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Besides from picking up Anthony Elanga for a whopping £55m, Newcastle United has been quiet with incoming signings this summer transfer window so far.

Unfortunately, multiple advances, away from securing the ex-Manchester United winger’s services, have fallen to the wayside, with James Trafford looking more likely to move to Manchester City now over relocating to Tyneside, alongside long-term Magpies target Hugo Ekitike also favouring Liverpool over St James’ Park.

Thankfully, time is still on the Toon’s side as the early September deadline is a month and a bit away, with Newcastle now wanting to press on with securing some other new additions, away from cursing any failed captures.

Newcastle send scouts to watch £34m star

Clearly, the Magpies want to add another exciting striker to their ranks this summer – even if Alexander Isak does remain put – as the likes of Benjamin Sesko and Yoane Wissa appear on Eddie Howe’s ambitious shopping list.

Reports do suggest that Sesko would cost an extortionate £78m to obtain, on top of Wissa being valued around the £40m mark, with far cheaper targets on Newcastle’s radar when trying to bolster their personnel defensively.

Indeed, as per a development from NUFC Blog, Newcastle are now interested in a £34m deal to bring Inter Milan centre-back Yann Bisseck to England, having even sent scouts out to Italy to watch him in action.

The report also states that further Premier League interest has come Bisseck’s way from Aston Villa, Manchester United, and Tottenham Hotspur, but the Magpies will hope they can land the 6-foot-5 titan’s signature at the expense of their rivals, as they bid to replicate their Sandro Tonali magic with another gem from Italy.

How Bisseck can be a Tonali repeat

Much like Bisseck has managed at the San Siro, Tonali would rise from being a promising starlet at Inter’s foes in AC Milan to becoming a dependable first teamer worthy of a pricey move to English shores.

Tonali would tally up a promising seven goals and 13 assists on the books of the Rossoneri before St James’ Park came calling, and the battling 25-year-old has never looked back since, with the Toon number eight only missing two Premier League clashes all of last season as one of Howe’s first, concrete names on the teamsheet.

Four goals and two assists would also come Tonali’s way across those 36 top-flight outings, with this wonderfully struck effort the pick of the bunch from the efforts that were cannoned home.

Bisseck will pray that if a move to Newcastle gets off the ground, he can make similar strides and become a key first-teamer under Howe’s wing, with his numbers in the Serie A this season just gone pointing in the direction that he could soon make these dreams a reality.

Games played

27

Goals scored

3

Assists

2

Touches*

55.4

Accurate passes*

43.0 (92%)

Ball recoveries*

2.4

Clearances*

2.3

Total duels won*

2.9

Clean sheets

3

Looking at the table above, there is plenty to be encouraged by if Newcastle were to land the £34m titan, with Bisseck putting his towering 6-foot-5 frame to effective use when chipping in with three goals last season in Serie A action, on top of also being assured with the ball at his feet as an imposing presence with 43 accurate passes averaged per league game.

He does have room to improve, too, but he has also shown flashes of his “commanding” excellence – as he was once labelled by football analyst Ben Mattinson – in the Champions League with eight duels won in total across two legs versus Barcelona last season, whilst also silencing Man City menace Erling Haaland in a 0-0 stalemate versus the Citizens during a group stage affair.

Newcastle will be competing on Europe’s grandest stage again next campaign, meaning Bisseck might well be just the buy to pursue to improve Howe’s options as the fixture list grows in size, with a golden Tonali-like repeat hopefully in the offing.

More clinical than Ekitike: Howe plotting Newcastle move to sign £75m+ star

Losing out on Ekitike could prove to be a blessing in disguise.

2 ByTom Cunningham Jul 19, 2025

After scouts completed their “due diligence”, Leeds United have now reportedly opened talks to sign a Champions League-level midfielder for Daniel Farke this summer.

49ers pushing on after signing Bijol

Back in the Premier League and ready to end the trend of promoted sides heading straight back down to the Championship, Leeds have already welcomed both Lukas Nmecha and Jaka Bijol this summer. The latter, costing around £19m, particularly stands out as one to watch after swapping Udinese for Elland Road in a big-money move.

After putting pen to paper, the central defender told Leeds’ official website: “This is a big day for me, for my family and I’m happy to be here. Maybe the biggest one of my career so far, but I’m ready for it.

