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Royals look to formidable home record in Jaipur, once their fortress, in their quest to turn things around after nine-wicket hiding in their opening game

The Preview by Shashank Kishore10-Apr-20184:17

Faulkner: Royals have no reason to panic

Big PictureIf you’ve received a pounding of the kind Rajasthan Royals did on Monday, you don’t want too much time to keep pondering over what could’ve been. Royals, in any case, don’t have time to reflect on the nine-wicket defeat because they’re back home to Jaipur, once their bastion, to face Delhi Daredevils, also smarting from a loss to Kings XI Punjab.Both sides have a similar make-up. Two batsmen who like to play anchor in Gautam Gambhir and Ajinkya Rahane, and two destructive allrounders in Glenn Maxwell and Ben Stokes. They also have a plethora of spin options. Yet, the main concern will be the batting for one and bowling for the other.Royals endured a problem of plenty in their tournament opener. Having five openers in the top six didn’t help matters. While one game is too early to talk combinations, Royals will quickly need to identify who bats where.At the auction, much of their strategy seemed to suggest a replication of Rising Pune Supergiant’s formula. They will do well to implement some of it too, like slotting Rahul Tripathi back at the top of the order, where he struck 391 runs in 14 innings, including six successive 30 plus scores, at 146.44 during a breakout 2017 season.Royals aren’t the only ones with things on their plate though. Daredevils play five away games first up. Having gone down in their opener, they would have to find ways to lift themselves up soon and not get into a rut that could leave them with too much to do at home in the second half.For starters, they will need to decide how much is too much, before making changes. Colin Munro, as destructive as he can be, was all at sea against spin in Mohali. The Jaipur surface of old offered plenty of zip. Now, with the track slightly slower, there’s a case of Royals continuing to stifle him with spin. Munro, though should back himself. In the first game, he was up against R Ashwin and Mujeeb Ur Rehman, Here, he’ll possibly face K Gowtham and Shreyas Gopal, who struggled in the opener.The Daredevils spinners were also found wanting. Amit Mishra was particularly expensive. With one frontline legspinner in Rahul Tewatia to do the job, they could possibly look at fielding Shahbaz Nadeem, the left-arm spinner, who has also proved himself with the new ball in the past.As such, it’s a battle between the two batting line-ups. Who will blink first?In the newsDaredevils will welcome the return of Glenn Maxwell. A straight swap with Dan Christian is the most-likely possibility, given they have two other seam-bowling allrounders in Vijay Shankar and Chris Morris to bank on.Given how their batting struggled, they could look at beefing up their lower order by including Stuart Binny in place of K Gowtham, who was out for zero and bowled a lone over. Binny can also chip in with the ball if needed. Jofra Archer is still recovering from a side strain and hasn’t arrived until match-eve. There are issues with some other Royals overseas recruits as well: Sri Lanka’s Dushmantha Chameera has not arrived because of a fitness concern, and Afghanistan’s Zahir Khan was replaced late by New Zealand legspinner Ish Sodhi.The likely XIsRajasthan Royals: 1 D’Arcy Short, 2 Ajinkya Rahane (capt), 3 Rahul Tripathi, 4 Sanju Samson, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Butler, 7 Stuart Binny 8 Shreyas Gopal, 9 Dhawal Kulkarni 10 Jaydev Unadkat, 11 Ben LaughlinDelhi Daredevils: 1 Gautam Gambhir, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Shreyas Iyer, 4 Rishabh Pant, 5 Glenn Maxwell, 6 Vijay Shankar, 7 Chris Morris, 8 Rahul Tewatia 9 Shahbaz Nadeem/Amit Mishra 10 Trent Boult, 11 Mohammed ShamiESPNcricinfo Ltd

