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Everton are reportedly taking an interest in Fenerbahce centre-back Kim Min-jae ahead of the summer transfer window, and with the South Korea international reportedly in England, a deal with a Premier League club could well be on the cards.

What’s the word?

According to Turkish journalist Volkan Demir, the Toffees and Tottenham Hotspur are both interested in signing the 25-year-old this summer after his impressive performances in Istanbul.

Both clubs are reported to have progressed in negotiations with the defender, and it seems as if Kim may well be on move again this summer after making the switch to Turkey in 2021.

An instant upgrade for Everton?

The 2021/22 season saw Kim make 31 appearances in the Turkish Super Lig, in which he averaged an impressive 6.91 rating from WhoScored for his performances, which was better than any defender in Everton’s squad in the Premier League.

Valued at just £12.6m, the centre-back would also represent a relatively cheap option for Frank Lampard this summer, as the 43-year-old looks to improve on a Toffees defence which shipped 66 goals in the most recent top-flight campaign.

Meanwhile, Fenerbahce conceded 38 goals in the same number of matches in their league, which suggests that, although the Super Lig is of a lower standard compared to the English top flight, Kim can be relied upon to keep opponents out.

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At 6 foot 3, he certainly won’t lack the physicality required to play in the Premier League, while his performances have also earned him the praise of Turkish news outlet Potomac, who described him as “indispensable” in recent months.

The 2021/22 season saw the 25-year-old average 1.5 tackles, 2.3 interceptions and 4.1 clearances per game in the Super Lig. This was more interceptions and clearances than anyone in Everton’s squad, while only Ben Godfrey averaged more tackles from Lampard’s central defensive options.

In addition to making an impact on the pitch, the signing of a popular South Korea international could do wonders for Everton off the field, as has been seen with the formation of South Korean Tottenham Hotspur fan clubs following the success of Heung-min Son in north London.

Therefore, it seems clear that Kim would be an excellent addition to Lampard’s squad this summer, and is a deal that Farhad Moshiri must now look to complete.

In other news… Everton in prime position to sign £19.8m-rated titan, he won’t cost a penny

Pundit Paul Robinson has made a transfer claim involving Aston Villa and soon to be free agent James Tarkowski, Football Insider report.

The Lowdown: Free transfer shopping

Villa have already explored the free agent market by signing Boubacar Kamara from Marseille. The French midfielder will officially become a Villa player from July 1 and Steven Gerrard also has his eyes on a move for former Liverpool teammate Luis Suarez following his release from Atletico Madrid.

Tarkowski could be another to head to the Midlands for nothing, with Sky Sports claiming last month that Villa were in talks with the Burnley defender.

The Latest: Robinson’s comments

Robinson, who contributes for Sky Sports, was talking to FI regarding Tarkowski. He labelled the centre-back as a ‘very good player’, adding that ‘he’d be a good fit’ at a club like Aston Villa.

“Tarky is a very good player.

“He is not a top-four defender.

“You could put him in a Liverpool side alongside Virgil van Dijk but he would be best suited as a ball playing centre-half at a Newcastle, an Everton, an Aston Villa. There’s talk of Newcastle.

“He will be a great acquisition for somebody on a free.

“He has been clever running his contract down. It has worked out well for him. He will get the move that he wants.

“I think he’d be a good fit at Newcastle, Everton, Aston Villa or West Ham.”

The Verdict: Things can change…

Tarkowski has yet to pen terms with another side, although Gregg Evans has described a move to Villa Park as unlikely.

That could well change once again, though, so until the experienced centre-back secures his next move, a transfer to the Midlands shouldn’t be ruled out entirely.

Reports even suggested that Gerrard was desperate for the club to get a move over the line, believing there isn’t a better deal to be struck all summer, so it may well be one to watch closely.

In other news: Sky Sports man now drops ‘crazy’ Suarez to AVFC claim after what he’s heard from Villa Park. 

Leeds United may be in a ‘difficult’ position now that Manchester City have set their sights on Kalvin Phillips. 

That’s according to sports journalist Pete O’Rourke, who was speaking to GiveMeSport.

The lowdown

The Daily Mail reported last week that Phillips tops the Premier League champions’ shortlist of potential replacements for Fernandinho, who is leaving the club. City are ‘expected to pursue’ the England midfielder, whom they believe to be a ‘perfect’ stylistic match for Pep Guardiola’s side, ‘in the coming weeks’.

