Rangers legend Ally McCoist has been left fuming at some “crazy” news ahead of the huge Scottish Premiership clash with Celtic this weekend.

Rangers and Celtic set for title decider at Ibrox

The Gers picked up another important win last weekend, battling their way to a 3-1 victory at home to Hibernian, keeping them in a great position in what is a fascainting title race. Celtic won at Livingston the following day, but their one-point lead at the top of the table is only by virtue of having played one game more.

On Sunday afternoon, a potentially defining afternoon in the Premiership season awaits, as Rangers host their bitter title rivals at Ibrox. It is arguably one of the most important meetings between the pair in years, with a win either way undoubtedly making the victor strong favourites to go all the way.

There will be some big nerves going into the game, but Philippe Clement's side may feel that they are due a win, having lost both league meetings so far this season. The Hoops won 1-0 at Ibrox back in September as well as beating the Gers 2-1 at Parkhead in December, in a game that Clement's men may feel hard done by after a strong performance.

Injuries could be key leading up to the game, and while Rangers will be without the likes of Danilo and Kieran Dowell – Abdallah Sima may not be fit enough to start, too – Callum McGregor could miss out for Celtic, which would be a blow for the visitors.

Ally McCoist fumes at "crazy" news

Speaking on talkSPORT [viaThe Daily Record], McCoist couldn't hide his frustration at a hate crime act that has been officially enforced from Monday this week ahead of Rangers' clash with Celtic:

"We've got a hate bill by the way, a hate bill has been passed in the country. And I can guarantee you, next Sunday at Ibrox, I, along with 48,000 will be committing a breach of that hate bill in the particular Rangers vs Celtic game we are all going to. It is madness.

"That's exactly what the police think (impossible to enforce). The police spokesperson has come out and more and less said that. He obviously can't because he'll get himself in trouble. He has implied it, everybody with two brain cells in their head knows it's madness, crazy. There is nobody in our country who thinks that is a good idea, who I have spoken to."

The Daily Record's article explains that the bill "was rubber-stamped on Monday and aims to combat abuse which stirs up hatred surrounding age, religion, sexual orientation, transgender identity and disability".

McAvennie warns Celtic to “be aware” of rumours he’s hearing from Rangers

What a piece of business this could be at Ibrox.

ByHenry Jackson Apr 1, 2024

The hope is that trouble of any kind is avoided, with a thrilling game potentially dictating the fate of the entire season.

A revamped and expanded finals series is the last hope for broadcasters to wring some quantifiable upside out of this summer’s Big Bash League, after its traditional television audience declined for the fifth summer in a row.While the BBL remains among the most watched domestic leagues in Australian sport alongside the AFL and NRL, its audiences on free-to-air and subscription television have continued a significant drop, although this has been partly offset by the growth of the streaming service Kayo, which has grown to more than 450,000 subscribers since its launch in November 2018.According to OzTam figures obtained by ESPNcricinfo, the five city metro average audience for the BBL on free-to-air Seven has diminished from 424,000 last summer to 384,000 this season, after the league returned an average audience of 649,000 in its final summer exclusively on Ten in 2017-18 – in itself a mild decline from the peak of 759,000 in 2015-16. The national average audience, including regional viewers, stands at 611,000, down from 638,000 in 2018-19, and 944,000 in 2017-18.Fox Cricket’s audiences have also gone down somewhat, to an average of 158,000 viewers nationally this season from 211,000 last summer for exclusive games, and to 169,000 for games simulcast with Seven, as opposed to 200,000 in 2018-19. A significant portion of Fox Cricket’s exclusive games have been afternoon fixtures further contributing to the downturn. Having also experienced a reduction in broadcast audiences for international cricket this season, the head of Fox Sports Pete Campbell had told the that those figures were in line with projections as more sports watchers migrated to the cheaper Kayo service.Speaking during the SCG Test earlier this month, Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts said on SEN radio that in a landscape where there were challenges across all forms of TV viewership cricket “is trending well ahead of the broader trend.”Aggregate average national audiences for Seven and Fox Cricket across the regular BBL season duly tally up to 780,000, down from 838,000 in 2018-19, and a long way short of the 944,000 returned by Ten three summers ago. This comes after a raft of changes were made between seasons to make the tournament friendlier to broadcast audiences.These included the advent of strategic time outs, greater use of players being on the microphone in-game, a more condensed schedule with more days of double headers, the recruitment of the high profile star AB de Villiers to the Brisbane Heat, and an improvement in the standards of pitches being prepared.That last adjustment reaped a significant boost to the runs scored in the BBL this season – as of the end of the regular season the average run rate had gone from 7.82 to 8.17 – an area frequently cited by broadcasters as a way of drawing back larger broadcast audiences. However, the need for more afternoon fixtures in a tighter schedule has had a sapping effect on crowds at the grounds and also television audiences at home. The expansion of the finals series, including a fifth team and also enhancing the incentives to finish at the top of the table, was another change pushed for strongly by the broadcasters.AB de Villiers thumps a boundary over cover•Getty Images

