Manchester United are reportedly keen to make a move for Real Madrid defender, Antonio Rudiger, having previously been interested in the German centre-back prior to his move to the Bernabeu.

What are the latest Man United transfer rumours?

With rumours abound that Erik ten Hag is keen to move on club captain Harry Maguire this summer, reports in Spain are claiming that the Dutchman could have his eye on a possible replacement in the form of Rudiger.

The piece suggests that the Red Devils are plotting to make a bid of around €60m (£51m) to try and prise the 30-year-old from the La Liga side, albeit with Los Blancos said to be adamant that the 6 foot 3 ace won't be sold, after just a solitary season in the Spanish capital.

As per Manchester Evening News, the Old Trafford outfit were seemingly keen to sign the then-Chelsea man on a free transfer last year, albeit with the player ultimately opting to link up with Carlo Ancelotti's side instead, following the expiry of his contract at Stamford Bridge.

Should Man United sign Rudiger?

The Premier League giants have been no strangers to raiding Madrid for their experienced assets in recent years, having snapped up Casemiro on a £70m deal last summer, while also sealing a move for Raphael Varane for a reported fee of £41m in 2021.

Much like Rudiger, the latter man had seemingly been a long-term target for United prior to his eventual move to the Theatre of Dreams, with the World Cup winner making the switch after having won four Champions Leagues during his stint in Spain.

Lauded as a "world-class" asset by MEN journalist Samuel Luckhurst amid his arrival in England, Varane has endured his fair share of injury woes over the past two seasons, although the 30-year-old was a key figure under Ten Hag last term as the club ended their six-year trophy drought.

Described as "cool and calm and collected" by talkSPORT pundit Adrian Mariappa, the one-time Lens ace has made a real "influence" on the Red Devils due to his prior winning experience – according to his manager – with the hope being that Rudiger can follow suit if he is to make the same move this summer.

A former Champions League and Europa League winner with Chelsea during his time in west London, the "immense" defender – as hailed by ex-United man Rio Ferdinand – may be in the latter stages of his career, although like Varane, he certainly still has plenty to offer to Ten Hag.

The 60-cap gem's quality was notably evident in Madrid's first-leg, semi-final meeting with Manchester City back in May, having been praised by Ferdinand for managing to keep the menacing presence of Erling Haaland at bay.

Not that the former Roma man is merely a hot-headed, reckless asset, however, with the Berlin native able to mirror Varane's 'calm' approach as shown by the fact that he ranks in the top 5% among his European peers for pass completion, showcasing just how comfortable he is at playing out from the back.

Also like Varane – who has been hailed as a "leader" by Luckhurst – Rudiger is an "aggressive leader", according to former boss Thomas Tuchel, ensuring he can provide Ten Hag with another strong character in the dressing room.

With Maguire potentially on his way out, the signing of the £241k-per-week German would be a particularly astute piece of business this summer.

Leeds United fans will have started to 'worry' about their prospects this term due to their decision to take Sam Byram on trial at Elland Road, according to transfer insider Dean Jones.

Is Sam Byram returning to Leeds United?

According to Football Insider, Byram has returned to Elland Road on trial in a bid to try and win himself a deal at Leeds United to work under his old boss Daniel Farke.

The Whites are mooted to see the 29-year-old as an inexpensive option to help with depth at left-back, even though he is predominantly a right-back by trade and his arrival may free up expenditure to put to good use elsewhere. As per The Guardian, Thurrock-born Byram started his senior career at Leeds United before joining West Ham United in 2016.

Byram is known well by Leeds United boss Farke and left Norwich City upon the expiration of his £30,000 per week contract at Carrow Road at the end of last season alongside Kieran Dowell and Michael McGovern, who have since headed north of the border to join Rangers and Hearts, respectively.

Following their capture of Ethan Ampadu, who joined from Chelsea in a £7 million transfer earlier this week, 90min report that Leeds United are 'set to reunite' with Byram, which could mean the Englishman is in line to join on a permanent basis.

Last term, Byram made 16 appearances in all competitions for Norwich City and managed to get himself on the scoresheet on one occasion, as per Transfermarkt.

