To call this Women’s World Cup a revolution for the game would not be an overstatement. It has been watched by over 50 million people with the TV audience up 80% on 2013. On Sunday, at Lord’s, there will be more than 26,000 people in the ground.”It has exceeded all expectations,” Steve Elworthy, the Women’s World Cup tournament director told ESPNcricinfo. It certainly has.When Elworthy and his team, the same people who worked on the Champions Trophy, began the planning for the Women’s World Cup they had one major aim: to sell out Lord’s for the final. “We thought that would be a massive statement,” he said.Not only have they achieved that but four weeks before the showpiece finish, Derby was sold out for the opener when the two finalists met. Then it was sold out again for the match between India and Pakistan. Long before they got to Lord’s, the tournament was gaining plenty of interest.Elworthy put the increased awareness down to three major things: the intent by the organisers to stage this tournament in the same way as they have done men’s major events, the facilities used and, ultimately, the cricket.”We wanted to make sure the women’s game was delivered on-par with the men’s game. So the transport, the logistics, business-class flights, the same per-diems as the men. It’s all on parity in terms of operational delivery,” he said. “And then using first-class county grounds put it at a different level because they deliver first-class facilities all throughout the year. But the quality of the cricket is what’s changed people’s minds. We’ve just made sure that the wraparound is good.”An upset on the first day, where India beat England followed by a nerve-jangling win for South Africa against Pakistan ensured the opening weekend generated interest so that even when more one-sided contests played out, fans were following a narrative. That meant even though this World Cup was being played at the same time as a Test series, a T20 competition and Wimbledon, it has continued to engage.”It’s punching above its weight,” Elworthy said. “There’s the British Open this weekend, there was Wimbledon, there’s a T20 Blast. We are still getting interest. If you think of it as a standalone product, it’s doing incredibly well.”Interestingly, it is doing as well among male supporters as it is among female with a 50-50 split in the tickets sales. “When you think of a Women’s World Cup, you might think you will just target women and young girls but the number of dads we have seen with their daughters and families coming through has been great,” Elworthy said.Perhaps more noteworthy is that almost a third of the fans attending matches are under-16s and that is the demographic the tournament organisers most wanted to catch. In order to grow the game across genders, they believe they need to reach out to as many young people as possible and so have distributed 10,000 bats and balls, of which 4,500 will be given away at Lord’s during the final, to give people a feel of playing cricket.”One of the key elements of getting young kids to play is the correlation of them picking up a bat and ball and then converting them into using it. It tells me maybe we’ve got 10,000 new people who are going to play cricket. The conversation rate is incredibly high – it’s well over 80% if the people actually experience playing that they will continue.”So whatever happens between England and India on the field, this Women’s World Cup can be declared a massive success off it. It may also be a pioneer because it could set the standard which future events have to match up to. If it were up to Elworthy the next event, which is due to be held in New Zealand in 2021, would only require minor tweaks to ensure it fits into its proposed window.”This was going to be initially 24-game tournament with two groups of four and then a knockout stage but then it was changed to one group of eight. So the next step is to make sure that if it’s the same format, there is enough time to play a full round-robin set of games and not have four matches on one day,” he said.Given the massive upsurge in television viewership, he would also like all matches televised globally by the major broadcaster and not streamed, as was the case this time. Initially, the ICC were only going to have cameras at 10 matches but then decided to shoot at all of them and offer a streaming service for the other 21, with reduced numbers of cameras. Elworthy hopes that was only the beginning. “Ideally you want all 31 games broadcast. If this is the pinnacle of the women’s game, that has to be the next level of thinking.”

