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He has moved around the batting order of late, but being a finisher looks like Maxwell’s role in India and Sri Lanka next year

Andrew McGlashan17-Aug-2025

Glenn Maxwell reverse sweeps over short third•Getty Images

Ahead of the deciding T20I against South Africa in Cairns, Glenn Maxwell was asked whether having retired from ODIs had given him pause to consider an overall end date for his international career. The answer, delivered in good spirits, was a succinct “No.”If he so desires, next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka would be a fitting stepping-off point for one of the format’s great players. It’s difficult to believe he could go for two more years even though the 2028 edition will be co-hosted by Australia, alongside New Zealand.Related

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On Saturday evening he showed what he can still bring with the bat, expertly guiding an uncertain chase over the line with a masterful unbeaten 62 off 36 balls, having earlier snaffled a match-changing catch at long-on to cut off Dewald Brevis’ destructive innings. When calling time on ODIs, Maxwell cited being unable to sustain 50 overs on the field but, as a couple of recent parried boundary catches have reinforced, he remains capable of spectacular moments.Australia are shaping up well ahead of the World Cup and Maxwell will be a vital component of their bid to win the title for just the second time, in all three facets of the game. His offspin is a crucial cog in the balance of the side and could well be a powerplay option at the World Cup.With Australia tweaking their batting order in the last two series against South Africa and West Indies, Maxwell has moved around the line-up. He made 47 off 18 balls opening in St Kitts last month and was used in three different spots in this latest series. There will likely always be a degree of situational flexibility, but No. 6 and 7 looks like his home for the World Cup tilt.There are times with the bat when Maxwell looks uncomfortable and there will, as ever, continue to be moments that exasperate: the “oh, why did you do that, Maxi?” shot. But then there are the times, such as the decider against South Africa, when he gets it spot on and everything comes off.Glenn Maxwell has produced some spectacular pieces of fielding in the last few weeks•AFP/Getty ImagesThe way he backed himself to finish the chase was a window into a brilliant mind. Declining singles – even, briefly, when a very capable No. 8 in Ben Dwarshuis was with him – and trying to read what Lungi Ngidi would bowl in the final over as he won the game by reversing a full toss over short third having turned down runs off the previous two deliveries to leave four from needed two.”I was thinking about doing it probably the ball before,” Maxwell said. “[But] I just felt like he was going to bowl a slower ball the ball before so I could knock it into midwicket for two. As soon as it was pace on, I realised I’d probably made a mistake in not going. I hit it too well to get back for two so I was like, that’s fine, I’ll hit one of the last two balls, hopefully for four. I just felt like he wasn’t going to go to the slower ball.”Even though I was able to get one off him earlier, I didn’t think it was going to be as easy. I think the point was just a little bit finer. I thought I needed pace on to get it there. As soon as I saw it coming out of his hand, I was just like, get any bat on it and it’s going to travel. Got the ball I wanted and was able to execute.”Explaining his tactics when Dwarshuis came in during the 14th over, with Australia needing 51 off 37 balls, Maxwell said it was so he could take advantage of the shorter boundary with the wind.”I wanted to control that over as well as I could and then trust [Dwarshuis] from the other end where he had a few more options,” he said. “I think if I had taken a single the first ball [with him] just starting his innings, it might have been tough for him to get going or get off strike straight away.”I thought it might have been a bit of a risk if I was at the non-striker’s end for five balls of that over hitting to the shorter side as a right-hander. In the end, I think I got 11 off it, which is a win. It kept the momentum going. From then on, I trusted him basically [at] both ends.”When Maxwell took 15 off Kagiso Rabada’s final over – launching a six from a free hit after a huge beamer had slipped out of Rabada’s grip – the game looked decided with Australia needing 12 off 12. However, Corbin Bosch provided a twist with a double-wicket maiden in the 19th over. But Adam Zampa had done his part by surviving two deliveries and Maxwell had the strike. He knew exactly what he needed to do.

Stats highlights from the penultimate day of the Oval Test

Sampath Bandarupalli03-Aug-20251:44

Bangar: India could have bowled straighter to Root

24 – Hundreds for Joe Root in Tests in England, the most by a batter in a single country. He goes past Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Mahela Jayawardene, who have 23 centuries each at home.Root now has 39 tons in Test cricket, the fourth-most by a batter, behind Sachin Tendulkar (51), Kallis (45) and Ponting (41).13 – Number of hundreds for Root in Tests against India. Only Don Bradman has more Test tons against an opponent – 19 against England, while Sunil Gavaskar also has 13 against West Indies.Related

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50 – Innings Harry Brook has taken to record ten Test hundreds; the least for any batter in the last 70 years. Overall, only eight batters have taken fewer innings to score their tenth hundred in Tests.13 – Fifty-plus scores for Root in the fourth innings of a Test match, the joint-most by any batter, alongside Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Graeme Smith and Chris Gayle.7 – Brook’s 91-ball century in this fifth Test is the seventh-fastest in the fourth innings of a Test match. The two fastest fourth-innings hundreds have been by England players – Gilbert Jessop off 76 balls against Australia in 1902 and Jonny Bairstow off 77 balls against New Zealand in 2022.1:58