Speaking to Football FanCast, transfer insider Jones thinks Leeds United fans will worry about the type of recruitment the club may be willing to conduct in light of their decision to take Byram on trial.

Jones told FFC: "What I like about a lot of them [Leeds United's summer targets] is they've got a point to prove. I think that's what Leeds need to do now because Leeds have a point to prove next season and they need to bounce back quickly. You would expect them to be in that promotion hunt next term, but when you're seeing the likes of Sam Byram going back to the club on trial, you're going to start to worry as a Leeds fan because that's absolutely not where you thought the club would be heading straight on the back of relegation, you thought they could set their sights a bit higher than that."

Who else has been linked with Leeds United this window?

According to renowned journalist Fabrizio Romano on Twitter, Leeds United are keen to bring in Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Edouard Michut, as he stated on the social media platform: "Excl: Leeds United are among several clubs interested in Edouard Michut from Paris Saint-Germain. Deal will depend on conditions decided by PSG in the coming days."

Rangers midfielder Glen Kamara is reported to have 'agreed terms with the club leadership at Elland Road' ahead of a proposed move to Leed United, as per Last Word On Sports.

Football Insider claim that Nottingham Forest striker Emmanuel Dennis will be allowed to leave the City Ground this summer amid interest from Leeds United in offering him a chance to ply his trade at Elland Road in 2023/24.

All things considered, Leeds United fans could be in for an intriguing few weeks as Farke starts to shape his squad ahead of their return to Sky Bet Championship action for the first time since 2020.

Craig Overton stirred to excellent effect and the result was a Somerset victory that lifted them from despond and left Yorkshire deep in moody self-analysis

Paul Edwards at North Marine Road06-Jul-2017
ScorecardThe warnings were there for Somerset in their first match of the season, slightly less than three months ago, when they began their Division One campaign with an eight-wicket home defeat to Essex, new to the rigours of First Division life. Their situation became graver by the week as they remained stuck at the foot of Division One and their young captain, Tom Abell, stood down from the side because of a loss of form.Finally, at Scarborough, at the eighth time of asking, and with a new captain at the helm, Somerset’s cricketers ended their torment in 2017 with a 179-run victory over the once highly-fancied Yorkshire at Scarborough.”It’s been a tough year, and there’s been some tough words,” said Gregory as Somerset prepared for a long trek home in happy frame of mind. “It’s brilliant to get that first win on the board, and to put in a performance like that is very special. I think I’ll call it quits there and just go with the 100 per cent record as captain.”Somerset remained stoically winless until Liam Plunkett attempted to hit Jack Leach for a fourth six but only nicked the ball to Jim Allenby at slip. Cue delight in Stogumber. Cue street parties in Lydeard St. Lawrence.In truth, though, the cricket had descended into late-innings carnival by the time that last wicket fell. Yorkshire’s attempt to score 337 in 90 overs had long been a laughably optimistic enterprise and the chief giggler was a 6ft 5ins seamer from North Devon whose pace and hostility were appreciated by everyone at North Marine Road, not only the band of hardy supporters with wyverns on their chests.This was Craig Overton’s day and it was Craig Overton’s match. The giant all-rounder took 4 for 47 on this final day at Scarborough and finished the match with career-best figures of 9 for 134. Making good use of a pitch which offered him bounce and carry, Overton discomfited all the batsmen in this game and dismissed every member of Yorkshire’s top order at least once.

Harry Brook, who now has three championship appearances on his CV, looked the most secure of the top order and his appearances may be restricted by the broken hand he sustained in the nets on the final morning

