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Chelsea will send an "improved" bid to Brighton & Hove Albion for their star midfielder Moises Caicedo this week after their initial offers were deemed too low, claims transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.

Is Moises Caicedo joining Chelsea?

It doesn't matter how Chelsea have fared the season beforehand; they could be European Champions or languishing in the bottom half of the table; you can always guarantee that when the transfer window opens, west London will become a hive of activity and that is precisely what's happened yet again.

The last few weeks have seen a slew of faces leave Stamford Bridge as the Blues have sold practically a full first eleven of first-team quality players, either to Premier League rivals in the case of Kai Haverz or to the unimaginable riches of the Saudi Pro League like in N'Golo Kante's case.

It's not been all about departures, though, as the Pensioners have now started to welcome new faces into the club, notably the youngsters Nicolas Jackson, Angelo Gabriel and Diego Moreira.

However, it wouldn't truly be silly season in West London unless there was also a costly and protracted transfer saga throughout the summer, and that is exactly what's happening with Brighton's Ecuadorian superstar, Caciedo.

The dynamic midfielder has become Chelsea's number one target over the last few weeks, a few weeks that has seen the club involved in extended conversations with the Southcoast side over their midfield maestro.

According to the Evening Standard, the Blues had their previous offer of £60m rejected outright by the club, as they value him closer to £100m, a benchmark set by Arsenal's purchase of the positionally similar Declan Rice.

However, the negotiations have been more conversational and not held in the traditional sense of one team making an offer and either being rejected or accepted, per transfers expert Fabrizio Romano.

He explained the situation on his YouTube channel, saying:

"I am told that this week that Chelsea are prepared to improve their proposal for Moises Caicedo.

"It's a verbal conversation, as I am always telling you so it's not an official bid and official answer. It's a direct communication between Chelsea and Brighton but if the initial discussion was around £70m plus add-ons and it was not enough for Brighton, now Chelsea are prepared to go for a bid that will be more than £70m guaranteed plus add-ons to convince Brighton."

Who else is linked to Chelsea in the transfer market?

With the club welcoming young striker Jackson to the side, there is an expectation that they could also be signing another, more experienced striker to properly lead the line next season, especially after the departure of Havertz and the likely departure of Romelu Lukaku.

The striker most frequently linked to Mauricio Pochettino's side so far has been Juventus' Dusan Vlahovic. The Serbian striker has had a tough 18 months in Turin following his £66m move from fellow Serie A side Fiorentina, but with his impressive body of work in Florence, teams seem willing to take a risk on him.

According to the Daily Mail, the Old Lady are demanding around £77m for their "extraodinary" frontman, which might prove to be a step too far for Chelsea. However, Italian publication Corriere dello Sport have reported that the price could fall to as little as £21m should Lukaku be included in the deal, an opportunity that might be too good to pass up for Todd Boehly and Co.

If Chelsea can secure the services of both Vlahovic and Caicedo, they could be a genuine threat to the top sides once again next season, and the likes of Manchester City might just have to look over their shoulder once or twice.

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.”

Harry Maguire defended team-mate Marcus Rashford after the striker's woeful show against Newcastle United.

Article continues below

Article continues below

Article continues below

• Maguire defends Rashford after woeful performance
• Made '11 mistakes' against Newcastle United
• Newcastle beat Man Utd 1-0

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The English forward had a night to forget against Newcastle United as he made as many as 11 mistakes – which were listed down by a frustrated fan after the match – as United suffered yet another defeat in the Premier League on Saturday.

  Despite a poor show at St. James' Park, former club captain Maguire came to the defence of his colleague as he claimed that Rashford is just experiencing a rough patch of form after a terrific 2022/23 campaign with the team.

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• WHAT HARRY MAGUIRE SAID

  Speaking to reporters after the match, the defender said, "Marcus had an unbelievable season last season. This season, it hasn't clicked for him. He's working hard. Everyone in that dressing room knows what he's about."

  He added, "It's been a tough week with three away days in six days. To be fair, in the first half, we looked like we'd played our third away day in six days.