“In all our discussions with our partners they’ve been really happy with how we’ve worked really closely with them to optimise the season,” the head of the BBL Alistair Dobson said earlier this week. “Their audiences have been strong, they’re really excited about the finals series and I think you’ve seen both our partners really lean in to the promotion and support of the new finals series, they’ve really loved the accessibility of the players we’ve had in the competition.”One of the areas in which the BBL’s decision-makers will soon need to make a call is how sustainably they can continue to run the tournament on the basis of only one game ever happening at once. In the rival AFL and NRL competitions, it is common for at least two matches to run simultaneously, particularly in fan-friendly Saturday night and Sunday afternoon time slots, to maximise opportunities for attendance at the ground. This move, of course, would result in a splitting of the national broadcast audience.”There’s certainly some discussion around whether there’s other ways to put games up against each other,” Dobson said. “Whether they’re double header afternoon and night games, whether there’s the night games into the Perth game, so there’s lots of different opportunities and different ways we can structure the season. Once we get through this year, we’ll have a close look at it.”Next year’s BBL10, so that’s a milestone year. What it looks like in BBL15, BBL20, is really front of mind at the moment as you complete 10 seasons of the competition and it’s really entrenched now as part of the Australian summer.”The move to a 14-game home and away season for all clubs was a key plank of Cricket Australia’s A$1.18 billion broadcast deal with Fox and Seven in 2018, helping to bring the BBL’s value up to around half of the total package, where during the 2013-2018 deal with the Nine and Ten networks it had been worth only around A$100 million. A turnaround in broadcast audience figures will be critical for CA’s ability to ask for similar figures next time around.”We had over one million people come to a BBL game, which is a phenomenal response from cricket fans around Australia,” Dobson said. “We’re happy with where we got to with attendances, but that said, making sure the game stays as appealing and attractive and entertaining as possible is almost our No. 1 priority. So how do we make sure we ensure that in the next 10 [years], people are still coming.”

MatériaMais Notícias

O Flamengo tem razão em resistir à convocação de Pedro para Olimpíada de Tóquio. Afinal, o investimento de R$ 90 milhões para a contratação do jogador justifica que o clube queira aproveitá-lo como, onde e quando bem entender. E isso só quem tem de decidir é a diretoria de futebol do rubro-negro e, em última instância, o técnico Rogério Ceni.

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Nem o discurso de que Pedro é reserva de Gabigol e que por isso não faria tanta falta se aplica. Primeiro porque em boa parte a ausência dos dois vai coincidir. E depois, os números comprovam, mesmo saindo do banco com frequência o atacante tem sido decisivo em muitos confrontos. É um goleador na essência.

