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The Sun journalist Tom Barclay has admitted that he would ‘be surprised’ but ‘not shocked’ to see Southampton midfielder Oriol Romeu depart the St. Mary’s Stadium this summer.

The Lowdown: Romeu wants to stay

The Spaniard first joined the Saints from Chelsea in a £5m move back in 2015, since establishing himself as a regular in the starting XI, going on to make 251 club appearances and creating 14 goal contributions during that time, via Transfermarkt.

The 30-year-old recently admitted that he would love to remain a Southampton player beyond the end of the season, but with only one year remaining on his current contract, it still remains to be seen whether or not the hierarchy will offer the tenacious midfield maestro a new deal.

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The Latest: Barclay can’t rule it out

When asked about Romeu’s future at the club, Barclay told GiveMeSport:

“The age he’s at, with a year left (on his contract), they don’t like losing players on free transfers. So, I’d be surprised if he left but not shocked.

“And I hope he stays because I think he’s become a pivotal player, who Ralph loves, and I think he said he’s the most professional player he’s ever coached.”

Romeu is not the only midfielder linked with an exit, as James Ward-Prowse is expected to draw major interest from Tottenham Hotspur.

The Verdict: Must keep

If the £59k-per-week star was to leave the top-flight outfit, this would come as a huge loss to Ralph Hasenhuttl because he’s such a valuable player in this Saints side, having made 33 Premier League starts this campaign, forming a great partnership alongside James Ward-Prowse.

Romeu has been an absolute rock in the middle of the park this term, averaging 2.3 tackles, 1.4 interceptions, and 1.3 dribbles per 90 minutes across all competitions, as per WhoScored, displaying the effects he can have at both ends of the pitch.

Once dubbed as being “one of the best” by Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, there’s no doubt that the Austrian boss will do everything he can to retain his engine room operator in a bid to secure a top ten finish next term.

In other news… Southampton have reportedly joined the race to sign one of their transfer targets.

Andy Moles, Afghanistan’s interim head coach, has played up their underdog tag ahead of the one-off Test against Bangladesh, but also warned against taking the visitors for granted. Afghanistan will be playing only their third Test match, as they look for batting consistency and a new beginning following a disastrous World Cup campaign.Moles, who is Afghanistan’s chief selector as well, said that teams find it hard tackling Bangladesh’s spinners in home conditions. Shakib Al Hasan’s men have won their last three Tests at home, crushing West Indies in November last year, with their four-pronged spin attack taking all 40 wickets.”We have massive respect for Bangladesh team, they are a level above us, but we are not scared of them,” Moles said. “We respect them. They have played some wonderful cricket at home for a long time. We are very much the underdogs. Top sides have found it hard work playing in Bangladesh. We are under no illusion that this is going to be a tough examination of our skills. If we could show application and concentration, we are capable of doing something special over the next five days.”I am not surprised with [Bangladesh’s] spin attack. I have seen the side they have picked in the last few games. It is called home advantage. I’d be surprised if they didn’t come with a strong spin attack. We also have a reasonable spin attack.”Russell Domingo shares his thoughts with Soumya Sarkar•BCB

Russell Domingo, who will be overseeing his first match as Bangladesh’s head coach, is aware that Afghanistan would pose a threat but added that familiarity with their main players such as Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi have helped reduce the surprise factor.”Afghanistan are starting their Test journey, so they will be desperate to get a win,” Domingo said. “They will feel the conditions might help them while it might be tougher for them in Australia, South Africa or England. They will be confident of springing us a surprise in the next couple of days.”Quite a lot of our players have played against their spinners in the BPL. They have some match winners in Nabi and Rashid Khan. They are fantastic bowlers. We have to make sure we respect them while also looking to score some runs against them.”It will be a way to exert pressure on their best bowlers. We know that it is going to be a big challenge in these conditions but it is something that we have prepared for in the last two weeks.” Having taken over last month, Domingo hasn’t had much time to assess the Bangladesh side but he said that he was happy with the intensity during the recent training camp. He added that, at the moment, he will wait and see how the selection process works, before being involved in it fully.”It is going to be my first Test for Bangladesh. I want to see how they perform, and it is difficult to make wholesale changes to a system that has worked really well for them in the last couple of Tests.”I am sitting back to see how things pan out for the first Test. The selectors and Shakib have led me to thinking in a certain way, and I am pretty comfortable with it before I imprint my way on to the team.”

