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Liverpool won hearts and minds with their Premier League title victory and could now be on the verge of ratifying one of the summer’s most exciting deals.

Liverpool make an instant impact in the summer window

The dust has started to settle on Liverpool claiming a second top-flight title of the modern era. Still, there have already been significant developments at Anfield in the early part of the summer window.

Jeremie Frimpong arrived to replace Trent Alexander-Arnold on Merseyside, and that only appears to be the tip of the iceberg when it comes to potential movement in both directions.

Finance expert Kieran Maguire has confirmed that Liverpool have £250 million to spend if they so wish without any threat of FFP involvement, which has paved the way for some exciting deals to occur over the next few months.

“Liverpool are in an excellent financial position. They didn’t spend very much in the 24-25 season, and they have the benefits of Champions League football next season. If they spent £250m, that would not be a problem.”

Liverpool transfer targets in pictures

Arne Slot made minimal changes last summer, but he has now identified Newcastle United’s Anthony Gordon as a top target at Anfield, even if he will cost around £80 million to lure from the North East.

Why the summer transfer window will close for six days and re-open again

Premier League clubs have recently voted for the transfer window to open early this summer – here’s how it will work and why it’s happening.

ByStephan Georgiou Mar 27, 2025

Finding themselves in the perfect position to kick on, Liverpool will be aware that their rivals are also tooling up with some intriguing signings, setting the scene for a brilliant Premier League title fight next term.

Now, Fabrizio Romano has confirmed the Reds are on the verge of completing a landmark deal ahead of the new campaign coming into focus.

Romano: Liverpool agree deal to sign Florian Wirtz

Taking to social media platform X, Romano revealed that Liverpool have now agreed a deal in principle to sign Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen and he will now head to England for his medical.

With personal terms and other formalities already agreed, it is understood that the Germany international will join for a fee of around £127 million, inclusive of add-ons.

Compared to Lionel Messi by Gerhard Struber, Wirtz registered 16 goals and 15 assists across 46 appearances in all competitions last term, and Reds journalist Paul Gorst said he will be a “statement signing”.

Notably, he earns around £73,300 at Bayer Leverkusen, a figure that will be expected to increase exponentially once his switch to Anfield is officially confirmed.

Weeks of overwhelming speculation surrounding Wirtz have become the early story of the window. Nevertheless, he now appears set to link up with Slot in a deal that will reverberate around the world.

He put on an unbroken 108 with Navdeep Saini after India A’s pace trio had run through the top order

Shashank Kishore05-Sep-2024

From the characteristic crouch in his stance to the backlift and manner of defending, it’s hard to miss Musheer Khan’s uncanny resemblance to older brother Sarfaraz. And the similarities don’t end there. Both have a penchant for big scores, even if their modus operandi are entirely different.Sarfaraz is all about gung-ho aggression and there’s an enterprise to his game that’s hard to miss. On Thursday, the opening day of the Duleep Trophy game between India A and India B in Bengaluru, he arched back to ramp his fifth delivery over the close-in cordon off a rip-roaring Khaleel Ahmed, soon after the openers had departed in quick succession.Musheer is the opposite, even if he can appear crabby and unorthodox at times, and he has been proving to be just as effective. Earlier this year, he finished second on the run charts at the Under-19 World Cup and backed it up with a double-ton, a clutch half-century and a match-winning hundred in the knockout rounds of Mumbai’s victorious Ranji Trophy campaign.India B desperately needed Musheer’s pluck when they were cut to size by the pace trio of Khaleel, Akash Deep and Avesh Khan. And he delivered: batting for over five hours to eke out an unbeaten 105 that helped lift India B from 94 for 7 to 202 for 7 at stumps.Having come in at No. 3, Musheer quickly saw the superstars – Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz and Rishabh Pant – fall in a heap post-lunch. While batting was difficult, the wickets largely came from shots induced by the pressure the fast bowlers exerted early on.Abhimanyu Easwaran chased a delivery on the seventh or eighth stump. Jaiswal was caught somewhere in between attempting a drive and a cut, and wafted to point. Sarfaraz was trapped lbw playing around his front pad. Pant was out to a brilliant running catch from Shubman Gill at mid-off, to a leading edge off a ball that bounced more than he may have anticipated. Except for Nitish Reddy, who was out to an unplayable Akash delivery that straightened off the seam to hit the top of off, the top order was largely responsible for their own undoing.Musheer soaked all of this in from the other end. The fast-bowling trio repeatedly tested his edges; he could have been out caught in the slips off Akash, off the second ball he faced. During his first half hour at the crease, he struggled to gauge the zip off a green-tinged surface where there was exaggerated seam movement.In a bid to counter it, Musheer tried to walk down the pitch to the fast bowlers.”It was based on the wicket and the conditions,” he later explained. “The ball was cutting off the wicket and swinging too, so I was trying to get as close to the [pitch of] the ball as possible, not give it the chance to swing.”While this wasn’t a bad ploy in principle, he struggled with his execution early on, especially with Khaleel and Akash darting the ball both ways. Even Shivam Dube’s length balls ducked in faster than Musheer anticipated and hit him on the pad while he was on the move. He survived a close lbw shout on impact.Having been on 6 off 52 balls at one stage, Musheer opened up once the spinners came on•PTI