“I work for it and that’s why I’m here, because it’s a big challenge for everyone. It’s a big challenge for me, for the club, and we’re getting ready for it together. I think the club and myself are ready for the Premier League.

“I can promise that I will give everything, that I will give everything in every training as well to be ready for the first game of the season and then just go from there.”

After Bijol: Leeds join race to sign £17m star who's the new Hernandez

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By
Joe Nuttall

Jun 25, 2025

Not resting on their laurels, however, the 49ers have since set their sight on further reinforcements such as Habib Diarra who would hand Farke a midfield boost. And it seems as though midfield is the ongoing focus at Elland Road with “due diligence” complete and talks now open to sign a Champions League star this summer.

Leeds open talks to sign Douglas Luiz

According to former Premier League scout Mick Brown, Leeds have now opened talks to sign Douglas Luiz from Juventus this summer as he desperately looks to make his way back to the Premier League just one year on from leaving Aston Villa.

Brown told Football Insider after claiming that Juventus want to sell the Brazilian: “So Leeds may well be interested after speaking to his agent, but they have to know what they’re getting.

“If they want somebody to get on the ball and help them progress, he can do that. If they want somebody who’s combative and willing to battle in the middle, they’ll look elsewhere. Their scouts will have done their due diligence on him, they’ll know what he can and can’t do, and then it’s up to them to make a decision.”

The former Manchester United scout Luiz as “talented” before revealing Leeds’ talks to secure his signature in the coming months. As signings go, welcoming the former Villa star back to the Premier League would be quite the statement from the 49ers and would instantly negate their need to sign another midfield reinforcement.

Liverpool’s pursuit of Bayer Leverkusen superstar Florian Wirtz looks to finally be coming to a close, as BILD have confirmed a date for the playmaker’s Reds debut, with his contract expected to be signed in the coming days.

The Reds have been pushing to sign the 22-year-old in recent weeks, in what has to be considered one of their most exciting pieces of business in the past decade.

Wirtz has been voted the best player in the Bundesliga in both of the past two seasons by his peers, and he is considered among the most talented attacking players in Europe. Leverkusen have been stubborn in letting their star player leave, however, with Liverpool already seeing a £113m bid for his services rejected.

That said, the player himself wants to move to the Premier League champions, rather than stay put or join Bayern Munich, and there has been continued confidence that a deal will be agreed sooner rather than later.

With Wirtz’s international commitments with Germany now done for this month, the hope is that the transfer moves quickly now, and a fresh claim certainly suggests that that is the case.

Wirtz set to make Liverpool debut against Preston on July 13

Now, according to BILD in Germany, Liverpool are closer than ever to completing the signing of Wirtz from Leverkusen, as he is set to sign his contract before heading on holiday.

It is claimed that the Reds will offer €140m (£118m) for the German, with a “package consisting of a fixed transfer fee and realistic additional payments, possibly with additional bonus payments”, with the overriding feeling now that the two clubs are close to an agreement.

They even report he will make his debut in the pre-season opener against Preston, with the trip to Deepdale on July 13 pencilled in after joining his colleagues in training from July 7.

This is the news that so many Liverpool fans will have been hoping to hear, considering Wirtz could be a game-changing signing in their attack, having been lauded as the “best” in the world in his position by Patrick Helmes.

There will clearly be huge pressure on Wirtz to excel for Liverpool, considering he will shatter their club-record fee, but he has all the tools to be a sensation, from creative genius in the No.10 role – he has 57 goals and 65 assists for Leverkusen – to a strong work ethic out of possession.

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ByHenry Jackson Jun 9, 2025

It’s now a case of getting the deal completely over the line, with the Germany international linking up with Jeremie Frimpong again at Anfield, and hopefully Milos Kerkez and an elite new striker to follow, especially if Darwin Nunez leaves Anfield in the coming days.

With Jose Mourinho looking to take advantage of Manchester United’s ruthlessness, Fenerbahce are now reportedly preparing a summer move to sign one of Ruben Amorim’s unwanted attacking options.

Man Utd need another summer overhaul

Manchester United have been attempting to return to the top of English football for over a decade now. As each year has passed, however, the Red Devils have become further away from where they once belonged under Sir Alex Ferguson, and the current campaign has seen them fall deeper than ever. Closer to the relegation zone than the European places in the Premier League, United desperately need yet another squad overhaul.

