All posts by h716a5.icu

There has been an update regarding Manchester United's pursuit of Fiorentina playmaker, Sofyan Amrabat…

What's the latest on Amrabat to Man United?

Following reports that an "agreement" has been reached with the 26-year-old regarding personal terms, Sportitalia have claimed that the Red Devils have 'presented' an offer to the Serie A side, with a fee of around €35m (£30m) having been suggested.

The piece notes that the Moroccan international is now just 'one step away' from joining the Old Trafford outfit, with the player himself said to be 'ready to leave' Florence in order to make the move to the Premier League.

The former Club Brugge ace – who worked under Erik ten Hag previously at FC Utrecht – currently has just a year left to run on his existing contract, thus allowing United to wrap up a deal without breaking the bank.

What is Sofyan Amrabat's style of play?

While Ten Hag began his summer spend by acquiring Mason Mount from rivals Chelsea, it looks as if the former Ajax boss is seeking to bolster his midfield ranks even further, particularly with the likes of Fred and Donny van de Beek facing uncertain futures at the club.

With Mount set to bring extra "dynamism" to United's midfield in an attacking number eight berth – in the words of his manager – the addition of Amrabat is seemingly set to help solve a different need, with the Netherlands-born ace set to offer a composed, ball-playing presence in front of the back our.

In many ways, the "underrated" talent – as described by writer Muhammad Butt – takes on a similar role to that of Jorginho at Arsenal, and before that at Chelsea, with the two men both said to share a number of stylistic and statistical similarities, according to FBref.

That likeness between Amrabat and the Italy international – who also made the move to England from Serie A – can be seen by how they typically operate in a deep-lying midfield role and are unlikely to bomb forward too regularly, with the Fiorentina star ranking in just the bottom 6% among his European peers for touches in the attacking penalty area, while the ex-Napoli man ranks in just the bottom 28% in that regard.

What that disciplined nature does is allow the pair to attempt to dictate the tempo of the game in the centre of the park as well as look to get the ball forward to the more attack-minded talents where possible, with Jorginho notably ranking in the 9% for attempted passes and the top 11% for progressive passes, while Amrabat ranks in the top 11% and the top 8% for those same two metrics, respectively.

The beauty of having such assets at the base of the midfield is that they also rarely play their team into trouble or squander possession, with Amrabat and Jorginho ranking in the top 5% and the top 15%, respectively, for pass completion as a sign of that innate composure.

That comparison to the latter man is of note as it was not too long ago that the Brazil-born maestro was dubbed the "best midfielder in Europe" by ex-United boss, Jose Mourinho, with the 31-year-old having also claimed the UEFA Men's Player of the Year award back in 2021.

The experienced asset did endure his early teething problems while at Stamford Bridge – having suffered early criticism from Blues supporters following his arrival from Naples in 2018 – although has since come out the other side to prove the doubters wrong.

For Ten Hag to find his own version of the Champions League winning playmaker in the form of Amrabat could then represent something of a coup, with the 6 foot 1 gem also offering the benefit of having an added edge to his game, having been branded "a raging bull" by Moroccan journalist, Amine El Amri.

With Jorginho having made a success of himself in the Premier League, perhaps the 49-cap ace can too.

Glenn Maxwell has said the visiting batsmen are training without their front pads on to make sure they play the ball and not fall victim to Bangladesh’s wicket-to-wicket lines

