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Burnley are now in a transfer battle with Leeds United as they both want to sign a “unique” Ipswich Town star, according to a recent report.

Burnley begin transfer plans as they eye midfield reinforcements

The Clarets only confirmed their promotion to the Premier League on Monday evening, but already Scott Parker and club chiefs are working on transfer business ahead of the summer transfer window opening.

Burnley want to sign Fulham ace who previously won promotion under Parker

Burnley are now looking to sign a player who has worked with their manager before.

By
Brett Worthington

Apr 24, 2025

It’s been claimed by EFL pundit Lee Hendrie that Jonjo Shelvey will likely not be at Turf Moor next season. The midfielder’s contract expires at the end of the campaign, and it is likely that he will not be offered a new deal, according to Hendrie.

That might be because Burnley already have his replacement in mind, as according to Give Me Sport, the Clarets are now interested in signing Harrison Reed from Fulham, a player who Parker knows well from his time working at Craven Cottage.

Fulham are said to be looking to strengthen their midfield this summer, and Reed could be allowed to leave should they receive the right offer. This has alerted Burnley, who are looking to strike a deal as the Clarets try to bring Premier League experience to their team.

Burnley in transfer battle for Ipswich star Hirst

But it is not just the midfield that the Clarets are looking to strengthen, as according to journalist Pete O’Rourke, Burnley are interested in signing George Hirst from Ipswich this summer.

O’Rourke states that as well as the Lancashire side holding an interest in Hirst, Championship rivals Leeds are also keen on securing a deal for the striker, as the Tractor Boys look set to return to the second tier in English football.

However, while both sides can offer Premier League football, Ipswich are not willing to let Hirst just leave, as O’Rourke states that the Tractor Boys are desperately looking to tie the striker down to a new contract to ward off the interest, with Liam Delap expected to leave Portman Road this summer.

Hirst currently earns £27,500 a week at Ipswich, so the interested parties may have to stump up a significant increase to better whatever his current employers are offering.

The 26-year-old, who has been dubbed “unique” by Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna, has had to be very patient this season, starting just three of the 21 Premier League games he’s played. Hirst has scored two goals in the process, his latest coming in the 4-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest in March.

The Scotland international is still under contract until 2027, so Ipswich still have time on their hands, but Burnley and Leeds can both offer the forward another chance of playing in the Premier League, and this may be too hard for Hirst to turn down.

Liverpool now look a million miles off the likes of Arsenal, sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League.

Only last season, Arne Slot’s runaway Reds finished ten points clear of Mikel Arteta’s Gunners, having won a mammoth 25 clashes along the way to lifting the title.

Now, with an abysmal six defeats next to their name from 12 Premier League clashes, and 20 goals already leaked, the out-of-sorts giants are already 11 points behind the North Londoners, who swept Tottenham Hotspur aside 4-1, on the same weekend Liverpool crashed out to a 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest.

Thankfully, despite Liverpool suffering their worst start to a season since 2014, and Gary Neville chipping in by labelling the current state of affairs as “unacceptable”, the January transfer window opens soon, which could see the Reds spend wildly again to try and get their atrocious campaign back on track.

Liverpool preparing to spend big again

Just one look at the list above gives you a flavour as to how much Liverpool splashed out in the summer, with Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Hugo Ekitike all joining the building for an eye-watering combined total of £294m.

While these deals haven’t exactly gone to plan so far, that doesn’t mean more lavish spending won’t do the trick in an attempt to turn out Liverpool’s depressing fortunes, with sources from Spain now alleging that Slot and Co could be willing to drop an earth-shuddering £177m on the services of Bayern Munich’s Michael Olise.

Liverpool have also been tipped to move for the likes of Juventus attacker Kenan Yildiz and Premier League man of the moment Antoine Semenyo to freshen up their attacking ranks, but a new emerging report from Spain also suggests that their central midfield spots might well be given a major facelift, if they can pick up Paris St Germain ace Joao Neves.

Indeed, the report states that the faltering titans have an ‘intense interest’ in adding Neves to their squad after a breakout season in Ligue 1, with a battle for his services perhaps defining a busy January window to come.

