Here's what the Red Devils should do when the window opens to give Ruben Amorim the best chance of getting the team back on track

Manchester United have never needed a transfer window so urgently. For the first time ever, the Red Devils spent Christmas in the bottom half of the Premier League table and if no major changes are made, they will be on course for their lowest league finish since 1990.

Despite spending around £600 million ($752m) on new players in the last three summers and having one of the biggest wage bills in Europe, United somehow have a squad that is barely fit for purpose, especially not one that chimes with Ruben Amorim's vision for the team. The Portuguese has tried to revolutionise the team's style of play and, unlike predecessor Erik ten Hag, is not willing to compromise on his ideals. It is becoming increasingly clear, however, that many of the players are not capable of enacting his ideas.

Given how much money United spent on sacking Ten Hag and buying Amorim out of his contract with Sporting CP, they must now equip the coach with the players he wants in order to make his vision a reality. And that does not just mean getting new players in; it also means getting rid of the dead wood within the squad.

Here are six moves United should make when the January transfer window opens. It can't come soon enough…

Getty ImagesMove Rashford on

As much as Amorim insisted repeatedly that leaving Marcus Rashford out of his matchday squads is a "normal situation", there is nothing normal about it not wanting one of the club's highest-paid players even on the bench, never mind starting. The club therefore needs to find a solution to this impasse as soon as possible.

As sad as it is to see a previously much-loved homegrown player in this predicament, there is a general acceptance that Rashford has reached the end of the road at United, and rather than try to mend relations, a clean break is the best solution for all parties.

Rashford has acknowledged that by saying he needs "a new challenge" in an interview, and even if those remarks irked Amorim, the player was merely saying in public what many people have been suggesting privately. Rashford's colossal salary – a reported £325,000 ($407k) per week – and his recent attitude means he will not be easy to shift, but the club need to look at what Arsenal did with both Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Mesut Ozil. The striker and the midfielder were on massive wages and long-term contracts, but they did not meet Mikel Arteta's standards and the Gunners have gone from strength to strength since they both left.

Rashford leaving is vital if Amorim wants to see through the cultural reset the club needs so badly, and it is also necessary for financial reasons. Even if the striker is sold for a reduced fee, the sale will go down as 'pure profit' and help the club meet the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability Rules (PSR).

AdvertisementGetty Images SportGive Amad a new contract

Four years after joining the club as a little known and inexperienced 18-year-old, Amad Diallo has turned into arguably United's best player. He has contributed to 10 goals since Ten Hag's departure, single-handedly downing PAOK, helping destroy Everton and sparking the late comeback win in the Manchester derby. His work-rate and his attitude to pressing – just take how he chased down Fraser Forster to score at Tottenham – is also hugely impressive and is exactly what United need to cling on to in these times of strife.

Amad's emergence as United's best player also comes at a time when he is dangerously close to leaving the club for free. The 22-year-old's contract expires in June and from January 1 he will be free to speak to rival clubs. That is why it is imperative for United to not just trigger the one-year extension clause in his current contract, but to show him how important he is by offering him a lucrative long-term deal..

Getty Images SportSign a left-wing-back

To be brutally honest, United have not had a reliable left-back since Patrice Evra. Luke Shaw is an excellent defender and attacker when fit, but he has been dogged by repeated injury problems ever since breaking his leg early in his second season at Old Trafford and cannot be relied upon. He has played just 98 minutes of football this season and is currently sidelined with a muscle problem, a likely consequence of him fighting to be fit for England at the European Championship. His deputy, Tyrell Malacia, missed 17 months of football following two knee operations and has struggled badly since returning, being taken off at half-time in three of his four outings.

United have effectively had no reliable left-back for the past two seasons, and their weakness in this position has become even more glaring since the arrival of Amorim due to the coach's use of wing-backs. Diogo Dalot has had to play there, but his best position is on the right, while Noussair Mazraoui is much more comfortable in the back three.

The club are close to announcing a deal for 17-year-old Paraguayan left-back Diego Leon, but he will not be arriving until he turns 18 in the summer and will be part of a long-term plan rather than ready to come in and immediately hit the ground running.

There are, though, plenty of good, more experienced options out there. Alphonso Davies is running down his contract with Bayern Munich and will be available for free, although Real Madrid are doing their best to convince him to move to the Spanish capital. Bournemouth's Milos Kerkez, who has been excellent in his side's two 3-0 wins at Old Trafford in the last year, would also be a smart buy.