Mohammad Isam in Mirpur23-Aug-2017Australia’s batsmen are putting great emphasis on their defensive game in the lead-up to the two Tests against Bangladesh, so much that even a batsman as aggressive as Glenn Maxwell wants to first make sure his block is in perfect order.The decision was made in the expectation that Bangladesh’s bowlers will attack by bowling a stump-to-stump line and, to counter it, Australia have begun batting in the nets without their front pad on. It is a tactic they had experimented with during Justin Langer’s tenure as batting coach in 2012.”I think the main thing is to basically use your bat,” Maxwell explained. “If you don’t have the safety of your front pad, it makes you get your leg out of the way and actually use your bat. I think it is more about refining your defence and making sure you trust the fact that you can hit the ball and not hoping that your pads are there just to save you.”It is more about guys who are hitting the stumps regularly and Bangladesh do that really well. They bowl stump to stump and put pressure on your defence so I suppose that’s one thing we will work on. I did a lot of it back home. A lot of my practice revolves around defence and expanding from there. I haven’t done so much of it since I have been here but I am sure I will get a chance before the game starts.”Maxwell said Australia will be wary of Mustafizur Rahman and Shakib Al Hasan. He had a chance to analyse Mustafizur at the Indian Premier League in 2016 and believes that despite the drop in pace, the young bowler remains one to watch.”Mustafizur is obviously the exceptional bowler we faced during the IPL during his breakthrough season. I suppose his pace dropped off as he played a bit more Test cricket. He is still an outstanding bowler who has the ability to swing it and has an unbelievable change-up slower ball.”He is not your conventional left-arm seamer. He is obviously got a very flexible wrist with which he can flick it in the last moment. It looks exactly the same either it is his bumper or his slower ball. It is a hard thing to pick up.”The same thing with Shakib; he is a really experienced player. He has been the No 1 allrounder in the world for a while. He is an excellent cricketer. We have to play these guys really well to negate their influence in the Test series and make sure we are staying on top of the game.”Against Bangladesh, Maxwell will look to follow the plans that helped him score his maiden Test century, against India in Ranchi, earlier this year.”I don’t think I will change too much from what I did in India. I thought I had really good plans during the Test series against them. I will employ probably something similar, basically backing my defense and trying to revolve my game around that.””It is basically going to be batting long periods of time and making sure that when we do bat those long periods of time we are making big hundreds,” he said.The first of two Tests in the series begins on Sunday in Mirpur.

Chelsea have made just four signings so far this summer as Mauricio Pochettino was trusted with overseeing a major revamp of the squad, which has led him to move on 13 players already.

With the deadwood cleared, the onus is now to add a few more quality players to his squad and a move for Moises Caicedo is still ongoing.

Will Chelsea sign Moises Caicedo?

Fabrizio Romano has given a recent update on Chelsea’s pursuit of the in-demand Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder.

He tweeted: “Chelsea have not left the negotiations for Moisés Caicedo, despite reports on Thursday. Deal on, as of today.

“Brighton remain on their stance after £80m bid revealed and turned down yesterday. But it didn’t change Chelsea plans.

“Chelsea keep contacts/talks alive.”

It’s clear the south coast side want more than £80m for their star player and Pochettino will need to increase his bid soon for the £60k-per-week maestro if they wish to sign him before the Premier League campaign begins.

How good is Moises Caicedo?

The Stamford Bridge side have lost N’Golo Kante, Mason Mount, Mateo Kovacic and Ruben Loftus-Cheek during the transfer window as Pochettino cleared out the midfield.

This suggests there is plenty of space for Caicedo to arrive and command a first-team spot, and it could be bad news for Conor Gallagher, with the Ecuadorian clearly a big upgrade on the Chelsea gem.

The 21-year-old registered a higher pass completion percentage domestically last term (88.5% to 81.1%), won more tackles (58 to 38), succeeded with a higher percentage of take-ons (51.9% to 42.6%) and made more progressive passes (219 to 105).

Not only does this suggest Caicedo is much better at circulating the ball, but he is also a key attacking outlet when required, making forward passes and enjoying success when taking on opposition players.

Defensively, Caicedo is also a big upgrade, ranking in the top 13% compared to positional peers for tackles per 90 (2.87) and the top 11% for interceptions per 90 (1.61), showcasing his tenacious nature and ability to win the ball back often during matches.

In contrast, Gallagher ranks in the top 23% for tackles (2.58) and the top 28% for interceptions (1.31) per 90, indicating that he isn’t quite at the same level as the Brighton starlet.

Having enjoyed a wonderful season on loan at Crystal Palace during 2021/22, in which he netted eight league goals, the Epsom native arrived back at Stamford Bridge with a point to prove.

Despite flashes of talent, Gallagher ranked a lowly 21st for overall Sofascore match rating and finished outwith the top ten for accurate passes per game (19.5) and key passes per game (0.6), clearly indicating that he hasn’t quite made the step-up many expected.

Hailed as a “crown jewel of a new generation” by historian Enrico Castro-Montes, the Caicedo, by contrast, ranked in the top six across the Brighton squad for overall match rating, accurate passes per game (53) and key passes per game (1.2), clearly surpassing the numbers Gallagher achieved for Chelsea.