On the day when Somerset at last took closer order on the counties above them, the all-rounder’s cricket displayed the brio that may sustain his county in dark times. No doubt the absent captain, Abell, who has played a couple of second team T20 games this week, was quick to text the players with his congratulations. Abell is that sort of bloke.As for Yorkshire, the bitter truth is that supporters at North Marine Road were more surprised by the rapidity of their side’s collapse than the fact of it. A once formidable batting order which used to cope serenely with England calls now seems riven with an unlucky bag of fallibilities. These weaknesses have been largely responsible for their team losing two of their last three Division One games and trailing leaders Essex by 38 points having played a game more.Harry Brook, who now has three championship appearances on his CV, looked the most secure of the top order and his appearances may be restricted by the broken hand he sustained in the nets on the final morning of this game. Seeking to explain this defeat by referring to the injuries which befell Plunkett and Ryan Sidebottom avoids the central problem which has suddenly befallen Yorkshire cricket. “It won’t do” said someone at North Marine Road before explaining himself in some detail.”We’ve spoken at length about our batting for a long time now but it’s got past the point of talking about it,” said the Yorkshire coach Andrew Gale. “It’s about doing it now and we need to back things up on the field. We didn’t work hard enough and we now want players to respond to what’s happened. Whether that’s by going into the second team and making big runs or by making runs in the T20, you just want to see a response. We’ve been here many a time before with Yorkshire cricket and we can turn this on its head.”Yorkshire’s woes began with the fifth ball of their innings when Alex Lees drove carelessly outside a Lewis Gregory inswinger and heard the ash dancing behind him. But it was not until the fourth over that West Country hope trespassed into the land of belief and it was Overton who led that cautious advance.The delivery which dismissed Brook would have moved the bowels of a Test cricketer, let alone a batsman whose memories of Peppa Pig are still fresh. Short, quick and deeply nasty, it reared up at the 18-year-old and brushed his glove. Steve Davies completed a difficult one-handed catch with deceptive aplomb. Rather less allowance can be made for Peter Handscomb, who pushed forward a trifle at his first ball but was hit on his front pad. Some thought the ball but might have been going over the top but Tim Robinson sent the batsman on his way. Yorkshire were 12 for 3 and the North Devonian did his best to disappear into the arms of his colleagues, a task that proved well beyond him.Four overs later Tom Kohler-Cadmore hooked Overton into the pavilion, where a spectator received a glancing blow but proved himself the sort of chap with whom one would go flying by brushing away all solicitous enquiries. Next ball Kohler-Cadmore failed to cover Overton’s steep bounce and edged the ball to slip where Tim Rouse held on. .For ten overs Adam Lyth and Tim Bresnan scored freely against attacking fields before Lyth, having flattered his supporters briefly, deceived them grievously when he drove at Overton and inside-edged the ball into his wicket. That left Yorkshire on 67 for 5 and all but doomed. The folded arms and the grim expressions said as much.An hour after lunch the players were shaking hands. Jack Leach, who had not been required to bowl in the first innings, took four of the wickets, bowling Tim Bresnan with a ball that pitched on leg but hit off and having Rashid caught at slip. Another tasty bouncer from Overton left Andy Hodd with little option but to scoop the ball to Eddie Byrom at square leg.”I’d like to bowl on that sort of wicket every day,” said Overton. “It was ideal for me and I don’t think I’ve bowled better than I did at the start of the second innings. I’m not sure Harry could have done too much about the ball that got him this morning. It’s one of those you just try and avoid and it can be a tough one to take.”As Overton spoke he was interrupted by Somerset supporters offering their congratulations. This victory is not enough to take their side out of the bottom two places in the table but it offers them hope, enough at any rate to speed them home in good heart this summer evening.

Whilst pre-season is a time to gain match fitness, and ensure that everything is tactically where it needs to be and at the level required, it is also a time for players to enjoy each other’s company and gel as a team.Of course, players can’t enjoy themselves too much, though we’re sure there are stories from the past of certain individuals doing exactly that on a pre-season tour, but it’s always nice noticing the relaxed mood of a squad before the intensity of a campaign gets underway.From an Arsenal perspective, summers don’t get much better. So far, they’ve welcomed Kai Havertz, Declan Rice and Jurrien Timber, whilst also extending the contract of William Saliba and Bukayo Saka, who all seem more than happy at the North London club.In recent footage of the players getting off the plane, Aaron Ramsdale and Saliba showed the feel-good mood around the Arsenal camp, hilariously imitating a salute to the pilot.