The Cricket Advisory Committee needed more time and to speak to the India captain Virat Kohli before finalising on Anil Kumble’s successor

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Jul-20172:12

Kohli will be consulted, but he’s not the main decision-maker – Ganguly

India will continue to be without a head coach for the tour of Sri Lanka, which begins on July 26, after Sourav Ganguly said the Cricket Advisory Committee needed more time and to speak to the India captain Virat Kohli before finalising on Anil Kumble’s successor.The CAC, which also includes Sachin Tendulkar and VVS Laxman, had interviewed Lalchand Rajput, Richard Pybus, Tom Moody, Virender Sehwag and Ravi Shastri – Phil Simmons wasn’t available – for the job. Ganguly said the panel did not want to make a rushed decision without speaking at length to the stakeholders who would be working with the coach after the appointment was made.”We feel there is no hurry at the moment,” Ganguly said on Monday in Mumbai. “Sri Lanka tour is in a week’s time, the board headed by [secretary] Amitabh Choudhary and [CEO] Rahul Johri will probably continue with the same set for the time being.”We want to speak to Virat Kohli once he is back from America, all three of us along with the respective people concerned. We will explain to him that the coaches want to function in a certain way and make sure that everybody is on the same page before we make the announcement, because once we make the announcement it has to be till the [2019] World Cup.”You got to give credit to Virat that he is just completely straight about it. He has no input, he has not sent any names, but we feel as the Advisory Committee that he is the captain, which is the most important thing in cricket. He and everyone of us need to be on the same page because for us Indian cricket is more important. We are just a small bit; the main bit is the players who are going to play with the coach.”India have been without a head coach since the end of the Champions Trophy in England in June, when Kumble’s one-year term came to an end. Kumble had been offered an extension to cover India’s tour of the West Indies immediately after the Champions Trophy, but he declined owing to a breakdown in his relationship with Kohli. The India captain had earlier told BCCI officials that some players were uncomfortable with the “intimidating” style of Kumble’s man management.

Jose Mourinho slammed his Roma players for their 'superficial' attitude in their 1-1 draw with Servette and singled out Housseum Aouar for criticism.

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Roma held to 1-1 draw at ServetteSecond in group behind Slavia PrahaMourinho slams players after resultGetty ImagesWHAT HAPPENED?

Roma's chances of finishing first in their Europa League group took a blow as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Swiss side Servette on Thursday. Mourinho's team took the lead after 21 minutes through Chelsea loanee Romelu Lukaku but Chris Bedia levelled proceedings five minutes after the break as both sides came away with a point. After the match, Mourinho laid into his players, including summer signing Aouar.

Advertisement(C)GettyImagesWHAT JOSE MOURINHO SAID

He told Sky Sport Italia: "We had important opportunities, but the start of the second half was something that happens too often to us. It’s a pity that you don’t have a camera in our locker room at half-time, because every time I make it clear to them that the opponents playing at home who are a goal down will come out fighting.

"That is a natural reaction, it is something we expect. Yet again we were superficial in our attitude, in our interpretation of this moment of the match. There are players who once again missed an opportunity to prove themselves, for example, Aouar.

“There are several who are on the bench and come on in Serie A with a great attitude, then in the Europa League they come on with this sluggish attitude, like they are not accustomed to being on the bench and then do not improve the game.”

Getty ImagesTHE BIGGER PICTURE

Roma will be in the knockout stages of the Europa League but it is likely they will face a side who has come third in their respective Champions League group after failing to put away Servette. Mourinho led Roma to the Europa Conference League title in 2022 and were runners up in this competition last season. With the former Chelsea boss expected to leave the Italian giants at the end of the season, extra games will not make his task of claiming more silverware any easier.

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WHAT NEXT FOR ROMA?

Roma's final group stage game is against Sheriff on December 14. They will have to beat the Moldovan side and hope Slavia lose against Servette to top the group and avoid the play-offs.

Predicting the future of football is never easy, especially when looking at players who could really have legacy-defining eras. With the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, it seemed pretty guaranteed where football's crown was heading for as long as they were playing at the top of European football.

Back in 2019, however, French outlet L'Equipe attempted to predict the stars that would come next, tipping six young players to dominate European football.

Since the prediction four years ago, those players have had incredibly mixed spells, though, and it's fair to say that some have simply failed to live up to their potential.

