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Manchester United's pursuit of Inter Milan goalkeeper Andre Onana is "being driven by Erik ten Hag", but there is still a "gap in valuation" between the two clubs, Sky Sports reporter Dharmesh Sheth has told GIVEMESPORT.

Manchester United transfer news – What's the latest on Andre Onana?

It has been an interesting start to the transfer window for United this year. The club have had some significant success in the market, such as the capture of highly rated Chelsea star Mason Mount for just £55m, but there have also been some setbacks, notably the resignation that a deal for Harry Kane wouldn't be feasible.

Another area of the team that has been creating headlines is the goalkeeping department, as long-term shot-stopper and former Spanish international David De Gea finally left the club after a rather public falling out over a dispute around a new contract.

With De Gea out the door, the Red Devils are in need of a new number one, and the player they have identified to take up that role is Cameroon international, Onana.

According to the Daily Mail, the three-time European champions are preparing an offer in the region of £43m for the Inter man, after having previously made only verbal offers to the Italian giants.

Unfortunately for Ten Hag's men, the Nerazzurri have valued their star keeper at £51m and do not seem to be showing any sign that they will budge on that price in the near future.

What has Dharmesh Sheth said about Andre Onana, Erik ten Hag and Manchester United?

Sheth says that United are incredibly keen on this deal, primarily due to Ten Hag's admiration for the player. However, should Inter refuse to budge from their valuation, a deal could be difficult for the Red Devils.

Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, the Sky Sports reporter said: "I think this will depend on Inter Milan more than anything else. Look, United, they continue to push for a deal for Andre Onana. This one's really being driven by Erik ten Hag.

"He really wants him at United — played under Erik ten Hag at Ajax — but there's a gap in valuation that still exists. Inter, at the moment, aren't budging on their €60m valuation of Andre Onana. And I think if it was to remain that way, United would find it difficult to want to pay that much."

How does Andre Onana stack up against David De Gea?

With United looking like they will have to spend something close to £50m for their new number one, how much better has he been compared to De Gea last season?

According to WhoScored, it was the Inter man that had a better league season last year, with the Cameroonian star averaging a decent match rating of 6.72 across his 24 Serie A appearances, while his Spanish counterpart averaged just 6.67 across his 38 Premier League games.

The former Ajax man, who has been hailed as a "superstar" for his performances, conceded fewer goals per 90 last season at just one, whereas De Gea conceded 1.13 per 90, per FBref.

The biggest difference between the keepers, however, is in their ability to play the ball with their feet, with Onana completing 81.3% of his passes per 90 compared to De Gea's 71.1%, and crucially, Onana's passing ability led to 0.33 shot-creating actions per 90 last season compared to the Spaniard's 0.13.

This ability to play with his feet has already won him plaudits from United legend Rio Ferdinand, who said:

"[As a] modern-day goalkeeper, he's top class. He takes the ball under pressure, doesn't panic, and brings the other team onto him, which creates space around that.

"He plays over or through the press. He was fabulous tonight in doing that."

If Ten Hag can get a hold of his former number one this summer, United could well do more than just challenge for Champions League football next year.

Liverpool are interested in signing Sporting CP defender Goncalo Inacio, who has a €45m (£39m) release clause included in his contract, according to reports from Portugal.

What's the latest Liverpool transfer news?

Torino defender Perr Schuurs is emerging as a key target for Liverpool, with Tuttosport reporting they have had an opening offer of €30m (£26m) rejected by the Italian club, however they are set to return to the negotiating table with a fresh bid.

Jurgen Klopp has instructed FSG to sign the Dutchman at any cost, so the German tactician is clearly determined to win the race for his signature, but he is not the manager's only defensive target, with Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba also emerging as an option.

90min report that Tottenham Hotspur are also in talks with the Burkina Faso international, though they are concerned about growing interest from the Reds and Newcastle United, so there may be a transfer battle on the cards and it is clear Liverpool want a new central defender.

With Ibrahima Konate recently being linked with a move to Napoli, Klopp could be forced to bring in multiple new additions at centre-back this summer, and there has now been an update on the pursuit of Inacio.