William Saliba and Aaron Ramsdale salute pilot

As you can see from the footage, the duo, in another life, may have made ideal Queen’s guards at Buckingham Palace, with Ramsdale saluting and Saliba standing tall and puffing out his chest.

For good measure, Ramsdale goes in for one salute as the pilot approaches, before adding one more as he walks past. The goalkeeper was certainly keen to get his point across.

As you can see from the footage, the Arsenal squad is certainly relaxed ahead of the season, which starts with the visit of Nottingham Forest on August 12.

First, though, the Gunners must navigate their way through a pre-season of fixtures, which includes games against Manchester United, Barcelona, and AS Monaco, before squaring off against Manchester City in the Community Shield.

What’s the latest Arsenal transfer news?

After welcoming Havertz, Timber and Rice this summer, Arsenal’s transfer window may be done for now when it comes to big-name arrivals. The key from here may well be parting ways with deadwood and selling other assets for good money.

The Gunners have already waved goodbye to Granit Xhaka, and, according to The Athletic, Rob Holding could yet be on the move this summer. Meanwhile, the future of Folarin Balogun remains in question.

The young striker had a standout season on loan at Reims in the last campaign, battling for the Ligue 1 Golden Boot with the likes of Kylian Mbappe. Scoring 21 league goals in total, the American could yet play a role under Mikel Arteta.

Back in the Champions League next season, the Gunners will need as much squad depth as possible to compete on all fronts. The last thing they’ll want to do is go out with a whimper on their return to the European stage.

After competing for the Premier League title last time out, too, Arsenal will undoubtedly want to go one better by securing the silverware in what could be a year to remember in North London.

They’ve certainly made statement signings so far this summer, and with such a relaxed and competitive squad, anything is possible.

In the meantime, fans have been loving Saliba and Ramsdale’s pre-season antics, you can see some of the best Tweets below:

As Alastair Cook reached 64 not out to complete a day of Essex supremacy, for Essex supporters finding their county top of the Championship, the twilight came close to heaven

Paul Edwards at Chelmsford26-Jun-2017
Scorecard”WAIT ON!” The loud bellow echoed around the County Ground just as similar cries of caution have done over the decades. Yet the rich Belfast accent suggested that the Middlesex batsman uttering the warning did not hail from Stanmore or Staines. But Paul Stirling is hardly your normal county cricketer; he is somewhat unconventional in shape and appeared unusual in his response to being dropped at slip: he took 26 off the next nine balls. And perhaps it was fitting that Stirling should be the batsman loudly advising caution, for he was doing so at just gone six o’clock this Monday evening. We were just over halfway through our ration of overs. Normality did not seem the order of the day.And then one looked more closely at the architecture of the opening exchanges in this afternoon/evening game – surely ‘day-night’ sacrifices accuracy to monosyllabic convenience – and one noticed a tall off-spinner whose accuracy and flight paid due honour to the Essex tradition personified in some of the county’s greatest years by David Acfield. If the trailblazing nature of this day’s cricket was captured by Stirling’s 77 off 50 balls, the game’s steadier virtues were personified by Simon Harmer, who took 5 for 77, his third five-for in a week at Chelmsford. The off-spinner is now the leading bowler in Division One and his ability to exploit a pitch offering bounce but little turn is the main reason Essex are in control of this game.The subsidiary explanation for Essex’s dominance – they trail Middlesex by only 140 runs and have all their wickets in hand – was the batting of a tall Test cricketer who was practising against a pink ball in the Essex nets when some of his colleagues and opponents were still going through their lunchtime stretches. Perhaps more than any other cricketer, Alastair Cook exhausts the thesaurus and enervates metaphor. So yes, there was a pull and three cuts in Cook’s first 26 runs; an off-driven reply to a Toby Roland-Jones half-volley was his only break with a routine England supporters would recognise. Clinical, methodical, ruthless. Again.Pink ball blues

Simon Harmer, Essex spinner:””The seam is a little bit different. It didn’t spin or turn as consistently as I thought it would, which may be played to my advantage. There was a lot of bounce with the pink ball and it comes off the bat a lot better. All the bowlers felt there was extra bounce with it. We could have done better with the new ball, but it’s going to take time to adjust.”
Paul Stirling, Middlesex batsman: “We expected it to swing for a lot longer than it did and from what we’ve practised with and what the lads have experienced in the Abu Dhabi pink ball games. We thought it would have done a lot more towards the end of the day as well, but it’s done less than we thought.”

