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West Ham United midfielder Lucas Paqueta has made an admission about his future at the club amid repeated suggestions he could leave in January.

Paqueta’s time at West Ham has been intriguing to say the least, and fresh speculation has emerged recently about a potential winter exit from the London Stadium.

West Ham paid £51 million to secure his services in a club-record deal from Lyon three years ago, with the Brazilian quickly establishing himself as one of the Premier League’s most technically gifted playmakers in his debut season under David Moyes.

Paqueta helped the Hammers to a glorious Conference League triumph that year, their first major trophy since 1980 and first European trophy since 1965, but a spot-fixing scandal then began to overshadow his time at the London Stadium.

The 28-year-old was charged with four alleged breaches of FA rule E5.1 in May 2024, relating to matches involving West Ham, with allegations that he directly sought to influence matches by intentionally seeking to receive a card from the referee for influence of the betting market.

The investigation, which began in August 2023, cast a dark cloud over his future, with the FA once seeking a lifetime ban for him. Throughout the ordeal, West Ham stood firmly by their star man, and in July this year, he was finally cleared.

With that uncertain point of his career finally over, Paqueta got back to focusing on the pitch, and clubs also started taking an interest in the £150,000-per-week star.

Aston Villa tried to sign Paqueta in the summer, but he ultimately chose to stay put and show loyalty to a side who backed him off the field.

However, credible reports are indicating that his long-term future could be away from Rush Green. The Times recently reported that Paqueta is keen to leave West Ham as early as next month, with Fabrizio Romano also backing up that the ex-Ligue 1 star’s exit is a realistic possibility.

Lucas Paqueta makes West Ham transfer admission and expects move to happen

Now, the player himself has come out to make a revelation of his own.

Speaking to Brazilian outlet Globo, as translated by Standard Sport, Paqueta says that he had a desire to return to Flamengo in the most recent summer window, and he expects that transfer to happen eventually due to his close ties with the club.

Paqueta’s current deal expires in 2027, and while Nuno Espirito Santo won’t want to lose him in January, a summer transfer certainly appears on the cards next year.

Unfortunately for chairman David Sullivan, by that point, the Irons wouldn’t be in a position to demand big money for the player with just one year remaining on his contract.

Flamengo’s best opportunity to strike a reunion could be next year, if a more illustrious European or Premier League big-hitter don’t move to entice him first.

Like in 2022, Hazlewood is shining for RCB in the bowling attack. But this time with the new ball

Shashank Kishore09-Apr-2025Watching Josh Hazlewood train is like getting a lesson in simplicity. His sessions are short and sharp, focused on rhythm and precision – testing his full range while delivering a metronomic stream of balls.Four games in, these virtues have made Hazlewood one of the standout bowlers for Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), whose absence they felt a great deal last year. A key performer in IPL 2022, with 20 wickets in RCB’s run to Qualifier 2 – their best finish since 2016 – injuries disrupted Hazlewood’s IPL 2023 campaign. RCB had planned to retain Hazlewood, if he was fit, for IPL 2024, but he opted out owing to the impending birth of his child. This meant having to rejig their bowling plans.Mohammed Siraj lacked impact, Yash Dayal was still settling in, Akash Deep and Reece Topley featured irregularly, and Lockie Ferguson proved expensive – all contributing to RCB ending with the joint-lowest powerplay wickets for pace bowlers.Related

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Cut to IPL 2025, and Hazlewood’s return has been a game-changer. Signed for INR 12.5 crore, he has helped RCB record a powerplay bowling average of 26.28, behind only Gujarat Titans (GT) and Delhi Capitals (DC).Along the way, Hazlewood has fed off Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s experience too. The pair has formed a potent opening combination, troubling batters with unerring accuracy and subtle movement.What makes Hazlewood so difficult to face is his high release point, which generates extra bounce regardless of the length he bowls. In each of RCB’s three wins, Hazlewood has had a profound impact in the powerplay. And much of his success has been down to how quickly he has adapted to the conditions. On surfaces where there have been bounce and carry, like at Eden Gardens and Chepauk, his hit-the-deck mastery has been unchallenged. His dot-ball percentage of 72.92 is the highest in the powerplay among those who have bowled multiple overs in that phase this season.Against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the opening game, he troubled Quinton de Kock with rising deliveries before having him top edge the pick-up shot that reared up a tad more than de Kock expected. Against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), his twin strikes of Rahul Tripathi and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the space of five deliveries, along with nine dots, laid the foundation for RCB being able to break a 17-year jinx at the venue.2:15

Is 2025 finally going to be RCB’s year?

