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On May 28, 2022, Real Madrid secured a record-extending 14th Champions League trophy after batting away a Liverpool onslaught, leaving Jurgen Klopp's side in disbelief as their final chance to cherry-top a stunning season faded away like mist.

It was a poignantly bitter end to what, just one week earlier, tantalised to be a campaign of unprecedented brilliance, with Liverpool's hopes of a historic quadruple thwarted by Manchester City and Real Madrid's inevitability.

After the continental finale in Paris, Klopp declared to reporters that his squad would "go again", but the following year, last season, the Reds could not ignite the gas and toiled throughout a calamitous campaign.

Indeed, finishing fifth in the Premier League after dreadful form and a complete loss of cohesion, the Anfield side were rebuked for their "woeful" – as was said by journalist Caoimhe O'Neill – seasonal collapse, albeit salvaging Europa League football with improved performances and results to close the year.

It was a team at the end of its life force, an odyssey stretching too long without meaningful replenishment, resulting in weary legs and stagnancy.

In August 2022, it had been four years since a centre-midfielder other than Thiago Alcantara had been signed, and the deadline day panic buy of Arthur Melo (who played 13 competitive minutes for Liverpool) encapsulated the inept approach on the transfer front.

It all could have been so different, if only the Merseyside outfit succeeded in their pursuit of France prodigy Aurelien Tchouameni, but Los Blancos' trophy-winning victory over Liverpool was always going to pave an irrevocable path for the holding midfielder.

Did Aurelien Tchouameni nearly sign for Liverpool?

Liverpool's refusal to sign a midfielder last summer and ultimately opt for Arthur in a stop-gap move was perhaps an obstinate way of throwing the toys out of the pram after failing to sign Tchouameni, who was viewed as the perfect successor to Fabinho's position as the No. 6.

Indeed, according to multiple sources – including transfer guru Fabrizio Romano – Liverpool were in contention for the player's signature, alongside Paris Saint-Germain, though Real Madrid were always the favourites to secure his services.

However, Liverpool's pursuit would ultimately prove fruitless, with Real Madrid securing a €100m (£85m) transfer for the latest Monaco sensation, praised as "world-class" by Transfermarkt's Stefan Bienkowski.

While the prospect of playing under Klopp at Liverpool was undoubtedly enticing, the sway of the Santiago Bernabeu proved too much, especially after Vinicius Junior's goal sank the Anfield ship.

For those of an Anfield persuasion, it comes as a great shame that they were not able to get the deal done for a player who would have made a greater impact last term than Jude Bellingham, who was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool before the club withdrew from the race for his name in April.

This is largely due to the need for comprehensive change, with Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endo and Ryan Gravenberch instead being landed to restore the midfield.

How good is Aurelien Tchouameni?

Not only would Liverpool have upgraded on Fabinho – who had an "awful" season at the epicentre of Anfield's demise, according to pundit Jamie Carragher – but they would have procured a new central focal point to transform the entire team.

His particular set of skills would have been a better fit than Bellingham's last season, as contentious as that may sound as the England international obliterates defences with ease after emulating Tchouameni's move to Madrid.

One of the most imperturbable presences on the ball and a superlative and tenacious defensive cog, the Frenchman ranks among the top 1% of midfielders across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for pass completion, the top 6% for passes attempted, the top 2% for interceptions, the top 6% for clearances, the top 20% for tackles and the top 10% for aerial wins per 90, as per FBref.

Most comparable players to Aurelien Tchouameni (via FBref)

Arsenal's Thomas Partey (1)

Manchester City's Rodri (2)

Chelsea's Moises Caicedo (4)

Tottenham's Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg (6)

Arsenal's Declan Rice (7)

Given the names that the £205k-per-week is likened to, it's clear that Liverpool would have secured the services of a midfield machine custom-made for the rigours of Premier League football.

The "superb talent" – as dubbed by Rio Ferdinand – did not enjoy the incredible first year in Spain that many would have hoped, and despite making 50 appearances across all competitions, he was benched for every knockout tie in the Champions League and both semi-final legs against historic rivals Barcelona in the Cope del Rey.

However, the 27-cap international is still young and already boasts qualities that eclipse the lion's share of talented midfielders across Europe; that might not be the case when comparing him to Bellingham, who has been hailed as a "generational talent" by journalist Raphael Honigstein.

Moreover, as much as Bellingham is a bona fide prodigy, he is not a defensive midfielder, actually utilised in and around the final third with Real Madrid, and his French counterpart would have provided the steely assurance in the centre to prevent the malaise that seeped in last year.

Bellingham, aged just 20, joined Real in an initial €103m (£88m) deal this summer after rising to prominence in Germany with Borussia Dortmund, and has blitzed into life at one of football's greatest-ever clubs with five goals and an assist across his first four outings in the Spanish top-flight.

There were rumours that Liverpool would return for Tchouameni once more this summer, with The Telegraph's Chris Bascombe claiming that the 23-year-old had remained a coveted commodity on Merseyside, with Klopp earmarking him as he rebuilt his team's midfield.