  "The tempo wasn't there, the intensity wasn't there. They were a lot better than us. We grew into the game, but we didn't have enough in the end."

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  Manager Erik ten Hag refused to speak about his striker's performance in public as he stated after the match that he would prefer to speak to the player directly in private.

  After a stellar performance last season where he scored 17 Premier League goals and played a crucial role in his team finishing in the top four, the 26-year-old has struggled to find form in the ongoing campaign having scored just twice across all competitions.

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  WHAT NEXT FOR MANCHESTE UNITED?

  Erik ten Hag's side are scheduled to play four matches in their next 14 days which include fixtures against Chelsea, Liverpool and Bayern Munich.

Brighton & Hove Albion are lining up a move for Galatasaray fullback Sacha Boey, a move that could lead to limited further playing time for seemingly forgotten right-back Tariq Lamptey at the Amex Stadium.

Brighton transfer news – Sacha Boey

The Seagulls are set to take on Arsenal in the battle for the Frenchman's signature, according to Milliyet (via Sport Witness).

Nevzat Dindar, a Turkish journalist, states that Brighton have the advantage over their Premier League rivals in the race for the Galatasaray ace.

“Sacha Boey is going to England. €14m is not true, it’s expected to be at least €20m. Galatasaray are demanding for €22m [£20m]. Brighton made a higher offer than Arsenal. At the moment, an offer of around €18m has been received. Galatasaray will buy a good right-back to replace Boey if he leaves," he claimed.

Sacha Boey could be bad news for Tariq Lamptey

The Frenchman had a break season in Turkey and helped Galatasaray win the Turkish Super Lig for the first time since 2019, finishing top ahead over fierce rivals Fenerbache by eight points.

The full-back’s performances have earned him a call-up to the French U21 squad for the UEFA U21 European Championships this summer in Romania and Georgia, and no decision on his future will be made until he returns from the competition, according to The Sun.

Either way, this interest surely spells trouble for Lamptey, given his lack of minutes under Roberto De Zerbi last season.

Following his move to Brighton in 2019 and his subsequent breakthrough at the Amex Stadium, Lamptey was considered one of the highest-rated young defenders in England.

Back in 2020, Gary Neville backed Lamptey to make the England squad, preaching that the English national team had a welcome conundrum of who to pick at right back.

Speaking on Sky Sports Monday Night Football, Neville stated:

"The performance levels and the demands that are put on the modern-day full-back are absolutely incredible,' the defender-turned-pundit said. "Not just to defend, but to deliver assists, to deliver goals, match-winning moments.

“You think of the options now that England have at full-back. Reece James, Lamptey, you've got Kyle Walker, (Kieran) Trippier, Trent Alexander-Arnold is one of the best players in the world."

Despite the early praise, Lamptey’s career rise has stalled largely due to injury and the full-back was only a fringe player for Brighton this past season.

A recurring and serious hamstring injury has plagued the young right back.

Lamptey missed 16 games through the injury in the 20/21 season and missed a further 17 games later in the season due to his hamstring, per Transfermarkt.

Meanwhile, a knee injury was the plague in this past campaign, an injury that forced the 22-year-old two miss another 17 games at the end of the season, which included an FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester United.

Brighton’s interest in the "tireless" Lions machine – as lauded by Turkish journalist Cetin Cem Yilmaz – is bad news for Lamptey and suggests the Seagulls have grown tired of the youngster's inability to stay fit.

Lamptey played just 20 league games for Brighton this season, starting in just 8% of their league games. In comparison, Boey featured in 31 league games for the Turkish champions in 2022/23.

If Brighton do beat Arsenal in the race for the sought-after French gem, it could be a big blow for Lamptey’s future at the club.

