Emprestado pelo Atlético de Madri, da Espanha, até o fim do ano, o meia-atacante Marcos Paulo já sonha com a sua permanência no São Paulo. Após a vitória de virada por 2 a 1 sobre o Goiás no sábado (27), no Morumbi, resultado que levou a equipe para o G4 do Campeonato Brasileiro, o jogador comentou sobre a expectativa de ter um vínculo definitivo com o Tricolor, aproveitando a boa fase exibida e a idolatria conquistada das arquibancadas. Confira:
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Newcastle United are now believed to have made contact over the signing of an “efficient” attacking player, according to a fresh transfer rumour.
Newcastle continue to eye attacking signings
Eddie Howe knows the importance of adding attacking firepower to his squad this summer after a move for winger Anthony Elanga, regardless of whether star striker Alexander Isak stays put at the club or not.
One rumoured option for Newcastle is Nice attacker Evann Guessand, with club scouts reportedly sent to watch him in action during the past year or so. He is capable of shining in both a central and wide attacking role, which could appeal.
Nice's Evann Guessand.
Meanwhile, the Magpies are said to be preparing to make a move for Atletico Madrid striker Julian Alvarez, which would be a major statement of intent. The former Manchester City star would surely only arrive if Isak leaves, though, with Howe likely to find it hard to fit both players into the same team on a regular basis.
Newcastle’s interest in Brentford ace Yoane Wissa is also reportedly strong, with one update even claiming that they have agreed personal terms with him over a switch to St James’ Park.
Newcastle make contact over signing Spurs target Guessand
Now, according to a new report from Africa Foot [via Sport Witness], Newcastle have made contact with Guessand over a summer move to the club.
They haven’t yet opened formal talks with the 24-year-old’s representatives over a transfer, but it looks as though the wheels are in motion. The next few days are said to be key, though, with Tottenham and Villarreal also in the race, however, Spurs’ talks are slowing down which could allow the Magpies to swoop in.
Evann Guessand in action for Nice in Ligue 1.
Guessand is a player with so much to offer, so it is no surprise to see Newcastle targeting him, with his versatility in attack an immediate bonus.
The 10-cap Ivory Coast international has 21 goals in 109 appearances for Nice, which is a solid return, but he could be an even more potent player alongside superior players at St James’, having been described as both “electric” and “efficient” by journalist Antonio Mango.
Guessand could come in as ideal cover for Isak, who Newcastle simply must keep hold of, not necessarily always starting matches but proving to be an excellent squad option.
The Magpies are competing in four different competitions in 2025/26, following their return to the Champions League, so added depth is vital, and the Nice attacker has the potential to grow into a brilliant player for Howe.
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The fact that he can shine on either flank makes him a great option to have, at a time when a new right-sided signing is vitally important for Newcastle.
Sunderland are pushing ahead with even more exciting signings ahead of the brand-new Premier League season getting underway.
This time around, it looks as if the Black Cats have won the coveted signature of Armand Lauriente for a fee around the £17m ballpark, after the 26-year-old attacker amassed a blistering 18 strikes for Sassuolo in Serie B last season. Can he shine now in a similarly frightening manner in the English top-flight?
That remains to be seen, with the Black Cats now targeting some defensive reinforcements after splashing more cash on the forward areas, with one notable Premier League-experienced centre-back on Regis Le Bris and Co.’s agenda.
Sunderland submit offer for £10m star
Every new day brings about a fresh rumour involving Sunderland, with multiple centre-back targets on the ever-expanding shopping list.
Indeed, Lille powerhouse Bafodé Diakité is reportedly on the Black Cats’ radar, but a hefty £35m price tag above the promising Frenchman’s head might well put the newly promoted side off, regardless of their lavish spending to date.
Instead, they might well travel down the cheaper route to bolster at the back, with Turkish outlet Takvim reporting that Sunderland, alongside Burnley and Leeds United, have made bids to pick up former Aston Villa titan Diego Carlos.
The outlet claims that all three sides have ‘knocked’ on Fenerbahce’s door with offers to sign the central defender on loan for the 2024/25 campaign.
It is reported that his current side are open to allowing the 32-year-old defender to leave Turkey this summer, with initial offers coming in on a loan basis. However, the Super Lig giants will only entertain an offer if a mandatory buy option is also included, having forked out £10m for Carlos just this January.
Whilst he might not be a first-team regular in Turkey, Carlos should be able to come into the growing Sunderland group and offer lots of experience and quality to their maiden Premier League voyage, making him a better potential signing than Lauriente in the process.