In the past, it’s been Jose Mourinho demanding reinforcements or Ole Gunner Solskjaer receiving a Cristiano Ronaldo-shaped gift that some may argue he never truly desired. These days, it’s Ruben Amorim who needs change at Old Trafford if he is to stand a chance at success with his 3-4-2-1 system. Unlike under Mourinho and Solskjaer, though, there remain question marks over whether United can afford such a big summer.

Amorim on alert: Man Utd consider move to sign "unique" new £30m wing-back

The Red Devils could sign their next Dorgu on the other flank.

By
Tom Cunningham

May 16, 2025

INEOS have been cutting costs in every way they can this season, including when it comes to the travel expenses and tickets for staff to attend the Europa League final, but next week’s game against Tottenham Hotspur may yet hand them a much-needed boost.

Europa League victory would see the Red Devils clutch Champions League football from the claws of disappointment and from the bottom half of the Premier League. Suddenly, from their lowest-ever finish in the Premier League, Manchester United could be back among Europe’s elite.

That said, with or without Champions League football, some big calls look set to be made this summer, which could spell the end for Joshua Zirkzee amid recent reports and others. The struggling forward may well be one of few to be shown the door at Old Trafford.

Fenerbahce preparing Hojlund move

According to Sozcu, as relayed by TeamTalk, Fenerbahce are now preparing a loan-to-buy move to sign Rasmus Hojlund, who will be allowed to leave Manchester United this summer. A move courtesy of former United boss Mourinho, the Dane desperately needs to rediscover his best form following a disastrous spell in the Premier League.

Rasmus Hojlund in the Premier League	Man Utd Record (via Premier League)
Appearances	60
Goals	14
Assists	2

With just 16 goal involvements in 60 Premier League appearances, Hojlund has far from lived up to expectations since completing a move worth as much as £72m from Atalanta in 2023.

Whether some around the club still have faith in the Dane despite his record will certainly be interesting to see this summer. Amorim recently praised his goal-shy forward, albeit whilst admitting that he needs fortune to fall his way in front of goal, telling reporters: “Today, he did some three or four connections that can allow us to change the side of the game. I think he deserved this kind of moment [the assist for Dalot] to feel that.

“Every striker wants to score goals and we are going to help him score. He’s so anxious, you can see it. But Josh, everybody, Nous did it. All the team played really well today.”

Manchester City first visited Goodison Park on 28 April 1900, beaten 4-0 that day, and Saturday’s visit will be the Sky Blues’ 101st and final outing at the stadium.

Supporters of a sky-blue persuasion will be sad to see the stadium close, considering Man City have won each of their last eight visits there, despite winning only one of the first 21.

Come three o’clock, there will be no room for sentiment, given that Pep Guardiola’s team need the points in their quest for Champions League qualification, currently fifth, but with both Chelsea and Aston Villa breathing down their necks.

If Guardiola is going to lead his team to victory on Merseyside, we believe he should unleash his “incredible” star at number ten.

İlkay Gündoğan's difficult Manchester City return

Last summer, after just one season at Barcelona, İlkay Gündoğan rejoined Manchester City on a free transfer.

This was widely considered to be a shrewd piece of business, with former Chelsea and Aston Villa midfielder Andy Townsend labelling this a “smart” move.

Meantime, Elias Burke and Anantaajith Raghuraman of the Athletic described the German international as one of Guardiola’s ‘most reliable servants’, forecasting he would continue to be ‘influential’ and that the signing was a complete ‘no-brainer’.

However, things have not transpired this way, with Guardiola himself describing Gündoğan’s performance against Newcastle in September as “one of the worst” he has seen from him.

Meanwhile, speaking during Sky Sports’ coverage, Jamie Redknapp slammed the German for not doing the basics during Man City’s 4-0 mauling at the hands of Spurs, stating “I think Gündoğan has really struggled… to deal with the intensity of this match.”

So, let’s assess how Gündoğan’s statistics compare this season to his most recent campaign at the club, prior to his move to Barça.