India have finished at the top of the ICC Test rankings for the second successive year after beating Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Mar-2017

India have finished at the top of the ICC Test rankings for the second successive year after beating Australia 2-1 in the four-Test series. As a result of being No. 1 by the cut-off date of April 1, India will be presented with a cash award of $1 million by the ICC.India had gone into the home series against Australia needing to win one Test to guarantee their No. 1 ranking. The series victory also meant that India currently hold Test titles against all other teams, a feat previously matched only by Australia (twice) and South Africa.Virat Kohli received the Test mace and cheque at the post-match presentation ceremony in Dharamsala. “The longest format of the game really tests a team’s character and I’m proud that we have proved ourselves to be the best,” he said.The race to No. 2 is still on. It will be decided on the fifth day in Hamilton, where South Africa need to come away with at least a draw against New Zealand to hold on to the No. 2 ranking and claim the prize money of $500,000. If they lose, Australia will pip them to second place.The ICC also announced that India offspinner R Ashwin will be awarded the Sir Garfield Sobers Trophy for being the ICC Cricketer of the Year for 2016. Ashwin, who was also named ICC Test Cricketer of the Year for 2016, took 48 wickets and scored 336 runs in the eight Tests he played during the period under consideration – September 14, 2015 to September 20, 2016.

A round up of the North Zone matches from the Inter State T20 Tournament played on February 2, 2017

ESPNcricinfo staff02-Feb-2017

Shikhar Dhawan struck an unbeaten 47-ball 82 to power Delhi to a six-wicket win against Services in Dharamsala. Dhawan hit 11 fours and three sixes as Delhi swept past their target of 132 with 39 balls remaining. Delhi were in a bit of trouble at 43 for 3 before Dhawan and Nitish Rana (22 off 16) calmed them with a fourth-wicket partnership of 74.Having sent Services in, Delhi were firmly in control through most of Services’ innings, striking regularly and reducing them to 96 for 7 in the 17th over. Amit Pachhara, though, ensured Services wouldn’t give in without a fight, scoring an unbeaten 56 off 46 balls, and adding an unbroken 35 for the eighth wicket with Rahul Kanojia. Vikas Tokas (3 for 23) and Manan Sharma (3-0-8-2) were Delhi’s most impressive bowlers.Manan Vohra’s 60 and a 16-ball 34 from Gurkeerat Singh set the foundation of Punjab’s 23-run win over Himachal Pradesh, leading the team to a score of 162 for 7. Punjab’s bowlers, led by Harbhajan Singh (2-25) and seamer Baltej Singh (3-33), then pinned Himachal to 139 for 9, with five wickets falling in the last five overs. Vohra’s 50-run partnership with Anmolpreet Singh helped Punjab recover from a poor start before Gurkeerat added quick runs at the end, hitting four fours and two sixes. Harbhajan then struck in successive overs to dismiss Himachal’s openers after a good start, after which the side stumbled from 114 for 2 in the 15th over to 130 for 9 in the 19th over. Ankush Bains was the top-scorer for Himachal with a 32-ball 57.A manic penultimate over, in which Haryana lost four wickets, saw them fall four runs short of Jammu & Kashmir’s total of 156 in Nadaun. Needing 24 off the last two overs with six wickets in hand, Haryana’s chase began to go awry with the run-out of the well-set Rajat Paliwal. Then, Haryana lost wickets off three consecutive deliveries -Harshal Patel was run-out without facing a ball after which Ram Dayal dismissed Rahul Tewatia and Sanjay Pahal. In the final over, Haryana could only hit 14 runs out of the required 18, with Virender Dahiya hitting a six during his three-ball stay. Earlier, Shubham Khajuria’s 68 (57 balls) lifted J&K to 156 for 3 after they opted to bat. He was well-supported by Ian Dev Singh (27) and Mithun Manhas (31 not out).

Leeds United, before they can get started on securing a new manager, surely have to sort out what's happening with their ownership.

What's the latest on Carlos Corberan to Leeds?

Despite the report in yesterday's edition of The Daily Mirror linking the Whites with a move for Carlos Corberan, it remains to be seen who would make such a decision as chairman Andrea Radrizzani continues to be linked with an exit.

However, on Wednesday the Italian released a long statement regarding his takeover of Sampdoria, in which journalist Phil Hay surmised that "This doesn't sound much like 'goodbye'".