Why Carlos could be a better signing than Lauriente
After all, there is no guarantee, despite his 18-goal heroics in Serie B last season, that Lauriente instantly makes an impact in Le Bris’ first team on his arrival in England.
When glancing at the Frenchman’s options up top, he already has the likes of Simon Adingra to choose from down the left wing, who could well get the first team nod over Lauriente, owing to his eight strikes in the Premier League with Brighton and Hove Albion.
Armand Lauriente in action for Sassuolo.
Moreover, there is also Enzo Le Fee on the left channel, who dazzled Championship defences last season, alongside Romaine Mundle, who will be eager to succeed in the Premier League, having once been discarded by Tottenham Hotspur, meaning the 26-year-old winger will have his work cut out for him to come in and suddenly leave a mark.
On the contrary, Carlos – with his 40 top-flight experiences in the top division with the Villans – will feel he has more of a chance right away at pushing into Le Bris’ XI, with his career numbers in the tough league previously showing him to be a nice mixture of both Daniel Ballard’s calmness on the ball, alongside possessing Luke O’Nien’s well-known grit.
Games played
40
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Passes completed
2078 (88%)
Duels won
83
Clean sheets
6
Looking at the table above, it’s clear that the Brazilian prides himself on being a smooth operator from the back, with 2078 accurate passes managed across his Villa stint, which left him with an 88% accurate pass completion percentage overall. Last season in the EFL, Ballard finished his season with the exact same percentage.
Therefore, the pair together could well be an intimidating duo for Premier League attackers to come to terms with, with his 83 duels won overall also gaining him a reputation for being “imposing”, as he was labelled by football journalist Mat Kendrick when still situated at Villa Park.
Aston Villa'sDiegoCarlosduring the warm up
With his time at Sevilla also seeing him compete in the Champions League, alongside claims from football journalist David Ornstein that he was “the best defender in Spain”, this does feel like it could be a steal at around the £10m price mark.
On the contrary, with Lauriente only notching up 12 more career strikes for Sassuolo away from his breakout 24/25 offering, there will be a worry he’s an expensive misfire, as opposed to a gamble that works out.
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This summer might be Chelsea’s best for a very long time.
On the pitch, Enzo Maresca’s side have added a Club World Cup title to their Conference League one, and off of it, they’ve been incredibly busy.
The West Londoners have added some serious quality to the side with Jamie Gittens, Liam Delap and Joao Pedro, while also shipping off Noni Madueke to London rivals Arsenal.
Chelsea manager EnzoMarescabefore the start of the second half
Moreover, they’re now linked with a move for the incredible Morgan Rogers, although some of their own stars are now turning heads on the continent, including one whose sale could fund a move for Rogers and the rest.
Why Chelsea want to sign Morgan Rogers
With a price tag of up to £100m, depending on which report you read, signing Rogers this summer would represent a serious financial investment in Maresca’s team.
However, even at some of the higher prices, we’d argue that the Englishman would be more than worth the outlay.
The first reason is down to his output, as in 54 appearances, totalling 4,496 minutes last season, the often-unstoppable “machine,” as dubbed by The Athletic’s Jacob Tanswell, scored 14 goals and provided 15 assists.
Appearances
54
Minutes
4496′
Goals
14
Assists
15
Goal Involvements per Match
0.53
Minutes per Goal Involvement
155.03′
That means the Aston Villa star averaged a goal involvement every 1.86 games, or every 155.03 minutes, which is the sort of service that could have a massive impact on the West Londoners’ other attacking stars.
Moreover, the 22-year-old is someone who can still be just as effective out wide on the wing as he is as an attacking midfielder, which means he’d be able to rack up plenty of minutes all over the pitch.
Finally, with four goals and three assists in just 12 Champions League games, the Halesowen-born star has already proven himself at the very top level.
However, the rest of the summer might not be only about incomings, as one of Europe’s biggest clubs are now circling one of Chelsea’s most important players, who could help fund Rogers’ transfer.
The Chelsea star who could be sold for Rogers
With the club already spending a sizable sum of money this summer and looking to continue to do so, it only makes sense that they’d also be looking to sell several players.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
They’ve already made a tidy profit on Madueke, and if reports from last week are to be believed, they’re also open to selling Nicolas Jackson.
Additionally, João Félix has been linked with a move back to Benfica, and there are still a handful of players in Maresca’s so-called ‘bomb squad’ who look likely to leave, such as Raheem Sterling and Axel Disasi.