Bangar: Brook largely responsible for what unraveled

21 – Number of individual hundreds by England and India batters in the five Tests, the joint-most for a Test series, alongside the five-match series between West Indies and Australia in 1955.9 – Number of batters with 400-plus runs, the most for a Test series. The previous highest was eight during the Frank Worrell Trophy in 1975-76, and the 1993 Ashes.19 – Century partnerships in this series are the joint-most for a Test series. The 1957-58 series between West Indies and Pakistan and The Wisden Trophy in 1967/68 also had 19 century stands.The 195-run partnership between Root and Brook was the 85th century-stand in all Test cricket involving Root. Only Rahul Dravid (88) and Tendulkar (86) have been involved in more century stands, while Ponting was also part of 85.100 – Total number of hundreds for England in Tests at The Oval. It is the second venue where England batters have a century of tons in Tests, after Lord’s (141). Australia have three such venues – Melbourne (116), Adelaide (110) and Sydney (108).

Opener reflects on his stellar form for country and in IPL, and his desire to improve even further

Matt Roller23-Sep-2025Phil Salt is a man who cares about detail. Nobody has scored as many runs as quickly, either in the IPL or in an England T20 shirt, but his outwardly daring approach is underpinned by diligent preparation. He views the popular perception that his approach boils down to ‘see ball, hit ball’ as a misapprehension, and one that has started to become grating.”I saw something the other day that summed it up quite well: ‘We are quite suspicious of the shortest format in this country.’ I don’t know why that is, but sometimes it can be viewed with a bit of a hit-and-giggle mentality,” Salt says, stirring a flat white and reflecting on a year which has cemented his status as one of the world’s premier T20 openers. “It really isn’t, is it?”Test cricket still reigns supreme in England, but Salt has not reached the point he has by treating T20 as an afterthought. He can be a fiery character on the field and describes himself as fiercely competitive, yet spends hours preparing for each game by studying footage and analysis with a notebook to hand. “Everything’s got to have due process behind it,” he explains.Related

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“It really is down to you… I’ll get my iPad and have a look through the footage. More often than not, I’ll grab someone who I know [to discuss it with] and then I’ll go through the footage myself too, just with my notebook, and write down what I think is important in that moment. I’ll then go away from it for a bit, and come back and have another look at it.”Salt requests bowlers’ pitch-maps to work out where they concede their runs, and tries to work out how they sequence their overs: “Where they go in the first few balls, that’s a massive tell. You’ve got to look at the whole picture: where they feel most comfortable going at the death, what their pace-off variations are, and when they bowl them. What does a bowler go to straight after he’s been hit for a boundary?”It also looks different if you compare venues. On a wicket like Cardiff, where there’s a bit in it for the bowlers, there’s no use looking at what they did when the ball was flying in Mumbai because it’s not relevant. You have to really zone in on some guys… You can only know that by drilling into the analysis and what they’ve done in the past.”Salt has worked on his off-side play to build his scoring options in the powerplay•Getty ImagesThere is also a predictive element to Salt’s preparation: “Even the smaller stuff, like watching the opposition in the warm-up, you get a massive tell for where people are, and what they’re feeling most comfortable with on that day. When you see someone bowling five or six yorkers before a game, that could be someone you’re lining up at the death.”It’s constantly a moving picture but it’s all about trying to get as much information in as possible, without clouding your own mindset, and just remember that regardless, they could bowl anything at you. But you’ve got to be on top of your game to react to it… The end goal is that I want to know exactly where the opposition’s at, at all times.”Salt has been England’s standout player in their short block of end-of-season T20 cricket. The last two weeks have brought him 259 runs off 130 balls against South Africa and Ireland, including a career-best 141 not out in England’s record total of 304 for 2 on his home ground at Old Trafford; he has now scored four of England’s eight T20I hundreds.But he pushes back against the idea that this month has been a purple patch, and with some justification. Over the past two years, he has averaged 47.66 in T20Is with a strike rate of 176.27, outscoring all of his England team-mates; he has also become an IPL regular, winning back-to-back titles for two different franchises.”I missed an IPL final the year before, and that one really hurt because we [Kolkata Knight Riders] went on to win it. I was part of everything leading in, and then to not be a part of it did sting a bit… The final was a little bit of a blur, until the last over, which I remember second by second. It all happened very quick… It was really, really special.”Fatherhood marks a new phase in his life off the field but, at 29, Salt is approaching his prime on it. “He’s added more and more to his game,” Jos Buttler, his England opening partner, said last week. “He’s got a thirst for knowledge… His off-side play is outstanding, and when he’s so strong through the leg side and you’ve only got two fielders out, he’s hard to stop.”Salt has made a minor technical change, holding his bat higher and opening the bat face slightly to access the off side, but says the biggest change has been in his mindset: “It was particularly to have, from third, fourth, fifth and sixth stump, four different areas that I can hit those balls. That is primarily where you’re going to face most balls against the new ball.”When you’re playing that area well and also hammering the short ball at the same time, two fielders [out of the ring] shouldn’t be enough… It’s been about developing my scoring areas. For example, when someone does throw two [deep fielders] out leg-side, I’ve still got 80 yards there where I can score a boundary at a really low risk.”That’s probably the biggest difference,” Salt says, comparing himself to a younger version of himself. “That player might have gone, ‘I’ll just hit it over them’. But if I can hit that same ball over 45 [short fine leg] or if I can just change the position I’m standing on the crease and hit it through mid-on, it feels like a completely different game for me and for the bowler.”The growing sense that detailed analysis and planning has fallen out of fashion in English cricket was underlined when Harry Brook described team meetings as “the most overrated things ever” earlier this month. But Salt’s success should demonstrate the enduring value of preparation. As he puts it: “I don’t want there to be any surprises.”

