da dobrowin： Manchester City have submitted a £55m offer for a “wonderful” midfielder, who has been identified as the heir to Kevin De Bruyne, according to a report.

Man City eyeing replacement for De Bruyne

da betcris： De Bruyne is set to leave Man City at the end of the season, but rival Premier League clubs clearly seem to believe the Belgian has a lot left to give, with a number of sides recently expressing an interest.

Arsenal are now holding discussions over a shock deal for the 33-year-old, alongside Aston Villa, with club chiefs willing to back Unai Emery if he decides he wants to snap the City midfielder up on a free transfer this summer.

As such, Pep Guardiola will need to bring in a suitable heir, and although it will be a tall order to find any player capable of replicating what De Bruyne has done in a City shirt, a number of targets have now been identified.

Related Man City set to fend off Liverpool hijack and win race for £73k-a-week star

They have been working on a deal since January.

Posts ByHenry Jackson May 3, 2025

River Plate’s Franco Mastantuono is one player of interest, although, given his age, the 17-year-old Argentine may not be ready to go straight into the side, and Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz may be more of a ready-made replacement.

Man City are also looking at options from within the Premier League, and according to a report from Spain they have now submitted a €65m (£55m) offer for Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison.

Guardiola is known to be a huge fan of Maddison, and City have now made a concrete approach for his services, with the Englishman viewed as the ideal successor to De Bruyne in attacking midfield.

The 28-year-old is deemed to fit into Guardiola’s style of play perfectly, given his creativity and ability to connect with the attack, while his ability from set-pieces is also outlined as a major strength.

"Wonderful" Maddison impressing at Spurs

It has been an extremely disappointing season for Spurs in the Premier League, but the attacking midfielder has been one of their stand-out players, picking up 12 goals and 11 assists in 45 matches in all competitions.

As such, the former Leicester City man ranks highly across a range of key attacking metrics over the past year, when compared to other attacking midfielders and wingers.

Statistic

Average per 90

Assists

0.39 (93rd percentile)

Progressive passes

8.14 (98th percentile)

Shot-creating actions

4.82 (85th percentile)

The England international has also been singled out for high praise by BBC Five Live’s Ben Haines in the past.

Maddison is clearly a quality player, but the Tottenham star is set to turn 29 in November, meaning he is unlikely to be a long-term heir to De Bruyne, and his attacking numbers suggest he is not at the same level as the City legend, so there should be some reservations about the move.

It seems that three players are guaranteed to leave Manchester United in the summer.

Various reports have suggested experienced trio of Christian Eriksen, Jonny Evans, and Tom Heaton will all depart the club upon the expiration of their current deal at the end of the campaign. Samuel Luckhurst of The Manchester Evening News said that the latter two could even be likely to retire at the end of the campaign.

As for Eriksen, he stated in an interview in the middle of March that he could exit, revealing that he hasn’t “heard anything from the club, and therefore I assume that the collaboration will stop” at the end of June.

So, there are three outgoings that seem inevitable at Old Trafford. There could be several more, including Casemiro.

What does Casemiro's future hold?

It will certainly be intriguing to see what the future holds for United’s number 18. The experienced Brazilian has played fairly infrequently under Ruben Amoirm across his tenure so far, playing 16 games out of a possible 28, but has enjoyed a rejuvenation in recent games.

The experienced Brazilian has performed excellently in United’s last two Europa League games against Real Soceidad, in the Premier League against Arsenal and the FA Cup against Fulham. Against the Gunners, Statman Dave described his efforts as an “unreal shift” in midfield.

Yet, his future is still up in the air. Casemiro, who earns £350k per week, more than any of his teammates, is reportedly one of the players United are willing to sell over the summer, as reported by TEAMtalk last month. However, they claim that ‘no club has shown any concrete interest’ in signing him.

At the start of March, he said that it is “too soon to talk about next season”, hinting that his future is still unsolved. However, it might well be in United’s interest to sell him to cut down on the weekly wage expenditure.

The same thing could also be said for another of United’s more experienced campaigners, who could still depart in the summer.

Not just Casemiro: High-earning Man United star could leave

It has been a season of rejuvenation for Harry Maguire. The former United captain was once out of favour and seemed destined to leave, but he has turned things around in the famous Red shirt and has since become an important player this term.

