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The visitors were left a target of 516 after two players who had struggled during the summer found form

Report by Andrew Fidel Fernando03-Feb-2019A five-wicket haul from Mitchell Starc set up a 319-run first-innings lead for Australia, before Usman Khawaja’s flowing second-innings ton set Sri Lanka 516 for victory – the hosts ending the day 10 wickets away from a 2-0 series win.Both Australia’s stars on the third day were short of confidence after tough summers, and a depleted Sri Lanka were a perfect side to rebound against. Starc routinely breached speeds of 150kph to deliver perhaps the most fearsome spells of the series so far, to claim his first five-for since March last year.Khawaja, meanwhile, had hit only one fifty in his 10 most-recent innings, and had to battle through a tough period against Dilruwan Perera, before finding his feet after tea. Captain Tim Paine seemed to have delayed the declaration specifically to allow Khawaja to reach triple figures, which he did off the 134th ball he faced. This meant that Australia only had six overs at the Sri Lanka openers before the light deteriorated, however. Dimuth Karunaratne and Lahiru Thirimanne survived unscathed.Despite that, it was a thoroughly woeful day for Sri Lanka, in a tour that has been awful on various fronts. Either side of lunch, they lost 6 wickets for 45 – Starc precipitating that collapse by claiming two wickets in one over, before completing it by blasting out the tail. More worrying even than the batting slump was the blow to Kusal Perera early in the day. Hit flush on the side of the helmet by a Jhye Richardson bouncer, Perera left the field a little unsteady in the next over. According to Sri Lanka’s manager, he suffered a mild concussion. He didn’t take the field for the remainder of the day, but they are hopeful he may be in a state to bat on day four.It had been the injury to Kusal that had unsettled Sri Lanka. Early in the day, Kusal and Dhananjaya de Silva – the overnight batsmen – had made bright starts as Australia’s bowlers largely pitched the ball up, looking for swing. With no movement on offer, Australia began to bowl more short deliveries, and it was then that Sri Lanka ran into trouble. Kusal essentially ducked into that bouncer Richardson, the force of the blow near the right ear causing one part of his helmet to disintegrate, and another part to fly off.Dimuth, who had been struck in the neck the previous evening and had been cleared to bat by doctors overnight, could add only 13 runs to his score before he was out sending a catch off Starc to gully. Earlier in that same over, de Silva had attempted to hook a Starc bouncer, and ended up knocking off his own off bail, unable to control the swing of his bat.Spinners Nathan Lyon and Marnus Labuschagne then removed Chamika Karunaratne and Niroshan Dickwella respectively – the former going for a duck on debut, and the latter being given somewhat controversially, after the third umpire failed to overturn an lbw in which Dickwella had appeared to glove the ball before it struck pad. But by this stage, Australia had already made the vital blows and were all over Sri Lanka, who were clearly rattled.Soon after lunch, Starc dismissed Dilruwan and Vishwa Fernando in the space of three balls to wipe out the Sri Lanka tail – Australia declining to enforce the follow-on as expected, because their bowlers had already delivered 68.3 overs in the first innings.Sri Lanka’s seamers did impress with the new ball, having Australia 3 for 37 at one stage – Kusal Mendis taking two more excellent catches at second slip – but as in the first innings, they were virtually toothless when the ball lost its shine. Khawaja was tense early in his innings, particularly against Dilruwan, who has a history of getting him out. But having survived until tea on 25, he blossomed in the third session, hitting beautifully through the covers, as well as through point and square leg, whenever Sri Lanka pitched short. He hit 14 fours in his 101 off 136 deliveries, and in the process, put on a 159-run stand with Travis Head, who made a half-century to go with his 161 in the first innings.Paine eventually declared after Khawaja had got to his hundred (it’s worth remembering that Paine had denied himself a half-century by declaring when he was on 45 in the first-dig), and his quicks, though menacing, could not break through before the umpires deemed the light unfit for play. Dimuth and Lahiru Thirimanne both ended the day on 8 not out.

Wrexham are reportedly keen on keeping Arthur Okonkwo, but questions are being asked of whether Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney can afford him.

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Keeper has impressed during loan spellDue to hit free agency this summerRed Dragons not the only interested partyWHAT HAPPENED?

