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Birmingham City are keen to secure promotion this term and now appear to be on the verge of adding a critical January reinforcement, according to Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg.

Birmingham look to have significant January window

The race for the playoffs is heating up in the Sky Bet Championship, and Birmingham will be hoping to force themselves into the picture over the coming months, even if they have flattered to deceive after an indifferent campaign thus far.

Draws have been their downfall of late, not to mention a frustrating stalemate at home to Derby County on Boxing Day, followed by another at home to Southampton. Nevertheless, there is still plenty of optimism in the air at St Andrews.

Partly, that is due to the fact that the transfer window is now open, signifying that signings are likely to bolster a squad in need of new blood.

Basel star Philip Otele may be someone that is explored by the Blues this month, potentially adding a new layer to the forward areas amid Kyogo Furuhashi’s struggles in front of goal since joining from Rennes during the summer.

Birmingham City’s top scorers this season

Jay Stansfield

9

Demarai Gray

5

Seung-ho Paik

4

Marvin Ducksch

3

Lyndon Dykes

2

Clearly, there is a need for more attacking output to help Stansfield and Gray at the top end of the field. Nevertheless, defensive improvements are also needed to steady a side that has conceded in their last ten matches.

There is plenty to play for at the midway point in the campaign, and Tom Brady is likely to play a part in making funds available so that Birmingham can compete in the race for promotion, and they may now be on course to land an early arrival as they gear up for the season run-in.

Birmingham set to sign Kai Wagner

Taking to social media platform X, Florian Plettenberg has confirmed that Birmingham are close to signing Philadelphia left-back Kai Wagner after activating his release clause that is believed to sit at just over the £2 million mark.

After registering two goals and ten assists in 38 matches this term, he was a standout performer in Major League Soccer and is now set to join the Blues with a clear focus on their strategy to reach the Premier League, as is said to be behind the deal.

The German-born full-back has also featured for the likes of Schalke and Wurzburger Kickers in his homeland, and he would likely come directly into the fold as a direct competitor for Alex Cochrane.

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With the window underway, Birmingham appear to have done their homework on potential signings and aren’t wasting any time in putting their plans into action.

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	Form is temporary: Kevin Pietersen came good when it mattered after his first poor run of form © Getty Images

Alastair Cook – 5
Provided important ballast in both innings of the Wellington win, but was subdued for the rest of the series, as New Zealand’s seamers probed a familiar failing outside off stump. His catching at Hamilton, however, was a revelation – particularly the screeching swipe at point that dismissed Stephen Fleming in the first innings. At Wellington, he became the youngest England cricketer to register 2000 Test runs, so there’s plenty time to iron out his technical glitches.Michael Vaughan – 5
A series tally of 123 runs at 20.50 will be seriously troubling to England’s captain, who never really looked out of form but somehow succumbed to more than his fair share of aberrations. His departure triggered or intensified collapses in each of the three Tests, never more drastically than on the first morning at Napier, when England slumped to 4 for 3 on a blameless pitch. As a leader, however, he re-established his credentials thanks to England’s come-from-behind victory, in particular through the ruthless sacking of his senior bowlers, Steve Harmison and Matthew Hoggard.Andrew Strauss – 6
Saved his career at the last ditch in Napier, an achievement which speaks volumes about the hidden resolve that lurks within such a phlegmatic character. Yet another of the top six who was there or thereabouts all series – a pair of pretty 40s kept his pot boiling in the first two Tests, but were hardly the returns to justify his reinstatement ahead of Owais Shah. A lifetime-best 177 was much more the ticket. He’s still not quite as compact as in his 2004 heyday, but the confidence that comes with such success cannot be underestimated.Kevin Pietersen – 7
Produced the most domineering innings of the series, just when England most desperately needed it, and in so doing, ended the most worrying slump of his short and spectacular career. He’d gone ten innings without so much as a half-century until he climbed into a counter-offensive at Napier, and turned the tide of the Test. Prior to that, Pietersen’s fortunes had bottomed out in the second innings at Wellington, where he was run out for 17 via a deflection off the bowler’s fingertips. After that sort of misfortune, someone was doubtless going to pay.Ian Bell – 6
The fluency of his second-innings hundred at Napier took the breath away, and once again begged the question, why can’t he back himself to play with such freedom when the pressure is really on? According to Cricinfo’s scorers, he laid bat on ball for each of his first 99 deliveries of the innings, and middled the majority of them, particularly when driving through the covers or down the ground. He did much the same for his only other half-century of the trip – a carefree 54 not out at Hamilton while the contest crumbled around him. England have invested a lot of faith in his development, and rightly so. But he needs to start setting the agenda soon, rather than following the leader.

