heavily linked with the midfielder in the summer, where they were told it would cost at least £30m to seal a deal.

Now, the Whites and the 49ers are readying a move in January for Sara, with that price tag now dropping to £18m. Sara has fallen out of favour with Galatasaray following Ilkay Gundogan’s arrival and is ‘open to a move’ away, with Leeds the only club named in the report.

Sara’s last game in England for Norwich came at Elland Road in the 4-0 defeat to the Whites in the 2023/24 playoff semi-final second leg.

The 26-year-old starred during the regular 23/24 campaign with 25 goal involvements in 46 games, and by the looks of things, a return to England could be on the cards.

Leeds set to make imminent bid for Real Madrid ace after Farke convinces 49ers

The Whites are looking to bring in a new forward, having not scored enough goals so far this season.

ByDominic Lund Nov 21, 2025

Should that be the case, Leeds will be getting a midfielder who Kenny McClean called the “full package”.

“Everyone can see his ability but he is now controlling games. He’s everywhere off the ball. That was a big thing when the new manager came in and he was really drumming that into him to be more aggressive, get against people and he is doing that. It was just consistency with him. For me, right now, he is the full package.”

Leeds open to selling £40k-p/w star who Firpo called "unbelievable" this January

MatériaMais Notícias

A Confederação Brasileira de Futebol (CBF) divulgou, nesta sexta-feira (12), a equipe de arbitragem para o clássico entre Fluminense e Vasco, válido pelo jogo de volta da semifinal da Copa do Brasil. A partida acontece no próximo domingo (14), às 20h30 (de Brasília), no Maracanã.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasFutebol NacionalÁudio do VAR de polêmica em Vasco x Fluminense é divulgado: ‘Não há’Futebol Nacional12/12/2025Fora de CampoDublador revela ‘briga’ entre Coutinho e Thiago Silva em Vasco x FluminenseFora de Campo12/12/2025FluminenseThiago Silva manda recado para torcida após derrota em Vasco x FluminenseFluminense12/12/2025

➡️ Thiago Silva manda recado para torcida após derrota em Vasco x Fluminense

O árbitro principal será Wilton Pereira Sampaio (GO). Ele será auxiliado por Rodrigo Figueiredo Henrique Correa (RJ) e Bruno Raphael Pires (GO). O quarto árbitro será Jonathan Benkenstein Pinheiro (RS), enquanto Thiago Henrique Neto Corrêa Farinha (RJ) atuará como quinto árbitro.

Na cabine do VAR, o responsável será Wagner Reway (SC), com auxílio de Johnny Barros de Oliveira (SC) e Heber Roberto Lopes (SC). O observador de VAR será Raimundo Nonato Lopo de Abreu (DF). Marcelo Carvalho Van Gasse atuará como inspetor da partida, e Antonio Pereira da Silva (GO) será o assessor de arbitragem. O quality manager designado é Bernardo Campos Martins (RJ).

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No jogo de ida, o Vasco venceu o Fluminense por 2 a 1. Com isso, o Tricolor precisa vencer por dois gols de diferença para avançar direto à final ou por um gol para levar a decisão aos pênaltis. Empate ou vitória do Vasco garantem o Cruz-Maltino na decisão da Copa do Brasil.

➡️Tudo sobre o Gigante agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Vasco
➡️Tudo sobre o Tricolor agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Fluminense

continua após a publicidadeFluminense x Vasco no domingo (14)

O Vasco, no entanto, reagiu na segunda etapa e virou o confronto com gols de Rayan e Vegetti, fechando o placar em 2 a 1 no Maracanã. As equipes voltam a se enfrentar no próximo domingo (14), às 20h30, novamente no Maracanã, pelo jogo de volta da semifinal.

Uma vitória do Fluminense por um gol leva a decisão para os pênaltis, enquanto triunfo por dois ou mais gols garante vaga direta na final. Empate ou nova vitória do Vasco classificam o Cruz-Maltino.