Appearances

51

43

Minutes

3,856

2,711

Starts

45

31

Matches missed due to injury

Zero

Zero

Goals

11

2

Assists

6

4

Goals – xG

+1.3

-2.7

Expected goals

7.5

2.7

Expected assists

3.3

2.6

Shots per 90

2.03

1.16

Shots on target %

37.7%

17.4%

Pass completion %

87.1%

89.4%

Shot-creating actions

90

66

Goal-creating actions

17

9

Tackles

30

22

Interceptions

20

12

Ball recoveries

155

92

Touches per 90

69

80

As the table outlines, Gündoğan’s statistics this season are almost comprehensively down across the board, with pass completion percentage and touches per 90 the only two that have increased.

So, after starting the last five matches, we believe Guardiola should leave the German on the bench at Goodison and start a more creative attacking force in his place.

A Man City star is looking to rediscover his best form

Earlier this month, Jack Grealish ended his 473-day wait for a Premier League goal, on target during Manchester City’s routine 2-0 home win over Leicester.

That night, the England international was deployed in a more central number ten role, with Guardiola describing his performance as “incredible”, adding “this is a guy who used to play free, between the lines, he’s got the ability to control the ball and play an extra pass”.

Meantime, as outlined by Jamie Jackson of the Guardian, Grealish performed much better in a central number ten role during that game, having been handed a first start in the Premier League since just before Christmas.

Last weekend against Crystal Palace, Guardiola deployed a rather stodgy midfield trio of Nico González, Mateo Kovačić and the aforementioned Gündoğan.

This Saturday, against David Moyes’ Everton, who will defend deep in a low block, Man City will require an extra spark of attacking creativity, and Grealish could be the man to provide exactly this.

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ByJoe Nuttall Apr 18, 2025

Having bounced back from a recent wobble with a handy win over Everton in the Merseyside derby, Liverpool are one step closer to lifting the Premier League trophy.

At this point, it’s inevitable that Arne Slot will bow his head to receive a winners’ medal by May, maybe even sooner. What a season. What a triumph. No one saw it coming. No one, perhaps, except a prescient German, lopsided smile and all, who recognised he’d done all he could.

But back to the here and now. Liverpool travel to Craven Cottage this afternoon to take on Fulham, looking to add another hard-fought win to the collection and preserve their undefeated record on the road this term.

Winning at Anfield on Wednesday evening restored Liverpool’s 12-point lead at the summit, but it’s important to snuff out even the smallest flickers of hope from title rivals Arsenal by claiming another three points here.

So then, team news.

24/25

Premier League (H)

2-2 draw

23/24

Premier League (A)

3-1 win

23/24

Carabao Cup (A)

1-1 draw

23/24

Carabao Cup (H)

2-1 win

23/24

Premier League (H)

4-3 win

Liverpool team news

Slot has confirmed that Alisson Becker and Conor Bradley face late tests ahead of the trip to the capital.

With Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez also sidelined, it looks like Curtis Jones is going to reprise his role at right-back, having performed so well in a new position in midweek.

Alexis Mac Allister avoided injury following a dreadful challenge from Everton’s James Tarkowski, however, fringe midfielder Tyler Morton remains out.

Slot hasn’t been one to chop and change all too frequently this season but Liverpool have dipped over the past few weeks, seemingly sapped and drained after an incredible start to the campaign.

Moreover, the frontline have been frustratingly profligate of late, but Diogo Jota broke his 11-game duck against Everton last time out and Luis Diaz claimed a third assist in as many Premier League matches.

Diogo Jota's return to form

You could very well argue that the international break came at the perfect time for Liverpool, allowing the squad to recalibrate after a series of blows and restore some of their wonderful fluency.

Jota has suffered a frustrating campaign on an individual level, only 11 times in the Premier League and struggling to harness his usual deadliness in front of goal.

However, his skip-and-finish moment against the Toffees reminded Merseyside of the 28-year-old’s prowess, and he’ll now be looking to end the season on the crest of a wave.

You’d perhaps think that Slot would want to keep his Portuguese striker at the bow of the ship for the clash against Fulham, but he might actually be inclined to make the bold move to drop the derby hero and instead shuffle the pack up top.

Slot could boldly drop Jota

The obvious name to draw here would be Darwin Nunez, but Liverpool are gearing up to sell the Uruguayan striker and he has only started eight Premier League games all season despite avoiding any significant injury blows.

Federico Chiesa is another to consider. The 27-year-old is the sole signing of the Slot era so far, but he’s been on the margins amid injury and selection frustrations, albeit he scored a well-taken consolation goal at Wembley last month to get fans chatting online about his potential as a centre-forward.