The Englishman has featured in 28 games for the 13-time Premier League champions this season. He has also overcome a few injury issues to play 19 times under Ruben Amorim so far, scoring twice, both winning goals against Leicester City in the FA Cup and Ipswich Town in the Premier League.

Although his contract was set to expire at the end of the season, the England international had his year contract extension activated by the club at the start of January. That stopped clubs outside of Europe from signing him on a free transfer.

Indeed, as per a report from The Athletic at the end of December, several clubs were interested in signing the centre-back on a free which included Italian giants Napoli, where Scott McTominay now plays, and Turkish side Galatasaray.

Maguire’s rejuvenation has been exceptional but perhaps a sale should be considered from United. He is the fifth highest earner at the club while Amorim now has a number of young options coming through the ranks, most notably Leny Yoro and Ayden Heaven who feel like the future centre-back pairing.

Man Utd highest earners (excluding loanees)
Player	Weekly wage	Annual wage
Casemiro	£350k	£18.2m
Bruno Fernandes	£300k	£15.6m
Mason Mount	£250k	£13m
Matthijs de Ligt	£195k	£10.14m
Harry Maguire	£190k	£9.88m
Sourced via Capology

On top of that, Maguire’s total yearly salary at United is a sizeable amount. Including this season, he will have earned £59m as per Capology. Assuming he stays another season, that will rise to nearly £70m.

Selling Maguire will not be an easy decision for United to make. Described as a “monstrous” defender by United fan and journalist Alex Turk, his commitment and ability are unquestionable. However, the money that United could save is astronomical.

The Red Devils are somewhat short of cash at the moment, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe explaining in an interview that “there’s no money left” at the club. As much of a shame as it would be to see the defender leave, it might be one of the easiest ways for the Red Devils to save money.

Dream Gyokeres alternative: Amorim pushing Man Utd to sign £84m "monster"

Man Utd boss Amorim is pushing for the signing

By
Joe Nuttall

Mar 31, 2025

MatériaMais Notícias

da aposte e ganhe： Philipe Sampaio atuou como titular na vitória do Botafogo diante do Ypiranga por 2 a 0 no Nilton Santos e apresentou uma atuação bem sólida defensivamente. O zagueiro concedeu uma entrevista depois do jogo e afirmou que seguirá trabalhando para alcançar seus objetivos no clube.

– Fico feliz. A maior forma de respeito que tenho por eles é trabalhando, e eles trabalhando igual. Somos um grupo. Passei por algumas coisas esse ano, mas sempre continuei trabalhando calado, sabendo do meu potencial. Nos momentos negativos sabia que não era o pior, e quando cheguei sabia que não era o melhor. Agora é continuar trabalhando, temos muito jogos e entramos forte em todas as competições – declarou Sampaio para “Botafogo TV”.

+ Saiba quais são os seis jogadores com mais gols de pênalti na história

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasBotafogoAtaque do Botafogo mostra eficiência e alcança marca significativa na temporadaBotafogo28/04/2023BotafogoLuís Castro faz projeção do clássico entre Flamengo x Botafogo e descarta favoritismo: ‘Não importa’Botafogo28/04/2023FlamengoFlamengo x Botafogo: onde assistir, horário e prováveis escalações para partida do BrasileirãoFlamengo28/04/2023

da lvbet： +Botafogo alcança quantia milionária com classificação para oitavas de final da Copa do Brasil

O zagueiro apresentou uma síncope atraumática no dia 16 de fevereiro, caiu desacordado no gramado do Maracanã e precisou ser levado de ambulância ao hospital. O jogador aos poucos está readquirindo ritmo de jogo e será uma boa opção para Luís Castro na sequência da temporada.

+VÍDEO: Lucas Perri celebra vitória do Botafogo na Copa do Brasil: ‘Dá muita confiança’

O Glorioso entra em campo no domingo, diante do Flamengo, às 16h, no Maracanã, pela terceira rodada do Brasileirão. A equipe alvinegra vai em busca da sétima vitória consecutiva na temporada. Saiba como comprar ingressos.

Diego Leon believes "every player dreams of this opportunity" as he prepares to officially join Manchester United.

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Diego Leon prepares to join Man UtdSpeaks of 'inexplicable sensations'"Every player dreams of this"Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱WHAT HAPPENED?

Leon agreed to join the Red Devils for €4m earlier in the year but will hook up with the club this summer having made just 33 appearances for Cerro Porteno in Paraguay. He has revealed he is hugely excited by the opportunity.