However, while all the aforementioned players are those the club and fans would likely be happy to see leave, they could now be in danger of losing someone far more important to the project.
At least that’s according to a recent report from Spain, which has claimed that Real Madrid have made Enzo Fernández a top target this summer.
The report has revealed that the European giants have been impressed with his development and consider signing him to be a key priority this summer, someone who could be the long-term heir to Toni Kroos.
However, the story claims that Chelsea view the Argentine as untouchable and that he would only be allowed to leave if an offer of €130m was made, which is approximately £113m.
It would be a hard pill to swallow for the supporters, as while he has received criticism in the past, the former Benfica player has really grown into his role over the last year or so.
In all, the “mind-blowing” World Cup winner, as dubbed by scout Antonio Mango, has made 115 appearances for the Pensioners, in which he’s scored 16 goals and provided 23 assists.
Moreover, he has helped lead the club out of the slump they were in a year ago and to two trophies within the space of two months.
Ultimately, while losing Fernandez would almost certainly be bad news for Chelsea, the fee required from Real would at least allow BlueCo to go out and sign Rogers.
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Leeds United have held talks to sign a £5m Premier League defender who shares the same representation as current goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Meslier’s Leeds future up in the air after promotion
The Whites enjoyed a brilliant Championship campaign in 2024/25, winning the title in stoppage time on the final day at Plymouth Argyle.
Daniel Farke’s side reached 100 points from their 46 games, but that tally could have been so much more without errors from Meslier. His injury-time blunder away at Sunderland, shaky display against Hull City and mistakes against Swansea City cost Leeds six points.
Farke dropped the Frenchman for the final seven games, with Karl Darlow coming in as Leeds won six of their last seven, keeping five clean sheets in the process.
Meslier’s future at Elland Road is thought to be in doubt, with Leeds on the search for a new first-choice keeper and will offer the Frenchman to other clubs during the summer transfer window.
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The likes of Aaron Ramsdale and Sam Johnstone have been linked with moves to Leeds to replace Meslier, but by the looks of things, Leeds are talking to the goalkeeper’s Gol International agency about another client – Alex Moreno.
Leeds open talks for Aston Villa’s Alex Moreno
According to Football Insider, Leeds have opened preliminary talks to sign Aston Villa left-back Moreno this summer.
The Whites have made contact over a transfer, with Villa ready to move the 32-year-old on following his loan spell at Nottingham Forest in 24/25.
The Spaniard made 19 appearances for Forest last season, and a new left-back is among the top priorities at Elland Road with Junior Firpo on course to re-join Real Betis following the expiration of his Leeds contract.
Moreno has been valued at £5m by Villa, and clubs in Spain are also working to land the left-back ahead of Leeds.
He actually made his Villa debut under Unai Emery against Leeds back in 2023, and the Villa manager has described the full-back’s speed as his best attribute.
Regular game time at left-back appears to be on the cards at Leeds with Firpo on course to leave, so that could be something that appeals to Moreno.
Arsenal’s most significant weakness this season is not a big secret; it’s a lack of goals.
Now, did the Mikel Arteta’s side face some questionable refereeing decisions early on and a torrent of injuries later? Yes, yes, they did.
However, even then, it would be hard to describe the club’s attack – bar Bukayo Saka – as anything other than disappointing this year. After all, they scored 17 goals fewer than Liverpool.
So, news that the club are closing in on a new attacking star should excite fans, especially as this is a player who could become world-class with Saka to his right.
Arsenal's attacker search
Given their blunt attack, it’s hardly been a surprise to see Arsenal linked with a plethora of forward talent in recent weeks and months, such as Leroy Sané and Nico Williams.
Transfer Focus
Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.
The former could be available for free this summer, as his contract with Bayern Munich expires at the end of the month, and given his tally of 13 goals and six assists in 45 games this season, he’d certainly be a wise acquisition.
Williams, on the other hand, would cost around £50m, but at 22 years old and with a tally of 11 goals and seven assists in 45 games this year, he too would likely be a wise addition to the team.
Athletic Bilbao'sNicoWilliams
However, what most fans would tell you, and rightly so, is that the Gunners are in need of a new striker more than anything else, someone like Benjamin Sesko.
Yes, according to a recent report from transfers expert Fabrizio Romano, Arsenal have maintained their intense interest in the RB Leipzig star.
In fact, the journalist claims that the deal is now on and that talks between the clubs and the player himself are progressing, with outside reports claiming that the final fee could be somewhere in the region of £70m.