	The toughest role: Tim Ambrose started his England career in positive style; not the challenge begins © Getty Images

Paul Collingwood – 6
Faultlessly middle-of-the-road throughout the tour. He wasn’t best pleased to be demoted to the No. 6 position, only a year after recording an Ashes double-century, but responded with three half-centuries in his first four innings of the series, including the anchor role in the pivotal partnership of the tour, with Tim Ambrose at Wellington. Hasn’t reached three figures since the Durham Test in June, ten matches ago, which will bother him. He had a hit-and-miss time in the slip cordon, not least when Ross Taylor edged onto his calf in the second Test, but he’s still among the safest of England’s new breed of catchers.Tim Ambrose – 8
Without his fearless counterattacking century at Wellington, England would have been dead and buried before the halfway point of the series. It was a hugely influential performance from a man in the most scrutinised position in the team, and he responded as if he didn’t have a nervous bone in his body. His wicketkeeping was also sound – if a shade on the silent side – and though he had a couple of wobbles at Wellington, in particular a missed stumping off Jacob Oram, he looks set for a long and prosperous stint in the side. Mind you, much the same was said of Geraint Jones and Matt Prior after their early-career hundreds. An impressive start, but when you’re the England wicketkeeper, there’s no place to hide.Stuart Broad – 8
A ballsy performance from a cricketer of immense talent and promise. As an up-and-coming fast bowler, Broad’s game has an ugly streak that belies his angelic features, and that trait proved invaluable in inhospitable conditions on the penultimate day at Napier, when he more or less carried his tiring pace-bowling colleagues. His selection ahead of Harmison was a punt that paid off handsomely for England, and his abilities as a No. 8 batsman cannot be underestimated either. Without his gritty 42 in the first innings at Napier, Pietersen might not have had the faith and patience to haul England back into the game.Ryan Sidebottom – 9
The player of the series by a country mile. Sidebottom excelled himself in each and every Test – a hat-trick at Hamilton, closely followed by his maiden ten-wicket haul. Another vital five-for to wrap up the Wellington Test, and then his defining spell at Napier, when he bowled unchanged between lunch and tea on the second day, taking five wickets in the session and seven in the innings – yet another career-best performance. He has surged past 50 wickets in his first full year of international cricket, and is hungry to make up for his six years in the wilderness. His batting at No. 9 was not to be under-estimated either. England have unearthed a very complete cricketer.

	Leader of the pack: Ryan Sidebottom was England’s outstanding bowler with 24 wickets © Getty Images