Against Mumbai Indians (MI) on Monday night, Hazlewood followed an early wicket of Ryan Rickelton with a succession of six dot balls to Suryakumar Yadav to help build powerplay pressure in a big chase. On surfaces where there is springy bounce, like at Wankhede, this can be a double-edged sword, like he found out later in the game when Hardik Pandya sent the ball into different pockets of the ground in the death overs.Hazlewood conceded 22 runs in that 14th over, but he responded by using the crease and angles to cramp Hardik for room and dismissing him off the first ball of his final over, the 19th, that went for just nine to land the knockout blow on MI.Hazlewood’s biggest challenge is yet to come. He has only played one game at home, in conditions where even the best fast bowlers have travelled. During his best season with RCB, in 2022, he didn’t play at home since the tournament was held entirely in Mumbai because of post-Covid restrictions. But the Chinnaswamy deck hasn’t been the usual, where batters have tended to enjoy a free-for-all buffet like last year.2:00

Bishop: Hazlewood has an important role to play

Hazlewood delivered an excellent first spell against GT in RCB’s first home game – conceding just one boundary off his first nine deliveries before Sai Sudharsan threw him off his lengths by bringing out the ramp shot, instead of trying to take him on in front of square.Jos Buttler then made it an unending nightmare by treating him with disdain, reverse-ramping him for six and setting himself up to wallop a length ball over deep midwicket. By the time Sherfane Rutherford flicked him to the leg-side boundary to seal victory, Hazlewood had run out of gas.It was an expensive spell for Hazlewood – 3.5-0-43-1 – but it was also one that he’ll take back plenty from. On Thursday, he’ll return to the Chinnaswamy Stadium against DC, fueled by confidence and adrenaline from a strong start to the season, hoping to help RCB seize momentum at home, just as he has done on the road.

It wasn’t the perfect performance, but Chelsea are now through to the quarter-finals of the League Cup.

At one point in their clash away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, Enzo Maresca’s men looked like they were going to run away with it.

Unfortunately, some really sloppy play and defending in the second half let the Old Gold right back into it.

With that said, Chelsea managed to get out of there with the win, and one player in particular showed why he could be another Cole Palmer, and no, it wasn’t Estevao.

Chelsea's standout stars vs Wolves

One Chelsea starter who did his chances of playing more minutes well on Wednesday night was Andrey Santos.

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The Brazilian ace started in the middle of the park and made an instant impact, scoring the opening goal just five minutes in.

It was a well-taken shot from just outside the area, but that wasn’t all he did, as he ended the game with 100% of his tackles won, ten ball recoveries and seven of eight ground duels won.

In short, it was an excellent all-action display from the 21-year-old and just the sort of showing fans were hoping to see from him this season.

One of his teammates who wasn’t quite as impactful, but is still worthy of praise, is Estevao.

The Brazilian wonderkid didn’t make any key passes or complete more than two crosses, but he did score a sensational chip to make it 3-0 in the 41st minute.

Finally, while he didn’t get a goal involvement like his midfield partner, Romeo Lavia, helped to keep things ticking over in the middle of the park for the Blues.

Minutes

61′

Key Passes

1

Touches

67

Accurate Passes

54/59 (92%)

Fouls Won

2

Interceptions

1

Clearances

1

Recoveries

7

Ground Duels (Won)

5 (4)

Aerial Duels (Won)

1 (1)

In his 61 minutes of action, the young Belgian completed 54 of 59 passes, played one key pass, took 67 touches, made seven ball recoveries and won five of six duels.

Perhaps the best thing you can say about the former Southampton gem’s performance is that Wolves scored two of their three goals when he was off the pitch.

With all that said, there was another Chelsea player who stood out above all the others and showed just why he could be another Palmer-type star.

Chelsea's new Palmer-type star

When it comes down to the player who impressed most on Wednesday night, it’s impossible to look past Jamie Gittens, and it’s the summer signing who could be the club’s new Palmer-type star.

Now, it’s important to caveat that this doesn’t mean he will become as good a player as the Blues’ number ten – few players ever will be – but there are some similarities.