Sport Witness relay reports from Portugal, which detail that Klopp is "not satisfied" with his defence, and the Sporting CP defender is "one of the names" on his list of targets for this window.

Liverpool are said to have sent scouts to watch the 21-year-old on several occasions last season, and they would have no problem meeting the €45m (£39m) release clause included in his contract.

However, the Reds may have to move swiftly if they want to sign the youngster for a lower amount, as Sporting are working on offering him a new deal, which would ideally see his release clause raised to €80m (£69m).

As such, if Liverpool are going to make their move, they will need to do so before any contract is signed.

How good is Goncalo Inacio?

The Almada-born defender almost exclusively plays at centre-back, but that has not stopped him from pitching in down the other end of the pitch, ranking in the 98th percentile for assists, and in the 99th percentile for shot-creating actions per 90 in the past year, when compared with other centre-backs.

Lauded as a "sensation" by football scout Jacek Kulig, the youngster has a keen eye for cutting out opposition attacks, averaging 1.4 interceptions per game last season, the second-highest figure of any Sporting player who played more than two games.

Although he is still very young, the Portugal international is already well-adjusted to first-team football, having made a minimum of 25 appearances in all competitions for Sporting over the past three seasons.

In the 2021-22 campaign, the starlet averaged more passes per game than any other player in the Portuguese top flight, highlighting how composed he is in possession of the ball.

£39m could end up being a steal for Inacio, and Liverpool should move quickly before he puts pen to paper on a new deal.

Eoin Morgan, England’s one-day captain, has reiterated his enthusiasm for the ECB’s new city-based T20 tournament, saying that the sport has to do whatever is necessary to persuade a new generation of fans to fall in love with the game.Morgan, who will link up with his Kings XI Punjab team-mates next week ahead of his seventh season of IPL cricket, knows at first hand the benefits of being involved in franchise-style tournaments, and has long been an outspoken advocate of change within English cricket for that reason.And right at this moment – amid an unprecedented focus on white-ball cricket that will culminate in the Champions Trophy on home soil in June, and with Joe Root, the new Test captain, yet to lead his team on the field – Morgan’s views carry extra weight as the ranking officer among England’s players.Last week, he was invited by Tom Harrison, the ECB chief executive, to address the chairmen and chief executives of the 18 counties during a meeting in London, ahead of next month’s vote at which the new tournament is expected to be given the final go-ahead.And, despite the deep-seated reservations that exist among many traditional fans and administrators, as far as Morgan is concerned, the new-look T20 set-up cannot come soon enough.”Change is always difficult but I don’t think this is change,” Morgan said during a Chance to Shine event in Uxbridge. “It probably should have happened a while ago. We’re always going to have the same cricket fans unless we do something differently.”It’s a huge responsibility in growing the game. People are falling out of love with the game because it’s not engaging enough with the public.”There’s an intention to have a lot of games on free-to-air, which is a huge part of it,” he added. “One of the biggest turning points in my generation has been the 2005 Ashes. To have a lot of people, especially in and around London, who aren’t necessarily into cricket talking about cricket is awesome, and to get that back it’s going to have be as big a change as taking cricket to free-to-air.”Morgan admitted that, as a one-day specialist in a previously Test-orientated set-up, he had at times felt somewhat unwatched as an England cricketer during some of the less high-profile bilateral engagements. “You cannot wait four years for an Ashes series or two years for a Champions Trophy to engage with the public,” he said. “It’s got to be continuous. So creating that opportunity is what Tom [Harrison] was talking about.”In the past two years, however, the success of England’s white-ball cricket has, in part, been attributed to a more liberal attitude towards overseas T20 leagues. This year’s IPL will feature an unprecedented eight England players, and with the exception of Tymal Mills – who only plays T20 cricket – all are expected to feature prominently in England’s Champions Trophy plans.England are currently favourites for that tournament, having been losing finalists on home soil four years ago. And Morgan believes that the intensity of the IPL will help no end in preparing those players in particular to deal with the pressure to perform on the biggest stage – not least Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes, two of the players who attracted the biggest bucks at the auction.Eoin Morgan’s success as England’s one-day captain has coincided with a change of attitude towards white-ball cricket•Getty Images