But after starting all four of Real's LaLiga matches thus far this term, it's looking increasingly unlikely that he will be departing the Spanish capital any time soon, especially after personally distancing himself from rumours in July after liking a tweet suggesting he is not for sale amid interest from the Premier League giants.

Once remarked to be "pure gold" by football talent scout Jacek Kulig, Tchouameni will long be remembered as a player who could have reinvigorated the Liverpool ranks and prevented a detrimental campaign that has severed the club's illustrious seven-year stay in the Champions League.

And while Liverpool's fortunes look far brighter at present, there is no telling how mighty the squad could have become with such a blistering talent orchestrating the play from the nucleus of Klopp's system.

For the Indians who’ve signed up with the ICL, the league is a welcome change from the apathy they’ve had from the BCCI all these years. By Siddhartha Vaidyanathan

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan30-Nov-2007

Kiran Powar: ‘Tell me one reason why I shouldn’t join the ICL’ © ICL
About 15 years ago Kiran Powar was a bigger name in Mumbai cricket than his brotherRamesh. A left-hand batsman with a wide array of strokes, Kiran struggled to breakinto a powerful Mumbai batting order and switched allegiance to other states. Hespent a number of seasons in Assam and Goa, during which time he made many long journeys by bus, and often, considering hotels were too much of a luxury, even spent nights in one. Frequently, with reimbursement hard to come by, he paid his own travel expenses. He even wasn’t compensated when he was hospitalised once.Today Powar enjoys the comfort of the Taj hotel in Chandigarh. He shares the same dressing room as Brian Lara and Nathan Astle. When I speak to him, he’s having lunch with Vikram Solanki, Johan van der Wath and Danny Redrup, a South African physio who is “showing me the sort of fitness a cricketer needs”. For the first time in Powar’s life he has a sense of security. “Tell me one reason why I shouldn’t join the ICL” he challenges.Powar’s isn’t an isolated case. The general mood among the Indian domestic playerswho have joined the ICL is one of disgruntlement. “Until today none of us had anoption,” says a player who was picked for India a couple of years ago. “Now we havesomeone to take care of us. Wait for some time and players will just rush in.”The BCCI’s apathy is a sore point. A domestic veteran talks about a prominent state association. “They made a big din about introducing central contracts for players,” he says. “Finally, we said, we’ve got some security. And they give us an annual contract of Rs 25,000 [US$ 500 approximately]. Is that any sort of money for a year?”Even more frustrating has been the handling of injuries. Shalabh Srivatsava, an Under-19 star who went on to do well consistently for Uttar Pradesh, travelled to South Africa for an expensive surgery. He is still waiting to be reimbursed. Rakesh Patel, the Baroda fast bowler who was selected for the Indian one-day side recently, underwent a similar fate. “The biggest problem is we can’t play when we’re injured,” says Powar. “It means no reimbursement and no match fees. How do you survive?”Redrup chips in: “This is exactly how rugby used to be conducted in South Africaduring the amateur days. But things changed with professionalism.”The situation with the coaching staff who have signed up with the ICL isn’t too different. Erapalli Prasanna, the former India offspinner, who was with the BCCI’s ill-fated spin wing had had enough of being ignored. “By sending me to Nagpur and to Kolkata for short periods, the NCA [National Cricket Academy] sent a clear message that I was not required. The other signal I got was that the BCCI wanted to get rid of me. The spin wing is finished.”Sandeep Patil, who is currently coaching the Mumbai Champs, echoes those views. “”I waited for the BCCI to give me a suitable job to serve Indian cricket. Twice I had written to the BCCI president, Sharad Pawar, expressing my interest to be a coach of the India Aside. I was assured a two-year contract, but after waiting for almost one and a halfyears, nothing came of it.”Hurdles, hurdles, hurdles
It’s not been easy for these players and coaches who have signed with the ICL. They are derisively referred to as “money whores”.Reetinder Singh Sodhi, the former India allrounder, speaks about being refusedentry into a ground in Patiala. “Imagine the scene,” he says. “You’ve gone to aground to practise almost every day of your life. And one day they stop you. As ifI’m a criminal or something. I’m still playing cricket only, no?”Bengal’s players faced a similar situation at the Calcutta Cricket and FootballClub, though the Essel Group, which runs the ICL, had a corporate membership at the club. JP Yadav and Mohnish Mishra, two Madhya Pradesh players, were forced to withdraw from a club tournament in Bhopal for a similar reason.Three Hyderabad players with jobs in state banks were apparently transferred toKolkata recently. They’ve to now choose between moving to a new city and losingtheir jobs.All ICL players have been banned from playing in corporate tournaments organised by the BCCI. Those who have jobs have had their terms of employment made more stringent. Madhya Pradesh batsman Abbas Ali, who works with Indian Oil, is required to work from 9am to 5pm every day and struggles to find time for practice.It is the youngsters who are hardest hit. “A young cricketer finds a job by telling his employees that he’s a cricketer,” says JP Yadav, the former India allrounder. “Now, since he can’t play corporate tournaments, how is a company going to give him a job? That’s a big worry.”Another implication is that cricketers may have to give up the option of playing leaguecricket in England – since that requires a minimum qualification of four first-classgames in a season.