The Arsenal-owned goalkeeper has spent the 2023-24 campaign on loan at SToK Racecourse. He has started 34 of their 44 League Two fixtures this season, with a starring role played in the Red Dragons wrapping up a top-three finish and back-to-back promotions.

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Okonkwo, who is just 22 years of age, will be available this summer as his contract at Emirates Stadium is about to expire. According to , his exploits in North Wales mean that a “scramble for his signature” will be sparked once hitting free agency.

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Wrexham intend to form part of that clamour, after seeing Okonkwo named in the League Two Team of the Season, but his wages are considered to be a stumbling block. The Red Dragons have been covering less than half of his salary during a productive loan spell, with Arsenal picking up the rest of that tab.

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Funds will be made available to Phil Parkinson as Wrexham ready themselves for life in League One, but it remains to be seen whether a deal can be pieced together that suits all parties and allows Okonkwo to extend his association with the most ambitious of EFL clubs.

Vidarbha offspinner Aditya Sarwate ran through Saurashtra’s top order, also accounting for Cheteshwar Pujara for just 1

The Report by Saurabh Somani in Nagpur04-Feb-2019Stumps Aditya Sarwate broke the Ranji Trophy final wide open for Vidarbha, striking thrice in the second session on the second day. The last of those strikes, in the final over before tea, accounted for Cheteshwar Pujara for just 1.Offspinner Akshay Wakhare would then strike twice after tea, as Saurashtra limped to 158 for 5 at stumps, trailing by 154 runs. It was a remarkable reversal of fortunes after Vidarbha had struggled to 200 for 7 on the opening day. But a well-thought out bowling plan and perfect execution meant the defending champions had surged ahead on Monday.Pitch not that difficult to bat on – Snell, Sarwate

Both Saurashtra opener Snell Patel and Vidarbha left-arm spinner Aditya Sarwate felt that batsmen could get runs on the pitch for the Ranji Trophy final, and it was no minefield.
“It’s not that difficult, it seems difficult but once you settle it become easier,” Snell said. “If you are set, and you trust your defence, you can defend , it’s not that you have to just attack. We are very much still in the match. You never know, cricket is a funny game. If we have a partnership tomorrow morning, just like they had one, who knows.”
“It’s not a rank turner, there is something for batsmen too,” Sarwate said. “Snell Patel, is playing well. Yes, there is help for spinners, and there will be more. He is playing the ball on merit. His batting and approach is simple. And he’s playing with soft hands, which is helping him.”

Although Snell Patel was batting on a well-crafted 87, Vidarbha were firmly in front, with not only the prospect of a sizeable lead, but also the cushion of bowling fourth on a VCA Stadium surface that has already seen a number of deliveries turn sharply.The key passage of the day lasted a mere 20 minutes – from the time Pujara walked in just before tea, to the time he got out, in the final over before the break. Sarwate bowled ten balls to Pujara, off which one of the best players of spin bowling in world cricket didn’t get a single run.On nine of the ten balls he faced from Sarwate, Pujara had to contend with a forward short leg, a silly point, and a slip. The sustained pressure of being mindful of both inside and outside edges, combined with Sarwate’s pin-point delivery, eventually consumed Saurashtra’s talisman. The field placing was one Vidarbha employed for Sarwate to other batsmen too.Pujara’s dismissal had left Saurashtra 81 for 3, but without the man who was best equipped to tackle good spinners on a helpful deck, they were already well behind the game. As Wakhare’s dismissals of Arpit Vasavada and Sheldon Jackson illustrated, big turn was difficult to negotiate.Snell alone showed some command of the pitch and bowlers among Saurashtra’s batsmen, with no one else having scored more than 20 so far. He was assured in his shot-making and defence, though even he had a slice of luck. On 75, he appeared to have deflected a ball from Wakhare onto pad, which was then caught by short leg, but the umpire didn’t uphold Saurashtra’s vociferous appeal.But he was the only bright spot for Saurashtra, with even the bowlers having a below-par outing in the first session. Vidarbha found plucky resistance in Akshay Karnewar and Wakhare with the bat. Karnewar, more famous for being one of the few ambidextrous bowlers in the world, played confidently and showed a range of shots, giving notice of what he could do in the longer format too. He put on 78 for the eighth wicket with Wakhare.Karnewar was the only one to hit a half-century for Vidarbha, while Wakhare contributed a valuable 34.Saurashtra’s bowlers, who had been disciplined on the first day, lost their plot a bit on the second. While Karnewar and Wakhare were batting at Nos. 8 and 9, they have both got first-class half-centuries earlier, and showed they were good enough to capitalise when the bowlers erred. The dampness in the pitch that was there on the first morning also seemed to have abated, making it a more batting-friendly surface.The eighth-wicket stand was finally broken when Chetan Sakariya got one to seam in beautifully between Wakhare’s bat and pad. Karnewar, already past 50 then, began to hit out more, and took Vidarbha past 300.

