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Chelsea's prospective new boss is eyeing a reunion with his former Tottenham Hotspur colleague Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg at Stamford Bridge as he looks to beef up the Blues' midfield, though journalist Dean Jones believes 'it would be a strange' move.

What's the latest on Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg to Chelsea?

According to one outlet in Spain, Pochettino is said to have 'requested' that Chelsea try to sign Spurs anchorman Hojbjerg this summer, someone who the Argentine previously worked with during his spell in north London in charge of the Lilywhites.

The report states that Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly is willing to shell out for further squad additions in the forthcoming transfer window. Hojbjerg has been earmarked as someone with plenty of Premier League experience, battling qualities and is also technically adept, which could add some steel to the Blues' midfield moving forward.

In recent times, the 27-year-old has spoken about his side's struggles to find any real consistent footing in 2022/23, as per Sky Sports via The Evening Standard, stating: “When you have three coaches in a very short time, there is some instability. We know that this is a part of this world that in a game, in a season, there will be some instability. There will be insecurity, there will be a lack of energy when you are changing coaches. You kind of lose your way a bit, your values."

He has also come under fire for his own form this term from BBC pundit Charlie Adam, who criticised the enforcer on The Monday Night Club on 5 Live Sport, saying: “He does what he wants to do [Hojbjerg]. He just walks around.”

Speaking to Football FanCast, journalist Dean Jones has his doubts over whether Hojbjerg would be an ideal signing for Chelsea under Pochettino, as he said: "It would be a strange one to go in and make straight away. It would look like he was signing almost a Tottenham reject at this point. Given the reputation he seems to have among some of the fan base from recent times, it might not look like great for PR. Only Pochettino knows the exact identity that he wants in that midfield now to come in."

Should Chelsea look to make a move for Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer?

Hojbjerg has been a perfectly serviceable midfielder during his time in the Premier League and has distinguishable qualities; however, there are questions as to where he would fit into this Chelsea side.

The Blues have an overwhelming quantity of options in the middle of the park, while the futures of Mason Mount, N'Golo Kante, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic and Conor Gallagher are still yet to be determined, which could be problematic when trying to bring midfield additions into the club this summer.

Boehly admitted that huge mistakes have been made since he took over at Chelsea, and this could be yet another one.

As per FBRef, the 27-year-old has struggled to impose himself in the tackle as much as he would've liked, with Hojbjerg hovering just above the bottom 20% of midfielders across Europe for number of players tackled across the last 365 days, managing just 1.62 per 90 minutes all in.

In the Premier League, the £100k-a-week ace has also only created five big chances across the entire campaign, showing that Pochettino can surely do better in terms of bringing in a midfielder to break between the lines.

Overall, Hojbjerg has made 44 appearances for Spurs in 2022/23 across all competitions, registering five goals and seven assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Wrexham goalkeeper Ben Foster criticised the Dane for his role in Spurs' 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa last weekend on his YouTube channel, stating: “There was a clip doing the rounds last night of Hojbjerg. A fan has just focused on him for about a 30-second period. Tottenham don’t have the ball, so he’s doing a bit of defensive work. It’s painful. It’s a painful watch. He just looks lost. He doesn’t really know when to press, he doesn’t really know when to sit back in. He’s just wandering around, a few arms getting flinged about."

This is further backed up by a video that surfaced online after Spurs' defeat to Aston Villa, with Hojbjerg looking lethargic and lazy with not a care in the world, which is something Pochettino cannot risk after the season Chelsea have just had.

Looking ahead, Pochettino will surely be looking for a better alternative to help solidify the midfield area as Chelsea aim to bounce back in 2023/24.

Ben Stokes was forced out of the England attack with a calf injury during the afternoon session at Old Trafford and may well have played his last Test cricket of the summer

George Dobell at Old Trafford25-Jul-2016Ben Stokes was forced out of the England attack with a calf injury during the afternoon session at Old Trafford and may well have played his last Test cricket of the summer.Stokes was two deliveries into his sixth over when he pulled up sharply having delivered the ball and was unable to stop a gentle push back past him from Younis Khan. He was unable to complete his over and limped off the pitch.An ECB spokesman confirmed the injury was to Stokes’ right calf and said he would not bowl again on the fourth day. That means the England attack has been reduced to four men as they attempt to bowl Pakistan out and level the series. Pakistan were 66 for 2 when Stokes left the field before the man who finished his over, Moeen Ali, struck twice.It was later confirmed that Stokes will be sent for an MRI scan on Tuesday. If he has sustained a torn calf muscle, rather than a strain, he could well be out of action for six weeks. The third Investec Test starts at Edgbaston on August 3; the fourth at The Oval on August 11.Stokes, who had earlier generated impressive pace and had Younis dropped at slip by Alastair Cook, was making his return to the Test team having sustained a knee injury earlier in the summer. He was forced off the pitch at Headingley and subsequently underwent surgery.