Philippe Coutinho’s fall from grace continues, with a man once worth £140 million ($177m) now being linked with a £5m return to where it all began.

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• Moved to Camp Nou in 2018
• Currently on loan in Qatar
• May return to roots in Brazil

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The former Brazil international was considered to be one of the most exciting talents on the planet when leaving Liverpool for Barcelona in a transfer deal that is still the third biggest of all-time. Things did not play out as planned at Camp Nou, leading to loan spells and an eventual return to England at Aston Villa.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Coutinho has played just 24 minutes of Premier League football for them this season, and is currently on loan in Qatar at Al-Duhail. Another move is expected this summer, with the 31-year-old needing to find a spark from somewhere.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  There had been talk of a switch to the United States being taken in, with MLS outfit Inter Miami credited with interest at one stage – with any deal there set to reunite Coutinho with former Barca team-mates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR COUTINHO?

  are, however, reporting that Coutinho could be offered an opportunity to head back to square one. Vasco da Gama – who nurtured the talented playmaker through their youth ranks – are said to be exploring a loan deal that would include a purchase obligation of between £4m ($5m) and £6m ($8m).

Hardik Pandya came close to taking a wicket in Hamilton on several occasions, but instead ended up with 44 for 0

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Feb-2019
4.3
HH Pandya to Munro, FOUR, magnificent! Picks the length early and whips this up and over the infield as it bounces past Vijay Shankar at deep midwicket. Vijay covered good ground again but the ball spun away and he ended up crashing into the advertising hoardings. Seems fine though12.1
HH Pandya to Munro, 1 run, dropped by Khaleel! Slower short one, spinning away from the batsman who plays half a pull, skies it towards backward square leg where Khaleel goes reverse cups but drops12.5
HH Pandya to Munro, 4 leg byes, a bouncer on middle and leg, goes for the pull, gets an edge that goes just over the short third man fielder [Pant], another boundary for Munro. Signalled leg-byes, might have just hit the elbow17.1
HH Pandya to de Grandhomme, 1 run, slower one outside off and smashed in the air towards extra cover, Rohit dives to his right and spills

New Zealand’s bowling coach was pleased with the efforts of the left-arm quick, who took three important wickets on day four at Hagley Oval

Andrew Fidel Fernando in Christchurch29-Dec-2018Pitches in New Zealand tend to flatten out after a roaring start, but even though opposition teams struggle to get wickets in the second innings, New Zealand’s own quicks are generally capable of bowling their team to victory. Why? Because they hunt as a pack, according to their bowling coach Shane Jurgensen.There was evidence of that teamwork as they removed four Sri Lanka batsmen on day four – three of those wickets falling to Neil Wagner. The performance left New Zealand four further wickets from victory, with day five to play. In fact they may only need three wickets, if the injured Angelo Mathews does not bat again.”It’s awesome, because I think the bowlers actually bounce off each other,” Jurgensen said after play. “They all get on with each other – they’re really good mates. You’ve got the two left-handers in Neil and Trent Boult, and then you’ve got Tim Southee and Colin de Grandhomme, when there’s a bit more on offer in terms of seam and swing. You’ve got those four guys – two lefties and two righties. Neil’s ability to bowl those bouncers, it just adds another string in the bow for the group.”One of the big things with our bowling is we want to bowl in partnerships and put pressure on from both ends. I think that’s what we did in the first innings and that’s we needed all our bowlers to do in the second.”Having arrived in New Zealand only six days before this series started, following their three Tests in the UAE, New Zealand’s bowlers have also had to contend with a huge workload, having earlier spent six months without any international cricket on their schedule. Boult – New Zealand’s quickest bowler – has played in all five of those Tests, and Tim Southee has played four.”Trent is really fit,” Jurgensen said. “I think that’s what I’ve been really impressed with our bowling group – it’s our fifth test in six-and-a-half or seven weeks, and it’s a testament to their fitness during the winter, how hard they’ve worked, to still keep trucking in. Neil just provides that extra punch that we need, particularly at the back end of the game, and you saw another example of that today. He’s been doing it for a while now for us.”Perhaps the best on-field battle of day five was Wagner v Dinesh Chandimal. In the past, teams have targeted Chandimal with the short ball, on account of his reputation for being an impulsive hooker. Aware of this potential weakness, New Zealand and Wagner bowled a lot of bouncers at Chandimal, without much success for the first two sessions, with Chandimal routinely ducking or swaying out of the way.It was Wagner who eventually got his wicket. Early in the third session, Chandimal could not get out of the way of a delivery headed toward his throat, and ended up fending at it with his gloves, sending an easy catch to short leg. Wagner was ecstatic at having taken that wicket, letting out an almighty scream.”I was a good battle between them,” Jurgensen said. “Dinesh batted very well, he applied himself fantastically. His hook shot is certainly something that we’ve targeted. But one of the things that I was mentioning in the dressing room is that I don’t think he’s playing the pull or hook shot today, so maybe we need to change our fields slightly to suit that. Eventually Neil got him.”