Chelsea star Millie Bright says the Lionesses were so shocked by Rachel Daly's sudden international retirement as she still has "so much to give".

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Daly retires from England duty at 32Bright and Lionesses shocked by newsSays Daly still has 'so much to give'WHAT HAPPENED?

Aston Villa ace Daly decided to hang up her England boots earlier this month, sending shockwaves across the sport. Tributes flooded in from her team-mates and fans following the news, with the forward now focusing solely on her club career and her "loved ones". A week on from that announcement, fellow England international Bright has reflected on the 32-year-old's decision.

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She said on: "I feel like I've lost half of me, half of me has gone. Moreso than anyone I knew it was coming but even though you know something's coming it's still hard to take. But I think the biggest thing is everyone was so shocked because she has so much to give still, but as we know football is more than just the physical side, it's the mental side as well. I could be selfish and say, 'stay another year, fight for the Euros', but that would be selfish and I would never do that."

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Daly's England career spanned eight years and 84 caps, scoring 16 goals along the way. She helped the Lionesses win the European Championship in 2022 and reach the World Cup final in 2023. After struggling for game time in recent England internationals, Daly took the decision to start a new chapter in her career – despite likely having several good years of playing ahead of her – and she leaves behind her an impressive legacy.

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Daly, who will be absent for next year's Euros as England try to defend their title, will next be in action for Aston Villa away to Chelsea on Wednesday night in the Women's Super League.

Juventus' Serie A struggles continued on Saturday as Weston McKennie and his teammates were unable to get the better of Torino.

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McKennie starts and plays full 90 minutesJuve held by Torino as forwards misfireSerie A title is way out of reach for Allegri's menGettyWHAT HAPPENED?

It was another frustrating day for Juventus, who squandered several opportunities to take the lead in the first half.

Dusan Vlahovic was the main culprit, with the striker unable to find the back of the net. The Serbian blasted a point-blank chance off the post in just the seventh minute and was also thwarted several times by Torino goalkeeper Vanja Milinkovic-Savic, with one particularly fine save in the 31st minute.

Kenan Yildiz had Juve's best chance of the second half, but Torino had the clearest opportunity to win the game late. Valentino Lazaro's header in stoppage time went just over the bar, sparing Juventus from what would have been an embarrassing defeat against their rivals as the game ended 0-0.

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The draw continues a frustrating run of form for Juventus, who have been struggling for some time. The Old Lady have won just two matches in the league since January 27, claiming 11 points from as many games during that period.

As a result, Juve remain in third, with the club continuing to fall further away from the top two. McKennie and his teammates are now five points behind second-placed Milan, who have a game in hand. They're also just five points ahead of fourth-placed Bologna, who also have one more game to play.

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It was a solid but not spectacular performance from McKennie, who was unable to prevent Juve from continuing their slide. That's no fault of his, though, as the visitors would have won this match easily if anyone on the team could finish.

Statistically, McKennie's passing was a bit poor and there were several moments where he could have done better on the ball. Off the ball, he was effective, contributing defensively in the moments Torino got forward.

It wasn't a vintage performance by any stretch, and McKennie has had a few this season. It was decent enough to help Juve control the midfield, though, and the American midfielder remains virtually irreplaceable in this team, even if he alone wasn't able to make the difference.

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Weston McKennie (6/10):

A special day as he made his 100th Serie A appearance. It wasn't a memorable game, though, as McKennie and Juve struggled. His passing will need to be better, but the draw was far from his fault.