Sandeep Patil waited in vain for a job as India A coach before signing with the ICL © ICL
Positives galore
Despite the ostracism the players remain upbeat. When JP Yadav walked into theTau Devi Lal Stadium in Panchkula, his first reaction was simple: “It’s fine, . You’re talking to someone who’s played cricket all his life at the Karnail Singh Stadium.” That, incidentally, is the headquarters of the Indian Railways side, a first-class ground that’s universally regarded as India’s worst in terms of facilities.The players have been given 12 pairs each of coloured uniforms. They’ve been exposed to physios and trainers streets ahead of the ones they’ve been used to in Indian first-class cricket. They’ve received 25% of the yearly payment promised them (as the base price), and are happy to see sums being deposited every month in Axis Bank accounts that have been opened for them.Some foreign players have been impressed with the local talent and have spoken aboutrecommending them to counties and provinces. “Abhishek Jhunjunwala has beennoticed,” says a senior player with the Bengal Tigers. “He was even asked if he would want to qualify to play for England.”The ICL, for all the talk of being the poor cousin to the Indian board’s Indian Premier League, is still an option that a number of Indian domestic players are seriously considering. As recently as September, a couple of players on the fringes were apparently seriously contemplating joining. Both made their India debuts subsequently and shelved the plan.A number of other players, though, are still in the loop. “I’ve got a call from so many domestic cricketers asking, ‘What’s happening, are they recruiting?” says Yadav. “People are definitely interested. It’s just a matter of taking the leap.” Like several others, he is convinced that the next 15 days will only reinforce their faith.

Getafe have admitted Mason Greenwood "would suit" Barcelona after Sir Jim Ratcliffe's comments on the Manchester United loanee's future.

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Greenwood impressing on loan at GetafeRatcliffe has opened door for his return to Old TraffordBarcelona also interested in English forwardGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

United sent Greenwood out on loan to Getafe on September 1 after concluding a six-month investigation into his conduct away from the pitch. He saw charges of attempted rape, assault, and coercive control against him dropped in February last year, but the club ultimately decided against reintegrating him into the first team. Moving to La Liga has allowed Greenwood to rebuild his career, though, and after recording 13 goal contributions in his first 24 appearances for Getafe, it has been suggested that Barcelona could make a formal offer for the forward this summer.

AdvertisementWHAT GETAFE'S PRESIDENT SAID

Getafe president Angel Torres is still hopeful that Greenwood will stay at Estadio Coliseum Alfonso Perez beyond the end of the season, but admits that Barcelona would be the ideal fit for the 22-year-old if he were to move on to a new challenge. "He is very comfortable and crazy about staying another year," Torres said to Spanish radio station . "It's a matter that they [United] have to decide. There is new ownership. They have to decide. In Spain, he has a market. Barca's way of playing would suit him well but it depends on Manchester United. If it's true, he'll tell me."

Getty DID YOU KNOW?

Torres' comments came in response to news from Old Trafford earlier in the week, with United's new minority shareholder Sir Jim Ratcliffe opening the door for Greenwood's potential return to the club. The INEOS chairman confirmed that a fresh decision over Greenwood's future will be taken when his loan deal at Getafe expires. "He’s a Manchester United footballer so we are in charge of football,” Ratcliffe said. "So the answer is yes, we have to make decisions. There is no decision that’s been made. The process will be: understand the facts not the hype and then try and come to fair decision on the basis of values which is basically is he a good guy or not, and answer could he play sincerely for Manchester United well and would we be comfortable with it and would the fans be comfortable with it."

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR GREENWOOD?

Greenwood is still under contract at Old Trafford until 2025, but has not played a competitive game for United since January 2022, and it remains to be seen whether he will be given another chance under the INEOS regime. For now, the one-cap England international's focus remains locked on matters at Getafe, who are set to come up against his potential suitors Barcelona in their next La Liga game on Saturday.

Having endured a patchy start to the new Premier League season, despite remaining unbeaten, it finally seems like Arsenal are clicking into gear and recapturing the rhythm that saw them come so close to immortality last year.

With standout victories over Manchester United and PSV Eindhoven, Mikel Arteta's men have laid a fine foundation for success across the board, with the Spaniard likely boasting grand ambitions of challenging on all fronts.

However, much of the media interest surrounding the current campaign, Kai Havertz's questionable performances aside, has been aimed at the goalkeeping position.

With Aaron Ramsdale having started the term as no.1, given the England international's impressive and ever-improving form since joining, the loan acquisition of David Raya drew questions.

The Spaniard is a fine shot-stopper who boasts exemplary ball-playing skills, but many wondered what the need to replace their current keeper was when the 25-year-old had largely impressed.

However, when the opportunity arose the Brentford loanee certainly took it, with it now widely recognised that he will maintain his starting spot.

Despite all the interest and debate such a saga has whipped up, it could be argued that back in 2020, Arteta actually sold a man who outperforms both of them.

Who has Mikel Arteta sold whilst at Arsenal?

Upon being appointed following the troublesome tenure of Unai Emery, there was plenty of work for the young inexperienced coach to undergo before he could take the Gunners back to the top.