As such, the notion that the Yorkshire outfit are 'sounding out' West Bromwich Albion's manager is likely one that has come from their current chairman, especially one seeking to find his next Marcelo Bielsa to return them to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Although the 40-year-old did sign a new deal in January to ward off such interest, the report notes that they are searching for a release clause that might allow them to bypass the Baggies and begin talks straight away.

Could Carlos Corberan emulate Marcelo Bielsa?

Whilst it is easy to compare Corberan with Bielsa, given their 'master and the apprentice' dynamic during their time at Elland Road, there is far more to link the two than merely a shared club.

Since venturing into management, the former Huddersfield Town boss has earned a reputation as one of the Championship's most exciting young bosses, with his 4-2-3-1 philosophy borrowing largely from the 67-year-old with some key tweaks.

The Spaniard opts for slightly more defensive security but retains similar pressing structures that allow his team to dominate the ball. As such, this season the Midlands outfit have maintained 54.1% of the ball on average, and conceded just 37 times under his 33-game stewardship.

Also, their demeanour draws further comparisons, with Bielsa having been branded 'El Loco' for his crazed response to a gang of 20 ultras showing up at his house. Whilst not quite on that same level, former Thorp Arch academy graduate Romario Vieira offered an insight into a similar footballing know-how that shows there is plenty of method to Corberan's madness.

He told The Athletic in 2021:

"When he told us how he wanted us to play, we thought he was crazy. Then it clicked and we were like, ‘This guy’s a genius’. He knew how games would go. In a training situation, in passage of play, he’d tell you, ‘Don’t look for this pass before you play it. Just play it’. You’d say, ‘What if it goes to no one?’, but you’d do it anyway and sure enough, someone would be there waiting for the ball. He had it all in his head. He’ll go on to big things, I’m sure of it."

To compound these similarities, both Corberan and Bielsa have showcased a keen interest in the tactical philosophy of Pep Guardiola, which again can be seen in their respective game plans.

Whilst the Manchester City manager has suggested that the latter was "the best coach in the world", the former instead idolises the ex-Barcelona midfielder, seeking to heed his advice at any opportunity, even studying his assistant Juanma Lillo to gain further insight.

Having taken the Terriers to the most unlikely of playoff finals in 2022, and turned around a relegation-threatened West Brom to take them within three points of the playoff spots this term, surely Corberan would be the perfect man to take the mantle of his former master in Yorkshire and guide them back to the top flight.

GOAL brings you all this season's leading marksmen from England's top division – who will come out on top?

The race is once again on for a coveted Premier League Golden Boot, with established superstars being joined by big-money summer signings in a battle to be crowned the English top-flight's leading goal scorer.

Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez, fresh from moves to Manchester City and Liverpool respectively, are among those to have added their particular skill sets to a collection of world-class forwards that already includes the likes of Tottenham striker Harry Kane and Anfield talisman Mohamed Salah.

With nets set to bulge on a regular basis throughout the 2022-23 campaign, GOAL is on hand to monitor the exploits of the most prolific marksmen around.

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  1Erling Haaland | Manchester City | 36 goals

  A move to England for Erling Haaland always felt like being a matter of time, and Manchester City won that particular transfer lottery in 2022. The prolific Norwegian could be the bargain of the season at £51 million, with his track record suggesting that he will have rival defenders running scared.

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  2Harry Kane | Tottenham | 30 goals

  A man that already has three Golden Boots to his name, Tottenham frontman Harry Kane certainly knows his way to the back of the net. The England captain has a World Cup to think about this season, but he will not allow anything to distract him from the pursuit of more goals at club level.

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  3Ivan Toney | Brentford | 20 goals

  Having hit 33 goals when helping Brentford to promotion into the Premier League, Ivan Toney backed that return up with 14 efforts last season. The powerful Bees striker is a handful for any defender in the air and on the deck, while he is also more than useful at penalties.

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  4Mohamed Salah | Liverpool | 19 goals

  Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah secured himself a third Golden Boot last season – a second that has been shared with others – and more of the same is expected from him this term. With a new contract under his belt, the Egyptian forward appears set to remain the King of Anfield.

