Tag Futebol

With just a couple of games to go in the Premier League this season, Chelsea sit in a superb position to claim a top-five place and secure a Champions League spot.

The Blues are two points clear of sixth-placed Nottingham Forest, but could be set for a last-day showdown with the Reds at the City Ground – in what will undoubtedly be a nervy affair.

However, regardless of what happens between now and the end of the campaign, Enzo Maresca deserves tremendous credit for the work he’s done during his first year in charge at Stamford Bridge.

The Italian has achieved a 60% win rate in the role, with the prospect of winning the Europa Conference League firmly within their own grasp ahead of tonight’s semi-final second leg against Djurgarden.

However, given their previous work in the transfer market, it would be no surprise to see them spend big again to take the side to the next level under the manager’s guidance.

The latest on Chelsea’s hunt for new signings this summer

Since Maresca took the reins back in the summer of last year, he’s desperately been in the market for a new talisman to help lead the line and take Chelsea to the next level.

Liam Delap has been one player who’s been on their shortlist over the last couple of weeks, potentially moving to the Blues after his £30m relegation release clause became active.

However, he’s not the only attacking player in their sights, with AC Milan winger Rafael Leao once again emerging on their shortlist, according to one Spanish outlet.

The report claims that the Blues have begun talks with the 25-year-old’s representatives over a move to the club after registering 23 combined goals and assists across all competitions this campaign.

It also states that the Portuguese international is seen as a top-level reinforcement for Maresca, taking the side to the left level as a result – but it’s previously been reported he could cost in the region of €80m (£64m).

Why Chelsea’s £64m target would be a better signing than Gittens

Over the last couple of months, Chelsea have been strongly linked with a move to land Borussia Dortmund winger Jamie Gittens this summer, but no deal has yet been agreed with the Bundesliga side.

The 20-year-old has impressed in Germany this campaign, registering 12 goals and three assists to date, with other English sides such as Liverpool and Arsenal also interested in his signature.

The former Manchester City youngster looks almost certain to return to England this summer, but the Blues should look to swerve a deal despite their keen interest.

Such an interest in Leao proves the club are evaluating all options to improve their attacking department, needing to make the right call over whom to land to fill the void in the final third.

When comparing the Milan star’s stats with those of Gittens, he’s managed to outperform in numerous key areas, highlighting what a superb addition he would be to Maresca’s side.

Leao, who’s been labelled “world-class” by analyst Ben Mattinson, has registered more combined goals and assists than the Dortmund star’s, whilst also completing more take-ons, showcasing the threat he possesses in attacking areas.

He’s also managed to complete more progressive carries per 90, along with more passes completed into the final third – having the tools to aid other people in improving their own tallies in the final third.

How Leao compares to Gittens in 2024/25

Statistics (per 90)

Leao

Gittens

Games played

33

30

Goals & assists

16

11

Progressive passes

3.6

2.1

Passes into final third

1.5

0.8

Shot-creating actions

4.4

3.7

Take-ons completed

46%

45%

Aerials won

57%

41%

Stats via FBref

His all-round dominance doesn’t stop there, winning more of the aerial duels he’s entered, potentially offering Maresca an added option in central areas should they fail to land a new striker.

£64m may appear to be another hefty fee to splash out on a new signing, but Leao has proven in Serie A this campaign that he has all of the qualities needed to improve the Blues squad.

As a result of the latest transfer story, the hierarchy should look to forget about any deal to land Gittens in the coming months, subsequently putting all of their focus into a deal for the Milan star.

Related The perfect Jackson upgrade: Chelsea ready to bid for £76m "complete CF"

Chelsea are looking to add a new striker to their ranks this summer

Posts ByJoe Nuttall May 7, 2025

Liverpool have confirmed a new contract for Virgil van Dijk, fending off interest from the likes of Bayern Munich to keep the captain on Merseyside for two more years.

Liverpool seal new contracts for key stars

The Reds could officially win the Premier League this weekend in what has been a brilliant first campaign under Arne Slot. Should Arsenal suffer defeat against Ipswich Town on Sunday afternoon, Liverpool could seal the title with a win at Leicester City shortly after.

