Tag Futebol

Tottenham Hotspur are seeking to sign another fresh face after already completing deals for both Timo Werner and Radu Dragusin, with journalist Nizaar Kinsella sharing more news on an "exciting" potential addition.

Spurs tipped to be busy on deadline day

Before the January window even opened, manager Ange Postecoglou publicly expressed the importance of getting players through the door in quick fashion.

All confirmed Premier League done deals: January transfer window 2024

With the January transfer window coming towards its conclusion, FFC has all the info for tracking your club’s winter transfer activity.

ByLuke Randall Feb 1, 2024

The club granted his wish by getting Dragusin and Werner, with the former bolstering Postecoglou's defensive ranks and providing a solid alternative option to the likes of Micky van de Ven and Cristian Romero. The latter, meanwhile, has bagged two assists in two Premier League games since joining from RB Leipzig on loan.

Timo Werner

Arrival

Radu Dragusin

Arrival

Djed Spence

Departure

Eric Dier

Departure

Japhet Tanganga

Departure

Sergio Reguilon

Departure

Ivan Perisic

Departure

Ashley Phillips

Departure

Despite already bolstering their squad sufficiently, with Spurs among the division's biggest spenders this month, selling Harry Kane last summer for pure profit means they have more wiggle room financially where other clubs do not (Luke Edwards).

This has resulted in suggestions Tottenham could make a third January signing after Dragusin and Werner. Indeed, there are still reports surrounding Chelsea star Conor Gallagher as one target, with reliable transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano refusing to rule out a late deadline day bid.

Elsewhere, Swedish sensation Lucas Bergvall is central to a tug-of-war between both the north Londoners and Barcelona. Spurs have been continuing their policy of signing some of Europe's rising stars on buy-to-loan-back deals, in a similar fashion to how they first brought first teamers Destiny Udogie and Pape Matar Sarr to the club.

Postecoglou's side are apparently attempting to hijack Barca'a deal for the 17-year-old, who is emerging as one of Scandinavia's most exceptional talents.

Both Spurs and the La Liga giants have apparently made proposals to sign the Djurgårdens IF.winger, and he is said to be deciding whether to make a move to England or the Nou Camp.

Decision pending as Bergvall eyes Tottenham and Barcelona moves

According to Nizaar Kinsella of The Evening Standard, who shared an update on the matter today, Bergvall's decision between Barcelona and Tottenham is "pending" in what he calls an "exciting" potential move for the club.

The teenage sensation was meant to be making his call last night (Kinsella), but it appears the pull of N17 is giving him something to seriously think about.

Bergvall has been lavished with praise for his potential by members of the media like journalist Antonio Mango, who perhaps explained in December exactly why he's being highly coveted by Tottenham.

Gareth Southgate insists England are not reliant on Jude Bellingham as he warned against putting too much expectation on the 20-year-old's shoulders.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

Bellingham won La Liga and the Champions League this season

England lost to Iceland without the 20-year-old on Friday

Southgate's side face Serbia next SundayWHAT HAPPENED?

After England suffered a disappointing 1-0 defeat to Iceland in their final Euro 2024 warm-up match, Southgate has insisted that while Bellingham will lift the team, it is not his responsibility to solely carry the nation's hopes. The 20-year-old did not feature at Wembley on Friday as he continued to recover from Real Madrid's Champions League final win at the same venue six days earlier.

AdvertisementGetty ImagesWHAT SOUTHGATE SAID

Following the reverse to Iceland, Southgate said: "We are not putting everything on Jude. We've got a lot of good players and it is a collective thing to go and try to win this tournament. If we are relying on one person that isn't going to be a team that wins. Jude is, of course, a player with a fabulous mentality – and he will have a big impact on the whole group.

"I'm sure Jude will give the squad a lift but it is not his responsibility to do that. It is for all of us to get the focus right, to make sure individually our mentality is right – and as a coaching team we will make sure we are working on the areas that need to be better than they were against Iceland."

THE BIGGER PICTURE

After a season that saw him score 23 goals and take home La Liga and Champions League winners' medals, plus the La Liga Player of the Season award, it's only natural that fans are pinning their hopes on the 20-year-old this summer.

The former Birmingham City starlet has been a regular in the England first-team for more than two years and will view this summer's Euro 2024 tournament in Germany as an opportunity to announce his arrival on the international stage.