> Tabela, classificação, simulador… Veja tudo do Brasileirão

Pedro, que saudou sua convocação nas redes sociais, postando inclusive uma foto com a camisa da seleção como se comemorasse um gol, também tem razão de querer ir à Tóquio. Disputar uma Olimpíada é uma experiência única, um sonho para qualquer atleta – mesmo essa turma do futebol, uma gente que já é consagrada e costuma viver em um mundo particular.

Mais do que isso, nos gramados japoneses Pedro teria a chance de ser, talvez ao lado de Daniel Alves, o ator principal, o protagonista de uma possível conquista da medalha de ouro, repetindo o feito e exercendo o papel de líder como Neymar na Rio-2016. E isso é um baita currículo, uma valorização de alguns milhões de dólares ou de euros no seu valor de mercado e, consequentemente, no que ainda vai faturar na carreira daqui para frente.

Dito isso, as razões de cada lado, como fica a CBF? Ora, o que menos importa nesse imbróglio é a posição da CBF. O atacante é (ou seria) importante às pretensões de conquistar o bi olímpico? Claro que sim. Mas isso não deve bastar para tirá-lo do Ninho do Urubu. Em última análise a CBF é a única parte que não tem razão nessa história. É a única responsável pela confusão que se estabeleceu em torno da Seleção olímpica. E por que?

As Olimpíadas, assim como as datas Fifa, Copa do Mundo, suas eliminatórias e amistosos, seguem o calendário europeu. Aliás o calendário que também é asiático e de boa parte dos países da América Latina. Isso significa que não há campeonatos rolando, no máximo uma parte de pré-temporadas, quando esses jogos são disputados. O que evita maiores prejuízos para os clubes que cedem jogadores às seleções. Esse ano – é justo registrar – até há uma excepcionalidade por conta da pandemia. Mas esse tipo de problema se repete por aqui, a cada convocação, mesmo em tempos de normalidade. É crônico e não eventual, fruto do calendário jabuticaba que mantém campeonatos rolando mesmo com a seleção jogando.

> Conheça o aplicativo de resultados do LANCE!

A CBF jamais se importou com os clubes – e essa é a verdade absoluta, a dura realidade do futebol tupiniquim. A entidade, afundada na dinastia Teixeira-Marin-Del Nero e nos abusos de Caboclo, só tem olhos para o próprio umbigo e os interesses de sua cartolagem. Isso passa pela Seleção, ou melhor, pelo que a Seleção pode render para seus cofres, ainda que às custas da perda de prestigio internacional e, principalmente, de alimentar uma rejeição crescente do torcedor pela camisa amarela. Uma coisa tem a ver com a outra mas isso pouco importa para essa gente.

O final dessa briga entre Flamengo e CBF ainda é incerto. E passará por decisão do STJD, com se sabe. No momento em que os clubes se unem para tentar outra vez criar uma liga independente e comandar seu próprio destino, a gestão de Rodolfo Landim, sempre marcada pela arrogância e o individualismo nas tomadas de posições, precisa vestir as chuteiras da humildade e do bom senso, qualquer que seja o resultado do embate. Trazer o assunto à tona e peitar a CBF já foi, por si só uma vitória. Que precisa ser dividida com todos e não servir à imposição, ao discurso da superioridade rubro-negra, tão caro a Landim e sua trupe.

Despite a slightly disappointing draw against Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday night, it’s been a brilliant few weeks for Arsenal.

They have climbed back to the top of the Premier League thanks to Liverpool’s draw over the weekend, big wins against Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, and their impressive draw away to Manchester City.

That said, while Mikel Arteta’s side are scoring goals at a reasonably healthy rate, they’re still missing chances which could cost them come May.

Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus have done admirable jobs thus far this season. Still, the latter has missed a significant portion of the campaign and could be in danger of losing his place in the team, as recent reports suggest Arsenal may be about to repeat their Declan Rice trick with another target in the summer.

Arsenal transfer news

According to a recent report from Sky Sports Germany journalist Florian Plettenberg, Brentford striker Ivan Toney could be leaving the Bees in the summer, and Arsenal, alongside several other Premier League clubs, are still “monitoring him closely.”