It’s further revealed that Liverpool are preparing an offer close to £140m in an effort to persuade Luis Enrique’s men to part ways.

How Neves is a big upgrade on Mac Allister

Liverpool could win themselves a major upgrade on a declining Alexis Mac Allister if the ex-Benfica midfielder does choose to leave the comforts of France behind for a shot in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, the Argentine has looked seriously off the pace this season during Liverpool’s well-publicised struggles.

It’s been a significant fall from grace for the World Cup winner, who managed to bag five goals and collect five assists last season in league action to help Slot pick up the Premier League title in a crazy first campaign at the helm.

Now, however, the waning 26-year-old has an unconvincing zero goals and two assists from 11 league outings this season, leading to one analyst labelling him as a “huge disappointment”, with his once-feared ability to dictate play now nowhere to be found.

Games played

11

7

Goals scored

0

5

Assists

2

0

Shots*

1.3

1.9

Touches*

47.2

67.6

Accurate passes*

31.5 (86%)

55.3 (94%)

Ball recoveries*

2.9

3.1

Total duels won*

2.5 (44%)

2.9 (57%)

While the former Brighton and Hove Albion midfielder continues to decline, Neves has followed up his outrageous tally of three goals and eight assists from last season with five goals already this campaign, as the 21-year-old continues to live up to his billing as being “one of the best midfielders in the world” by European football content creator, Alex Brice.

On top of being a clinical and classy finisher of chances, Neves also blows his competition out of the water in terms of his pass accuracy with an unerring 94% average in tact, alongside also offering up more ball recoveries at 3.1 per Ligue 1 game, which should stand him in good stead to be an energetic partner to Ryan Gravenberch.

A major plus to his game, though, is his ability to fire home chances – as seen in his unbelievable hat-trick earlier this season – with Mac Allister also well-known to fire home a memorable strike or two during his Liverpool peak.

But, it’s his overall package that makes him such a “complete” talent, as he has been labelled by his ex-trainer in Luis Castro, who even said that number 87 can play in “any championship in the world” and “shine”, with Liverpool having to put their money where their mouth is to prove him right.

Of course, between now and January coming into view, Mac Allister might well pick up form again, as could his entire team, as they potentially climb far beyond their current mid-table slump.

But, with Curtis Jones the only real other figure Slot can fall back on in the defensive midfield ranks – away from the South American and Gravenberch – dropping £140m on Neves could be a fantastic, if costly, investment to make, as the big spenders hope the Portuguese superstar can enter the starting XI and push his new team back into the top positions in the tough division.

Semenyo alternative: Liverpool preparing £177m bid to sign their new Diaz

Liverpool are gearing up to open their purse once again this winter.

4 ByAngus Sinclair Nov 24, 2025

Acting captain hails togetherness of club as they secure another notable success after years of fallow fortunes

ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay11-Sep-2025Ian Holland, Leicestershire’s acting captain, says the club will celebrate their achievement of returning to the top flight of the County Championship for the first time in 22 years, but have already set their sights on cementing top spot and sealing their first piece of red-ball silverware in more than a quarter of a century.Holland was at the crease, on 27 not out, when Leicestershire shook hands on a rain-affected draw with Gloucestershire at Grace Road on Thursday. The result put them more than 50 points clear of Derbyshire and Middlesex in third and fourth place – two teams that had earlier played out their own stalemate at Lord’s – thereby guaranteeing Leicestershire at least a top-two finish. Glamorgan, 25 points behind them in second place, are their only remaining rivals for the second division crown.”There’s a lot of emotion, excitement, relief in the dressing-room,” Holland told the ECB Reporters Network. “We’re savouring this moment to get promoted, but it’s not a full celebration just yet because now we want to win the trophy as champions.”But, yeah, to be promoted is a great achievement for this club. It’s a credit to the people in the club that have turned it around over a period of time.”The result comes just two years after Leicestershire’s remarkable victory over Hampshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final – their first List A trophy since 1985 – and continues a steady uptick in the team’s fortunes from the dark days of the mid-2010s, when they had habitually finished bottom of the Championship table, including a near three-year run between September 2012 and June 2015 when they didn’t win a single first-class fixture.”This today isn’t just a six-month thing, it’s been a few years in the making,” Holland said, as he paid tribute to Claude Henderson, the club’s director of cricket, as well as the coaching staff and Sean Jarvis, the outgoing chief executive who oversaw the upswing in fortunes since joining from Huddersfield Town FC in 2020.”The players have been able to go out and play the way we have this year because things are right,” Holland added. “It’s a great feeling. When I first met Claude and [head coach] Alfonso (Thomas), I got a sense of the trajectory that the club was moving in, and that was really attractive. I was always optimistic that we would get promoted at some stage, but I think it’s probably happened a little bit quicker than we thought.”If you’d asked me at the start of the season, are we going to get promoted this year? I wouldn’t have put my house on it, but it’s been great that things have clicked and we’ve played the cricket we have. Getting those wins early on gave us a really good head start, which has paid dividends.”Related