James Anderson – 7
His recall for the second Test, at the expense of Hoggard, was controversial, but when Anderson responded with a wonderful spell of hostile, fast, full-length swing bowling, England must have wondered how they had coped without him in the five years since his debut. It all went a bit flat thereafter, sadly. An untimely ankle injury, sustained while playing football, reduced his effectiveness and at Napier, he was cannon fodder even for the desperate Matthew Bell. When it swings, Anderson makes it sing, but all too often he has no Plan B.Monty Panesar – 6
Capped his series with a seventh five-wicket haul, but Monty’s belated success couldn’t quite gloss over a disappointing tour. He was unlucky with dropped catches at Wellington, but didn’t exactly earn the right to complain with the shoddiness of his own fielding, which regressed horribly after a season of notable improvement. Nevertheless, he is closing in on 100 Test victims, and he’s only just completed two years in the team. It’s not a bad return at all, and compares very favourably with his counterpart, Vettori, the closest thing to a role model on the international circuit.Steve Harmison – 2
Loose and listless in his solitary outing, it was no surprise when Harmison was singled out as a scapegoat for England’s first-Test defeat. England have been unable to shake him from his torpor, and when Vaughan offered him a meagre four overs in the second innings in Hamilton, the graffiti was all over the dressing-room wall. Harmy, go home.Matthew Hoggard – 4
Not quite as culpable as his colleague, but he still paid the price for his worst Test performance since the tour of Sri Lanka four years ago. Down on pace, and wayward as well, he looked like a man who needed more overs under his belt. County cricket will offer him the chance for redemption next summer, but such is the success that Sidebottom is currently enjoying in that crucial holding role, it’s hard to see how he’ll force his way back without a spate of injuries.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Graeme Smith roars his delight after htting the winning runs © Getty Images

South Africa have not always played like a recent world No. 1 team during this World Cup, but at Bridgetown they were at their disciplined and incisive best, rolling England for 154 before disdainfully racing to their target in under 20 overs. Andrew Hall’s career-best 5 for 18 blew away the middle order after Andre Nel’s fire created the early breakthrough, before Graeme Smith minced England’s attack to lead South Africa’s march into the semi-finals.There were two teams involved in this match but only one bothered to turn up. It was a virtual quarter-final, yet South Africa crushed England as though they were one of the minnows. For much of the past month they have played like it. While being dismissed on a decent surface in 48 overs was bad enough, it was the manner in which Graeme Smith flayed the bowling that finally proved what has long been expected; England were a broken team.Smith and AB de Villiers launched South Africa to their fifty in the sixth over; it took England 16. Smith’s fifty came off 34 balls with just nine dot balls; it had earlier taken Michael Vaughan 20 deliveries to get off the mark. But it wasn’t just the bare numbers, South Africa’s intent was clear from the start.Kevin Pietersen’s wicket, a leading edge off the fiery Andre Nel for just 3, was a huge individual moment after all the pre-match hype but it was Hall’s spell after the second drinks break that sank England. He claimed four wickets in nine balls which, alongside Jacques Kallis’s removal of Andrew Strauss created a shuddering collapse from 111 for 3 to 121 for 8. His final figures were South Africa’s best in the World Cup.It was a masterful lesson in the art of reverse swing as he became virtually unplayable against England batsmen who were stuck on their crease. The major collapse rewarded South Africa for a near faultless performance in the field. Every bowling change worked, each field setting stymied England and the evidence of the hold they imposed was the 13 fours and single six in the innings.The total had crept to nine in the eighth over and Ian Bell succumbed to the pressure as he pulled Charl Langeveldt to square leg. No sooner had Vaughan seemed able to up the tempo Nel struck with his second ball as the England captain played round a straight delivery.England were 37 for 2 and suddenly the tension around the Kensington Oval rose a few levels; Pietersen entered the fray. The spectacle lasted 15 balls, Pietersen couldn’t pierce the field and spooned a catch to mid-off as he tried to loft over the leg side. Smith held the catch, a fine effort diving forward, and the whole South African team embraced. It was a wonder Nel didn’t burst a blood vessel.