For example, both of them have come from Manchester City’s academies, both can play out wide, the former Borussia Dortmund gem is almost certainly going to be involved in the senior England setup at some point, and, crucially, Gittens is capable of the incredible.

Yes, the 21-year-old has indeed underwhelmed so far this season, but against Wolves, he showed that he has it in him to utterly dominate an opposition and drag his side to victory.

For example, he provided the assist for Santos to open the scoring, and then, just ten minutes later, he did even better, setting up Tyrique George with a tap-in he simply couldn’t miss.

Then, if that wasn’t enough, the Reading-born monster made sure his side didn’t throw the game away by scoring an absolute screamer to make it 4-2 in the 90th minute.

It was the sort of goal you’d expect a player of Palmer’s calibre to score, and perhaps an indication that the Blues might have another superstar on their hands.

Overall, it really was, as one content creator put it, a “masterclass” of a performance from Gittens, and one that should see him remain in the team for the next few games.

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Manchester United are reportedly battling Arsenal and Real Madrid to complete the signing of a quick Bundesliga defender.

The left-back situation at Old Trafford is one that Ruben Amorim will be keeping an eye on, with his preferred 3-4-2-1 formation requiring a player who can excel in a left wing-back role.

Luke Shaw has been used more as one of the three centre-backs for United this season, with age and injuries arguably making it harder for him to be the marauding force that he used to be down the left flank.

Meanwhile, Patrick Dorgu is a good player with plenty of promise at wing-back, providing power and quality, and Diogo Dalot’s versatility allows him to do a job on both the left and the right.

United could need to look at more depth moving forward, however, especially with Shaw never too far away from an injury absence, and it looks as though Nathaniel Brown has emerged as a strong option in that area of the pitch.

Man Utd keen on signing £56m-rated Brown

According to a fresh update from Bild [via Sport Witness], Manchester United are in the mix to sign Brown from Frankfurt, but Arsenal and Madrid are providing stiff competition.

He is said to be “on their radar” as they eye up fresh faces in 2026, with the German left-back a new target for the Red Devils who is valued at £56m.

Brown stands out as an exciting target for United, with Frankfurt sporting director Markus Krosche heaping praise on his many qualities as a player.

“Yes! Because he has three exceptional abilities that you can’t learn. He’s smart and tactically astute, has fantastic technique, and is very fast. And all of that is necessary to have a great career ahead of him. Now is the wrong time to think about who might leave us and when. They’re both young and should stay with us a while longer.

“Can (Uzun) has developed tremendously compared to last year. It’s a shame he’s injured now. And Nene (Brown) is simply exceptional. He’s made outstanding progress, especially when it comes to defending at a high level. Just look at how he plays against top opponents in the Champions League.”

At 22, Brown would be a long-term addition for United, challenging Dorgu for minutes, and he will surely add to his one solitary cap for Germany at senior international level as the years pass.

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He has averaged five tackles per game in the Champions League this season, highlighting his tenacity off the ball, while three assists in all competitions shows he can also create in the attacking third.

"Explosive" Dorgu star can take new Man Utd role when Amad & Mbeumo go to AFCON

Arsenal have now joined the race for a £88m forward who recently entered “very advanced” talks over a move to Tottenham Hotspur…

Gunners ramping up pursuit of forward amid Eze criticism

The Gunners’ lead at the top of the Premier League table was reduced to just two points on Saturday, with Aston Villa securing a 2-1 win at Villa Park, and Shaka Hislop was particularly unimpressed with Eberechi Eze’s performance.

Hislop said: “He could have been taken off after 30 minutes, I’ll be honest.

“Now I am as willing as anybody to sing Eze’s praises, but everything from Arsenal came down the right in that first half.

“Everything came through Bukayo Saka, so the change had to be made at half-time because Eze was non-existent.”

In fairness, Eze has made a very promising start to life at the Emirates Stadium, with the England international amassing nine goal contributions in his opening 22 matches across all competitions.

However, the 27-year-old’s best performance arguably came in the 4-1 victory against Tottenham, during which he played through the middle, so there may be room to bring in another left-winger this winter, and Arsenal are now ramping up their pursuit.

It was recently revealed that a strong move is being made for Paris Saint-Germain star Bradley Barcola, but the Frenchman is not the only target, with a report from Caught Offside revealing Arsenal have now joined the race for RB Leipzig star Yan Diomande.