Leeds told Phillips in December that they would like to open discussions over a new deal, but no agreement has been reached as of yet, with the 26-year-old’s contract due to expire in two years’ time.

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The latest

O’Rourke has said that Leeds will be doing all that they can to persuade Phillips to remain at Elland Road, but warned that the midfielder may find the opportunity of working with Guardiola hard ‘to turn down’.

In quotes published at 8pm on Sunday night, the journalist told GiveMeSport: “There are lots of reports suggesting Manchester City are monitoring his situation right now as well.

“That might make it difficult for Leeds to secure his long-term future because if you get the opportunity to move to Manchester City, it’s a pretty hard one to turn down, joining the champions and possibly working under Pep Guardiola.

“Leeds, I’m sure, will be pulling out all the stops now to try and convince Phillips to stay at the club.”

The verdict

The news of City’s interest in Phillips will come as no surprise to the Leeds hierarchy.

He was named England’s Player of the Year for 2021, edging Chelsea star Mason Mount and City’s own Raheem Sterling, while last December he finished second behind Raphinha when Whites fans voted for their player of the year, collecting 24% of the vote.

Phillips has also won some rave reviews, with Everton manager Frank Lampard dubbing him a ‘machine’ and Arsenal legend Tony Adams describing him as a ‘wall’ in front of the defence.

He could well be tempted to move to the Etihad Stadium after admitting in 2020 that he was ‘mesmerised’ by Guardiola and the football that his team plays.

Sadly for Leeds fans who adore Phillips, the prospect of him going to Manchester cannot be disregarded – although at least it’s to the blue half of the city rather than red.

In other news, another Leeds man could be about to leave.

Gio van Bronckhorst was forced to spend the last couple of months of the 2021/22 campaign without Rangers talisman Alfredo Morelos.

The centre-forward suffered a thigh injury at the start of April and missed out on the clutch run-in for the Premiership, Europa League and Scottish Cup.

Rangers ended up winning the domestic cup and that was the only trophy that they were able to bring in as they finished second in the Scottish top-flight and lost on penalties in their European final.

An injury to Kemar Roofe meant that the Gers also spent a number of games without a natural striker as Joe Aribo lined up in a false nine role.

These issues may cause the club to dip into the market this summer to bring a new centre-forward to Ibrox in order to avoid a repeat in 2022/23.

Colombian striker Mateo Cassierra is one player the Light Blues have been tipped to have an interest in and he could be an excellent addition to the squad to compete with Morelos and Roofe.

Russian outlet Sport 24, via the Scotsman, recently quoted commentator Roman Naguchev as saying: “Mateo Cassierra is very interesting to the club. Rangers management has already been in contact with Sochi.“Van Bronckhorst is very familiar with this player.” Imagine him & Aribo

The Rangers head coach can form a deadly duo through the middle of the pitch by signing Cassierra to pair him with Aribo.

Since joining FC Sochi, the South American has scored a whopping 14 goals and provided four assists in 22 appearances and averaged a sublime SofaScore rating of 7.29. This comes after he scored ten goals in 23 starts in the Portuguese top-flight in 2020/21 for Belenenses, with journalist Tomás da Cunha once hailing him as “complete” during his time there.

He has proven that he can score goals on a regular basis and he still has the potential to improve at the age of 25. His SofaScore rating shows that he is producing all-round displays that will make him a great option for van Bronckhorst to call upon, as he is delivering week-in-week-out for Sochi.

Aribo, meanwhile, managed eight goals and five assists in the Premiership from midfield. He created nine ‘big chances’ and provided 1.8 key passes per game across 34 matches and this suggests that he deserved more assists for his creative efforts.

By bringing Cassierra in, van Bronckhorst can find a player who is capable of finishing off the opportunities that the Nigeria international creates. The Sochi gem has showcased his goalscoring talents and now it is time for Rangers to snap him up in order to create a deadly link-up between him and Aribo.

AND in other news, Rangers can land dream Kent heir in deal for £1.5m “asset” who can “affect the game”…

Manchester United are reportedly willing to spend €80m on Benfica forward Darwin Nunez this summer.

The Lowdown: Nunez links

The Red Devils have been heavily linked with a move for the 22-year-old over recent weeks. Recent reports have suggested that United are one of the sides ‘best positioned’ to sign the Uruguay international over the summer.

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Described as a ‘rough diamond’ by BT Sport pundit Steve McManaman, Nunez has also been linked with Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain, while in the Premier League Newcastle United have reportedly been eyeing a mega money move.

