It appeared Jake Ball’s chances of playing the first Test had disappeared when he rolled his ankle in Adelaide, but he could still pip Craig Overton to the final bowling slot

George Dobell in Townsville17-Nov-2017

Jake Ball is giving himself “a great chance to play” in the first Ashes Test, according to England’s assistant coach, Paul Farbrace.Ball looked as if he had slipped out of contention after he sustained a sprained ankle while bowling in the first innings of England’s warm-up match in Adelaide last week. He subsequently left the ground on crutches and was seen wearing a ‘moon boot’ in the last couple of days.Now Farbrace has revealed that the “aggressive” manner in which England’s medical team treated Ball’s injury – which was diagnosed as strained ligaments in his right ankle – might have made it appear worse than it actually is and that he retains realistic hopes of playing in the first Test at the Gabba that starts next Thursday.To that end, he appeared as a substitute fielder in Townsville on Friday and, between further stints as a substitute, will bowl 15 overs in the nets on Saturday in an attempt to prove his fitness.”We wanted Ball to get some time in the field,” Farbrace said. “If he’s going to be available to play next week, he has to spend some time on the field. So we told the umpires Alastair Cook has an upset stomach – and he does have a slightly upset stomach – so Ball can get on the field.”He bowled in the nets today and he will bowl 15 overs in the nets tomorrow. He therefore gives himself a great chance to play next week. He is absolutely, definitely in the mix for the first Test.”England were clearly impressed by Ball in the opening days of the tour. He was, James Anderson apart, the most impressive of the bowlers in Perth where he generated decent pace – Jonny Bairstow, the keeper, said he was the quickest of the England bowlers – and hit a perfect length. It does appear that, if he can prove his fitness, he may be England’s first choice option for the fourth seamer spot.James Anderson also bowled in the nets on Friday and is expected to bowl 15 overs in the nets on Saturday. “We’ve no doubts about him,” Farbrace said.Ball’s re-emergence as an option would appear to spell bad news for Craig Overton. Overton has bowled increasingly well on the tour so far, mixing decent control with a sharp bouncer. England experimented with him bowling round the wicket with a leg gully, short leg and two men out for the hook towards the close on Friday evening and, although it proved an expensive spell, he generated sharp pace from a docile surface.He has had something of a nightmare with the bat, though, thereby losing one of his potential advantages over Ball. Overton was dismissed first ball on Friday, meaning he has been out for a duck in each of his three innings on this tour.”It was a pretty awful dismissal,” Farbrace said. “It was a short ball he should have hit over the trees. But he’s turned it into short leg’s box. Not ideal. You can’t say he’s out of form as he’s only faced 13 balls in three innings.”But he’s here for his bowling – which has been outstanding – and any runs he contributes is a bonus.”Farbrace was not especially impressed by England’s cricket on Friday. While Dawid Malan completed his first century in an England shirt and the side passed 500, Farbrace was disappointed by a series of “soft” dismissals that saw them lost five wickets for 38 runs at one stage.”It was a bit of a mixed day,” he said. “We’ve had two really good days but today we’ve slipped a fraction from the standards we would have expected. We got ourselves in a good position in the game but in terms of going into next week we have not quite been as good as we could have been.”There were one or two soft dismissals. The lads have worked hard – they’re not machines; they make mistakes – so perhaps it’s a good timely reminder that we have to be on our game all the time. It’s quite a good reminder with the Test starting next week that we’ve got to be fully focused every day and every session.”

Newcastle United are now showing an interest in signing Blackburn Rovers defender Ashley Phillips, who will be available for just £2m when his release clause kicks in this Friday, according to a report from The Sun.

Who is Ashley Phillips signing for?

Reports from earlier this month indicated that Phillips was closing in on a move to Tottenham Hotspur, with journalist Charlie Eccleshare saying:

"Tottenham set to sign highly-rated 18yo centre-back Ashley Phillips from Blackburn for around £3 million. Understood it won't affect Spurs' plans to try and sign at least one senior CB. Phillips expected to have medical in next 24 hours before hopefully joining the tour."

However, there has been little progress since that point, and now The Sun are reporting that Newcastle could make a late move to sign the 18-year-old, with Blackburn still hoping to receive £9.45m if they are to sanction his departure.

Tottenham's stand-off with Blackburn is set to come to an end this week, as a £2m release clause kicks in this Friday, which would allow Ange Postecoglou to snap up the youngster for a heavily reduced fee.