Andrew Hall was unstoppable once the ball started reverse swinging © AFP

As the mini-drama unfolded, another, more understated, South African was trying to hold the innings together. Strauss opened his boundary account with a sweetly struck pull for six and with Paul Collingwood, England’s crisis manager, the fifth-wicket pair had appeared to weather the worst of the storm. Their stand was worth 58 in 16 overs, while not taking the game away from South Africa it at least laid a foundation.But it was a base made of quicksand and England were rapidly sinking. Strauss slashed to a wide slip and the door opened for Hall. Collingwood was trapped on the crease, Andrew Flintoff’s shocking form was exposed by his static feet, Paul Nixon pushed away from his body and Sajid Mahmood prodded an edge into his stumps.South Africa don’t have a great history of securing must-win World Cup matches and the openers made it blatantly clear they didn’t want to take their time. Mahmood’s first two overs went for 28 as de Villiers brought out his full array, including one audacious whip off his hips. Even Flintoff was greeted by a clubbed on drive from Smith and the experiment with Monty Panesar lasted two expensive overs.Flintoff kept pounding in and ended de Villiers’s 35-ball charge with an thin edge to the keeper, although by now Smith was in Twenty20 mode and anything less than four was a disappointment. England’s fielding fell to bits with Mahmood producing a feeble effort on the rope and, generally, there was the demeanour of a team who’d rather have been anywhere but Bridgetown. They’ll soon get their wish. South Africa, though, have reignited their campaign and shown they are a force to be reckoned with.

Andre Nel and Adam Gilchrist exchange opinions at Durban © Getty Images

Former England captain Tony Greig has accused the Australians of the worst sledging he has come across during the second Test at Durban earlier this week.”I have never heard anything like it,” Greig told a lunch at a Johannesburg cricket club on Wednesday. “I thought it might have something to do with the fact that we had a very, very good stump mic. We turned that stump mic up and we could hear every word out in the centre and it was unbelievable. It really was absolutely unbelievable. The Aussies love it.”The Test, which Australia won, contained several moments of controversy. It is reported in South Africa that the home side are considering an approach to the ICC regarding the handling of the bad-light issue in the final session, while it is also claimed that the ICC might be considering disciplinary action against Andre Nel after his outburst on the fourth evening.”The whole thing is getting out of hand,” Greig continued. “The time has seriously come for the authorities in the game to start to rethink the question of what players are allowed to say on the field.” He added that the broadcasters had to turn down the volume on the stump microphones after concerns about what was being said.

Durham 298 and 244 for 6 (Breese 79*, Hussey 51, Benkenstein 51, Caddick 6-98) defeated Somerset 252 and 288 by four wickets
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Somerset’s Andy Caddick took 6 for 98 but it wasn’t enough to prevent Durham winning a seesaw encounter at Stockon-on-Tees by four wickets. Durham romped to their third successive victory this term by chasing down 243 after Somerset put on 115 for the last two wickets. Caddick again sparkled for the visitors; he smashed 54 from No. 10 and Simon Francis added an unbeaten 20 to set Durham a stiff test. But the home side’s batsmen passed with flying colours; Gareth Breese easing to an unbeaten 79. Mike Hussey and Dale Benkenstein each struck 51 and even though Caddick was on fire, it was Durham who ended up celebrating.
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Essex romped home by six wickets against Leicestershire at Chelmsford. Andy Flower struck an unbeaten 74 to steer the home side to victory after Alistair Cook’s blistering 59 from 69 balls set them on course. They came into the final day needing 190 to secure victory and were wobbling a little at 43 for 2, Will Jefferson and Ravinder Bopara the fallers. But they lost just two more wickets on their way to success – Ronnie Irani made 34 before Ottis Gibson trapped him lbw and Cook eventually fell to Phil DeFreitas for 59 – while Flower strode on undaunted.
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An unbroken opening stand of 132 between Matthew Wood and Phil Jaques helped Yorkshire rout Northamptonshire by ten wickets at Headingley. Northants added 60 for their last three wickets, leaving Yorkshire to chase 129 for victory. Wood and Jaques obliged, with Wood cracking six fours and three sixes on his way to 56 from 61 deliveries. Neither was Jaques sedate: his 70 came from 60 balls and included 12 fours as the target was knocked off in 23 overs. Deon Kruis dismissed Johan Louw to end with a match haul of 8 for 89 and Ian Harvey took the other two wickets to finish off Northants’ innings.
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Lancashire’s Gary Keedy took six wickets to crush Derbyshire by an innings and 72 runs at Old Trafford. Keedy, the slow left-armer, ripped through Derbyshire’s defences to grab 6 for 60 as their tail folded. Derbyshire had been in with a good shout of hanging on for a draw when they resumed on 81 for 1, Stephen Stubbings going on to make 60. But they lost their last seven wickets for 49 runs and the writing was on the wall.