At lunch, he was on 6 off 52 balls, seemingly unsure of where his runs would come. But where others fell looking to force the pace, Musheer fought through passages even when fluency deserted him and survival seemed his only option.Musheer explained his thinking at the end of the day’s play: “I was looking to collect whatever runs were coming my way, and not going searching for runs.”Every now and then, Akash turned into a wrecking ball of energy, doing unexpected things off the pitch. The ball to Nitish in his second spell was one such example. On another day, Akash could have easily had three wickets in his new-ball spell, but on this day he ended it with figures of 8-3-7-0.There was more of the same energy from Avesh, introduced as first change, as he built on that early pressure by hitting the deck and getting appreciable movement off the seam. And this relentless pressure was thrust on the batters for a better part of the first two sessions.It wasn’t until the first sign of spin that Musheer looked in his comfort zone. He welcomed his Mumbai teammate Tanush Kotian with a delicate paddle. Every now and then, Musheer sensed warning signs to rein himself in, like when a loose drive off Kuldeep Yadav’s first delivery flew wide of slip. And he quickly dusted himself off to refocus and bat time. And as he did, the fluency returned. Out came the full-blooded sweeps and the steps out to loft Kotian with the spin as he charged towards his century.At one point in the final session, with Musheer and Navdeep Saini having batted for over 20 overs, Avesh decided to take the short-ball route with two men back on the leg side for the pull. The same fast bowlers who had dictated terms earlier in the day now resigned themselves to a ploy that Musheer made look futile at the end of a long day. There couldn’t have been a bigger validation for his efforts.As Musheer whipped his helmet off and looked skywards, releasing his pent-up emotions and waving his bat to the dressing room after bringing up his third first-class century, Sarfaraz was among the first to jump out of his seat in applause. It was a poignant moment, too; for the better part of the last four seasons, Musheer has done all the applauding. It was now time for the big brother to return the favour, and he was more than happy to oblige.Musheer is only 19 and has bigger challenges ahead of him. But so far, he’s proved, whether at Mumbai or to the national selectors who handed him a Duleep Trophy debut, that he’s entirely at home at the deep end.

Says he sees himself playing the T20 format longer than the other two

Andrew McGlashan20-Aug-2024Steven Smith has not ruled out the possibility of pushing to represent Australia at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles with T20 likely to be a format he keeps playing longer than others although he has no retirement plans in his mind.Smith has signed a new three-year deal with Sydney Sixers in the BBL, which means he will be playing professional cricket until at least 2026-27. But he would need to force his way back into Australia’s T20 set-up were he to be realistic about the Olympics the following year having been omitted for this year’s T20 World Cup.”I could still be playing T20 cricket in four years, so you never know,” he said. “It’s a format I can see myself playing probably for a lot longer than some of the others, especially with the franchise stuff around the world. I’ve signed on here for three years so it’s only another year after that. It would be cool to be part of an Olympics.”Related

• Ponting tips Australia to beat India 3-1 in Border Gavaskar Trophy

• Warner signs for full BBL, Smith inks three-year Sixers deal

• Lyon on India: 'Ten years of unfinished business'

• Spencer Johnson ruled out of UK tour, Sean Abbott called up

But as far as the various international formats go, it remains the status quo for Smith. “I don’t have any plans,” he said. “I’m just enjoying playing at the moment, I’m pretty relaxed and looking forward to this summer.”Of more immediate significance for Smith is the upcoming international schedule. He will return to action in the ODIs in England next month (having again been left out for the T20Is) before the main event of India’s visit. Amid the conjecture around whether he will remain Australia’s Test opener, Smith is relishing the prospect of facing India over a five-match series.1:42