Soumya Sarkar and 17-year-old offspinner Nayeem Hasan were the other inclusions in the Bangladesh Test squad that was trimmed to 13 players

Mohammad Isam17-Nov-2018

Shakib Al Hasan will lead Bangladesh in the first Test against West Indies, ending speculation about his finger injury. Shakib returned to training earlier this week after a month-long rehabilitation programme, following complications with the injury that he sustained in January this year.

IN: Shakib Al Hasan, Soumya Sarkar, Nayeem Hasan

OUT: Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Abu Jayed, Shafiul Islam, Nazmul Islam

Shakib, Soumya Sarkar and 17-year-old offspinner Nayeem Hasan were the inclusions in the Bangladesh Test squad that was trimmed to 13 players from the 15-man squad that had been named against Zimbabwe. Liton Das, Nazmul Hossain Shanto, Abu Jayed, Shafiul Islam and Nazmul Islam were all dropped.Chief selector Minhajul Abedin said that Shakib was fit but needed game time under his belt, while Soumya was picked to resolve Bangladesh’s Test opening conundrum, with Tamim Iqbal still recovering from a side strain.”He has no physical problems currently, but he is short of match fitness. But since he is a senior player, we think that he is ready,” Minhajul said. “Soumya has done well in the NCL. Our openers have failed in Tests, so we want to give him a chance. Soumya plays fast bowling quite well.”Soumya effectively replaces Liton who showed glimpses of form in ODIs but has struggled in Test cricket this year. Shanto, Jayed, Shafiul and Nazmul have all been dropped, according to Minhajul, because the selectors wanted a smaller Test squad. These players will be playing in the Bangladesh Cricket League, the first-class tournament which is scheduled to begin next week.It is, however, particularly chastening for Jayed, who was Bangladesh’s standout bowler July in the West Indies, but is suddenly behind Khaled Ahmed in the selectors’ pecking order.”[Abu Jayed] Rahi is not really dropped. We may go with one seam bowler, so there’s no point keeping him around the squad. The same goes for [Najmul Hossain] Shanto, Shafiul [Islam] and [Nazmul Islam] Apu,” Minhajul said.Nayeem, who was a surprise choice in the Bangladesh Test squad last January, has been picked this time for topping the wicket-takers’ charts in the NCL, the first-class tournament that concluded last week. Soumya meanwhile last played Tests more than a year ago.Squad: Shakib Al Hasan (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Mohammad Mithun, Mominul Haque, Mushfiqur Rahim, Ariful Haque, Mahmudullah, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Mustafizur Rahman, Taijul Islam, Syed Khaled Ahmed, Naeem Hasan

Arsenal kept their slim Women's Super League title bid alive after seeing off a resolute Aston Villa in a 3-1 comeback win at Villa Park.

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Arsenal beat Aston Villa 3-1 at Villa ParkPelova, Wubben-Moy & Blackstenius scoreSalmon on scoresheet for Villa in WSL clashGetty ImagesTELL ME MORE

The Villans scored with their only shot of the game – which was pushed back 45 minutes due to travel disruption – through Ebony Salmon in the 35th minute following a flowing team move as the visitors toiled in the first half. Nine minutes after the interval, Jonas Eidevall's side equalised when goalkeeper Anna Leat could only parry Alessia Russo's strike and Victoria Pelova converted the rebound. It looked like the north London outfit's profligacy would let them down as Leat made a number of vital saves to keep them at bay but a late flurry got Arsenal over the line. Lotte Wubben-Moy and Stina Blackstenius scored in the 84th and 86th minute respectively as the Gunners closed to within six points of joint-leaders Chelsea and Arsenal with five games remaining.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesTHE MVP

Lotte Wubben-Moy: Arsenal were so dominant but until the 84th minute, it looked like they would come away with just a point. Therefore, the defender's all-important goal paved the way to the Gunners' victory, before Blackstenius put more gloss on the scoreline.