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Getty ImagesBring in a defensive organiser

United spent £60m ($75m) on defenders over the summer, but their backline has looked vulnerable throughout the season, both under Ten Hag and Amorim. The team have let in 17 goals in nine games since the Portuguese took charge, shipping seven alone against Tottenham and Bournemouth.

Of particular concern is their weakness from set-pieces. United have conceded 18 times from dead-ball situations in 2024, more than in any other calendar year in Premier League history. Bournemouth's opening goal in their 3-0 win at Old Trafford was the seventh time in six games United had conceded a goal from a set play. Oppositions are deliberately targeting this weakness and Amorim said he could sense the whole stadium was anxious every time the team conceded a free-kick.

The solution is to sign a central defender with experience and authority. The fact that United have had to lean on the 36-year-old Jonny Evans for a second season underlines their poor recruitment in defence, as has the fact that Harry Maguire has emerged as a key player 18 months after the club tried to sell him to West Ham. Maguire turns 32 in March and is nearing the end of his contract, so some new blood is needed.

United should look to the Bundesliga for a solution to their defensive woes. Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba, who won the title playing in a back-three for Xabi Alonso and was a target in 2023, would be an excellent signing, as would his defensive partner Jonathan Tah. Borussia Dortmund's Nico Schlotterbeck is another attractive proposition. Closer to home, Nicola Milenkovic is a towering presence who United know all about after he scored against them in Nottingham Forest's 3-2 win at Old Trafford earlier this month.

One club are ready to pay their £150 million star marquee wages to stop him potentially joining Arsenal, with the player said to be high on sporting director Edu Gaspar's agenda for 2025.

Arsenal miss out on striker signing despite summer reports

The Gunners were repeatedly linked with signing a new striker over the summer transfer window, but Mikel Arteta and co ultimately decided not to bring one through the door, instead favouring Kai Havertz in his makeshift forward role.

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Arsenal did briefly consider signing Ivan Toney from Brentford, before the Englishman sealed a lucrative £330,000-per-week move to Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, but Arteta didn't go through with the move due to concerns surrounding his potential chemistry with the squad.

Tottenham (away)

September 15

Man City (away)

September 22

Leicester City (home)

September 28

Southampton (home)

October 5

Bournemouth (away)

October 19

RB Leipzig starlet Benjamin Sesko also received an offer to join Arsenal early in the summer window, with Man United and Chelsea also making proposals for the 21-year-old, who ultimately decided to sign a new contract and remain with his current club.

There are suggestions that Arsenal could go back in for Sesko next summer, but for now the Slovenia international will remain in the Bundesliga. There were also links to Newcastle United star Alexander Isak, which would've been quite a coup from Edu's perspective.

The Sweden international, who scored 25 goals in all competitions under Eddie Howe last term, has plenty of admirers at the Emirates Stadium. Isak is even said by some to be Arteta's dream signing, but he won't be an easy capture by any means.

Arsenal insider teamnewsandtix expects the club to make a push for Isak next year regardless, despite some claims he could cost as much as £150 million.

Newcastle ready to pay Isak marquee salary to stop him joining Arsenal

With Arsenal still eyeing a move for Isak next year, The Boot Room and journalist Graeme Bailey write that the Magpies are working hard to tie him down.

According to their information, Newcastle are ready to make Isak the club's joint-highest earner to ward off suitors like Arsenal, which would equal Bruno Guimaraes' salary of around £160,000-per-week.

Howe's side are apparently anxious to agree terms, and it's pretty easy to see why.

"His runs are superb. If you just watch how clever he is when he doesn't get the first pass played in, he then goes behind a defender to come back in and bend his run to make sure that he is onside, then he can make a really clever finish," said Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer last season.

"He can also come deep and drop deep, so he is asking different questions of the defenders by saying: 'Are you going to come with me or are you going to drop off?' If you drop off, he has got the ability to hurt you there.

"He is just a constant threat all the time. His finishing is excellent and his penalty taking is as good as they come. He is confident and cool and believes in everything he is doing.

"We know that once he gets away over the top, he is going to cause you an absolute nightmare. His ability to link up and his understanding [is brilliant]."

