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But Bjorn Fortuin warns against counting chickens “too early” after setbacks of the last two seasons

Firdose Moonda25-Jan-2025Paarl Royals have become the first team to qualify for the SA20 2025 playoffs with an 11-run win over Pretoria Capitals by “just doing the simple things well”, according to local hero Bjorn Fortuin. The left-arm spinner, who is from the Boland, has played all his franchise T20 cricket for teams based at this venue, and understands the secret to success is being able to slow things down.”We’ve played here quite a bit now, so I’ve sort of tailored a lot of my game plan towards playing in conditions like this,” Fortuin had said after Royals’ win over Joburg Super Kings earlier this week. “I wouldn’t quite call it subcontinent conditions, but it definitely lends itself towards that type of game plan.”Keeping things simple is a big part of doing well here. In the past, we’ve had quite explosive players. Sometimes they come off, sometimes they don’t. This season, there’s been a lot more consistency, and playing well at home contributes to that.”Related

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The Boland, 50 kms inland from Cape Town, is hot and dry in peak summer, and the surfaces get more difficult for run-scoring as the season grows long. Saturday’s pitch, which was slow and low, was a perfect example of that. Fortuin has spent his early domestic career here and has played five years of T20 franchise cricket for teams based in Paarl: two years with Paarl Rocks in the now-defunct Mzansi Super League, and three in the SA20. He has adapted his game for exactly these conditions, particularly with the new ball.Fortuin is often used in the powerplay to put the pressure on upfront and usually also make a few crucial incisions. Across the three seasons of SA20, Fortuin’s economy rate of 6.08 in the powerplay is the best among bowlers who have delivered at least 15 overs in that phase. His 20 wickets in the same period is the joint most with Marco Jansen. It includes the likes of Quinton de Kock, Dewald Brevis and Ryan Rickelton (all twice); Devon Conway, Faf du Plessis, Kyle Mayers and Kusal Mendis; and on Saturday, the destructive Afghan opener Rahmanullah Gurbaz.In another country, Fortuin’s record and reputation might see him walk straight into the national squad. But the presence of Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi means he plays infrequently for South Africa, and has also missed out on the Champions Trophy squad. Fortuin said the snub is “not something I can comment on right now” as he focuses on SA20 success, where Royals have set the pace, particularly with their spinners.This season, Fortuin has been joined by offspinners Mujeeb Ur Rahman and Joe Root, and left-arm spinner Dunith Wellalage. Between them, they are dominating every bowling stat in the competition so far. Mujeeb is currently the joint-leading wicket-taker in the tournament, while Wellalage and Fortuin have the two lowest economy rates. Root has bowled 16 overs thus far – perhaps more than he expected to – and on Saturday, Royals added legspinner Nqaba Peter in the first all-spin attack in a T20 in South Africa.This season at Paarl Royals, Bjorn Fortuin has been joined by Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Joe Root and Dunith Wellalage•SA 20

Their tactics caught Pretoria Capitals by surprise and helped Royals achieve the second-lowest successful defense in SA20 history.”Looking at their team, we were trying to find the seamers when we saw the line-up,” Rilee Rossouw, Capitals’ captain, said. “It’s definitely something different. It’s something that we are not so accustomed to, especially here in South Africa. Credit also has to go to their bowlers and how they went about their business.”That statement might apply to the tournament as a whole. Royals have only lost one game so far – to their neighbours MI Cape Town – and have won all four at home. This is the third successive season that Royals have made it to the knockout stage, but have yet to make a final. And they will be wary of dropping form at the business end, as they have done in the past.In 2023, they won five of their first eight matches, and then lost two of the last three. Last year, after only losing only one of their first six matches, they finished on a five-match losing streak, including defeat in the knockouts.”So we won’t count our chickens too early,” Fortuin said. “The past two seasons, we’ve had good starts and then sort of fallen away towards the back end. So we’ll take it game by game.”Coach Trevor Penney on Lungi Ngidi: “He was out [with a groin injury] for eight weeks. So he’s on a programme where he’s almost back now”•Sportzpics