Manchester United have been scouting Napoli centre-back Kim Min-jae since late last year, according to a key update from renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano.

Is Kim Min-jae shining for Napoli?

The South Korean has enjoyed a sensational 2022/23 season, proving to be one of Napoli's most influential performers in a legendary campaign for the club. He has been an absolute rock at the heart of their defence, starting 34 Serie A matches and helping his team win their first league title since 1990.

Kim is arguably seen as one of the world's best players in his position at the moment, such has been the level he has performed at, and Napoli may find it difficult to keep hold of him once the summer transfer window arrives.

United have been strongly linked with for the £33,000-a-week defender in recent weeks, with the Reds Devils seeing him as a potentially huge addition at the end of the season.

Could Man United snap up Kim Min-jae?

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Romano said that United have been long-time admirers of Kim, suggesting that he remains a top target ahead of the summer window opening:

"For Kim, we have to say that Manchester United started to work on this deal at the end of October and the beginning of November. They have been sending their scouts and they have always been in attendance to follow Kim Min-jae with Napoli.

"He has been putting in excellent performances and he has been the best centre-back of the season, for sure, in Serie A. He is doing very, very well."

Kim could be the perfect centre-back signing for United this summer, coming in and immediately making them more of a force, and helping them potentially turn into Premier League title challengers, having ended up falling well short this time around.

The 26-year-old's displays for Napoli have been near-immaculate throughout the campaign, with an average of 3.6 clearances per game coming his way, as well as an eye-catching 91% pass completion rate to highlight his technical quality. He is at the ideal age to come in and be a key man, with his peak years likely to last for the foreseeable future.

Granted, Lisandro Martinez and Raphael Varane have been excellent together for United, but the latter is ageing and injury-prone, so Kim would be viewed as a long-term upgrade, having been hailed as "unbelievably good" by Serie A expert Matteo Bonetti.

Michael Klinger stayed put when Sussex’s debutant Christian Davies thought he had caught him on 29. The umpires ruled in his favour. He went on to an unbeaten century