Celtic have now submitted a big £10m offer to sign a player at the peak of his powers for Brendan Rodgers before the deadline on Friday.

Rodgers urges Celtic to spend

The Hoops are once again in the green this summer when it comes to profit in the transfer market, mainly thanks to Matt O’Riley’s big-money move to Brighton & Hove Albion.

So far in the window, Celtic have signed four new players at a cost of around £12.7m, whereas the club have brought in just under £29m through sales. Last year, the club also made a profit, spending around £21.7m and bringing in £38.9m following exits for Jota and Liel Abada. (Transfermarkt)

Therefore it may not come as a surprise to some that Rodgers has appeared to urge the club to get the chequebook out in the market, saying recently:

“We can't be happy just to make our money and build our pot because the bottom line is on the pitch. That's the bottom line. The supporters, they pay the money. I look back to the Covid times here, the Celtic supporters sold the stadium out and they weren't allowed in it.

“So we have the duty to put the best team on the pitch. That's what we'll do and look to do. It's taken a bit longer than I would have liked. But if we can do it by Friday, strengthen the squad, we'll be in a really, really good place.

“The team is in a good place, mentally, tactically, how they're playing. But we want to strengthen and have that depth. It's taken a lot longer than I would have liked as the football manager. That's my brutally honest answer on it. But I will repeat this. If we get them in, then there's still a long season ahead. So it's important that we do get that. And I have belief that we will do.”

One player who has been heavily linked with a move to Parkhead is FC Augsburg midfielder Arne Engels, who has already agreed personal terms over a move to Scotland.

The Hoops followed that up by making a £6m offer for Engels, who can turn out as a central midfielder, right midfielder or even as a right-back, however, that doesn’t look to have been enough.

Celtic make improved Arne Engels bid

According to Sky Sports, Celtic have now submitted an improved bid for Engels worth around £10m, with the player keen on a move. However, his club are still holding out for a higher number ahead of Friday's deadline, with any deal expected to be a record move for the Hoops (currently standing at £9.5m if Adam Idah meets his add-on requirements).

Engels is just 20 years of age but is at the top of his game with a career-high Transfermarkt valuation which stands at €9m, so the Hoops’ improved bid could stand a chance of being accepted. That figure was at €500,000 as we entered 2023, showing just the rise he has had over the last 18 months.

In total, Engels has made 53 senior appearances for Augsburg, scoring three goals and registering nine assists.

In ten days' time, the transfer window will have slammed shut, and while fans have understandably shifted their focus back to the Premier League, some clubs still have quite a bit of work to do in the market, including Arsenal.

At the moment, Riccardo Calafiori has been the only new face added to the Gunners' first team this summer, and while Mikel Merino's move is supposedly right around the corner, we've been hearing that all month.

However, there is good news, as recent reports linked the club with one of the most exciting attackers in Europe last season, someone who could be the ideal Leandro Trossard rival and someone who has won comparisons to Bukayo Saka to boot.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Spain, Arsenal are one of several sides interested in Atalanta star Ademola Lookman this summer.

Alongside the Gunners, the report claims that Premier League hopefuls Liverpool are also keen to sign the former Everton ace before the window slams shut next week.

A potential price is not mentioned in the story, but a report from earlier this summer revealed that the Nigerian international could be available for €60m, which converts to around £51m.

It could be a complicated transfer to get done due to the interest from the Reds, but given his form last season and the fact he's been compared to Saka, it is one worth pursuing, especially as he could provide excellent competition for Trossard.

How Lookman compares to Saka and Trossard

Okay, so before we look at how Lookman stacks up to Trossard and how he could challenge him for a place on the left, let's examine this comparison to Saka and where it comes from.

It primarily stems from FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League over the last 365 days, then creates a list of the ten most comparable players for everyone, and from there, they have concluded that the Englishman is the sixth most similar attacking midfielder or winger to the Nigerian.

You can better understand how they came to this conclusion by looking at some of the underlying metrics in which they rank very closely, such as non-penalty expected goals plus assists, shots, passing accuracy, goal-creating actions and interceptions, all per 90.