AdvertisementAFPWHAT LEON SAID

Leon told journalist Matias Cuevas (via Sport Witness): "The sensations are inexplicable. You feel so many things. The truth is, I’m very happy, very happy to be there. I think every player dreams of this, and I have the opportunity. Thank God for the opportunity. I think it was a bit quick, but hey, you have to adapt quickly once you’re there. I’m already a professional. You have to adapt quickly. I'll have to adapt a bit to the climate, the language, and all that. I have a lot of confidence in myself. I'm going to be at the top with them."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Leon is not expected to make an instant impact in the first team at Old Trafford but an outlay worth millions of pounds suggests they have high hopes for his future. The left-back has been described as a "strapping lad" and is an athletic option on the left side of defence.

Getty Images SportWHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

United meet up for pre-season next week as they prepare to improve on last season's 15th-place finish in the Premier League. They open their campaign against Arsenal on the opening Sunday of the campaign.

Manchester United are keen on signing Algerian midfielder Hicham Boudaoui from INEOS-owned Ligue 1 side Nice.

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• Man Utd show interest in Boudaoui from Nice
• Man Utd scouts attended Algeria's clash against Sweden
• Amorim looking to bulk up Man Utd squad

Follow GOAL on WhatsApp! 🟢📱

• AFP
  

  WHAT HAPPENED?

  Per , United reportedly sent scouts to Friends Arena in Solna as Sweden took on Algeria in an international. The club officials closely monitored the performance of Boudaoui, who featured in the starting lineup and spent an hour on the pitch. The Premier League giants are now thinking of signing the 25-year-old, who has been tipped to leave the French club this summer.

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• Getty Images
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Last summer, the Red Devils were not allowed to sign players from Nice due to their shared ownership and the two clubs were competing in the Europa League. Sir Jim Ratcliffe, at that time, had reportedly agreed not to move any player to Old Trafford from the Ligue 1 side until September 2025, to comply with UEFA rules. This means that a move for Boudaoui can only be possible on the transfer deadline day on September 1.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Boudaoui, who joined Nice in 2019, played an important role in the club finishing among the top four teams and securing a Champions League qualifier slot. He appeared in 36 matches across all competitions and scored two goals and provided four assists.

• Getty
  

  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER UNITED?

  After a nightmare 2024-25 campaign, Ruben Amorim is looking to bulk up his squad this summer. They have already completed their first signing of the season as Matheus Cunha joined the club from Wolves and are now eyeing a move for Brentford forward Bryan Mbeumo.

Wolverhampton Wanderers all but confirmed their place in the Premier League for another season with a 4-2 win over Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

The Old Gold are now 14 points clear of Ipswich Town in 18th place with just six matches to go, which means that it would take a ridiculous set of results to send them down at this point.

They could lose one of their key players in the summer transfer window, though, as Matheus Cunha – scorer of the fourth goal against Spurs – has been linked with a move away from Molineux.

Why losing Matheus Cunha would be a blow for Wolves

Selling the Brazil international, who has been linked with the likes of Spurs, Arsenal, Aston Villa, and Manchester United for a fee of £75m, would be a big blow for Wolves.

This is because of the immense quality that the former Atletico Madrid magician has provided at the top end of the pitch in the Premier League so far this season.

Cunha has scored 14 goals and provided four assists in 27 appearances for Wolves, and no player in the squad has delivered more goals and assists combined than his tally of 18, which is why losing him would be such a blow to the team.

Vitor Pereira, however, may already have a surprise replacement for the Brazilian gem in the form of Fabio Silva, who is currently on loan at Las Palmas in LaLiga.

Why Fabio Silva could be a surprise Matheus Cunha replacement

After the Portuguese youngster scored four goals in 20 matches on loan at Rangers in the second half of last season, Wolves may have sent the attacker to Spain without too many expectations over his performance.

The 22-year-old starlet’s form for Las Palmas in LaLiga this season, however, has come as a surprise, after his lack of output for the Scottish giants last term, and he could return to Wolves this summer as a new player.

Silva, who was described as a “joy to watch” by talent scout Jacek Kulig earlier this season, has played as part of a front two with Oli McBurnie, which means that he could play a similar role to Cunha, playing behind the physical presence of Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Starts

21

xG

8.80

Goals

10

Minutes per goal

179

Big chances created

4

Assists

3

As you can see in the table above, the Portugal international also has a similar level of production to Cunha, with 13 goal contributions in 21 starts, compared to the Wolves star’s 18 goal contributions in 24 starts.