However, away from the pitch, a hot topic of conversation has been on the futures of star trio Mohamed Salah, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Van Dijk. Salah, as we know, has officially signed a new two-year contract at Anfield, whereas Alexander-Arnold looks set to join Spanish giants Real Madrid.

Meanwhile, Fabrizio Romano had recently said that Van Dijk is set to join Salah in signing a new Liverpool contract through until 2027, and talking recently, the skipper was asked about his pending new deal: “I think first, all the focus should be going to the Hillsborough anniversary. I think that’s the main thing and then we’ll see. The focus will still be on Leicester, but maybe there’s some news. I know … but I don’t know.

“I love the club, that’s pretty obvious. I think you can see that in the way I speak about the club, the way I work for the club in terms of what I do on the pitch on and off the pitch, and that will always be the same.”

Club have accepted "brilliant" star's exit as Liverpool line up Mane 2.0

He’s enjoyed an excellent season…

1 ByTom Cunningham Apr 16, 2025 Van Dijk signs new Liverpool deal worth over £40m

Bayern Munich were keen to sign Van Dijk on a free transfer, seeing the centre-back as a ‘unique opportunity to strengthen its defence with experience, leadership and proven quality’, but it has now been confirmed by Liverpool that Van Dijk has signed a new contract at Anfield.

Rumoured to be on £220,000-a-week beforehand, Van Dijk has become a Liverpool legend since joining from Southampton back in 2017, winning numerous trophies, and David Ornstein reports the new two-year deal is now worth £400,000-a-week.

Ornstein confirms there are no pay cut or break clauses, which will guarantee the Netherlands star is paid £41,600,000 through to the summer of 2027, by which time he’ll be 35. This is even more than the fee Liverpool paid to Brighton for star midfielder Alexis Mac Allister (£35m), but Reds fans will feel their captain deserves every penny.

Games

314

Goals

27

Assists

13

Yellow cards

25

Red cards

1

Minutes played

27,925

Trophies won

8

Talking after penning terms, Van Dijk said: “I’m very happy, very proud. There are so many emotions obviously that go through my head right now speaking about it. “It’s a proud feeling, it’s a feeling of joy. It’s just incredible. The journey I’ve had so far in my career, to be able to extend it with another two years at this club is amazing and I’m so happy.”

Van Dijk is now the highest paid defender in the top flight and will be the second-highest paid player in any position once Kevin De Bruyne departs Man City this summer, behind only Erling Haaland who sits on £500,000-a-week at the Etihad.

Australia were left feeling “hollow’ by how the 2023 series ended but it’s still more than 10 years since England toppled them outright

Valkerie Baynes10-Jan-20252:25

Charlie Dean: We don’t have as many Ashes scars in this team

Both protagonists enter this chapter of the Women’s Ashes with points to prove. It’s a scenario that might seem unlikely given that Australia have held the Ashes for a decade, but that’s not the full story.For starters, this year’s hosts are never done – it’s what’s made them dominant for so long. The fact that they were very nearly brought undone in the drawn 2023 series, should fuel Australia’s desire to win this one outright, while giving England confidence.Add disappointing T20 World Cup campaigns for each side less than three months ago, where Australia were knocked out in the semi-finals and England failed to progress beyond the group stage, and this weekend’s opening ODI in Sydney looms as a thriller – weather permitting.Related