After all, he had inherited a hugely bloated wage bill consisting of ageing luxury stars, many of whom were unlikely to stick around and star for the long-term project that was being crafted.

As such, the 41-year-old was cut-throat, with stars such as Mesut Ozil, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette all falling foul of the new regime. The former two even saw their contracts terminated in an effort to speed up their exit and free up significant wages to spend on a brighter future.

However, some departures did get lost in the mass exodus, with Pep Guardiola's ex-assistant perhaps a little too eager to completely revamp the squad.

Stars such as Matteo Guendouzi and Bernd Leno have gone on to enjoy fine stints since departing the Emirates, but few have enjoyed a rise to prominence like Emiliano Martinez, who joined Aston Villa in 2020.

After deputising well for the injured German goalkeeper, it became clear that despite his blistering form, the Argentine would not be handed a long-term show of faith. So, in a deal that has since become legendary for the international repercussions it held, the 31-year-old would seek greener pastures.

Having since made 119 appearances for the Midlands outfit, as an ever-present stalwart who has helped them in good times and bad, he is now reaping the rewards of having a fine outfit in front of him, who even charged to a European spot last season.

However, the true outstanding contribution of the shot-stopper's career thus far has come with his national team, more specifically during the 2022 World Cup.

Selected as Argentina's undisputed number one by Lionel Scaloni, the 6 foot 5 titan would play every minute of every game as they charged through the tournament. Brushing aside a shock defeat to Saudi Arabia, they would ease past Poland and Mexico before crushing Australian dreams with a narrow round of 16 victory.

Next came the Netherlands, who they defeated on penalties as Martinez starred, before an emphatic 3-0 win over Croatia cemented their spot in the final.

Whilst Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe stole the show offensively, the 32-cap superstar would make the decisive intervention, producing a phenomenal late save to deny Randal Kolo Muani in extra time before making two penalty saves to win his country the ultimate prize.

Journalist Thierry Nyann would seek to highlight his contribution, which saw him win the Golden Glove award and later the award for Best Goalkeeper in the World: "Big shouts to Emiliano Martinez — Argentina wouldn’t have won the World Cup without him. A World Class Goalkeeper".

To think, Arteta was willing to sanction his exit for what now seems like a nominal fee.

How much did Aston Villa sign Emi Martinez for?

Whilst few could possibly have foreseen the glistening future Martinez would enjoy, there were signs that Arsenal had a truly special keeper on their hands.

After all, his work during that spell in the first team was exceptional, managing a 7.21 average rating as he recorded 3.8 saves per game, via Sofascore.

Therefore, the £17m spent marked a relatively risk-free signing for the Villans, who had secured a fine first-choice goalkeeper for the foreseeable future.

How much was Emi Martinez worth at Arsenal?

Having spent eight years at the north London club, his was a stint largely spent in the shadows, patiently awaiting a moment to shine.

As such, he would record just 38 appearances, the bulk of which came in cup competitions, and in that period before his exit.

€40.7m (£35.1m)

2023

Aston Villa

€21.4m (£18.5m)

2022

Aston Villa

€6.9m (£5.9m)

2021

Aston Villa

€0.7m (£0.6m)

2020

Arsenal

€0.5m (£0.4m)

2019

Arsenal

FootballTransfers, recognising his diminutive status, would therefore only value Villa's number one at €3.8m (£3.2m), which marked the pinnacle during that period at the Emirates. Unsurprisingly, this was a figure that would skyrocket in the following years.

How much was Emi Martinez worth at Aston Villa?

Although his value has since decreased slightly now, with the hype surrounding those World Cup performances understandably inflating such a number, it still remains at a level where Arteta will hold much regret regarding the departure.

After all, as recently as February was the Argentine worth a lofty €40.7m (£35.1m), with that having now dropped to a still admirable €30.9m (£26.7m).

When taking the former figure, since leaving the Gunners Martinez has actually seen a 105% increase when comparing that valuation with the fee first paid.

Why is Emi Martinez worth that much?

That value is not a figure solely upheld by his international displays though, as despite Villa's patchy start to the Premier League season, Martinez has starred.

The former Reading star is averaging an admirable 7.28 average rating this league term, making him the seventh-best-performing goalkeeper in the division, buoyed by his 3.4 saves per game and 84% pass accuracy, via Sofascore.

For comparison, Raya and Ramsdale have only managed 7.15 and 6.63 average ratings respectively, thus emphasising the earlier point. Arteta may have been vindicated in the sales of Ozil and Aubameyang, but he got it all wrong with Martinez.