It’s certainly a lot of money to spend on a young forward, but his talent and potential are undeniable, and he could be incredible alongside Saka.
Why Sesko would be unreal with Saka
So, while there are likely a plethora of reasons why Saka could help turn Sesko into a world-class striker, from his work off the field to leadership on the pitch, there is one reason that stands above all others: his output.
The Hale End superstar has turned into a lean, mean output machine in the last year and a bit, as even though he missed almost four months of action with injury this season, the 23-year-old phenom racked up a superb tally of 12 goals and 14 assists in 37 appearances, which comes out to one every 1.42 games.
Moreover, per Understat, he would have had at least one more assist had his teammates been better at finishing, as his ten league assists came from an expected assist figure of 11.58.
Now, let’s look at the Leipzig star’s numbers.
In just 45 appearances this season, the 22-year-old “monster,” as dubbed by analyst Ben Mattinson, scored 21 goals and provided six assists, which comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.66, which for someone of his age, is sensational.
Sesko & Saka in 24/25
Player
Sesko
Saka
Appearances
45
37
Minutes
3258′
2619′
Goals
21
12
Assists
6
14
Goal Involvements per Match
0.60
0.70
Minutes per Goal Involvement
120.66′
100.73′
All Stats via Transfermarkt
Yet, it gets better, as the Slovenian “diamond,” as dubbed by Mattinson, is also able to turn middling chances into goals; according to Understat, his 13 Bundesliga goals came from 10.84 expected goals, and last season, he scored 14 from an expected goals figure of 8.60.
The fact he is consistently finishing at a higher standard than would be expected of him should delight fans and Arteta, as that ability, combined with the Gunners’ talismanic number seven, could be a match made in heaven.
And, just to make the former Salzburg gem even more exciting, he happens to be a mammoth 6 foot 5, and yet, per the respected Mattinson, is blessed with “rapid speed,” “good dribbling”, and “good mobility.”
Ultimately, while he isn’t going to be cheap, Sesko appears to have everything a striker needs to become a world-class goalscorer, and when you consider he’d be playing alongside Saka, it feels more like a matter of when and not if that happens.
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Apr 24, 2025
Left-back Kieran Tierney has been handed opportunities this season, partly due to Arsenal’s shortage of options at points, after looking as if he’d already played his final games for the north Londoners in 2023.
This time last year, nobody expected that Arteta would hand the 27-year-old a total of 17 appearances in all competitions, including a very rare Premier League start against Brentford, but these will be among his last outings for the Gunners.
Arsenal’s final Premier League games
Date
Bournemouth (home)
May 3rd
Liverpool (away)
May 11th
Newcastle United (home)
May 18th
Southampton (away)
May 25th
Tierney is set to join Celtic this summer after agreeing a pre-contract in the January transfer window, and will make a return to his former club in July.
The defender could be joined by a host of his teammates in vacating Arsenal, including out-of-favour left-back Oleksandr Zinchenko, who has struggled for consistent minutes throughout 2024/2025.
Arsenal will sell Zinchenko this summer in the event a suitable offer arrives, while veteran midfielder Jorginho is currently set to depart on a Bosman deal when his contract expires past June 30th.
Jorginho has an offer from Flamengo, according to Fabrizio Romano, so a return to Brazil is on the cards for him during these twilight years of his impressive career.
While Arsenal appear ready to let the Italy international leave, they’re not prepared to lose fellow midfielder Thomas Partey, who has impressed in his arguably best season to date.
Thomas Partey still talking to other clubs over Arsenal exit
The Ghana international has made more appearances this term than in any of his previous campaigns, putting his past issues with injuries behind him and proving a very useful member of Arteta’s starting eleven.
Partey helped to dominate Real Madrid in the last round of the Champions League whilst also filling in at right-back this term, to great effect, and his impressive displays have prompted the club to open talks over an extension.
While Partey will have to take a cut to his £200,000-per-week wages to remain at Arsenal, according to ESPN, there is a real eagerness to extend his stay beyond 24/25. However, according to journalist Graeme Bailey, in a piece for The Boot Room, the 31-year-old is still keeping his options open.
Partey and his camp are actively in talks with other clubs as well, something which Arsenal are fully aware of, with the African putting contingency plans in place if an agreement can’t be reached over his stay.
Bailey adds that Partey is a player who “Arteta loves”, following on from the Spaniard’s public statement that the midfielder is a “massive” player for them.