The Latest: Glazers willing to spend €80m

Sports Witness relayed an update from RCM Sport regarding Nunez on Thursday.

They claim that United are ready to spend €80m (£67.8m) on Nunez, however, the player is unsure over a move to Old Trafford as he wants to play Champions League football.

The Verdict: Ten Hag to persuade Nunez?

Erik ten Hag reportedly made an ‘express request’ to United chiefs regarding Nunez last month, so perhaps he can try and persuade the forward to move to Manchester.

Yes, there wouldn’t be any Champions League football to start with, however, Nunez could play a key role under Ten Hag in an Old Trafford rebuild and eventually fix that issue himself.

Cristiano Ronaldo could be the only senior attacker left, should Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford leave, meaning Nunez could form a partnership with the 37-year-old and go on to succeed Ronaldo as the main man in Manchester when he calls time on his glittering career.

In other news: Ten Hag loves him: Man Utd now ‘pressing’ to sign transfer listed Italian after agent meeting. 

Celtic saw a significant number of players make moves away from the Parkhead club during the previous summer transfer window.

The club were able to cash in on some faces such as Odsonne Edouard and Kristoffer Ajer, who both made moves to the Premier League.

However, some players, such as Olivier Ntcham and Scott Brown left on free transfers as well as a number of others who ventured away on loan deals.

One forward the Hoops sold on a permanent deal was Ryan Christie, who joined AFC Bournemouth in a deal worth a reported fee of £2.5m.

In 151 appearances for the Bhoys, the 27-year-old found the net 41 times and delivered 44 assists before joining the Cherries.

While the Hoops may not have missed the Scotsman this season, having recently been crowned league champions as well as having the best attacking and defensive record in the league, the upcoming summer transfer window could see Ange Postecoglou sign an ideal long-term replacement for the former Celtic star.

Back in March, it was claimed by Sky Sports journalist Florian Plettenberg on Twitter that Bayern Munich youngster Christopher Scott had been in talks with Celtic over a potential summer transfer move.

The midfielder joined Bayern’s U19 side back in the 2020 January transfer window after working his way through Bayer Leverkusen’s youth ranks.

With 114 club appearances in total, the 19-year-old has scored 44 goals and provided 17 assists along the way.

This shows just how much of an attacking and creative threat he can be from the midfield, as Christie was during his time at Parkhead.

Having played in numerous positions across the midfield and attack, Scott’s versatility could also make him a suitable replacement for Christie at Celtic as the Bournemouth star also played in various positions throughout his time in Glasgow.

Labelled as a “very aggressive accurate passer along the deck” by Bhoys Analytics on Twitter, Scott could be a great investment for Celtic as he will be out of contract at Bayern at the end of June, meaning that the Hoops could sign him on a free transfer in the summer.

Given the talent that he has shown on the pitch and the further potential he has in him at such a young age, securing the midfield prodigy’s signature in the coming months should definitely be in Celtic’s plans for this summer as the rewards could be substantial.

In other news: Deal close: Huge Celtic transfer development emerges, it’s great news for Postecoglou

Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain could look to join another Premier League team with European aspirations, according to former top flight manager Alex McLeish.

The Lowdown: Ox out of favour

The 28-year-old has found himself increasingly out of favour for the Reds this season, as Jurgen Klopp’s men battle across four competitions.

Oxlade-Chamberlain has been limited to just nine starts in the Premier League, with his last appearance for Liverpool coming back in March, against Nottingham Forest.

With his Englishman’s current deal expiring next year, it looks highly likely that he will move on this summer.

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The Latest: McLeish makes new claim

Speaking to Football Insider, McLeish claimed that Oxlade-Chamberlain is yet to hit his peak and will look to join another high-end English team:

“Players stay at clubs because of that special relationship with the clubs and the manager. Maybe they don’t get the minutes that they would perhaps want. Look at Divock Origi, who is going to leave Liverpool this season. He didn’t seem too worried about not getting minutes.

“There comes a time when possibly they look at the clock and say: ‘Time’s running out. Maybe I can go and play every week.’

“Oxlade-Chamberlain’s got his peak time ahead of him. Individuals sometimes seem to be in comfort mode, and I don’t mean that in disrespect. I mean they’re comfortable with their life, playing a bit-part for Liverpool.

“The time sometimes comes when you say: ‘I’m 28 now, I’d love to play more games. I’m sure one of the big clubs would snap me up.’