The MI-LSG deal will be the third trade that Thakur has been involved in over the years

Nagraj Gollapudi13-Nov-202511:57

Is time running out for Mayank Yadav at LSG?

India allrounder Shardul Thakur and West Indies’ Sherfane Rutherford have joined Mumbai Indians (MI) in the trading window ahead of IPL 2026.ESPNcricinfo has learned that MI reached an in-principle agreement with Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) to get Thakur via an all-cash trade deal, for INR 2 crore. MI acquired Rutherford from Gujarat Titans (GT) for INR 2.6 crore, the same amount for which GT bought him in the last auction.Thakur could now become a quiz question as this is the third trade involving him in the IPL; in 2017, Rising Pune Supergiant had bought him from Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), and before the 2023 season Kolkata Knight Riders procured him from Delhi Capitals. Both those trades were also all-cash deals.Thakur, who had gone unsold at the 2025 mega auction and was to join Essex in the County Championship, was picked by LSG as a replacement for Mohsin Khan at his base price of INR 2 crore. It seemed like a good investment on the part of LSG’s mentor at the time, Zaheer Khan, as he took six wickets in his first two matches in IPL 2025. Thakur, however, struggled after that, playing only ten matches and taking 13 wickets with an economy rate of 11.02.The move to MI is a homecoming of sorts for Thakur. He was a support bowler for MI from 2010-12 and was also appointed Mumbai captain in domestic cricket for this season.Rutherford is now headed to his fourth IPL side, after representing Delhi Capitals (2019), RCB (2022) and GT last season. He was also part of the MI squad in 2020 and KKR in 2024, but didn’t get a game in those seasons. He had played 13 games for GT earlier this season, for 291 runs at an average of 32.22 and strike rate of 157.29.MI set to release Arjun Tendulkar to LSGMI and LSG have also agreed on a separate trade deal involving Arjun Tendulkar, who has been playing for MI since IPL 2023. It is learnt the left-arm fast bowler, who was bought by MI for INR 30 lakh last year, has been traded to LSG. It is also learnt that MI have decided to release Tendulkar so he could possibly get more playing opportunities at LSG.Tendulkar was first bought by MI in the 2021 auction for INR 20 lakh and made his debut in the 2023 edition, when he went on to play four matches in the league. Overall, he has featured in five IPL games for three wickets at an economy rate of 9.36. In the domestic circuit he started with his T20 debut for Mumbai in early 2021 before moving to Goa before the 2022-23 season, when he made his first-class and one-day debuts.

Third-wicket stand of 141 with Haseeb Hameed overhauls Glamorgan with ease

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay17-Aug-2025Nottinghamshire 282 for 3 (Haynes 124, Hameed 58*) beat Glamorgan 278 for 9 (Byrom 62, Root 56) by seven wicketsJack Haynes starred with a century as Notts Outlaws kept their qualification chances at arm’s length with a comfortable run chase against winless defending champions Glamorgan.The 24-year-old Haynes struck a well-timed 124 with some late acceleration to chase the sub-par 278 for 9 set by the hosts.Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed played supporting roles in the seven-wicket win, the latter combining with Haynes for a 141-run third-wicket stand.Eddie Byrom notched up back-to-back half-centuries with 62 while Billy Root also passed 50 to hold together the Glamorgan innings. One positive for the winless side was 18-year-old Romano Franco picking up a first professional wicket at the third time of asking.After being inserted, Glamorgan got off to a racing start, as has tended to be their way in this competition. Byrom and Asa Tribe’s 71-run opening stand left Notts’ bowling attack – hit by the absence of players in the Hundred – with cause for concern before Tribe’s fun was ended by 18-year-old debutant Byron Hatton-Lowe.Byrom, the steadier of the two openers in terms of strike rate, continued calmly as he watched on for Henry Hurle, playing a first Glamorgan game of 2025, to be dismissed.Kiran Carlson was unable to kick on, as was Will Smale who suffered a ball-watching run out to leave the hosts with just five wickets in hand with more than 20 overs to bat, a theme too common in their campaign.Root held the fort in a knock of few boundaries for 56 before Dan Douthwaite’s blistering cameo added some impetus, the hosts still left short.Zain Ul Hassan was able to contain in a seven-over new-ball spell while Ned Leonard leaked at the other end, Slater enjoying a rather comfortable start.After Ben Martindale was dismissed, a period of experience was due with Slater and Haynes adding 75 before Hameed struck an unbeaten 58 to ice the run chase.Franco impressed in his 10 overs but poor fielding, including a drop by Andy Gorvin with Haynes on 68 proved costly.Tribe followed as the third player in the game to take a first wicket for his club, after Hatton-Lowe and Franco, although the damage was done.