Although he may break the bank, Caicedo could well be Pochettino’s most important signing this summer, especially given the glaring need for further midfield reinforcements in west London.

West Ham United attacker Nikola Vlasic is "keen" to complete a switch to Torino this summer with the Serie A side and Hammers "in talks", according to journalist Ryan Taylor.

Who will leave West Ham?

After the British record sale of star midfielder Declan Rice, who has now joined Arsenal to the tune of £105 million (including £5m in add-ons), further sales haven't been entirely ruled out.

David Moyes has a gaping hole to fill left by Rice's departure, and even though West Ham are set for a mega financial windfall from his exit, the Irons could still benefit from shifting some deadwood.

One player who could fit that category is Vlasic, as the former Everton forward has found life very difficult in east London since he joined from CSKA Moscow in 2021.

Despite starring in the Russian Premier League, Moyes didn't quite hand Vlasic that many opportunities to replicate that form in his debut season.

Thereafter, he joined Torino on a season-long loan deal last summer, where he managed to start 29 Serie A matches and made 34 league appearances for them overall.

The Italian side now want to take him permanently after a solid campaign, something which Vlasic himself is more than open too.

However, West Ham rejected Torino's "opening proposal" of £8 million plus add ons, with both sides apparently still in negotiations to complete the deal.

That's according to The Express' reporter Taylor, who shared this information on Twitter midweek.

"West Ham remain in talks with Torino over sale of Nikola Vlašić – signed from CSKA for £25.7m," wrote Taylor.

"While €13m buy-option has now expired, Italian side want deal done & Croatian winger keen to complete move. Understand latest Torino proposal worth £8m plus add-ons. Not enough."

How good is Nikola Vlasic?

On his day, Vlasic can prove a very capable asset in the final third, but it just hasn't happened for him at West Ham so far.

The 25-year-old bagged five goals and six assists over his Torino loan spell last season, averaging more key passes per 90 than any other player in their squad (WhoScored).

As well as this, only Antonio Sanabria and Nemanja Radonjic averaged a higher rate of attempts at goal per 90 – highlighting the true threat Vlasic can pose when at his best (WhoScored).

Moyes has even praised the player's "first class" attitude behind-the-scenes previously.

"We've been really impressed by Niko. His attitude as a professional is first-class," said Moyes in 2021.

"He can play several roles for us which is important, but we also want to give him the chance to adapt and adjust. He's only been really impressive since he's been at the club and we're really hopeful that he'll turn into a really good player for us."

While Moyes hopeful prediction from back then hasn't quite come to fruition, Vlasic could be a useful player for most sides.

Virat Kohli and Sanjay Bangar have said the shot selection of India’s batsmen, and lack of support for MS Dhoni from the lower order cost them in the fourth ODI in Antigua