The Gunners have been monitoring Diomande’s progress over the past few weeks, alongside a number of Europe’s top clubs, while Spurs are also keen, with Sky Sports reporter Sacha Tavolieri recently stating they are in “very advanced” talks with the left-winger.

A deal could be on the expensive side, however, with it being suggested RB Leipzig could look to hold out for around €80m – €100m (£70m – £88m).

Arsenal to "directly contact" £88m forward about joining after talks with his reps

Arteta apparently wants to sign him in January.

ByEmilio Galantini 7 days ago Diomande making "sensational" impact in Germany

The Ivorian only made the move to Germany during the summer, but he has already started to make a major impact, being singled out for high praise by scout Jacek Kulig.

Most recently, the 19-year-old put in a remarkable performance in his side’s 6-0 victory against Eintracht Frankfurt, scoring a hat-trick and completing more dribbles than any other player.

Yan Diomande’s key statistics vs Frankfurt

Number completed

Dribbles (successful)

8 (4)

Key passes

1

Duels (won)

13 (6)

Goals

3

Considering Diomande is still a teenager, the level of his performances in the Bundesliga this season have been remarkable, and he may be ready to join one of Europe’s biggest clubs soon, so it would be fantastic if Arsenal were able to beat Tottenham to his signature.

The hosts had victory within reach but their tournament now stands on the edge with two huge games ahead

S Sudarshanan20-Oct-20253:15

Review: How did India lose this game?

A bizarre thing happens at the Holkar Stadium in Indore every time it hosts an international match. A small part of the wall between the adjoining basketball court and the stadium is demolished to facilitate entrance to the north stand that houses the press box. Once the game (or series) is over, the wall is rebuilt. It is not a makeshift entrance as there is a permanent grill gate, which becomes operational once the wall is broken down.This can be loosely used as an analogy to explain India’s situation at the Women’s World Cup 2025 – the more the things have changed, the more they have remained the same.Against South Africa, India’s top and middle order failed and the lower order got them to a decent score but the bowlers couldn’t defend it. Against Australia, the top- and middle-order gave them the platform but the lower order didn’t contribute and their bowlers crumbled under the pressure.Related

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Knight and Smith stay cool in the heat of the battle

Now chasing 289 against England, India had seven wickets in hand, a set batter in, 57 runs needed off 57 balls – comfortable, right? Nine times out of ten, the chasing team would be backed to win in such a scenario. Sunday was the tenth occasion. India slipped from there to a third straight defeat at this World Cup.It was Smriti Mandhana and Harmanpreet Kaur’s calculated assault that helped set the chase up after India were 42 for 2 in ten overs. Mandhana started off scratchily, faced only 18 deliveries in the first 12 overs and scored her first four off the 23rd ball, courtesy of an outside edge. Harmanpreet played her most fluent innings this tournament as India’s senior duo chose their battles carefully. All this after India’s bowlers led by Deepti Sharma helped drag England back after they seemed on course for a 320-plus total.England had two left-arm spinners, a bowling style that has been India’s undoing in recent times. But they were kept wicketless until the 42nd over. Whenever England bowled anything wide outside off, both Mandhana and Harmanpreet used the loft over extra cover to release the pressure. Their 125-run stand came off only 122 balls. Before Sunday, England were the most economical bowling unit (3.31 runs per over) in overs 11 to 30; India went at 6.05 runs per over in this phase in Indore.Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana walk off after India’s defeat•Getty ImagesIndia had dropped a batter (Jemimah Rodrigues) and brought in an extra bowler (Renuka Singh). So it was imperative for one of Mandhana and Harmanpreet to see the chase through. Mandhana took the onus upon herself by being patient and, as she later said, avoiding aerial shots. Till the rush of blood in the 42nd over.Linsey Smith chose the around-the-wicket angle with square leg, midwicket, long-on and long-off in the deep. Extra cover was clear and Mandhana was tempted to explore that region to get India’s ask under six an over. But Smith got the ball to drift away a little, which meant Mandhana lost control of her stroke and holed out to long-off.”Smriti’s wicket was a turning point for us, but we still had many batters,” Harmanpreet said after the game. Those other batters were Deepti, Richa Ghosh, Amanjot Kaur and Sneh Rana – all of whom have contributed with the bat in this tournament.England were unrelenting thereon. They pressed both Smith and Sophie Ecclestone into service, and India could score only 31 for 2 in the six left-arm spin overs in the third powerplay. The squeeze was truly on. Case in point being Deepti’s progress: she faced only 14 dots off her first 39 balls and scored 36 before Mandhana’s fall, and 10 dots in the 18 balls since then.Deepti Sharma started briskly but couldn’t keep up the temp•ICC/Getty Images”I don’t know how things went the other way,” Harmanpreet said. “It is a bad feeling, when you put so much hard work and take the game to the end. But the last five-six overs didn’t go to plan. I am at a loss of words but [it is] definitely a heartbreaking game.”Smith and Ecclestone used the Jess Jonassen model of stifling batters by denying them the bat-swing. They bowled from over the wicket to right-handers with three fielders deep on the leg side and cramped the batters for room. India did not collapse; they just could not break loose out of England’s stranglehold.It is not all doom and gloom for India. Their campaign is far from being over. They have two more games – against New Zealand and Bangladesh – at DY Patil, a venue they have recently played a lot at. They needn’t look beyond their latest victors for inspiration: England had lost each of their first three games at the 2022 World Cup and still qualified for the semi-final and finished runners-up.They might have a relook at their team combination again. Do they need that sixth proper bowler? Or can they do with the extra batter and squeeze some overs from the part-timers? Can they hold their nerves in a tense finish after three such outings?There are cracks in the wall. India need to ensure they fix it before it all crashes down on yet another home World Cup.