Leicestershire celebrate promotion after 22 years in exile

Holland namechecked Rehan Ahmed, who is currently away on England duty, as one of the stars of their campaign. After initially stepping up as an auxiliary opener, he struck five hundreds in ten appearances, while also claiming 23 wickets at 19.00 with his legspin – 13 of which came in a statement victory against Derbyshire in July.”There have been contributions from everybody. Rehan has got five hundreds, which is amazing, but so many people have stood up. I think just the consistency with the way we’ve played sums up our group.”The club captain Pete Handscomb, who is now back in Australia preparing for his Sheffield Shield campaign with Victoria, was another key contributor to Leicestershire’s season. “He’s been amazing with the way he’s captained the team and the group,” Holland said. “His calmness around the group has been incredible.”Leicestershire were made to battle in their title-seizing contest against Gloucestershire. They conceded a first-innings deficit of 140 despite a century for Shan Masood, but after being set a stiff fourth-innings target of 316, the week’s heavy rain reduced any prospect of a tense finish to the match.”In this game, it’s a real credit to the guys the way we fought back after getting behind the game early on day one,” Holland said. “There were a few niggly moments, but we were able to keep coming back, and just to get the points we needed to get promoted was a great result.”We faced a long chase today if we were to win the game. You can’t go out and go after it gung-ho, but I think you still want to have that positive intent, which we did, to take the game deep, and then whatever happens, happens. It was a good performance today to not be five, six, seven wickets down at the close. To do it the way we did was nice.”There will be a celebration, a few beers tonight. But we want to go on and win the trophy now, that’s very important to us.”

The Padres are reportedly keeping their managerial job within the organizational family.

San Diego is hiring front-office assistant Craig Stammen as its next manager, according to a Thursday morning report from Jon Heyman of the . Stammen, 41, pitched for the Padres from 2017 to '22.

In 2024, Stammen assumed a baseball operations role with San Diego focused on player development.

Born in rural Ohio, Stammen pitched collegiately for Dayton before the Nationals drafted him in 2005. After several up-and-down years shuttling between the rotation and bullpen, he broke through as a reliever for the Nationals' first playoff team in 2012.

He spent seven years with Washington and six with the Padres in all, and now will be tasked with injecting life into a San Diego team that disappointed in 2025. The Padres went 90–72 but failed to advance out of the wild-card round; since their ballyhooed postseason return in 2020, San Diego hasn't gone farther than the NLCS in Stammen's last season.

The Padres will open Stammen's first season on March 26 against the Tigers.

Rangers are now reportedly in ongoing talks to sign David Watson from Kilmarnock as early as the January transfer window, as they look to fend off competition from Scotland and the Championship.

The Gers are slowly but surely turning things around on the pitch, with new manager Danny Rohl aiming to make it four wins from four in the Scottish Premiership this weekend. And that progress must be matched off the pitch when the January transfer window arrives. It’s repeat or redemption for sporting director Kevin Thelwell, who has come under fire for his decisions in his first few months at Ibrox.

The former Everton man recently spoke about the club’s January plans, sharing that Rangers have given Rohl the chance to evaluate the players already at his disposal ahead of the winter window.