Tudo sobre

CBFCopa do BrasilFluminenseVascoWilton Pereira Sampaio

He is performing an entirely different role having been pushed down with Markram, de Kock and Bavuma forming the top three, but he’s coped well

ESPNcricinfo staff05-Dec-2025

Matthew Breetzke is South Africa’s highest run-scorer of the series so far•Getty Images

Matthew Breetzke’s ODI career started solidly as he consistently scored runs from the top of the order. In this ODI series, though – his first both in India and against India – he is performing an entirely different role.Breetzke has been pushed down to No. 4 with senior players Aiden Markram and Quinton de Kock and the captain Temba Bavuma forming the top three, and he’s coped well, scoring a match-winning half-century during South Africa’s chase of 359 on Wednesday.”Obviously, I’m just getting more experience now batting at four, which I’m starting to feel a little bit more comfortable in the role,” Breetzke said on the eve of the series decider in Visakhapatnam. “So that helps, and I think the more I play at number four and in this role, hopefully the better I’ll get.”Related

Belief surges for South Africa as Markram makes amends in style

When South Africa and India went off the scale

Toss, dew in focus as South Africa eye rare double

The two games against India provided him with two different situations to deal with as well. In Ranchi, he went in with South Africa having lost a lot of wickets and in need of recovery. In Raipur, they were chasing a bigger total but had a solid foundation.”Obviously, the first game there was a little bit of trouble that we were in, so I had to sort of build the innings and then in the second game it was about just managing the guys that were coming in.”We lost obviously Aiden [after his century] and then I had to sort of manage [Dewald] Brevis there and then just managing those guys and letting them bat around me, they’ve got the explosive power – it was just about really looking to build a partnership with them.”Breetzke also highlighted the depth and power in South Africa’s batting line-up. “I think we’ve got a nice balance in our side with a couple of guys that are just proper batters, and then you’ve got powerhouses like Brevis and [Marco] Jansen that can sort of change the game on its head.”We’ve seen [Corbin] Bosh in the last two matches play some really special innings, I think as the top four, it gives you a lot of confidence; you can take a little bit more time because, you know, they’ve got that explosive power at the back end. So for us, it’s just about setting that platform up for them to come in at the end and do their thing.”There’s a lot of confidence in the batting group at the moment, but we will have to do it again tomorrow.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Botafogo anunciou a demissão do técnico Tiago Nunes. O treinador, que dirigiu o Glorioso por apenas três meses, foi desligado do cargo após reunião realizada na manhã desta quinta-feira (22), que contou com a presença das principais lideranças do Glorioso.

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As negociações para repor o antigo comandante estão sendo lideradas por John Textor, presidente do clube, em conjunto com o departamento de futebol.

➡️ Tudo sobre o Fogão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso canal Lance! Botafogo

Fábio Mathias, auxiliar-técnico permanente do Botafogo, assume de forma interina o comando técnico da equipe e comandará o Glorioso no duelo contra o Audax Rio, no Nilton Santos, pelo estadual.

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Ao todo, Tiago Nunes comandou o Botafogo em 15 oportunidades, No período, acumulou quatro vitórias, sete empates e quatro derrotas, com 42,2% de aproveitamento.

CONFIRA A NOTA OFICIAL DO BOTAFOGO

“O Botafogo informa que Tiago Nunes não é mais o técnico da equipe profissional. Em reunião das lideranças da Clube na manhã desta quinta-feira (22), foi decidido o término do vínculo com o treinador. John Textor e o Departamento de Futebol estão no mercado em busca de um novo comandante para liderar a equipe nos desafios da temporada.

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O Botafogo agradece Tiago Nunes e sua comissão técnica pelos serviços prestados e deseja sucesso nos próximos desafios. Apesar da dedicação e trabalho realizado no dia a dia, os resultados apresentados não foram esperados.

O auxiliar-técnico permanente do Botafogo, Fabio Mathias, assume interinamente e inicia as suas atividades no posto no treino desta sexta-feira. Mathias estará na beira do campo na partida contra o Audax Rio, no Nilton Santos, válida pela 10ª rodada do Campeonato Carioca.”

Tudo sobre

BotafogoFutebol Nacional

West Ham are looking at signing Fulham winger Adama Traoré in the January transfer window, but they’ve now been told to avoid a deal by someone who’s worked with the player.