Will Macpherson13-Aug-2016
ScorecardMichael Klinger chose not to walk – and finished with an unbeaten century•Getty ImagesWhen Michael Klinger punched Steve Magoffin to backward point, and the Sussex debutant Christian Davis dived forward, appearing to take a very fine low catch, he had 29. But as the fielders celebrated a wicket that would have left Gloucestershire reeling at 92 for five, Klinger was not for moving. He chose to leave the umpires to decide if the ball had carried and, after a lengthy conference, they decided he should stay. Sussex’s fielders initially appeared dumbfounded, but their lips loosened just in time for the exchange of some terse words.Klinger, almost inevitably, was still there at the close with a century to his name, with his team in the ascendancy after a disastrous start on a pitch he had elected to bat first on. On fine margins do such games turn.Sussex were within their rights to grumble (just as Klinger had been within his to stand his ground), but by day’s end they had let their outstanding start go to waste. Steve Magoffin, trotting in from the Sea End, had looked the force of old, picking up the Gloucestershire top three in his first six overs, and Jofra Archer had forced Hamish Marshall to edge to Chris Jordan, who took a fine catch at slip; Gloucestershire were ruinously placed at 34 for four.Magoffin took upwards of 28% of Sussex’s wickets during his first four years at the club, but his influence – on pitches often unkind to his art – has appeared to slightly wane this season, even if he still went into this game with his 25 wickets coming at 29. He was immediately into his work here, however, with his line, length and lots of lift making life uncomfortable for Gloucestershire. Will Tavare was bowled playing across the line, while Graeme van Buuren and Chris Dent pushed and were caught behind; the ball after the latter fell, Danny Briggs parried a very hard chance from Marshall in the gully. Never mind, Archer’s pace did for him shortly after.But then came some vintage Klinger fare; his driving was perfectly precise and his judgment outside off stump perfect, while he was always alive to the possibility of a single. On a day when the outside edge was beaten plenty, it is hard to recall the beaten blade being his. His contentious reprieve was his sole false stroke. He never really needed to put his foot down, but late in the day there was a nonchalant flick for six over midwicket and his cuts had more purpose too.”Given the position he went in on,” reflected his coach, Richard Dawson, “it was a massive achievement to be there at the end. He just took it ball by ball. He’s a soldier, he just carries on going. He’s a consistent person, the way he trains, he’s very honest, he wants to succeed and is hungry and wants to make big runs. If he gets low scores, he doesn’t let it get him down. It’s very simple – he knows his strengths and he sticks to them, and the bottom line is that he’s a quality bloke.”Klinger anchored three vital stands. First, 133 with Phil Mustard, playing his first innings of note for Gloucestershire, a typically roistering affair full of punchy cuts and beautiful off-drives, before he was bowled trying to slog Briggs. Then there was 62 with Jack Taylor, who never fully settled as he looked to open up the offside and, after Taylor and Benny Howell fell in quick succession, an unbeaten 109 with Craig Miles, who had an aggressive half-century by the close of play.It was during the stand with Miles that Sussex seemed to rather drop their bundle. Twice, four overthrows whistled away to the fence and, on a pitch where the new ball is key (as evidenced by Magoffin first thing), their performance with the second one was profligate. As the seamers inexplicably dug the ball in, Ben Brown had to be at his most athletic behind the stumps, and still 18 byes slipped through. Miles, to his credit, batted like a man auditioning for a promotion, accumulating adroitly then feasting on Sussex’s flagging seamers late on.”It was a niggly day, and one of the most difficult to watch this season,” said Sussex’s coach Mark Davis, “because we were in a good position and it didn’t quite go our way on occasions too. We weren’t good enough to make our own luck. The new ball is key on this pitch because the ball is getting soft quickly and when it does get soft it gets harder to get people out. We didn’t bowl well enough with it.”On Klinger’s reprieve, Davis veered on the side of diplomacy. “The umpires are there to make a decision, they made that decision and we have to move on,” he said. “It’s done, it’s massively frustrating – I thought it just went straight to backward point and the umpires conferred and that was that. It’s game-changing, and certainly day-changing. It is what it is, that happens in sport, and we’ve got to move on.”He was right, the umpires had made a game-changing decision. But he also knew that going into day two, his side had plenty to bemoan besides Klinger’s prosperous pardon.

Southampton striker Che Adams will "almost definitely" leave the club during the summer transfer window, with Nottingham Forest claimed to "come to the table", according to talkSPORT reporter Alex Crook.

When is Adams out of contract at Southampton?

It has been a miserable season for Saints, who looked relegation-threatened throughout the campaign and eventually gave themselves far too much to do. Both performances and results weren't good enough, and they ended up finishing bottom of the Premier League.

This relegation to the Championship is highly likely to lead to an exodus of top players, with the likes of James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia expected to move on. Another one is almost certain to find a new club is Adams, with the £52,000-a-week striker scoring five league goals in 2022/23, and struggling to hit previous heights because of the struggles going on around him.

The Scot's current contract expires at the end of next season, meaning Southampton will only realistically be able to receive a transfer fee this summer.

Will Adams leave Saints this summer?

Speaking to Give Me Sport, Crook said that Adams will leave Saints during the summer window, unless there is a huge change of heart:

"He has only got a year left on his contract, so I think he'll almost definitely go. I think Forest will come to the table and even someone like Bournemouth could come in as they are looking for a player to relieve the scoring burden on Solanke.

"I think they will be quite attracted to him because he will probably be available for a relatively small fee with only a year left on his contract."

It is no surprise that Adams will leave Southampton in the summer, with the 26-year-old too good a footballer these days to be plying his trade in the Championship. He is now a 23-cap and six-goal Scotland international, not to mention someone who Ally McCoist has described as "terrific" in the past.

The fact that he is soon to be out of contract also means that it is beneficial for Saint to move him on in the next few months, ensuring they receive a healthy amount of money for his services, which can then go towards new signings, as the south coast look for a quickfire return to the Premier League next season.