GettyTHE BIG LOSER

Rachel Daly: Last season's Golden Boot winner got precious little service in attack for Villa and she was booked for dissent in the second half in what was a frustrating night for the England international. It appears her team are going backwards after a fifth-placed finish last term.

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GettyWHAT COMES NEXT?

Arsenal are not in WSL action again until after the international break when they host bottom of the table Bristol City on April 14 but before then they take on Chelsea in the final of the FA Women's League Cup next Sunday. Villa, on the other hand, host Leicester City next Saturday in the league.

“The biggest problem is the batters who are taking a start but are not going to play a long innings,” the head coach said

Andrew Fidel Fernando01-Feb-2025Australia’s batters were at home on Sri Lanka tracks in ways Sri Lanka’s batters weren’t. This was one of the take-aways from a Test that Australia dominated, according to head coach Sanath Jayasuriya.Sri Lanka’s batters also largely fell playing attacking strokes.”There was a serious problem with shot selections, as well as with handling situations,” Jayasuriya said. “I don’t think certain players have handled situations well. They’re experienced players, and they have to be more mature.Related

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Sri Lanka turn up, but do little else in Galle mismatch

“These players have played a lot of cricket and should know how to play. I’ve talked to them about this. But we’ve got to talk to them in detail about this now. Also, we cannot blame the wicket. Because we saw how the wicket behaved. This was a very good wicket. For a long time, we haven’t seen such a good wicket in Galle, on the third and fourth days.”The problem, Jayasuriya said, is batters not converting their starts into big scores. In Australia’s first innings of the first Test in Galle, six batters faced 50 balls or more. In Sri Lanka’s first innings, only Dinesh Chandimal faced more than 50 balls.”The biggest problem is the batters who are taking a start but are not going to play a long innings,” Jayasuriya said. “This is something I always mutter. We saw [Usman] Khawaja, [Steven] Smith and [Josh] Inglis, all three of them took a good start and they converted them to big hundreds. This conversion must be there. We’re not consistent in that. Our players should know that these are our conditions and we must make use of these conditions. There were lots of opportunities but we didn’t make use of them.”Australia’s spinners did tend to bowl faster than Sri Lanka’s, but at the time, Sri Lanka’s spinners had felt their slower pace was better suited to this surface.”They were bowling a little faster than us, but we were thinking that our pace was the best. That’s what we’ve been doing. The wicket was on the slower side and we were trying to bowl a little faster, but we ended up bowling as we usually do here.”After the third or fourth day, we saw the normal Galle wicket. What the Australia spinners did was bowl a little faster than us. That’s normally what they’re doing.”We’re used to bowling at a slower pace, but it didn’t work in this match. We need to discuss all that also.”

The allrounder has made the call as Australia’s limited-overs squad was due to head to Sri Lanka

Andrew McGlashan06-Feb-2025

Australia allrounder Marcus Stoinis has announced his immediate retirement from ODI cricket, ruling himself out of the upcoming Champions Trophy.Stoinis, 35, will now focus on T20 cricket and remains available for Australia in that format. He scored 1495 runs in 71 ODIs at an average of 26.69 with a best of 146 not out against New Zealand in Auckland in 2017, and also took 48 wickets at 43.12 apiece.Related

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“Playing ODI cricket for Australia has been an incredible journey, and I’m grateful for every moment I’ve had in the green and gold,” Stoinis said. “Representing my country at the highest level is something I’ll always cherish.”This wasn’t an easy decision, but I believe it’s the right time for me to step away from ODIs and fully focus on the next chapter of my career. I’ve got a fantastic relationship with Ron [Andrew McDonald] and I’ve hugely appreciated his support. I’ll be cheering the boys on in Pakistan.”Stoinis was part of the 2023 ODI World Cup squad and played an important role with the ball against Pakistan, when Australia began their fightback from a poor start to the tournament and ended it as champions.”Stoin has been such a pivotal part of our ODI setup for the past decade,” McDonald said. “Not only has he been an invaluable player but also an incredible person to have in the group. He is a natural leader, an exceptionally popular player and a great person. He should be congratulated on his ODI career and all of his achievements.”However, he played only one more ODI after that World Cup, against Pakistan earlier this season, and did not receive a Cricket Australia contact last year, but was earmarked to play a role at the Champions Trophy in the absence of the injured Cameron Green.”I wasn’t involved in those discussions, but from our perspective, Stoinis was trying to map out how one-day cricket was going for him,” assistant coach Daniel Vettori said after the opening day of the second Test in Galle. “[The] 2027 World Cup is a long way away. From my perspective, it’s been great the way he’s been able to lead with the ball at times. I think back to that 2023 World Cup and those two breakthroughs against Pakistan, and his style of bowling and the aggressiveness. If the big three weren’t able to get a breakthrough or Zamps, then Stoins was turned to a lot on the bowling front, and he brought a real energy and attitude.”Stoinis recently played three matches for Durban’s Super Giants in the SA20, where he suffered an injury in his second outing, on the back of the BBL with Melbourne Stars.Australia will need to make numerous changes to their Champions Trophy squad, which they are due to confirm after the second Test against Sri Lanka. Mitchell Marsh has been ruled out with a back injury while captain Pat Cummins and fellow quick Josh Hazlewood will also miss the tournament.