However, Spurs are waiting to see whether Blackburn find another buyer before that point, with the Magpies showing an interest, although they are yet to make an offer above what their Premier League rivals are currently willing to pay.

As such, a move to north London appears to be the most likely outcome at the moment, however there is still time for Eddie Howe to make a late swoop and hijack the Lilywhites' deal, if he is willing to outbid them.

For now, the Blackburn defender is set to continue training ahead of the Championship opener against West Bromwich Albion, but he is unlikely to be risked in games in case of injury.

Who is Ashley Phillips?

Despite the fact he is just 18-years-old, the youngster has already started to gain some first-team experience with his current club, making 14 appearances for the Rovers, including eight in the Championship during the 2022/23 campaign.

The youngster has predominantly played at centre-back throughout his short career so far, where his 6 foot 4 frame would undoubtedly be useful for Newcastle, and former manager Tony Mowbray has also praised his ability in possession, saying:

"He's 6ft 4', he's fast, mobile and can pass it really well. He can use both feet, he's composed. Ash is just a phenomenal young boy; if you were to create a defender in the mould of how you would want one, this kid has got every attribute."

It is still very early days for the Blackburn starlet, given that he only turned 18 last month, but he is showing all the signs that he could go on to be a top player in the future, and it is exciting news that Newcastle are still in with a chance of signing him.

That said, Tottenham appear to be in pole position at the moment, and the Magpies will need to move swiftly if they are going to hijack the deal for Phillips.

The teenager could be worth a push from Newcastle, though, given his clear potential to be a brilliant defender.

Newcastle United are interested in signing Joachim Andersen from Crystal Palace and are mulling over opening further talks for the Denmark international, though are yet to make an official approach.

Are Newcastle interested in Joachim Andersen?

That's according to the Guardian's Ed Aarons, who has revealed that the Magpies, as well as Premier League rivals Tottenham Hotspur, are pursuing a deal for the Eagles centre-back, though given the lack of ground covered it could go "to the wire".

The 27-year-old has been valued at £50m by the Selhurst Park side, and while his signature would not come cheap, his stellar showings for the club have left the likes of Eddie Howe's high-flying Magpies hoping to seal a deal.

Read the latest Newcastle transfer news HERE…

Newcastle have bolstered the midfield and attack with astute deals for Sandro Tonali and Harvey Barnes, while a £40m deal for full-back Tino Livramento has been agreed, but the central defence is yet to receive a fresh face.

How good is Joachim Andersen?

The £80k-per-week central defender put pen to paper with the Eagles in 2021, signing from Lyon on an initial £15m deal after impressing on loan with Fulham the season prior.

Described as a "leader" with the potential to be a "top defender" by former coach Svend Graversen, while playing for Midtjylland, Andersen has now chalked up 72 appearances for Crystal Palace and is an indispensable member of their backline.

The 6 foot 4 colossus is also a multi-faceted defender, ranking among the top 18% of centre-backs across Europe's top five leagues over the past year for total shots, the top 20% for passes attempted, the top 13% for touches in the attacking box, the top 16% for aerials won and the top 1% for clearances per 90, as per FBref.

Given that FBref list Andersen as a comparable player to Liverpool's Ibrahima Konate, Andersen could be viewed by the Toon hierarchy as the perfect ace to complement the imperious Sven Botman at the back, who has had an "incredible impact" on Newcastle's team since joining from Lille for £35m last year, according to pundit Leon Osman.

That likeness to Liverpool's French titan, who stands at 6 foot 4 himself, falls down to the respectively imposing statures, combative nature and inclination to make a difference in the attacking penalty area, with Konate ranking among the top 10% of centre-halves for successful take-ons, the top 12% for touches in the attacking box, the top 13% for tackles and the top 21% for aerials won per 90.

Konate has been dubbed a "monster" by Liverpool writer Charlotte Coates for his brutish efforts in the defensive third, having also won 77% of his aerial battles in the Premier League last season and made 3.1 clearances per game, as per Sofascore.

Hailed as "commanding" by pundit Robbie Earle, Andersen is already matching this in the English top-flight, winning 72% of his aerial duels and exhibiting his first-rate sweeping skills with an average of 5.8 clearances per game.

Howe already boasts a top-class defence, having concluded the 2022/23 campaign with the Premier League's joint-best defence alongside champions Manchester City, and he could now take Newcastle's ascension one step further by wrapping up a deal for Andersen.