Lookman & Saka
Stats per 90	Lookman	Saka
Non-Penalty Expected Goals + Assists	0.68	0.65
Shots	3.18	3.14
Passing Accuracy	75.8%	75.6%
Goal-Creating Actions	0.67	0.65
Interceptions	0.43	0.46
All Stats via FBref for the 23/24 Season

It's not just in the underlying numbers that the two attackers are alike, though, as in the aftermath of the Nigerian's masterclass performance in the Europa League final last season, former professional Owen Hargreaves said that "he reminds me of (Bukayo) Saka in the way he sets people, gets them off balance, and he's always got a picture in the way he wants to finish."

So then, with the right-footed dynamo's similarities to the Gunners' superstar seven clear, how does his output from last season measure up to Trossard's? Due to his ability to play on the left, he may well be fighting with the Belgian for a place in the lineup should he make the move to North London.

The good news is that it would be a close fight, as in 45 appearances last season, the “blistering” ace, as dubbed by U23 scout Antonio Mango, scored 17 goals and provided ten assists, equating to a goal involvement once every 1.66 games.

In contrast, the former Brighton & Hove Albion dynamo scored 17 goals and provided two assists in 46 appearances, equating to a still impressive but notably worse average of a goal involvement every 2.42 games.

Some may argue that the Premier League is a more challenging league than Serie A, but even if that were true and the Atalanta star saw his output reduce somewhat in England, it would still be close to, or better than the Belgian's.

Ultimately, Arsenal need to bring in another attacker this summer, and following his incredible campaign last season and the flattering comparisons to Saka, Lookman may be the perfect player to sign before the window slams shut, especially as he could help push Trossard to be even better.

Fabrizio Romano says £26m player has agreed to join Arsenal with Merino

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Emilio Galantini

Aug 21, 2024

MatériaMais Notícias

A equipe do América esperava um confronto difícil contra o RB Bragantino, na noite desse sábado, em São Paulo, em duelo válido pelo Campeonato Brasileiro. Até por isso, o empate por 1 a 1 não é considerado um resultado ruim por parte dos atletas do time de Belo Horizonte.

Segundo o zagueiro Eduardo Bauermann, o duelo contra o Massa Bruta em seus domínios é complicado e, por isso, a equipe comemorou o resultado.

“Nós vamos embora felizes, porque sabíamos que seria um jogo difícil. Apesar de sairmos ganhando, tomamos um gol numa falha nossa, desatenção. Viemos para levar os três pontos, então isso nos deixa triste. Foi meu primeiro gol na temporada, isso me mostrar a motivar, porque mostra que nosso treino está dando resultado. Mostra que deu certo”, disse em entrevista ao Canal Premiere.

Na próxima rodada o América enfrenta o Ceará, no Castelão, no domingo, às 19h. Já o Bragantino vai até Belo Horizonte encarar o Atlético, no Mineirão, também no domingo, às 16h. Antes, porém, o Coelho terá que enfrentar a Chapecoense, em Belo Horizonte, em partida válida pela 35ª rodada.

While their start to the Premier League season has been less than impressive this year, Manchester United did enjoy a stellar summer when it comes to their work off the pitch.

With Sir Jim Ratcliffe now in a position of influence at the club, United welcomed in a plethora of talented players to help bring the team forward, including Matthijs de Ligt, Leny Yoro, Joshua Zirkzee, Noussair Mazraoui and, most recently, Manuel Ugarte.

The former Paris Saint-Germain ace could be the perfect addition to United's midfield this season.

However, he'll have to really impress at Old Trafford to see his valuation surpass, or even match, one of his new teammates.

Ugarte's move to United

Yes, after a summer of back-and-forth over the fee, United finally signed their man in the dying embers of the transfer window for an initial fee of around £42m.

While it's not an earth-shattering fee for modern football, the move still represents a significant investment from the club. However, if the Uruguayan ace can reach his full potential at Old Trafford, it could look like a bargain in years to come.

Analyst Statman Dave has described the former Sporting CP ace as a "defensive monster" in the past, and based on his underlying numbers, it's not hard to understand why.

Tackles

4.18

Top 1%

Tackles + Interceptions

6.23

Top 1%

Dribblers Tackled

1.91

Top 1%

Tackles Won

2.36

Top 2%

Interceptions

2.05

Top 3%

Ball Recoveries

7.69

Top 3%

For example, according to FBref, which compares players in similar positions across Europe's top five leagues, the Champions League and Europa League, the incredible "machine" as dubbed by talent scout Jacek Kulig, sits in the top 1% of midfielders for tackles, tackles plus interceptions and dribblers tackled, the top 2% for tackles won, and the top 3% for interceptions and ball recoveries, all per 90.