The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questionsabout (almost) any aspect of cricket. This week it’s a World Cupspecial

Steven Lynch20-Mar-2007The regular Monday column in which Steven Lynch answers your questions about (almost) any aspect of cricket. The World Cup dominates your questions again this week:

Down on luck: Graham Gooch was the bridesmaid in three World Cup finals © Getty Images
Has anyone played in three World Cup-winning teams? asked Michael Docherty from Brisbane
The only team which has won the World Cup three times is Australia (1987-88, 1999 and 2003), and no-one played in all three games. But three members of the current team were on the winning side in both the last two finals – Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist and Glenn McGrath, who thus stand to become the first three-time winners if Australia can justify their favourites’ tag again this year. Graham Gooch played in three finals for England … and, uniquely, lost the lot.I’m just watching Ireland play and they seem to have a lot on non-Irish-born players. How many of them are there, and what are the qualification rules? asked David Thompson from Huddersfield
The Irish squad includes four players who were born overseas – the captain Trent Johnston, Jeremy Bray and Dave Langford-Smith, who were all in Australia, and Andre Botha (South Africa). The full regulations are rather complicated, but basically a player born outside the country he wishes to represent can do so provided he has lived there for most of the preceding four years (and has not played for any other country in that time). Scotland’s squad also includes four players born outside the country – as does England’s – but the “leaders” in this regard at this World Cup are Canada, who have only three home-born players in their squad (John Davison, Ian Billcliff and Kevin Sandher) and Holland, who have eight players in their squad who were born outside the Netherlands. The full qualification rules can be found on the official ICC siteWho won a World Cup winners’ medal as a player but never played a World Cup match? asked Siddharth Ramesh from Chennai
I think the man you’re looking for has an even more remarkable claim to fame than that: Sunil Valson was in India’s World Cup -winning squad in 1983, but didn’t play in the competition – and in fact never played in a one-day international at all. Valson was a left-arm medium-pacer who took 212 wickets in first-class cricket, most of them for Delhi. In 2002-03 the offspinner Nathan Hauritz replaced Shane Warne in Australia’s squad when Warne was banned after a positive drugs test: Hauritz didn’t play in the tournament, but he has played in eight ODIs outside World Cups.Is Bermuda’s Dwayne Leverock the heaviest man to play international cricket? asked Savar Kashif from Kolkata
Bermuda’s genial left-arm spinner Dwayne Leverock is variously reported as weighing in at between 19 and 20 stone. I’m sure this makes him the heaviest player to appear in a World Cup, and probably in any one-day international, but there’s at least one player who outweighed him in Test cricket: Warwick Armstrong, the Australian captain who inflicted the first Ashes whitewash on England in 1920-21. By the time of the 1921 tour of England, Armstrong – who was known as “The Big Ship” – was thought to weigh around 22 stone. I read in a recent interview that Leverock lives above a curry house – and, he admitted with a twinkle in his eye, “there’s another one next door.” A recent Cricinfo column looked at some other beefy batsmen and bowlers.Ricky Ponting reached 1000 World Cup runs early in his hundred against Scotland. Is he the first Australian to do this? asked Colin Matthews from Perth
Ricky Ponting started this World Cup with 998 runs, and his first scoring shot in this tournament (a four off Dougie Brown) took him into four figures. And his next scoring shot – another boundary off Brown – took him past Mark Waugh (1004 runs) as Australia’s leading scorer in World Cup history. Ponting ended that match with 1111 runs (quadruple Nelson, perhaps?), behind only Sachin Tendulkar (1732) in the World Cup lists at the time. For updated details of the competition’s all-time leading runscorers, click here.Regarding the recent question about the current players who also appeared in the 1992 World Cup, didn’t Sourav Ganguly also do so and score 3 against West Indies … asked Pradyumna Dhore
No, Sourav Ganguly didn’t play in the 1992 World Cup, although I can see why you might have thought he did – he made his one-day international debut in Australia in 1991-92 – against West Indies at Brisbane – and did indeed score 3. But that was in the traditional Australian three-way one-day series, which was played before that season’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand. Ganguly didn’t make the Indian squad for that tournament – or the 1996 one.

From the new Akram to India’s fifth-choice bowler – how did Irfan Pathan come so far the wrong way in just 18 months?