Jason Gillespie thought his days in county cricket were over when his family moved out to Australia but Sussex have tempted him back with a three-year deal

David Hopps20-Nov-2017Sussex have announced Jason Gillespie as their new head coach.The decision ends a period of increasingly feverish speculation in which Matt Prior, the former England wicketkeeper, lobbied publicly for a role in a club that he believes has “gone soft”.Gillespie’s move to Hove, following a brief spell working with Papua New Guinea, represents an about-turn on a decision to commit his future primarily to Australia.When he stood down as Yorkshire head coach last year, having led them to successive Championship titles, he said that the move of his family back to Australia had made it impractical for him to serve as a full-time coach in English county cricket.He was linked with the England role before Trevor Bayliss took charge in 2015 and also had a brief spell as Kent bowling coach earlier this year where the pull of the county circuit remained strong.Further reflection has caused a change of mind as Gillespie takes on the talk of reinvigorating a county that dominated English cricket under the tenure of Peter Moores in the first decade of the century.
He will find a club with exciting bowling stocks – Jofra Archer and George Garton are arguably the two most exhilarating young quicks in the country – but with vulnerabilities in their top-order batting, made worse by the premature retirement through injury of Matt Machan and the departure of their experienced opener, Chris Nash, to Nottinghamshire.A Sussex statement said: “We are thrilled that Jason has agreed to join us on an initial three-year contract. He will take up his post in the New Year, in time for our pre-season preparations and tour.”Gillespie, who will spend the rest of the year in Adelaide, where he coaches Adelaide Strikers in the Big Bash, said: “I am thrilled to be given the opportunity of taking the reins at such a proud and traditional club like Sussex. I know that there is some excitement around the capabilities of the current playing group.”I look forward to getting over there and playing my role in helping Sussex achieve its on and off-field goals for 2018 and beyond.”It remains to be seen whether Gillespie will take up Prior’s lobbying for a role within the county where he spent his entire first-class career. But Prior has already tweeted his enthusiasm for a “fantastic” appointment, adding: “It’s a very good start to the club moving forward.”Rob Andrew, Sussex’s chief executive, said: “Jason is exactly the experienced head coach we had hoped we would attract to the role. He has enormous experience of the English county game after his very successful spell with Yorkshire.”We believe we have a very talented young squad and we need a bit a bit of stability and a coach of Jason’s experience to help mould a successful team over the next few years.”