Smith happy to open or bat at No. 4 against India

It will be the first time the two teams have taken on each other across five Tests since 1991-92 although there has been no shortage of drama in the four-match contests in recent times. Australia are aiming to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the first time in ten years, having not beaten India since the 2014-15 series on home soil.”You can’t really hide in a five-Test series like you probably can in a two-match series for instance,” Smith said. “If someone gets the wood on you, it can be hard coming back from that. It’s going to be a wonderful series.”We are probably the two best teams at the moment in Test cricket. We played the World Test Championship final last year and beat them there. They’ve been great out here the last couple of times, they’ve played really good cricket, hopefully we can turn the tables. It’s been ten years since we last won the Border-Gavaskar trophy so need to do that this year.”If Australia retain the batting order they have had since David Warner’s retirement in January, Smith will be opening against the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj. Smith, who has a chance to pass 10,000 runs this summer, was elevated up the order when he told the selectors he was keen for the role. It also allowed Cameron Green to return at a more natural No. 4 but results were mixed for Smith across four Tests with 171 runs at 28.50 although that included a superb unbeaten 91 against West Indies.It is likely to be a topic that will dominate the next few months with Smith set to have some Sheffield Shield cricket before the India series.”The conversations I’ve had so far is that we’ll go to England… I’m there for the one-dayers, then make a decision after that,” he said. “There’s conversations happening in the background. You see some comments that guys like Usman [Khawaja] has said he likes me down at No. 4, think Marnus is of a similar thought pattern. We’ll wait and see. I’m happy to bat anywhere.”For me, it’s just a position. Batting at four, I could be in after the first two balls. I’ve been in early on many occasions and faced the new ball. For me, it’s kind of just a number. I batted at three for a long period of time as well and we lost wickets inside the first over and I’ll come out and score runs. The only real thing I had to get used to was how quick a turnaround it is when you come off the field and you only have ten minutes, particularly with the amount of mucking around I have in the changing rooms.”

The Blues do not consider the England man untouchable, and he would tick a lot of boxes for the Gunners given their need for a versatile attacker

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Heading into the summer transfer window, it felt like the world knew exactly what Arsenal had up their sleeve. Manager Mikel Arteta had alluded to a need and know-how to fix their problems from the 2024-25 season, before laying out how Kai Havertz, injured for the final third of the campaign, needed further support up front.

So how have the Gunners conducted their business so far? Well, they barely have at all. A deal for Martin Zubimendi is in its closing stages despite late interest from Real Madrid, though the north Londoners were confident this one was wrapped up all the way back in mid-January and yet it still isn't official. Kepa Arrizabalaga is set to come in from Chelsea as backup to David Raya, their eighth goalkeeper signing of the Arteta era. The search for a new No.9, though, is still rumbling on despite being in the market for that position for nearly two years.

Amidst all that, Arsenal are also supposedly on the lookout for another winger, but this could perhaps be an area to strengthen with a market opportunity given how expensive most top quality players in that position. Last week, it was reported they are one of several teams keeping tabs on Noni Madueke, who too could be sold by Chelsea. This is the opening the Gunners have been waiting for.

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  Chelsea's surplus of wingers

  If the three years of this Chelsea ownership group have taught us anything, it's that you can never predict what BlueCo are going to do next. When Todd Boehly had control of transfers for a short period as interim sporting director, he sought to continue the work of Roman Abramovich's tenure, spending lavishly on proven superstars such as Raheem Sterling and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang. Once more of a structure was put in place – not necessarily a coherent one, but a structure nonetheless – the strategy pivoted to becoming a rich man's Brighton, casting the net wide to secure the game's premier young talent.

  That's how Madueke ended up at Stamford Bridge. In January 2023, the Blues spent close to £100 million (€117m/$134m) on him and Mykhailo Mudryk to improve their options on the flanks. Two-and-a-half years on, Madueke is seemingly up for sale and Mudryk has been charged with doping offences.

  Ahead of 2025-26, Chelsea will have Madueke, Pedro Neto and Palmeiras' teenage sensation Estevao Willian competing for minutes. They are also expected to restart talks with Borussia Dortmund over Jamie Gittens after the Club World Cup, while Cole Palmer has been tested on the right again as Enzo Maresca looks ahead to another lengthy season on multiple fronts. Given their propensity to conduct business erratically and without rhyme or reason, you can't rule out another winger coming through the Cobham doors this summer.