Siddhartha Vaidyanathan29-Jun-2006

Irfan Pathan, once the darling of the masses, is slipping into a rut © Getty Images
Exactly 30 months after he made his Test debut on December 12 of 2003 in that unforgettable battle at Adelaide, Irfan Pathan, for a brief five overs, reminded us of his potential. On an insipid pitch in picturesque Gros Islet, with the sun beating down and West Indies on the defensive, he ran in hard, generated some pace, found some swing, rediscovered his yorker, and dismissed Shivnarine Chanderpaul.Under normal circumstances, one wouldn’t remember the spell (5-2-8-1); it was of the sort a bowler is routinely expected to deliver at Test level. But these aren’t normal times for Pathan. His bumpy journey – from fast-medium to swing to medium to military – has prompted a range of reactions. Some are plain aghast, some insist it’s just a bad patch, while others say he has sacrificed his bowling for his batting.There’s a school of thought that suggests that his bowling was hyped in the first place. This theory, aired by certain observers close to the team, goes somewhat along these lines: Pathan burst onto the scene with a certain exotic charm – given that left-arm bowlers who could curve the ball either way were usually born on the other side of the border. He possessed a good bouncer and a delightful yorker, both of which helped him make an impact in his first two series. Hardly had a beginning been made than a pedestal was erected. Pathan was soon found out in his second season. Ever since that October 2004 afternoon in Bangalore when he consistently clocked close to 85mph in demanding conditions against Australia, his average speed has taken a gradual dip. He still remains a potent weapon when the atmospheric conditions assist, or when he is bowling to leaden-footed minnows, but the threat has diminished, no doubt. Maybe he’s simply someone whose limitations we need to understand. Instead of expecting him to be India’s answer to Wasim Akram, it would have been more fitting if we had thought of him as the next Chaminda Vaas.Pathan, if we are to believe some insiders, is quite confused at the moment. Receiving advice from various quarters – Imran Khan, Michael Holding, Wasim Akram, Andy Roberts – has its own pitfalls. “Pathan hasn’t understood his own game yet,” a source close to the team analysed, “and it becomes difficult for him to filter out what to do and what not to, especially when it comes from such great players. Ultimately, he ends up trying too much.”He has fallen into such a trap earlier. In August last year, he told Cricinfo.com: “After the Pakistan trip [in 2004] I was surrounded by a lot of hype and whenever I was praised, I worked harder by putting in extra hours at the gym… despite the caution of the physio and trainer of not overdoing things, I went and worked harder in the gym.” The upshot was a side strain that ruled him out of action for 20 days.When one watches Pathan bowl these days, it’s pretty obvious that he’s experimenting. On the first day of the tour game against Antigua and Barbuda, he appeared to be halting in his follow-through after delivering the ball. The rhythm was gone, and the local batsmen duly feasted. In his second spell, he tried one short ball too many and saw most of them sit up, begging to be pulled.Greg Chappell, addressing the press at the end of the day, said he was “maybe looking for pace”. Rudi Webster, the well known sports psychologist who spent time with the side, observed Pathan and said he could “feel his lack of confidence”. Worryingly, there have allegedly been snide remarks from some of his team-mates, about him being the coach’s favourite. It leaves him in no-man’s land, with a plateful of problems to sort out.In the second Test at St Lucia – the only one of the first three Tests he played – he appeared to be looking desperately for swing, bowling outside off and trying to make it move away. The ball didn’t do much and Chris Gayle didn’t miss out. “A bowler like Kapil Dev could afford to do that because he could deliver that natural outswinger in any conditions,” the source quoted above said, “Irfan’s immediate challenge lies in understanding his limitations and learning how to still be a good bowler.”Interestingly, in the middle of this decline as a frontline bowler, Pathan the batsman has thrived. Apart from No. 4, he’s batted in every single position in one-dayers (in Tests he’s missed out on Nos. 5 and 6). He has regularly shouldered the burden at the top of the order and, occasionally done spectacularly well. Those who speak about his ability to work at his game say that he spends a lot of time on his batting. Has his batting affected his bowling? Has he, unwittingly, sacrificed his primary suit? First he was the next Akram, then the next Kapil, but as things stood before the final Test at Jamaica, Pathan was India’s fifth-choice bowler and second-choice No. 7.

Liverpool are interested in completing the signing of an "exceptional" player who has broken Reds hearts in the past, according to a fresh transfer rumour.

Liverpool may need Mohamed Salah replacement

Jurgen Klopp has assembled one of the strongest attacking units on show at Anfield in many years, with five brilliant options to choose from in the final third. Mohamed Salah is the undisputed star man, but Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo are top-quality players in their own right, too.

There is the worry that Salah will leave Liverpool at the end of the season, however, with the 31-year-old out of contract at Anfield in the summer of 2025, and therefore having to make a key decision regarding his future later this year. He will either need to sign an extension or move on to pastures new, most likely a Saudi Pro League club.

Should that happen, it is essential that the Reds and FSG act fast and replace the Egyptian superstar with a fantastic player, trying to fill the void left by one of the best players in world football over the past five or six years. While not necessarily a tailor-made immediate successor for Salah, it looks as though Liverpool are eyeing up one highly-rated young attacking ace.

Liverpool want Crysencio Summerville

According to an update from Anfield Watch, Liverpool are interested in signing Leeds United youngster Crysencio Summerville, seeing him as an exciting prospect.

"Liverpool are considering a move for highly-rated Crysencio Summerville during the upcoming summer transfer window, Anfield Watch can reveal.

"The 22-year-old Dutch winger has been turning heads with his impressive performances for Leeds in Championship this season, leading to a slew of interest from clubs in the Premier League, with Jurgen Klopp's side among the former Feyenoord star's admirers."

As mentioned, Summerville, who shares the same agent as Curtis Jones, may not yet be close to Salah's level, in terms of being a world-class player who any team on the planet would want on their side, but he is someone with a high ceiling who Liverpool know a lot about. That's because he scored the winning goal in Leeds' 2-1 win at Anfield last season, in what remains the Reds' only Premier League home defeat in front of fans since April 2017.

Appearances

23

Starts

21

Goals

12

Assists

6

Key passes per game

3.0

Dribbles per game

2.6

The Dutchman has plenty of admirers, one of whom is former Reds striker Michael Owen, who has said of him in the past:

"This is such a good goal. Look at that for a touch [Summerville’s first]. The ball is behind him. He takes one lovely touch with the outside of his foot, then another one to keep him away from the defender and finishes it brilliantly. This is a really hard chance. He’s behind the defender in many ways when he gets the ball. I mean how he does that is really, really exceptional."