Rumesh Ratnayake, Sri Lanka’s bowling coach, has termed Suranga Lakmal’s spell of 6-6-0-3 as among the best he has seen “in a long time”. Lakmal’s relentless probing on a green Eden Gardens pitch and under overcast skies left India struggling at 17 for 3 at the end of a first day during which only 11.5 overs were bowled.”I would say it is one of the finest I have seen in a long time,” Ratnayake said. “I am not sure if it’s the best spell I have seen but one of the finest I have seen for a long, long time. Saying that, the wicket was very receptive, it was very helpful, and it’s going to be a big challenge [for Sri Lanka’s batsmen later on].”We were sort of expecting, looking at the wicket, we knew that it was going to seam. By saying that, the job isn’t finished. It’s only started, it’s just started.”Ratnayake admitted it was a good toss for Sri Lanka to have won, but he expected conditions to remain helpful to fast bowlers for a while longer.”Yeah, certainly a good toss to win, but I personally feel that it may last about one-and-a-half days or so, maybe more. We can’t play God here and say it will last for two-three days but I would say it will last at least for two days. But since it’s a new wicket, I believe it might be an extra day or two because there is a certain amount of grass. The surface is grassy.”Before they went out to bowl, Ratnayake said he stressed that the fast bowlers pitch the ball up.”As much as we push the batsmen back, it is very important that we keep it up because, as you may have seen, the movement or the vulnerability was more as the bowler pitched it up and also within the wicket. Our tactics on a normal wicket would be different, our tactics in this game are different. So it’s just keeping the ball up.”It was also important for the fast bowlers to make the batsmen play as much as possible; while Lakmal did this, his new-ball partner Lahiru Gamage struggled with his line, bowling too far outside off stump, though Ratnayake suggested he got better as his spell wore on.”Did you see the difference after the [stoppage due to bad light]?,” he said. “It was a matter of him getting his rhythm right and more importantly the timing also right.”So he was not having that right and when you get your rhythm and timing right, you get the place where you want to hit it in a much easier way for the body. As much as you need timing in batting, you need timing in bowling as well. If you rush through the delivery, the chances of you hitting the right place is not as great as when your timing is right.”India’s batting coach Sanjay Bangar, meanwhile, said his batsmen were tested not just by the conditions but also by the fact that there were so many interruptions in play. With the floodlights turned on right through, he felt it resembled a day-night Test.”The conditions were pretty tough for batting, and what didn’t really help us was that we didn’t get an extended passage of play, wherein you had 15-20 overs bowled at a batsman in a particular fashion,” Bangar said. “So that didn’t allow the batsmen to get into any sort of a rhythm.”It didn’t seem to be a day Test match. It was more like a day-night Test match and at times when you play in such circumstances, playing with the red ball becomes pretty tough because it’s more difficult to pick the red ball.”Given how much help there was for the quicks, there was a case for India to pick three fast bowlers and just the one spinner to enable them to play an extra batsman. India, however, picked three fast bowlers and two spinners.”This team management has believed in going in with five batsmen and the quality of the allrounders that we have – Ashwin, Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and also Wriddhiman Saha – we think that that gives a lot of depth in the lower order and it gives us a lot of bowling options as well to pick up 20 wickets in a Test match. That has really worked well for us,” Bangar said. “If you look at the last two-and-a-half seasons, we’ve won nearly 20 Test matches. So that’s mainly due to the team composition that we have opted to play.”The spinners, Bangar felt, would come into the game as it progressed, particularly if the pitch dried out and the dents caused by the ball’s impact on a damp surface hardened.”I think we’ve got all bases covered,” he said. “As the game progresses into the fourth and fifth days, you’ll also find that because of the dampness, there would be dents on the wickets. As the game progresses, there will be variable bounce which might come into play. So both the spinners are really vital to us and we’ve got all bases covered – we’ve got the swing and seam and the pace we require. We’ve got a variety of bowlers and we’ve got all bases covered.”Before that, however, India’s batsmen will need to put up some sort of total on the board.”Yes, you’ll have to grind out quite a bit because there are going to be a lot of balls which are going to beat the outside edge as well as the inside edge of the bat,” Bangar said. “We need to respect the conditions as a batsman and think about the next ball. If you start thinking or worrying about the amount of times you’re getting beaten, it plays on your mind.”The best mindset is to forget the previous ball and accept that you’re going to get beaten on a number of occasions. Probably, on such a wicket, you might not play really, really beautiful shots, but you’ll have to grind it out and take runs. So most of the runs might not be beautiful or elegant but those are equally important runs.”

Salman Butt’s unbeaten 85 carried Lahore Whites into the final four on a day that saw Peshawar and Rawalpindi eliminated

ESPNcricinfo staff21-Nov-2017Salman Butt continued to shake off a wretched Quaid-e-Azam trophy campaign. His second unbeaten half-century in three games helped Lahore Whites trounce Peshawar by 27 runs. Butt’s 58-ball 85 took his side to the top of the standings.His fellow opener Kamran Akmal also joined in to make a 40-ball 52 as the Whites notched up 163. In response, the struggling Peshawar – who now have one win in six matches – could not find a single batsman to score over 25. That meant the chase never really took off. Lahore’s bowlers picked them off at ease with Umaid Asif starring with four for 26 to break the back of the Peshawar chase. Ehsan Adil and Asif Ali took two wickets apiece as Peshawar were cleaned up for 136, with their chances of qualifying for the semi-finals officially extinguished.A century stand between Umar Amin and Zain Abbas wasn’t enough for Rawalpindi as they lost to Faisalabad, thereby falling out of contention for the last four. Amin and Abbas scored 67 and 62 respectively, with Sohail Tanvir adding a quickfire 32 off 16 as Rawalpindi surged to 193. It was, surprisingly, the international stars in Faisalabad’s bowling attack who were the most expensive, with Faheem Ashraf, Saeed Ajmal and Yasir Shah conceding a whopping 115 runs in their combined 11 overs.But Faisalabad gave the daunting chase a right go, thanks largely to a 43-ball 87 from Sohaib Maqsood, even as the top order fell cheaply around him. By the time he was dismissed, he had contributed 87 to Faisalabad’s score of 108, but 86 were still required off a mere seven overss, the balance firmly in favour of the hosts. But sensational hitting from Khurram Manzoor – who finished with an unbeaten 52 off 25 – and Ashraf helped Faisalabad sneak home with a ball to spare and strengthen their hold on a semi-final position.

Glasgow Rangers return to action this evening as they host Swiss side Servette at Ibrox in the first leg of their Champions League qualifier.

What is the latest Rangers team news?