Scorecard

Simon Katich:hit back for NSW with 71 not out © Getty Images

Ryan Campbell and Marcus North, who both scored 87, gave Western Australia early control of their Pura Cup match against New South Wales. However, in reply to WA’s 6 for 474 declared, NSW closed well-placed at 2 for 204 on day two with Simon Katich on 71 not out.NSW made a good start in their first innings, and Greg Mail had a slice of luck when he was given a life on 17 after being caught low down at backward point by Chris Rogers off a Ben Edmondson no-ball. Katich then carried on the good platform, hitting 11 fours and a six, to just about finish things on even terms.Justin Langer earlier closed his side’s innings after North was caught by Nathan Bracken at third man off Stuart Clark shortly after lunch. Campbell earlier hit seven fours and four sixes in a cavalier innings, but injured his groin attempting a sweep during his pulsating knock. Campbell, the former Australian one-day wicketkeeper, was not expected to keep for the rest of the match, and team-mate Michael Hussey had the gloves on.The Waugh twins continued a lamentable final first-class match at Perth with Mark Waugh dropping North on 32 off Stuart MacGill. It was the fourth dropped catch of the innings with Steve Waugh grassing two chances yesterday, as well as a Clark blunder with Rogers on 50.After resuming at 3 for 278, Chris Rogers faced just two balls before Clark found a path through his defences after six hours at the crease. But Rogers’s dismissal hastened the arrival of Campbell, who showed the dazzling form that has seen him play international cricket in recent seasons. He took the long handle to a NSW attack which had regularly beaten the bat on the opening day for little reward.Matthew Nicholson, the former WA player who moved back to his home state in the off-season, had a forgettable return to Perth. Campbell smashed him for 16 runs off three balls in one over, but his innings slowed with a century in sight and he was bowled trying to sweep MacGill.North took up the mantle as the aggressor by dominating his partnership with Kade Harvey, and he swept MacGill for six off the first ball after lunch. They put on 75 runs for the sixth wicket before North fell chasing quick runs.

Former Guyana and West Indies spin bowling legend Lance Gibbs has been contracted by the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to be the technical advisor at a five-day camp for orthodox spin bowlers (sometimes called finger spinners) in Antigua, starting next Monday.Gibbs once held the world record for most Test wickets (309) and was the first spinner to pass 300 wickets in Tests."The aim of the camp is to provide some of the region’s most promising orthodox bowlers with the fundamentals of a good bowling action and to examine and analyse techniques of effective spin bowling," said Dr Michael Seepersaud, the WICB’s chief cricket development officer."It also continues our programme of involving outstanding former players more and more in the development of our cricket."We believe that greats like Lance and Andy Roberts, who recently conducted a training camp for our fast bowlers, has much to offer and you will see more of this."Another former West Indies off-spinner, Clyde Butts, who holds the record for the most wickets in the regional first-class championship, will be the coach at the camp.Critical areasThe young spinners will cover a number of critical areas identified by Gibbs, including: the grip, run-up and delivery, effective use of height and body, detecting and exploiting errors of batsmen, field-setting strategies, flight, loop and spin, and improving the spinner’s armoury."We have targeted a number of promising spin bowlers but a few had prior territorial commitments and could not make the camp," Dr Seepersaud said."The camp has been timed to coincide with the beginning of the West Indies first-class championship and it is hoped that a number of these bowlers will be given an opportunity during the championship to expose their talent."Even if this opportunity is not available now, they would have learnt from the best and would have acquired skills that will serve them well in the future."Seepersaud noted there was another strategic reason for the camp. He said the idea for the camp came out of a casual analysis of the weaknesses of the Australian team.Australia are due to arrive in the Caribbean in April for a series of four Tests and seven limited-overs internationals."We noticed that as far back as the 1950s, the former great England off-spinner Jim Laker was effective against the Aussies and then the wiles of Lance troubled them in the 1960s and Harbhajan Singh destroyed them recently in India," Seepersaud said."We thought, therefore, that this was a good opportunity to provide our promising finger spinners with the skills and techniques that would improve their efficiency and effectiveness and, hopefully, enhance their chances for selection."The invitees:Ryan Austin, Anderson Sealy, Jason Smith (Barbados); Kevin Bazil, Zaheer Mohammed (Guyana); Chaka Hodge, Orson Nurse, Larry Joseph (Leeward Islands); Lorenzo Ingram, Philip Keating, Wayne Simpson (Jamaica); Amit Jaggernauth, Rodney Sooklal (Trinidad and Tobago); Dwayne Leverock (Bermuda); Shane Shillingford (Windward Islands)