Adams is unlikely to be without suitors, given his performances in recent season, and if a bidding war takes place, that could be even more ideal.

Andre Russell’s anti-doping hearing, looking into the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission’s (JADCO’s) claim of a whereabouts-clause violation, has been adjourned to September 28

ESPNcricinfo staff20-Sep-2016Andre Russell’s anti-doping hearing, looking into the Jamaican Anti-Doping Commission’s (JADCO) claim that the West Indies allrounder had missed three dope tests in a 12-month period, resulting in a whereabouts-clause violation, has been adjourned to September 28.According to the WADA code, three missed tests amount to a failed dope test and the athlete could face a ban of up to two years. Russell was present at the hearing in Kingston, having skipped the three-T20I series against Pakistan in the UAE, citing “personal reasons”.On September 19, Russell’s lawyer, Patrick Forster, argued in front of the independent anti-doping disciplinary commission that the burden of proof was on JADCO to show Russell was negligent in fulfilling his whereabouts-clause obligations on January 1, July 1 and July 25, 2015, when he was supposed to undergo out-of-competition dope tests.”The thrust of our case is that the doping authority, JADCO, must prove negligence that has to emerge in the context of the evidence as it is given, so that is, essentially, our position. The burden of proof is on JADCO,” Forster told the . “I don’t want to comment too much on the details of the evidence in the midst of cross-examining the witness, but a good portion of the cross-examination relates to the July to September quarter, where JADCO recorded two filing failures, so in cross-examination, I am just questioning the basis which they arrived at two filing failures for the same quarter.”After preliminary hearings in late July, the independent panel comprising Hugh Faulkner (chairman), Dr Marjorie Vassell, and former Jamaica cricketer Dixeth Palmer, was supposed to carry out a two-day hearing starting Monday. However, it was curtailed because a second key witness, Carey Brown, the JADCO’s executive director, could not be present as he was recovering from an accident.Monday’s hearing began with JADCO’s legal counsel, attorney Lackston Johnson, explaining to the panel how Russell had failed to respond despite being sent reminders three times.Forster cross-examined the first witness Nadia Vassell, the whereabouts officer and director of technical services at JADCO. According to the , Vassell told Forster that a first reminder was sent to Russell through a letter on July 6, 2015. An extension was given to Russell to file his whereabouts by July 13, 2015. On July 20, Vassell sent another email to Russell asking him to file his whereabouts by July 24.According to the the panel was likely to dispose of the case by October 7.

Celtic are in the market for a new manager after Australian boss Ange Postecoglou departed Glasgow this week.

The 57-year-old completed the domestic treble with the Hoops last weekend with a 3-1 win over Inverness in the FA Cup but ended up putting pen to paper on a deal with Spurs on Tuesday.

This means that the club now need to source a replacement for him and Football Scotland recently reported that Manchester City are braced for an official approach from the Bhoys for first-team coach Enzo Maresca, with staff expecting the Scottish giants to make a move for the Italian.

The publication has revealed that majority shareholder Dermot Desmond was impressed after speaking with the tactician in 2021 but ultimately went for Postecoglou. However, the Celtic chief is now interested in another round of talks with the 43-year-old ahead of a possible deal to take over at Parkhead.

Would Enzo Maresca be a success at Celtic?

Maresca could be a big success with the Hoops with Desmond potentially set to unearth his own version of Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta.

The Gunners boss spent over three years working as Pep Guardiola's assistant at The Etihad and has been able to use what he learned from the legendary tactician to turn the north London giants into an exciting side to watch in the Premier League, whilst achieving success.

Arsenal play fluid progressive football, with pundit Danny Murphy hailing them as a "joy to watch".

Since the Spaniard took over in Islington, they have won the FA Cup and Community Shield, and finished second in the top flight, running winners Manchester City close for the title.

His style of play has been compared to Guardiola's in the way his players interchange positions across the pitch to create space and move the opposition around to create chances and dominate games, suggesting that he learned a lot from the City chief.

Maresca could follow in his footsteps and have a similar impact on Celtic if Desmond affords him the time to build a squad capable of playing the way he wants to play. Indeed, Arteta finished eighth in his first two seasons with Arsenal before it finally clicked.