This ability to break up play and shore up his team's defence could make the 23-year-old an indispensable member of Erik ten Hag's team going forward. Still, despite the excitement surrounding his move, he is worth less than one of his new teammates.

Kobbie Mainoo's valuation in 2024

The player in question is none other than 19-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who, after enjoying a breakout campaign with United last season, is now one of the most essential members of Ten Hag's squad.

In fact, the academy product, who didn't cost a penny in terms of a transfer fee, is now valued at €60m by FOTmob, which converts to about £51m, or about £9m more than Ugarte cost last month.

This might seem like an awful lot of money for a player so young, but it is entirely justified, as despite his age, the "fabulous" midfielder, as dubbed by former England manager Gareth Southgate, has already established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet.

Appearances

32

Minutes

2405'

Starts

29

Goals

5

Assists

1

Goal Involvements per Match

0.18

Minutes per Goal Involvement

400.83'

For example, last season, he made 32 first-team appearances for the club, 29 of which were starts, scored five goals and provided one assist before going to the Euros and making six appearances for the Three Lions, five of which were starts.

This season, he has started all four games for the Red Devils, and it doesn't look like he'll be dropped to the bench anytime soon. If anything, he could form an excellent partnership with Ugarte in the coming years and cement his place in the national side at the same time.

Ultimately, while it is a steep valuation for someone who is still just a teenager, Mainoo has proven the adage true that if you're good enough, you're old enough.

Man Utd hit the jackpot on "exceptional" ace who's worth more than Rashford

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Kylian Mbappe has been hailed for displaying “self-criticism” at Real Madrid, with that mentality allowing the Frenchman to show “what he can do”.

Article continues below

Article continues below

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• Another 'Galactico' at Santiago Bernabeu
• Found form after slow start in Spain
• Pressure easing on forward & head coach

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• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The World Cup winner knew that he was thrusting himself under the brightest of spotlights when agreeing to become another ‘Galactico’ at Santiago Bernabeu. His every move in the Spanish capital will be dissected in minute detail, with any supposed dip in form leading to uncomfortable questions.

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  WHAT ANCELOTTI SAID

  Mbappe has already come through plenty of those, but has won two trophies with Los Blancos while taking his goal tally to 14 through 24 appearances. After netting in a fourth successive game, as Real saw off Sevilla 4-2, Real boss Carlo Ancelotti said of the progress being made by his fearsome No.9: “This could have been a very complicated situation for Mbappe but he has worked and shown what he can do with self-criticism. As I said on Saturday, his adaptation period is over.”

• THE BIGGER PICTURE

  A return to form for Mbappe, who has six goals through his last eight outings, has helped to ease some of the pressure that had been building on Ancelotti following a slow start to the 2024-25 campaign by Real as a collective.

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  DID YOU KNOW?

  The Italian insists that he never had any fears regarding his role, with Real sitting just one point off top spot in their bid to defend their La Liga title. Ancelotti, who has savoured UEFA Super Cup and Intercontinental Cup success this term, added: “I’ve never worried for my position. It’s my responsibility when things don’t work, but the club has supported me and the players have helped us. All coaches need support their club and I trust in the club.”

Chelsea are one of the sides now plotting to make a move for a world class defensive talent in 2025, it has emerged, as they look to continue their rebuild under Enzo Maresca.

Maresca makes mixed start at Chelsea

Currently 11th in the Premier League, Chelsea and Maresca have shown the best and worst of themselves in the opening three games of the season. They blew away Wolves with a clinical performance in the second half which saw them run out 6-2 winners, but couldn't manage to find a way past Crystal Palace a week later as they were held to a 1-1 draw.

Their only defeat of the season (understandable against reigning Champions Manchester City on the opening day of the season) was one in which they came out with some credit for the performance, but the next string of games will be where Maresca's side really begin to sink or swim.

Chelsea's next five Premier League games

Bournemouth

Away

West Ham United

Away

Brighton

Home

Nottingham Forest

Home

Liverpool

Away

But as is often the way at Stamford Bridge in recent seasons, transfers continue to dominate the headlines, and they have already been tipped to make a 2025 move.