Stats that matter Royals have a win-loss ratio of 2.428 is the best among all teams in the tournament’s history. They’ve won 34 out of their 49 home games. Daredevils captain Gautam Gambhir will be playing his 150th IPL game on Wednesday. His 36 half-centuries are the joint-most in IPL history along with David Warner. His 4188 runs in 148 innings are the most by a batsman without a century. Ben Stokes and Jaydev Unadkat are two of Royals’ best bowlers in the Powerplay with a Smart Strike Rate of 6.12 and 6.39 respectively. Stokes wasn’t bowled in the first six on Monday. Strategic punt Maxwell presents a case to be promoted up the order. Far too often, teams have left him for a little too late. Given Daredevils already have Morris for death hitting, Maxwell can be considered a sound choice, perhaps even at No. 3, should Daredevils start well. His Smart Strike Rate of 190.22 between overs 7 and 15 makes him a bigger threat than Shreyas Iyer, who strikes at 154.80 in the same period. Fantasy picksD’Arcy Short likes pace on the ball and will be offered just that if Daredevils hand the new ball to Trent Boult and Mohammed Shami. His strong backfoot game having grown up on bouncy Australian decks could help him and Royals on a fresh Jaipur deck. If he’s already in your squad, there’s no reason to make a change just yet. Not all returns, after all, are instant.

Southampton have reportedly made a first move to sign an in-demand free agent for manager Russell Martin.

Who did Southampton sign this summer?

The Saints have had a busy few months both on and off the pitch following relegation from the Premier League to the Championship last season.

Martin came in as the club’s new manager and wasted no time in adding to the squad. At the end of the window, Southampton brought in a total of eight new players.

Shea Charles and Ross Stewart commanded relatively big fees for a second-tier side from Manchester City and Sunderland, whereas Ryan Manning and Joe Lumley arrived on free transfers.

Meanwhile, four Premier League players – Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Mason Holgate, Flynn Downes and Ryan Fraser – signed on loan from Manchester City, Everton, West Ham United and Newcastle United.

There were also a number of departures, with Southampton bringing in over £150m in player sales. The likes of Romeo Lavia, Tino Livramento, James Ward-Prowse, Nathan Tella, Mohammed Salisu, Moussa Djenepo and Mislav Orsic all made permanent exits.

Martin was looking forward to the prospect of focusing on football and not the transfer window, though, saying:

"The best bit of the job is when you get to work with the players on the grass. The fewer disruptions you have, the bigger the focus is from the players.

"I think as a club we’ve navigated through this window of change so well. But we will still improve and the window shutting will definitely help with that."

However, despite the window slamming shut at the beginning of the month, it looks as if the Saints are still looking at possibly adding to their squad in the free-agent market.

According to TEAMtalk, midfielder Xeka is attracting plenty of interest in England, with Southampton and Championship rivals West Brom making enquiries to the player’s agent.

Alongside the second-tier sides, Xeka is also being looked at by Everton, Crystal Palace, Sheffield United and Wolverhampton Wanderers as well as clubs in France, Italy, Spain and Turkey.

Who is Xeka?

Xeka is 28 years of age and can play as a central, holding or left midfielder, so would provide a versatile option at St Mary’s.

The Portuguese midfielder is valued at €6m by Transfermarkt and is best known for his time in France with Lille. He made 144 appearances for the Ligue 1 side, contributing to 16 goals, and has also represented the likes of Stade Rennes, Braga, Dijon and SC Covilha throughout his career.

Xeka has been without a club since the middle of August, and as per FBref, the player has been compared to former Saints midfielder Oriol Romeu, now with FC Barcelona, over the past 365 days.

He has ranked in the top 4% for pass completion, top 6% for blocks and top 8% for passes blocked, so he could prove to be a shrewd pick up for whatever club manages to secure his services, and by the looks of things, Southampton are trying to do just that.

The 2022/23 season ended up being one of the most memorable in West Ham United’s history after they won the Europa Conference League – their first trophy since 1980.

It is safe to say a lot of things are going right at the club.

Despite the departure of club captain Declan Rice, who joined Arsenal over the summer for a club-record £105m fee, David Moyes’ side were able to reinvest the money wisely.

Two of the new signings arrive with plenty of Champions League and International experience in Mexican midfielder Edson Alvarez, and Ghanaian forward Mohammed Kudus, both signing from Dutch giants Ajax.

While the future certainly looks bright for the Hammers, the recent years have arguably had fewer ups than downs since the January 2010 takeover where David Sullivan and the late David Gold gained co-ownership of the club.

What happened in Sullivan and Gold’s first season?

After completing the takeover midway through the 2009/10 campaign, West Ham found themselves struggling in the relegation zone in the Premier League table.

After making a handful of winter signings, the Hammers were able to narrowly avoid the drop.

In the summer of 2010, West Ham and their new owners were looking to make a statement signing ahead of the new season.