However, having yet to start in the top-flight this year, Liverpool may be better off parking that one and instead unleashing Cody Gakpo from the outset following his recent fitness issues.

Gakpo spent the 2023/24 campaign wandering around the park, with Klopp utilising his dynamism by fielding him in a number of different roles, principally at number nine but even on occasion in a central midfield position.

However, Slot seemingly recognised his compatriot’s strength on the attacking left flank, where he has played all season, scoring 16 goals and supplying six assists across 41 fixtures, matching last year’s haul but doing so in about 800 fewer minutes.

The numbers don’t tell the full story, either, with the Netherlands star now looking far more confident and effective in his performances. ESPN’s Beth Lindop has hailed the 25-year-old as a “special player,” drawing attention to his “elegant” style.

The left winger’s ball-striking ability is something that Liverpool could do with right now, bringing him back into form after Jota, something that could further ease Mohamed Salah’s burden and bring Liverpool into a more balanced attacking state ahead of the final weeks of the season.

Gakpo, moreover, has played six times against Fulham in his Liverpool career but has only featured twice on the left. Those appearances arrived in his past two league meetings with the Cottagers and he hit goal involvements in both, assisting during last season’s 3-1 win at Craven Cottage before scoring during December’s 2-2 draw on Merseyside.

The latter of those games was an anxiety-inducing watch, for Andy Robertson was sent off in the opening half. Gakpo was instrumental in helping his team avoid defeat at Anfield, scoring, hitting the target three times, creating one big chance, and winning five duels.

Gakpo’s finishing is a thing to behold, and while Jota scored against Everton, you could argue that the goal’s creator, Diaz, enjoyed the superior performance, so electric and intimidating as he made six key passes and won eight duels, as per Sofascore.

The Colombian might not be the most prolific, but it’s such qualities that make him such an important part of this soon-to-be title-winning side. Centrally, he can cause chaos and pick at Fulham’s defenders, opening up space for Gakpo and Salah to arc inwards and strike on goal.

Jota did well in returning to the scoresheet, but Slot needs to latch onto that energy and direct it toward his side’s other forwards. Sparking purple patches across the frontline will be a sure-fire way to maintain high levels over the closing weeks of the campaign.

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This player has turned into Liverpool’s modern superstar.

ByAngus Sinclair Apr 4, 2025

Stormont, in Belfast, will become the 123rd venue to host men’s Test cricket

Matt Roller24-Jul-2024After a six-year wait, Ireland will finally play their second home men’s Test this week – but it will be staged in a different country to the first. Stormont, in Belfast, will become the 123rd venue to host a men’s Test; Northern Ireland will become the 23rd nation to do so, after the Republic of Ireland became the 22nd back when Pakistan played at Malahide in 2018.Cricket, like rugby union, is played on an all-Ireland basis: there is a single national team which plays as ‘Ireland’ and has representation from both sides of the border. Football stands in clear contrast, with two separate national teams. At the Olympics, some Northern Irish athletes represent Team GB and others represent Team Ireland.Northern Ireland has a strong record of producing cricketers, including several members of Ireland’s ‘golden generation’ in William Porterfield, Gary Wilson and Boyd Rankin. Six of the 14-man squad picked to face Zimbabwe this week are from north of the border: Mark Adair, Matthew Humphreys, Andy McBrine, James McCollum, Paul Stirling and Craig Young.”I’d be a very proud Northern Irishman,” Adair, who will lead the seam attack, tells ESPNcricinfo. National identity and politics are rarely discussed in the dressing room, he explains: “Much like rugby, it’s something that is obviously respected, but not really talked about. There’s no need to talk about it, which is a good thing. But I think it adds to the pride of it for me.”It’s obviously tricky, because you’ve got a small part of the emerald isle in the UK and the rest of it isn’t. If you start off in Belfast and drive an hour, the next thing you know, the speed limits are in kilometres per hour not miles, and the money is in euros instead of pounds. It’s something we’re all aware of, but it doesn’t really come into play.”Mark Adair: I’ve probably played more games on this ground than anyone else in the squad. It means the world to me•Getty ImagesAdair grew up in Holywood, a town just outside Belfast, and lives 10 minutes’ drive from Stormont. “The team hotel is further away than my house,” he says. After recovering from a minor hamstring injury, he could bowl the first ball in the ground’s Test match history on Thursday: “It’s really special for me. It’s something that I grew up never thinking I’d be able to do or have the chance to do… I’d struggle to talk about the significance.”After getting into cricket watching the 2005 Ashes on Channel 4, Adair can remember watching Marcus Trescothick score a century for England in an ODI at Stormont in 2006. “But the next few times I saw Ireland play there, I’d have been helping out with the groundstaff, lending a pair of hands and helping to get the covers on.”Phil McCormick, the head groundsman at Stormont, would ask a teenaged Adair for help, having captained him in club cricket. “There would be times when he’d need me to do something and I was too busy getting autographs of the England or Pakistan players,” Adair laughs. “There’s a couple of photos out there of me asking Gary Wilson to sign something for me.”It’s gone from that, to him preparing a Test match pitch that I’m hopefully going to be playing on… I’ve asked him not to cut it for the last month! He’s put a lot of work in, and fingers crossed, it’s a belter. I’ve probably played more games on this ground than anyone else in the squad… it means the world to me.”