The good news for the Gunners is that Plettenberg has revealed that his new price is in the region of £30m to £40m, which is considerably cheaper than the £100m reported before and during the January transfer window.

However, the bad news is that to get their man, the north Londoners will have to wrestle with Chelsea and West Ham United, among other unnamed top-flight sides.

He might not be the big-name striker Gooners are craving, but at a potential price of £40m, it seems like an offer too good to turn down, especially when comparing his goal record to Jesus’ from last season.

How Ivan Toney compares to Gabriel Jesus

Now, the first thing to say is that if Arsenal were to complete this deal, it would mirror the signing of Rice last summer in the sense that they would be going to a fellow London club who are below them in the league and poaching their best player.

Moreover, if the Englishman can reproduce the form he showed for Brentford last season, he could have a similarly seismic impact on the Gunners.

That said, how does the former Newcastle United gem compare to the man he’d likely replace in the team, Jesus?

Well, this season is a hard one to make direct comparisons with, as the 28-year-old missed a significant portion of it due to an eight-month betting-related ban, but when comparing their records from last year, there’s only one winner.

In his 33 appearances for the Gunners, the former Manchester City ace scored 11 goals and provided seven assists, meaning he achieved an impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.83 games in red and white. However, the Brentford man did even better.

Appearances

35

33

Goals

21

11

Assists

5

7

Goal Involvements per Match

0.74

0.54

In his 35 games last season, the Northampton-born “monster,” as manager Thomas Frank dubbed him, scored a whopping 21 goals and provided five assists. This means he achieved a seriously impressive average of a goal involvement every 1.34 games for a significantly weaker side.

Ultimately, there is a slight risk present due to his time out of the game, but if Arsenal can secure the Englishman’s signature for £30m-£40m, they absolutely should, as having a poacher of his calibre in the team could be the difference between winning the league next season and finishing runners-up.

Arsenal leading race to sign £69m Gabriel upgrade ahead of Chelsea

The exceptional talent could help further improve the Gunners’ biggest strength.

ByJack Salveson Holmes Apr 11, 2024

A "sublime" Premier League player has reportedly emerged as a top target to potentially replace Bruno Guimaraes at Newcastle United this summer.

Newcastle could lose key players

The Magpies could have a busy summer in the transfer market, with numerous players continuing to be linked with moves to St James' Park.

Borussia Monchengladbach midfielder Manu Kone has been backed to head to Newcastle, for example, being seen as an impressive young option who could boost Eddie Howe's options in the middle of the park. Meanwhile, RB Leipzig right-back Mohamed Simikan has also emerged as a target, and he could be seen as a successor to Kieran Trippier in the role.

It could be that there is also much focus on potential outgoings at St James' Park, however, with a host of key men possibly departing once the 2023/24 campaign reaches its conclusion.

Trippier is one of those, with a January move mooted earlier in the year and his high wage making him expendable, in terms of Newcastle having to comply with Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules. Bruno Guimaraes is another whose time at the club could be coming to an end, with Paris Saint-Germain eyeing a move for him.

There are doubts over the future of Callum Wilson, too, considering the Englishman is now 31 years of age and out of contract in the summer of 2025. That means now could be the best time to move him on, seeing as it's their last chance of receiving a fee for the striker.

Newcastle want "sublime" Premier League star

According to The Sunday Mirror [via Sports View], Newcastle are interested in signing Morgan Gibbs-White this summer, with the Nottingham Forest ace considered a top target to come in for Bruno. He was linked with a switch back in January, being seen as an alternative to Miguel Almiron, but the transfer failed to come to fruition.

The Englishman is seen as someone who could help fill the void left by Bruno if he moves on at the end of the season, possessing similar box-to-box quality in the middle of the park.

Gibbs-White could be a fantastic signing for Newcastle ahead of next season, standing out as arguably Forest's best and most important player this term, providing great quality and work ethic.