Aaronson has often been labeled a tweener, but his versatility has been vital for Leeds this season. That same flexibility could position him for increased minutes with the USMNT.

PHILADELPHIA – Recent Brenden Aaronson stats circulating on social media confirm what has been easy to overlook: despite steady criticism, the Leeds United midfielder is thriving this season.

The truth is this: Aaronson has been one of the Premier League’s most effective attacking players so far. Not always pretty, not necessarily prolific, but undeniably impactful. He’s a major reason Leeds sit just outside the relegation zone roughly one-third of the way into his second Premier League go-around. His performances have also put him firmly back in the U.S. men’s national team picture. For a while now, Aaronson has had a point to prove. This season, he is proving it.

“I think that the confidence that I have now and the sustainability of it is at a really good level,” Aaronson said to reporters on Wednesday's USMNT media call. “I’m happy with my mental space, and I think that’s the biggest thing in football. When you’re playing at your best level, you have the confidence, and that’s what I feel like is changing my game.”

So now, as he returns to Philadelphia – the place where he started his soccer career –  for the final USMNT camp of 2025, Aaronson is in a unique spot. He's in form and thriving. He's also fighting for a spot. After being benched for much of the Gold Cup, a tournament that lacked some of the USMNT's heavy hitters, Aaronson's spot is still anything but certain. This camp, then, is another chance to go out and earn it and show why his effectiveness for Leeds could translate to whatever plans Mauricio Pochettino has for him.

Getty ImagesChanging perceptions

Aaronson spoke about it with GOAL last year: he doesn't like the perceptions of him or his game.

"It's definitely upsetting," Aaronson told GOAL, "Because I think, in moments, I show a lot of quality with the ball. I don't think a lot of people see that. People see my energy and that type of thing, and that's easy to see. You'll always see me giving 100 percent. That's something that I've always had. That was the first thing I learned from my dad at a young age."

"I want to be outside of that box," he added. "I'm not just a runner. I'm not just a guy who's pressing all the time. I'll show that, of course, but I think I'm also more than that, you know? I think I'm a guy that brings other things to the pitch and, yeah, I just wish people could see that more."

Leeds United fans have seen more of it this season. The numbers don't jump off the page, admittedly. He scored a goal recently against West Ham in an standout Man of the Match performance that included a mazy run through the entire Hammers team. He then set up a goal in this past weekend's loss to Nottingham Forest, notching his first assist of the season. One goal and one assist, generally, aren't anything to get excited about, but the underlying numbers tell a different story.

Yes, the defensive statistics are still elite when compared to other midfielders and wingers, which is always helpful for a promoted team looking to stay up. The chance creation numbers are good, too. Per DataMB, Aaronson is right among the league leaders in chance creation ratio, which measures the amount of key passes per 100 attempts. When it comes to creating danger, Aaronson has been right up there among the Premier League's very best, even if there hasn't been as much to show for it as many would like.

“It’s always a learning process going out there and playing,” Aaronson said. “But I think I’ve been playing at a good level this year, and I need to continue to get better and better and help the team the best I can."

All of that isn't to say that Aaronson is at the level of the Premier League's best. Few would believe that. It does indicate, though, that Aaronson is getting better and is making a real effort to prove that doubters wrong.

AdvertisementGetty Images SportLearning from criticism

There have been multiple times during Daniel Farke's two-year Leeds United tenure when he has had to publicly defend his American midfielder from criticism. The most recent came just a few short weeks ago.

“It’s important not to put too much weight on his shoulders,” Farke said in September. “Sometimes the feeling with Brenden is that we are a bit over-critical in public. We know Brenden has challenges in his offensive game in terms of decision-making, being a bit clearer and more straightforward. This is something we speak a lot about.

“It’s not like I press a button, do my magic, and he’s a completely different player. In training, we bring him more into positions where he has to make decisions. It’s not like he is not willing to score or is not highly motivated. Sometimes, because he is so on it, he is, perhaps, losing a bit of his calmness, but it’s not helpful if everyone is always criticizing him.”