“He’s a very versatile player and he has a hateful of medals now. In Chamberlain’s case, he could rightly say: ‘I’m looking for a club who’s going for a European place, going to try win a cup or get a Champions League place.’

“Why shouldn’t he have that ambition? It will be a club that has that ambition as well.”

The Verdict: Time to leave this summer

It makes complete sense for Oxlade-Chamberlain to move on at the end of the season, having clearly dropped down the midfield pecking order under Klopp.

It could even be that he has played his last game for Liverpool and his Reds career will likely be viewed as hit-and-miss overall, with injuries hampering him at the best of times.

A move to a club in the top half of the Premier League would suit all parties, allowing Oxlade-Chamberlain more regular playing time and bringing in key transfer funds for Liverpool to replace him.

In other news, Jurgen Klopp has set his sights on one Liverpool signing. Find out who it is here.

CSK have won five of the seven matches in which the allrounder has bowled his allotment of overs

Sidharth Monga05-May-20242:15

Jaffer: Jadeja kept piling up pressure from an end

A barometer of how Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are doing in IPL 2024 is Ravindra Jadeja’s performance. More specifically, his bowling. Even more specifically, if he has bowled four overs. Or, rather, if the conditions are suited enough for him to bowl four overs. Jadeja has bowled his allotment seven times out of 12 this IPL. CSK have won five of those matches.With the depth in their squad and with the Impact Player rules, CSK have the luxury of not bowling Jadeja out should the pitch be not helpful or should there be too much dew. Or if there are two left-hand batters around or if he is being attacked. There are always options for such times, but this is also true: CSK have won only one match out of five in which Jadeja hasn’t been able to bowl his four overs.Jadeja is a critical player in this CSK squad. He is not the perfect T20 player, but he does more than enough things right to warrant some protection. CSK don’t bowl him in the powerplay, for example. Then he almost always gets done before the death overs. Similarly, with the bat, if you protect him from spin, he can be brutal against pace at the death. That is a lesson CSK have hopefully learnt after the brief experiment with sending him up at No. 4.Related

Jadeja: 'We felt we were 15-20 runs short but didn't bowl loose balls'

Jadeja stars with bat and ball as CSK climb to third

Jadeja-vu: CSK's same old phenomenon

It is with the ball, though, that Jadeja indicates CSK’s health the best, especially from the time the Impact Player came in and bowling Jadeja out stopped being mandatory. ESPNcricinfo’s Shiva Jayaraman has worked out the link between Jadeja’s bowling and CSK’s fortunes even better: since the start of IPL 2023, CSK have won 68.42% of full 20-over matches in which Jadeja has at least started his fourth over; no other bowler bowling out has coincided with such a high percentage of wins.And it is not like Jadeja is called upon to bowl only on turners. He has bowled out in 70.37% of the matches, which is a decent ratio. It is not quite Rashid Khan-R Ashwin territory – they bowl out in 90% of their teams’ matches – but Jadeja still does so more often than Ravi Bishnoi, Piyush Chawla and Mohit Sharma, to name a few frontline bowlers.Take one look at Jadeja’s figures, and you will know why he is so central to CSK’s plans. It is not in taking wickets that Jadeja’s importance lies – he has taken only eight of them this year, but has gone at just 7.26 an over. On four separate occasions this IPL, he has bowled his four overs for less than a run a ball. You can adjust that economy rate for the absence of powerplay and death overs, but at a time when even the middle overs are being targeted, a banker of a bowler in seven out of ten matches is a luxury.1:32

Jaffer: Punjab’s batters messed up big time

To not let Jadeja bowl is precisely why Prabhsimran Singh and Shashank Singh took risks against him early on. They had staged a comeback from the two early wickets, were going at a decent rate, were not chasing a huge total; they could have taken a moment once the field spread, but they knew the pitfalls of letting Jadeja settle. Shashank took a massive swipe at the first ball Jadeja bowled, and was lucky to survive. At the end of the over, Prabhsimran gave away his stumps and took a risk to score a boundary.Jadeja, though, kept plugging away: turn the ball hard, attack the stumps, don’t bowl half-volleys or long hops. When Prabhsimran tried the inside-out drive the second time, he ended up hitting Jadeja straight to long-on. By now, Jadeja was hurrying the batters and the asking rate was jumping big time with every dot and single. Wickets are incidental in this format, but they came today, to go with his runs and earning him the Player-of-the-Match award.With the bat, Jadeja is back in the lower-middle order, which is more suited to him. He had to come in early thanks to a Rahul Chahar double-strike, but Punjab Kings (PBKS) perhaps missed a trick there by not bowling an extra over of spin at Jadeja. They were perhaps looking to save Chahar for later when MS Dhoni would be batting, but as a result, Jadeja faced only three balls of spin early on in his innings. By the time Chahar came back, Jadeja was set.If you are a CSK opponent and there is no dew, try to keep a left-hand batter in the middle overs if you can. Try to take Jadeja down early but it might not always come off. But do just try to push CSK to try other bowlers in the middle overs because if you let Jadeja run through the middle overs, he ends up creating enough impact to help CSK win.