“Whenever I go in with a target, I just do very badly. So let’s not keep any target this season,” Ishan Kishan says after rescuing Jharkhand against Tamil Nadu with an uncharacteristic century

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Oct-2025Ishan Kishan is focused on the present, and wants to enjoy every opportunity he gets, irrespective of the level he is playing in.He’s currently captaining Jharkhand in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy, and began with a back-to-the-wall century, his ninth in first-class cricket, to rescue his side after the top order wobbled against Tamil Nadu on a greenish surface in Coimbatore.Kishan ended the opening day unbeaten on 125, having faced 183 deliveries. This helped Jharkhand end strongly on 307 for 6, with the pair of Kishan and Sahil Raj having added an unbroken 150-run stand for the seventh wicket.Related

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“At this stage, I need to be very smart,” he said after the day’s play to . “You need to understand the importance of the Ranji Trophy. You need to understand the importance of these matches when you play against big teams.”Kishan walked out to bat at No. 5, with Jharkhand in trouble at 79 for 3 just after lunch. He buckled down for a better part of the next two sessions, shelving the big hits for a large part. That he hit only two sixes in his innings is some indication of the restraint he showed.”You make so many mistakes initially in your career and then later you realise the real meaning of experience,” he said. “You have to be in the middle and only then you can change the game.”I was checking the wind when the left-arm spinner was bowling. I really wanted to go hard against him. But looking at the scoreboard, six wickets down did not feel right for me. I did it [bat with caution] once in the Irani Cup and here in the Ranji Trophy, where I’m the experienced and the only India player in the team, my job was to ensure we were batting at stumps.”I was actually wanting to go for sixes. But the situation demanded otherwise. This comes with experience. When you play enough matches, you understand sometimes that singles are more important than sixes and over a period of time, your mindset changes. A partnership was important to make their bowlers tired.”Kishan has had a decent build-up to the season. After a short county stint with Nottinghamshire, where he hit 77 and 87 in two innings, he was in line to be recalled to the India squad for the fifth Test against England at The Oval as a cover after Rishabh Pant’s injury.However, Kishan suffered bruises from an e-bike accident in the UK around the same time. Tamil Nadu’s N Jagadeesan was eventually picked as cover, with Dhruv Jurel as the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter in Pant’s absence. Upon his full recovery, Kishan featured for Rest of India in the Irani Cup earlier this month, prior to the start of the Ranji season.”Whenever I go in with a target, I just do very badly,” Kishan said. “I just do something which is not important. So let’s not keep any target this season. Just keep on batting. If you are in the middle, you will get as many runs as you want. That’s the only goal for me.”