Aaronson, meanwhile, recently acknowledged that he avoids looking into that criticism. It's something he's dealt with for much of his professional career. In his first season with Leeds, the club was relegated. A subsequent move to Union Berlin didn't work out. He returned to Leeds knowing he'd have to win back the fans' trust. That process is ongoing, even after helping the club back to the Premier League with an ironman run through the Championship.

“Listen. I wear the shirt of Leeds United. One of the biggest clubs in England,” Aaronson told Morning Footy. “The fan base is amazing. We have amazing fans, and sometimes it can be tough. It comes with the pressure of wearing the kit. [Criticism] is always there, it is always gonna be there. 

"I’m not someone who uses social media. I never go on. My fiancée and my parents can look at that stuff. I tell them not to sometimes, but my mom can’t help it. I try to stay away from it. Week in and week out, all I can do is do the best I can and just go out there to be myself. That’s what I try to focus on.”

This week, Aaronson is focused on the USMNT and making a mark that could, ultimately, carry him to a second World Cup roster.

GettyFinding his place with the USMNT

One of Aaronson's biggest assets is his versatility. He can play as an attacking midfielder. He can play on the wings. He can slot in as a No. 8 or even as a wingback, in theory. He's also a player that, no matter where you play him, seems like an ideal supersub, one that brings obvious energy and, if his Premier League run is anything to go by, a little bit of danger.

“I play the winger like a No. 10 if I’m being honest with you,” Aaronson said. “I think at [Leeds] my coach talks to me about having the freedom to go and get involved with the game. Of course, he wants the formation and, of course, he wants me to stay in the positions, but I just kind of go out there and play like I would in the midfield. I don’t really change too much about it.

“I’m not a winger that’s going one-v-one or stuff like that. I want to be in between the lines; I want to be driving with the ball. I want to be playing the final pass and shooting the final shot.”

Despite that versatility, this season has been a difficult one for Aaronson on the USMNT front. He was left out of the USMNT's March CONCACAF Nations League roster, although hindsight does say that may have been a blessing in disguise given how that camp went. Then, after returning to the Gold Cup, Aaronson was largely a substitute, starting just one game: a largely meaningless game against Haiti to close the group stage after two wins to start the tournament. It wasn't a surprise when he was then left out of the September squad as Pochettino looked elsewhere.

Aaronson returned in October and, despite playing just 26 minutes, he made an impression. In that cameo against Australia, he looked extremely dangerous. That performance, along with his recent run with Leeds, led to him being called back in for this November camp.

"Brenden is an experienced player who has already brought a lot to the national team," Pochettino said this summer. "He’s a player who has a total commitment to the national team. His character, whichever position he's in, he’s always helping, always being positive in all moments. He’s a very dynamic player. We're very familiar with his characteristics and he’s a player who brings a lot of positives to the group."

With Malik Tillman, Christian Pulisic, and Weston McKennie all sidelined, the U.S. are short on attacking midfield options. That gives Aaronson a chance to step into the spotlight in the place where he spent six years developing before moving to Europe.

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ImagnA chance and a homecoming

Even now, five years after he left the club, Aaronson remains one of the Philadelphia Union's top success stories. He burst onto the scene in 2020 as a Best XI player. He's since played in Europe at the highest level. This week, Aaronson is one of four Union academy alumni in the USMNT group alongside Matt Freese, Mark McKenzie and Auston Trusty. All four are fighting for World Cup places. All four's next chance to do so comes in a stadium that they, at least for a time, called home.

On Saturday, the USMNT will host Paraguay at Subaru Park in their penultimate friendly of 2025. Aaronson, along with Gio Reyna, Diego Luna and Timothy Tillman, will be looking to show he deserves a larger role as one of the team’s No. 10s. The 25-year-old Leeds star will hope for that opportunity as he returns to where it all began.

“I think the best thing about the Philly development is we have the mentality from a young age, this winning mentality,” Aaronson said. “I think from when we both went to the school, there was always Champions League on TV, football all the time, and that was the beauty of it. I think you were just kind of just surrounded by all these guys who wanted to be the best player they could be.

"It’s not cutthroat, but it is competitive. So I think everybody wanted to reach the highest level. And that’s what the beauty was.”

There isn't always beauty in Aaronson's game. He hopes that the outside world will notice more of it than they have in the past, though, and, as long as he keeps providing those types of moments, Aaronson's fight will continue as he pushes for more with club and country.

Chelsea have already reached out for discussions with the representatives of Juventus sensation Kenan Yildiz, with Enzo Maresca hatching a new tactical plan involving Cole Palmer.

The west Londoners have lost three out of their last five Premier League games and narrowly escaped with a thrilling 4-3 win away to bottom side Wolves in the Carabao Cup earlier this week.

Despite spending nearly £300 million in the summer transfer window, there is clearly still work to be done from Chelsea’s perspective, and reports suggest that Juventus are even taking an interest in Maresca ahead of next summer.

The Old Lady appointed Luciano Spalletti on an interim basis until the end of the season, but if that doesn’t work out and Maresca fails to turn the tide at Stamford Bridge, a move to Juve could be on the cards in 2026.