Nuno Espírito Santo knows Traore very well from their time together at Molineux, and it was at Wolves where the 29-year-old made a serious name for himself.

Traore was near-unplayable in the 2019/2020 season especially, finishing the Premier League campaign as their best performer statistically, all whilst completing a truly incredible five successful dribbles on average per game (WhoScored).

By comparison, the best dribblers in the Premier League right now are far short of that number, with both ex-West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus and Man City’s Jeremy Doku averaging 3.4 and 3.1 take ons per 90 respectively.

Sunderland 3-0 West Ham

West Ham 1-5 Chelsea

Nottingham Forest 0-3 West Ham

West Ham 0-3 Tottenham

West Ham 1-2 Crystal Palace

Everton 1-1 West Ham

Arsenal 2-0 West Ham

West Ham 0-2 Brentford

Leeds 2-1 West Ham

West Ham 3-1 Newcastle

West Ham 3-2 Burnley

Jurgen Klopp famously branded Traore’s speed as being ‘undefendable’ at times, but that being said, the 19/20 campaign was now over half a decade ago.

Since Nuno’s departure from Wolves, Traore hasn’t managed to re-live those heights on a consistent enough basis, even despite flashes of brilliance at Fulham last term. Traore finished 24/25 with two goals and nine assists in all competitions, making 41 appearances in total, but only managed a modest 1.3 successful take-ons per 90 in the Premier League.

Despite the forward’s best days appearing behind him, the obvious link to Nuno has prompted multiple reports that West Ham are keen on a winter move for Traore, who could also be available for a cut-price fee given his contract expires in 2026.

Following these claims, ex-Everton and Aston Villa CEO Keith Wyness has explained exactly why West Ham need to swerve a deal for Traore this January.

West Ham told exactly why they need to swerve Adama Traore deal in January

Speaking to Football Insider, after having sold the player at Villa, Wyness explains that Traore’s lack of end product really doesn’t serve West Ham in the slightest — urging David Sullivan not to do a deal for the ex-Barcelona man out of respect for the fans.

The winger would attract mixed reviews if he did move to the London Stadium in two months, but if anyone can get the best out of him, it is definitely Nuno.

West Ham’s manager is believed to be personally keen on a reunion with Traore, and given how Nuno has finally managed to steady the ship with back-to-back victories, it is imperative that the club show faith by backing him with desired signings mid-season.

As well as Traore, West Ham want a new defender, midfielder and striker, with AC Milan’s Santiago Gimenez and Al-Ahli’s Ivan Toney rumoured to be on their agenda.

Tottenham are emerging as prime contenders to sign an Inter Milan star Yann Bisseck after West Ham saw a bid rejected for the player last summer, according to a new report.

Spurs boss Thomas Frank is now just under two months away from his January at the club, and the winter is also set to mark Fabio Paratici and Johan Lange’s first transfer window as co-sporting directors.

Paratici assisted Lange, Frank, CEO Vinai Venkatesham and ex-chair Daniel Levy during the summer window in an advisory capacity, and worked regularly as an outside consultant for the club since he was forced to resign from his post as managing director in 2023.

The Italian was repeatedly linked with a return to N17 once his worldwide FIFA ban came to an end this year, but Levy’s departure briefly threatened Paratici’s Tottenham comeback given the chiefs were close allies during their time together at Spurs.

1. Cristian Romero

£42.5m

2. Dejan Kulusevski

£25.5m

3. Rodrigo Bentancur

£21.5m

4. Pedro Porro

£40m

5. Djed Spence

£20m

However, Venkatesham and co elected to re-hire Paratici after all, with the 53-year-old set to partner Lange as the Lilywhites officials take on very different sporting director roles.

While Lange will mainly oversee the talent spotting, scouting, academy and data-driven recruitment side of things, Paratici is tasked as Spurs’ dealmaker to get high-profile signings over the line — using his renowned negotiating skills and extensive contact list (Sky Sports).

It’s poised to be a very intriguing January with this restructured leadership model, and reports suggest that Paratici is already “working behind the scenes” on a few key Tottenham targets like Brentford star Kevin Schade.