India’s captain said he might have played four quicks in the Perth Test even if R Ashwin had been fit

Sidharth Monga in Perth18-Dec-20184:09

‘We were totally convinced about this combination’ – Kohli

India might have gone into the Perth Test without a spinner even if R Ashwin had been fit, their captain Virat Kohli has said.Ashwin was ruled out of the game with a side strain, and India, rather than replacing him with Ravindra Jadeja, the other spinner in their 13-man squad for the Test, went ahead with a four-man pace attack. Australia stuck with their 3-1 combination and their spinner Nathan Lyon won the Man-of-the-Match award for his eight wickets.These events were somewhat similar to those of the Adelaide Test on the 2014-15 tour – Kohli’s first Test as captain – when India had played the rookie legspinner Karn Sharma, who leaked runs with little success, and Lyon had taken 12 wickets.India’s selection came in for sharp criticism, but Kohli defended it, saying the pitch had played exactly how the team management had expected it to.”Yes, we could have considered that (playing four quicks),” Kohli said, when asked if Ashwin would have played had he been fit. “If you see, the rough didn’t have much assistance. It was just the pace on the ball that Lyon bowled that he got the wickets that he got.”We as a team didn’t want to think that we definitely wanted to consider a spinning option on this pitch, especially having a look at the pitch on day one and how we thought it would play on the first three days, and exactly played out that way. We thought a fast bowler is going to be more productive and more helpful for us as a team.”The choice of the fourth fast bowler was also contentious, with Umesh Yadav getting a go ahead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is usually considered an automatic pick on well-grassed pitches. Kohli said Bhuvneshwar lost out because he had not played much four-day cricket of late.”Bhuvi hasn’t played a lot of four-day cricket recently, and Umesh took 10 wickets in his last Test (against West Indies in Hyderabad), and was in good bowling rhythm. So that was the reason behind picking Umesh over Bhuvi.”Bhuvneshwar’s last first-class match was in Johannesburg, nearly 11 months ago. In England, he aggravated a lower-back injury during the ODI series, and was ruled out of the Test series in the same country, where conditions are considered to be ideal for him to bowl in. He was then rested for the home Tests against West Indies.Umesh Yadav gets to his run up•Associated PressOne of the reasons Bhuvneshwar was missed was his batting. Even in Johannesburg, on a pitch that just escaped being labelled dangerous, he scored 30 and 33 out of India’s totals of 187 and 247. India have often spoken of lower-order runs as one of the major contributing factors to their Test success, and this was the case just last week in Adelaide, where Ashwin scored 25 in a crucial 62-run stand for the seventh wicket. In Perth, India’s Nos. 8 to 11 only contributed 11 runs between them across both innings.”You obviously have two situations that you can think of,” Kohli said. “When you pick another fast bowler, obviously Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja have more ability with the bat, we all know that. It’s a very tricky decision to make, what kind of a bowling option you want to go with or you want to think that that guy can contribute with the bat as well.”So eventually you come to one decision, and we back that decision and went ahead with it. Whether it comes off or not, that’s a different thing, but we were totally convinced in the team that that was our best combination to go with, and the batsmen have to take responsibility. There are lots of variables that can happen during the course of a cricket match but before that, you need to have clarity as to what you want to do. And as a side, we were totally clear that this was the combination we wanted to go with.”The preferred option, Umesh, ended the match with figures of 2 for 139 from 37 overs and consolidated his reputation as a bowler much better suited to Indian conditions where he has reverse-swing to work with. Umesh’s economy rate of 3.75 had two knock-on effects: the part-time spinners bowled 29 overs, and the other three quicks had to keep coming back for spells when they may not have been at their freshest.Kohli was, however, happy with the fast bowlers’ performance overall.”Especially yesterday, the first session, giving away only 56-odd runs without getting a wicket,” Kohli said, when asked if he was satisfied with the control he had on the game, in the absence of a spinner. “I think it was outstanding bowling, and obviously [Mohammed] Shami did what he did in the next session with the ball (he took six wickets in the second innings), which was again wonderful to see. So, yeah. I think they executed their plans to 95% of what we expected.”I think you definitely can be happy with that. In the past when we have played four quicks, we definitely haven’t been as consistent as we were in this game. So, I think they were pretty accurate, pretty consistent, and as I said we were pretty convinced about going in with four fast bowlers looking at the conditions. I think they did pretty well.”