ESPNcricinfo staff03-Jul-20173:45

Batsmen let the team down – Bangar

India captain Virat Kohli and batting coach Sanjay Bangar have rued the shot selection of their line-up, saying the batsmen let the team down in their narrow 11-run loss to West Indies in the fourth ODI in Antigua. Chasing 190, India were steered by opener Ajinkya Rahane’s 60 and a 114-ball 54 from MS Dhoni. But Jason Holder’s 5 for 27, that included four wickets in the last five overs, bowled India out when they needed 14 runs from the last over.”We bowled really well to restrict them to 189,” Kohli said after the match. “Our shot selection wasn’t up to the mark, losing crucial wickets at crucial stages. You’ve got to keep up the momentum through the game. Credit to the West Indies bowlers, they created those dot balls that induced those mistakes. The pitch felt a bit two-paced, apart from that I don’t think there was anything else in the pitch. We faltered with the bat and that can happen in this game. We just have to put this behind us and come back fresh for the next game.”Apart from Rahane and Dhoni, no other India batsman in the top five reached double figures as Shikhar Dhawan fell for 5, Kohli for 3 and Dinesh Karthik, who came in for an injured Yuvraj Singh, for 2. In the lower order, too, no batsman crossed 20 as India struggled to get the runs ticking in the middle overs, scoring only 54 between the 21st and 40th overs.”It (the pitch) kept getting slower and slower because shot-making wasn’t really easy and those have been the nature of wickets we have seen so far because, again, we are playing on the same track [we played on] just two days ago,” Bangar explained later. “So the wicket kept getting slower and slower, we didn’t really bat to our potential because it was a gettable score. I just felt that batsmen let the team down. When Hardik [Pandya] got out it was still run a ball, when Jaddu (Ravindra Jadeja) got out, it was still run a ball, so in these situations shot selection was really crucial. And at times I just felt that they erred in that.”Plan was definitely for someone to bat deeper into the innings and that’s what Ajinkya did till the time he was given out. Till that time we were really on course and we also lost couple of wickets after Ajinkya, even Kedar got out to a good delivery. Those wickets in the middle overs actually pushed us back and the run rate kept on creeping higher and higher.”We encountered this situation even in the previous game where we lost couple of wickets in the first 10 overs. But we still managed to get to 260 on a wicket which was very very damp. Suffice to say that we’ve been playing on some wickets which have been difficult wherein some wickets have been damp. So shot-making was a bit difficult but credit to them that they executed their plans really well. I just felt that it was a very very gettable score.”A lot of questions will be asked of Dhoni’s innings, as he brought up his half-century off 108 balls, the slowest by an Indian batsman in ODIs since 2001. Even though he had scored an unbeaten 78 off 79 balls in the previous match, on Sunday he started cautiously to provide some stability after India lost early wickets but failed to see them through by hardly taking any risks. Bangar said it was difficult for Dhoni to play with freedom when the batsmen after him did not give him able support.”See, you need to assess the conditions. At times you need to play the situations well and when you’re batting higher up the order, which MS is doing, and with the kind of depth that we have at No. 6, 7 and 8, and when they don’t really come off, he can’t play with the kind of freedom that he should. It all boils down to how the batsmen at the other end are also batting and how many wickets we have in hand, because one of our plans is to not lose too many wickets in close intervals and when the wickets fall, we try to rebuild.”

Everton have 'already come up with quite a good package' in their efforts to sign Almeria forward El Bilal Toure and won't stretch too much further to try and land the Mali international, according to journalist Paul Brown.

Is El Bilal Toure set to join Everton?

According to Spanish outlet IDEAL via Goodison News, Almeria expect Toure to leave in the coming days amid competition from Everton and Atalanta for the 21-year-old striker.

The report claims that Atalanta have offered £18.3 million to try and sign Toure; however, Everton have put forward a bid worth £25.7 million, representing a club-record sale for the La Liga outfit at that price.

As per The Daily Mail, they claim that Everton have actually offered a loan deal with an obligation to buy for Toure with a permanent fee that will be paid over four instalments.

Sean Dyche is keen to add to his forward line due to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's injury problems and lack of viable alternatives in attack, with Neal Maupay deemed to be not good enough to be a major player at Goodison Park after a dismal debut campaign at Everton.

Toure showed some promising signs for Almeria last term and managed to notch seven goals and two assists in 25 appearances across all competitions, as per Transfermarkt.

Providing a clear goal threat over the course of the season, Toure, who has been called an "awkward" player, took on around 1.4 shots per game in the Spanish top flight, according to WhoScored.

Everton have confirmed one piece of transfer business this window, capturing free agent Ashley Young upon the expiration of his contract at Aston Villa, as per Sky Sports.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, journalist Brown doesn't expect Everton to push too much harder to land Toure and has indicated that Atalanta may be the frontrunner to sign the Adjame-born striker.

Brown stated: "There are other clubs interested. I'm hearing that Atalanta are possibly ahead of Everton in the hunt at the moment, so we shall see.

"I don't really think, unless there is another sale, that Everton can throw a lot more money at that. They've already come up with quite a good package for someone who is unproven in the Premier League.

"So, I don't think they'd be willing to go much further than they already have."

Do Everton have alternative targets to boost their options in attack?

Everton boss Dyche does look likely to add to his offensive options this summer as he tries to ensure his side won't be involved in a relegation scrap for the third successive season.

According to 90min, the Toffees are keen to sign Leeds United winger Wilfried Gnonto; however, they have seen a £15 million bid for the Italy international rebuffed by his current employers.

Free agent Moussa Dembele and Leicester City veteran Jamie Vardy are two alternative targets earmarked to strengthen Dyche's forward line, as per FootballTransfers.