Whilst the 43-year-old has limited experience and it is impossible to say with certainty that he would be a success, Guardiola believes that the Italian has a bright future ahead of him. He said:

"We are delighted with what Maresca has done. He’ll be an extraordinary manager in the future – like I felt it with Arteta. He's developed many young players that will help us. It will depend on how many stay and how many leave. Who we sign."

Guardiola was right about the now-Arsenal boss and this bodes well for Maresca, who deploys a 3-4-1-2 set-up, and his hopes of becoming a first-team boss.

If the Italian tactician is capable of following in Arteta's footsteps and turning a side into a Pep-esque team who are a 'joy to watch' then Celtic fans should be excited for each game knowing that the Hoops will likely play in the same manner as Postecoglou's teams of old.

India declined to enforce the follow-on after R Ashwin’s 20th five-wicket haul in Test cricket helped bowl New Zealand out for 299 on the third day of the Indore Test

The Report by Karthik Krishnaswamy10-Oct-2016
Scorecard and ball- by-ball details6:43

O’Brien: Learning how to play spin during a Test is very hard

India declined to enforce the follow-on after R Ashwin’s 20th five-wicket haul in Test cricket helped bowl New Zealand out for 299 on the third day of the Indore Test. Ashwin’s 6 for 81 secured a 258-run lead, and left India enough time to bat again and give their bowlers a well-earned rest.With six overs left to bat out at the end of the day, India stretched their lead to 276 without losing a wicket. But they didn’t survive entirely unscathed. In the third over, Gautam Gambhir retired hurt after aggravating a shoulder injury he had sustained while fielding. Diving to complete a tight second run, he landed awkwardly and walked off clutching his shoulder. M Vijay, meanwhile, earned himself a caution as well as an official warning for running on the danger area of the pitch. A similar offence in the first innings had cost Ravindra Jadeja half his match fee while also conceding five penalty runs to New Zealand.Ashwin took his first four wickets either side of lunch, dismantling New Zealand’s top order after Martin Guptill and Tom Latham added 118 for the first wicket. The wicket of Latham began a collapse during which New Zealand lost five wickets for 30 runs. James Neesham led a recovery of sorts, adding 53 with BJ Watling for the sixth wicket and 52 with Mitchell Santner for the seventh, but Jadeja ended both those partnerships before they could assume worrying proportions. Turn and bounce caused Watling to glove to slip, while turn out of the rough found Santner’s inside edge as he looked to drive out of the rough.Neesham, playing his first innings of the series, swept the spinners impressively to get to 71 before the shot cost him his wicket against Ashwin. The ball pitched shorter than he expected, on an off-stump line, and hit him on the back leg. Umpire Kumar Dharmasena raised his finger in response to Ashwin’s appeal, but replays suggested the ball may have turned past off stump. It only took India four overs to get the last two wickets, Ashwin dropping a return catch but deflecting the ball onto the stumps to run Jeetan Patel out at the non-striker’s end – the second time he had effected such a dismissal in the innings – and Trent Boult holing out while looking to clear the on-side boundary.On the least helpful pitch of the series, Ashwin’s wickets came largely through his deception in the air, which constantly disrupted the batsmen’s reading of line and length. For the third time in three innings, he dismissed Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s best batsman. In the fourth over after lunch, Williamson went on the back foot to a good-length ball, tempted into cutting by the line wide of off stump. The ball didn’t turn as much as the one that bowled him in the first innings in Kanpur, but it turned enough, with extra bounce, to cramp him and force him to chop on.Ross Taylor