Stina Blackstenius' dramatic extra-time goal won Arsenal the Continental Cup and denied Chelsea the chance of a quadruple in Emma Hayes' final season.

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Arsenal beat Chelsea 1-0 in Conti Cup finalBlackstenius scored only goal in extra-timeChelsea's quadruple dream over for another yearGettyTELL ME MORE

Chelsea thought they'd taken the lead midway through the first half when Mayra Ramirez beat Manuela Zinsberger with a fine strike from range, but VAR intervened and ruled it out for a handball in the build-up by Erin Cuthbert. It was the closest the game got to a goal in a first half peppered with half-chances, with Arsenal's best opening in normal time coming after the break when Cloe Lacasse was unable to beat Hannah Hampton one-on-one.

Lauren James had a great opportunity to open the scoring as the potential of extra-time loomed, put through on goal by Guro Reiten's clever scooped pass, but the angle closed as she waited to take the shot and that worked in Zinsberger's favour, who made herself big to thwart the England star.

To extra-time we went, then, but not before some really horrible scenes as Arsenal midfielder Frida Maanum went down off the ball and was in need of serious medical attention before being stretchered off.

The Arsenal fans did all they could to fire up their team as the game understandably fell flat in light of a really worrying situation, and it was the Gunners who created the best chance in extra-time, as Blackstenius blasted a golden chance over the bar after Alessia Russo cleverly put her through on goal.

That miss wouldn't come back to haunt the Swede, though, as it was she who scored the only goal of the game with just four minutes of extra-time remaining, her shot too powerful for Hampton to stop as Arsenal retained their Conti Cup title.

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Arsenal are the only English team to have won the quadruple, doing so back in 2007, and so there will be a little extra satisfaction for the Gunners with this triumph as it means they have denied Chelsea the chance to match that feat this year. The Blues are still fighting for three trophies though, in the league, the FA Cup and the Champions League.

Getty ImagesTHE MVP

It wasn't Blackstenius' best game and she missed a huge chance before eventually breaking the deadlock, but it's hard to deny her the feat of MVP after she scored the goal that decided this final. The Swede ran hard as she always does, stretched the Chelsea defence and came up with the match-winning moment to ensure Arsenal's season doesn't end without silverware.

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In a tight and even contest which became more a war of attrition, there were no outstandingly bad performers, but it was Ramirez on the end of some bad luck when she had a wonderful strike ruled out through no fault of her own. There was no disputing the decision to disallow her superb goal, as it was a clear handball by Cuthbert, but she will have been frustrated all the same.

Allrounder will not travel to New Zealand for the three one-dayers in December

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Nov-2018Pandya likely to play for BarodaHardik Pandya won’t be a part of the India A squad for the three one-dayers in New Zealand as he is yet to fully recover from a back injury that he picked up at the Asia Cup in September. Selected in the India A squad last month in a bid to give him game time before the second half of the Test series in Australia, Pandya has now instead been asked to rest and continue regaining strength by the medical staff at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru.Pandya’s next competitive fixture is likely to be the sixth-round Ranji Trophy clash for Baroda against Mumbai starting December 14. Meanwhile, the selectors are likely to pick Pandya’s replacement from the four-day squad that is currently on tour, with the third unofficial Test starting November 30 in Whangarei.Pandya last played a first-class match for his state, Baroda, against Gujarat during the 2016-17 Ranji Trophy season.Yuvraj boost for PunjabYuvraj Singh, who had initially relinquished his spot in the Punjab side to make way for youngsters, has returned to the squad for their clash against Delhi at the Feroz Shah Kotla. In the absence of Yuvraj, Punjab ended up conceding the first-innings lead in both their drawn matches, against Andhra and Madhya Pradesh. Yuvraj is also set to be available for Punjab’s next two matches against Himachal Pradesh (December 6-9) and Tamil Nadu (December 14-17).Yuvraj was released by Kings XI Punjab ahead of the IPL auction in January. He recently featured in Punjab’s Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign, aggregating 264 runs in seven innings, with a best of 96.Armaan Jaffer vaults into Mumbai squadTwenty-year-old Armaan Jaffer, the nephew of former India batsman Wasim, has forced his way back into Mumbai’s squad for their next game against Gujarat at home. Armaan earned his spot back with an unbeaten 300 off 367 he scored against Saurashtra in the Under-23 Col CK Nayudu Trophy at Wankhede Stadium nearly ten days ago. His knock, studded with 26 fours and ten sixes, helped Mumbai to an innings-and-230-run victory.Armaan made his first-class debut for Mumbai against Tamil Nadu in October 2016 and played only two more matches that season before being dropped. He missed most of last season because of a knee injury that kept him out of action for more than a year.Mumbai continue to be without Shreyas Iyer who is in New Zealand as part of the A squad for three one-dayers to be played next month.Vinay back for Karnataka; Binny droppedKarnataka captain Vinay Kumar, who had missed the team’s previous match against Mumbai in Belgaum because of a neck injury, will return to lead them against Maharashtra in Mysuru. Allrounder Stuart Binny, however, has been dropped after managing only 53 runs in four innings and taking one wicket in two Ranji games this season.