• Jon Lewis: T20 World Cup exit was 'line in the sand' for England Women

• Calls for Women's Ashes to include three Tests

• Georgia Voll's field of dreams boosts healthy crop of Australian talent

• Rain cuts into Healy's prep as Filer slips and slides

England won both white-ball legs at home in 2023 to level the series eight points all after Australia had won the Test. With the four-day, pink-ball Test at the MCG coming at the end of this edition, England can put themselves in prime position beforehand, if they can match their earlier form in the three ODIs and three T20Is.Hoping to play a role is England’s ever-reliable seamer Kate Cross, just as she did on her Ashes debut in 2014, the last time her team won them on Australian turf.Cross is still managing her recovery from a back injury suffered during last month’s tour of South Africa but, on or off the field, she offers considerable wisdom, having taken three wickets in each innings as England won the Perth Test – then worth six points – to open that series.And, while last year’s Ashes provided plenty of learnings, she believes more recent events could be a factor.”Even the aftermath of the World Cup that’s just happened probably is playing a bit of a role in both teams – maybe both teams might feel like they’ve got a point to prove,” Cross told ESPNcricinfo.”What we gained from that 2023 Ashes was, when we play our best cricket, we can beat the best in the world, and that’s the confidence that you take from a series like that. It was more around the way that we played our cricket that pleased us all the most and what we were the most proud of. We came away from that series with a draw but two white-ball series to our name.”When you beat Australia in two white-ball series, of course it’s going to give you confidence but having said that, that was on home soil and it was 18 months ago, a lot’s changed since then. As much as you can draw confidence from it you also need to realise that this is a fresh start and it starts at nil-nil on Sunday.”ESPNcricinfo LtdCross is one of a handful of players remaining from the 2013-14 series alongside Danni Wyatt-Hodge, current captain Heather Knight, Amy Jones and Nat Sciver-Brunt from England and Australia’s Ellyse Perry, Alyssa Healy and Megan Schutt.Her over-riding memory of that time was the Test and she has tried to emulate that early performance in midst of a brutal nationwide heatwave ever since.”That was my debut so I didn’t have a clue how to play the red-ball format,” Cross said. “It’s just experience [that’s changed]. I’ve not tried to change my blueprint too drastically from that series in particular.”The December before that I’d made my white ball-debut. Obviously you want to evolve as a player, but you also have to remember what gets you to your international debuts and that was something that I’ve tried to remember and keep hold of throughout my career.”When I’m keeping it simple and I’m trying to be as consistent as I can as a bowler, then that’s when I’m at my best. I might not have the pace that some of the youngsters have got coming through, but I would always pride myself on being a reliable bowler for any captain. That’s where I found success in that Test match back in 2014.”Australia’s celebrations at the end of the 2023 were muted•Getty ImagesBack then, after winning the Test and the first ODI, England had one hand on the trophy but a mini fightback from Australia in the next two games meant that it wasn’t until the first T20I in Hobart that England retained the Ashes.Wyatt-Hodge doesn’t remember a lot about that series, but she does recall the defining moment – and the celebrations that followed. As Cross said, much has changed since then.Wyatt-Hodge was known as much then for her offspin as her batting potential, the latter having completely overgrown any designs she might have had on being a bowler, such has been her success as a powerful T20 opener and ODI finisher over years since.Long retired is Charlotte Edwards, who delivered the Ashes with her unbeaten 92 off just 59 balls as England won the first T20I to take an unassailable lead of 10 points to four with two games to spare.

“It was probably the weirdest feeling I’ve ever had because I’ve never really lost a game and then had to celebrate winning”Phoebe Litchfield on the 8-8 draw in 2023

“I don’t really have that many memories apart from Lotti getting all those runs down at Hobart,” Wyatt-Hodge said. “I remember running onto the pitch, celebrating with her, and then we had a great night out in Hobart after.”They’re my biggest memories of the Ashes in 2014. It’s been 10 years since we’ve got it so it’d be amazing if we did it again. It starts at nil-nil and it’s just really exciting. Especially for me, I don’t even know how many Ashes I’ve played in, but I’ve still got those nerves and excitement and that’s what it’s all about, isn’t it?”Australia, meanwhile, will be looking to avoid the emptiness of their 2023 celebrations, as described by young opener Phoebe Litchfield.”Both teams were probably left a bit hollow after that series, knowing we’d retained it but haven’t truly deserved it, so this time around we are definitely keen to win it outright,” Litchfield said this week. “It was probably the weirdest feeling I’ve ever had because I’ve never really lost a game and then had to celebrate winning. It was quite foreign.”And it was probably just because the team has succeeded so much, and the start we had last time, we were six points up, and only needed one more to retain it, let alone win the thing. By the end of it, it was a bit hollow.”1:51