Manchester United out-of-favour winger Anthony Elanga is of interest to the Blues and is available for transfer for a fee of between £15-20 million. At the same time, Nottingham Forest and clubs in Germany are also monitoring his situation at Old Trafford, as per BBC Sport.

The Bangladesh captain accepted luck played a role in them earning one point against Australia but said that his players were excited at the prospect of having an outside chance of getting a semi-final spot

Andrew McGlashan in Cardiff08-Jun-2017Bangladesh only have positive thoughts going into their match against New Zealand even though they know they are lucky to still have a chance to qualify for the semi-finals and could still go home even with victory in Cardiff.The captain Mashrafe Mortaza admitted they had reacted negatively to their warm-up collapse against India, when they were skittled for 84 at The Oval, by picking an extra batsman for the opening England fixture. He promised, however, there would be no repeat, despite struggling against Australia except for Tamim Iqbal’s defiant 95.”We have to think positive for sure,” Mashrafe said. “For that we need to pick five bowlers – we normally play with five bowlers all the time. In the first match we were maybe thinking of the India practice match, but we can’t just go the negative way. We have to score as well as we have to get them all out.”We knew before the tournament that we had to produce something special, otherwise it wouldn’t be easy to beat teams like England and Australia. But we are a team that wouldn’t let go of a chance, so if one comes up tomorrow we will have to make sure we don’t let it slip.”Bangladesh are certainly familiar with New Zealand’s style of cricket, even if the side they faced in Ireland – and beat in their most recent meeting – did not contain some of the senior players. Among those they did not meet last month was Kane Williamson – who has been in magnificent form in the opening two matches – but, like Tamim, he too has very little to show for his efforts so far.’We can win from a really bad situation if Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur and Shakib are around’ – Mashrafe Mortaza•AFP”He is in great form but we cannot focus only in on Williamson,” Mashrafe said. “They have some players like [Martin] Guptill who can change the game. So we have to think about all of their batsmen as a bowling group. And also if you look on our side, I think Tamim is in great form. It doesn’t mean that Tamim will come in to score tomorrow, as well. So you never know what’s going to happen.”Bangladesh are yet to see in this tournament how their batting fares if Tamim fails to post a significant score, although even with his contributions, the middle and lower order has not offered much beyond Mushfiqur Rahim’s 79 against England. In that match, they struggled to accelerate during the closing overs while in the Australia game they collapsed from 122 for 3 to 182 all out after the dismissal of Shakib Al Hasan. But Mashrafe said that Bangladesh’s batting depth should not be disregarded on the basis of their recent performances.”Mahmudullah, Mushfiqur and Shakib are players who can change the course of a game. We can win from a really bad situation if they are around. I am hoping that they will rise on the big situation, which is coming up tomorrow.”Everyone is excited. We knew that these three matches would be difficult for us. We know our limitations and strengths, so we are basing our game on those lines. We were lucky against Australia to get a point; we didn’t play too badly against England. We are still in the tournament, with a game in hand. I can feel it in the dressing room. We want to have a positive end to this tournament.”

Kings XI Punjab face the second of three must-wins against a Mumbai Indians team looking to seal their spot in the first qualifier of the postseason

The Preview by Nikhil Kalro10-May-2017Match factsMumbai Indians v Kings XI Punjab
Mumbai, May 11, 2017
Start time 2000 local (1430 GMT)3:00

Hogg: Bumrah’s slower ball can bamboozle Maxwell again

Head to headOverall: Mumbai have a slight edge, having won 10 of their 19 completed games against Kings XI. Since 2012, Mumbai have won seven out of 10 meetings.Form guide

Mumbai Indians (first): lost to Sunrisers Hyderabad by seven wickets, beat Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by five wickets
Kings XI Punjab (fifth): beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 14 runs, lost to Gujarat Lions by six wickets, beat Royal Challengers Bangalore by 19 runs