Following a loan move for then-AC Milan and Brazil star Ronaldinho broke down over fitness concerns, the Hammers turned their attention to a talented youngster playing in Brazil, Neymar Jr.

Did Neymar almost join West Ham?

At the time, then-18-year-old Neymar Jr was already making headlines for Brazilian side Santos for his incredible natural talent and a move to Europe was looking inevitable.

West Ham were willing to smash their transfer record for the teenage sensation – which at the time was Craig Bellamy who joined in 2007 for £7.5m.

The Irons had offered Santos an extraordinary £16m bid for the player, although the Brazilian side were refusing to sell for anything less than Neymar’s £28.4m release clause, according to The Athletic.

The deal was made even more difficult due to the structure of Neymar’s contract, as Santos only owned 60% of the wingers’ rights, with the rest being owned by investment groups who had to sanction any sale less than the release clause.

With Neymar’s father also hesitant to let his son make the move to Europe so soon in his career, the deal was off and West Ham instead settled on the signing of Nigerian forward Victor Obinna on a season-long loan from Italian champions Inter Milan.

Obinna would play 32 times for West Ham during the 2010/11 season, where he would score eight goals as the Hammers were relegated to the Championship for the first time since the 2002/03 season.

Neymar on the other hand, would remain in Brazil for the time being, before going down a very different path to that of West Ham.

What was Neymar’s next move?

After remaining at Santos, Neymar would continue to impress and would receive praise from all over the world.

A report in 2011 labelled Neymar 'the next Pele, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho rolled into one,' which highlights just how appreciated his talent was.

In fact, the aforementioned Ronaldinho himself would seemingly confirm this later in his career, saying:

“Neymar is already my heir. He will be the face of Brazil for many seasons to come. Neymar is a phenomenon. It’s nice to see a Brazilian continuing to make history and I think he can be the greatest in the world.”

In 2013, Spanish champions Barcelona completed the signing of Neymar for a fee of around £49m. At the time of his arrival, the 21-year-old had already been capped 33 times for the Brazilian national team, scoring 20 goals in that time.

How did Neymar’s career pan out?

Neymar’s first season in Barcelona was no less than impressive, as the Brazilian had himself admitted that adjusting to European football would be “difficult,” before scoring 15 goals and 15 assists in 41 appearances in all competitions.

It was the 2014/15 season, however, when Neymar would truly announce himself in European football. The forward would help form an iconic front-three partnership with Lionel Messi and the newly signed Luis Suarez, better known as ‘MSN’.

Neymar played 51 games in all competitions, scoring an incredible 39 goals and getting 10 assists for his teammates, as Barcelona would win the continental treble, completed with the Champions League win where Neymar himself scored the third and final goal in injury time as they beat Italian champions Juventus 3-1.

Over the next two seasons, he would feature a total of 94 more times for Barcelona, and his impressive numbers didn’t slow down, as he scored another 51 goals and earned 51 assists.

In the summer of 2017, Paris Saint-Germain made a sensational £200m bid for the Brazilian which Barcelona were forced to accept, leaving the decision to the player. Neymar, who wanted to step out of Lionel Messi’s shadow in Spain, accepted the world record move which still stands today.

After spending six years in the French capital, Neymar went through mixed times at the club. Although it was never possible to doubt the talent at his disposal, he left PSG in 2023 having failed to win their main goal of a Champions League title, while on a personal level, still couldn’t get close to his desired Ballon d’Or trophy ahead of his rivals.

The forward still managed to register 77 goals and 52 assists in 173 games for PSG, before leaving for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for a £73m fee, which reportedly earns him a whopping £2.65m-per-week in wages.

Club

Matches

Goals

Assists

Santos (2009-2013)

139

72

37

Barcelona (2013-2017)

186

105

76

Paris Saint-Germain (2017-2023)

173

118

77

Was the failed move best for both sides?

While there are no doubts that Neymar would have certainly starred in east London, the downsides of the move could have been damaging in terms of the financial weight that the Brazilian would have carried with him.

With Neymar being able to fulfil his stardom at some of the biggest clubs in the world, West Ham have gone through several rebuilding periods which have recently resulted in appearances in a number of European competitions, which of course led to their success in the 2022/23 Europa Conference League run.