ENJOYED THIS STORY?

Add GOAL.com as a preferred source on Google to see more of our reporting

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR ENGLAND AND BELLINGHAM?

Southgate and England will undergo their final Euro 2024 preparations this week ahead of next Sunday night's Group C opener against Serbia. Bellingham will now link up with the Three Lions squad as they look to put a disappointing run of just one win from their last five games behind them.

Following a four-game winning run, Everton are now on a four-match losing streak and are dangerously sitting just one point above the relegation zone, having initially done so well to climb out of the bottom three in the Premier League after receiving a ten-point deduction for breaching FFP regulations back in November.

However, the biggest worry for Sean Dyche will be his side's lack of potency up top. Only five teams have scored fewer goals than the Toffees this season and the manager is reportedly keen to rectify this issue during the winter transfer window.

Everton transfer news – Iliman Ndiaye

According to a report from Ignazio Genuardi last week, Everton are keen to sign Marseille attacker Iliman Ndiaye before the January window slams shut and will battle it out with Crystal Palace and his former club Sheffield United for the forward's signature.

Furthermore, the journalist is claiming that the French outfit are not willing to send the Senegalese attacker out on loan, meaning only a permanent deal could be on the table, with the player currently valued at £26m, as per CIES Football Observatory.

Having helped the Blades to promotion back to the Premier League last season, earning the club's Player of the Year award, Ndiaye moved to France for £20m during the summer transfer window. However, his time at the Stade Velodrome hasn't gone as well as he'd have hoped, having scored just one goal and recording three assists in 23 appearances in all competitions for the French giants.

Nevertheless, now a return to England could be on the cards and Everton should do everything in their power to push to the front of the queue.

Iliman Ndiaye stats comparison vs Beto

Perhaps the biggest indictment on Everton's season so far has been that midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure is the club's top goalscorer this term, having scored six goals in 20 appearances. One could even argue that the Malian has been the Toffees' best player this season. Doucoure has missed all of Everton's previous four outings and the side have managed to score merely three goals, losing each one in the process.

Meanwhile, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is second in the team's goalscoring charts with four goals, while £26m summer signing Beto lags behind by one. The latter has arguably been the biggest disappointment this season. Calvert-Lewin has spent large parts of Dyche's reign sidelined with recurring injuries and the Portuguese striker was brought in to lead the line in his absence. However, three goals in 19 appearances paint a different picture.

The 25-year-old seems to have all the characteristics of a perfect Dyche centre-forward, notably his 6 foot 4 frame, but it hasn't quite clicked at Goodison Park for him. On the other hand, Ndiaye is just under 6 foot, yet looks like a much better fit for Everton given his ability to not only score goals but to link the play up front as well.

In Ndiaye's final season in English football, his stats are levels above Beto's from the current campaign – albeit while having been operating in the second tier.

Per 90 Metrics	Iliman Ndiaye – 2022/23	Beto – 2023/24
Goals	0.34	0.15
Expected Goals	0.31	0.4
Assists	0.27	0
Expected Assists	0.09	0.02
Shots	1.7	3.52
Shots On Target	0.73	0.61
Shots Per Goal	0.2	0.04
Key Passes	1.24	1.85
Progressive Passes	2.36	1.54
Progressive Carries	2.26	1.08
Passes To Penalty Area	0.83	0.31
Stats via FBref

Ndiaye was integral to Sheffield United achieving promotion in the 2022/23 campaign and even earned praise from his teammate Chris Basham, who expressed that the Senegal international "can do anything" on a football pitch.

Now, the 23-year-old could be Dyche's saviour if Everton can get a deal done by the end of the transfer window.

The striker role at Manchester United has been a hot topic of conversation this season, and that is only set to increase during the transfer window.

The reason for that is the fact that Erik ten Hag’s side have scored just 1.14 goals per game this season in the Premier League.

With that in mind, the Red Devils will look to sign a new striker this month to provide competition for those in attack.

Man United want a new goal-scorer

According to journalist Sky Sports Germany reporter Florian Plettenberg, Man Utd are seriously interested in signing Joshua Zirkzee.

He states that initial talks have already taken place, but the Red Devils will face fierce competition from other clubs, notably German giants Bayern Munich.

