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Leeds United have been dealt a setback in their pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White.

What’s the talk?

That’s according to a report by The Sun, who claim that Southampton are now leading the race to sign the Wolverhampton Wanderers attacking midfielder – who is also reported to be a target of Victor Orta – this summer.

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The report goes on to state that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are willing to offer a figure in the region of £20m in order to land the England U21 international, while it is claimed that Wolves could be tempted into a big-money sale of the forward – despite recent reports suggesting that Bruno Lage has offered Gibbs-White a new contract at Molineux.

Imagine him & Aaronson

With Victor Orta having already sealed the extremely exciting signing of Brenden Aaronson this summer, the prospect of the Spaniard pairing the USA international with Gibbs-White in Jesse Marsch’s midfield will certainly be a mouthwatering one for the Elland Road faithful.

Indeed, over his 37 Championship appearances on loan at Sheffield United this season, the £9.9m-rated forward undoubtedly proved he is ready for top-flight football next term, scoring 12 goals, registering ten assists and creating 16 big chances for his teammates, as well as taking an average of 2.5 shots, making 1.6 key passes and completing 1.4 dribbles per game.

These returns saw the £1.5k-per-week talent who Pete Smith dubbed “dangerous” and Chris Basham claimed “glides past players” average a quite extraordinary WhoScore match rating of 7.14, not only ranking him as Paul Heckingbottom’s best performer in the league but also as the joint fifth-best player in the division as a whole.

As such, while it would appear as if Orta will face a tough battle in order to get a deal over the line for Gibbs-White this summer, the struggle would very much look to be worth it, as the 22-year-old would undoubtedly make an excellent addition to the former Red Bull Salzburg starlet in the Whites attack next season.

And, if he is available for a figure in the region of £20m, the England youth international would also represent something of a bargain, leading us to believe that Orta must do everything in his power to land the Wolves starlet in the coming months.

AND in other news: Jesse Marsch could unearth Rice 2.0 with 8-figure Leeds bid for “sensational” target

BBC Radio 5 Live pundit Alan Hutton has claimed that personal reasons could have been the deciding factor behind Manchester United star Paul Pogba snubbing a move to rivals Man City this summer.

The Lowdown: Pogba available for transfer

The Frenchman first joined the Red Devils in a world-record £89m move from Juventus six years ago, where he has since gone on to make 233 appearances for the club during that time.

The 29-year-old’s current contract with United is set to expire at the end of the season, making him a free agent to any potential suitors interested in securing his services, and as a result of this, has been linked with multiple clubs in recent weeks, one of those being Pep Guardiola’s side.

As reported by The Athletic journalist David Ornstein earlier this week, the Sky Blues are thought to have made a proposal for Pogba which the player did seriously consider, but he has since informed City that he will be moving elsewhere.

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The Latest: Manchester rivalry a deciding factor

Hutton has admitted that it didn’t come as any shock to him to see United’s Premier League competitors show interest in the maestro, but suggested that the famous rivalry between the two sides may have put the 91-cap international off a potential move to the Etihad. He told Football Insider’s Russell Edge:

“It doesn’t surprise me they’ve thrown their hat into the ring.

“There’s no doubting his talent. I think on a personal level, for him to make that move, thinking of his lifestyle moving forward, how difficult that would be for them, just in general life.

“That’s probably the sticking point because the wages and that wouldn’t be a problem.

“He has had a hard time at Manchester United. Then to go to their rivals across the city, I think, would be very difficult for him.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if you see him go to PSG or somebody like that. That kind of makes more sense, I think, for him and his family.”

The Verdict: Ten Hag’s squad rebuild

Pogba, although beloved by Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, has missed out on the last five games under Ralf Rangnick having sustained a calf injury in the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool back in April, and it’s fair to say that United have missed his creativity in the middle of the park during his spell on the sidelines.

Prior to being ruled out of action, the £49.5m-rated midfielder was averaging 1.6 shots and 1.2 key passes per 90 minutes in the top-flight, not to mention that he has provided nine assists throughout the current campaign, via WhoScored.