Every other county in the land would wish their openers possessed Cook’s qualities; Middlesex’s batsmen clearly needed them as they wasted the winning of the toss, although this profligacy was not the fault of their openers. Nick Gubbins, beaten all ends up by Mohammed Amir’s fourth ball in an Essex shirt was leg before to the sixth, which speared wickedly into him. Next over Nick Compton was caught behind off a Jamie Porter delivery which pitched just outside off stump and held its own. 2 for 2 and we readied ourselves for pink-ball pandemonium.But our preparations were unnecessary. Instead of a steady relay of glum batsmen there was a fine partnership of 120 runs for the third wicket between Middlesex’s stand-in skipper Dawid Malan, who played a most cultured innings of 60, and Stevie Eskinazi, whose 66 off 111 balls lost little by comparison. Malan’s driving through the covers and on the on-side was a delight and, to a degree, it made the ECB look a trifle silly. For the stated rationale behind the reorganisation of the English season into blocks of Championship, 50-over and T20 cricket was that players should not be asked to move from one format to another in the space of a couple of days. So how might we explain Malan’s stylish innings against a pink-ball attack less than 24 hours after he had dispatched South Africa’s T20 bowlers all around Cathedral Road on his international debut? Might we call it talent, versatility, composure? Middlesex took afternoon tea – Darjeeling and patum peperium perhaps – with the scoreboard reading 106 for 2. It was probably as well they could not glimpse what lay ahead.Middlesex’s decline in the pre-prandial session began when a blameless Malan was superbly caught behind the wicket by James Foster off a ball from Harmer which turned a fair bit and bounced a lot more. Then Eskinazi pushed forward at Porter but only nicked a catch to Cook at slip. John Simpson’s valuable wicket was taken by Amir who arrowed a ball into the wicketkeeper-batsman and almost induced him to walk without waiting for David Millns to don the black cap. John Lever may have watched approvingly from the plush tent where the former players were chewing the fat on President’s Day. JK did as much as anyone to win four titles for Essex and in September he might see them win another.The rest of the session belonged to Harmer, although he had to share some of the headlines with Stirling, who bullocked Paul Walter over the square leg boundary twice in an over and hit five uncomplicated sixes in addition to eight fours. But the off-spinner had both Stirling and Ollie Rayner caught at cover by Ryan ten Doeschate in the same over and Middlesex’s formidable tail could not dam the flow of wickets.Left with 36 overs to bat, the Essex openers exposed the inadequacy of their opponents’ total. When Cook was 48 Gubbins committed the fatal mistake of dropping a two-handed chance at cover off Steven Finn. Such indiscretions generally meet with condign punishment. Cook’s last shot in cool anger was a square cut off Roland-Jones. The light failed a little and we finally noticed the floodlights.Essex ended a close-to-perfect day on 106 for no wicket, Cook 64 not out. It is not a bad time to sport the seaxes on one’s shirt. At dinner time they had named the pavilion in a tribute to that remarkable nonagenarian, Doug Insole. To the honorand’s undoubted delight, Essex are already well placed to win the game and to land their first County Championship since 1992. No wonder, then, that there were precipitate roars of triumph from the popular side in the supper session.Bliss it was this twilight to be alive and to be an Essex supporter was very heaven.

فاز فريق الكرة الأول بنادي مودرن فيوتشر على نظيره فاركو بهدفين دون رد في اللقاء الذي أقيم بينهما مساء اليوم الخميس.

واستضاف ملعب استاد القاهرة الدولي مباراة فريقي فيوتشر وفاركو ضمن منافسات الجولة 18 من عمر الدوري المصري الممتاز “النيل”.