Following his move to Saudi Arabia, the 31-year-old still has plenty of time left in his career, while the future is looking promising for Moyes and his side, who look forward to competing in the Europa League this season.

توّج مانشستر سيتي بطلًا للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز بعد الفوز بثلاثية مقابل هدف، على ملعبه الاتحاد، أمام وست هام، في الجولة الختامية 38.

حسم مانشستر سيتي كل شيء مبكرًا، بعدما تقدم فيل فودين في الدقيقة 2 بتسديدة صاروخية في مرمى الحارس الفرنسي ألفونسو أريولا.

ظل مانشستر سيتي يسيطر على المباراة، قبل أن يسجل الهدف الثاني في الدقيقة 18 بعد عرضية ممتازة من جيريمي دوكو، وجهها الإنجليزي فودين في مرمى الهامرز.

طالع أيضًا.. ترتيب الدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز موسم 2023/24

قبل نهاية الشوط الأول سجل محمد قدوس هدفًا رائعًا بخلفية مزدوجة، عند الدقيقة 42، تزامنًا مع هدف تومياسو الذي تعادل من خلاله لـ آرسنال ضد إيفرتون.

الأمل عاد لـ الجانرز، ولكن في الشوط الثاني، سيطرة مانشستر سيتي تسببت في الهدف الثالث عن طريق رودري، بتسديدة متقنة على يسار الحارس أريولا بتمريرة من برناردو سيلفا.

استمر مانشستر سيتي يسيطر على الكرة، الاستحواذ بالكامل كان لأصحاب الأرض، ليحتفل جماهيره في المدرجات باللقب قبل أن يحسم بشكل رسمي.

أطلق الحكم جون بروكس صافرة نهاية المباراة، ليعلن مانشستر سيتي بطلًا للدوري الإنجليزي الممتاز برصيد 91 نقطة، بينما وست هام ينهي الموسم تاسعًا برصيد 52 نقطة. أهداف مباراة مانشستر سيتي ووست هام في الدوري الإنجليزي

From playing Cricket Max as a teenager to being a veteran plying his trade in T20 leagues these days, former New Zealand allrounder James Franklin has had first-hand experience of the shorter format’s transition in the last 20 years.”When I first started my career a wee while ago, Cricket Max was the game and, really, from Cricket Max, T20 cricket evolved,” Franklin said to ESPNcricinfo. “Martin Crowe was the founding father of the short format. T20 wasn’t the game he came up with but he came up with Max Cricket.”It was all double scores going straight, so that was the name of the game; you hit straight because that’s where you get full value for your team. I think it helped New Zealand cricketers come to the fore in terms of T20 cricket as well. We learned how to play the shorter format, which is why I think there are many good T20 players from New Zealand.”Franklin has built himself as a successful Kiwi export in other domestic competitions, particularly in T20s. In his second season for Rajshahi Kings in the BPL, Franklin has so far made 26 not out and 35, on both occasions looking to give his side a final flourish.Having played his last international match in June 2013, Franklin has mostly played through the English summer and also in the T20 leagues back home in New Zealand and, BPL aside, in the IPL, CPL and PSL.He said that adjusting to the team’s needs is one of the keys to being a T20 professional, to be able to understand the direction and dynamics of the group and then applying yourself as needed. It has become easier to fit into teams as he gets older, he said, because of his acquired experience.”You just have to get a feel for the group you come into, and culturally what’s different about each team, trying to grasp and understand the culture of the team and buy into what the captain, coach and the leaders in that team are trying to do.”Now being a more senior player, it is probably a bit easier to fit into a new team environment because you get experience of different teams through your career. I have had bit of experience playing in the subcontinent by playing in the IPL. A big part of my role now is to try to help the younger local players.”Franklin believes T20s can help players overcome two of cricket’s fundamental problems: having a career outside international cricket, and playing better in overseas conditions.”It is a global game now in terms of player movement. A lot of players can have their career now just playing T20s around the world. It is a true international game. I think we are seeing benefits with the skills that the players are being able to show in all conditions. We were used to seeing subcontinent players struggling in Australia or South Africa and vice versa. This is slowly being eradicated because players are spending more time in foreign conditions. They are used to playing on different surfaces so their skills get better. I think that has been the biggest thing to come out of it, I guess, the globalisation of the game of cricket.”Franklin said that the next step in such player movements would be for more subcontinent players to take their talents to South Africa and Australia. “England players were allowed to play in the IPL. They [the ECB] see a benefit to letting them go play, because they learn skills, they are playing in high pressure situations. The next step is obviously for more Bangladeshi, Indian players to go and play in competitions in South Africa and Australia. Then it truly becomes a global game.”