With the arrival of new manager Erik ten Hag imminent, the Dutchman will no doubt be busy filtering through his squad to decide who has a long-term future at the club and who will be let go, and it looks like Pogba will be just one of many names set to depart Old Trafford ahead of the start of next season.

In other news… United are said to have initiated contact with a club regarding one of their summer transfer targets.

Give Rishabh Pant a shot? Get Ajinkya Rahane back in for English conditions? Or keep the faith in Vijay Shankar?

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Feb-2019

From floating around the fringes of the national team, Chirag Suri has received an unexpected boost in the pursuit of his cricketing dream

Paul Radley26-Feb-2017Chirag Suri is already feeling the effects of being “the IPL boy”. The day after becoming the first UAE player to be recruited to any of cricket’s big leagues, he was back in the nets at the ICC Academy in Dubai.Dougie Brown, the UAE coach, congratulated him on his feat in front of his national team colleagues. His fellow players, Suri says, were “ecstatic” about him signing for Gujarat Lions. But they are gunning for him too.”There is a bit of extra pressure on me now, even in training,” said Suri, a 22-year-old batsman who was born in Delhi and raised in Dubai. “The lads have been joking around, telling me I can’t do this or that in the IPL. And it feels really bad whenever I get out now.”That will make me concentrate more. I think people feel I have always had it in me, but it is all about being consistent. I need to put more of a price on my wicket now.”The realisation has not taken long to dawn on him. Making it onto an IPL roster was quite some achievement, but the hard work starts here. “I’m really enjoying the moment,” Suri said. “But I’ve been back in training, trying to work harder with a goal like this in mind.”Suri watched the IPL auction on TV at home in Dubai from its start until his lot, No. 245, came up. His father, Bobby, had gone to his construction-firm job in Dubai before returning in time to see his son’s name go under the hammer. Between those two, and mother Gauri, plenty of tears were shed when he was bought by Lions, for a base price of Rs 10 lakh (approximately US$15,000).

“There is a bit of extra pressure on me now, even in training. The lads have been joking around, telling me I can’t do this or that in the IPL”Suri on the immediate effects of his IPL signing

His has been a startling elevation. When Lions play their first matches in the IPL, against Kolkata Knight Riders on April 7 and Sunrisers Hyderabad two days later, UAE will be playing a four-day Intercontinental Cup match against Papua New Guinea in Abu Dhabi. Suri has not thought to ask to be excused from that yet. He does not presume to think he will even be in the UAE team.He has been on the fringes of the national team since he debuted against Kenya in the World Cup Qualifier in New Zealand in 2014. In the few chances he has had to make himself undroppable, he has missed out.It is fair to suggest he has jumped the queue when it comes to UAE players reaching the big leagues. Four UAE internationals, for example, have made it into the Pakistan Super League draft list in the past. Shaiman Anwar, UAE’s leading batsman and No. 24 in the ICC rankings for T20 batsmen, was on the list ahead of the league’s first season in 2016. Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Naveed and Ahmed Raza did the same this season. None of them were picked, though.Suri reasons that his chances of making it were enhanced by his youth. He is within the under-23 bracket for emerging players. And now, he says, he hopes he can push the door further ajar for everybody else.”All the lads were ecstatic for me, giving me their best wishes and support,” Suri said. “Shaiman has been really trying to get into the PSL. Hopefully next year he can get through as well. The lads are more confident of getting through now, because Associate players are getting more of a name in the leagues.”In becoming the first UAE player to break into a high-profile league, Suri has leapfrogged more established names, such as his country’s leading batsman, Shaiman Anwar (in picture)•Peter Della PennaThere are eight full-time professional players contracted to the Emirates Cricket Board. Suri is not one of them. Alongside playing cricket, he studies for a degree in business management at Heriot Watt University in Dubai, as well as learning the family marble and granite construction business.Talented players are often lost to the system in the UAE between the ages of 18 to 21, when they travel abroad for study, or enter the workplace. Bobby Suri, though, is encouraging his son to pursue his dream of playing cricket for as long as he can.”Their parents want them to make their careers somewhere else and not in cricket,” Suri Sr. said of the cricketers who fall by the wayside in the UAE. “To be honest, I am a businessman. I have always told Chirag, ‘While you keep playing, I will remain young. So keep playing, please, do this for me.’ That is all the reward I want: for him to keep playing.”Bobby moved his family to Dubai from his native Delhi in 2003, when he relocated for work. Chirag, who had just started playing cricket when they moved, subsequently went on to represent UAE at all age-group levels, occasionally as captain.One of his junior coaches was Shahzad Altaf, who played as a bowler for UAE in the 1996 World Cup on the subcontinent, and has since produced a variety of players for the national team via his academy.” I was surprised when I heard Chirag got an IPL deal, but it is good for him and hopefully he will perform,” Altaf said. “I think he could do something, but that level is very high. I think he could do it, if he gets regular chances.”