The 24-year-old has scored five goals and registered seven assists in the Premier League in 2023/24, while Sky Sports pundit Alan Smith hailed him last year, saying:

"It comes courtesy of an exquisite Morgan Gibbs-White touch in there to set up Danilo. Have a look at that for subtlety. It’s a beautiful bit of awareness. Some of his touches have been sublime. He’s been at the heart of most things for Forest. This is one of the touches of the season I think. Great awareness."

Gibbs-White also has real pedigree, winning the Under-17s World Cup with England back in 2017, in a side also featuring the likes of Phil Foden and Jadon Sancho, and the fact that he has proven himself in the Premier League means he could make an instant impact at Newcastle.

Related Newcastle could now replace Dubravka with in-demand goalkeeper for Howe

Dubravka has just over a year left on his current deal…

Posts ByTom Cunningham Apr 12, 2024

Represented by the same agency as Nick Pope, is also still a relatively young player, meaning that his peak years could be spent with the Magpies, and there is no reason why he can't develop into one of the best midfielders in the country.

The goal of attaining Full Member status was also laid out, but no financial disclosures were made at the AGM

Peter Della Penna22-Feb-2020USA Cricket board chairman Paraag Marathe and chief executive Iain Higgins declared their goal to host at least one major ICC global event in the next eight-year TV rights cycle, as well as a long-term objective to attain Full Member status. Both goals are part of a series of ambitious targets laid out in the inaugural USA Cricket annual general meeting on Friday night in New York.The pair also reinforced their commitment to launch a 22-team city-based “Minor League” T20 franchise tournament this summer to lay the foundation for a “Major League Cricket” T20 franchise event launch in 2021. However, USA Cricket did not disclose any specifics about city locations or the scale of the tournaments, nor did they disclose any documents communicating the board’s financial standing at the end of 2019 as part of an annual report published on the same day of the AGM.”To truly make cricket a mainstream sport in the US, we need to work together to tackle five things: to grow engagement, to increase participation, to improve the performance of national teams, to deliver financial stability, and to build trust within the entire community,” Higgins said during the AGM, which was conducted as a 35-minute listen-only conference call for members.”If we are able to grow the sport as we anticipate, if we are able to deliver on all of our strategic objectives in partnership with all of you, we all at USA Cricket – and I can also speak on behalf of the ICC and the international cricket community – we believe the future of cricket in the USA is extremely bright.”ICC officials have previously pinned major plans on expanding USA’s role in the global market and Higgins, the former chief operating officer of the ICC, backed that up on Friday night with the pursuit of hosting an ICC tournament. He also reaffirmed that USA Cricket will support the inclusion of cricket for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, which he believes would contribute towards a major transformation for the awareness and engagement of the sport in the USA.”At one end of the spectrum, we ultimately hope of course that USA Cricket, both men and women, can achieve Full Member status and can have regular cricket against Full Members, regular participation in ICC global events,” Higgins said. “At the other end of the spectrum, we’re hoping to see huge growth and rapid growth in the levels of engagement with cricket in schools and in community programs up and down the country.”Along the way we are also pursuing the exciting prospect of staging an ICC global event, if not more than one global event in the next eight-year ICC commercial rights cycle. We’re working with our friends in the international cricketing community now about how we best position ourselves to hopefully stage ICC global events in the future. Of course, we are hoping to seek the inclusion of cricket in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 which we think will have an incredibly catalytic effect on the growth of cricket in this country.”In the last 20 years there have been multiple aborted efforts to launch a franchise T20 competition in the USA, beginning with ProCricket’s lone season in 2004 and followed by a failed partnership between New Zealand Cricket and USA Cricket Association in 2010. But Marathe, who doubles as executive vice president for the NFL’s San Francisco 49ers, said he believed the launch of USA’s own franchise T20 cricket tournament – starting with the Minor League T20 later this summer – will be a turning point in American cricket history.”The reason why we’re excited about this is because we really have an opportunity to make history together, both with Major League Cricket and ACE, and within USA Cricket and all of you guys with our USA Cricket membership,” Marathe said. “We always knew there is a latent fanbase within the US for cricket. You can see by virtue of the appetite for global cricket there already is here. Here we are the largest media market in the world without a league of our own.”So this is really neat for us to be able to do this partnership, to build this league and really build something that outlasts any of our lifetimes. Something that we look back on this 50 years from now or 100 years from now and people think about, ‘How did the USA become such a dominant global force in cricket?'”The pair were the only two to speak during the AGM. Aside from a passing mention in the annual report about a “dropoff in membership numbers,” there was no discussion for how USA Cricket plans to arrest the major decline in members from 2018 to 2019. After having approximately 5500 members registered and eligible to vote in 2018, just 725 renewed for this past year, an 87% decline. There was also no financial disclosure made during the meeting, other than to confirm that USA Cricket had spent money in the summer of 2019 to professionally contract numerous players as well as hire more technical support staff with funding provided through their commercial partnership with ACE.