“It’s only pressure for the first two weeks, while you’re there,” he said. “Then, that’s it. You get over it. No big deal. You’re still trying to get the same result out of what you’ve been doing as a kid.”The price tag is there because that’s your market value. Guys are paid a lot of money because they’re worth it. It becomes a shock for everyone at home because we haven’t been exposed enough to it. I think if the exposure to the IPL at home had been the same from the start until now, as opposed to being just over the last two years, people wouldn’t be as shocked about it.”The examples are round the world,” Morgan added. “And I think there will be more – as time goes on, we’ll see other countries produce franchise leagues. The CPL’s a good example – they took it to America. That was a huge hit, and they are going to take more games again next year.”But I don’t think it will damage county cricket at all. It’s not a gamble. It’s proved in other countries that it’s been done. I’m a massive cricket fan regardless of whether T20 goes through the roof. The majority of cricket fans are like that. To people who say it’s a gamble – which it is not – you can always go back to what you had before that.”Eoin Morgan and Charlotte Edwards were attending a Chance to Shine and Yorkshire Tea event to promote the Junior Journalist competition. To find out more and to enter go to www.chancetoshine.org/juniorjourno

From Christian Pulisic to Walker Zimmerman, here are the top-12 U.S. men's national team players in EA FC 24.

The creators of EA Sports FC 24 will be hoping the new game will take the football world by storm, when the it is released in September. The latest version of the game promises to produce new features along with the likes of Career Mode and Ultimate Team that made FIFA so beloved.

Buy EA Sports FC 24 on Amazon USPre-order nowBuy EA Sports FC 24 on Amazon UKPre-order now

From Christian Pulisic to Walker Zimmerman, USMNT fans are in for a treat as they prepare themselves to play with their favorite superstars. Soccer fans will be able to access their favorite players with several getting an upgrade in their ratings. With the game revealing the final ratings for all the players, GOAL sheds light on which USMNT players have the highest ratings in the game.

GettyChristian Pulisic | AC Milan | 79PAC84SHO71PAS73DRI84DEF37PHY55

The newest American star in Italy comes as the highest-rated USMNT winger this year, with 84 pace and 84 dribbling.

AdvertisementGettyFolarin Balogun | Monaco | 79PAC80SHO79PAS62DRI77DEF23PHY69

Balogun joins Pulisic as a 79-rated item, highlighted by 80 pace and 79 shooting.

Getty ImagesTyler Adams | Bournemouth | 78PAC78SHO48PAS67DRI72DEF77PHY77

After joining Bournemouth in the summer, Adams sees himself earn a 78 overall card with 78 pace and 77 defending and physical.

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GettyGio Reyna | Borussia Dortmund | 78PAC77SHO73PAS74DRI82DEF37PHY70

Reyna has a cheeky 82 dribbling accompanied by four-star skill moves this year.

The Manchester City star came into the tournament in wonderful form, so after her nerveless penalty against Nigeria, can she rediscover that?

Chloe Kelly has always enjoyed the big moments – see her extra-time winner in the Euros final last year, or her winning penalty in the Women’s Finalissima in April. When she stepped up to take another decisive spot-kick on Monday then, one to seal England’s place in the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals after a nervy meeting with Nigeria, few thought she’d miss. Even the unorthodox hop-skip-jump technique of the penalty wasn’t enough to cause jitters for those rooting for the Lionesses as she smashed the ball into the top corner and allowed a nation to breathe a sigh of relief.

Asked what was going through her head when she stepped up in that pressure moment, Kelly's response said a lot. "I just thought, 'I’m going to score'," she replied. "When you win that mental battle, it's always important."

The 25-year-old’s mentality has always been a key factor in her success. Speaking to GOAL back in late 2019, the young winger reflected on how enjoyable her experiences were in the first-team environment as a 16-year-old at Arsenal, the most successful club in English women’s football. “I think when you embrace the opportunity, obviously you’re going to be nervous, but you’re there to show what you’re capable of,” she said.

That attitude of taking everything in her stride has been there this whole time and, alongside her wonderful talent, it is what has turned her from a promising forward into an England – and Manchester City – star. Just look at how she went from rupturing her ACL right before she was almost certain to go to the Olympics with Great Britain, to fighting back to fitness in time to go to the Euros and score the goal that won the thing.