  That, in part, is why Chelsea are a bit more open-minded about a Madueke sale than they were a few months ago. He isn't being forced out, but it appears increasingly likely they are heading towards a parting of ways. That feels a lot more plausible than beginning the new season as a starter.

Advertisement

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  Better than Palmer?

  Right, there is a very short and simple answer to this question. No. Obviously not. There is no chance any logical supporter even thinks this is up for debate, mostly because it isn't.

  However – and this is a big 'however' – do you reckon Madueke either thinks this right now, or at least thinks it could be true in the near future? The answer could be yes. You can argue that would be a sense of misplaced arrogance, but professional athletes are often wired different to the average human. And this isn't to put words in Madueke's mouth. This is all based in theory. It's a fun one, is it not? 'Does Madueke think he could be as good as or better than Palmer?' Come on, that's a doozie.

  Personal football coach Saul Isaksson-Hurst, who has worked with Madueke for over four years, admitted in an interview with that the winger has tried to add bits of Mohamed Salah to his own game, and that his mindset is a massive asset.

  "Noni has tremendous self-belief – and so he should," Isaksson-Hurst said. "He is one of the top young talents in world football but there is no arrogance there. He understands talent is nothing without hard work. He is also genuinely one of the nicest guys in football and very humble.

  "I can only talk about my experience with Noni and I've said it many times before, I've never come across a more hard working and determined individual. This guy is a mentality monster."

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  Slow striker search

  Let's have a gander at what's going on in N5. Arsenal have made little progress in their bid to add a new striker to their squad. Though Viktor Gyokeres is said to prefer a move to the Gunners over Manchester United, dealmakers in north London are refusing to give in to Sporting CP's demands. Similarly, RB Leipzig are playing hardball over Benjamin Sesko, and there are also concerns over personal terms with the Slovenian.

  In all likelihood, Arsenal will open 2025-26 with Havertz starting up front again, even if they do get in a new striker. That may be underwhelming, but it could be the best port of call, particularly given how tricky their first few Premier League fixtures are. They need to hit the ground running, and Havertz is a solid bet for double figures of goals as long as he stays fit.

  In this day and age, you don't necessarily need the most prolific or traditional of No.9s in order to claim major honours. Liverpool leant on wide forward Salah and a rotating cast of other versatile attackers to win the Premier League. Paris Saint-Germain ended their Champions League hoodoo with touchline winger Ousmane Dembele in a central role. A frontline with Havertz in the middle of it finished only a point off the top in 2023-24. There is a blueprint for Arsenal to succeed without the a centre-forward being pivotal to their transfer plans.

• Getty Images Sport
  

  Waiting for Rodrygo?

  Arsenal fans' desperate plea for more goals and dynamism in attack has overlooked the possibility of a winger being their marquee signing this summer. Whoever that is doesn't even need to be on Salah's level either, rather combine the scoring instincts of a declining Leandro Trossard with the liveliness of a wasteful and one-dimensional Gabriel Martinelli.

  Links to Rodrygo, who could leave Real Madrid, are continuing to linger as well. With the Gunners on the lookout for a player of both his skillset and calibre to take them to the next phase of their project, it feels like a no-brainer should the Brazil international actually hit the market. At this point, wage demands may also seem prohibitive, but at some point Arsenal are going to have to commit money to somebody.

  There would be shades of Mesut Ozil in 2013 and Alexis Sanchez a year later about any Rodrygo swoop, except this time Arsenal are actually ready to compete for the game's most major of honours. Alas, it's a window of opportunity that has not yet opened and may not until the very end of the window, by which time the Gunners will be preparing for a massive early-season trip to Liverpool. They cannot afford to be chasing in another title race, given their rivals from Anfield have already added Florian Wirtz and Jeremie Frimpong to their ranks for a full pre-season.

Bangladesh’s top-order imploded late in the day when beginning their chase of 511