Light Blues head coach Michael Beale has revealed that left-back Ridvan Yilmaz and central defender Ben Davies will not be available for selection, although they are both expected to be back in action before the end of the month.

The club also confirmed on Tuesday that Fashion Sakala has officially left the club on a permanent basis to join Saudi Arabian side Al-Fayha.

Read the latest Rangers transfer news HERE…

Glen Kamara, Kemar Roofe, Jon McLaughlin, and Tom Lawrence will also be absent for this game as the English manager opted against including them in his UEFA squad list.

Will Todd Cantwell start against Servette?

One player who must be unleashed from the start for the Gers tonight is attacking midfielder Todd Cantwell, after Beale placed him on the bench against Kilmarnock on the weekend.

Rangers lost 1-0 on the opening day of the Scottish Premiership and the former Norwich maestro was given less than 30 minutes to turn the game around as a substitute.

Meanwhile, Sam Lammers lined up in attack and failed to produce a shot on target or key pass in 84 minutes, which could lead to him being dropped for the Englishman.

The former QPR tactician must now name the 25-year-old maestro in his starting XI tonight alongside Kieran Dowell as they could cause serious problems for the opposition with their respective attacking quality and pre-existing relationship.

Cantwell and the ex-Everton prospect played 24 matches alongside each other on the pitch at the same time during their spell at Carrow Road and won a league title in the Championship together during the 2020/21 campaign.

This means that they already know how to function in the same team and know what it takes to be successful in doing so, which is why they could be an excellent partnership for the Gers in midfield.

Both players carry a goal threat and have the potential to be a match-winner tonight from the middle of the park. Cantwell showcased his ability for Rangers during the second half of last season after his move from Norwich in January.

The Canaries academy product, who was once described as "outstanding" by journalist Josh Bunting, scored six goals and provided four assists in 13 Premiership outings.

He also averaged a Sofascore rating of 7.36 in that time, which was the third-highest score at the club – only behind Borna Barisic and James Tavernier.

Malik Tillman (ten) was the only midfielder who scored more league goals than the 5 foot 10 wizard last season, which illustrates how important the talented maestro was to Beale when you consider that he was only at Ibrox for five months of the campaign.

Dowell is also a player with the potential to be a scoring threat as the left-footed dynamo produced ten goals in 26 Championship starts for Norwich across the 2020/21 and 2022/23 terms combined, which shows that he is able to regularly chip in with strikes when given the opportunity to start.

These statistics show that both midfielders are capable of scoring goals from the middle of the park, or from a wide position in Cantwell's case, and would be able to hit the ground running alongside each other because of their experiences in England.

Therefore, Beale must start them against Servette tonight in order to give the Light Blues the best chance of building up a healthy lead to take into the away leg later this month.

The England coach said he had not been involved in any planning for the on-field verbals and does not believe they send a good image to the next generation

George Dobell in Adelaide03-Dec-2017England coach Trevor Bayliss has admitted he is not comfortable with the sledging that has characterised the early days of the current Ashes series and feels stump microphones should be “turned down” in an attempt to avoid negatively influencing the next generation of cricketers.After Australia flustered Jonny Bairstow in Brisbane with talk of him head-butting Cameron Bancroft, England have hit back in Adelaide with the umpires stepping in between James Anderson and Steven Smith at one point on the first day and Stuart Broad roaring in the face of Peter Handscomb after dismissing him in the opening over on the second day.But Bayliss, previously close to many of the Australia players as coach of New South Wales and Sydney Sixers, categorically denied he was involved in any plans to sledge the Australia players”Personally, from my point of view, I’m probably not [comfortable with the sledging],” Bayliss said. “And it’s certainly not something I’m involved in planning.”But it’s just the way the game is these days. I’d like to see the stump microphones turned down. I don’t think they are necessarily a great thing for young kids watching at home. I don’t think anyone has to listen to what is being said. But it’s grown men playing a very competitive sport and sometimes those emotions boil over.”It’s just red blooded young males competing against each other. Most of the time it’s fairly light hearted. Sometimes there’s a lot more made of it in the press than what happens in the field.”Meanwhile, Bayliss said Joe Root would make the same decision over bowling first if he won the toss again. Accepting that England had “bowled a little short” on the first morning, Bayliss felt they had subsequently adjusted well.”He wouldn’t do anything different,” Bayliss said. “It’s well documented that one of our challenges is taking wickets on flatter wickets. So Joe wanted to give our guys the best opportunity to take 20 wickets. It didn’t work out, although I thought we bowled pretty well.”Look, it wasn’t an easy decision. It wasn’t taken lightly. But for us to win games, you want to take 20 wickets. Joe thought if we bowled first on a fresh wicket it would provide our best opportunity. We bowled pretty well and didn’t get the results we thought we deserved.”And, while Bayliss accepted that Australia’s attack had more pace, he felt England still had the weapons to make inroads on surfaces such as the one in Adelaide.”It’s well documented they’ve got three guys who are quicker than ours,” he said. “But it doesn’t mean they’re impossible to play. You’ve still got to be able to move the ball.”Certainly on that wicket, the bowlers we’ve got are more than capable of taking wickets and creating chance. The bowlers we’ve got are the bowlers we’ve got. There is no point wishing someone could come along with a click of the fingers.”