This season: Mumbai cruised past Kings XI’s 198 with eight wickets in hand and 27 balls to spare in the previous encounter between the two teams in Indore.In the newsKings XI have a considerably reduced overseas pool to choose their XI from after the departure of Hashim Amla and David Miller.Despite Sri Lanka starting their preparatory camp for the Champions Trophy, Lasith Malinga will stay with the Mumbai Indians team after receiving permission to play the entire season.Qualification scenarioAlthough Mumbai have qualified for the playoffs, they haven’t booked a top-two spot yet. With 18 points in 12 games, Mumbai need one win from their remaining two matches to ensure that.Kings XI kept their playoffs chances alive by beating Kolkata Knight Riders, but need to win their two remaining games and need other results to go their way. If Sunrisers lose their remaining fixture against Gujarat Lions, then Kings XI will make the cut with 16 points, but Rising Pune could also be pushed out if they lose their remaining two matches and Sunrisers win their last game. Rising Pune have a NRR of -0.060 compared to Kings XI’s 0.242, so any situation that comes down to run rates will clearly favour Kings XI.The likely XIsMumbai Indians 1 Lendl Simmons, 2 Parthiv Patel (wk), 3 Nitish Rana, 4 Rohit Sharma (capt), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Hardik Pandya, 7 Karn Sharma, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Mitchell McClenaghan, 10 Lasith Malinga, 11 Jasprit BumrahKings XI Punjab: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 Manan Vohra, 3 Shaun Marsh, 4 Glenn Maxwell (capt), 5 Wriddhiman Saha (wk), 6 Axar Patel, 7 Rahul Tewatia, 8 Swapnil Singh, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Sandeep SharmaStrategy puntOne of Kings XI’s biggest strengths is their defensive bowling skills, as they showed against Knight Riders. Mumbai’s biggest asset is their end-overs bowling too. Mumbai have also made heavy work while chasing in the second half of the season.With the pressure of a must-win game, it may not be a bad tactic for Kings XI to opt to bat first, handing their stronger arm, their bowling, the responsibility of performing in a tight situation.Stats that matter Nitish Rana’s form has gradually dipped as the season has progressed. In his first six innings, he scored 255 runs at a strike rate of 142.45. In his next five innings, he has scored 66 runs at a strike rate of 90.41.
In those first six innings, he was particularly strong against the short ball, scoring 50 off 16 balls without being dismissed. But in his last five innings, teams have bowled just three short balls to him. Rohit Sharma’s form has gone the other way. He started slowly, scoring just 54 runs off 57 balls in his first six innings. In his next five innings, he has hit 196 runs off 134 balls with just one single-digit score. Sandeep Sharma has been effective against Parthiv Patel and Rohit. He has gone for 18 runs in 19 balls against Rohit, and has got him out twice. Against Parthiv, he has conceded 29 runs off 46 balls with two dismissals. It is Parthiv’s lowest strike rate against any bowler who has bowled him at least 20 balls. Mohit Sharma has got Kieron Pollard out three times in six innings, the Trinidadian’s joint-most dismissals against any bowler in the IPL Glenn Maxwell has been productive against Mumbai’s end-overs specialists: hitting a combined 53 runs off 31 balls against Jasprit Bumrah and Mitchell McClenaghan.

Sunderland's hopes of bringing back Ellis Simms from Everton are fast fading as Championship rivals Coventry City close in on a deal for the striker.

How many goals has Ellis Simms scored?

Simms starred on loan with Sunderland in the first half of the 2022-23 Championship campaign with seven goals and two assists in 17 appearances.

That form earned the 22-year-old a recall to parent club Everton at the start of January, but he was restricted to just two Premier League starts – albeit one of those coming in February's Merseyside derby at Anfield, which the Toffees lost 2-0.

The high point for Simms undoubtedly came in March when scoring a late equaliser for Everton in a 2-2 draw away at Chelsea, with that likely to be his one and only goal for the club.

Sunderland understandably held an interest in signing Simms on a permanent basis once it became clear Everton were willing to sell, while Ipswich Town also placed a £4m bid, but The Athletic reports that Coventry are close to completing a deal worth between £6-8m.

Who are Sunderland signing?

The Black Cats have already brought in a new striker ahead of the new season, with Luis 'Hemir' Semedo arriving from Benfica. However, the 19-year-old has no senior experience, let alone experience of English football, so Tony Mowbray could do with signing at least one more forward.

According to TEAMtalk, Leeds United's Sonny Perkins is being eyed up by Sunderland, as well as Blackburn Rovers, with the Whites greenlighting his loan exit for the 2023/24 campaign.

Perkins featured three times for Leeds in cup competitions last season, each coming under former boss Jesse Marsch, and scored his first senior goal in an FA Cup third-round tie against Cardiff City – rescuing his side from a shock exit with a late goal in a 2-2 draw in South Wales.