رئيس فيوتشر يبرر شكواه ضد حكم مباراة الإسماعيلي.. ويصرح: لن نتعامل مع الزمالك بسبب ناصر ماهر

افتتح التسجيل المهاجم الدولي أحمد عاطف مبكرًا لفريق فيوتشر، وتحديدًا في الدقيقة الثانية من المباراة بتسديدة متقنة سكنت الشباك.

ثم أضاف محمود رزق الهدف الثاني لفيوتشر في الدقيقة 36 برأسية مستغلًا عرضية جوناثان من ركلة ركنية.

بهذا الفوز يرتفع رصيد مودرن فيوتشر إلى 24 نقطة مرتقيًا للمركز الثامن في سلم ترتيب بطولة الدوري بعد أن حقق فوزه السادس هذا الموسم من أصل 16 مباراة.

ويتجمد رصيد فاركو عند 12 نقطة محتلًا المركز السادس عشر في سلم ترتيب الدوري المصري بعد تلقيه الهزيمة الثامنة هذا الموسم. أهداف مباراة فيوتشر وفاركو

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsTammy Beaumont and Sarah Taylor added 275 off 209 balls for the second wicket•Getty Images/ICC

Three days after shooting out West Indies for the sixth-lowest total in tournament history, South Africa’s much-vaunted bowling attack crumbled in the face of a brutal onslaught from Sarah Taylor and Tammy Beaumont on a batting beauty in Bristol.Never had a team, in 14 completed innings prior, notched up a score in excess of 300; on Wednesday, England went 73 clear of that mark, thanks to a second-wicket stand of 275 – the highest in Women’s World Cup history and the second-highest in all women’s ODIs – to knock the stuffing out of South Africa.Needing to pull off the highest successful chase ever, South Africa became the first team to score in excess of 300 batting second in a women’s ODI, thanks to half-centuries from Laura Wolvaardt, Lizelle Lee and Chloe Tryon. But the magnitude of the task proved just too much, and South Africa fell well short, by 68 runs.Taylor had spent a year out of the England team to deal with anxiety issues. She began the tournament opening the innings against India and Pakistan in the absence of Lauren Winfield. All it took was a move down to her favoured No. 3 position to find form again as she hit back with an unbeaten 74 against Sri Lanka. Against South Africa, she put up her finest display of batting since returning to the side.Perhaps the 40th over of the innings provided the perfect encapsulation of the class and poise of Taylor’s innings. It was the ideal mix of deft touch, supple wrists, brute force, sublime timing and laser-guided placement. And it was Shabnim Ismail, South Africa’s fastest bowler, who bore the brunt of Taylor’s pristine hitting.Ismail’s first ball strayed onto the pads, and Taylor nonchalantly flicked through midwicket. When Ismail tried to take the ball away from her, Taylor walked across early to clobber her straight down the ground. A half-volley was shoveled past mid-off using the bottom hand and a full toss was helped on its way to fine leg. Having tried just about everything, when Ismail tried dragging her length back, Taylor laid into a pull to dispatch her to the midwicket boundary.The class of batting apart, the over also highlighted the mediocrity of South Africa’s bowling. On a flat pitch where the ball came on nicely, it needed intelligent changes in pace to subdue batsmen. Instead, South Africa offered Taylor and Beaumont a generous mix of overpitched and short balls. It didn’t help that they offered width outside the off stump and strayed on the pads all too often.Taylor and Beaumont ruthlessly punished these errors. They were especially clever in their use of the scoop and reverse-sweep. The lack of pace on the surface allowed the batsmen to get into position early, and with both batsmen timing the ball impeccably, they routinely scored through the V behind the wicket, much to the frustration of South Africa. In all, both batsmen plundered 68 runs in that region, including 13 fours.While Taylor took little time to cut loose, Beaumont was a lot more sedate to start off. With the sun out, Heather Knight, the England captain, had little hesitation in batting first on a Bristol pitch that offered little for the bowlers despite possessing a tinge of green. After laying a solid platform upfront through a 59-run opening stand with Winfield, Beaumont steadily consolidated in the company of Taylor.She raised her century with a scoop through fine leg off Ayabonga Khaka’s medium pace. The landmark had taken her 118 balls to reach, but once she got there, she too launched into overdrive and pillaged 47 runs off her last 25 balls. By the time she fell, for 148, England had lost a little ground with four wickets falling for 13 runs. But Knight’s late 10-ball cameo, which included four fours, gave them a late surge and a total well beyond South Africa’s reach.South Africa’s openers, Wolvaardt and Lee, added a solid 128, but it took 25.1 overs, which, in the context of the match, made for no more than a sedate start. They showed little urgency up front – with Wolvaardt in particular struggling to find the gaps – and it meant Brunt conceded only nine runs in her first spell of five overs. A dipping yorker from Natalie Sciver cleaned up Lee as South Africa broke through.Wolvaardt stuck around and raised half-century of her own, but ate up 84 balls doing so. A slog over midwicket and a flat-batted thump over mid-off in the 30th over signaled a change in intent, but Anya Shrubsole ensured it was short-lived, getting her to hole out to deep midwicket three overs later.Mignon du Preez and Tryon briefly kept England anxious, slamming 75 runs off 40 balls. But once both batsmen fell in the space of four deliveries – Tryon for a 26-ball 54 with the help of five fours and four sixes – South Africa slid rapidly.England’s performance wasn’t without its share of downs. They dropped four catches that could have hurt them on another day. But the security provided by Taylor and Beaumont made sure no such thing would happen on this day.