MatériaMais Notícias

No dia em que o PSG disputa uma vaga na final da Liga dos Campeões da Europa, diante do RB Leipzig, em Portugal, Tiago Nunes não se livrou de ter de responder sobre Neymar, o grande astro da equipe francesa. Além de elogiar o melhor jogador brasileiro da atualidade, o treinador brincou com a situação e afirmou que o craque seria muito bem-vindo no Corinthians.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasVídeoTiago Nunes relata como pensa em utilizar o meia Otero no CorinthiansVídeo18/08/2020CorinthiansTiago Nunes não acredita que será visto o ‘Athletico no Corinthians’Corinthians18/08/2020CorinthiansCorinthians x Atlético-GO, adiado na 1ª rodada, já tem data para acontecerCorinthians18/08/2020

Em entrevista coletiva virtual nesta terça-feira, Tiago foi questionado sobre o camisa 10 da Seleção Brasileira dentro e fora de campo, e não poupou elogios ao compatriota. Para o treinador corintiano, trata-se do melhor jogador do mundo neste momento, e é páreo com Cristiano Ronaldo e Messi.

-Eu não consigo falar sobre ele pessoalmente, porque não o conheço, nunca tive a oportunidade de conversar com ele, só amigos em comum, que trabalham e trabalharam com ele. Tecnicamente, penso que é o melhor jogador do mundo, compete no mesmo nível com Messi e Cristiano Ronaldo. E faz parte de uma geração de futebolista que tem outras características, uma relação forte com redes sociais, diferente de outros jogadores do passado. Faz parte de um processo normal dessa geração – analisou.

Em complemento à resposta anterior, Tiago Nunes ainda brincou com a imaginação do torcedor do Corinthians e deixou as portas abertas para Neymar vestir a camisa do clube, e preencher uma das carências do elenco e da grande maioria dos times em todo o planeta, que é a de quem desequilibra o jogo.

– Nadificuldade que vivemos de achar atacantes desequilibrantes no futebol mundial, ele seria muito bem-vindo no Corinthians quando ele quisesse.

Jason Roy’s reputation is markedly higher than his red-ball average, but for once those worlds collided at Kia Oval in a tight London derby

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Kia Oval29-Aug-2017Jason Roy led Surrey’s response•Getty Images

A young Surrey side spurned the opportunity to run rings around a Middlesex XI that creaked in the field on day two of a match that is still anyone’s when it really should be theirs. It may be putting too fine a point on it, but what sprightly exuberance the hosts displayed on day one to fight for every run in the field was countered by a batting display that began well and lost concentration as it went on. The wise heads accompanying James Franklin in the field managed enough of the game to ensure it was rarely beyond them.Dismissing Middlesex inside 85-overs gave Surrey the luxury of batting at their own pace. Even with the loss of both openers, they began day two at their leisure: 69 runs scored in the entirety of the morning session, for the loss of just Scott Borthwick, edging Steven Finn behind, 10-minutes before lunch. The bulk of those runs came from Nightwatchman Stuart Meaker: booed for turning down runs the night before, was egged on after every boundary – three in a row were taken off Toby Roland-Jones – on his way to a more than useful 42.Time was the real currency, here. Surrey’s batting card had a club cricket quality to it: wiser heads dotted in and amongst the younger kids. Experienced spread about like policemen on street corners, making sure everyone ticked along nicely. When the peace needed to be disturbed, Surrey had just the men for it.An older ball in the second session was flayed around, as Jason Roy and Ben Foakes made use of a slow pitch and a frustrated Middlesex attack, helping to put on 149 between lunch and tea. Naturally, England thoughts crept in. It doesn’t take much at a county match for home fans to plug their own, especially when England are rattling through players like disposable razors.In Roy, Surrey have a player who seems to command a Test place in newspaper columns rather than in his work against the red ball. For 91 balls, those two worlds collided.In at four, he got off the mark with a cut off Finn through point. As scoring became tougher, he knuckled down, picking off singles at will. He didn’t have to battle, but he did have to grind. Then, when he was 36 from 48 balls, he decided it was time to kick things up a gear and smashed Ollie Rayner into the Pavilion two balls in a row to move to 48 from 50. The half-century came up eight balls later. Thing is, it was only his second half-century of the season – albeit a season in which he has been limited to just five innings so far through white ball commitments with the IPL and England.Once that was in the bag, Roy stepped aside for Foakes, who had played it cool for the most part, contributing 35 of their century partnership. Foakes was 33 from 82 balls before making his move: a brace of fours off Finn, one off Roland-Jones helping him to 50 from 94 balls.From this point on, it really should have been a tale of two men reaching their first Championship centuries of the season. Instead, the story to tell is of an advantage spurned. When Roy had a brain fade and failed to clear mid off against Adam Voges’ passable left-arm spin, and Foakes was trapped in front by James Franklin, it sent about a cascade of wickets that saw Surrey’s secure a first innings lead of just 33.The final four wickets would fall for just 49 runs, the last four with the new ball: Roland-Jones finishing with four for 66 and Tim Murtagh bagging his first two of the match. All the hard work of the fifth wicket stand between Roy and Foakes should have turned the match. In the end, it reads as a flashy 125 that simply got the game back to square one, with honours just about even.At stumps, brought about by bad light, Middlesex were just 18 behind, Sam Robson and Nick Compton still in tact, with weather expected to play some part on day three. For the second evening in a row, they leave the happier despite Surrey having controlled most of the preceding play.