The real test will be how they adapt to conditions up country, where three of the four playoffs – including the final – will be played, and the spinners will have less of an impact. Royals have Lungi Ngidi and Kwena Maphaka in their line-up, but neither have played the last two matches (and word from the team camp is that there are no niggles). There are also the likes of Andile Phehlukwayo, Codi Yusuf, Dayyan Galiem and Keith Dudgeon. They will have confidence from beating Capitals at SuperSport Park, and completing the highest successful chase of the SA20 earlier this season, and will travel to Johannesburg next week before the playoffs.There, Royals coach Trevor Penney expects his seam attack, and specifically Ngidi, who has not played for the last three matches, to step up.”We’ve got the balance. We’ve got the seamers that are ready to jump in,” Penney said. “With Lungi, we know big fast bowlers like him, they sometimes needed a couple of weeks to get back into that full flow and the rhythm. It’s a tough thing for fast bowlers. He was out [with a groin injury] for like eight weeks. So he’s on a programme where he’s almost back now. So we played him in the first few games so he could get some game time. And I’m sure when we go to the Highveld, he’s going to be straight back in.”Before that, Royals will sign off from Paarl with a match against Durban’s Super Giants on Monday in a goodbye to a crowd that has ridden the wave of their winning streak.”They’re very passionate. The nice thing is that they’re actually quite knowledgeable as well, so they appreciate small bits of cricket here and there,” Fortuin said. “You certainly hear it when you’re not doing well, which is a bit of extra motivation as well. The vibe here is incredible. And in the future, I do hope that we can play games here at the back end of the tournament. It would be quite cool to eventually have a home final if something like that happens.”With a capacity of 10,000, Boland Park is the smallest of the SA20 venues, and has yet to host a playoff game.

India batter had missed the series opener in Nagpur due to a knee injury

Rajan Raj08-Feb-2025Virat Kohli is fit to play the second ODI against England in Cuttack on Sunday after missing the first game due to a knee injury.India’s batting coach Sitanshu Kotak confirmed his availability on the eve of the match. “Kohli is fit, yes, he is practicing with us today,” Kotak said in Cuttack. “He is good to go.”Kohli went on train with the squad for an hour on Saturday evening, watched by a strong crowd of spectators. He began with short sprints, without any strapping on his legs, moving with ease. After a 7-8 minute run, he batted in the nets and didn’t seem restricted in his footwork.Kohli had suffered swelling on his right knee while training a day before the series opener in Nagpur. He was replaced in the XI by Shreyas Iyer, who revealed after scoring a half-century that he had not been slated to play the first ODI, with debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal pairing with Rohit Sharma at the top of the order.With Kohli now fit, it remains to be seen how India tinker their line-up to bring him back. If Jaiswal is benched then Shubman Gill, who batted at No. 3 and scored 87, could move up to open, leaving the No. 3 spot for Kohli. If Shreyas is benched, then Kohli and Gill could bat at Nos. 3 and 4.Kohli hasn’t played an ODI since the tour of Sri Lanka in August last year. The ongoing series against England is India’s last 50-over assignment before the Champions Trophy begins on February 19. His form has been under scrutiny in recent months, and after a poor tour of Australia where all of his dismissals were edges to the wicketkeeper or slip cordon, he spent a week working with former India and RCB batting coach Sanjay Bangar. He then played one Ranji Trophy match for Delhi – his first appearance in the competition since 2012 – where he was bowled for 6 against Railways.ODI cricket, however, is Kohli’s strongest format, and he is 94 runs away from becoming only the third batter to reach 14,000 runs in the format. Only Sachin Tendulkar and Kumar Sangakkara have got there before, but Kohli is certain to become the fastest to the milestone.

Qualifier 1 and the Eliminator will be played in Hyderabad, and Qualifier 2 in Kolkata

Nagraj Gollapudi16-Feb-20255:37

Pant vs DC on opening weekend, and no Hardik for CSK-MI?