She’s had a quiet World Cup so far, Kelly. After failing to make a serious impact as a starter in England’s first two games, the winger netted from the bench in the 6-1 thrashing of China but couldn’t make too much happen against Nigeria, brought on as a late sub with the Lionesses already down to 10 players.

But that spot-kick could ignite her tournament. After all, she loves the big moment, and they’re only going to get bigger and bigger from here.

GettyPlaying the best football of her career

After coming through at Arsenal and cutting her teeth in the Women's Super League with Everton, Kelly joined Man City in the summer of 2020 and has taken her game to the very next level with the club.

At a time when all eyes were on the U.S. women's national team stars that were flocking across the Atlantic during the Covid-19 pandemic, Kelly was the actual signing of the season, named to the PFA Team of the Year after leading the league in assists and scoring 10 goals, too. Fran Kirby, who swept up the Player of the Year awards as Chelsea won the title, was the only other player with Kelly to hit double figures for both.

An ACL injury suffered on the final day of that season was a devastating obstacle, but Kelly's return to form ahead of the Euros got her into the squad, and she ended the season just gone in special form, too.

“I believe what we saw recently was probably some of her best football, so far,” Man City boss Gareth Taylor said in May. “She missed a lot of football with the injury that she had, which was a frustrating time for her and obviously for the team because we lost a real top player. I think it's taken her a while to get back to her level, but then I think she's exceeded some of those levels more recently.”

AdvertisementGettyHer partner-in-crime

Kelly is part of a devastating front three at her club, with Jamaica star Bunny Shaw spear-heading the attack while England team-mate Lauren Hemp lines up on the opposite flank. Despite not being near each other much on the pitch, the pair have a really good connection that can pay dividends.

“Me and Chloe have such a good relationship that I know when she's going to shoot and I know when she's going to put the ball in the box,” Hemp said in May, having just got on the end of a Kelly cross to score for City. “She has been fantastic this season. Same with Bunny as well. Having them just sort of makes my job a lot easier.”

It’s unclear how England will line up for the quarter-final clash with Colombia on Saturday. The Lionesses switched to a 3-5-2 against China and it worked a treat, but that wasn’t the case when they set up in that formation against Nigeria. Could head coach Sarina Wiegman revert back to the 4-3-3, then?

Time will tell, but if she can figure out a way to best utilise this relationship between Kelly and Hemp, it would certainly be beneficial. It’s electric in Manchester.

GettyCould she change roles?

If Wiegman does opt to stay with the 3-5-2, could there be a new position for Kelly? One huge selection dilemma she has is how to fill the shoes of Lauren James in the No.10 role after her red card against Nigeria. Ella Toone didn’t light the tournament up there before James replaced her and Jordan Nobbs, who could be an option, hasn’t seen a minute of action yet.

Former England captain Steph Houghton has another idea, though. A team-mate of Kelly’s at City ever since the forward arrived at the club three years ago, she believes the 25-year-old could thrive as the playmaker.

“I’d love to see Chloe Kelly taking over that position, getting on the ball and working the opposition defence,” she wrote in her column for . “In Chloe, you have a player you can count on to work incredibly hard.”

She’s played on both wings and came through at Everton as a No.9, so she can be versatile. Could her creativity and skilfulness be an asset in a more central area?

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Getty ImagesSuper-sub turned starter

Whether Wiegman sees that as a possibility or not, whether she opts to start Kelly or use her from the bench, there is definitely more potential in her as an England player that can be realised.

Like Toone and Alessia Russo, she is one of those super-subs from last year’s Euros that has been absorbed into the starting XI more frequently in the past year because of injuries, and though Kelly has shown the best form of the trio as a starter in that time, it’s not been seen at the World Cup just yet.

“With the World Cup, you never know what happens. Sometimes a player that has finished the season really strong doesn't probably catch fire as you would expect and vice versa,” City boss Taylor noted before the tournament. “But certainly confidence-wise and what she's able to achieve, I think Chloe's in a really good place.”

She was certainly confident when she stepped up to take that high-pressure penalty. But is there something Wiegman can do to get her to show that in her play on the pitch? What’s missing?