In the meantime, Chelsea’s manager is surely tasked with finishing in the top four at the very least, and preferably adding more silverware to the club’s trophy cabinet after their Conference League and Club World Cup triumphs earlier this year.

According to some reports, Maresca is still quite unhappy with the options he has at Chelsea right now, so January could be a key month despite heavy summer backing in the market.

The most obvious area Chelsea are short in is centre-back, with ex-midfielder John Obi-Mikel claiming that the Blues will get nowhere near a Premier League title boasting that backline.

Ahead of the winter window’s opening, reports suggest that Chelsea are prioritising a new centre-back, with Levi Colwill expected to be out until spring 2026 after rupturing his ACL in pre-season.

However, they could also land a new forward, and have been linked with Yildiz as a serious option.

Chelsea make "very exciting" Yildiz offer amid Cole Palmer plan

Fabrizio Romano says that Chelsea “really like” the Turkey international who’s dazzled as Juve’s star attacker since the beginning of last season.

Yildiz racked up 12 goals and nine assists in all competitions across 2024/2025, finishing the campaign as their best-performing regular with over 10 starts, going by average match rating per 90 minutes (WhoScored).

The 20-year-old also made more key passes per 90 and completed more take-ons in the final third than any of his teammates, with Yildiz starting 25/26 in equally imperious fashion.

Juventus 2-0 Parma Calcio

8.88

Juventus 4-3 Inter Milan

8.51

Juventus 3-1 Udinese

7.55

Atalanta 1-1 Juventus

7.10

Genoa 0-1 Juventus

7.04

via WhoScored

He has seven goal contributions in 12 appearances already this term, attracting serious interest from Stamford Bridge.

According to TEAMtalk, Chelsea have “discreetly” reached out to Yildiz’s camp with a “very exciting” offer to join them, and Italian insiders are adamant that Maresca’s side are in pole position to land him.

This comes as Maresca hatches a plan to partner the young Turk with Palmer up front, as Chelsea see him as the “ideal” player to link up with their England superstar.

However, there are major obstacles to overcome in this would-be transfer — mainly Juve’s minimum demand of around £79 million — with Real Madrid also in the race.

Los Blancos are described as a “major threat” to Chelsea in pursuit of Yildiz, and the player is apparently very enticed by Xabi Alonso’s side as a possible destination.

There is also the matter of Juve apparently stepping up new contract talks to keep him out of rival clutches, so Chelsea could have to launch the kitchen sink if this move has any chance of happening.

Chelsea have been offered another Juventus star too

Chelsea defensive midfielder Moises Caicedo has been one of the standout performers for Enzo Maresca in the Premier League in the 2025/26 campaign.

The 24-year-old star, who signed for a club-record £115m from Brighton in 2023, has scored three goals in 11 matches in the top-flight, whilst averaging 5.5 tackles and interceptions per game, per Sofascore, which is a club-high.

Caicedo offers an exceptional box-to-box presence with the goal threat and defensive quality that he provides in the middle of the park, which makes him such an important player for Maresca.

The Ecuador international arrived at Stamford Bridge as a proven Premier League star, thanks to his time with Brighton, and the club are now reportedly looking to repeat that feat.

Chelsea want to sign one of the best midfielders in the Premier League

In theory, signing players from other clubs in England is preferable to signing from abroad because they do not need time to adapt to the league or country, which helped Caicedo to hit the ground running when he first arrived at the Blues.

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According to CaughtOffside, Chelsea are interested in a deal to sign Nottingham Forest central midfielder Elliot Anderson to bolster their ranks in the middle of the park.

The Blues are set to fight it out with Manchester United and Manchester City to land the England international in the January transfer window or next summer, after extensive scouting work done on the Tricky Trees star.

The Mirror reported, earlier this month, that Nottingham Forest are expected to demand a fee of up to £120m for the midfield star, and it remains to be seen whether or not Chelsea are willing to pay that much for Anderson.

Why Chelsea should sign Elliot Anderson

The Conference League champions should push to win the race for the Forest star’s signature in the January transfer window because he could be Caicedo 2.0 at Stamford Bridge.

Like the Ecuador international, Anderson would arrive at the club as a Premier League-proven star and as a club-record signing, if he costs as much as the reported £120m.

The 23-year-old star has racked up 92 appearances in the division, per Transfermarkt, and was described by former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel as “one of the best midfielders in the Premier League”, which shows what a former Champions League winner and the current England boss thinks of his talent.

That opinion is also held by former Liverpool defender and Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, who recently sang Anderson’s praises in the clip above.

xAG

0.15

Top 22%

Shot-creating actions

4.18

Top 5%

Progressive passes

8.82

Top 1%

Passes into the final third

8.55

Top 1%

Successful take-ons

1.27

Top 3%

Tackles won

2.64

Top 24%

Passes blocked

1.43

Top 7%

As you can see in the table above, the central midfielder’s statistics in the Premier League this season make it easy to understand why the likes of Tuchel and Carragher rate him so highly.