Eden Gardens, the home ground of IPL 2024 champions Kolkata Knight Riders, will host both the tournament opener of IPL 2025 on March 22 and the final on May 25. It will also host Qualifier 2 on May 23.This will be the first final in Kolkata in a decade, with Eden Gardens having previously hosted the 2013 and 2015 title matches.Related

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The other two playoffs – Qualifier 1 on May 20 and the Eliminator on May 21 – will be played in Hyderabad, home of 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad.IPL 2025 will feature 74 matches spread over 65 days with 12 double-headers. The tournament opener will pit KKR against Royal Challengers Bengaluru in an evening match. That will be followed by double-header Sunday (March 23) with SRH hosting Rajasthan Royals followed by the IPL’s most celebrated rivalry, with Chennai Super Kings hosting Mumbai Indians in a clash between two five-times champions.Royals, Delhi Capitals, Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans will play three afternoon matches each, while the other seven teams will play two day matches each. Last year’s afternoon matches had started at 3.30 pm IST.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

There are 13 venues listed in the schedule: the primary home bases of each of the 10 teams along with with Guwahati (Royals’ second home venue), Visakhapatnam (Capitals’ second home venue) and Dharamsala (Punjab’s second home venue). While Guwahati and Vizag will host two matches each, three matches will be played in Dharamsala.While Punjab have usually played two games per season at the picturesque HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala, the IPL has scheduled an extra game at the venue this season, with Capitals, Mumbai and LSG listed as Punjab’s opponents. These three matches will be played from May 4 to 11, which means Punjab are the only team to have a stretch of three back-to-back home matches. While several teams will be busy playing back-to-back matches with breaks of one or two days, no team will be on the road for three consecutive away matches.As has been the case in every season since the IPL expanded to ten teams in 2022, the teams have been split into two groups, with KKR, RCB, Royals, CSK and Punjab in one group and SRH, Capitals, Titans, Mumbai and LSG in the other. Teams will meet the other teams in their group and one team in the other group – determined by seeding – twice, and the other four teams in the opposite group once.CSK and Mumbai, for instance, will meet twice despite not being part of the same group.After their March 23 contest, these two teams will meet again on April 20, again on a Sunday evening, with Mumbai hosting Super Kings at the Wankhede Stadium. Four teams – RCB, Mumbai, Punjab and LSG – will all play their opening match away, and only play their respective first home matches in April. RCB, who scripted a miraculous return to form to make the playoffs last year with six consecutive wins after winning just one of their first eight matches, will end their league season with a sustained spell of home games: four of their last six matches will be at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium.View the full IPL 2025 schedule here

Lockie Ferguson, Kyle Jamieson and Ben Sears all absent for T20I leg of Zimbabwe tour

ESPNcricinfo staff26-Jun-2025New Zealand have included Adam Milne and Bevon Jacobs in their T20I squad for next month’s tri-series in Zimbabwe, but they will be without Kane Williamson and Lockie Ferguson as new head coach Rob Walter begins preparations for the 2026 T20 World Cup.Williamson, who is currently with Middlesex as part of a deal that will also encompass playing for London Spirit in the Hundred, made himself unavailable for the tour, while Ferguson has been rested as part of workload management. Kyle Jamieson is also absent as he awaits the birth of his first child, and Ben Sears has a side injury.Milne last played a T20I in February 2024 and missed the previous World Cup after undergoing ankle surgery. He has been in good form for Texas Super Kings in Major League Cricket (MLC), with nine wickets from four appearances.Related

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Uncapped Jacobs was first called up for the T20I series against Sri Lanka at Christmas, having been a surprise pick by Mumbai Indians at the IPL auction.A number of players, including Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra and the captain, Mitchell Santner, are back after missing New Zealand’s T20I series against Pakistan in March because of a clash with the IPL, although there was no room in the squad for Devon Conway.”I think we’ve got a really strong squad for this tour and I’m looking forward to getting the team together and getting into the work,” Walter said. “We’ve got some good experience in the side and it’s nice to be able to welcome back a few of the players who missed the March series against Pakistan because of the IPL.”It should be a great T20 tri-series with South Africa who are a very strong side and Zimbabwe who play well at home in their own conditions.”Walter, who was appointed as New Zealand coach across all formats earlier this month, will have Luke Ronchi, Jake Oram and James Foster as part of his coaching staff. He said the T20I tri-series would allow New Zealand to “explore different players and combinations”, with the explosive Jacobs in line for a debut.”Bevon’s been an outstanding performer in domestic cricket and has gained some experience in franchise leagues around the world, so it’ll be a good chance for him to get back into the squad and potentially play,” he said.”Adam’s a really skilled T20 bowler, he’s particularly proficient with the ball up front and brings that extra pace and bounce. With the likes of Lockie Ferguson, Ben Sears and Kyle Jamieson out it’s great to be able to lean on an experienced head in Adam.”With the T20 World Cup around the corner, all of our upcoming series are critically important to our build up. This series gives us the opportunity to test the breadth of our squad, explore different players and potentially different combinations against some quality opposition.”New Zealand’s first game in the tri-series is against South Africa in Harare on July 16, which is two days after the MLC final. NZC said that replacements would be named nearer the time if any members of the squad are involved in a clash and unable to arrive into Zimbabwe in time.After the T20Is, New Zealand will stay on for two Tests against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo.