Chelsea keen on superstar centre-back signing

Now, one report has claimed that Chelsea are ready to join the host of clubs chasing former Blues defender Marc Guehi next summer as they look to add a world-class option to their backline.

Guehi spent most of the summer among the headlines, firstly for his decision not to sign a new deal at Selhurst Park and then subsequently for his excellent performances at the heart of England's defence at EURO 2024, helping the Three Lions reach the final before they lost to Spain.

Following the heartbreak, he was the subject of strong interest from Newcastle United, who had a string of bids turned down for his services, with Palace chairman Steve Parish revealing that they had not stumped up the right fee for his "superstar".

"We would like to keep hold of him. There is a price and a situation where we might consider it," Parish told BBC Sport. "Somebody [in another interview] said he is a superstar, so somebody has got to pay superstar money. Realistically, he is homegrown, 24 years old and a sensational talent – so somebody has to make it difficult for us. At the moment, it isn't."

However, now down to the final two years of his £50,000 a week deal at Selhurst Park, his value is only going to decrease in the windows to come unless he pens fresh terms in south London.

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And that has led to a whole host of clubs keeping an eye on him, with Liverpool and Manchester City both also linked with the England international. Now, it is claimed that Chelsea are "paying close attention" with the Blues "still in the market" for a new defender, and the club are "planning a 2025 move" for the centre-back.

Though Chelsea have no shortage of centre-backs on their books, there are question marks over fitness or form in most cases, and Guehi would undoubtedly represent a step up on the majority of them.

Valued at £70m over the summer, Chelsea would effectively see a 20% discount on any fee agreed thanks to the sell on clause inserted into his initial move to Crystal Palace from Stamford Bridge back in 2021, which would also see them net a significant sum should Guehi move elsewhere.

Brett D’Oliveira and Ross Whiteley lay platform before Derbyshire fall short in chase

ECB Reporters' Network02-Jul-2021Daryl Mitchell became a record-breaker as Worcestershire Rapids beat Derbyshire Falcons by 14 runs in the Vitality Blast North Group match at Derby. The 37-year-old became the first Worcestershire player to take 100 T20 wickets to help his side defend 167 for 6 which was built around Brett D’Oliveira’s 43 and 37 from 21 balls by Ross Whiteley.Former England seamer Jade Dernbach took 3 for 23 in his debut on loan from Surrey but despite 46 from Tom Wood, Derbyshire collapsed from 123 for 3 to end on 153 for 8.Dernbach quickly made his mark, using his experience to deny scoring opportunities and remove Riki Wessels. Wessels chipped to mid-on after scoring 17 and after ending the Powerplay on 54 for 1, the Rapids unluckily lost Jake Libby run out when Matt Critchley deflected a D’Oliveira straight drive into the stumps.D’Oliveira and Ben Cox found it hard to find the ropes against tight bowling and the pressure told when D’Oliveira drove Critchley low to cover with only one run coming from the legspinner’s third over.The discipline of Derbyshire’s bowling had kept Worcestershire in check with the first six coming in the 15th over when Whiteley drove Mattie McKiernan back over his head. Whiteley pulled Logan van Beek for two fours before lofting Critchley over long-on for six but fell to a superb running catch by van Beek at deep midwicket off the last ball of the 17th over.It was a big wicket as Dernbach and Fynn Hudson-Prentice restricted Worcestershire to 20 off the last three overs.Luis Reece drilled Dylan Pennington over long-off for six but Harry Came was badly dropped at deep midwicket by Ed Barnard on 10. The Falcons plundered poor bowling before Came was bowled for 21 swinging at Charlie Morris off the last ball of the Powerplay which ended on 57 for 1.Mitchell and Sodhi slowed the run flow and took two wickets in consecutive overs with Reece lbw to Sodhi before Leus du Plooy edged a reverse sweep to give Mitchell his landmark victim.Derbyshire needed a big over and Wood delivered in the 16th, driving and cutting Sodhi for three fours. But Critchley swung Barnard to deep midwicket and when Charlie Morris took two wickets in the penultimate over, Derbyshire’s chase was up.