Tottenham Hotspur are eyeing up Dusan Vlahovic as a potential Harry Kane replacement should the England forward leave north London this summer, according to Rudy Galetti.

Is Harry Kane leaving Spurs?

The worst kept secret this summer is Kane's willingness to leave Tottenham in the transfer window.

Having been with club since 2009, Kane has been one of the Spurs' greatest ever players, managing a staggering 280 goals in 435 matches with the Lilywhites.

However, despite being one of the Premier League's best goalscorers, he is yet to lift a trophy with Tottenham and is keen to leave north London in search of silverware this summer.

Bayern Munich are the front-runners for his signature and have been persistent in their pursuit of the 29-year-old up to this point, with Thomas Tuchel desperate to bring Kane to Bavaria.

Die Roten are well aware of the fact that Kane's contract expires in 2024, meaning Spurs could lose him for free next summer. There was hope at Tottenham that he may sign a new deal with the Lilywhites, but that appears to be out of the question at present.

As a result of such uncertainty, new Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou needs to prepare for the possibility of Kane's exit and journalist Galetti believes that Tottenham could turn to Vlahovic in the event of Kane's departure.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Galetti stated: "As just told, Tottenham are targeting Dusan Vlahovic as replacement number one in the event of the farewell of Harry Kane. The Serbian player could leave Juventus in the summer transfer window for around €80m and the Bianconeri are absolutely open to listen to proposals for him.

"Spurs are on the verge of taking the first steps to better understand the room for negotiation with the Italian club, because the price tag is considered too high. Tottenham would like to lower the request during talks."

A fee of roughly £68m for the forward is large but would likely be a fair bit less than the sum Tottenham would receive if Kane were to leave.

It appears that a deal for Vlahovic, who has been hailed as a "machine", is totally dependent on Kane's future and Spurs will not enter the market for Vlahovic should their talismanic forward stay put.

However, interest from Chelsea, Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain has been reported already this window, so Spurs may run out of time to get a deal done should the Kane saga rumble on late into the window.

Vlahovic has scored 61 goals in 140 Serie A matches during spells at Fiorentina and Juventus, but only managed ten last season for the Old Lady.

Who are Spurs signing?

Vlahovic is not the only name being linked with the Lilywhites this summer and Spurs have already been very busy in the market so far.

Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro have both had their loans made permanent, while James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario and Manor Solomon have all arrived at the club as well.

However, Postecoglou is not finished in the market yet and is keen on bringing in some defensive reinforcements this summer.

Bundesliga centre-backs Edmond Tapsoba and Micky van de Ven have been strongly linked with Spurs but nothing concrete is on the table as of yet. Spurs are about to sign a defender but it's one for the future in Blackburn's 18-year-old Ashley Phillips for £3m.