Somerset skipper Jamie Cox is keen to take advantage of the fact that Yorkshire and Surrey are not playing in the fresh round of the CricInfo Championship.Somerset are currently third in the Championship and hope to close the gap on the two pace setters when they meet bottom club Northants at Wantage Road.”It’ll be good if we can get closer to them,” Cox explained. “We managed to get 10 points last week (against Yorkshire), and we batted well. We’re going okay and sitting where we need to be sitting. It’s about getting steady points.”Cox will miss the next two or three weeks with his broken thumb, leaving Somerset without several first team players to a mixture of England calls and injury, but rival captain, David Ripley, is taking nothing for granted.”Somerset are a good side. They have quite a small squad but always seem very together and close-knit. Obviously they’ll be missing (Andy) Caddick and (Marcus) Trescothick, but they’ve got guys to come in and take their chances.”Kent are level on points with Somerset, and entertain Leicestershire at Canterbury.”Leicestershire are playing good cricket and I expect them to come down here full of confidence,” Kent captain Matthew Fleming said. “They have shown they’ve got great strength in depth and they’ve got good match-winners with the bat and the ball.”Aftab Habib returns to strengthen the visitors’ squad.Middlesex and Warwickshire meet at Edgbaston in a top of the table Second Division clash, with Mohammed Sheikh’s medium pace expected to be preferred to the off-spin of former captain, Neil Smith, for the hosts.Middlesex’s coach, John Emburey, is expecting a tight encounter. “It’s a top-of-the-table clash and it’s not going to be easy,” he said. “They play some positive cricket and try to get their runs quickly. I’d imagine it’ll be a very close match between two evenly-matched sides.”Meanwhile Durham travel to West End to play Hampshire. Stephen Harmison is hoping to be fit for the visitors, but Nick Hatch has been included in the squad as cover. James Brinkley is away with the Scottish squad in Canada for the 2001 ICC Trophy.”Durham have been playing very well in the one-day championship and they are far more consistent in the championship this year,” Tim Tremlett, Hampshire’s director of cricket, said.Gloucestershire will have to cope without Jon Lewis who has a bad back, but Ben Gannon is expected to play as they travel to Derby. The home side welcome back Paul Aldred and Nathan Dumelow.Kevin Pietersen will miss Nottinghamshire’s home match with Sussex suffering from a pinched nerve in his back. Ex-Test player, 37-year-old John Morris is the man likely to replace him.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca has been linked with a high-profile move to Man City recently, and the Blues are believed to be thinking about replacements behind-the-scenes.

Their fairly inconsistent season under Maresca has left them still sitting in fourth after 17 matches, with Chelsea most recently fighting back to secure a hard-fought 2-2 draw at Newcastle United.

The Italian has faced mounting scrutiny in recent weeks amid a fairly uninspiring run of just two wins from their last six in all competitions, including a damaging 3-1 defeat at Leeds, a loss to Atalanta in the Champions League and lifeless stalemate at Bournemouth.

Saturday’s 2-2 comeback at St James’ Park offered some encouragement after the Blues recovered from two goals down to salvage a point, but the performance highlighted the defensive fragility that has plagued Maresca’s side throughout 25/26.

The manager has rotated a lot due to injuries and tactical experimentation so far, more than any other Premier League manager, and questions remain about whether Maresca’s squad possesses the experience and quality to challenge Arsenal, Man City and Aston Villa at the summit.