“I have always told Chirag, ‘While you keep playing, I will remain young. So keep playing, please, do this for me.'”Chirag Suri’s father, Bobby

According to Suri, Aaqib Javed, the former UAE coach, told him four years ago that he would play in the IPL at some point in the future. That was either unbelievable foresight or a conceit designed to boost a player’s self-belief ahead of coming challenges.Back then, Suri was part of a UAE side that was facing matches against the likes of India and Pakistan in the Under-19 Asia Cup, and then in the Under-19 World Cup. India’s side had the likes of Sanju Samson – who was already an IPL star – and Sarfaraz Khan. Pakistan had Sami Aslam. South Africa won that World Cup, largely thanks to the excellence of Kagiso Rabada. With pedigree like that in the opposition, Suri and the schoolboys of the UAE team probably needed a pep up.Aaqib maintains Suri has the talent to impress with Gujarat, though. He thinks his former protégé has a “personality suited to challenges”. “It is a good opportunity,” said Aaqib, who coached the UAE until last year. “The IPL is a huge thing. It is really encouraging for any UAE player.”Suri understands Aaqib’s assessment of his personality traits. “When I get something positive or negative in my life, I don’t get fazed by it,” he said. “If something happens to me, I don’t think about it a lot, I just keep a positive outlook. Things always charge me up, and that is probably what Aaqib meant. If I am seen as the IPL boy, I will take that as a positive.”

After a promising start, the Bangladesh fast bowler ran into problems with his action and off-field discipline. But he kept fighting, and that’s now paying off for him and his team

Mohammad Isam10-Nov-2015What does a team take away from winning five consecutive ODI series? In Bangladesh’s case, their biggest gain has been the collective mindset over the last 12 months. On Monday, as they crushed Zimbabwe for a second time in as many games to take an unassailable lead in the three-match series, another Bangladesh player provided an instance of mental strength triumphing.Al-Amin Hossain took the wickets of Sikandar Raza and Elton Chigumbura in the 34th and 36th overs, just when Zimbabwe looked to be on track towards Bangladesh’s modest total. At the start of the over in which Raza got out, the visitors needed less than a run-a-ball for 17 overs, with six wickets in hand and two set batsmen at the crease. Al-Amin planned well at that point, bowling shorter and keeping Raza on the backfoot before giving him one to loft towards mid-on. It was an easy catch for Imrul Kayes.It was Kayes again who took the catch of Chigumbura, this time at third man after Al-Amin got another to lift past the Zimbabwe captain. Al-Amin didn’t do anything extraordinary but he smartly tested the batsmen with lengths. Nothing special, but quite effective given the circumstances. Those wickets signalled the end of Zimbabwe’s challenge.He ended with 2 for 22 from eight overs, to follow his 1 for 15 from five overs in the first ODI. These are not eye-catching numbers but it is important to understand what Al-Amin has gone through in the last 14 months; if he had thought that his career was over, it wouldn’t have been a surprise.From being the only bowler worth noting in Bangladesh’s disastrous 3-0 loss in the ODI series to West Indies last year, Al-Amin quickly found himself giving a bowling action test after being reported for a suspect action. He was cleared by the ICC two months later but it left a scar in his psyche that was amplified after he was sent home midway through the World Cup.While the BCB never really said that he was banned, there seemed to be an unwritten embargo on picking him since the World Cup. It seemed he had become a pariah amid all the people he knew in Mirpur. He spent months going through training sessions and trying to find out if he would be picked again. He played first-class cricket but wasn’t noticed. Whenever he saw someone who was willing to speak to him, Al-Amin took time to explain his situation. If the authorities were testing him, they had every right to. From the details that emerged from the incident in Brisbane, fault seemed to have been with him.But in a country where pace bowling is a rarity, Al-Amin had to be recalled in some capacity, and soon. He had done well in his first spell of international cricket, earning the trust of the senior players. He was included for Bangladesh A last month and he bowled quite well during the short tour to South Africa. The big recall then came when Rubel Hossain and Taskin Ahmed were ruled out through injuries. So far, Mustafizur Rahman, Mashrafe Mortaza and Al-Amin have not let Bangladesh miss Taskin or Rubel, who had proven to be two very effective bowlers.Mashrafe said that Al-Amin showed mental strength to come back and provide the crucial wickets. “Before his action was questioned, Al-Amin was the best pace bowler in the team,” Mashrafe said. “Then he had to come back from the World Cup, which gave him a break in his life. It is always hard to come back from such a break. One has to take a lot of mental pressure during these times. He went through a tough time but he was mentally strong. I think he understood his mistakes and he will take it forward from here.”Mashrafe said that pace bowling has played a huge part in Bangladesh’s success, particularly in good batting conditions against India and Pakistan earlier this year. “Our bowling unit has helped us win most of the games for the last 12 months. We have a lot of variety in the attack. If everyone can perform their respective roles, it becomes hard for the opposition. The pitches were critical against South Africa [in July] but against India and Pakistan, we played on good batting wickets. Our bowlers did well in those two series.”The improvement in pace bowling is going to be an advantage for Bangladesh when they play abroad. What they now need to work on is having more depth in the pace attack, and by restarting the pacer hunt programme, the BCB seems to be serious about this.