The Old Gold loanee, who has scored against Real Madrid and Barcelona in LaLiga, has provided a clinical edge in front of goal, outperforming his xG, whilst also delivering some creativity in the final third.

These statistics suggest that Silva has improved since joining Las Palmas, with his improved output in comparison to his time at Rangers, and that he could be ready to return to Wolves to compete for a first-team spot next season.

£23m Wolves star is going to swiftly become more important than Cunha

Wolves could be set to lose Matheus Cunha this summer…

ByRoss Kilvington Apr 15, 2025

This means that the Portuguese youngster could emerge as a surprise replacement for Cunha, should the attacker depart this summer, after his unexpected development in Spain this season.

Rashid reiterated they’re happy to play the team, but have no direct control of things that happen beyond cricket

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Jun-20242:53

Rashid Khan: ‘Cricket is the only source of happiness back home’

Rashid Khan wishes “we could do something and wish there was a solution for it” but can’t do much about “some things which is not under the control of anyone in cricket.” The Afghanistan T20I captain was responding to whether beating Australia at the T20 World Cup on Saturday night in St Vincent gave them extra satisfaction.The backdrop to the question was in relation to Cricket Australia’s decision to not play Afghanistan bilaterally due to “a marked deterioration in human rights for women and girls” in the country. Earlier this year, Cricket Australia postponed a scheduled three-match T20I series with Afghanistan. CA have also postponed the hosting of a one-off Test for the same reason.”Well, we are sportsmen, and we love sports,” Rashid said at the post-match press conference. “People back home love sports. And I mentioned earlier, cricket is the only source of happiness back home. That’s the only source left in Afghanistan where people could celebrate. And if we keep that source away from us, I don’t know where Afghanistan will remain.Related

• No bilateral cricket with Afghanistan till there's 'a level of progress', says CA chief

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• Rashid after Afghanistan's win: One of our greatest T20 performances

“We sportsmen only think about the cricket. Everyone is saying sports bring the nation together and bring everyone together. So, for me, we’re always happy to play against any side, and that’s the only way where our cricket can improve day by day. Some things which are not under the control of anyone in cricket, and that’s something we can’t do anything about it. Wish we could do something, and wish that was a kind of solution for it, we would have been happy, but I don’t know what’s the solution for that.”Rashid had threatened to withdraw from the Big Bash League in 2023 after CA decided to postpone their ODI series. Rashid’s public stance joined a chorus of protests from Afghanistan’s male cricketers soon after ACB had termed CA’s statement over refusing to play Afghanistan due to the human rights crisis as “pathetic”.Rashid Khan reiterated Afghanistan are happy to play Australia•ICC/Getty Images

Rashid eventually softened his stance and put his name up in the drafts but was forced to miss the tournament through injury. On Sunday, Rashid reiterated they’re happy to play the team, but have no direct control of things that happen beyond cricket.”We’re happy to play any side, but as I mentioned earlier, some things, government, and political things, I don’t know much about these things, and I don’t like it as well. So, I have no answer for this, but my only thing always in mind is I love to play against the big teams. I love to travel all around the world to play and I have received so much so much love from everyone.”Whenever I go to Australia for Big Bash, I think I have got so much love and support from the fans there. They have given me so much love. In 2022 T20 World Cup, when we were playing in Adelaide against Australia, I got more support than them. And that was so satisfying.”Rashid reminisced the love and support he received in the aftermath of his father’s passing during the BBL in 2019, and termed fans in Adelaide [he plays for Adelaide Strikers] as “family”, while maintaining “cricket isn’t the solution for politics.””Playing in Australia, I’ve got massive support in every city. The hospitality I got in Australia, especially during the tough days in 2019 when my dad passed away, that was the hardest time for me when I was in Australia. And the amount of love and support I got from everyone in the team, and also the fans [was immense], I think I call them a family.”But as I said, I love to play all around the world. And those things which are not under the control, and cricket is not the solution, I don’t think we can bring sports into that. If there is another solution, you can take that. But don’t think cricket is the solution of politics and things like that.”So, yeah, if we play in the World Cup, why don’t we play in bilateral series? I think we’re happy to play against the best side. We learn from them. We get better day by day. But that’s the only thing I can say.”