was next to go, undone yet again by his technique of playing across the line while defending. The ball dipped and pitched shorter than Taylor had expected, which may not have caused him too much of a problem had his bat-swing had come straight down the line of the ball. Instead, as is often the case, it came down from gully towards wide mid-on, causing him to edge to slip.Then came a bit of bad luck for Guptill, who, playing his first innings of any significance in the series, was caught out of his crease at the non-striker’s end when Ashwin deflected a straight drive from Luke Ronchi onto the stumps. Having played an unwitting hand in his dismissal, Ronchi followed Guptill into the dressing room in Ashwin’s next over, when drift caused him to play down the wrong line of an offbreak. Another catch for Ajinkya Rahane at slip, except he had to dive to his right to grab this one.R Ashwin dismissed Kane Williamson for the third time in three innings•BCCINew Zealand’s slump began 15 minutes before lunch, when Ashwin found a way past Latham’s defiance. Latham had come into this Test match having scored 74 in his last innings, in Kolkata. There, and in this innings, his success was partly down to the method he had worked out to reduce the likelihood of lbw against the spinners, by taking a shorter front-foot stride, and playing with his bat in front of his pad.Even in Kolkata, Ashwin had tried to exploit one pitfall of this technique – the increased chance of the left-hand batsman opening up while looking to play balls around leg stump – with two silly points in place, waiting for the leading edge. That tactic didn’t produce a wicket in Kolkata but it did now, as he looped one slower, just outside leg stump, and got it to grip and turn. Latham, closing his bat-face early, offered a simple return catch off the leading edge.Latham had enjoyed a big slice of luck in just the previous over. Looking to sweep Jadeja, he had inside-edged the ball onto his boot, and it had then popped up to slip. Umpire Bruce Oxenford, though, turned down India’s appeal, and did not consult either his on-field colleague Kumar Dharmasena or the third umpire, suggesting he hadn’t spotted the inside edge.The moment only added to India’s frustrations on a morning where things hadn’t gone their way, thanks to a combination of smart batting from both openers, missed chances and half-chances, and a pitch that continued to behave in a manner contrary to its cracked and roughed-up appearance.In the fourth over of the morning, Guptill drove loosely at Mohammed Shami and nicked to gully, where Rahane dropped a chance that went quickly but more or less straight to him. Then, three overs deeper into his spell, Shami watched in frustration as Latham flicked in the air only for the ball to fall short of Jadeja, diving to his left from short midwicket. Both he and Umesh Yadav had bowled with one, and frequently two catchers in front of the wicket on the leg side, as Virat Kohli went with pace from both ends for the first ten overs of the morning. New Zealand scored 23 runs in that period.Spin came on from both ends after that, and the run-flow quickened, with both batsmen showing a desire not to let the spinners get on top. Early in his spell, Guptill punished two minor infringements of length from Jadeja, off successive balls: first he jumped back to a marginally short ball and smacked him to the midwicket boundary; then he saw one tossed up into his driving arc and lofted it effortlessly over the long-off boundary.Both spinners dropped short with uncharacteristic frequency. Guptill slapped Jadeja to the cover boundary to bring up his fifty, and in the next over Latham whipped Ashwin through midwicket before driving him to the straight boundary when he over-compensated with his length.When Latham swept Jadeja for another four to bring up his half-century, New Zealand had scored 57 off their previous 47 balls. India needed ideas to break this partnership. Ashwin happened to have a nifty one up his sleeve.