I haven’t yet, but I’m sure I’ll get a text from my dad saying, ‘I need 27 tickets, could you sort that?Mark Adair is expecting family to come along for the start of the Zimbabwe Test on Thursday

Adair took six wickets on Test debut in 2019, including 3 for 32 as Ireland bowled England out for 85 at Lord’s. “I remember sitting in the changing room thinking, ‘it doesn’t get better than this’ and that we were going to play loads of Test cricket,” he recalls. “But then it sort of disappeared, and went onto the back-burner. I didn’t even own a pair of white pads for a few years.”Ireland’s precarious financial position meant they went four years without playing a Test, though they have now played five in the last 15 months. Their most recent fixture came in March, when Adair’s eight-wicket match haul proved instrumental in their first-ever Test win over Afghanistan in Abu Dhabi – and won him the match award.”I love Test cricket and multi-day cricket, and I really hope it’s something that comes back to Irish cricket more regularly,” he says. “Any time that guys don’t try and whack me from ball one, I’m delighted… the skillset that I have is pretty similar [across formats] and I love the idea of being able to bowl longer spells and read batsmen, and try to work them out.”At 28, he will have the opportunity to play his first home Test in front of his family this week, against a Zimbabwe side who have not played in the format for 17 months. “Our record against them over the last few years is close,” Adair says. “Zimbabwe are a great team for us to play against: they’re well-balanced and will be a good marker of where we’re at.”I haven’t yet, but I’m sure I’ll get a text from my dad saying, ‘I need 27 tickets, could you sort that?’ But I’m sure there’ll be a full quota of Adairs on the Saturday, and my other half will be down for most of the week… it’s just mad that I’ll be one of the guys on the field, rather than the little kid who’s having to pull the covers on.”

Known for her change-ups with the old ball, she has shown a previously hidden facet of her skillset at the Commonwealth Games