The Atlanta Braves took another gut punch on Wednesday night in Los Angeles, as the club squandered a 5-0 lead and lost to the defending-champion Dodgers on a walk-off home run by Shohei Ohtani. The defeat dropped the Braves to an MLB-worst 0–7 to begin the season.

But that's not all.

In beginning the '25 campaign 0-7, Atlanta’s postseason hopes have entered the danger zone. According to MLB analyst Ryan Spaeder on X, no team has ever made the postseason after starting the year 0-7.

Just four years removed from winning the World Series and two years since winning 104 games, Atlanta entered the '25 season with championship aspirations. Making the playoffs for an eighth straight time was already going to be an arduous task though, given that '23 National League MVP Ronald Acuna Jr. and ace pitcher Spencer Strider are both sidelined as they continue to recover from season-ending surgeries this past season.

The Braves are also without All-Star catcher Sean Murphy, who has been on the Injured List since spring with a cracked rib, and '24 breakout pitcher Reynaldo Lopez, who was placed on IL earlier this week with shoulder inflammation.

And just when it seemed like things couldn't get worse, Jurickson Profar, the team's $42 million free agent pickup this offseason, was suspended 80 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

But the Braves aren't 0-7 simply because of injuries and a suspension. The club is 0-7 because, surprise, they simply aren't playing well.

Atlanta has scored just 14 runs, the third-fewest in the majors, and ranks dead-last in MLB with a team OPS of .485. Braves pitchers have surrendered the fourth-most earned runs in the sport. Fully whole or not, that's not a recipe for winning.

But all hope is not lost. According to MLB.com, 14 teams have started the season with four or more losses and still advanced to the postseason. Three of those teams started the season 0-6. The Braves can also look to a division rival for an example of a recent success story. The New York Mets started the '24 season 0-5 and proceeded to make a run to the National League Championship Series.

All this to say, it's a long season. Teams can flip a switch. The Braves know that better than anyone. The '21 team that won the World Series? That club didn't have a winning record until Aug. 6 of that season.

So yes, the Braves are facing an unprecedented road to the playoffs. But there's a first time for everything.

There is only a two-day gap between the South Africa and Sri Lanka ODI series, and then only a day’s gap before the T20I tri-series

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Sep-2025Pakistan are set to host Sri Lanka for three ODIs at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, in the nine-day gap between the end of the South Africa tour and the T20I tri-series with Afghanistan and Sri Lanka in November.Once Pakistan conclude their series against South Africa with the third ODI on November 8 in Faisalabad, they will head to Rawalpindi with just a two-day gap before facing Sri Lanka on November 11, 13 and 15 – all matches separated by just a day’s rest. The hosts will remain in Rawalpindi as the T20I tri-series also begins there, on November 17 against Afghanistan before the action moves to Lahore after the first two games.This will be the first time Pakistan host Sri Lanka for an ODI series since 2019, when the hosts had beaten Sri Lanka 2-0 in a three-match series under Sarfaraz Ahmed after the opening game was washed out in Karachi. Sri Lanka’s last visit to Pakistan was just before the 2023 ODI World Cup, when they had flown to Lahore for the Asia Cup.Related

Pakistan to host SL, Afghanistan for T20I tri-series

SA to open WTC 2025-27 campaign against Pakistan in Lahore

The ODI series is the latest addition to a busy home season for Pakistan, which starts with two Tests against WTC champions South Africa from October 12 to 24 in Lahore and Rawalpindi, followed by three T20Is and as many ODIs against them. The T20I tri-series will run from November 17 to 29.Pakistan recently won the T20I tri-series involving Afghanistan and hosts UAE in the lead up to the T20 Asia Cup, which begins on September 9. Pakistan’s first match is on September 12 against Oman, followed by a clash against arch-rivals India on September 14.