The ICC has revealed that it undertook a successful confidential conciliatory process to resolve a complaint made by Cricket Namibia under the anti-racism code during Namibia’s Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan in Noida earlier this year

ESPNcricinfo staff28-Jun-2016The ICC has revealed that a confidential conciliatory process was used to resolve a complaint made by Cricket Namibia under the anti-racism code during Namibia’s Intercontinental Cup match against Afghanistan in India earlier this year. The ICC made a statement about the issue through a press release on Tuesday.Following discussions with an ICC-appointed conciliator, all parties agreed that “some of the offence caused by words used by some of the Afghanistan players resulted from cultural differences, a lack of sensitivity and misunderstanding. The Afghanistan Cricket Board accepted that certain words spoken by some of their players in the presence of a Namibian player could reasonably have been expected to cause offence.” Both the board and the Afghanistan players in question offered an apology to the Namibian cricketer involved and stressed “that there was no intention to cause offence on the basis of race, or act in a way that would constitute a breach of the ICC Anti-Racism Code”.The Afghanistan board also agreed that its national squad shall attend an education and training course organised by the ICC, which focuses on “the responsibilities of international cricketers in relation to issues of race, language and cultural sensitivity.”The conciliator appointed in this instance was an “accredited mediator with extensive experience in race relations issues and sports disciplinary matters,” the ICC said. The process also involved relevant parties from both teams in Edinburgh, where the ICC’s annual conference is presently underway.In September 2006, the ICC adopted an amended anti-racism code, which extends to player, personnel and spectator behaviour. In terms of spectator behaviour, the code allowed member countries to impose punishments ranging from ejection from the venue to a life ban if the spectator was found guilty of racial abuse.The process of mediation as a method to amicably resolve such conflicts among cricketers was introduced in October 2009, more than a year after the controversial incident between Harbhajan Singh and Andrew Symonds in Australia that nearly led to India pulling out of the tour. The code included a conciliation procedure to prevent “confusion, misunderstanding, ignorance or language and translation barriers” that could lead to such disputes.David Richardson, the ICC’s CEO, stressed the ICC’s commitment to tackling the issue of racism. “I would like to thank all parties involved for their cooperation in and commitment to the conciliation process,” he said. “I am also extremely grateful to the conciliator for his professional approach. The ICC would like to stress that there is no place for racism within the sport; we are proud of the diversity of the global cricket community and accordingly place the utmost importance on every participant according respect to their fellow players.”The ICC also specified that since all parties agreed that the conciliation process had reached a consensual resolution, the matter was closed and no further comment will be made.

Manuka Oval in Canberra will host Test cricket for the first time in 2018-19, when it will become Australia’s tenth Test venue. Sri Lanka are Australia’s likely opponent for the inaugural Canberra Test, a match that will provide Australia with its first new Test ground since 2003, when both Darwin and Cairns were added to the list for a Top-End series also against Bangladesh.Canberra first hosted an ODI during the 1992 World Cup but was then shelved as an international ground until 2008; since then it has hosted a further seven one-day internationals and an eighth is scheduled for this coming summer against New Zealand. Its status as a cricket city has grown significantly in recent years, having hosted the Sheffield Shield final in 2014 and the BBL final in 2015.”Over several years, Canberra has demonstrated a strong appetite for international cricket, with consistently strong crowds coming to Manuka Oval for one-day international matches,” Cricket Australia’s chief executive James Sutherland said. “Today’s announcement recognises the continued growth of the sport not only in the ACT but the wider region, and is a testament to the effort being placed on participation in the territory with more than 32,000 playing cricket last season and this season on track for further increases.”Part of our charter is to showcase the game to as many cricket fans around the nation to encourage growth, and with more than one million people living in the ACT and Southern NSW region, we believe there is a great advantage in Canberra hosting a Test Match and that’s one of the reasons that we will host a Test match in Canberra in 2018-19.”India are due to tour Australia for four Tests and Sri Lanka for two during the 2018-19 season, which would mean one of the six state capitals would miss out on a Test in order for Canberra to fit into the schedule. Hobart would be the likely candidate to be cut, with Perth’s new multi-sport stadium expected to be open by early 2018 and likely to host a Test against India.