A number of names have already emerged as potential targets for the Gers ahead of 2026, too. According to recent reports, the Scottish giants have set their sights on signing Shea Charles from Southampton.

The former Sheffield Wednesday midfielder starred previously starred on loan under Rohl and could now reunite with the manager at Rangers. But he’s not the only name on their list of targets. Reports have also name-dropped Watson in recent weeks and it now looks as though Rangers’ move is advancing.

Rangers now in talks to sign Watson

As reported by TeamTalk, Rangers are now in ongoing talks to sign Watson from Kilmarnock in the January transfer window. The 20-year-old is out of contract next summer, but the Gers could fend off competition from the Championship and Scotland by securing his signature for a cut-price this winter.

Rohl is also reportedly a big fan of the young midfielder and believes that his energy, tenacity and technical ability would improve his current Rangers side when 2026 arrives.

One of the SPFL's 'most influential players' now can't get a game at Rangers

Rangers have a star who was one of the most influential players in the league last season, now he can’t get a game.

By
Dan Emery

Nov 19, 2025

The praise that Watson has received during his time at Kilmarnock only backs up the verdict that he’s one of the best young talents that Scottish football has to offer. His teammate, Robbie Deas, told reporters: “Davey’s fantastic, honestly. He’s one of the hardest workers you’ll ever meet. He’s absolutely fantastic. You see that today, and he’s putting those tackles in later on.

“Davey’s got all the ability to go to the top, and I’ve no doubt he does, but I’m glad he’s here and he’s playing for us week in, week out, because I would hate to play against him.”

Much of Rangers’ focus was on Championship talent in the summer, but in Watson they would have someone who knows exactly what it takes to thrive in the Scottish Premiership.

Rangers can avoid Gilmour repeat by playing teen who's a "heck of a player"

Dropping points away to Sunderland was far from ideal, but even so, Arsenal are flying this season.

Unlike last season, Mikel Arteta’s side aren’t finding it hard to score goals, and thanks to their unreal defence, they rarely concede any.

This combination sees them sit atop the Premier League table, four points ahead of Manchester City and eight points clear of reigning champions Liverpool.

While there are several candidates, it would be fair to say that, so far, Gabriel Magalhães has been Arsenal’s player of the season, and Andrea Berta has already signed another version of the Brazilian.

Gabriel's development at Arsenal

Gabriel joined Arsenal from LOSC Lille for around £27m in the summer of 2020, and since then has developed significantly in practically every way imaginable.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

Now, the Brazilian wasn’t a bad player in his first season for the Gunners, but he wasn’t one of the first names on the teamsheet.

For example, he made just 32 appearances across all competitions for Arteta, of which 23 were in the league, averaging 1.57 points per game.

He would become more of an ever-present member of the backline over the following seasons, but even during the early stages of the 22/23 season, he was seen as someone who could be a liability.

In fact, following a game away to Leeds United, in which he had a penalty incident overturned, Rio Ferdinand pointed out that “every week he’s in the headlines or he’s in underneath with a little bullet point next to his name and a bad incident.”

Fortunately, towards the end of that year and in the campaigns since, the former Lille star has become increasingly dependable, to the point that he occasionally wears the captain’s armband and has been the club’s standout performer this year.

Non-Penalty Expected G+As

0.06

0.21

Shots

0.64

0.93

Passing Accuracy

85.3%

88.6%

Key Passes

0.11

0.34

Shot-Creating Actions

0.53

1.23

Goal-Creating Actions

0.04

0.27

Tackles Won

0.51

0.53

Shots Blocked

0.82

1.30

Passes Blocked

0.32

0.48

Dispossessed

0.32

0.00

Aerial Duels Won

2.59

3.22

Another way to see his growth is to compare his underlying numbers from his first season to those of today.

Doing this shows that the 27-year-old now wins more tackles, blocks more shots and passes, makes more clearances, wins more aerial duels, completes more of his passes, is a greater goal threat, and is far better at creating chances for his teammates.

In all, Gabriel has been able to channel his natural passion over the years and is now arguably the club’s most important defender, so it’s excellent news that Berta signed someone who could develop just like him.