If England do win the ODI series against Sri Lanka, it may only serve to mask some of the issues they must resolve ahead of the World Cup

George Dobell02-Jun-2014You could argue that, if England are to challenge at the World Cup, the best thing to happen to them would be to experience defeat in the final match of the ODI series against Sri Lanka at Edgbaston.Were England to win the game, and with it a series that is currently tied 2-2, it might convince them that the make-up of their current side – with only four frontline bowlers and four steady batsmen at the top of the order – is adequate to serve them well in New Zealand and Australia. Indeed, victory might render it awkward to drop individuals ahead of the ODI series against India. It would be a feel-good win with a long-term hangover.This was always going to be a transitional series for England. Coming to terms with life after Kevin Pietersen, Graeme Swann and, in all probability, Jonathan Trott (who began his comeback in Warwickshire’s 2nd XI on Monday) was bound to take time. A couple of other players, Stuart Broad and perhaps Ben Stokes, are also likely to feature in a World Cup squad when they have proved their full fitness.As a result, England have chosen a team with a view to these early season English conditions. They have reasoned, understandably, that the benefit of winning this series will outweigh any negatives of failing to settle upon a specific XI for the World Cup.So they have stocked their top four with good quality, traditional batsmen who can negate the movement offered by two new balls and build a solid platform before the middle-order leads an acceleration. And they have tried to plug the gaps in the bowling attack with a couple of batting allrounders who, in these conditions, can generally be relied upon to contribute 10 overs between them. In these conditions, it makes sense.But will it work in Australia?So far in this series, England’s fifth bowlers – generally Joe Root and Ravi Bopara combined – have contributed 25.5 overs between them and taken one wicket for 149 runs. They are comfortably the most expensive of England’s bowlers.Away from early summer English pitches there is no reason to think they will fare any better. On the fast-scoring grounds anticipated in the World Cup, going in with a part-time fifth bowler is not only an obvious weakness in itself but it leaves the team exposed should one of the four frontline bowlers suffer a bad day or sustain an injury.As England have found out so many times before – most notably in the World Cup final of 1979 – a side may get away with part-time bowlers in bowler-friendly conditions. But on good pitches, against good players, such a tactic will often prove damaging.The choice of who to bat in the top four is equally perplexing for England. With Alastair Cook presumably assured of his place – and he might not be an automatic choice, at present, were he not captain – England’s options at the top of the order are limited. With Peter Moores, the England coach, admitting that a total of around 300 might be considered par in the World Cup, the clamour to select Alex Hales will probably not be denied for long.