USA’s captain Steven Taylor will move back into the opening role during the ICC World Cricket League Divsion Four which begins on October 29

Peter Della Penna21-Oct-2016USA coach Pubudu Dassanayake has said that captain Steven Taylor will move back to opening the innings in the ICC World Cricket League Division Four beginning on October 29 in Los Angeles.Taylor has had a number of trials in the middle order recently, with varied results.The plan to shift him down the order came after Dassanayake witnessed the left-hander’s unbeaten 81 off 53 balls while batting at No. 6 in Florida XI’s one-wicket win over a touring Marylebone Cricket Club XI last month. He then got scores of 5, 1, and 1 in three games at No. 4, before moving back to the opening slot where he scored 27 in USA’s two-wicket win over Canada in the Auty Cup.Dassanayake said that after experimenting with Taylor in the middle, he felt both Taylor and the team had the best chance for success in Division Four with him batting as an opener.”We tried a few things and now we’ve settled down back into the opening [slot],” Dassanayake told ESPNcricinfo. “This is our batting order. What we had [in the win], we’re going to stick to it throughout the tournament.”We were discussing it and he’s comfortable coming down [the order] to bat when the team needs it during the tough periods. But after looking at these conditions, and these wickets where the ball comes onto the bat pretty well, we had a small discussion about it. With his calibre, I think he is better at the top of the order.”The news bodes well for Ravi Timbawala, who was drafted into the USA squad for Division Four on Thursday as a replacement for Srini Santhanam, who was ruled out due to an injury to the right shoulder. Timbawala scored an unbeaten 73, batting at No. 3 in the two-wicket win over Canada, and appears set to keep that role when USA take the field for their first match against Bermuda on October 29.Timbawala’s presence in the middle order also provides more stability for USA as cover for Taylor’s inconsistency. Ever since making a career-best 162 off 102 balls against Nepal – who Dassanayake was coaching at the time – in 2013, Taylor has scored 277 runs in 14 innings at 19.79 in 50-over cricket for USA.In that stretch he has two fifties, but also three ducks to go along with the pair of ones against Canada last week. Dassanayake says that it is important for Taylor to stay aggressive in spite of the low scores, because his approach can devastate opponents the way it did to Dassanayake’s Nepal side in 2013.”His type of batting is not going to be consistent,” Dassanayake said. “I’m happy if he can get [big runs in] three games for us. If he scores in three games and we’re going to win those games, that’s what I’m looking for. He’s hungry. As a leader, first time captaining USA [in an ICC tournament], he wants to win this tournament. He wants to contribute.”A part of those contributions are now coming with the ball. In 21 career 50-over matches for USA, prior to last weekend’s Auty Cup, Taylor had bowled a total of 7.2 overs, taking one wicket. But in his first match after being named captain, he brought himself on and took 5 for 47 with his part-time offspin. That spurred him to bowl out his maximum quota of overs in all three games against Canada, the only USA bowler to do so in the series.It may be a sign of things to come in Division Four as he takes on an increased role with the ball, now that he has given up wicketkeeping. However, Dassanayake says Taylor’s batting is still what will win USA matches at the end of the day and he is backing Taylor to come through.”I can see his feelings. When he gets out, he’s disappointed, but I know that with his calibre and the way that he’s moving, he will get there. I think he understands pretty well how to adjust to conditions. I have confidence that he’ll get us through in the five games coming up.”

The upcoming summer could be the most transformative window in Chelsea’s recent history as the club prepares to shape the overloaded squad under Mauricio Pochettino.

The Argentine faces the unenviable task of attempting to pinpoint the correct additions and find the correct blend of youth and experience to maximise the chance of progression next year.

Gabri Veiga is a name that has been suggested to reinvigorate and revamp Chelsea’s midfield.

What’s the latest on Gabri Veiga to Chelsea?

According to the Guardian, Chelsea have entered the race for the Celta Vigo talent as a replacement for Kai Havertz, who has expressed a desire to leave.

The outlet details that Pochettino is “prioritising additions in midfield” but faces stiff competition from Barcelona and Liverpool for the 21-year-old’s signature.

Veiga’s current contract contains a €40m (£34m) buyout clause – a modest fee for a player of extraordinary potential.

The West Londoners have already lost N’Golo Kante and Jorginho, whilst Mateo Kovacic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, and Mason Mount are all heavily linked with departures.

Is Gabri Veiga like Juan Mata?

The signing of the spritely Spaniard would be a magnificent start to his new era and can mirror the influence that his fellow countryman Juan Mata had in the capital.

Although Mata was only at Chelsea for two and a half seasons, he undoubtedly left his mark.

At the business end of the 2011/12 season, the playmaker won the man of the match in the Blues’ 2-1 FA Cup final victory over Liverpool then assisted Didier Drogba’s famous equaliser in the Champions League showdown against Bayern Munich, which allowed the club to go on and clinch their first major European trophy.

In his second campaign, the diminutive creative hub dismantled the top flight as he notched 28 goal involvements.

As recognition for his consistency, quality, and stardom, the former Valencia ace was crowned Chelsea’s Player of the Year on consecutive occasions.

Veiga has the opportunity to make the same switch as his compatriot from La Liga to the Premier League.

His side avoided relegation by just three points, owing to a final-day victory over Barcelona in which Veiga scored twice.

Despite playing for a side that has struggled throughout the term, the "Baby Kaka" – as per one journalist – ranks within the highest 12% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for progressive carries and successful take-ons per 90, as well as the best 11% for touches in the attacking penalty area, according to FBref.

That certainly outlines him as Mata-esque, with the gifted prodigy finishing the season with 15 goal involvements.

Hailed as “amazing” by Football Scout Jacek Kulig, Chelsea must accelerate their attempts to land this generational gift and at such a reasonable price it would be one of Todd Boehly’s best purchases.