Arsenal's new Gabriel

Arsenal are blessed with an abundance of extremely talented defenders, but when it comes to the one most likely to develop down a Gabriel-esque path, it’s impossible to ignore Cristhian Mosquera.

Andrea Berta signed the Spanish centre-back from Valencia in the summer, for a fee of just £13m, which one content creator fairly described as “a steal.”

Now, the 21-year-old certainly has some of the elegance of a William Saliba, and could certainly be that ball-playing passing machine at the back, but it still feels like he is going to evolve to be more like the Brazilian.

One of the main reasons is that, despite being so young and having only just joined the team, he already appears mature beyond his years, as exemplified by his unfazed performance against Liverpool at Anfield earlier in the season.

More crucially, though, the 6 foot 3 “monster,” as club insider Hand of Arsenal dubbed him, seems to relish the more physical side of the game.

Sure, he can play it safe, but as respected analyst Ben Mattinson points out, he very clearly “loves to battle with physical attackers” and “thrives in ground duels due.”

Further described as an “absolute cheat code of a player” by Arsenal content creator Harold Hickman, he has already proven himself to be something of a leader.

For example, in his recent games for Spain’s U21 side, he has had the responsibility of wearing the captain’s armband.

Ultimately, it’s still early in his career, but thanks to his composure, ability to compete in physical duels, and passion for doing so, it looks like Arsenal have themselves another Gabriel in Mosquera.

The new Alexis: Arsenal ready to spend £80m to sign "world-class superstar"

Arsenal could spend £80m to sign their new version of Alexis Sanchez.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Nov 13, 2025

Cal Raleigh won the 2025 Home Run Derby, but he only made it out of the first round by less than an inch.

Raleigh was nearly eliminated in the first round after he hit just 17 home runs, which was the fourth highest total, tying him with the A's Brent Rooker. Rather than go to a swing off, MLB decided Raleigh would advance because he hit the longest home run of the round between he and Rooker.

The thing is, they both had their longest home runs measured at 470 feet and then out of nowhere MLB produced an exact measurement ten places past the decimal. It was determined that Raleigh's home run had traveled less than an inch further and thus he would advance while Rooker was eliminated.

While Raleigh and the contest continued, Rooker spoke with the media and lightheartedly questioned MLB's incredibly accurate measurements.

"You know, maybe if they have it to the decimal point, they should display that during the Derby and not wait till everyone's done to bring out that information that might be helpful," said Rooker.

He also added, "It is what it is" and he had fun, but "the rules are the rules." All in all, a pretty measured reaction with a million dollars on the line.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Corinthians venceu o Cruzeiro por 1 a 0, nesta quarta-feira (10), no Mineirão, pelo jogo de ida das semifinais da Copa do Brasil. Na volta, a equipe pode empatar para Dorival Júnior chegar a sua quinta decisão no torneio nacional.

continua após a publicidadeRelacionadasCorinthiansDorival desabafa sobre críticas ao Corinthians: ‘Menosprezam’Corinthians11/12/2025CruzeiroLeonardo Jardim analisa falhas do Cruzeiro, mas vê superioridade no segundo tempo contra o CorinthiansCruzeiro11/12/2025CorinthiansGustavo Henrique valoriza feito defensivo do Corinthians na Copa do BrasilCorinthians11/12/2025

O treinador disputou a final da competição duas vezes pelo Santos (2010 e 2015), uma vez pelo São Paulo (2023) e outra pelo Flamengo (2022). Dorival conquistou o título em quatro oportunidades e é um especialista do torneio.

O técnico não é eliminado da Copa do Brasil desde as quartas de final do torneio em 2016, quando comandava o Santos e perdeu para o Internacional. Em 2025, pelo Corinthians, faz uma boa campanha e passou por Novorizontino, Palmeiras e Athletico Paranaense.

continua após a publicidade

Desde setembro, quando soube que iria encarar o Cruzeiro nas semifinais, o Corinthians adotou uma estratégia mirando a competição: ter 100% do elenco à disposição. O plano ficou ainda mais claro nas últimas rodadas do Brasileirão, quando atuou com uma equipe alternativa.