Georgia Voll talks Women’s Ashes

Ashleigh Gardner, who starred in the 2023 Test with eight second-innings wickets and 12 for the match, believes Australia have made great strides in their one-day game, citing series victories over India 3-0 and New Zealand 2-0 this season.”I know with the ball, looking back in England, we probably didn’t execute well enough but we’ve done a lot talking,” Gardner said. “We’ve got some players who are playing different roles at the moment with ball in hand and with the bat as well, it’s making sure we are taking the game on and not worrying about the consequences.”Looking back more recently at the ODIs we’ve just played, I certainly think we did that, different people stood up at different times, and it’s super exciting to see where this team can be.”Both squads look similar to 2023 with a number of players on either side taking further steps in their development.Litchfield is firmly established in Australia’s top order and 23-year-old allrounder Annabel Sutherland is in prime form after back-to-back ODI centuries against India and New Zealand in December.Georgia Voll, who shone on her international debut in the series against India in the absence of injured captain Healy, further pressed her Ashes cause with a fifty opening alongside Healy for the Governor General’s XI in the washed-out warm-up on Thursday.Kate Cross is one of the survivors from England’s last Ashes victory•Getty ImagesHealy was unable to test her hopes of returning to wicketkeeping duties after a knee problem when play was abandoned in the 29th over of the 50-over-a-side contest, although she came through a practise session afterwards unscathed.After the previous Women’s Ashes in England drew bumper crowds, played alongside the men’s version amid high stakes when the home side dropped the first T20I, the hope is that the Australian public will be similarly captivated this time.Cricket Australia said this week that while venues, capacities and scheduling were different, the series was “tracking significantly above” the 2017-18 Women’s Ashes, with 2021-22 affected by Covid restrictions. “We expect this women’s international series will be the highest attended in Australian cricket history,” CA said.Cross said: “The beauty of the 2023 Ashes was that the narrative was created. We were six-nil down and then fought our way back to six-all and that created a lot of interest. Naturally having the men’s Ashes side by side to ours made cricket the talk of the town a little bit during that summer.”I’m hoping what doesn’t happen this time is that because the games are quite close together and it’s all played over such a short period that we lose that narrative. You want to give the public the time to realise what’s going on and get behind – obviously they’ll be getting behind the Aussie girls over in Australia – but you still want the crowds to be in.”With 10 days of cricket scheduled over 22 days from January 12 to February – three ODIs, three T20Is and the Test – this tale may not be epic in length but if history serves as it so often does in the Ashes, it could be epic all the same.

This is also a chance for the teams to ramp up their prep for the ODI World Cup qualifier, set to begin on June 18

Deivarayan Muthu03-Jun-2023

In focus: Coach Daren Sammy

Daren Sammy hasn’t even coached West Indies in one competitive game yet, but his selection has already been questioned in the Caribbean. Former West Indies batter Ramnaresh Sarwan is the latest to question Sammy’s appointment ahead of Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had led Jamaica Tallawahs to the CPL title last season.Related

• Hope set to continue as 'more aggressive' enforcer at No.4

• Sammy's checklist: get Russell, Narine, Hetmyer back

• Paul, Motie in West Indies squad for World Cup Qualifier

• UAE and West Indies to play three ODIs in Sharjah

Sammy is no stranger to taking charge of a side amid turmoil. More than a decade ago, Sammy had been named West Indies’ captain in a major shake-up after having played just eight Tests. He thrived as a leader, particularly in T20 cricket, marshalling West Indies to world titles in 2012 and 2016. Can he find similar success as a coach though he had never done this role in international cricket before?Sammy has already had “in-depth” discussions with Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis and Sunil Narine about their return to the West Indies side, but for now he has to contend with the absence of the seniors. Among them, Hetmyer had publicly made himself available for the upcoming World Cup qualifier later this month but was eventually left out of the squad.