Kylian Mbappe has reacted to his “magical” debut for Real Madrid, with the Frenchman scoring a goal and winning a trophy in the UEFA Super Cup.

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• French star joined Blancos as a free agent
• Latest 'Galactico' at Santiago Bernabeu
• Already has a goal & trophy to his name

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The World Cup winner was granted an extended break on the back of his commitments at Euro 2024, with Real leaving him out of their pre-season tour in the United States. After arriving in Spain as a free agent from Paris Saint-Germain, Mbappe has been given time in which to adjust to life in new surroundings.

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• WHAT MBAPPE SAID

  He was included from the start in a Super Cup clash with Atalanta, and made an immediate impact as he found the target in a 2-0 win. Mbappe told afterwards: “It’s a magical night. Always dreaming about this time of night, and now it is a reality. To play for this club, the best club in the world, is something crazy. I’m really happy to make my debut today. Of course we won a trophy. It’s really important to win a trophy, because everyone has won here. It’s a big pleasure for me, also to score a goal. As a striker, to be there and score for my team is always a pleasure and I hope to stay like this in the season to help the team more.”

• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Mbappe has become the latest ‘Galactico’ in Madrid and says it was never going to be a problem for him playing alongside fellow superstars such as Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham. The France international added: “It is easy to play with them because they are great players, and all of the players in the team are great. This is Real Madrid and that’s why this is the best club in the world, because we have the best players here. It is a pleasure to play with Rodrygo, with Vinicius, also with Bellingham and with all the guys.”

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• WHAT NEXT?

  Real are now readying themselves for the start of the 2024-25 La Liga season. Their defence of that domestic crown will get underway on the road at Real Mallorca on Sunday, with Mbappe also setting his sights on Champions League glory now that he is fully on board with the Blancos.

MatériaMais Notícias

O goleiro Cássio admitiu que falhou no segundo gol do Red Bull Bragantino, na vitória por 2 a 1 sobre Corinthians, de virada, nesta quarta-feira (16), pela quarta rodada do Campeonato Brasileiro, na Neo Química Arena, em Itaquera.

– Eu estava relaxado também. Foi muito rápido o lance, dei uma relaxada, mas foi um chute rápido, não consegui fazer a defesa – disse o camisa 12 na saída de campo, ao Premiere.

>> Confira a tabela do Brasileirão e simule os jogos do Corinthians
>> Baixe o novo app de resultados do LANCE!

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Ainda assim, o arqueiro corintiano reclamou de uma falta de João Victor no lance.

– Estamos nos ajustando. Conversamos bastante sobre essa bola na primeira trave. Não vi bem, vou olhar para ver, mas creio que foi falta no segundo gol.

Líder máximo do elenco do Corinthians, Cássio não escondeu a insatisfação com o revés, mas já pensa no próximo compromisso do clube, no próximo domingo (20), às 16h, contra o Bahia, em Salvador.