Middlesex battle back from the brink to haul themselves into knock-outs in epic tussle

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay26-Aug-2025

Middlesex 292 for 9 (Fernandes 92, Morgan 61, de Caires 50, Singh 4-27) beat Lancashire 291 for 8 (Harris 64, Blatherwick 48*, Hollman 2-30, Brookes 2-57) by one wicket Nathan Fernandes’ brilliant 92 off 79 balls helped Middlesex conjure an extraordinary one-wicket over Lancashire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, a result that also ensures the visitors qualified for the quarter-finals of the competition.But the bland facts tell only half the story. Coming to the wicket with his side in the toils on 105 for five and needing another 186 runs, Fernandes put on 126 for the seventh wicket with Seb Morgan and despite being caught on the boundary in the final over, went on watch Noah Cornwell clinch the victory on an evening that recalled the great limited-overs matches on this ground.Part-time off-spinner Harry Singh had earlier taken a career-best four for 27 and it seemed the visitors’ chances were gone when they were 127 for six, despite Josh de Caires 50. But their hopes were raised in dramatic fashion late in the game by Fernandes and Morgan, whose fearless batting inspired a quite wonderful victory for their team.Having reached his maiden List A fifty, Morgan was eventually caught on the boundary off George Balderson for 61, but Fernandes went on to make his best List A score and the tailenders did the rest.Lancashire skipper Marcus Harris made 64 for the home side but the main acceleration towards a defendable total had come late in the innings from youngsters Arav Shetty and Joe Moores before Jack Blatherwick clubbed an alarmingly violent 48 in 20 balls.Lancashire’s innings had begun poorly when George Bell was caught behind by Joe Cracknell off Cornwell for a first-ball duck in the day’s opening over. Michael Jones and Harris then oversaw a recovery with a partnership of 61 in eleven overs before Jones, who had hit earlier hit two big leg-side sixes was caught by Jack Davies at deep square leg off Morgan for 42 when trying to repeat the trick.For the next 20 overs Lancashire’s batsmen struggled to score fluently on a stodgy pitch against an accurate Middlesex attack. Josh Bohannon made 24 off 33 balls but perished when he skied Luke Hollman to Morgan at mid-off. Hollman was clearly the pick of the visitors’ attack, bowling his ten overs for 30 runs, and in his penultimate over he took the prize wicket of Harris when the Lancashire skipper was lbw for 64 when trying to reverse sweep.It was left to the home side’s youngsters to supply some much-needed acceleration. Shetty made 30 off 23 balls and put on 50 with Singh, thereby hoisting the total to 192. And after Shetty and Balderson had fallen to successive balls from Henry Brookes, Moores clubbed two sixes in his 21-ball 35 before he top-edged de Caires to Noah Cornwell at deep square leg.Put under pressure, the Middlesex attack crumbled a little. Blatherwick maintained the tempo, whacking two sixes off a Cornwell over that cost 21 runs and a remarkable 99 runs were scored off the final nine overs, Blatherwick thrashing four sixes and four fours in an unbeaten innings that changed the shape of the game. Singh was dismissed in the penultimate over caught at mid-off by Ben Geddes off Gilchrist for a 116-ball 38. Apart from Hollman, Brookes was the most successful Middlesex bowler with two for 57.Middlesex’s pursuit began badly when Joe Cracknell was pinned on the back foot by Tom Bailey for ten and their intent to score quickly was constantly hampered by the regular fall of wickets.Sam Robson was bowled via bat, pad and foot by Singh for 31; Geddes lost his stumps in more conventional fashion to the same bowler for eight; Davies shovelled Balderson to Singh at midwicket when her had made only nine; and when Bailey ran across from deep mid-off to catch Hollman without scoring Middlesex were in deep trouble on 108 for five with almost half their overs gone.Seven overs later, de Caires holed out on the deep square leg boundary, Moores taking the catch to give Singh his fourth wicket but the rest of the day belonged to Fernandes and Morgan, whose partnership seems certain to become part of Middlesex folklore.

Baseball history was made last night in Atlanta when the National League triumphed over the American League by winning a completely made-up swing-off competition to decide the All Star Game. Few will ever forget where they were when the venerable sport entered into this uncharted territory. For many of the people who were at Truist Park at the beginning of Tuesday night, they will say that they were nowhere near the excitement of Kyle Schwarber going 3-for-3 and a random coach being thrust into the spotlight to throw batting practice.

A photo taken in the bottom of the eighth inning shows just how much leg room fans seated behind home plate in the really good seats had due to others taking off early.

Now, this is the exact type of catnip that's going to fly around social media and inspire so many strong opinions about what it means or does not mean. It might be taking the bait to take a side here but with a deep breath, it does feel like this type of look can easily be explained and doesn't exactly mean all that much about the game's health.