“In Australia, or on any good pitch around the world, you have to be able to score 300. It’s the new par score. So we know we have haven’t got long”Peter Moores

Gary Ballance, Joe Root and perhaps even Ian Bell might be considered vulnerable later in the summer, though bringing in Hales only a few months ahead of the World Cup will give him less time to learn his trade at the top level.”We’ve got some decisions to make,” Moores said. “One is to make sure we’ve got enough depth in the bowling.”It’s a balance, because sometimes you don’t want too much bowling. You don’t want to take the responsibility away from those guys who’ve got to be able to front up and deliver, and know it’s their role.”But against strong sides, you need five strong bowlers as well as decent depth and ability to strike up front. They’re the things you’re going to need to win that World Cup.”One option at the World Cup would be to play another bowler – almost certainly Broad – ahead of one of the batsmen. But that would weaken the batting further and require even more of the likes of Jos Buttler, who is required to produce a miracle almost every time he bats. As on Saturday, sometimes even Buttler’s miracles aren’t enough.”Our top four haven’t quite got it right,” Moores admitted. “Bell and Cook are a very experienced opening partnership and have done well in the Powerplays. It’s important that we stay positive out of the Powerplay. In Australia, or on any good pitch around the world, you have to be able to score 300. It’s the new par score. So we know we have haven’t got long.”To be fair to Root and Ballance they had to rebuild on Saturday from 10 for 2. They did the right thing and rebuilt and kept wickets in hand. Looking back we could have done with pushing things a little bit more.”We’re fortunate that there is a domestic 50-over competition this year in which we can have a look at the players like Alex Hales. Then we have to identify what is our best team for the back end of the summer, the winter and then that World Cup.”Whatever happens at Edgbaston on Tuesday, England are surely going to require some further rebuilding before that World Cup.

An amusing travelogue where cricket is a sidelight, written by two fans who are insiders as well as outsiders

Alex Bowden04-Aug-2012The law of diminishing returns applies to even the best Test series. I’ve already read two books about England’s last tour of Australia, and I also watched it, listened to it, read about it, and wrote about it at the time. As such, I have to admit to approaching with a degree of trepidation. This was compounded by the fact that it’s a book about following the team as a fan. I’ve read a few of those too.The twist is that the authors, Stuart Croll and David Alexander, are Scots supporting England. This is fairly unusual, but is it really worth 300-plus pages?While the premise seems limp and uninspired, it doesn’t really matter because the whole thing is saved by the quality of the writing.On my website, I publish match reports from readers. The submission guidelines are very straightforward: on no account should you mention the actual cricket. Croll and Alexander have adopted a similar approach. The point is that if someone wants to find out about a cricket match, they come to ESPNcricinfo or they buy a newspaper. With something as well documented as the Ashes, the more a writer focuses on the action, the more pages he wastes. Croll and Alexander sidestep this by focusing on what we don’t see while we’re sitting at home.As much as anything, this book is about being in Australia. It is not a cricket book. It is a humorous travel book where cricket is the theme. They do attend the matches, but the action only really matters for its impact on those watching. Other than that, they see the sights, they go for a beer, and Stuart has a series of arguments in phone shops. It’s relaxed and funny, but serious points are made from time to time as well.It was a struggle to get into the writing early on. The jokes are frequent and for the first few chapters the relentless whimsy was a little bit wearing. However, this feeling didn’t last. I don’t know whether I warmed to the style or whether the rhythm settled down a bit, but it didn’t take long before I was absorbed as well as amused.Maybe I came to trust the writers (there’s only one narrator, incidentally, despite there being two authors). The great benefit of being Scots supporting England is that they are both insiders and outsiders and can therefore offer perspective. They are emotional fans but can also see the intrinsic pointlessness of it all, which gives rise to a healthy distrust of the nationalistic tribalism that can sometimes infect sports fans.The feeling of being part of a group while simultaneously apart from it applies to their relationship with the Barmy Army as well. Both are members, but they haven’t been conscripted. Instead, they dip in and out, frequently going off to do other things. Equally they clearly love Test cricket without being in thrall to tradition. In a world of extremes, they provide a happy middle ground.If there is a criticism, it is that the editing is a bit slapdash. Rogue words crop up in the middle of sentences quite regularly – the kind of thing that could easily be spotted with a quick read-through. It’s annoying and the book deserves better, not least because all proceeds go to the Lord’s Taverners, who strive to improve the lot of disadvantaged young people through cricket.Australia Blues
by Stuart Croll and David Alexander
Jibba Jabba Publishing