With that said, we've taken a look at just how their respective careers have gone so far.

6 Karamoko Dembele

Tipped to become the next best thing, Karamoko Dembele was 16 at the time of his inclusion on L'Equipe's 2019 list. Now only 20, it's far too early to completely write off the former Celtic winger.

The pressure at 16 would have been incredibly difficult, and since leaving Scotland, Dembele has struggled to ever kickstart what is still an early career. At Brest last season, though, summing up recent years, the 20-year-old failed to score a single goal.

5 Ansu Fati

Also included on the list was Barcelona's Ansu Fati. And this came as no surprise, considering the winger's emergence as one of the most exciting players at the Nou Camp. Injury issues have halted his rise to the top since, however, with the Spaniard missing 35 games since the 21/22 season.

In the last campaign, he at least started getting things back on track as Barcelona won their first La Liga title under Xavi, and Fati scored seven goals.

4 Sebastiano Esposito

You'd be forgiven for not exactly knowing the name Sebastiano Esposito. Once tipped for great things at Inter Milan, the forward has so far failed to reach his potential.

Still only 21, he has plenty of time to become the player that L'Equipe once tipped him to become back in 2019, but after a failed loan spell at Anderlecht, it's far from looking promising for Esposito.

3 Joelson Fernandes

Once again a name that may not be too familiar with a number of fans, Joelson Fernandes has never really got going at Sporting, despite initially being tipped to become the next best thing.

Making just four appearances for the first team, the winger never looked like reaching his potential in Portugal, and has since spent a season on loan at FC Basel, where he scored four goals, before ending up at Turkish side Hatayspor.

2 Mohamed Amine Ihattaren

Mohamed Amine Ihattaren has had the most difficult journey of these players since being included in L'Equipe's list of young players. There was even a point that the midfielder was reportedly considering retirement due to mental health issues.

The Juventus midfielder didn't feature last season, and it remains to be seen where his future lies in football.

1 Karim Adeyemi

Onto a player that everyone should be familiar with, Karim Adeyemi is well on his way to reaching his potential at Borussia Dortmund. After making the move to the Bundesliga giants back in the summer of last year, and has since enjoyed a promising debut campaign.

Ending the season with nine goals, and six assists, the only way is up for the 21-year-old.

Manchester United are reportedly willing to meet Fiorentina’s €30m (£25.7m) asking price to sign midfielder Sofyan Amrabat.

Are Man United signing Sofyan Amrabat?

The Red Devils and Erik ten Hag have already made a start on their summer business by bringing in Mason Mount from Chelsea in a deal worth £60m. The England international has taken the famous number seven shirt at Old Trafford, and a new goalkeeper and forward also appear to be on the agenda.

After David de Gea officially left the club, United have been pushing to sign Andre Onana from Inter Milan, and it looks as if a move is close for the Cameroon international.

Onana may not be the final addition, though, with an offer made for Atalanta’s Rasmus Hojlund. The Red Devils proposed a player-plus-cash move, however, the Serie A side aren’t interested and would only want an £85.5m payment for the Denmark international.

Another new midfielder could also be a possibility, with previous reports this month suggesting that personal terms had already been agreed between United and Amrabat.

The Faithful MUFC relayed a further update from Spain in the last 48 hours regarding Amrabat and a possible move to Old Trafford. It is believed that Ten Hag has personally requested Amrabat’s services in Manchester and sees Amrabat as an ideal partner for Casemiro. The Red Devils are willing to pay Fiorentina’s €30m (£25.7m) asking price.

Barcelona have also been showing an interest in the midfielder as they look to replace Sergio Busquets, however, the La Liga champions seemingly cannot afford Amrabat at this moment in time, leaving the door open for Man United.

How good is Sofyan Amrabat?

Amrabat actually worked under Ten Hag at FC Utrecht and has been with Fiorentina since 2020. The 26-year-old has made more than 100 appearances for his current employers and has enjoyed a solid 12 months which has resulted in his Transfermarkt valuation increasing from €10m to a career-high €30m.