O Timão chegou para enfrentar o Cruzeiro com o retorno de diversos atletas ao time titular, como André Ramalho, Yuri Alberto, Memphis e Carrillo. Apesar da vitória, Dorival Júnior manteve os pés no chão para falar sobre a vantagem.

continua após a publicidade

– Por isso nós temos que ter consciência de que o jogo do final de semana será ainda mais pesado, muito mais forte, com as equipes ainda mais concentradas, e o resultado está todo ele em aberto. Temos uma pequena vantagem muito importante, construída dentro da casa do Cruzeiro. Uma equipe excelente, muito bem treinada. Assim foi o Corinthians também. Por isso a igualdade no jogo, as equipes buscando gol a todo momento. Em alguns momentos prevalecendo o Cruzeiro, em outros o Corinthians. Um jogo de alto nível em razão da maneira como as duas equipes se enfrentaram – disse o treinador em entrevista coletiva.

Tudo sobre o Timão agora no WhatsApp. Siga o nosso novo canal Lance! Corinthians

Copeiro

O termo é utilizado para equipes ou treinadores com bom desempenho em torneios no regulamento de mata-mata. Mesmo com o ótimo retrospecto na competição nacional, Dorival Júnior preferiu dar os créditos aos jogadores.

– Quem resolve os jogos são os jogadores. Treinadores preparam, eles executam. Houve um interesse, uma integração, uma preocupação muito grande, em cumprirem funções. Quando isso acontece, você tem comportamentos respeitados em campo. Você aumenta a sua possibilidade de um bom resultado. Não tendo isso, naturalmente você acaba dificultando as suas condições – disse o treinador.

Próximo jogo do Corinthians

As equipes voltam a se enfrentar no domingo (14), às 18h (de Brasília), na Neo Química Arena. Com a vitória no Mineirão, o Timão joga pelo empate para chegar à final da Copa do Brasil. O rival da decisão será definido entre Fluminense e Vasco.

Tudo sobre

CorinthiansFutebol Nacional

Troy Parrott has become a “cult hero” with the Republic of Ireland, but will he be back in England by the time a bid to reach the 2026 World Cup is completed? That question has been put to Stephen Carr, with the former Tottenham defender discussing future plans for the in-form striker and collective efforts to reach a first global gathering since 2002.

• Purple patch: How Parrott fired Ireland into World Cup play-offs

  The Boys in Green have earned themselves a shot at securing tickets to FIFA’s flagship event in the United States, Canada and Mexico next summer. A dramatic end to their group stage campaign has seen Heimir Hallgrimsson’s side land a play-off berth.

  Former Tottenham striker Parrott fired them to that point, with the 23-year-old frontman hitting a personal purple patch at the perfect time. He bagged a brace in a thrilling 2-0 victory over Portugal in Dublin that saw five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo sent off for the first time in his international career.

  Parrott, who is now on the books of Eredivisie side AZ Alkmaar, went on to net a hat-trick in a final showdown with Hungary – with that treble being completed in the 96th minute – and there is talk of him attracting interest from Premier League sides. The likes of Leeds, West Ham and Wolves are all said to be mulling over their options.

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• Getty
  

  Transfer talk: Parrott linked with Premier League return

  Asked about Parrott’s heroics and whether he could soon be on the move, ex-Ireland international Carr – speaking in association with – told GOAL: “Amazing! Fair play to him. He’s had a lot of loans where it hasn’t worked out. He’s found something at Alkmaar that just clicked, so his confidence is very high – which you can see now.

  “He’s a threat. Evan Ferguson will be back, so the manager will have a decision. But Troy has earned it. He scored five goals in two games, a hat-trick away from home – don’t know the last time that happened. He’s a threat. He’s a different player to Evan Ferguson, for me he’s completely different. It’s good now because it’s been a while since the Irish team had to pick up front, we haven’t had that. It’s good for the competition.

  “Hopefully he keeps going at Alkmaar and keeps the form up. He’s turned himself into a cult hero, brilliant. He’s worked at it, kept going and didn’t give up, and now he’s in a really good position. I think he will have offers. Whether that is in January, I don’t think so, probably the end of the season. But it would be nice to get to a World Cup, and then it all opens up for him.”