Sheffield United look as if they’ll be narrowly missing out on automatic promotion at the very top of the Championship with their opponents on Easter Monday in Scott Parker’s Burnley perhaps clinching a return to the Premier League at their expense.
Indeed, the Clarets can seal an immediate return to the promised land of the top-flight if they beat the travelling Blades, with Leeds United also only one victory away if Burnley get the job done against Chris Wilder’s men and they win themselves.
The South Yorkshire titans don’t have the most glittering record when it comes to the lottery of the playoffs unfortunately, with the Blades losing out during their last five playoff adventures, away from triumphantly managing to go up via the more drama-free top-two.
Wilder has only ever got his side up via these automatic spots, with other bosses such as the passionate Neil Warnock also clinching a passage up to the top-flight at the end of the 2005/06 season without the agony of the playoffs courtesy of Phil Jagielka’s heroics at the back.
Jagielka's heroics at Sheffield United
Before Jagielka went on to cement himself as a Premier League regular at Everton, the Blades youth product would initially make a name for himself at his boyhood side.
The 40-time England international amassed a whopping 305 appearances for United across two spells, with his efforts at the back during the aforementioned 05/06 campaign more than helping his team leap up to the top-flight, having bagged a sizeable eight goals as a titan defensively.
He went on to help himself to a further four goals the following campaign even whilst Warnock’s men tragically fell straight back down to the EFL, leading to Everton swooping in to land the 5 foot 11 defender to make him a recognised name in the big time.
Amazingly, Wilder might well be brewing United’s next Jagielka now during the dramatic promotion run-in.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Sheffield United's modern-day Jagielka
Wilder has shown this campaign that he’s unafraid to make a team selection that throws the cat amongst the pigeons, with faces such as £10m striker Tom Cannon regularly left out.
Last time out in the second tier, the Blades boss even left out ex-Liverpool defender Jack Robinson to gift Crystal Palace loanee Rob Holding a start, a decision that was immediately vindicated when assessing his top display against Cardiff City.
Minutes played
90
Goals scored
0
Assists
0
Touches
70
Accurate passes
58/61 (95%)
Accurate long balls
11/14
Clearances
4
Blocked shots
1
Tackles
1
Total duels won
4/8
The brand-new United number five was calm and controlled on the ball throughout, particularly considering it was just his second league start since a January switch.
That was epitomised by his pass completion rate, with only three of his 61 passes missing their intended target during his time on the field.
Moreover, he also battled well against the relegation-threatened Bluebirds with four clearances tallied up alongside four duels being successfully won, leading to Wilder lauding the ex-Arsenal man as “outstanding” post-match.
As a result, the club may well have unearthed their next version of Jagielka. That’s considering Holding – much like his now retired counterpart – has a wealth of top-flight experience under his belt, having amassed 162 appearances for the Gunners in total away from injury issues.
With discussions centring in on the fact United could try to tie down Holding to a permanent deal, Wilder would love for the 29-year-old – like Jagielka – to continue putting in stern displays when called upon to try and clinch promotion.
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Duckett defends Root for first-innings dismissal
1st innings, New Zealand v England at Mount Maunganui, 16 Feb 2023 1st innings, India v England at Rajkot, 17 Feb 2024
Almost exactly a year after Joe Root’s first botched reverse-ramp-scoop, we had a second.Root was caught at second slip, reverse-scooping•Associated PressIt’s something Root hopes won’t become a tradition, which he’ll avoid given England are not due to be playing Test cricket this time next year. But it already has a tetchy family Christmas feel about it. A gathering of relatives with little between them but English cricket in their blood, having a civil enough time before inevitably descending into bitter arguments over contrasting ideologies.
Why does he need to play it? He’s Joe Root, arguably England’s greatest batter of all time!
But it’s high-risk and low-reward!
Well, he’s just not a Bazballer!
Bah, whatever. How’s the cauliflower doing?