Alastair Cook’s captaincy retains the full support of the England team, according to assistant coach, Paul Farbrace

George Dobell21-Dec-2016Alastair Cook’s captaincy retains the full support of the England team, according to assistant coach, Paul Farbrace.While Farbrace accepted that speculation over leadership was inevitable after a 4-0 defeat, he insisted that there was “no uncertainty” over the issue inside the dressing room and that the management had been planning on Cook leading the team for the Ashes tour.”We know he still has the support of the team and he’s a very popular bloke and very popular captain,” Farbrace said.”If he chooses to step down it would be a shame because we want him to carry on. We’ve planned, and have been planning, for Cooky to be captain going to the Ashes in Australia next winter. Personally, I hope that continues.”He’s captain. Everybody knows where they stand with him; there’s absolutely no uncertainty whatsoever within our team.”There is an understanding, though, that Cook will take some time to reflect on his position before deciding if he wants to continue. With England not playing another Test until July, there is no immediate hurry for Cook – or Andrew Strauss, the managing director of the England team – to come to a decision. The pair are expected to speak sometime in January.”When you lose a series 4-0, of course people will talk about the leadership,” Farbrace said. “We all know that.”He’s got that decision to make and as he said before the series started, he and Andrew Strauss will sit down in the new year and have a conversation about the way forward.”The most important thing is that Cookie will make the decision based on what’s right for England cricket, not what’s right for Alastair Cook.”Right back to the last time in Australia, he could quite easily have walked away from it. He didn’t and one of the things that’s driven him on is he feels his team is an improving one with a lot of good cricket to be played. We all think that as well.”We all, at the end of this series, have a think about what we can do better, what have we learned from this series, and what do we need to do to make this team win. Ultimately, that’s what we’re here for.”But there’s nobody looking round the dressing room thinking ‘ooh, I wonder who’s in charge?’. It’s very clear who’s in charge, and that hasn’t changed.”Farbrace also accepted that England had been outplayed by India. While he felt England had played some good cricket, the failure to maintain that over the course of a whole game had, he felt, cost them.”This last day sums up our series really,” Farbrace said. “We had one fantastic session this morning, when the two guys played really well, and then we’ve lost wickets throughout the rest of the day.”If you don’t play good cricket over five days here you won’t win. You get what you deserve if you can’t compete and string together high-quality days of Test cricket. We got what we deserved in the end.”The pitches have been excellent, fantastic cricket pitches. We’ve played some very good cricket in spells. But what we haven’t been able to do is string together days and complete Test matches, other than the first Test.”We came here with the hope that we could beat them, but we weren’t good enough to do it. We played some good cricket, but we weren’t good enough to do it over the five days.”

Newcastle United sent scouts to watch Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard in action last weekend, according to reports.

Is Benjamin Pavard leaving Bayern Munich?

The France international first arrived at the Allianz Arena back in July 2019 and has since gone on to make 161 appearances, but with his deal set to expire at the end of next season, the upcoming window is likely to be Thomas Tuchel’s final big opportunity to cash in should he not want to extend his stay in Bavaria.

Eddie Howe currently has Kieran Trippier, Harrison Ashby, Emil Krafth and Javier Manquillo as his options at right-back, but with the former not getting any younger and the latter two also being out of contract next summer, the boss could be set to enter the market for long-term reinforcements.

This is where the 6 foot 1 star comes into play as he could be about to swap Germany for the Premier League in England.

Who is signing Pavard?

According to 90min, Newcastle, alongside top-flight rivals Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and West Ham United, all had representatives “present” for Bayern Munich’s 3-1 defeat to RB Leipzig on Saturday. The Premier League scouts were all “monitoring” several different players, with the Magpies particularly “closely” watching Pavard. The St James’ Park outfit were also reportedly “keeping tabs” on Leipzig pair Dani Olmo and Dominik Szoboszlai.

According to WhoScored, Pavard has been Bayern Munich’s second-best performer in defence this season, so it’s no surprise that he’s caught the attention of Newcastle, and if the opportunity to sign him at a reasonable price presents itself, PIF should do what they can to bring him to the northeast.

The World Cup winner, who is sponsored by Adidas, currently averages 2.6 clearances per league game and has made 68 tackles since the start of the term, which is the second-highest throughout the whole of his squad at the Allianz, as per FBref.