As per FBref in the last 365 days, Amrabat ranks in the top 1% of midfielders for long passes completed, top 2% for medium passes completed, top 5% for overall pass completion percentage and top 8% for passes into the final third, showing how he could bring plenty of control and quality to Old Trafford.

Hailed as a "monster" in the media, Amarabat was also praised by former England manager Fabio Capello for his displays at last year's World Cup in Qatar, with the Italian describing Amrabat as the 'Gennaro Gattuso of Morocco'.

"If I have to name one name, besides the well-known Hakim Ziyech and Achraf Hakimi, it would be Amrabat. He is essential for balance and a great runner. I read that he covered more than fourteen kilometres against Spain. I see him as the Gennaro Gattuso of Morocco."

It looks as if United’s focus at this moment in time is to seal a transfer for Onana, but by the looks of things, they could soon make their move for Amrabat, and you could argue that the Red Devils would be getting a player at the top of his game following his form over the past year.

Aston Villa are reportedly interested in Egyptian winger Ibrahim Adel, as Unai Emery eyes reinforcements this summer.

The Spaniard is off to a strong start in the transfer window, with partner Monchi overseeing his first signing by bringing Pau Torres into the set-up from Villarreal.

With Youri Tielemans also on board, Emery could equip his side further with signing Adel, who is a name on the target list of a host of clubs.

Could Aston Villa sign Ibrahim Adel?

As reported by 90min earlier this week, the Egyptian forward has captured the eyes of a list of Premier League clubs, including the Midlands outfit.

The report claims that the Villans have ‘expressed an interest’ in the 22-year-old, who currently represents Pyramids FC in his home country.

Chelsea and Newcastle are named among the list of admirers from the Premier League, with the hype surrounding the winger coming from his performances at the recent U23 Africa Cup of Nations.

How good is Ibrahim Adel?

Winning second prize is never easy, however, gaining a silver medal and the U23 AFCON Player of the Tournament prize makes missing out just a little sweeter.

As the captain of Egypt’s U23s, Adel was named as the best player for his ‘dominance and playmaking skills’, as per the tournament’s official site.

Having also gained four caps for the senior Egyptian side, the 22-year-old gem has been recognised as an upcoming talent, with the expectation that he will graduate from his homeland to seek a new journey in Europe.

Once hailed as being the “next big thing” and the “future of Egyptian football” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, there is little surprise that Villa are reported to be interested in the winger this summer.

Emery stated back in January that he wished to sign a ‘specialist winger’, which is something he could achieve by signing Adel, who is extremely versatile in playing along the front line.

Deployable as a striker or on either flank, the right-footed sensation is best utilised on the right side where he can fully exploit his strengths in front of goal.

It’s a good time for the Villans to seek interest in a winger, with journalist Tom Collomosse revealing in his Daily Mail column this week that Leon Bailey is for sale this summer.

Scoring just five times in 51 Premier League appearances, the £25m deal for the Jamaican was a mundane one for a player that was expected to lift off in the league on the back of impressive form in the Bundesliga.

The 25-year-old’s reportedly expected departure could leave room for Villa to swoop for Adel, who could prove to be a better option for Emery’s side than the former Bayer Leverkusen man.

Across 77 Egyptian Premier League appearances, the 22-year-old wizard has netted 21 goals, as well as registering seven assists in an imposing rise to fame in the beginning of his career, via Transfermarkt.

In terms of action in the final third, the youngster has highlighted more of a threat than Bailey over the past few years, and with a youthful spirit and a desire to breakthrough in Europe on his side, could explore further highs to his game.

Emery must act fast to win the race to sign the Egyptian, who with many interested parties coming forward, will be one to watch this summer.