Tottenham Hotspur could target Juventus striker Dusan Vlahovic as a potential replacement for talisman Harry Kane this summer, according to journalist Rudy Galetti.

Is Harry Kane leaving Tottenham Hotspur and who could replace him?

As per Sport1 via The Guardian, Bayern Munich honorary president Uli Hoeness has claimed that Kane is keen to move to the Bundesliga champions this summer and believes that 'Tottenham will have to buckle' if their interest in the England international remains.

Bayern Munich have seen two bids turned down for Kane, with the second one believed to be in the region of £68 million. Spurs have also put a bumper contract extension on the table for Kane amid interest in his services.

If Kane is to leave the club, Foot Mercato via ESPN have reported that Juventus striker Vlahovic has emerged as a target for Tottenham, though Paris Saint-Germain are keeping tabs on his situation.

It is said that Vlahovic could be available for a fee of €70 million (£60.1 million). At the same time, Spurs enjoy a positive working relationship with Juventus, which has been brought about following the captures of Rodrigo Bentancur and Dejan Kulusevski from the Old Lady.

The Daily Mail have revealed that Chelsea boss Mauricio Pochettino is 'weighing up' a swoop to try and tempt Vlahovic to Stamford Bridge, though Juventus have insisted on a straight sale, ruling out the possibility of a loan deal for the Serbia international.

According to Capology, Vlahovic is tied to Juventus on a contract that runs until June 2026 and earns €249,231 (£214,236) per week at the Allianz Stadium.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Galetti has signalled that Tottenham are definitely 'in the race' to sign Vlahovic amid uncertainty over Kane's future in north London.

Galetti said: "Despite the great interest from the Blues, let’s pay attention to the competition for the Serbian player: PSG, Bayern — who are pushing hard for Harry Kane — continue to monitor him. Also, Tottenham are in the race: With the constant pressure of Bayern on Kane, Spurs are exploring opportunities for a possible replacement and on their list, Dusan Vlahovic is gaining positions."

Could Dusan Vlahovic successfully replace Harry Kane?

Realistically, very few players in world football would be able to replicate even a quarter of what Kane has achieved at Tottenham over the course of his distinguished career; however, Vlahovic is someone who has all the attributes to succeed in England and it is unsurprising that the prolific forward is on the radar of several elite clubs.

Last term, the 23-year-old, who has been described as having a "little bit of Drogba" in his play, enjoyed a decent campaign in front of goal for Juventus, netting 14 times and laying on a further four assists in all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Vlahovic, who is regarded as a "big-name", was a constant threat to defences over the course of the season and was able to find space efficiently, taking on 2.5 shots per match in Serie A, as per WhoScored.

FBRef show that the former Fiorentina star brought his teammates into play in 2022/23 and successfully performed 63 shot-creating actions in total.

With Kane's future being up in the air, Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou looks to be proactive in his search for potential alternatives and will leave no stone unturned in his mission to bring success to N17.

يستعد منتخب قطر لمواجهة قوية ومرتقبة أمام نظيره الكويتي، وذلك ضمن منافسات تصفيات كأس آسيا المؤهلة لكأس العالم 2026.

ويلتقي منتخب قطر مع الكويت، على أرضية ملعب علي صباح السالم، في إطار الجولة الرابعة للدور الثاني من التصفيات الآسيوية.

وكان منتخب قطر قد حقق الفوز بثلاثية مساء الخميس الماضي على حساب نظيره الكويتي في ثالث جولات الدور الثاني بتصفيات كأس آسيا.

طالع أيضاً.. فيديو | قطر تضرب الكويت بثلاثية في تصفيات آسيا لـ كأس العالم

يتصدر منتخب قطر المجموعة الأولى برصيد 9 نقاط مقابل 3 نقاط لكل من الكويت والهند وصفر من النقاط لمنتخب أفغانستان. موعد مباراة قطر والكويت اليوم في تصفيات آسيا لكأس العالم

تنطلق المباراة في تمام الساعة التاسعة مساءً بتوقيت القاهرة، العاشرة بتوقيت السعودية. القنوات الناقلة لمباراة قطر والكويت في تصفيات كأس العالم

تنقل المباراة عبر Kuwait Sports HD، Alkass One HD، beIN Sports HD.

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