In the last week, doubts have also begun to surface around Maresca’s long-term future.

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The reliable David Ornstein broke news recently that City have identified him as a possible heir to Pep Guardiola, considering this could be the legendary Spaniard’s final season at Eastlands.

While Maresca has publicly denied any interest in a return to City, where he once served as Guardiola’s assistant during the treble-winning season, the 45-year-old caused quite a stir with his comments before Chelsea’s 2-0 win over Everton.

The tactician claimed the 48 hours leading up to that game were the ‘worst’ of his career at Stamford Bridge, citing a lack of support, and with no context, many have speculated over tension with the Chelsea hierarchy.

Reports suggest Chelsea have candidates in mind to replace Maresca if he does leave, with one Spanish media source now claiming they could turn to an ex-defender of theirs.

Chelsea identify Filipe Luis as 'perfect fit' to replace Enzo Maresca

Indeed, it is now believed that Chelsea have turned their attention to Flamengo manager Filipe Luis as a ‘perfect fit’ to take over should Maresca depart.

The young Brazilian coach has enjoyed a spectacular start to his managerial career in Rio de Janeiro.

Luis has transformed Flamengo into a dominant force both domestically and abroad since taking charge, winning multiple titles, including the Copa Libertadores, and guiding them to the final of the FIFA Intercontinental Cup, where they were only beaten on penalties by PSG.

The 40-year-old’s rapid success has attracted interest from several major European clubs, with Chelsea identifying him as a firm candidate to potentially step into Maresca’s shoes.

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Chelsea’s main obstacle in securing Luis has been his contract situation at Flamengo, with the Brazilian Serie A side expected to offer him a lucrative extension following their recent success.

However, reports suggest negotiations have cooled unexpectedly, opening a window of opportunity for European suitors to make their move.

Chelsea are reportedly prepared to advance on a pre-agreement that would secure him for the future, with Stamford Bridge chiefs believing his profile fits seamlessly with their project.

For now though, Maresca remains focused on Chelsea’s upcoming fixtures as he attempts to guide the Blues back into title contention.

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Scorecard

	Hashim Amla’s brisk 103 steered South Africa to 329 for 9 on the first day of their warm-up game © Getty Images

A century from Hashim Amla and Mark Boucher’s unbeaten 64 boosted the South Africans to 329 for 8 at close on the first day of their three-day warm-up match against a Bangladesh Cricket Board XI in Fatullah.Both teams named 12 players [with 11 fielding and 11 batting], which also happens to be the strength of South Africa’s squad at present, with opener Neil McKenzie and left-arm spinner Robin Peterson due to join later. Tamim Iqbal was not part of the BCB XI, still suffering from a broken thumb, and veteran Habibul Bashar was also not included.Graeme Smith, the South African captain, opted to bat after winning the toss. JP Duminy, who starred in the middle-order during South Africa’s ODI cleansweep over West Indies, opened the batting along with his captain. However, both failed to make an impact and were snared early by left-arm bowler Syed Rasel, who had missed most of the Bangladesh’s New Zealand tour due to a dislocated left collar bone.South Africa recovered from 35 for 2 thanks to a century stand between Amla and Jacques Kallis. Amla did the bulk of the the scoring during his stint at the crease, he scored 103 off just 120 deliveries as South Africa moved from 5 for 1 to 169 for 4, when he fell to Enamul Haque jnr. Haque also dismissed Kallis and finished the day with figures of 2 for 71.Ashwell Prince and AB de Villiers got themselves some batting practice, but both perished in the 30s. Farhad Reza staked his claim for a Test debut with three wickets, removing de Villiers before getting rid of Johan Botha and Morne Morkel for ducks. Mark Boucher fought hard and added an unbroken 55-run stand with fast-bowing sensation Dale Steyn, who contributed 19.This is South Africa’s only practice game ahead of the two-Test series, and a few quick runs on the second day could be handy for the visitors before letting the bowlers get their rhythm against a line-up which contains several national team regulars.