The England international has proven himself to be one of the top-performing midfielders in the division, particularly with his use of the ball at the base of the midfield, and that is why he could be a fantastic signing for Chelsea.

Pairing Caicedo and Anderson at the base of the midfield could be an exciting prospect for Maresca, as the former brings defensive quality and a goal threat, while the Forest ace offers incredible ball progression, mobility, and creativity.

Chelsea open talks with Premier League star as £26m January deal on the cards

The Blues could now look to one of their London rivals to acquire an exciting new addition.

BySean Markus Clifford Nov 15, 2025

If Chelsea do decide to go through with a January or summer swoop for the English star, his proven quality in the Premier League could allow him to hit the ground running in the same way that Caicedo did.

Jose Mourinho was far from happy with his Benfica side, as they scraped through the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal with a 2-0 win over minnows Atletico CP. The Special One unleashed an explosive post-match rant against his starting eleven, claiming he would have made nine substitutions at half time, if allowed. He went on to call some of his players' attitudes "unacceptable".

Benfica labour to cup win

The fourth round tie pitted one of Portugal's most vaunted clubs against relative minnows; Atletico are currently plying their trade in the third tier of the country's league pyramid. Despite the gulf in stature, the minnows frustrated a lacklustre Benfica side for the opening 45 minutes, keeping the game scoreless going into the break. 

That prompted Mourinho into a change of formation and four changes at the break. Benfica's superiority eventually told, with the record 26-time cup winners taking the spoils thanks to a 73rd minute header from Ricard Rios and a Vangelis Pavlidis penalty a few minutes later. 

Despite their progress in the competition, Mourinho gave his players both barrels in his post-match interview, lambasting their first half performance and questioning their commitment. 

The two-time Champions League winning manager, who started his second spell as the Lisbon club's boss in September 2025, was frank in his response when questioned if his message was getting through to his players. While he did not shirk his responsibility in getting a tune out of the squad, he suggested his players were falling short in their duty towards him and the club's fanbase. 

AdvertisementGetty Images SportMourinho's sensational rant against his Benfica squad

Mourinho said: "Atlético did an extraordinary job. I saw them play in Mafra in a league game, they played an extraordinary game and I realized they had the qualities to make the game difficult for us. But our first half was poor. And it was poor in the sense that it hurts me the most, which is the attitude. The attitude was poor. 

"There were many players who weren't serious and didn't approach things as they should have. At halftime I made four substitutions, but I wanted to make nine. With the players at halftime, I told the two who were taking the game seriously that I wanted to keep on the field. The other nine weren't. 

"In the second half we improved a lot, Atlético couldn't get out with the same quality anymore and it was only a matter of time before we scored. I was pleased with the second half because the attitude improved." 

When asked how he changed things tactically to accomodate the switch in personnel, he commented: "One thing has nothing to do with the other. What didn't work was the players who were on the field. I didn't want to single anyone out because that's something that should be done internally, but to remove some of the players I wanted to remove, it was necessary to change the system. And we had players who, from the first minute, weren't there. And that, to me, is unacceptable. I've already told some of them not to come knocking on my door asking why they aren't playing."

In response to questions about his message failing to reach his new charges, the ex-Chelsea coach said: "I think the message isn't just mine, it's a general one. From Benfica fans. In my case, I'm the coach and the one responsible. The players have a responsibility to me and to Benfica fans. And there are things regarding their attitude that are unacceptable." 

Mourinho's difficult start to life with Benfica

Mourinho took over at the Portuguese giants after the sacking of Bruno Lage. While Benfica have yet to lose a league game this season, a spate of draws, including three under Mourinho, have left them six points adrift of Porto in the Liga Portugal. 

Lage's dismissal came after they opened their Champions League campaign with a chastening 3-2 home defeat to Azerbaijani outfit Qarabag. Mouinrho has failed to engender a turnaround in European competition, with Benfica losing all three of their league phase games, most recently falling to a 1-0 defeat to Leverkusen at the Estadio da Luz.

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AFPCrucial fixtures wait for Mourinho's Benfica

Th ex-Real Madrid and Inter manager will hope his players react positively to his post-match comments, as they prepare for a crucial run of fixtures over the coming fortnight. Next Tuesday, the Eagles face off against Ajax in the Champions League. A Lisbon derby against Sporting on December 5 could determine who will mount a title challenge against Porto, while the arrival of Antonio Conte's Napoli on December 10 will present another stiff challenge in Europe. 