Aston Villa star Alisha Lehmann shared a few photos on her Instagram to provide update on her life.

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Lehmann shares photos on InstagramCaptions her post as 'life lately'Also shares a selfie from her bedroomWHAT HAPPENED?

Lehmann shared multiple photos that showed off her life away from the field and also posted a selfie on her Instagram story from her bedroom.

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Lehmann has been one of the most recognisable female footballers over the last few years and has been a part of Aston Villa since 2021, having joined the Women's Super League side from West Ham. She is currently dating Aston Villa star Douglas Luiz and the duo have often been spotted together at team parties and dinners.

DID YOU KNOW?

Lehmann's activeness on social media has given her the title of 'the most followed female footballer in the world'. She currently boasts 16.6 million followers on her official Instagram account and has been a major figure in bringing more sets of eyeballs onto the women's game.

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WHAT NEXT FOR LEHMANN?

While the 25-year-old Swiss forward did not post any picture of her on the field, she will definitely have been toiling hard the past week as they will look to drop off their 3-1 loss last weekend with a sturdy performance against Leicester City on Saturday, March 30.

Alphonso Davies' agent has attacked Bayern Munich over the club's contract renewal stance, with a summer move to Real Madrid looking imminent.

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Davies forced to extend or present offer by AprilDavies' agent fires back at treatmentReal Madrid move now seems imminent(C)Getty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

The 23-year-old left-back has reportedly received a contract offer from the Bundesliga winners, but an agreement is still a long way off. As a result, Davies has been given until April to either accept the contract offer from Bayern Munich or present a proposal from any team that wishes to sign him, per sporting director Max Eberl. Nedal Huoseh, Davies' agent has now blasted the Bavarians for their handling of the situation, criticising their need for a quick response despite the continued uncertainty at the club.

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Speaking to , Huoseh said: "It’s unfair to receive an ultimatum from Bayern. We will decide how to proceed at the end of the season when there is more clarity. It's unfair that Alphonso is now being attacked. We were close to an agreement a year ago. Then the entire club management was replaced. We didn't hear anything for seven months."

"Now we are being given an ultimatum and are supposed to react within two weeks because the club is under pressure and took a long time to reposition itself in the management? That's not fair," he continued. "It’s a very important contract in Alphonso's career and we're supposed to make the decision without knowing who the coach will be next season or what the team looks like. That's why we think it's unfair to react to the ultimatum."

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Given these developments and the seeming discord between Davies and his employers, long-term prospects for Madrid appear bright. In the event that the player is dissatisfied and feels under duress to accept a renewal, which it certainly seems like at present, Bayern could ultimately be forced to negotiate with Los Blancos and accept a lower fee for Davies rather than risk losing him for nothing in the future.

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As that contract looks increasingly unlikely to come to fruition, transfer guru Fabrizio Romano offered an update on the situation. Romano states that Davies categorically won't sign a deal with Bayern, leaving Real on high alert and being "prepared to open talks". His transfer to the Spanish capital, then, seems a mere formality at this stage.