Plays of the day for the third day of the first Test between Sri Lanka and India in Galle

Sidharth Monga in Galle20-Jul-2010Nelson has got Paranavitana’s number
Tharanga Paranavitana added one to his overnight score of 110 before he got a peach from Ishant Sharma; the bowler’s second delivery of the day. If Nelson is indeed unlucky for Paranavitana, he would have done well to have debuted either before Dammika Prasad or after Angelo Mathews. As it turns out, Paranavitana is the 111th cricketer to have played Tests for Sri Lanka, and bears that number on his jersey.Slipping at slips
Rahul Dravid hasn’t had much to celebrate on this tour so far, and he will particularly rue two moments. One came on the first morning of the tour game, when he dropped a sitter from Upul Tharanga, who went on to score 98 more runs. Today came an identical drop: slightly lower than knee-high at first slip, at an easy pace, covered well by the palms, but again the ball somehow popped out.Bad luck, good luck
The bowler at the receiving end of that drop was Dravid’s Karnataka team-mate, Abhimanyu Mithun. Two balls later, though, Mithun made sure the drop didn’t cost him or his team any runs. With a sharp inducker, he got Thilan Samaraweera lbw, but in real time the ball seemed like it was going down. Hawk-Eye showed it would have kissed the top of leg.Precise in the slips
When Ishant Sharma was bowling exceptionally well in the first session, MS Dhoni called Gautam Gambhir to reinforce the slip cordon, getting four men in there. Gambhir doesn’t usually field at slip, and was directed by Laxman where exactly to stand, in an interesting manner. According to Laxman, the ideal distance between the slips is a certain number of steps when walking heel to toe. So how he determined where Gambhir would stand, dragging his mate along with him, provided an amusing sight.Murali’s farewell continues
It is difficult for this Test match to not have a Murali context to anything that happens. As soon as the fifth wicket fell, all eyes started to pan towards the dressing room to see if he would come out for one last hit with the bat. Out came Rangana Herath. When the seventh wicket fell, it had to be Murali. Everybody got ready, and out came Lasith Malinga. And then the two had a merry partnership.Murali finally arrived after Malinga’s dismissal, to fireworks and a guard of honour from the Indian fielders. Ishant was not as generous. The first ball to Murali was a bouncer. Murali played the shot that has brought much joy and amusement over the years; clearing the leg and swat-pulling with eyes wide shut. He got off the mark with a similar shot, off Mithun. Another guard of honour followed as he came out to field, from the ball boys and his team-mates this time. His first touch on the ball was another signature move: sticking his foot out to field the ball at point. A timely reminder that Murali was not just about those ripping offbreaks and .

The analyst delivered sharp criticism of the Inter Miami star regarding his apparent reluctance to participate in the MLS All-Star Game

• Lalas dismissed portrayals of Messi as "a saint"
• He emphasized Jorge Mas is exactly what MLS needs
• Hailed Thomas Muller and Son Heung-min 's potential move to MLS

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  WHAT HAPPENED

  USMNT legend and former MLS GM Alexi Lalas pushed back on claims that Inter Miami's Lionel Messi was unfairly treated over the MLS All-Star Game, rejecting the idea that Messi is a victim and stressing the obligations that come with being the league’s biggest star.

  “Fascinating in the way that it has been handled and the reaction to it,” Lalas said on his State of the Union podcast. “We all have either been involved or grown up watching All-Star games and the phenomenon of All-Star Game when it comes to multiple sports here. It's very normal for us… But I will say that the framing that is happening right now of Messi as some saint, waging some righteous fight against the perceived evils and ills of MLS and its structure, or even the very concept of an MLS All-Star game.