Tuchel’s “wonderful character”, as hailed by Bayern’s honorary president Uli Hoeness, also has eight goal contributions (seven goals and one assist) to his name across all competitions this season and ranks in the 99th percentile for three different statistics, including progressive passes – so he clearly loves to push his team higher up the pitch to some success.

Pavard, who pockets £83.5k per week, may not have been attracted to the prospect of joining the black and white stripes before, but after guaranteeing qualification for the Champions League, there’s every chance that he could be tempted to sign on the dotted line should the hierarchy make an official approach in the months ahead.

Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, believes there are now more than 20 players who could be selected at any time in the one-day side and still give England a winning combination

Andrew McGlashan30-Jun-2016Paul Farbrace, England’s assistant coach, believes there are now more than 20 players who could be selected at any time in the one-day side and still give England a winning combination.England secured the one-day series against Sri Lanka with a barnstorming chase at The Oval on Wednesday led by Jason Roy’s 162 off 118. They have used 12 players in the four matches – Chris Jordan replacing Moeen Ali in Bristol being the only change – with Steven Finn and James Vince remaining on the sidelines.The absence of Finn has been notable, given that before the series he was talking up being the leader of England’s one-day attack, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad not part of the white-ball set-up. Instead, Chris Woakes, David Willey and Liam Plunkett have been the ever-presents in England’s pace attack against Sri Lanka alongside the legspin of Adil Rashid.Other players on the fringes of the limited-overs team included the uncapped pair of Dawid Malan and Liam Dawson, who are both in the T20 squad to face Sri Lanka, while Ben Stokes, Mark Wood and Reece Topley are currently unavailable due to injury.Eoin Morgan, England’s limited-overs captain, has spoken of the need to build a squad of players to compete on a regular basis across different conditions and Farbrace believes the focus given to white-ball cricket since the start of last season, at the instigation of Andrew Strauss, is starting to bear fruit.”If you look outside the team, there’s no Stokes, Vince is sitting on the sidelines, Finn, Wood,” he said. “There’s some very exciting people on the fringes and people know they’ve got to play well to stay in the team. There’s probably 21 players who could play in the England side at any time and we’d still be a strong side.”Credit to Andrew Strauss for saying he wanted white-ball and red-ball cricket to be taken as seriously as each other and it was time to stop thinking about ourselves as a Test-playing country only and resting people for Test cricket and making sure they’re ready.”We’ve built the pool of players for white-ball cricket and have an exciting group with people focusing on just that. It’s made a big difference but you have to have the ability in your side to do it and there’s no question there is the ability in this side.”England are building towards the next two 50-over global events which will be staged on home soil – the 2017 Champions Trophy and 2019 World Cup – but Farbrace says that further advancements are needed to make England credible contenders, especially for the 2019 event.He believes that if England are to be one of the favourites for the World Cup they need to sit in the top three of the one-day rankings a year out from the tournament. A 3-0 series result will leave them in fifth place, the position they moved to after victory at The Oval, but a consolation win for Sri Lanka in Cardiff would put them back at sixth.”The one thing we’ve looked at is teams who have won the World Cup pretty much have been one, two or three in the world,” he said. “If we’re going to be realistic challengers at the World Cup in 2019 I reckon we’ve got to be in the top two or three in the world, which means we’ve got to be far more consistent than we have been and if we are with home conditions and support that gives us a really good chance. If we’re seventh or eighth we’re hoping to do well as we did last time as opposed to expecting to do well.”I think if we are going to win it we’ve got to be in the top two or three, certainly within 12 months of the tournament starting. That’s got to be our goal. If we are I think we’ve got a good chance. I don’t see any reason why we shouldn’t be if we keep playing that way. The World T20 was a magnificent confidence boost for them and if we can play well in the Champions Trophy next year and come close to winning that who knows where that takes us?”But while work remains, there is understandable satisfaction about how England’s one-day cricket has evolved: the 308-run chase at The Oval was the side’s third 300-plus chase in the last 12 months; they had only ever achieved that twice previously.”They have come a long way and have exceeded all expectations of where we thought they’d be 12 months ago,” Farbrace said. “We said towards the end of last summer we weren’t going to pin down too many gameplans, we’d just let people go and have another 12 months of seeing how far we can go. But the shape of the team and how they’re playing is happening naturally rather than us having to stick too many plans in their way and that freedom is evident as well.”