Andrew Fidel Fernando24-Mar-2024Bangladesh 188 and 43 for 5 (Vishwa 3-13) need another 464 runs to beat Sri Lanka 280 and 418 (Kamindu 164, de Silva 108, Miraz 4-74)Bangladesh nosedived in the dying moments of day three in Sylhet, losing five wickets for 43 runs in 13 overs before stumps. The slump though came when Bangladesh were anyway in a dire situation. Earlier in the day, Kamindu Mendis had struck 164 and Dhananjaya de Silva had also completed his second hundred of the match, leaving the hosts with an improbable 511 target to chase.Still, their dramatic collapse has left Sri Lanka needing just five wickets in two scheduled days of play. There is some rain forecast for Monday afternoon, but Sylhet’s weather otherwise looks conducive for cricket. Sri Lanka will feel they are on the brink of a rollicking victory.Sri Lanka’s quicks delivered testing lines on a pitch that still rewarded high-quality seam bowling. Vishwa Fernando got movement through the air, and Lahiru Kumara and Kasun Rajitha gained zip off the surface. Vishwa bowled some especially good balls, particularly to Mahmudul Hasan Joy, whom he trapped in front in the first over with a ball that swung late, straightened, and would have hit leg stump, as well as to Shahadat Hossain, who played and missed his first two balls and edged the third one behind.All up, Vishwa’s take for the day was 3 for 13 from his seven overs. Rajitha and Kumara took a wicket apiece.But there was indiscipline from Bangladesh too. Captain Najmul Hossain Shanto was out fifth ball, throwing his bat at a full delivery that had pitched more than half-a-metre wide of off stump. Then, the last wicket to fall was that of Litton Das, who having kept wicket all day, ran down the track first ball he faced, and played a giant hoick across the line to Kumara. Predictably, he top-edged it, and was caught metres from the pitch by the incoming cover fielder.Before Bangladesh’s batting imploded, however, Sri Lanka’s lower middle order had thrived yet again. De Silva and Kamindu had rescued Sri Lanka from 57 for 5 in the first innings with a 202-run stand. Though the team was better-placed on this occasion – 222 runs ahead with four wickets in hand – their 173-run partnership on Sunday nevertheless transformed the game’s outlook, turning Sri Lanka’s good position into an utterly dominant one.Although Kamindu was somewhat circumspect to begin with, scoring just five off his first 20 balls, both batters progressed smoothly, after coming together in the third over of the day (Khaled Ahmed had removed nightwatcher Vishwa with a sharp bouncer). With the ball almost 40 overs old, Bangladesh’s quicks were not getting much lateral movement. And the spinners were not getting purchase off the wicket.Although the pitch had plenty of pace and bounce still, it had eased to some extent, and both de Silva and Kamindu were quick to spot the length, and played the pull with particular ease. Their scoring areas were mostly square of the wicket with only the occasional boundary coming down the ground.They attacked in bursts too, to really impose themselves on the opposition, In an eight-over period starting with the 47th of the innings, the pair clattered 56 runs. Through that passage, Kamindu collected consecutive boundaries off Nahid Rana, before de Silva flat-batted the same bowler past mid on two balls later. Then, next over, de Silva clobbered Mehidy Hasan’s offspin for two slog-swept sixes. Bangladesh’s attack had been rendered flat, and they never really recovered.The second and third sessions saw Sri Lanka picking their way through milestones. De Silva got to his 12th career century off the 164th ball he faced, though he was out soon after for 108. Kamindu completed his second Test ton off the 171st ball, then later brought up 150 with a slogged six over long on off the bowling of Taijul Islam. He was the last Sri Lanka batter to fall, with de Silva not willing to declare, perhaps because there was so much time left in the game. By the time he holed out, Kamindu had struck six sixes.Bangladesh had had some chances, but these came fairly late in these batters’ innings. De Silva should have been out on 94 when he played at a Mehidy delivery that ended up in the hands of the wicketkeeper Litton. But neither keeper nor bowler spotted that de Silva had gloved the ball, and failed to appeal. Kamindu was also dropped by Litton (a tough chance), off Mehidy, on 133. The easiest chance was shelled by Rana running back from midwicket, when de Silva had top-edged a pull off Shoriful Islam.Of Bangladesh’s bowlers, Rana was by far the most expensive, having struggled for line throughout the day. He leaked 128 off his 20 overs. Mehidy was the most successful, claiming 4 for 74 from his 29 overs.

Wicketkeeper-batter played 180 games for India and 256 games in the IPL

ESPNcricinfo staff01-Jun-2024

Dinesh Karthik has called time on his playing career. The wicketkeeper-batter last played for India in the 2022 T20 World Cup and did put his hand up to play in the 2024 edition as well, but will now be focusing his efforts elsewhere. Karthik announced his decision on Saturday, his 39th birthday, bringing to a close a career that began in 2002-03.Over the last few years, however, Karthik has only been active in domestic cricket and the IPL circuit, where he’s been a fixture since the inaugural season in 2008. He signs off after Royal Challengers Bengaluru’s (RCB’s) playoff game against Rajasthan Royals (RR) in Ahmedabad earlier this month. He made 11 off 13 and picked up a catch and a stumping.