Whichever side you’re on, this is almost certainly an argument you have had. Both viewpoints come from the right place – a high regard for Root as a Test great. But today, one argument got a boost – and it wasn’t to do with the fact he’s flicked six fours and six sixes over his shoulder in the last 20 months.England were 224 for 2, more than halfway to first-innings parity. India were a bowler light, having lost R Ashwin overnight to a family emergency, and going through the motions as Ben Duckett began to pick up where he left off from the 133 runs he’d scored the night before. Then, in the fifth over of day three, Root played what many have called the worst shot of his career.Related
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The situation and what followed exacerbated the mistake. It ended up becoming the first domino in a cascade of 8 wickets for 95, giving up a first innings lead of 126 that swelled to 322 by stumps. It evoked painful memories of the Lord’s Test against Australia last summer.Australia also lost a world-class spinner in Nathan Lyon to a series-ending calf tear midway through day two. England responded almost immediately by hooking wildly to lose 3 for 34, before a more terminal 6 for 46 the next morning. They’d lose the match and, as much as they can blame the rain in Manchester, this was the moment they ceded, which, ultimately, cost them a shot at winning the Ashes. This match and series may go the same way.The fact it was the reverse-ramp ladles on the emotion. The numbers show it’s a strong shot for Root, and the time he has spent grooving it is almost matched by the amount of time he has put aside to state its case. “I average more with that than with the forward defence, and I’ve got out with that plenty of times!” he told ESPNcricinfo last August. “Just because someone thinks it’s risky, doesn’t necessarily mean it is.”Speaking at stumps, Duckett, who had scored 153 while the rest of his teammates could only muster 166 between them, doubled down on Root’s behalf: “I’ll be interested to know if those people were against it when he was hitting Pat Cummins for six in the summer”.The logic for playing the shot is easy to follow. Root uses it to throw a bowler off their length and shift the field to open a new gap, which is a worthy thing to try against Jasprit Bumrah. Though he might be one of the most unflappable fast bowlers to have played the game, challenging him in this way has its merit. Bumrah has accounted for Root nine times, including twice this series by trapping him on the crease – LBW in the first Test, then nicking a reverse-swinging delivery in the second. Why not give him something to worry about? Plus, third was vacant.But the day was only 20 minutes old. Bumrah was only ever going to start with a short spell with a 40-over ball that could only rely on the morning moisture for another half-an-hour. Ashwin, their canniest operator, was not around. And having already guided a short-length delivery behind point along the floor for four – one that, actually, was better suited to being lifted over the cordon – he knew of other options. Even Mohammed Siraj was bemused by the choice Root made.”The partnership that was growing between Duckett and Root, if they had continued for a while, it would have become difficult for us,” said Siraj, who finished with 4 for 84. “But suddenly he played that shot, which didn’t seem to be on, on this wicket.”Root has bowled more overs than scored runs on this tour•Gareth Copley / GettyFor what it’s worth, this was not even Root’s worst shot of the tour. That honour goes to the second-innings hack across the line in Visakapatnam, which looped to backward point. The mitigation at the time was Root had woken that day feeling the effects from a virus that was beginning to move around the squad. He may go to bed tonight feeling worse.It was clear when Root chose to advance to the first ball he faced from Bumrah today that he was desperate for a score. At the halfway stage of this five-Test tour, Root is averaging 14 from five innings with a highest score of 29. Most damning of all is he has now bowled more overs (94) than scored runs (70) in this series. His career average has dipped to 49.50.Make no mistake, this is not solely on Root. For the third time in successive Tests, England’s middle order flunked; wickets three to seven provided just 117 runs here in Rajkot, after 97 in the first innings at Hyderabad and just 68 in the first at Visakhapatnam.Jonny Bairstow, now averaging just 19.6 on this tour, got a good ball from Kuldeep Yadav. Stokes, in the midst of a rebuild, slog-swept Ravindra Jadeja for a statement boundary but only found Bumrah at wide long-on. A ball later, his defiant partner Ben Foakes checked a push off Siraj’s reversing delivery to Rohit Sharma at mid-on, leaving him with an average of 18.6. Varying degrees of fault still painting a familiar picture.The knock-on effect of the collapse was felt harshly by England’s bowlers, who, after toiling for the best part of five sessions, were back in the field after just 71 overs of rest in the hottest conditions of the match so far. Stokes decided not to use both of his seamers up front, which meant Mark Wood, who had removed Yashavi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill with the new ball on day one, was only brought on the 13th over to replace James Anderson at the Pavilion End. The Indian starlets ransacked 155 together in just 195 deliveries.Having busted a gut through 27.5 overs to maintain high speeds, Wood’s first delivery in the second innings registered at 82mph (132kph). He looked drained during his late spell of bouncers.It was a brutal day to be an England bowler•Getty ImagesAnderson began frugally enough, trying to summon something out of nothing with a straighter line and fielders in front of the bat. He had conceded just 18 off 5.3 overs before Jaiswal launched an assault with a hooked six over square leg, a thick edge down to third and a pull behind square, both for four.That was the veteran’s final over before the spinners, with no runs to play with, wheeled away valiantly. Jaiswal had his way with them freeing his arms as he moved from 35 to 100 in 49 deliveries with six fours and five sixes. That he had to retire hurt on 104 showed just how taxing conditions were out there.As ever, England responded to adversity with positivity. “Stokesy spoke to us before we went out to field and said he actually wanted us to get out today and have a bowl at them and get cracking with it,” Duckett said. When asked for a prospective target, he simply replied, “The more, the better.”At times like this, it can seem like the disappointment of the punter is lost on the team. But that’s kind of the point of this whole thing. By putting a little less on a sport riddled with stress and variables, they have won 14 out of 21 Tests, boasting a better win-loss record than any other team since it all began at the start of the 2022 summer.And yet, for all the credit England have in the bank, this felt like an opportunity spurned. A chance to make a statement against an India uncharacteristically uncertain at home slipped away through nothing more than unforced errors.Just like they did in the Ashes, England have played a lot of exceptional cricket in the first half of the series. But the fear is a team pushing to create memories through historic feats are in danger of fumbling two in the space of nine months.