– É duro perder em casa, mas temos que já pensar no próximo adversário. Ver o que podemos melhorar nesse jogo – afirmou o goleiro.

A derrota para o Red Bull Bragantino, interrompe uma sequência de três jogos que o Timão estava sem perder, com dois empates, contra Atlético-GO, pela Copa do Brasil, e Palmeiras, pelo Brasileirão, e uma vitória, contra o América-MG, pelo Brasileiro.

Last weekend's FA Cup victory over Leicester should have been a happy moment for Chelsea and their supporters.

Among the goalscorers were Noni Madueke and Carney Chukwuemeka, two players who are the future of Stamford Bridge.

However, after a remarkable own goal from Axel Disasi and a rather dismal game for Raheem Sterling, negativity still engulfed a football club desperate to wipe away toxicity.

You feel that may well not happen until Mauricio Pochettino is gone. However, his name isn't the only one on the chopping block with the Blues in need of somewhat of a clear-out in the summer transfer window.

One name that should arguably become less prominent in 2024/25 is Sterling.

Raheem Sterling's season in numbers

At Manchester City Sterling had become world-class. This was a winger at the very peak of their powers, notably scoring double figures across seven straight seasons. He had also found the net on more than 20 occasions in three straight campaigns, even finding the net 31 times during 2019/20.

Where has that form gone then? Sterling isn't reaching the end of his career. He's still 29. The attacker should be at his peak still.

Unfortunately, the Stamford Bridge scenery doesn't help one bit. The England international has been a phenomenal player across the last decade of Premier League football but at Chelsea he is anything but.

The clash with Leicester last weekend just about summed it up. The former Liverpool man took a penalty from Cole Palmer's grasp only to miss and then sunk a close-range free-kick high, wide and handsome. It ended up in the crowd, a crowd that would then boo him.

Sterling was later substituted to warm applause but it was a game that rather aptly typified his lukewarm performances in the capital to date. It may be somewhat of a surprise to learn, therefore, that he is their second-best contributor of attacking involvements this term behind Palmer, scoring eight times and supplying ten assists.

On a rather ridiculous salary of £325k-per-week, trying to shift the forward will be troublesome but they can soon start to cast him aside courtesy of a very exciting wonderkid.

Chelsea's readymade Sterling replacement

In 2025, Chelsea will welcome one of the finest young talents in world football to the capital.

That happens to be Kendry Paez, a 16-year-old Ecuadorian who has been garnering quite a reputation throughout the globe for his stunning performances at such a young age.

The Blues agreed a £17.2m deal last year to sign the player but he is legally not allowed to move until he turns 18. As a result, it's unlikely we'll see him plying his trade with the club until the summer of 2025 at the very earliest.

Chelsea: Poch's stunning starting XI in 2025 built around Kendry Paez

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Matt Dawson

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So, Sterling's place will be safe for the time being but considering Paez's ability to play on the flanks, he could be coming for the Englishman's place before too long.

What makes him so exciting? Well, he possesses a deft touch and simply awe-inspiring ball control. His dribbling ability is mesmerising too. Described as a 'technical magician' by Total Football Analysis, one of their writers noted the following: 'His attributes when it comes to dribbling, ball control, and general attacking contributions already make him a big threat.'

There is quite the hype surrounding Paez with talent scout Jacek Kulig once adding: "Every time Kendry Paez touches the ball you can almost feel his incredible class through the TV/computer."

Scoring on your senior debut at the age of 15 has no doubt spread the appeal from a young age but he's not slowing down and he's not going away.

The teenage sensation is one of the best wonderkids on the planet and has been labelled as such by GOAL's NXGN list for 2024. The Ecuadorian sensation sits at 14th this year, a position he will no doubt improve upon once he sets foot in English football.

So far this season Paez has one goal across three appearances, but his tally at senior level is already so mightily impressive. For his club, Independiente del Valle, he has found the net on six occasions in 30 outings.