Sri Lanka fast bowler Lasith Malinga will face a disciplinary inquiry from Sri Lanka Cricket for “repeated breach” of the terms of his contract

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Jun-2017Fast bowler Lasith Malinga will face a disciplinary inquiry from Sri Lanka Cricket for “repeated breach” of the terms of his contract.The inquiry was precipitated by Malinga’s response to sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekara, who had alleged Sri Lanka’s poor fielding standards were owed to players’ inadequate fitness – in particular their “big bellies”. Malinga had not taken direct aim at Jayasekara in a stinging response, but nevertheless had implied in an interview that the sports minister was no more than an armchair critic, and had not played cricket at a sufficiently high level for his criticism to be taken seriously.A release from SLC said the fast bowler had twice acted in “contravention of the terms of agreement,” which bar him from making any statements to the media without the prior consent of the board’s Chief Executive Officer.SLC said it had decided to take disciplinary action after Malinga’s first violation around June 19, before a subsequent breach around June 21 prompted the board’s executive committee to expedite the inquiry, which will be conducted by a three-member panel. The findings of the hearing will be forwarded to the executive committee for disciplinary action.SLC also called an emergency meeting on Tuesday to address several issues, which include the resignation of coach Graham Ford, interim appointment of a head coach, and the inquiry against Malinga.

Manchester United are set to launch an ambitious move to try and land Kylian Mbappe, according to reports from Spain, via The Faithful MUFC.

How many goals has Kylian Mbappe scored?

Despite still being only 24-years-old, the forward continues to excel and impress at both club-level and for his country France. He seems to be getting better and better for PSG, with his goal record in Ligue 1 actually improving season-by-season. In 2022/23, he bagged an astonishing 29 goals in 32 starts with five assists to boot.

It means that he had more goal contributions than actual appearances in the starting eleven and it left him with a superb rate of 1.09 goals or assists per 90. Simply put, if you play the attacker from the off, he's good for a goal or assist every time he gets on the pitch.

It makes for even more incredible reading when you look at his overall record with the French outfit. In the league, he's already broken the three digit mark and has 148 goals in 158 starts, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see him hit the 200 league goals mark soon despite still being in the middle of his twenties.

He's a six-time winner of the Ligue 1 title and has also won the World Cup with his national team back in 2018. Individually, he also added the World Cup Silver Ball last year and nearly claimed a second world title to boot.

Are Manchester United signing Kylian Mbappe?

Mbappe then has already achieved lots in the game, but has yet to test himself outside of France. Having burst onto the scene with Monaco before heading to Paris, he has only ever encountered the rigours of Ligue 1 football. This summer though could see him finally seal a move away from the country and to elsewhere in Europe. It appears the 24-year-old may be sold on this window, with PSG looking to offload the star striker rather than risk losing him for free next summer.