Paul, Drakes return

Both Keemo Paul and Dominic Drakes have overcome injuries to come back into West Indies’ white-ball team. Odean Smith is also part of the squad for the UAE tour, but among the seam-bowling allrounders Paul seems to be the frontrunner to start at the World Cup qualifier along with Romario Shepherd, who has been rested for the UAE series following his IPL stint with Lucknow Super Giants. Paul was with the Super Giants in India, too, as a net bowler, having worked with the Super Giants franchise in the inaugural SA20.Paul had also proven his form and fitness for Guyana in the West Indies championship in March before heading to the IPL. Paul gives West Indies an extra new-ball option and also has T10 experience in the Emirates, having been part of Delhi Bulls in the most recent edition of the Abu Dhabi T10 league.As for Drakes, he can also bowl with the new ball and has T10 experience with Bulls, but he isn’t part of the West Indies side for the World Cup qualifier. Raymon Reifer is the other left-arm seam-bowling allrounder in the squad for the UAE trip.Keemo Paul was recently with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL as a net bowler•AFP / Getty Images

Sinclair, Cariah in the spin mix

With Akeal Hosein taking a break after his maiden IPL stint and fellow left-arm fingerspinner Gudakesh Motie injured, West Indies have recalled offspinner Kevin Sinclair. The 23-year-old last played for West Indies in August 2022, but he elbowed his way back into the side on the back of a strong domestic season, where had contributed handsomely with the bat as well.Sinclair also turned in all-round performances for West Indies A in Sylhet last month and is set to step into Hosein’s shoes in the UAE. He will likely be paired up with wristspinner Yannic Cariah, who had travelled with the West Indies senior team to South Africa and then more recently with the West Indies A team to Bangladesh. Roston Chase and Kavem Hodge are the other spin-bowling options for West Indies.If Sinclair starts for West Indies in Sharjah on June 4, he will have a short turnaround, having only finished his West Indies A duty in Bangladesh on June 2.Alick Athanaze was the top run-getter at the 2018 Under-19 World Cup in New Zealand•IDI/Getty

Will Athanaze make his WI debut?

The highly-rated Alick Athanaze is among four uncapped players in West Indies’ squad for the UAE series. Athanaze was the leading run-getter at the Under-19 World Cup in 2018, ahead of Shubman Gill, but early in his domestic career he was dropped by Windward Islands. That snub fuelled him to work even harder to become one of the mainstays of Windward Islands’ batting and the captain of the team.Athanaze had also recently captained Team Weekes in the Headley Weekes tri-series at home. Earlier in the Super50 Cup, West Indies’ 50-over domestic tournament, Athanaze was Windward Islands’ top scorer, with 292 runs in six innings at an average of 48.66 and strike rate of 96.05, and sixth highest overall.Athanze, though, isn’t part of West Indies’ side for the World Cup qualifier, but his left-handedness at the top or middle, especially in the absence of Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran, could help West Indies counter UAE legspinner Karthik Meiyappan and left-arm fingerspinner Aayan Khan.Vriitya Aravind is on the verge of becoming UAE’s highest run-getter in ODI cricket•Peter Della Penna

Aravind, Waseem, and UAE’s WI connection

The T10 and ILT20 leagues in the Emirates have somewhat helped UAE bridge the gap between their local tournaments and international cricket. The franchise leagues have also given UAE’s bright talents the chance to work with the West Indian stars. Both captain Muhammad Waseem and wicketkeeper Vriitya Aravind were part of the MI Emirates side in the ILT20, which also included Nicholas Pooran, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Fletcher. Waseem had emerged as MI Emirates’ second-highest scorer in the tournament, behind Pollard, while Aravind got the opportunity to pick the brains of Pooran.

The thrill of competition, the bond of respect @CRBrathwaite26 is seen sharing some words of advice with the UAE youngster, Vriitya Aravind, after their match.#DPWorldILT20 #ALeagueApart #MIEvGG pic.twitter.com/RYNc1pg3jZ

— International League T20 (@ILT20Official) February 2, 2023