• Who will Ireland face in the 2026 World Cup play-offs?

  Ireland have been placed in Path D of the European World Cup play-off section. They will face Czechia at the semi-final stage, with either Denmark or North Macedonia to come on home soil if they can progress beyond that point.

  Quizzed on that draw, Carr said: “I think it’s a good one. I think it could have been a lot worse. I’m not saying it’s easy, but I think the manager will be pretty happy with it. It will still be difficult. Any game that you are getting into now, there is a World Cup spot on the line.

  “We play away against Czechia, a tough game. People are already thinking we will play Denmark at home, but you need to get through. The difference now is they are going into it with other teams fearing them a bit. With the last two results, it has given the country a lift, the team a lift because it was on a low. They have proved that they can do it, they can match anyone. Going to Hungary was one of those nights, but you need that bit of luck. Unbelievable result, one of the best in a long time in Irish football. I was at the Portugal game at home as well. There is a good feeling. Confidence will be very high. The break to the next game in March is a little unfortunate, because it will feel like a long time ago since you played that game, but it’s there for them.

  “If they get through, I think Denmark will beat North Macedonia. Denmark are a very good team. There are two tough games, so take it one at a time. Going away to Czechia, it’s only a small stadium – 19,000 and there will be a thousand Ireland fans. They need to get through it. The confidence will be very high and they are going into games with a lot more positivity now they have shown that they can do it. Portugal and Hungary were unbelievable results.”

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  Added motivation: Ireland will have eyes on World Cup draw

  Ireland did grace European Championships in 2012 and 2016, but have failed to qualify for a major tournament since then and are looking to bring a 24-year barren run on the World Cup front to a close.

  Ahead of facing Czechia, they will be among the interested observers when the group stage draw for next summer’s finals takes place at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC on Friday – with it likely that added incentive to qualify will be delivered there.

The two non-conformists are coming together at the IPL for the first time since 2016

Alagappan Muthu22-Mar-20252:05

Cricinformed: MS Dhoni, CSK’s 43-year-old six machine

There is a big silly smile on MS Dhoni’s face. For a second, it becomes easy to imagine him not as a world-famous finisher or a World Cup-winning captain but as a kid, because he had just done something that kids take great pride in. Being sneaky little devils.Virat Kohli had set up for the late cut. This was the season where he almost scored a thousand runs. So once he had decided on a shot, it had no choice but to fly away to the boundary. He waited until the ball passed him, to make sure he could hit it nice and fine. And he did, except Dhoni just stuck his right leg up in the air and stopped the ball dead in its tracks.That technique isn’t in any wicketkeeping manual. Neither is the one he uses to pull off those lightning-fast stumpings, where his hands collect the ball and crash into the stumps without any give. But they have always been his. He saw the sense in them. Even if nobody else did.Related

• 'Quick timing, great hands, good vision' – Hayden on Dhoni's stumping of Suryakumar Yadav

• Trial by spin likely as weakened MI enter CSK's cauldron

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The other man involved in that sequence of events from 2016 was R Ashwin. He, too, is known for resorting to funventions. Changing his action. His grip. Flicking it using just one finger and making it spin the wrong way. Cutting his fingers under the ball instead of over it so that it doesn’t spin at all. The modest offbreak was becoming irrelevant. Ashwin was loath to letting himself go the same way and the reward for such perseverance was the respect he was given. Kohli scored only six runs in ten balls off him.That was the last season of the Dhoni-Ashwin partnership in the IPL. It has taken eight years for fate to put them back together. These freethinkers wouldn’t be constrained by what had come before them. They preferred to test what was true by themselves. Are yorkers really that hard to score off? What if I meet them with a whirl of my wrists? Are spin bowlers really a bad option in the first six overs? Why don’t we find out? In the final. When we go up against Chris Gayle. Of all the peak CSK moments in IPL history, there aren’t many that can match how they came up against a team whose owners were openly laughing at them for spending US$850,000 on a guy who had picked up just 15 wickets in 14 matches, only to watch in horror as he beat them to win the title.

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— Chennai Super Kings (@ChennaiIPL) March 19, 2025