The left-arm spin-bowling allrounder is a like-for-like replacement for the suspended Ravindra Jadeja

ESPNcricinfo staff09-Aug-2017

India have brought in left-arm spin-bowling allrounder Axar Patel for the Pallekele Test, as a replacement for the suspended Ravindra Jadeja. He will be the third spinner in the squad behind offspinner R Ashwin and left-arm wristspinner Kuldeep Yadav.Axar is yet to make his debut in Test cricket, but has played 30 ODIs and seven T20 internationals. He has played 23 first-class matches and taken 79 wickets at 30.37. He has just finished playing the 50-over tri-series in South Africa with India A. He finished the team’s third-highest wicket-taker in the series with seven wickets in four games and an economy rate of 4.11.Jadeja was suspended at the end of the second Test for disciplinary issues; following an incident where he threw the ball at batsman Malinda Pushpakumara “in a dangerous manner” according to the on-field umpires. He was given three demerit points, taking his total to six demerit points inside a 24-month period which triggered a one-Test suspension. Incidentally, he was the Man of the Match in that Test for his his unbeaten 70 off 85 balls and second-innings five-for, following which he moved to No. 1 on the Test allrounder rankings, to go with his No. 1 rating among Test bowlers.The Pallekele Test begins on August 12. India have already won the three-match series, with victories in Galle and at the SSC.Updated India squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Abhinav Mukund

Ellie Roebuck has opened up on a "really tough" period that has seen her lose her starting spot at Manchester City and her place in the England squad.

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• Roebuck opens up on "really tough" season
• Goalkeeper lost City starting role
• 24-year-old suffered England snub

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  Roebuck has not featured for City since May, when she was sent off against Manchester United in a WSL clash. City boss Gareth Taylor has since instilled 19-year-old Khiara Keating as his number one, with Roebuck's lack of minutes costing her a place in the Lionesses' squad in November.

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• Getty
  

  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The reasons behind Roebuck's relegation to the bench at City are unclear, and at times this season she has been absent from the matchday squad despite being fit. After committing the 24-year-old from her England squad last month, Sarina Wiegman said the goalkeeper needs to try and "find opportunities."

• WHAT ROEBUCK SAID

  Speaking to about her situation, Roebuck said: "I make no bones about it, it's been a pretty tough few months of the season. I'm just head down, working as hard as I can, and I'll continue to support the team. Working hard is all I can control.

  "I want to be playing football, that's what I do, it's my job, my love, my passion."

  When asked if her desire to return to the England squad will impact any decisions on her future, Roebuck said: "Definitely, that's a huge priority for me. It's the greatest honour to play for the national team, it was really tough for me not to make the last camp. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't on my mind."

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  WHAT NEXT FOR ROEBUCK?

  Roebuck looks unlikely to win back her starting spot at City any time soon, but there have been no concrete reports linking her with a move away from the club in January. She'll continue to try and impress Taylor on the training pitch while City fight in the WSL and WSL Cup.

Chelmsford is the birthplace of artists and magicians. Simon Harmer, making a home for himself there, could be both after another extraordinary display stretched Essex’s lead to 29 points