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Batsman committed to KKR contract, and T20 World Cup ambitions, despite Test talk from Vaughan

ESPNcricinfo staff30-Jan-2020Tom Banton says he has ambitions to play Test cricket, but is not about to be swayed by Michael Vaughan’s assertion that he needs to ditch his Indian Premier League contract to take part in the County Championship with Somerset.Speaking on the eve of England’s first warm-up match on the white-ball leg of their tour of South Africa, Banton, 21, admitted he is still getting his head round a “whirlwind” 12 months, which included a starring role in the Royal London Cup final at Lord’s, an explosive introduction to the Big Bash League with Brisbane Heat, and a maiden England T20 call-up for the recent tour of New Zealand.And now, with a number of England’s World Cup-winning batsmen resting for the ODIs in South Africa, Banton is in line to make his international debut in the 50-over format too. In the short term, his likely berth will be at No,3, with England’s established pair of Jonny Bairstow and Jason Roy set to resume their alliance at the top of the order.While Banton’s outstanding talent was already well known on the county circuit, his profile was sent soaring over the course of this winter – most particularly at the BBL, where his haul of three fifties in seven matches included a stunning innings of 56 from 19 balls against Sydney Thunder, featuring five sixes in a row and seven in total.That innings, and similarly hard-hitting knocks against Melbourne Stars and Perth Scorchers, confirmed the impression that Kolkata Knight Riders had picked up a bargain in signing Banton for just over £100,000 at the IPL auction in December. He is set to link up at the franchise with the England white-ball captain Eoin Morgan, where the influence of head coach Brendon McCullum will no doubt help to hone his game in the shortest format.All of which means that, regardless of Vaughan’s belief that Banton is ready to challenge for a Test berth (despite averaging 27.12 in 12 first-class matches for Somerset), his short-term career trajectory could not be clearer.ALSO READ: ‘Kookaburra would bring different skill-set to IPL’ – MahmoodAsked whether he would be honouring his KKR contract, Banton said: “Yes, 100 percent. When I was growing up, IPL was definitely something I thought I’d love to do, and play for England and definitely in Test cricket as well. But we’ll just have to wait and see.””I just think this last year has been a whirlwind,” he added. “I was in Perth last year playing first grade for South Perth and I think I averaged 10 across all cricket. I wasn’t really sure if I was enjoying it that much, which was a bit of a shame.”I’d open and seem to get out in the first two overs, and then not do a lot for about a month or so. But definitely I’d like to play Test cricket. I’ll just take it day by day and see how it goes.”And yet, despite his success, Banton was candid about the state of his game after linking up with the England squad in Paarl, and said that he would be seeking the advice of England’s Test captain Joe Root, ahead of their practice matches against a South Africa Invitation XI on Friday and South Africa A on Saturday.”I think the last few months, I’ve kind of lost, not the basics of cricket, but just there that net session didn’t feel like how I’d have liked it to have done. After this, I’m going to hit with Rooty.”I just feel I’m not coming forward as much as I’d like to, but I guess there’s always areas you can improve on. I just want to keep enjoying my cricket, I love playing it and a bad net session isn’t going to change a career.”With back-to-back T20 World Cups looming in Australia this winter and India in 2021-22, Banton’s inclusion in the 50-over squad is a reflection of how that format is now being used to test up-and-coming prospects. For the moment, he will be on the outside looking in when the three-match T20I series begins next month, with the likes of Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler returning to the front line in his place.However, he is still firmly focussed on pressing his T20I claims, having had a taste of the format with three matches and a top score of 31 from 20 balls in New Zealand in November.”I’m yet to get a score with an England badge on, which is pretty disappointing,” he said. “I’ve only played three games, I know, but it’s something to do.”Maybe one of those 30s could have gone on to be a 60 and it would have been completely different, but I’m not going to change the way I’ve played.”The white-ball team seems so strong at the moment but I’d love to go,” he added. “You’ve just got to keep performing, haven’t you? We’ve got the summer coming up and an IPL so I think some strong performances there are going to help.”