New Zealand Men’s T20I squad

Mitch Santner (capt), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi

“But I didn’t expect the couple of words I said to get such a big reaction from him,” says the fast bowler

Nagraj Gollapudi01-Aug-20251:45

Prasidh: I’ve been picked to do a job

“You are looking in great shape.”Prasidh Krishna didn’t know those words would unsettle Joe Root and play a key role in his dismissal for 29 in an eventful middle session on Friday, when England fell off the tracks and handed the controls of the Oval Test to India.Root had walked in with England in command at 129 for 2 after Zak Crawley fell attempting a pull off Prasidh, giving the tall fast bowler the first of his four wickets of the innings. Prasidh, along with Akash Deep and Mohammed Siraj, had started to stem the run flow as the weather slides shifted from sunny in the morning to cloudy in the afternoon.The very first ball Root faced, a rising delivery from good length, he was rapped on the glove by Prasidh. Two balls later, a wobble-seam delivery straightened to beat Root’s defence. It was then, possibly, that Prasidh said those words to him.Related

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Next ball, Root hit a square-driven four and uncharacteristically sent verbals at Prasidh, forcing umpire Kumar Dharmasena to intervene and talk to Prasidh. KL Rahul and Shubman Gill joined the group as the umpire cautioned Prasidh for undue aggression in a chat that went for more than two minutes. For the next few overs, Dharmasena continued to follow Prasidh’s movements closely as the Indians and Root exchanged a few words.Prasidh conceded he was surprised at Root getting rattled. “I don’t know why Rooty [reacted],” he told the BBC’s . “I just said, ‘you’re looking in great shape’ and then it turned into a lot of abuse and all of that.”The plan to distract Root by engaging him in a verbal duel, Prasidh admitted, was hatched by the visitors ahead of the Oval Test. “That was the plan, but I didn’t expect the couple of words I said to get such a big reaction from him,” he said at the media briefing.Prasidh said he enjoyed being “aggressive” and it was just the “competitive edge” that had caused what he described as “banter” between Root and him.”That’s just who I am when I’m bowling, when I’m enjoying [my game],” he said. “If it means that I have a bit of a chatter with the batter… and it does help me when I can get under the nerves of the batsman and get a reaction from them. But I love the guy that he is. He is a legend of the game and I think it is great when two people are out there wanting to do the best and be a winner at a given moment.”England assistant coach Marcus Trescothick did not want to read too much into India’s plan to rattle Root, who has been England’s highest run-maker this series.”I think they made a comment, didn’t they?” Trescothick said after the day’s play. “He [Prasidh] obviously tried to get after him [Root] and spark him up a little bit. Maybe they have seen him play so well over the last couple of games that India tried a different approach, and Joe bit back, as sometimes he does. Normally, he is the sort of guy who just laughs and giggles and allows things to happen, but today he just chose a different route. Everyone has their own method of dealing with that sort of approach, and today Joe bit back.”1:44