استقر البلجيكي يانيك فيريرا، المدير الفني للفريق الأول لكرة القدم بنادي الزمالك، على قائمة بدلاء فريقه في مواجهة اليوم الجونة، التي ستجمع بينهما ضمن منافسات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

وياتقي الزمالك مع الجونة، على أرضية استاد القاهرة الدولي، في إطار الجولة الثامنة من عمر مباريات بطولة الدوري المصري الممتاز.

الزمالك يدخل المباراة محتلاً صدارة جدول الدوري المصري برصيد 16 نقطة، من 7 مباريات، فاز في 5، وتعادل في مباراة وخسر مثلها.

طالع أيضاً.. موعد والقناة الناقلة لمباراة الزمالك والجونة اليوم في الدوري المصري

على الجانب الآخر، يتواجد فريق الجونة في المركز السادس عشر بجدول ترتيب الدوري المصري، ولديه 7 نقاط من 6 مواجهات، حقق الفوز في مباراة، وتعادل في 4، وتلقى هزيمة واحدة.

وشهدت دكة بدلاء الزمالك أما الجونة تواجد عمر جابر، وسيف جعفر، وشيكو بانزا يجاور ناصر منسي. بدلاء الزمالك أمام الجونة في الدوري المصري

محمد عواد وعمر جابر وسيف جعفر وأحمد عبد الرحيم “إيشو” وأحمد حمدي وأحمد شريف وشيكو بانزا وعمرو ناصر وناصر منسي.

 

Ireland have Test status and will play 13 matches over the next five years. What will their priorities be?

Interviews by Nagraj Gollapudi03-Jul-20181:40

Ireland look to Test future with optimism

How does having the certainty of the FTP help you?
Porterfield: It helps us all around. As a nation we haven’t had a laid-out fixtures programme before, unless it was a qualification tournament, which happens every few years. To actually know that we are guaranteed games of cricket, I’m sure, takes a lot of the burden to some degree off the board in terms of planning and freeing up finances to play back into the game and let us prepare for competitions. It means we will actually have a three- or four-year plan, as opposed to wondering how much money we are going to get year to year.Balbirnie: It is very important. To be able to put dates in your diary as such and know exactly where you are going to be for the next few years is great. It is great for the young guys to kind of see what’s ahead, the guys who are trying to break into the team can see there’s something to aim towards in their own game. And for the older guys it is kind of a reward for the hard work they have put in over the years to get the Irish cricket team to where it is now.Richard Holdsworth: “We are going to be building a stadium over the next few years, We had a fantastic Test match in Malahide but that game cost over a million euros to put on”•Getty ImagesWhat do you think is the biggest benefit?
Porterfield: The biggest thing is the guaranteed fixtures. That brings guaranteed revenue, guaranteed incomes, and it means we are going to make cricket in Ireland more mainstream and also sustainable.It’s a difficult one. How viable is it to play a lot of Test cricket, at home or away, is yet to be seen, as such, because of pure financial costs. It is going to be hard to run a Test match at a profit these days. It depends on the opposition and things like that.You have played a Test match now. What were the main takeaways?
Balbirnie: For me, personally, it was to get a run (). It was a great experience. You want to play more. You get a taste of Test cricket and you get the buzz on the five days and you want to play more. That is the pinnacle of our sport.Ireland will play 13 Test matches in five years. What are the areas on the field that you will need to focus on to develop as a Test-playing country?
Balbirnie: Quite a bit of our cricket is going to be in the subcontinent, particularly against Afghanistan. An area where we are going to have to improve is playing spin. It showed yesterday [against India on June 27] in the T20 game – our skills maybe aren’t quite as good as they should be at that level against spin. That is going to get better the more we play over there [in the subcontinent].It is very important for the Ireland Wolves [A team] to get as much exposure as possible. The Wolves went to Bangladesh last winter and played seven-eight games, including a four-day game. So the more that we can do, the better, because the young guys will get exposed to spin earlier. Now you go out there and play these top spinners in the heat of the battle, whereas if you can do at an early stage, the players will come into the international sides in much better shape and more confidence against spin.Porterfield: Purely, we need to play more cricket. The FTP allows us to do that.