Paul Edwards at Chelmsford29-Jun-2017
ScorecardChelmsford is the birthplace of the artist Grayson Perry and was also the town where the 16th century magician, John Dee, was educated. It is therefore well-used to astonishing transformations. However, whether credulous or sceptical, residents will have seen little to compare with the latter stages of this match, when Simon Harmer engraved his name in folk memory of Essex cricket-lovers on one the greatest day’s sport seen on this ground.In November 2015 Harmer was playing for South Africa in a Test match at Nagpur. Since then he has seen his stock fall in his home country and in the winter he committed himself to a career as a county cricketer with Essex.Last week he took 14 wickets against Warwickshire and on this wonderful last day against the champions he collected a career-best 9 for 95 finishing the match with figures of 14-172. By doing so he sent a thousand or so hardy souls at the County Ground into floodlit ecstasy, for they had seen their side complete their third victory in succession and this with a maximum of eight balls remaining in the game.When they descend from their rare euphoria, Essex supporters may realise that their team is now 29 points clear at the top of the Division One table. What they will also understand is that they have witnessed a victory the unlikelihood of which made it all the more worthy of celebration.With six overs left to be bowled Essex still needed four wickets and doubts began to creep in among spectators, even if the hesitancy of the later Middlesex batsmen encouraged hope among Ryan ten Doeschate’s players. That belief was fuelled by the fact that the pink Duke’s ball was retaining its bounce more than the red variety, a fact which the 6ft 2ins Harmer had been able to exploit throughout the match. And the problems of the Middlesex batsmen were increased by Harmer’s ability to use the footholes left by Mohammed Amir and Paul Walter. For all that time was running out, one never felt that Dawid Malan’s batsmen were comfortable. Certainly they never looked like clearing the 296-run deficit established by Essex’s dynamic batting on the third day of this game.In the 108th over of the innings Ryan Higgins played inside what looked like an arm ball and was caught at slip by Alastair Cook, for whom this match was the pleasantest of temporary farewells before the Test series. Three balls later Ollie Rayner collected a pair when he was leg before on the front foot. Harmer had now taken all eight wickets to fall in the innings but his chances of taking all ten disappeared three overs later when Dan Lawrence trapped Toby Roland-Jones lbw for a single although there was a case the ball pitched outside leg. Nobody minded, least of all Harmer who brushed away Lawrence apologies in the joy of shared achievement. Three balls of Harmer’s subsequent over passed and it seemed clear that Lawrence or possibly Amir would be bowling the last over of the game.Simon Harmer wheels away with his Essex team-mates after his match-sealing wicket•Getty Images

That over was never delivered. Perhaps scared of commitment, Steven Finn plunged forward but played no shot to Harmer’s third last ball of the game. An appeal followed that could be heard in either of the Baddows. There was a raised finger from David Millns. Harmer began the first Essex bowler since Mark Ilott in 1995 to take nine wickets in an innings and ten Doeschate’s men are hot favourites for the title now. This will be Harmer’s match but so was last week’s.”It’s not going to get too much better than this,” said Harmer. “You just need to ride the wave – they don’t come around that often. We will enjoy tonight and have a few beers. It’s an incredible win for the club. It puts us in phenomenal position going into the last six games of the season. We’ve done a lot of hard work, a lot of hard graft and been on top of our game. We’ve come out on top in the last 10 minutes of the day today. These are the moments you play cricket for. It makes all the hard graft worth it.”And yet it takes two teams to make a contest as noble as this one and in the joy of Harmer’s achievement, even the Essex supporters spared applause for Nick Compton, whose innings of 120 looked likely to frustrate Essex. And the Middlesex opener’s tale shares a very rough parallel with that of Harmer.Just over a year ago Compton’s name was blazoned in headlines. He was an England batsman. Yet within a few weeks some who had advocated his selection were vehement that he should never have been picked in the first place. No one, of course, has mentioned his name in connection with the England side for next week’s Test at Lord’s. Yet as we watched Compton make his century and bat in vain to save the game it was plain that he still retains the skill to play this game at a high level and the temperament to defy opponents in full cry.Harmer v Compton. Given a couple of different turns on the wheels of fortune and circumstance, it was a battle which might have been seen in next week’s Test match. And on the evidence of this quite wonderful last day at Chelmsford it would not have disgraced the stage at St John’s Wood.Compton arrived at New Writtle Street having scored 81 championship runs in four innings; injury and indifferent form have kept him out of the Middlesex team. Those factors by themselves were enough to make his effort at Chelmsford admirable. Yet the virtues of his batting were magnified by the intensity of the contest and the fact that his principal adversary, Harmer, is in the form of his life.So much was proved in the first half hour of play when Harmer dismissed Nick Gubbins, Stevie Eskinazi and Dawid Malan in five overs from the River End, reducing Middlesex to 51 for 3 and encouraging the hopes of home supporters that they were about to see ten Doeschate’s team achieve a facile innings victory and their fifth Division One triumph of the season.Yet this early clatter was misleading; instead of offering a strong clue to the narrative of the day, it merely set up the terrific duel of Thursday’s cricket: Both our principals had considerable help, of course. The main assistance to Harmer probably came from Dan Lawrence, whose high action gave his off-spinners every chance to bounce uncomfortably.Nick Compton dug in to defy the home attack•Getty Images