S Sudarshanan03-Aug-2022Hayley Jensen has played 42 T20Is. Only four members of New Zealand’s squad at the Commonwealth Games have played more matches than her. But what exactly is her role in New Zealand’s T20I set-up?She’s handy with the bat, but she’s hardly the first name you’d think of when you think of New Zealand’s best batters. She’s a wily medium-pacer who often gets the better of batters on sluggish surfaces with her change-ups, but her name is probably not the first that pops into your head if you close your eyes and think of New Zealand’s seamers.Over the last couple of years, Jensen has been a plug-the-hole kind of player. Suzie Bates is unavailable, who do New Zealand open the batting with? Jensen. A couple of quick wickets have fallen; who could they possibly send in to lengthen their batting? Jensen, of course. Quick lower-order runs needed? Call Jensen, maybe?During the Commonwealth Games, she’s begun fulfilling another new role, of opening the bowling. Against South Africa, she was New Zealand’s most economical bowler, her four overs costing just 22 runs and bringing the wicket of Anneke Bosch. In the 45-run win over Sri Lanka, Jensen did even better, returning figures of 3 for 5 – her best in T20Is.If Sri Lanka were to make a match of their 148-run chase, Chamari Athapaththu had to be the protagonist. In her opening exchanges with Jensen, though, Athapaththu – to quote Jos Buttler – “came third in a two-horse race”. It could have been curtains for her off the very first ball when she failed to pick an inswinger and was rapped on the pads. New Zealand didn’t review the lbw call. After flicking the next inswinger to midwicket, she had a wild dash at a full and wide ball.Off the fourth ball she faced, Athapaththu walked at Jensen, only for the inswinger to dip under her bat and clatter into leg stump. The stuff of dreams for a swing bowler. Hasini Perera was next in line to succumb to her inswing, failing to put bat to five of the first six balls she faced from Jensen, flicking and missing repeatedly.Jensen was Player of the Match when New Zealand fought back from 91 all out to beat Bangladesh at the T20 World Cup in 2020•ICCJensen had never opened the bowling for New Zealand before the Commonwealth Games, and head coach Ben Sawyer was behind the move to give her this opportunity.”Ben’s come in and just wanted me to swing the ball up top,” Jensen said. “That’s what I have tried to work on. Usually I probably bowl variations and things like that. He’s just tried to keep it simple for me to swing the ball up top and then yorkers at the back end.”I do it for Otago back in domestic [cricket]. I haven’t done it for White Ferns as much but tried to get it back in my game. Ben’s really helped me with that. He was the bowling coach of Australia and so he’s really been helping me with my bowling.”Jensen returned for her second spell after the powerplay to end Perera’s misery before having Anushka Sanjeewani playing on with a full one in the 15th over.”We saw in the warmups that she was moving it a bit and, in training also, she’s been really swinging the ball a lot here in English conditions, and you want to make the most of it,” Sophie Devine, the New Zealand captain, said. “Today she was outstanding again. She’s probably a bit underrated and I think the teams are certainly going to start watching what she can do with the ball.”In the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020, when New Zealand were dismissed for 91 by Bangladesh, Jensen led the way with the ball with 3 for 11 to eke out a 17-run win. A week before that, she had dragged Sri Lanka back after a strong start and helped keep them to a gettable total.From being the saviour with the older ball to setting the tone with the new, swinging ball, Jensen has shown she can do it all. And now that she’s gained success in this new, high-profile gig, her name might be the first one that comes to your mind if you were to close your eyes and think of a New Zealand player.

Greg Chappell, Mike Hussey and Brad Hodge go through the talent pool to pick two separate squads each

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Jun-2020In the era of Covid-19, the cricket calendar will need be redrawn and there will be a crush to fit in all the fixtures that were deferred. It has even been suggested that two formats could be played at the same time. While that may not actually happen, it throws up some intriguing selection questions.If we consider playing a Test and a T20I on the same day, West Indies would probably have the fewest selection headaches, given they already have very different five-day and limited-overs squads.Tests: Kraigg Brathwaite, John Campbell, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Shane Dowrich, Rahkeem Cornwall, Kemar Roach, Shannon Gabriel.T20Is: Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Sunil Narine.But how would the three best-resourced sides in the world – England, India and Australia – fare in having two teams play at the same time in a Test and T20I?Australia have already gone down the path of picking two separate international teams, when, in 2017, the T20I side took on Sri Lanka at home while the Test team was in India. We asked recent selector Greg Chappell and former batsmen-turned-commentators Michael Hussey and Brad Hodge to pick two squads of 12 for the challenge. The idea is to treat the matches as equally important and pick the best balanced squads.ESPNcricinfo LtdGreg Chappell: My focus was to get the best team for both formats. Obviously Smith and Warner could fit easily into each, as could Starc and Cummins. I must admit I was not prepared to weaken the Test team to bolster the T20I team. Both teams are competitive in my view. And, to me, Cameron Green is the next superstar of Australian cricket. He is a genuine prospect with bat and ball, but I think his future is as a batsman who can offer some quality overs. Cameron is a batsman of rare talent. At 6ft 7in, he could become something very special. I would bat him at No. 6 to start with, but I reckon No. 4 is his long-term position. The sooner he gets to play at this level, the sooner he will become the player that he should be. He has proven that he can make runs at the first-class level, so the sooner he can prepare and play alongside Warner, Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, the sooner he will work out what he needs for the highest level from these champions.ESPNcricinfo LtdMichael Hussey: The process I went through was: I wrote down the Australian Test No. 1-12, then a T20I 1-12, and I put the players in that are definitely Test and definitely T20 players. With the gaps, I tried to find the right balance in a team with players who were maybe just outside the squad. David Warner was a tough one because he’d be a first pick in both the Test and T20I teams, but I wasn’t that confident in the other openers in T20. I know there’s D’Arcy Short, but I just thought Usman Khawaja was too good a player not to have involved, so that’s why he’s at the top of the order in Tests. Steven Smith in the middle is probably more effective in Test cricket, although very effective in T20s as well, and then Mitchell Starc is a tough one as well. His ability in white-ball cricket, particularly with the new ball and at the death in T20s, is just so good. I felt I could cover him in the Test team with the likes of James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins – more sort of Test specialists. It wasn’t easy, but two pretty good teams, I reckon, and hard to beat.Getty ImagesBrad Hodge: I thought Warner was irreplaceable in the Test side given his record opening the batting and averaging 50 is substantial, even though he has an unreal T20 record. I felt you could still replace him – you might not get the same output, but you’ll get something close to it with Marcus Stoinis or Chris Lynn up the top. If you took him out of the Test side, I think Australia are completely vulnerable to the new ball. Khawaja, I didn’t put him in just because he’s been dropped, and Nic Maddinson has scored a pile of runs in the last two years of Shield cricket and deserves a chance. With Stoinis and Moises Henriques, I went for more experience – taking Smith out of that XI along with Warner – ahead of Short and Mitchell Marsh.MSK Prasad, Kiran More and Ajit Agarkar each picked a Test and T20I team for India here. And Ian Bell, Mark Butcher and Graeme Swann picked XIs for England here