  "That's a little rich, and that's a little ridiculous. He signed his contract. He knew that playing in the All-Star game was part of his contract. So he knew the rules. So Messi, you need to grow up. You need to participate. And if you didn't want to play in the All-Star game, you had the leverage at the moment you were signing your contract, and you should have negotiated for that."

  Lalas also praised Miami’s owner Jorge Mas, and praised him for attempting to do something big and bold, but believes the MLS is holding him back.

  “I love Jorge Mas," he said, "in that he is exactly what MLS needs, this aspirational type of disruptor, OK. And I know he's going to defend his players…. But you can tell he wants to do more. And yeah, he wants the All-Star rule change…. But he wants to do more with his team and with MLS."

  Lalas believes MLS needs to lean more into its more ambitious owners if the league wants to continue to grow.

  “I do believe that [Mas] is being held back, and it's by design," Lalas said. "For all this success in the last 30 years, I think MLS needs to be big, bold. I've said it before, they need to be arrogant in the most positive sense, going forward with those moon shots. And I think Jorge Mas is one of the owners who wants to do those types of things.”

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• WHAT LALAS SAID

  With Thomas Muller reportedly interested in a move to the MLS, Lalas said that the Vancouver Whitecaps could be an interesting desitnation for the forward.

  “The homas Muller thing is interesting,” Lalas said. “It's interesting because you know, here's a player that it seemed ageless, and so I still think he has a little bit in the tank. Vancouver's interesting for him to of all the places to go for him to pick. Wonderful, wonderful city… Maybe he just loves Canada and something like that. I'm here for that."

  Not only that, with Tottenham forward Son Heung-min also linked with a transfer to the MLS and LAFC, Lalas says that signing the South Korean would be a great move by the club.

  “I was at the Galaxy when Heng Yao Ming, another South Korean legend, came and played for the Galaxy," Lalas said. "Just because you have a player from a certain country doesn't mean that you know every Korean American is going to show up.. .From a playing perspective, obviously he's incredibly gifted and talented, and it's proven that for a number of years.

  “And it almost kind of plays into because he is a big, big star and someone I think that not only from the Korean American community, but I just think soccer players and soccer fans in general recognize that, 'Hey, this is somebody that I would want to go see whether it's for LAFC or anybody else'. And I think LAFC could certainly use him.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The MLS suspended both Alba and Messi, as both missed Inter Miami’s 0-0 draw with FC Cincinnati. They will be available for the Herons' next MLS game.

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  WHAT’S NEXT?

  Inter Miami will host Atlas next in the first game of their League Cup group stage on July 30 and then face Necaxa on Aug. 2 in their second game of the League Cup.

Real Madrid were offered a chance to sign Kyle Walker in January but they kept Manchester City waiting as the defender went to AC Milan.

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• Man City offered Walker to Madrid
• Madrid did not respond
• Walker went on to join AC Milan on loan

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Six-time Premier League winner Kyle Walker left Manchester City on loan in January after falling out of favour under Pep Guardiola. The English full-back headed to Italy to join AC Milan on a temporary deal. But before his move to Milan got confirmed, the Cityzens reportedly approached Real Madrid and offered the veteran defender to them, however, the Spanish champions ignored the query, according to The Athletic.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Madrid required a defender in the middle of the 2024-25 campaign as Dani Carvajal was ruled out with an ACL tear and Lucas Vazquez was constantly plagued with injuries. Yet, they did not feel the need to respond to City's offer. Madrid eventually crashed out of the Champions League quarter-final after losing 5-1 to Arsenal over two legs. They then lost to Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final and are now on the verge of losing the La Liga title to the Blaugrana.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Walker can stay in Milan beyond the 2024-25 campaign as the Rossoneri have an option of buying the veteran defender for €5 million (£4m/$6m), but the Italian giants are reportedly asking for a discount as they are willing to pay only €3.5m, according to .

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTER CITY?

  Pep Guardiola's side will aim to end a dismal 2024-25 campaign on a high as they face Crystal Palace in the final of the FA Cup at Wembley this Saturday.