First off, the picture was taken after 11 p.m. ET on a Tuesday night. It would be almost midnight by the time everything was decided. That's pretty late to stick around for what is, at the end of the day, an exhibition game. And most importantly, those seats right behind the dish don't exactly get packed with the most ardent diehards at events like these. It's perfectly reasonable to understand how a lot of people in town for all the All-Star festivities who don't love baseball decided to bounce slightly before the third day of activity wrapped up.

Again, that doesn't mean the most passionate baseball fans don't have a right to be a bit bummed out by this. In a perfect world the game's deciding moments would happen in front of engaged and actively-there human beings.

One easy fix would be to improve the pace of play. The All-Star Game featured multiple stoppages for legitimately cool moments like standing ovations for Clayton Kershaw and Freddie Freeman. Plus an awesome tribute to Hank Aaron and the moving Stand Up to Cancer stoppage. Throw in more pitching changes than are typical and, boom, all of that work baseball did to speed things up goes out the window.

Just spitballing but an easy fix would be to begin the pregame hoopla at 7:30 p.m. ET so first pitch can happen some time actually around 8. If Major League Baseball can create something like the Swing-Off, surely they can work to improve attentive attendance for its midsummer showcase.

Don’t say it too loudly, but things might be turning around for West Ham United.

Nuno Espírito Santo made changes to his team ahead of the Newcastle United game at the weekend, and lo and behold, came away with all three points.

Moreover, it wasn’t a smash-and-grab; the East Londoners actually played well, with one player in particular doing spectacularly.

In fact, with the proper support around him, that starter could become a leading figure for West Ham and their biggest star since Mohammed Kudus.

Why West Ham were right to sell Kudus

Now, it should be noted that one significant issue with selling Kudus in the summer was that he went to Tottenham Hotspur.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

However, while doing business with rivals is never ideal, deciding to move the former Ajax star on for £55m was still the correct decision from the club.

After all, while he had a stellar first season in Claret and Blue, he was anonymous at best last year.

For example, in 35 appearances across all competitions last season, totalling 2721 minutes, the Accra-dud mustered up a dismal return of five goals and four assists.

In other words, he managed a dire average of a goal involvement every 3.88 games, or one every 302.33 minutes.

Appearances

36

35

Minutes

3148

2721′

Goals

14

5

Assists

10

4

Goal Involvements per Match

0.66

0.25

Minutes per Goal Involvement

131.16′

302.33′

For comparison’s sake, Jarrod Bowen scored 14 goals and provided ten assists in 36 games, totalling 3148 minutes.

That comes out to an average of a goal involvement every 1.5 games, or every 131.16 minutes.

Therefore, while he was capable of some magic moments, Kudus was not consistent enough to justify his place in the team, especially not when someone offers over £50m for him.

Anyway, in addition to Bowe, West Ham appear to have another superstar in the making on their hands this season.

West Ham's future star

It would be fair to say that, at the moment, West Ham’s biggest star is Bowen, but over the coming years, that title could shift to Freddie Potts.

Now, it is still so early on in the midfielder’s Hammers career, but there is a real sense around the fanbase that he could be something special.

Moreover, although he has just one competitive start for the club, he has plenty of experience with other sides, having made 38 appearances for Portsmouth and 43 for Wycombe Wanderers.

However, while his experiences in the Championship and League One help bolster his CV, it was really his performance against Newcastle that has excited the Hammers faithful.

It was a game in which the academy graduate put in a quintessential all-action midfield display.

Minutes

90′

Key Passes

2

Crosses

2

Passes

33/39

Touches

57

Tackles (Won)

3 (2)

Interceptions

1

Clearances

6

Recoveries

1

Ground Duels (Won)

4 (3)

From helping break down attacks to kickstarting them himself, the Englishman was near enough faultless in the middle of the park and totally vindicated the fans who have been calling for him to start for some time.

He would even have got himself a goal if he had worn one size smaller boots.

After the match, one analyst described the Barking-born star as possessing a “similar aura to Rice when he first came through” and as being blessed with a “supreme confidence” on and off the ball.

It certainly sounds like hyperbole, but it’s rather difficult to argue against such statements.

Ultimately, it’s still early in Potts’ career, but as things stand, he looks like he could become West Ham’s biggest star since Kudus.

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