Anyone looking at the scoreline alone might see nothing more than “just a draw” but this Test between England and India was full of twists and star turns on both sides of what proved to be an enthralling arm-wrestle well into the final evening session.The teams agreed to a draw at 6.13pm local time with India 344 for 8 in their second innings following on, a lead of 179 runs, after Sneh Rana and Taniya Bhatia had combined for an unbroken stand of 104.Sophie Ecclestone’s four wickets earlier in the day had England in prime position to push for victory before an eighth-wicket partnership worth 41 runs between Rana and Shikha Pandey had India clinging on to the prospect of a draw at tea.”Just a draw”. Try telling that to Rana, who on Test debut produced just the innings her side needed, reaching 80 not out off 154 balls to kill off any chance of the hosts sealing a result. Bhatia was unbeaten on 44 at stumps.With the pitch offering little to the seamers, it fell to Ecclestone to be the spearhead with Heather Knight chiming in with her part-time offspin. Ecclestone had already claimed 4 for 88 as India were bowled out for 231 in reply to England’s first-innings 396 for 9 declared.When she removed what appeared to be India’s greatest threat – the 17-year-old debutant Shafali Verma – it looked as though England were well on their way to ensuring the visitors couldn’t possibly salvage a draw.”Just a draw”. Try telling that to the bank of spectators – barely 200 of them – who had witnessed Katherine Brunt’s screamer to remove Verma off Ecclestone’s bowling, their collective groan when the big-screen replay switched to a graphic at the crucial moment making it sound like they were far greater in number.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

Just like the few hundred others who had bothered to attend each of the previous three days, they had witnessed something truly impressive, not least the breath-taking talent of Verma in scoring 96 and 63 in two vital contributions.India’s spectacular first-innings collapse in which they lost seven wickets for 20 runs in 14.2 overs and in which Deepti Sharma was the only middle-order batter to pass 4 with her unbeaten 29, rammed home the importance of Verma’s wicket, or so it seemed.With Verma gone, however, Sharma and Punam Raut dug in with a 72-run partnership for the third wicket, Sharma falling on the last ball before lunch with India leading by just six runs.Until then, with England struggling to make inroads, the match looked like meandering towards a draw that would belie the many fascinating storylines from the match.”Just a draw”. Try telling that to Knight, who fell just five runs shy of a century in her 100th match as England captain; to Sophia Dunkley, who scored 74 not out as the first black woman to play Test cricket for England; to Verma who showed and delivered on great promise; or to Ecclestone who worked her guts out bowling 64 overs for eight wickets in the match. Not to mention Rana whose fortitude in sealing that draw was so important to India.When Ecclestone struck for a second time in the morning session, the prospect of a result loomed back into sight. Sharma, another debutant who had showed her stubbornness in facing 44 deliveries for a single run in her previous innings, raised a 157-ball fifty with a pull off Nat Sciver to deep backward square. But she fell for 54, inexplicably attempting to slog-sweep a full Ecclestone delivery, and bottom-edging onto her stumps.Sneh Rana came up with an extremely crucial fifty on debut•Getty Images

With India leading by just 10 runs, Ecclestone had Mithali Raj out cheaply for the second time in the match, beating the bat and taking the top of off-stump as Raj attempted to guide the ball towards backward point.And Ecclestone couldn’t keep out of the action when Raut, who had overturned an lbw decision on 17 with replays showing she had edged Brunt onto her pad, pulled a Sciver short ball straight down Ecclesteone’s throat at square leg to be out for 39. India had lost three wickets for four runs in the space of 6.4 overs.Instructed to play a holding role and not give away any runs to pave the way for Ecclestone to be the main wicket-taker, Sciver at one point had taken 1 for 1 from 10 overs, which included nine maidens, and she ended the innings with figures of 16-9-21-2.But it could be argued that England’s decision not to choose a second specialist spinner on a used pitch had proven costly. The loss of a large chunk of the third day to rain didn’t help their cause but ultimately their failure to take 20 wickets made the difference.Pooja Vastrakar, promoted from No. 10 to No. 7, hit Ecclestone for 12 off one over, piercing the leg side for four three times. But that was the total of her contribution after Knight deceived her with one that beat her full-blooded swing and clattered into the stumps.Ecclestone had Harmanpreet Kaur out trying to unleash a slog-sweep and sending a top edge high overhead, wicketkeeper Amy Jones waiting patiently below to take a simple catch.Even then India were seven wickets down and only led by 34 runs but when Sciver had Pandey caught down the leg side by Jones for 18, Rana and Bhatia simply set themselves about their task, to see their side safely to the close of a match that was anything but “just a draw”.