Chelsea are keen on the idea of signing Barcelona winger Raphinha in the upcoming transfer window.

What’s the latest on Raphinha to Chelsea?

According to SPORT, the Blues and Newcastle United are willing to “open formal negotiations immediately” to prise the Brazilian away from the Nou Camp.

This outlet also revealed that the Catalan Giants would listen to offers of €80m (£70m) as the hierarchy aims to extract the “maximum possible economic return” for the player.

Barcelona may be forced into the sale as the club target sales before 30 June to lower their astronomically high wage bill.

At first, the 26-year-old was reluctant to leave but in recent weeks, a possible departure from Spain is beginning to gather serious momentum.

Would Raphinha be a good signing for Chelsea?

The technician has previously enjoyed an extremely fruitful time in England when he joined Leeds United for a fee in the region of £17m.

The 16-cap international registered 15 goal contributions in 30 Premier League games to become one of Marcelo Bielsa’s most trusted and influential players as Leeds secured an incredible ninth-placed finish in their first top-flight season since 2004.

Then in his second season, the playmaker was still highly productive in an intensely tricky time for Leeds, who just avoided relegation on the final day of the season. He was the club’s top scorer with 11 goals.

His old teammate Dan James was full of praise for Raphinha and said: “He’s a magician. He’s always been a great player. He can do absolutely anything on the pitch. It’s great playing with him."

As a result, the former Rennes man was transferred to Barcelona for £55m and has appeared in 31 of the club’s 33 league games, as the Blaugrana sits 13 points clear at the summit of the table.

The £212k-per-week man has been hugely involved and has been a constant threat from the right flank – this is showcased by the fact that he ranks in the top 9% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for total shots, as well as the highest 21% shot-creating actions, according to FBref.

Due to his imperious in his previous stint in the Premier League, Raphinha would represent a relatively low-risk signing for Chelsea, whose attack is painfully lacking some ruthless end-product.

The possibility of Reece James overlapping the mercurial Brazilian is a frightening prospect for any side with the possibility there for whoever Chelsea's new manager is to create one of the most formidable right-hand sides in the division.

Indeed, with Raphinha chopping inside, it would allow Chelsea's right back to rampage towards the byline, making use of his creative prowess to create goal-scoring opportunities for a team who have lacked that throughout this season.

James ranks in the top 4% of positionally similar players in Europe for progressive passes and successful take-ons, with that skillset only set to blossom alongside a player of the Barcelona winger's pedigree.

Although no Champions League football is a stumbling block for the West London outfit, it would be foolish to rule out the big-spending Blues.

Guyana Amazon Warriors seized home advantage with a packed spin bowling line-up to restrict St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to 108 for 8, before chasing it down comfortably for a four-wicket win

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Jul-2016
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAdam Zampa and Martin Guptill had solid days with bat and ball respectively for Guyana Amazon Warriors•CPL/SportsfileGuyana Amazon Warriors seized home advantage with a packed spin bowling line-up to restrict St Kitts & Nevis Patriots to 108 for 8, before chasing it down comfortably for a four-wicket win. Patriots had trouble coping with the turn on a slow pitch and made the chase look more difficult with a late flurry of wickets, but Amazon Warriors cruised home with 22 balls to spare.Simmons bats with one pad

St Kitts and Nevis Patriots opener Lendl Simmons, who scored 50 against Guyana Amazon Warriors, made a bizarre change during his innings by taking off his right pad on a slow, turning pitch at the Providence Stadium. He took the back pad off at the end of the 12th over and continued to bat like that even against the fast bowlers, until he was dismissed in the last over.
“He’s batting with one leg guard. I have never seen this in any cricket apart from backyard,” Ian Bishop said on commentary at the start of the 13th over.