‘Disappointed, but it is what it is’ – Trescothick on dropped catches

The Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy series has been a neck-and-neck tussle with the teams going at each other and, consequently, there have been a fair few volatile exchanges between the players.While at Lord’s, Gill took notice of England’s openers Crawley and Ben Duckett walking out to the middle 90 seconds late at the start of the hosts’ second innings, England captain Ben Stokes sparked a controversy at Old Trafford by questioning the decision of Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar to continue batting for their centuries in the final hour of the final session despite the match headed for a draw.On Friday, there was another incident that could have sparked something bigger had Duckett decided to react aggressively after Akash Deep put his arm around the opener after dismissing him. It was a “strange” move, Trescothick said, on Akash Deep’s part.”He didn’t really say too much. Strange, really. I don’t think you really need to be putting your arm around someone, but nothing was really said, was it? You just don’t really see it. We were chatting on the balcony there and I know many good people playing in county cricket would have said something or dug the elbow in, or something like that.”

England opt for four spinners, meaning seamer Kate Cross misses out on World Cup squad

Valkerie Baynes21-Aug-2025Heather Knight is expected to be fit for the World Cup after being named in England’s squad for the tournament, but her side will be without veteran seamer Kate Cross, who has been overlooked for selection.Knight, the former England captain, hasn’t played since injuring her hamstring during England’s home series with West Indies in May but it’s understood that her recovery is sufficiently on track to warrant her selection on Thursday.Danni Wyatt-Hodge also returns to strengthen the batting after being omitted in the 50-over format throughout the English summer, having made her last ODI appearance during the ill-fated Ashes tour of Australia in January.That means batter Maia Bouchier and allrounder Alice Davidson-Richards miss out, as does Cross, with England opting for four spinners to play in India and Sri Lanka during the tournament which starts next month.Sophie Ecclestone leads the spin contingent, which also includes fellow left-armer Linsey Smith and offspinner Charlie Dean, as well as legspinner Sarah Glenn, making her return after featuring in the West Indies series but missing out on the subsequent visit by India through June and July.England’s seam attack consists of Lauren Bell, Lauren Filer and Em Arlott, who made her international debut in May. Nat Sciver-Brunt is hopeful of returning to bowling in her allrounder role after a long-standing Achillies problem.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Head Coach Charlotte Edwards said the tournament posed a “huge challenge” but she believed her side was capable of competing “with anyone”.”Being selected to play for your country in a World Cup is one of the biggest honours in sport and I’m delighted for all the players named in the squad,” Edwards said.”Conditions mean we have gone for the extra spinner and we’re lucky to be able to have such depth in this department, it’s fantastic to welcome Sarah Glenn back. That does mean there’s no room for Kate Cross, Maia Bouchier or Alice Davidson-Richards, which will be disappointing for them.”It’s also great to have Danni back in the squad, she’s been in good form in domestic cricket and she’ll bring dynamism and depth to our batting, alongside Heather, who we are absolutely delighted to be able to select. She’ll be a huge asset for us.”Commentating on the women’s Hundred match between Oval Invincibles and Trent Rockets a few hours after the announcement, Cross expressed her disappointment.”A lot for me to process,” Cross said on Sky Sports. “It’s probably been a disappointing summer in terms of England cricket. I feel like I’ve done quite well in this tournament. I performed for Lancashire.”But it’s difficult when you go into a subcontinent World Cup and you can tell that the head coach wants a little bit more spin in her armoury, then it makes sense in my head. So there’s a lot of logic that’s mixed with a lot of emotion at the minute.”Cross revealed she had only learned of her omission at 9am on Thursday, two hours before the squad was announced.She will next play for Northern Superchargers against Invincibles on Saturday as her side, currently placed second on the table, look to keep themselves in finals contention.Missing out on the 50-over World Cup places Cross at an interesting juncture in her career. She turns 34 in October and, while a home T20 World Cup beckons next year, she has fallen out of England favour in the shorter format.She played her last T20I during the tour of Ireland in September 2024 while the first-choice squad were in the UAE preparing for the T20 World Cup, where England eventually crashed out in the group stages.She has also forged a successful side-hustle in commentating, although she acknowledged the difficulties of her on- and off-field careers colliding on a day like this.”I probably wouldn’t have talked about this openly live on the television if I wasn’t doing commentary,” she said. “But I’ve got 24 hours to turn it around to play a game for the Northern Supercharges on Saturday.”It’s been a bit of a whirlwind but this is professional sport, we sign up to it, it doesn’t always go your way, and I’ve held back the tears so there we go, we can finish talking about it.”The World Cup runs from September 30 to November 2 and will be the first ICC tournament in charge for Edwards and captain Sciver-Brunt.England Women’s squad: Em Arlott, Tammy Beaumont, Lauren Bell, Alice Capsey, Charlie Dean, Sophia Dunkley, Sophie Ecclestone, Lauren Filer, Sarah Glenn, Amy Jones, Heather Knight, Emma Lamb, Nat Sciver-Brunt (capt), Linsey Smith, Danni Wyatt-Hodge