The 19-year-old earned his first-team chance after scoring 11 goals across 18 Premier League 2 appearances, while also making an impact in the EFL Trophy with one goal in three games.

Perkins previously featured in a Premier League game for West Ham United, too, meaning the future is clearly bright for the 19-year-old, who was described as "dangerous" by U21 manager Michael Skubala last season.

To put Perkins' PL2 figures into some perspective, he averaged 0.85 goals and assists combined per 90 minutes last season, which compares to 0.67 for Simms in his most recent full season at that level in 2020-21, as per FBref.

Simms was directly involved in 0.72 goals per 90 minutes last season, a figure bettered only by Ross Stewart (1.12) among Sunderland players. The Black Cats undoubtedly need to find someone who can make just as big an impact, then, and Perkins – on £1.6k per week at Leeds, according to Salary Sport – may just be that man.

Much in the same way that not a great deal was expected from Simms when he rocked up on Wearside 12 months ago, Sunderland will be hoping for a similar masterstroke if the Perkins rumours are indeed true.

Mumbai Indians crushed Delhi Daredevils by 146 runs, the largest margin of victory in the IPL

The Report by Varun Shetty06-May-2017
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details4:27

Bangar: Daredevils lost the match in the first half

Mumbai Indians made a mockery of their opposition on Saturday. First they smacked Delhi Daredevils’ bowlers around to put up a total of 212. Then they bullied the batsmen into folding for a paltry 66. And in the end, a team that had recorded the second-highest chase in IPL history two nights ago was defeated by a margin so huge – 146 runs – it became a tournament record.So how did this all come about? Well, a few things went to plan. Like Lendl Simmons coming off the bench and hitting a half-century, Kieron Pollard responding to his promotion to No. 3 with an innings that was both calculated and cruel and the Mumbai bowlers knocking over each of their bunnies.Daredevils were five down in the chase before the Powerplay was done, and bowled out for their lowest IPL total. Mumbai, on the other hand, stormed into the playoffs.Caribbean carnage, Part 1Simmons has some phenomenal IPL numbers – before tonight he had 10 scores of fifty or more in 22 innings – and yet he had to wait until tonight to get his first game of the season. He began tentatively – as is expected of a batsman whose most recent T20 innings were 1, 1, 4* and 1. But the shackles seemed to break with a pull for six off Kagiso Rabada in the fourth over.Daredevils peppered Simmons with a mix of back-of-a-length and short deliveries, but it did not bother him. He got, both, on top of the bounce, and under it in equal measure – only one of his nine boundaries came off a fullish delivery.Simmons’ 66 off 43 balls took apart Daredevils’ famed fast-bowling attack, counterbalanced Parthiv Patel’s sedate 25 and gave Mumbai the perfect start on a small ground.Caribbean carnage, Part 2For a brief time, Amit Mishra was able to put a stop to Mumbai’s momentum. His first two overs went for only seven runs and had yielded a wicket too. Daredevils’ decision to play a fourth seamer in place of left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem came under question.Pollard, however, hit that hypothesis out of the park, along with four of Mishra’s deliveries. This included denting Zaheer Khan’s plan of bowling Mishra out at a stretch. His two sixes off Mishra’s third over forced Zaheer to give him a change of ends. The two overs needed to make that switch went for 25, and when Mishra returned, Pollard hit him for two more sixes. That was the start of Mumbai’s slog-overs push. Pollard saw it through with an unbeaten 63.Daredevils come a full circleA target of 213, mere days after achieving their highest successful chase, didn’t trouble the Daredevils – for as long as they were in the dugout. Once they came onto the field they realised that the Mumbai bowling attack was well-manned and well-marshalled.Mitchell McCleneghan had removed Sanju Samson three times in nine balls before today. After the first ball of the chase, the head-to-head was adjusted to four wickets in 10 balls.Bumrah had removed Pant twice in six balls. He was brought in for the fourth over and got the batsman out for a duck.Harbhajan had knocked Karun Nair over three times in 19 balls. So naturally he was brought on to bowl to his bunny and the battle ended with a catch to midwicket. These were all signs of a team being well-informed of their own strengths, the opposition’s weaknesses, and exploiting them all perfectly.Meanwhile, Daredevils had updated their lowest score twice in the space of six days, while also pulling off their best chase in the period.