The pitch came under heavy criticism from the television broadcast commentators at the Providence Stadium, with a low and slow track producing likewise action from the Patriots line-up. The visitors opted to bat but three specialist spinners in the Amazon Warriors attack – Steven Jacobs, Adam Zampa and Veerasammy Permaul – exploited the favorable conditions superbly, none more so than offspinner Jacobs, who took the new ball and finished with 1 for 7 in four overs.Arriving in Guyana after a pair of blistering half-centuries in far friendlier batting conditions at Warner Park in St Kitts, Evin Lewis laboured through an 18-ball innings before a desperate shuffle across his stumps to flick Jacobs resulted in Lewis being trapped in front for 4 in the fourth over.Lewis’ opening partner Lendl Simmons exemplified the Patriots’ overall struggle with the conditions, lasting until the final over to score 50 off 60 balls before he was run-out by Martin Guptill. In between, Zampa wiped out the middle order, including the key scalp of captain Faf du Plessis for just 1.Guptill was the only batsman to look unencumbered by the nature of the track, scoring at nearly two runs a ball as he struck three fours and four sixes on his way to 43 off 22 balls and the Man-of-the-Match honours. Following the second-over departure of Dwayne Smith, Guptill and Chris Lynn produced a 60-run second-wicket stand across six overs before Guptill perished to left-arm wristspinner Tabraiz Shamsi after an attempted drive went awry.Amazon Warriors reached the halfway stage needing just 24 runs to win with eight wickets in hand before a brief stumble was sparked by a leg-side stumping to remove Jason Mohammed off the bowling of Samuel Badree. It was the first of three wickets in the space of nine deliveries for just three runs as Badree had Christopher Barnwell lbw for a second-ball duck before Shamsi struck again to claim Anthony Bramble for 1.Lynn held firm though and remained until Amazon Warriors were within one shot of clinching the match when he was bowled for 34 by JJ Smuts, before Jacobs and Sohail Tanvir calmly knocked off the final six runs. While Amazon Warriors cemented their hold on top of the table, Patriots’ woeful start continued, having now lost four of their first five games.Patriots left-arm seamer Krishmar Santokie was fined 75% of his match fees after the game for breaching Level 2 of the CPL Code of Conduct. At the end of the 16th over, he threw a ball back at batsman Steven Jacobs, thereby in violation of Article 2.2.7 which relates to “Throwing a ball (or any other item of cricket equipment such as a water bottle) at or near a player, player support personnel, umpire, match referee or any other third person in an inappropriate and/or dangerous manner during a CPL Match.” Santokie accepted the proposed sanction.

New Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino has reportedly requested that the Blues sign Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg this summer.

On Sunday, Sky Sports reported that Chelsea have agreed a deal with Pochettino to become the club's new manager.

Frank Lampard became the club's interim boss after Graham Potter was fired but the board will now hope that the managerial turbulence that has rocked the club in the last year is finally over.

Pochettino will get straight to work building his Chelsea side and it appears he might raid his former side to get things started.

What are Chelsea's transfer plans for this summer?

According to one Spanish news outlet, Todd Boehly "is willing to invest" further into this Chelsea side and will work with Pochettino to take the Blues back to the top of English football.

The report from Spain claims the former Spurs boss has requested that Hojbjerg joins the club this summer as plans are put in place to improve the Chelsea midfield. The 27-year-old has been hailed a "warrior" by some in the media and it's no surprise that Pochettino would want to work with him again.

It's suggested that part of why he is of interest to the Stamford Bridge outfit is that he is physically imposing, has Premier League experience and is technically astute. It will be interesting to see how kindly Spurs chairman Daniel Levy takes to the news that Pochettino wants to poach Hojbjerg.

Would Hojbjerg be a good signing for Chelsea?

There is no doubt that Hojbjerg is a good player but he isn't a necessity for Chelsea. After signing Enzo Fernandez for £106.8m, it seems unlikely that the Blues will prioritise signing another deep-lying midfielder before addressing other concerns in the squad.

If a new midfielder is what Pochettino wants, it would be wiser to target a box-to-box midfielder especially if both Mateo Kovacic and Mason Mount leave the club as speculated.

Given Pochettino's preferred style of play, it wouldn't come as a surprise if he wants Mount to stay at the club although his head may have already been turned by the recent reports linking him with a potential move to Liverpool.

After spending so much money on transfers since buying the club, Boehly must be careful that the signings made this summer are the right ones.

If Chelsea struggle again last season, the pressure will increase on all involved at Stamford Bridge.

Tottenham Hotspur are thinking of terminating Tanguy Ndombele's contract as Napoli decide not to sign him permanently, according to reports.

Who could leave Spurs this summer?

Spurs currently have a plethora of players out on loan whose futures are currently uncertain, with the likes of Sergio Reguilon, Bryan Gil, Giovani Lo Celso and Ndombele all serving temporary spells away.

The aforementioned quartet were all out of favour under ex-manager Antonio Conte, but since the Italian's departure by mutual consent, it is unclear whether they could play a key role next season.

A lot could depend on which manager chairman Daniel Levy could appoint to succeed Conte at Spurs as their particular playing styles could well influence who leaves the club and who doesn't.

However, according to a fresh report on Ndombele's future, it appears there is little chance the Frenchman will stay at Tottenham beyond this summer after his loan stint at Napoli.

According to SportMediaSet, the Serie A league leaders and chairman Aurelio De Laurentiis have opted not to trigger the buy-option in Ndombele's loan deal – which stands at around €30 million (£26m).

Indeed, Ndombele looks set to return to Spurs this summer as a result, but not for long, as the north Londoners are now thinking of terminating his contract to make him leave the club for good.

Tottenham, in this scenario, would put the 26-year-old on severance pay until he finds a new club. For this reason, it is believed that Serie A giants Juventus and Roma are interested in making a move for Ndombele.

What should Spurs do with Ndombele?

As the midfielder's value severely drops further and further since his move from Lyon to Tottenham in 2019, we believe it is perhaps fitting for both parties to amicably part ways.

Ndombele shown glimpses of his talent during his time at Tottenham, specifically under Jose Mourinho, with the Portuguese once praising him for a turnaround in form.

However, those skills have been on display far too inconsistently, and it perhaps speaks volumes that Napoli are not interested in signing him for £26m.

Former Spurs defender Alan Hutton perhaps summed it up best in early 2022, criticising the midfielder for his attitude and branding him 'lazy' following a performance against Morecambe in the FA Cup (Football Insider).

Hutton also explained the frustration with Ndombele, stating that there is an 'exceptional player' in there but an apparent attitude problem may be holding him back (Football Insider).

يستعد الكرواتي إيفان راكيتيتش للرحيل عن صفوف فريقه إشبيلية الإسباني، والاتجاه إلى الدوري السعودي.

وأفاد الصحفي فابريزو رومانو، عبر حسابه على منصة “إكس”، أن راكيتيتش أخبر ناديه إشبيلية وزملائه في الفريق أنه على وشك الرحيل.

ووافق راكيتيتش على الانضمام لصفوف فريق الشباب السعودي، وسيخضع للفحص الطبي خلال هذا الأسبوع.

وأوضح رومانو أنه من المتوقع سفر راكيتيتش إلى السعودية يوم الإثنين المقبل، لحسم مسألة انضمامه للفريق.

اقرأ أيضًا | الشباب السعودي يتمسك بضم لاعب نيوكاسل يونايتد

وعاد راكيتيتش إلى صفوف إشبيلية في عام 2020 بعد مغادرته صفوف فريقه السابق برشلونة الإسباني.

ويرتبط راكيتيتش بعقد مع إشبيلية ينتهي بنهاية الموسم الجاري، وقد قرر الكرواتي الرحيل للدوري السعودي.

Chelsea are on the verge of a new chapter with the likely appointment of Mauricio Pochettino, who has a huge crop of young talent already at the club to try and mould into a consistent, winning machine.

One of his principal concerns will be the Blues’ lacklustre form in front of goal as they have only netted 34 times in 34 top-flight games, which is the 16th-lowest in the league – a dismal reflection upon their potency and lack of chance-creation.

Back in the day, one former player who possessed these two attributes in glorious abundance was Juan Mata, who in his two-and-a-half seasons at Stamford Bridge, was simply unplayable.

How did Juan Mata perform at Chelsea?

The Spaniard joined the west London outfit in the summer of 2011 for a fee of £23.5m from Valencia.

"His curriculum speaks for itself. He's a player who scores and assists and he can add to any squad in the world," claimed the manager at the time, Andre Villas-Boas.

The playmaker announced himself to fans in a magnificent manner as he scored the final goal in a 3-1 win over Norwich City on his debut.

Mata’s first season with Chelsea was during the tumultuous reign of the Portuguese boss, who was eventually sacked after a poor run of results and replaced by Roberto Di Matteo.

The Spanish maestro prevailed as one of the club’s most influential and productive assets in the crucial part of the season. He set up Ramires for the first goal of the 2012 FA Cup final victory over Liverpool and was also awarded Man of the Match.

Even more imperatively, the 41-cap international then provided the assist for Didier Drogba’s emphatic equaliser against Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, which the Blues eventually triumphed on penalties.

During his second year in England, the attacking midfielder formed a formidable triumvirate with Oscar and Eden Hazard. The star notched 11 goals and 17 assists in the Premier League in a scintillating stretch of form.

In these two campaigns, he was named Chelsea’s Player of the Year, just to further underline his quality.

Mata departed Chelsea with 90 goal contributions in 135 appearances in all competitions – a ridiculous record for a player with a ruthless end product.

The former Valencia whiz then spent eight years at Manchester United and teammate Victor Lindelof eulogised over his talent and said:

“As a player, the quality he has is amazing. His vision, his touch, and his ability to see everything on the pitch is fantastic.

“In training, you see the things he can do with the ball – it’s unbelievable. He’s a top, top player, and he has shown that for many years.”

Kai Havertz has often been deployed in similar areas at the moment, but he is a shadow of his midfield counterpart’s influence.

For example, the versatile German attacker has long struggled for form since his move to Stamford Bridge, particularly this season where he has scored seven goals and laid on the solitary assist, via Transfermarkt.

When reminiscing over Mata’s brief but trophy-laden Chelsea stint, it is a wonderful reminder of his consistency and magisterial elegance, which no current player at Stamford Bridge has been able to remotely emulate under Graham Potter or Frank Lampard.

Oh how the interim head coach could do with a player of his quality today.

ScorecardNotts will hope to see these sort of celebrations from Imran Tahir [file picture]•AFP

For the second season in a row, Nottinghamshire are meandering through midsummer at the uncomfortable end of the Division One table, looking like a team in need of inspiration. Last year, after being bottom at the halfway stage, they seemed to be find it in Peter Moores, the former England coach, whose addition to the staff at Trent Bridge coincided with a revival that saw them finish third.This year, evidently, they need something to spark them again, having won their opening match of the Championship programme against Surrey in April but not one since in an eight-match winless run that began, as it happens, with an eight-wicket defeat by Lancashire at Old Trafford.Perhaps this time the uplifting factor will be Imran Tahir. Back at Trent Bridge for a second spell after his first, last year, was curtailed early by injury, the South Africa leg-spinner began by conceding 13 runs in his first over, six of them before he had bowled a legitimate delivery, but thereafter produced evidence that the skills that have sustained him through an extraordinary career might be just what Nottinghamshire need, even in a summer as damp and miserable as this one.Although Lancashire, the Division One leaders, took a chance with the toss and decided to bat first, it was on a surface that had some grass left on and looked dark in colour after more heavy downpours on Saturday, one that surely had Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney licking their lips.Yet it was Tahir who proved Lancashire’s most troublesome opponent, offering few cheap runs, even when he was attacking, and having enough guile to snare two of his three wickets with his googly.At the heart of his contribution was an engrossing battle with the Lancashire opener, the left-handed Tom Smith, who was 40 from 95 balls as his side reached lunch at 109 for 1 but was thereafter so comprehensively pinned down by Tahir that of the next 46 deliveries he faced from the legspinner he managed to score off just six before he was lured down the pitch and stumped after the ball kicked past the outside edge.It had been the googly, too, that earlier bowled Luke Procter for 48. In between, Steven Croft was possibly unlucky to be given out leg before after taking a long stride forwards but Tahir’s 3 for 78 from 27 overs did not flatter him in any way.After his 7 for 45 against West Indies in Basseterre, in the process of which he became the fourth fastest bowler to reach 100 wickets in one-day internationals, he has arrived with form and confidence high. Nottinghamshire, who have managed thus far to stay out of the relegation places but have played more of their matches than those around them, will have their fingers crossed that it continues.Tahir was one of three changes in the Nottinghamshire bowling compared with the rain-affected draw with Warwickshire last week. He replaced the young off-spinner Matt Carter, with Gurney and Broad coming in for Luke Fletcher and Jake Ball, who is being rested after bearing a heavy workload in recent weeks.Ball, Nottinghamshire’s leading wicket-taker, is strongly tipped to make his Test debut against Pakistan at Lord’s next week and Mick Newell, wearing both his Nottinghamshire and England hats, wants him to be in peak condition should his chance come.Broad bowled a fine spell with the new ball without reward and was then rather fortunate after lunch to see Alviro Petersen given out to a legside strangle when he barely appealed. In the last of his four consistently-disciplined spells he held a brilliant return catch from a full-blooded hit to dismiss Jordan Clark before Liam Livingstone took a mighty swing at him towards midwicket and was caught at backward point off a steepling top edge.There was a scare late on when Neil Wagner ducked into a ball from Harry Gurney and took a blow on the back of the head. Happily, amid obvious concern among the Nottinghamshire players, who summoned help immediately, the New Zealand bowler was able to get to his feet and walk off.As it happened, he was also out, which seemed somewhat unfair, the ball dropping behind him as he dropped to his haunches and rolling on to the stumps with enough force to dislodge a bail and provide the in-form Gurney with a second wicket he deserved, if not by a route he would have chosen.

Fans online have reacted after Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan scored a stunning goal-of-the-season contender against Everton.

How did Ilkay Gundogan score against Everton?

After going toe-to-toe in their 1-1 Champions League draw against Real Madrid in the week, Pep Guardiola made four changes to his team to take on the Toffees.

Indeed, Aymeric Laporte replaced John Stones in defence, while Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez come in for Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva further up the pitch – talk about depth, huh…

Despite the ‘weakened’ team, City were looking to extend their lead over Arsenal at the top of the Premier League title and the opposition fought hard to make things awkward in the early stages of the game at Goodison Park.

However, all that good work was completely undone by a moment of pure brilliance from Gundogan – who incidentally was making his 300th appearance for the club – in the 37th minute of the game.

Indeed, as you can see in the Sky Sports footage below, the midfielder arrives in the box to get on the end of a Mahrez cross. However, the ball is slightly behind him, so he has to quickly readjust.

With that being the case, as if operating in slow-motion, the £140k-per-week German takes the ball on his thigh and then pivots mid-air to flick the ball into the back of the net without even being able to see the goal behind him.

It was a Dennis Bergkamp-esque type finish that would have had Arsenal fans hoping for a City defeat groaning in frustration.

Fans on Twitter didn’t take long to flock to the footage though and these are some of the best reactions…

His value to this team can’t be underrated as he added an assist to his name just minutes later as he set up Erling Haaland to make it 2-0 and then later made it three with his second of the clash.