They've left him out of their plans for pre-season and appear to be willing to listen to offers – and now it appears that some could be coming in for the youngster.

According to a report from Spain, via The Faithful MUFC, one of the first offers that seems to be on the table for the attacker comes from Premier League side Man United.

It looks as if the Frenchman fancies Real Madrid most of all, so the Red Devils will have to convince him of their project and a switch to England but the money does appear to be there in terms of the financial side of the deal.

The Glazers are allegedly are set to table a bid worth around 120 million Euros (or £104m) upfront, with a further 45 million Euros (or £40m) to be paid in fees and add-ons. That would take the overall value of the deal to £144m – an eye-watering amount. United have already made their move directly to the player apparently too, offering a "juicy financial proposal" to Mbappe, though the actual wages on offer are not specified.

If they did land Mbappe, it would be a real boost for the Red Devils and would no doubt solve their struggles in front of goal. Some of the best in the game have already heaped praise on the 24-year-old – Carlo Ancelotti stated that he is "unstoppable" and the "best player in European football".

There will be serious competition for his signature though, with reports emerging on Monday morning that Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal have made a huge bid to sign the superstar.

West Ham United are still yet to reinvest Declan Rice's transfer fee back into their squad, but that may soon be about to change amid speculation they are interested in Chelsea's Trevoh Chalobah.

What players have West Ham bought?

It has now been two-and-a-half weeks since Rice joined Arsenal for a fee in excess of £100m – and a good few months since the speculation first emerged – yet West Ham have still yet to make any signings this summer.

Ajax's Edson Alvarez, Juventus' Denis Zakaria and Monaco's Youssouf Fofana are all rumoured to be high on David Moyes' wishlist in terms of a new central midfielder.

The Europa Conference League winners could also do with strengthening in other positions, and links with Chelsea's centre-back Chalobah should get United supporters excited.

Chalobah has not quite made the cut at Stamford Bridge, but the former England U21 international – who is on £50,000 a week, according to Capology – could thrive if granted a move to another Premier League club.

The Guardian now reports that Moyes has added Chalobah to his shortlist of right-sided centre-back options, though the Irons may face competition from Serie A heavyweights Inter Milan.

How old is Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah?

Chalobah has been with Chelsea since the age of eight and has made 63 first-team appearances, either side of loan spells with Ipswich Town, Huddersfield Town and Lorient.

The Englishman was described as an "unbelievable" talent by former Chelsea player Paul Canoville when first making the breakthrough, but now aged 24, it may be that Chalobah has to move elsewhere if he is to start week in, week out.

That is not to say Chalobah did not get chances last season, as he started 18 Premier League games for Chelsea and appeared a further seven times from the substitutes' bench.

Chalobah was used occasionally at right-back and has also previously featured in defensive midfield, but it is in the heart of defence he would be used by Moyes should he arrive at the London Stadium.

On the basis of his performances in an underwhelming campaign for Chelsea, Chalobah could bring plenty of much-needed qualities to West Ham's backline.

In fact, the Sierra Leone-born machine compares similarly to Manchester City's Manuel Akanji in terms of their statistical profiles.

Chalobah ranks in the top 9% of all defenders across Europe's top five leagues for touches of the ball per 90, while Akanji is in the top 2%, and they are ranked in the top 18% and 16% respectively for touches in the opposition box per 90.

Indeed, as per FBref, Chalobah even comes out on top in some of the purely defensive metrics, such as tackles won per 90 (1.12 v 0.98), interceptions per 90 (1.34 v 0.63) and aerial duels won per 90 (1.73 v 0.91).

Akanji does fare better when it comes to recoveries per 90 (5.35 v 4.80) and blocks per 90 (1.06 v 0.95), but the numbers show that Chalobah is arguably a better player than many give him credit for.

Considering Moyes is currently relying on Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna at the back, signing a hungry player with Premier League experience in Chalobah would be a very wise move, and could be the ideal match.