However, Plettenberg further mentioned that a move is being lined up for the summer rather than in January.

How Zirkzee compares to Ruud van Nistelrooy

In the summer of 2001, Ruud van Nistelrooy joined United from PSV for a huge fee back then of £19m.

The striker went on to become a Red Devils icon during his five-year spell at the club, where he won the Premier League and the FA Cup. Over 219 appearances, the forward scored an incredible 150 goals, and his influence on the United side was immense.

The former Real Madrid star hit the ground running at Old Trafford, winning the club's Player of the Year award in his first season, and Ten Hag will be hoping that another Dutch striker, the earlier-mentioned Zirkzee, could follow a similar path to success and become their next Van Nistelrooy.

The 22-year-old has been unstoppable for Bologna in the Serie A this season, acting as the focal point for the Italian club. Zirkzee is their top scorer in the league, netting seven times while also registering two assists in 19 league matches.

He has also taken on the captain’s armband in the absence of Lewis Ferguson, highlighting that talismanic Van Nistelrooy-esque nature,

Goals

0.40

Top 40%

xG

0.29

Bottom 65%

Touches

42.59

Top 17%

Passes completed

20.96

Top 22%

Key passes

1.42

Top 24%

Successful take-ons

1.42

Top 19%

Zirkzee has developed into a true number nine this season who can score more goals than expected per game, having been forced to play as a lone striker in a 4-2-3-1. According to football writer Ben Mattinson, the Dutch forward is extremely "intelligent," which allows him to identify space in the box to get a strike at goal. His understanding of the game also allows him to drop deep and get involved in the play, as shown by his high touches and passing stats.

Just like Van Nistelrooy, who stands at 6 foot 2, Zirkzee is a striker who can move with elegance and speed despite being 6 foot 4 himself. His successful take-ons statistics support that, but he also has the ability to perform in any game state, which would benefit United massively.

49

36

8

52

44

8

44

30

4

27

16

6

47

24

4

219

150

30

Notably described as having the "fundamentals to compete with the very best strikers" in the world by the aforementioned Mattinson, the signing of Zirkzee would improve United’s attack massively, just like Van Nistelrooy did around 20 years ago. It is a move that the Dutch boss must look to complete either in January, if possible, or in the summer.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement will hope to bring in new faces during the January transfer window, and a promising update has emerged regarding their business.

Rangers transfer news

Everything seems to be going in a positive direction under Clement at the moment, with the Belgian steadying the ship after the ultimately doomed reign of Michael Beale. In fact, Rangers are now in a position where they will go top of the Scottish Premiership if they win their two games in hand, with Celtic's 2-0 defeat at home to Hearts on Saturday afternoon acting as a huge boost.

While the Gers' title chances are improving all the time, having been a lot further behind their rivals earlier in the season, it does feel as though a few new faces may help give Clement's squad some much-needed extra depth and quality.

Everton centre-back Ben Godfrey has been linked with a move to Rangers, and could be an exciting addition, while Blues defender Mason Holgate is another target, with the Englishman currently out on loan at Southampton. These are the calibre of players that could be moving to Ibrox in January, although it has seemed up in the air as to how much money will be available to spend.

Key Rangers transfer update

According to an exciting update from Football Insider journalist Pete O'Rourke, however, Rangers' board have decided to provide Clement with funds to make new signings next month, in what is a boost for the boss.

"The Rangers board will look to back manager Philippe Clement in the January transfer window, sources have told Football Insider.

"Rangers are keen to add reinforcements in the January window with Clement keen to bolster his squad and bring more balance to his side. "

The report also adds that "signing a striker is the priority" after the injury suffered by Danilo, although no specific players are mentioned as potential incomings. This is an encouraging update for Rangers supporters, who should be increasingly feeling as though something special could be brewing this season, given Celtic's back-to-back defeats and the form that Clement's side have found themselves in.

The Gers may not be perfect, but if they can add a few players in key positions, it could just give them that extra edge needed to in the title race, not to mention also going as far as possible in the Europa League, following Thursday's 3-2 win over Real Betis.

Clement could ease Danilo blow with Rangers move for SPFL machine

Rangers could turn to the January transfer window in order to find a Danilo replacement

ByRoss Kilvington Dec 15, 2023

Another central defender in the mould of Godfrey or Holgate could be perfect, making Rangers even more solid at the back – they have only conceded eight goals in 16 league games so far this season – while a striker definitely feels like a must, in terms of providing the firepower that is now lacking without Danilo around for a number of months.

Hearts' Lawrence Shankland has been linked with a switch to Ibrox, having scored eight times in the league this season, including at Celtic on Saturday, and he could be just what Clement is looking for.

MatériaMais Notícias

Para a disputa do Mundial de Clubes, no Catar, apenas a Crefisa, que é o patrocinador master, estará estampada na camisa do Palmeiras.

RelacionadasPalmeirasLiberado após punição por doping, Papagaio celebra retorno ao Palmeiras: ‘Ansioso demais’Palmeiras04/02/2021PalmeirasPalmeiras atingirá número máximo de jogos possíveis na atual temporadaPalmeiras03/02/2021PalmeirasPalmeiras chega ao Qatar para a disputa do Mundial de Clubes; assistaPalmeiras03/02/2021

Isso porque, de acordo com determinações da Fifa, entidade que organiza o evento, os clubes devem seguir uma cartilha específica quanto ao uso de marcas nos uniformes.
>> Concentração de luxo: Veja imagens do hotel do Palmeiras no Qatar
>> Confira classificação atualizada do Brasileirão e faça sua simulação

Além disso, para a disputa em Doha, o nome do patrocinador principal deve ser menor, uma vez que não pode haver conflito comercial com os financiadores da competição.

continua após a publicidade

Também por ordem da Fifa, as camisas do Palmeiras vão receber um “patch” em cada um dos ombros. Vale destacar, ainda, que os nomes dos jogadores serão inseridos acima dos números.

Por último, mas não menos importante, os uniformes de treino também passarão por alterações. Por determinação, essas camisas não poderão carregar qualquer patrocínio.

Nesta quinta-feira (04), às 11 horas (de Brasília), Ulsan, da Coreia do Sul, e Tigres, do México, entram em campo para definir o adversário do Palmeiras na semifinal do Mundial, que está prevista para domingo.

Aaron Finch also pitched in with a half-century, helping Australia progress to 6 for 277 at stumps on day one

The Report by Deivarayan Muthu14-Dec-20181:44

Laxman: Bumrah is leading the pace attack in a short span of time

Contrasting half-centuries from local boy Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch and Travis Head helped Australia overcome a mini-collapse of 4 for 36 and made India feel the heat – both literally and figuratively – on a 39-degree day at the new Perth Stadium. Despite the late dismissals of Shaun Marsh (45) and Head (58) on a pitch where one ball exploded and the next rolled at shin height, Australia progressed to 6 for 277 at stumps on day one.After India went into a Test without a frontline spinner for only the third time in their history, Harris and Finch, perhaps, made them rue the decision by putting on a 112-run opening stand. Although part-time offspinner Hanuma Vihari plucked out Harris and Marsh, India’s attack lacked the control a fit R Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja could have provided. Their absence also ramped up the workload on Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, who had just sealed the Adelaide Test for India on Tuesday. Ishant even left the field in the post-tea session because of an abdominal strain before returning and stretching his body at the edge of the boundary.The scorecard will tell you Ishant conceded only 35 runs in 16 overs, but he had struggled for rhythm with the new ball. His lengths weren’t full enough and his lines didn’t quite threaten the stumps either. That umpire Kumar Dharmasena pulled him up for a front-foot no-ball, when he had a fair margin of his foot behind the crease, perhaps, rattled him.Finch, meanwhile, was rattled by a bevy of inswingers, including Shami’s first ball, which drew an lbw appeal. Despite Finch getting pinged above the knee-roll, India chanced a review and lost it, with ball-tracking confirming that it would have bounced over the stumps.Harris, though, at the other end was simply unflappable. He needed 16 balls to get off the mark, but once he bed in with a variety of strokes, he looked the part. He got cracking with a triptych of drives: back-to-back hits down the ground off Ishant and then one through the covers off Umesh Yadav. He was just as unflustered when Shami sent down a shooter that crept under his defensive bat and bounced twice before Rishabh Pant collected it in the 28th over. The next ball was scythed through cover-point and Harris continued to be severe on anything that was remotely full and wide outside off.1:53

Kartik: Finch needed this innings to resurrect his Test career

He raised his maiden Test fifty with a neat clip through midwicket and elicited warm applause from his coach Justin Langer, who has a stand named after him at this venue, and his father Kim Harris, who was in the grandstand. He could have been dismissed on 60 had KL Rahul latched onto a difficult catch at second slip off Shami.Finch scored a less fluent fifty before Bumrah pinned him with a perfectly pitched inswinger. Bumrah then got on a roll with the old ball and had bouncers snarling at Khawaja’s throat from around the wicket. Khawaja wore blows on his body, stabbed and fended his way to 1 off 25 balls against Bumrah. Something had to give, and that something was Khawaja throwing his hands at a short, wide ball from Umesh and nicking off for an utterly painstaking 5 off 38 balls. Three overs later, this place flew like the curator had promised. A back-of-a-length offbreak from Vihari took off like a NASA rocket and had Harris fending a catch behind to Pant for 70 off 141 balls.Three for 134 then became 4 for 148 when Peter Handscomb slashed Ishant to second slip, where Virat Kohli who had replaced Rahul pulled off a blinding one-handed catch.India’s seamers tested Head and Marsh with extra bounce after the pitch seemed to have quickened up in the final session. They somehow weathered the burst and settled down, adding 84 for the fifth wicket. However, three overs before the second new ball was due, Marsh chased a wide offbreak from Vihari and sent a thick outside edge flying to Ajinkya Rahane for a chest-high grab at first slip.Head pressed on to follow his first-innings 72 in Adelaide with an equally vital fifty here. However, he threw his wicket away when he went after a wide ball from Ishant and carved it to third man in the 83rd over. Tim Paine and Pat Cummins ushered Australia to stumps without any further damage and left India with a teasing thought: what might have been on a pitch where the ball is turning sharply for even a part-time spinner.

Leicester City just keep winning. Another comfortable victory against Plymouth Argyle this weekend meant that the Foxes have now picked up back-to-back wins in the Championship.

Breaking Reading's record of accumulating 106 points in England's second tier looks like a real possibility, which has been helped by the fact that Leicester maintained several players after the club were relegated from the top flight.

Former Sunderland boss Tony Mowbray admitted that "they are Premier League" after the Black Cats were devoured by the Foxes earlier in the campaign.

Nevertheless, head coach Enzo Maresca is still looking to add even more Premier League quality to his squad ahead of the second half of the campaign and could be set to bolster his defensive department.

Leicester transfer news – Joe Worrall

In the aftermath of four consecutive defeats in the league, leaving the side just five points from the relegation zone, The Daily Mail reported that Nottingham Forest's club captain Joe Worrall has been asked to train away from the first-team group, alongside centre-back counterpart Scott McKenna. Furthermore, the outlet claimed that there were no behavioural issues, yet the duo have been put up for sale this coming January.

Another article published by The Daily Mail after the initial report has now claimed that Leicester City are monitoring Worrall ahead of the winter window, with Maresca looking to add depth and quality to his backline. Michael Carrick's Middlesbrough are also in the running for the 26-year-old centre-half.

Worrall has been with Nottingham Forest for quite some time and has been an integral part of the team in recent seasons, helping to guide the club to promotion back in 2022 under Steve Cooper in the playoff final. The manager even called his central defender "incredible" earlier this season.

Since returning from a loan spell at Rangers in 2019, Worrall has proven to be an important player for the Tricky Trees.

2019/20

48

4,313

2020/21

33

2,970

2021/22

46

4,170

2022/23

34

2,576

2023/24

6

439

However, there has been a massive dip in his involvement in the side this term, leaving the door open for a Leicester City swoop.

Joe Worrall's stats this season

Worrall could move to the King Power Stadium for relatively cheap. The CIES Football Observatory have placed the defender's market value at £4m, although Worrall still has a little under three years remaining on his contract, having signed a new deal back in September, so perhaps Leicester may need to cough up a little more than that.

The former Premier League champions currently have the best defence in the Championship, having conceded a mere 12 goals from 19 matches. Wout Faes and Jannik Vestergaard have been Maresca's preferred duo at the back and the pair have been very solid this season.

However, backup centre-back Harry Souttar has struggled for minutes this season and has played just 81 minutes of league action in total.

Speaking after his side's win at home to Plymouth on Saturday, Maresca explained that the Australian is being left out of the team due to the excellent form of Faes and Vestergaard. Having signed for £15m from Stoke City back in January, Souttar could leave the club in the near future, having already been up for sale during the summer.

Worrall could be the perfect replacement for the 25-year-old who, based on his last season in the Championship, outperformed both Souttar and Faes' stats this term.

Goals

0.02

0

0.05

Expected Goals

0.04

0

0.03

Progressive Passes

4.56

7.78

5.7

Progressive Passes Received

0.38

0

0.18

Switches Of Play

1.21

0

1.21

Tackles

1.9

1.11

1.39

Tackles Won

1.12

0.58

0.86

Interceptions

1.86

0

1.35

Clearances

3.26

1.11

3.39

Blocks

1.41

0

1.39

Aerial Duels Won

2.38

2.22

1.15

Worrall would certainly get into the squad over Souttar and could allow the latter to finally leave for pastures new, but there is a good chance that the Englishman takes Faes' place in the team as well by the end of the campaign should he move to the King Power Stadium.

Aston Villa are closely monitoring a vastly decorated player ahead of January, though a fresh report has revealed that there are other clubs who are also looking to bring him to the Premier League.

Aston Villa transfer news

Football Insider have reported that NSWE, Monchi and Unai Emery are open to offers for Leander Dendoncker at the start of next year, and are looking to replace him with an upgrade in the centre of the park. Leicester City’s Wilfred Ndidi has emerged as a potential replacement with his deal being set to expire at the end of the season (Leicester contracts), but should the manager fail to secure his services, he’s set his sights on an alternative option overseas.

Juventus’ central midfielder Adrien Rabiot first put pen to paper at the Allianz Stadium from Paris Saint-Germain back in 2019, and he’s since gone on to make a total of 227 appearances for Massimiliano Allegri’s side to date (Transfermarkt – Rabiot statistics).

The France international has emerged as his team’s overall best-performing player so far this season with a match rating of 7.43 (WhoScored – Juventus statistics), and the 28-year-old’s form has caught the eye of Villa chiefs, who are aware that his terms also run out upon the conclusion of the current campaign (Juventus contracts).

Aston Villa keeping tabs on Adrien Rabiot

According to 90min, Aston Villa are casting an eye over Adrien Rabiot, but they are set to face stiff competition from three other admirers.

"Juventus are confident that they will agree a new long-term contract with midfielder Adrien Rabiot, sources have confirmed to 90min. Man Utd still retain an interest in the player, thanks in part to Erik ten Hag being a noted fan of Rabiot's skillset.

"Along with Man Utd, Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Aston Villa and Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich are also keeping tabs on Rabiot's situation at Juventus."

Adrien Rabiot's style of play

A box to box central midfielder, Rabiot is capable of having a positive impact at both ends of the pitch, with the defensive aspect being what he’s shown so far this season having won 15 out of his 27 tackles, which is the highest success rate throughout his squad (FBRef – Juventus statistics).

Standing at 6 foot 2, the left-footed ace also loves to get involved with the action in the final third having posted 74 contributions (43 goals and 31 assists) since the start of his career, with his all-round game having seen him dubbed a “monster” by reliable journalist Robin Bairner.

Aerial duels

Player has no significant weaknesses

Tackling

Concentration

(Data via WhoScored)

Allegri’s £150k-per-week earner (Juventus salaries), certainly knows exactly what it takes to compete and be successful at the highest level having secured 23 pieces of silverware for both club and country since bursting onto the professional scene, so he would be able to upgrade the winning mentality of the current squad at Aston Villa, who are certainly a young group on the up.

Australia A set for three-week tour that serves as a platform to test bench strength and fill in slots for Pakistan series in UAE in October

Shashank Kishore in Vijayawada16-Aug-2018

Travis Head’s fifty steered the Australia chase•Getty Images

If there is one thing the Andhra Cricket Association can’t be accused of, it’s lack of enthusiasm. Even as torrential rain ensured the grounds in Vijayawada for the Quadrangular series was unfit, forcing the organisers to call off the opening-day double-header on Friday, they quickly swung into action to have their indoor facility up and running within minutes to facilitate South Africa A’s training.Australia A, the other overseas side that features in the competition along with two India squads made up of fringe players, arrived on Tuesday, and will be heading directly into the series without a single training session under humid weather, made even more oppressive by the rains. However, the players have spent two weeks at Cricket Australia’s High Performance Center in Brisbane under Graeme Hick, the head coach, and Ryan Harris, the bowling coach, and preparing for turners, you can sense, has been right on top of their to-do charts.Australia have had a tough few months in the aftermath of the Cape Town ball-tampering fiasco. The ODI whitewash in England was followed by a T20I tri-series finals loss to Pakistan in Harare. In October, they are set to play Pakistan in the UAE. It is against this backdrop that their tour to India assumes much significance.Over the next three weeks, along with Hick and Harris, they will also have the inputs from a familiar face in Sridharan Sriram, the former India batsman, who is now a recognised face in the Australia dressing room, having had a number of stints with both the senior and A teams as spin consultant.Travis Head, among their better performers with three half-centuries in England, has been handed leadership of the one-day squad. It 2015, he was named the youngest ever captain for South Australia at 21. Mitchell Marsh, meanwhile, will take over the controls for the two unofficial Tests. Head has spent two IPL seasons in India, a factor he hopes will help him acclimatise faster.While game time wasn’t easy at Royal Challengers Bangalore, the experience of having played on two-paced surfaces in 2017 coupled with the learnings from watching two modern-day stalwarts – Virat Kohli and AB de Villiers – from the outside is what Head hopes to carry forward in his bid to earn a Test call-up, even as his 50-over ambitions aren’t misplaced.India’s head coach Rahul Dravid has often underlined how the A tours aren’t about results. However, that isn’t how Head or Australia are approaching the tour. “We’re here to win, we always want to have success,” Head stated. “It’s more enjoyable winning games of cricket. The more we can win games and contribute the better. Definitely, on the other side, we have to make sure we are learning and getting better. If we continue to do that, we will win games of cricket. We need to find that balance between the two, hopefully we can.”Captaincy aside, at a personal level, Head is aware of the need to adapt quickly. Even as David Warner and Steven Smith grapple with form in T20 Leagues, it’s most likely the two will slot back into the top order once their suspension ends. Add Aaron Finch into the mix and Australia’s top order becomes formidable again. Head too has had success as an opener, but if it comes down to a tussle for spots, it’s more than likely he will have to move down the order, a prospect he’s “totally okay with.””I’ve played a lot of cricket in different roles. Right now, I’m opening and I enjoy it, but anywhere I can get a position in the team, I will be fighting for it,” he said. Having chats with Hick, who he termed a “great influence in the squad” has helped massively. After all, the influence and experience stems from an 25-year career in which the former England batsman played 526 first-class matches, scoring 136 centuries at an average of 52.23.The Zimbabwe-born batsman also made 41,112 first-class runs and 22,059 runs in 50-over cricket.The underlying sense that seems to have been ingrained is: it’s not where you bat, but how you adapt to different roles that matter. “He’s spent a lot of time with the Australian cricket team as well, so he is a great link between what we are trying to do at the top to all the way to state cricket,” Head said. “It’s no different for an A tour, we want to replicate as much as what happens with the national team.”The influence on our batting – he’s had an unbelievable record, he’s played a lot of cricket and we’re trying to tap into that as much as possible. He knows how to get big runs, that’s one thing personally I’m trying to learn: how to develop an innings, get big scores. He’s a fantastic person to talk to and even watch a game with.”While Head prepares to learn from Hick, Alex Carey has been quietly observing his captain and state senior. Named deputy for both formats, Carey, who was an understudy to Tim Paine in England, has been earmarked as an all-formats keeper. Like his team-mates, Carey too has goals of being a better player of spin, having chatted with Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw – all on the current tour and with past experiences of India, but is also keen to pick up leadership quirks.”Heady’s very relaxed, so I think he’ll be really good in this environment,” he said. “He’s obviously captained quite a number of games at first-class and Big Bash level, so he’s really experienced. I’m looking forward to working under Heady. Standing behind the stumps, I get to see what’s going on in the middle so it’s just to be that second voice for him. And just keep developing my game, keep developing, keep watching, keep talking to the senior guys we have got, and build the knowledge.”