Shrikant Kalyani, the former Maharashtra and Bengal batsman, has been named coach of the Maharashtra senior team for the 2016-17 Indian domestic season

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2016Shrikant Kalyani, the former Maharashtra and Bengal batsman, has been named coach of the Maharashtra senior team for the 2016-17 Indian domestic season. Kalyani succeeds Australian David Andrews, who coached the side in the last two seasons.”It’s a great feeling to be appointed as Maharashtra coach. I came to know that it is [a decision] taken by the managing committee [of the Maharashtra Cricket Association],” Kalyani told ESPNcricinfo. “After playing more than 18 years of first-class cricket, I’d really like to share my experience with the boys and nurture their talent.”Maharashtra had an underwhelming season in 2015-16, finishing third from last in Group A. Kalyani said he kept track of Maharashtra’s recent performances, and that he would address the team’s issues. “My main purpose will be to enhance the talent of the boys overall,” he said. “I have to work on their fitness, technique, their strengths, all these things are there.”Maharashtra have had a number of coaches in recent times like Shaun Williams, Dermot Reeve, Surendra Bhave and Andrews, but Kalyani said he wasn’t worried about getting – or not getting – a long stint. “I suppose it [the contract] is for one year,” he said. “I am not concerned with the long-run coaching contract. I am concerned with enhancing the performance of the boys.”Ajay Shirke, the president of the Maharashtra Cricket Association, announced the state’s selection committee for the Ranji Trophy will include Kalyani. Also on the selection committee are the assistant coach Akshay Tandale, Riyaz Bagwan (chairman), Kaisar Fakih and Rahul Dhole Patil.

Chelsea fell to their sixth successive defeat under Frank Lampard on Tuesday night, losing 3-1 against Arsenal in a London derby at the Emirates.

It was another demoralising performance from the Blues, as they found themselves 3-0 down in the first half after some woeful defending, with Gabriel Jesus adding to Martin Odegaard’s brace.

The Gunners could have scored more but in the end, the game would finish 3-1, thanks to a first Chelsea goal from Noni Madueke, and the young winger deserves credit for his performance despite the defeat.

How did Madueke perform against Arsenal?

The 21-year-old, who joined from PSV Eindhoven in the January transfer window, was making just his third Premier League start for the Blues on Tuesday but certainly took his opportunity on the right-hand side.

As per Sofascore, the tricky winger earned an impressive 7.3/10 rating for his performance at the Emirates, which ranked him as the second-best Chelsea player on the night behind only Thiago Silva (7.7).

It wasn’t just his well-taken goal, which saw him collect a pass from Mateo Kovacic after a run in behind Oleksandr Zinchenko and finish past Aaron Ramsdale, which saw him rated so highly however.

The England U21 international also completed four out of five dribbles and completed 17 passes, which is an improvement on his average of 2.3 dribbles and 16.3 passes per game in the Premier League so far this term.

Although he did lose possession on 13 occasions, he was always looking to be positive in the attack and caused problems for Zinchenko throughout, which is more than can be said for the anonymous Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Raheem Sterling, who were both subbed early.

Lampard has a plethora of wingers available to him at Stamford Bridge and has rarely called upon Madueke, but the £50k-per-week star is now the best-rated wide man in Chelsea’s squad, earning a solid 6.72 average rating from WhoScored across his seven appearances in the top flight.

Unlike others on Tuesday night, the former PSV man also worked hard in defence, contributing an impressive three interceptions and one tackle, again an improvement on his average of 0.6 interceptions and 0.7 tackles per game so far this season.

He certainly caught the eye of content creator and performance analyst Jack Fawcett, who wrote:

“I found the criticism of Madueke a bit baffling at half time. I thought he was probably the brightest spark in the first half for Chelsea. Had very little help from Azpilicueta when in possession. He’s been the silver lining tonight.”

With Mauricio Pochettino looking likely to be the man to take over permanently at Stamford Bridge in the summer, he will surely be keeping a close eye on the Blues’ best and worst performers in the final few games.

Madueke has looked like one of the very few positive outlets since Lampard arrived back in London but has found life difficult due to the extreme circumstances the club finds itself in.

However, with the right management and indeed a better environment to develop, he could easily live up to his huge potential and become a star under the Argentine manager.