It is also believed by some media sources that Spurs are keen to bring in a new centre-back at the turn of the year, having reportedly considered late summer moves for the likes of Nathan Ake and Manuel Akanji.

Radu Dragusin could be back in action after the November international break as he nears the end of his recovery from an ACL injury, with the Romanian unable to feature since their Europa League clash against Elfsborg last January.

Kevin Danso has impressed as a reliable deputy for Cristian Romero when needed as well, but it will be a while before Dragusin is a reliable option once again and a serious injury to star man Micky van de Ven would spell disaster.

As such, it is little surprise that the north Londoners are considering their long-term options at centre-half, and Inter’s Bisseck is apparently an option for them.

Yann Bisseck increasingly keen to join Tottenham after rejected West Ham bid

The one-cap Germany international, who has been in and out of Cristian Chivu’s starting elevens so far this season, was subject to a rejected bid from West Ham in the summer window, but a Premier League move could still be on the cards for him.

That is according to Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport, who report that Bisseck and his camp are growing intrigued by the prospect of joining Tottenham, with Inter pondering the defender’s sale as they look to raise transfer funds.

The towering 6 foot 4 centre-half was a regular under Simone Inzaghi last term, making 46 appearances in all competitions — even chipping in going forward with three goals and three assists.

Bisseck has a desire to test himself in England, but he’ll have to settle for playing second fiddle to the likes of Romero and van de Ven, who are currently one of the best centre-back partnerships in England.

The former Aarhus sensation has been called a “diamond” by members of the Italian press, with reports in the summer even claiming that the Nerazzurri wanted as much as £44 million to consider a sale.

Even with Tottenham’s £100 million of new injected capital via the Lewis family, which could be reinvested into the club’s recruitment strategy, it is very debatable whether Spurs would be willing to cough up such a fee on a back-up defender.

Price will be a major factor here, with the player’s willingness apparently there.

Gus Atkinson has found himself in the middle of a country versus county wrangle, the upshot of which will involve him playing for Surrey’s second XI rather than their first team, after he was omitted from England’s side to face India in the fourth Test at Emirates Old Trafford.Atkinson has not played competitive cricket since May, when he injured his hamstring during England’s one-off Test against Zimbabwe at Trent Bridge. Although he has since been deemed fit enough to return to the squad from the third Test onwards, even playing for his club side Spencer CC during the Saturday of the Lord’s Test, he has yet to feature.On Monday afternoon, the 27-year-old was put through his paces by men’s physical preparation coach Peter Sim and bowling consultant Tim Southee. However, with England 2-1 up in the series, the management have decided not to pick Atkinson for the Manchester Test, which begins on Wednesday.The soft outfield, coupled with the need to supplement the likes of Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and skipper Ben Stokes with a team-mate who can guarantee a certain number of overs, has meant that Atkinson will not be risked. Chris Woakes, who pulled up well a week on from the final day at Lord’s, has kept his place despite a current series haul of seven wickets at 56.42.Related

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In the circumstances, England were keen for Atkinson to head north to Scarborough for Surrey’s County Championship match against Yorkshire. However, the county have opted not to include Atkinson into their XI. Instead, he will return to London to play for Surrey’s second XI in a four-day match against Somerset at the club’s LSE Ground in New Malden.Surrey’s reasons for not selecting Atkinson are the same as England’s, given he has not played a red-ball match in two months, and they may need to lean heavily on their bowlers given the Kookaburra ball will be in use for this round. They also have the depth not to need to risk Atkinson for this crucial fixture, with the defending champions currently leading Division One by just a point from Nottinghamshire.Jamie Overton, part of the squad for the first three Tests, will play his first Championship match since May. He will line up alongside stalwarts Jordan Clark and Dan Worrall, as well as Matthew Fisher, who has excelled with the Kookaburra, taking 10 wickets in the last two fixtures.Atkinson is currently on a two-year central contract, which means the ECB rather than Surrey pay his wages. Though England would obviously prefer Atkinson to play for the first XI, it is accepted that they cannot force counties’ hands when it comes to selection.Another of England’s omitted seamers, Josh Tongue – who played in the first two Tests at Headingley and Edgbaston – will feature for Nottinghamshire on days three and four of their Championship clash against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl.