All posts by h716a5.icu

It is hard to judge Burnley on the basis of their game against Manchester City.

When faced against the robotic inevitability of Erling Haaland and his all-conquering treble-winning companions, the Clarets unsurprisingly crumbled.

There will be many far more winnable games as Burnley attempt to consolidate its top-flight status. But, they need to keep pushing for arrivals to compensate for the holes left by loanees and create the right amount of squad depth.

Vincent Kompany has been dealt a blow in his feverish pursuit of Dodi Lukebakio, but Burnley remain in the race…

What's the latest Burnley transfer saga?

According to reports in Germany, the Hertha Berlin forward had agreed to a four-year contract with the newly-promoted side, who were to pay £9m for his services.

However, in an untimely development, Sevilla have intervened and are keenly tracking Lukebakio.

Although the Spanish outfit possesses the added incentive to offer Champions League football, it has been suggested they have ‘significant’ financial problems, and have incurred a debt of £77m.

But, in another twist, 777-Partners, Hertha’s investors, are also involved with Sevilla, and it's suspected they could help provide funds to get Lukebakio.

It will be interesting to see how this saga develops, but Burnley still very much remains a possible destination.

How good is Dodi Lukebakio?

The 25-year-old has been at Hertha since 2019 and has established himself as one of the club’s most valuable and high-yielding assets. Across 100 appearances in all competitions, the Belgian has registered 46 goal involvements.

However, this commendable record, including 11 goals and three assists in last season’s Bundesliga, couldn't prevent his side from suffering an unfortunate relegation.

Nevertheless, Lukebakio combined this impressive productivity with a creative attacking threat, averaging the second-most dribbles per game (2.1), and key passes per game (0.9), as per WhoScored.

The 6 foot 2 livewire also ranks admirably across the continent, sitting within the highest 14% in Europe’s top five leagues among his positional peers for successful take-ons per 90.

His former Fortuna Düsseldorf teammate Oliver Fink described the attacker as “incredible”, highlighting his “speed” and “ball skill” as two of his most eye-catching attributes.

Adam Bodsek echoed this sentiment, labelling Lukebakio as “incredibly valuable.”

His directness and output mean he has been likened to Jarrod Bowen, via FBref’s player comparison model.

The two players rank very closely for a number of offensive metrics, including total shots per 90 (2.19 vs 2.20), shot-creating actions per 90 (3.17 vs 3.20), progressive passes per 90 (1.58 vs 2.06), progressive carries per 90 (3.65 vs 2.44), and successful take-ons per 90 (2.44 vs 1.14).

The pair, therefore, are impeccably progressive footballers who provide a high level of creativity from the flanks.

The 26-year-old finished the 2021/22 Premier League season with 12 goals and 12 assists, becoming the first West Ham player to hit double digits for both metrics in a single campaign since Paolo di Canio in 1999/00.

In the most recent season, the former Hull City phenom netted the winner in Europa Conference League Final. In doing so, he became the first Englishman to score the winning goal in a major European final since Arsenal’s Alan Smith in 1994.

If Lukebakio can even partially emulate that impact on Burnley, in the same manner that Bowen has done for West Ham, he would be an inspired addition to Turf Moor.

The fast bowler will be rested from the Titans’ next Ram Slam competition so that he can hit the nets and get overs under his belt

Firdose Moonda23-Nov-2017Dale Steyn will not play in the Titans’ next Ram Slam game after turning out for three in a row last week, both as part of the franchise’s rotation policy and in order for the paceman to up his bowling workload in the nets. Steyn bowled a total of 10 overs and took four wickets for 61 runs in what has been deemed a satisfactory comeback following a year out of the game due to shoulder injury. The next step in his recovery is focused on bowling longer spells so that he can be ready for Test cricket.All of South Africa’s bowlers need to work on something other than T20 skills because an eight-Test summer follows the ongoing Ram Slam tournament. “It’s not only Dale that needs to bowl more, all the bowlers need to up their volumes ahead of the Test matches,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, who is also a medical doctor, told ESPNcricinfo. “We have set plans for all the bowlers in terms of the numbers of balls and overs they need to bowl,”Moosajee said if Steyn’s return continues according to schedule he sees “no reason” why the fast bowler won’t appear in whites again. Steyn will be back for the Titans later in the competition and could also play some provincial cricket. “If he plays enough in the T20 competition and bowls in the nets and maybe even plays a three-day provincial game, then I don’t see why not,” Moosajee said when asked if he thought fans could look forward to seeing Steyn in action for South Africa this summer.Steyn is hopeful of making an international return over Boxing Day in the inaugural four-day, day-night Test against Zimbabwe in Port Elizabeth and also has his sights set on playing against India and Australia later in the summer. The 34-year-old needs just five wickets to beat Shaun Pollock’s tally of 421 and become South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in Test cricket.Morne Morkel, who is on the mend from a side strain, also looks set to play a part in South Africa’s busiest home season since readmission. He is currently bowling at 80% and should be at full capacity in early December.However, Morne’s brother and Titans’ T20 captain, Albie, told reporters in Pretoria that he only expects Morne to be fit for the playoffs of the Ram Slam in mid-December and at that stage, it is unlikely he will get a game. CSA have a policy that any player returning from injury must play some form of domestic cricket before they can be considered for the national team. That means Morne may also look to the provincial structures or even club cricket to prove his fitness.Chris Morris, who has been sidelined with a lower-back injury since the England tour in August, is expected to be considered for Titans’ selection in the next week.

Glasgow Rangers have an excellent chance to secure Champions League football for a second year in succession when they take on PSV Eindhoven later next week.

The 2-2 draw at Ibrox in midweek was a carbon copy of the exact same tie a year ago, with Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men winning the away leg 1-0.

The less said about the group stage campaign itself, the better, but Michael Beale will hopefully learn the lessons from his predecessor.

With group-stage football guaranteed whatever happens against the Dutch side, Beale will perhaps turn his attention to the transfer market one last time in order to bolster his squad.

Will Rangers make another signing?

The Gers have been linked with defender Harry Souttar as of late, and with another centre-back wanted, a potential move could materialise over the coming days.

Midfielder Sam Field has also been linked with a move to the Light Blues from Championship side QPR, so could Beale raid his former side before the window closes?

Read the latest Rangers transfer news HERE…

Field only has a year left on his current contract, meaning the Gers may be able to secure his services for a knockdown fee, and in turn, could repeat Steven Gerrard’s masterclass of signing John Lundstram back in 2021.

Would Sam Field be a good signing for Rangers?

Upon arriving in Glasgow, Lundstram endured a tough start to life at the club, yet as the months went on during the 2021/22 season, he developed into one of their finest performers.

This was evident during the Light Blues' stunning run to the Europa League final, scoring vital goals in the ties against Borussia Dortmund while also netting the winning goal against RB Leipzig in the semi-final, sending Ibrox into raptures.

This led Ally McCoist to laud him as a “cult hero” before the final against Eintracht Frankfurt, showing just how impressive he’d become for the club.

Field, who earns £7.3k per week plays in a similar position to Lundstram and would also join from an English side should he make the move to Glasgow, while exuding similar sort of qualities to that of the former Sheffield United midfielder.

Last season, the 25-year-old made 0.7 key passes per game while also making 2.5 tackles, notching 1.8 interceptions and winning an impressive six total duels per game – a success rate of 63%.

Meanwhile, Lundstram averaged 0.5 key passes per game while showcasing his defensive skills by making 1.4 tackles and 0.9 interceptions per game while also showcasing his physicality by winning 3.9 total duels each match on average.

The stats indicate that Field could yet follow Lundstram in being a positive figure in the heart of the midfield at the Ibrox side, and he was lauded by his former West Bromwich Albion teammate, Ben Foster, who said:

"Sam was brilliant. He is an absolutely fantastic young lad. He has an experienced head on such young shoulders, and to be starting a game in the Premier League at 18 is a great achievement for him.

"He gets hold of the ball and he is very elegant and classy in the way that he plays the game."

It could be an interesting move by Beale to lure him to the Scottish Premiership, and he could certainly repeat Gerrard’s feat of luring Lundstram to the Gers two years ago.

Television footage appeared to show James Anderson digging his fingernail into the ball on a rain-affected fourth day of the fourth Test at Melbourne

Andrew Miller29-Dec-2017Trevor Bayliss, England’s coach, dismissed media allegations of ball-tampering as mere “pommie-bashing” after television footage appeared to show James Anderson digging his fingernail into the ball on a rain-affected fourth day of the fourth Test in Melbourne.The incident was picked up by Australia’s Channel Nine commentary team early in Australia’s second innings, and circulated widely among the local media, including the news arm of Cricket Australia’s official website.”I’m not sure you are allowed to use your fingernail there,” Shane Warne said during the live coverage. His co-commentator, Michael Slater, added: “That’s interesting, you can’t get your nail into the ball. That’s a no-no.” Mike Hussey, another former Australia cricketer working for the outlet, predicted that Anderson might be asked to explain his actions to the match referee, Ranjan Madugalle. However, an ICC spokesman later confirmed that no action would be taken.The England management took issue with the tone of the initial reports, and the use of the word “ball tampering” was removed from some headlines, with Fox Sports later apologising to the team for their interpretation of the story.The fact that Anderson’s fingernail appeared to be working on the shiny side of the ball rather undermined the allegations that he was seeking to adversely alter its condition, as Bayliss pointed out while dismissing the story as a “beat-up” [made-up] when he spoke to the media at the close of play.”As soon as I saw it during the rain break, I went to the umpires to find out what was going on,” Bayliss told BT Sport. “And in their words it was a beat-up. You’re allowed to clean the ball and that’s what we were doing. There was no problem at all, they said.”However, on a tour that has already featured head-butts, beer throwing, matchfixing allegations and a sledging row, a ball-tampering rumpus was the missing incident on the series bingo card.”We’ve had a good couple of days and there was no too much positive press for them, so it was a bit of pommie-bashing I suppose,” said Bayliss. “But we are used to that. We knew when we came out it was going to be 24 million versus 11, and we just have to laugh it off.”An England spokesman confirmed that Anderson had been legitimately pushing down a loose bit of leather, in full view of the umpires, using the back of his fingernail so as to avoid transferring any moisture from his fingertips.An ICC spokesman later added that no report had been issued by the umpires. However, both sides were spoken to about the tactic of scuffing the ball on the wicket ends when throwing it in from the outfield, a tactic that is commonly used by most international teams when attempting to hasten the onset of reverse swing.”It has been both teams,” said Bayliss. “To get the ball to go reverse, one side has to be rough, the other smooth and dry, so all teams around the world try to get it reversing as soon as possible. The umpires don’t want it to be too over the top, so a quiet word to both captains soon stops it.”The incident had echoes of a similar flare-up in Australia’s 2016-17 home season, when South Africa’s Faf du Plessis was caught on camera sucking a sweet and rubbing saliva on the ball. On that occasion he was found guilty by an ICC hearing and fined his match fee.

BBL clubs and players have been reminded of the processes under Cricket Australia’s anti-corruption measures, even as James Sutherland denied allegations of potential spot-fixing in the game in Australia

Daniel Brettig23-Dec-2017Big Bash League clubs and players have been reminded of their responsibilities and processes under Cricket Australia’s anti-corruption measures even as the governing body’s chief executive James Sutherland poured further cold water on allegations of potential spot-fixing relationships in the game in Australia.Following a report in on the first morning of the Perth Test match, the ICC’s anti-corruption chief Alex Marshall briefed Sutherland and ECB chief executive Tom Harrison on the material passed on from the newspaper to the ACU, and Australian players were also briefed on the first evening of the match. Sutherland said he had subsequently spoken several times more to Marshall, while all BBL teams had received the strong message that CA wanted the competition to be “the biggest, best and cleanest sports league in the country, if not the world”.CA has not been advised of whether or not any Australian players will be interviewed as part of the ICC’s investigation. “We’ve taken the opportunity to reiterate a few things with everyone, just to understand various processes, responsibilities and our very clear aspiration is we want the Big Bash League to be the biggest and the best and the cleanest sports league in the country, if not the world,” Sutherland said in Melbourne. “Certainly from our perspective that’s why we have such high standards around anti-corruption, security and we’ll stop at nothing to keep reinforcing our zero tolerance approach.”What we saw was a bit of a scattergun, mud-slinging sort of exercise from people who would appear to be boasting about people they know when they perhaps really don’t know them. From there, that’s not to say anything in there should be underestimated. It’s beholden on ICC in particular and we’ll co-operate as best we can as well – to work out whether there’s anything credible in those allegations. But until you get to any sort of belief or feeling that there’s anything credible in there, you’re not really going anywhere and you don’t get into any sort of serious in-depth investigation.”I don’t know the details of their process and how they’ll go about it – and I don’t think it’s something I need to get particularly involved with. But sort of – all I would say is we’ve given with the trust, to the ICC and the anti-corruption unit. Alex leads that and I’ve got great confidence in him and his team and their ability to work through it as appropriate. I’ve had two or three chats with [Marshall] since then. His initial judgment has only been reaffirmed by any work that he’s done since – I think that’s fair to say.”Concurrent to the BBL is the Women’s Big Bash League, the flagship Twenty20 tournament of the women’s game that has grown exponentially in professionalism and success in the past few years. The recent graduation of women’s cricket in Australia to full professionalism and far better wages helped remove one of the key risk factors for corruption – underpaid players – but Sutherland said that either way he would be surprised to see any players getting involved in spot-fixing at a time when the game was growing so much.”I know there has always been a theory that where there are lower wages, there is greater susceptibility to corruption,” he said. “But I don’t think that’s true with the Women’s Big Bash League. What we know and understand there are serious consequences and we – Cricket Australia and ICC – are absolutely committed to ensuring those consequences play out properly.Getty Images and Cricket Australia”And with what’s happening in women’s cricket right now, why on earth would you want to take the risk? These women are part of something special – the wave of support, enthusiasm and growth in the WBBL is outstanding. You just wouldn’t want to get on the wrong side of that – or put yourself in a position to be banned for two years, five years or whatever it might be.”Sutherland said he had been annoyed by the timing of the allegations, in the hours before the start of what turned out to be the pivotal match of the Ashes series, compelling him to go into the Australian team “bubble” to address the allegations. “It was pretty annoying,” he said. “It seemed to be a major distraction and nothing much more than an attempt to bring down – or discredit – an Ashes Test match. We were about to start the third and a very important Test match of the summer. It was pleasing the ICC were able to do their review as quickly as they did to make some initial judgment and I think everyone responded pretty confidently off the back of that.””[The team] are a bit in the bubble and certainly very focused on that. I think we all know and understand that once they’re in game mode it’s very difficult to get them to vary from that. They’re fine and in fact the way it unfolded, it was almost like the issue had gone by the end of the Test match. And I spoke to them briefly during the Test match and it was always like ‘well we didn’t even know anything about that’ but just in case – I gave them a bit of a briefing on it.”

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola is now closing in on an exciting star to bolster his depth in the wide positions, according to recent reports.

Is Jeremy Doku joining Manchester City?

Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has confirmed that Manchester City have reached a verbal agreement with Rennes regarding a fee for their winger Jeremy Doku, as he stated on X:

"Jeremy Doku to Manchester City, here we go! Verbal agreement in place after new bid revealed here this morning — worth €60m package. Medical tests being scheduled later this week, personal terms agreed on long term deal. Exclusive story revealed August 1, confirmed."

Sky Sports state that Doku is set to travel to Manchester on Tuesday to undergo a medical after a fee in the region of £55.5 million was agreed between both parties for the Belgium international.

The Cityzens have endured a long hunt to find a suitable replacement for veteran winger Riyad Mahrez, who joined Saudi Pro League side Al-Ahli earlier this window. Mateo Kovacic and Josko Gvardiol have already joined the Premier League champions this window from Chelsea and RB Leipzig, respectively.

West Ham United alongside Arsenal, Liverpool and Chelsea have all shown interest in Doku over the last few years; however, he has elected to join Manchester City despite talks earlier in the window over a move to the London Stadium, as per talkSPORT.

Crystal Palace playmaker Michael Olise had been sought after as another potential figure to succeed Mahrez at Manchester City, though he has now put pen to paper on a long-term contract extension at Selhurst Park, as per The Athletic.

Manchester City have started the new campaign in fine fettle, recording victories over Burnley and Newcastle United without conceding a single goal with the added bonus of already claiming the UEFA Super Cup.

Is Jeremy Doku a good fit for Manchester City?

Doku appears to be one of the most exciting young stars across Europe, so Manchester City fans should be excited to see what he can bring to the table over the next few years at the Etihad Stadium once his move reaches completion.

In his time at Rennes, the Belgium international has featured 92 times in all competitions for the Ligue 1 outfit, registering 12 goals and 10 assists, as per Transfermarkt.

Last term, Doku was able to open up space with his trickery on a regular basis, completing 3.3 dribbles in Ligue 1 per match and around one key pass every league fixture, as shown on WhoScored.

As per FBRef, Doku has also excelled in comparison to his positional peers in Europe's top five divisions regarding progressive carries, performing 6.95 per 90 minutes across the last 365 days at the time of writing, putting him in the 99th percentile for this metric.

Filling the shoes of someone like Mahrez at Manchester City will be no easy feat; however, Doku possesses the pace and power, which has been complemented by none other than Paris Saint-Germain superstar Kylian Mbappe, needed to trouble Premier League defences at will in a side that is dispositioned to dominate possession in most domestic fixtures.

Nottingham Forest haven't had the best week on the pitch with a hard-to-take defeat to Manchester United last weekend, followed up by a 1-0 defeat to Burnley knocking them out of the Carabao Cup prematurely on Wednesday evening.

As a result, Steve Cooper will be looking for a comeback when he leads his team out at Stamford Bridge this afternoon and will be hoping that his team show their resilience and work ethic to deliver the travelling support something to celebrate.

The Tricky Trees are currently 14th in the Premier League table after tallying up two defeats and a victory so far, whilst Chelsea sit in 10th place just one point ahead of their visitors, which proves how tight the standings are at these early stages and how important it is to get a good run of form going as soon as possible.

What's the latest Nottingham Forest team news?

With regards to injuries, Cooper has revealed there are many doubts in the squad beyond those who have been ruled out indefinitely.

The Forest boss has confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Danilo will undergo a scan on his hamstring following his absence from the matchday squad against Burnley in mid-week, whilst also revealing disappointing updates on both Scott McKenna and Orel Mangala:

"Orel is out injured at the moment.

"Danilo, unfortunately, has picked up an injury as well. Scott has picked up an injury, as we saw against United last Saturday."

Cooper also confirmed potential returns for Felipe and Wayne Hennessey:

"Felipe is back training and was on the bench on Wednesday night. It’s a boost that he’s been back with us, because we all know how influential he was for us last season.

"Wayne is back in training. He’s close to being fully fit."

Will Gonzalo Montiel start vs Chelsea?

The Garibaldi Reds completed the exciting signing of Argentine World Cup Winner Gonzalo Montiel during the summer transfer window on a season-long loan deal with an option to buy, and Forest fans were given their first glimpse of their new player on Wednesday evening against Burnley.

Over his 71-minute performance, the 26-year-old – dubbed an "animal" by his former coach Julen Lopetegui – won 100% of his aerial duels, 50% of his ground duels, completed two clearances and two tackles, as per SofaScore, in a complete defensive showing.

Now Cooper must unleash the £22k-per-week right-back in his starting XI in West London this weekend to allow him to build better connections with his teammates on the pitch, and if he can find his feet quickly in the opening minutes of the clash he could bully Chelsea on the right flank.

When comparing Montiel's La Liga output with Aurier's for Forest last season, the Sevilla defender comfortably outperformed his position competitor at the City Ground in many attacking attributes including goal contributions (3 v 1), pass completion (77.7% v 70.7%), shot-creating actions per 90 (2.42 v 1.20), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.30 v 0.05), demonstrating that he could bring a more progressive presence to the Forest back-line.

Not only is the Argentine a tough customer from a defensive point of view but those attacking metrics suggests Chelsea may well be in for a tricky afternoon.

With that being said, it would be a no-brainer to unleash Montiel in the starting line-up against the Blues as his creativity and more progressive style of play from his deeper role could be a breath of fresh air for the travelling Trentsiders.

The IPL auction will begin on January 27 with 16 marquee players going up for bidding, including Mitchell Starc, Glenn Maxwell, Joe Root, Ajinkya Rahane and Shakib Al Hasan

Nagraj Gollapudi20-Jan-20181:29

Dasgupta: ‘I see quite a few marquee players going unsold in the first round’

Ben Stokes, Mitchell Starc, Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Gautam Gambhir, Shikhar Dhawan and Glenn Maxwell are part of two sets of marquee players that will kick-off the IPL auction, which begins on January 27 in Bangalore. The auction will be a two-day exercise with a total of 578 players featuring in the player pool for the eight franchises to choose from.On Saturday the IPL announced the final auction pool, having pruned the original 1122-strong longlist by half. The auction pool has been divided into different sets based on the area of expertise of the player. The auction will begin with the two sets of maquee players going up for bidding.It is not entirely clear how the IPL filtered the marquee players. Ten out of 16 marquee players are over 30 years old while six are Indians. In addition to the above names, the other players featuring in the marquee sets include Ajinkya Rahane, Harbhajan Singh, Joe Root, Shakib Al Hasan, Faf du Plessis, Dwayne Bravo and Kane Williamson.The marquee players will be followed by the first sets of capped players: batsmen, allrounders, wicketkeepers, fast bowlers and spinners in that order. In a marked changed from the past auctions, the IPL has decided to feature the uncapped players on the first day of the auction.In the past the uncapped category would come up towards the end once all the sets of capped players were exhausted. But this time the IPL has opted to mix both categories, keeping in mind the wide interest among franchises for uncapped Indian players including Baroda allrounder Krunal Pandya, who has been listed 85th in the shortlist.Krunal, who played for Mumbai Indians until last season, was the player of the final as Mumbai won the title for the third time. Krunal is a favourite to be retained by the defending IPL champions through the right-to-match card option. Mumbai still have two right-to-match cards available to them, which they might use for Krunal and Pollard, who has been with the franchise since 2009.Incidentally, Afghanistan legspinner Rashid Khan, who played for Sunrisers Hyderabad, will only come up for bidding during the latter half of the first day of the auction. Rashid is part of the seventh set of players, which could possibly help Sunrisers as they could buy him through the right-to-match card option for a potentially lower price, in case other franchises spend big money on players from the previous sets.India fast bowler Ishant Sharma, who went unsold last season before joining Kings XI Punjab as a replacement player, is part of the first set of fast bowlers. Ishant has listed his base price at INR 75 lakh. Also featuring in this set are the Indian fast-bowling pair of Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav, Kagiso Rabada (South Africa), Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Johnson (all Australia), Mustafizur Rahman (Bangladesh), Tim Southee and Mitchell McClenaghan (both New Zealand) and Lasith Malinga (Sri Lanka).The South African fast-bowling pair of Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel are also part of this set. Neither featured in the IPL last season, with Steyn recovering from a shoulder injury and Morkel preserving himself to stay fit for Test cricket.Also in the final list is the 17-year-old Nepal legspinner Sandeep Lamichhane. He was one of the nine players to have been requested by the franchises after the longlist was announced recently. The others in the list include Hamza Tariq (Canada), Samit Patel (England), Mohammed Asaduddin (Hyderabad), Midhun S (Kerala), Abhinav Manohar (Karnataka), Ben Wheeler (New Zealand), Mohsin Khan (Uttar Pradesh) and Javon Searles (West Indies)

Despite prior reports that new Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou was looking to move on a host of first-team assets following his appointment at N17, the window came and went with a number of the 'deadwood' having remained on the books.

The likes of Eric Dier and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg both stayed put despite claims that the north Londoners were open to offers for the experienced pair, while long-serving goalkeeper Hugo Lloris is also yet to find a new home, after previously stating his desire to move elsewhere.

There may well be a sense of frustration that those departures did not occur, although the Lilywhites have at least since been able to shift two more figures who appeared to be surplus to requirements, with Davinson Sanchez and Tanguy Ndombele – both of whom were signed during Mauricio Pochettino's time in charge – having joined Turkish giants Galatasaray.

Those long-awaited exits have brought to an end a tumultuous spell in the capital for the pair, with Spurs likely ruing the hefty investment that they made in the duo – with regard to both transfer fees and wages – over recent years.

How much did Sanchez cost Spurs?

In the case of Sanchez, the Colombian international was snapped up by Pochettino and co back in the summer of 2017, having caught the eye after playing his part in Ajax's run to the Europa League final during the previous season.

The promising talent had been acquired for what was a then club-record fee of around £42m, with the Lilywhites having been keen to provide greater depth in the centre-back ranks, behind the first-choice pairing of Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen.

Six years on from that high-profile switch to England, the 54-cap dud has since moved on to Istanbul for a reported fee of just £12.8m, with that representing a stark decline for a player who has been branded "one of the worst players" to have ever played for the club, according to talkSPORT pundit Jamie O'Hara.

What did Sanchez earn at Spurs?

Having "had question marks hanging over him ever since he came in", according to pundit Noel Whelan, the 2022/23 campaign proved to be a particular low point for the centre-back as he was restricted to just eight Premier League starts in total.

The 6 foot 2 enigma's time at the club also reached its undoubted nadir during the 3-2 defeat to AFC Bournemouth earlier this year, as he was brutally withdrawn by interim boss Cristian Stellini early in the second half, despite having only entered the fray midway through the opening period.

That error-strewn outing ultimately led to Sanchez being booed by his own support on the day, with there seemingly having been no turning back from such a disastrous day, hence the player's departure earlier this week.

In truth, it is fair to say that the one-time Atletico Nacional man – who made 207 appearances in total – did not warrant the £65k-per-week salary that he raked in after signing back in 2017, with that totalling up to roughly £20m in wages.

Such a sizeable outlay will no doubt sting for chairman Daniel Levy considering the defender's woes, with Whelan having perhaps best summarised just what a dismal signing Sanchez proved to be for the club:

"He’s been inconsistent, there are mistakes in him – very crucial mistakes which dictate the outcome of games."

It could be argued, however, that the addition of Ndombele proved to be even more of a transfer howler for both Pochettino and Levy, with the Frenchman having been a particularly costly mistake on reflection.

How much did Tottenham pay for Ndombele?

Despite having splashed out £60m on Richarlison last summer in order to prise the Brazilian from Everton, incredibly it is Ndombele who remains the club's record capture, having joined from Lyon on a £63m deal back in 2019.

As his recent loan switch to the Super Lig has indicated – a deal that includes an option to buy for the Istanbul outfit – the 26-year-old is no longer deemed a worthy squad asset for those at N17, having regularly flattered to deceive over the last four years or so.

While perhaps a victim of the sacking of Pochettino just a few months into his time in England, Ndombele didn't exactly do his best to try and win over the likes of Jose Mourinho and Nuno Espirito Santo, notably being called a "disgrace" by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher back in 2020 for his apparent lack of work ethic.

Although there had been whispers that Postecoglou was willing to give the player a fresh start during pre-season, the news of a temporary departure will not have come as a shock to most, with the midfield maestro having spent the past 18 months at both Lyon and Napoli after falling out of favour at his parent club.

While those recent exits have helped to cover the cost of the maverick's hefty wages, like Sanchez the Frenchman has also rather bled Tottenham dry after being unable to warrant the faith in his talent.

What does Ndombele earn at Tottenham?

After spending four years on the books at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the 5 foot 11 dud has thus far scored just ten goals and provided only nine assists in 91 games in all competitions, hardly proving worthy of his reported £200k-per-week wages.

Excluding the time he has since spent out on loan, Ndombele's first two-and-a-half seasons in north London reportedly costly Levy and co around £25m – as per FBref – with his total cost coming in at around £88m, when factoring in his transfer fee.

Add to that the £42m fee that was spent on Sanchez – as well as the centre-back's £20m in wages – and, as journalist Paul O'Keefe alluded to, the club have forked out in the region of £150m on the pair in total.

That is a truly mammoth, eye-watering figure, particularly for two men who have distinctly underwhelmed during their times at N17, with the hope being that it won't be too long before Ndombele joins Sanchez in making a permanent exit from the club.

For many of a Tottenham persuasion, it will likely be a case of good riddance to the pair of them.

The England quick, captain Imad Wasim and Shahid Afridi sliced through Quetta Gladiators’ batting line-up and mitigated Karachi Kings’ collapse of 6 for 13

The Report by Arun Venugopal23-Feb-2018
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details In a nutshell
Karachi Kings’ decision to bat raised eyebrows twice – firstly, when they ambled to 60 for 2 in the first 10 overs, and secondly when they lost their six wickets for 13 runs. But what they did in between eventually proved enough at the end, as their bowling attack – led by captain Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir and Tymal Mills – ensured that a 150 chase was a bridge too far for Quetta Gladiators.Quetta had slumped to 15 for 3 inside the first five overs and never really recovered. There were spurts of spunk from Umar Amin (31) and Mohammad Nawaz, whose 30 off 20 balls kept his side in the hunt. But, with 37 required off 17 balls, Amir induced a faint inside edge to have Nawaz caught behind and quash the possibility of any late uprising. Earlier, with Shahid Afridi also having chipped in with an outstanding catch at the boundary to remove Amin, Quetta, which doesn’t possess the most robust middle order, entered the final phase in an even more depleted positionThat Karachi got to 149 was largely due to Colin Ingram, whose 21-ball 41 injected momentum into what had been a lethargic innings up to that point. Karachi’s troubles were mainly due to Shane Watson’s canny bowling, which saw him pick up three scalps to reach 200 wickets in T20 cricket. Along with Joffra Archer, the flavour of the season, and Anwar Ali, Watson choked the flow of runs. Ingram and Ravi Bopara, though, counterpunched their way through the middle overs with a 48-run stand in 4.3 overs and gave their team the insurance that mitigated their collapse later on.Where the match was won
At the half-way mark, Quetta might have fancied a relatively straightforward chase. Instead, Karachi unleashed their gun bowlers and effectively killed the chase in the Powerplay. Wasim took the new ball and conceded only three runs in the first over. Watson then attempted to run himself out twice in vain in the second over bowled by Amir before eventually succeeding off the penultimate delivery.In the next over, Asad Shafiq, probably torn between guilt for being partially responsible for Watson’s run-out and the need to ramp up the scoring rate, holed out to deep square leg. With Mills joining the party to prise out Kevin Pietersen, who departed after a couple of eye-catching strokes, Quetta found themselves at 26 for 3 in six overs. For good measure, Afridi bowled a tight spell to go for less than six runs an over and sustain the pressure.The men that won it
It can be rightly contended that but for Ingram and Bopara’s strong push Quetta might have struggled further. Further, Wasim’s tight-fisted bowling in the Powerplay cannot be overstated. However, with Quetta needing 43 off 24 balls and a dangerous Nawaz looking for a late twist, it was Amir and Mills that pinned the opposition down for good. They collectively conceded 25 runs from overs 16 to 19 and picked up two wickets during the phase to leave Quetta requiring 28 runs off the last over.Where they stand
Karachi have dislodged Multan Sultans from the top of the points table by virtue of having a better net run-rate, while Quetta are at the bottom. Quetta have an immediate shot at redemption as they take on Lahore Qalandars in the night game on Saturday. Karachi will next play defending champions Peshawar Zalmi on Sunday.