New captain promises hard graft in bid to restore England’s Test standards
David Hopps03-May-20221:13
Stokes: Broad, Anderson definitely part of best XI
England cricket captains traditionally take the job with a burst of energy and optimism before the demands of the job eventually wear them down. It gets to nearly everybody in the end. Ben Stokes is different. He is trying to do it the other way around.Stokes has already experienced the ups and the downs. He knows what it is like to be beset by mental health issues because of the constant demands of a cricketer’s life. He has been charged with affray, and found not guilty, in a high-profile court case. He has known the pressures and adulation routinely afforded to a world-class allrounder who is expected to deliver whenever the nation demands.He has won World Cups and famously lost one – the World T20 final when England’s victory disappeared in a cavalcade of sixes from Carlos Brathwaite in his final over.”There’s been plenty of other experiences as well that I could have felt chew me up, swallow me up and that’s me done,” he said. “I never let that happen. I guess I’m too stubborn to let anything get too on top of me.”The Ben Stokes captaincy will not tread the normal path of innocence to experience. At 30, he is already battle-hardened, a role model who has been both praised and pilloried. Life cannot throw much more at him. The central question is whether it has already thrown far too much or whether his appointment will become the culmination of a career that, at times, has already bordered on the herculean.There was no desire for a glorious captaincy unveiling in the Long Room at Lord’s, a reminder of past masters on every wall. With 79 Tests and 476 professional appearances, he has no need for reflected glories. Instead, the nation’s cricket media made the trek to his manor at Chester-le-Street, “enter by Tower 2”, English professional cricket’s most northerly outpost, where he held court before an afternoon net for Durham. Many will follow him again for his return to competitive action at Worcester on Thursday.His one concession to the captaincy is to slip down the order a notch and return to No. 6 so he can give full emphasis to bat and ball. His captaincy follows the principle of giving a job to a busy man.His priority will be to gather people around him who he can trust. “If most of your ideas aren’t really aligned, I don’t see how things can get better if three people are thinking completely different things,” he said. He is a salty old pro who clearly does not want the sort of blue-sky thinking characterised by Ed Smith’s time as national selector.Ben Stokes in action during the recent tour of the Caribbean•Randy Brooks/AFP via Getty ImagesHe has struck up a good relationship with Rob Key, as MD of England men’s cricket, and wants a coach who takes weight off him and who sees things from a player’s perspective. Joe Root, who came through five years in the job without too much damage, has told him to surround himself with people he trusts.”This is something Joe has told me: make sure you have the people around you to take as much of the pressure off you as possible. Me and Rob have had very good chats so far. We are very aligned on quite a lot of things which is very good initially. I feel what we need as players is a director of cricket who is there for the players.”After so long as Root’s vice-captain, Stokes also regards a role many dismiss as outmoded as vitally important – he memorably pleaded with Tom Harrison, the ECB’s CEO, for his reinstatement to the role in the wake of the Bristol episode. That could enhance Jos Buttler’s chances of a return to England’s Test side as Stokes’ No.2, a player who he leant on heavily when he stood in for Root in the only match he has ever captained, the first Test against West Indies at the Ageas Bowl in 2020.”I’ve got great senior players around me in the team already; it would be stupid and naive of me not to include them in decisions out on the field especially,” he said. “It’s something I thought I managed very well in my Test match against West Indies. I asked Jos a lot about me personally. He’s played a lot of Test cricket. When you’re thinking about doing something yourself, you’re maybe not thinking about it as someone else would and Jos said to me a couple of times, ‘You need to come on here’.”Stokes displayed little sense of excitement as he fielded his first media duties at Chester-le-Street. There was resolve, for sure, as there must be, but none of the livewire ambition that characterised Root’s initial captaincy phase. Root gave off so much energy he should have been plugged into the National Grid. Stokes was assured, but relatively subdued. He is at his best in the heat of battle, a player most admired after a day of toil when his body is spent and his kit is stained by dirt and sweat.”I’ve been through a lot of Goods and I’ve been through a lot of Bads and I feel like I can relate to both sides of what this sporting life can throw at you,” he said.”Why take it?” was one of the first questions he was asked. A sense of duty perhaps. A dogged determination to stare down England’s record of one Test win in 17. The sense was that his reasoning does not go much deeper than that. He is not one to reflect or deliberate for too long.”It’s never been a goal of mine to be a captain of England,” he said. “It’s pretty simple for me. I was vice-captain and, if anything ever happens to the captain, the vice-captain takes over.”Many will fear for him, in part because of his four-month break from the game, brought on by a mix of exhaustion, the loss of his father and a serious finger injury, but especially so by those old enough to recall the troubled captaincies of two other great England allrounders, Ian Botham and Andrew Flintoff. Botham won none of his 12 Tests as skipper; Flintoff won two of 11. While Flintoff’s personal performances remained consistent, Botham’s form collapsed. Both were instinctive cricketers, not particularly well served by the demands of captaincy. The hope will be that Stokes’ capabilities, especially at this stage of his career, will prove to be broader.Ben Stokes is unveiled as England’s new Test captain•Getty ImagesBotham was much younger when he accepted the job. At 24, he was England’s youngest captain since Ivo Bligh almost a century earlier. He was supremely confident he could do the job, but he was not about to curb a boisterous lifestyle, and struggled with the politics and relationship issues that forever raise their heads. But his captaincy involved back-to-back series against a brilliant West Indies side and a Centenary Test against Australia; the death of Kenny Barrington, England’s team manager, tragically robbed him of one of his most trusted confidants and he regarded Lord’s as a nest of vipers.Botham duly resigned before he was sacked, but forever rejected the notion that the burden of the captaincy had been too much and described his subsequent return to form under Mike Brearley as “a coincidence”. As president of Durham, he will have ample opportunity to present Stokes with a more defiant interpretation of his captaincy than history often allows.Flintoff was appointed even though his coach, Duncan Fletcher, harboured doubts from the outset about his tactical nous, man-management skills and self-discipline. He later revealed that he suffered from depression during the 2006-07 Ashes defeat and admitted to heavy drinking bouts, some of which affected his performance in practice sessions. He was older, at 28, but also struggled to find influential allies.Stokes is unlikely to spend too much time analysing the lessons of history. That’s a relief. “I’ve had to deal with comparisons to Andrew Flintoff and Sir Ian Botham since I was 18 or 19. And I’ve always said I’m not trying to be either of them, just Ben Stokes.”Related
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He still has regular meetings to discuss his mental health and he feels that, far from being a vulnerability that could be exposed in the job, it gives him an empathy that could be lacking in a younger leader. Senior players fearing burn-out during a non-stop international schedule or young players struggling to make the transition to international cricket could find an understanding leader (he fully expects to keep playing all formats) and, in that empathy, he very much fits the spirit of the age.”A lot of on-the-field and off-field stuff I’ve been through is a positive for me now, having been given the responsibility of being the captain, because I feel like I can relate to anything going forward. If any of the players might be struggling with something I have been that person in the dressing-room. The hardest thing to do in the first place is to talk to somebody.”With England bottom of the World Test Championship, for Stokes the only way is up. There have been many worse England sides, their recent appalling record appearing to be as much a lack of focus and togetherness between players and administrators as a lack of ability. In a host of interviews, he repeated his desire for players to be totally committed to the common good. It is a shame he didn’t broaden it out to include everybody else. But self-interest will have no place in his England side.”I think a great starting point for me is I want everybody to be selfless in the decisions they make and that every decision they make is with the intention of to win the game for England. It’s always been my main goal playing for England – thinking about what I need to do to win this game when I have the responsibility on my shoulders – whatever stage of the game it is.”That’s always been my main priority – personal performances, individual performances have never been at the top of my priority list. It’s always been the end result of the game which is winning. So I’d love to have 10 people with the same mentality as me.”That would be a ride worth taking.