Still only 22, Summerville has starred in the Championship this season, shining out wide, and he could be seen as a good squad player to begin with at Liverpool, before becoming more of a key man over time.

Gideon Haigh reviews Out of My Comfort Zone by Steve Waugh

Gideon Haigh23-Jan-2006

Michael Joseph, hb, 801pp, £20

Eight hundred and one pages; 300,000 words; 1.9 kg. In this statistically-minded age, it is the dimensions of Steve Waugh’s autobiography that first command attention. He has, again, swept the field. Bradman disposed of his life in 316 pages, Hobbs in 320, Allan Border in 270. And this after 10 tour diaries, an album of photographs, and three biographies. The man’s a machine.The hackneyed sportspeak of the title isn’t insignificant either. This is not a comfortable book to hold, let alone read. Most sport memoirs are slight, perfunctory and produced with little care. Waugh has the opposite problem. His stupendous effort in producing this book oozes from every page, almost every passage. He writes like he batted, seemingly in thrall to the idea that the man with the most pages wins. Unable to determine what is important, he has convinced himself that everything is.That’s a shame. There are hints here of genuine self-disclosure, of the drive that made him the cricketer he was, and of the frailties contained by his tight-wound personality. “For me,” he explains, “the hardest part about not doing well was that I began to think I was a failure not just as a player but as a person too.” He was, he admits, a bottler up of his emotions, even with brother Mark. At the peak of his twin’s travails in the match-fixing mess, Waugh recalls, they had a heart-to-heart that, in the great tradition of Aussie stoicism, wasn’t: “Before we parted, we had one of those moments where you know you should let your guard down and just do something. I’m sure we both sensed it – the notion that we should embrace and reassure each other it was going to be okay. But we didn’t.”Waugh is the voice of pragmatism when he wonders if he came back a better player after omission from the Australian side: “Sounds fantastic in theory, but most players who get dropped either don’t make it back or are no better prepared when they get their next chance.” But he is the voice of suggestibility when he enumerates his host of superstitions above and beyond the famous red rag – the alighting on him of a ladybird, for example, he took as a good omen.Captaincy was even lonelier than playing: “A captain can tell he’s skipper the moment he sits down to a team dinner at a restaurant and the chairs on either side are vacant for longer than they have been in the past.” He admits to the occasional “mild anxiety attack” at the coin toss. By the end of his career, his only confidante was his wife, to whom he “let all my pent-up emotions gush out and bawled like a baby” when he was retrenched as one-day skipper.Just when Waugh seems about to open up, however, he seeks the comfort of cliche (“An overwhelming sense of anticipation on top of the comforting knowledge that this was an Australian cricketer’s ultimate sporting adventure stirred me as we gathered at Sydney airport in readiness for my second Ashes tour”) and the safety of statistics (“I performed okay in our other matches, playing in all eight games and finishing fourth in the Australian batting aggregates”). His comfort zone is not merely small but well-fortified.Waugh is also prone to descriptions that are like literary slog-sweeps: batting on an awkward pitch is like “being a wildebeest crossing a swollen African creek bed, knowing that eventually a submerged crocodile will eventually sink its fangs into your flesh”; Michael Bevan was “a `pyjama Picasso’, creating masterpiece after masterpiece to the point that his genius became mundane when people were spoiled by his continued brilliance”; Gavin Robertson “once had the classic textbook technique but it somehow metamorphosed into a batting stance that resembled a badly constipated individual with a `headless chook’ approach”. The writer might have left his comfort zone, but did he have to try taking the reader with him?

USMNT star Chris Richards has boldly declared that “another one’s coming” after breaking his Premier League goal duck at Crystal Palace.

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Defender on target against BurnleyHas one effort for his countryBelieves there are more to comeWHAT HAPPENED?

The United States international defender moved to Selhurst Park from Bayern Munich in 2022. Opportunities were in short supply during his debut campaign in English football, with only 10 appearances made across all competitions.

AdvertisementGettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE

He has figured more prominently this term, filling a holding midfield role at times, and registered his first goal for the Eagles at the 31st attempt in a 3-0 victory over Burnley. Richards hopes the floodgates will now open for him, with the 23-year-old confident that he can contribute at both ends of the field.

WHAT RICHARDS SAID

Richards has told Palace’s : “I've wanted it [my first goal] all year. Of course, you always like to score goals, but I think it was a very crucial goal in a very crucial game, so I'm very happy about it. Jordan [Ayew] was talking about hitting it back post the whole time, so I figured if T [Tyrick Mitchell] jumped with the man, I was going to be wide open, so I just tried to stay back post. Everybody likes to score goals. Fans like to see it, so it definitely changed the mood for the game, and the games coming up as well. I think another one’s coming!”

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GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RICHARDS?

Richards did find the target during a loan spell at Hoffenheim in 2021-22 and has one effort for his country – which came against Canada in June 2023. He will hope that there are more goals to celebrate over the coming weeks, with 2024 shaping up to be a big year for Palace and the USMNT.