Compton was assisted deep into the heart of the day and beyond by Paul Stirling, who batted with commendable coolness and against his attacking instincts to make 55 in 202 minutes. While Compton and Stirling were adding 153 in 55 overs the five points for a draw were plainly secure. Then, five minutes before tea, Stirling, who had been dropped three times, was safely caught by Ravi Bopara at backward short leg. John Simpson resisted for 50 minutes but was beaten by Harmer’s turn and taken by Cook. Then Compton having faced 303 balls, 59 more than in his entire season before this innings, was leg before playing no shot to Harmer. The door was open and the Essex cricketers plunged through it. “Harmer’s a proper bowler,” said Essex’s Keith Fletcher, who faced a few and has seen countless more. No one anywhere in Essex doubts that judgement this glorious June evening.

Tottenham Hotspur are believed to in the mix to sign AS Roma defender, Roger Ibanez, with Ange Postecoglou continuing his search to find new centre-back recruits ahead of next season.

What are the latest Tottenham transfer rumours?

As per recent speculation, the Lilywhites are believed to be nearing a 'conclusion' in their negotiations for Wolfsburg's Micky van de Ven and Bayer Leverkusen's Edmond Tapsoba amid that centre-back search, with the latter man deemed to be the 'top target' at present, according to 90min.

While the north Londoners are hoping to strike a deal for less than the 24-year-old €50m (£43m) asking price, they could also be eyeing possible alternatives if a compromise cannot be met, with Italian outlet Siamolaroma reporting that Postecoglou and co are interested in the aforementioned Ibanez.

The report outlines that the likes of Fulham and Newcastle United are also showing an interest in the two-cap Brazil international, with the Serie A side said to be willing to discuss a possible exit for a fee of around €35m (£30m).

Should Tottenham sign Roger Ibanez?

Despite the ongoing focus on Tapsoba, it may prove to be a wise move if Spurs are to look to a slightly cheaper option such as Ibanez instead, with the former Atalanta man having sparkled during his time at the Stadio Olimpico thus far.

The 6 foot 1 rock was notably dubbed "outstanding" by journalist Josh Bunting last year after helping the Italian giants to Europa Conference League glory, having so far racked up 149 appearances in all competitions for the club after arriving on an initial loan deal back in 2020.

The one-time Fluminense sensation has also been the recipient of hefty praise from manager Jose Mourinho in recent times, with the former Tottenham boss lauding him as "untouchable", while also describing the defender as a player who has "given everything he has" during his time in Rome.

If Postecoglou was to firm up his interest in the Brazilian he would be acquiring a figure who is particularly adept at winning back possession at the heart of the backline, showcased by the fact that he ranks in the top 3% among those in his position in Europe's top five leagues for interceptions, as well as in the top 18% for tackles made.

That is a superior record to what Tapsoba has achieved in Germany over the past 365 days, with the Burkina Faso international ranking in just the bottom 39% for interceptions and just the top 36% for tackles.

While Ibanez is perhaps less adept at playing out from the back – as he ranks in just the bottom 21% for progressive passes, in contrast to Tapsoba (top 5%) – the in-demand ace does boast a pass accuracy rate of 87.7% as a marker of his composure on the ball, with that placing him slightly ahead of the Leverkusen man (86.4%).

Although Mourinho's prior 'untouchable' remark may ensure that it proves a difficult task trying to prise Ibanez away from Roma this summer, the £32k-per-week machine would represent an ideal option as far as Postecoglou is concerned.

With Spurs needing to improve upon last season's dismal defensive record – after shipping 63 league goals – such a signing could help to bring back some much-needed solidity at N17.