Bayern Munich were forced to come from behind to beat Sporting CP 3-1 at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday in the Champions League. A Joshua Kimmich own goal gave the visitors a shock lead in the game but the hosts hit back through Serge Gnabry. Teenage superstar Lennart Karl then sealed another impressive performance by firing Bayern ahead before Jonathan Tah wrapped up another European win for Vincent Kompany's side.

• Karl the star as Bayern come from behind

  Bayern thought they had broken the deadlock just minutes into the encounter. Karl controlled the ball and swept home a fine finish from just inside the penalty area, but the goal was chalked off as Gnabry had strayed fractionally offside. The hosts went on to have the better chances of the opening 45 minutes but couldn’t find a way past goalkeeper Rui Silva. Harry Kane was denied by the post, while Karl went even closer just before half-time after a jinking run but saw his effort palmed away by Silva.

  Those misses proved to be costly as Sporting stunned the Allianz Arena at the start of the second half. A quick break down the left flank saw Joao Simoes beat Tah and fire a ball across goal. A lunging Kimmich tried to block the shot but succeeded only in diverting the ball past Bayern stopper Manuel Neuer to hand the visitors a shock lead.

  Bayern hit back within 10 minutes courtesy of some criminal defending by the visitors. A corner in from the right by Michael Olise found Gnabry completed unmarked at the far post and left with the simple task of hooking the ball home to make it 1-1.

  Four minutes later, Bayern were in front and it was no surprise to see the irrepressible Karl netting. The 17-year-old ran onto a ball in the box, cushioned it perfectly on his left foot before lashing home with his right to put Bayern in front for the first time in the game.

  Sporting's resistance was broken and Bayern went on to seal the win through Tah. Kimmich went some way to making amends for his earlier own goal by pinging a ball from deep into the penalty area for Olise to head back into the danger area. His header found an unmarked Tah with all the time in the world to poke home Bayern's third to seal the win.

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  The MVP

  Karl enhanced his growing reputation with another stellar performance and a vital goal to ensure Bayern took all three points. Even with Harry Kane on the pitch, Karl looked Bayern's most likely source of a goal against Sporting and it was no surprise to see him pop up with the goal that put Bayern 2-1 up. Karl also wrote his name in the history books with his latest strike, as he becomes the youngest player in Champions League history to score in three consecutive games at 17 years and 290 days.

• The big loser

  Kimmich had an evening to forget against Sporting. A poor moment saw the 30-year-old inadvertently hand the visitors the lead as he put through his own net in the first half. Kimmich's frustrations then boiled over in the second half when a brief brawl erupted between both sets of players after Bayern had equalised. The Germany star was booked for his part in the proceedings to compound a less than impressive showing from the veteran.

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  Match rating (out of five): ⭐⭐⭐