Santner has not recovered from abdominal surgery while Ferguson, Milne, O’Rourke, Allen and Phillips have been ruled out with injury and Williamson is unavailable

Alex Malcolm16-Sep-2025New Zealand white-ball captain Mitchell Santner has been ruled out of the upcoming T20I series against Australia. Michael Bracewell will lead a 14-man squad that includes returning pace duo Kyle Jamieson and Ben Sears but is missing Lockie Ferguson and Adam Milne due to injury.Santner underwent abdominal surgery last month and was hopeful of being fit for the three-match series that will be played on October 1, 3, and 4 in Mount Maunganui but has not recovered in time.”Never nice to lose your skipper,” New Zealand coach Rob Walter said. “But these things do happen. And Michael has already been the captain of this team and did a great job against Pakistan. So fully confident in how he will lead the team.”Ferguson has been ruled out with a hamstring injury while Milne has a foot injury. Will O’Rourke (back), Glenn Phillips (groin) and Finn Allen (foot) had already been ruled out of New Zealand’s first home series of the season while Kane Williamson made himself unavailable but is expected to return for the white-ball series against England.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Jamieson and Sears have been named after missing the tri-series in Zimbabwe in July. Jamieson missed the tour due to the birth of his first child while Sears was ruled out with a side injury. Walter was pleased to see Sears back fully fit.”He’s worked incredibly hard over the last 12 weeks to be back on the park and done some awesome work there,” he said. “So we’re excited to see him back in the competitive fold.”We’re building a bigger base of fast bowlers, because we understand that the program is so busy these days, but fast bowling is a key requisite for performance. So we want to make sure we’ve got as many options as we possibly can have.”Related

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Santner’s absence means legspinner Ish Sodhi is retained in the smaller squad. Sodhi played only two of New Zealand’s five matches in the Zimbabwe and missed out on the final despite taking 2 for 34 and 4 for 12 in the two games he played.Devon Conway, who signed a casual playing agreement with New Zealand this week alongside Williamson, Allen, Seifert and Ferguson, retains his place after being a late call-up to Zimbabwe where he opened alongside Seifert.New Zealand will face a relatively strong Australian side who are coming off two T20I series wins in recent months.”[They play a] very aggressive brand, which is cool,” Walter said. “I think that puts you under pressure. It certainly allows us to explore a few different options as to how we want to play against them, because it seems like they are coming with a very specific way that they want to play. So it’ll be a lovely test.”Australia will only be missing three first-choice players in Pat Cummins, Nathan Ellis and Cameron Green. Cummins has a hot spot in his lower back while Ellis will remain at home for the birth of his first child. Green is staying home to play first-class cricket for Western Australia where he will bowl for the first time since back surgery last year in preparation for the Ashes series starting in November.Mitchell Starc has retired from T20I cricket, however he had not played for Australia since the 2024 World Cup.

New Zealand T20I squad vs Australia

Michael Bracewell (capt), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi

After losing Mousa Dembele in January, Tottenham Hotspur’s midfield has thinned down. Injuries to Eric Dier, Moussa Sissoko and Victor Wanyama haven’t really help Mauricio Pochettino’s men as they push to win the Premier League title.

Indeed, while impressive, Harry Winks is still learning and the Lilywhites certainly need an appropriate replacement to Dembele.

It seems like they’ve acknowledged a need for an experienced candidate in midfield. According to reports from Corriere dello Sport (via Calciomercato), Spurs are looking to sign FC Porto’s Hector Herrera after his contract expires in June. The Mexican midfielder is having a prolific season with Dragoes, having impressed in the league as well as the UEFA Champions League.