Leeds United aren’t messing about getting their business done early during the chaotic summer transfer window.

Already, Daniel Farke’s Whites are two signings down with plenty more activity expected at Elland Road, with Lukas Nmecha starting proceedings when joining from Wolfsburg, before Leeds dipped their toes in once more to land Jaka Bijol for a bumper £15m.

Of course, there will be the worry of exits still to come – as faces such as Junior Firpo slowly edge away from their West Yorkshire home – but the general feeling in the air at the newly promoted side will be one of optimism, especially as Leeds are usually notoriously slow out of the traps to seal signings.

Nikola Krstovic could be the next notable pick-up through the door, but the Whites might be able to land an even better signing than the potent Montenegrin if they succeed with this other pursuit.

Leeds join the race for £9m star

As per a new report from journalist Graeme Bailey, Leeds are now in the race to snap up promising Borussia Mönchengladbach left-back Lukas Ullrich this summer.

Bailey states that the Bundesliga giants are looking to tie the Germany U21 international down to a new deal. However, significant interest from the Premier League – away from just Leeds being keen – could potentially jeopardise those talks.

Indeed, it’s stated that Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace, Everton, Brighton, and Nottingham Forest are all also chasing the £9m-rated defender, as per Football Transfers, meaning Leeds will have their work cut out to advance to the front of the queue for Ullrich’s services.

Still, Leeds might well deem it more of a necessary and worthwhile venture chasing after the Berlin-born starlet than continuing to pursue Krstovic, with the newly promoted side desperately short on numbers down the left.

Why Ullrich could be a better signing than Krstovic

Leeds already possess the likes of Joel Piroe and Patrick Bamford in attack, even if the Lecce striker didn’t move on to England, with the Dutchman just fresh off a 19-goal season in the Championship.

Moreover, Bamford – away from his recurring injury problems – is also a Premier League-experienced head that could still offer Farke a worthwhile option if needed, as seen in his respectable 24-goal tally at the intimidating level.

Therefore, it would be safe to assume that the Whites are well-stocked in this department for the time being, with it also being a risk to splash around the £30m mark on Krstovic, considering Georginio Rutter is their most expensive capture ever at just £5.5m more.

Whereas, for £7m, Leeds would be able to win a star in Ullrich, who should only get better with time, and a purchase that is needed far more urgently than another centre-forward joining the building. After all, if you remove Firpo from Leeds’ ever-changing squad, only an ageing Sam Byram is available in the left-back spot.

Minutes played

90

Goals scored

0

Assists

1

Touches

52

Accurate passes

20/28 (71%)

Successful dribbles

1/1

Clearances

4

Tackles

6

Total duels won

7/10

The in-demand 21-year-old has already shown he can do it on the big occasion for club and country too, as seen in his one goal and two assists last season as an attack-oriented full-back for Gladbach, on top of his recent heroics for his nation at the U21 Euros when his early assist got Germany up and running against the youthful Three Lions.

On the night, the “high intensity” defender – as described by Germany U19 manager Guido Streichsbier – showed he can tussle with the likes of Harvey Elliott and Ethan Nwaneri and come out on top, meaning he might well be ready for the challenge of the Premier League to follow.

He isn’t quite at Firpo’s level just yet, considering the ex-Barcelona defender picked up a hefty ten assists last campaign.

But, having been noted as making “huge strides” already by manager Gerardo Seoane, the Premier League might well just be the next big step he has to adjust to, with Farke also known to get the maximum out of up-and-coming youngsters under his wing.

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