“Quite a bit of our cricket is going to be in the subcontinent, particularly against Afghanistan. An area where we are going to have to improve is playing spin”Andrew Balbirnie

Then in terms of domestic structures, I think it is quite unique in Ireland. A lot of teams would have started off from the bottom up, in that they would have had the domestic structure and they would have everything else around that and had their state cricket, had their county cricket and international cricket is a product of that. We have made a name for ourselves to some degree playing in World Cups and things like that as a nation with purely the club bases below us. A lot of us have played a lot of county cricket, which has helped put Ireland where it is today, but we [will be] losing out on that now in terms of becoming a Full Member. So the domestic structure, as it has happened over the last four or five years, has been put in place in Ireland, and it is getting to a stage where it is going to be full-time.Ultimately if we can get four to five teams playing out a full domestic calendar of cricket and then international cricket around that, cricket would be in a very good place.How good is the pool of talent coming from the grass roots now?
Porterfield: The exciting thing for me is, we have got a good crop of young bowlers coming through from the age groups. A lot of the lads coming around and bowling in the nets during the [Pakistan] Test match were all Under-19 lads. They are big lads. It is just about getting a volume of cricket into those lads, and the Wolves programme is a big investment [in that direction]. From Cricket Ireland’s point of view it is a big step towards bridging that gap between domestic and international cricket. We don’t have the same player pool as a lot of other countries but what we have is exciting.How do you go about providing this exposure?
Balbirnie: We don’t have that much cricket leading up to Christmas this year. A few of the guys are going to go away and work on their skills, whether that is in the subcontinent, in Australia or South Africa. It is a great kind of block for us to go and just hone our skills in a particular field – whether you want to go and face short bowling or you want to go and play spin and practise your sweeps, whatever it is.The next four to five months after this T20 series and after the Afghanistan series [August] is a great little block for us to work with Graham Ford, to work with [batting and fielding consultant] Ben Smith, to work with Ed Joyce – these guys who are available to coach us – and try to do as much skills work as we can.Holdsworth: “We’d play an ODI against a Full Member and the next one in 12 months. It is very difficult to learn from that style of cricket: high pressure, televised game, big crowd. You need to do that on a regular basis to keep learning”•AFP/Getty Images Holdsworth: We are very fortunate that we have got some close relationships with all of the countries. We want to be able to help develop our players overseas, some individually, some in terms of the team.One thing we have struggled to do financially over the last few years is have lots of A team fixtures. We have a very good national academy, an excellent programme there that is developing our younger players. But we need to expose those players before international cricket in tough, highly competitive cricket against some of the best players in the world who are also aspiring to becoming international cricketers if they haven’t done so already.We were in situations a couple of years ago where we’d play an ODI against a Full Member and the next one would be in 12 months’ time. It is very difficult to learn from that style of cricket: high-pressure environment, televised game, big crowd. You need to be doing that on a regular basis to keep learning, to keep progressing, improve what you are doing. And now we will have more of an opportunity to do that. We have to be in the World Cups, World T20s. That is what we will be working on during the period of the FTP.How do you overcome the challenge of the perennially rainy weather in Ireland?
Porterfield: Probably the bigger challenge is for the ground staff on getting wickets and pitches up to international standard on a consistent basis, given the resources and the weather.Malahide is essentially a club ground that has been developed to international standard, whereas you go to any other major Test nation, they have got six, seven eight, ten-plus Test grounds that have got a full share of first-class cricket throughout the season. That is where we are going.

“To actually know that we are guaranteed games of cricket means we will actually have a three- or four-year plan, as opposed to wondering how much money we are going to get year to year”William Porterfield