Herrera’s been a solid figure in Porto’s midfield and in 21 league appearances, he’s kept almost 85% passing accuracy (via WhoScored). He’s scored only two goals but averaged 1 key pass every game as well as 2.3 tackles and 1.3 interceptions every game. After having a solid World Cup campaign with Mexico, the midfielder’s picked up form in club-level.

Potentially being available for a free, Herrera could be a valuable asset for Spurs midfield. He’s also proven himself in the Champions League, scoring twice this season in the group stages. A hard-tackling midfielder who is precise with his tackles and winning back possession, Herrera keeps a calm head and can help Spurs dominate games more smoothly.

Pochettino needs a similarly strong, dominant midfielder to replace Dembele. Knowing how consistent the Mexican’s been for Porto, Spurs should start tabling a big offer for Herrera, who can solve their midfield woes and solidify their team even further.

West Bromwich Albion will be desperate to return to winning ways tomorrow evening by getting the better of Stoke City, with the automatic promotion places slowly slipping away. 

The Baggies are still in with a chance of challenging for a place in the top two but a play-off spot looks more likely as they just can’t seem to ensure consistency at the right moments.

However, the Midlands club are already in line for summer delight, as according to Birmingham Mail, Darren Moore denied there’s much of a chance Oliver Burke leaves for Celtic permanently.

Here’s what the West Brom boss had to say:

“Not that I know of no, if there is it’s something between Celtic and our board of directors. As far as we are concerned we sent Oli up there to get some games. To play at a level that we thought was right for him.

“We couldn’t of thought of anywhere better for him. The opportunity of Celtic coming in for him and working under the manager up there. That would help him develop to get him to where we think he should be.

“Hopefully we get him back in the summer and see a more rounded Oli Burke because of the matches he has played.”

Indeed, the youngster has been outstanding since joining Celtic on loan last month, having already scored three goals in the Scottish Premiership. He is finally shaping up to be the player that the Baggies thought they’d signed for a club record fee back in 2017, so it comes as no surprise that Moore is reluctant to sell him permanently.

Of course, the 21-year-old, who is valued at £9 million (by Transfermarkt), has the potential to become a future star and he is currently showing exactly what he’s capable of over in Scotland, so West Brom are already set for summer delight as the Englishman could play a monumental part next season for the Baggies.

So, it appears as if Moore is set to welcome a potential Hawthorns hero back to the Midlands in the summer transfer window, with a permanent stay at West Bromwich Albion looking likely at this moment in time. This is huge for the Baggies as his pace, skill, dribbling and finishing ability could take their attack to another level.

West Brom fans – thoughts on Moore’s decision? 

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Newcastle United came within seconds of clinching a huge win in the race for survival at Molineux on Monday evening but they were cruelly denied by Willy Boly in the final seconds of the game.

Wolves have proven to be a quality outfit at this level following their return to the top-flight this season, so a win for the travelling Magpies would have been huge in the context of the fight for survival.

But, despite the last-gasp equaliser, there were plenty of positives for Benitez to draw from the game, one of which was the excellent performance of Fabian Schar in central defence.

The Spanish tactician has deployed a system incorporating three central defenders on many occasions this season and he opted for a similar set-up on Monday evening, with Schar, Jamaal Lascelles and Florian Lejeune all named in the starting XI.

The former, though, appears to be encouraged to play as something of an auxiliary playmaker when Newcastle are in possession, spraying the ball from deep in a bid to rapidly turn defence into attack.

But the Swiss defender also took the chance to drive forward with the ball at his feet when an apt opportunity presented itself, and Newcastle reaped the rewards of his vision as he slotted the ball into Isaac Hayden’s path to provide the assist for the opening goal of the evening.

It was a deserved assist for a player who has often provided a creative presence from defence this season.

His defensive contribution was also highly commendable, with four interceptions, four clearances and six aerial battles won to help add some much needed solidity to the backline.

The niche role which Benitez has created for Schar has provided Newcastle with an unlikely secret weapon in a number of fixtures this season, and his latest showing against Wolves has vindicated the manager’s tactical approach.