England have made a mess of their succession planning after ignoring white-ball cricket since 2019

Andrew Miller07-Apr-20255:06

Roller: Managing all three formats will be Brook’s biggest challenge

The devil was in the detail of Rob Key’s statement, after the ECB confirmed the inevitable elevation of Harry Brook to England’s vacant white-ball captaincy.”This opportunity has come slightly earlier than expected,” Key said in his second sentence of the board’s press release – which is hardly the sort of glowing appraisal that you might expect from the England Men’s managing director on Coronation Day.And though Key did add that Brook had long been part of the team’s “succession planning” – whatever that may mean – his tone betrayed the shocking tangle that England have got themselves into in their once-formidable white-ball set-up.As recently as November 2022, that white-ball squad was still a genuinely groundbreaking outfit, with England’s victory in the T20 World Cup in Australia making them the first men’s team to hold both of the ICC’s white-ball trophies concurrently. Earlier that year in 50-over cricket, they extended their ODI record total to a massive, and still unsurpassed, 498 for 4 against the Netherlands at Amstelveen.Since then, however, the rot has been rapid and entirely foreseeable. Leaving their T20I fortunes to one side for a moment, the specific ineptitude of their recent Champions Trophy campaign reflected a generation of players – Brook included – who simply do not play enough 50-over cricket to know how to pace an innings.Prior to his England ODI debut against South Africa in January 2023, Brook hadn’t played a single 50-over match for Yorkshire since May 2019, two months before the team that he now leads had even broken their duck at the 50-over World Cup.His situation is mirrored by pretty much any player around whom England might hope to reinflate their white-ball fortunes – Jamie Smith, Jordan Cox, Gus Atkinson … the list goes on. And so, when Key says that his elevation has come sooner than would be ideal, it’s an admission of desperation, as much as an acknowledgment of how badly the Buttler-McCullum alliance failed to live up to expectations.For when it comes to “succession planning” … pull the other one. England have been on a wing and a prayer for the past two years in white-ball cricket. England’s preparations for the 2023 World Cup amounted to a séance, as the spirit of 2019 was summoned for one last dance (and duly failed to materialise), while the mere fact that Ben Stokes was seriously considered as a stop-gap is proof of how rapidly those standards are continuing to swirl around the plug-hole.Jos Buttler’s tenure disintegrated after the early high of the 2022 T20 World Cup•Sameer Ali/Getty ImagesIn terms of his career progression, it probably is too soon for Brook, but what’s a team to do? In an ideal world, he would have built up his 50-over experience over the next two and a half years until the 2027 World Cup, then taken over from Buttler with standards restored and legacies polished. In an ideal world, he would have had a few more chances to shore up his technique against high-quality spin: a genuine problem area, though clearly not an insurmountable one, even if his two-year ban from the IPL after his late withdrawal from Delhi Capitals’ campaign will deny him an obvious source of experience.In an ideal world, Brook would also be averaging more than 28.50 in his T20I career. In part this is a legacy of his anonymous role in that 2022 World Cup win (56 runs at 11.20 in six matches), which if nothing else was proof that experience cannot be bought off a peg. But more problematically, it reflects Brook’s lack of opportunity in white-ball cricket to date, given his extraordinarily central importance to England’s Test fortunes.This is where Key’s concerns about the timing really hit home. For all that Brook’s unveiling as white-ball captain will be a proud moment – and his sparky leadership against Australia last September suggests there’ll be plenty tactical nous on show when he takes the field against West Indies – there’s also little doubt where his true focus will be heading into a genuinely seismic nine months.Related

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Harry Brook pulls out of IPL for second year running

England’s Test team, for which Brook is currently the No.2-ranked batter in the world behind Joe Root, has five home Tests against India looming in June and July, followed by the Ashes in Australia from November to January. It promises to be a legacy-defining period for the team’s elder statesmen – Stokes, Root and Mark Wood in particular – but also for the Bazball project itself, as the players are just about allowing themselves to call it these days.As Brook noted when pulling out of the IPL, “it is a really important time for England cricket … I need time to recharge.” No wonder he’s missing the opening rounds of the Championship to take a family holiday. All being well with his form and fitness, he is going to be the busiest player on the planet in the coming 12 months, because no sooner does the Ashes end than he’ll be leading the T20I side in the next World Cup in India. By which stage, the 2027 World Cup will be little more than a year away. Rinse, repeat … sleep whenever there’s a chance.It’s a rod that England made for their own back, from the moment they won the 2019 World Cup then spurned the format that had brought them glory. Every ounce of know-how has subsequently been re-invested in the Test set-up, at the expense of the white-ball game … with the honorable exception of Buttler, whose career was sent off on a branch-line while his generational peers got busy Bazballing.The irony is that Buttler should never have had to become a man apart in England’s white-ball set-up. Hindsight suggests that England could have won that 2022 tournament on autopilot, and pretty much did, such was the residual excellence in their set-up – as epitomised by Stokes’ matchwinning innings in the final, having not played T20Is in 18 months prior to the tournament.Now, under McCullum, there has at least been a belated attempt at unification, to ensure that the same values and knowledge that have reinvigorated the Test team are carried across formats before it’s too late. But this also means that Brook is the right choice as white-ball captain because he’s a guaranteed pick across formats, but also the wrong choice because he’s a guaranteed pick across formats. Go figure. It’s a mess, and there are no easy answers.