Cricket infrastructure is also a challenge. Are there plans to have a central base?
Holdsworth: If you look back over the history at some of the newer Full Members when they started out they didn’t have lots of stadiums, they didn’t have an infrastructure, but they had a very good team, they had very good talent. We are in a similar position. We have got some nice grounds, but a lot of the infrastructure is temporary.We have got an agreement with the government and Sport Ireland to develop a ground in Blanchardstown in west Dublin. It is a huge site, it is full of high-performance sport. A number of governing bodies are based there: the national football body is based there, rugby is having pitches built there, the Gaelic Association has its national development centre, the Institute of Sport is based there. And that is our training base for physical [development], strength and conditioning, and medical now for the Irish players.We are going to be building a stadium there over the next few years, which will be permanent – permanent seating, media seating, all the facilities that you expect to find at a Test match ground anywhere in the world. And it will be ours: we will be able to control it, play as many games as we want.We have lots of other grounds in Ireland, ODI grounds, and we want to make sure the game is shown to all parts of Ireland. We have a fantastic venue here in Malahide, which we want to continue international cricket at, but it is very, very costly to put up a pop-up stadium, to bring in this temporary infrastructure. That is something we can’t sustain. We had a fantastic Test match here against Pakistan. It went to the fifth day, but that game cost over a million euros to put on. The revenues that come back certainly don’t match the costs. We need to be more sustainable moving forward.It is very exciting for us to have our own Test match ground. Our headquarters will be built there as well. And we will have a high-performance centre [to be inaugurated mid-August]. So will have all of our facilities in one place. And I think that is something that not too many Full Members can boast. A lot of their facilities are in different places. We will actually be housed in one campus, which has huge advantages for us moving forward.What are the key elements that need to fall in place for Ireland to be recognised as a strong Test-playing nation by 2023?
Porterfield: You have got to do the basics really right and do it over a consistent basis over five days. You need to take 20 wickets and you need score big runs. You do that by either spending a lot of time in the middle, putting together big innings, but also by getting the next Boyd Rankin through, getting the next [star] spinner through, especially when we go away from home. So it is getting that volume of cricket into young players so that when they step in and get that opportunity, they are ready to take it by the throat and kick on.Balbirnie: We have got to be competitive in all the Tests we play. We have got to be producing match-winners. Hopefully in 2023 there will be a new crop of Irish cricketers who are setting the world alight.It is going to be tough. Stats don’t lie: not many teams coming in to Test cricket have won soon. It takes a while. But if we can be competitive and get closer to that win, that will be great. For the generations like me, 2023 will be at the back end of our career, so if we can leave [the team] in a better place, that will be great. It is my favourite form to watch, my favourite form to play so far. I love first-class cricket. Hopefully there is lots to come.

Liverpool are believed to be “working on” tying down an “outstanding” player to a new contract alongside Virgil van Dijk, according to journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Salah signs new Liverpool deal

The news that Reds supporters have been dreaming of finally came true on Friday, with Mohamed Salah signing a new two-year deal at Anfield.

There have been concerns all season long that the 32-year-old Liverpool legend would leave the club, but he will now be on Merseyside until at least 2027, saying he intends to win more trophies there:

“If I don’t believe that, I would not have signed. I believe the team can win trophies and with the support of the fans and the city, and that the supporters always give us in the games, I believe we can win many trophies in the next years.”

Now, the hope is that other players will follow suit, with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk also both out of contract at the end of this season.

While it looks increasingly likely that the latter will stay put and do the same as Salah, the former’s head appears to have been turned by a move to Real Madrid. That said, nothing has been confirmed over Alexander-Arnold leaving Liverpool at the peak of his powers.

Liverpool want new deal for "outstanding" ace

According to Romano in his newsletter for GiveMeSport, Liverpool are still looking to seal a new deal for Ibrahima Konate, as well as Van Dijk:

“They are in negotiations. Now the priority was obviously Salah and Van Dijk, but the next one could be Konate as Liverpool are working on it.”

Ensuring that Konate remains at Liverpool for the foreseeable future is of the utmost importance, considering he is still only 25 years of age and eight years Van Dijk’s junior.

The Frenchman is appreciated by so many at Anfield, from Arne Slot to the supporters, and captain Van Dijk also hailed him earlier this season, saying after their win away at Wolves in September:

“As you saw, he is important with the goal, he is defensively solid, a bit unlucky with the goal we conceded, but obviously the qualities he has are outstanding, in my opinion.

“He is learning, growing, getting better and looking after himself much better in order to be ready every three days as that’s what asked. And also we have a young player behind him in Jarrell, who is also doing well. We have to keep pushing each other and he is doing a good job.”

Relatively speaking, the £70,000-a-week wage that Konate earns is low compared to many of his teammates, so he deserves an improved contract to show that he is truly appreciated.

Liverpool confident of winning race for "amazing" £60m+ star this summer

The Reds are in a good position to strike a deal…

2 BySean Markus Clifford Apr 12, 2025

Granted, injuries have hampered him at times in his career, so there is a slight risk involved in handing him an extension, but he should only get better in the coming years, and losing him at this point in his career could be a big blow to the Reds.