Former Celtic manager Neil Lennon enjoyed two largely excellent spells in charge of the Scottish giants as he won ten pieces of silverware for the club.

Which trophies did Lennon win with Celtic?

The Northern Irish head coach dominated football in Scotland and won five Scottish Premiership titles in total, with the latest one coming in the 2019/20 campaign.

Competition

Season won

Premiership

2011/12

Premiership

2012/13

Premiership

2013/14

Premiership

2018/19

Premiership

2019/20

Scottish Cup

2010/11

Scottish Cup

2012/13

Scottish Cup

2018/19

Scottish Cup

2019/20

League Cup

2019/20

Via Transfermarkt.

However, Lennon did not get everything right throughout his two stints in the dugout at Parkhead and some of his dealings in the transfer market were questionable, including the signing of striker Patryk Klimala from Jagiellonia Bialystok.

The Poland youth international flopped at Paradise and it took the club securing a phenomenal piece of business after the Northern Irish head coach moved on to make up for the signing's failure.

How much did Celtic pay for Klimala?

The Hoops reportedly agreed a £3.5m deal to sign the young centre-forward despite having yet to prove himself as a regular scorer at first-team level by that point in his career.

At the time of the move, in January 2020, FootballTransfers placed his Expected Transfer Value (xTV) at €600k (£514k), which is considerably less than the £3.5m Lennon and Celtic sanctioned to sign him.

This suggests that the Scottish giants massively overpaid for the 6 foot marksman as they lavished a big transfer fee on an unproven player whose market value was less than £1m.

Klimala was coming off the back of seven goals in 17 Ekstraklasa matches during the first half of the 2019/20 campaign and that came after the attacker struggled throughout the previous season.

He produced one goal and one assist in 22 games in the Polish top-flight during the 2018/19 term, and arrived at Parkhead with 11 goals and four assists in 50 senior appearances for Bialystok in all competitions.

The Poland U21 international had, however, shown promise at youth level with a stunning 17 goals in nine U19 clashes for Bialystok, whilst he also scored 13 goals in 27 outings in the second division of Polish football on loan with Wigry Suwalki during the 2017/18 campaign.

How many goals did Klimala score for Celtic?

Klimala endured a rough 18 months with the Scottish side as he only found the back of the net three times in 28 competitive appearances in all competitions for the club.

Lennon snapped him up in January of the 2019/20 campaign and slowly bedded him in with four outings during the second half of the season.

He produced one assist in two SFA Cup clashes and did not contribute to any goals in his two Scottish Premiership games, although the young forward only played 15 minutes of football in those matches.

Klimala then played 17 times in the Premiership throughout the following season but was unable to prove his worth to Lennon as he managed three goals and zero assists in that time.

The Polish attacker averaged an unimpressive Sofascore rating of 6.65 in those games and missed five 'big chances', which shows that he was not clinical with the opportunities that did come his way at the top end of the pitch.

27 other players averaged a higher Sofascore rating within the Celtic squad and this highlights how disappointing his displays were when he was given a chance to showcase his skills.

His lack of physicality was also evident as the £3.5m signing lost 68% of his aerial battles and 57% of his duels in total in the top-flight, as per Sofascore, which shows that opposition defenders found it far too easy to get the better of him in physical contests.

He also made seven appearances in the cup competitions, domestically and in Europe, throughout the 2020/21 campaign and failed to deliver a single goal or assist.

How much did Celtic sell Klimala for?

Celtic decided to cash in on the Polish centre-forward in April 2021, which came two months after Lennon was relieved of his duties in February, and played a masterclass in doing so as they were able to rake in a reported fee of €6m (£5m).

The Hoops sold him to MLS outfit New York Red Bulls and made a £1.5m profit, despite his struggles on the pitch throughout his time in Glasgow.

Red Bulls chief Kevin Thelwell hailed him as a "talented" ace and Klimala showcased his quality in front of goal with eight strikes and six assists in 26 MLS starts throughout the 2021 campaign.

However, his form did not last as the former Bhoys lightweight then struggled during the 2022 season and ended the term with five goals and three assists in 29 league outings.

Where is Klimala now?

The 25-year-old finisher is currently playing for Hapoel Beer Sheva in Israel after moving to the club from New York Red Bulls in January of this year.

Klimala has failed to deliver consistent quality at the top end of the pitch since his latest switch as he has scored three goals in 20 appearances in all competitions to date, which includes zero strikes in five matches this term.

At the time of writing (15/09/2023), FootballTransfers has his xTV at €1m (£857k) and this shows that Celtic played a masterclass with their deal to sell him to Red Bulls for a staggering £5m.

The Scottish giants were able to make a £1.5m profit on the Polish flop, in spite of his poor performances on the pitch, and have now watched on as he has struggled to kick on his career beyond life in Glasgow.

Klimala is not playing in a major European league and his market value is nowhere near the fee that they raked in for his services in 2021, which shows that the club made the right decision by selling him when they did.

Whilst the signing was a flop for Lennon on the pitch, the Hoops board made sure that a positive came out of Klimala's time at Parkhead with a fantastic piece of trading that they can look back on as a huge success given his lack of consistency in the final third since his exit.