West Ham United’s “dream target” for the summer transfer window is Bayern Munich star Leon Goretzka, according to Sky Sports reporter Florian Plettenberg.

Who is Leon Goretzka?

Goretzka is primarily a central midfielder who has played his football at the Allianz Arena since 2018 having moved there on a free transfer from FC Schalke, and during his five years at the club, he’s become a regular first team feature, clocking up 179 appearances to date, which has alerted clubs in the Premier League.

The Germany international still has another three years to run on his contract with Thomas Tuchel’s side, but there’s a strong possibility that he’ll be on the move before the end of the ongoing window after being put up for sale by his manager. Plettenberg previously said:

“Leon Goretzka is definitely a candidate whose situation is being watched very closely by the English, because they didn’t miss the fact that Goretzka was allowed to leave Bayern. Bayern is currently considering a fee of €40m [£34m] to €50m [£43m]. Tuchel would definitely let him go because Tuchel wants to create space in the squad.”

Read The Latest West Ham Transfer News HERE…

Sky Sports in his homeland soon after reported that the Irons were preparing an offer for the 28-year-old, and whilst a significant development of that sort is yet to come to fruition, David Moyes doesn’t seem to have forgotten about the talisman in the Bundesliga.

Are West Ham signing Leon Goretzka?

Taking to Twitter, Plettenberg revealed that West Ham have held a strong, long-standing interest in Goretzka, but admitted that at this stage, any move being completed could be more of a pipe dream. He wrote:

“Man Utd never lost their focus on Leon #Goretzka! Understand the 28 y/o is still on the list of the club. #MUFC. Goretzka wanted to stay 100% – but the last ten days have clearly shown that he won’t be a starter under Tuchel for now. Tuchel is planning with Kimmich/Laimer and wants a new holding six on top. Difficult situation. ManUtd & Goretzka, situation to watch! Still a dream target for West Ham.”

West Ham have been heavily linked with a move for Southampton captain James Ward-Prowse this summer, but having seen a £20m, followed by an increased £30m offer rejected, they may need to start looking for central midfield alternatives. Having been dubbed “top-class” by talent scout Jacek Kulig, Goretzka could be the perfect candidate.

The Bochum native is naturally stronger in the offensive aspect of his game following his 12 goal contributions (six goals and the same number of assists) across all competitions last season, but he’s also capable of putting in a shift defensively having averaged 1.7 aerial wins and 1.6 tackles per league game, via WhoScored.

Goretzka, who pockets £296k-per-week, furthermore knows what it takes to compete and be successful at the highest level having secured 14 pieces of silverware for club and country throughout his career, so should he put pen to paper, he would be able to instil a much-needed winning mentality into the squad at the London Stadium.

Botafogo star Guilherme Madruga has won the Puskas Award for the most beautiful goal in 2023.

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• Madruga goal dubbed the best of 2023
• Scored sensational overhead kick
• Beat competition from Enciso & Nuno Santos

• WHAT HAPPENED?

  The Botafogo star was given the prize for his strike against Novorizontino in the Brazilian Serie B. The Brazilian scored an incredible overhead kick from distance. It was the winning goal and his first for the club.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  His goal beat competition from Julio Enciso, nominated for his wonderstrike for Brighton against Manchester City in the Premier League in May, and Sporting star Nuno Santos, who made the final three with his goal against Boavista in March.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  Madruga follows the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Neymar, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, James Rodriguez, Olivier Giroud, Mohamed Salah and Son Heung-min in winning the award for the best goal of the year.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  Madruga and Botafogo finished 12th in Serie B last season, resulting in the Sao Paulo club missing out on promotion. They will hope the 23-year-old midfielder can add more goals to his record and help them get promoted in 2024.