Australia fast bowler John Hastings has been ruled out of the upcoming one-day tri-series in the West Indies due to an ankle injury

ESPNcricinfo staff27-Apr-2016Australia fast bowler John Hastings has been ruled out of the upcoming one-day tri-series in the West Indies due to an ankle injury.His Victoria team-mate Scott Boland, who made his ODI debut against India during the home summer, has been called into the squad as a replacement. Hastings flew home from the IPL earlier this month after sustaining the injury to his left ankle while warming up for a match for Kolkata Knight Riders.”John experienced pain in his left ankle during his recent stint in the IPL and had scans upon returning home which have confirmed early stage bone stress of his fibula bone near his ankle,” Cricket Australia’s sports science and sports medicine manager, Alex Kountouris, said.”While laid off with this injury we have taken this opportunity to undertake arthrosporic surgery to remove bone spurs in his left ankle which have been causing him concern for some time and were possibility contributing to the cause of the bone stress.”John had this surgery over the weekend and now requires a period of rest to resolve the bone stress and recover from surgery before he will resume bowling.”The 2015-16 summer had been a renaissance of sorts for Hastings, who returned to the side during the ODI series in England in 2015 after four years out of the team. He went on to be the leading wicket taker from either side in the home ODI series with India and was then named in Australia’s squad for the World T20 in India.

Newcastle United have exceeded expectations so far this season with an outstanding campaign and Eddie Howe will surely be thrilled with the consistency shown by his squad so far.

The Magpies are just two points behind Tottenham Hotspur in fifth with a great chance of still qualifying for Champions League football at the end of their Premier League campaign if they can continue to pick up crucial points and take advantage of their two games in hand over the north London club.

Indeed, the St James' Park hierarchy will be extremely pleased with the rapid progression the squad has made in the first full season since the Saudi takeover, but there is still plenty of work to be done to gain the dominance and trophies desperately desired on Tyneside.

The recruitment over the last 12 months has already been extraordinary with Bruno Guimaraes, Sven Botman, Alexander Isak and Kieran Trippier all becoming hugely important players in Newcastle's rise up the Premier League table and recent achievement of reaching the first domestic cup final at Wembley since 1999.

However, if the club does earn Champions League football ahead of next season it will be important for the club to acquire the services of players who have lots of European experience and the quality needed to compete with the best of the best.

One player who has been linked with a move to the North East this summer is Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele and the Frenchman could be exactly the European pedigree that Newcastle will be looking for.

Should Newcastle sign Dembele?

There is no doubt that many players have improved under the management of Howe with none more so than winger Miguel Almiron who this season has been a huge attacking force for the Magpies.

The Paraguayan star has scored 11 goals and registered three assists over his 32 appearances in all competitions this season but at 29 years old he is unlikely to be considered part of the long-term future of the forward line at St James' Park.

As a result, the signing of Dembele could be the perfect opportunity to bring in a younger and fresh perspective on the right flank and even improve the output in front of goal.

The £203k-per-week World Cup winner – hailed "special" by his manager Xavi – has tallied up 40 goals and 41 assists over 173 appearances for the La Liga giants with a goal contribution every 131 minutes, which is an impressive output that would be incredibly valuable to Howe next season.

Not only that, Dembele has outperformed Almiron in several areas this season in league football including shots on target rate (35.9% v 34%), assists (5 v 1), shot-creating actions per 90 (4.99 v 3), goal-creating actions per 90 (0.82 v 0.46) and crosses completed (71 v 20).

That's no mean feat when you consider that the latter has been one of the most impressive forward players in the Premier League this term.

Unlike his North East-based positional peer, the France international also boasts a wealth of experience playing Champions League football with 40 appearances, ten goals and 11 assists in the prestigious European competition.

With that being said, the signing of Dembele would be a huge statement of Newcastle's ambition and intent, with the Frenchman a player who could potentially set the continental stage alight should Howe's men get there.